** Blacked out by censors
Dear Folks,
This is Wed. afternoon and I have just a few minutes to write during a lull in the business. I have been working in a dressing station exclusively for slightly wounded and we have been so busy that we have not had time for anything else but work & sleep since last Friday. I guess you will have seen the reports of the Canadian's work in the papers. They have been very successful in their attacks and especially the 2nd Division. We have had 100 stretcher-bearers up in the "scrap" clearing wounded during our Division's turn in the trenches. Our boys were very **........................and .............................................................................................................. one shell and all of my section and my pals. They were all killed instantly except two who died soon after. One patient they were carrying was not hurt at all.
The artillery fire was terrific and they were caught in a barrage. The next day one other fellow was killed and 4 wounded. The fellow who was killed the next day was waiting for a commission and his papers came for him the day after he had "shuffled off".
The casualties in the infantry were heavy but we are not finished yet and we are going to get some of our own back that we lost at Ypres.
Prisoners are common and are put to work helping to clear wounded or any other job that comes to hand. They surrender freely when it comes to a showdown but fight and snipe when they think they won't be caught.
About 25 men were left in charge of the dressing station when the bearers were sent on the advanced work. With just that many men we handled, fed & treated as many as 800 in hospital and dressed and sent on an additional 500 making 1300 that passed through our hands in 24 hours. Fortunately, they were all only slightly wounded and shell-shocked.
Rec'd your letter of Sept 4 yesterday. So Vern is going to the city eh! Has Norma a school yet? Saw Billy Redburn yesterday. He came through alright.
Must ring off. Will write more fully later on.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
12 September 1916 France
Dear folks,
Canadian mail came in last night and got 2 from you. It was the first big mail for nearly 3 weeks and it seemed longer than that since I had gotten a letter. Have been doing a lot of travelling and marching since I wrote last but we are nearly finished now and are ready to go up the line anytime. There is very little I can tell you about where we are etc. but you will see all about the Division movements in the papers.
So Norma has decided to go to Stratford Normal Scool. What is Vern going to do?
Say can you send some parcels along as soon as you like? Don't bother putting in much variety. Just a light cake is as good as anything. Get some of my money assignment money from Orville and use it to get things with and pay postage etc. Be sure and do that now.
Haven't heard from Bill for about 2 weeks. There will likely be a letter from him in a few days.
We have been in our present billets for nearly a week now but expect to move out soon. But we are not informed as to where we will be going. Evidently the way things are done here is to give each Division a certain amount of work to do and they can stay till they get it done or else get too badly cut up to do it.
There is no more time to write just now so I'll have to ring off. I'll let you know just as soon as I can how things are.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
Canadian mail came in last night and got 2 from you. It was the first big mail for nearly 3 weeks and it seemed longer than that since I had gotten a letter. Have been doing a lot of travelling and marching since I wrote last but we are nearly finished now and are ready to go up the line anytime. There is very little I can tell you about where we are etc. but you will see all about the Division movements in the papers.
So Norma has decided to go to Stratford Normal Scool. What is Vern going to do?
Say can you send some parcels along as soon as you like? Don't bother putting in much variety. Just a light cake is as good as anything. Get some of my money assignment money from Orville and use it to get things with and pay postage etc. Be sure and do that now.
Haven't heard from Bill for about 2 weeks. There will likely be a letter from him in a few days.
We have been in our present billets for nearly a week now but expect to move out soon. But we are not informed as to where we will be going. Evidently the way things are done here is to give each Division a certain amount of work to do and they can stay till they get it done or else get too badly cut up to do it.
There is no more time to write just now so I'll have to ring off. I'll let you know just as soon as I can how things are.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
Monday, July 18, 2016
3 Sept 1916 France
Dear folks,
Have not moved much since I wrote last but there is no telling when. Route marches etc. and Company drill has been the order of the week.
