Canadian Military History

Volume 2 Issue 2 Article 13

1993

Researching

J.L. Granatstein York University

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh

Part of the Military History Commons

Recommended Citation Granatstein, J.L. "Researching Guy Simonds." Canadian Military History 2, 2 (1993)

This Feature is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Granatstein: Researching Guy Simonds

Researching Guy Simonds

J .L. Granatstein

anadians have not been very interested in the support of that organization in tracking their military leaders. There is still no full down Simonds' colleagues, friends, and modemC study of Sir , no critical acquaintances. Essential sources, apparently study of Andy McNaughton, and no published well employed. But what else did he use? biography of . The publication of a full-scale biography of Guy Simonds On the basis of the evidence presented in (Dominick Graham, The Price of Command: A his rather spotty endnotes and bibliographic Biography of Guy Simonds), certainly comment, very little. He seems to have neglected the 's best commander in the to visit the Royal Military College to check its Second World War, therefore ought to be a files on Simonds' time as a cadet, a grievous cause for celebration. However, restrain your omission because the Simonds' personal file is cheers. The book is inadequate in many ways, full of material on his and his family's financial but this column will examine only Professor plight during the four years he spent in Graham's research. Kingston. The , -General Sir Archibald Macdonnell, begged money on What are the basic sources for a book on Simonds' behalf and found him summer Simonds? There are the General's own papers, employment, and the letters from Simonds' in the possession of his son, a collection that father are appalling in their weak self­ includes a draft memoir covering the years to justifications. Of this sad tale -which must 1939. There are files at the Royal Military have shaped Simonds' character in dramatic College on his time there. There are the records ways we learn nothing in the biography of the Department of National Defence at the beyond one single incorrect reference. How National Archives and at the Director General could a biography be written without checking History, National Defence Headquarters, on the RMC files? his army career. There are records in Britain in the Imperial War Museum, the Public Record The DND records were used by Graham, Office, the Liddell Hart Collection at King's but very cursorily: there is absolutely no College, University of London. And there are evidence of systematic work on this huge the personal papers in Canada and the U.K. of collection. Anyone reading the bibliographical contemporary soldiers and politicians, as well note and acknowledgements can be forgiven as a substantial array of men and women, for assuming that Bill McAndrew, Jack English, happily still extant, who can talk about and Reg Roy gave Graham material they had Simonds' career from their differing uncovered (as they have done for me, much to perspectives. No surprises here, or at least my great benefit) and that Simonds' biographer there ought not to be any. went little further into the voluminous DND files. Graham does not appear to have had as What is surprising is how Professor Graham much assistance with the vast holdings of the approached his task. He had the Simonds Director General History, again an invaluable Papers given to him to use as he would. Because collection. Certainly he made no use of the he was commissioned to write his book by the Crerar files still held there on senior officers, Royal Canadian Artillery Association, he had another most important source.

107

Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 1993 1 Canadian Military History, Vol. 2 [1993], Iss. 2, Art. 13

The papers of Andy King's College and Dempsey's McNaughton in the National and Alexander's papers in the Archives, incredibly, do not War Office records remain seem to have been used at all; unread. I trust I may be Crerar's papers there are only forgiven ifl say that this leaves lightly touched while those of me incredulous. Generals Burns, Sansom, Penhale, Odium, Pope, Vanier, I am assured by friends for etc., were never consulted. Not whose judgement I have great even G.W.L. regard that Graham's book is Nicholson's files on the writing excellent in its descriptions of of the history of the Royal Simonds as a commander in Canadian Artillery, a collection the field. If so that is the only full of good, detailed comments area in which it can be judged by and about Simonds, were a success. Unfortunately, the read. It goes without saying lack of research guarantees that collections outside of that this most important apparently remained military figure has not been completely unexamined (e.g., placed properly into either the and Harry military or political context in Foster). Given Simonds' which he lived and worked difficult relations with and, given the fact that the politicians, one might have expected that a few existence of this biography will likely block any collections of political figures would have been attempts at such a study, this is a tragedy. read. No chance. The papers of Mackenzie King, full of information from Ralston, Crerar, Does this shoddy research matter? To Montgomery and others about Simonds, were answer that question is, of course, to answer it. not used (and Pickersgill's The Mackenzie King In his bibliographical note, Professor Graham Record is not even listed in the bibliography), talks sensibly about the weaknesses of the while the records of the Minister of National Simonds Papers, quite properly his main Defence, Colonel J.L. Ralston, were not source. Then, throwing caution to the wind, he consulted. For the postwar years, mirabile adds that he "may have given the reader the dictu, Defence Minister 's papers impression that he made bricks without in the National Archives were employed, and in straws." Oh, dear. The Price of Command these sections there is evidence in the endnotes suggests nothing so much as that the price of (as there is not for most of the rest of the book) bricks was too high for Dominick Graham. of interviewing. Unfortunately his book is much more than a half-load short. The net result, regrettably, is simply inadequate, and no M.A. thesis done in this Dominick Graham. The Price of Command: A fashion would ever pass a Canadian university. Biography of General Guy Simonds. : My first (admittedly chauvinistic) reaction to Stoddart, 1993. 345 pages. $29.95. this book-that in its ignorance of the Canadian sources it was peculiarly British in approach -proved incorrect. Unaccountably, given the importance of Simonds' relations with Montgomery, Leese, Dempsey and other British The weaknesses of Jack Granatstein's own officers, no evident use has been made of research are fully exposed to the public in The British collections. None. Thus, unless he Generals: The Canadian Senior Commanders in sent them to Simonds directly, we lose Monty's the Second World War, published this Septem­ comments on Simonds from 1942 onwards, ber by Stoddart. An excerpt from The Generals and we get nothing of what or may be found on page 57. Liddell Hart had to say. Brooke's papers at

108 https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol2/iss2/13 2