"Written with passion and candour, these letters add substantially to our understanding of a soldier's experience of the war. They provide great insight into the views of a married infantryman,
as Timmins writes openly about his feelings with respect to his family and the behind-the-lines activities of the common soldier.
He also offers a rare glimpse - sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous - into soldier camaraderie and relationships with the French civilian population."---Margaret Conrad, author of History of
the Canadian Peoples, 5th ed.
Between 1916 and 1918, Lance-Corporal George Timmins, a British-born soldier who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, wrote faithfully to his wife and children. Sixty-three letters and
four fragments survived.
These letters tell the compelling story of a man who, while helping his fellow Canadians make history at Vimy, Lens, Passchendaele, and Amiens, used letters home to remain a presence in the
lives of his wife and children, and who drew strength from his family to appreciate life's simple pleasures. Timmins's letters offer a glimpse into the experiences and relationships and the
quiet heroism of ordinary soldiers on the Western Front.
"Kiss the kids for dad offers us new insight into the multiple themes and narratives that underpin the First World War experience: the role of the civilian-soldier in war, the horror and
brutality of trench warfare, the boredom and banality of military service. Timmins's letters, framed within a solid historical background, also reveal his personal struggle with having left his
family behind to fend for themselves in Canada."---Tim Cook, author of Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War, 1918-1918, Vol.2
