My Grandfather's World War One Diary - From The Trenches

My Grandfather's World War One Diary - From The Trenches

Photo of the diary and his penmanship.

A number of years ago, my father inherited some of my Grandfather's possessions when his sister, Norma died. One of these was Grandfather William Ramsay Senior's diary which he kept while in combat during World War One. Some of the insights which I have transcribed below are vivid and certainly give a picture of the finality of war. He lost his brother in battle during WW1. Also, you may read below in one passage of one who Grandfather was there to relieve was killed while waiting to depart across the treacherous "Lover's Lane" where two ran together lest one be shot.

It was riveting for me as I read of his being close to death many times and yet I never knew him as he passed away before I was born.

Inside front cover (see text below)

Outside binding with remanants of masking tape.

Transcribed text below

BR November 11, 2009
Diary


____________________________________________



Corporal Wm. Ramsay


50421, 20th Canadians


Inside front cover



Various scratched codes (debts?)


Page 2



Nov 1st, 15


Landed at La Havre 2:30 a.m. Proceed to Canadian camp #19 Harfleur, a few minutes with Fred Ingham of D. Co. H Wardle & few others




2nd


Proceed to (WC) Central training grounds time spent going over trenches and bomb throwing and bayonet fighting, the English officer rather sharp, but don’t seem to take any effect on the majority of the boys, except caused them to laugh.


3rd




Training grounds, have a talk with Harry Barton at Officers mess, noon order for Canadians to move up the line, have few more minutes with Harry, and then march away. In the course of arprech by the Imperial Officer, he says, I am more than proud to have you fellows under my charge, if only for a few days, ect, then praising the manner they fought at Affres, another one was I know that you don’t like to be bossed around any way at all, but he knew




Page 3.




The kind of material he was handling and affires had proven them as the best.


4th


Proceed to Harve to entrain, arrive after long march, which was anything but pleasant, board the train after the usual delay, and proceed to Rroun.


5th


Arrive Rouen at 5 a.m., spent a considerable time getting rations, and try to make the best of the weary wait.


Noon, a few fellows return after being in town for a few hours, having found a safe retreat, we inquire as to time train leaves, and then beat it to town, have a very pleasant afternoon, and evening in town, lots of fun listening to the French people talking, they not being able to understand me, and vice versa, leave at 9 p m for Belgium, like all troop trains the journey is anything but pleasant. arrive Belgium


6th


Arrive at Baileul on near the Belgian boundary line, march to Batallion at La Clete, they having been relieved from the trenches the night of the 5th inst. saw Jack in the evening, and a few of my soldier friends. Sleep at the transport lines the first night.


7th


Detailed to company, after applying for transfer from C.A.M.C. to the battalion proper, join same platoon as Jack & R.E. Harris, the latter afterwards becoming my dearest friend, knowing practically all the battalion. I have a series of handshakes whenever I go out.


The next few days were spend in billets, the time being spent in a few parades and visiting the village, it being anything but a pleasant place owing to the amount of mud and rain.


14th


Orders to get ready to proceed to the trenches, Ev Heaton comes out to my billet/ it being an old barn, which afterword proved to be my future home for the next few months.)


PAGE 4


14th cont


We have a talk together, mostly of home affairs. Ev then proceeds to get ready to go in early, two hours later my company leave for trenches, the route taken being under water in most places make it hard walking with full pack, arrive at Ridgewood, and have a few minutes rest. Before moving into trenches, we then get on the march, on reaching the Brasserie I heard that Heaton of the M G S was killed had been hit and died at dressing station. I did not see him as we had to relieve as soon as possible, and being in a very exposed position, had to make the best speed possible to reach the wood (Bois Carre) after reaching the end of the wood, we were halted, orders not to cross the field, as snipers were busy, we lay down to make ourselves as comfortable as possible in the wet and mud, after a few minutes, S.B. Bell and Sullivan start across the field helping Thornton who had been wounded in the front line, half way across a rifle cracks, and a bullet hits the three( one in knee, one in calf & one in toe) a good shot for three hundred yards.


PAGE 5


14th cont


Sergt Somerville Sergt Bradley rush out to help them . and manage to get them under cover, then S Bo arrive and carry Thornton to DG & Sullivan to D.G. Bill only being slightly wounded. (Thronton died of wounds a few days later, Sullivan going back to Canada with a stiff knee) , we wait till dusk and then run across field to S.P, where we remained for four days, working a few hours each night. Mostly crossing the bullets making quite a snap on hitting trees, and others go singing by. I was surprised how light one treats the snap of a rifle, or the crack of a bullet, and how quick one drops on hearing a machine gun open up, a muddy and wet shell hole being the best cover available.



