Hellfire Corner
First World War Audio Archive
Hellfire Corner
Transcript
Hill 62 Memorial Belgium.
Hell's Fire Corner. Just as, before we get into this corner, a shrapnel shell burst afield about 100 yards to our right. This was the first shell any of us had ever seen. And we didn’t thinkCourtrai Memorial Belgium.
too much about it because it was about a hundred yards away. And the next shell, a few seconds later, came and burst rightLe Quesnel Memorial Belgium.
over our heads. We were all told to get into the ditch, get off the road and into the ditch, and another shell or two came overGueudecourt Memorial France.
and landed right over my platoon’s head. This only lasted forDury Memorial France.
two or three minutes and my platoon was the only one that suffered any casualties. So H. M. MacKenzie, who was our companyMonchy Memorial France.
commander, ordered me to stay there and look after the men and follow on as soon as I could. And the rest of the platoon, 5, 6, and 7, the rest of the company 5, 6, and 7 platoons, went on andPasschendaele Memorial Belgium.
left me there with five wounded men - no stretcher bearer, a perfectly strange place and I had to do the best I could.Masnières memorial France.
One of the men had his leg broken so I tried to bandage up his leg and put splints on, tried to splint his leg, try to fix up asBourion Wood Memorial France.
best I could. Another man had a shrapnel in his lung. Another hadCourcelette Memorial France.
his arm pretty well smashed up. All together I had five casualties there, and of course, I didn’t know just what to do. But pretty soon a fellow came along on a motorcycle and I askedBeaumont-Hamel Memorial France.
him if he knew where there was a hospital near. He said, “Well, there is a place down the road two or three miles thatSt. Julien Memorial Belgium.
take casualties.” So I asked him if he would ride down there and tell them I had five casualties in my platoon. He said he would and a few minutes later an ambulance came upCanadian National Vimy Memorial France.
and picked up my casualties.Description
Mr. Copp describes his platoon’s first experience in action, being shelled, and describes his efforts to care for five resulting casualties.
John Percy Copp
John Percy Copp was born on February 2, 1889 at Baie Verte, New Brunswick. He enlisted in the 65th Battalion at Saskatoon. Shortly thereafter, in June, 1916 he went overseas to England, training for a very short time at Camp Bramshott. On August 10, 1916 he shipped to France as a member of B Company, 46th Battalion. Mr. Copp held the rank of Lieutenant and led his men in several major actions: Ypres, the Somme, Lens and Vimy. He was awarded the Military Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace. His story is most compelling, for in it his concern for his men is the predominant theme. At the time of his interview, Mr. Copp lived in Lajolla, California.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 2:46
- Person Interviewed:
- John Percy Copp
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- First World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Battle/Campaign:
- Ypres
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- 46th Battalion
- Rank:
- Lieutenant
- Occupation:
- Platoon Commander
Attestation
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