Onward: The King's Own Calgary Regiment in Peace and War, 1910-1960

This is the story of the King’s Own Calgary Regiment. Beginning in the last years of collective innocence before the Great War, it follows the regiment to Vimy Ridge, through the short years of peace to Dieppe and the Italian Campaign, through the establishment and maintenance of militia and reserve forces, and into the Cold War.

Onward is a soldier’s story: mundane, heroic and tragic. This book explores not only the actions of the regiment but also the efforts of civilians to become warriors, to maintain their ties to home during the rigours of war, and the often-rocky return to civilian life. It explores peacetime, when the regiment struggled to maintain active reserves with aging equipment and minimal support. It places the King’s Own Calgary Regiment within the context of Canada’s army, tracing its relationships with brigade mates, supporting artillery and engineers to provide a complete and fascinating history.

Regimental history does not begin with the first shot of a battle, nor does the story end when the fighting stops. Onward is a thoroughly researched and captivating chronicle of the Kings Own Calgary Regiment and its soldiers in peace and war.

Patrick H. Brennan is associate professor emeritus and fellow of the Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He has authored numerous chapters and articles on Canadian military history and is the author of Reporting the Nation’s Business: Press-Government Relations During the Liberal Years, 1935-57.