HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1942-11-27, Page 3'
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4"E'AIAkAe,."#E,4''•.
ex 'AI
•••1,1
••1•thow
,
(Oontinded "fro*agug)•
tack, We aSked#1 When? Not
next aight, was the answer, but p
haps the "night after. Certain of
other night's sleep, we were mate
and immediately after supper we w
to our blankets again, to the rep
that we bad Missed for long days a
nights, In the morning' of Aug('
£th we arose, well refreshed, rea
for -duty ancT if need be, for action.
That day' we remained in the wo
near Boves, except at watering tim
when we rode the horses to troug
half" a mile away near the village
Boves. Our wood was now filled wi
'batteries, come from the Arras fro
like ourselves, and other woods sh
tered more artillery, infantry and e
gineers. The whole Carps was and
cover; and in the open nothing w
visible save a few scattered mem
raents as on every front. We a
plauded the march and the concentr
tion as a model of management, ,gi
ling hope that we might, do somethin
worth while. It became known di
General Currie" had practised 'a rus
o deceive Fritz about nur present
He had sent a battalion of our Thir
Brigade, First Division, into the lin
at Keramel, south of Ypres, to carr
ut a raid and 'teal/14 prisoners—tw
olunteers—in the hands of the e
my to .inform him that Canada'
Corps had been moved to Flander
or an attack there. The trick wa
arried out and the battalion came t
oin• us at Amiens.
We were all pleased at the succes
f the ruse, and that day we were i
state of suppressed excitement an
nticipation. One of. my friends o
he 36th Battery, later the Reveren
Will Mustard, of Scarboro, came t
ee me, and we went to the 19th Bat
ery nearby to see a common fries
f Knox College, Wilson. Geddes. W
alked. for some time and on partin
aid to each other: "Meet you in
'apaume or Peronne." We . wer
rorig, as matters turned outs we me
gain, but.in Belgium beyond Mons
fter success of which we did no
ream.that August 6th in Boves Wood
veryone 'felt that at last we wer
oing to do something, and some
ing not unlike enthusiasm prevail
cl, much different to the grimness of
le waiting before other battles. Ons
PPreliension remained, "Wlil Fritz
nd out?" It was said that the en -
my had taken prisoners in. a raid.
ad these known of our plans, and
d they told?
On our watering trips we met old
lends, the Australian whom we had
en last in the terrible Ypres salient
November, ,1917. ' They told us of
eir battles in the spring: their hold -
g up of the enemy before Amiens,
eir recanture of Villers Bretonneux
• a night attack, their shallow ad -
noes during the summer when they
inched" many trench pcikitions from
e enemy at small cqst. They knew
the great attack and said that they
ould take the top with us. This
eased iii well, as we ,knew that our
ft flank could' not be in better
nds. We found that the French
"cmpv-e--Int. our ingretnrird—agre
re satisfied.
All that sixth of August, except for
tering times, we lay in the wood,
t toward evening we prepared to
ye. We of the staff and a lieuten-
t went into the village of Bones
d occupied 'a .house with furniture
t largely intact, the home of a well-
-do family before the German inva-
n of March. After dark the driv-
en& gunners took the guns' up to
e front and placed them in a wheat -
d
behind an orohard 'about 1700,,
rds from the front line, by the Roye
d• abeye the villages of Hangard
d Darnall. They covered the 'wea-
ns with 'straw and placed piles of
munition, similarly •disguised, be -
'each' gun; then.Withdrew, leave
half a dozen gunners to watch
guns. These men had orders to
ke no movement during the day of
seventh. But they took the in-
otion' in a Pickwickian sense,
wled out to the Orchard and view-
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A
14
SUSIE'S LAYER CAKE
34 cup butter
cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons Magic
Baking Powder
• k teaspoon salt
ys cup milk
Cream butter and sugar;
add well beaten eggs and
beat again with butter
• and sugar till very light;
Sift Sour, bakftsg powder
and salt together and add
to first mixture alternate.
ly with milk. fleet lighdy
for about 1 minute. Pus
into greased layer cake
pans and bake•15 to 20
minutes.
