Life in the Trenches

Heroes Remember

Life in the Trenches

Transcript

Well we were loaded on the ship, set across to Lille I think it was, landed, and we weren't long before we went, there were a line up of trenches you know, one, two, three, four and you gradually moved into the front line. But the mud, things weren't too good. We had to squat lots of times, and dig a trench under the ground, just enough, a foot deep you know, so you could lay there, shell fire, the Germans weren't that far away. And it was clay, I remember, you hit clay, you were working fast, bullets were flying around, you were working fast to get some shelter, you see, and that clay, by God we cursed it.

Description

Mr. Routhier describes conditions they encountered in France referring to the clay ground they encountered while digging trenches.

Harry Routhier

Harry Routhier was born December 6, 1899 in Chelsea, Quebec. He is the third of five children. His father was a steam engineer and his grandfather served in Parliament and wrote the words to "O Canada". He attended school in Phoenix and Mission Junction, British Columbia. He worked on a farm in the Prairies, never finishing school. Lying about his age, Mr. Routhier joined the army at the age of sixteen. After his training in Regina, he joined the 217th Battalion and was later transferred to the 46th Battalion. Mr. Routhier was an active participant in the Battle of Amiens, France in August, 1918. After the war, he worked as a lumberjack, and later resided in Langley, British Columbia.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:11
Person Interviewed:: Harry Routhier
War, Conflict or Mission:: First World War
Location/Theatre:: France

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Life in the Trenches

Heroes Remember