"He was determined to go": Underage soldiers in the Canadian expeditionary force

As many as 20,000 underage soldiers served overseas in the First World War, but their service has often been overlooked because it has been difficult to distinguish them from their older comrades. Adolescents often lied about their age in order to enlist, impelled by a sense of adventure, peer pressure, and fierce patriotism. Studying the reaction of young soldiers to the war effort, as well as their interaction with parents, society, and the military forces, reveals that, despite the agony of parents and the problems underage soldiers sometimes presented for the military establishment, young Canadians were approvingly incorporated into and constituted an important part of Canada's war effort.