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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1919-04-24, Page 6• �' THE CANADIAI SOPPED TRIC DUB AT THS '5 ;ND I fi OF YPR S IEirtat-Hand Story of the B1094'Battle_of St Julien Where Do tnilnion Troops Won Imperishable Fame Their. Gallant :Defence of t to Road to Calais. Sergeant i7e Onthet, autha o4 the Only a Preliminary Calm. 11hiddescription of the second battle Qt Ypres printed belpw, imitated on l'A.ugust 89, 1914, as driver in the Fifth 1l3attery, Second Brigade, Canadian field Artillery, and was among the 11rst of the Canadian thanes • to reach Sngland. After the third battle of Ypres In July, 1919, he was sent home suffering from shell rshoek •" Out of the,,;originat 144 men In the battery only twelve wereleft], I will never tercet marching through Ypres to take our place at St. Julien, whichwasthen, the head of the sa- lient. It was a glorious day in the middle of April, 1915. Business wan going on as usual in the city and the inhabitants turned out en masse to give as a welcome and a "bon voyage." One could hardly think that war was einem at hand. Now and again one: could hear the occasional boom of a gun, but up to this time very few shells had dropped into Ypres. It was a beautiful city then, with its magnificent church and schools and beautiful residences. But what a 'change a year later, when we were de- tailed to take up a position in front of Ypres again. Not a house was left standing, everything was laid low, and the shells were still dropping, big ones and little ones, frotn the enemy's "little Willie's" up to their fifteen inch "Ypres expresses." Sudden Bombardment Begins. Our guns wore in position at St. Julien; the horse and wagon lines at Willie, a hamlet between St. Jean and St, Julien. The distance from the guns to the horse lines was about one and one-half miles. Everything went along smoothly aunt the evening of April 22, about 5 °clock. We were seated at supper, when all That night was 8 little quieter, but it,waa oaly,the seine before the sterni, ter the next ,morning hell broke loose again and our range dropped to 1,200 Wan ..• 02. goats° when you remem- ber that in 1915 the Huns haditen times the number of guns we had•you can imagine what we went through. The , Germane. lcuew, tbat.'lf ,tbey could only get into Ypres they would attend a good chance to get to Calais. And I can assure you they were trying hard. Although the Canadians lost about 19,000 men out of a total of 30,- 000 all told they very materially help- ed to stop the Germans, from getting through, By 4 o'clock that same afternoon we were tiring at 400 yard range direct firing (open sights), We could dis- cern the Germans advancing on a ridge In the distance, while our guns were popping away like machine guns. We could clearly see our shells burst- ing .among them, scattering them and driving them back. We kept this tip until dark, every minute expecting to be taken prisoners and to have aur guns captured by the Huns. Sunday evening, April 25, saw us again in the saddle waiting for dark- ness to screen our movements while we took up a new position, about halt a mile in front of Ypres. An incident occurred that afternoon which will serve to show the hair- breadth escapes that happen on the battlefield. Our draught horses were hooked to the ammunition wagons ready to take the ammunition to the guns. The men all slept underneath the wagons. Per- haps you cannot understand how men are able to sleep at all m the midst of unceasing bombardments, but one at once a terrific bombardment coni- soon gets accustomed to the noise, es- menced. In the distance we could sea Racially when very tired, and tired men fall asleep very easily. a green smoke roiling along the A shell burst among the six horses ground. We couldn't maketeout what attached to the firing battery wagon, it was at first, and while we were killing four outright and wounding watching it the FIuns eommenced two so badly that I was later obliged shelling every road. ammunition to shoot them. But strange to say, dulups and horse linen not a man was touched. However, Very ehortle the Tercon who were this was. enough for us, and we beat holding the line on the left; Cour it, 'placing our horses and ammunition silenced coating throicgh our horse in the garden of an Ypres banker, 9 learned that thoffr no' 099.ner; got,.,te the front 1lue trenches than they went over the .top and, loosening their web equipment en the way, threw 1t from their -ehoulder0,•ailowiug their revol- Vere and neyon0ta tq fall from them and throwing away their rules; All they had to depend upon, and which they did depend upon, was their .Inn kime. They went through the Gar- mans like a pack of Hornets, and every time they swung' .their kukims oft camp a head or an arm. About an hour after