On 9/18/18 6:04 PM, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 09:35:51 -0400, Phil Hobbs wrote:

My grandfather was born in a peat hut on the Isle of Skye. To the end
of his days he insisted on being called a Scotchman, not a Scotsman.

Actually they're both correct forms.

Well, forty years ago you could have argued it out with him, but I would
have bet on him even at that date.

He arrived at the Western Front in time to be at the sharp end of the
battle of St. Julien in April 1915, and served at Ypres, Passchendaele,
Arras, and Vimy Ridge, continuing through the Hindenburg offensives and
right up to the armistice. His battalion, the 8th Canadian Infantry
(aka the Royal Winnipeg Rifles (aka the Little Black Devils)) had the
very rare distinction of never having given up a trench throughout the
war.

Of course that near-suicidal bravery meant that they sustained 500%
casualties in the process. That was a way they had back then--Granddad
was badly gassed at St. Julien (the first use of gas on the Western
Front) but as soon as he was vaguely vertical they sent him back to ther
front. He was one of about 50 survivors of the original thousand
volunteers, and despite having only half his lung function, lived to be 87.

I wish I'd known then what I know now about the history of the RWR--he
never talked about the war even when asked. The most he'd do was to rub
his thumb and forefinger together and say "A man's life wasn't worth
that." I hope to see him again one day.

But I digress.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs