Not Quite the End

I just want to say that this isn't quite the end of Jack's story. I'm still doing research and will post when I can, but it will not be as often. I have, however, started a new blog, called Glory and Grief which will tell my Granddad and Edward's story of their service during the Second World War. I highly recommend you check that out.

Thank you to all my readers and all those who commented and emailed me. I appreciate your interest in my great-grandfather's story.

 

Canada's last First World War Veteran, John Babcock, passes the Torch on to Canada's Veterans.

"We must never forget our fallen comrades. I pass this torch of remembrance to my comrades. Hold it high,"

Pittance of Time....

November 11th 1918

 And when they ask us / How dangerous it was
Oh we'll never tell them / No we'll never tell them
We spent our pay in some café / And fought wild women night and day
T'was the cushiest job we ever had.
And when they ask us / And they're certainly going to ask us
The reason why we didn't win the Croix de Guerre
Oh we'll never tell them / No we'll never tell them
There was a front / But damned if we knew where.

Soldier's song form the First World War

I did a brief overview of this a few months ago when I was covering the last half of Jack's war service. I'll give a recap of this time to save you from going back through the blog (though I encourage it!)

Finally released from the Epsom Convalescent Home (where he was recovering from his bout with appendicitis and a foot injury) Jack soon found himself back in the hospital. This time it was with influenza. Jack would not recover till January.

On November 11, 1918, when the armistice was announced, Jack was in the hospital. He was lucky. For months before hand the Canadian Corps had been fighting a series of campaigns against German forces, that became known as Canada's Hundred Days. The attack of appendicitis at Passchendaele and the foot injury might have saved Jack's life. For his comrades, even though the armistice was signed at 5am that morning, the war was still on. The previous day, General Currie ordered elements of the Corps to liberate Mons. By the 11am, the town, the site of beginning of the War, was liberated. The Canadian Corps suffered 280 casualties, including Pte. Price, who died at 10:58.

 

Canadians enter Mons

At 11am, after four years of war, the guns were silent. 68,000 Canadians were killed, about 10% of those who went over. Over the next few years more soldiers would die of old war wounds. Some remained hospitalized for the rest of their lives from injury or shell shock. Many more like Jack, went home and got on with their lives and made an effort to forget. They were just more casualties in a war long over.

1914-1918 Vigil Continued..

1914-1918 Vigil

Starting tomorrow at sunset and going to sunrise on November 11th, the names of all 68,000 Canadians killed in the First World War.

The Last Man

Born on December 5 1892 and conscripted in 1917, George Lawrence Price is considered to be the last Commonwealth soldier killed in the First World War.

On November 11th, George's company was ordered to take the village of Havre. After crossing the Canal du Centre into the town of Ville-sur-Haine, George and his patrol moved toward a row of houses, intending to catch a German machine gunner. After going house by house, pursuing the machine gunner and other German soldiers, George stepped out onto the street where he was shot by a German sniper. The time was 10:58am. Two minutes later the Armistice came into effect, the war was over.

George Lawrence Price is buried in St. Symphorien Commonwealth Cemetery, 75 metres away from John Parr, the first soldier killed in the First World War. In 1968 the men from his company erected a plaque in his memory.

To the memory of Private George Lawrence Price 256265 of the 28th North West Battalion, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division, killed in action near this spot at 10.58 hours, November 11th, 1918, the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western Front in the First World War. Erected by his comrades, November 11th, 1968

Keep the Memory Alive

 From the Royal Canadian Mint and the Legion you can buy a 2008 Limited Edition Poppy Bookmark, (featuring the new 25 cent Poppy coin, a dollar from each sale will go to the Legion's Poppy Fund) a limited edition Poppy silver dollar or a Commemorative set, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War (I picked that one up for myself.)

Link here to watch the ad

Head over to Ranting Owl to see Edward's service record....

"Known unto God"

The Somme, 1916, Reverend David Railton comes upon a the grave a soldier. The cross rough, the lettering done in pencil. The grave was simply identified as belonging to an "Unknown British Soldier."

It was from this experience that led Rev. Railton, in 1920 to write to the Dean of Westminster proposing the idea of burying an unknown British soldier in Westminster Abbey to represent those soldiers who had no known grave. Afraid that it would re-open still fresh wounds of the War, King George V opposed it. With the support of the Dean and Westminster, David Llyod George and the still grieving public, the idea was adopted.

On November 7th, 1920, a body was chosen from four flag draped coffins at a chapel near Arras. The next day, the coffin was loaded onto a French military wagon, pulled by six black horses. At 10:30am, the procession, made up of hundreds of French school children, the French Cavalry and a division of French soldiers made its way down to the harbor at Boulogne.

