Remember Me

Remember Me

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

New recruits, big guns and roller skates ~ March 22nd, 1916 Letter #37

March 22nd, 1916
21 Cranbury Place
Southampton England

Dear Mother
          Here's another.  I guess you will wonder if I am sick or what is the trouble having two letters so close to one another.  How is everything now, is it as cold as ever. It has been raining here for weeks and the damp air seems to go through a person who is not used to this climate.
          Had a letter from Aunt Rach the other day and she was saying Annie was going to have another little commercial traveler around the house, her troubles are about to start.
          Gee there has been a bunch of troops go through here the last few days thousands every day leave for the front.

         I was told the other day by a steward off one of the big freighters that his last trip he took over a bunch of big heavy artillery guns that would carry a shell for 28 miles. 

www.warhistoryonline.com
 8 inches (204 mm) heavy guns in battery on the Somme in 1916

When they get a bunch of those out there they sure should be able to do some damage.


          Everybody that is fit for service here has a uniform on and it is great fun watching some of them new recruits drilling, you see us fellows feel like old soldiers now.
          
        We some times go down here to the roller rink and me not having anything but ice skates on thought I could manage all right but you should of saw me, all these English girls and fellows were all around me to see the Canadian skate.  The darn things kept slipping away on me. After nearly breaking my neck and other places on my carcass to numerous to mention I gave it up for a bad job.

Chaplin developed his skating skills while employed by Fred Karno in the British music halls, and the film was superficially inspired by the Karno sketch Skating (which had been partly written by Sydney Chaplin). Chaplin did all of the skating himself. He was occasionally aided by wires for shots which required Charlie to appear as if he were about to fall backward or forward while on skates, causing pandemonium in the rink. His agility and grace make The Rink one of his most memorable early comedies.
 Charlie Chaplin on roller skates in his 1916 Film 'The Rink'
 
          Well Mother are you going to get any more grain in this summer than last.  I hope it is a better year. The people of this country are sure going through hardship, the living is just about double what it is in peace time. 
Dinner is just about ready so I will drop a line about the middle of the week. Remember me to Dad and V-V.  With love from Chas



 


 _______________________________________

Charlie Chaplin On Roller Skates: photo from www.CharlieChaplin.com   Notes By Jeffrey Vance, adapted from his book Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (New York, 2003) (c) 2009 Roy Export SAS

Large Artiller: Photo from Pinterest referenced to www.warhistoryonline.com "8 inches (204 mm) heavy guns in battery on the Somme in 1916"

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Comfort and Conscription. Letter #36 March 1st, 1916

March 1st, 1916 
21 Cranbury Place
Southampton

Dear Mother
          This is about the eighth letter I have started to write in the last couple of weeks and before I have posted them I have changed my address but I think this will be permanent till the end of the war.

          I am here with the Base Medical Depot there are just seven of us and we are all billeted throughout the city and are allowed to eat at wherever we stay.  So you see it is quite all right.  It is by far the best job I have had since joining the Army.

          Conscription comes into effect on March 2nd and believe me there are sure a lot of the shirkers doing their best to get means to be exempt but very few manage.   
  

Very sorry to hear of Pa’s misfortune but I guess by the time this gets to you that he will be all okay again.  V-V is sure some Scholar when it comes to French. They must have had a great time when the sleigh upset by the way she described it.  I think that she rather enjoyed.

All Canadians on their way to the front have to leave from here and I have a chance of seeing a quite a lot of the boys I know.  There was a Winnipeg Regiment went out of here the other night and it sure was a good outfit.

          We are the only Canadians that are stationed here and naturally they use us very good.  Well Mother I am going home for dinner now.  So you will hear from me a little more regular now as I am here for awhile.  Remembrance to Dad and V-V.  With love from
Chas





Charlie seems to have at least one guardian angel watching over him during these war years. His first letter from England in October 1914 shares this moment: "The Canadian soldiers are getting a great welcome here. When we were waiting for our trains at Plymouth, there were thousands there cheering us. One old lady came over and talked to me. When I left she threw her arms around me, kissed me and said “ God Bless you my little man.”

