The legacy of Pte. Colin William Wilmot has been woven into the fabric of Canadian history thanks, in part, to friend Matthew Heneghan.
Almost 16 years have passed since Wilmot was killed by an explosive device while in service with the Canadian Armed Forces’ 1 Field Ambulance Unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Yet memories of Wilmot are still vivid in the mind of Falkland-based author and Salmon Arm Secondary grad, Matthew Heneghan, who shares the story of his friendship with Wilmot in his latest book, Woven in War.
Described as a tribute to Wilmot, the book chronicles the 13-year journey an Edmonton Oilers shirt that belonged to him, from his former bunk in Kandahar to Heneghan’s North Okanagan home.
Since its release on April 20, the book has topped several categories on Amazon, including #1 in Canadian Military History. But Heneghan stressed the book will appeal to more than military buffs.
“I feel anybody who has ever experienced love and endured the pain of loss will understand what’s happening in this book,” said Heneghan.
That pain is something Heneghan has been working on since he first learned Wilmot had been killed in service. The two bonded while training in the same unit at the Edmonton Canadian Forces base. Wilmot deployed in 2008, while Heneghan stayed behind for personal reasons.
“The day I was released from the military was the day I found out he was the Canadian casualty they were talking about on the news,” said Heneghan. “That was a pretty harrowing moment… so for a number of years I was kind of living with that sense of grief… survivor’s guilt too, because I didn’t deploy with my unit.
“I felt like I had let them down.”
Woven in War was written by Heneghan with Philip Hunter, a veteran who, in his deployment to Afghanistan wound up being assigned to Wilmot’s bunk.
“At that base, he found an old, dirty Edmonton Oilers T-shirt that was hanging sort of in effigy to Colin,” said Heneghan. At the end of his tour, when the base was being torn down, Hunter took the shirt, intent on passing it along to Wilmot’s family.
“He got in touch with Colin’s sister… made connections, and it was politely declined – they said we’ve made our peace and thought he might find a better place for it or keep it himself,” said Heneghan.
In 2019, Heneghan released his first book, A Medic’s Mind, in which he documents his transition from military medic to civilian paramedic, and the mental health challenges he’s endured along the way.
“The book includes a story about Colin and what he meant to me,” said Heneghan.
Hunter happened to read the book and, after holding onto the shirt for 13 years, finally knew who it should go to. In 2021, around Christmas, Heneghan would receive an unexpected package in the mail.
“It was the Oilers T-shirt along with a note, a story of what it was and how it was found, so that obviously was a huge moment for me,” said Heneghan. “Being around Christmas time, it kind of felt like Colin had come to visit for the holidays. It was something I felt I really wanted to tell people about because it was such a serendipitous event, I felt I need to write about this.”
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Heneghan wrote a short story about the experience, which received national attention, and the shirt wound up finding a new home in the Canadian War Museum. But Heneghan felt the story was not yet finished.
“I wanted to tell people why it was so significant,” said Heneghan. “People can hear about the singular event and go ‘yeah, that’s a pretty special story,’ but I wanted people to know who Colin was, or who I knew him to be, so I stared writing things down.”
After writing his part of the story, Heneghan’s publisher reached out to Hunter who, while deployed, had been writing letters to his wife almost daily.
“We found some parallels between his letters and my experience being here in Canada, going through my own things while he was going through his own things,” said Heneghan. “So the book kind of took a new shape where it was my story interlaced with his story and the whole time throughout the chapters of the book the shirt is making its journey.”
The process of writing and releasing the book has been another step in Heneghan’s own journey of healing. His hope is that others on a similar journey might find a helpful connection in the book.
“I loved being a medic… I had the ability to help and intervene in certain cases,” said Heneghan. “Now that I can’t be a medic, it’s not healthy for me anymore, my hope is that with this medium, with putting things out into the ether… someone like me, someone who was… or is in a bad or lonely or isolated place, comes across these words and they’re able to see themselves in that story… and in seeing those similarities, they come to the understanding that you’re never quite as alone as you think. That’s always been my hope.”
Released by Wintertickle Press, Woven in War is now available in paperback and for Kindle. Heneghan is looking forward to a book signing, possibly in June, at Bookingham Palace at the Mall at Piccadilly.
For more information, visit amedicsmind.com.