Forces With History #230--1918, 1945, and 2025

On March 30^th, 1918, my dad, Tom Mackay, was acting 1^st Troop Leader of Lt Gordon Flowerdew’s C Squadron, LSH(RC). Here’s what I posted on LinkedIn on March 30^th this year:

“107 years ago today Lt Gordon Flowerdew led C Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse (RC), on a desperate mounted charge against German rifles, machine guns, and artillery. The result was devastating, with Flowerdew receiving the Victoria Cross posthumously. My dad survived the charge. Were he still alive he would join me and many others as we raise a glass to acknowledge the sterling record of the Strathcona’s. They have served in Canada’s wars right up to where they are today, in Latvia.”

The Charge of Flowerdew’s Squadron, by Alfred Munnings

I had fully intended to start a series of editions of Forces With History on a new naval topic, but the Battle of Moreuil Wood in 1918 intervened.

A couple of other events have also distracted me, and coincidentally they both involve my submarine thriller Terror on the ALERT, and both happened on March 26^th.

At noon that day the Naval Association of BC was treated to a talk by Commodore Patrick Montgomery, who commands Canada’s Naval Reserve. Following his fascinating discussion on the topic of the RCN, present and future, Commodore Montgomery was presented with a copy of Terror on the ALERT on behalf of the association by me and King Wan, president of the NABC.

That evening, Surrey Libraries Guildford Branch was the venue for the latest in a series of events called “Authors Among Us.” The library has a long waiting list, and as it happened it wanted to know more about Terror on the ALERT, which was published some time ago. Here’s a photo of me with the other two authors featured on the panel.

The library had attracted many attendees, who had interesting questions about writing—and submarines!

Barring further distraction, the next series of Forces With History will be distinctly nautical, featuring a ship that served one navy, was repaired by a second, and served yet another under two names. “The Cruiser Uganda,” as the author of a history of the ship called her, has a fascinating history. I look forward to telling you about it. Here’s a photo of the book by Stephen Conrad Geneja, who was a member of her ship’s company.