Sealed orders

First World War Audio Archive

Sealed orders

Transcript

Image of Hill 62 Memorial Belgium.

My officer called me and he said, “Corporal Brice, I guess you’re going to make a move. I have to give you a briefing. This that you’re going on is very, very secret. You must wear no Canadian, no distinctive Canadian badges. You take your crew and explain to

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them, they must keep their mouths shut, you do the talking. Now I hope you thoroughly understand, this is very secret.” I said, “Okay.” “And you take, you go back this afternoon to rear

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headquarters, go back in pairs so you can travel in daylight, and you’ll get further instructions when you get back to

Gueudecourt Memorial France.

headquarters.” Well, we went back to our company headquarters, it was about three miles back. I was told, we would pick up four days rations, everybody carried four days rations, and 500 rounds of ammunition. We had the machine gun with us, of course,

Dury Memorial France.

the Lewis gun. A motor lorry picked us up and drove us back, oh, I suppose we drove back about eight or ten miles. We pulled into a little village to the railroad station. Went outside and here

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was a battalion, a Canadian battalion, marching down the road towards the station. They marched right up to the station, halted at ease, and they all flopped there on the grass. And it was the

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2nd CMR. Well I had an old shotgun from the 2nd CMR, I must go and hunt it up. So, “Okay boys, where you going?” “Oh, God knows,” he says, “The rumour is we’re going to Ypres? Where are you going?” “Oh I don’t know, the rumour is I’m going

Masnières memorial France.

to Ypres too.” Anyway, shortly after, very shortly after, a train pulled in and they loaded this 2nd CMR, the whole battalion, on this train. And I was expecting word to get on the train to go

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with the rest of the Canadians, but oh no, oh no. They pulled out they went north. This other train came in, and he came and picked me up. He says, “You gotta get on this train, and they’ll pick you up, there’s a guy gonna pick you up, he’ll be looking for you

Courcelette Memorial France.

and I’m not supposed to tell you the station.” “Ok, we don’t care so.” Anyway we loaded on the train, we got on the train and we went south. Well, we’re sure going to fool the enemies, boys! We went south, and oh, at about five o’clock in the afternoon we stopped at a little station and there was a British corporal,

Beaumont-Hamel Memorial France.

and he, “You’re number so-and-so, party?” “Yes, oh yeah.” “Come with me. I have to take you to our 4th Army Headquarters.” “Ok, so we went there, it wasn’t very far to go, and here I met

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my officer, my officer was there. “Well,” he says, “Brice, here is your orders. You see how they’re sealed. It says on there

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not to be opened until you reached destination.” “Ok. I know what that means, sealed orders." And he says, “You’re going to be picked up, you’re being taken forward now. I can’t tell you very much. That’s all I can tell you that you. You just stick around.”

Description

Mr. Brice describes being singled out to lead a secret mission, and his confusion about where he and his section would see action.

Harry Brice

Harry Brice was born in Wimbledon Common, England, on August 26, 1888. He left home for Australia, via Canada, in 1909, but he fell in love with Saskatchewan and stayed. Mr. Brice was a Corporal in the 9th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers. Designated for special services with the 42nd Battalion, he and his crew first trained in weaponry, Allied and German, and became a Lewis gun crew helping to hold the Allied Northern flank during the Michael Offensive. He and his crew were then selected for a highly secretive mission, to debug the bridge at Domart which had been booby trapped by the French to thwart a German advance. However, the Allies now needed to cross the bridge to advance on the German positions. Mr. Brice describes in great detail the process of removing explosives, under threat of enemy fire, from a roadbed. There is no record of Mr. Brice’s post-war experience. He died August 26, 1959.

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