Winnipeg's Great War

During World War I, 261 Fort Street was home to a major milestone for the city of Winnipeg.

It was home to a factory owned by John Hadden, who by receiving an order for 6,000 tunics and pants, was the first Winnipeg-based firm to win a war-time contract.

To the right is 261 Fort Street today. 

Not a trace of that history remains on that site to the eye.

Winnipeg's Great War: A City Comes to Age touches on many historical themes in the book. One that is weaved throughout is the evolution of Winnipeg through the war. The Winnipeg that existed before World War I was completely changed by the end of the conflict.

261 Fort Street is an example of how that change continues today.

The book, written and researched by Jim Blanchard, is packed full of interesting facts, details, and anecdotes about Winnipeg during the First World War. Blanchard said the book took him three years start to finish and it shows in the detailed text.

One of the strengths of this book was Blanchard's ability to recreate event as if he was a bystander. Whether it was a riot or the torture of conscientious objectors, Blanchard does an amazing job in taking accounts from a variety of sources and describing the events as if they were happening right in front of his face.

The amount of detail in every paragraph did make it a harder read at points, especially with chapters that reached at times 70 pages. With no natural breaks, the information bogged me down at times and I felt like I wasn't completely digesting the entire story at times due to the length. However, that would be my small criticism of this otherwise terrific book.

Having an opportunity to talk with Blanchard today was very insightful in seeing what methods he used to research and write this work. As someone who someday wishes to write a historically-based work, I enjoyed listening to him speak about how he went about finding and tackling the information he needed to write the book.