Fragments of War: Stories from Survivors of World War II

Susan Brown is a B.C. horticulturist, permaculture designer, and early
childhood education instructor.

Joyce Hibbert has produced an excellent book of reminiscences of the Second World War, which successfully integrates oral history with the writer’s biographical detail. The sensitivity that unfolds on each page is no doubt the result of Hibbert’s own wartime experiences in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.

The book is divided into three sections entitled “Sea,” “Land,” and “Air,” respectively. This not only serves as a method of organization, but also underlines that experiences of war vary greatly from different points of reference. Hence, the infantryman’s war was significantly different from that of the airman’s, as a nurse’s perspective was different from a combat engineer’s. The unifying factor in Fragments of war is the feeling of excitement and place combined with the mundane and the horrible.

Hibbert’s methodology and style enhance the clarity of this work. The problem with most oral history is that the speaker often remains anonymous; thus, the result is often disjointed, even when interesting and poignant. Hibbert, however, provides the reader with a point of reference; we know who the narrator is and where he or she fits into the history of the world holocaust. Just as importantly for the social historian and interested reader alike, we find out what became of the subject of the story. There is a sense of completeness in Hibbert’s book.

Fragments of War should be of particular interest to the social historian studying the impact of war on society. Furthermore, it would be a helpful addition to any course on Canada and World War II.