The history of the Regiment has been well chronicled by several
distinguished military historians and many memoirs, published and
unpublished, also make up part of the Regiment's written record.
Regimental Histories
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The first regimental
history to be published was Roy Farran's work History of The
Calgary Highlanders 1921-54. Roy Farran was highly decorated as a
Special Air Service officer during the Second World War, earning both
the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross.
A more recent volume
concentrating solely on the Regiment in the Second World War is
Battalion of Heroes: The Calgary Highlanders in World War Two.
Dr. David Bercuson, a distinguished labour historian and military
author, penned this volume after extensive interviews with surviving
veterans and examination of period archival documents.
The history of the Tenth
Battalion was very ably written by the late Daniel Dancocks.
Gallant Canadians: The Story of the Tenth Canadian Infantry Battalion
1914-1919 chronicles in detail the formation, war service, and
post-war history of the Fighting Tenth.
The Brigade by
esteemed Canadian author Terry Copp examines the history of the 5th
Canadian Infantry Brigade, with whom the Calgary Highlanders served in
the Second World War. |
Regimental Memoirs
In addition to the many
unpublished memoirs in the Regimental Archives, an excellent source of
information, self-published is A Backwards Glance: An Infantry
Signaller in The Calgary Highlanders by Frank Holm. Mr. Holm
joined the battalion as a replacement signaller in Holland, and his
memoir is a vivid and readable reminiscence of his time with the unit
in Northwest Europe.
Far From Home is
the work of distinguished historian Jeffery Williams, who served with
the Calgary Highlanders in the Second World War. This book,
published in 2003, has many excellent photos of his wartime service
with the Regiment, as well as pre- and post-war. He went on to serve
in a variety of positions until 1970.
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| Other Histories
The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way
To The Reich by Jeffery Williams is a study of the entire
post-Normandy Northwest Europe campaign in World War Two, however
Williams admittedly uses many quotes by Calgary Highlanders, as he
himself served in the Regiment during the Second World War.
Slagveld Sloedam ("The
Causeway Battlefield) was written by R. E. Hoebeke of The
Netherlands, in Dutch, and chronicles both the fighting at the
Walcheren Causeway in 1940 during the German invasion, and the actions
of the 2nd Canadian Division and 52nd (Lowland) Division of the
British Army to liberate the area in October and November of 1944.
The Calgary Highlanders played a leading role in the Causeway fighting
and consider that action to represent all the battles they fought in
the Second World War. One of the cover photos shows Private William
R. Van Horne of the Calgary Highlanders being attended to at an
advanced medical station after being wounded on the Causeway during
the fighting. |
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Bibliography Information
The History of The Calgary Highlanders 1921-
1954 by Major Roy Farran, DSO, MC (Bryant Press, 1954) 221 pages, no
ISBN, now out of print
Battalion of Heroes: The
Calgary Highlanders in World War Two by Doctor David Jay Bercuson
(Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 1994) 297 pages, 48 pages
of illustrations and maps. ISBN: 0969461615
Gallant Canadians : The
Story of the Tenth Canadian Infantry Battalion, 1914-1919 by Daniel G.
Dancocks (Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 1990) 251 pages,
lavishly illustrated throughout with photos and maps ISBN:
0969461607
Far From Home: A Memoir of a
20th Century Soldier by Jeffery Williams. (University of Calgary Press,
2003) 374 pages, many illustrations. ISBN: 1-55238-119-6
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