On November 10th, the casket arrived at the Dover Maritime Railway station and from there was taken to Victoria Station, where it sat overnight.

The next morning, November 11th, the casket was loaded onto a gun carriage of the Royal Horse Artillery. The route followed Hyde Park Corner, the Mall and then to Whitehall where the cenotaph was unveiled.  Crowds of ten to twenty deep crowded around Whitehall and Westminster Abbey, all there by invitation, all chosen by ballot from the mothers, fathers, wives, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters who lost a loved one. (The Unknown Soldier, Neil Hanson, Doubleday 2005, p445.) After a brief service, the coffin was interred in the far western end of the nave of the Abbey.

The scale of mourning involved in the burial of the Unknown Warrior was like nothing the world had seen. After the interment, the crowds around Westminster Abbey that had been gathering for days began to file in. In a week, it was estimated that 1.2 million people visited the tomb. The inscription on the grave reads:

BENEATH THIS STONE RESTS THE BODY
OF A BRITISH WARRIOR
UNKNOWN BY NAME OR RANK
BROUGHT FROM FRANCE TO LIE AMONG
THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS OF THE LAND
AND BURIED HERE ON ARMISTICE DAY
11 NOV: 1920, IN THE PRESENCE OF
HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V
HIS MINISTERS OF STATE
THE CHIEFS OF HIS FORCES
AND A VAST CONCOURSE OF THE NATION

THUS ARE COMMEMORATED THE MANY
MULTITUDES WHO DURING THE GREAT
WAR OF 1914 - 1918 GAVE THE MOST THAT
MAN CAN GIVE LIFE ITSELF
FOR GOD
FOR KING AND COUNTRY
FOR LOVED ONES HOME AND EMPIRE
FOR THE SACRED CAUSE OF JUSTICE AND
THE FREEDOM OF THE WORLD

THEY BURIED HIM AMONG THE KINGS BECAUSE HE
HAD DONE GOOD TOWARD GOD AND TOWARD
HIS HOUSE

80 years later Canada buried its own Unknown Soldier from the 1, 603 unknown Canadians buried near Vimy Ridge.

Toronto Star: March 1919

Passchendaele

So I saw the movie and I'm ready to do my assessment of the film.

I'm going to saw I liked it and thought it was a powerful and emotional film that explores and important part of our history. But I also have to admit I didn't love it. The battle scenes, Vimy Ridge in the beginning, and Passchendaele at the end, were some of the most realistic combat scenes I ever saw in a movie. What Spielberg did for D-Day, Paul Gross has done for Passchendaele. The love story, however, I could have done without, simply because it was unnecessary. Paul Gross could have made a tremendous film if he stuck to exploring the Battle of Passchendaele instead of leaving it for the last half hour.

That being said, I think the movie is important, as I discussed on my other blog, it's a rare day when there's a Canadian made film about our own history. I found it emotional as most of you well know if you have been reading this blog, Jack was there as a stretcher bearer. Many other older people in the theatre thought as well as some of the them were visibly crying. A thought perhaps about a long dead First World War Veteran Father or Grandfather?

Bravo to Paul Gross for making the film but it could have been a tad better.

Resources

I've been getting lots of emails from people asking for information on relatives that served in the CEF during the First World War. I appreciate the comments people have made and I've decided to list the websites I've used in the course of my research.

Canadian Great War Project

Great website that lists all the War diaries currently online as well as nominal rolls, links to other Great War websites and books. There is also a feature that enables you to upload information on your soldier, that other people can search for.

War Diaries of the First World War

Most Battalions diaries are up in varying degrees. From our friends at Library and Archives Canada.

Soldiers of the First World War

First stop for those starting their research. Once you have your soldiers attestation records you can order a copy of their service record from LAC.

CEF Study Group

Ancestry

Unfortunately not a free service. For those who decide on a subscription you will be able to search birth, marriage, death and census records.

The Work of the Pioneers

From The War Illustrated

Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting The Great War 1917-18

After a blitz reading (because its so good) I'm ready to do my review of Tim Cook's newest book, Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1917-1918.

Unlike Volume 1, At the Sharp End, this book does not cover a lot of the social history of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Strategy and the momentousness battles (Vimy, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Hundred Days) are the main focus in this edition. As Shock Troops covers the most important battles Canadians fought in the First World War, I'm glad Cook had concentrated on that. I was also glad to see an in depth overview on the Hundred Days campaign (rightly called Canada's Hundred Days) During this period of time Canada was the spear point of the retreat and eventual defeat of the German Empire. During this time the CEF suffered 46,000 casualties.