FOR
FREE
COOK BOOK
sand
to: Magic
Baking
Powder,
Nagar Avea
Toronto
_me at
E*Wini01,151 "11.1
•
. . vs.v....memoommeateem:It eltd11
AP%
Capt. '"Dime" Riley, 'Officer Commanding the first contingent of
. . .
' the Canadian Women's Army Corps which arrived recently in Great
Britain. As in Canada they will replace soldiers in many capacities
in the Army setup. Representative of all. parts of the Do 'Jai
Y
form the vanguard of thousands more, who, according to present
plans will join their brothers overseas. •
Capt. Riley's husband, Capt. C. S. Riley, has been. in. England
since 1941 With the 7th Army Field Regiment, R.C.A. Daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. G.• H. Aikins, 'Winnipeg, she is a graduate in arts from
the University of Manitoba, and was active in social service work
in Winnipeg. before joining the C.W.A.C.
ed the Vont line, over 'the stream in
he valley below. To the left of the
:Tad they could see .the villages and
to the right two .farm houses. They
ventured across the Roye road and
exchanged opinions with some infan-
trymen.. No shells came near—a good
sign—and on ode occasion a German
!plane came.. 'over, to be promptly
phased back by a swarm of our ma-
;•ehines. one of our guns were fir-
ing; only behind and to the right
some French heavies' were in inter-
' mittent action. The day passed- peace-
fully, and at midnight of August 7-8,
, these gunners returned to Boves for
' a hot meal and'a sleep. • They came
back to the battery next morning in
the middle of the barrage.
In the meantime during that even-
ing of August 6th, we in Boves were
watching the dense traffic on the
ThaturVlitbli-aU. "d'affittitineed-Vii. SO*
before dark. We thought that this
was too soon for safety's sake, since
one German aviator would have made
our task mugh more difficult. Fortu-
nately, everything went well. Morn -
jug brought, the 'news that the attack
would take place next day, August -8,
at, 4.20 a.m. That day we moved
about 'the house restlessly, finding it
hard to concentrate, repressing un-
pleasant thoughts of the next day. We
had our meals; we talked of indiffer-
ent things; we walked about the gar-
dens and .viewed the flowers, shrubs
and trees among the shell -holes, and
the top of a garden well' with jagged
gaps. We returned to the, house and
tried to sleep, without much success.
In one of the rooms r found a French-
man's notes of English grammar and
idioms, and read them with some sur-
prise' at the rules for a grammar
which, I had always thought easier
than the French. But I had not the'
patience to pursue the study; It seem-
ed so trivial beside the all-impOrtant
problem at 'the morrow. The day
seemed long, but at last evening came.
As night fell the road filled with
traffic, tanks, batteries,. infantry, wa-
gons, ambulances, lorries—an awe-in-
spiring preeespion -as Canada's Corps
moved forward for battle. A,bout ten
o'clock we also' sat out for the front,
travelling at leisurely' pace. in that
dense throng of vehicles and men. We
ascended a small rise' with a wood to
our right, and in rear of the woad we
"ould perceive the dim outlines of
heavy 'batteries in position for action.
They vented a ffash or two with dull
roars, their normal nocturnal' aCtiv-
ltv. We ' mounted the rise and con-
tinued. on our way. Once a bright
wink, a whistle and a bang half a
mile .ahead of 'us, told of the enemy's
rlitrapnel ;, two, more Yellowed and. sil-
ence ensued. In such, a press we,
could not hood to' escape casualties,
and I 'suppose that two or three men
were wounded. But from the cessa-
tion of fire we gathered -that-the en-
emy had no inkling of our plans. Soon
we arrived at our guns; the 'drivers
unloaded ammunition' and retired half
a mile down the road. The gunners
made everything ready for action, and
we of the staff,set up the phone in
a shell -hole. Those of us who were
not on duty wandered about relent-
lessly, 'wishing that the houas would
Pass and' again- that they, would not.
