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It Made You Think of Home: The Haunting Journal of Deward Barnes, CEF: 1916-1919
"We took our positions, five kneeling and five standing ... we got the order to fire. One blank and nine live rounds ... I did not have the blank."
That is the voice of Deward Barnes, an unwilling but dutiful member of the firing squad that shot Harold Lodge, one of 25 Canadians executed during the First World War. In this diary we hear something that is otherwise gone forever: the authentic voice of the First World War soldier, Everyman in khaki. Fully annontated so that everyone today can understand the nuance of each entry, the Barnes diary takes us into the trenches and the firing lines of the Western Front like no other first-hand Canadian account of that terrible war can. Like any trained infantryman, Deward could tell the kick of a live round from a blank one, and that kick he bestows on us with each turn of the page.
That is the voice of Deward Barnes, an unwilling but dutiful member of the firing squad that shot Harold Lodge, one of 25 Canadians executed during the First World War. In this diary we hear something that is otherwise gone forever: the authentic voice of the First World War soldier, Everyman in khaki. Fully annontated so that everyone today can understand the nuance of each entry, the Barnes diary takes us into the trenches and the firing lines of the Western Front like no other first-hand Canadian account of that terrible war can. Like any trained infantryman, Deward could tell the kick of a live round from a blank one, and that kick he bestows on us with each turn of the page.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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October 15, 2007
For anyone interested in the Great War (1914-1919). Bruce Cane has taken the journal that Deward Barnes kept during the war as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and rather than just publishing it, has carefully researched what is “behind” the scenes. In addition to the haunting words of Deward Barnes, we get Bruce Cane’s explanation and background material. Initially, I wasn’t sure that I’d like this approach, but after the third page I was a convert. The journal that Barnes wrote was not intended for publication. It was just his notes and observations during the year and a half he spent in Europe. It was rewritten a few times, he would rewrite some entries a few days after they occurred, then in 1923 he transcribed and consolidated, and undoubtedly added to, the small journals he wrote in, to a bigger one, adding some additional entries as he reflected back on the war.
There are no punches pulled here. Barnes was a member of the firing squad that carried out the sentence on Private Harold Lodge. He writes about this in his journal. He also makes mistakes, perhaps because he has an Infantry enlisted soldier’s view of the war, perhaps because he wrote some entries days after a battle. Cane points out these inaccuracies and adds the corrections in a way that enhances, not detracts, from the story being told.
Barnes was in action from the closing days at Vimy Ridge to the point where he got wounded on October 11, 1918. His account of making it back from the front lines to a hospital in England gives one a new appreciation of what these men had to endure.
The way that the journal is presented makes it suitable for both the novice and the experienced World War 1 student. If you are looking for a way to get someone interested in the Great War, this is the book to do it.
There were a couple of small inaccuracies in the information that Cane added, but nothing substantial and they certainly didn’t detract from the overall story. My one major complaint? The book ended far too soon!
There are no punches pulled here. Barnes was a member of the firing squad that carried out the sentence on Private Harold Lodge. He writes about this in his journal. He also makes mistakes, perhaps because he has an Infantry enlisted soldier’s view of the war, perhaps because he wrote some entries days after a battle. Cane points out these inaccuracies and adds the corrections in a way that enhances, not detracts, from the story being told.
Barnes was in action from the closing days at Vimy Ridge to the point where he got wounded on October 11, 1918. His account of making it back from the front lines to a hospital in England gives one a new appreciation of what these men had to endure.
The way that the journal is presented makes it suitable for both the novice and the experienced World War 1 student. If you are looking for a way to get someone interested in the Great War, this is the book to do it.
There were a couple of small inaccuracies in the information that Cane added, but nothing substantial and they certainly didn’t detract from the overall story. My one major complaint? The book ended far too soon!
Displaying 1 of 1 review