The Allied Chaplains of the American, British, Canadian and Polish armies in the battles for Northwestern Europe and in the Battle of the Atlantic are often overlooked due to their small numbers in relation to the hundreds of thousands of other men who made up the Allied armies. However, the chaplains were highly respected and appreciated by the men in the various units they served, as well as often being incredibly brave men who were (and are) forbidden by the rules of war from carrying any sort of weapon into battle, beyond their holy books and their faith. Allied chaplains suffered the second highest loss rate of killed or wounded of any group of men in World War II (second only to that of RAF Bomber Command) and were virtually irreplaceable due to the academic and religious training that took years to complete.
This book looks at the Allied Chaplains who died: during the Battle for France in 1940, endured the horrors of the Dunkirk evacuation, died in the battles on the North Atlantic (due to the sinking of their ships by German U-Boats), in the Battle for Normandy in 1944, during the Allied liberation of occupied Europe, and the defeat of Germany. It includes information about their lives before entering military chaplaincy, their deaths and sometimes the differing accounts of their deaths, as well as their final resting places in cemeteries across Europe and in the United States of America or where they are commemorated on Memorial Walls to the Missing.
The Revd Dr Thomas Wilson has had an interest in WW II military history since he was 12 years old. Revd Wilson had a career in the business world before answering the call ot ordained ministry. He was ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada, and served as the Rector of a parish in Southwestern Ontario. In 2007, he had the chance to spend a year in France, on a university exchange program that his wife, Professor Dawn Cornelio Was coordinating. While there, they led some of the Canadian students on a visit to Normandy, where they all participated in graveside memorial Service for Canadian Chaplain Walter Brown. It was Padre Brown's murder that led Revd Wilson to initially explore all the Allied Chaplains killed in the Battle for Normandy. After moving to serve as the Rector of a Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church for over 5 years, Revd Wilson now is the Anglican Chaplain of St Raphael and the Var in southern France where he ministers to a multi-national English-speaking congregation.