To the British, French, Americans and even the Germans, the men of the CEF were regarded as an elite Corps of soldiers and I am glad that Tim Cook's book does the distinction justice. It was Canada's successes on the battlefield that enabled the country to forge its own separate identity from Britain.

Passenger Lists

Something new that Library and Archives, along with Ancestry.com (which you have to pay for) is doing. As you can see I found Jack.

A Reply from Veterans Affairs

A few months ago I wrote to the Honours and Awards section of Veterans Affairs to see if they could re-issue Jack's Class "A" War Badge. Today I got a letter from them telling me all though Jack was entitled to that class of War Badge, they no longer re-issue them. It's too bad as we don't know what happened to the original and I would have liked it for sentimental/historical value.

In Northern France there sits a tiny piece of Canada. It was on this piece of land in April of 1917 that the Canadian Corps took Vimy Ridge. In gratitude, the French government granted the land in perpuitity to all Canadians. It was here that the Canadian National Vimy Memorial was built. A memorial to the 66,000 Canadians killed in the First World War, it also contains the names of
11,285 names of Canadian soldiers with no known graves (who were killed in France.)

To the valour of their
Countrymen in the Great War
And in memory of their sixty
Thousand dead this monument
Is raised by the people of Canada

Not far from Menin Gate is another memorial to the fallen of the First World War. In fact it is the largest British Commonwealth cemetery in the world with 12,000 graves, of which 8,367 have "A Soldier of the Great War" engraved on their headstones. A stone wall that surrounds the cemetery has the names of 35,000 Commonwealth soldiers who fell between August 17 1917-November 11th 1918 and have no known grave.

1914 - HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE ARMIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
WHO FELL IN YPRES SALIENT, BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL
GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH - 1918

Inscription engraved on the frieze above the panels which contain the names of the missing.

Every night at 8:00pm, a familar tune is played in the town of Ypres. Roads are closed, while crowds of people and sometimes none at all, gather under a marble archway to remember the dead from the First World War.

Menin Gate is a memorial to the 54,896 Commonwealth Soldiers who have no known grave. On completion of the memorial in 1927 it was discovered that it would be too small to hold all the names originally planned. A cut off date of August 15, 1917 was chosen and a further 34,984 names are inscribed on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing. 7,000 of names on the Mein Gate are Canadians.

One of the most tragic features of the Great War was the number of casualties reported as 'Missing, believed killed'.  To their relatives there must have been added to their grief a tinge of bitterness and a feeling that everything possible had not been done to recover their loved ones' bodies and give them reverent burial.  That feeling no longer exists; it ceased to exist when the conditions under which the fighting was being carried out were realised.

But when peace came and the last ray of hope had been extinguished the void seemed deeper and the outlook more forlorn for those who had no grave to visit, no place where they could lay tokens of loving remembrance...

It was resolved that here at Ypres, where so many of the 'Missing' are known to have fallen, there should be erected a memorial worthy of them which should give expression to the nation's gratitude for their sacrifice and its sympathy with those who mourned them.

A memorial has been erected which, in its simple grandeur, fulfils this object, and now it can be said of each one in whose honour we are assembled here today: 'He is not missing; he is here'."

From Lord Plummer's speech on the unveiling of Menin Gate

Some Good Reading

Tim Cook, curator of the Canadian War Museum and author of "Nowhere to Run" and "Cilo's Warriors" has written an excellent volume of books (with the new one, "Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1917-1918) coming out on September 30th. Volume 1, "At the Sharp End" tells the history of the start of the First World War, the formation of the First Contingent and the first battles (Ypres to Mt. Sorrel) the Canadian Expeditionary Force faced.

I got to tell you this is an amazing piece of work and one of the few books I stayed up all night reading, simply because I could not put it down. From the inception of the First Contingent (on a shoe string budget) to the first action at 2nd Ypres to Mt. Sorrel, from the description Tim Cook puts forward you will feel like you are there on the Western Front.

The book, however, isn't all battles. The book also describes the boring day to day routine of the average soldier's life at the front. Fun and games and the British perspective of the Canadians are also talked about in great detail. From this first volume you begin to see how the First World War transformed Canada from British dominion into a distinctive country with its own identity.

A Land Fit for Heroes

A Land Fit for Heroes? It was David Lloyd George who coined the term to describe what post-war Britain would be like after the war. The truth of it though depended.

Most soldiers found it hard to integrate back into civilian life. For those with disabilities, the government offered meager compensation. Jobs promised to soldiers at war's end didn't always happen. Many men found they had to start their lives over again while they watched "stay at homes" reap the rewards. An economic downturn in 1919-1920 saw 200,000 Canadians out of work, many of them former soldiers.

