Elmer Weber Gets Ten Years' Penal

Evaded Military Service Act—Sentence Commuted From Fifteen

The Toronto World, 6 February 1919

Elmer Joseph Weber, the young man of German descent, whose father is a reeve of the Village of Neustadt, near Owen Sound, was sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude as a defaulter under the Military Service Act, and the order was promulgated at Exhibition camp yesterday in the presence of the Canadian Garrison Regiment, drawn up in hollow square formation.

Captain R.A. Plato, regimental adjutant, read the sentence, and afterwards Weber was removed to detention barracks. He was taken to Kingston last evening.

The prisoner was tried before a general court-martial held in Toronto on Jan. 14, at which evidence was produced that showed him to have continually evaded military service ever since the passage of the act and therefore to have been a deserter. He is also alleged to have made unpatriotic remarks and to have said that he would shoot the first man who attempted to put him into the army. The findings of the court were forwarded to a committee of the Privy Council at Ottawa.

The committee officially stated that they had found that the trial had been conducted regularly and that the finding was properly made. The militia council was of the opinion that the sentence of the court, which was 15 years' penal servitude, should be confirmed. It was recommended, however, that the term of imprisonment should be reduced to 10 years, which was allowed.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Some Difficult War Names

How They Are Pronounced

The Sydney Mail, 23 December 1914

Although this article isn't specifically about the CEF, it has been tagged as such to keep it with other First World War material.

Study of the war news and maps leaves the newspaper reader in the dark as to how the names of many of the places referred to should be pronounced. When the Germans first crossed into Belgium discussions were common on the question of pronunciation. One said Leeje, the other Li-eeje. Neither was right. The battered fort is pronounced Le-azh. Similarly there have been disputed as to what Ypres should be called. It has to suffer anything from Y-preeze to Yipray. Its now scattered townspeople call it Ee-p'r. The following list shows the correct pronunciation of some of the chief centres of fighting:—

Belgium

France

Russia

While the above conveys the nearest approach to the local pronunciation that can be given in ordinary English characters, it is not considered incorrect to pronounce a foreign name or word in the manner in which the English spelling would ordinarily indicate; for none could be expected to memorise the peculiar pronunciations of every language on earth.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Some Difficult War Names

How They Are Pronounced

The Sydney Mail, 23 December 1914

Although this article isn't specifically about the CEF, it has been tagged as such to keep it with other First World War material.

Study of the war news and maps leaves the newspaper reader in the dark as to how the names of many of the places referred to should be pronounced. When the Germans first crossed into Belgium discussions were common on the question of pronunciation. One said Leeje, the other Li-eeje. Neither was right. The battered fort is pronounced Le-azh. Similarly there have been disputed as to what Ypres should be called. It has to suffer anything from Y-preeze to Yipray. Its now scattered townspeople call it Ee-p'r. The following list shows the correct pronunciation of some of the chief centres of fighting:—

Belgium

France

Russia

While the above conveys the nearest approach to the local pronunciation that can be given in ordinary English characters, it is not considered incorrect to pronounce a foreign name or word in the manner in which the English spelling would ordinarily indicate; for none could be expected to memorise the peculiar pronunciations of every language on earth.

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The Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canada's Part in the Great War, 3rd Edition, Issued by the Information Branch, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa, May 1921

In the late summer and early autumn of 1914, the First Canadian Division of 33,000 men was raised and sent across the Atlantic. It left Gaspe Bay on October 3, and, after nearly three months of additional training in England, landed in France, at St. Nazaire, on February 11, 1915. The Second Division was formed immediately and landed in France on September 14, when the Canadian Army Corps was formed. The formation of the Third Division was authorized just before Christmas, 1915, and the Division was in France early in 1916. The Fourth Division joined the Canadian Corps in the middle of August, 1916. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade appeared in France in 1915. After the completion of the Canadian Army Corps the policy of the Dominion was to maintain a comparatively small number of divisions, but always to keep these at full strength, in order that the troops might have the encouragement of full ranks.

Enlistments

The total number of men enlisted in Canada from the beginning of the war to November 15, 1918, was 595,441. The details are:—

The distribution of these men was as follows:—

In addition to the above, 14,590 British and Allied reservists went from Canada to rejoin the colours in their own countries.

Movement Overseas

The number of men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who had gone overseas on November 16, 1918, was 418,052.

The movement overseas by years was as follows:—

On September 30, 1918, about 160,000 men were in France and about 116,000 in England.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 23 April 2016 8:36 PM EDT

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The Canadian Force at the Front (1918)

Canada's Part in the Great War, 3rd Edition, Issued by the Information Branch, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa, May 1921

The distribution of the Canadian troops in France and Belgium on September 30, 1918, was as follows:—

The Canadian Army Corps, forming part of the British Army, consisted of four Divisions and Corps Troops.

Each Division consisted of three Infantry Brigades, each of which was made up of four Battalions of Infantry and one Trench Mortar Battery, and the following Divisional Troops:

• Artillery—Two brigades, two medium and one heavy Trench Mortar Batteries, and a Divisional Ammunition Column;
• One battalion of the Machine Gun Corps;
• Engineers—three Engineer Battalions, one Pontoon Bridging Transport Unit, and one Divisional Employment Company;
• Divisional Train of four Companies;
• Medical Services—three field Ambulances, one Sanitary Section and one Mobile Veterinary Section;
• Divisional Signals of four Sections, one at Divisional headquarters and one with each Brigade.

The Corps Troops were as follows:—

Corps Artillery: Three Brigades of Garrison Artillery containing twelve Siege Batteries and two Heavy Batteries, one Anti-Aircraft Battery of five sections, three Brigades of Field Artillery, two medium and one heavy Trench Mortar Batteries, one Divisional Artillery Ammunition Column, and two Motor Machine Gun Brigades.

Corps Engineers: Pontoon Bridging Unit, five Army Troop Companies, two Tramway Companies, and Anti-Aircraft Searchlight Company and Corps Survey Section.

Corps Medical Services: One Field Ambulance, one Sanitary Section, the Dental Laboratory and the Veterinary Evacuating Station.

Corps Signalling Services: The Corps Signal Company, two Motor Aid Line Sections, four Cable Sections, four Brigade Signal Subsections and one C.D.A. Brigade Detachment.

Army Service Corps: Headquarters Mechanical Transport Column, seven Mechanical Transport Companies, one Divisional Artillery Mechanical Transport Detachment, one Artillery Brigade Park Section and one Divisional Train Detachment.

Ordnance Services: Three Ordnance Mobile Workshops.

Miscellaneous: Infantry School, Machine Gun School, Lewis Gun School, Signal School, Gas Services School, Instructors' Pool, Gymnastic Staff, Canadian Records List, Y.M.C.A. Services, Corps Military Police and two Railhead Army Post Offices. Labour Services—Labour Group Headquarters, four Labour Companies, a Pontoon Bridging Officers' Establishment and five Canadian Area Employment Companies.

Each Division contained 19,000 to 20,000 troops, and there were about 10,000 Corps troops, making about 90,000 men in the Corps.

The Canadian Cavalry Brigade formed part of the Third British Cavalry Division belonging to the Third Army and consisted of three Cavalry Regiments, a machine Gun Squadron, the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, a Signal Troop, a Field Ambulance and a Mobile Veterinary Section. There were about 3,000 men in the Brigade which was part of the Third Army.

The following Canadian Units, separate from the Canadian Corps, were attached to the five British Armies:—

First Army: Two Casualty Clearing Stations, one Sanitary Section, one Railhead Supply Detachment and two Battalions of Railway Troops.

Second Army: One Casualty Clearing Station, one Advanced Depot Medical Stores, two Battalions of Railway Troops, two Auxiliary Horse Transport Companies, one Field Butchery, two Depot Units of Supply, a Railhead Supply Detachment, and a Tunnelling Company.

Third Army: One Casualty Clearing Station, one Railhead Supply Detachment, three Battalions of Railway Troops and the Overseas Railway Construction Corps.

Fourth Army: One Medical Corps Mobile Laboratory, four Battalions of Railway Troops, one Light Railway Operating Company, and one Broad Gauge Operating Company.

Fifth Army: One Battalion of Railway Troops.

On the Line of Communications and attached to British General Headquarters were the following: Thirteen Depot Units of Supply, four Field bakeries, and two Field Butcheries, which were distributed at Boulogne, Calais, and Dieppe; six General Hospitals and six Stationary Hospitals, which were at eight different places; the General Base Depot, the Infantry Base Depot, the Machine Gun Base Depot, the Labour Pool, the Report Centre, the Command Pay Office, the Dental Store, two Field Auxiliary Post Offices, the base Post Office, one Veterinary Hospital, one Battalion of Railway Troops, one Wagon Erecting Company, and one Engine Crrew Company. The following troops of the Canadian Forestry Corps were distributed at eleven places in France: Sixty-three Forestry Companies, five District Workshops, one Construction Company, one Technical Warehouse, one Forestry Hospital, and two Detention Hospitals.

There were altogether about 160,000 Canadians serving in France on September 30, 1918.

The Canadian Army Corps was commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Currie, with the following divisional commanders: 1st Division, Maj.-Gen. A.C. MacDonell, 2nd Division, Maj.-Gen. Sir H.E. Burstall; 3rd Division Maj.-Gen. F.O.W. Loomis; 4th Division, Maj.-Gen. Sir D. Watson

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War Establishment of an Infantry Battalion for Overseas Service, 1915-16

The Organization, Administration, and Equipment of His Majesty's Land Force in Peace and War, First Edition, by Lieut.-Colonel William R. Lang, m.s.c., General Stafff (temporary), 1916

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More Native Canadians with Second Contingent

Percentage Will Be Greater Than Was Alleged in the Case of the First Contingent—Many College Men in Ranks

The Journal of Commerce (Montreal), 24 October 1914

Reports from various parts of the country state that a larger percentage of native born Canadians are enlisting in the second contingent than went out with the first. In the first contingent it is said that only thirty per cent. of those who volunteered were native born Canadians, the remainder being British born, many of whom had some previous military training. Another factor noticeable in connection with the recruits for the second contingent is that they are a better type of men. The first contingent was largely made up of adventurers, while the recruits for the second contingent consist very largely of men holding responsible positions, who are throwing these up and going to the front from a sense of duty. Hundreds of college men will go out with the second contingent, while numbers of college professors from different universities have enlisted and are taking their places in the ranks. Business men from big corporations, banks, farmers' sons and others are vieing with one another in rallying to the call for men.

It has apparently taken some little time for the native born Canadian to realize the dangers confronting the Empire, and his own responsibility in repelling the world's War Lord. Recruiting officers declare that Canada's second contingent will be composed of the very flower of the country's young manhood.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

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Rum in the Trenches

Excerpted from "Canadian Medical Services Under Fire in the Commons," Ottawa Citizen, 7 February 1917

Gen. Alderson's Wet Canteen

Sir Sam Hughes stated that, profiting by experience at Valcartier, where one contractor had been found to have made $33,000 profit in three weeks, he had instituted the regimental dry canteen system in Canada and desired to follow suit in England. But in 1914 when he had gone to the Old Country he had been told that this matter was in General Alderson's hands alone. General Alderson had told the Canadian soldiers he was going to make free men of them with the wet canteen.

Hon. Charles Marell interjected to inquire on the issuing of rum to the troops in the trenches as a daily ration. Many people in Montreal were objecting to their sons running such risks.

Sir Robert Borden said he had never heard that rum was given to the men before going into action. It was merely a medicine.

Rum as a Stimulant

Sir Sam Hughes confirmed this with the statement that rum was allowed in the front line trenches as a stimulant for troops who often had to stand waist deep in cold water. Sir Sam said he took second rank to no man as a temperance advocate but did not want to hear any nonsense talked against this practice.

