This document provides background information on the Mother/Daughter Book Club's November 2013 reading selection, Charlie Wilcox by Sharon McKay. It gives a brief historical context of World War I and Canada's involvement. It then provides chapter summaries and discussion questions from the novel. There are also notes on the author Sharon McKay and her other works about World War I. The document examines what parts of Charlie Wilcox's story are historically factual and what parts are fictionalized, and provides suggestions for further reading on the characters and events depicted in the novel.

1. Charlie Wilcox
Mother / Daughter Book Club
November 2013

2. Some background...
• The Great War: 1914 -18
• For the first time in its history, Canadian forces
fought as a distinct unit under a Canadianborn commander.
• Canada's total casualties stood at 67,000 killed
and 173,000 wounded.

3. Brigus, Newfoundland (1)

4. Brigus, Newfoundland (2)

5. Brigus, Newfoundland (3)

6. New recruits

7. Heading to France

8. In the trenches

9. Stretcher-bearers at work

10. Red Cross Dressing Station

11. Support Services in War Time
• What other jobs are people involved in during
war time?
• Could soldiers survive without these support
services?

12. Discussion Questions (1)
• When we first meet Charlie, do you have any
indication as to what a fine soldier and loyal
friend he will turn out to be?
• In Chapter 7, as he is under anaesthetic for his
operation, Charlie has a strange dream about
dead cats surrounding him in the water. This is
called ‘foreshadowing’. Why do you think the
author uses this technique?

13. Discussion Questions (2)
• In Chapter 9, Aunt Maude says “I knew a
German once. Nice enough fellow. As the war
keeps going on, I expect we’ll come to believe
that all Germans are monsters. It’s easy to kill
a monster now, isn’t it? If we thought they
were just like us, with wives and children and
such – well, how would we shoot them?”
How much truth is there in this statement?

14. Discussion Questions (3)
• In Chapter 12, the C.O. says to Charlie
“... you’re as good a man as you’re ever likely
to be.”
• Is this true? Is your character ‘set’ by the time
you are fourteen years old? How would
serving in the army change your perception of
the world?

15. Discussion Questions (4)
• In Chapter 18, Charlie gives his ticket to
England to Mac. Do you agree or disagree
with his decision?

16. Discussion Questions (5)
• Throughout this book, Charlie often lies. Can
we justify lying in certain situations? And is
Charlie’s lying justified throughout this novel?

17. Discussion Questions (6)
• Why do you think it’s important for us to
observe Remembrance Day?
• Who should be remembered on November
11?

18. Based on a True Story
• See Fact or Fiction endnote in Charlie Wilcox.
What’s true? What’s not true?

19. What’s true?
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Born in Brigus, NF.
Weighed 2lbs at birth (this is very small!).
Had a club foot.
His father, Samuel Wilcox, was a fine captain.
He did have an operation on his foot.

20. What’s not?
• He never went to war.

21. What happened next?
• Charlie and Claire both attended McGill
University, graduating in 1926.
• Charlie became a doctor.
• They were married and had two sons, a
daughter and six grandchildren.
See Charlie Wilcox’s Great War for more on their
story...

22. Sharon McKay
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•
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Historical fiction author
Our Canadian Girl series
Charlie Wilcox and Charlie Wilcox’s Great War
War Brothers
New novel: Thunder Over Kandahar
Official War Artist for the Canadian Military;
currently away in the Middle East on
assignment

23. War & Child Soldiers
• ‘Child Soldier’: Under the age of 15 in direct
hostilities.
• Why are children used in war situations?
• Should children be involved in war situations?

24. Follow-up reading
• Please see handout for students (red) and
moms (green).
Charlie Wilcox’s Great War by Sharon McKay
Find out what happens when Charlie returns
to Newfoundland, and his adventures in
France during the Great War.

25. From Charlie Wilcox’s Great War...
“(He was) a good-looking lad, tall and broadbeamed for all his seventeen years. He had
the regal bearings of his father, Captain
Samuel Wilcox, but colouring all his
own, blonde hair with blue, regarding eyes.
Away at war three years, give or take. His
antics at the front were well known. He should
have come home a decorated hero. But
then, maybe it was enough just to come
home.” (p. 2)