A letter, written by Walter Draycot to  his former CO

August 21st, 1930.
Senator W. Griesbach,
Parliament Buildings,
Ottawa.
Honoured Sir,
In writing you may I respectfully recall a War episode by way of introduction: During the early stages of the Third Battle of Ypres you assumed command at Yeomanry Post at the critical moment.
As Sergeant in charge of Brigade Intelligence I volunteered the role of Despatch Carrier, in company with Capt. Wallis, as I had previously mapped and sketched the area.
You probably remember my Intelligence work on the Brigade and the field sketches which you have copies of.
I hope I am not trespassing on your time but I am desirous of your assistance if such lies in your power.
On 1-4-1923 my disability pension ceased and though letters were sent the Department for re-consideration of my case they were of no avail.
When making application for re-instatement of Pension in the Spring of this year I was granted 25 per cent from 1-3-30.
During the period 1-4-1923 to 1-3-1930 it was a great struggle to keep afloat and being unable to take on any steady work caused me to fall back so consequently my rates and taxes are in arrears.
A friend of mine in somewhat similar circumstances had been re-instated in his Pension and has received the full amount of the dormant period of his Pension allowance. In all fairness I anticipated the same treatment, as a comparative case, but received only an evasive reply to my enquiries. True enough the fortunate applicant is a well known politician, and I not so, which explains the comparison.
My overseas record, longer than any other Canadian of the C.E.F. in the constituency of Vancouver North, extends from 1914 (in the trenches at Dickebusch) to the latter end of 1918 as an original member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
Since my return the community has benefited by my services to them without salary or emolument as a School Board Trustee, Chairman of the Boy Scouts, founding Lending Libraries and Museums at six schools, and other public matters.
The granting of my dormant Pension allowance would clear me of debts incurred through my War disabilities.
I should feel indeed grateful if you could assist me in my case if it is possible for you to do so.

Resting,

Yours Respectfully,

Walter M. L. Draycot
J.P.

Now Jack was lucky. When he returned home, he found work in his father-in-law's (Frank Kerr) tannery, though the smell of the work drove Jack to quit a few months later. A skilled tradesmen, Jack soon found work with Toronto Hydro and stayed there till retirement. Many others, though, remained under employmed.

To respond to returning soldiers needs, the Government of Canada created the Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment in 1918. At its peak, the department operated a number of hospitals (both medical and psychiatric), out patient clinics, programs for out of work veterans and vocational classes for those disabled veterans.

Like their American counter-parts, Canadian Veterans demanded a bonus ($2000) to be paid out to compensate for their services. Like the Americans, the government refused to listen. It was not until 1930 that the government passed the War Veterans Allowance Act, that provided poor veterans over 60, $40 a month (for married veterans) or $20 a month (for single veterans.) To help fight the Government for benefits, two organizations were created the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League (Royal Canadian Legion) and the Great War Veteran's Association.

The Rest of the Story

You're probably wondering what happened with the 123rd Pioneer Battalion after Jack left them? Here's a summary of the actions they were involved in till May 1918.

In December 1917 the 123rd was pulled of the line to undergo further training and to accept new drafts of men. By Christmas the Battalion was back at work at the city of Maroc, setting up wiring. By the begining of the new year, the 123rd was back in the thick of things, suffering about twelve casualities in the first few days of January. By the end of the month they were again taken off the line and rotated to Ourton, for rest and further training.The 123rd was relocated back to Vimy in February to continue work fixing trenches and dugouts.

March 1918 saw the anniversary of the battalion's arrival in France. During this month, things did not change to much. For the last half of the month, the battalion was constantly being put on stand to due to the increasing German attacks. The battalion was put on notice that they might be required to move within two hours time as an attack on Vimy Ridge was a possibility. On april 12th the battalion was withdrawn from Vimy and returned to Maroc.

In May, the Battalion was suddenly broken up into the 7th, 8th and 9th Canadian Engineer Battalions. This was a huge blow to the men of the 123rd as the battalion had been in existence for over two and a half years. Today the 123rd, along with the  3rd, 58th, 124th, and 204th Battalions perpetrates The Royal Regiment of Canada. 

Britian's Last Tommy

Harry Patch, age 110, one of two men left in the world to have fought on Western Front.

"Any one of them could have been me. Millions of men came to fight in this war and I find it incredible that I am the only one left."

