Alma Russell Letters
Letters of British Columbia men on active service with Canadian and British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1918. 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.
*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum. Some materials may contain content that is racist, sexist or otherwise offensive. The Royal BC Museum is only the custodian of archival materials; the content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Royal BC Museum.
Current Page Transcription [edit] [history]
-8-
Letters from Sergeant Mc Illree. 7th Battalion. 2nd Brigade.
April 21st.
Since I last wrote all kinds of things have happened to us. We left our last billets, and boarded motor busses, which took us for two hours. Then we hoofed it for some hours, passing through a very famous town, and later on through several ruined villages, till we came to a very flat sandy plain, where we got gloriously lost, and sat down till somebody should find us. The Sergt. Major go shot through the water bottle which was full of rum, which helped to pass the time. Soon a Frenchman found us, for it was a French Regt. we were relieving, and he steered us over all kinds of obstacles, shell holes, polka dot the whole place, some so big that a Frenchy was drowned in one, also there were dykes and ditches galore. Finally we reached the trench, which we found to be a mere breastwork, bullet proof for about two feet up, no cover behind, and no traverses. After mutual compliments we got ride of the Frenchies, who had given us to understand, that the Germans were not to be seen, as we were on one side of a hill, and they on the other. That night I went out for rations, with a quarter of the Company, and we got to where the wagons were all right, a distance of about two miles, but a fog came on, and coming back we got lost again, and wandered around all night, finally striking a trench held by another of our Companies, so we worked our way along, reaching our home about daylight. Next morning we were wandering round the trench which was in a filthy condition, and one of my Section strolled out behind, and was immediately nicked in the leg by a bullet. That set us wondering, and we found out that a trench in front was German, and though it was just a small piece on
BC Archives, MS-1901 Box 1 File 10 / RUSSELL, Alma M., 1873-1964. Victoria; librarian. / Selected letters from Sergeant John Raymond McIllree, 1915.