The public is invited to the launch of “Fighting from Home�

A native of Verdun, historian Serge-Marc Durflinger devoted many years, going through the City of Verdun archives, the public archives of Canada, the National Defense Ministry archives, local and national newspapers from 1939 to 1945, as well as Royal Canadian Legion records. He also gathered the testimony of numerous veterans.

The Second World War in Verdun became his Ph.D thesis and largely inspired the book that will be soon available to the public. “Fighting from Home: The Second World War in Verdun, Quebec� describes the involvement of local residents in the war effort (fundraising and knitting for the soldiers) and their enrollment in the army, which took place in record numbers.

Acclaimed by one of the greatest Canadian historians, Desmond Morton, Serge-Marc Durflinger’s book takes a close look at the two linguistic communities that lived together in Verdun during the Second World War. The author explains that Verdun’s English-speaking residents, often single or a couple with no children, were of British origin and therefore largely involved with everything that effected Great Britain, while French-speaking Verdunites were Catholic French Canadians who lived as part of huge families and numerous young children, which explains the difference of their involvement in the war.

Durflinger particularly focuses on the municipal fervour, particularly of mayor Wilson, for the war effort. A total of 6,300 Verdun men and women participated, in one way or another, in the war effort.

A former researcher for the Ottawa War Museum and a professor at the University of Ottawa, Serge-Marc Durflinger affords us a glimpse into an, often little understood, period of our common history.

The 279-page book was published by UBC Press and will be available for purchase during the launch, this Wednesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. at Salle André-Fortier of the Centre culturel de Verdun (5955 Bannantyne). Admission is free and refreshments will be served. The author will speak briefly in both languages. Everyone is invited. A book distribution deal by Chapters is currently being negotiated.