After four years of stagnant trench warfare, the Allies burst forth from their lines on Aug. 8, 1918, and began pushing back the enemy, with Canadians — including soldiers from Moose Jaw — at the sharp end of the fighting.
The offensive saw Canadians advance 20 kilometres in three days. The Allies launched the offensive without a long preliminary artillery bombardment as per usual, which took the Germans by surprise. This breakthrough was a remarkable development and dashed enemy morale, with the German high commander calling it “the black day of the German Army.”
From Aug. 8 until Nov. 11 — dubbed by historians as Canada’s Hundred Days — the Canucks fought in places such as Amiens, Drocourt-Quéant, Canal du Nord, Bourlon Wood, Cambrai, Valenciennes, and Mons. During the last three months of fighting, 6,800 Canadians and Newfoundlanders were killed and about 39,000 wounded.
As the battles raged on, Moose Jaw newspapers reported on soldiers who were injured, killed, and missing, along with those who were awarded for their heroism.
Soldiers used as a ‘shock unit’
An article from Aug. 8, 1918 with the headline “Moose Jaw men now used as a ‘shock’ unit” indicated the community’s soldiers were honoured by being combined into one large, roving battalion. Reduced in numbers, the men of the 46th, 128th, 210th and 229th battalions were gathered together and, under Col. Dawson, now constituted a shock battalion.
“They are used where they are wanted in the thickest of the fighting and have been chosen for this because of their known bravery in action,” the article said.
Keep writing letters
An article from Aug. 14 encouraged residents to write to soldiers regularly to keep up their morale and make their lives more cheerful.
Publicists explained that writing letters “gladdens a man in the field to receive letters, of the extra ‘pep’ he gets by having cheerful news from the home town; how wistfully he awaits his mail; how dreadfully disappointed he is if there is nothing … ,” the article said.
Writing letters was considered a labour of love, while those who wrote would never regret sending letters to their relatives, including to their sons’ or brothers’ friends in the field. One woman was recorded as clipping interesting community items from the newspapers, pasting them onto paper, and sending them with her letters so they reached their destination safely.
Respected officer wounded
One Moose Jaw newspaper reported on Aug. 17, 1918, that athlete, police detective, and “good soldier,” Lt. A.F. (Tony) Townshend, had been wounded on the Western Front. The police chief reported that he had heard nothing about this, and until he received an answer from England, could not say anything else.
Three days later, Townshend’s name was listed in the daily casualty list under “wounded,” although his injury was unclear.
Townshend enlisted as a private in 1915 and was commissioned in the 128th Battalion. He went to England as a senior commissioned officer and was later appointed to the provost-marshal’s staff. In May, he travelled to France and joined the 5th Battalion, which was mainly composed of Moose Javians.
“Lieut. Townshend has proved himself a good officer and leader of men. His old prowess on the football field — he once played for Hamilton Tigers — stood him in great stead,” the article said, “and there is no finer stone putter in his regiment.”
More men join RAF
Well-known residents Russell Grayson, Earl Stewart and Charley Andrews, left Moose Jaw for Winnipeg on Aug. 20 to join the Royal Air Force. They were then shipped to Toronto after passing examinations to start their training immediately.
Grayson, the son of William Grayson, attended Central Collegiate until June 1918 and played school rugby, baseball and basketball.
City electrician badly wounded
Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Fraser were informed around Aug. 20 that their son, acting Lance Cpl. John Fraser, was dangerously ill in the Third General Hospital in Rouen, France, with gunshot wounds to the neck, back, and lungs.
Fraser enlisted in Moose Jaw in 1915 and went overseas that fall.
“Lance Corporal Fraser was very well-known in Moose Jaw, having been employed as an electrician by the City of Moose Jaw … ,” the article said. “Previous to enlisting, Lance Corporal Fraser was prominent in athletic circles in this city, being a member of the Robin Hood lacrosse and hockey teams, and was one of the most promising hockey players in the city.”
School board secretary injured
RAF Lt. C.F. Kempton, the secretary of the Moose Jaw School Board, was wounded in the right collar bone and was convalescing in a Red Cross hospital in Rouen, France. He had mentioned in previous letters that his unit was subject to regular air raids, so the newspaper article speculated his wound came from a bomb attack.
“The wound is not considered in any way serious, and will probably entail only a four or five weeks’ stay in the hospital, during which time he will be unable to use the right arm,” the article added.
Popular officer promoted
Residents of Moose Jaw learned that Lt. E.R. Hinchey, “one of the most popular of the younger officers to enlist in Moose Jaw,” had been promoted to captain that May, the article said.
Hinchey worked for Rex Fruit Company and was an active athlete before enlisting with the first Canadian contingent that sailed to France in 1915. At the Battle of Givenchy that year, he was wounded and later returned to Canada. He was then attached to the 229th Battalion, and in April 1917 was made district intelligence officer.
Many wounded, several killed
Newspapers began reporting in late August of men who were wounded or killed during intense fighting in northwest France. One article alone listed 16 men who were casualties.
Pte. Henry Plume, well-known as a conductor of the electric street railway, was wounded in the right shoulder and admitted to a hospital in England.
“Pte. Plume left here early in 1917 … and eventually transferred to the Mounted Rifles, with which unit he was serving when wounded,” the article said. “The wounds are not expected to prove serious … .”
Pte. Clarence Chrismas was killed in action on Aug. 9 while fighting in France. Originally a mechanic, he enlisted with a unit from Moose Jaw and then made his way overseas, where he won the Military Medal in 1917.
“The news of Pte. Chrismas’s death came as a great shock to his many friends in Moose Jaw. At the time of his death he was but 19 years of age,” the article said.
Pte. Columbus Evans, who was born in Kentucky, was killed in action on Aug. 11 while fighting with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles in France. He has served with the American army since he was 19, before leaving the United States for Moose Jaw. He enlisted three days after arriving and travelled to England in February 1917.
Wedding day blues
A non-battle death was that of Lt. J. M. Cram, who died when the plane he was flying plummeted 700 feet while training in Toronto, an article from Aug. 27 reported. Lt. Singleton, who was accompanying Cram, was seriously injured on his face and head.
Cram, a bank teller, was popular in Moose Jaw and enlisted in the 128th Battalion in 1916 as a private. He was promoted to corporal and then transferred to the 229th Battalion, where he received his officer’s commission. He was later transferred to the 1st Depot Battalion while his unit went overseas.
“The sad part of the fatality is that Lieut. Cram was to have been married yesterday to Miss Mida McCulloch,” the article added, “a sister of Lieut. Fred McCulloch, a well-known hockey player.”