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Tommy's Rum

The Journal of Commerce (Montreal), 24 October 1914

Whatever may be said of the "dry canteen" in the military camps of Canada—a country in which "dry" regulations, of not actually "dry" conditions, prevail—one need not be surprised to learn that the British military authorities have set aside the prohibition as applied for a few days in the camps of the Canadian forces now on Salisbury Plain. While in Canada and on the voyage across the Atlantic the troops were under the control of the Canadian Militia Department. When they were settled on their training grounds on Salisbury Plain, they ceased to be technically a Canadian force; they became part of the Imperial army organization, and subject in all things to the British Army regulations. Tommy Atkins, as the British soldier is commonly called, possesses certain rights and privileges, including the privilege of obtaining beer and spirits in moderate quantities, if he desires them. The wisdom of allowing these privileges to the soldiers has sometimes been called into question, but the result of every discussion has been that the army authorities have decided against prohibition. The British officials permit the use of spirits and beer, but they endeavor to prevent the abuse of them, and they take much pains to see that the articles supplied for the troops are pure and unadulterated. A recent issue of an English paper gives an account if the War Office arrangements for the supply of rum for the soldiers, which is of particular interest at this moment:

"Now that the nights are beginning to be cold, Tommy Atkins in the trenches in France is beginning to feel the need of "something to keep out the cold." With timely forethought for the welfare of the British soldier during a prospective winter campaign, the War Office is sending to the front a consignment of 150,000 gallons of rum. The bottling of this quantity which in normal circumstances would probably represent an excise duty of something like £60,000, is being undertaken by the Port of London Authority, and the Rum Quay at the West India Docks offers a scene of exceptional activity even for a department which is accustomed to dealing with thousands of puncheons in the course of a year. The huge vats at the West India Docks, which have an aggregate capacity of 58,500 gallons, are of course available for the blending of of this Army rum. All of it is genuine sugar cane product, requiring no addition of spirit, since it is already much over proof. Some of it was imported in 1911, and some in succeeding years, but the age is not necessarily indicated by the date of importations. Emerging from the vats 4.5 per cent. (sic), under proof, the rum is measured by the gallon and passed through funnels into stoneware jars of the customary type, and each of one gallon capacity. The jars are then corked and sealed with the seal of the Port Authority. The next stage is the packing of the rum. For convenient handling it is placed in wooden cases, which accommodate a couple of jars. The case us kept to a size which can easily be lifted by one man, so as to give as little trouble as possible in distributing the rum among widely scattered troops. Each case bears an intimation that it forms part of army supplies. About 3,000 jars of the rum are sent away each day. The destination is Newhaven via Willow Walk Railway Station. From the Sussex port the consignments go to the most convenient Continental port, thereafter to be forwarded to the base of operations. Large supplies of jars, of which a total of 150,000 will of course be required, arrive daily at the West India Docks. With the active co=operation of the Customs, the work of bottling proceeds until 6 p.m., instead of 4 p.m., as is usual in the case of bonded warehouses. In this way, and with the employment of a large staff of men, this big War Office order is in process of careful execution."

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A Taste of Old Times

Buried on a World War I battlefield, Tiny's crock is full of liquid history.

By Stephen Franklin, Weekend Staff Writer
Weened Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 45, 1960
Ottawa Citizen, 5 November 1960

For a fortunate bunch of Old Sweats in Vancouver, the night of Saturday, Nov. 12, 1960, will be one to remember. On that night they will be swigging liquid history—the contents of a gallon crock that is, in a manner of speaking, a gift from King George V brought to them through the courtesy and artfulness of an under-age infantryman, 429278 Pte. Dudley Seymour. Yessir!

The occasion is the annual reunion of the survivors of the 7th Battalion, B.C. Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and the very special tot they will be drinking is army-issue rum buried beneath a Flanders hedgerow at 7:30 A.M. June 3, 1916, and unearthed on a summer evening last year, if anyone can lay his hands on the nose of a German shell, he will drink the rum from it in true trench style. The toast will be a war that none can ever forget, to absent friends and, no doubt, to the man who hid the rum, dug it up and is pouring it, Tiny Seymour.

Today Tiny is a ham-fisted giant of a Vancouver Island logger, a yarn-spinning whisky-loving, plain-spoken man who lives on the shores of Georgia Strait in the village of Royston with his wife, his old war wounds and a case of diabetes. His life as a rum-runner, a timber cruiser and a successful small logging operator has given him the flavor and something of the appearance of a cross between Wallace Beery and W.C. Fields.

Oddly enough, it was an officer nicknamed Charlie Chaplin who set the whole chain of events in motion. Tiny was in No. 3 Company. "We were dug in behind the front line at Sanctuary Wood a mile down the Menin road from Ypres," (Seymour recalls), "and we were going up at 8 o'clock that morning (it was June 3) to try to hold where the Germans had broken through the Third Division.

"I was 17 then but I liked my rum and I fell in three different times that morning for my issue. Then Capt. Fielding called me over )I can't remember his first name, but we called him Charlie Chaplin. He was from down east and the son of a Chief Justice or something, I think, and he had a brother killed over there.)

'Anyway, Capt. Fielding said, "Private Seymour, take these two jugs of rum over to Major Ford.' 'But sir …' 'No buts, Seymour. We're in a hurry. On the double.' "

Tiny shrugged and did as he was told. Capt. Fielding apparently did not know what he did—that Maj. Ford ("He died in Montreal about four years ago.") was already a casualty, wounded by a german shell.

"I took the two crock of rum and headed down the communications trench to my own funk hole behind this hedge, dug quickly into the dirt, buried the crocks and hurried on back. I thought we could use it later that day."

At 8 A.M. 500 of them went in. Tiny came back with only 28 other men and three officers, but not to the same place. They re-grouped the remnants elsewhere, clear of the German bombardment.

Before long Tiny, who had enlisted when he was only 15 ½ and been shipped overseas as a replacement in 1915, moved on to the Somme and a third wound. Then, with his guardian angel working overtime, he was attached to the Royal Engineers engaged in countermining the Vimy tunnel. The Boches blew it up and of 49 men he was the only survivor, escaping with a stomach wound which sent him to hospital and home for good.

After his discharge in 1919 came roisterous years in the woods of Vancouver Island and aboard boats running rum down the Pacific coast to the U.S. in prohibition days. Gradually the two buried crocks of rum became more than the subject of just another yarn for the boys. They became an obsession. By last year Tiny could well afford a long trip to Europe. He and his wife took ship for Europe, hired an old poilu, René Coudray, and his seven-passenger Cadillac to drive them from Paris to the old battlefields and the unforgotten rum.

Tiny knew that Sanctuary Wood had been preserved as a memorial, helmets, rifles, unopened cans of bully beef strewn still where they lay, trenches, wire and no-man's land starkly reminiscent of the past. The Belgian caretaker told him he must have permission from the Canadian government to dig for his rum. "But," he shrugged, "I go off duty at 7 this evening."

That night 4 ½ feet down, Tiny's shovel scraped something solid. Up came the two crocks, strung together with the wooden tag on them marked "No. 3 Coy, 7th Battn."

Tiny and eight old comrades polished off the first gallon of rum at a truly memorable party in the Piccadilly Hotel in London a few weeks later. The rum was tangy but still good an potent.

