Duties of a runner

First World War Audio Archive

Duties of a runner

Transcript

Picture of soldier in full uniform.

The duties of a runner was to keep up communications under orders not on your own, it was always under orders, keep up communications with your flanks and with the headquarters. And in that way, when your signal lines went down in a heavy strafing, the signal lines just went out right away and, and a message had to go through, it had to go by runner. We travelled in pairs, and as we, we’d go we’d, if it was night, you’d hear a salvo of shells going over. You’d count them, count the number and then when the last one was over you’d run and you’d get there The duty was to keep up that communication. Then when we

A different picture of soldier in full uniform.

was there, well, oftentimes the one at headquarters of a battalion would say, you better have a cup of coffee, it’s pretty dirty going back, and they’d give you a cup of coffee to go back on... never knowing whether you’d ever get back or not, but you went in pairs and in that way. And it was a duplicate communication system where they made sure that you was in contact at all times.

Description

Mr. Bond describes the role of runners; maintaining communications with the flanks when shelling disabled the radio communications system.

Colin Bond

Colin Bond was born in Staffordshire, England, on June 5, 1897, and came to Canada with his family in 1912. Before war broke out, he had worked as a cotton worker and farm hand. He enlisted at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on January 29, 1916, as an act of patriotism. He wanted to be a bugler. In England, he was with the 128th Battalion where he trained as a Lewis Gunner. He transferred to the 46th Battalion as a runner. Mr. Bond saw action at Vimy Ridge and was wounded in the lung by sniper fire advancing towards Amiens. He was subsequently hospitalized in France and England. After the war, Mr. Bond pursued several careers, including stationary engineer and professional gardener. He married Nellie Viola Moore. Mr. Bond died on August 31, 1977.

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