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| CWGC Cemetery at Etaples, the largest in France with 10,773 WWI graves - copyright Melanie Wills |
Although the war is over when Book 3 of my Muskoka Novels, Under
the Moon, begins, it lingers for many of my characters. It’s perhaps hard for
us to imagine trying to rebuild lives shattered in trenches or aerial warfare,
and to carry on without friends, husbands, and sweethearts when life is just
supposed to be beginning. Little wonder that became known as the “lost
generation”.
War veterans were reluctant to talk about their horrific
experiences, especially to those who weren’t there and wouldn’t truly
understand. Many couldn’t readjust to civilian life or were haunted by
unforgettable experiences, including their own participation in the brutality.
How does a young man, brought up to believe in the sanctity of life, reconcile
that with his requirement to kill? Survivors often felt guilty that they
didn’t lie alongside their comrades.
A few eventually wrote memoirs or thinly disguised fiction,
possibly to help exorcise the demons, leaving us with valuable insight.
One of the most compelling is Vera Brittain’s classic, Testament
of Youth. After her beloved
younger brother, her fiancé, and their closest friends joined up, feisty Vera
delayed her Oxford education to do “her bit” in the war by becoming a VAD
(Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse. Through her eyes, we witness the carnage of
war and feel the profound sorrow of so many young lives shattered. She wanted
to ensure that no one ever forgot that sacrifice.
A powerful, moving film adaptation of Testament of Youth was
recently released. Here is one of the official trailers.
Vera’s memoir was an important part of my research, since my
Muskoka Novels are told mostly from the viewpoint of women and their often
unsung participation in the war, especially in Elusive Dawn. By sharing
their experiences vicariously, we can perhaps have a deeper understanding. I shall certainly never forget.