they made this charge I mat about twothousand of them coming back over the same route. The majority of them had the left hand bound up in bandages, and all were singing and appeared'.to be. quite happy. I found out afterward that they had caught the enemy's bayonets with the left hand and used the kukims with the right. A Narrow Escape. The next day the Huns came back at us again, Every one was Rept busy obtaining and delivering ammunition to the guns. That day had been up to the guns seven times with ammuni- tion, and the last time, just at dusk, I got into a pretty tight' hole. After we had unloaded the last wagon of shells and had just got on the gallop to get out of the danger zone the shells started dropping all around. us and the.. field. was. sopa ,fall of holes. A shell burst about twenty yards in front of us, killing the near wheel horse and my horse, which was about ten yards to the left of the wheel horse. You can imagine what happened when riding at a full gallop your horse suddenly drops from under—you go sailing through the air, Lucidly I had WILL RETAIN U-BOAT REFUGE Naval Terms Concerning Kiel Canal Have Been Revised. Paris, April 1B,—The naval terms to be incorporated in the peace treaty, concerning the Kiel Canal and Heligoland, .have been revised in several important particulacs. It was the original plan to dissemble' the t`Ortifleations of the canal, mak- ing it a strictly bommercial water- way without defences. The changes that now have been made leave the present fortifications in existence, and provisions have also been insert- ' ed permitting of the continuance of the present coast defences, all of whichwere to have been dissembled, according to the original plan. The changes concerning Heligo- land leave intact the present large basin constructed on an extensive scale for the use of submarines dur- ing the wan. It was concluded that the nee of submarines bad now been so restricted that the basin no long- er constituted a menace, and its continuance was decided upon as Prpv'illing a ,useful. haven for the North Sea fishing fleet in case of distress. The fortifications of Heli- goland are to be dismantled, so that the basin is virtually the only thing retained. The final disposition of the German fleet is one of the subjects still un- decided, and even the 'highest naval. authorities are not aware how the no bones broken in the fall. Shells question stands since it passed into Imes in twos and thl'een some help• ing along a comrace, and all looking as if they 'retie cc ed to death. Soon it became a regular retreat. ,id every- where thee were eLsiring. We thought they hail `,old Tec e ,I -ewe running away, end 1 ant +.fiend 10lite of them were retiedln abeeed be the Cana- dians. but we neon fe:en; out how mi=-' taker•. .ne neee wleen a French officer' who was W(((1%302 in the arm came along and told 0: tiict the Germans were patting over a poison smoke and that the 'Curcio, were tying dead in thou"a'ids in the trenches. About 8 o'clock re got orders to re tire, Ail this time the rifles and ma- chine guns as well as the artillery were imaging away. The sides of the roads were covered with dead and wounded men rad horses, and the stretcher bearers were busy. working silently, and taking all kinds of chances. At 4,30 a.m. we got orders to go back over the same road and talce up the same position, No sooner Itad we got Into position than the Huns commenced another attack. The range was 3,500 yards. All that day we pounded away just as quickly as the gunners could load and used up all the shells that the eight autmunition waggons held, as well as those on two gun limbers. On the morning of April 24 our range was 2,100 yards—quite a drop from 3,500, but, as you will see, it dropped a good bit morn before we re- tl•a tired out of t bole. Acc we were standing to, ready to limber up and retire if necessary, the horses being saddled and hooked to the Umbers, aieCpeculiar thing hap p en - ed which would be Bard to believe un- less actually seen, We were just get- ting ready to move when a shell came down not ten yards from pie and lend - ed right behind the saddle of the near lead horse of b subgun team. This shell did not explode until it got inside the horse. Strange to say, not a roan was hurt, not even the driver who was holding the horse by the head. The near Itorse's mate in the team was not even scratched, but all that was left of the near horse was his head wand shoulders. Stabled Horses in Conservatory, It seemed a Shama to dig ourselves attract the attention of any of the em- buance drivers. While he was lying were dropping and bursting all around the hands of the Coined of Four. us while we were hastily adjusting our horses, but we managed to get away successfully without further damage. In the midst of our duel with the enemy an S 0 S