Tough In The Trench

Heroes Remember

Tough In The Trench

Transcript

Life in the trenches was bad. It didn’t matter whether it was a fine day or a cold or a warm day, cold day. Conditions were bad. If it’s a hot day you were down in the trenches. You couldn’t get up to get a breath of air. The sun was beating down on ya, cooking ya. If it was raining, you just stayed there and took it. It didn’t matter whether it was fine day or a bad day. You still had it tough in the trench. There were a lot of rats and lice. I was there about three weeks I think it was, and I took a rash around my waist. I went to the doctor he said, “You have scabies.” He said, “I’ll send you to the hospital.” Well, I get to the hospital there and the doctor said, the hospital doctor looked at me and he said, “You haven’t got scabies. You’re allergic to lice,” he said. “All you need is a bath and a clean change of clothes.” He gave me that and sent me back to my unit.

Description

Mr. Lidstone describes the effect of weather conditions and vermin on those manning the trenches.

Harold Lidstone

Harold Lidstone was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on March 4, 1896. He moved, with his family, to Prince Edward Island around 1905 where his father began a farm operation at Mount Royal, PEI. At the age of 19, Mr. Lidstone went to Summerside to enlist in the Canadian Army, joining the 82nd Battalion which became the 105th Battalion comprised entirely of men from Prince Edward Island.

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