My section has been chosen to run the hospital and we have been accommodating about 20 patients every day. We have not nearly as much equipment as when running a dressing station. So we cannot give as good service. However we are not expected to give as much when under conditions like we are here.
We had two or three days of heavy rain and wind at the first of the week and our tarpaulins that we had as shelters blew down. The whole unit except duty and fatigue parties were away route marching even if it was storming. We got just about as wet as the others trying to keep the shelters from blowing away and putting them up again. it was pretty uncomfortable and cold but we got an extra blanket each so we had a fairly comfortable night.
There is great speculation as to where we are going. They told us one place but orders of that kind are always subject to change at a moment's notice. We are attached to the 5th Brigade at present but I am not sure whether or not it is permanent. In addressing letters just omit the Brigade #5 Fld. Amb. 2nd division will get me ok.
Have not had a letter form home since writing last time so have nothing to answer. There is very little news so I'll ring off. Am real well. Hope everyone is the same at home. What are Norma and Vern going to do?
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
Have not moved much since I wrote last but there is no telling when. Route marches etc. and Company drill has been the order of the week.
My section has been chosen to run the hospital and we have been accommodating about 20 patients every day. We have not nearly as much equipment as when running a dressing station. So we cannot give as good service. However we are not expected to give as much when under conditions like we are here.
We had two or three days of heavy rain and wind at the first of the week and our tarpaulins that we had as shelters blew down. The whole unit except duty and fatigue parties were away route marching even if it was storming. We got just about as wet as the others trying to keep the shelters from blowing away and putting them up again. it was pretty uncomfortable and cold but we got an extra blanket each so we had a fairly comfortable night.
There is great speculation as to where we are going. They told us one place but orders of that kind are always subject to change at a moment's notice. We are attached to the 5th Brigade at present but I am not sure whether or not it is permanent. In addressing letters just omit the Brigade #5 Fld. Amb. 2nd division will get me ok.
Have not had a letter form home since writing last time so have nothing to answer. There is very little news so I'll ring off. Am real well. Hope everyone is the same at home. What are Norma and Vern going to do?
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
19 September 1915 Behind the Lines in France
Dear Mother:-
Well, here I am in France at last and at present we are having a day's rest in a farm yard.
We are not allowed to tell very much and so do not expect very long letters. I will write as often as I can however, and let you know how I am. I suppose I (you?) got the cards I sent some time ago.
We have been constantly on the move these last few days and finished up yesterday with a 20 mile march to the farm where we are now. We had our first good sleep in a week last night when we were billeted in a barn loft. I had a peach of a sleep. We were in bed at 7:30 last night and I didn't wake till 7:15 this morning. It was the first time I slept without my clothes or had a blanket for nearly a week. Everyone was dog-tired and wringing wet into the bargain for it was fearfully hot. The rest last night just fixed us up fine and I feel as fresh as a daisy today. My feet are ok except the heel of my right foot. the shoe rubs it so be sure to send me and extra heavy pair of sox and put a double heel on them.
We had a church parade this morning and had our own chaplains speak. it was our first church service since coming to France. I don't know how long we will be here but I wish they would settle down for a day or two and let us get a mail. There was a few Eng. letters today but no Can. mail. There is one in France some place but it will likely be along soon. I haven't had any for about 2 weeks.
The weather ever since we came is fine and seems very settled.
I hope everyone at home is ok and tell them all to write. We haven't done anything to write about yet and any of our movements would be scratched out by the censor as we have to hand all our mail in unsealed. If you can get any paper about this size you might send a little as I have a small case to hold this size of sheet. If you can get a good small map of the Allied front in France, get Mae to send it. It is a good thing if we get lost.
Well, I guess I'll have to ring off as I have some washing to do if I can get any clean water.
Love to all,
Harold
Friday, July 15, 2016
20 August 1916 France
Dear Folks,
This is Sunday morning just before dinner. I have spent the morning cleaning up etc. for a rumoured inspection. There is no word of it coming off yet. My boots won't be any the worse for a good rub with Dubbin, however. There was no church parade today as our Chaplain has gone away to join another unit. I guess there is no preacher to take his place. Therefore church is "napoo".