He must feel God Blessed right now with his position in Southampton; living in comfortable, clean quarters, regular meals, real food; when he could as easily have been sent back to France or straight to a casualty clearing station. 

There are scant few letters from these first months of 1916 and I wouldn't fault Charley for enjoying himself a little.  After two years of service in France he will have seen a lot of boys at hospital wounded and broken and far, far too many dead.

His address at 21 Cranbury can be found on Google maps although of course the scene is one hundred years on.  His digs were about 8 blocks from the Itchen river.  
I learned that in the mid 1900's the Cranbury Place area was designated a Conservation Area. 

The document explains that "the area contains, within a relatively small area, several groups of distinctive buildings of special architectural or historic interest.  The abundance of trees in Cranbury Place makes a positive contribution to the Conservation Area. The inherent character of Cranbury Place Conservation Area lies in its simple but dignified Georgian style terraces."


Noted in The Hampshire Independent on 20 February 1852, when the property and its’ contents were being auctioned off, a neigbouring residence, No.14 Cranbury Place was described as an excellent and commanding residence with a good garden, front and back kitchen, scullery, larder, butler’s pantry, breakfast parlour, dining and drawing rooms, four good bedrooms and the usual domestic offices. The house was highly furnished with enriched cornices, marble chimney pieces in all the principal rooms and all the necessary fixtures. 


Charley would be quite comfortable for the time being. And coming from his point of view, rightfully indignant of 'the shirkers' in their midst.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Charley has a new posting. February 1916 Letter #35

From John Knifton's work
Feb 1st, 1916
C.A.M.C. Depot
Sandgate, Kent, England

Dear Mother
I have got some job now.  I am Sanitary Police, can you imagine me as a policeman.  You see all the men in houses through out the town and go around every morning to see if all these houses are in a Sanitary Condition and if they are not I am supposed to arrest them.  Gee I couldn’t arrest a man if he was a murderer.
Things are as usual.  Very nice weather etc. As I was telling you in my last letter that I expect to get a job as dispenser in one of these hospitals shortly.  I went to the Sgt Major and explained that I was an experienced man in that line and he told me that as soon as he heard of a vacancy in that capacity he would send me.
          I suppose V-V is still going to school in Holland.  I went to the paymaster here and told him that I wanted the allowance of 20 a month to go to my sister who was depending on me but when he looked up papers he told me he was afraid he could do nothing.  However I am going to try again just as soon as I get with another Paymaster.
Another of the old boys from No 2 arrived here this morning.  He is in pretty bad shape.  This morning when I was making my rounds, I met a battalion on a route march some of them yelled out “Hello Chuck” but I couldn’t get a look at them but it would likely be some of the Dauphin boys who would call me Chuck, because over here all I get is C.R.
          Well Mother, I have to go to work as it is just about two.  Remember me to Dad and V-V and tell Dad I will write him a letter in a day or so.
          
Lovingly
Chas





The Sanitary Police are responsible for--
1. The preparation and care of latrines and urinals, including the filling in of the same and marking of old sites.
2. The systematic collection, removal, and disposal of refuse by burning or other method.
3. The construction of ablution places and the disposal of waste water.
4. The sanitation of cooking places, horse and mule lines and slaughtering places, in the area occupied by the unit.
The Regimental Sanitary Police are detailed from the strength of the unit, and are vested with the authority of military police for the better performance of their duties. They are under the Regimental Quartermaster for their employment, but the Medical Officer will direct their efforts from the sanitary point of view.

