All hell broke loose

First World War Audio Archive

All hell broke loose

Transcript

Our first action took place at what was called the M and N

Picture of Mr.Butterworth as a young soldier.

trenches at Ypres. I don’t, I was never told what the M and N

Soldiers marching accross a field.

meant, but that was supposed at that time to be a quiet front. But to brighten things up and to let the Germans know we had some

Troops marching in rows down country roads.

ammunition and how to use it, we were all lined up and we made a brigade raid. A brigade is four battalions of which, I don’t

Soldiers filing into cover from the road.

just remember how it was organized, but I do know we went over the top. But before going over the top, as all raids as followed,

Soldiers fixing bayonets on their rifles and getting ready for an attack in the trenches.

we had our (inaudible) battery behind us that started us off, but

Artillery guns being fired.

it was tit-tittit-tit-tit-tit-tit. And then all hell broke loose

Soldiers starting their attack.

We suffered some casualties, one in particular, a sergeant we all loved very much. And when we saw him lying there on the

Casualties being carried out on stretchers.

stretcher, some of us, we knelt by this old sergeant of ours whom we all loved. We touched his face and his hands, simply to say goodbye to him but we’re sure awful sorry.

Description

Mr. Butterworth describes a raid at the M and N Line at Ypres, and the loss of a beloved sergeant.

James Howcroft Butterworth

James Butterworth was born in England and emigrated to Canada in 1907 with his Parents and syblings. His family moved to Alberta where they became farmers. Mr. Butterworth remembers an act of great sacrifice and kindness by a German farm family in Alberta which was to affect his attitude for life. He enlisted on October 27, 1915, with the 65th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and joined the 46th Battalion. He served in France and was wounded in the foot and knee (accidental). He left the service on February 26, 1919, at rank of private. On June 21, 1926, Mr. Butterworth married Gertrude E. Wilson and they had three children. He was a farmer and worked as a grain buyer for United Grain Growers and later for the Veterans’ Land Act, both in Alberta. He retired in 1961 and settled in Calgary where he died on January 4, 1976.

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