Getting the other gallon crock into Canada was the hardest part of the entire 44-year saga. It took months of finagling, the assistance of a lawyer from his old regiment, an importer's license, $11.10 federal duty, $11.75 B.C. Liquor Board fees and $1.14 provincial sales tax. There was also the strong suspicion that somewhere along the line some so-and-sos had been checking the contents with their gullets instead of their noses, before Tiny finally took possession. He took a test swig there and then, under the disapproving eye of officialdom, pronounced the contents smoother than the first crock and stashed the rum determinedly away for Nov. 12, and the reunion.

Usually about 100 officers and men turn up at the Hotel Georgia for the affair. "I guarantee there'll be a lot more who'll turn up this year," grunts Tiny Seymour, "and every one of them ready to swear blind they were at Sanctuary Wood when I buried the rum."

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

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Proud of Canadian Outfit

Best Equipped Soldier in the World, Friends Claim
Complete Outfit Shown in Store Window Attracts Attention of Crowds

The [Spokane, Washington] Spokesman-Review, 3 October 1917

In proof of their contention that the Canadian soldier is the best equipped in the world, officials of the British and Canadian recruiting mission, W603 Sprague Avenue, yesterday placed the entire paraphernalia of a Canuck infantryman in the Riverside avenue window of the Owl drug store. With the figure of a soldier as the centerpiece the outfit fills virtually an entire window.

The soldier wears a complete uniform with puttees, army boots, Oliver belt equipment, knapsack, water bottle, ball pouches, haversack, cap and regimental insignia, and carries a Ross rifle with fixed bayonet. The rest of the equipment is displayed around him.

It includes a pair of canvas shoes and an extra pair of army boots, winter cap, overcoat, jacket sweater, overshoes, cap comforter, knitted, winter mitts, boot dressing, extra bootlaces, cloth, hair, shaving and tooth brushes, hair comb, two sets woolen underwear, knife fork and spoon, holdalls, housewife, clasp knife, service shirt and trousers, razor with case, two flannel shirts, two winter shirts, two pairs woolen socks, two hand towels, first field dressing, bottle water enamel, infantry whistle, mess tins ans trays, kit bag, bottle of oil, pull-through and lanyard clasp knife.

The complete outfit costs the Canadian government $95.31, and every soldier is given it the moment he enlists and reports for duty. The various pieces are replenished at the captain's order when one is worn out.

When the soldier lands in England his Ross rifle is supplanted by a Lee-Enfield, the official British arm, and his leather equipment is replaced by a web outfit. There he gets his entrenching tool. The Canadian soldier does not buy any part of his equipment except soap, and in the trenches he is furnished with soap, cigarettes, chewing and smoking tobacco and a dram of rum, which is issued daily. His entire equipment is kept up by the government.

Crowds of people were around the window all day yesterday and studied the outfit carefully. The most interested were the American soldiers.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

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The 1st Battalion's Other Triple-MM

Many Canadians will have seen at least passing reference to Francis Pegahmagabow in news feeds or social media if they have any interest in the First World War. Canada's most decorated First Nations soldier of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), Pegahmagabow was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in battle three separate times. His medals are now on display in the Canadian War Museum. Pegahmagabow served in the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion, a unit of the CEF that is now perpetuated by The Royal Canadian Regiment.

But few Canadians are aware that 38 other men also received the Military Medal (MM) three times. This short list, out of 12341 recipients of the MM (1235 men received it twice), also includes a second three time recipient from the same battalion as Francis Pegahmagabow.

178218 Private William Anson Ogilvie was a miner and prospector in Porcupine, Ontario, when he enlisted for service in the CEF. Ogilvie joined the 87th Battalion Canadian Infantry (Canadian Grenadier Guards) at St. John's Quebec, on 17 February, 1916. 33 years old when he enlisted, Ogilvie was described as 5 feet 10 inches in height with a 44 in chest, dark complexion, grey eyes and dark hair.

The 87th Battalion, on reaching England, was absorbed into the reinforcement system supporting the Canadian Corps in France and Flanders. Ogilvie joined a draft of reinforcement for the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion.

The Gazettes for William Anson Ogilvie' Military Medal awarded were published as follows:

• Military Medal – 9 July 1917 (possibly a Vimy Ridge action)
• 1st Bar – 11 February 1919
• 2nd Bar – 23 July 1919

The list of triple Military Medal recipients as shown in John Blatherwick's Canadian Army; Honours – Decorations – Medals, 1902-1968 is shown below. This out of print reference is a valuable addition to any Canadian Army researcher's library.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 15 December 2015 8:02 AM EST

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Revetments

Trench Warfare; A Manual for Officers and Men,, J.S. Smith, Second Lieutenant with the British Expeditionary Force, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1917.

When fire trenches are to be occupied for any length of time it is necessary to revet them. By that I mean the walls, and especially front walls, have to be faced or strengthened by sand bags, boards, corrugated iron or other material that is needed. This work to be of any use at all must have solid foundations and be thorough from top to bottom. Careless revetment work is of no use and a source of endless labor and trouble. All such work should be supervised by officers or N. C. O.'s who have a thorough understanding of such things, and they will be amply repaid if they take an active part in the work with their own hands. There are several forms of revetment, according to the materials available and the conditions of the walls to be revetted, but the usual materials are the sandbags, corrugated iron, stakes, boards, wire netting, etc., and these can be used either separately or in a combination. All these materials are generally kept in engineer dumps, some little way behind the firing line. Requisitions are made during the day by the officer commanding the sector of trench which requires revetting, and at night the men are detailed in carrying parties to go down to the engineer dumps and carry these things up for work the next day.

Sandbags

Sandbags are usually available in large quantities, but it is well to remember that generally only half the number indented for reach the indentor. The rest gengo around the men's feet and legs to keep them warm at night, and very often are used as a sort of mattress in the dugouts. This should not be allowed as it creates a tremendous wastage. The sandbags should only be about three-quarters filled, thus allowing for the choke or neck end, after tied, being turned under the back when laid in position. This also gives something to catch hold of when laying and brings the weight to something manageable, about sixty pounds.

A bag three-quarters filled measures approximately 20" x 10" x 5". Laid sand bags are called headers, when laid with bottom of the bag facing the center of the trench, and ptretchers, if laid with the side facing the trench as per sketch. The neck end should always be tucked well in the bag in the case of the stretcher; the side seam, which is a weak spot in the sand bag, should be kept from exposure, that is, should be turned from the center of the trench.

