Canadian Military Educational Centre

[servicepub (RIP)]

Canada, any era. Perhaps an overview from WW1 to ???
My Weapons of War series booklets require 6,000-6,500 words of original research, backed up with archival sources. Most have been on vehicle and artillery but I would like to expand the scope to include other fields, including Small Arms, field equipment and Army formations.
To see a list of existing and future titles go to www.servicepub.com/weapons.html

[Dennis Gelean (RIP)]

Excellent website, how did I not know, bookmarked
Canada was a Mfg. of gas masks for the commonwealth not much change
from WW1 to near the end of WW2.
Veteran captain James Bond (rtd.) volunteer at Vimy house was the real expert,
he worked on gas warfare at Porton Downs in the UK after the war.
Lived in Ottawa. I have some pictures of his from a chat/interview.
Would you include ARP? I have a picture of Canada mfg gas masks from a Asbestos site. ARP is Air raid Precautions and also called Air Raid Patrol.
I have many papers issued for the CD and ARP. I would buy the book.
Referring to Peter (NBCD) he is considered a expert in research and gas warfare.

[jeff davis]

Dennis has a great collection well worth the look.
I was Honoured to have it at a show I helped put on here on the West Coast.
Jeff

[derk derin]

Clive,
As a collector of Canadian military equipment I would like to see specific items researched and documented like gas masks as well as other worthy items to cover.For a collector to have a reference book on what he collects is worth it's weight in gold when an item can be properly identified.I have in my Civil Defence collection a Mk VII gas mask bag that has Civil Defence Canada stencilled on the front.I also have a service respirator with A.R.P. stencilled on the cannister and would like to know more details of these items.


Dennis sounds like a good candidate to write that book.
Regards,Derk.

[servicepub (RIP)]

As a collector of Canadian military equipment I would like to see specific items researched and documented like gas masks as well as other worthy items to cover.For a collector to have a reference book on what he collects is worth it's weight in gold when an item can be properly identified.

Incoming rant
Well, I thought that was what I was doing? I have published over 50 titles in the past 15 years. All of this has been done with no public money, no government grant, no bank loans, nada. Often, the sales haven't recouped the production costs but I felt that the it was important to document the topic as a significant item in Canada's material culture. At times I have seen my work copied without so much as a simple acknowledgement and I very seldom get any recognition for the books that I have either written or published. The same goes for my authors, all of whom are collectors or amateur historians also. In fact, I often get armchair quarterbacks who deny or denigrate facts that I have discovered, preferring instead to repeatedly quote the 'veteran's' story or the gun-show wisdom of collectors who have never done a day's worth of original research in their lives.
Occasionally I get a letter or e-mail from a reader who thanks me for the titles that Service Publications has released. Although I don't do this for the recognition I would be a liar to say that I don't get some encouragement from these rare accolades.
I am fortunate that I have a decent job that allows me to spend my dollars subsidizing my 'hobby-business' (surely the ultimate oxymoron) and a grown-up family that frees up the 6 hours required every evening to run the business.
Rant over

Derk, I have made the offer and I hope that Dennis follows up. I agree that a book on gas-protective equipment would be a valuable resource for collectors. To other niche collectors. If you have the knowledge I have the editors. As it stands I have 6-8 Weapons of War booklets either promised or in the pipeline. I also have 2 'specialty' titles and 8 hard cover books in the works - many of which are already in my PC or close to completion.
Clive

[derk derin]

Good morning Clive,
I am sorry if I offended you as that was not my intention.I have many of your publications on my bookshelf bought and paid for and use them often for reference when more information is needed.As a collector,I rely on books to learn more about the items I am interested in collecting and a book on gas masks used by the Canadian army I think would be an item worth researching and documenting for collectors like me.My request for more research books to be done was intended to cover equipment that has yet to be researched and published.I think you do an excellent job of documenting and publishing Canadian military history and equipment and I appreciate your hard work and time you put into the hobby and the people that also spend hours of their own time to write a book to benefit people like me.Please keep up the good work and I am sure,although not said enough,other collectors appreciate your work and efforts as well as the other researchers and their efforts.I hope Dennis writes the book on gas masks as he seems the person for the job!
Regards,Derk.

[servicepub (RIP)]

Hi Derk,
My apologies. The rant wasn't aimed at you. Your post and some recent events coincided and I used the opportunity to get a few things off my chest.
Cheers,
Clive