Book Launch: Thunder Bay and the First World War, 1914-1919

On 2 November at 7:00-9:00 pm at the O'Kelly V.C. Armoury (317 Park Avenue) in Thunder Bay, a new book exploring Thunder Bay and the First World War will be launched as part of the City of Thunder Bay's commemoration of the centennial of the armistice that ended the war.

Co-authored by alumni Michel S. Beaulieu, David K. Ratz, Thorold J. Tronrud, and Jenna L. Kirker, Thunder Bay and the First World War, 1914- 1919 is a narrative history shaped, in large part, by what remains of the voices of those from the period—the letters and correspondence produced by soldiers, nurses, governments, organizations, and families. Their stories are augmented, particularly on the home front, by the remaining archival records. The book seeks to understand the role the region and its people played during the war in a broader context and, for better and for worse, why and how they fought, how they addressed the problems the war created, where they differed from elsewhere in Canada, and what impacts the conflict had on their community and their lives. It is the story of a community at war.

Thunder Bay and the First World War, 1914- 1919 is published by the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society and funded by the City of Thunder Bay. For more information about the series of commemoration events occurring between the 2 and 4 November, go to https://www.thunderbay.ca/en/city-hall/100-year-commemoration-of-ww1.aspx