June 1917: Diary of George Edmund Thorpe

June 4: Enemy plane flew over our lines dropping bombs, one of which landed 50 yards from my dugout.
June 8: Big raid by 3rd and 4th Canadian Division on enemy trenches which was very successful our objectives reached on time.
June 12: Major General Sir A.W. Currie KCMG, CB, takes over command of Canadian Corps.
June 14: I visited the town of Arras today. Everything has been smashed by the bombardment. The beautiful Cathedral and all the important buildings are a mass of ruins. On my way back to our billets I lost my way and landed in Petite Vimy.
June 17: Got letters from Home today. I learned foe first time that Jack Huron had died of wounds, May 9th.
June 26: 3rd and 4th Canadian Divisions gained all their objectives in a raid on the enemy trenches. Our battalion working in conjunction had a man killed.

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. 

Found! Pte. Archibald Jefferies (1895-1918)

I'm taking a detour from Jack to talk about another relative of mine. I discovered him a few days ago, by chance, while researching my great-grandmother, Edith Jefferies Coxwell. This was her older brother, Archibald James Jefferies, who fought and died with the Australian Imperial Force on the Western Front.

Archibald Jefferies was born in London England in 1895 to Thomas Edwin and Liz Jefferies. A trained Butcher, Archibald immigrated to Sydney Australia in 1913 and eventually settled in Walaroy, Kelso, New South Wales. On January 22 1916, feeling loyal to the country of his birth and his adopted one, Archibald enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.

On April 14 1916, Archibald embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic. Arriving in England in June, Archibald was admitted to the hospital due to illness. In September 1916, Archibald was assigned to the Headquarters of the AIF depot, where a month latter he was again sent to hospital for illness.

On February 25, 1917, Archibald was charged with absenting himself without leave from 12-2-1917 to 20-2-1917. He was sentenced to 18 days Field Punishment #2 and forefiture of 21 days pay. F.P. #2 was similar to F.P. #1, except the soldier was not attached to a fixed object, just shackled.

After months of more training another stint in the hospital (with scabies) Archibald was eventually assigned to the 45th Battalion and posted to France in March 1918. During this time period the AIF was engaged fighting off the German offensive of that Spring. Archibald and the 45th Battalion stayed in the Somme region through the late Spring and early Summer.

On June 16 1918, the 45th Battalion was in the lines near Daours. That afternoon a German barrage shelled the trenches were C Company was located. 10 soldiers were wounded, 1, Archibald, was killed. He was buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension (Plot III, Row C, Grave No. 40.)

Pte. Archibald Jefferies, 45th Battalion AIF, found after 92 years.

Service Record courtesy of the National Archives of Australia.

Some Found Pictures

Jack and Alma, another wedding photo

 Jack with my Grandad, 1920. Compare this picture with the one taken in 1915, Jack looks like over 10 years older then he should.

Jack, later in life, with 48th Highlanders of Canada RSM

Jack and Alma, 1940's

May 1917: The Diary of George Edmund Thorpe

May 1st: Some excitement today caused by the explosion of an old French ammunition dump in our lines.

May 2nd: Seen aeroplane flew over our lines today and dropped several bombs. There were several causalities.

May 3rd: Enemy plan flew over lines very low, but was driven off by our a.a and M.G. fore.

May 15th: Was in the 20th lines tonight. Met Bill Long and had quite a chat with him. The weather continues fine.

May 20th: Heard today that Troopship "Camerinia" which we came over from Canada had been sunk by a submarine in the Mediterranean.

May 31st: Moved from Maision Blanche to a point near Nerville St Vaas.

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. 

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

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