The 36th Battery was formed in Sydney in September, 1915, Major Walter Crowe being the organizer and leading spirit in it. The rush of applications for positions in the Battery was so great that over one hundred had to be turned away. Major Crowe selected his men with great care; and the subsequent achievements of the Battery is evidence that his judgment was good. To Major Crowe must be given a great deal of credit for the splendid record which the Battery achieved Overseas. He remained with it as its Commanding Officer and supervised nearly all its early training, took it Overseas in March, 1916, but on account of being very much over age could not accompany the Battery to France; so the command was given to Major D. A. MacKinnon, of Charlottetown, P.E.I.
The Battery arrived in France on July 14th, 1916, and was almost immediately placed in action on the Ypres Salient, which was a very “hot” spot. They were in action only twenty-four hours when they received quite a heavy shelling from the enemy. They remained in this position for about a month, firing day and night, and their quick response to all calls from the infantry was remarked upon. The next move was to Kemmel, which was a nice quiet spot, and the boys enjoyed themselves very much while in that vicinity. Early in October the march for the Somme commenced. It occupied a week; and about the 12th of October the Battery went into action about one thousand yards in the rear of Courcellette. They received considerable shelling but returned one hundred rounds for every one they got. After the Battle of Regina Trench they moved forward in front of Martinpuich, with the expectation of another great battle which never materialized. While in this position they were constantly shelled, the discomforts were terrible, mud and rain preventing any kind of decent accommodation; but the gunners were better off than the drivers at the wagon lines; there the mud was two feet deep, and the trials and sufferings almost unendurable. Nearly all the ammunition had to be carried to the guns by packing it on horses’ and mules’ backs, taking it up over trails, inasmuch as the roads were death traps, on account of enemy fire. Notwithstanding this the Battery kept up its reputation for activity, having fired on several occasions well over one thousand rounds in a few hours. They were highly complimented for their splendid concealment and for the brave way in which they carried on under very discouraging difficulties. On the 20th of November the Division pulled out of the Somme, greatly to the relief of all.
A week’s tramp to the Ecuri Front commenced, the first two days being teeming rain and bitter cold. It was during this march that Sergt. Sam Wilson, one of the most popular men in the Battery, contracted pneumonia and died in a few days, mourned by all. During the following months the Battery stayed in position doing garrison duty, but in February they were forced to leave and made three shifts of positions in three days. The bitter cold, it being the coldest winter in forty years, and the shortage of fodder for the horses, coupled with the hard work which so much moving entailed, caused the death of a great many horses and mules. The hardships of the drivers were also particularly severe, shelter was at a premium, and the winter of 1916 and 1917 will ever remain as a very disagreeable memory.
Early in March preparations commenced for the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the drivers being constantly employed at night hauling vast quantities of ammunition to forward points. The month was very rainy with high winds, and all night the men would be exposed to the rain and winds and return at daybreak tired and exhausted, cold and wet to the skin. The sufferings which they experienced that winter, and the grim determination with which they carried through their duties will never be forgotten. On the 25th of March the 36th was changed to a six-gun Battery, absorbing one-half of the 29th Battery. It was a splendid consolidation, the newcomers proving very excellent gunners and drivers, and brave men. About the 1st of April, 1917, the Battery moved forward to a little hollow near the Arras road, facing Vimy Ridge. Rude pits had to be constructed for the guns, and these they soon fashioned into a home for the Battery. The Batteries were as thick as flies in this hollow, and we had neighbors on all sides of us. The 2nd of April saw everybody registering on targets in the enemy lines, and one had almost to crawl about to prevent being hit by our own guns. As the enemy had observation of this position they very quickly began to use it, shelling the area with gas and high explosives. It was a most uncomfortable position, and had the battle been delayed a few days longer and the enemy been given a chance to get more heavy artillery, there is no doubt that they would have given us a bad time.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge started at 5 o’clock, April 9th. It was the biggest battle we had ever been engaged in, and every one was quite interested to see how it would pan out. It was a great success, and we quickly got orders to move our position forward so as to be able to range on the retreating enemy. This was accomplished very speedily. The battle practically ended on April 10th, and no further move was made forward. On the 14th we took our guns down into the village of Vimy being, we believed, one of the first Batteries to enter that much shelled village. We were lucky in getting in and lucky in getting our teams out, as the roads were shelled most terrifically. It was three weeks after that before we could bring a wagon of any description down the roads to the Battery. All ammunition and supplies had to be brought on pack horses and mules along trails leading over the ridges, but by the exercise of great care they managed to keep up our ammunition supplies and prevent casualties.