Harry Patch was born in Combe Down in Somerset England on June 17th 1898. Conscripted into the British Army, he was posted with the 7th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, serving as an assistant gunner in a Lewis Machine Gun section. From June 1917 to September 1917 (when he was injured by shell fire) Harry Patch served at the front during the Battle of Passchandaele. After the war Harry continuted his work as a plumber.

It wasn't until his 100th year that Harry Patch finally talked about his war time experiences. Since that time, he has even authored a book, "The Last Fighting Tommy" about his life, from his birth at the close of the 19th century to the First World War, and his life after (and it's a good read to!)

Last Female First World War Veteran Dies

Gladys Powers, born in England in 1899, she lied about her age to join the British Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and then served in the British Women's Royal Air Force as a waitress. During the war she met Canadian soldier, Ed Luxford, and came to Canada as a War Bride. Gladys Powers moved to Abbotsford BC in 1992, where she lived at Valhaven Rest Home until her death at the age of 109.

Canada's Hundred Days

A period of history I can't gloss over. 90 years ago, Canada was the spearhead in the eventual German defeat and surrender. Generally called the Hundred Days offensive, it can also be called Canada's Hundred Days. During this time the Canadian Corps fought at Amiens, the Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Bourlon Wood, Denian, Valenciennes and finally, Mons, on the last day of the War. All four Canadian Divisions defeated or caused the retreat of thirty-four German Divisions during this time. August 8th, 1918 became known as "the black day for the German Army" as the Canadians and Aussies broke through German lines at the Battle of Amiens and gained 8km. By August 10th, the Germans had pulled back.

Between August 26 and September 2nd, the Canadian Corps launched their attack on the Hindenburg Line, starting at Canal du Nord. The fighting was intense, costing 11,400 causalities, but the Canadians broke the line.

On September 27th, the Canadians and British Armies began their next offensive. On this day the Canadian Corps captured Bourlon Wood. This, along with the British Armies' achievements smashed the Hindenburg Line. By October 11th, Cambrai was captured and the Canadian  Corps stopped as a whole at Canal de la Sensee. For the next month individual divisions continued the advance, taking Valenciennes and coninuting to Mons.

So Now What?

As you can see, I've traced Jack's service during the First World War and his life afterwards. I'm still researching and reading what I can so I will update when I find something new and interesting. There are still more pictures to post and a lot more I can talk about so please stay tuned.

November 1918-December 1969

The war was finally over, but it would be many months before Jack would return back to Canada. He would not fully recover from his bout of influenza until February 1919. From there he was attached to C.C.C. Kinmel Park for return to Canada. On February 19th, Jack sailed home on the Empress of Britain.


Now this is a piece of history that isn't widely known, but there was a large scale riot of Canadian soldiers a few weeks after Jack left camp. Conditions at Kinmel Park were far from ideal. Even though the war was over days were filled with marches, military exercises, and medical examinations. The food was bad and local store owners inflated their prices, so any luxurious the soldiers could have bought were expensive. Many soldiers just wanted to return home and start up their lives again, but military bureaucracy slowed them down. On March 4th 1,000 soldiers stationed there had enough. Canteens were burned, local store owners had their establishments destroyed and looted. On March 5th, officers and a few "loyal" troops tried to take control of the situation. Five Canadian soldiers were killed, twenty-eight injured, fifty-one were eventually court martialed. The government covered up the mutiny and records of it still are sealed to the public.

Jack arrived back in Canada on February 25th 1919 and soon was TOS with the 2 District Depot in Toronto to be discharged. He had been away from home all most three years and no doubt the reunion between him and Alma was a happy one.

While at #2 D.D, Jack under went a medical board, where they found him unfit for further duty in the CEF. He was discharged to a convalescent home as an out-patient, where the ongoing injury to his foot was finally looked at properly.

His discharge came into effect on March 18th 1919. Given his war service gratituty and later his "mut and jeff" campagin medals, Jack's war was finally over.

Unlike many returned soldiers, Jack was able to secure work quickly at his father-in-law's (Frank Kerr) tannery. Jack soon left this job as he could not stand the smell. Using the skills he learned while with the 123rd Pioneer Battalion, Jack went to work as an electrician with Toronto Hydro. He and Alma quickly settled down and had four children, Frank (my grandfather) Edward, Patricia and Milton.

In 1939, war was declared with Germany again. Frank, part of the 48th Highlanders, was one of the first soldiers to go over to England. He spent most of the war in England, where he rose to the rank of first Lieutenant. Edward joined the RCAF and went over to England in 1943. In February 1944, his bomber was shot down over Germany. There were no survivors.

 

For Jack, who survived Vimy Ridge and the horrors of Passchandaele, the death of his son in the another European War, was huge blow that he never recovered from. Though, this new war did not stop Jack from trying to join up again. Deemed too old, he instead joined the Veterans Guard and spent the war guarding military installations.

