At about 3:00 AM on April 24, 1914, Canadian soldiers of
the 15th and 8th Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force experienced the
absolute horror of war.
Following
an hour long artillery barrage, soldiers in the Canadian trenches could see
German soldiers wearing what looked like diving gear on their heads, scurrying
across the front. A hissing sound was heard and a yellowish green vapour began
to flow towards them. Driven by a light morning breeze, a deadly cloud of
chlorine gas ten to fifteen feet high quickly enveloped the 15th Battalion.
Calls
for immediate artillery support were not answered. The divisional artillery was
well out of range of the trenches.
The
Canadian soldiers did not panic. Gas had first been seen on April 22 in other
sectors at Ypres and word spread across the trenches that a handkerchief soaked
in water or urine was an effective way to reduce the effectiveness of the gas.
It
didn’t work. Coughing, choking and suffocating, the soldiers took shelter in
the bottom of their trenches, where the gas concentrated. Many suffered and
died there or in the subsequent artillery barrage.
Ten
minutes after the release of the gas, German soldiers moved out of their
trenches, and wearing crude respirators, advanced towards the Canadian lines.
The
15th Battalion took the brunt of the attack. Closest to the German lines, No. 1
and No. 3 Companies were left without support from other troops and from their
own artillery.
By 5:00 AM their trenches were overrun and any survivors of the 15th Battalion withdrew to what was called “Locality “C”“, on the road between Gravenstaffel and St. Julien, on the crest of the Gravenstaffel Ridge.
On April 27,when the 15th Battalion assembled for morning parade, only three officers and 171 other ranks answered. Over 650 officers and men were dead, wounded or missing.
This
became known as the Second Battle of Ypres. It was the largest single unit
operational casualty loss of Canadian soldiers in the whole of the First World
War.
My
great uncle, Private Harold Leigh Shearman of Toronto, had enlisted in the 48th
Highlanders in Toronto less than a year earlier. Along with members of the 97th
Regiment (Algonquin Rifles) from Sudbury and Cobalt and the 31st Grey Regiment
(Owen Sound), the 48th Highlanders formed the 15th Battalion, Canadian
Expeditionary Force.
There
were six soldiers from Grey County in the 15th Battalion who died at the Second
Battle of Ypres. It’s possible they knew my great uncle. All are among missing and presumed dead.
From
my inquiry to the 48th Highlanders Regimental Association, Brig. Gen. Greg
Young suggests that, “whether (Pvt. Shearman) went missing and was subsequently
indicated on the 29th as KIA at the forward position or Locality C or somewhere
in between is not known. My best guess would be that he died in the forward
lines.”
Harold
Shearman’s death had a profound impact on my family. His brother was captured
as a prisoner of war in the same battle. The family, in their grief, threw
themselves into prisoner relief effort. And when the Menin Gate was dedicated,
Harold’s mother went to Europe to be present there.
It
was and is the only memorial for her son.
When
I was born there was some family conversation that I should be named either
Harold or Leigh. My father did not do so, and took a few sharp words from
Harold’s sister.
Today,
a century later, we can only pause as we recall the words of the poet Lawrence
Binyon; “At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember
them.”
We
will remember them.
Rev. David Shearman is the minister of Central Westside
United Church, Owen Sound and the host of Faithworks on Rogers TV - Grey
County.