THE BROTHER KEEPERS - JOHN E. TED MACNINTCH

The most comprehensive, true-to-life, historical novel ever written about the First World War.

The creative non-fiction narrative tale of brothers who were swept up into the vortex of European militarism as members of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force and who experienced the major battles of World War I, a war that disrupted the bonds of a brotherhood forged in bucolic Nova Scotia by their minister father. A “living history” told in the sweeping Michener tradition including an accurate account of historical events and what men endured in the trenches of Belgium and France in 1915 to 1918; A juxtaposition of God and war that begs contemplation.

What it meant to experience and endure the major battles of The Great War as volunteer soldiers of the Canadian Corps, a relatively-unknown, elite corps of shock troops second to none on the Western Front.

What it meant to rationalize the religious and moral aspects of the Iron Corollary to the Golden Rule - Kill or be killed in a battle against the world’s greatest army.

What it meant to be a sniper and break God’s Commandment Thou shalt not kill.

What it meant to be a bagpiper who led men over the top and what it meant to pipe them forward into battle.

What it meant to be a stretcher-bearer facing the most horrible aspects of war and to lose one’s faith in God.

What it meant to witness the world’s greatest non-atomic, man-made explosion – the Halifax Explosion

What it meant to be forced into FRATRICIDE

Watch TV interview on WSKITV - Click on play icon below to start video

SYNOPSIS OF "THE BROTHER KEEPERS"

Did you have an ancestor in World War I? Do you have any idea what he endured?

John E. (Ted) MacNintch

   This work of creative war history non-fiction, based on the World War I experiences of five MacInnes brothers, has its roots in idyllic, pre-war Nova Scotia (The Annapolis Valley, Cape Sable Island and Pictou County) and Grand Manan in New Brunswick. The epic sweeps the reader into the vortex of the horrendous battles of human attrition in Belgium and France. The story culminates in fratricide and its lingering aftermath. It will entertain you, move you emotionally and provide you with an insightful history of World War I and the Highland military tradition as seen through the adventures and experiences of these MacInnes brother keepers.

   A superstitious Sable MacInnes is haunted by a Mi’kmaw soothsayer’s prognostications, which predict the conflict and indicate that one brother will not survive and another brother will suffer a fate worse than death. One by one the prognostications come true and the brothers must face a heart-rending decision that splits the brotherhood asunder.

   What begins as a glorious crusade against the invading Huns devolves into a colossal struggle, not only for survival, but also for the souls of these three volunteers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Brought up in the parsonage of a Baptist minister fondly referred to as “The Old Gent,” sons Sable, Ian, and Fraser are taught to be “brother keepers.” They bond fiercely through a multitude of reckless endeavors and escapades of tomfoolery and danger on both water and land, not without humor, as they learn to handle firearms while growing up in rural Nova Scotia along with brothers Dugald and Murdoch.

   Intertwined in this free-wheeling lifestyle is their grandfather Asa, who makes it his duty to instill in the boys a pride in their Celtic heritage. Sable, the ringleader of the brotherhood, becomes a crack shot early on, earning his rite of passage when he kills a buck and faces down a bear. Enlisting in the CEF, he becomes a sniper. Ian learns to play the Highland bagpipes and becomes entangled with two girls whom he meets in the Highland heart of Nova Scotia. Although horrified at the atrocities of war, Ian enlists as a piper when assured that he will be able to play in the pipe band and not have to kill. Fraser, the lighthearted one, occupies himself with girls until he joins his brothers in their army adventures.

   The contingents of the CEF sent to England are referred to as the “comedian contingents” by Imperial Army officers who proceed to forge the intrepid Canucks into effective soldiers. Shipped to the Western Front, Sable and his brothers experience bombardments, trench raids, entombment, mine explosions, sniping, bayonet fighting, firefights, loss of comrades, barroom brawls, bloody disasters, mud and mayhem while in the ranks of the 25th Battalion, Nova Scotia Rifles (The MacKenzie Highlanders) of Halifax, as well as the 31st Battalion of Calgary. Sable undergoes intensive sniper training and takes his toll on the enemy. Ian becomes a stretcher-bearer and a brother keeper of his battalion mates. Experiencing the horrors of the Imperial Army’s first day of slaughter on the Somme, Ian experiences loss of his faith in a compassionate God.

