When Your Numbers Up – Review
One of the most transformative events in Canadian history was the First World War. It was in the Great War that Canada proved itself as a nation.
But there were plenty of speed bumps along the way.
Desmond Morton outlines the Canadian involvement in the First World War in When Your Numbers Up. (Amazon affiliate link) He describes the initial reaction and the rush of patriotism in those early months. Young men rushed to recruiting stations, totally unaware of what was awaiting them.
However, When Your Numbers Up, is not a hagiography designed to stir up Canadian patriotism and pride. Rather it is a sober account of Canada’s struggle to build an army and to keep it functioning on the battlefield.
When we step beyond the stories that we want to hear, we find a nation struggling to build an army. There were plenty of willing soldiers, at least at the beginning, but it takes more than that.
There were issues with procuring kit and organizing training. Neither were particularly successful in the beginning.
However, Britain was desperate for help along the front and Canada was prepared to answer the call. Despite many missteps, the Canadian Expeditionary Forces arrived in France.
What I appreciated about this book was that it went beyond the battles, although it certainly does not ignore them. We get a sense of what it was like for the soldiers even in the times when they were not going “over the top.”
We hear about the bad food, the medical care, and the unfair differences between NCMs and officers. We get a sense of the trauma with understanding that did not exist at the time.
As an army chaplain, I was particularly interested in descriptions of chaplains. This was an early chapter in our chaplain history and there was a definite mix of good and bad chaplains.
I also liked how Morton gives us the picture both from the perspective of the top levels of leadership and the average soldier in the trenches.
This book tends to lean toward more critical positions than some of the other books that I have read but this helps to create a more rounded picture of Canada’s involvement in the First World War.
If you are interested in the First World War, check out this episode I did on the Great War for my Second World War podcast.