call came and I was called upon to go for ammunition. Fortunately for me, the corporal was not ready as soon as the drivers were, so I took the wagons up while he rode to the column. That was the last I saw of him, for he never came back to us. About two weeks afterward we re- ceived a letter from a nurse in one of the hospitals saying that the corporal R.A.F. was there, wounded, but was doing „I am the only designer who will along Ia shell t ahad bust behind red that while riding make a flight ht his own machine," killing his horse and ripping him up Mr' Peters said to a representative the back with shrapnel. He crawled of the Daily Mali. "I have been to the ditch, and in his feeble and working on aircrra'f1 designs for wounded condition he was unable to about ten years, and have flown only as designer and for experimental purposes." Nine Machines Have Been Entered For Atlantic Flight London, April 20.—Nine machines am now entered for the Daily Mail's Atlantic flight prize. The last was made Thursday, when J. A. Peters, representing the Alliance Aeroplane Co. of Hammersmith and Acton, en- tered the following: Alliance biplane, 450 horse -power Napier lion _engine; pilot, J. A. Peters; navigator and as- sistant pilot, Capt. W. R. Routhtie, into these beautiful r down grape vines and tearing the con• grounds, breaking !there another shell burst near him and servatory all to pieces; as a matter' picked up, and he found himself eight added to hie injuries. Later he was of feet, we placed some of our horses i hours later in an English hospital. In the conservatory; it was the only' They extracted thirteen shrapnel bul- thing to do. We dug a large number ;lots and three pieces of shell, and he of holes. The men slept in these i is still carrying three bullets in his Bele;, resembling graves, each just body.By the way, this same corporal large enough for one man. We placed'is a Captain now, and has been wound - old lumber on the top - and covered ed three times since then. thein over with about throe feet of The next day I got a shrapnel bullet dirt. This was splinter proof, but not in the fleshy part above the kneo, but by any means shell proof, it was not very painful, and I managed The next morning about 1 o'clock to limp to a dressing station, where it we got the first direct hit on B section was extracted. Of course It made me gun, The shell burst directly over limp around for a while, but it was the muzzle of the gun, killing or not a hospital case. wounding the entire gun crew except For a couple of days my leg was a one gunner who happened to be on his little stift, but I was able with the as - knees setting fuses. Previous to this slstance of a stick to go around among the Boches had been very busily try- the horses and attend to those that re - airplanes. to locate our guns by the aid of quired attention. One afternoon about airplanes, At last they succeeded, 3 o'clock the Huns shelled us out of and then it became hot. our garden; they had evidently lo - For two or three days things went meted us by airplane, for they simply along rather quietly compered with rained the shells into our horse lines. what they had been previously, Then We got most of them away, but lost again all at once the Bochas made an- about thirty horses and five men, be - other attach. This happened in the morning about six o'clock, and they captured our new first line trenches. About noon I saw the Indian troops for the first time, and never will I for- get the wonderful sight of the Sikhs, Gurkhas and Bengal Lancers march- ing past, going up to the front. Charge of the Indlans. All these troops were fitted out with two revolvers in addition to our re- gular equipment as well as a long 1 i r. T curved knife called the link n hey marched past us, chanting their war songs, They were brought to the front especially to make a charge; and I may say here that these troops are considered as brave as any troops in the world when it comes to making a charge and fighting at short range. They cannot endure shell fire, nor are they fitted for trench fighting. They cannot be persuaded to stand still doing nothing while listening to the shells screaming over their heads. They want to be up and doing. From an eye witness of this charge sides having an ammunition wagon blown to pieces. The shelling lasted about half an Hour, and as soon as it ceased we got busy going over our horses, and found that about ten horses were killed out- right. By this time the Germans had been stopped and the second battle of Ypres was practically over. C.P.R. Co. Will Add Aircraft To Land and Ocean Services Ottawa, Ont., 'April 18,—Notice is given in the Canada Gazette that the Canadian Pacific Railway Cont- pany will apply to Parliament for an act authorizing it to establish, main- tain and operate services by aircraft between such pcints within or with- out Canada as may be found desir- able. Measures to be Adopted Sign to If Germany Refuses Y Paris, April 18.