The bullet hit me!

First World War Audio Archive

The bullet hit me!

Transcript

Picture of soldier in full uniform.

It was night march to Amiens. It was a long, long march. Sleep in the day time and march at night. I don’t remember whether we

Soldiers riding on horses.

went any by truck or not. I don’t think we did. It was all pretty well night march. So you was pretty well toughened up when you got there. The third day we hit the trenches that were being held

Soldiers carrying kits walking into trenches.

previous. There had been a drive back, then on the third day, we took over. The Germans were holding the previously held line.

Picture of soldiers in trenches.

And, as I say, you could see heads popping up as you advanced

Soldiers walking past dead soldiers in trenches.

and you had to watch you didn’t put yourself too much in view.

Soldier heads popping out of trenches to see with binoculars.

And this particular morning, I had a rifle and so did Jack Owens,

Soldier firing rifle out of the trench.

and two heads came in front of us. I shot at one and Jack Owens shot at the other. Well, the one I shot at went down.

Soldiers looking out with binoculars over barbed wire as one soldier fires a rifle.

Now whether I hit him or not, that’s another thing. I had a range

Picture of helmet with bullet hole through it.

of five hundred, and Jack says, “What range did you have?”

A young soldier pops his head out of the trench to get a better look.

I says, “Five hundred.” And I’d no sooner said that then, bang! A bullet hit me a quarter of an inch above the heart. Went right

A soldier carrying a fallen comrade over his shoulders through the trench.

through and came out my shoulder blade, took a notch out of my shoulder blade. Well, I was pretty close to Giles and Giles says,

Four soldiers walking in field as one drops his helmet and another soldier picks it up and places it on his head.

“I’m going to carry my runner off.” Major Giles... and he always used to speak of me as his runner. And when I got wounded,

Two men carrying wounded soldier on stretcher.

he says, “Where is my runner, I’m going to carry him off.”

Soldiers walking.

He took the end of the stretcher until he got me out of the area.

Wounded soldiers laying on stretchers as other men standing around bring them water and food.

We was right in action. What I mean to say, we was right where the thick of it was. That was the end of my activities on active duty.

Description

Mr. Bond describes a sniping incident advancing toward Amiens. He shoots a German and is in turn badly wounded and carried out by his officer.

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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