Leading from the Front: The War Memoirs of Harry Pope

J.L. Granatstein, Distinguished Research Professor of History Emeritus,
York University, served as Director of the Canadian War Museum from 1998
to 2000. He is the author of Who Killed Canadian History? and coauthor
of The Canadian 100: The 100 Most Influ

Harry Pope was a troublemaker. The son of a general and a Belgian
countess, the grandson of a senior civil servant, and the great-grandson
of a Father of Confederation, Pope served with the Royal 22e Regiment in
World War II. He was taken prisoner in Italy and escaped, and created a
reputation for reckless bravery. He stayed in the army after the war
and, with some difficulty caused by a flirtation with an American
Marxist, went to Korea. There he watched Canadians fight the Chinese and
revolutionized their patrolling, almost single-handedly turning around
the way the soldiers fought the skilful enemy. Only a troublemaker could
achieve that; only a very persuasive man could have done it. Pope
eventually left the army and turned to teaching. He died three years
ago.

His posthumously published book captures his personality and his quick
intelligence, and it will preserve, one hopes, his influence on Canadian
army tactics.