Archie Wills - My Life in the Army, Volume 02

Public

The second of eight diaries written by Archie Wills during World War I. Wills describes the voyage from Fort MacAuley, British Columbia to the training camp at Petawawa, Ontario. Wills discusses his accommodations, food, training, schooling, the weather and the comradery at the training camp at Petawawa, Ontario. The diary covers the period of leaving Victoria on the 28th of May 1916 for Vancouver, and the by the C.P.R. train from Kamloops to Revelstoke, Rockies, Prairies, Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Regina, Winnipeg, Kenora, White River, Sudbury, then finally to Petawawa, ON, arriving in June 1916. Wills describes the living conditions, such as the mosquitoes, the thunder storms and the flooding of the tents and the mess room, the scorching heat of up to 100 and 106 degrees fahrenheit in the shade as well as a sandstorm, which ruined the food. He writes about the drill training, the parades, picking up of provisions, shooting practices, instruction on an “8-powder”, riding exercises and went on night excursions. The activities in the camp are oftentimes interrupted and abandoned due to excessive rainfall. During their spare time and on hot days the soldiers took swims in the Ottawa River and Petawawa River, played basketball, and read. From July 10th until July 15th Wills visited the Knapps [?] in Toronto, where he attended a wedding and visited the aviation school. On June 23rd 1916 Wills was selected as a member of the parade to perform before the Duke of Connaught who was expected for a visit on the following Tuesday. On June 24th Wills performed before the Duke at Drury Place [?]. Wills’ diary records humorous interactions between the soldiers, their daily interactions and hardships, as well as an attempted desertion by 3 Americans. On September 8th 1916 Wills departs from Petawawa for Great Britain. People mentioned include: Bill Newton, George, Lomas, McDougall, the Knapps[?], Duke of Connaught

In Collection:
Creator Subject Language Date created Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 volume (68 pages) ; 18 x 11 cm
Alternative title
  • Volume 2. My Life in the Army. Petawawa May 28 to Sept. 8, 1916.
  • My Life in the Army, Volume 02
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 45.89452, -77.28007
Physical repository Collection
  • World War One Photographs and Journals
  • Victoria to Vimy First World War Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • Accession Number: 2005-036; Series: Autobiography; Sub-series: My Life in the Army; Archival Item Identifier: 3.11
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • 2007
Technical note
  • 400 dpi TIFF. Migration metadata by KD.
Rights
  • This material may be protected by copyright. Use of this material is permitted for research and private study purposes only. For all other uses, contact University of Victoria Special Collections and University Archives.
DOI

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