A BLUE PUTTEE AT WAR: A
memoir by Sydney Frost.
NOTE: eBook only.
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| A Blue Puttee At War/Sydney Frost |
I picked the book up and at random flipped it open to page 270, and my eyes were drawn to the sentence that read, “As war lengthens, officialdom, scatterbrained schemes, and red tape multiply in the same ratio". Ahaa, I said to myself, “Now this is an author that has something to say”.
Frost was born in Nova Scotia and worked for the Bank of Nova Scotia in St. John's Newfoundland at the beginning of World War 1. He enlisted in the Newfoundland Regiment on 21 August 1914 and was issued Regimental Number 58. He therefore is one of the original 500, the much-revered Blue Puttee's. The book is a detailed record of his service during and after the war and chronicles the Regiments action in Gallipoli and in Europe. He recorded the regiment’s battles and provided a rich archive of Regimental history and the men who filled the ranks of the regiment during and after the war. He was LOB for the Battle of Beaumont Hamel and was later wounded on 12 October 1916, only returning to active service in April 1917 and serving until 1 July 1919 after occupation duties. The book is rich in detail and events that surrounded the men and the Regiment. He archived thousands of documents about the Regiment and of the men who served, died and survived the war. His work is quoted by both G.W.L Nicholson and Stacey when they critique the war in later years, so Frost has become a subject matter expert on events affecting the Newfoundland Regiment. Frost continued to work for the Bank of Nova Scotia until 1958 when he retired as the President of that institution. He died in 1985 at the age of 92.
The book was edited by Edward Roberts, journalist, lawyer, Member of the House of Assembly, Honorary Colonel of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and later the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland. Frost when alive decreed that his memoirs be private, but upon his death the family decided that his extensive source material should not be buried in the archives. Roberts was chosen to edit the material and along with Frost's daily journals provides a detailed history of events and of the men and the Regiment.
This book is a great read and provides much more detail than many other books I have read about the Newfoundland Regiment. Having lived in Newfoundland for several years I get a better feeling why the First World War still has a lasting effect on the people and the province.
A FAMILY OF BROTHERS: J. Brent
Wilson
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| A Family of Brothers/J. Brent Wilson |
The book was recently published by a former staff member of the Gregg Centre in New Brunswick. The 26th Battalion was part of the 5th Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division. The book follows the mobilization, service and aftermath of the unit and its members from the province of New Brunswick who served in the First World war. There is much detail about individual men and their experiences and how their lives were transformed during and after the war. Only 117 of the original 1,150 recruits returned home, with a total of 5,700 men serving in battalion ranks. Unlike other books about regimental history, this volume details the warts, troubles and problems affecting citizen soldiers as they are molded into a modern professional army. Battles and campaigns are narrated to include personal experiences and outcomes in battle. The work was drawn from personal letters, oral histories, reports, and war records to allow the reader to have a firsthand look at the workings of a regiment on a war footing and provides new insight and detail on Canada's men who served and died in World War One.
