That was a long trip smelling that.

Heroes Remember

That was a long trip smelling that.

Transcript

We went on the boat, some of us, and it was smell of cow manure, so we come off. Then they called out the soldiers and they put us on with the bayonets. That was a long trip, smelling that. We had a bad time going overseas. It took us 18 days from Halifax

Soldiers onboard ship.

to England. Could you imagine that, 18 days? The Germans fired

Soldiers boarding a ship.

on us when we got near Ireland. That was the danger spot and we had a cutter going back and forth, you know, and the Germans fired on us, but they didn’t do us any harm, you know.

Description

Mr. Sutherland describes being forced at bayonet point to board a reeking troop ship which had been a cattle boat, a lengthy voyage to England, and being fired on by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland.

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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