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Huron Expositor, 2013-11-06, Page 9Wednesday, November 6,2013 • Huron Expositor 9 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com Wilfred Brenton Kerr: 'Arms and the Maple Leaf' )Seaforth man witnessed intense fighting As a signaller in the Field Artillery dur- ing the Great War, Seaforth's Wilfred Brenton Kerr witnessed some of the Canadian Corps' most intense fighting from Vimy Ridge to the war's end. Kerr recorded his wartime experiences in 'Shrieks and Crashes' (1929) and Arms and the Maple Leaf' (1943) which have been called 'Canadian classics' by mili- tary historian Norm Christie. Wilfred Brenton Kerr was born in McKillop Township on May 12, 1896. He was the second of James and Martha Kerr's four children. Kerr graduated with honours from Seaforth Collegiate in 1913. He spent two years at Toronto' s Knox College before enlisting in the artil- lery in 1916. In January 1917, Kerr went to France as a replacement signaller in the 1 lth battery of the Canadian Field Artil- lery. As a signaller, Kerr's duty was to relay messages by field telephone from the batter to the battery commander. The Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge in April 1917 was Kerr's first combat experience. Huddled in a shell hole, Kerr witnessed the Canadian attack on the Ridge. He wrote that although every soldier tries to steel himself for his first time in battle but sight of the corpses 'lying in strange attitudes was a new and sickening sight.' Yet, what caused him the most the 'most distress' was the wounded 'for whom nothing could be done: With so much shrapnel and steel fly- ing through the air, death was a matter of random bad luck. Kerr developed a fatalistic attitude towards death believ- ing that 'if your number's on the shell, it'll get you, if it isn't, you're all right: For Kerr, the futility of the Passchen- daele battle in October/November 1917 was the low point of the Canadian Corps' experience. Kerr wrote that 'a shadow fell over us all; we did our work only half halfheartedly and talked in lowered tones: Kerr, who normally kept a careful account of unit casualties gave up recording them at Passchendaele because they were too 'numerous for one to remember names and dates cor- rectly.' Indeed, of the 180 men from the 1 lth battery who entered the Passchen- daele battlefield in October, about two thirds were killed and wounded when the battery was withdrawn a month later. Despite his own exemplary field serv- ice, Kerr had little respect for most of his officers and those who 'toadied' to them. Typical of soldiers of any age, Kerr resented the privileges and arrogance of the officer class. He regarded the best officers as 'directing colleagues, and not our masters: The blame for the squandered lives at Passchendaele Kerr puts squarely on the high command who 'sent us to appalling sacrifice under conditions where capac- ity and alertness could not possibly count: Kerr called Passchendaele 'a vast and useless sacrifice' brought on by 'the abdication of brain power' by their leaders. Even Canada's own General Sir Arthur Currie, who led the Canadian Corps from 1917 does not escape Kerr's criti- cism. Although he acknowledges Cur- rie's skill as a technical commander, Kerr said Currie 'was never a popular com- mander' with his troops. He judged Cur- rie as an aloof and egotistical leader who could not get along with subordinates. On the other hand, Kerr was probably a difficult subordinate. By his own admission, he fought two wars, 'one against the Germans and another against the Sergeant -Majors and officers, and that the second was much more severe: Yet, throughout Kerr's writing's is a budding sense of Canadian national- ism. The Canadians still took pride in fighting for 'King and Country as part of 'a mighty Empire at war' but, like the Australians whom he admired, Canadi- ans formed a distinct and `the most effi- cient' corps within the British army. More than Vimy Ridge, Kerr believed that the Hundred Days campaign from August 8 to November 11, 1918 was the triumph Canada's arms in the Great War. In the summer of 1918, the Cana- dian Corps was a tough, confident bat- tle hardened unit operating at peak effi- ciency. As they prepared for the last great offensive of the war, Kerr recalled that the Canadian Corps was 'proud of its record, confident in itself, stirred profoundly by a tide of national senti- ment, and an Esprit de Corps wrought to a high pitch: In the final days before the offensive, Kerr wrote that the 'Sons of Canada' readied themselves for the attack with a 'renewed inspiration before the altar of a new patriotism! As 'the tide of national senti- ment rose like a flood. Men felt a strong devotion to Canada and the Corps.' The front ranks believed that whatever challenges lay before them 'the Corps can take care of it: The last British offensive known as the Hundred Days began on August 8, 1918. The attack was spear- headed by the Canadians and Australians whom the Germans considered the 'storm troops of the Empire: On the first day, the German defences were cracked wide open. Field Marshall Erich von Huron History Davi d Yates Ludendorf later called August 8th the 'Black Day of the German Army.' Throughout the Hundred Days, the Canadians were given the toughest objectives and miraculously achieved them. On November 11 when news of the Armistice reached the Canadians raised only 'a feeble cheer: because no one could believe that the war's dangers and hardships had ended. Kerr was honourably discharged in 1919. He attended Oxford University on a veterans' grant and had a distin- guished career as a history professor at the University of Buffalo. Kerr died on January 12, 1950 in Kenmore, New York. In his obituary in the 'Journal of American History,' it was said that Kerr 'was a rare combina- tion of the stimulating teacher and scholar. His 'classes were popular' and 'his students enjoyed his pungent and witty presentations.' His funeral was held in the Seaforth Presbyterian Church under the auspices of the local Orange Lodge and buried in the Maitland Bank Ceme- tery. Perhaps his greatest contribution was as the voice of a generation of Canadians who 'knew the limits of human endurance' and 'on behalf of their country and the world in a time of great need bore arms under the Maple Leaf Tuesday Morning, November 12 Goderich Public School - Call 519-524-8972 Wednesday Morning, November 13 Seaforth Public School - Call 519-527-0790 Thursday Morning, November 14 Huron Centennial School - Call 519-233-3330 Friday Morning, November 15 Clinton Public School - Call 519-482-9424 Monday Morning, November 18 Hullett Central Public School - Call 519-523-4201 1.2 million Canadians -1 in 25 — carry the pie for cystic fibrosis. To Jr mote, pluse mum (115 Canadian Cystic 1-8100-318-CCFF j Fibrosis Foundation www brosisica SENIOR JUNIOk KINPERGARTEN Children 3 years old by December 31,2013, are eligible for JK in September 2014 K1N17ERGARTEN Children 4 years old by December 31,2013, are eligible for SK in September 2014 Registration packages are now available for pick up at your local school. Call your local school to make an Ted Doherty Director of Education