"This is a gem
of a book, local history at its finest."
— John Robert Colombo, author and anthologist.
They were hardly more than kids when they left their little Saskatchewan town to enlist in Canada's war against fascism, fighting for democracy. Nearly one-fifth of the population of Dilke and its farming district enlisted during the Second World War, 101 in all, and 62 of those went overseas. Wherever the demands of war sent them – Britain, North Africa, Italy, Northwest Europe – the loving hand of home sustained them through letters and parcels, cookies and cigarettes from the Dilke Active Service Comfort Club. They responded with grateful letters filled with the story of their new lives in distant lands. Based on those letters, supplemented by the memories of the surviving veterans, A Prairie Town Goes to War celebrates the contribution made by Dilke people at home and abroad to Canada's tremendous war effort.
Born and raised in Dilke, Saskatchewan, Jenni Mortin left home to become a journalist. She has worked on four Canadian newspapers and taught journalism overseas, and is currently a freelance writer and editor located in Saskatoon. A Prairie Town Goes to War is her third book of Saskatchewan history.
154 pp. with Index. Trade Paperback.
ISBN 1-55246-538-1 $20.00
Nearly one-fifth of the population of the small farming town of Dilke, Sask., served in the Second World War. The men and women of Dilke contributed mightily to the Allied effort, as journalist Jennie Mortin, herself a native of Dilke, shows through the letters she collected and the interviews she conducted with the surviving veterans and their families. A Prairie Town Goes to War is a gem of local history.
Other Military Literature and Memoirs