(Tenafly we' slept the night before a
battle, but this time we could not
sleep:
There was no *lnd; the night was
calm; the tars Were bright and the
familiar "dipper" was pointing' to the.
NoXth Star. Overhead there g:Tas • a
drone of planes, and on our flank we
heard chugging sounds, as the tanks
made their slow way to the front,
their noise drowned by the hum of
the planes. Once or twice heavy
bursts came from the front, then
deased, making it clear that our Sec-
ret .had been kept. Rumor had it
that our heavies had marked down
every one of Fritz's ,batteriea. and
'00'01114 ,Pour fire on them in the !horn-
*ing,,ttritl it was said that some 'field
*Witt of the Third Division were
'alley below on the
IROfe fe Mow, the' infantry ,ari,
140.0c08.:'•'Sbel :thiginterS nOtlid -put a
the- Stream • oar owit.
re,"
MADE,
IN
CANADA
1' .,•!'
r'1,::64reA1,14
, • .
• , •
Alittiti#1.yerttlkotliVAtteh,w-tolk
the front to go over the top with the
infantry. Everything seemed to have
been done to assure 'success.
A Yet we were now in no mood of
exhilaration, for thoughts of personal
safety forbade. We did not let our
minds rest on home ,and mother, for
these ideas were. too disturbing. We
felt 'a continual undercurrent, "Will I
get through?" and repressed it with
the final thought, "We mustn't let the
Corps down." Conversation was short
and no one was inclined to make a
joke. Many men smoked cigarettes
to have something to do. So the time
passed—two o'clock, three o'clock,
four o'clock—and the front .was still
quiet.
We now gathered behind the bat-
tery in groups. The gunners placed
shells in the breeches and took their
places about the guns. The major
-stood steady' 'with -a watch in his
hand. It was 'hard on 4.20 and the
night was yet still and the stars were
clear overhead, but a mist lay over
the valley, which would be good for
our infantry against machine-guns.
Suddenly there was a flash a mile be-
hind us and a roar as some 9.2 spoke,
the first of Canada's guns.. In three
seconds the whole crest in our rear
was ablaze with 'a dazzling array of
flashes followed by waves 'of roars.
Our Major gave the command, "Fire!"
and our six guns flashed and roared
together. All •around us batteries
spoke from field and hedge and be-.
hind.was the thunder from the dense
ranks of heavies. The flashes made a
furnace, of orange lightning and the:
noise came in a continual roll, and
about us werethe acrid fumes of cor-
dite, the odor' of 'battle. Our gunners
bent to their tasks and despatched
their shells with flashes and thuds.
Now that the battle had .started, we
relaxed a little and tried to shout' to
each other.
Suddenly we perceived a short dull
shriek, an explosion and a column of
earth in front of our guns. In a few
seconds another' whoop pierced the
noise', followed by a crash and a jet
of Garth close beside a gun, This
was not a' time when our gunners
might seek safety to a flank; they
must stay . at any cost and support
the infantry, and stay they did. Pres-
ently a third shriek pierced the din,
precursor of a burst within fifty Met
of .our group 'of men off duty. We
dropped into' the nearest shell -holes.
and listened to two more bursts, one'
of which spattered earth over us. But
the shells were °lily whizz -bangs, as
we observed with relief, and no one
was injured. The next soon came,
close .to the road and fifty yards to
our left. Now we breathed easily,
concluding that Fritz 'was trying to
reach the road and had no idea, of
our position. The surmise was justi-
fied, for the next two shells alighted
near the road, and no more came. The
German 'battery was out of action,
suppressed by our shells or threaten-
ed by our infantrY, and its failure whs
a good inclination of our success. The
barrage must -have been overwhelm-
ing, we said to each other, -and we
felt at ease and entertained a mild
degree of . excitement. Suddenly it
was announced that breakfast was
ready, a detail which we had forgot-
ten, but. of course we took advant-
age of it and felt better, By this time
groups Of our infantry, arms in slings
or heads bandaged, came up the road
from the valley. We ran eagerly to
ask how things were going. "Great!"
they said: "the tanks 'knocked them
flat . . . the barrage was the best
we ever saw . . . lots of prisoners;
they surrender at sight."
