REVIEWS
In February 1, 2025 Kirkus Review Magazine The English Trip of 1910 is highlighted on page 155.
www.kirkusreviews.com/magazine/current/
The Kirkus Indie Review: "An energetically readable history of a Canadian regiment’s working vacation."
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mima-brown-kapches/the-english-trip-of-1910/
The Clarion Foreward Review: "A rousing but esoteric history text, The English Trip of 1910 zooms in on a particular moment in Canadian history to fascinating effect."
www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-english-trip-of-1910/
As a retired Regimental Sergeant Major of the Queen's Own and the current Curator of the Regiment's museum at Casa Loma Toronto, I'm very happy to see that this story is finally being told. Most books and articles about the Queen's Own rightly focus on the battles and wars its soldiers have fought in. However, this is a story about the soldiers of the Regiment training for war on the other side of the Atlantic and how one of its most famous Commanding Officers, Major General Sir Henry Pellatt, was instrumental in achieving that aim.
CWO Shaun Kelly, CD (Ret'd), Curator,
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
Museum and Archive
Casa Loma
www.kirkusreviews.com/magazine/current/
The Kirkus Indie Review: "An energetically readable history of a Canadian regiment’s working vacation."
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mima-brown-kapches/the-english-trip-of-1910/
The Clarion Foreward Review: "A rousing but esoteric history text, The English Trip of 1910 zooms in on a particular moment in Canadian history to fascinating effect."
www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-english-trip-of-1910/
As a retired Regimental Sergeant Major of the Queen's Own and the current Curator of the Regiment's museum at Casa Loma Toronto, I'm very happy to see that this story is finally being told. Most books and articles about the Queen's Own rightly focus on the battles and wars its soldiers have fought in. However, this is a story about the soldiers of the Regiment training for war on the other side of the Atlantic and how one of its most famous Commanding Officers, Major General Sir Henry Pellatt, was instrumental in achieving that aim.
CWO Shaun Kelly, CD (Ret'd), Curator,
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
Museum and Archive
Casa Loma
Mima Brown Kapches' The English Trip of 1910 will captivate anyone with an interest in Canadian military history. What truly stood out to me were the small, vivid moments described by both Brown Kapches and the Press Gang, whether explicitly recounted or subtly implied.
From Sir Henry's dinner with the Iroquois under the Exhibition grandstand, to Major Thorn's poignant anguish following his son's untimely passing, the book is rich with heartfelt detail. The humour shared on the Megantic among "Crippen's Own Rifles" brought levity, while the emotion in Pellat's eyes as he witnessed the cheers of the greying veterans of the 1910 trip—shortly before his own passing—was profoundly moving.
It is these and countless other moments that made The English Trip of 1910 such an enjoyable and memorable read for me.
Archie Mozafari
Acting Museum Administrator
Fort York National Historic Site
250 Fort York Blvd, Toronto
In The English Trip of 1910: Toronto, Sir Henry Pellatt, The Queen’s Own Rifles and the Press Gang, Dr. Mima Brown Kapches lovingly traces every stage of this celebratory 50th anniversary trip. On one level the work is a personal endeavour to better understand her father’s life experiences, but on another, it conscientiously documents activities indicative of the imperialist atmosphere in Europe which would soon erupt in war. Owen Sound’s Jaffray Eaton, who, at age 30, would later be killed in action at Passchendaele, is given a more human dimension as a dedicated journalist, in the prime of life, and well-regarded by other press members on the trip; Eaton describes everything from iceberg and whale sightings on the Atlantic crossing, to what the boys ate on the train travelling from Liverpool to Aldershot, to the tents, the barracks, the tiring marches, manoeuvres, pomp and parades.
Karin Noble,
Archivist,
Grey Roots Museum and Archives,
Owen Sound, Ontario
The English Trip of 1910 Toronto, Sir Henry Pellatt, the Queen's Own Rifles and the Press Gang
Review by Alyssia Maiorano, M.A. Curator Casa Loma
The English Trip of 1910 traces the threads of personal account, photographs, travel logs, newspaper reports, and letters to weave the story of the Queen’s Own Rifles endeavour to England prowess under the command and at the expense of Sir Henry Pellatt. With thorough consideration and research, Kapches brings to the fore the lived realities and physical demands of the 1910 trip, in the context of Toronto and global history. The author splendidly captures the voices, perspectives, and humor of the men who accompanied Sir Henry on the trip.
In the carefully compiled recounts of all the grandiose, somber, and mundane moments for the men on the 1910 trip, the personable and human-centred telling of this story makes for an exquisite read. The book builds a thorough context before and after the trip, bridging the gap of literature on such a momentous year for the city. The balanced telling of the trip’s ostentation, sobering moments, and lived realities, communicates the complexities of the Edwardian era and the limited perspectives on progression of social and political change.
From Sir Henry's dinner with the Iroquois under the Exhibition grandstand, to Major Thorn's poignant anguish following his son's untimely passing, the book is rich with heartfelt detail. The humour shared on the Megantic among "Crippen's Own Rifles" brought levity, while the emotion in Pellat's eyes as he witnessed the cheers of the greying veterans of the 1910 trip—shortly before his own passing—was profoundly moving.
It is these and countless other moments that made The English Trip of 1910 such an enjoyable and memorable read for me.
Archie Mozafari
Acting Museum Administrator
Fort York National Historic Site
250 Fort York Blvd, Toronto
In The English Trip of 1910: Toronto, Sir Henry Pellatt, The Queen’s Own Rifles and the Press Gang, Dr. Mima Brown Kapches lovingly traces every stage of this celebratory 50th anniversary trip. On one level the work is a personal endeavour to better understand her father’s life experiences, but on another, it conscientiously documents activities indicative of the imperialist atmosphere in Europe which would soon erupt in war. Owen Sound’s Jaffray Eaton, who, at age 30, would later be killed in action at Passchendaele, is given a more human dimension as a dedicated journalist, in the prime of life, and well-regarded by other press members on the trip; Eaton describes everything from iceberg and whale sightings on the Atlantic crossing, to what the boys ate on the train travelling from Liverpool to Aldershot, to the tents, the barracks, the tiring marches, manoeuvres, pomp and parades.
Karin Noble,
Archivist,
Grey Roots Museum and Archives,
Owen Sound, Ontario
The English Trip of 1910 Toronto, Sir Henry Pellatt, the Queen's Own Rifles and the Press Gang
Review by Alyssia Maiorano, M.A. Curator Casa Loma
The English Trip of 1910 traces the threads of personal account, photographs, travel logs, newspaper reports, and letters to weave the story of the Queen’s Own Rifles endeavour to England prowess under the command and at the expense of Sir Henry Pellatt. With thorough consideration and research, Kapches brings to the fore the lived realities and physical demands of the 1910 trip, in the context of Toronto and global history. The author splendidly captures the voices, perspectives, and humor of the men who accompanied Sir Henry on the trip.
In the carefully compiled recounts of all the grandiose, somber, and mundane moments for the men on the 1910 trip, the personable and human-centred telling of this story makes for an exquisite read. The book builds a thorough context before and after the trip, bridging the gap of literature on such a momentous year for the city. The balanced telling of the trip’s ostentation, sobering moments, and lived realities, communicates the complexities of the Edwardian era and the limited perspectives on progression of social and political change.
