The Bay of Chaleur at War

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.

Warfare’s human costs are often best conveyed through stories of
average people rather than descriptions of grand strategy. This
compendium of stories gathered from contemporary newspapers conveys the
impact of six wars on some New Brunswick communities. Based as it is on
individual experiences, The Bay of Chaleur at War puts a personal face
on military combat.

Although there is an introductory chapter about men of the North Shore
who fought in World War I (including Bathurst’s own Corporal Herman
Good, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1918), the bulk of the
stories concern World War II. Families were disrupted as men went off to
distant duties and women engaged in war work and volunteer activities to
support Canada’s war effort. Gradually, people began to be affected by
such grim realities as U-boats sinking Canadian ships off New
Brunswick’s shore and the names of local men appearing on casualty
lists. One affectingly told story is that of Sgt. Pilot Donald Connolly,
the first Bathurst man to die for his country in World War II.

Between 1939 and 1945, more than 2790 young men from Gloucester County
volunteered for service in the Canadian army, navy, and air force. Many
fought overseas and some made the supreme sacrifice. McCarthy makes
plain his personal admiration for these volunteers, and even uses the
wartime sneer “Zombies” to describe those conscripts who refused to
serve overseas. Bay Chaleur’s martial spirit lived on in local men who
later volunteered to fight in Korea, and in those who fought for the
United States in Vietnam. Featuring news reports, photographs, and
advertisements from contemporary local papers, McCarthy’s book
provides a sense of immediacy that is often absent in more formal
narratives.