Aviation was still in its infancy at the outbreak of the First World War. The Wright brothers had made their first successful flight only a decade earlier in 1903, and few people had ever seen, let alone flown in, an airplane. But that did not stop hundreds of New Brunswick men from enlisting with the British air services during the war.
In War among the Clouds, J. Brent Wilson takes a deeper look at the lives of these men, drawing from their letters, diaries, and other archival records to offer a detailed account of their wartime service. While the inclusion of photographs, maps, and illustrations adds a welcome visual element to the book, the direct quotations from the airmen themselves make the most impact. Flying was dangerous work. By using the men’s own words to tell their stories, the book brings their experiences to life in a way that feels much more personal than if it had focused only on the rapid development of military aviation or even accounts of battles won and lost in the sky.
Instead, we see their excitement, apprehension, and fear, often all at once. “As soon as we had reached a good speed the nose pointed towards the sky – up – up – up – we seemed to go – then we seemed to lose speed and soon it appeared that we were hanging in mid-air. That was an awful sensation,” wrote one airman, detailing his sense of unease. “Suddenly the nose of the machine fairly snapped down and it seemed that we were doomed to dive straight into the ground. Right here I want to say that I ‘had the wind up.’ Soon we were flying on the level again and I heaved a sigh of relief.”
Out of the 22,000 Canadians who served in the British air services, more than 250 came from New Brunswick. Wilson looks at several of them in turn, following their movements from enlistment to training, service, and, in some cases, capture or death. Though there is little to differentiate them (most were young, educated, and from more affluent backgrounds), I was glad to encounter stories from numerous Acadian men in the book.
As with other titles in this series, the book does a great job of situating New Brunswick history within the broader context of war, shedding light on how its people made an impact at home and abroad. And yet, despite its narrow focus, it also demonstrates how Canadian airmen as a whole distinguished themselves on the world stage, helping to shape Canada’s growing autonomy from
Britain.
War among the Clouds is a well-researched and valuable addition to the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series published by Goose Lane Editions. It offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of airmen and serves as a great starting point for anyone wanting to understand the region’s role in the First World War and the early foundations of the RCAF.
J. Brent Wilson worked at the Centre for Conflict Studies and the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick for thirty-five years, where he was director of the New Brunswick Military Heritage Project, editor of the New Brunswick Military Heritage Book Series, and taught military history. He has conducted battlefield tours in France, Belgium, Canada, and the United States with the Canadian Battlefields Foundation, the Canadian Armed Forces, and commercial tour companies. His publications include Hurricane Pilot: The Wartime Letters of Harry L. Gill, DFM, 1940–1943 and A Family of Brothers: Soldiers of the 26th New Brunswick Battalion in the Great War.
Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (October 15, 2024)
Paperback 8″ x 6″ | 204 pages
ISBN: 9781773104294
Renée Belliveau is a writer and archivist from the Siknikt district of Mi’kma’ki (Sackville, NB). She is the author of The Sound of Fire, a novel based on the true story of the devastating 1941 fire at Mount Allison University, and a memoir about her father’s battle with cancer entitled Les étoiles à l’aube. She is a graduate of Mount Allison University, the University of Waterloo, and the University of Toronto. When not writing about the treasures she finds in archives, Renée can be found knitting, foraging, or perusing new titles at her local library.