Description

They said it would be over by Christmas 1914, but the “War to End All Wars” raged on. Young men hurried to sign up, anxious for the adventure and a chance to see the world. Oscar French, an eighteen-year-old farm boy from Waverley, Ontario was no exception. Never mind the reports from the front or the risk of death, this would be real excitement, unlike anything he had experienced in the past. On June 5. 1915 Oscar applied for enlistment and was accepted to serve. He didn’t make it home. He died on April 9, 1917 during the victorious Vimy offensive. He was little more than a boy, not yet able to vote, but old enough to die “for King and Country”. Like many young enlisted men, Oscar wrote many letters to those at home. His mother saved the ones that he sent to her, keeping them in a “little flower print box”. In a trunk full of “family collectibles”, nephew Orland French found those letters. Intending to transcribe the letters for a family publication, the author began to read. As he read, he mused about what it would be like to create a fictional correspondence with his uncle. The outcome is Letters to Vimy, a fascinating and entertaining look at history during the one hundred years since Oscar’s death. Included in the book are many photos and maps as well as transcripts of the actual letters that Oscar French wrote, all of which give a flavour of the times through his eyes.

353 pages               $20