This news was cheering indeed,
and We could count on a real succesi.
The morning was now well advanced,
but the mist -Still hung over the vat -
'ley and the low ground, and gave our
infantry an advantage. yotir gunners
ceased firing, baying finfshed their
schedule, and the -"other field 'batter-
ies also became silent., Only the heav-
ies In Oti r rear continued in itatidn,
reniallnier, of the, great barrage. Now4
NO'eherd trakings, noises and, 'Ville.
les 'frail the 'ntlanx1 taw .our,
driveraoltdilkes With Timbers U.'
0,SlitiltitOi onrnage 0); •
,
mg
(arMeter)
UKAPING, 04 down
and enjoy thoccianadWPAPera Sent
over to we, iy acdf sa1a''ad dipped t 44
,
artIcle witicb txbserveA thRt."men with
titles are mostly I guess
you men, read that wittc,',,OUtioaity; so
here is something .10.1.'1,the women,'
Why not our angle as . What
about women wit- titles&
You know, a t 1081 gory much in
the baCkgroUnd—with.'the folk who
are used to hairing One,- They don't
splash it about: on the COntrary, they
often call themselves psi •plain 'Mrs.'
dr 'Miss; As one wonni: I knOw said
to me not, long ago: ."Igenerally use
'Mrs.' when I'm stayinglin hotels or
rooms,. It's cheaper!" att.
So yoa see,. they AB14,4tumatt. Most
of them haven't money to burn these
days, and the seasibld" dnes don't
•make .any bones- about it. Compared
'with me, of course, they are qiiite
wealthy; but then, I've never had
much money—and now have less than
ever!" 'Butt it's made not difference in
the real things, I find. .4
I've just been yisitin0 a dear wo-
man—an old friend—and what did
she care when I turned tip with a ra-
ther -shabby suitcase aral,'•a:.pack on
nry back? Not ,a bit. •$lrO hears' what
is called a 'courtesy AS, • the
daughter of an .earNkle 'known,. as
Lady . . . 'her first: mine before her
surname. Children of .4 earlare al-
ways addressed: in that, way. One
would not address Leity,Ply Brown
(let us say) as 'Lady Brown,' but as
!Lady Emily.' '•
'Such is this dear, kind soul with
whop I have been etayitand eel
anybody beather at • a Teal' woman's
job? Not on yOur Ilfel 8.he and hen
husband 'and' little girl: having lost
:their Very. nice home thnotigh enemy
Action, are now living in:, -two rooms,
with the use of the kitchen. The
rooms are large ones,..happily, but I'm
sure it takes a lot of courage and grit
to get through, in the circumstances:
My friend does the cooking and house-
work, With the help of a. charWomen
twice a week; and never,, never did I
enjoy nicer or better -cooked meals.
The little girl, a lovely thing of nine,
with long, beautifully brushed hair
and frank, .clear eyes, is being train-
ed to help. After all, Lady Emily (as
I will call her, though it isn't her
name) was taught by her own mother,
the Countess, and there was never
any nonsense about it.
In their lovely Old hom'e of girl-
hood they had to take turns in the
kitchen, just as they had,to learn to
sew. ,Lady 'husband, though
an elderly man now, is doing import-
ant war work in a: northern city, a,nd
her ladyahi.o. and tha.littb* girl get up,
every morning, prepare his breakfast
and see that he catches his 'bus into
town. There is no nonsense about
that either!
