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Where the Hell Are the Guns?: A Soldier's View of the Anxious Years, 1939-44
In Where the Hell Are the Guns? , author George Blackburn returns to the early years of the Second World War. This volume – which completes Blackburn’s award-winning trilogy, extending its coverage to the entire war – brings wartime Canada and England to life in captivating, often comic, detail. With the skill of a novelist and the instincts of a seasoned reporter, this gifted storyteller traces the evolution of Canada’s 4th Field Regiment from a motley assortment of ill-equipped recruits to the cream of the Allied artillery, more than ready to distinguish itself in the maelstrom of the battle for Normandy.
The Second World War comes to a generation of Canadians one sunny September weekend in 1939. It is a Canada woefully unprepared for conflict, and 4th Field Regiment is rapidly assembled from a grab-bag of volunteers from all walks of life – many of them mavericks and misfits from a depression-ravaged land. The regiment passes its first year in Canada in makeshift accommodation, including hastily converted stables and pigsties in the exhibition grounds of Ottawa and Toronto. For the first few months the soldiers must wear incomplete and moth-eaten uniforms from the Great War, and their early training is conducted using obsolete equipment or no equipment at all. One year into the war, the regiment arrives in England without weapons or vehicles, and a month later, with Britain moving toward the greatest crisis in her history, the regiment is finally equipped with guns – French ones with wooden wheels, dating from 1898.
From these inauspicious beginnings, the regiment slowly evolves – with mishap and occasionally mayhem along the way – into a proud and polished regiment, which in 1942 is declared “the best field regiment in Britain.” By the time the Allied troops land on the beaches in Normandy, the boys of 4th Field are more than ready to go to war.
The Second World War comes to a generation of Canadians one sunny September weekend in 1939. It is a Canada woefully unprepared for conflict, and 4th Field Regiment is rapidly assembled from a grab-bag of volunteers from all walks of life – many of them mavericks and misfits from a depression-ravaged land. The regiment passes its first year in Canada in makeshift accommodation, including hastily converted stables and pigsties in the exhibition grounds of Ottawa and Toronto. For the first few months the soldiers must wear incomplete and moth-eaten uniforms from the Great War, and their early training is conducted using obsolete equipment or no equipment at all. One year into the war, the regiment arrives in England without weapons or vehicles, and a month later, with Britain moving toward the greatest crisis in her history, the regiment is finally equipped with guns – French ones with wooden wheels, dating from 1898.
From these inauspicious beginnings, the regiment slowly evolves – with mishap and occasionally mayhem along the way – into a proud and polished regiment, which in 1942 is declared “the best field regiment in Britain.” By the time the Allied troops land on the beaches in Normandy, the boys of 4th Field are more than ready to go to war.
456 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
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About the author
George Blackburn
11 books5 followersThis is the disambiguation page for otherwise unseparated authors publishing as George Blackburn.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 17, 2019
A big historical book chock-full of stories and details of a Canadian view of the war years from 1939 all the way up to D-Day July 1944. It is written from the perspective of one Canadian regiment of 25-pounder guns, and is the first book in a trilogy with "The Guns of Normandy" and "The Guns of Victory" following in the timeline.
A fascinating account of societal attitudes in the UK and Canada through these war years, the chaotic approach to the preparations for war in Canada, and the trials and tribulations of the civilians-becoming-gunners, first in Canada and then in the UK. I especially enjoyed reading about their exploits in Alfriston (just outside my hometown of Eastbourne) and other places in and around the southern part of England.
If you enjoy Canadian history, and Second World War history, you will love this book!
A fascinating account of societal attitudes in the UK and Canada through these war years, the chaotic approach to the preparations for war in Canada, and the trials and tribulations of the civilians-becoming-gunners, first in Canada and then in the UK. I especially enjoyed reading about their exploits in Alfriston (just outside my hometown of Eastbourne) and other places in and around the southern part of England.
If you enjoy Canadian history, and Second World War history, you will love this book!
April 27, 2020
Because my father was in the Canadian Artillery from 1939 to 1945 and his field Regiment paralled the 4th's training and was also stationed in Sussex prior to D-Day, through this book I was able to achieve a greater understanding of what he experienced. I enjoyed the writing style and the matter of fact description of life in the service, the warts and all. To anyone whose relatives were in the service during this time or just want a greater insight as to what our veterans went through I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews