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
battles: 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.