After the war, Jack returned to Toronto Hydro and worked till his retirement in the 1960's. All though his health began to deteriorate from diabetes, he still played all the hockey he could. Finding his condition unmanageable, Alma and Jack made the decision to relocate closer to their son Frank and his family in Ottawa. In early 1969, Jack was admitted to Veterans Hospital as it was becoming difficult to care for him at home. On December 23rd 1969, Jack died in hospital with Alma and Milton by his side. He was given a simple soldier's funeral on Christmas Day. 

Oh! It's A Lovely War!

For those who doubted you make a musical about the First World War. I just saw it recently for the first time the other day and I was blown away. I never thought I could find a movie about this period funny but this one is. More satire than anything else, I think it's one of the most accurate movies about the War I've ever seen (all the songs sung were really songs from that period.)

Alma and Jack's wedding, June 13th 1915.

Back row, unknown woman, Isey Leake, (Alma's mother) Margaret Vandervoort, (Alma's grandmother) Frank Kerr. (Alma's father)
Front row, Alma Kerr, Jack Dow, unknown woman.

One More....

Jack and Alma on the day of their wedding

Scans

Here are more scans I did today. This time it is some of Jack's service record.

Pictures

Well the day finally came, I bought my all in one printer, enjoy!

Jack and Alma by their home in Toronto before he shipped out

Another picture while on leave

Camp Borden, Jack is the one with sweater

December 1917-November 1918

I've decided to do a brief summary of the time between December 1917-November 1918 as there isn't much information to do individual blog posts.

December 1917 saw Jack still in hospital recovering from appendicitis (and the complications from the surgery.) On December 17th Jack was discharged from the hospital. Upon leaving the hospital, he was given a new kit of clothing (new boots, uniform, etc.) Two days after being discharged from the hospital, Jack reported back to the dispensary do to an abraded right heel. The cause? Ill fitting boots. To protect his foot, the boot was cut and for the next five months Jack could not wear any type of shoe or even walk on it. To make matters worse, the heel soon became infected. Jack soon recovered from this latest medical emergency and sent to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital at Woodcote Park in Epsom to recover further.



On March 11, 1918, Jack was pronounced fit for duty and transferred to the Canadian Engineer Training Depot (CETD) in Seaford, where he trained to head back to the front. For whatever reason this did not occur and in May 1918, Jack was taken on strength with the 1st Canadian Engineer Reserve Battalion, where he worked as a driver.

On November 9th 1918 (a year since Passchandeale) Jack reported to the 13th Canadian Hospital in Hastings with a case of influenza. The 1918 Influenza pandemic would eventually kill 20 million people worldwide. Many soldiers at the front and back in England fell victim to the virus.



But with all the tragedy, some good finally came. At 11:00am on November 11, 1918, the armistice was announced. The war was over.



For Jack, it brought an end to all most two years of overseas service (with 9 months of service at the front.)

Michael McDonagh, diary entry (11th November, 1918)

Looking through my window I saw passers by stopping each other and exchanging remarks before hurrying on. They were obviously excited but unperturbed. I rushed out and inquired what was the matter. "The Armistice!" they exclaimed, "The War is over!"

I was stunned by the news, as if something highly improbable and difficult of belief had happened. It is not that what the papers have been saying about an Armistice had passed out of my mind, but that I had not expected the announcement of its success would have come so soon. Yet it was so. What is still more curious is that when I became fully seized of the tremendous nature of the event, though I was emotionally disturbed, I felt no joyous exultation. There was relief that the War was over, because it could not now end, as it might have done, in the crowning tragedy of the defeat of the Allies. I sorrowed for the millions of young men who had lost their lives; and perhaps more so for the living than for the dead - for the bereaved mothers and wives whose reawakened grief must in this hour of triumph be unbearably poignant. But what gave me the greatest shock was my feeling in regard to myself. A melancholy took possession of me when I came to realize, as I did quickly and keenly, that a great and unique episode in my life was past and gone, and, as I hoped as well as believed, would never be repeated. Our sense of the value of life and its excitements, so vividly heightened by the War, is, with one final leap of its flame today, about to expire in its ashes. Tomorrow we return to the monotonous and the humdrum. "So sad, so strange, the days that are no more!"

Edward Albert Dowe

Originally posted on my other blog, Ranting Owl

November 1917 Part II

When I last left off, Jack had just been taken off the lines and invalided back to England due to acute appendicitis. After leaving the casualty clearing station, Jack would have been put on a transport and taken back to England. There he was admitted to the 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham on November 10th. By 1917 the 1st SGH had a capacity of 2400 beds. On November 17th, Jack was Struck off Strength from the 123rd Pioneer Battalion.



