William Richard Bird (May 11, 1891 – 1984) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer, author of fifteen novels, two memoirs, six history books and three travel books.

Life and career

He was born in rural East Mapleton, Nova Scotia, son of Augusta Bird, a school teacher in East Mapleton and Stephen Bird. A few years later his mother was left a widow with two stepsons and three sons as his father died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. As he became a teenager, the family moved to the nearby town of

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

, where his mother began running a boarding house. The family at this time was in need of money, so Will and his brother were unable to complete school. By the time he was twenty-three he decided to go to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and work on the harvest to earn money. This was the case for many men from the East who were recruited to harvest crops on the prairies (''see'' Harvest excursion). Soon afterwards, war broke out in Europe and Will's youngest brother, Stephen, was enlisted, only to be killed in France a year afterward. Bird had volunteered for service overseas at the same time as his brother, but was rejected due to his poor teeth. Will Bird returned home to Nova Scotia, wanting to take up his brother's place in the military, and he enlisted immediately. By this point in the war, the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

's standards for dental health had been lowered; although Bird was required to have some teeth removed in Britain before being sent to the front in France. He served in France and Belgium at the front for two years with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (

42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), CEF The 42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. History The 42nd Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 10 June 1 ...

). His time in the war impacted his life as a writer as his war experiences were constantly a part of his stories. One of his finest works, ''And We Go On'' (1930) documents his time in France. Another book, ''Ghosts Have Warm Hands'' recounts his experiences during the war and his emotional connection to his brother, Stephen, who was killed in action before Bird was allowed to volunteer for service. Once he was demobilized in 1919 he returned to the village of

Southampton, Nova Scotia Southampton is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Cumberland County . It has two roads leading up to it, Route 2 and Route 302. In Southampton, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces ...

, where he married Ethel Sutton. Together they had two children, Stephen and Betty. Will had become a partner in a general store there, but the store failed in 1923 and the family moved back to Amherst. There he found employment in the post office. While living in Southampton, he wrote his first story and won a newspaper essay contest; this was the beginning to his career as an author and in 1928 he decided to support his family by writing. His stories were accepted across North America by such magazines as the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

, Toronto Star Weekly,

Family Herald ''The Family Herald: A Domestic Magazine of Useful Information & Amusement'' (1843–1940) was a weekly story paper launched by George Biggs in 1842, and re-established in May 1843 with James Elishama Smith and mechanised printing. By 1855 it had ...

, Maritime Advocate'' and ''Weekly Star''. His first book, ''A Century at Chignecto'', was published in 1928 and was followed by a steady succession of fiction and non-fiction titles over the next 40 years. In 1931 he was sent back to the battlefields of France by ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' Magazine to write a series called "Thirteen Years After". The series became a lecture tour and a book, published by MacLean's in 1931 and over the following five years was given to

Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

branches throughout the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

. In 1933 he began work at the Nova Scotia Tourist Bureau, moving to Halifax in 1938, and he worked as chairman of the Historic Sites and Monuments Advisory Council, remaining there until his retirement in 1966. When Canada went to war again in 1939, Bird lost his only son, Captain Stephen Stanley Bird, of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. This caused him to enter a long period of writing, creating many stories that showed his grief. Bird won the

Ryerson Fiction Award The Ryerson Fiction Award, also known as the All-Canada Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented irregularly between 1942 and 1960. Presented by Ryerson Press,"Ryerson Award Winner". '' The Gazette'', March 13, 1954. the award was given to a ...

twice, in 1945 for ''Here Stays Good Yorkshire'' and in 1947 for ''Judgment Glen''. Bird was president of the

Canadian Authors Association The Canadian Authors Association is Canada's oldest association for writers and authors. The organization has published several periodicals, organized local chapters and events for Canadian writers, and sponsors writing awards, including the Gover ...

from 1949 to 1950, and was succeeded by

W. G. Hardy William George Hardy (February 3, 1895 – August 28, 1979) was a Canadian professor, writer, and ice hockey administrator. He lectured on the Classics at the University of Alberta from 1922 to 1964, and served as president of the Canadian Aut ...

. Bird died on January 28, 1984, in Sackville, New Brunswick. Counted among the descendants of Will R. Bird, are the brothers Lee Bird (1983-present) and Robin Eustace Bird (1985-present), who work in the field of writing and animation.

Books

Non-fiction

Maritime history

*''A Century at Chignecto'' (1928, story of

Beaubassin Beaubassin was an important Acadian village and trading centre on the Isthmus of Chignecto in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada. The area was a significant place in the geopolitical struggle between the British and French empires. It was establ ...

) *''Historic Nova Scotia'' (1935) *''Done at Grand Pre'' (1955, story of the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...

)

War and military history

*''And We Go On'' (1930, World War I) *''Private Timothy Fergus Clancy'' (1930) *''Thirteen Years After'' (1931, memoir) *''The Communication Trench'' (1932, trench warfare) *''The Two Jacks'' (1954, story of two Canadian heroes of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

) *''No retreating footsteps'' (1955, regimental history of the North Novas) *''The

North Shore Regiment The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, and is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment is headquartered in Bathurst, New Brunswick, with sub-units ...

'' (1963) *''Ghosts Have Warm Hands'' (1968, reissue of ''And We Go On'')

Travel

*''This is Nova Scotia'' (1950) *''Off-Trail in Nova Scotia'' (1956) *''These Are the Maritimes'' (1959)

Fiction

War

*''Private Timothy Fergus Clancy'' (1930, novel)

Historical fiction

*''The Maid of the Marshes'' (1933, privately printed) *''Here Stays Good Yorkshire'' (1945, Ryerson Fiction Award, co-winner 1945) *''Judgment Glen'' (1947) *''The Passionate Pilgrim'' (1949) *''So Much to Record'' (1951) *''To Love and To Cherish'' (1954) *''The Shy Yorkshireman'' (1955) *''Tristram's Salvation'' (1957) *''Despite the Distance'' (1961) *''An Earl Must Have a Wife'' (1969, semi-fictional account of J.F.W. DesBarres) *''Angel Cove'' (1972, 19 stories about a 1920s Newfoundland fishing village) *''The Misadventures of Rufus Burdy'' (1975)

References

*http://www.mta.ca/library/will_bird_bibliography/index.html *http://www.encyclopediecanadienne.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000768 *http://findingaids.library.dal.ca/will-r-bird-fonds *http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=44617 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, William Richard Writers from Nova Scotia 1891 births 1984 deaths Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian travel writers People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers