It is nothing but hell on earth out there, and I know it.: A Letter From Private Blue

In two previous posts the war experience of Private Alexander Blue was reviewed. The first post offered a brief biographical sketch written in pen in long-hand and was part of the Kincardine, Ontario Royal Canadian Legion’s archives. The second post offered, from the same source, letters of assurance from a casualty clearing station immediately after his wounding. It, like all the material in those and this article, found its way to the www.bruceremembers.org site in which it was deposited so others could see some of the visual items of remembrance that invoke pictures of the past.

Letters and articles put in print the words and worlds of others and in this post a long letter which Private Blue wrote at a time in which he was posted in England offers the reader a window into his feelings. It is estimated it was written in August of 1916 with approximately one month having transpired since his wounding in the chest on June 29, 1916. The concern and worry of the family must have diminished as they had first heard he was “dangerously ill” immediately after his wounding to the letters of comfort, and guarded assurance, that he was improving that came from a Chaplain and Nursing Sister of No. 17 Casualty Clearing Station.

The letter offers a review of his treatment and recovery and the last paragraph is telling. The war has affected him and he is sharing it and one wonders if he appreciated this information being shared with the community of Paisley.

Sadly, the prediction by the newspaper was incorrect. Private Blue was to serve again at the Front. He was returned to duty with the 18^th Battalion on June 15, 1917 and his service record shows signs of resistance to authority, in particular an almost charming incident, except for the 2 days of pay he forfeited, for leaving the camp and went swimming in a river near his camp in Etaples[i]. He was charged for “bathing” in the River Canche[ii] contrary to regulations on June 8, 1917. Then, on December 21, 1917, he is given a further 7 days of field punishment No. 1 for “neglect of duty.”

After reading this letter it is no wonder Private Blue’s attitude changed.

From Pte. Alex Blue

[NOW] IN ARMY HOSPITAL IN ENGLAND

Shot Through Body and Bullet Shifts His Heart

RECOVERING BUT NERVES VERY MUCH AFFECTED

Likely Unfitted for Further Army Service

In a letter to a friend here Pte. Alex Blue writes as follows from the army hospital at Kil Inglbeck[iii], Yorkshire, England: “I guess you would be kind of surprised to see by the casualty list that I was wounded on June 29^th [1916]. I was shot through the breast. I am able to sit up and walk a little now, but not very far, as the bullet penetrated my lung. The doctor says it was a narrow escape, the bullet missing a large artery and the spine only by a hair’s breadth. [They] had to keep me in Boulogne for eighteen days before they dared send me across the Channel. I was operated on there, and felt easier after that. The doctor had the lance [scalpel?] into me 5 inches and I thought once it was coming through the other side. I did grunt a little. If I walk the length of the ward I am out of breath, and even when I stand up or sit in an upright position. My best position is lying down. The sisters are very kind to me. I seem to be the only Canadian around. My trip from the battlefield through Ypres was very painful. Going through shell holes and over the cobble roads fairly shook me to pieces. It was a sniper that caught me, when I was just a little to the right of Hill 60, where Tom Babcock[iv] was shot. The bullet went through my chest, coming out at the right shoulder, which left my right arm paralyzed for a few days. I don’t think I will be able to go back, and I hope to see Canada in the Fall.

It is nothing but hell on earth out there, and I know it. I hope it will end soon, but I believe the 160^th will see some hard scrapping. We need the re-enforcements [sic]. Of the battalion that I left Canada with there are only about 170 old fellows left. I hardly know the battalion for strange faces. I have seen us get re-enforcements [sic] three times in four days. The charge is easy, but the counter-offensive attacks is hellish. The Germans can fight, also, until they get in close quarters, when they lose heart. Is it any wonder? “Kamarde [sic] mercy!”  We show a lot of mercy – I don’t think! The last fight we had was with the Crown Prince’s favorite Army, called the Wurtenbergers[v] [sic], but we made Wurtenbergers [sic] out of them. I have seen a lot of suffering out there. One thinks the hospital is bad, but the field of battle is awful. When looking for the wounded on the field we hear some crying, “Take me!” and so on. We might get a fellow on the stretcher who would die before going very far, when it would be necessary to dump him and go back to look for others[vi]. We have taken men who have been lying on the field for two or three days.

I am very nervous. If any person wakens me up from sleep I shake for half an hour. Is it any wonder, when the bullet shifted my heart an inch out of place[vii].

Same address as usual.

[i] The camp at Etaples, France was an established depot camp where soldiers would go to be trained and improve their physical shape before going into the line. In Private Blue’s case he was located and the 2^nd Canadian Infantry Base Depot. There were also other Canadian and British depots and hospitals. Etaples is in the Channel coast.

[ii] The river Canche flows through Etaples and into the Channel.

[iii] Killingbeck Military Hospital located in West Yorkshire. This would place the date of the letter sometime before August 8^th, 1916 as there is a report on an Army form 3172 of an x-ray indicating that as of that date his heart was “not now displaced.” He was finally discharged October 25^th, 1916 to duty and eventually ending up in France May 26^th, 1917.

[iv] Probably Private Thomas Babcock, reg. no. A/2463 killed in action April 28^th, 1916. See Bruce Remembers for more details.

[v] It is not known at this time to which German Army unit Private Blue is referring to.

[vi] This sentence may confirm his role as an ambulance driver changed to a stretcher bearer. A previous biographical note indicated Private Blue’s role was that of an ambulance driver.

[vii] A letter medical report indicates Private Blues heart was not displaced any more.