Zombie Army: The Canadian Army and Conscription in the Second World War

by Daniel Byers

Zombie Army tells the story of Canada’s Second World War military conscripts – reluctant soldiers pejoratively referred to as “zombies” for their perceived similarity to the mindless movie monsters of the 1930s. In the first full-length book on the subject in almost forty years, Byers combines underused and newly discovered records to argue that although conscripts were only liable for home defence, they soon became a steady source of recruits from which the army found volunteers to serve overseas. He also challenges the traditional nationalist-dominated impression that Quebec participated only grudgingly in the war.

344 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2016

Reviews

[spike marlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a little academic in tone and content and one could get blurry eyes with the statistics this was a very interesting read. I had long heard about the “zombies”. Indeed I may have had some uncles who were NRMA (National Resource Mobilization Act) men. I had no idea the extent that both the Government of Canada and the Canadian Army built you this large force of soldiers who remained in Canada for home defence purposes, but was wanted for reinforcements for the army fighting overseas. It is an interesting to understand the evolution of the NRMA and its eventual culmination in the conscription crises of 1944. This is an aspect of Canada’s contribution to the Second World War that is not taught in the Canada’s schools. For those who want to more fully understand Canada’s huge contribution this is an important book to read.