BOOK REVIEWS
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With the Patricia's in Flanders |
This is a monumental book both in size (21.5 cm by 28 cm and almost 2 cm thick) and in terms of the scale and depth of the research which it records.
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was the last in a long line of privately raised infantry regiments serving with the British Army and one of the first Canadian regiments to see action in the war. Andrew Hamilton Gault, the founder of the regiment, used his own money to raise the unit and equip it for war service. From August 1914 until November 11th, 1918, 229 officers and 4857 Warrant Officers, NCOs and men served with the regiment. Of these, 4076 became casualties including 62 officers and 1210 men killed, died of wounds or missing.
Stephen Newman here presents the whole story of the PPCLI's involvement in the war in Flanders. And just about every pertinent piece of information is meticulously included. For each sector in which the PPCLI was involved, there is an account of their actions and movements, supported by photographs and diary entries. There are also notes on the PPCLI members who were awarded gallantry medals or mentioned in dispatches in that sector.
Then there is an a description/guide to each sector as it is today - a very full one, mentioning all the PPCLI sites of course, but also other places of interest which the visitor will pass on the way. Each sector's "chapter" begins with a clear map with all places of interest marked. I know (because I have tried them) that these maps are excellent for navigation when using the book as a battlefield guide.
Thus far alone the book is an invaluable guide to the battlefield visitor but there is more. Visitors to Hellfire Corner will already be familiar with Stephen Newman's name through his article on the identification of an unknown Patricia - "The Unknown Sergeant". In this article the reader can see clearly that Steven Newman is dedicated to Remembrance and proper recording of PPCLI men who died in the war. He takes this dedication to its logical conclusion by referring, sector by sector, to each cemetery which contains PPCLI graves, including a cemetery plan and then recording, individually, each PPCLI soldier buried there, with a photograph if one could be found, giving details of each man's service and, where known, the circumstances of his death. Even the "Unknown" Patricia's are included and, just for the record (and for future reference) the precise map location where each "Unknown" was found is also given. All the cemeteries referred to are also marked on the "battlefield guide" maps. It seems incredible that Steven Newman visited each and every one of these graves in order to locate them all, but that is precisely what he did.
The same personal account is given for each PPCLI man commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing - all 503 of them. (The PPCLI has the highest number of any single-battalion regiment on the Memorial). "With the Patricia's in Flanders" reminds us, individually and by name, of the many Patricia's who came to Flanders and are still there to this day.
And finally, in the name of total inclusion, those PPCLI's who were captured in Flanders are also recorded with details of their POW holding camps, their places of burial if they died in captivity or, if they returned home after the war, their dates of discharge.
All in all, this is a stunning record and a tribute to the author's dedication to the memory of these men and what they achieved. As far as I'm concerned it's a must-have book. Even if the reader has no personal link to PPCLI, it stands as a shining example of what can be achieved through sheer dedication to the subject in hand.
With the Patricia's in Flanders 1914-1918
is published by:
Bellewaerde House Publishing
Suite 101
2165 Straistview Road
Saanichton B. C.
Canada
Email - bellewaerdehouse@home.com
Soft Covers
266pages, maps, cemetery plans, black-and-white photographs
ISBN: 0-96876-960-8
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