Alma Russell Letters
Letters of British Columbia men on active service with Canadian and British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1918. Learn more.
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When the charge was made by the Black Watch last may, we had to relieve them in the firing line, and had to cross the open within a few hundred yards of the germans. We had an awfully tough time and it was the lucky ones survived. I had hardly seen a dead man until that time. It was a terrible sight the field of battle after the charge. We were in the old german trenches captured by the Black Watch. There were hundreds of dead men lying about most of them about the barbed wire entanglements - both British and german - but mostly British - a sight I shall never forget as long as I live. Some of the Kilties had even got on top of parapet, only to get shot down by the germans.
There are all kinds of rumours about a big attack by British coming off very soon. Pray God we never make a charge, that is all I say, as it is too much like sudden death for me. You don’t charge men in these days - you charge machine guns, firing 600 rounds a minute, men often got killed just climbing over their own parapet preparatory to making the charge.
We were in an awfully hot corner the last trenches, only 15 yards from the germans - we never use the rifle there hardly, it is all bombs “hand grenades”. The place is all mined by both British & germans and the whole line of trenches will be going off in the air someday. But the most deadly instrument of war fare is the serial torpedo (minnenwerfer) and trench mortar. They will blow both sides of trench out if they fall in it. We lost 2 men killed and 3 wounded this way 2 days ago by a trench mortar. These are frightful things and you can see them coming in the air. The explosion they make is terrific. Fragments fly in every direction and fellows have been hit ½ mile away by pieces.
I never hardly believed there was a war until we took the trenches after the big charge. I soon got wise to it then.
BC Archives, MS-1901 Box 1 File 5 / RUSSELL, Alma M., 1873 - 1964. Victoria; librarian. / Letters and associated items from Private Jack A. Gunn, 1915 - 1916.