When the front wall of a trench is to be revetted and only sandbags are available, the wall should first be cut to a slope of from 10 to 15 degrees from the perpendicular, and the loose soil obtained, if dry, placed in the sandbags. When there is an unrevetted fire platform, this should be also cut away and put, if dry, in the sand bags. A bed should then be dug about 6 inches into the solid bottom of the trench (disregarding the soft mud which for foundation purposes is of no use) and sloping down into the parapet at right angles to the slope of the front wall. Into this bed place a row of headers. On this row place a double row of stretchers. Joints must always be the same manner as brick-laying that is, care taken that the joint where the ends of the stretchers meet does not come immediately over the joint between the headers and the lower row. Sand bags should now be beaten down flat, generally with a wooden mallet provided for this purpose; then alternate rows of headers and stretchers laid; each layer being flattened out with the mallet until the top of the parapet is reached. The top layer should always come out as headers.

Twenty-five headers or twelve stretchers, or sixteen mixed, is the average required for revetting every superficial yard of trench.

The slope of a front trench wall, even when from 10 to 15 degrees from perpendicular, is apt gradually to assume the perpendicular, and then fall in, owing to the sinking of the trench bottom or the actual thrust of the earth in front. This can, however, be checked by using 6' to 8' stakes driven well into the front wall foundation, and at the same angle as the front wall. Then, wiring the head of these stakes to what is known as an anchor-stake driven about 10' into the ground in front of the trench.

Sandbars come in bales of 250, which are again divided into bundles of 50 each. On a carrying party it is an average rule that each man carry 100 sand bags.

Corrugated Iron

Generally, when lengths of corrugated iron and plenty of floor boards and stakes are available, this material is used for revetting the lower half of a trench wall, as it removes a great many difficulties, such as looking over substantial foundations for sandbag revetments. It makes it unnecessary to fill sandbags, etc., thus saving a great amount of time and labor. In revetting with corrugated iron and stakes or hurdles, cut the slope or wall from 10 to 15 degrees from the perpendicular, putting the soil in the sandbags and leaving it in some handy place for any future use. Then, drive 6' to 8' stakes well into the trench foundation and approximately 4' apart, thus giving adequate protection to each piece of corrugated, having the stakes at an angle of 15 degrees at least, from the perpendicular, and 6" or 8" away from the trench wall. Then, slide the corrugated, hurdles, or boards on their sides down behind the stakes, overlapping slightly the ends ,and ramming them well down into the mud or soil in the bottom, and filling in the space behind with soil.

The bottom third or half of the front wall is thus substantially, easily and quickly revetted, and the upper half or remainder is generally revetted with the sandbags, a bed being dug so that the first layer of headers is about half its depth below the top of the corrugated. If stakes shorter than 6' or 8' have been used in the revetting, half should be cut off to where the sandbag revetting commences and wired to anchor stakes, driven into the parapet end of the bed, and not wired over the top of the parapet, as it tends to gradually pull them upwards. Then cover this wiring with your first layer of headers. "When hurdles or floorboards are used instead of corrugated iron, empty sandbags or similar material must be hung behind them to prevent the soil crumbling through and thus

weakening the foundation of the sandbag revetments. Corrugated should not be used for revetting the front wall higher than 2', which is the width of one sheet, as the supply is generally limited and can be put to more valuable use as dealt with later. Corrugated iron comes in bundles of about 24 sheets to the bundle, averaging 6' by 3'. Two sheets is the average load for any one man in a carrying party.

A front wall constructed in the manner shown, if prompt and immediate attention always be given to repair if damage is done, will give very little bother. It is the usual custom to construct your fire platform after this revetting work has been done.

A trench should be dug no deeper than will afford protection to the firer, a deeper passageway necessitating a fire platform, a subsequent work, and by first revetting the whole front wall from bottom to top then adding the fire platform, each gets the benefit of the foundation of the other. Until this fire platform is constructed, emergency methods may be used and improvised in a moment with ammunition boxes, loose sandbags and the various other junk which accumulates in a trench.

Fire Platforms

Now that the front wall has been revetted, either with corrugated or sandbags, the construction of the fire platform should be at once started. To start this, short stakes should be driven well into the trench bottom about 36" from the front wall and parallel to the slope of the front wall, averaging from 2' to 3' apart and generally as substantial as the large revetment stakes, although this is not of absolute necessity.

When brushwood is procurable, it should be used as a foundation, putting it in after the short stakes are driven and ramming it down behind them. This gives you as nearly as possible a dry and compact foundation for your first row of headers. Then this may be covered with another lot of brushwood, and that again by a row of headers, and from then the layer should be alternate headers and stretchers. Sand bags do not offer a good platform after a heavy rain, as they become wet and slippery and the material quickly rots, then they break open and the top of your fire platform is gone. To avoid this, it is necessary to use whatever material may be at hand in the covering of the top layer.

One good way of providing this top covering when the material is procurable, is a wire netting used in a double thickness. It should be placed behind and up against the stakes before the foundation is laid. Then when the fire platform is built to its proper height, bend the wire from the top of the fire platform and fasten it down on the sides by whatever means are handy. Using this double wire netting makes it possible to use brick and all sorts of general trash in the construction of the fire platform and gives a very good dry footing. When doing that the face of your platform should be either corrugated sheets or boards.

Very often what are known as sentry-boards, or small floor boards about 36" square and with additional cross pieces underneath, giving them a height of about a foot, thus raising them well out of the mud, are used, and are very handy before a fire platform is made, and in some cases have to be used for small men after the fire platform is made.

Joseph Shuter Smith

Joseph Shuter Smith was an American author born in Philadelphia in 1893. He spent his childhood in Alaska during the Gold Rush and spent his years before the Great War as a lumberjack, miner, surveyor and cowboy. In 1914, continuing his adventurous streak, he went to Canada and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, declaring his birthplace to be Port Hope, Ontario (with next of kin in Oakland, California). Smith enlisted with the 29th Canadian Infantry Battalion at Vancouver. He served in France and Belgium as a soldier in the CEF and, after being commissioned in August, 1916, as an officer of the British Army with The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). He resigned his Imperial commission after a year to return to the US and enlist in the American Army. Joseph Smith also wrote the memoir: Over There and Back in Three Uniforms; Being the Experiences of an American Boy in the Canadian, British and American Armies at the Front and through No Man's Land.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

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Dugouts

Trench Warfare; A Manual for Officers and Men,, J.S. Smith, Second Lieutenant with the British Expeditionary Force, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1917.

