Description
Mr. Stevenson describes trying to move around in mud caused by heavy rain collapsing the trenches, and being issued hip waders so he could man his Lewis gun position.
Donald Robert Stevenson
Donald Robert Stevenson was born in Bracebridge, Ontario, on October 28, 1897. His family moved to Saskatchewan where he worked with his father, a farmer. Mr. Stevenson felt duty bound to support the British Empire and enlisted on February 3, 1916, in the 217th Battalion. He took his basic training at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. He went overseas in May 1917, going to Bramshott where he joined the 46th Battalion. Mr. Stevenson’s service saw him in action at the Oppy Front, the Somme, and Canal du Nord. He was wounded in the neck and back, and returned to Canada to his family’s farm and then received a homestead through the <em>Veterans Land Act</em>, farming on his own at Fir Mountain, Manitoba. He married his wife, Elizabeth Helen, on November 7, 1923. He worked for Public Works in Winnipeg, and finally joined the railroad as a yardman, retiring in 1952. He then joined the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. Mr Stevenson died on June 27, 1985.
Transcript
I remember one session up the line coming on towards spring there, couldn’t call it an adventure, I don’t know what you would call it. But they had periodically done a little shelling up there, you know, and we had a lot of rain. Sometimes we had some snow. It never lasted more than, you know, snowed at night and went the next day. But it created a sea of mud in this no man’s land and everywhere else. Actually, I don’t think there was much chance of either side attacking over there or you wouldn’t be able to get across no man’s land in this sea of mud. But we had a really wet period. One period we were on the line and the trenches were about half caved in with the amount of rain they had. So they were a ditch full of mud instead of a trench. They pulled everybody out of the line except for the Lewis gunners. They could have pulled us out too. I think, because like I said, I don’t think anybody could have come across, left us in there. That was about the third day in about seven days. We had about four days pretty rough there really of the weather conditions not, you know, not the fighting conditions, but weather conditions. I remember they had issued us all with hip rubber boots, the machine gunners. We needed that to walk up and down the trenches and when we were relieved coming out of there, I can remember getting stuck. Now this may sound kinda like some of these tall stories fellows tell but, actually, it was the truth, getting stuck in the trench and somebody having to pull me out, walking along the communication trenches. There was so much mud there you’d get in there and you couldn’t - you’d try and lift one foot out and you just couldn’t do it. You had to have some help.