Ryan Flavelle - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ryan Flavelle
The Frontier of Patriotism
Canadian Military History, 2015
The 100th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres was marked with Royal Attendance of a remembr... more The 100th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres was marked with Royal Attendance of a remembrance ceremony and, perhaps more importantly to most Canadians, a “shout-out" to the battle given by Don Cherry on Coach’s Corner. The ways in which this battle has been remembered and written about have shifted significantly in the last 100 years, and this paper attempts to chart some of the ways in which it has been understood by scholars and soldiers. Just outside of the Belgian town of Ypres, a few paces from the village of St. Julien, at the former site of an intersection known as Vancouver Corner, the granite figure of a brooding soldier— bowed but unbroken— rises on a granite plinth to monumental height. At eleven metres high, the soldier looks down on an otherwise sleepy intersection. The base of the memorial is inscribed simply with the word “Canada.” It is surrounded by trees, farm buildings, and military cemeteries— thirty-two can be found within the twenty kilometres encl...
During the First World War, the infantry soldier was asked to do an almost unending litany of tas... more During the First World War, the infantry soldier was asked to do an almost unending litany of tasks en route to, at, and behind from the front-line. In training, he would, sooner or later, fill such diverse roles as button polisher, boot blacker, puttee roller, sock darner, route marcher, sentry, and rifleman. Finding food, and cooking or buying meals, for example, was always one of the principal occupations of the front-line soldier, including while in the trench lines. The Patricia H.P. Maddison recalls that, shortly after arriving at the front-lines, he decided to attempt to endear himself to his new section and "to help out with the crummy food, we got together and bought a coal-oil stove and a frying-pan. I cooked breakfast, etc. for the gang, and was rewarded by being named 'Lizzie.'" 1 Maddison also remembers another Patricia, Jack Munroe, who once "crawled out into NO MAN'S LAND and dig up some potatoes growing there and boiled them in a billy can, then laid on a layer of bully beef on top of the potatoes and served them to his section." 2 Long stretches of time went by without being afforded an opportunity. Food was a safe topic to reminisce about after the war, and an overarching concern in letters to family. 3 Agar Adamson, like many of the officers and men of the regiment, was serviced with parcels sent by loved ones behind the lines. These packages contained everything from "potted tongue" to "an Easter Egg, a cake, a pair of socks and the revolver holster." The latter he had asked for after being forced to abandon his kit, in toto, during his first tour of the front-line trenches. During that tour he had not eaten or slept, being forced to huddle under fire in deep frigid water for two days while the
War & Society, 2016
This paper seeks to explain the underlying causes of a mutiny that the Canadian artist A.Y. Jacks... more This paper seeks to explain the underlying causes of a mutiny that the Canadian artist A.Y. Jackson took part in while stationed in the English village of Shoreham-by-Sea and serving with the 23rd Reserve Battalion. The battalion was filled with convalescents who, having been wounded at the front, were on their way back to France after a stay in ‘blighty.’ The men of the battalion lived in a world of harsh discipline, rigorous physical training and poor-quality rations. Moreover, those who commanded them tended to be ‘shirkers’ –– at least in the eyes of the men of the battalion –– who had avoided going to France, choosing instead to remain in England. A sense of the unfairness of it all pervades the reminiscences of Jackson and other members of the battalion. Officially, the ‘mutiny’ never took place, and the whole incident was swept under the rug after a few high ranking Generals and dignitaries were called in to tour the mess facilities.