—Military experts, under the direction of Marshal Foch, have been charged with the drafting of a report on what should be done in the event that Germany refuses to sigh the treaty of peace. It is indi- cated that the methods of coercion which the allies.would adopt may in- clude the occupation of more German territory, the blockade of enemy ports and the discontinuance of the dispatch of food supplies to Ger- many. LIEUT:GEN. JAGQUES, TAKING 3R0 BATTALION'S SALUTE' The Commander of the Belgian Army, who wears 22 decorations, streaming like a rainbow acrosshis c. hoot, is here shown at the march^past at Liege, taking the salute of the 3rd Battalion veterans as they entered thio Belgian city. ALLIES COMPELLED . SURRENDER. ._ . SEASTOPO OtNIn> ' _ NEWS FROM ENGLAND- LIEUT.-GEN. NGLA D tiEWB 1.1? hl:'tli. A11O. !J1 -1N f1CLL AND 1:115 i'i'splCT'Lli 0ecurreite s to the Lexie That iieixa►. Eu,ucmein the Connie:. da, Wncid. Many large mines were destroyed off Rams at -recently„ .the explosions. badly :shaking the town... The 'Chelmsford Town Couneii have decided to buy a farm near the town as a site' for a garden city. Wimbledon County Council intends Inenowing •£1,000 .for the eetabiish- ment of five national kitchens. In one week there were eleven thousand six hundred and ninety- three cattle exported from ireland to Great Britain, There is a plague of rate at Neu -- port, Monmouth, and professional rat-catchers have been appointed by the corporation. Mortimer and "Washington Singer, River Has Sur- Abingdon, spent 1:80,000 in turning First d30)shevilc Army Operating Along the Pripet b ti v their private- residence into a Red rendered to the Ukrainians. Cross hospital, Rev. G. C. Lunt, vicar, and Rev. M. London April 20;. --Sebastopol has'base at Sebastopol, but the allies S. .Fuer;, curate of All Saints' Church, Northampton, have. each won the Military 'Cross. ` Tho people of Bray, Berkshire, have eirotested to the Council against the burial of German officers in Cleveden Cemetery: The depth has •taken place at Nuneaton of Thomas James Baker,\ Who was born in a cook shop, Pic- cadilly, 106 years ago. The schoolboys of Folkestone Planted , flower., .seeds, brought from British Columbia, on the,.graves of Canadians at Folkestone. Films of armistice scenes in 'Lon- don were taken by aeroplane to Paris front London.. Armory which had been removed from the Tower of London during the war has been returned to the Armor- ies. Admiral Sir David and Lady Beat- ty were given a rousing welcome when they returned to their home at Brooksby Hail, Leicestershire. been evacuated. by the Crimean Gov- ernment, which is proceeding to Con- stantinople. The Government of Sebastopol is now in` the hands of the Revolutionary Committee. This announcanent is made in a Russian wireless despatch, which adds that after negotiations with the allied command, On agreement was reached for an eight days' armistice, expiring April 25. Early in April the allied troops were driven back in the ' Crimea when the Bolebeviki forces captured Perekop. The Isthmus of Perokop had been :fortified by the allies for the protection of the ,Russian naval wore greatly outnumbered, and have been continuously pressed .back. One report said recently that a French sijuadron was on the nl wy to the Black Sea, presumably with the ob- ject of saving the great naval base. The Firet Bolshevik army, operat- ing' in the region of Hemel, along the Pripet River, bas surrendered to the Ukrainians, acoording to a state- ment issued by the Ukrainian Press Bureau and forwarded from Vienna to the Central News. Up to the time that the report was forwarded 20,- 000 0; 000 rifles, 35 guns, and 200 machine guns had been handed over to the Ukrainians. PEACE TREATY READY MAY 18 Allies Take Precautions to Keep Terms Secret Until Arrival of German Envoys. Paris, April 20.—lt now seems probable that May 18 will be the earliest date for handing the Peace Treaty to theGermans, and it is und.r.tocd that ti"' first work of the German envoys will be to have talks with the Big Four, preparing ; the way for the Plenary conference. Another session on the arrange- ments for the Versailles meeting was held yesterday afternoon at th;. Quai d'Orsay, when it was decided precautions then be taken to keep the treaty secret until it is presented to the Germans, were further con- sidered. A teakettle is a true optimist. Even whet it is up to its neck in hot water it keeps singing away. BRITISH CLAIM INCLUDES CANADA'S British Dominions and India to Have Reparation Adjusted hi London. Paris, April 30 Renter's corres- pondent says lie ler'. that tile British Chinn for reparations against Germany will include doze of the various British doniinione 1 India. At first it was intended that they should be submitted separately. This decision, the correspondent adds, was recently made by the delegation of tri, British Empire to the Peace Con- ference. The correspondent adds that :im- mediately other the Germans sign the peace treaty a meeting will be held in London, when an adjustment of the claims of Great Britain's do- minions and India will be made. o _ It is a sin to fell a tree unless another planted be, �N.RG „OHTM PORdLASo ^ .