THE WAR

Aylmer Express Newspaper Article
January 21, 1915

Tuesday night Britain had her first experience of a Zeppelin raid, which was not particularly pleasant and created a small loss of life and considerable damage to property. The towns visited were Yarmouth, which had 50,000 inhabitants, five of whom were killed… A raid was also made on Sandringham, where King George and the Queen had left only a few hours before, thereby escaping the peril. The raid took place about 9 o’clock, and the night was very dark. It is figured out that there were three Zeppelins, and a report not official, says that one of the airships was shot down.

Fifty-eight Canadians have died since arriving in England, only two of whom were killed in action. Most of the fatalities were from pneumonia or meningitis.

Although it is not officially announced, all the Canadians of the first contingent are now supposed to have been landed in France. Many stories are told of the Princess Pats, one of them being that 200 of them made a brilliant charge driving the Germans out of their trenches but that only 88 of them returned alive.

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Sue's note: 

I can validate the first two news items, the bombing of Yarmouth and the non-combatant's deaths, but the reporting of the Princess Pats charge may be erroneous. 

As evidenced in PPCLI War Diaries 1914 and 1915 provided to the internet public on a terrific site 'The Matrix,' the Patricia Pats crossed the English Channel on December 21, 1914 and took over the trenches at Dickiebush, France, on January 6, 1915. 

Early on the morning of January 8, during heavy enemy shelling, Lance Corporal Norman Fry and Lance Corporal Henry George Bellinger of PPCLI became the first Canadian soldiers to be killed in action in World War I. The next day Captain Newton died of his wounds. 

On January 10, they hunted a sniper from a tower. On January 11, more shelling then were relieved and marched to billets. On January 12, they had a day of rest. On January 14, they marched into Belgium. On January 15, there was more shelling and more marching. On January 16, they were in the trenches of St Eloi, Belgium. 

Over the next few days, until the Aylmer Express report, they were marching or billeting. This newspaper report appears to have been incorrect. Regardless, Canadians on the home front were proud.

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