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When I was on the Great War battlefields recently......
I was lucky enough to be able to go with a small party of people to look round one of the subterranean tunnel systems under the village of Bouzincourt. This little village, just north of Albert, was just behind the British lines during the fighting on the Somme. Most of the villages had tunnel systems dating back to the middle ages, many of which were used & enlarged by the Royal Engineers during the fighting. This particular system bears truly HUGE amounts of graffiti, much of it Canadian. This one particular chap's scratchings caught my eye, as, yes, he was a sniper in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. I'm not sure how well it will show up in the photo, as it was taken under rather less than ideal conditions, but hopefully it will be at least in part legible & of interest. I haven't checked as yet, but wonder if sniper Alex McRae survived?
Incidentally, there were still ration tins & clips of 303 ammo down there. (And we were on our honour to leave them there, too!).
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Last edited by Roger Payne; 09-03-2018 at 11:39 AM.
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09-03-2018 11:08 AM
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They are great those pieces that these lads left behind in whatever form, in the knowledge that their days were numbered, and in the hope that someone in the years to follow would find the writings on the wall.
Sadly, if I may Roger as I work with the CWWG Commission on a weekly basis, let you know what happened to Private 117400 A MCRAE of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion.
He was killed on Sunday the 28th October 1917 and is buried in Grave C28 Passchendaele New British Cemetery XVI.
If you would like a copy of his commemoration certificate I attach a link and where you can find it to print it off at the base:
Casualty
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
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Cheers for looking Gil. I use the CWGC site myself as well, but hadn't got round to trying to track him down. Another tragedy for a family somewhere, as every death was.
Survive the Somme & fall a year later........
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Roger,
As per PM if its of interest, can probably dig out how he died.
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
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Grateful for anything you can get, as would the others be, I'm sure. Please post if you find out any more....
Last edited by Roger Payne; 09-03-2018 at 01:16 PM.
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Great image Roger, it's amazing how someone's simple writing on a tunnel wall can convey so much emotion to those of us (everyone here I am sure) who care to stop our busy lives for five minutes and reflect...
Lest we forget.
Any additional information would be much appreciated Gil
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I wonder if he was a survivor of Ypres also, as I know many Canadian units were cycled through there. Sad to think he wrote this more than a century ago, and that no one today knows how he actually died. I've done enough reading to know that most snipers who were detected were either countersniped, or a machine gun was trained on suspected hides and then a burst was fired, or an arty strike was called in. Or, he was just an unlucky victim of the tremendous number of random bullets floating around almost constantly, or a barrage, or perhaps he was on patrol or with his unit going over the top when he got it. WWI seemed to be the randomest of wars when it came to getting killed.
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Here's another one that never fails to move me. Raised up on a low hill just to the south of the main Albert to Peronne road is a small CWGC cemetery called 'The Devonshires Cemetery', or sometimes, referred to after the clump of trees present there, 'Mansell Copse Cemetery'. The stone shown in the photo shows the inscription that was found written on a wooden cross after the 8th & 9th Devons' catastrophic attack on 1st July. The two battalions attacked together & were decimated. Later on, the padre & survivors buried the fallen in what had been their jumping off trench. One of the officers, Captain Duncan Martin had foreseen that unless the artillery barrage was very heavy & very precise, the attacking battalions would be at great risk from a dug in (sited in the corner of a local civilian cemetery in Mametz, known as 'The Crucifix') German machinegun that enfiladed no mans land across which they had to advance. He even made a plasticine model of the topography to show to more senior officers. His concerns were overruled, & the advance went ahead as planned. He was correct; he fell, & he is now buried in that same cemetery with many of his fellow officers, NCO's & men. The war poet, Lt William Noel Hodgson MC, who completed his best known poem 'Before Action' only three days before 1st July, also fell & is buried there. The last verse of his poem reads:
I, that on my familiar hill
Saw with uncomprehending eyes
A hundred of thy sunsets spill
Their fresh & sanguine sacrifice
Ere the sun swings his noonday sword
Must say good-bye to all of this;-
By all delights that I shall miss,
Help me to die, O Lord.
'The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still.'
I don't mind admitting I regularly shed a tear when visiting these places - these Silent Cities.
Last edited by Roger Payne; 09-03-2018 at 07:50 PM.
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Couple of pics of some Australian WWI artifacts from the AWM in Canberra that toured the country taken in Jan 2017
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