Medical Services in the field - Sanitation and Hygiene)
Sandgate postcard

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Been a while ... Letter #34 Early January 1916

Early January 1916
Medical Depot
Sandgate, Kent, England

Dear Mother
          You must forgive me for not writing previously for I have been so terribly busy we got here all okay and have returned to duty.  The trip was fine the only thing that was wrong was the last couple of days we were not allowed to take off our clothes as there were submarines around and when the alarm came half the fellows near went mad, but I took my time and came out alright - some got their legs crushed in the rush.
          Well Mother how are the horses now and did you have that dance you were talking about having .  I am all choked up with the grippe just now.  But I guess I will be alright in a day or so.  I met a bunch of the old boys from France and we were sure glad to see each other.  I wrote to Major Staples in Winnipeg and I might get off all right when he comes over here.
          I guess I could get a commission under him but it is in the Infantry and you know how much I like the Infantry.  However time will tell.  
Is V-V still going to the school in Holland.
I met Ruby and Ernie in Montreal and when I left them at the depot poor Ruby nearly cried, well Mother do you ever hear from the new Mrs Ireland and how they are getting on.
Well Mother I am going to lunch now.  So remembrance to V-V and Dad and write soon
Lovingly
Chas




An update January 1916

Charley volunteered in August 1914 as a Private with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces.

He arrived in France in November of 1914 and was among the first of the Canadians to land in France.  Upon arrival he commenced his work as Medical Dispenser at the #2 Stationary Hospital at Le Touquet.

As of January 1916, Charley has served for 17 months.  He has just turned 23.
I know I do not have every letter he wrote home (he mentions writing at least twice a week).

I have a total of 88 letters spanning the years 1914 to 1919. These were lovingly saved by his sister (and my grandma) Vida Valerie. 
When Charley wrote to his mother, she would then forward the letters on to VV at college. 
It's a wonder that any still exist. 
The 1916 calendar below tells us what day it was 100 years ago, and on what days Charley wrote these letters home. I've marked them on the calendar.

And so the story goes ...
I'm guessing on the date of this first January letter as there's no envelope attached and no date stamp. And so, I'll split the difference and post it this afternoon.


Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Happy One Hundred and Twenty-third Birthday Charley

I have no letters preserved in the Charley Bailey collection from the 21st of November 1915 to early January 1916.  I wonder how he fared over Christmas this year?  
Christmas mail is delivered to the front.Archive photo, Library and Archives Canada
And Wouldn't Charley be Amazed to know that Facebook has reminded all his followers that today is his birthday!!  Born to Jennie and Charley Bailey 123 years ago in Brandon Manitoba, Canada on January 29th, 1892

Charley's mother, Jennie Howie was born on March 8, 1872, also in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Her father, James, was 34 and her mother, Jane, was 36.  Her mother died four months after Jennie was born.  Coincidentally, Charley's dad died just two months after Charley was born.
My father; Jennie's grandson, remembered her recollecting seeing and hearing the Red River Carts going through town.
Photos taken in Portage la Prairie in the 1880's
Settlers loaded all of their worldly possessions onto ox carts for the long, slow treck to their homesteads.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/rearview/averill/journal/rr-oxcart_photo.html  

This excerpt is from a fascinating history written in 1970 called  
A HISTORY OF PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE AND SURROUNDING DISTRICT By Anne M. Collier

Reading it gave me a real taste of what life would have been like for Charley and his mom in those early years and I am always drop jawed when I read Canadian history; how recent this all was and how far we've come ~ and how fast.  

From Anne Collier's book: On Portage la Prairie

1892 (the year Charley was born) was a time when great wheat fields, separated by threadlike wire fences, were chequered with rows of stooks, where the grain stood ready to be stacked when dried. Noisy binders moved around diminishing squares of standing grain. Men in the fields stooked as the sheaves fell from each binder. That was the year that there were two million bushels of grain grown on the Plains and marketed in Portage la Prairie. Of this, the bulk was wheat, with oats and barley coming second and third respectively. Forty and fifty bushels to the acre for a whole farm was not uncommon. 

