The Meaford Public Library will host renowned military history author and journalist Ted Barris on Saturday, November 19 at 1 p.m. at Meaford Hall.
Barris will give a presentation on his most recent book, Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory. Published by HarperCollins Canada, the book details Canada’s longest continuous military engagement of the Second World War. The battle of the Atlantic lasted 2,074 days and claimed the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Canadian Merchant Navy.
The years 2019 to 2025 mark the eightieth anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. It also proved to be the war’s most critical and dramatic battle of attrition. For five and a half years, German surface warships and submarines attempted to destroy Allied trans-Atlantic convoys, most of which were escorted by Royal Canadian destroyers and corvettes, as well as aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Throwing deadly U-boat “wolf packs” in the paths of the convoys, the German Kriegsmarine almost succeeded in cutting off this vital lifeline to a beleaguered Great Britain.
Registration is $5 per person – please register in advance at the Meaford Public Library.
Ted Barris regularly writes in the national media and is also author of The Great Escape: A Canadian Story and Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany. His book, Rush to Danger: Medics in the Line of Fire, was longlisted for the 2020 Charles Taylor Prize for non-fiction.
Signed copies of Battle of the Atlantic will be available for purchase for $37 at the event, provided by Jessica’s Book Nook of Thornbury. Copies of Barris’ other titles will also be available for purchase at the event.
This event is generously sponsored by the Friends of Meaford Library.
For more information, please contact the Meaford Public Library at 519-538-3500, or email libraryinfo@meaford.ca
