The Story of the 102nd Canadian Infantry Battalion
From BC to Baisieux by Sgt Leonard McLeod Gould HQ 102nd Canadians WW1
CHAPTER IX.
Frevillers-Training for Open Warfare-Huclier. Conteville and
Berthonval-Intensive Training Intensified-Life in Rural France-On the
Oppy Front Again-The Eve of Open Warfare
PATIENCE was needed for that drive to Frevillers, since we had been kept
waiting on the road so that the whole Battalion could proceed together;
consequently it was a cramped and tired crowd that "debussed" at
Frevillers. Of all the weird and horrible words that ever crept into the
War Vocabulary the two worst were "embuss" and "debuss"; to take the
last syllable of a Latin trisyllable, graft on a prefix and, as
compensation, to double the final consonant in order to force the accent
on the last syllable, constituted an outrage on all the "ologies," but
it afforded a cheap and effective method of describing the desired act,
and was found in all Orders emanating from Higher Up. We "debussed,"
then, in the early hours of a beautiful spring morning, to find the
country looking its best, and breakfast looking and tasting just three
hours old-which it was, as our arrival had been expected earlier; and
so, to bed.
It was soon made abundantly clear that our period out of the line was to
be spent in hard intensive training to fit the Battalion for the open
warfare which it was expected that we should be called upon to carry out
later in the year, and an exceedingly comprehensive scheme of training
was immediately drawn up by Brigade, the principal features of which
were the time to be spent on Musketry and the arrangements made for
regular field operations to be carried out under the conditions which we
should meet in the real thing. In addition, it was desired to harden the
Battalion physically as much as possible; exercise and open air were to
be enjoyed to the full, and the time not actually spent in military
training was to be devoted to open-air sports of every kind. It was
absolutely necessary that by the time the call came the Battalion as a
whole should be able to stand the fatigue of long and continuous
marches. That this system of training was successfully carried out was
proved up to the hilt during the following August, when a series of
grueling night marches was immediately capped by a brilliant offensive
and the quick following up of a retreating enemy. It is unnecessary to
deal in detail with the events of the next two weeks; on days when there
were no manoeuvres the mornings were devoted to drill or musketry
practice and the afternoons to athletics. In this connection the
following, paragraph from the Regimental Diary may prove of interest: "A
great deal more zest and keenness in the matter of athletics was
observable amongst the men than had been the case in 1917. This may have
been due to the greater interest shown by the officers throughout the
Battalion; moreover, we now had a sportsman as Chaplain, in the person
of Capt. C. A. Fallon, who entered keenly into the men's pleasures." It
is certainly true that if we had had more chaplains in the Corps of the
type of Capt. C. A. Fallon the Cause of Religion would have benefited;
he was not merely a chaplain and a good fellow out of the line; he
figured that a chaplain had his uses when fighting was going on, and
during the succeeding campaign he did invaluable work in the way of
locating the wounded in open country and ministering to them under fire,
and no award of the Military Cross was more popular throughout the unit
than the one which bestowed that decoration on Capt. Fallon for his
services rendered in the 2nd Battle of Cambrai.
Another entry in the Diary dated May 21st may be quoted: written as it
was on the spot, it illustrates well the general feeling obtaining
throughout the unit amid our then surroundings, and reads as follows:
"Seldom have we felt so cut off from the war when in Corps Reserve as we
have done in this village. On the eve of the 'Third Great Hun offensive,
within earshot of our guns, which most nights can be heard muttering
their barrages, close enough to St. Pol to hear the German bombs
crashing therein at night, we seem to live in a world apart from the war
itself. Never has our training been more severe; every day makes it
clearer that when we move it will be to enter the bloodiest fight in
which we have yet taken part, but our hours of rest seem to belie all
this. This is probably due to the season and also to the phenomenal
weather. We were in the Forward Area during the first beginnings of
spring, and came out to find ourselves plunged suddenly into summer in
an unravished part of the country where summer is at its best. A large
number of men desert their billets at night and sleep under the trees in
the open. This rest has put new life into the Battalion."