All though military hospitals could be upsetting places to be for the soldiers there, especially if one had lost a limb or the use of his legs, they were also seen as a refuge from the battlefield. After many months of living in trenches, a hospital must have seemed like a dream come true. Regular meals, clean sheets, baths, activities and leave to cities or towns, were all luxuries a soldier might not have experience in a while.

Jack was placed in Ward B1 and continued to recover from his surgery. Whether there were complications or Jack was just a slow healer, the Doctor noted that it was not till the 28th that the stitches were able to be removed and the surgical wound began to heal properly.

At the close of November, Jack still resided in the hospital, awaiting to be discharged and sent to one of the many convalescent hospitals in England.

November 1917: Part I

I'm doing November 1917 in two parts for reasons that will be made clearer as you read on. As I left off in the last post, Jack's battalion had just been sent to Ypres to participate in the capture of Passchendaele. He and three hundred and forty five other men in his battalion had just been picked as stretcher bearers to assist in carrying out from the battlefield the ever increasing causalities. On October 30th, the Canadians, along with two British divisions attacked the town and managed to gain the ruined outskirts of the village. From there, they hung on, through rain and shell fire.



For Jack, the 1st of November, began with an intense barrage near their billets. No casualties were reported and it soon became an every day occurrence. The job of a stretcher bearer was one of the most hazardous on the Western Front. With the heavy rains, it sometimes took four men to carry a stretcher, and then there was the mud. Stretcher bearers had to pull themselves out of the mud after every step.

Wallace Carroll, 15th battalion CEF, was detailed as a stretcher bearer during the Battle of Passchendaele for the 3rd Battalion.

So I don't now how that worked out but our company got detailed as stretcher bearers, and we had one stretcher to four men. And we went on up they kicked off early in the morning and oh about eight o'clock we were sent in to pick up the wounded. Well the Commanding Officer of the Third Battalion he wouldn't allow us to go on any further. It's no use he said, you'd never get them, and he said, you'll never be able to get them out. The mud and the water up there was terrific but by the time we got as far as we did we were all soakin' wet. The shell holes were so close together and everyone was full of water see, that was low land country up there and the canals and the dikes you know up there had all been cut you see. And the water overflowed into the low country and consequently every shell-hole up there were some shell holes up there you could get out and paddle around in a canoe in them, and they were quite big. You could drown up there quite easy if you happen to fall in them at night time.
Oral Histories of the First World War

I think it was Jack's experiences with this battle that led to his life long struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The torrential rains, the mud, the horribly wounded and killed soldiers that he had to attempt to take back to an Aid station, the intense shelling.... it's a wonder that Jack did not end up in a psychiatric hospital (like so many others) for the rest of his life. As my Dad put it simply, "he suffered."



On November 5th, a day before the town of Passchendaele was taken, Jack was taken to 4th Canadian Field Ambulance. The diagnosis, acute appendicitis. Jack could have been suffering for several days from pain on the lower right side of the abdomen, loss of appetite, fever, nausea and vomiting. From the field ambulance, Jack was taken to a Casualty Clearance Station, where he was evacuated to "blighty" (slang for England.) This part of Jack's war was over.

Thousands of over soldiers were not as lucky. On November 6th, the Canadian Corps took all of Passchendaele. Pockets of German resistance continued up until the 15th. 16,000 casualties were taken by the Canadian Corps in order to gain a few yards of territory. Four months later, the Germans retook the time.

Squire nagged and bullied till I went to fight,
(Under Lord Derby's scheme). I died in hell -

(They called it Passchendaele). My wound was slight,
And I was hobbling back; and then a shell
Burst slick upon the duckboards: so I fell
Into the bottomless mud, and lost the light

At sermon-time, while Squire is in his pew,
He gives my gilded name a thoughtful stare;
For, though low down upon the list, I'm there;
"In proud and glorious memory" ... that's my due.
Two bleeding years I fought in France, for Squire:
I suffered anguish that he's never guessed.
I came home on leave: and then went west...
What greater glory could a man desire?
Memorial Tablet, Siegfried Sassoon

October 1917

Did Jack know what was awaiting him? No doubt he had heard reports and rumor from the front lines at Passchendaele. By October, Jack had spent seven months at the front, and the start of the month, his battalion was still resting behind the lines at the Vimy sector.

