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A Soldier's Place: The War Stories of Will R. Bird
Nova Scotia-born Will R. Bird miraculously survived the First World War and returned to Nova Scotia. Determined to tell the stories of the brave soldiers who served, Bird became one of the most prolific authors on the subject, completing both fiction and non-fiction works.
For nearly two decades following the war, Bird published war stories in magazines and periodicals, which have now gone out of print and were never digitized, and the stories had long fallen into obscurity—until now.
Carefully curated by author and editor Thomas Hodd, A Soldier?s Place is a anthology of twelve of Bird?s best combat stories, based on the experiences of himself and of others, covering all aspects of the war effort and following brave Canadian, American, and Australian soldiers.
260 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2018
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June 10, 2020
Will R. Bird, a native of East Mapleton near Amherst Nova Scotia, served as a combat soldier in World War I and fought in many important battles including those at Passchendaele in Belgium and Amiens in France. Unlike many others, he survived the war with no lasting physical injuries and after returning home took jobs at a general store and the post office. But he also wanted to write, determined to record the stories of men and women who had served in combat. Few veterans wanted to talk or write about their experience, but Bird hoping their stories would not be lost, made it his mission to record them.
Bird dedicated most of his life to writing and eventually became one of Canada’s most well-known war writers. During a career which spanned over five decades, he wrote novels, travel pieces, articles and short stories. His war stories, written during the thirties and forties, were published in a number of different publications most of which are now out of print and were never digitized.
What Bird did so well was capture the stories of other soldiers and rework them for an audience that had never been in the field, something entirely different from a soldier sharing a war story with another soldier. A talented writer, Bird knew how to tell a good tale and what details to include so readers could place themselves in the same place as the soldier and appreciate his fear. It required the ability to transform a harshly told tale into a compelling story.
Thomas Hodd a University of Moncton English literature professor, recognized the loss to military history if Bird’s work was lost and has gathered some of these stories in a book, ensuring they will be preserved. He chose fifteen stories which he feels capture the emotional trials of the soldier experience, the horrors of trench warfare and the camaraderie that emerges in times of war. None of the stories are violent but are honest tales of war seen through the eyes of someone who has served. Bird did not sugar coat their experience or focus only on stories of bravery and heroism. He also included stories about their fears and struggles. And he was careful to maintain a non-judgmental approach and not moralize, avoiding a slanted view of the war. Ultimately he tried to show that despite the hellish experience of combat, there was also gallantry and bravery.
Bird’s stories did not just focus on Canadians. He also included stories of Australians and Germans.
In any collection of short stories, readers connect with some more than others. These were my favourites:
The Creeping Phantom: A story about Australian soldiers stalked by Germans with knives instead of guns. In a deadly game of cat and mouse, throats are slit and dead bodies are left in piles for the other side to see.
The Three Dead Germans: A God fearing Scot, angry about the way another soldier has treated the dead, comes to realize he has misjudged the man he previously thought of as uncouth and heartless. The two men, initially at odds with each other, develop a growing respect as each learns from the other.
Priscilla’s Private: A young aristocratic woman from Toronto fantasizes about a soldier she met for half an hour at union station and tries to reconnect with him only to face disappointment.
Sunshine: Two soldiers change the behavior of a despotic major, a stickler for regulations, polished bayonets, shiny brass buttons, parades and inspections. Those under his command believe it is all foolish nonsense and it is not until the major is captured by the Germans with two of his soldiers and the three work together to engineer a clever escape, that the major becomes a changed man.
Sunrise for Peter: Soldier Peter Teale shares with a fellow soldier his premonition something is wrong with his wife May back in Newfoundland. Before going into battle Peter receives a letter from home but does not get a chance to read it. He is wounded and lies dying when he asks his fellow soldier to read the letter. It tells of Marie’s death, but the soldier reading the letter makes up the contents to fit what he knew his fellow soldier wanted the letter to say, allowing Peter to die in peace.
White Collars: Bull McCann has an aversion to “white collars”, the college boys who he thinks of as highbrows. When he and “white collar” John Renforth become trapped in a collapsed tunnel with a mad German major, the body of another dead German and hundreds of rats, it is Renforth who devises the plan for their escape, leading McCann to gain new respect for the college boys.
Eyes, Eyes, Eyes: Two soldiers trapped in a fox hole in no man’s land become mesmerized by the dull, wide open, expressionless eyes of a dead German soldier propped up in a sitting position staring at them. The eyes with their unblinking stare, give both men the creeps. There is also a German sentry on guard who doesn’t know they are there, but because of him they cannot leave their fox hole until after dark. Both men’s nerves are badly shaken as they see the dead German move. When they are finally able to get out, one man has been completely undone, must be medicated and is shell shocked.
