Memoirs of Robert England: Living, Learning, Remembering by Robert England (review)

270 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Regrettably Peter Brock, agrand nephew ofMartin's brother Edward, has notserved hiscontroversial ancestor well.Ratherthanaccepting thelimitations ofhissubject andsources, hecreates a pretentious structure inwhich Martin emerges asthemissing linkof western radicalism connecting Louis Rieland J.S.Woodworth: '...itispossible to...argue thatthemenformed acontinuing lineof radicalism in the West.They neednotbe espousing anyparticular radical ideal - indeed it is the thesishere that their radical ideaswere very dissimilar; in fact,thattheywerea dialectical reaction tooneanother' (37•). Noristhetheory thatMartinfounded theLiberal partyintheWest sustained. Worsethan the tortuousand dubioustheoreticalframeworkare the padding ,unsubstantiated conjectures, andfactual errors which pervade thebook. Moreover,Brock's research iswoefullyincomplete, particularly on theManitoba andBritish phases ofMartin's career. Heapparently does notknow that Martinwas re-elected totheManitoba legislature in•89•; thathesubmitted his resignation toGreenway bothin •89oand•89•;thatheco-operated withthe c•,Rin •89•; thatin Manitobahelegalized champerty, whichbecame anissue whenhewasin •c; or thatMartinconducted acontinuing feudwithClifford Siftonin Manitoba after •896. In sum,usefulas it is to havea studyof Martin, thisis an unreliable, inadequately documented bookwhich should beused onlywithgreatdiscretion . D.j. HAI•I• University ofAlberta Memoirs ofRobert England: Living, Learning, Remembering. Vancouver, Centre for Continuing Education, University ofBritish Columbia, •98o.Pp.a••. $•o.oo. Robert England isprobably best known forhisworkonEuropean immigration and land settlement in Western Canada, or for histwo bookson SecondWorld Warveterans. But hisworkin theseareasismerelytwophases of a longand varied career. England was bornin Irelandin •894andemigrated toCanada just priorto the FirstWorldWar,workedon farmsin Saskatchewan, and eventually registered asanextramural student atQueen's University. Hiseducation was interrupted byservice withtheRoyal Canadian Regiment inFrance, •9•6-•9.Following demobilization, England pursued acareer ineducation and turnedtoteaching, particularly among thenon-English-speaking immigrants of rural Saskatchewan. In •9a4 hejoinedtheColonization Department of Canadian NationalRailways, firstascontinental superintendent responsible for immigration fromEurope,andfrom •93o to •936 asWestern Canada manager fortheagricultural andcolonization activities of c•R.In •936Englandleftthec • tobecome thedirectorofextension attheUniversity ofBritish Columbia foroneyear, andin•937hebegan atwo-year stint asaneconomic REVIEWS 271 adviser totheWinnipegElectric Company. Withtheoutbreak ofwarin 1939he accepted anappointment asdirectorof Educational Services for theCanadian Legionin London,but soonafter he wascalledto Ottawawherehe assumed the positionof executivesecretary of the GeneralAdvisoryCommitteeon Demobilization and Rehabilitation. Englandremainedin thiscapacity until •943, and for the remainderof the war he carriedout a numberof special assignments for the Departmentsof Veterans Affairs and NationalWar Services . A largeportionof England's memoirsare devotedto hisinterestin adult education, especially amongEuropeanimmigrants. Firstasa youngteacher and later asan officialof the CNR,Englandwasanxiousto seeimmigrants treatedwith toleranceand understanding whichcouldonlybe achieved, he thought,withbetterrural schools, communitydevelopment,andagricultural extension. Hisexperiences withnon-English-speaking settlers inthe•92o's and •93o's resulted in hisbooks, TheCentralEuropean Immigrant inCanada (1929)and TheColonization ofWestern Canada (1937). England's involvement withadulteducation isalsoreflectedin hisconcern for the well-being of the Canadianveteran.He wasa key figureon the Demobilization andRehabilitation Committee, andwaslargelyresponsible for theplanning anddevelopment oftherehabilitation andre-establishment programsfor Canada's ex-servicemen. The chapters on thewarperiodandplanning for reconstruction are perhapsthe bestin the book.England's keen interestin veterans' problems areapparentin hisbooks Discharged 0943) and Twenty MillionWorm WarVeterans (•952). Englandfirsttaped hismemoirsin the late 196o's , but only nowhavethey beenpublished bytheCentreofContinuing Education atuac,largelybecause ofhiscontribution tothedevelopment ofadulteducation especially inWestern Canada.The bookincludes a longchapterof biographical sketches andpersonalimpressions of variousfriends,colleagues, and fellow educationists includingR.C.Wallace, WalterMurray,LeonardBrockington, J.T.M. Anderson ,GeorgeM. Weir,andahostofothers.Englandconcludes hismemoirswith somephilosophical reflections on hislong life, particularlyon the central importance of hisexperiences intheFirstWorldWarwhich, curiously enough, aredealtwithverybrieflyinthechronological portionofthebook. Unfortunately, on manyaspects of hiscareer,Englandonlyskimsthe surface ,andattimesfallsintothetrapofrecounting deeds doneandpeoplemet. But this is not meant to detract from the overall usefulness of the memoirs. For one thing, Englandhad no intentionof producinga lengthyand detailed memoir; he set out to record 'some memories of adult education' and he has succeeded in thislimitedgoal.England's life isinteresting andreadable,and thebookcomes complete withabibliography of hisnumerous books, articles, and brochures. GLENN T.WRIGHT Public Archives ofCanada ...