Unwanted Warriors: Rejected Volunteers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Studies in Canadian Military History) - Hardcover

Clarke, Nic

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0774828889 ISBN 13: 9780774828888

Publisher: UBC Press, 2015

Synopsis

Unwanted Warriors uncovers the history of Canada's first casualties of the Great War - men who tried to enlist but were deemed "unfit for service." What impact did military exclusion have on these men? Nic Clarke looks for answers in the service files of 3,400 rejected volunteers and explores the mechanics of the medical examination, the physical and psychological qualities that the authorities believed made a fighting man, and how evaluations changed as the war dragged on. In the process, he exposes the deleterious effects that socially constructed norms about health and fitness had on individual men and Canadian society during the First World War.

About this title

Review:

Vast numbers of men tried to enlist during the Great War and were turned down, sometimes repeatedly. Until now, we have known little about these individuals – why they were rejected by the army and the impact this had on them personally and in their community. In Unwanted Warriors, Nic Clarke answers these very questions, adroitly documenting the war’s impact on Canadian society. Author: Pat Brennan, fellow of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary

From the Author:

Nic Clarke is the curatorial manager of Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum. His research primarily focuses on disability and health in Canada during the Great War period. He has published articles on a variety of subjects, including the diet of Canadian soldiers during the Great War, hockey and the Great War, and the treatment of disabled children in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canada.

About this edition

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0774828889
• ISBN 13: 9780774828888
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256