South of the town could be seen a line of trees - oak, ash, elm, maple, cottonwood and poplar, outlining the course of the Assiniboine River. Vast quantities of wood from these trees provided excellent cord wood for home consumption, and for export to Winnipeg and Brandon. The outline of a prosperous town rose between the tracks and a bayou of the Assiniboine River. The Lake of the Woods Milling Co. in Portage was rated the largest and best equipped mill west of Toronto. This firm shipped flour by the carload lots to all points west as far as the Pacific Coast. The oatmeal mill, the pioneer of its kind in Manitoba, ran day and night in an attempt to supply the demand for that product. Down by the Assiniboine River was the large Portage Paper Mill, which manufactured all brands of heavy wrapping and building paper. The plant of machinery originally cost $30,000. The capacity of the mill was over five tons per day. Much building was being done and planing mills were kept constantly busy. 

A couple of machine shops were doing a rushing business attending to the repairs of about 75 steam threshing outfits, worth $150,000 which were operating on the Portage Plains. Thirty tractors and portable steam engines were counted around the Watson Bros. Machine Shop one day! Implement dealers could scarcely keep up with the demand for plows, patent stackers, seed drills, mowers and selfbinders. All lines of business were well represented. Four banks did the business of the town and of the farming community. Two large breweries supplied the demands in that line of business, covering a large territory. A brickyard was operating east of the town. 

The semi-weekly Liberal, The Review and The Saturday Night were the eyes of Portage. The registry system had divided Manitoba into four large districts, and with the introduction of the Torrens system a staff of from ten to fifteen registrars and clerks were employed in the Land Titles Office. 

The big brick central school, which cost $35,000 furnished, was found to be inadequate to accommodate over 700 school children and ward schools had to be opened. Six religious denominations had churches. The Roman Catholics were just completing a large new one, and the Methodists had erected a big brick edifice in 1891 at a cost of $13,000. Town streets were lighted by arc lights, and over 1300 incandescent lamps were in use in public and private homes. The telephone boasted an exchange list of 100 subscribers. Smith Curtis and George H. Webster, C. E., prepared plans for the damming of the Assiniboine River, for the purpose of providing water-power for electric and manufacturing purposes. The scheme involved the flooding of what was known at that time as "The Slough," to convert it into a beautiful lake. Across the river, a valuable section of country was opened up by the N.P. & M.R., and settlers were flocking into it. It was adapted to mixed farming especially, and possessed great stores of valuable wood and shelter groves, along with rich native grasses, easily cut and cured into the best of hay. It wasn't only these things that attracted people to the Portage Plains. The whole plain was under laid at a depth of from 8 to 20 ft. with a water-bearing strata of sand that was easily tapped, thus securing a plentiful supply of pure water. In dry seasons the sand strata supplied moisture to the black loam, and in wet seasons it gave under drainage. We will end the 1892 narrative with a touch of humor. A paper of that year contained an advertisement which said, "WANTED - a smart boy to be half outside and half behind the counter." 

HIGH BLUFF  was known as the "Nairn District" in the very early days. (This is where Jennie and Charley Bailey Sr. lived when Charley Bailey was born. It's about 8 miles NE of Portage la Prairie) Because of a high bluff or grove of trees, which rose conspicuously out of the surrounding woods the area was given the name 'High Bluff.' Archdeacon Cochrane can be credited, not only for starting the first white settlement at Portage la Prairie, but also for the confidence he inspired in pioneers to cast their lot in the area which circled his settlement. High Bluff came within this circle.  High Bluff Village was a pretty important little place in those days. The first steam-powered elevator was built by Mr. John Dilworth in the early 1880's (two horse-powered ones having been built and used previously). It was rebuilt after being consumed by fire in 1897 and Andrew Forsythe, who founded the Forsythe Grain Co., built a grain dryer to be used in conjunction with the new one. The head office for the Company at the time was High Bluff. Before the railway went through mail was picked up by a carrier who met the stage coaches conveying it to Old High Bluff. Later, a room in Mr. Coxsmith's home became a post office. Another room in his home became the first telephone office. At that time there was a bank (the Bank of Nova Scotia), three stores, three blacksmith shops, a livery stable, two implement shops, a boarding house, a billiard hall and barber shop, a grist mill, and the services of a doctor. Sports and entertainment added zest to the life of the community. Skating, curling, lacrosse and baseball were the main sports, and concerts, house parties and garden parties the main entertainments. 

Two professional ball players who got their basic practice in High Bluff were Melville Jackson and Clarke Metcalf. The High Bluff baseball team won the provincial title in 1924. High Bluff played an important part in patriotic efforts in both of the World Wars. The many men and boys who made the Supreme Sacrifice is the greatest proof of this. High Bluff gained in stature because of them, but was made poorer by their absence. Due to progress in modes of transportation, speedy communication and advanced education, another little village is living in its glorious memories of the past. The history of any village contains an element of nostalgia.  
The lengthy excerpt above is from:  
A HISTORY OF PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE AND SURROUNDING DISTRICT By Anne M. Collier


Happy 123rd Birthday Charley Bailey
Lots of folks thinking of you today!

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Charley's in Canada!! November 21, 1915

November 21st 1915
Montreal Canada

Dear Mother
          Hello to everybody.  Just in Canada long enough to write and say that I got in on the 16th and am leaving Quebec on the 21.  Isn’t that fierce.  I just got out of the hospital in England when they wanted a dispenser for a ship load of wounded that were going to Canada.  So at half past eight in the morning I was told to report to Headquarters Shorncliffe at nine and at half past nine I was on my way to Liverpool to Sail for Canada.
          
On arriving here they wanted me to go straight into a Hospital and work till the boat went back.  I went to the Officer commanding in Quebec and said it was a funny thing if I couldn’t get a pass home for a few days.  Well you should have heard him rave, well I say “if you won’t give me leave to home will you give me permission to go back to Montreal for a day or so?” then the trouble started.  He told me that some of us fellows should be put in the coop for a few days and we would learn that we were soldiers now, I spoke right up to him and said “yes, and if some you fellows were in France as long as I was you would know what a soldier was” well then he questioned me as to what I belonged to and where I was in France etc. and ended up by giving me three days in Montreal and no money. 
Mother this is the first letter I have ever written since I joined that has not been read by others before getting to any of you and I could tell you things about this infernal outfit that would make you wonder.  However I am in it and have to do as I’m told so that ends it.  I have to go back at it again without seeing any of you so I might just as well cheer up and take it as it comes.
          Ruby has a very nice little suite here and her and Ernie are a happy as little pigs in dirt. And I don’t think married life has disagreed with either of them.  Ruby was telling me that V-V was going to Portage to go to school for the winter.  I hope she will like Portage, as I think the teachers there would be a little bit better versed than those of Holland.
          Well Mother how is Dad.  Do you know I have not heard from any of you since Sept. My mail has been sent all over the country to locate me but as yet I have never received any of it.  I hope this winter will not be to hard in Manitoba.  I have been talking to some of the people of Montreal and they say that times here are terrible.  Well believe me Mother, I have had some pretty tough times myself and have lived in conditions where two years ago I would of laughed at.  But it’s a poor man who can’t take his medicine and by gosh I’m getting mine and no prospects of bettering them.  Well Mother I hope this finds V-V, yourself and Dad in the best of health as it leaves me not bad.  So remembrance to Dad and the kid.
Love Chas.





Aunt Rachie, Ina, Ruby, Annie and Harry Richmond come up frequently in Charley's letters. Ruby is Charley's cousin, 2 years younger. They grew up together.  Ruby was the 3rd of 4 children born to Jennie's older sister; Rachel.  Rachel married James Richmond in 1888.   Ruby (Charley's cousin) married (Ernie) Ernest Pearen in 1915.  

PHOTO OF 1915 Montreal : Wm. Notman & Son, Corner St. Catherine and Stanley Streets (detail), looking east, Montreal, Qc, 1915, VIEW-15468 © McCord Museum