Trelford Home Page

Grandfather's War
The Great War - 1914 to 1918

The military history of Private Allan Royal Trelford
31st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force

Forward:
There is very little family history available on my grandfather Trelford, and so, 80 years after the event, I wrote to Ottawa asking for his military war record, having no idea what they'd send. Well, they sent 10 pages of information... much of it initially quite incomprehensible. It included a copy of grandfather's "Attestation Paper", with personal information and his signature. I was thrilled!

I began wading through the forms, referring constantly to the list of initials that came with the papers - and which are absolutely necessary to make any sense of the records. Then off to the library to spend hours and hours going through very old, very dusty books on The Great War... most of them about 70 years old and not prone to giving up information easily. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I found that grandfather struggled with his health through two miserable winters. I was not able to confirm if he was gassed, but his son Eldon is sure he was, so we'll accept that. He would have witnessed the wounding or killing of many friends... usually your unit and battalion was made up of men who came from the same town as you.

I discovered the Canadian army were among the bravest and most effective of the allied forces and was often counted on to take the key role in offensives. I then found that, among those brave Canadians, my grandfather stood out - at some point he did something that resulted in a medal for bravery*.

What follows, is an account of that part of the war in which grandfather participated. By checking out all references to the 2nd Division and using the chronological entries on his "Casualty Form - Active Service" record, I have attempted to describe his experience. I have compiled 6 pages of text that most of the family will probably never bother to read. But, out there somewhere, perhaps not yet born, will be some descendant of Allan's who will be delighted... it is for them that I have included much information that my generation already knows.

And, for myself, I am glad to know just a little more about my grandfather's life.

Penny Trelford, 11 November 1997

* If there’s anyone who knows how to find information on medals, the entry on his records reads:

I5-8-19 31st Batt Awarded Military Medal Pte Lon Gaz 31430 3/7/19

It is because it reads "Lon Gaz" (i.e. London Gazette) that I believe the medal was from the British Army, as the Canadians had their own gazette.

Enlistment:
Probably in the early spring of 1916, Allan took his young son Billy and travelled back to Ontario to say goodbye to his mother. Then, in Munson, Alberta, April 25th 1916, at the age of 28, Allan joined the army as an infantryman. His Attestation Paper declares he was a tinsmith; had a wife, Hazel, and had previously served one year with the 31st Battalion in Ontario. His Certificate of Medical Examination, signed in Medicine Hat on May 26th, indicates he was 5' 7" tall, of medium complexion, with blue eyes and brown hair.

By the time Allan embarked from Canada in October, he was attached to the 175th Overseas Battalion, CEF. Rank: Private; Regimental # 696850; Terms of Service... ...duration of the war. He sailed from Halifax on October 4th, 1916 aboard the "S.S. Saxonia" arriving in Liverpool 9 days later. He was assigned to the 21st Reserve Battalion (Alberta) and was sent to Seaford - a large Canadian Training Area. Three months later, on February 21, 1917, Allan was in the field in France.

France:
Allan began his war at a relatively good time and place: he reported to the Vimy front. The ground was relatively dry and many of the trenches there were deep, sometimes including "funk holes", which were shallow caves in the trench walls that gave a little more leg room and shelter (not far away, the German trenches at Vimy, by this time, were almost luxurious - some were wood lined dugouts, painted... and even wall papered!). The Canadian troops had, that winter, initiated a new type of fighting called "trench raiding". Men would sneak across no-man's land in the dead of night to wreck machine gun nests, dugouts and supplies, and capture prisoners (100 of them in one raid). The Canadians were good at this! Morale was high.

By this point in the war, the Canadian Corps was described as a "tough and terrifyingly efficient corps that never lost a trench nor failed to win an objective". Reinforcements sent to the Canadian line usually had received solid training (Allan spent 4 months in Canada and another 3 in England, when we can expect he was receiving preparation for warfare). In contrast, the British Army was receiving recruits almost straight off the street and sometimes just out of school.

The huge munitions works in Britain and Canada were now in full production and artillery divisions, ammunition, and big guns were pouring into France. The Canadian infantry and artillery units had so improved their communications that a barrage on a Canadian position by the Germans would lead to an almost instant response from our artillery. The downside of this for the soldiers in the trenches was that they were, at times, continually in the midst of heavy bombardment.

