Peter Usher – Author – Crown and Pumpkin

Peter Usher was born in Montréal in 1941. For many years he studied, wrote about and advised on the environmental and social efforts of resource development in Canada’s North.

Inspired by his cousin Joey Jacobson’s diaries and letters, he began writing about the experience of Canadian airmen in the Second World War.

During the tour Peter will offer readings, and will be happy to discuss his project with visitors. He will have his book for sale ($30 cash)

Peter is an avid cyclist and lives on a beautiful farm property with his wife, just outside Clayton, Ontario.

Joe Jacobson’s War

Joey, a young Jewish man from Westmount, on the island of Montréal, trained as a navigator and bomb-aimer in Western Canada. On arriving in England he was assigned to No 106 Squadron, a British unit tasked with the bombing of Germany.

This book tells, in his own words, why he enlisted, his understanding of strategy, tactics, and the effectiveness of the air war at its lowest point, how he responded to the inevitable battle stress, and how he became both a hopeful idealist and a seasoned airman.

Jacobson’s written legacy as a serviceman is impressive in scope and depth and provides a lively and intimate account of a Jewish Canadian’s life in the air and on the ground, written in the intensity of the moment, and unfiltered by the memorist’s reflection, revision or hindsight.

Accompanying excerpts from his father’s diary show the maturation of the relationship between father and son in a dangerous time.

SELECTED READINGS BY THE AUTHOR

CROWN AND PUMPKIN TOUR 2018, CLAYTON ONTARIO

Saturday, 6 October

1 PM The Beginning – Introducing the book, and Joey Jacobson

3 PM The Decision – Enlisting in the RCAF, summer 1940

Sunday, 7 October

1 PM The Blitz – London, spring 1941

3PM Initiation – Joe’s first raids on Germany

Monday, 8 October

1 PM New Directions – Holding out, January 1942

3 PM Holland – After the fatal crash