The first two weeks which followed in our position were memorable for the amount of gas which the enemy hurled at us. We wore our masks practically all night. Thanks to a sufficient gas drill and gas protection our casualties were slight. With the energy and resource which characterized our boys they set to work and built a position which was the envy of all. It was so constructed that it was impossible to detect it by aeroplane or other observation. Speaking tubes connected all the gun-pits with the command post, and each pit had a tunnel leading into the other; so that if one was severely bombarded, an escape could be made through the other. The walls of the pits were nicely decorated with captured German material, and the appearance was such as to strike an inspecting officer most favorably. The greatest attention was paid to strengthening each defence, as the shelling was intense both by day and night. It was lucky that all these precautions were taken; for on the 24th of June, just as the Battery had completed firing a trial barrage, the enemy opened up with four batteries of heavy artillery. The bombardment was terrific, and almost all varieties of shell were used, including armor-piercing shell, which went down ten feet in the ground and then exploded. It was marvelous that there was anything left of the Battery, the whole position was covered with shell holes. One of the shells passed through the shelter in which Corpl. John McVicar, of Sydney, was with his gun detachment. The shock instantly killed Corporal McVicar and dazed some of the others. At the same time others had become casualties. The day will be long remembered as one which inflicted great sorrow on the remaining members of the Battery. While we were in this position Corporal Jack and Gunner Wheatley were also wounded, and there were several regrettable casualties among the drivers at the wagon lines.
CAPT. F. H. TINGLEY, M.C.
Early in July the Battery moved to a forward position near Vimy and, while there, was subjected to another terrific bombardment in which they had nearly one thousand rounds of ammunition destroyed. Several of the officers had close calls, and those who are alive will never forget the experience. About the 31st of July the Battery moved to Hill 70, and took up a position behind the double crassier. They constructed a good position in a very short time. The place was alive with Canadian Field Batteries, and it did not take the Hun long to discover the fact. Nearly all the Batteries were silent; that is, they were not to do any firing until a battle commenced, but the 36th and a few others were selected to do all the firing, including the heavy task of demolishing the wire in the German trenches, so that our infantry could get through. This the Battery did to the entire satisfaction of the infantry, although it was at quite a heavy cost to themselves, as they were constantly shelled day and night, and the position was a most trying one. The battle, which took place about the 14th of August, was one of the bloodiest of the whole war. The Hill was the key to Lens, and the Hun determined to retake it at all costs. In one day there were fourteen counter attacks made by the Hun, and on every occasion the field artillery responded, instantly killing many thousands of Germans. The work of the 36th throughout this engagement was commented on and needs no mention here. In one day they brought up from the ammunition dump and fired over five thousand rounds of ammunition. For two weeks the gunners had practically no rest, while the drivers that could be spared from the wagon lines came up and assisted in getting ammunition ready. So active had the Battery become that the Hun determined to destroy it and made several attempts but without success. However on the night of the 24th of August, while the Battery was firing an S.O.S., in response to a call from the infantry, they were subjected to a very intense shelling with a new gas, afterwards known as mustard gas. This gas is very much of the nature of sulphuric acid, and the burns made by it are very similar. In a short time several men were struck by the shells, some wounded and some killed; others going to the assistance of their suffering comrades got the gas on their hands and were terribly burned. It was an awful night, and some very gallant deeds were done. The returns next day showed three killed, three officers and twenty-five others gassed. Some of the men who were gassed on that occasion never recovered from it. The effects will be with them as long as they live. It was a very bad night for the Canadian Artillery. Other Batteries suffered, some even more severely, but they received unstinted praise for the gallant way they stuck to their guns. Besides the above, the Battery suffered a great many other casualties while in the Hill 70 Sector. In addition to Lieutenants Teed and Fleet being gassed, Lieutenant Longworth was severely wounded. On the night of the 29th of August we were relieved by a British Battery, but the relief could not be completed in quiet, the Hun shelling the position very severely with gas.
We were all pleased to leave that vicinity, and our next position was on the Vimy Front, which was nice and quiet; and everybody had a very pleasant time until the 10th of October, when the Canadian Corps marched to Passchendaele, a trek that was undertaken with anything but light hearts, for its reputation as a death trap was known to all. On the 21st of October we took over from an English Battery, who were in a very bad way, having been practically shot to pieces. Everything was in very bad shape, only two guns being in action; but with great courage the boys set to work and very soon had the best position in the Salient. They protected their guns and themselves by the use of sand bags; and in that way saved many valuable lives. Conditions were such as to be almost impossible of description. The mud was up to one’s knees, and the place seemed to be nothing but shell holes filled with water. The enemy had perfect observation on us from the village of Passchendaele. On the 24th of October we registered our guns on its church, and the battle started on the 26th. During the progress of the battle we were severely shelled, Gunner Ira Stewart, of Charlottetown, being instantly killed. All the gunners carried on very heroically notwithstanding the shelling, and the day ended with a great victory for the Canadians.