The Tree and the Bridge

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Dwyer, a World War II bombardier from London, Ontario, briefly recounts
his experience as a German prison of war.

The mini-memoir touches on his childhood in Canada, then moves quickly
into his war experiences. In 1943, as the Russian army was advancing
into Germany, the Nazis decided to move their POWs, via a forced march,
to the Western Front. The overland trek was during severe winter
weather, without adequate food or footwear. The men were forced to sleep
on the frozen ground, and sickness was rampant. “Friendly fire” was
a further threat.

The small book lacks the detail and specifics needed to give a social
history wide appeal. There’s a reticence to the tone, as if Dwyer was
reluctant to write the book but caved in to pressure to do so.
Nonetheless, it will be valued by his family and the families of other
airmen taken prisoner in World War II.