Feature

Taken to Moore Barracks Hospital Ward 23 with measles, quite a number of men with the same thing from other battalions. One with concussion of the brain and shell shock just back from the front.

July 1:

Dominion Day celebrated by Canadian troops. All kinds of sports, got out of quarantine to see the fun. Good news from the front, great offences started, captured first line trenches for 16 miles and still going. July 28:

Saw an aeroplane come down near camp owing to the mist. He could not cross the hills, it looked a very frail machine and the name of it was the Punjab Montgomery. I was also picked out to parade in front of Colonel Stewart with a model pack.

September 4:

Started on machine gun class, instructor is Corporal Henderson, a Burlington boy. (Kearse was rated as a First Class Shot).

September 23:

In the night, 2 more zepps were brought down in Essex, one crew being capture alive, a lot of damage done.

October 14:

Passed medical inspection, put on draft to the 10th. Battalion as replacement. Issued Webb equipment.

October 21:

Trafalgar Day. Up at 4:30, breakfast at 5am, fall in at’6 o’clock. Ready to proceed to France. Left Barracks at 6:45, boarded train at Shomecliffe at 8:15. Passed through Red Hill, Guildford, Winchester. Arrived at Southampton at 1:45pm. Had some refreshments and went on board the Princess Victoria at 4:45. Boat not very large and crowded. Left South- ampton at 5:30pm.

October 22:

Arrived at Le Havre at 12:30am after an uneventful voyage, not sick at all. Weather fine but cold. Came off the boat at 7:30am and left Le Havre at 8am. Passed numerous war supplies, including big guns. The city is very dirty, buildings very old and dilapi- dated. Passed very large munitions factories. French children are very dirty and begging money and ciga-

opcretea@siwash.bc.ca

rettes.

Arrived at camp at | lam after several delays. Got dinner at the YMCA and changed money. At 1 o’clock medical inspection which was not very severe. Also received Lee Enfield Rifle No. 17031. Name of village near camp, Rouelles.

October 23: Received 120 rounds of ammunition,

€ Fon at 7PM on a work party for the trenches. Went through lots of mud and water, was working on a tunnel. Shells and more shells, and machine gun fire. Lost our way in the trenches...lots of great big rats

also inspected by a Brigadier General. Left camp 7pm, arrived at Le Havre at 9pm after a very hard march, and came down a large number of steps. Went on train at 10pm as escort to two prison- ers.

October 25:

Arrived at Etaples at 8am after a very tiresome ride. Buildings look very old. Very busy station, Australian troops passing though en route for the Somme, after being at Etaples, a very large British and colonial camp near the town.

Left Etaples at 6pm and arrived at St. Pol at 9pm. Just settled down nicely for the night when we were bundled out and marched to a rest camp. We were put in a recreation hut, earth floor, very damp and cold.

October 26

Midnight. Too cold to sleep. Went out and walked about to get warm. Could plainly see the flashes from the big guns on the firing line. Went back to the station and into a room where there was a nice fire, had a little sleep. October 27:

Up at 7:30, paraded at 8:30 for half an hour, then through the day, saw some of the fellows with their shirts off picking out vermin. The billet is a French farm which is very dirty compared with Canadian or English farms. Sanitary arrangements are very bad in France.

October 29:

Dreary, very wet. Church service in a

field, very cold. 6 years ago today I left England for Canada (as an immigrant). November 2: Up at 6am, fall in 7:30 and left for brigade billets nearer the front line, passed numerous trench work and light railways. Arrived at our destina- tion at 9:45am. Name of it, Givency, which has been heavily shelled. Nothing but walls left inding, trees almost bare, lets are fairly good, made huts, fire place in ours, ning hard. Left at 7pm on a work tty for the trenches. Went ‘ough lots of mud and iter, was working on a inel. Shells and more ells, and machine gun & 9 e. Lost our way in the . nches...lots of great big 3! ..svember 16: Fine and cold. Fritz a little lively, sending over shells. November 17: At 11am, one of our bangs fell short and blew Corporal Galloway to pieces.

He was well liked and the first to make

friends with us. It was a horrible sight. November 26: Orders to move at 10:30am, stormy.

Arrived in trenches at 3pm in wrong place. Left at 9pm for reserve trenches, very hard march along a small track through lots of mud. Arrived 11pm, very tired.

January 7, 1917:

Firing with the Lewis Gun in the morning and in the afternoon, 3 French children hurt, one badly, when a bomb exploded in a pile of rubbish. One of them later died.

January 23:

Fire on ranges with Lee Enfield Rifle in afternoon. Fritz shelled the town and we are all chased out to a place of safety.

January 25:

Weather fine and cold. Saw quite a heavy bombardment on our right. Fritz sent up coloured lights (flares). It was quite a pretty sight...

January 29:

Heavy bombardment on our right. Our artillery opened up and soon stopped it.

January 30:

We are relieved by the 7th Battalion at noon. Fritz threw over some heavy shells causing some loss. 3 killed and 3 wounded in the 7th, 2 wounded in the 10th.

February 14:

Shine up all equipment, parade at 12 o’clock. Battalion is inspected by Sir

Dead men in the mud of Flanders—The view from the Candian lines at Courcelette, October 1916. German trenches were often as close as 35 metres away...but kept seperate by walls of barbed wire, craters, landmines and booby traps.

Public Archives of Canada Photo

At the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9th, 1917, Herbert Kearse served with the 10th Battalion, which was a unit in the Canadian Ist Division. The 10th was in the first wave of the attack, and was charged with covering the right flank of the Canadian Corps.

14 October 291996 The Other Press