It is only under very exceptional circumstances that under-cutting a trench wall is allowed, and then the shelter should be cut in the rear wall only. These shelters must be carefully supervised and watched by the officer, as men are very often careless, with the result that the shelters are dug in a hurry and poorly. Then it rains, the shelter falls in, and the men are no more, It should be high enough for a man to sit up straight, and long enough for him to lie down in, and deep enough for two men to lie side by side. It should be raised at least a foot above the floor level in the trench to prevent water from the trench floor coming in. A shelter smaller than these dimensions is useless. It has a demoralizing effect, destroying all activity, mental and physical. These shelters can only be properly made by cutting into the rear trench wall the necessary depth and length and right to the top. Then, with any material which is convenient, such as corrugated iron, brush wood, old rubber sheets, revet the sides and back. A corrugated iron roof is supported on posts at a depth of about a foot to a foot and a half below the normal level of the ground. Then, when possible, cover this with rubber sheets. If not possible to procure rubber sheets, simply cover with dirt excavated from shelter, taking care that it does not rise higher than your parados.

A fire-trench, however, is not a proper place for shelters, and they are generally better as a weather protection than a shell-proof shelter. Even this should not be favored too much, as it tends to cause obstruction, delay and inconvenience in the passing of troops. The real dugouts for the accommodation of men holding a line are generally behind the fire-trenches in an immediate support line, or as in the case of T-bays, in the control trench and communication trenches leading to and from them. These are large dug-outs, having a depth of 30 and 40 feet, and in some cases capable of holding 100 to 250 men, generally having from 5 to 10 exits and entrances. Here the men stay during bombardments and are generally safe from any caliber shell which may light on top, unless a half dozen should light in the same particular spot.

This work is generally of a very skilled and technical kind. Plans, drawings and labor are supervised by the engineers, expert tunnelers being used in constructing work, although the infantry supplies working parties to dispose of the dirt, etc., resulting from these excavations and to carry the materials and tools needed and required in the construction.

The design and general scheme of a small dugout which can be made by the infantry under the supervision of an officer, without the aid of an engineer, are here given.

The dugout should be approximately 6 feet from floor to roof and about 8 feet wide, with an approximate length of 12 feet, thus allowing men to lie down and yet leave room for passage through. The width depends upon the number you intend to have occupy it. Each man requires 18". Depth to be dug below ground depends entirely to what extent you may raise the roof upon the ground without making an unduly exposed hump which will at once tell the enemy a dugout is there. The thickness of the roof should be approximately 6 feet, constructed with sideposts, cross beams, corrugated iron, water proof oilcloth, sandbags and soil. Sandbag revetments should be used in the strengthening of side posts. When possible, although hardly ever so, walls should be lined with waterproof oilcloth and entrances so placed that they get as much sun as possible.

Great care and attention must be given to these dugouts, and even though taking a little longer than seems necessary, care must be taken to see that they are substantially constructed, otherwise they are in a constant source of danger of cave-ins during heavy shelling and bad weather. Not more than 10 men should occupy one of these dugouts. Then, if accidents happen, your casualties are not so great.

The roof of these dugouts should be prepared in a manner tending to withstand as high shell shock as possible, and for this purpose the following table would be of some use, any part of which, or a combination of all, will give some idea of what is required.

Resistance of Roof Materials

(a)     Shrapnel bullets—Stout planks suitably supported and covered with corrugated iron and 12" of earth or 3" of shingle.

(b)     Ordinary guns of 3" caliber—Strong timber supporting 4 ft. of earth with a top layer of heavy stones or broken bricks to cause early shell burst.

(c)     Field howitzers (of less than 6" caliber)—12" logs, supporting 8 ft. of earth with top layer of heavy stones or broken brick and lightly covered over with some earth.

(d)     "Jack Johnsons"—20 ft. of earth or 10 ft. of cement concrete, reinforced with steel and covered over with a covering of heavy stone or broken brick.

It is very often the case that there is a line of trenches with very few dugouts. Those that exist are mainly occupied by first aid stations with a medical officer in charge, and officers' headquarters. When such is the case, very narrow, deep trenches, known as retirement trenches, are dug roughly from 20 to 50 yards behind the firing line, so that every one, except those on sentry duty, may retire there during the heavy shelling. It is very obvious that excellent communication must be kept up between trench and the firing line.

Joseph Shuter Smith

Joseph Shuter Smith was an American author born in Philadelphia in 1893. He spent his childhood in Alaska during the Gold Rush and spent his years before the Great War as a lumberjack, miner, surveyor and cowboy. In 1914, continuing his adventurous streak, he went to Canada and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, declaring his birthplace to be Port Hope, Ontario (with next of kin in Oakland, California). Smith enlisted with the 29th Canadian Infantry Battalion at Vancouver. He served in France and Belgium as a soldier in the CEF and, after being commissioned in August, 1916, as an officer of the British Army with The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). He resigned his Imperial commission after a year to return to the US and enlist in the American Army. Joseph Smith also wrote the memoir: Over There and Back in Three Uniforms; Being the Experiences of an American Boy in the Canadian, British and American Armies at the Front and through No Man's Land.

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In the Trenches

Trench Warfare; A Manual for Officers and Men, J.S. Smith, Second Lieutenant with the British Expeditionary Force, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1917.

On relieving the fire trenches, the men should make no noise, and rifles must be carried so that they do not show over the parapet. This is necessary even if enemy's trenches are at a distance, as there is always the possibility of a listening or observation post being quite near.

Each man should pair off with one of the party occupying the trench and find out from him any points which may be useful.

A commander should consult the officer or N.C.O. in charge of the outgoing party and obtain the fullest information possible in connection with the position. Particular points on which information should be obtained from the outgoing officer are generally:

(a)     behavior of enemy during period preceding relief and any point in their requiring special information, such as enemy may have cut wire as though preparing line to attack;

(b)     machine gun implacement may be suspected at some particular point;

(c)     anything ascertained by patrols about ground between firing lines, thus avoiding unnecessary reconnoissance

(d)     any standing arrangement for patrols at night, including point at which wire can best be passed, ground to be patrolled, or place where they can lie under cover;

(e)     any parts of trench from which it is not safe to fire. Such positions are apt to occur in winding trenches, and are not always recognizable in the dark;

(f)     special features of trench, recent improvements, work not completed, dangerous points (on which enemy machine guns are trained at night), useful loopholes for observation;

(g)     places from which wood and water can be safely obtained;

(h)     amount of ammunition, number of picks, shovels and empty sandbags in that section of the line.

