Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Britain, and Veterans' Day in the US. So, for this episode, as an act of remembrance, I will simply be reading several poems and a chapter from a great and devastating war novel, written by soldiers who served on the Western Front. I am confining the location and time largely for historical reasons but also for personal ones as the field of literature to choose from would otherwise be overwhelming. so instead of aiming at broad coverage now, I will optimistically assume that there will be future annual episodes on this theme, each focusing on a different area, conflict, or period. While I will not say I hope you enjoy these selections--I did not enjoy recording them, to be honest--I do hope that they offer some insight into the realities of war that can only arise through listening to those who have been there.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, John Hay Wilkie, who served first with the Royal Scots and then with the Seaforth Highlanders. Grandpa was wounded at Ypre in May 1915, and by the end of the war had seen service not just in Europe but also in the Middle Eastern campaign. This day 102 years ago, he was somewhere in Turkey.