Gas attacks
First World War Audio Archive
Gas attacks
Transcript
Picture of Soldier with arms crossed.
the gas over was through little pipes. And they’d shoot the gas and they’d bury the pipe itself and you’d only see one shot of the pipe, you see. So they’d wait until there was a sort of a wind going our way, if you know what I mean. And on would goPicture of Soldier looking directly at camera.
the... and, of course, you’re gone, even your horses, you know. They died right on the spot practically. What we used to do, without a word of a lie, we used to leak on our shirt, tear our shirt in pieces, leak on it and shove it all over our face. We had no, nothing like you have today, you know, there was noServiceman wearing a tuxedo.
gas masks. Some guys, I’ve seen some guys, they just standing at the front line there with a rifle in their hand. You’d just touch them, they’d fall over after they got the gas, you see. You’d just touch them.Description
Mr. Wood describes the Germans’ use of pipelines to gas the Allied trenches, how the Canadians counteracted the gas, and in some cases how deadly it was.
Thomas Wood
Thomas Wood, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland was born on March 23, 1898 into a family of printers. His family emigrated to Canada shortly before the war and he grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. At age 16, in 1914, Mr. Wood left school and joined the recently mobilized 1st Battery in Ottawa, followed by training in Valcartier, and went to England in October, 1914. He then went to France in February, 1915, a member of the 57th Battery, 15th Field Artillery Brigade. Mr. Wood was involved in the Vimy bombardment, viewed German gassing technology at Ypres, and sustained a hip and leg wounds from shrapnel. After the war, he was a fixture maker and also a sign painter and lettering artist for Coca-Cola Co. for about 40 years. He was transferred to Toronto, then to Vancouver where he worked as the sign shop manager until retirement. He was married twice and had one son. Mr. Wood died on January 2nd, 1988 in Vancouver, BC.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 0:57
- Person Interviewed:
- Thomas Wood
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- First World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Battle/Campaign:
- Vimy
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- 15th Field Artillery Brigade
- Rank:
- Bombardier
- Occupation:
- Gunner
Attestation
Related Videos
18 Pounders on the front line
Mr. Wood describes the role of the 18 pounder artillery piece and its variety of ordnance, and then discusses the shelling of Vimy Ridge and its effect on the outcome.
The horses died
Mr. Wood discusses the valuable role played by horses, particularly for moving artillery pieces and for moving supplies forward and evacuating the wounded on the narrow gauge railways constructed at the Front.
The Ross rifle
Mr. Wood compares the Canadian designed Ross rifle, which was long, cumbersome and 5-shot bolt action, to the much more reliable 10-shot British Lee Enfield rifle. He describes how Canadians scavenged British rifles from dead soldiers.
The Americans
Mr. Wood describes the animosity between Canadian and American soldiers, based on the higher wages earned by U.S. soldiers inflating prices beyond what most Canadian troops could afford.
- Date modified: