While one Mountain View County family is proud of their heritage of three relatives who served during the First World War, they are nonetheless struck by the pointlessness of it and all wars that have been fought since.
June Charlton's, Ethel Hansen's and Ron Blain's father Arnold Blain of the Elkton-area of the county, served in the trenches as a stretcher bearer in some of the fiercest battles of the war, including the Somme, Passchendaele, Vimy Ridge and Mons, among others. He enlisted on May 4, 1916 at the age of 20. He lied about his age in order to join two older brothers, Bobbie who was 22 in 1916 and Percy, who was 23 in 1916. Arnold was also was five centimetres shorter than the minimum height of 162.5 centimetres (five feet, five inches) that men needed to be in order to join. He was allowed to sign up for the 137th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, Ethel said, because military officials were eager to get as many men in uniform as they could.
“They wanted more people and they were desperate. They were fighting the war and they weren't winning, so they were taking just about anybody,” she said.
Ethel said her father never talked about his wartime experiences.
“We heard (about) them by way of others,” she said.
Ron, Ethel's brother, said his father sometimes talked in general terms about what it was like to be in the trenches, but he didn't talk specifically about battles he was involved in.
“He talked a little bit about being in the trenches, the lice and the rats and as a stretcher bearer he'd have to go out at night and pick up casualties. He talked a little bit about that, not a lot,” Ron said.
“And back then, those three brothers had a strong sense of duty to go fight for their country and we're proud of our dad, because that's what he did,” added June.
Ron said although he is proud that his father and two uncles served during the war, nothing much was accomplished by it.
“It was such a shame that there was so many casualties, so many men lost, boys lost really, and how much did they really gain. In the end, there's still wars going on. It's never going to end,” he said.
In addition to enlistment and discharge documents, medals, uniforms and other mementos of their three family members who served in the war, the family has about 20 letters Arnold wrote to his parents who had a post office and grocery store about 24 kilometres west of Didsbury.
The letters never talked about what was happening in the trenches because as with most soldiers, Arnold talked in generalities about his experiences.
“Whenever they wrote, it was always ‘we're fine mother. All is well.' Whether it was or not, it was always ‘we're fine',” June said.
“They didn't want to send home worries,” Ethel added. “And of course, when she wrote back to them she was telling them all about what they were doing at the farm.”
On his way across the country by train to Halifax, Arnold wrote a letter back to home, before being shipped overseas.
“Well we sure have passed some fine scenery along the way … we are just about 60 miles from Montreal now so I guess we will see it before dark. We have been passing through some pretty rough ground since we left Manitoba,” Arnold wrote on August 19, 1916.
Once he arrived overseas, Arnold wrote again, this time from a military hospital where he was recovering from pneumonia he contracted while being transported on a ship overseas. The date was Sept. 7, 1916.
“Well we arrived in Old England alright and it sure was a good job. If the Huns had of got us they would of got quite a fright for there were six thousand troops on board. Well Mother, you will have to excuse my bad writing as I am sick in bed with the (pneumonia) and I am writing this laying down with my paper on a book. I took sick a couple of days out from Halifax but I am beginning to feel fine. I will be up and around in about four days and bye (sic) the time you get this I will be at camp wherever that is I don't know. I was taken off the ship on a stretcher and stuck in a Red Cross truck and shipped along here. My temperature was 104 when I arrived here, but it has come down some since I got here.”
And once the war was over, Arnold wrote home again, explaining that six months after the war was over, he was still waiting to be transported home.
“I haven't got any (word) on my Canadian leave yet … they've had some trouble with my papers. They got delayed in London somewhere,” Arnold wrote home on May 30, 1919. The letter went on to explain how, while away from his post, King George V made a visit to his unit, how he missed it, and got a scolding for missing the visit.
“We had old George and his Missus (visit) … but I didn't wait to see them … and I got a good balling (sic) out from the sister this morning for not staying in to see the King.”
Arnold eventually made the trip back to Alberta and was discharged on Sept. 4, 1919 in Calgary. Officially, he was discharged because, having pneumonia at the time, he was deemed medically unfit to serve.
Arnold was 81 at the time of his death.
