Life for a soldier serving at Vimy Ridge in his own words

“Dear Mother, Just a few lines to say I am in good health and am so sorry to hear of your illness,” Murray begins. “Now mother I hope you are all right I am so helpless over here and can not render any assistance at all. “

Letters from the troops were subject to military censorship, to ensure sensitive information would not get to the enemy, and Miller said Murray was well aware of this.

“They were also very cognizant of the fact that you could lose the mail privilege, through that censorship, if you were caught saying what you weren’t supposed to say,” he said. “So, ‘in a trench,’ which could be anywhere, but generally, ‘somewhere in France.’ By keeping up to date with where the Canadians were deployed you got a general idea where they were.”

Miller added that by the time that letter was written, at the end of the day, the artillery unit of which he was part would have finished its work. The infantry would move beyond the range of the artillery, which would at times become bogged down in the mud.

In the April 9 letter Murray switches back and forth, questioning his mother about things back home while talking about the war in general and the turnover of his own colleagues.

“Things here are just a bit lively just now my poor old pal Neil Law got a gash in his back and he is in pretty bad shape and it makes me feel bad to see the old bunch go,” he writes.

“There are blame few old faces now and it is a total new bunch around and one feels so fed up at times. We will be in better spirits now though the Canadians are on the war path again and that is what we want we want him to quit and we hope to do our bit to help the good cause along.”

He is also eager to see the Americans join the effort, expressing hope the war will end before the end of the year. Having survived a gas attack, Miller said Murray would have been eager to get back to action after a long convalescence.

“I have not heard from the McDonalds for some time now,” he wrote. “I don’t know what is the matter with the mail I am sure.

“So USA is in it at last well I hope they do some good Teddy should be here soon with his men Eh?

“How is Babe and Donna are they still at school? Jeanette wrote but I am so busy I can only write one letter.”

Miller said life would be monotonous for troops like Murray much of the time.

“You do training, sometimes you get to go on leave, which is a highlight, you do preparation for a battle, then the battle itself,” Miller said. “They were just training all the time. Innovations in technology forced them to keep constantly training. The Canadians had invented the creeping barrage, so they had to practice that. There’s not much (room for) error for that. The Canadians were also starting to do raiding parties.”

He added practice was especially important to ensure close coordination between the infantry and artillery.

The food was good but repetitive, Miller said. When they could they would supplement their rations by buying fresh food from local farmers, or catch the occasional chicken or cow that would escape from a farm.

One of the biggest indicators of Murray’s state of mind at any given time is his penmanship.

“Compared to the very beginning, very nice calligraphy, there’s other times you can barely read the scratch. And that would reflect his mental health or his state of health,” Miller explained.

For Murray’s family, the memories extend beyond the words he wrote.

“In one letter in June of that same year he actually picked some roses off a famous man’s garden in Vimy Ridge, and so it was a nice surprise so many years down the road, to be able to find these roses tucked into a book published in 1910 of ‘Rob Roy,’ and so the family knows now what these flowers are and where they came from.”

—————————————————————–

Sgt. John Beattie Murray’s letter, dated April 9, 1917:

Dear Mother

Just a few lines to say I am in good health and am so sorry to hear of your illness. Now mother I hope you are all right I am so helpless over here and can not render any assistance at all. My I hope you are all right by the last letter. Was far from being a cheery one. What is the trouble? Please let me know all particulars as I feel so blame blue when things arn’t [sic] just going good at home.

I can watch a bunch of wounded or bandage up my pale here but you are so far away. Things here are just a bit lively just now my poor old pal Neil Law got a gash in his back and he is in pretty bad shape and it makes me feel bad to see the old bunch go.

There are blame few old faces now and it is a total new bunch around and one feels so fed up at times. We will be in better spirits now though the Canadians are on the war path again and that is what we want we want him to quit and we hope to do our bit to help the good cause along.

Well Ma I expect before long now we will look towards the end of war. This year will surely finish and let us hope so anyway.

How is the Baby and is Helen in good health there will be a whole lot for me to see when I get back.

So the censor didn’t scratch out anything well it is the best way. One don’t want his letters all scribbled out so you can’t read them does he.

I am in charge of A sub now and it is a fairly good sub although they need a little more experience and then they will be ok.

I have not heard from the McDonalds for some time now. I don’t know what is the matter with the mail I am sure.

So USA is in it at last well I hope they do some good Teddy should be here soon with his men Eh?

How is Babe and Donna are they still at school? Jeanette wrote but I am so busy I can only write one letter.

Harry Black is still OK I think but he is still in the trenches from what I can learn.

Well Ma I hope you get better soon and it will be better weather and will help a whole lot.

Write Soon and don’t you work too hard.

Your Loving Son

J Murray

by Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

Life for a soldier serving at Vimy Ridge in his own words

What's Happening