Volunteers: The Incredible Story of Kitchener's Army Through Soldiers' and Civilians' Own Words and Photographs

What greater pride might a young man feel than to serve shoulder to shoulder with his friends in time of war? To enlist into the army with his pals, chums, mates, filling the ranks of battalions that drew their strength from the local community, from amongst factory workers, miners, shop—workers and tradesmen. In August 1914, what more fitting role was there to play than to answer the country’s call to arms?

The past is another country, of course: the world in which these men grew up and the...