• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Library and Bibliotheque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de !'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-47907-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-47907-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a Ia Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I' Internet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, etlou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve Ia propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni Ia these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a Ia loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur Ia protection de Ia vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans Ia pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Corps Identity: The Letters, Diaries and Memoirs of Canada's Great War Soldiers by ©Maarten Gerritsen Department of History Memorial University of Newfoundland A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History, Graduate School of Memorial University of Newfoundland September 2008 St. John's Newfoundland Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the role published diaries, letters and memoirs of Canadian soldiers played in shaping, consolidating, and preserving the "myth of the [Great] war experience" in Canada. In Death So Noble, Memory, Meaning, and the First World War, Jonathan Vance argues that, during and shortly after the First World War, Canadian politicians, artists and historians created this myth to soften the horrible realities of the trenches. To justify and explain the deaths of more than 60,000 Canadians, the war was most often portrayed as a positive, if costly, experience that led a colony to full nationhood. At the same time, Canadian soldiers were described as backwoodsmen; natural soldiers who evinced a strong disdain for army discipline. Although Vance's interpretation of the Great War legacy in Canada has been well received, the role that Canadian soldiers played in the creation of this legacy has yet to be examined. One approach to this enormous task is to probe the hundreds of published soldier sources composed by members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Granted, they are limited in number compared to total enlistment figures. Thus, no final claim can be made that they speak categorically for the CEF as a whole. Indeed, in some cases, the reliability of individual writers might be quite dubious. Still, these sources exist and are part of the historical record. They have, however, yet to be analyzed systematically. When they are, these unique sources collectively offer some intriguing, if conditional, insights into soldier agency in the process of myth-making about Canada's Great War. Published sources suggest that the way Canadian soldiers portrayed the war fits, almost seamlessly, with the "myth of the war experience." This is not only because the myth influenced soldier writings, but also because Canadian soldiers had both embraced and helped to generate it during the war. The latter point is often overlooked. Although the war divided the dominion as much as it united it, these soldier sources reveal that, layer by layer, something of a pan-Canadian "corps identity" developed, at least among many within the wartime CEF. Moreover, this "corps identity" is present in material written at the time, as well as in memoirs published long after it. Volunteers had not consciously set out in 1914 to create this identity. However, traveling and training together created an esprit de corps before Canadians even set foot in the trenches. Apart from their shared experience, this rudimentary identity was also based on the retelling of anecdotes, generally detailing the CEF's pioneer disdain for army discipline. The fact that British civilians viewed the CEF as a homogenous unit, often as a result of the CEF's unique maple leaf uniform and cap badges, only heightened the soldiers' sense of collective identity. The CEF's participation in major battles, Second Ypres, Vimy, Passhendaele and the Hundred Days, added another, more positive, layer to this newfound ii identity. Considering that the Canadians Corps sometimes managed to succeed where British or French armies had failed, it is not surprising that many soldiers depicted these battles as the crowning moments of Canada's war effort. After April1917, the successful storming ofVimy Ridge, soldiers generally showed little surprise about the CEF's combat effectiveness. Many explained this by pointing to the outstanding soldierly qualities Canadians had brought to the trenches. Even though most volunteers came from urban and industrial professions, the belief that many CEF soldiers had, in some shape or form, experienced Canada's vast wilderness was, perhaps strangely, deeply entrenched. In any case, this helped to create the perception that 'colonials' were ideally suited for the war. There can be no doubt that the Great War furthered a Canadian consciousness amongst many soldiers of the CEF. By portraying themselves as different, Canadian soldiers created a "corps identity" that set them aside from others. This identity, perhaps based more on perception than reality, strongly coloured these soldiers' memory of the war. It is exactly this perception of a "corps identity" that we see in the countless letters, diaries and memoirs that have been published in the more than ninety years since the war. iii Table of Contents Table of Contents lV Acknowledgements v Introduction, Thesis, Sources and Themes 1 Chapter 1, Patriotism or a Buck Ten? 33 Chapter 2, What We Are Is Just What We Think 90 Chapter 3, Corps Experience 141 Chapter 4, Frontier Energy in the Trenches 200 Conclusion, Corps Identity 258 Appendix A 270 Bibliography 272 lV Acknowledgements: First and foremost I need to thank my supervisor, Dr. James Greenlee. I could not have wished for a better advisor and mentor for my PhD. Without his common sense, knowledge and attention to detail I would never have finished. In St. John's I need to thank the members of my supervisory committee, Drs. Sean Cadigan and Chris Y oue, for helping me find my way through my comps, and providing me with helpful suggestions in the preparation of this draft. As graduate coordinator, Professor Skip Fischer also offered useful feedback during the research and writing phases of this dissertation. My examiners' fair and insightful criticism helped improve this final draft. Lastly, I am very grateful for all the help I received from the department's secretaries, Beverly Evans-Hong and Fran Warren. My friends, wherever they are, deserve credit for keeping me sane and providing me with the motivation to keep going. Despite my constant "complaining," you have given me more than you can imagine. Finally, I have to say 'thank you' to my family. Being the youngest of a family of three, and still in 'school' at 35, has been a great source of amusement to my older brothers, but, believe it or not, the "one more year" is over at last! My parents, although not very happy I moved so far away, always supported me, no matter how unrealistic my plans. Over the last two years my son Kees has happily distracted me from my work by asking me to v read 'Franklin the Turtle' or enticing me to a game of hockey on the kitchen floor. Not an easy person to live with in the first place, my wife has borne the brunt of the years spent on this thesis. I love you both, and know how happy you are 'this thing' is finally over. VI Introduction: Thesis, Sources and Themes This study is built upon a very particular foundation. That foundation is the extensive number of published memoirs, diaries and letters composed by members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during and after the Great War. Curiously, although plentiful and frequently cited, these sources have yet to be analyzed systematically by historians as a discrete cache of material. 1 That task is undertaken in this dissertation. It is undertaken, however, with an awareness of the problems and limitations inherent in the use of such sources, but also with confidence that they can be rendered historically useful with proper care and handling. When carefully analyzed, the published memoirs, diaries and letters of CEF soldiers offer some intriguing, if conditional, insights into soldier agency in the process of myth-making about Canada's Great War. Indeed, they suggest that, layer by layer, something of a pan-Canadian "corps identity" developed within the wartime CEF. This identity persisted long after 1918 and was broadly in line with the "myth of the war 1 In When Your Number's Up Desmond Morton uses CEF soldiers' letters, diaries and memoirs to explain what the war would have been like for the average CEF recruit.

Load more

  330

Copy Link