Canadian Booklet 2

Ampthill & District Archaeological & Local History Society. 2001. It is eighty-three years since the armistice of “The War to End All Wars” and the dream of perpetual peace has yet to come true. “Lest we forget” is as relevant today as it ever was. Ampthill was a training ground for many troops in the 1914-1918 war and again in the 1939-1945 conflict. The scars of both wars can still be found in the Ampthill landscape but the greatest change by far was to Coopers Hill, still known affectionately by local people as “The Firs” even though there is hardly a fir tree to be seen. We all know that the trees were cut down in the first World War to send to France for “use in the trenches”. Tradition has it that the trees were cut down too late for the war effort and got no further than Ampthill railway station. This, always an unlikely story, and a number of other myths have been discredited with the discovery of a booklet about the 126th. Company of the Canadian Forestry Corps. The Canadians were specially drafted to Ampthill to cut down the trees and prepare them for dispatch to France. This Society has been researching the effects of war in the locality and is very impressed with the booklet. Rather than try to rewrite the information we consider the original text should be available to all who are interested in the history of our town, so we have copied it as faithfully as we can as a tribute to the people of Ampthill who saw their beloved trees cut down and to their Canadian allies who performed the act. A Review of Activities with the 126th Company Canadian Forestry Corps while stationed at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Eng. Written by HERMAN L. PORTER. -(B.A. Acadia University)- Sergeant with Canadian Y.M.C.A Passed for Publication by the Press Bureau. ----------------------------- Printed by The Bedfordshire Times Publishing Company Ltd., Bedford. The Non-Commissioned Officers Reading from left to right. Back Row. Corpl. J. Powell, Corpl. A.W.H. Blackall, Corpl. J. Crick, Corpl. A.A. Garneau, Corpl. J.E. Quin- lan. Middle Row. Sergt. G.W. Goodwin, Sergt. H.I . Porter, A/Sergt. F.T. Sudbury, A/Sergt. W.P. Le Rossignol, Sergt. W.M.H. Dunn, Sergt. J. Beers, Sergt. R. Chugg. Front Row. Sergt. A Scott-Marr, A/Sergt. J. Leitch, Sergt. J.H. Allen, Q.M.S. P.A.Ford, Sergt.-Major R.L.Miller, Sergt. S.H. Roschman, Sergt. S. Pottinger, A/Sergt. C.A. Gladman, Sergt. R. Car- swell. MAJOR A. B. R. KENNY, OFFICER COMMANDING 126TH COMPANY, C.F.C. Major A.B.R. Kenny, (of Ottawa) has had nearly 15 years Military Experience with the Canadian Active Militia and the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Before coming overseas Major Kenny did strenuous work as a recruiting officer in Ontario. So successful was he in this work that his personal record for recruits enlisted and sent overseas was one of the best in the Dominion, the grand total of recruits so enlisted by him being over 3,400. Major Kenny has had seventeen years experience as a lumberman in Eastern Canada, Operating with the J. R. Booth Co., Messrs. Shepherd & Morris, and the Woolvereen Lumber Co., of Webwood, Ontario. His military experience, his practical experience as a lumberman, and his ability to lead and handle men have been the factors which have enabled Major Kenny to achieve a personal triumph with the 126th Forestry Company. Lieut. J..M. Wilkinson Lieut. H. Hatton Lieut. A.C. Buchan Lieut. F.P. Moffat (Transport Officer) (i/c Portuguese Camp) (Mill Officer) (Attached) Lieut. G.M. Dingman Major A.B.R. Kenny Capt. P.H. .Jory (Late Adjutant) (Officer Commanding) (2nd in Command) he 126th Company of the Canadian Forestry Corps was stationed in one of the most picturesque as well as most historic districts of all England. Built upon the top of a pretty hill on the Duke of Bedford's magnificent estate, the camp overlooked the charming little town of Ampthill, while the surrounding country was full of historical interest. Here John Bunyan lived and did much of his work. From the camp doors could be seen each morning the "Slough of Despond," while in the dim distance the "Delectable Mountains" arose to form a delightful background. On the left, a wooded hilltop looked down upon the spot where once a castle stood, a favourite resort of Henry VIII., and where good Queen Catherine spent her last days. In all of Bedfordshire no place had been better known for centuries as an ideal spot for picnics and for lovers' walks