On November 11, 1923, the fifth anniversary of the Armistice, the memorial for the Fredericton war dead was unveiled. Popular perception is that the process was a simple one: a list of all of those who died in the Great War was compiled and inscribed on the monument. In reality, the truth is much more complex.

In Perpetuity brings together the biographies of 110 soldiers from the Fredericton area who died from service during the First World War. The product of an inquiry-based learning project led by social studies teacher James Rowinski, the biographies shed light on the lives of the soldiers, the conditions they experienced during their service, and the process of commemoration following the war. The book includes the biographies of four soldiers that students argue should have been included on the official memorial, including Lieutenant Charles Blair who died by suicide in 1920 and would now likely be recognised as suffering from PTSD.

A correction and supplement to official memory, In Perpetuity preserves the memory of Fredericton’s war dead — those who both were included and excluded from the official record.

In Perpetuity is volume 30 of the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series.

James Rowinski is a PhD Candidate in Instruction and Curriculum Studies in Education at the University of New Brunswick and a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship recipient. His areas of research include social studies and history education, historical thinking, historical consciousness, the interplay of racialized and ethnic identities with school history pedagogy, student voice, and critical research methodologies. Over the last decade, he has worked in New Brunswick as a social studies and history classroom teacher and curriculum consultant with the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Early Education and Childhood Development. In addition to developing and leading the Fredericton Soldier Biography History Initiative to support best practice approaches in history teaching, he has been involved in numerous history education projects across Canada. He currently works for the Government of New Brunswick and lives in Fredericton.

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“The biographies are sad — these are all men who died far too young — yet the rich details bring them back to life, and tell the story of our province and our country in the early years of the 20th century.”

<i>Miramichi Reader</i>