Canadian War Heroes: Ten Profiles in Courage

Sidney Allinson is Canadian news correspondent for Britain’s The Army
Quarterly and Defence. He is the author of The Bantams: The Untold Story
of World War I, Jeremy Kane, and Kruger’s Gold: A Novel of the
Anglo-Boer War.

Canada has fielded a creditable number of war heroes over time, but they
don’t get much recognition these days, mainly because modern writers
seldom turn to them as subjects. Canadian War Heroes is a welcome
introduction to nine individuals whose bravery in war helped to defend
and build our nation.

Freelance journalist Giancarlo La Giorgia describes military exploits
by eight men and one woman in conflicts going back as far as the 18th
century. Some are familiar icons: Charge of the Light Brigade Lt. Alex
Roberts Dunn, Canada’s very first Victoria Cross recipient; Billy
Bishop VC, top Allied air ace during the First World War; Georges
Vanier, the gallant French-Canadian leader of the “Van Doos” who
lost a leg in battle but later became a Governor General; and storied
Laura Secord, who warned the British the Yanks were coming during the
War of 1812 (considering how many other females have served bravely in
wars, it is a bit of a cliché that Secord was selected here as the only
example). The final chapter is devoted to the Princess Patricia’s
Canadian Light Infantry, a band of heroes if there ever was one.

The jumbled sequence in which Canadian War Heroes’ subjects are
presented could confuse some readers about the historical chronology of
events. As well, the lack of an index, maps, or illustrations detracts
from the book’s value as a reference.