The weather was perfect; so hot that all training was carried out
without tunics. Fortunately we were, for once, able to indulge in good
bathing. Frevillers was situated close to La Comté, the village where we
billeted before entering the Vimy Sector, and just beyond La Comté was
an enormous quarry which had been flooded by springs with water. This
formed a magnificent bathing pool; it was more than a pool; it was more
like a lake, 450 yards by 150, and nightly it was crowded with
enthusiastic swimmers.
On the 25th of the month we left Frevillers with its flowering cactus
and charming denizens, some of whom we had known in Hersin whence they
had fled to a more secure refuge when the March offensive began, and
moved off to the Dieval area; here we were quartered in three villages,
all about a mile apart, Headquarters, with "A" and "B" Coys., being
billeted in Conteville, "C" Coy, and the Transport Lines in Berthonval,
and "D" Coy. in Huclier. Brigade Headquarters were situated at Dieval,
about nine miles away; the 54th Bn. was at La Comté and Ourton, the 75th
at Camblain Chatelain, and the 87th at Valhoun. The last-named was
nearest to Brigade, and even the 87th was a good five miles away; never
had the Brigade been so scattered. The training-ground selected for the
use of the 11th Brigade was near Magnicourt, about nine miles from
Conteville, and about six miles from the nearest Battalion, the 87th.
Here the four units used to assemble twice a week between 'eight and
nine o'clock in the morning; this meant rising at 2:30 a.m. in order to
have time to get breakfast over and cover the distance in comfortable
time to rest before the strenuous part of the day's work began; when the
latter was over there was the long march home to billets. It may be
imagined that after a few of these manoeuvres, carried out in hot
weather over a dust-laden, country, the units began to feel physically
fit. On days when there were no manoeuvres there was perpetual drill or
inspection in the mornings and good hard physical exercise at games or
athletic sports in the afternoons and evenings. On Sundays a Church
Parade would be frequently held over at Brigade Headquarters in Dieval,
necessitating a long day's march. In short, nothing was neglected which
might serve to harden the troops and fit them for long marching under
the severest conditions. Incidentally, about two miles from Conteville
was a creek which served admirably as a swimming-bath. On June 15th,
Divisional Sports were held at Pernes, where Capt.T.R. Griffith, M.C.,
and Sergt. R. L. Algie, both of the 102nd, won the 100 yards' and 200
yards' events respectively. We had a first-class Lacrosse team at this
time, which won its way through to the Finals, but failed to beat the
47th Bn. Our Baseball team, which had previously held a good record,
fell to pieces during the early part of the season and rallied too late
to redeem the ground lost. At a later date Battalion Headquarters Massed
Football team covered themselves with glory by winning the Brigade
Championship. On Dominion Day, when a Corps Sports Meet was held at
Tinques, Sgt. Algie, our only representative, ran second in the 100
yards' final.
No amount of physical perfection, however, sufficed to save the
Battalion from an epidemic of "Spanish Influenza," which during June,
made rapid strides throughout the Allied Armies in France. We-were
fortunate in having within our area a disused aerodrome on which the
hangars had been left, and we obtained permission to fit two of these up
as temporary hospitals. Consequently we were able to-attend to almost
all cases, who numbered something like 75 per cent of the unit, on the
ground, without having to send them out to Field Ambulance. Very few
cases were serious enough to need further attention than the Battalion
Medical Detail was qualified to bestow and long before we were moved
into the line the epidemic had subsided.
