The Earl Campbell Story - Life In The Army

The four month Battle of the Somme was a major Allied offensive that was fought from July 1 to November 18, 1916.

Battle of Courcelette occurred September 15-22, 1916

Battle of Thiepval Ridge occurred September 26-30, 1916





Sep 26, 1916 letter from Earl to Merelda, Witley Camp, Surrey England.

Dear Sister,
I just received your letter this morning. The first I had from Canada. You don't know how glad I was to get it. I fairly jumped when I was your writing on the envelope…. Well Merelda I heard good news last-night was a 128th fellow came into my hut bringing me the news that Harold was wounded again from shrapnel. Harold told him to hunt the 127th up and give me his address."

Earl in his letter mentions on page 3 his pay: " I am payed 4 pounds a month till I get in the trenches".

In this letters to his sister Merelda, Earl mentions several King soldiers including Leonard Robb and also on p. 5 – Sam Hall: " I saw some awful sights in the Folkstone Hospital, fairly made me shiver to look at them. I had a long talk to a fellow by the name of Sam Hall from Schomberg, he knows Daddy he remembers seeing him throughing (throwing) the shot down the Seventh someplace"… He is in awful state, one arm of right up close to the shoulder. And his cheek bone is cut. You people over there do not know what this war is doing"

"The papers you can't go by them at all. Last night there was a Zepplin raid close to our camp, the night before was another one two of them were brought down."

Postcard of Zeppelin's over London, Britannica Image Quest

A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. According to Zeppelins over Sheffield entitled "The Raid" mention is made of the raid that Earl was referring to in his Sep 26, 1916 letter. "During the early afternoon of Monday 25 September 1916, five Zeppelins took off from their bases in northern Germany with orders to attack England. Three of the airships headed for London and the South of England. The remaining two, L-21 and L-22, were to attach the North Midlands industrial towns. Many of Britain's leading armament and munitions firms were based in Sheffield; it was therefore a prime Zeppelin target. "

Earl continues in his Sep 26, 1916 letter p.6 to recount previous Zeppelin attacks

"And a couple of weeks ago one was brought down. I was out to see that one when on my leave. A bomb can make a awful mess of a town. I saw pieces of wood from houses thrown half a mile away. A key out of a piano was found fully a mile away. The key was valued at 6 pounds." (Note that Earl was only paid 4 pounds a month)

It is the one Lieut Robinson brought down. He was given the V.C. (Victoria Cross) and payed a large sum for doing it. I did not see him but I saw his driver. I was out to see the day after the fight thousands of people were there."

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