Your letter with Rose's enclosed came to hand ok. I was sorry to learn of Orville's motor accident. It was lucky that it didn't turn out more seriously. He seems to have bad luck on his trips up home by motor. It would pay him to take the train.
There has been very little of interest since I wrote last time. We are out on a route march nearly every afternoon and our routine just now reminds one of what we went through in England at this time last year. It will soon be a year since we landed in France. We have been "moving in circles" as it were, ever since. We have been in nearly every town in this district, with scarcely a second visit to most of them. In that Trench Paper I sent home a few weeks ago, there is a good list of the principal places in this neighbourhood that we have been (i.e. Canadians). You want to keep it as a souvenir. I sent one to Floss and Gert as well as Toronto.
I had a letter from Bill day before yours came. He is in London now at the R.H.A., a cadet school. He likes it there. No doubt you will have heard from him before you get this so I'll not tell you what he says about it.
Say, when you write, tell me what Battalion Bruce is in. When his Battalion comes out, I may be able to see him. have not seen anyone from home for quite a while now. Hope your real hot spell has passed off before now. It has been rather showery for the last week here and a lot cooler.
There is so little to write about that I'll have to ring off. I am real well. Hope Orville is feeling better and everyone else too.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
This is Sunday morning just before dinner. I have spent the morning cleaning up etc. for a rumoured inspection. There is no word of it coming off yet. My boots won't be any the worse for a good rub with Dubbin, however. There was no church parade today as our Chaplain has gone away to join another unit. I guess there is no preacher to take his place. Therefore church is "napoo".
Your letter with Rose's enclosed came to hand ok. I was sorry to learn of Orville's motor accident. It was lucky that it didn't turn out more seriously. He seems to have bad luck on his trips up home by motor. It would pay him to take the train.
There has been very little of interest since I wrote last time. We are out on a route march nearly every afternoon and our routine just now reminds one of what we went through in England at this time last year. It will soon be a year since we landed in France. We have been "moving in circles" as it were, ever since. We have been in nearly every town in this district, with scarcely a second visit to most of them. In that Trench Paper I sent home a few weeks ago, there is a good list of the principal places in this neighbourhood that we have been (i.e. Canadians). You want to keep it as a souvenir. I sent one to Floss and Gert as well as Toronto.
I had a letter from Bill day before yours came. He is in London now at the R.H.A., a cadet school. He likes it there. No doubt you will have heard from him before you get this so I'll not tell you what he says about it.
Say, when you write, tell me what Battalion Bruce is in. When his Battalion comes out, I may be able to see him. have not seen anyone from home for quite a while now. Hope your real hot spell has passed off before now. It has been rather showery for the last week here and a lot cooler.
There is so little to write about that I'll have to ring off. I am real well. Hope Orville is feeling better and everyone else too.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
Saturday, July 9, 2016
15 or 16 August 1916 France
* Bolded text was blacked out by the censors
Dear folks,
This is Sat. night and I am up the line again writing this outside my dugout. There is a party of 50 up here from our unit making a big dugout to be used as a dressing station and to quarter the personnel of the medical units. We are working in 3 shifts of 8 hours each and mine is from midnight to 8 am. We have to extend a galley along a tunnel and it is a pretty tiresome job. There are several shafts bored in and some are not too bad to work in but the one where I am is pretty damp and there is a long narrow tunnel where we carry the earth out after we have shovelled it into sandbags, that has about an inch of water in it by morning after being cleaned out before we go on duty. We call it "Rheumatic Alley". The dugouts are good and deep and will be safe against shell fire if they are ever finished.