�• G': �-� < � M 3F,O.DsTAIRS RA 504.7.6 MC 6GR U44:Wisgaii oN TI;AIM reaRv DEA - CALAIS CtltiRYC qn T'RA1N (411151- RF7soaw 9VW.ANO ANO PRANCE ---- - WALNaC y-R.tJ7'S of DoV.P st 504GARe05 LWY 1,14,/'E. / 0 • y THi TUNNEL$ NER��ppNGE //j//y/J/�r GGI,RYy 3 ,AILS �HLAN /t/ _. , 2 ' eBHu�. yiy�il , 5E5 o. Ili I '�� UZ Fv IQ r 1 T •. BW n r • J to O d4� FSM. p ANCC li;�ili���lllll ) odtat0 • o,, 1j o - 13 A P N�a/q00 fwo'., r' e'tOF °TtP° England to France in 45 Minutes by Proposed Now Tumuli Under English Channel The Channel Tunnel scheme, which has now been revived at the Ministry of 'Nays and Communications in England, will enable passengers to be carried to France front England is 45 minutes, and Paris would be but six hours from the English shores, The cost of the tunnel, which would take to ur or -five years to build, would be about £20,000,000. An elaborate system of drainage would remove water that might percolate into the tunnel, and. cross tunnels would he built at 600 feet intervals. The above drawing clearly explains the proposed tunnel, which would indeed be the greatest and fastest method of transportation of men and materials between Bngland and France and would be alike of inestimable value in peace or war. 00 '1110 R�EALIZL'. THIS ISA COLO DAY? 'TOu'RH NOT 4O1NC, OUT OF TH45 HOUSE TODA`t- 141 40T ALL -YOUR cLoTNES SO ..AAT MAK1, UP YOUR MING `IOU ARE IN FOR 4000- IFI THOU4HT- ILOOKED LIKE Alii INDIAN • I'D. GO 001- LIKE 0T LIKE THIS' D`f GOLLY • I'LL SEND FOR A MES5EhICIER Aiv' STEAL • j•\\ih H!g CLOTHES• h2;' THERE'S THE ©ELL naw AT LAST A RoLt,ll-s' -pm COME' IN HAl'D`t FE,R, iiinn ME- 310 "(OU RING, FOR AM `3 `0-14ER•1 5tR? czz l0 ni 1 �¢ Over one thousand children, who have lost their fathers in the war, were entertained to tea in the Springfield Hall, Wandsworth road. Many horses arc being sold by auction at the Army Remount Depot, Ormskirk, and are realizing from $50 to $60 each. The farmers of West Susse.: have asked that low flying of aeroplanes be forbidden for the protection of their flocks. The King has told the Football As- sociation that he hopes it will not be tong before the national game is again in full swing. Ring Edward's School, Aston, has presented a silver casket to Captain Phillips, V,C., one of the old boys of the school. Two hundred and fifty British ship -masters attended a "Victory Dinner" for the British Mercantile Marine at the Station Hotel, Liver- pool. The King of the Belgians has cre- ated R. Cross, stationmaster at Til- bury, a Chevalier of the Order of Leopold II. for kindness to his sub- jects. Friends of the late Charles Froh- man, who lost his life by the sinking of the Lusitania, are erecting a drink- ing fountain at Marlow as a me- morial. A. woman applied for a' fresh bal. lot paper at a Liverpool polling booth as her child had chewed up the first one given her. It is costing Westminster City Council nearly £600 to dismantle the air-raid shelters and remove direction signs. Kitchener House, in Grosvenor Place, has been informally opened as a rest and recreation centre for fticers. la o. disabled More than ten thousand British skips were repaired and returned to service between June, 1917, and the end of the war. One hundred and twenty boys from the London Police Court Mission have been fighting at the front, and two have \von the V.C.- Plan t6 Send Messengers Put Stop to by Big Four Paris, April 20.—The Council of Four has notified Germany that the associated powers cannot receive rep- resentatives at Versailles who are merely messengers. The German Government Must appoint represen- tatives withplenipotentiary powers. Foreign Minister Count von Brock- dorff- Rantzau, of 'Germany, has an- nounced that three envoys would be sent to Versailles April 25, . author- ized to receive the text of the peace preliminaries, Seven U -Boats Los in Storm While Being Towed to France Cherbourg, France, April 18.--. Seven German submarines an the way here from England in tow have been lost in a storm. Eight of the under -sea boats were bound here but only one arrived in safety: Out of 100 average healthy =teen at 25 yeare of age, statistics prove that at 65 years, 36 will be dead, 1 will be rich, 4 wealthy, 5 still supe. porting themselves by work, While 54 of the 100 will be depending on friends, relatives or charity.