18th Nov


Relieved by 21st Batt and proceed to Ridgewood in reserve, the spare time spent in doing fatigues, mostly in carrying parties, in the mud, and rain. A few shells come over to remind us the the war is still on.


22nd


Back to front line to ).2. section T & G trench Lftnt Bowery HV Whittaker R Burns and I occupy advanced M Gun position, sentry duty and small fatigues being the order of the day. At night a few hours on fire stop to keep a look out over no man’s land, a few shots exchanged at intervals



PAGE 6


22nd cont


On the evening of the 24th a wiring party is ordered out to put wire in no mans Land, my relief R. Burns was ordered out, in the early morning, I heard a shout in No Man’s Land, a few minutes later, word passed that R. Burns had been shot through the heart while carrying a knife rest into position, he was buried at Ridgewood cemetery later in the day.


26th


Back to Billets at La Clete, take up my abode in the barn along with Jack and old lady Harris, this time spent the next few days in rifle and ammunition inspection, the evenings in visiting the next village, or town, one evening being spent with Tom Cotton , at Dickibusch, while at Reninghelst, I happened to see a few Liverpool Scottish, on making (---------) inquiries, find that Bert Grimshaw is with them. Jack, I & Harris go to see him, and he got quite a surprise on seeing who his visitors were.


30th


Back to S.P.7 weather not a little brighter, work consists of fixing up the trenches. A few shells come over We See a few more than usual and we take cover, a Wizz Bang hits a tree, and caused it to fall in my dug out, a few of the boys go to the cooks shanty, and a Wizz Bang hits a tree only a few feet away


PAGE 7


30th Cont


Shrapnel causing wounds to Lf Cpl Fisher, L/ Cpl Hogg. Jack Given, I bandage Fisher & Hogg, and get the bearers to take them to D Station a few hours later. I was ordered to report at D. G. to sign transfer from C.A.M.C. to 20th Infantry.


Dec 6th


Back to Ridgewood, get a few shells each day. Gibbons killed, and a few dug outs being hit. While on sentry at water tank, a German areoplane comes down, and manages to land near Dickibusch, one of the occupants beiong wounded.


12th


Back to front line, occupy new trench in Section # 13 bay, L/Cpl Hill (Pop) R.E. Harris (Old Lady) HV Whittaker (Hung Hung Terri) & I Relieve each other at fire stop. Old lady & I have great time exchanging shots with a few Germans across from us, or at Picadilly Farm.


Dec 18th


Back to billets, get rid of some of the trench mud and have the usual clean up. On the morning of the 20th a fierce bombardment by the Germans and gas is put over, orders to stand to in readiness to proceed to Ypres, the gas causes us to cough & the eyes to get very sore. Stand down comes the Huns having failed to reach our trenches.


PAGE 8


Dec 18th


The next evening heard that Peter Grenall, was billeted in Scotty’s wood, next day Jack & I & Harris go to see them, while going along the trench mats, two fellows stepped off to allow us to pass, and I received a pleasant surprise when one of them said Hello Ramsay. I turned around to see Jimmy Winstanby, He soon escorted us to Peter & Tom Greenal, that same evening we celebrated at Reninghilst, we saw them a few times after. 23rd while at church parade a few german areoplanes come over and I saw my first fight. Heavy shelling around Ypres.


24th Back in S.P. 7 a few shells drop on right sector, on hitting M.G.S. section, dug out used for cooking, blowing the cook over the parapet and seriously wounding one, and two slightly. While attempting to get the serious case down snipers lane, the party being Stretcher bearer Harry Bowyer, & Taylor and Capt Foster, after proceeding 150 yards down the road the Germans turned a M.G. on the party wounding Capt Foster and killing Harry Bowyer and Taylor, two scouts then run out, pulled the stretcher into the ditch which was full of water, and managed to get away along the hedgerow. Stretcher bearer Hinds goes out to help


PAGE 9


24th Cont.


But Bowyer only lasted a few minutes, they laid out till dusk before being able to get back to trenches. Lt Thompson throws off his clothes and proceeds down the ditch to give what help was possible, in the evening , the two bodies were brought in, and Capt Foster walked to D station, during the afternoon Capt Morkill mouted a M.G. and swept the German parafrets for over 15 minutes, the artillery sending over a good many shells, Previous to coming into the trenches we had orders not to shoot (on Christmas Day) unless the Germans got too fresh, but the majority felt like going over and killing as many as possible.