We are always pretty tired when we come off duty in the morning and pike it to bed just as soon as our breakfast is over. It is pretty hard to get a good sleep in the daytime for our bunks are in one of the tunnels that is still being worked and the men have to carry the sandbags along through the aisle between the rows of bunks so there is always more or less noise going on.
It is a good change to be up here after being so long at the D.R.S. but I don't think I would like this work all the time. it is the worst shift we are on too because it means an 8-hour shift without a break. All the other shifts have a meal at about half time but there is no such luck for us at 4 a.m.
I got your letter yesterday and was glad to know that everyone was well and having a good time during the holidays. It is too bad that Orville could not have stayed longer. Tell Mae I got her birthday parcel. It came on the right day alright and one from Bill on the next. Those strawberries sure were great. They had not leaked a bit. I was wishing it had have been a half gallon jar. We must be thankful for small mercies though. The maple butter and fudge was good too and all the other things came in handy too. Thanks ever so much.
I am having a fine time sitting here watching one side of an artillery duel. Fritz is trying to find one of our batteries but apparently can't do it for it for it still keeps sending a salvo for every one it gets. Shells from both batteries pass right over my head and occasionally a "weary willie" hums over labelled for some place away back behind the lines.
There is not much news to tell just now so I will ring off and get some more of the letters written. I want to write to Bill and Gert. Say, one of the letters enclosed in the letter you sent was one of my own. I guess you had intended sending it somewhere else and got it in the wrong envelope. There was nothing much in it anyway. It was dated May 28 I think.
Love to all,
Harold Skilling
Dear folks,
This is Sat. night and I am up the line again writing this outside my dugout. There is a party of 50 up here from our unit making a big dugout to be used as a dressing station and to quarter the personnel of the medical units. We are working in 3 shifts of 8 hours each and mine is from midnight to 8 am. We have to extend a galley along a tunnel and it is a pretty tiresome job. There are several shafts bored in and some are not too bad to work in but the one where I am is pretty damp and there is a long narrow tunnel where we carry the earth out after we have shovelled it into sandbags, that has about an inch of water in it by morning after being cleaned out before we go on duty. We call it "Rheumatic Alley". The dugouts are good and deep and will be safe against shell fire if they are ever finished.
We are always pretty tired when we come off duty in the morning and pike it to bed just as soon as our breakfast is over. It is pretty hard to get a good sleep in the daytime for our bunks are in one of the tunnels that is still being worked and the men have to carry the sandbags along through the aisle between the rows of bunks so there is always more or less noise going on.
It is a good change to be up here after being so long at the D.R.S. but I don't think I would like this work all the time. it is the worst shift we are on too because it means an 8-hour shift without a break. All the other shifts have a meal at about half time but there is no such luck for us at 4 a.m.
I got your letter yesterday and was glad to know that everyone was well and having a good time during the holidays. It is too bad that Orville could not have stayed longer. Tell Mae I got her birthday parcel. It came on the right day alright and one from Bill on the next. Those strawberries sure were great. They had not leaked a bit. I was wishing it had have been a half gallon jar. We must be thankful for small mercies though. The maple butter and fudge was good too and all the other things came in handy too. Thanks ever so much.
I am having a fine time sitting here watching one side of an artillery duel. Fritz is trying to find one of our batteries but apparently can't do it for it for it still keeps sending a salvo for every one it gets. Shells from both batteries pass right over my head and occasionally a "weary willie" hums over labelled for some place away back behind the lines.
There is not much news to tell just now so I will ring off and get some more of the letters written. I want to write to Bill and Gert. Say, one of the letters enclosed in the letter you sent was one of my own. I guess you had intended sending it somewhere else and got it in the wrong envelope. There was nothing much in it anyway. It was dated May 28 I think.
Love to all,
Harold Skilling
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
29 July 1916 France
Dear folks,
This is Saturday afternoon and a beastly hot day. I am glad I have no long route march to make today. it is just like the day we marched up here about a year ago when we first came out. A 20-mile march under the same conditions would get most of our goats now. I know I am not in as good condition as I was after 4 months training in England. A Brigade of Canadians (from the West just passed and are sweating to beat the band. I saw that Harry Hyslop in the ranks, but did not get a chance to holler at him. He is a Sergeant.
