My first trip into the line

First World War Audio Archive

My first trip into the line

Transcript

I remember my first trip into the line with the 46th after

Mr.Huckerby in uniform, posing for a picture, inside a crest.

working parties. I had been on working parties for some time now, going just going up at night and doing the odd jobs, putting up wire fences and helping with trenches and that kind of thing. Our first night in the front line we were attacked by the enemy with our own guns from behind us. They had got through and killed the gunners and taken over our guns and shelled us from behind. It was a very exciting night for a first night on the line. I was on a post along a railroad line that had been kinda blown up. I was defending a portion of that, and one of these mortar shells that was being fired from behind landed about right on top of that and scored my rifle. I had to get another rifle from, we got

Mr.Huckerby wearing a suit and tie.

it in the headquarters, you know, we were spelled off there. You know, we’d get it at headquarters and some of our boys had been hit and taken out and I got another rifle that way. But there was one sergeant from Moose Jaw quite badly hit that

Mr.Huckerby and his wife standing outside thier home.

night, a Sergeant Miles. We only stayed overnight. When it come daylight, you see, they withdrew us back of there because we were practically right on top of the enemy. And they withdrew us back

Sitting at the dinner table waiting to have some Birthday cake.

to a safer spot. But we, we had a lot of casualties that night from this firing behind us before they got them.

Mr. Huckerby and his wife, sitting down posing for a picture.

Kind of a rude awakening, christening.

Description

Mr. Huckerby describes his first night in action; being attacked from behind by Canadian artillery fired by Germans who had captured their support positions.

John Arthur Huckerby

John Arthur Huckerby was born on February 8, 1898, in Golden Plain, North West Territory, (now a part of Saskatchewan). Prior to enlistment, Mr. Huckerby worked as a farm laborer. His sense of patriotic duty led him to enlist in the 217th Battalion at Broadview, Saskatchewan, on March 8, 1916, shortly after his 18th birthday. Mr. Huckerby’s basic training was interrupted when he fell ill with diphtheria. Although not fully recovered when the 217th was deployed to Britain, his officer interceded and took him as a convalescent. He was quarantined at Bramshott Camp for a time and then served as an instructor in bayonet drill and physical training. Mr. Huckerby joined the 46th Battalion, C Company and saw action at Lens, Amiens, Drocourt-Queant, and Canal du Nord. Although there is no record of his having been wounded, he was gassed during a night raid at Lens. He was discharged at the rank of corporal. After returning to Canada, he received a farm from the Soldier Settlement Board and later joined the Saskatchewan Civil Service. Mr. Huckerby enlisted for the Second World War, attaining the rank of sergeant. There is, at present, no record of his service in that conflict. On January 12, 1921, he married Katherine Anne MacDougall and had one son. Mr. Huckerby died on September 16, 1993.

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