The Finer Instincts: This story tells how the smell of roses or the sound of a violin had the power to transport men away from the horrors of war as one man learns that no matter what side of the war you are on, we all share some common human instincts.
If You Were Me: A soldier revenges the death of his friend in a way he knows his friend would have approved. At the end of the war, he lets a German prisoner go free and even helps him escape.
By editing this edition of short stories, Hodd has helped preserve some of Bird’s legacy. Without his effort many of Bird’s stories printed in magazines and periodicals would have been lost forever.
The collection will prove valuable to anyone interested in war history or what it was like to experience war as a soldier.
Bird dedicated most of his life to writing and eventually became one of Canada’s most well-known war writers. During a career which spanned over five decades, he wrote novels, travel pieces, articles and short stories. His war stories, written during the thirties and forties, were published in a number of different publications most of which are now out of print and were never digitized.
What Bird did so well was capture the stories of other soldiers and rework them for an audience that had never been in the field, something entirely different from a soldier sharing a war story with another soldier. A talented writer, Bird knew how to tell a good tale and what details to include so readers could place themselves in the same place as the soldier and appreciate his fear. It required the ability to transform a harshly told tale into a compelling story.
Thomas Hodd a University of Moncton English literature professor, recognized the loss to military history if Bird’s work was lost and has gathered some of these stories in a book, ensuring they will be preserved. He chose fifteen stories which he feels capture the emotional trials of the soldier experience, the horrors of trench warfare and the camaraderie that emerges in times of war. None of the stories are violent but are honest tales of war seen through the eyes of someone who has served. Bird did not sugar coat their experience or focus only on stories of bravery and heroism. He also included stories about their fears and struggles. And he was careful to maintain a non-judgmental approach and not moralize, avoiding a slanted view of the war. Ultimately he tried to show that despite the hellish experience of combat, there was also gallantry and bravery.
Bird’s stories did not just focus on Canadians. He also included stories of Australians and Germans.
In any collection of short stories, readers connect with some more than others. These were my favourites:
The Creeping Phantom: A story about Australian soldiers stalked by Germans with knives instead of guns. In a deadly game of cat and mouse, throats are slit and dead bodies are left in piles for the other side to see.
The Three Dead Germans: A God fearing Scot, angry about the way another soldier has treated the dead, comes to realize he has misjudged the man he previously thought of as uncouth and heartless. The two men, initially at odds with each other, develop a growing respect as each learns from the other.
Priscilla’s Private: A young aristocratic woman from Toronto fantasizes about a soldier she met for half an hour at union station and tries to reconnect with him only to face disappointment.
Sunshine: Two soldiers change the behavior of a despotic major, a stickler for regulations, polished bayonets, shiny brass buttons, parades and inspections. Those under his command believe it is all foolish nonsense and it is not until the major is captured by the Germans with two of his soldiers and the three work together to engineer a clever escape, that the major becomes a changed man.
Sunrise for Peter: Soldier Peter Teale shares with a fellow soldier his premonition something is wrong with his wife May back in Newfoundland. Before going into battle Peter receives a letter from home but does not get a chance to read it. He is wounded and lies dying when he asks his fellow soldier to read the letter. It tells of Marie’s death, but the soldier reading the letter makes up the contents to fit what he knew his fellow soldier wanted the letter to say, allowing Peter to die in peace.
White Collars: Bull McCann has an aversion to “white collars”, the college boys who he thinks of as highbrows. When he and “white collar” John Renforth become trapped in a collapsed tunnel with a mad German major, the body of another dead German and hundreds of rats, it is Renforth who devises the plan for their escape, leading McCann to gain new respect for the college boys.
Eyes, Eyes, Eyes: Two soldiers trapped in a fox hole in no man’s land become mesmerized by the dull, wide open, expressionless eyes of a dead German soldier propped up in a sitting position staring at them. The eyes with their unblinking stare, give both men the creeps. There is also a German sentry on guard who doesn’t know they are there, but because of him they cannot leave their fox hole until after dark. Both men’s nerves are badly shaken as they see the dead German move. When they are finally able to get out, one man has been completely undone, must be medicated and is shell shocked.
The Finer Instincts: This story tells how the smell of roses or the sound of a violin had the power to transport men away from the horrors of war as one man learns that no matter what side of the war you are on, we all share some common human instincts.
If You Were Me: A soldier revenges the death of his friend in a way he knows his friend would have approved. At the end of the war, he lets a German prisoner go free and even helps him escape.
By editing this edition of short stories, Hodd has helped preserve some of Bird’s legacy. Without his effort many of Bird’s stories printed in magazines and periodicals would have been lost forever.
The collection will prove valuable to anyone interested in war history or what it was like to experience war as a soldier.
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