On October 5th, the battalion was completely pulled off the lines and sent to Hermin. There they received reinforcements and were able to hold their first Regimental Church Parade in months. The Chaplain, Captain Headley, is spoken of very highly in the war diary (like many Chaplains.) In their last camp at Neuville St. Vaast, he was instrumental in setting up a reading room for the men, that was quite popular (even with other battalions.) In their new camp, Captain Headley had secured the use of a school for the same purpose.

Over the next fews days Jack and the rest of the men rested and trained. On one particular night B and C Companies and the Band were treated to a movie in the neighbouring town. Before Jack left for the war, he was a "movie operator" in one of the Toronto theaters. Now I know I said I thought Jack was in D company, but as some of the writing in his service record in eligible I can't be sure. If Jack was in one of those companies who saw a movie or heard from somebody who was, it must have reminded him of home.

On October 12th, word was received that the battalion was to move to Belgium. At 0700hrs on October 19th, Jack and his Battalion were loaded up into Motor buses and driven to Ypres. They were billeted in Wieltje and in a preview of things to come, heavy rains fell the entire night. The next day, Jack was moved to west of Ypres, taking up the billets of the New Zealand Pioneers.

On October 21st, German shells struck the camp the 123rd Battalion was billeted in. One soldier, Pte. J.E. Clarke was killed. Soon after, the billets were changed. HQ was established in the in the town of Ypres and more shelling commenced of the cross roads near them. One shell struck one of the C.S wagons, killing the horses and injuring several men.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Several hours later, while C company was proceeding to their billets, a shell struck #12 platoon. Twenty men were killed, thirteen wounded. That night, they were buried.



At 0540 on October 26th, (Zero Hour) the Third and Fourth Divisions advanced into the salient. While this was going on, the Battalion, like they had done at Vimy, were repairing the main mule track. By the end of the month the Third and Fourth Divisions had completed their second objective, suffering horrendous causalities in the process. Because of the increase in causalities, 345 men (including Jack) were ordered to report to the Advanced Dressing Station at Keir Farm, as stretcher bearers.



The Battle of Passchendaele had just begun....

A Background

As soon as I get everything organized I will dive into a recounting of October 1917 and the start of the Battle of Passchendaele (for the Canadians.) But first I just want to give a little background history for those who don't know.

The offensive began on July 31st 1917 with the British suffering 32,000 casualities to gain 2000 yards. Over the month of August, continous shelling destroyed drainage canals and unseasonable heavy rains turned to area into a sea of mud. Throughout September, the Allies continued long scale attacks but only managed to gain a few thousand yards

By October 3rd, the British line overlooked the the the Passchendaele ridge. The next day the New Zealand Division, along with the Australians assualted Broodseinde Ridge. The attack was a dismal failure. 1000 prisoners were taken, 320 soldiers of the New Zealand Division were killed. The Allies gained 1000 metres.

On October 12th, the Allies attempted gain the area around Poelkapelle (a first attempt had failed.) Heavy rains made it difficult and artillery could not be brought closer due to the mud. A further 2,700 New Zelanders became casualities. At this time the Canadian Corps was moved up the line to replace the ANZAC forces. The date for the start of the assualt by the 3rd and 4th Divisions: October 26th.

On Haitus

This blog will be on haitus until further notice. I am currently in Ottawa due to the death of my Grandpa. Stay tuned for updates.

Passchendaele: The Movie

I'm going to be positing soon on Passchendaele. It wasn't until recently I found out that Jack had fought there. I'm still doing research, so until then check out the trailer for the Paul Gross film:

Map of Vimy

I badly photoshoped the following map of Vimy Ridge, with the location of all the places Jack was stationed in.

September 1917

"Our New Headquarters Camp is on the Old Sunken Road, just to the south of Neuville St. Vaast. The village itself is absolutely devastated, and there is not one stone left standing on another, and it is most pathetic to see from time to time the people who lived here before the War endeavoring to locate the spot where their homes previously stood. "
123 rd Pioneer Battalion CEF, War diary, September 1917.

Jack's Battalion was still under manned as September dragged on. On September 14th, HQ received more bad news, all other ranks in excess of Establishment were to be returned to Corps Reinforcement unit. Supernumeraries were not allowed to sent. 147 men were sent from the Battalion. Working strength was now 250 men. With furthers operations at the front coming up, the CO had grave concerns that their alloted work would be completed.

Even with the shortage of men, the CO and the rest of HQ staff was impressed with the amount of work done by the Battalion. For coming on to the front lines at the beginning of the month, the Battalion was able to complete 4 R.A.P's, an Advanced Dressing Station, a mile of trenches and a mile of light railroad, all under enemy fire.

For a complete history of the Battalion till September 1917, I have included the following: