Part of Life Itself: The War Diary of Lieutenant Leslie Howard Miller, CEF

by Leslie Miller, Graham Broad (Primary Contributor)

This extensively annotated wartime diary illuminates the military service of Leslie Howard Miller (1889–1979), a Canadian soldier who served in the First World War. Miller joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in 1914. In his off-duty hours, he kept this extraordinarily eloquent diary of his training, deployment overseas, service on the Western Front, and periods of leave in the United Kingdom. Graham Broad, working from a transcription of the diary produced by Miller’s family, includes a thorough introduction and afterword, as well as over 500 notes that situate and explain Miller’s many references to the people, places, and events he encountered. Unpublished for over a century, written in bracing and engaging prose, and illustrated with Miller’s own drawings and unseen photographs, Part of Life Itself illuminates a bygone world and stands as one of Canada’s most important wartime diaries.

280 pages, Hardcover

Published January 29, 2024

About the author

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Reviews

[Psinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

An account of the experiences of war by an educated Canadian fascinated by all the new experiences while horrified but not dwelling on the carnage of war. Never thought I would read a war diary and have my interest held.

[Victoria McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging diary of a First World War soldier with excellent and informative annotations throughout. It won't necessarily clear up the details of battles, but it will help you understand how soldiers experienced them.