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, Jan 7, 2007
“Stark naked, he was striding through the cordite stench with his head held high and his arms swi... more “Stark naked, he was striding through the cordite stench with his head held high and his arms swinging. His body shone white in the brilliant light of the flare… He was singing ‘Home on the Range’ at the top of his lungs. The Worm That Never Dies had taken him.” (Farley Mowat, And No Birds Sang (Toronto: Mclelland and Stewart Ltd., 1979), 229.) As it was known at the time, “battle exhaustion” was an inseparable part of warfare on all fronts. As such, the Canadian army didn’t find itself immune to the effects of psychiatric losses, suffering casualties even before active campaigning had commenced. During the Italian campaign alone 5020 “Neuropsychiatric casualties” were reported, 16.9 percent of total battle casualties. (Terry Copp and Bill McAndrew, Battle Exhaustion, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1990), 187.) What exactly is battle exhaustion, and how does it affect the body and the mind? How did the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) understand battle exhaustion, when judged against our current perceptions of it? Were the measures that they took sufficient, or did they do more harm then good? Battle exhaustion is an easy condition to be sympathetic to but a much more difficult one to understand. New research has revolutionized the way that the medical community looks at battle exhaustion and combat stress (or immediate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). (Franklin Jones, Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” in The Textbooks of Military Medicine, (Washington: The Office of the Surgeon General of the United States, 1995), available at (http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/WarPsych/default_index.htm,416. Keeping the current model in mind, the RCAMC’s record in dealing with battle exhaustion is mixed at best. Doctrinal and administrative problems plagued psychiatric patient care from the moment the RCAMC arrived in England. Moreover, debates about the proper psychiatric constitution of a soldier hampered legitimate attempts at proper diagnoses and treatment. Despite this however, Army psychiatrists were unrelenting in their attempts to care for battle exhausted patients. When encountering those who required care, they would do their utmost to safeguard the mental well being of all psychiatric casualties, including those who had succumbed to battle exhaustion. When dealing with such a complex issue, so deeply embedded in the human psyche, no cursory examination is sufficient. However, given what we know of battle exhaustion today, the RCAMC can accurately be judged both by its theoretical foundations, and the physical care given to those in need.
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, 2011
A gritty, compelling, boots-on-the-ground memoir of one Canadian soldier's experience in Afghanis... more A gritty, compelling, boots-on-the-ground memoir of one Canadian soldier's experience in Afghanistan Nothing can prepare a person for the reality of bloody, concussive warfare.. .. Those who like war are aptly named warriors. Some, like me, are fated never to be warriors, as we are more afraid of war than fascinated by it. But I have the consolation that I have walked with warriors, and know what kind of men they are. I will never be a warrior, but I have known war.
The Frontier of Patriotism
Canadian Military History, 2015
The 100th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres was marked with Royal Attendance of a remembr... more The 100th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres was marked with Royal Attendance of a remembrance ceremony and, perhaps more importantly to most Canadians, a “shout-out" to the battle given by Don Cherry on Coach’s Corner. The ways in which this battle has been remembered and written about have shifted significantly in the last 100 years, and this paper attempts to chart some of the ways in which it has been understood by scholars and soldiers. Just outside of the Belgian town of Ypres, a few paces from the village of St. Julien, at the former site of an intersection known as Vancouver Corner, the granite figure of a brooding soldier— bowed but unbroken— rises on a granite plinth to monumental height. At eleven metres high, the soldier looks down on an otherwise sleepy intersection. The base of the memorial is inscribed simply with the word “Canada.” It is surrounded by trees, farm buildings, and military cemeteries— thirty-two can be found within the twenty kilometres encl...