   The paths of the brothers diverge and cross. The Canadians succeed under British general Sir Julian Byng in their assault on Vimy Ridge where Ian pipes his battalion mates “over the top” and arouses the mir cath, or battle frenzy among the men. Tempered in the fiery furnace of combat, they experience the major battles of the war. The Corps goes on to fight in the “bloody bog of Passchendaele,” successful under Canadian General Sir Arthur Currie. During the agony of battle, Fraser and Ian make a mutual, mercy-killing pact. By 1918 the Canadians have become an elite corps of shock troops second to none on the Western Front; together with the Australian Corps, they spearhead the first major breakthrough of the war at Amiens. It is here that the orders of a drunken officer destroy the brother keepers.

   This saga of military tragedy and heroism explores the Scottish military tradition and the role of bagpipes as an instrument of war, and it reveals resonances to modern day wars and engages the moral and religious issues of war as it postulates “The Iron Corollary to the Golden Rule.” Mysterious, even unworldly, persons weave their way through the pages, seemingly shadowing the MacInnes boys. “The Brother Keepers” is a story of faith lost and faith maintained, doublethink, elusive love, the sanctity of brotherhood and the toll of warfare interspersed with interludes of humor. Out of this searing odyssey on European soil, the most significant event in Canadian history, emerged worldwide recognition of the Canadian Corps and Canada as a nation unto itself.

   Told with detailed attention to verisimilitude, this didactic, military, morality tale is a comprehensive work of literary fiction based on a framework of intensively-researched, actual, historical facts. This “living history” provides a vivid insight into the life of a soldier on the Western Front from 1915 to 1919 while placing Canada’s role in the Great War in proper context with that of United States.

