www.ns.legion.ca 83 at a time of Easter festivities, each believing that they were right”. I have a copy of the letter my father wrote to his mother after he was wounded by a German bullet during the battle. It describes the night of April 9, 1917, when they were sheltered in the tunnels waiting to take their positions on the front lines. Wallace mentions the calmness of his comrades before and as they prepared themselves, then went over the top of the trenches in a single body to advance toward the German lines. He also mentions the terrific noise of the artillery barrage. He rarely talked about the war, especially to his children, because his memories could cause him to become emotional. He made an effort to forget about his wartime experiences and to avoid the memories that were upsetting to him. His friend Earl Eaton fought in France during the First World War and came regularly to our home to visit with my father. Late in the evening, after my siblings and I had retired to our bedrooms, my dad and Earl would talk about the war. I would quietly leave my bedroom and listen, sitting unseen on the stairsteps. Some of the memories they shared and I overheard as a young child were upsetting to me. Wallace describes in his letter to his mother that it was late in the day of April 9, 1917, and he was in a shell hole with his lieutenant. When he rose up to fire his rifle towards the German defences, he was wounded in his right hip. The German bullet entered the front of his hip and exited without causing irreparable damage. He was helped from the battlefield by a German prisoner of war, who he referred to as a “Hun”. He was sent to Birkenhead, England, to a temporary hospital that was formerly a school. Miss Mabel Isaac was 17 and a girl guide volunteer at the hospital where she had attended school. Mabel was a member of the First Rock Ferry Girl Guide Troop, formed by Lady Baden Powell. She met Wallace when she was giving out apples to the wounded men. Wallace returned to France and was wounded again, this time by a German bullet that entered his right shoulder and exited his back. He was sent back to England to recover from his wound and to spend time with Mabel Isaac. The temporary hospital was turned back into a school after the war and the students are still told the story about a Canadian soldier who met and fell in love with a former student. Wallace and Mabel exchanged many letters across the Atlantic before her arrival on Oct. 24, 1921, in Halifax, where they were married. A German artillery shell landed close enough to Wallace that he was thrown about 50 feet, triggering the shellshock that kept him out of the battles towards the end of the war. The shrapnel that went through his right ear was a close call that could have ended his life. When Wallace attended Acadia in Wolfville, he was a member of the track team and a very good sprinter and long-distance runner. I recall overhearing a conversation with Earl Eaton concerning his officer explaining to him that he could remain behind the lines and become involved with sports to entertain the troops. Wallace declined his offer, stating that he wanted to go to the front with his comrades. I think of him as a hero who expected no recognition or glory for defending his country. He was proud of a badge, in the form of a brass button, with the words “for service at the front” that he wore on the lapel of his suit. In the centre is an enamel Union Jack in the form of a Tudor shield, and on the bottom are the letters C.E.F., for Canadian Expeditionary Forces. The medal was awarded to those who had seen service on the front lines during World War One. I treasure this medal that was worn with pride by my father. Among his medals from World War One, it is the only one he displayed. continued ...
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