Vimy Ridge:
The big offence on The Western Front planned by the Allies for the spring of 1917 would be the taking of Vimy Ridge. At the end of March, in preparation for the battle, the artillery began a two-week barrage of the German line. Allan and the rest of his Battalion sat, day after day, experiencing:

"the sharp ringing reports of the field guns and the ear splitting booms of the 'heavies' [that] blended into a continuous reverberating roar."

By noon of Easter Sunday, April 18th, the troops knew the attack was a few hours away and, by 4:00 a.m. the next morning, they were in their positions for the attack. Within an hour of the battle's start, some of the Canadian objectives had been reached. By noon, troops were at the summit of the ridge. All objectives had been reached by the end of the day. A great triumph.

Allan had been introduced to battle on the Western Front!

Hill 70:
Through the summer of 1917, the Canadian Corps remained in the areas as part of the siege of Lens, continuing to stage successful trench raids. They had a visit from the King in July.

Allan's next big operation was to be The Battle of Hill 70. For weeks before, everyone received training for that specific assault and was given exact information on placement of German trenches. Every Canadian infantryman knew what was expected of him. Again the Canadians were successful, taking the hill and defeating four German divisions - double their own number. In this battle, the excellent communication between artillery and infantry was augmented by the added communication of the airforce, which let the artillery know where the Canadian soldiers were as they moved forward. Once the hill was gained, the two Canadian divisions had to work hard to keep it. The Germans put six divisions into five successive counterattacks - to no avail.

Passchendaele:
Although the Canadian capture of Hill 70 was a great victory, the allies were unable to capture Lens itself. Back in England, the high command was already arguing over where the next offensive should be. The final decision was to return to Flanders, and the Canadian troops began the march north. The final goal was to be the small town of Passchendaele. All accounts of Passchendaele include the word "hell". Photos of Flanders' "fields" at this point look like some surreal nightmare: skeletons of trees, abandoned equipment littering the landscape, mud on all sides, wooden roads built through the mayhem. Those in command continued to argue. In the end, it was the Canadians who would capture Passchendaele.

Illness:
On September 15th, Allan had been sent to the Canadian Corps reinforcement camp and, by October 13th, he was at the Canadian Corps Ambulance Base Hospital, diagnosed with PUO - Pyrexia (fever) of Unknown/Undetermined Origin...the most common of this war's diseases. Some of these cases were malaria, but most were, we now know, Trench Fever, which was not fun. The victim's temperature could rise to 106 degrees and, at night, the "trench shins" that inevitably accompanied the fever caused incredible pain. The patient might seem better after a week and then have a relapse.

By October 20th, Allan was back with his unit, in the midst of the muddy misery of marching to Passchendaele but, 5 days later, following the pattern for Trench Fever, he was back in the base hospital. He did not return to his unit on November 17th, thus missing the grim battle for Passchendaele. But he would have been back in time to experience the miserable muddy swamp the area had become.

On December 22nd, Allan was given 14 days leave - the first shown on his war record (it appears two-week leaves only happened about once a year). Now came a curious part of Allan's war record. There is an entry

"absent without leave from 6:30 a.m. 1.1.18 to 6:30 a.m. 3.1.18."

This is curious because, if he was given 14 days leave on December 22nd, calculations do not indicate he should be back on January 1st. In any case, he was given 10 days of "FP 1" and forfeited 3 days of pay (at $1.10/day!). Well, I spent some time puzzling over what the entry "FP 1" represented...Field Prison 1? No reference to field prisons could be found. When I found the answer, I could hardly believe it. FP 1 = Field Punishment 1...the usual punishment for "dumb insolence"... or forgetting to shave (honest!). The soldier was lashed to a wheel for an hour each morning and evening. Well, if Allan was indeed AWOL, this was certainly a more acceptable punishment than one of the other ones for AWOL...going before a firing squad!)

Amiens:
By the beginning of March 1918, Allan's unit was back at the Vimy front. The main offensive for the spring of 1918 was The Battle of Amiens, being fought by the British Army. Three weeks after Allan arrived back at the front, his Division was transferred to the British Third Army to relieve their troops. The Canadian 2nd Division was to hold this line for 3 months. Canadian reports for 1918 note:

"the aggressive attitude adapted by this division at a critical time and under adverse conditions had a most excellent effect on our troops, and it certainly reduced to the lowest point, the fighting value of two German Divisions"

There was also praise for Allan's division in Arthur Conan Doyle's history of the war:

"Their record was a great one... Well might General Byng say 'by their conduct they have established a standard of endurance and determination that will be a model for all time'".

