Medical Treatment

December 1 1916 

Dear Ada,

I wrote to you earlier about spending a wee bit of time in the hospital. Actually, I was dragged in by a few fellow soldiers of mine, after getting a scrap of shrapnel lodged into my side. I was then transported in an ambulance to a dressing station, and then later to a casualty clearing station. Of course, I was not the only one. There were hundreds either getting medical attention, waiting to be treated, or left to die. Since this war churns out so many casualties, doctors have to decide who can wait, who needs attention right away, and who is beyond help.

Moments after the shrapnel was removed, I observed a doctor, assisted by a couple of bluebirds, perform an amputation on a soldier. Overhearing something about him having contracted a serious case of trench foot, he was now having his foot cut off. 

After getting the shrapnel removed and being removed from the war front myself, I was brought to a general hospital somewhere in France to recover. I do not know what will happen when I am fully recovered, but I suspect I will be sent back to the frontlines.

Your loving brother,

Grant

Casualty Clearing Station. N.d. George Metcalf Archival Collection . Canadian War Museum. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌photo-e.aspx?PageId=2.C.3.c&photo=3.E.3.bs&f=%2fcwm%2fexhibitions%2fguerre%2fmedical-treatment-e.aspx&p=1>.

“Medical Treatments.” Canadian War Museum. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌medical-treatment-e.aspx>.

The Front Lines

August 1 1916

Dear Ada,

We must constantly be ready for action when on the front lines. Although there are times when there is nothing to do, any minute could bring a whiz bang or potato masher with it. I believe I wrote to you in a previous letter about the living conditions in the trench. 

It is a relief, to say the least, when our shift ends and new troops come to take over for us. Constantly staying out on the front lines is quite taxing, both physically and mentally. One of the ever-present factors is lack of sleep. This of course doesn’t make anything else better. 

As well, nobody knows when he will be hit. It’s incredibly stressful. There have been a few soldiers who have just picked up and left. Whether it’s because of the stress, the boredom, or some whole other reason, who knows? There are also those (although very few) who injure themselves on purpose or fake shellshock to get out of the fighting. Soldiers can be admitted into the hospital with it though, and are treated with talk and physical therapy, or electric shocks. But to put it frankly, shellshock is really a sign of cowardice. Never would you catch me being admitted into a hospital diagnosed with shellshock. Never.

Take care of yourself,

Grant

WW1 / Western Front / Canadian Soldiers. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 24 Nov 2010.

Canadian Infantry / W.Front / WWI. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 24 Nov 2010.

“The Effects of Low Morale.” Canadian War Museum. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌low-morale-e.aspx>.

“’Shellshock.’” Canadian War Museum. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌shellshock-e.aspx>.

Women In War

June 28 1916

Dear Ada,

I never thought I’d see women involved in war. And although most aren’t directly in the fighting, they are an integral part of the war. Especially as nurses, women play a vital role, as I am sure many soldiers would not have made it without them. They serve as part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps and we call them bluebirds, because of their white veils and blue uniforms. Not only are they nurses, but ambulance drivers, and mighty dandy ones at that. 

I’d estimate they’re all between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-eight, and all single too. From the wee bit of time I spent in the hospital, the bluebird who took care of me told me stories about her own brothers fighting in the war.

A chum of mine has been in the hospital for quite some time now, after getting his arm blown apart during combat a while ago. He is now recovering and was sent off to Blighty yesterday on a Red Cross train, with the help of a couple of bluebirds. 

Well, I think this is all for now. Will write again soon.

Love from your brother,

Grant

 

“Nurses.” Canadian War Museum. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌nurses-e.aspx#2.C>.

Off to Blighty. N.d. George Metcalf Archival Collection . Canadian War Museum. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌photo-e.aspx?PageId=2.E.1.b&photo=3.E.3.co&f=%2fcwm%2fexhibitions%2fguerre%2fnurses-e.aspx&p=1>.

Life in the Trenches

February 13 1916

Dearest Ada,

You may hear stories and rumours about life in the trenches, but I want to give you the truth, first hand.

It’s an experience like no other. Many a day we spend huddled in our trenches or shell holes, braving not only the cold and rain but the rats, lice, and potato mashers and whiz bangs that drop all around us, not to mention the utter exhaustion we face from lack of sleep. The rats are monstrously huge, bloated from the leftover scraps they pick up from soldiers; the lice are a massive problem, just recently being identified as the source of constant headaches, fevers, and muscle pain, a condition known as Trench Fever. I myself have experienced this wretchedness, but I won’t bother you too much with the details. Another condition is trench foot. In severe cases, trench foot can lead to amputation. Although all this is misery, the worst part is the long hours of boredom we are forced to endure.  It is during these spans of nothing to do that I am able to write to you. However, we mustn’t get too relaxed, as any minute now a sniper could take me down and I’d become part of the wastage.

My life here has fallen into a steady routine and I often wonder what life is like for you at home. At dawn, when I awake to stand-to and have to guard the front-line trenches, gather for inspection, and get my breakfast and rum ration, what are you doing? During the day, when I am underground busy fixing duckboards and sandbags, or even cleaning the lavatories, what are you doing? And at night, the most dangerous time of all, when we climb out from our trenches and creep into No Man’s Land, what are you doing?

But, despite all the casualties and hardships of living in trenches, it isn’t all bad. We’ve got our ways of expressing our thoughts publicly and entertaining ourselves. My personal favourites are the Dead Horse Corner Gazette and The Listening Post. Published by the Fourth and Seventh Battalions, these newspapers, with their cartoons, jokes, and poetry are the only thing we have left of humour in this war. Enclosed in this letter is a clipping from The Listening Post. We also sing songs and make up our own variations to popular ones such as It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary. There’s still hope yet. 

Take care,

Grant

 

“’Don’t Pull the Little Glass Ball.’” Cartoon. The Listening Post 1 Dec. 1917, no.29 ed.: 32. Web. 27 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌photo-e.aspx?PageId=2.C.2.b&photo=3.C.3.ae&f=%2fcwm%2fexhibitions%2fguerre%2ftrench-newspapers-e.aspx>.

“Rats, Lice, and Exhaustion.” Canadian War Museum. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌rats-lice-exhaustion-e.aspx>.

Repairing Trenches. N.d. George Metcalf Archival Collection . Canadian War Museum. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌photo-e.aspx?PageId=2.C.1.b&photo=3.E.3.an&f=%2fcwm%2fexhibitions%2fguerre%2fdaily-routine-e.aspx&p=1>.

“Trench Newspapers.” Canadian War Museum. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/‌cwm/‌exhibitions/‌guerre/‌trench-newspapers-e.aspx>.