Old Enough to Fight: Canada's Boy Soldiers in the First World War

by Dan Black, John Boileau, Roméo Dallaire (Foreword)

Between 15,000 and 20,000 underage youths, some as young as ten, signed up to fight in Canada's armed forces in the First World War. They served in the trenches alongside their elders, and fought in all the major Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele, Vimy Ridge, and the rest. Many were injured or suffered psychological wounds. Many died. This is the first book to tell their story. Some boys joined up to escape unhappy homes and workplaces. Others went with their parents' blessing, carrying letters from fathers and mothers asking the recruiters to take their eager sons. The romantic notion of a short, victorious campaign was wiped out the second these boys arrived on the Western Front. The authors, who narrate the fighting with both military professionalism and humanity, portray many boys who, in the heat of battle, made a seamless transition from follower to leader to hero. Authors Dan Black and John Boileau combed the archives and collections to bring these stories to life. Passages from letters the boy soldiers wrote home reveal the range of emotions and experiences they underwent, from the humorous to the unspeakably horrible. Their parents' letters touch us with their concern, love, uncertainty, and often, grief. Meticulously researched and abundantly illustrated with photographs, paintings, and a collection of specially commissioned maps, Old Enough to Fight is Canadian military and social history at its most fascinating.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Canada, World War I

464 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2013

Reviews

[Firepsych · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent coverage of the 1st WW. Some parts were not in depth enough for me, but good acknowledgement of the "boy soldiers". My father was one of those boy soldiers. My father was 15 when he signed up (obviously lying about his age) as his 3 older brothers were already there (1 brother died at Vimy and 1 was gassed at Passchendaele). He was 16 when he was he saw his first action with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles in the battle for Cambrai. He was wounded in the leg by German machinegun fire and eventually lost his leg and came back to Canada.