The Great War as I Saw It

by Frederick George Scott, Aaron Miedema (Introduction)

It is said that Canada’s birth as a nation took place on the battlefields of the Western Front in World War I. At places like Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele soldiers attacked from the trenches representing home provinces such as Quebec, Alberta, and Ontario, and returned as proud and triumphant Canadians.Canon Frederick George Scott was a witness to the whole of this transformation. A chaplain of the Canadian Corps from the beginning of the war to its end, Canon Scott’s account is a breathtaking and heartbreaking memoir of one of the greatest wars in history, the Canadians who fought in it, and the birth of a nation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I

303 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Maxwell Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful work.

At last, I finished it. 'The Great War as I Saw It' by Frederick G. Scott, an Anglican canon attached to the Canadian Militia in WW1, wrote a detailed account of life as a chaplain during the conflict.

Part of the original Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in September 1914, he witnessed the victories, defeats, struggles, and life of the Canadian soldiers in France. This included everything from the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915 to Vimy Ridge two years later, and finally the Canal-du-Nord in September 1918, where he was wounded by artillery and had to be sent home.

Personally, what struck out to me was his admiration for France and its many towns close or in the frontline, writing in a positive fashion and respecting the country. In addition, spiritual care for the men he was serving, as well as his views of the war and its struggles from a Christian view, involving love of justice and seeking peace for the benefit of the Dominion and the world. While his writing style was part of the time (frequent use of hyperbole), Scott nonetheless described the events, experiences, and his thoughts clearly. His rank and position allowed him to go around different areas of the frontline, detailing the people, environments, and what happened to capture best what the Canadians went through to defeat Germany.

In conclusion, this book is well written and I recommend it to those interested in Canadian military history, Anglicanism in Canada, and related subjects.

[sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars

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“I knelt beside him and started the ‘Lord's Prayer’ in German, which he finished adding some other prayer. I gave him the benediction and made the sign of the cross on his forehead, for the sign of the cross belongs to the universal language of me.”

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I'm not religious or anything (I'm not even Christian), but I felt that that quote was a good representation for the book. Basically, it is a memoir from a Chaplain during the first world war. The book itself was really good, it's just memoirs aren't usually my thing, so for me to give one more than 2.5/3 stars, it would have to completely blow me away.

Of course it was very sad, but what was interesting was Scott's never wavering faith, despite the atrocities he's seen throughout the war. He literally lost his son, on top of many other soldiers who were significantly younger than him (he was in his 50s). A lot of great quotes and the writing was good, so I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs, and can tolerate the somber themes and gruesome imagery (since it can get graphic).

[Mark Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Great War as I Saw It” was written by Cannon Frederick George Scott a Chaplain and famous poet who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. It is his account of the war from when he volunteered at the outbreak in August 1914 till his (spoiler) wounding in the Autumn of 1918 (spoiler). If you have ever watched the history channel show “For King and Empire” hosted by Norm Christie he is mentioned a lot in that.

It is interesting reading this book and comparing it to how more modern autobiographies of war are written. Even though he served mostly at the front line, wanting to be close to the men, he describes it in a patriotic almost romantic light. He would be talking about the artillery opening starting a barrage just prior to an attack saying what a glorious sight it was, or he was eagerly watching us prepare a gas attack on the Germans and he was all excited and eager. The book was published in 1922 and it is obvious that the war did not cause him to become disillusioned in the country or why they fought.

I found the book interesting and the author had a good sense of humour in the way he describes his activities. One of his favourite responses to when people would ask him how he was going to get to various locations was to answer with a bible quote “God will provide” and how he would avoid higher headquarters staff as they would tell him to leave the front lines to go to the rear where it was safer. My one complaint with the book was the way he would talk about people he would very rarely give their names he would just describe them as “officer commanding x” I think it was because they were still alive (unfortunately not all of them) when he wrote the book. The author was also extremely modest so in the book he did not mention his promotion to honouree LCol or being awarded the Distinguished Service Order or the three Mentioned in Dispatches he was awarded.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the First World War.

[Cindy Wiedemer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so difficult to give an opinion on. While I found the author cocky and oblivious to the serious situations he was in, it is his personal experiences in WW1 and whose to tell him it didn't happen as he saw it. He basically told a story of all the various places he slept, most didn't meet his standards and often tried to secure something "better". He was in a war, why was that his concern? The men were sleeping knee deep in mud and who knows what else in trenches, and he's upset the floor in his room in a house is dirty. He often credited himself for "saving the day" and knowing more than those in their roles knew in the war. He described how he wished to sit and watch each battle like it was some fabulous fireworks display. He did however give great praise to the men from Canada and gave credit to their many sacrifices and sufferings. I often found myself thinking he was one of these narcissistic people unaware of when someone is annoyed or unhappy with him, and his desire to recite poetry to men while bullets and bombs are falling around them to me is so ignorant. The forward to the book is a testimony of someone to say all he wrote was true and he didn't doubt the validity, I as a reader however saw how often he wandered off, broke rules, did whatever he wanted, then chastised men who were afraid or begging to be helped out of the front lines as cowards. The book does at least praise and describe the impact of Canadian troops which was eye opening and wonderful to read and better understand. I have zero military background so perhaps it was normal for a Canon to have such freedom to control so much, make others do his job and wander off, bit felt a bit defiant and he often wrote about how funny and amazingly wonderful watching battles was. I doubt anyone in the midst of it would describe it as such. It was a good interesting read if you can look past the author being so full of himself.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scott believed in the 'civilizing' mission of British Empire, and was thoroughly jingoistic. Huns were badies, conscientious objectors were coward. Although he seems very mellow, his thoughts are less so: good example of how religion and war can go hand in hand ! He describes the war with words such as "charming", "magnificent", "beautiful". As 50 year old Chaplain, he was friends with the Generals and hence lot of experience regarding dining, drinking tea etc. He lost his son and dog! Was wounded in the last days of the war. But nonetheless provides a sanitized uplifting patriotic view of war. If you want to get a good picture of the war: read Bernard Adams or Robert Graves. This is just utter waste.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read first person accounts of the Great war as my grandfather was a Canadian soldier who served. This fit the bill as the author was a Canadian who served as a chaplain with the Canadian contingent. I also read And We Go On by Will R. Bird which who was a soldier with the Canadians and writes from the perspective of the front line soldier. This made for a good comparison of what it was like to serve in different capacities.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could have, i would’ve rated it 2.5 stars. It was nice to actually get a Canadian first person account but it was a very boring read and I didn’t particularly enjoy Scott as a narrator. Finished it out of stubbornness lol.

[James McCullough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only gave it three stars because I was lulled into the premise that the book -which was highly rated and a Canadian classic- was too strung out and monotonous. I do realize that it was written by an Anglican chaplain serving with the CEF during the entire first world war, however, I found that there was way too much recollection on his billets and churches and not as much as his interpersonal stories with the front line soldiers. I spent two weeks trying to get through half of the book and out of utter frustration of it (the book) putting me to sleep, I abandoned it for the time being.

[Courtney Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good first-hand perspective of the war, but sometimes is overly descriptive without being interesting for the reader. Found many parts repetitive or similar, which makes it difficult to track Canon Scott's movements and progress throughout the war.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the First World War from the perspective of a Canadian chaplain. A different view of the war from what we often get.