Information on these points cannot always be given by word of mouth. Written notes and plans should, therefore, be handed over to a platoon commander taking over for the first time.

In the meantime the incoming party should fix bayonets and all go temporarily on sentry at posts taken over. Occasional shots should be fired, so that the enemy's suspicions may not be roused. The outgoing party then starts back, and when clear, the relieving party should be numbered off and sentries posted and dugouts allotted. When practicable sentries should be taken from the dugout closest to his post.

By day the number of sentries varies, butshould not be less than one in six. The platoon sergeant is responsible for changing sentries, who are generally not on duty more than one hour at a time, unless under exceptional circumstances. When the maximum amount of labor must be obtained from the battalion holding the line, sentry duty is of any length that fits in with working arrangements. Every man must see that he has a good clear position for all directions. Section commanders must satisfy themselves that men have done this and reported such. When these arrangements are completed, word must be quietly passed down for men not on sentry to stand clear, and they are all not in that position again until the "Stand to" hours, generally the hour nearest dusk and the hour before dawn.

After dark, unless the moon is bright, rifles should be kept in a firing position on the parapet, and all men not on duty should keep rifles with bayonets fixed while in the trench.

Observation

Continuous survey of the enemy's lines through disguised steel loopholes should be made when the trenches are being held for any lengthy period, and such loopholes must always be sideways. Sites may be chosen by day, and made and disguised by night. Two steel loopholes about 3 yards apart enable a man with leveled rifle to wait by one while another with field glasses watches for target through the other. An observer watching persistently through glasses in complete security should make himself so familiar with the look of the opposite trenches as to enable him to observe any alteration in the enemy's wire entanglements, or notice immediately if a new sap has been run out from the enemy trenches under cover of night. He should watch points suspected of being machine gun implacements, and especially at night when the flashes can be detected. Observers should be told what marks, etc., to look for on men exposing themselves, and any result of these observations at once reported to the officer or N.C.O.

Inspection

A platoon commander should make frequent examination of trenches; at least once daily, go around with platoon sergeant and section commanders and decide on the necessary work to be done. Section commanders are responsible for carrying it out.

Before handing over a trench, a platoon commander should make a rigorous inspection to see that it is as clean as possible and that latrines are left in a satisfactory state. This includes the removal of old tins, paper, scraps of food, etc., which should be buried or burned, if possible. Empty cartridges should also always be kept cleared out, as they get imbedded in trench floors and hinder subsequent digging.

Joseph Shuter Smith

Joseph Shuter Smith was an American author born in Philadelphia in 1893. He spent his childhood in Alaska during the Gold Rush and spent his years before the Great War as a lumberjack, miner, surveyor and cowboy. In 1914, continuing his adventurous streak, he went to Canada and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, declaring his birthplace to be Port Hope, Ontario (with next of kin in Oakland, California). Smith enlisted with the 29th Canadian Infantry Battalion at Vancouver. He served in France and Belgium as a soldier in the CEF and, after being commissioned in August, 1916, as an officer of the British Army with The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). He resigned his Imperial commission after a year to return to the US and enlist in the American Army. Joseph Smith also wrote the memoir: Over There and Back in Three Uniforms; Being the Experiences of an American Boy in the Canadian, British and American Armies at the Front and through No Man's Land.

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Preparatory to Entering Trenches

Trench Warfare; A Manual for Officers and Men, J.S. Smith, Second Lieutenant with the British Expeditionary Force, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1917.

Things to be taken note of before entering:

(a)     Check periscopes, wire cutters, field glasses, water carriers, stretchers, field dressings, emergency rations, smoke helmets, rifles, identity discs, sandbags, ammunition.

(b)     See that water bottles are filled.

(c)     Each officer to have an orderly.

(d)     Magazines to be charged and bayonets fixed and unfixed beforehand to insure proper working.

When taking over the trenches, the first thing to be done is:

(a)     Ascertain position of officers' dugouts.

(b)     Arrange telephones.

(c)     Check stores, tools, and reserve ammunition, and its position.

(d)     Obtain rough sketch of front and number of traverses to be manned.

(e)     See that entanglements in front of trnches are absolutely intact.

(f)     Arrange for water and ration parties and find out position of latrines.

Joseph Shuter Smith

(Joseph Shuter Smith was an American author born in Philadelphia in 1893. He spent his childhood in Alaska during the Gold Rush and spent his years before the Great War as a lumberjack, miner, surveyor and cowboy. In 1914, continuing his adventurous streak, he went to Canada and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, declaring his birthplace to be Port Hope, Ontario (with next of kin in Oakland, California). Smith enlisted with the 29th Canadian Infantry Battalion at Vancouver. He served in France and Belgium as a soldier in the CEF and, after being commissioned in August, 1916, as an officer of the British Army with The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). He resigned his Imperial commission after a year to return to the US and enlist in the American Army. Joseph Smith also wrote the memoir: Over There and Back in Three Uniforms; Being the Experiences of an American Boy in the Canadian, British and American Armies at the Front and through No Man's Land.

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CNE Military Camp, 1915. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 3588

Wife's Consent Not Needed

Militia Department Abolishes Bar to Enlistment—Niagara Camp Notified
Seven Thousand Men
Recruits Have Joined at the Rate of One Entire Battalion a Week

The Toronto World, 21 August 1915

The consent of wives of married men who enlist, or the parents of young men over 18 years of age, is not needed, according to the text of an official message received from the divisional headquarters at Niagara camp yesterday. This regulation is already in force at the recruiting depot. No one under 18 years of age will be allowed to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force in any capacity, and those who say they are 18 when they have not reached that age are liable to be charged with perjury.

Only single men will be accepted for service with the permanent forces of Canada.

Official orders are expected within a couple of days authorizing a new system of recruiting, where by each unit will have four recruiting sergeants, who will be paid by the recruiting depots.

In the last seven weeks Toronto has recruited no less than 7000, making the enlistment at the rate of one entire battalion per week. The number of men passing through the recruiting depot Thursday was 196, making the high water mark for the week, and insuring that a complete battalion will be secured this week.