JOHN E. (TED) MACNINTCH

> INTRODUCTION EXCERPTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR / REVIEWS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & LINKS CONTACT & PURCHASE
		The most comprehensive, true-to-life, historical novel ever written about the First World War. The creative non-fiction narrative tale of brothers who were swept up into the vortex of European militarism as members of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force and who experienced the major battles of World War I, a war that disrupted the bonds of a brotherhood forged in bucolic Nova Scotia by their minister father. A “living history” told in the sweeping Michener tradition including an accurate account of historical events and what men endured in the trenches of Belgium and France in 1915 to 1918; A juxtaposition of God and war that begs contemplation. What it meant to experience and endure the major battles of The Great War as volunteer soldiers of the Canadian Corps, a relatively-unknown, elite corps of shock troops second to none on the Western Front. What it meant to rationalize the religious and moral aspects of the Iron Corollary to the Golden Rule - Kill or be killed in a battle against the world’s greatest army. What it meant to be a sniper and break God’s Commandment Thou shalt not kill. What it meant to be a bagpiper who led men over the top and what it meant to pipe them forward into battle. What it meant to be a stretcher-bearer facing the most horrible aspects of war and to lose one’s faith in God. What it meant to witness the world’s greatest non-atomic, man-made explosion – the Halifax Explosion What it meant to be forced into FRATRICIDE Watch TV interview on WSKITV - Click on below to start video SYNOPSIS OF "THE BROTHER KEEPERS" Did you have an ancestor in World War I? Do you have any idea what he endured? John E. (Ted) MacNintch This work of creative war history non-fiction, based on the World War I experiences of five MacInnes brothers, has its roots in idyllic, pre-war Nova Scotia (The Annapolis Valley, Cape Sable Island and Pictou County) and Grand Manan in New Brunswick. The epic sweeps the reader into the vortex of the horrendous battles of human attrition in Belgium and France. The story culminates in fratricide and its lingering aftermath. It will entertain you, move you emotionally and provide you with an insightful history of World War I and the Highland military tradition as seen through the adventures and experiences of these MacInnes brother keepers. A superstitious Sable MacInnes is haunted by a Mi’kmaw soothsayer’s prognostications, which predict the conflict and indicate that one brother will not survive and another brother will suffer a fate worse than death. One by one the prognostications come true and the brothers must face a heart-rending decision that splits the brotherhood asunder. What begins as a glorious crusade against the invading Huns devolves into a colossal struggle, not only for survival, but also for the souls of these three volunteers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Brought up in the parsonage of a Baptist minister fondly referred to as “The Old Gent,” sons Sable, Ian, and Fraser are taught to be “brother keepers.” They bond fiercely through a multitude of reckless endeavors and escapades of tomfoolery and danger on both water and land, not without humor, as they learn to handle firearms while growing up in rural Nova Scotia along with brothers Dugald and Murdoch. Intertwined in this free-wheeling lifestyle is their grandfather Asa, who makes it his duty to instill in the boys a pride in their Celtic heritage. Sable, the ringleader of the brotherhood, becomes a crack shot early on, earning his rite of passage when he kills a buck and faces down a bear. Enlisting in the CEF, he becomes a sniper. Ian learns to play the Highland bagpipes and becomes entangled with two girls whom he meets in the Highland heart of Nova Scotia. Although horrified at the atrocities of war, Ian enlists as a piper when assured that he will be able to play in the pipe band and not have to kill. Fraser, the lighthearted one, occupies himself with girls until he joins his brothers in their army adventures. The contingents of the CEF sent to England are referred to as the “comedian contingents” by Imperial Army officers who proceed to forge the intrepid Canucks into effective soldiers. Shipped to the Western Front, Sable and his brothers experience bombardments, trench raids, entombment, mine explosions, sniping, bayonet fighting, firefights, loss of comrades, barroom brawls, bloody disasters, mud and mayhem while in the ranks of the 25th Battalion, Nova Scotia Rifles (The MacKenzie Highlanders) of Halifax, as well as the 31st Battalion of Calgary. Sable undergoes intensive sniper training and takes his toll on the enemy. Ian becomes a stretcher-bearer and a brother keeper of his battalion mates. Experiencing the horrors of the Imperial Army’s first day of slaughter on the Somme, Ian experiences loss of his faith in a compassionate God. The paths of the brothers diverge and cross. The Canadians succeed under British general Sir Julian Byng in their assault on Vimy Ridge where Ian pipes his battalion mates “over the top” and arouses the mir cath, or battle frenzy among the men. Tempered in the fiery furnace of combat, they experience the major battles of the war. The Corps goes on to fight in the “bloody bog of Passchendaele,” successful under Canadian General Sir Arthur Currie. During the agony of battle, Fraser and Ian make a mutual, mercy-killing pact. By 1918 the Canadians have become an elite corps of shock troops second to none on the Western Front; together with the Australian Corps, they spearhead the first major breakthrough of the war at Amiens. It is here that the orders of a drunken officer destroy the brother keepers. This saga of military tragedy and heroism explores the Scottish military tradition and the role of bagpipes as an instrument of war, and it reveals resonances to modern day wars and engages the moral and religious issues of war as it postulates “The Iron Corollary to the Golden Rule.” Mysterious, even unworldly, persons weave their way through the pages, seemingly shadowing the MacInnes boys. “The Brother Keepers” is a story of faith lost and faith maintained, doublethink, elusive love, the sanctity of brotherhood and the toll of warfare interspersed with interludes of humor. Out of this searing odyssey on European soil, the most significant event in Canadian history, emerged worldwide recognition of the Canadian Corps and Canada as a nation unto itself. Told with detailed attention to verisimilitude, this didactic, military, morality tale is a comprehensive work of literary fiction based on a framework of intensively-researched, actual, historical facts. This “living history” provides a vivid insight into the life of a soldier on the Western Front from 1915 to 1919 while placing Canada’s role in the Great War in proper context with that of United States.


	While witnessing action during World War I where millions are killed and wounded in the great battles of human attrition, sniper Sable MacInnes struggles with and rationalizes the moral aspects of the 6th Comand-ment. His brother Ian, a piper/ stretcher-bearer who has to choose bet-ween two women, struggles with the “doublethink” encompassing the horrors of war in conjunction with pride in the Canadian Corps and comes to question the very nature of God. Their younger brother Fraser, concentrates on “doing his bit” and struggling to survive. Sable becomes estranged from his brothers, battling the demons on his shoulders during post war years until a German sniper that he wounded in the war comes to exact his revenge.