# Turvey



## Shec (6 Jan 2005)

Turvey  is a classic Canadian novel that deserves to be captured for posterity so here goes.   It was written by Earl Birney in 1949 and won a Stephen Leacock Award for Humour.  

 Pte. Turvey is an unsophisticated and naive young man in the Canadian Army during WW2.   His dream is to fight alongside his buddy Mac who had already joined up.     However along the way Turvey's replies to interview questions seem to defy classification by the various Personnel Selection Officers he must deal with throughout his odyssey through the system and he is continually and unwittingly confusing, and confused by,   the military bureaucracy.   

As a result he finds himself posted to a variety of units and jobs at home, in England, and in Northwest Europe.   Of course he meets a number of interesting characters and has a number of amusing adventures.     In fact I think one can fairly characterize Turvey as the written counterpart to Herbie of WW2 Canadian Army cartoon fame. 

When he finally catches up with Mac in Holland, Mac is an officer and Turvey becomes his driver.   But only for a short period as Turvey becomes a casualty and is evacuated.     In the last chapter the Personnel Selection Officer he confused when he enlisted is the same one he confuses when he is being discharged.     

Throughout the book life in the WW2 Canadian Army is vividly described by the author, who himself served as Personnel Selection Officer during the period.     Its a hilarious read and if you can still find it you'll likely enjoy it.


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