FOR KING & EMPIRE - CANADIANS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
This excellent series of guidebooks to the Canadian battlefields on the Western Front are written by Norm Christie and published by CEF Books in Canada. Mr Christie once worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Canada, the UK and France, and was stationed at Arras for some time where he acquired an in-depth knowledge of the battlefields. Each book, starting with the CEF's first engagement during Second Ypres in 1915, takes a particular sector, sets it into an historical background, tells you what happened, provides information on where to stay and what to see, provides details of all the associated cemeteries and memorials, and there is a fold out map of the battlefield at the back of every book. Illustrated throughout, these are superb guidebooks, sadly almost unknown in the UK. Currently there are seven volumes:
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The Canadians At Ypres 22-26th April 1915 |
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The Canadians on the Somme September-November 1916 |
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The Canadians at Vimy April 1917 |
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The Canadians at Passchendaele October-November 1917 |
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The Canadians at Arras August-September 1918 |
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The Canadians at the Canal du Nord and Cambrai September-October 1918 |
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The Canadians at Amiens August 1918 |
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The Canadians at Mount Sorrell - Hill 62 June 1916 |
Further volumes on other Canadian battlefields, Canadian WW1 cemeteries and the Newfoundland Regiment are due for release in 2002/3.
WHERE TO GET THEM - The volume on Vimy, and occasionally some of the others, can be purchased at the new visitor's centre on Vimy Ridge. The whole series is available at 'The Shell Hole' in Ypres, and you can purchase them on-line direct from CEF Books on their web site (see LINKS page).