•
Made Our Own Beds
In the old days, when I visited
them, there were half a 'dozen serv-
ants.. This time we all made our own
beds and so on. But we were very
happy, for it was grand' to meet
agai,' even in 'these changed coidi-
tions. I sat about and did some more
sktching, arid they were pleased with
• the gift, of what I had done, for they
know that I cannot buy anybody exe
pensive' presents, no matter how I
should like to 'do. She said to me:
"You see, my dear, you've: given us
something one' Can't just go out and
buy. Something 'real."
And there. my efforts stand, on the
mantlepiece waiting for the day when
somebody, somewhere, can frame
them. (You Can't get jobs like that
done all at once nowadays. Oh dear
no!) She cut 'me a delicious lunch
to eat in. the' train, and I have come
'away with pleasant friendly memor-
ies.
Incrdentally, she does the washing
—even her husband's shirts, she tells
me., Laundries, too, are 'out,' in many
places, and such things have to be
done at home. • In the bank, for safe
keeping, she has wonderful jewels. I
know, for I used to see her wearing
them; and she once lent me a fur
wrap Which cost six thousand dollars,
I remember. In all innocence I wore
it for 'a week in the hotel where we
were staying—to the gnawing envy of
the other women, no doubt—but, nev-
er having worn anything much better
than rabbit or, mole, I carried it off
with the. blandness of complete ignor-
ance, and I dare say everybody
thought I was a somewhat eccentric
female millionaire.
As I handed it back to her I blew
on it and remarked: "A nice little
bit of fur." (Can you beat it?) Then
Lady Emily—who never talks about
the price of things, I've noticed, smil-
ed Xnd admitted, very quietly, what it
had cost, -and why it ought to be
`nce.' I thought quakingly of my' bits
of 'food, my cigarette -ends, My gener-
ally rather casual treatment, and 'turn-
ed cold. And that is the woman who
cap wash a shirt, cook a joint, make
a pudding, paint a door or cover a
chair with anybody.
Really Old Family
She belongl to one of these really
old English families whose name hav-
ing a 'de' 'before it, indicates French,
origin and -the Norman Conquet. 'They
have been titled people fpr so long
that it all sits easily on them. They
don't mind what they -#16--so long as
they do it WelL And With it all ere
Is' the dignity of uoinnetefin0 M1d• as-
snratteo; they- can know: Wht they
wlh MO '0' Where they .100:i". if .they,;
iike4fonit ofi '6t1, you don* fitcOtk.itti '
loiretend.. '-ebodV 'flak r,
. ,
anta
YlW tbe 'Into Ltll
•
#40 • , ' ,
We fired Mt a.:"Part, "she and
and, rt01,14.10 epclx theFil,(4 0Ace;-
4t3• t::9V10(4' qnY,' Aizel'fwkia*
eight ef
the r 4:40 -OF WAPOIWR -4-gt
'nen she gave a party of her 44
and incited Jne, and 'Araisuetb
time, now many years ago, we've co
trived tO. be a eogtfo and bap
'each other. • I remember once tent
her that If ever. we bad a;:revoluti
in this country, with a mob teari
along the street shouting for bi
blood—which I don't think very lilt
ly—I should hurl my quite ordilla
body in front of her and shou
"Sop! This wqman. can cook!" An
'how!
0i
•
he W 'Athis'w'ee
WM& lkit
.0. 0, • Eli
, 4 •44?•:,
nfl • iyfrs; 37P, -garitelo0",'""
4,-1?0,t4,04,-nt .1ftfi:j§ann 004S
wn ,ing for the Ps, ,few VPP,
'40„iiete 4.0 le#,Psk weekte:
'$61A.Otaberg,'Wlfere
to
on
ry
ne:
e -
be P A-04 alld danOtogr-113441ffp:',,
Mrs. Varitelon,.
Ms. Japans 4W,BenthrOn, `Os,'
sekdif rettently at the Vnfto. ebUrell
at Calliale in the Ildorthri disfrt, at
th4qr anniversary and opening'
lug the redeneatAg 'Clkurh,
Mrs. Bonthron fon her lumbers sang'
in pleasing style, "The Stranger Of
Galilee" and "My mask."
Mr. and Mrs. A. W. E. Hemphill re
turned home from Toronto on Wed-
nesday, where Mr. Hemphill was in
the interea of his halth; They were
accompanied by Lieut. Howard Hemp-
hill and Mrs. Hemphill.
Puts On No Dogi
IShe dresses well but plainly — and
she does not varnish her nails. Nei-
ther does she tint her hair. ,Her 30
guinea (186 dollar) irocks were al
ways simple and well-chosen; &la
loves a laugh, and her heart is as
big as a house, bless her. If ever she
had to be really p.00r she would bear
it, I am sure, without open grumb-
ling. Of course she said a few strong
words to me about all these chores—
but who wouldn't? "If ever I ring a
eil again," she said the other day,
"and somebody answers it, I think I
shall drop dead!"•
One of her other friends, who is
the daughter of e marquis and, conse-
quently, an 'Honourable,' has really
lost all her money; but she is keep-
ing house for her brother and work-
ing hard On 'her little allotment. It's
all very different from the days when
she -Med to turn up at those parties
looking like a million, straight from
her country house or her place in
London; but she is making the best
Of, things, like so many of those hard-
hit and plucky folk. And •those of us
who have Lady Emily for a real pal
know that she is' always standing by,
ready to do what she can if ever we
truly need. help in anY way. So you
see they are ,human—and the ones I
know (with eae or two exceptions)
more than 'mostly.' They have been
blitzed' and battered, but they go on,
their one idea being that of 'coming
out on top.'
In that much -bombed city, near
which Lady Emily live, we prowled
around the .market, buying fend; we
went to a `movie': we sat together in
the passage one night when the Hun
waZ zooming about overhead. And if
I have to be bombed May it be in
the. company of 'somebody as calm
and self-controlled as that very, very
human woman.
So now, ladies, you have our side
of this title business!
Time Saver
modern sliort cut in oo4de mak-
ing, which 'has been found, satisfac7
tory by' the Consumer Section, Domin-
ion Department of Agriculture, does
away with chilling, rolling and mt-
ting the dough, and yet gives a -thin
well -shaped cookie.
Form the"dough into a roll about
one inch itt diameter; cut in bleb
lengths and place pieces of dough on
&Cased cookie sheet. Press the dough
flat with the bottom of a tumbler;
covered with a floured cloth:
Tommy
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first tin:ae: nyollunt .00errvheeT,:i;t704.74/..it404,,
youjo Axed. .T.Indersta0.7 ;• .,:14 • .
os he he 'went ort "and rentnihs"4.' . :..
. •
FOR A rvi LD, COOL,SIY101“
No coarse hoes,
no doughy lumps
To put your family
"in the dumps"
Fine-grained your bread
each time you bake
With ROYAL Yeast_
the pure yeast cake
MADE IN CANADA
ENOUGH COPPER FOR FOUR MILES Of WIRE
GOES INTO ONE f3.16 BOMBER •
And one machine .gun
in action for only four min-
utes uses enough copper for
a mile and a half of tele-
phone wire.
Those are just two Of the
reasons why copper and
other, materials needed for
war equipment can't be
used now to build new tele-
phone lines.
Right now, Long Distance
lines are often overcrowded,
especially to key war centres.
ext pielife gook*
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TotileuniilfilibSilis Oft*
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....... ^
,„ .
Won't you help by cutting
down your Long Distance
calls to these points to an
absolute minimum?
Call by number when you
can—plan in advance what
you want to say, in order to
save "telephone time".