During the First World War, the infantry soldier was asked to do an almost unending litany of tas... more During the First World War, the infantry soldier was asked to do an almost unending litany of tasks en route to, at, and behind from the front-line. In training, he would, sooner or later, fill such diverse roles as button polisher, boot blacker, puttee roller, sock darner, route marcher, sentry, and rifleman. Finding food, and cooking or buying meals, for example, was always one of the principal occupations of the front-line soldier, including while in the trench lines. The Patricia H.P. Maddison recalls that, shortly after arriving at the front-lines, he decided to attempt to endear himself to his new section and "to help out with the crummy food, we got together and bought a coal-oil stove and a frying-pan. I cooked breakfast, etc. for the gang, and was rewarded by being named 'Lizzie.'" 1 Maddison also remembers another Patricia, Jack Munroe, who once "crawled out into NO MAN'S LAND and dig up some potatoes growing there and boiled them in a billy can, then laid on a layer of bully beef on top of the potatoes and served them to his section." 2 Long stretches of time went by without being afforded an opportunity. Food was a safe topic to reminisce about after the war, and an overarching concern in letters to family. 3 Agar Adamson, like many of the officers and men of the regiment, was serviced with parcels sent by loved ones behind the lines. These packages contained everything from "potted tongue" to "an Easter Egg, a cake, a pair of socks and the revolver holster." The latter he had asked for after being forced to abandon his kit, in toto, during his first tour of the front-line trenches. During that tour he had not eaten or slept, being forced to huddle under fire in deep frigid water for two days while the
War & Society, 2016
This paper seeks to explain the underlying causes of a mutiny that the Canadian artist A.Y. Jacks... more This paper seeks to explain the underlying causes of a mutiny that the Canadian artist A.Y. Jackson took part in while stationed in the English village of Shoreham-by-Sea and serving with the 23rd Reserve Battalion. The battalion was filled with convalescents who, having been wounded at the front, were on their way back to France after a stay in ‘blighty.’ The men of the battalion lived in a world of harsh discipline, rigorous physical training and poor-quality rations. Moreover, those who commanded them tended to be ‘shirkers’ –– at least in the eyes of the men of the battalion –– who had avoided going to France, choosing instead to remain in England. A sense of the unfairness of it all pervades the reminiscences of Jackson and other members of the battalion. Officially, the ‘mutiny’ never took place, and the whole incident was swept under the rug after a few high ranking Generals and dignitaries were called in to tour the mess facilities.
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, Jan 7, 2007
“Stark naked, he was striding through the cordite stench with his head held high and his arms swi... more “Stark naked, he was striding through the cordite stench with his head held high and his arms swinging. His body shone white in the brilliant light of the flare… He was singing ‘Home on the Range’ at the top of his lungs. The Worm That Never Dies had taken him.” (Farley Mowat, And No Birds Sang (Toronto: Mclelland and Stewart Ltd., 1979), 229.) As it was known at the time, “battle exhaustion” was an inseparable part of warfare on all fronts. As such, the Canadian army didn’t find itself immune to the effects of psychiatric losses, suffering casualties even before active campaigning had commenced. During the Italian campaign alone 5020 “Neuropsychiatric casualties” were reported, 16.9 percent of total battle casualties. (Terry Copp and Bill McAndrew, Battle Exhaustion, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1990), 187.) What exactly is battle exhaustion, and how does it affect the body and the mind? How did the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) understand battle exhaustion, when judged against our current perceptions of it? Were the measures that they took sufficient, or did they do more harm then good? Battle exhaustion is an easy condition to be sympathetic to but a much more difficult one to understand. New research has revolutionized the way that the medical community looks at battle exhaustion and combat stress (or immediate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). (Franklin Jones, Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” in The Textbooks of Military Medicine, (Washington: The Office of the Surgeon General of the United States, 1995), available at (http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/WarPsych/default_index.htm,416. Keeping the current model in mind, the RCAMC’s record in dealing with battle exhaustion is mixed at best. Doctrinal and administrative problems plagued psychiatric patient care from the moment the RCAMC arrived in England. Moreover, debates about the proper psychiatric constitution of a soldier hampered legitimate attempts at proper diagnoses and treatment. Despite this however, Army psychiatrists were unrelenting in their attempts to care for battle exhausted patients. When encountering those who required care, they would do their utmost to safeguard the mental well being of all psychiatric casualties, including those who had succumbed to battle exhaustion. When dealing with such a complex issue, so deeply embedded in the human psyche, no cursory examination is sufficient. However, given what we know of battle exhaustion today, the RCAMC can accurately be judged both by its theoretical foundations, and the physical care given to those in need.
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, 2011
A gritty, compelling, boots-on-the-ground memoir of one Canadian soldier's experience in Afghanis... more A gritty, compelling, boots-on-the-ground memoir of one Canadian soldier's experience in Afghanistan Nothing can prepare a person for the reality of bloody, concussive warfare.. .. Those who like war are aptly named warriors. Some, like me, are fated never to be warriors, as we are more afraid of war than fascinated by it. But I have the consolation that I have walked with warriors, and know what kind of men they are. I will never be a warrior, but I have known war.