ANTIGONISH, N.S. — ANTIGONISH, N.S. - St. F.X.’s Department of History will host Colonel (Ret’d) Patrick Dennis, author of Reluctant Warriors: Canadian Conscripts and the Great War, as part of its History Week (March 11 to 15) activities.
A native of Windsor, Ontario, Dennis served with the Canadian Air Force for more than two decades. During his time in uniform, he completed tours as Canada’s deputy military representative to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, and as Canadian defence attaché to Israel.
Since retiring from military service, Dennis has lectured on global political military issues at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, and was a part-time instructor with the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.
His life-long interest in the First World War is due, in part, to the fact three of Dennis’s family members were conscripted into military service and saw combat on the Western Front during the conflict.
Reluctant Warriors critically re-examines the role conscripts played during the war’s final year, particularly the ‘100 Days’ campaign, and challenges traditional assessments of their proficiency and impact.
Dennis’s presentation, titled Canadian Conscripts in the Great War: Myth and Legacy, is part of the 2019 Jules Leger Lecture Series in the Arts, and is co-sponsored by the Jules Leger Fund and the Office of the Dean of Arts.
The event will take place in room 156 of St. F.X’s Schwartz School of Building, starting at 7 p.m., this Thursday (March 14).
Interested members of the general public are welcome to attend.
