Only 75 of them came out
Mr. Skeates describes the harshness of the front after joining the 46th Battalion, and describes the losses at Ypres.
Charles Darwood Skeates
First name
Charles Darwood
Last name
Skeates
Gender
M
City
Ingersoll
Province
Ontario
Biography
Charles Skeates was born in Ingersoll, Ontario on February 3, 1894. He worked as a barber until his enlistment at Swift Current, Saskatchewan on March 11, 1916 in the 209th Unit, 4th Infantry, despite his original hopes to be called into the cavalry. Arriving overseas in England in October, 1916, he joined the 9th Reserve Brigade at Bramshott and then the 128th at Whitley as a band member. He went into action as a member of the 46th Battalion, 10th Brigade. Mr. Skeates saw action in several major offensives; Passchendaele, Valenciens, Amiens, Drury Mill where he was wounded, and the Oppy Front. Mr. Skeates was a machine gunner during his tour of duty. After the war, he resumed his work as a barber and married Bessie Becker Maitland, on June 13, 1921. During the Second World War, he served as a barber with the RCAF in England, and finished his military service in 1968 after a 13 year stint in the Canadian Army. Mr. Skeates died on December 5, 1982.
People old ID
412
People Language
E
Give me the password
Mr. Skeates describes the unquestionable authority of on-duty sentries.
Just like hailstones
Mr. Skeates describes taking out machine gun nests and a German trench, and clearing basements on their way to the train station at Valenciennes.
I was lucky
Mr. Skeates describes being wounded during a shelling attack at Dury Mill.
Low flying German
Mr. Skeates describes his company’s advance by train to Amiens, and a very close encounter with the German Air Force.
Valenciennes
Mr. Skeates describes eliminating a sniper positioned in a house, and ambushing a German machine gun crew attempting to get repositioned.