By this point in the war, the Canadian Expeditionary Force's standards for dental health had been lowered; although Bird was required to have some teeth removed in Britain before being sent to the front in France.
[1] He served in France and Belgium at the front for two years with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), CEF).
Another book, Ghosts Have Warm Hands recounts his experiences during the war and his emotional connection to his brother, Stephen, who was killed in action before Bird was allowed to volunteer for service.
[citation needed] While living in Southampton, he wrote his first story and won a newspaper essay contest; this was the beginning to his career as an author and in 1928 he decided to support his family by writing.
[citation needed] In 1931 he was sent back to the battlefields of France by Maclean's Magazine to write a series called "Thirteen Years After".
[citation needed] Bird won the Ryerson Fiction Award twice, in 1945 for Here Stays Good Yorkshire and in 1947 for Judgment Glen.