Onward: The King's Own Calgary Regiment in Peace and War, 1910-1960

The history of the King’s Own Calgary Regiment in war and peace, never losing sight of the ordinary soldier’s journey from civilian to warrior and back again.

This is the story of the King’s Own Calgary Regiment. Beginning in the last years of collective innocence before the Great War, it follows the regiment to Vimy Ridge, through the short years of peace to Dieppe and the Italian Campaign, through the establishment and maintenance of militia and reserve forces, and into the Cold War.

Onward is a soldier’s story: mundane, heroic and tragic. This book explores not only the actions of the regiment but also the efforts of civilians to become warriors, to maintain their ties to home during the rigours of war, and the often-rocky return to civilian life. It explores peacetime, when the regiment struggled to maintain active reserves with aging equipment and minimal support. It places the King’s Own Calgary Regiment within the context of Canada’s army, tracing its relationships with brigade mates, supporting artillery and engineers to provide a complete and fascinating history.

Regimental history does not begin with the first shot of a battle, nor does the story end when the fighting stops. Onward is a thoroughly researched and captivating chronicle of the Kings Own Calgary Regiment and its soldiers in peace and war.

Patrick H. Brennan is associate professor emeritus and fellow of the Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He has authored numerous chapters and articles on Canadian military history and is the author of Reporting the Nation’s Business: Press-Government Relations During the Liberal Years, 1935-57.

Introduction: Fifty Years of Peace and War

Chapter 1. From Calgary to Vimy Ridge

Chapter 2. From Vimy Ridge to Amiens

Chapter 3. The Hundred Days and Home

Chapter 4. A Short Peace and a Second War

Chapter 5. From Mobilization to Dieppe

Chapter 6. From Dieppe to Ortona

Chapter 7. From the Gari to the Arno

Chapter 8. From the Arno to Holland and Home

Chapter 9. Neither Peace nor War

Conclusion: In the Service of Their Country

List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Notes

A superb work that sets a new standard for a regimental history

—Geoffrey Hayes, Professor, University of Waterloo

Brennan has produced a wonderful chronicle of the Calgary Regiment from Alberta to the battlefields and back. Written with real empathy and a profound understanding of the sources, Onward is an intimate account of one unit at war—from the bottom up.

—Jonathan F. Vance, Distinguished University Professor, University of Western Ontario

Onward is a story of courage, perseverance, service, and sacrifice. Based on newly unearthed archival material, soldiers’ letters, and the voices of veterans, Brennan’s fine history is a testament to the people of Calgary who have supported the regiment and who have often formed the core of its ranks. Onward tells us much about Canadian soldiers who have struggled through grim battlefields and unimaginable strain to deliver hard-fought victories.

—Tim Cook, author of Vimy: The Battle and the Legend

Onward is a brilliant regimental history and an overdue tribute to the citizen-soldiers of Calgary’s 50th Battalion during the First World War and of its successor unit, the 14th Canadian Armoured Regiment during the Second. Brennan writes with verve and compassion and his book is deeply researched and beautifully illustrated. He leaves no stone unturned. Onward is an original contribution to Canadian military history and to the history of Calgary itself.

—Serge Marc Durflinger, Professor, University of Ottawa