Life in Trenches. Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Heroes Remember

Life in Trenches. Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Transcript

Well the trench was a dirty place, you could grab a piece of somebody that got killed. A man dying was nothing, you know, it's not like we look at it here. If you were shot or killed, you might be pulling somebody's leg over to get out of the mud. This was rough, rough warfare. Interviewer: After the officer had chosen you and Charron and a few other people, what happen then? Where did you go? Well, they put you in the trench of course. Interviewer: What was your first impression when you got to the front? Well it was damn... it was full of rats, you might get a piece of man's leg or his head or... it was a filthy, and any man ever put his head up like that to look, he was dead. The German was a sharp shooter. But this is one thing I liked about this man. The officer came up, now we're at the river. Now this river was deep and it was fairly wide. It was, it was beyond a brook. The officer came in and he said, "Will any man go and swim this river and kill that German?" Well, God when I heard that, I couldn't swim in the first place and I certainly had no intention of going. And there was a fellow from Winnipegosis, God he was a nice man. He died with the flu, the flu killed him. A long time after that. And he went and he strapped everything on his back and he swam across, the river. This river is wide, I remember it well. And he come all the way and he got a bead on the German and that was the last of him. So he got a big cross, honour, you know, that was a quite a thing to do. You've been there about four or five months they give you leave. Cause your nerves are beginning to, course they know. Then they give you a week off, then you take stuff and your told to keep away from women and you better listen to that. I had no problem at all, I didn't bother. Interviewer: What do you remember about France while you were on leave? Huh? Interviewer: What do you remember about being on leave in France? Well, of course, you never stayed in France on leave. Interviewer: Okay, where did you go? Well, I went to Scotland of course, I'm of Scotch descent. I made an acquaintance there, you know and I was all tickled good Every time I got leave I was up in Scotland. Interviewer: What did they think of Canadians in Scotland? Ohhh, well they think, they hadn't never could taste sugar. Or this or that, and we had our ration, you know. And a I was with a great bunch, their was one fella, he was a heavyweight champion of the Canadian Forces but he was an American, but he joined in Canada. I was with him, and I was with a Dr. Somme from Ottawa. I had good fellas you know, no drinking. Cause you, I was never a drinking man, I kept away from liquor. We stayed in the hotel, but I'll have to tell you this story. We were up in Scotland and a, we went out, a bunch of us soldiers, and we looked at the Scotland training, they had a big field. And the people was crowding civilians, you know, looking. And I went out there and I happen to beside of a young woman there, a girl. And when they tell you that its only a small way home you don't believe it. Because walking is nothing over there to them, not like here, you know. And when the thing was over, I was talking to this, I said, "I'll take you home." And she said, "Ok." Then when I took her home I said, "Just a minute before I, are you living far from here?" Now that's the foolishest thing. You know you do the foolishest thing. Now I took that girl home. Then I couldn't find my way back. And when I did get back I had to sleep on the bench in the park. They lock the doors there at twelve o'clock. No doors, every door the police come and try them. So I had to sleep on a bench. My God I was healthy man. Interviewer: I suppose you weren't the first Canadian or the last to be found on a park bench in that community? Oh, you got no idea what it was... I was at Vimy Ridge when the battle was on there. Now that was the biggest battle probably the Canadians were in. And they, we were called "Greenhorns". And we, we weren't picked you know, we had no experience. What did we have? What did I know about. The Canadians took this particular point, Vimy Ridge. And took the battle, lost a lot of men, you know. And I wasn't in it. I was there ready. I had to fall in. You know, any, if there was any necessities the green guys. Interviewer: When the battle was over and you knew that Canada had won, what was your reaction? Well, everybody was just laughing and cheering, there was no end to it. But I couldn't take credit I was in the reserves.

Description

Mr. Sutherland describes life in the trenches during the First World War. He also recalls his part in the battle of Vimy Ridge. He remembers how he spent his leaves in Scotland.

Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia on January 28, 1893. When he was 19 years old, he and his brother Jack travelled to Western Canada by train to help with the grain harvest. He remained there for the rest of his life. Shortly after arriving on the prairies, he and his brother enlisted in the Canadian Army and eventually were sent overseas as part of the First World War’s Canadian Expeditionary Force

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