The Diary of George Edmund Thorpe: 123rd Battalion CEF (April 1917)

I know I said I was done updating this blog but I feel after all most a year of looking back there is still more to write about Jack. Digging through Archives Canada, I found the Diary of George Edmund Thorpe, 123rd Battalion CEF. I was quite excited to get copies of this as I have yet to find, besides the 123rd War Diaries, primary documentation surrounding the battalion. The diary dates back to 1916 but I've decided to start in April 1917. Many thanks to Archives Canada for making such documentation available to the general public.

April 1917

April 3rd: Strong [eligible] on wind and rain raged all the night of the 2nd and morning of the 3rd. Making the condition very miserable.

April 8th: Official word received that-United States-has declared war on GERMANY.Big operation on our part of the front night of April 8 and morning of 9th. Numbers of prisoners are being brought in by our men and a big advance is officially reported on this section. Managed to get a couple of souvenirs from some of the prisoners in exchange for a little grub. A shoulder strap from the 262nd Reserves and 3rd Bavarians. Buttons from 263rd Reserves and a German 5 [eligible] piece, all of which I mailed home. Vimy Ridge captured by the Canadians, Apl 9th at 530am.

April 15: Most of the Toronto Battalion came out of the line for a rest today and I was very pleased to see that the majority of old 123rd fellows came thru the scrap ok. Met Bill Long, who was fine.

April 20: Battalion moved from Bois de Alleaux to Maision Blance a point about 5 miles further on. Battalion HQ are in a dugout 40 feet underground which was originally a chalk mine, having been made habitable by the French when they occupied the trenches at this point. Confirmed in rank to Sergeant.

Prisoners taken by Canadians Corps Apl 9 1917
72 officers, 3063 men
7"           "  496 "      "
Total 79       3559




George Edmund Thorpe fond, 1915-1919, 1993. "Diary of Military Service" George Edmund Thorpe, Orderly Room Sergeant with the 123rd Pioneer Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and subsequently Lieutenant, Canadian Engineers.

After thinking about this a lot I've decided to end this blog. I feel like I have said what I wanted to say about my great-grandfather, his life and the war he fought in. I'll leave you know with the poem, "A Common Soldier" by Larry Vaincourt as I feel this captures Jack and his generation's experiences.

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,

All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,

And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,

For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.

Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,

And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,

But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land

A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives

Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,

That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend

His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part

Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

Alma Dowe 1985

I found a photo of my great-grandmother Alma while I was at home. From 1985 it is of Alma, my cousin and I.

Bill Stone: 23 September 1900 – 10 January 2009

The last veteran to serve in both wars. Joining the Royal Navy at age 18 (seven weeks before the Armistice) Bill Stone served as a stoker during the Summer of 1919 at Scapa Flow, where he witnessed the scuttling of the German Battlefleet. During the 1920's Bill served on the HMS Hood, the flagship of the British fleet. By the Second World War he was serving aboard the minesweeper, HMS Salamander. It was aboard this ship in 1940 that he was sent to Dunkirk to rescue British Troops. Bill Stone served the rest of the war in the Mediterranean, where he took part in the landings in Sicily, earning a mentions in dispatches in the process. Leaving the Navy in 1945 with the rank of Stoker Chief Petty Officer, Bill Stone ran a barber shop until retirement. He was 108.

The 123rd Battalion After the War

 

Toronto Daily Star May 1924

 

The Toronto Star, October 28th 1927

 

Toronto Star, October 5th 1927

 

Toronto Star, April 8th 1942