In The Trenches 1914-1918

Glenn Ph.D. Iriam

Description

My Father Frank S. Iriam signed up the same day as Germany declared war in 1914.
In Valcartier they announced that a sniper group was about to be formed. Frank signed up immediately and this book describes some of his experiences as a sniper.

Do to some prior military service in Halifax he had been promoted to Sargent in Kenora and he maintained that rank through out the war.
Frank describes the fact that he was able to mentally beat the shell shock he was starting to suffer all on his own.

He spent three years seven months in the front lines being wounded by machine gun fire during the battle of Ameins where the allies chased the Germans out of their trenches never letting them dig another.

After a lengthy recovery period he got back to Kenora, his job as a Railroad Engineer and canoeing his favorite pass time.

Sujets

• Histoire
• History
• Western
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456604950
• Langue: English

Extrait

IN THE TRENCHES
1914 - 1918
 
Glenn R. Iriam
 


Copyright © 2011 by Glenn R. Iriam
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0495-0
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 



Members of the 98 th Battalion, Kenora Militia of June 1914
Back Row standing (L-R), D. Parfitt, Brinkman, Woodhouse, Jones, _____, Beatty, Cassell, Mason Button.
Centre Row kneeling, _____, _____, _____, _____, Williams, Vereker, G. Beatty, Frank S, Iriam.
Front Row sitting, Beckwith, G. Peacock, Mathias, Duncan Robertson, Unidentified youth in foreground.
 
 


Frank S. Iriam, 1906
 
Prologue
Frank Stanley Iriam (Iram) was born October 30, 1886 in Brazil Lake, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. He was one of eight children born to Marion Axele Iram (nee Cann) and Henry Rivers Iram.
He left school in the fifth book to go to work at a sawmill where he lost a part of a finger on his left hand.
He served for three years at the British Military Fort known as the Citadel with the 78 th Highland Regiment. The British Garrison was ultimately withdrawn in 1906 in response to growing tensions in Europe.
Frank left Nova Scotia in 1905 spending some time in Montreal where the picture was taken of him in his kilts on May 26th, 1906. He later moved on to Kenora where he obtained employment with the Canadian Pacific Railway as a wiper on September 05, 1906. He was promoted to fireman on June 4 th , 1907 and then to engineer August 18 th , 1911.
Rumours of war started and then on August 4 th, 1914 Frank joined the Army along with about 50 others on the role of the old 98 th at Kenora. Frank had developed an angry streak with the German Empire’s actions in Europe. The night of August 14 th saw them entraining for Valcartier, Quebec where they continued their training.
There was talk of forming a scout section of eight men in the early days at Valcartier, and he jumped at the chance to get in the scouts. These were the Special Forces of that time period. In September they were blended into the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Service. The unit sailed from Quebec on the S.S. Franconia on October the 3 rd , 1914.
On their arrival in England their training continued. On February 10 th , 1915 they sailed from the Port of Bristol to St. Nazaire, a port in France where they were integrated and familiarized by April 15 th , 1915 with their duties as they headed into battle.
Frank served as a sniper, scout, and observer in most of the major battles during the Great War. The accommodations were rough on the front lines. Their plush room consisted of a fairly large whole in the side of a trench with what ever they could gather to put under them to keep themselves out of the wet. Curled up here in their great coats they were put to sleep by the melody of artillery shells and machine gun bullets roaring overhead. They slept like this with the hopes a large shell would not land close enough to collapse the roof on them burying them alive. The snipers had their own cook on the front that set up his kitchen wherever this small band of men were working.
There was a bad time in Dad’s service where the terrible conditions really dragged him down into a state of depression. I hope the readers of this story sort of get the idea of how rough the living conditions really were over there for these soldiers. He finally decided he went there to do a job and should get on with it. “ So He Pulled Up His Boat Straps ” as he often told me to do when I found some tough going and got on with it.
On August 1 st , 1918 his Battalion was used in the battle of Ameins where they changed to open warfare rather than trench warfare. The need for snipers was no longer there. The allied forces brought up enough men and equipment to push the Germans out of their trenches and keep them on the run to their homeland and the end of the war. On the second day of the battle Frank was shot in the left arm by enemy machine gun fire while running forward to the enemy trenches.
The wounded were transferred to the basement of a village church. Surgery was preformed on his left arm there. Then the wounded were taken to a Hospital on the French coast for further treatment. After a period of time they were moved to Folkstone England for another short stay. Once again they were moved to another Hospital called Collition House in Dorchester, Dorsett. After further medical treatment there they shipped off to Canada on the ship Essequibo about May 1 st , 1919. While in Halifax he managed to visit his family in Brazil Lake shortly before being discharged.
On September 16 th , 1919 he received his discharge from the Army and returned to Kenora as well as his employment with the Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
Frank married Laura S. Reid on January 4 th , 1927 and had a home built that year. They had two children Grace Millicent and Glenn Roy.
During his employment years in Kenora Frank enjoyed exploring the many lakes and rivers in the district and also did a little prospecting. He would head out in his inboard boat with the canvas covered canoe trailing behind. Consequently he had an island named after him on the Lake of the Woods, a lake in the Red Lake district and a road in the Red Lake district were also named after him.
Frank passed on in Deer Lodge Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba on August the 9 th 1957. Both Frank and his wife Laura are buried in a plot in the Lake Of The Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario.
 
