Carman Stothers account of a trench raid with the 75th Battalion on June 11th, 1917. This was discovered in a binder of his letters and was probably written in the 1960's...

June 1917

We were in the line June 11th, my birthday. It was a hot day the gallon gasoline tins brought up by a working party, presumably the new draft were about half full to be divided among the Lewis Gun Crew of six men. Cocking hands Joe, or No. 1 was Jack Rowe of Bowmanville, Spare Pats man, No.2 was Carman, Nos. 3 & 4 were English born – one elderly and one a home-boy. Nos. 5 & 6 were French Canadian named Grenier.

I was thirsty and had a block of Sterno form a parcel so at a quiet hour in the PM, I crawled out of the front-line trench to get some water. In the first shell-hole was a dead German soldier with rifle and bombs immersed to the neck. In the second the water was scummy and not a good colour. In the next the water was clear so I filled my mess tin. I got back with it half full. Then in the funk-hole I had gouged out of the forward side of the trench, I set my water to boil over my one sterno cube. When it had boiled ten minutes, the Sterno flickered out, so I had to decide whether to drink it or not. I had some cocoa powder and stirred some in and drank it saving some to eat with my slice of bread and my part of a bully beef can.

Things were quiet until about 7 o’clock. Then Fritz sent over a bombardment probably on general principles. There were some casualties on our left and about 8 o’clock they  were carried out. Among them was Bill (W.P.) Buchanan, #681365 with whom I went to Upper School in Wingham; whose marriage I had had to arrange by telephone; and who had lived with us at 8 Willard Apartments during his teaching career from Sept. 1915 until Feb 28th 1916 at Carlton school in Toronto. He came from Westfield, a posh office in East Wawonosh a few miles east of Dungannon. He was in bad shape with a bullet in his head and both legs broken so he probably felt nothing. I was reminded of sharing one of his parcels with him on our previous line duty when we each promised to visit the parents and loved ones of the other when we got home.

This evening Blitz by Fritz could hardly have been put on in anticipation of the midnight raid we were to put on that day. Friends who had been there told us after the war that this raid was put on for some visiting brass but this I found hard to believe then or now. We knew days ahead that one of these nights during our tour that we had to go over the top. Midnight came and at 12.15 we went over behind a barrage designed to make mincemeat of the German front line. There was answering fire but we walked on right up to Fritzes front-line trench. I jumped in and was met by a German coming from my left. We got busy with bayonets and then something hit me and him. We were by that time non-combatants. Then I was conscious of wetness in my right shoulder. I put my hand in and was reassured to find that I could see blood on my hand. It was reassuring that in the light of the yellow flare I could that it must be more then sweat and therefore red instead of yellow. My bayonet was broken and the stock of the Enfield rifle below the grip was shattered and missing. Then Herdsman came along and picked me up, saying that he would carry me on his shoulder. After we got out of the trench, the return fire of mostly machine-gun bullets were too close, so I begged to be put down on my own legs. So Herdsman shuffled along till we got to our own trench and continued down it to the dressing station.

There Dr. Hutchinson V.C. (the only one in our battalion) tended me on a stretcher. I told him about my shoulder and said "I’m tired of walking and I hope I can lie here". His scissors cut my pants on both legs which he bandaged. Next he bandaged my hip and last my shoulder. Then he said "your going out on a stretcher", which was music to my ears. Some time later I was carried to the light railway from which I was transferred to an ambulance which took me to the First Casualty Clearing Depot. There a Medical full-Colonel operated on me and found in the bandage on my hip one last shrapnel bullet. He said, "We have no anesthetics but this will take only a moment". He was relying on the influence of a blonde nurse who in the Canadian Nurses uniform was something of a goddess to one who had not seen the like of for about seven months. Even then I felt the two deep snips of the scissors to widen the aperture and the tweezers used to extract another lead shrapnel ball. The indignity to my person released most, if not all, the cuss-words I had learned in the army. The Colonel was used to being cursed out by a private under these conditions.

Next they sent me to Calais to a Canadian hospital in tents. There they had sent New Zealanders and Australians as well as Canadians. Because my ticket showed the 75th Battalion, I was of special interest to another blonde Canadian nurse. She was engaged to a Captain Harding who had command of our company at Vimy. She gave me special treatment. For days I was the only one who got the curtains drawn around his bed. This was noted by most of the other patients who complained. My last view of Captain Harding had shown him "hors de combat" and one member of his company relieving him of his revolver. I have never heard that he was revived. That was the sad news I had to tell the nurse.

Within a few days we were evacuated to Dover. It seems that were taken to an inner harbour with white rock walls. Such is my memory. Having returned from France twice since 1917, this observation has not been confirmed. The St. John ambulance men transferred us to a hospital car. The first stop was London. There were a few stops but we reached Hereford where several of us were transferred to the top floor of the Hereford General Hospital which was close to Hereford Cathedral.

Carman Edmund Stothers

The Official Trench Raid account from the 75th Battalion War Diary...

Account of Raid Night June 8/9th.

1917 Appendix 1

8-9.30pm Enemy put down barrage on our front and support lines, causing us thirty-eight other ranks casualties, and greatly disorganizing operations made for the raid.

11.45pm Zero Hour Every man was in position and all got away in good shape being well clear of our own front line before enemy S.O.S. barrage came down.

Our right flank, under Captain GRAY, completely captured and mopped up the Black line in their sector. They pushed as far forward as Junction of the Railway Embankment and the Lens -ARRAS Road Here they met with very stiff opposition, and having suffered servere casualties were unable to push forward to the Red Line. Ten dugouts bombed and destroyed in COULETTE Support Trench; 1 O.R. prisoner brought back

The Centre company, under Capt. Falkner captured and mopped up the Black line in their sector, and the Railway Embankment, as far as Canada trench. This was strongly held by machine guns, and we suffered severe casualties. Dugouts in TORONTO trench, and the Railway embankment up to this point were bombed and destroyed; two O.R. prisoners were brought back.

The left company, under Captain Lindsay captured and mopped up the black line, and pushed forward reaching the RED line. They captured and brought back one enemy machine gun, and one O.R. Prisoner.

All prisoners captured belonged to the 2nd Bn, 10 Regiment, 11th Division, Silicians. After the operation, the Front Line trench and the Support Trenches, and the forward C.T.'s were badly damaged by shell fire. The battalion asked to be allowed to remain in to repair the trenches and turn them over in good order to the relieving battalion. The Brigadier granted this request and when the battalion was relieved by the 38th battalion, on the 12th/13th June the trenches were turned over in good order.

Casualties:

Officers- Wounded- 6

Other Ranks Killed- 28

Wounded-112

Missing -11 Total- 157