Seeing that we remained in Conteville for nearly six weeks it may not be
out of place to try and give some description of the surrounding country
and of life in general in French farming villages as seen by visiting
troops. Conteville is a typical village, consisting of one main street
and a couple of side issues, and was inhabited solely by a farming
community. As is usual in France and Belgium, the farmers live in the
village as a community and go out to their fields by day; it is rare
indeed to find an outlying farmhouse. This system tends to wasting a
certain amount of time in the coming and going; but it gives the farmer
the advantage of living amongst his own kind instead of being isolated
in the midst of his acres. The principal industry in the agricultural
districts would seem to be the manufacture of manure, which is the pride
and delight of every prosperous farmer; the more successful the
agriculturist and the higher his standing in the community, the bigger
and richer his manure heap. Every farmhouse is built round a large
court-yard which is constructed after the fashion of a big
swimming-bath, being graded from the level of the ground at the street
end to a depth of about four feet at the other. In this excavation,
which measures approximately 100 feet by 30, is heaped the valued
treasure; here it festers in the rains of winter and the hot sunshine of
summer, and it advertises the wealth and social standing of its owner by
the richness of its effluvia. How it is that the natives do not die of
typhoid is one of the mysteries which confronts the visiting Canadian,
As may be imagined; in farms where the manure pile reaches up to within
three feet of the front door and the dining-room windows no special
sanitary precautions are taken to ensure the cleanliness of the cows and
to prevent the infection of their milk. And yet the children thrive!
Verily it raises a doubt as to whether our elaborate precautions on this
continent are really justified. Whether or not the microbe is indigenous
to the American Continent, it is very certain that his presence does not
in the least annoy the inhabitants of rural France. Every village is
dependent for its water supply on wells which are sank to an incredible
depth; sometimes the rope on which the bucket hangs is broken and the
villagers are content to use another well until a beneficent Providence
sends along an Engineer unit to billet in the place, or some other
military formation which will take steps to supply a new rope. Another
thing which amazes the Canadian is that though the interior of the
houses and all their fittings are kept scrupulously clean, and though
the people themselves on Sundays and holidays appear in snowy linen and
with well washed faces, no house is ever found to be equipped with
anything in the shape of a bath; a tin tub big enough to wash clothes
in, but by no means big enough to sit in, apparently suffices for any
ablutions which might seem to demand more
accommodation than a hand basin can supply. These observations apply to
every village in the agricultural district we visited during our period
of service in France and Belgium.
Conteville itself has quite a standing in the neighbourhood, owing to
the presence in its midst of a patron saint in effigy, St. Benoit by
name. This was a vary devout person who lived in mediaeval times and
made a pilgrimage to Rome, and his fame seems to have rested principally
on some wonderful letters which he wrote home to his parish priest. A
wax model of the good gentleman now lies in a shrine adjoining the
church, very badly dressed in a shabby gown and a really disgraceful
pair of socks, though the latter may possibly have been substituted for
a good pair when the villagers heard that the Canadians were coming to
live amongst them. The scenery round Conteville is beautiful in the
extreme; the country is wide and rolling, well treed and apparently very
fertile, though during our stay we saw no farming being done except by
the wonderful French women, who from early womanhood to crabbed old age
seem imbued with an absolutely tireless energy, and by a few old men and
children. About three miles away over the fields lies St. Pol, quite a
good-sized town, which showed many evidences of the proximity of the Hun
artillery; moreover, his airmen made frequent visits in their big
bombing machines, but the material-damage they did was very slight. At
Martin l'Eglise, which lay close to our village of Berthonval, a Tank
Corps was established, and it was here that we first became at all well
acquainted with these strange monsters. Berthonval during our sojourn
enjoyed quite a local reputation, though for a very different reason
from that which gave Conteville its place in the sun; at Berthonval
dwelt Juliette, and Juliette was a very fair damsel and exceedingly good
to look upon, and what was far more important, Juliette managed to get,
by means unknown, a regular supply of excellent liqueurs, which made
life very pleasant for "C" Coy. and the personnel of the Transport
Lines, who usually contrived to finish up each stock on arrival before
the outlying companies had a chance to participate.