Introduction
Why did I do this book at this time in life? When I was a young lad in the late 30’s and 40’s I used to sit and listen to my father’s stories of The Great War in the kitchen just dad and I with no one else in the house.
I clung to every word, and often wondered how this loving, tender giant of a man had ever been such a violent man dealing out death on a daily basis to any enemy soldier bearing arms and still looked kindly on any enemy soldier who had laid down his arms becoming a non-combatant.
One evening dad said “ I would like my story to be told but not until a long time after I am gone”. Then he went on to say that some of the things he wrote about some of the people could put him in a libel position. Well from what I have heard on the media dad was very mildly spoken.
Well here I am 74 years old and publishing my Father’s Memoirs in order to fulfill his wishes.
Many of our family and some unexpected help from others have made this venture possible. Without those folks this may never have gotten to the publishing point.
The first to dig in was my sister Grace who diligently went through my first production checking out my manuscript for any errors or omissions.
Then my daughter Patricia and her husband Fred wanted some spacing shortened up and definitions for some of the older words.
Our youngest son Roy and his good wife Diane volunteered to have a look at it but found that they were having trouble coming up with the time. This I can understand with their two young men demanding so much of their time at this most critical time in their young lives.
Then Mr. Reg. Clayton, editor at the local weekly paper, The Kenora Enterprise asked for some material he could use in the paper around the Memorial Day time frame, November 11 th . I had a copy run off for Reg. and he volunteered to edit for me while he was reading it. Reg. had his father also read it and the report from the two of them was very encouraging.
In the background of all this is my wonderful Wife Linda who has put up with me working late nights and early morning trying to make this into a printable book. The toughest part was trying to break up some of the long sentences my father was prone to write with to many “ands” without changing the intended meaning in any way what so ever.
Oh! Oh! I must not forget the two Grand Boys Steven and Paul awaiting the publication with baited breath. Paul used information from the Memoirs to create some very informative displays for his class and all who looked at them.
A further Thank You to the National Archives of Canada for maintaining the fantastic collection of Great War Photos and supplying a Description Record. They supplied the cover photo by direct e-mail to the publisher.
The Publisher has been picked with a recommendation from Reg. So now the fun begins.
 
Canada
1914 and June. Rumors were on every puff of wind that gusts and ripples among the islands of the Lake of the Woods. Sentries to be posted on all railway bridges at all points near enough to the river to be in danger of a sudden raid by motor boat from the south. Militia officers, quietly making plans of defense and preparing to use all personnel in the old militia units to whip new men into shape in order to fill the ranks of the First Canadian Division in the future. Germany was on the rampage by sea and land and right out to make the rest of the white race take a back seat. The early part of August found about 50 men on the roll of the old 98 th at Kenora. Yours truly as sergeant and not enough clothes to go around. Some of the boys out to drill in derbies, straw hats and civvies. Route marches to Keewatin, out to the brewery and open order drill in the vacant lot in the Rideout where the pulp mill now stands. Finally a sifting of the sheep from the goats and off on no. four passenger train to Valcartier to go in training in earnest for the big job ahead. Col. Schnarre in command. The balance of our old militia officers of the 98 th turn out to be duds in a pinch and have no stomach for the prospect of the real work looming ahead. My chum Duncan Robertson working at Minaki making lap strake skiffs on contract for Cossey Boat Co. heard that we were going and jumped the job to come in and enlist with us on the last Saturday night.