Cut the fuse wires

First World War Audio Archive

Cut the fuse wires

Transcript

Image of Hill 62 Memorial Belgium.

We found the fuse where it came up onto the bridge, you see, and started. And it had to go right across the bridge and connect

Courtrai Memorial Belgium.

to these, I was guessing three boxes across the bridge. Anyway, they were making too much noise and too many sparks.

Le Quesnel Memorial Belgium.

This won’t do fellows, we got to think up something. Okay, get a shovel, throw up some of that damp earth,

Gueudecourt Memorial France.

we’ll scatter that. Okay. Three or four shovels of damp earth. Alright, now you fellows dig through that. No more sparks,

Dury Memorial France.

no more noise. And stay down on your knees. Don’t stand up. These bullets were coming about waist high, you see, roughly

Monchy Memorial France.

about waist high. I didn’t want to lose any men, and I didn’t, I didn’t lose any men. I got the job done without losing any men.

Passchendaele Memorial Belgium.

We took all the precautions we could. Anyway, we worked, we worked away at it. I kept spelling off. I said, let’s get

Masnières memorial France.

going boys. Let’s find the first box tonight. By God, we found

Bourion Wood Memorial France.

the first box, worked like hell. Cut the fuse wire, cut the fuse wires, lift that box out, take it out and there and bury it.

Courcelette Memorial France.

We got the second one out the second night, and the third box out the third night. Then, I was so afraid, you see, that they would

Beaumont-Hamel Memorial France.

tell us to start digging and reinforce the weak side of the

St. Julien Memorial Belgium.

bridge, but no, we didn’t get any orders, didn’t get any orders. And I says to the boys, I think their satisfied. The right hand

Canadian National Vimy Memorial France.

side, all the heavy traffic is going over on the same... if they can get over, they’re not worried about getting back. They’ll fix that later to get back.

Description

Mr. Brice describes the process of removing three bombs from the roadbed on the bridge under cover of darkness and under threat of snipers.

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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