Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 24 May 1916, p. 1

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sivaLE cores se. No.o1 = usketry, the clash of silence, © Well, to return to my story, we| crossed the battle field, and got be- nd the German lines, and up to the : crawling on my hands and _knees.! Then we started to dig. I ug like mad in order to afford my- self some protection against shell fire, ; Which fas not long in coming. We 'had nearly finished our job when the Germans found out what 'we were up to, and they opened on _ us with their artillery, ~ Whiz, whiz, -came the shells, and" down we went into out trenches, up we came ajain and dug like 'mad, whiz, whiz, they came again, and down we drop, again, until we had completed our work. Then the order came to retire. wi : We had not gone far, when owing to nS ranch frontier, and their shell fire we became separated The land is , 4 mahy of us lost. 1 found myself in company with three of our men "lost. Lost on no mans land, with the enemy lines not far away, and dawn about to break. - We wandered on for some time, when we came across an old trench, which had recently beén taken from the Germans, and retaken again, but which was in such a bat- tered condition, that neither side was there holding it. We decided to take shelter there, and stop till night should come again, and then try to make our lines. We had not been there long before another party of men, who like ourselves had got lost, entered the trench dark. These men had been out on a scouting party, and belonged to an- other battalion. There were twenty men and: three officers and us four pioneers, made 27. ' telling you of my exper- es here; did you get it? do not like this country, Flanders. {li very : {yey week a i -"also very cold. ~The people are all engaged in ag- '| riculture on small farms of twenty acres. * The people are very poor, and their homes have next to nothing in them, They seem to have little com- forts, "2 . : The soil around is good -where it is not too wet, but farther on they say it is sandy and poor. In religion the people are all Catholics. Each little village has a large Catholic Church, with fine square stone steeples, con- taining a peal of bells. They are much like the church in old England. But' they are nearly all knocked down, and the churches torn with huge shell {| boles from the German guns. The : y villages are all torn to pieces, an . #3 Tage few people remaining in them. We had not been there long before Every now and again, the Germans ' °n€ of our scout came in with the "drop a few shell in them from their NEWS that 3 body of hen Were. creep | !ing up to the crater and were wearing {208 sange antliery OO re British see] holier: | Our oe into the open fields until the guns Went out to have a look at them and "cease then they creep back again. | Came back with the news that they Yesterday I saw the Germans bom- | Were Boches and were on their way bard a village close to us and the poor | to occupy the crater. I got upon the people came running out carrying Parapet of the trench and there in the {their babies, and what few "things Bray dawn, 'T could see about 60 yards they could take to the open fields, 'a%ay, a number of figures crawling on I saw a house blown up as the huge shelf hands und knees toward the a Be ABR LE / t them, and a grea : : Our new stock of BOOT S & SHOES are hells Ours: moh 2 them, anda oat Now boys said the Slicers, fix bay: nearily all in. We will be pleased to show pling down, "ii load at 200 rapid fire, crack, A them to you. : i Last night they sent shell fire over i crack, went our rifles, over went many our camp, trying to drop them among | of the Gerwans, the rest reached the J. F. McCLINTOCK no wise impairing its ef-- y adapted to and will be t l in the treatment of Falmon. ary Complaints, Anemia, Nervous and eneral Debility; Lack of Energy, Nervous Dyspepsia, Sleeplesshess, ete; © TT TT ~ A full Pint Bottle for 75¢ ORVAL BYER Druggist and Optician, Port Perry --~-- usecleaning Will soon be here again and we have the necessities to make the wor Snel SVR phe easy, and at right prices. us. I was in bed having been on day | Crater and had taken cover, opened work, and I had to lay there and listen ' fire on us. Down went the man on to them bursting not knowing but' Wy left, with a baflet through his what at any moment one might drop | head. His blood splashed over my near me and blow me to pieces. Rreatcoat. I kept on blazing away at When they shell our camp at night | them, and I could hear their bullets ! striking the earth all around me. In J | we usually stay where we are, and take Striking 1 a Ani A out at night in front of me lay a large coil of barbed the dark where they are bursting, and Wire, affording me good protecting for a shrapnel shell has a killing Ener. my head, 1 heard two beets jibe ' Il | of somewhere about 300 yards, that is the wire, bad it not id : vid Shey ; il | to say the shots spread 'that far on| Would have struck me acy an 1 oe] Il | every side. The safest thing to do is| Should not be wring. this now, % - to lie flat down 1f a shell is bursting] 'Well aftet half an hour of this work | x ll [ near you, as the shot fragments rise ORDER YOUR ithe German artillery opened on us, $0 after the explosion and are not as' We got the order to lie down in the likely to hit you when they come down ' trench, as we could do no more with i | the rifle, and there we lay all that long to stay until|. HEAD Orrick a OF CANADA * TORONTO Efficient and Prompt Service in every Department SAVINGS EST'D 1873 . PORT PERRY HUTCHESON, BANK at all Branches. BRANCH ed the old 'mother whose prayers I felt sure had brought me safe through when so many of our feliows, who had been with me lay cold in death. Now Mr Dewey let me know if you get this letter, and send me some pa- pers sometime. Remember me to all the neighbors, From your old friend, R.R WRIGHT. Manchester On May 9th. the Manchester Red Cross Society forwarded the following articles to the Head Office at Toronto 44 dozen handkerchiefs 3 sheets 2 dozen surgical shirts 500 mouth wipes And to the Port Perry Red Cross Society, 37 pairs of socks. Mrs W. F. Thompson, President Mrs Ernest Holiby, Sec'y Cannington Gives to the 116th Bn. The Ontario County Battdlion, Lt. Col Sam Sharpe Officer commanding. arrived in Camnington on the march through'the County on Monday, May 15th, at noon, The men were in fine form, scarcely a man showing any fatigue with the journey. In the afternoon, the citizens gave the Battalion a public reception, at which nearly all the citizens were in attendance The Reeve and the mem- bers of the Village Council, on behalf of the residents, presented a splendid Marquee as a dining tent for the use of the unit. The Reeve, Mr. Neil McKinnon, read an address of wel- come and made the presentation. The ladies of the town sent a dele- gation to make the present of a cheque for $225 for a second Marquee. Mrs Shipman, on behalf of the ladies, read the address, and presented Col. Sharpe with the cheque. Mr. W. J Cowan; Hon. Col. of the|. 34th Regiment, gave Col. Sharpe a cheque for $200 for equipment. Where your trade is appreciated but by that time they are scattered i SE al jon i morning with the shells bursting in Koi 2:lor, and. your chances; are all direetions, As I lay there the i I ; is qui . earth seemed to quiver with the shock 1 ty re ER uite 3 heavy bum | of the shells, and the noise was awful are firing on the Germans and the! it seemed as though all the demons mn latter on them. The shells are scream. ! hell were let logse, and were scream- i i i ing through the air. ing overbead in all directions, Last NR t night there was a terrific bombardment | About eleven a.m. 1 crawled back , the whole sky was lit up with the to Where my dying comrade lay, I flashes of the great guns, and the! found him just alive, and I took what salt meats go to : :~ | few things he had on him in order to whole earth seemed to. shake. It is few thing ) terrible hard on the nerves, the strain' Send them to his mother, and tell her | is awful. I have seen men shake like 'how he died, with his face to the foe, EAT MARKET, PORT PERRY ; | leaves, and brave men at that. - I do then wiping the blood from bis face -I E5+ prompt delivery and reliable | quality in all kinds of "fresh and someti while i¢ laid a sand bag under his head and il | wears EE Yo shey awhile * crawled back. ~ Poor boy! no doubt he About two weeks ago T had a ter. |i lying there yet. gi rible experience, our company was' About twelve o'clock we split up | told to go at night, and dig a trench into three parties to try and make our beyond the German lines to connect lines, as to stop there any longer hich our tunnellers had meant death, as the shells were