Maple Leaf Empire: Canada, Britain, and Two World Wars

by Jonathan F. Vance

The ineffable character of "Britishness" has been used, often enigmatically, to describe Canada's distinct cultural flavour within North America. This mysterious quality, writes award-winning writer Jonathan Vance, goes back to the early days of Canadian history, and consists of far more than the sum of early migration patterns. It emerges from a long-standing respect for British liberal ideals and an identification with the British empire. Canada's own unique brand of Britishness evolved over a history of shared military endeavor, as Canadians fought alongside others to defend the ideals that the British Empire was deemed to represent.

To understand Canada's history of Britishness, Vance looks into the military past of both countries. The fabric of Canadian life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries owes a great deal to the presence of British military. And this, observes Vance, is a two-way he reminds us that during the two World Wars, close to a million Canadians travelled to the United Kingdom. In this form of reverse colonialism, Canadians established modest outposts in Britain, and parts of the country were Canadianized.

This new, outside-the-box narrative is Jonathan Vance at his best. Beautifully written, based on original research in the true sense of the word, and illustrated with previously unseen materials, this book reveals a side of Canada often forgotten by historians.

Genres: Canada, History, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2012

About the author

Jonathan Vance holds the Canada Research Chair in Conflict and Culture in
the Department of History at The University of Western Ontario. His books
and articles include Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning, and the First World
War (1997), High Flight: Aviation and the Canadian Imagination (2002), A
Gallant Company: The True Story of "The Great Escape" (2003), and Building
Canada: People and Projects that Shaped the Nation (2006). He is currently
researching the experience of rural Canada during the First World War.

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vance investigates the period between 1871, when Britain pulled out military support in Canada, and 1946 with the end of the Second World War and the departure of most Canadian soldiers, and their families, from Britain. During the nineteenth century, Britain’s departure forced Canada to begin developing its own defence systems, often mirroring British traditions. As Vance aptly puts it, “The beginnings of a distinctly Canadian culture also lay with the British regular solider” (p. 9). Indeed, during the Boer War Canada developed “autonomy and distinctiveness” as a nation and military while also moving closer together with Britain (p. 29). During the First World War Canadians returned, often with excitement, to the homeland. It was in this period that Canadian soldiers, and their wives and families, set up Canadian institutions and structures in Britain such as hospitals, clubs, and military outposts. Initially, Britons saw Canadians as the same breed, although slightly lesser, using the term “colonial” in a negative way. However, after the colony’s success at Ypres, Canadians were viewed as hardy, hard-working, and capable, similar to the view cultivated during the Boer War. The Second World War continued Canada’s “colonization” of Britain. Canadians were not always on their best behaviour in Britain, committing crimes and impregnating women. Similarly, war brides often struggled to adjust to the new rural and prairies landscape. Nonetheless, Canadians cultivated a strong presence in Britain, a “maple leaf empire” which reinvigorated British-Canadian connections and traditions. Although this empire quickly dissipated after the Second World War, often without plaques to memorialize Canada’s history with certain buildings and locations (p. 222).

[Colin Freebury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very well written and researched military and social history of Canadian Armed Forces in Britain during the First and Second World Wars. The appendix, A Guide For Guys Like You - A Gunner's Guide To Great Britain, is a gem.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vance is certainly adept at writing a gripping military history. All of his descriptions of battles and tactics used by Canadians during the World Wars was superbly written. However, that was more of a sub-plot to the real focus of this book. Vance certainly does well in exploring the Canadian Forces' occupation of Britain between 1914 and 1939, but his writing does get a bit repetative and boring at times. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book, and learned a lot about what it was like for a Canadian soldier on the Western Front in those two wars. It's a good book, and if you get a chance, read it. But don't pay $30 for it like I did.

[Bernie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history and analysis of Canadian society and contributions to the success of World War 2.... especially its contributions to saving of Great Britain, along with other Dominion powers (Australia etc.)