Research
Written by team members, board members, and guest authors, these research posts discuss various aspects of the Canadian war diary. These posts consider theoretical concerns, and specific diaries, with each post diving deep into the problematic of the war diary as a form of witnessing, or material artifact, or considering themes of gender, inclusivity, and decolonization.
A Canadian Officer’s Pocket Diaries and Winnie the Pooh
Discusses the war diaries of Canadian veterinarian Harry Colebourn, whose adoption of a bear cub would inspire A.A. Milne’s novel Winnie the Pooh. By .
Trench Warfare School: An Ontario Bookkeeper’s War Diary
Discusses Percy Puley’s journal records of lectures delivered at the Canadian Trench Warfare School in England. By .
Miss Canada: The Autograph Book of Matron Inga Johnson
Introduces the genre of autograph books which were common among the sisters of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. By .
War Diary of a Teenage Girl in New Brunswick and Life on the Homefront
Discusses the WWI diary writings of teenager Ella Rogers in dialogue with the author’s childhood experiences of the Siege of Sarajevo. By .
A Vancouver Diarist in the London War Office
Discusses the war diary of Edith Leckie, who followed her brothers to the European theatre and worked in the Canadian Separation Allowance office. By .
Nerves all gone: The Shell-Shock Diary of Private Clarence Booth
Introduces the diary recording the experiences of a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or shell-shock. By .
Two Army Nurses in Lorraine: Agnes Swift and Edith Anderson Monture
Discusses the intersecting paths and service of a Canadian and an American nurse in northeastern France. By .
Pressed Flowers and Snake Weights: Digitizing Norman Allatt’s War Diaries
Describes the process of digitizing Norman Allatt's diaries at McMaster University Archives. By .