The supply of uniforms for recent recruits has been delayed because they are all being made in Canada, according to a statement made by Major-General Lessard yesterday. He said that the Canadian manufacturers had been doing very well, considering the heavy demand they had been asked to meet. Everything possible was being done to expediete the manufacture of uniforms.

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Supplying an Army When in Field

Whole System Changed

The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., 8 November, 1914

Although this article isn't specifically about the CEF, it has been tagged as such to keep it with other First World War material.

The Manchester (Eng.) Guardian says: The English Soldier, when he goes into action, carries with him … 250 rounds of ammunition. The ammunition is carried in the bandolier or pouch, with the exception of 10 rounds which are stored away in the magazine of the rifle, and to be used in an emergency. The men, with ammunition, carry a total weight of about 60 pounds each. The whole system of the English army supply has been greatly changed since the South African war.

The new chain of supply gives between one and two days 'iron' rations in the haversack, half a day's ration in the cook's wagon, and one ration and grocery in the train or supply column, making a total of two and a half to three and a half days' rations with the field units, as against five and a half days' supply under the old system. The quantity of supplies provided now is actually less. The new system is now on its trial, and it is believed that it will be found an improvement on the old, because, through the use of motor-lorries in the supply column, the radius of action has been increased and the delivery of supplies accelerated.

It has been proved in practice that the three-ton lorries, over average roads, can deliver their loads 47 miles away and return empty the same day. Their speed has worked out at 12 to 14 miles an hour and that of the 30-hundredweight vans used for the cavalry supplies at 16 to 20 miles.

In order to safely send reinforcements to the firing line to meet the wastage of war, to convoy food to the troops, to transport small-arms ammunition and shells for the guns and generally to provide for the requirements of an army in battle, a 'line of communications' from the base of operations to the firing line must be established. The wastage of war is calculated differently in the various armies. The average is fixed at 70 per cent of the army in the field during the first year of the campaign. In this period and on this rough basis the number of men passed along the lines of communication for a single division will be, roughly, 14,000 to maintain the formation at field strength. To feed this force the weight of supplies and forage which would have to pass along the line daily is represented by 110 tons, and requires for its transport 85 general service wagons, or 39 lorries. A further calculation of road space shows that the convoy would occupy over three-quarters of a mile of road, or half a mile if mechanical transport is employed. The gun ammunition to be maintained on the lines of communication as a reserve for a single division of troops weighs 376 tons, the rifle ammunition 173 tons, and machine gun ammunition nine tons, making a grand total of 538 tons which has to be kept always available to pass to the front. There is also the transport of the sick and wounded to be passed from the front to the hospital at the base.

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The Futility of the First World War

Trench Warfare, 1850–1950, Anthony Saunders, 2010

Although this article isn't specifically about the CEF, it has been tagged as such to keep it with other First World War material.

The popular view that the First World War epitomized the 'futility' of war, that it embodied the stupidity of obstinate generals who willfully sacrificed their men and that the horrors of trench warfare could have been avoided, is one that is very resistant to any evidence to the contrary. Indeed the notion that the First World War, the Great War, the war to End all Wars, was an aberration in which warfare descended into a kind of madness in which men were slaughtered in their thousands for a few square yards of ground is a view derived not so much from the actuality of what happened but from popularist versions of it fostered by memoirs published ten years after the war. Not least among those who claimed that the war had been generaled by the incompetent, but fought by heroes, was David Lloyd George, who fostered the view that so many deaths had not only been unnecessary but avoidable had the generals, Haig in particular, paid heed to his wise council. In the face of such 'evidence', it has always been very difficult to disprove such 'truths' as unnecessary sacrifice and futility. The anti-war sentiment is very much a British issue, however. The French, for example, do not hold such iews even though they suffered many more casualties than the British. The First World War was far from futile and the very antithesis of an aberration in military affairs.

There is no question that the First World War was unlike any previous war. Its scale and its intensity, the industrialized totality of the war and the four-year mutual stalemate that existed along the Western Front, the principal focus of the wart made the First World War unique in the history of warfare. However, unique does not equate with aberrant any more than stalemate equated with stasis. Indeed not only was the stalemate on the Western Front entirely predictable, although not while working to prevent each other from attaining that mobility, ensured that the Western Front was constantly changing. The dynamics of this process of change were complex but, by 1917, effective solutions to stalemate were being developed. By the spring of 1918, a new form of warfare had evolved. The nature of warfare was fundamentally altered by the need to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front. So profound were these changes that they formed the basis of the tactical doctrines employed in most armies across the world thereafter. It is a simple truth that this could not have occurred had the generals been quite so stupid and the fighting quite so pointless as the myth of the futility of the First World War dictates.

Predictable though the stalemate of the Western Front might have been, there is a gulf of difference between foreseeable and avoidable. While it is true that no army went to war in 1914 with the intention of remaining entrenched for four years, neither was any army trained to avoid this happening.

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The C.F.A. at the Somme

Contributed by Colonel G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Ottawa, Canadian Army Journal, Vol. 18, No. 3, 1964.

The 13th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, disembarked at Le Havre on September 14, 1915, and for the next twelve months manned their guns in the misery of the mud of the Ypres Salient, and fought at St. Eloi, Sanctuary Wood and Hooge. Early in September, 1916, they moved with the 2nd Canadian Division to the Somme. Their arrival there is described in GunFire, the history of the 4th Brigade, C.F.A.: During the last day's march into the Somme, Driver George Wisheart, 13th Battery, was leading driver of the leading gun of the leading Battery of the leading Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Divisional Artillery, and mighty proud old George was of that fact. The Battery was halted in a small village where a certain British Battalion was billeted; and where troops are billeted it is customary to find a Regimental Padre. Down the village street came the British Padre and, with the best of intentions, but nevertheless somewhat too dignified an air, enquired of George, "What Division are you, my man?" "Second Canadians, sorr!" George answered. "Ah yes! Where are you going, my man?" "To the Somme, sorr." "Ah indeed!", and glancing along the line of well kept horses, burnished brass, and shining leather, and taking us for new troops, the Padre further remarked: "I suppose you're going in to your baptism of fire?" Old George stiffened as he thought of the past twelve months up in the Salient, and with stinging voice replied: "Baptism is it, sorr? Not by a damn sight! It's our bloody golden wedding!"

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