writing
the patriotic consensus
When the Second World War broke out, Winnipeg was Canada’s fourth-largest city, but given Winnipeg’s diversity, was the Second World War a unifying event for Winnipeg residents?
In his book, The Patriotic Consensus, Dr. Jody Perrun explores the wartime experience of ordinary Winnipeggers through their responses to recruiting, the treatment of minorities, and the adjustments made necessary by family separation.
Published Articles
Best-Laid Plans: Guy Simonds and Operation Totalize, 7-10 August 1944
Published in The Journal of Military History
January 2003, Volume 67, Issue 1
The First Canadian Army’s fighting fitness in the Battle of Normandy has long been a point of debate among military historians. Heavy air support was a crucial component in the plan for Totalize, but it has received insufficient attention from historians. A focus on the role of air power suggests that previous explanations for the operation’s failure, and criticism of Guy Simonds' generalship, are in need of revision.
Burning Off the Autumn Mist: The RCAF in the Ardennes Air Campaign, December 1944–January 1945
Published in the Royal Canadian Air Force Journal
Spring 2019, Volume 8, Issue 2
While The Battle of the Bulge is understandably remembered as an American victory, the Americans did not fight alone in the Ardennes. Supplying a significant proportion of the personnel flying with the RAF or serving on the ground, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) participated in all these aspects of the Ardennes air campaign.
Worth the Cost: Bombing, OVERLORD, and the RCAF
Published in the Royal Canadian Air Force Journal
Spring 2019, Volume 8, Issue 2
More than seven decades after the Second World War ended, the employment of strategic bombing against targets in Germany and occupied Europe remains perhaps the most controversial element of the Allies’ war effort. Leaving aside the questions of morality and legality that have informed debate over area bombing of the Reich, it is worthwhile to ponder the effectiveness of using strategic bombers in a tactical-support role during Operation OVERLORD and to recognize the part played by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in providing that support.
supporting the airborne: the rcaf in operations neptune and market garden
Published in the Royal Canadian Air Force Journal
Spring 2019, Volume 8, Issue 2
Allied paratroopers basked in an elite aura during the Second World War. Whether British, American, or Canadian, they were among the most highly regarded soldiers in the Allied order of battle. The relatively successful airborne landings in support of Operation NEPTUNE, the Normandy landings, helped to seal the flanks of the bridgehead against German counterattacks, but Operation MARKET GARDEN proved overly ambitious and failed in its objective to cross the Rhine at Arnhem. Both operations carried extremely high costs in casualties. These stories are well known; less so is the The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) contribution to the massive air efforts that delivered and supported the parachute and glider-borne troops.
The spirit of service - winnipeg's Voluntary War services during the second world war
Published in Prairie Metropolis - New Essays on Winnipeg Social History
September 2009, University of Manitoba Press
At the turn of the twentieth century, Winnipeg was the fastest-growing city in North America. But its days as a diverse and culturally rich metropolis did not end when the boom collapsed. Prairie Metropolis brings together some of the best new graduate research on the history of Winnipeg and makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of the city between 1900 and the 1980s. The essays in this collection explore the development of social institutions such as the city’s police force, juvenile court, health care institutions, volunteer organizations, and cultural centres. They offer critical analyses on ethnic, gender, and class inequality and conflict, while placing Winnipeg’s experiences in national and international contexts.