25th Christmas Day, anything but pleasant the dugout and redoubt being flooded, we have the usual breakfast bacon , and a piece of bread & a cup of tea, dinner, we had a steak & a portion of army Christmas pudding, no guns heard, a few rifle shots exchanged one of the 18th Batt killed while shouting over to the Huns.


29th Back to Ridgewood, the usual shelling, more mud, and rain, fatigues galore.


End of transcription
 
Lest we forget

H1 N1 - Get your vaccinations !

If you take the time to watch this video and to see the impacts of H1N1, All of you will surely give even stronger consideration to go and get vaccinated.

A few summarized points from this. 44 of 46 H1N1 confirmed patients in Winnipeg had to be intubated - tube forced into the airway or through a trachial incision (most were trached) and were all heavily sedated to keep them alive. Many had to be sedated to paralyse the body and try to heal it while giving other medications. Most had 4 quadrants of their lungs heavily filled with pneumonia like congestion which was starving them of oxygen. Those who died died of hemmoraging of their tissues, similar to flu pandemics in 1918 and 1958 which killed millions. Many of the Winnipeg patients were still on ventilators after 7 weeks were not expected to recover. These were young healthy people with no symptoms nor existing chronic health conditions prior to the onset.

Most were excreting live virus more than 7 days after hospitilization. Almost all will need significant therapy to regain muscle use after induced comatose states. Some will never regain all lost strength and muscle usage.

Here is the link

http://mediasite.otn.ca/mediasite41/Viewer/?peid=578f1f7d4fd94dc0a0599f635cce2593

Oil Rising - and housing too!

Oil prices are rising and so are people's expectations and level of hope for more projects to start or re-start.

Recently, the President of Suncor, Rick George, noted that some of Suncor's shelved projects could be re-started sooner rather than later. See reports from the FortMcMurraytoday.com newspaper website. There are several Fort McMurray projects under varying stages of progress which could get the go ahead in the near future.

Also on a positive note, the Conoco Phillips Surmont Project Manager recently spoke at the Northern Alberta Aboriginal Business Association Dinner. He spoke positively for a decision to be made on whether they would proceed with an expansion to their project in The early new year.

Why did the brakes go on so suddenly in the fall of 2008?

Despite the recession and financial services meltdown,  local and industry factors came to play. A few of my own observations were that the overheated labour and oil construction project marketplace was suffering from excessive demand and limited supply of experienced personnel.

These demands were continuing to raise local housing and labour prices, sometimes way beyond market norms. One only has to look at the impact on house pricing in Fort McMurray to know that an average housing price of  greater than $600,000 for houses that would cost normally no more than 250-300,000 in other markets throughout the country is an impact of this overheating.

There were two significant factors which along with the pressure of high demand, drove the housing market to the stratosphere. First, there were limited numbers of camp rooms throughout the region given the demand. Each Oil Sands construction project set up their own camps or contracted suppliers to do the same. This was usually with a guaranteed purchase of space over a fixed period.

This took time to have them built, permited and installed. I recall just 18 months ago, that finding a rentable camp room was all but impossible for Project owners and construction managers. This led to a huge market for space in the area generally, over the past 3 years or so for "rooms".  To rent a room in a local home was a second income for many local homeowners, and for some was a prime source of income. Stories of 3 or four men renting an open basement with curtains for rooms and limited amenities at 1100-1200 each was not unheard of.

Despite the efforts of by-law officers and the municipality, the residential streets were congested with parked work trucks. This was way beyond the normal living population in the area.

The LOA or Living Out Allowance was the key to providing oil industry funds to pull off the need for construction workers, and indeed it was an employment supplement beyond most workers wildest expectations. The LOA was tax free income as long as the worker  had a second residence more than 200 km away and amounts of 3000-5000 per month extra were paid to cover lodging and subsistence costs. Rooming prices soon shot up to meet the price of hotel rooms on a per day basis. I lived in a home with a walkout basement which was rented at $3800 a month and then went up by an additional 1000 within a year.


One can also imagine that the lack of available housing in the area being a contributing factor with the lowest vacancy rate in the country of 0.2  -0.7% as published by CMHC saw increases in the total cost of a house by roughly $10,000 per month.
I recall some former residents of Stephenville buying a house in September 06 and selling it in February 07 for a gain of 80,000 or more.

Everyone got into the speculation business, even the local municipality. At least they tried to establish a large supply of Publicly assisted housing.