than was the noted "Ampthill Pines." There the people of Bedford- shire and surrounding counties had come to spend their holiday, while upon the same hill the listening pines had heard the story of love, as told by each succeeding generation of Ampthill young. It thus happened, when by the fortunes of war it became necessary to cut into many of Eng- land's great forest reserves, the beauty spots of the country, that the townsmen gave but scant welcome to the Canadians, who, under the able lead- ership of Major A. B. R. Kenny, of Ottawa, had come to begin the work of destruction. And who could cen- LIEUT. ARCHER G. READ (ADJUTANT) sure them if at first their thoughts regarding the Canadians were rather harsh? Had not this been their one beauty spot for years? Had they not come to regard this hill as their own personal property? But gradually they came to see that it was a noble sacrifice, worthy of mak- ing for the successful prosecution of the war. These trees were to be sent to France to help in protecting their own lads. They began to see that the HEADQUARTERS CAMP Canadians were not to be blamed for their part in the destruction, while they soon learned to appreciate the company of skilled foresters who had come over from Canada to help them in the struggle for existence. As time went on, the men experienced towards the townsmen a deep bond of friendship, which tended to alleviate the feeling of loneliness bound to attack the Canadian away from his native surroundings. The people were as keenly interested in our welfare as they were in the work that was done, which is saying very much indeed. The first operation espe- cially was of great interest to them. It kept the men busy in defending the com- panies' motives, and in telling the young ladies that there was a war on. As a mat- ter of fact, so great was the interest manifested during the first month that four policemen had VIEW FROM HEADQUARTERS to be continually on the job to chase the people from fall- ing trees. But all this was part of the game. Grad- ually they opened their homes until they held such a place in the lives of the men that the good folk of Ampthill will always be remem- bered with kindly thoughts. Thus the "battle of the pines" began. The shrieks AFTER THE INSPECTION of the dying trees were heard in the town as they fell. But steadily the battle proceeded, and, as usual, the Canadians were on the winning side. Then came the "stretcher- bearers" to clear away the bat- tlefield. Presently the hill was bared, and the logs on the way to the mill to be prepared for France. Such, in general, was the setting of the camp. The approach to the camp was through a beautiful driveway of lime trees, known throughout the county as the "Alameda." The camp was established at Ampthill on the 24th of Au- gust, 1917, with an advance party of forty men and four officers. Capt. P. P. Elliott, of Winnipeg, was then in charge. Lieut. J. M. Wilkinson, of St. Catharines and Lieut. G.M.Dingman, of Toronto, were also of the advance party. “SOME TIMBER” Lieut. Dingman was Adjutant of the camp until April, 1918, when he was succeeded by Lieut. Archer G. Read, P.P.C.L.I. Lieut. Read joined the Forestry Corps in June, 1917, after being wounded at Vimy Ridge in the spring of that year. He was with the 101st Company, C.F.C., Virginia Water, until his transfer to the 126th. The Staff-Sergeants were: Company Sergeant-Major R. THE BIG RAVINE Lorne Miller, of Winnipeg, Quarter- master Sergeant P. A. Ford, of Winnipeg, and Orderly Room Sergeant S.H. Roschman of Kitchener, Ontario. Major A. B. Kenny, then Capt. Kenny, arrived on Sunday, August 26th, to take over the management of the camp. Tents were erected on Sept. 5th. The English rains caused a good bit of discomfort to the men, but their har- dy physiques stood them in good stead, and only a few colds resulted. It was a notable day for the company when, on Sept. 5th, one hundred and seventeen other ranks arrived from the Base depot, bringing the strength of the Company up to one hundred and OFFICERS MESS eighty-six. All night on the 4th the small party of men on the spot were employed in burn- ing the brush on the campsite, in order that tents might be erected the next morning. All of the meals were served in real camp style, the men sitting on the log-piles and amongst the trees. The men lived in QUARTERMASTER’S STORES tents for nearly three months. Then they moved into the huts erected upon the hilltop.

Load more