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SCOUT ROBERTS NAMED IN ORDERS ON OCT. 17
Medal Awarded Him For Bravery at the Front
One Week Later He Was Killed-His Last Letter Home
[Welland Telegraph, 14 November 1916]
Scout Caradoc Roberts, killed in action on October 24, wrote to his wife in Welland on October 18 that he was having a rest after a strenuous period in the trenches. It will be of interest to his many friends here to learn that he was mentioned in orders on October 17 for bravery and had been awarded a medal.
In his letter of October 18, he says:
| “We have been moved to a quiet spot so we can rest ourselves after the hardships we have been going through. We are amongst the coal mines and it is to all the world like the old country. The children play in the streets and business is going on as usual. You would hardly know there was a war on, only for an odd roar from the guns in the distance. Believe me it is a well earned rest we are getting and we are enjoying it first-class.
I came out in orders last night. I am to be awarded a medal for services rendered in the trenches. Perhaps you have seen my name in the papers. The wet weather has made another start here.” |
Souvenirs From the Front
In a previous letter dated October 10, he tells of sending home a parcel of souvenirs:
| “I have sent some souvenirs home and I hope they will get to you safely, but it is just a running chance. You will find a helmet and four watches and two knives and some tear goggles and two rings. Give Mr. Walker the chain and Mrs. Walker the watch the chain is on. I saw Harry and Fred Hopley and John Spencer today. They have just come up. They are in the 19th battalion. There is nothing new going on. I am just about to go to sleep for the night on the floor of an old barn. But you know it is Home Sweet Home to us fellows as long as we have something to keep the rain off us. I have no complaints to make but I wish the old Kaiser would quit kidding us boys on the western front.” |
Enjoyed the Hunting Trip
In a letter to William Walker, 72 Garner Avenue, dated October 10, Scout Roberts says:
| “Owing to the busy and strenuous times which we have been going under, it has been impossible to get any letters away. I suppose you have been reading the reports of the great British push, and the important part the Canadian Army Corps took in it. I have been up there twice, for 48 hours each time, and believe me I saw some sights that will leave their impress on me for the rest of my life. I was very busy running messages under fire all the time and doing patrol work, and, of course, I got a few souvenirs. I have sent them home. If they get home, you take the chain with the German 2-mark piece on it, and Mrs. Walker gets the watch. You will see the German helmet, knives, etc. If I ever get home I will have a tale to tell, as to where and how I got them. I got the picture of my family and it did my heart good to see them again. I think there will be another twelve months war, as the offensive has only just started and Fritz is retiring in good order. He has learned the lesson that British steel is a dangerous weapon. I hear there are some of the 98th boys over at the base. Well, I think this is all this time. I am in perfect health and have no complaints to make about anything. I am enjoying this hunting trip all right. God be with you till we meet again.” |
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