The Unwanted
Subtitle: Great War Letters from the Field
Contributors: John R. Hughes (Editor)
Publisher: The University of Alberta Press
Published: May 20, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 416
ISBN-13: 9780888644367
Subjects: Essays, journals, letters & other prose works; Warfare & Defence; Military; Canada - Post-Confederation (1867-); Biography & Autobiography; Biography / Autobiography; Biography/Autobiography; World War, 1914-1918; Military - World War I; Biography & Autobiography / Military; Equipment and supplies; France; Personal narratives, Canadian
Description: "The Unwanted reflects the passions of a man who was determined to serve his country during the Great War in any capacity he could regardless of rank or pay. As it turned out, he did it best by growing potatoes! When Major John McKendrick Hughes, O.C., C Company, 151st Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and his unit reached Shorncliffe in late 1916, he and the other officers were bluntly informed by the British that they were "unwanted"--Officers deemed "surplus to the establishment." Determined to contribute to the war effort, John became one of the three Corps Agricultural Officers with the British 2nd Army, charged with growing vegetables and other foodstuffs to feed the troops. This is John's personal story, based on the letters he sent to his wife nearly every day for 3 1/2 years."--Jacket.