In the First World War, on July 31 of 1917, the British launched a major offensive against German forces holding Passchendaele Ridge, overlooking the city of Ypres, Belgium.
The objective was to capture strategic railroads and ports that the Germans were using in occupied Belgium, as well as to relieve pressure on French forces who were fighting farther to the south.
Two months later, the Allies were no closer than when they started. That’s when General Douglas Haig, commander of the British armies in Europe, called upon the Canadians. Starting on Oct. 26, 100,000 Canadian troops engaged in two weeks of the bloodiest fighting in Canadian wartime history. In the end they were victorious.
One of the 100,000 Canadians was Barrhead resident, Lee Graham’s grandfather — Lionel Edward Grey.
“He lied about his age when he enlisted as he was only 17 at the time. A lot of teenagers were doing it and at the time I don’t think they did a whole lot of checking because they needed everyone they could get,” he said. To enlist in the armed forces a person needed to be 18.
The only document Grey brought with him to the recruiter’s office in Montreal was a handwritten note from his doctor certifying that he had delivered him on June 27, 1890.
Eventually it was discovered that Grey had lied about his age, but instead of sending him home they decided to move him to a less dangerous position, that of bugler. In the First World War a bugler served as a form of communication because the instrument could be heard above the noise and confusion of a battlefield.
Bugling was something Grey learned in the Victoria Rifles Militia as a youth.
Graham said a lot of what he and the rest of his family know about his grandfather’s service has come after the fact.
“My grandfather passed when I was 20, but like a lot of the guys coming back, they really didn’t talk about their experiences,” he said. “Occasionally, he would let things slip to my mother.”
The family was also able to piece together his history from some of the items he brought back from the war, including his knife, gas mask, field glasses and bugle. “As kids we would play with the bugle every day. It was dented pretty bad, but we still thought it was cool.” Graham said, adding his favourite war souvenir from his grandfather is his knife. “If you look really closely at the sheath of his knife you can see where he scratched his name and regimental number along with the name Somme. My mom and dad actually used the knife to cut their wedding cake.”
However, perhaps the most informative piece of war memorabilia Grey brought home was his war diary — a record of actions in the field.
Among the information Grey recorded in his diary is that he served with the 24th , 148th and 60th Battalions.
Graham said that although his grandfather participated in a number of the most contested battles of the war — Battle of the Somme, Hill 70 and the Battle of the Mons, he returned home in one piece.
“In his diary he had many entries of soldiers being killed. It really was a horrible war. There were no easy battles. That is why it is important for us to remember the sacrifices they made while there are still people who know the stories.”