Land developments were slow to be approved and this further led to a deluge of older homes being sold to aid the early retirees who invested before the boom and those who had seen the wave from the days of little Fort McMurray, where most people knew who the other was. Others chose to depart for the east and other parts of the country as they could cash out and buy a house in their home community with money left over and start riding the sky train to work on a fly-in fly-out basis.


Recession triggers a pause!

Then, in the Summer and fall of 2008, changes started. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had established a planning tool over the past number of years that ensured Construction projects would prove the establishment of a Camp Room base equivalent to their incremental demand for employees. Another associated boom was on in establishing these construction camp rooms for both owners, private operators and also in additional hotel space in the local area.

In the fall of 2008, the tide was pushing back against this position of the Municipality. The Oil Sands Owners, who were doing their best to adhere to the "Camp Only" position of the Municipality were under pressure to get their projects going. Many of the workers were holding back, it was a hot job market and they had huge leverage. Unions were trying their best to get support for those workers who preferred to live in the town of Fort McMurray and those who required funds to make working here a worthwhile proposition. Many unionized personnel, by now used to the aforementioned supplementary income referred to in the trades as "Sub" short for Subsistence were renting $3500.00 per month furnished apartment / condos or $5000.00 homes  and could not manage without this support.

I recall from my own experience that some projects were not able to get qualified personnel. Then there was a blink and "camp only" had to take a backseat as there was a need to pay LOA by some due to camp room shortages. It only takes a shutdown, planned or not, or a fire at one plant to totally upset the balance and requirements for additional personnel. Crews of 1000 plus, even up to 2500 personnel at times can show up over a 1-2 week period to add to the local demand if an immediate need arises.

The sheer size and logistics of the camp room requirements for this area will again, I predict, give rise to shortages and essentially force the local rooms market into  higher dollar territory over the next 6-9 months.

A number of other contributing factors are Owners wanting company staff to live in town, Maintenance Shutdowns and expansions of all local plants to improve their per unit costs and pump more oil. I doubt that most residents, who, like myself, count on the additional potential to rent a rooms or two out to supplement the atrocious housing costs are aware that they have been dealt out of the equation from a planning perspective. There are only a fixed number of legal suites designated in the plans for subdivisions.  These are avoided by builders as the additional costs and bureaucracy to get permits and build them is an impediment to this aspect of local housing. Despite the balance against the high cost of housing, most find it prohibitive to pursue legal suites.

So what we are left with is a huge portfolio of unlicensed suites or rooms, a bevy of underutilized camp rooms in the region, a current surplus of unrented rooms in basements and throughout homes. A housing market which is holding its own despite the downturn with a recnet upturn of purchases and sales. With all and summary involved in the housing business in one form or another there is no incentive to see prices normalize. To normalize here is to  maintain value or rise in value. All involved have a vested interest in the status quo or growth. These include Municipal interests, banks, CMHC,  Oil Sands operators developing land with hired developers and builders, workers themselves buying houses on spec to rent and live and construction companies and others renting to maintain a base to fulfill project requirements.

It is hopeful that property investments in the area will retain their value. However, one has to wonder as the continued growth engine chugs along, how does one keep it in check, or should we hope that it goes back to hypergrowth!

I hope to write some more in the next post on the types of jobs and careers I think will be in demand based on the jungle grapevine and my own regular viewing of the classifieds and job ads published.

Suncor mulls reviving projects

Suncor mulls reviving projects

Korean firm buys Calgary's Harvest Energy for $4.1B

Korean firm buys Calgary's Harvest Energy for $4.1B

Why Choose Landwash?

Well, as I was sitting here contemplating a philosophy of sorts or at the least a rationale for my posting to this blog. I got to thinking of how much of an impact this place we now call home, has had on me, our family and many others. It is now almost three years from my first arrival on the Frozen sandy soils during Halloween 2006.

Avoiding the inevitable some may say, it took me many years to finally accept an opportunity to consider working out here in Fort McMurray. Yet my foray into the world of Construction, Oil and Gas and this collective of Newfoundland Souls is fun, a daily challenge and yet a constant tempering of my desire to speak out.

I find myself contemplating a constant comparative to the landwash we leave behind.

When many think of our Landwash at home, we can smell the salt, the seaweed, sometimes the wronk harbours. Other times the sounds of the bells clanging against the buoys in these harbours comes to mind. By contrast, up here in McMurray, the smells are of Bitumen, naptha and tailings ponds, the sounds of constant industrial activity and construction and the Land Washed here is the oil soaked sands that are washed with solutions of caustics and diluted with petroleum, grinded to remove the tar, and cracked to change form into heavy crude.

