Author Leonard Gamble is diving deeper into Canada’s history in his latest book.
The Armstrong, B.C.-based writer is peeling back the layers to tell the stories of the soldiers that were members of the 172nd Battalion that fought in the First World War.
“The Rocky Mountain Rangers obtained authorization to raise a battalion to send to World War One in Europe on Jan. 1, 1916,” said Gamble.
“They proceeded to recruit and raise the regiment and trained in Vernon it sailed overseas and arrived in England on Halloween, 1916 and in January 1917 it was disbanded and transferred into a reserve battalion and consequently the men were dispersed.”
Those soldiers were sent to different infantry battalions, forestry camps, the machine gun corps and other services.
“They served just about everywhere and for the rest of the war they were present in numbers at every major battle,” said Gamble.
“So in effect, they probably had much more of an impact than they would have had as a single infantry battalion.”
But, Gamble and his writing team didn’t just want to share what the soldiers did during the war. Instead, he tells the story of who the soldiers are.
“We managed to get 80 stories of the men,” said Gamble.
“Some men managed to handle the terrific onslaught of World War One well. Others crumbled under the effect and suffered for it. There were horrendous injuries but there are also men who came back after that and made an incredible contribution to society after the war when they got back to Canada. It’s an incredible story.”
And their legacy lives on today. The 172nd Battalion is now the Rocky Mountain Rangers, which is an infantry reserve of the Canadian Army in Kamloops, B.C.
“Down the road, what we would like to do is perpetuate some of these stories to our soldiers so they can learn where their genesis came from,” said Amadeo Vecchio, lieutenant colonel with the Canadian Army Reserves and commanding officer of the Rocky Mountain Rangers.
“To see some of the lessons learned and some of the sacrifices. And to honour some of the men and women who fought.”
The book’s release could not be more timely, as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. Gamble has written books about both the First and the Second World War and warns that history may be repeating itself.
“Our freedom and our democratic society is actually in danger because this current attack is greatly similar to the attack of the Second World War,” said Gamble.
When asked about the possibility of a Third World War, Gamble defers to history.
“It is and yet we can’t do the opposite of that and be appeasers either. We know from our experience in the 1930s that you cannot appease a bully.”
Gamble’s book First World War’s 172nd Battalion Rocky Mountain Rangers is now available to the public and is available at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Gallery.
Comments