At length, on July 10, our time at Conteville came to a close, and we
received orders to move forward. Lieut.-Col. Lister had left for England
on leave eight days before, and when our move orders came Major Ryan was
in command of the Battalion. There were some other changes to be
chronicled; Lieut. J. L. Lloyd, who had just completed a six-weeks
course, was promoted from the position of Assistant-Adjutant, which he
had held, when he was not acting as Adjutant, almost continuously from
the beginning of 1917, to the position of Second-in-Command of "D" Coy.,
and Lieut. W. W. Dunlop, M.C., was transferred to Headquarters to fill
the vacant position. Lieut. C. V. McDermid was created Scout Officer in
place of Lieut. R. Adams, transferred to the R.A.F. Lieut. W. H. C.
Stanley undertook the duties of Bombing Officer during the absence of
Lieut. R. Perry, sick, and Capt. W. McL. Walwyn was appointed
Second-in-Command of "C" Coy.
It was 8.00 p.m. when we pulled out of Conteville on July 10th. Strange
to say, we had few regrets at leaving; though we had been there much
longer than in any other settlement we had never succeeded in
establishing really friendly relations with the villagers; on our
arrival they had stood aloof, and they maintained the same attitude
throughout our stay. They were the only people with whom we came into
close contact throughout our 33 months in France or Belgium who did not
shed a few tears on our departure or with whom some correspondence was
not later maintained. An hour before midnight we arrived at Dieval,
where we entrained for Mt. S. Eloy, which we reached at 5.00 a.m, on the
following morning, marching off immediately to Brant and Cliff Camps at
Ecoivres, close at hand; here we found breakfast, after which we turned
in for a few hours sleep, proceeding at 3.45 p.m. through pouring rain
to a camp at Maison Blanche, the Transport going ahead to Ecurie Corner
for the night, but returning next day, owing to excessive shelling, to a
position next Headquarters. On the same day "B" and "D" Coys. went
forward to Blanche Post, in the Reserve Line, where they were joined on
the 13th by Headquarters, "A" and "C" Coys. being billeted in
Roclincourt, The general lay-out of the ground round Blanche Post was
slightly reminiscent of Zouave Valley in the days before the capture of
the Ridge, but there was one added feature which was immensely popular,
viz,, four cold water showers with heaps of water laid on. On the 17th
we moved up to the Front Line in relief of the 87th. We were now back on
the Oppy front, just to the right of the positions we had occupied in
April, so close, in fact, that our Medical Detail used the same quarters
for their Regimental Aid Post.
The feature of this tour was a successful raid carried out on the night
of June 23-24 by "D" Coy. Two days were spent in preparation, during
which some very valuable work was done by the Battalion Scouts, under
Lieut. R. L. Gale, Intelligence Officer, in the course of a daylight
reconnaissance of the trenches leading N.E. from our Front Line in the
vicinity of the intended raid. When close to the block in the trench
which marked the dividing line between the Hun and ourselves the Scouts
noticed first a trap bomb and later a trap alarm; these they carefully
avoided, and Pte. E. W. Fenton, carefully and quietly climbing the
parapet, was enabled to observe the enemy's dispositions on the other
side of the block in great detail. Had it not been that a raid was in
course of preparation it would have been easy to kill or capture the Hun
outpost, but this would have entailed increased vigilance on his part
and would have imperilled the success of the larger operation. The raid
itself followed the barrage at midnight, and was carried out by three
parties, one under Lieut. J. H. French, a second under Lieut. T. W.
Peers, with a third party in support, under Lieut, A. M. Morrison. The
first party found more wire than had been anticipated, as the high grass
had hidden it from view, and some difficulty was encountered in
negotiating it; finally they cut their way through and entered the enemy
trench, where they captured six prisoners and inflicted many casualties.
The second party unfortunately lost time owing to the intense darkness,
entering the trench on our own side of the block; by the time this
mistake had been rectified the Hun had had time to escape, and only
three prisoners were captured, though heavy casualties were inflicted.
