March 8, 2024.  In Part 1 of the WWI letters of Lawrence Ivy MARSHALL, of Covehead, Prince Edward Island, which had been shared by his granddaughter, Connie Birt Paynter, Lawrence was among the first Canadians to volunteer for WWI in 1914.  After his initial training in Valcartier, Quebec, he informed his family that he was about to go overseas.  (See https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2024/03/02/on-the-war-memorial-trail-the-wwi-letters-of-lawrence-ivy-marshall-part-1-valcartier-camp/)

Now, in Part 2, Lawrence described his experiences aboard one of the first troop ships that went to England.

….Troops marched from Valcartier to Quebec City….

On September 26, 1914, Lawrence and the first contingent of around 30,000 Canadian troops began their journey to the United Kingdom. The trip began by marching to Quebec City from Valcartier, where they then waited to board one of 30 ships – former luxury liners that had been painted grey. 

On September 29, 1914, while still in Quebec City, Quebec, Lawrence wrote to his father.  “…We are having not too bad a time at all, but we are not allowed to go into Quebec.  We have to stay here in this building.  They put us here until we go on board the steamer this afternoon.  I will be glad when we do.  There are good accommodations on board… nice bed to sleep in, quite a difference from sleeping on the ground for 6 weeks….” In Valcartier, Lawrence had slept in a tent.

….Lawrence sailed to England aboard HMT Scotian….

Lawrence travelled aboard the HMT Scotian, which had begun as the Holland American Line‘s Statendam, and used for its Rotterdam – New York route. When the Allen Line in 1911 bought the ship in 1911, it was renamed Scotian. In 1914, it became a troop ship.

It wasn’t until October 3, 1914 that the ships left the port in Quebec City for England.  They added a ship of 537 Newfoundlanders to their convoy, and then crossed the Atlantic with a Royal Navy escort that watched for German U-boats.

By the time the Atlantic had been crossed, troops just wanted to get back on land, as Lawrence wrote to his father, while still aboard HMT Scotian: “…Well, we are still on board of this old ship….I am getting pretty tired of it by this time.  This is 18 days on her…We are anchored in an awful pretty place. The grass and trees are as green as summer yet. They stay that way all winter, so they say. When we land we are going to camp outside of London…” The place ‘outside of London’ was the Salisbury Plain, where training would continue.

….Lawrence counted himself lucky not to get seasick….

On October 13, 1914, Lawrence wrote to his mother.  “…We are still on board the boat but expect to land tomorrow night some time.  I tell you we had some trip alright. We are going to land at Southampton, England….. I am good and tired of it by this time…We had a very good trip.  Not so awful rough at all for the time of year.  It is very rough tonight though, the sea is going right over the deck tonight and the wind is blowing a hurricane.  You go out on deck and you would get blown overboard for sure.  Some of the boys were pretty sea sick some times when the old boat began to roll.  I was lucky.  I was never a bit sick, only had a headache one day.  All of the boys are writing home tonight. We just got word that we can mail them in the morning, that there is going to be a mail steamer come up to us and get the mail for us…”

On October 17, 1914, while still aboard HMT Scotian, Lawrence wrote to his brother Merrill.  “…We are still on board of this old ship yet.  I can tell you that I am getting good and tired of it.  ….It is no fun, I tell you, to stay on this old ship, day after day, with land only a few yards away, and can’t get to it.  We expect to be on board of her until the last of next week. That is nearly a week yet…”

….Troops marched from the train station to the Salisbury Plain….

After finally docking, Lawrence and his fellow soldiers disembarked and boarded trains for Salisbury Plain.  Shortly after arrival, Lawrence wrote to his mother, giving his address as 12 Battery, 82 Regiment, E Company 3^rd Brigade, Pond Farm Camp, Salisbury Plain, England:  “…. Just three weeks on board of that old ship.  I tell you it was great to get on land once more.  We arrived at camp last night or this morning rather. It was twelve o’clock when we got off the train.  Then we had to walk about six miles.  It seemed more like sixty to me and it was as dark as pitch…”

Salisbury was quite different from Covehead, Prince Edward Island “… Well, this is some old fashioned place alright.  The houses are all made of brick and stone.  Little narrow streets with a Public Inn every here and there…” 

Lawrence noted that lice had been an unwelcome infestation aboard ship.  “…We had a great time every night on board of the ship, picking lice out of our clothes. We got good and lousy on board that old ship.  She was great and buggy…”  Lice would turn out to be a challenge faced by troops throughout the war.

Lawrence was on land, and no longer aboard a ship, but he soon would find himself living in cold and wet conditions on the Salisbury Plain as winter set in. 

In Part 3, Lawrence’s story continues as training in England is cut short and he finds himself on the front line in France and Belgium.

Thank you to Connie Paynter for providing photos and sharing letters written by her great-uncle and grandfather. Do you have photos or information to share? Email Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or tweet to @researchmemori1.

© Daria Valkenburg

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