The Simcoe Forester: Jan 11 – Basingstoke, England

Jan 11 – Basingstoke, England

Dear mother and sister

Just a line to let you know I am now in England. I am in No. 4 Canadian Gen. Hosp. My ankle is not healed up yet so I have to stay here to it does.

I hope this letter finds you well as it leaves me quite well, only waiting for my ankle to heal so I can wear a boot on it. And then I will be on my way home. Just the matter of a week or two. I came to 3rd Can Hosp at Boulogne on the 9th and stayed one night there and came over on the boat yesterday. It was a little rough, it made me sick for about a hour. I don’t think it would have bothered me only for seeing the other fellows sick. That is four times for me across the Channel and I was never sick before neither I was sick coming from Canada.

Well when I got here the Sister brought me a couple good slices of toast and a cup of good tea. It was about two o’clock in the morning when I got here.

But is a lovely place to be (incomplete)

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Every Remembrance Day we hear about how hard it is to keep the stories of veterans alive, particularly those from the two World Wars. For the next 156 days or so I'm going to post actual letters my great-great uncle wrote home to his mother and sister while serving in WWI. It's my way of remembering, and honouring his memory. It's not a spectacular story full of combat action, although there is some of that. It's an account of an ordinary 20 year old from a small farming community in central Ontario enlisting and serving for a country he loved. Its about farming, it's about war, but mostly it's about being away from home.

James Bruce Speerin was born in Moonstone on February 7,1896. He was a farmer, working the same farm his father did before him.

On January 4, 1916, weeks before his 20th birthday, Bruce enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. He was part of the 177th Battalion, who were recruited from the Simcoe area and part of the Grey & Simcoe Foresters. He trained in Barrie and Orillia and learned to be a Machine Gun Fighter in Toronto. The 177th sailed to England in May 1917. He was part of the 4th Battalion, and fought on the Western Front, in France and Belgium. When he was demobilized in March, 1919 he was just 23.

Where was he on November 11, 1918 when WWI ended? Well, that's skipping ahead.

The Cast

Bruce Speerin - Farmer, WWI Soldier with 177th Battalion
Lizzie Speerin - Bruce's younger sister
Sarah Speerin - Bruce's mother, widowed several years before
Clarence Speerin - Bruce's cousin, served with 157th Battalion Willie Speerin - Bruce's cousin, Clarence's brother, served with 152nd and became a Sargeant.
Allie (or Alex) Speerin - Bruce's older brother
Annie - Allie's wife

Other people were friends and family of the Speerins, in Moonstone, Ontario, a community just outside of Orillia.

The Simcoe Forester

Jan 11 – Basingstoke, England

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