[The British would award Allan the Military Medal and it seems to me most likely that it would be for actions during this period.]

While the other three Canadian Divisions would be put on reserve on May 7th and have almost 2 months to reorganize and train, the 2nd Division would continue on the line with the Third Army until July 1st. They would finally be relieved just in time for the usual Canadian Dominion Day celebrations, where the Canadian Prime Minister would make an appearance.

10 days later they were back on the line at Telegraph Hill. Now began the final assault on the Germans, who were now on the defensive. Finally, the allied infantry would start to move past the line of trenches, into enemy territory.

The Canadian Corps assault was being planned along a front southeast of Amiens. The battle began August 8th, with Allan's division fighting alongside the Australians. The weather was good, no rain, they were on the move - men could lie in the shelter of woods, scooping a shallow trench in the ground. Some slept in enemy blankets in enemy dugouts. At night there was bombing going on, during the day they were faced with enemy heavy artillery. Sometimes they were faced with pockets of German soldiers putting up a grim last-ditch defence. The 2nd Division penetrated eight miles into enemy territory and captured 12 villages. They also came to the assistance of French troops who had run into trouble at Mezieres.

By August 22nd, the Canadian Corps as a whole had capture 9,131 prisoners, penetrated as far as 14 miles, and liberated 27 town and villages. But they had also lost 1800 men, with another 9,000 wounded.

Arras - Cambrais:
On August 24th, Allan's division was on the move again, with the British Third Army. They pushed forward through the German trench system with stiff hand-to-hand fighting. Completely exhausted, they were relieved on the night of August 28th, but were back on the line by the night of September 3/4th.

Between September 6 and 16th, Allan's battalion suffered heavy casualties and a number of men were gassed [this is the only reference I found to gassing that might have effected Allan's unit]. Family history says that Allan was gassed at some point in the war, but this did not show up on his military record. By the time he began fighting in France, most of the gassing was being done by allied troops - on occasion the gas would blow back onto our own troops. Also, Allan didn't receive the 'Golden Wound Stripe' that was given to men gassed. However, his son Eldon insists he spoke of being gassed, so perhaps it was a result of gassing by his own side.... thus not to be officially recognised. Allan certainly ended up with lung problems, but that was not unusual in his family. The Trench Fever he suffered would not have led to any breathing problems but the wet; cold conditions he often lived in for two years might have led to chronic bronchitis.

When the next offensive began on September 27th, the 2nd Division was left to hold the whole front from Arras to Cambrais while the rest of the Corps moved forward through the crowded narrow access built by the engineers to cross the river. Allan's brigade was back in battle on October 1st under very heavy fire, and suffering many casualties. This was the toughest fighting they'd ever been up against. Next, the 2nd Division moved to seize the bridges of the Canal du Nord before the Germans could blow them up. They attacked on a black rainy night, with artillery laying down a barrage, which caught the enemy by surprise. Over 300 prisoners were taken - with almost no casualties - and, once across, four villages were captured. From here, the 2nd Division continued to pursue the enemy, moving northeast toward Valenciennes, occupying town after town.

The Final Push:
By October 12th, all of the Canadian Divisions were reunited. Since August 26th, they had advanced 23 miles, fighting for every foot of ground. The four Canadian divisions had defeated 31 German divisions and captured 18.565 prisoners. However, over 4,000 men had been killed, another 2,000 were missing, and in excess of 24,000 were wounded. In other words, almost a third of the Corps had been struck down. Undoubtedly these men were replaced by reinforcements, but the survivors, exhausted from more than a month of continual fighting, would have deeply felt the loss of their long-time companions. Did they know the Germans were now falling back on all fronts and armistice proposals being discussed?

The Canadian Corps' pursuit of the Germans from village to village is described in J.F.B. Livesay's "Canada's Hundred Days":

"our troops.... often entered villages at one end while the Boche were leaving at the other.... glad villagers, weeping with joy, crowded around, impeding our advance...from their slender store they pressed upon our soldiers coffee and bread, and garlanded their guns with flowers. 'Viva les Canadians' 'Long Live Our Liberators' and 'Glory to the Heroes' hung in great streamers across the village square."

