
"This second edition of Dear Harry compiles the wartime letters to, from, and about Corporal Harry Hillyer (73rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Highlanders), chronicling a Canadian infantryman’s experience of the Great War. Carefully transcribed, indexed, and annotated with references and footnotes, the book places Harry’s voice alongside military records and family context to reveal the realities of trench life, the correspondence networks that sustained soldiers, and the long emotional consequences for those left at home. The volume opens with the author’s reflection on the significance of war letters as historical and personal documents. The book concludes with a personal response to Harry’s last letters, imagining what he would have wanted to know about his widow and young son after his death. Rich with archival detail, Dear Harry bridges military history, family memoir, and social history, making it essential reading for historians, genealogists, veterans’ groups, and readers moved by intimate wartime testimony."