We of Terra Nova, the Island, have gone far by distance but not by duty and effort. Like the migrant workers from other countries who populate the fields and construction projects of USA, Saudi Arabia and other nations of wealth, past and present, we have answered the call. Our friendliness, civility, english language and hard working history have brought us to where the work is and made us invaluable to the building of wealth for the Nouveau Riche Westerners and in many cases for our expatriots, some of whom have taken distinct advantage of the extreme economy and prospered beyond the wildest expectations and belief of those at home.

I have gone from asking and chatting with all who I meet to see what part of Newfoundland they are from to enjoying a more challenging attempt to see if we can pick our own out by their actions and mannerisms before we hear their voices and the ever present colourful ring of dialect I find enjoyable and yet many cringe from.

One doesnt need to go far as many a pickup and vehicle is well adorned with the map of our province, the Green Pink and White. The other day at Ms. Bee's another expat's restaurant, lo and behold, there is a twenty something young fellow sporting a 5 cm / 2 inch map of the province emblazoned boldly on his neck below his ear.

There is much to write about from here and I hope to fill this weblog with some insights into what it is like up here, to offer some understanding of the changes those who have come here go through, and the way things will be in the future.

I have currently taken up working in Edmonton on a short term basis and find that city equally impacted by Newfoundlanders and yes some Labradorians as well, by our nature and desire to work, yet on a lesser scale relative to the population compared to Fort McMurray.

Signing off for now as I figure out how to upload pictures and other things to make this a catchall for stories, tidbits and opinions from Coastal and Oilsands Landwash-ing.

LANDWASH -Defined as a Newfoundland Specific reference.

Landwash defined in Newfoundland vernacular as noted in this excerpt from the Online version of the Dictionary of Newfoundland English.

landwash n also lamwash* by assimilation, lan' awash* [phonetics unavailable]. Cp OED land sb 12 (1891 quot), wash sb 7, 7 b. The sea-shore between high and low tide marks, washed by the sea; occas the shore of a pond or river; foreshore. Also attrib. [1770] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 48-9 They had tailed a trap on the landwash at the head of Niger Sound. 1792 ibid Gloss i, xii ~ That part of the shore which is within the reach of the water in heavy gales of wind. 1792 PULLING MS Aug We saw the tracks of Indians in the snow on an island in the brook. But a short time after we saw a great many Indians in the landwash where they had some skins spread. They went to their wigwams which were a very little way from the side of the brook. [c1830] 1890 GOSSE 41 ... coming up from the 'landwash' with a 'turn' of sand for her mother's kitchen floor. 1842 JUKES ii, 37 ~ This term is always used in Newfoundland for the margin of the sea, meaning that strip of land washed by the water. 1861 DE BOILIEU 34 On a clear day, when there is a light ripple on the beach, you may see thousands of these beautiful small female fishes swimming towards the shore or landwash, each accompanied by two males, one on each side of her; nearing the sand, the males press against the female, when the spawn is rapidly deposited. [1862] 1975 WHITELEY 135 [The Mountaineer indians] 'come out to landwash' for the purpose of trafficking their furs. 1887 Telegram Christmas No 5 ... and that strange silence, broken only by the sound of the aurora borealis flashing through the still night air, or the ice cracking in the landwash, settles down over the scene. 1895 GRENFELL 81 Often the winter's diet that can be laid in is all too small for the needs of the family; and before the breaking up of the ice once more allows cod-fishing to commence, and the planters to return from Newfoundland, the poor Livyeres are reduced to living on 'the landwash.' 1921 Evening Telegram 20 July, p. 4 Last evening boys playing in the landwash at low tide discovered six kegs containing about 50 gallons of rum under a premises in the West End of the city. T 436-64 He was always goin' down round the landwash, you know, an' he used to bring up all kinds o' old stuff what was no use for nothing. 1967 FIRESTONE 7 When travelling the wood paths on foot when the ice is gone you skirt the shorelines of the ponds [landwashes] to return to where the path goes overland between the little lakes. C 68-3 Don't go down landwash, or the mermaids will get you! C 71-122 My mother would always warn us when we were kids to stay away from the landowash because we might get drowned. 1977 RUSSELL 29 They started to run their lines from the landwash road and by dinnertime when they knocked off for a mug-up they were just disappearin' over the brow of the hill. 1979 POTTLE 2 The people, who for generations saw their politics no farther afield than the 'landwash'...

http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/d7ction.html

Sourced from the above noted website on October 17, 2009