Some villages had suffered great deprivation. Some had not had fresh meat in years and villagers had lived mainly on cabbage soup. Malnutrition caused many deaths. In Vred, supplies sent by American and Spanish missions were requisitioned by German soldiers. Voluntarily, the Canadian soldiers assigned 20% of their rations to the villagers of Vred. The retreating Germans were taking all food supplies with them and, by the time the Canadians had reached Valenciennes, they were feeding 70,000 civilians.

Armistice:
The Germans made a stand at Valenciennes, and the Canadian 3rd and 4th Divisions took the offensive. Allan's division relieved the 4th on November 6/7 on the road to Mons, as rumours of peace escalated. J.F.B. Livesay states

"The 2nd Division had been at rest since October 19th and its units were now to make perhaps the greatest advance in point of speed ever made by a fighting unit on the West Front."

It was hard fighting. The Germans were desperate. That night Division 2 took the Bois-Haut, a wooded hill southeast of Mons, forcing a further retreat of the Germans. The next morning, the men on the front line were told "no advance today". Livesay, who was with them at, the time armistice was announced, says:

"Everything went on as usual until official word came over the wire. Then, instead of going wild with joy...a pronounced glow of satisfaction shone on the faces of all, as though someone had told them the job had been well done, and hand-shakes all around with words of encouragement mixed with thumps on the back were the only visible signs of joy...the mind not being able to fully realize... no more would they have to dodge shells, bullets, bombs."

The citizens of Mons celebrated their liberation by the Canadians, the soldiers were happy, but still disciplined, perhaps remembering those of their buddies who'd died or been wounded in those last days of fighting. On November 15th, the Prince of Wales arrived in Mons and, in the place the Canadian had first entered the city, a square was renamed "Place du Canada". On Sunday, a service was held to remember the 60,000 Canadian soldiers who had not made it through the war and another almost 200,0000 who were casualties (this added up to more than all the Canadians in England and France when Allan first arrived in Liverpool).

Demobilization:
The 2nd Division was to continue marching toward the Rhine, not stopping until they reached Bonn. But Allan was not to go with them. On November 16th, he was again diagnosed with PUO - and by December 3rd, "Influenza" was added, along with another regular diagnosis of that war "Not Yet Determined". The entries on his Casualty Form indicate he was probably shifted to a number of different "Casualty Clearing Stations" during December and the first weeks of January 1919. The fact that he was under medical care for almost two months would indicate that he must have been very ill. Allan was finally "taken on strength" on January 11th and transported to Bramshott, England on January 18th for demobilization.

Getting the troops home was to be a problem. The Canadian rail lines had taken a beating over the last four years, transporting men and heavy arms through Halifax to Europe. Now officials insisted that the maritime rail lines could only handle 20,000 soldiers per month. This meant the soldiers must wait in camps in Britain. Allan was initially sent to Ripon and, at the end of January, transferred to the now infamous Kinmel Park in the north of Wales...and there he sat for another two months. This means he was present when the frustrated Canadian troops at Kinmel rioted on March 4th and 5th - ending with 5 dead and 25 injured. Finally, on 10 March 1919, Allan boarded His Majesty's Transport "Celtic" and headed home. Two weeks later he was discharged, on March 24, 1919.

Coming home was not easy for these Canadian soldiers. The people at home had absolutely no idea what the troops had been through. For propaganda reasons, news of the misery and horrors of the war had not been allowed. The people of Canada wanted these soldiers to come home and just quietly fit into society. Many of the soldiers learned not to mention they were veterans, if they hoped to get a job.

The soldiers couldn't articulate their experiences - if anyone wanted to hear. Allan was awarded the Military Medal (the enlisted man's version of the Military Cross) by the British Army - a great honour - but it doesn't seem to be part of our family history. His health was probably severely compromised; he would have had horrifying memories; and he may have suffered, to some extent, from shell shock [this was a condition caused by the prolonged exposure to noise and terror during barrages. It left men with impaired nervous systems: they couldn't sleep properly and were often nervous and irritable].

Allan applied for a land grant under the Soldier's Settlement Act and began farming near Munson. But he was not to live happily ever after. He hadn't been raised a farmer - he'd grown up in a small village in Ontario, not on a farm. At some point Allan gave up the farm, his wife was to divorce him, and he went to work for the railroad. Allan died from respiratory problems before he had reached 50 years of age.