"Bash On, Recce!"

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.

Notwithstanding its dirty jokes, racist tirades, and irrelevant personal
commentary, this book provides some valuable insights into Canadian
society just before and during World War II. The author was an
underprivileged anglophone living in Montreal when he volunteered to
join the 17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars at age 16. Stephen
served overseas for four years, was commissioned to the rank of captain,
and went on to become a university professor.

Although clearly proud of having been a soldier, Stephen devotes
surprisingly little space to his combat experiences. He served with the
Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (“Recce”), a unit charged with
seeking out enemy positions in advance. His stories of fierce battles in
Holland and Germany are told unassumingly, without dwelling on gore.

Stephen returned to Canada with his English war bride. The death of a
child and economic struggles ensued. The author’s love of animals led
him to become a veterinarian and eventual head of a university
department, but clearly his attitudes were never softened by academe.
Whatever one thinks of his politically incorrect views, this quirky book
reminds us of the contributions of his generation.