The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915-1919

The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915-1919

Edited by R.B. Fleming

$48.99

Publication Date: 4th July 2007

The letters of brothers Leslie and Cecil Frost during the First World War. Leslie Frost went on to become the premier of Ontario between 1949 and 1961. His government introduced anti-discrimination laws and voting rights for First Nations. Read More
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The letters of brothers Leslie and Cecil Frost during the First World War. Leslie Frost went on to become the premier of Ontario between 1949 and 1961. His government introduced anti-discrimination laws and voting rights for First Nations. Read More
Description

The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915–1919 brings to light the correspondence between two officer brothers and their family at home from 1915 to 1919. Despite wartime censorship, Leslie and Cecil wrote frank and forthright letters that show how the young men viewed the war, as well as what they observed both during training and from the trenches in some of the war’s bloodiest battles. The letters also deal with the war’s political context, including conscription and the Union government, as well as social issues such as the emerging role of women, the role of the growing middle class, nativism, and the use of liquor overseas.

R.B. Fleming, the collection’s editor, contends that Leslie Frost’s military experiences and hospitalization affected his policies as premier of Ontario (1949–1961), especially those related to medicare and liquor control laws. Frost’s government was the first to pass laws providing penalties for racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination on private property, creating a movement that led to the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915–1919 makes a significant contribution to military history and social history. Fleming places the letters in context and shows the value of their commentary. This book will be of interest to the general reader as well as scholars of military history and social history.

Details
  • Price: $48.99
  • Pages: 420
  • Carton Quantity: 1
  • Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
  • Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
  • Series: Life Writing
  • Publication Date: 4th July 2007
  • Trim Size: 6.35 x 9.3 in
  • ISBN: 9781554580002
  • Format: Hardcover
  • BISACs:
    POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Social Policy
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical
Reviews
A wonderful collection of correspondence--frank, perceptive, and witty....This book is a delight for anyone who is interested in the First World War or who simply wants to read an insightful and informed series of letters.
- Jonathan Vance

"The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost is a remarkable document of its times and for our times. Superbly edited by R.B. Fleming and complemented by maps and and nearly fifty original photographs from the era, the letters capture a young and close-knit family's patriotic commitment to the Allied cause in the Great War, which gives way slowly tot he constant recordings of the deaths of their friends.
In the two brothers' growing perceptions and insights into the war come the political attitudes that sent them later into the Ontario Conservative Party, which they reshaped along more progressive lines. In this way, the letters form the intellectual basis for forty years of Tory rule in Ontario.

- David Staines
Author Bio
R.B. Fleming is a lecturer and research associate at the Frost Centre, Trent University. His previous publications include Eldon Connections, an illustrated local history of Eldon Township, Ontario; General Stores of Canada, including the one in which he was raised; and The Railway King of Canada, a biography of Sir William Mackenzie. His articles have appeared in The Beaver as well as academic journals.
Table of Contents

Table of Contents for
The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915–1919, edited by R.B. Fleming

List of Illustrations

Foreword | Dr. Thomas H.B. Symons, C.C., F.R.S.C.

Memorandum | The Honourable Leslie M. Frost

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviatons

Introduction

R.B. Fleming

The Letters

1. Training in Canada

2. From Orillia to England

3. Training and Touring in England and Scotland

4. Leslie Frost Arrives in France

5. Cecil Frost Arrives in France

6. Leslie Frost Wounded

7. Cecil Frost Wounded

8. Armistice


Appendix 1: Unit Sizes and Designations

Appendix 2: Electoral Ridings

Appendix 3: Soldiers Mentioned in Letters and Commentary

Endnotes

Selected Bibliography

Index

The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915–1919 brings to light the correspondence between two officer brothers and their family at home from 1915 to 1919. Despite wartime censorship, Leslie and Cecil wrote frank and forthright letters that show how the young men viewed the war, as well as what they observed both during training and from the trenches in some of the war’s bloodiest battles. The letters also deal with the war’s political context, including conscription and the Union government, as well as social issues such as the emerging role of women, the role of the growing middle class, nativism, and the use of liquor overseas.

R.B. Fleming, the collection’s editor, contends that Leslie Frost’s military experiences and hospitalization affected his policies as premier of Ontario (1949–1961), especially those related to medicare and liquor control laws. Frost’s government was the first to pass laws providing penalties for racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination on private property, creating a movement that led to the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915–1919 makes a significant contribution to military history and social history. Fleming places the letters in context and shows the value of their commentary. This book will be of interest to the general reader as well as scholars of military history and social history.

  • Price: $48.99
  • Pages: 420
  • Carton Quantity: 1
  • Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
  • Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
  • Series: Life Writing
  • Publication Date: 4th July 2007
  • Trim Size: 6.35 x 9.3 in
  • ISBN: 9781554580002
  • Format: Hardcover
  • BISACs:
    POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Social Policy
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical
A wonderful collection of correspondence--frank, perceptive, and witty....This book is a delight for anyone who is interested in the First World War or who simply wants to read an insightful and informed series of letters.
– Jonathan Vance

"The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost is a remarkable document of its times and for our times. Superbly edited by R.B. Fleming and complemented by maps and and nearly fifty original photographs from the era, the letters capture a young and close-knit family's patriotic commitment to the Allied cause in the Great War, which gives way slowly tot he constant recordings of the deaths of their friends.
In the two brothers' growing perceptions and insights into the war come the political attitudes that sent them later into the Ontario Conservative Party, which they reshaped along more progressive lines. In this way, the letters form the intellectual basis for forty years of Tory rule in Ontario.

– David Staines
R.B. Fleming is a lecturer and research associate at the Frost Centre, Trent University. His previous publications include Eldon Connections, an illustrated local history of Eldon Township, Ontario; General Stores of Canada, including the one in which he was raised; and The Railway King of Canada, a biography of Sir William Mackenzie. His articles have appeared in The Beaver as well as academic journals.

Table of Contents for
The Wartime Letters of Leslie and Cecil Frost, 1915–1919, edited by R.B. Fleming

List of Illustrations

Foreword | Dr. Thomas H.B. Symons, C.C., F.R.S.C.

Memorandum | The Honourable Leslie M. Frost

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviatons

Introduction

R.B. Fleming

The Letters

1. Training in Canada

2. From Orillia to England

3. Training and Touring in England and Scotland

4. Leslie Frost Arrives in France

5. Cecil Frost Arrives in France

6. Leslie Frost Wounded

7. Cecil Frost Wounded

8. Armistice


Appendix 1: Unit Sizes and Designations

Appendix 2: Electoral Ridings

Appendix 3: Soldiers Mentioned in Letters and Commentary

Endnotes

Selected Bibliography

Index