The War Diaries of Francis James Whiting

trenches tonight. Letter from home. Threshing. Wheat down to 75 [cents a
bushel]. Answered letter. Also one to Mrs. Pullman and Uncle Ernie. Left
village [Eclusier] at 6:30 tonight and went into trenches. 17 The Germans
are from 40 to 400 yards away. Five others and an N.C.O. 18 kept a
listening post, 19 a little in advance of the main line of trenches. Kept watch
in pairs – two hours each. Those off guard sitting down and making
themselves as comfortable as possible.
October 1
Came off guard this morning at 6 after “standing to” for an hour about
dawn. Told to go to bed for a while. Found an empty dugout containing 2
double beds, a table, 2 chairs and an oil painting. Slept for about an hour,
but soon after a bunch of fellows came in and wrangled over rations for a
couple of hours effectively stopping me from sleep. On fatigue in
afternoon. Hauled water for section from the well down by the old ruined
was closer to Frank’s as far as the sluice gates were concerned. In a letter to his wife Mabel, 4
October 1915, Maj. Agar Adamson wrote:
In the village two miles further back there is a woman of 26, the only woman in the village;
when the Germans came through, she opened the lock gates and flooded their position
retarding their advance two days. When they got into the village they made her nurse their
wounded. She found out their plans to attack the French and gave the warning. The French
were ready for the attack and drove the Germans back. She was wounded while attending to
the French wounded. The President of France gave her the Legion of Honour and the Bronze
Cross. The day I was there she was just leaving her house to walk eight miles to buy stores
and half the Regiment was lined up on the road waiting to take up this line. (I had gone ahead
and had seen the Medals and heard the story). As she appeared on the road, I called the half
Battn. to attention and presented arms to her. She went down the line bowing to the men,
very pleased. The General heard of it and instead of being annoyed, quite approved and
telegraphed to the French General the incident. Letters of Agar Adamson 1914 to 1919, 81.
17 The regiment had moved east to Frise. According to the PPCLI War Diary, No. 2 Company
moved into the trenches “to the right” of the canal on October 1. In a letter to his wife dated 30
September 1915, Maj. Agar Adamson wrote,
If you will look at Cappy on the map and follow up the canal, you will find the second village
from Cappy on the right and left bank of the canal begins with F. This is where we are and
occupy trenches, half the Battn. on the left of the canal; half on the right. The trenches run
through this scattering village built by the French, full of dugouts, furnished from the houses.
There are very good cellars and several houses not quite blown to pieces. Regimental H.Q.
occupy one, but the snipers are constantly firing and knocking the slates off the roof. Letters
of Agar Adamson 1914 to 1919, 78.
18
An N.C.O. or non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Army held the rank of either a
sergeant or corporal.
19 A listening post or “sap-head” was a camouflaged position usually located in No Man’s Land,
where soldiers listened for indications of enemy activity.