A passion for the Second World War, the work of Canadian veterans, and a flair for mystery have landed a Victoria author in the Order of Canada.  

Mark Zuehlke, 69, one of Canada's foremost popular military historians, is being acknowledged for decades of work publishing exhaustive accounts of Canada鈥檚 military history.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great honour,鈥� said Zuehlke, who began his work slogging through the mud of old battlefields and spending hours with veterans, exercising great scrutiny in accurately capturing the lives of those who served. He never expected to become a member of the Order of Canada, but he appreciates it, regardless.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very much a feeling of recognition for what I ended up doing. I never got into this thinking that it was going to be my life's work, but that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 turned into.鈥�

He's being honoured for his work documenting Canada's military history and his award-winning mysteries set in Tofino.

Today, his Canadian Battle Series comprises 13 books and has received great acclaim, but it did not start off that way.  

鈥淚t took a long time before the series sort of gained the momentum you鈥檙e seeing,鈥� he said. When he began, Zuehlke says the topic of Canadian military history was seldom discussed, especially in popular media.  

鈥淭hose soldiers when they came home, they basically didn鈥檛 talk about their experiences,鈥� said Zuehlke. His books were some of the first to accessibly document these experiences, helping family members to better understand what their relatives had been through.  

Now Zuehlke resides in a heritage house in Fernwood, but he originally hails from the Okanagan where he attended Caribou College 鈥� now Thompson River University. His career began as a journalist, but he eventually migrated to freelance work. Later, a long-held interest in military history, and the inspiration of his family members eventually inspired him to write his first book.  

鈥淯nlike ones who would not talk about their experiences, my relatives would,鈥� said Zuehlke.  

鈥淢y great uncle Fred, he lost an arm at Vimy Ridge and he was never shy about talking about those experiences. My other uncle was a tanker in (the Second World War), and he also talked about that.鈥�  

Later Zuehlke met a group of veterans who had served at the Battle of Ortona, which he says was unwritten about at the time. 鈥淚 thought, 'Well that鈥檚 a shame, somebody should do a book on it,'鈥� said Zuehlke.  

鈥淚 thought somebody needs to make the book and then that was one of those moments of 鈥極h, I guess I'm the guy.鈥欌�� 

He thought that would be the end of it, but the book did well enough that The Canadian Battle series was born.  

While his passion has led to much of his success, his relocation to Victoria in 1992 played a major role, he said, since his early days of leaning on the work of UVic graduate students interviewing veterans.  

鈥淎 lot of people from all over Canada retire here. So it gave me an opportunity to not just be talking to people who had served in British Columbia units, but had served in units from across Canada,鈥� said Zuehlke.  

鈥淚 think Victoria was probably the only place that could have happened.鈥�  

The West Coast has inspired some of the authors' other works including a series of mystery novels following a Coroner in Tofino. The series debut Hands Like Clouds, was awarded the Crime Writer鈥檚 of Canada鈥檚 Arthur Ellis Award for the 2000 Best First Novel.

He hopes to return to the work someday, but for now, Zuehlke is focused on a contracted project for the Canadian Artillery Association. Then, the next book in the Canadian Battle Series, where Zuehlke will turn his sights to the Pacific, and Canada's role during the war in Japan.