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Frederick Tregillus Letters from the Cariboo Boys

Letters to Frederick James Tregillus from Barkerville men who served in the First World War: Joseph Callanan, J.H. Ellis, George Freeman Killam, George Gilchrest, R. Norris, Mr. and Mrs. Nowosky, John Petterson, Ernest Seeley, N.W. Thompson, George Turner, and John Benjamin Westover. Learn more.

*All transcriptions are provided by volunteers, and the accuracy of the transcriptions is not guaranteed. Please be sure to verify the information by viewing the image record, or visiting the BC Archives in person. 

BC Archives MS-0426

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will not have to stand to under another of those terrible bombardments. They all say that they are very trying. The terrible noise of the explosions & the wierd noises that the many kinds of shells make in the air beside the sight that you see as parts of men fly up in the air with earth & bags of sand not broken often, the whole mass of earth Bags & parts of men to fall back again, perhaps on you.

More men are hurt in going to & from the trenches than are hurt in actual trench fighting it seems I have been tenting with a very sensible returned soldier a man named Palmer of Vancouver Fire Brigade he say it is terrible over there at times & is very very tired of it, but is going back sooner than he must in preferance to staying with us at our training Depot. He says you are well treated over there no red tape & no abusive Non. Coms or Officers. things are left much to the men when out of the trenches. You are told to be ready to march off at a certain time each night & you must be there or get L. but it is not made a prison for you during your day out. You do not shave in the trenches & are not bothered if you do not shave the first day out. But you are expected to get washed up & shaved soon after you have had a good rest & sleep when out of the trenches.

Palmer says that the german soldier is very down hearted & tired of it. Our boys are tired of it but not a bit downhearted or discouraged. Palmer thinks many Germans would desert if not afraid of being shot by thier officers as they left thier trenches to come to ours. Fritz is the name all returned Soldiers call the germans. Fritz is said to

BC Archives, MS-0426 Box 1 File 5 / TREGILLUS, Frederick James, 1862 - 1962. Barkerville, miner. / Correspondence from Ernest Seeley, 1915 - 1919.

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