drop- order that our men ping nearer and nearer all the time, m. After dark we set and I was expecting one every minute perilous expedition. After to come along and blow me sky high. out trenches. for some 1 was with the second lot to leave the order to climb trench, we had to come the whole length of that trench, sometimes wad- ing in slush up to my waist, and all} the time followed by the enemy's fire, There were parts in the trench that had Leen blown away, and across which we had to dart, one at a time, ! The trench was full of dead men ind, some craters 1 could feel them under my feet in slimy water, and in places they three deep. 1 had to climb over' b ich had f when Be wtoes was faken. It was an aul Sight but ( to. get to ' LT have. fuc' of il » a have Mr Robert Brandon gave a cheque for $75 for the same purpose. Lt. Col. Sharpe, in a few well chosen words, voiced his thanks, and "the thanks of the Battalion for the splendid generosity extended to the men of the County, who are going forth to fight for the Empire at the time of its greatest need. He then called upon Capt. John Garbutt, the Chaplain, to say a few words. Before the Chaplain spoke, Mrs. Dr. Henderson, on behalf of the Patriotic Society of the town, present- ed Capt, Garbutt with a cheque for $25 to help him with his work among the men Col. Sharpe called for three hearty cheers for the good people of Can- nington, pho had shown such great interest in the County Battalion. ------ South Ontario Women's Institute Meeting will be held at the home of MRS. JOHN NASMITH UTICA, JUNE 2nd, 1916 at 2.30 pm. MRS. W. H. HUNTER, Brampton will address the meeting on; i HOME dvips oy » -0rs ad recitations ahaa an 'try Vino, and now she is hun. Arrival of the 116th Nature has a most disconcerting way of upsetting plans. That fine lot of men -- the 116th Bn.--that was to have marched into town with bands playing and banners flying--didn't. They came in piecemeal, muddy and | soaking wet, but cheerful. They went | to their billets at once, and did their | best to get dry. Some of them suc- | ceeded. Some of them did net. Of course no attempt could be made to give the boys anything like a reception, although arrangements had been made by the Reeve and others. The scholars, the band, the 182nd, and the citizens were all prepared to [give the boys a welcome. But it rained, rained, rained, and they didn't. One heroic woman and a couple of { men did their best to raise a cheer when some of the boys came down the street headed by Col. Sam on horseback, but the 'poor thing was drowned immediately -- literally drowned. But if Nature wept copiously on Monday, she gave the boys a broad smile on Tuesday, and the manoeuvres were most pleasing and well attended. The physical drill on the Fair Grounds, under the direction of , Quarter-Master Sgt. Hole, was a sight well worth seeing, After the physical drill, the Battal- n paraded the streets, More news ter, gr, 10 la ---- OO cen . Pinedale The Pinedale Sabbath School will { hold their anniversary on Sunday and { Tuesday, June 4 and 6, The Sunday j services will be conducted by Rev W | G Aldridge, of Vroomanton at 2.30 and 7.00 p'm. On Tuesday evening tea will be served in the school room at 5 o'clock. At 8 o'clovk a splendid | program will be given. Refreshments served on grounds. Devotional Meeting The regular monthly devotional meeting of the W. P. A. will be held in the Town Hall, Port Perry, at 3.30 p.m, on Thursday, June 1st. Seagrave The Sunday School Anniversary Services at Bethel on Sunday last was well attended. Mr Rowland of Greenbank delivered two splendid sermons. The collections were good. The recruiting meeting and con- cert in the interests of the 182nd Ba. will be held about June st. There will be required about two dozen bil- lets for members of the band and the officers. Some have already con- sented to open their homes for that evening and hope more will follow. Pte Gordon | Brown was home over Sunday, aiso Pte John Somers, At present Mr John Tanner is ia To:onto undergoing medical treat- ment. We look for a speedy recovery Mr Thos Midgley has made a start on the foundation of his pew barn, .. Bele Mr John Clarkson has bought a new Chevrolet Car, tind Dave Bee- croft a new Ford, RBar het teamed eke. one day Mrs. Neibert asker 3g all the ds gove, shels stoute tivo her cough . ore

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