it is with a feeling of great hesitation that i send out this account of my personal experiences in the great war. as i read it over, i am dismayed at finding how feebly it suggests the bitterness and the greatness of the sacrifice of our men. as the book is written from an entirely personal point of view, the use of the first personal pronoun is of course inevitable, but i trust that the narration of my experience has been used only as a lens through which the great and glorious deeds of our men may be seen by others. i have refrained, as far as possible, except where circumstances seemed to demand it, from mentioning the names of officers or the numbers of battalions.
i cannot let the book go out without thanking, for many acts of kindness, lieut.-general sir edwin alderson, k.c.b., lieut.-general sir arthur currie, g.c.m.g., k.c.b., and major-general sir archibald macdonell, k.c.b., c.m.g., d.s.o., who were each in turn commanders of the first canadian division. in all the efforts the chaplains made for the welfare of the division, they always had the backing of these true christian knights. their kindness and consideration at all times were unbounded, and the degree of liberty which they allowed me was a privilege for which i cannot be too thankful, and which i trust i did not abuse.
if, by these faulty and inadequate reminiscences, dug out of memories which have blended together in emotions too deep and indefinable to be expressed in words, i have reproduced something of the atmosphere in which our glorious men played their part in the deliverance of the world, i shall consider my task not in vain.
may the ears of canada never grow deaf to the plea of widows and orphans and our crippled men for care and support. may the eyes of canada never be blind to that glorious light which shines upon our young national life from the deeds of those "who counted not their lives dear unto themselves," and may the lips of canada never be dumb to tell to future generations the tales of heroism which will kindle the imagination and fire the patriotism of children that are yet unborn.
