Prayer before Battle: Identifying Heroism

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General Steps:

This task allows for the students to be guided through the interpretation of historical evidence that relates to the life and military career of Major Alex Campbell and to make a determination as to his heroic qualities. Through the use of many primary sources and some secondary sources the students will learn to judge what is a good historical source and will be able to build a chronological profile of Major Campbell’s life, thus exploring the concept of cause and effect. Further, the students will, through the analysis of historical evidence, develop inquiry questions that will take them beyond the chronological profile of Major Campbell and into connecting the historical record with Major Campbell’s poem, Prayer Before Battle and how it is reflective of the struggles of soldiers involved in war.

I created the project because Major Alexander Campbell is a Canadian historical figure featured prominently in some of Farley Mowat's books. Campbell, initially, became known during WWII as a result of his poem, Prayer Before Battle, and his actions on the battlefield. His poem presents a man somewhat different than the man on the battlefield. He is an interesting study in heroism and of all soldiers. Further, Campbell is a graduate of Perth Collegiate and thus he is connected to current students of Perth Collegiate and is thus, more relevant to the students. As a result of his life in Perth, I have managed to collect a large amount of primary and secondary sources regarding his life which allow the students to use the sources to gain a better understanding of the man and of war.

• The teacher before beginning the task should be familiar with Farley Mowat’s book, And No Birds Sang.

Step 1:  Introduce Operation Husky to the students by viewing For King and Country, Episode 3, "The Forgotten Army, 1943-44." It provides a background to Canadian soldiers from the initial attack on Sicily to the Battles of the Moro River and Ortona. It follows the path that Alex Campbell followed and it features quotes from Mowat’s book. The host of the documentary visits Alex Campbell’s grave in Italy thus providing many connections to the task. Following the DVD, discuss the war in Italy.

Step 2: Remind students of Mowat’s quotes from the DVD and discuss his significance to Canadian literature.
Read or distribute an excerpt from Mowat’s book.
Have the students complete questions and then discuss the answers.
Distribute copies of Alex Campbell’s poem, Prayer Before Battle, to the students and have them complete the questions. Discuss the answers with the students. Remind the students that the DVD visited the gravesite of Campbell.

Step 3: Provide the task “Prayer Before Battle – Identifying Heroism” to the students. The students will have access to Mowat’s books and to a large digital source of primary and some secondary sources provided by the teacher. The digital source is comprised of many Campbell family photos, school photos, many letters written by Campbell while overseas, many letters written to the Campbell family following Campbell’s death, a letter from Farley Mowat, letters from Mowat’s father, Angus and many newspaper clippings. The students should sift through this evidence deciding what is important and analyse it to be able to complete the task.

Evaluation: The Rubric evaluates Knowledge, Critical Thinking, Communication and Application, including selection of evidence. The Rubric is based on the big question, “Through an analysis of the provided sources/documents and a by making connections between Campbell’s poem and Mowat’s book, And No Birds Sang, explain and justify whether Alex Campbell is a hero.”

Suggested Resources:

Buchan, John. The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment: The Battle for Assoro, July 21 – 23, 1943, From the Perspective of the Commanding Officer L-Col The Lord Tweedsmuir, OBE. 1988.

Bradford, R.D. Decorations and Awards Received During World War II, 1939-1945, by The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. Belleville, 1986.

Christie, N.M. Hard Won Victory: The Canadians at Ortona, December 1943. Ottawa: CEF Books, 2001.

Crosslands, Harvey; Williamson, Peter. For King and Country, Episode 3: Italy the Forgotten Army, 1943-44. Breakthrough Films and Television. 2004.

Fowler, T.R. Courage Rewarded: The Valour of Canadian Soldiers Under Fire 1900- 2007. Victoria: Trafford Publishing, 2009.

Fox, Harry & Cameron, Craig B. Born Lucky: One D-Day Dodger’s Story. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing, 2005.

Galloway, Strome. Bravely into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier In World War II. Toronto: Stoddart, 1988.

Graham, Howard. Citizen and Soldier: The Memoirs of Lieutenant-General Howard Graham. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1987.

Mowat, Farley. And No Birds Sang. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979.

Mowat, Farley. The Regiment. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1955.

Nicholson, G.W.L. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Volume II: The Canadians in Italy, 1943 – 1945. Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1956.

Smith, Basil. Memoires of a Quarterbloke. Belleville: H & R Communications, n.d.

Smith, Kenneth B. “Duffy’s Regiment,” A History of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1987.

The Canadian Army at War: From Pachino to Ortona, The Canadian Campaign in Sicily and Italy, 1943. Ottawa: King’s Printer, n.d.

Zuehlke, Mark. Operation Huskey, The Canadian Invasion of Sicily, July 10 – August 7, 1943. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 2008.

Student Guide and Handouts