There has been very little change in our usual routine here but there is always a little excitement going on up the line.
We can hear the bombardments every night but, as we do not get any wounded here, the effects of these bombardments are not apparent. Frequently, though, we get cases of 'shell shock' who are badly shaken up by being near a shell when it burst or probably been buried. All they require is a little rest and quietness. It must be a terrible experience to be buried like that. It frequently happens by a dugout being hit when occupied by the men.
We have had quite a week of sports, however. On Tuesday our new Chaplain arranged a concert and we got together a fairly long program on short notice and made quite a success of it. I sang in a couple of choruses. We decided to give it over again tonight for the patients and have been practicing every day all week and we have gotten up a dandy program to be given tonight.
The Sergeants played the Officers at indoor baseball (only it was outside) and beat them by 1 run. then the next day the NCOs played the privates at football and got a trimming. Last night there was a game scheduled between the 15th Battalion (Toronto 48th) and an Imperial team, but for some reason the 15th Battalion didn't turn up and so as not to disappoint the English team we got a scratch bunch together and played and gave them a beating of 5-2.
It wasn't our best team by any means as 50 of our men are up the line on a working party and most of our best players are with them. Tomorrow "C" section is taking on "B" section for a game of baseball.
I was glad to get your letter of July 10 & 12 and to know everyone was well. Vern must be getting to be quite a musician when he is being invited out to play like that. Have they raised the Normal term to two years? It will make quite a difference. I am glad that you had such a nice time on your birthday and was sorry I could not send something. I will be 23 myself on Monday.
Well, I must ring off this time as my time is up and I must get to work. will write soon again.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
This is Saturday afternoon and a beastly hot day. I am glad I have no long route march to make today. it is just like the day we marched up here about a year ago when we first came out. A 20-mile march under the same conditions would get most of our goats now. I know I am not in as good condition as I was after 4 months training in England. A Brigade of Canadians (from the West just passed and are sweating to beat the band. I saw that Harry Hyslop in the ranks, but did not get a chance to holler at him. He is a Sergeant.
There has been very little change in our usual routine here but there is always a little excitement going on up the line.
We can hear the bombardments every night but, as we do not get any wounded here, the effects of these bombardments are not apparent. Frequently, though, we get cases of 'shell shock' who are badly shaken up by being near a shell when it burst or probably been buried. All they require is a little rest and quietness. It must be a terrible experience to be buried like that. It frequently happens by a dugout being hit when occupied by the men.
We have had quite a week of sports, however. On Tuesday our new Chaplain arranged a concert and we got together a fairly long program on short notice and made quite a success of it. I sang in a couple of choruses. We decided to give it over again tonight for the patients and have been practicing every day all week and we have gotten up a dandy program to be given tonight.
The Sergeants played the Officers at indoor baseball (only it was outside) and beat them by 1 run. then the next day the NCOs played the privates at football and got a trimming. Last night there was a game scheduled between the 15th Battalion (Toronto 48th) and an Imperial team, but for some reason the 15th Battalion didn't turn up and so as not to disappoint the English team we got a scratch bunch together and played and gave them a beating of 5-2.
It wasn't our best team by any means as 50 of our men are up the line on a working party and most of our best players are with them. Tomorrow "C" section is taking on "B" section for a game of baseball.
I was glad to get your letter of July 10 & 12 and to know everyone was well. Vern must be getting to be quite a musician when he is being invited out to play like that. Have they raised the Normal term to two years? It will make quite a difference. I am glad that you had such a nice time on your birthday and was sorry I could not send something. I will be 23 myself on Monday.
Well, I must ring off this time as my time is up and I must get to work. will write soon again.
Lovingly,
Harold Skilling
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