Description
Mr. Close describes trench duty in general, then more specifically describes how he and an officer become targets of German artillery as they are attempting to get their rum and chocolate rations from stores.
John Hamilton Close was born in Mitchell, Ontario on July 4, 1896. After the death of both his parents, he went to work on his uncle’s farm in Garrett, Ontario. On March 15, 1916, Mr. Close enlisted with the 114th Battalion in Hagersville, Ontario. He started training immediately and was sent to Camp Borden. After going overseas to England he was quickly deployed to Le Havre. He was wounded at Vimy Ridge, rehabilitated in England, and returned to France to fight at Amiens and Arras where he won a Military Medal for bravery. Mr. Close ended his service with the rank of Corporal. He died in Hagersville, Ontario in February, 1993.
Transcript
We spent the winter of, the RCR’s did, of ‘17 and ‘18 doing Hill 62 Memorial Belgium. trench duty, in and out. One instant I remember, after we always stood to in the morning, just before daylight. And then after Courtrai Memorial Belgium. that, you went in the dugout, one thing and another, and the snipers took over. They worked in pairs, had periscopes and a Le Quesnel Memorial Belgium. steel plate with a hole in it and all special sights. I guess if a German got in their sights, why, it was goodbye, but we didn’t Gueudecourt Memorial France. pay much attention to them fellows. They had their own business. But one morning, McPhee, he didn’t belong to 8th Platoon, Dury Memorial France. he asked me if I wanted to go out to the canteen with him. Of course, I knew that would be to carry the officers’ liquor in. Monchy Memorial France. But everybody wanted chocolate bars. I had to make a list of who give me money and one thing or another. So we got out of the communication trench on a road that run parallel with the front Passchendaele Memorial Belgium. line trenches. We knew it was within artillery range, but they would hardly bother a couple of guys walking along. But then Masnières memorial France. three guys down ahead started a conversation in the middle of the road and McPhee says, “Golly, that’ll be five. That’ll be worth a shot.” We just got near them and two shells whistled overhead and Bourion Wood Memorial France. exploded and those three guys vanished quicker than a wink, but we were left on the road. So McPhee made this speech. Courcelette Memorial France. He said, “Close, it’s undignified for an officer to run, it says in the rule book, but to hell with dignity,” and he took off. It kept me going to keep up to him for two hundred yards. Beaumont-Hamel Memorial France. However, they didn’t shoot at us, and we eventually got to the St. Julien Memorial Belgium. canteen and I got the chocolate bars and carried three bottles of liquor back. That was a nice pleasant episode compared to doing Canadian National Vimy Memorial France. in the trenches, but I always remembered the race we had.