Unwanted Warriors Summary

A revolutionary work discussing the public history of Canada in the Great War, Nic Clarke’s Unwanted Warriors: The Rejected Volunteers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force seeks to popularize stories discounted in Canadian memory. Examining rejected recruits, the text exposes the apparent flaws in the enlistment system that left over 3,000 potential soldiers at home. Denying to their will to serve at Valcartier, the text argues that the regulations of the enlistment process were arbitrary and unreasonable. Attempting to champion the cause of denied Canadians, Clarke bashes the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) for its intolerance and classist discrimination. However, the arguments of the book address the those rejected for their health in an argument …show more content…
This thematic shift through the exploration of intolerance in the enlistment process would utilize Clarke’s informative as a platform for discussion. Involved in the reimagination of Canadian historical memory, Unwanted Warriors can become a vehicle for discussion on post-modern Canadian history. Reviewing the cases of rejected Canadian volunteers, the use of presentism to support the thesis of Unwanted Warriors weakens the argument against the Canadian Expeditionary Force’s intolerance. A failure in examining the issue in the historical present, modifications to the book transform its purpose to a premise for debate on regulation and resistance. Discussing historical memory of the Great War, Clarke argues that many of the restrictions on enlistment in Canada were unnecessary and discriminatory. However, in arguing for this, Clarke neglects his perspective and fashions his argument in the present through misguided assertions supported with twisted facts. Comparing the test of health administered by officials to those today, Clarke mocks the