I Was Lucky All The Time

Heroes Remember

I Was Lucky All The Time

Transcript

We were lined up and this outfit wanted so many and so on. But there was one, only wanted one, and that's me. So I did and that was the 15th Battery and all those horses that were there and one thing and another there must be lots of clothes, you know, bags and one thing and another. So I started to build a little hut for myself and it wasn't long, there was a whistle blowing and god the whole camp disappeared. I'm left alone. There was a shell come down and I didn't have to move. It came right down in front of my feet and I bent down to pick it up and I burnt my fingers. See how close, how lucky I had been. I was the luckiest guy in the world. Another occasion, there was a plane going by and firing, and whether he saw me or whether it was accidental or not, I lay down and cuddle up as close as I could. Now I had a British warmer, that was a nice over coat and when he went, when the plane went by there was five holes in that outfit and not an inch stuck me. See how lucky I was! I was lucky all the time.

Description

Mr. Ferguson discusses how lucky he felt he'd been and gives two good examples. The first is when a German shell lands at his feet and fails to explode. The second is having his great coat riddled by a strafing German airplane yet leaving him unharmed.

Angus Ferguson

Angus Ferguson was born in Port Morien, Nova Scotia in 1898. His father was a mining engineer. Mr. Ferguson's first attempt to enlist was denied because of his youth. However, after being sent overseas in 1916, he joined the 15th Battery in France. Mr. Ferguson worked with pack horses and mules, delivering shells to artillery positions. Horses were favoured targets of the Germans, and as a result he had several close calls. “Lucky all the time” is how Mr. Ferguson describes his war service.

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