Geoff Hayes presents, Crerar’s Lieutenants.
At the height of the war in 1943, the future head of the First Canadian Army, General Harry Crerar, penned a long memorandum in which he noted that there was still much confusion as to “what constitutes an ‘Officer.'” His words reflected the army’s preoccupation with creating an ideal officer who would not only satisfy the immediate demands of war but also conform to pervasive, little-discussed notions of social class and masculinity. Geoff Hayes’ talk will explore the making of the wartime army’s officer corps.
Offered in partnership with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies.
Admission by donation.
Geoff Hayes is a Waterloo native who went to Lexington Public School, Lincoln Heights Public School, Waterloo Collegiate, and Wilfrid Laurier University. He then enrolled at Western University, earning a Ph.D. in 1992. He has been teaching Canadian and Canadian military history at the University of Waterloo for over 30 years. His most recent book, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Army Officer Corps, 1939-1945 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017) won the C.P. Stacey Prize for best book in Canadian military history published that year.
