This book was born from a desire to honour and remember the forty-seven sons of Montreal West who gave their lives in the Second World War. Each story—of a soldier, sailor, or airman—begins in a small Canadian town but reaches outward across oceans and continents, into the heart of a global conflict. What began as a search for local history unfolds into something far larger. The experiences of these forty-seven men form a vivid reflection of Canada’s wartime journey—a microcosm of a nation at war. Their lives, cut short in battlefields from Normandy to the North Atlantic, from the skies over Europe to the jungles of Asia, reveal the breadth and depth of Canada’s contribution to victory. Through detailed research and poignant storytelling, One Town in a Very Long War presents more than a roll of honour—it offers a mosaic of courage, sacrifice, and humanity. In remembering the fallen of Montreal West, we come to better understand not only their war, but the war that shaped our world. Praise for One Town in a Very Long War This remarkable book brings home the human cost of war not through generals or grand strategy, but through the lives of young men who left their families, their schools, their rinks, and their faith behind. Drummond restores their dignity with compassion and precision. Few works of Canadian history have captured the meaning of service so completely. David O’Keefe , historian and author ofOne Day in August Robert Drummond has given us something very special with One Town in a Very Long War. He has recaptured the lives of forty-seven Montreal West men who volunteered to serve their country during the Second World War, and who lost their lives doing it. He reminds us that they were sons, brothers, and fathers from a small Montreal borough, the men and women of which chose active service at a rate one-and-a-half times the national average. The photographs are beautiful. They make it impossible to resist learning more about the subjects and the families who mourned them. As a native Montrealer, I read them all with lump-in-the-throat pride. Douglas E. Delaney , Royal Military College of Canada, Author of Imperial Army Project: Britain and the Land Forces of the Dominions and India, 1902-1945 (Oxford, 2018) Robert Drummond has written a stirring tribute to the 47 men of Montreal West who lost their lives during the Second World War. Fully, even hauntingly, illustrated and written with passion, it is a deeply personal, often intense portrayal of youth at war and grief on the home front. Theirs is the story of courage and sacrifice and Drummond respectfully and solemnly has restored their experiences for a broader audience. Lest we forget. Serge Durflinger , University of Ottawa, Author of Fighting from Home: The Second World War in Verdun, Quebec Dr. Drummond captures the fragility of war on the person-to-person level, almost always ignored when we read histories that tell the story of the larger picture. Here, 47 brave men with families who lived in a close community, were killed never to come home. This book captures the true sense of the word “remembrance” and should inspire us all to remember the luck we have of being here now. Honorary Colonel Bruce D. Bolton , The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada Robert Drummond’s “One Town” immerses its readers in Canada’s rich military history. The young men honoured are intimately portrayed from boyhood and schooling to enlistment, training and accomplishments. Shockingly, though, each chapter ends in heartbreak. But time heals. “One Town” brings back its 47 brave young Canadians. Once again, they are Montreal West family and neighbours but also Canada’s. Larry Millberry , Author of the Aviation in Canada series