On our side we lost one Other Rank killed and 12 wounded, but the result
of the raid was net gain, including, as it did, nine prisoners, the
certainty of from 15 to 20 Huns killed, and the knowledge that many more
had been wounded. Half the object of these raids was to weaken the
enemy's morale, and now more than at any other time it was necessary to
carry on this good work; on that account alone the raid would have been
deemed successful; in addition, we brought back prisoners who afforded
identifications and useful information. Illustrative of the spirit of
our men after their nine weeks out of the line the Diary has the
following:-"Pte. Wren lost his rifle in the wire, but he leaped into the
trench and tackled the enemy with his bare hands; he seized two Huns by
the throat, and dashed their heads together till they surrendered. Pte.
Twell saw a comrade fall mortally wounded; he dragged him to a
shell-hole and with his rifle fought off all efforts of the enemy to
surround him; eventually he obtained assistance and brought the man in."
The Higher Command was more than well pleased with the work of the 102nd
Bn. in this raid, as is shown by the following messages received: "My
dear Lister,-Hearty congratulations to all concerned on your good work.
The nine prisoners and the dead Germans leave a fine record. I am very
much pleased. Your raid was as neat a one as has been pulled off.
Special credit is due Ryan and Gale. Please congratulate all concerned
for me. Congratulations have also come in for you from the Divisional
Commander and from the G.O.C. 10th and 12th Brigades. Very sincerely, V.
W. Odlum." Later the Brigadier forwarded this second message: "11th
C.I.B. 28/7/18, My dear Colonel Lister,-I have just received a letter
from Sir David Watson from which I quote: 'I have much pleasure in
enclosing you herewith copy of a letter which I have received from
Lieut.-General Sir A. W. Currie, Commanding Canadian Corps, in
connection with the recent raid of the 102nd Bn. In speaking with me on
this matter General Carrie expressed himself as greatly delighted with
the splendid work carried out by this Battalion, as well as with the
effort of the 54th on the same night. Would you be good enough to
transmit these messages to the respective Battalions.' The letter from
Sir Arthur Currie to which the Divisional commander refers is as
follows: 'Dear Watson,-Please convey my congratulations to the G.O.C.
11th Brigade and to the 102nd Bn. for the splendid raid carried out by
them, a few nights ago. I consider the operation a splendid success,
showing in all concerned fighting qualities of a high order, Yours ever,
A. W. Currie.' It gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to add
this message to the other congratulations I have already forwarded you,
Victor W. Odium, Commanding 11th Canadian Inf. Brigade."
On the evening of the 23rd we moved out to Support, taking the place of
the 87th. Our quarters here were distinctly poor and needed much
improvement, some of which they received; incidentally the Hun made them
more uncomfortable by throwing over a lot of gas shells every night.
Whilst we were in this area we began to see signs of the times in the
movement of tanks and cavalry, "The Day" for us was now approaching
fast, but it was not to find us in the area where we expected to be, and
when we were relieved by the 7th Bn. Royal Scots on July 31st and moved
out to Ecoivres, we did not realize that we were taking the first step
in a series of operations which were still further to enhance the fame
of the Canadian Corps.TOP
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9
Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Images The Author The VC 29th Battalion Links
BATTLE HONOURS
"SOMME, 1916", "Ancre Heights", "Ancre, 1916",
"ARRAS, 1917, 18", "VIMY, 1917", "Hill 70", ", 1917",
"PASSCHENDAELE", "AMIENS", "Scarpe, 1918", "Drocourt-Queant",
"HINDENBURG LINE", "CANAL du NORD", "VALENCIENNES", "France and
Flanders, 1916-18".
Be sure and
visit the 102nd Battalion`s Sister Unit - the 54th Kootenay Battalion
Visit the 21st
Battalion from Eastern Ontario
