Medicine and Duty: The World War I Memoir of Captain Harold W. McGill, Medical Officer, 31st Battalion C.E.F.

Sidney Allinson is a Victoria-based communications consultant, Canadian
news correspondent for Britain’s The Army Quarterly and Defence, and
author of The Bantams: The Untold Story of World War I.

In modern warfare, no other soldiers display more courage than medical officers. Unarmed themselves, they face every danger of the battlefield while tending agonizing wounds, mutilation, and death. Medicine and Duty is the memoir of Captain Harold McGill, a medical officer in the 31st (Alberta) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The book not only interestingly describes his medical activities and the personalities of many individual comrades, it also provides an almost day-to-day account of a typical Canadian infantry battalion between 1915 and 1917.

In fact, it is astonishing how much McGill observed and recalled of combat service despite the daily demands of providing medical care. His memory of brutal daily conditions and Western Front battles is even more surprising in that it was written in 1935, two decades after when the events took place. It is a shame the promise of publication never came to pass at the time, and was forgotten until the manuscript was discovered 70 years later in the Glenbow Archives by historian Marjorie Norries. Fortunately, she recognized its historical value and did a first-class job of editing the material to resurrect McGill’s story for publication at last. Included with the narrative are details of trench-war experiences culled from Captain McGill’s handwritten notes and letters.