The Earl Campbell Story - Life In The Army

Battle for Hill 70 occured August 15-25, 1917

Aug 15, 1917, Canadian Base, France

"Dear Arch, you all will be getting lots of mail from me now. I write home quite often I know. Jim Gillis will be cursing I bet. I am still at the Base. There are quite a number of the 2nd C.R.T. here waiting to be sent up the line again. Talk was going around here last night that we were to go into a Infantry draft. But I think it is all Bull. They won't get this lad into it. Anyway I am not fit couldn't carry a pack ha-ha. I hear that No. 1 Construction is down where we are. So I will see Old Wallie & Paddy, Sid and them when I get back. It seems like two years since I left them Kelly is still here. He is going up the line next week. He said yesterday whenever I write home again to tell Dad he wish he was back at King playing cards in Armstrong's Hotel. He is Corp now. But never wears the stripes. He says he has'nt time to put the stripes up."

Aug 22, 1917 Belgium Earl refers in this letter to being gassed

"Dear Merelda, Well I have been sent back to my Coy again. I came up on the 18th. I am feeling fine now. But sometimes my head ache pretty good. I think it is the noise of our guns tho that causes it. Fritz is more than getting the shells now. The bombardment is something awful now. They say I miss the worse of it. Luke came up the line with me."

p.3 "Fritz sent some gas over us last night. But he did no harm. I woke up sneezing I said to myself Gosh I am getting a bad cold. Very soon my eyes started to run tears so I was not long getting my helmet on. This is the third time my gas helmet waved me from being gassed. Harry Bovair is away in Hospital with the trench fever. It is a bad time of the year now for fever. So much dead stuff laying around. I will never forget this front line. There is more than me that will never forget it."

Aug 24, 1917, Department of Militia and Defence Ottawa Letter to Jerome Jacob Campbell, Esq, King, Ontario – father of Earl informing him of Earl's injuries Aug 25, 1917, Belgium "Dear Pauline was very glad to get yours and Flossie's letter along with Merelda's. It was some class to the paper which Floss wrote me. 2 x 3 I think it measured. But them are the kind I like to get. p.3…. [a portion of Earl's letter was erased by the Censors] "We are whacking the railways down now allright. It is the narrow gauge track we are at."

Aug 27, 1917 , Belgium, B.Coy, 2nd CRT, B.E.F.
People were not the only ones displaced during the war. Earl wrote this letter from a dugout and he mentions that when he went to bed he found a dog in the dugout.

"Dear Merelda just finished writing a few lines to Annie Sturdy. So thot I write home again. I have to-day off being I was on gas guard last night. He did'nt put any gas over. I was sure he would tho it was such a calm warm night. I guess our guns made it to hot for him to get out of his dugouts. The bombardment our lads had last night was worse than any thunder and lighting storm you ever did see or hear. It is great to look at it in the night. I was relieved by another of our lads at half past one. And when I went to my bed in the dugout. I lit a candle and starring me in the face was a big white dog. And laying on my blankets. I knew where there was a bayonet so if he showed any fight. I would to. But a wag of his tail soon told me that there was no German in him. I layed down. And he layed at my feet all the rest of the night.

Aug 29, 1917, Belgium

"Dear Merelda, Well I must write and thank you for the box you packed for me. The R.Cross box you sent it to the 1^st of Aug. and I got it Aug 27^th it came in good time, did'nt it…… I think I will be getting a pass to England soon. We have been over here quite a while now. A year ago today we landed at Witley Camp, England . It seems a long time to me. I don't think this war will last another year. So Chester Ward is missing, poor chap. I had a great chat to him up here in Belgium. He was in the 4^th C.R.T. There is a awful lot of Can. Rly Tps over here as high as the 11^th now. None of them can beat the 1^st and 2^nd tho. The 127 men are in them you see. Harry Bovair is still in Hospital with the fever. And little Leonard Robb is away to. His people will feel awful bad about him. But he is better with that than wounded. Wallace & Paddy were up to see us chaps. I was in the Hospital so I did not see them. They are only 4 miles from us now, so I will be going to see them soon. We expect to be relieved soon by A & D Coy. C & B have been up the line for 3 weeks now. Three B.Coy lads have been killed and some wounded since I've come back. Vanderburg from Richmond Hill was badly injured yesterday. Harold Boys is in England now. He was wounded in the arm from a flying butt of a 4 inch shell. It is a wonder it did not take the arm off him. He stayed around camp thinking it would be better in a week or two. It got so bad he had to be sent the Hospital I don't expect he will ever be back with us again. Chances are he will be sent to Canada. I was sure I was going to be sent home when I got mine. My temperature was up to 103 quite a few times. I think I was frightened of the nurses tho. I was in a American Hospital for a few days. They use a Canadian awful good.

Has Harold been home lately. I wrote to him, address it to 17 Condor Ave. guess he would get it. There are not many of his batt left over here now. There was a draft of men sent into our Batt last week one of the 14^th Batt and there are two of the old reliable the P.P.C.L.1. But the rest of them are lads who first came across the Channel. They think they know it all to. It will make you sick to listen to them. Last night Fritzie started to shell our home of dugouts. He got our new lads wind up all right some of them were clinging to the ground. And the day before they were saying ‘We are not frightened of Fritizies shelling'. He can scare anyone believe me. My heart has been up in my throat more than once. When a fellow get hit once. He is allways nervous afterwards. "

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