Witness to War: Saturday June 29, 1918

Private Raymond Duval, MM, was a soldier of the 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment) CEF who served overseas during the last two years of the First World War. He participated in some of the fiercest fighting seen by Canadians during the war and was decorated for bravery at Passchendaele. Determined to preserve his memories of the First World War, he maintained a daily record of his experiences. Here is what he wrote precisely 100 years ago today:

Saturday June 29, 1918: No 175-76 from Clare and got [?] photos in St. Pol. Went to that town with Brand.

Author’s note in 1954: We were now in the St. Pol area, and much of the time was taken up with maneuvers (mostly at night) in preparation for the forthcoming big push, which we well knew we were preparing for. An epidemic of flu struck the Battalion, so our expected move was delayed, and we found our Battalion in quarantine. We managed to get leave to go to St. Pol (nice little city) once in a while. My old running partner [Tommy Church] was now back with me, which made me very glad.

The RMR Foundation thanks Natalie Dyck for generously sharing her publication of “The Diary and Memoir of Private Raymond Duval” in order for us to be able to share his story with you 100 years on. You can learn more about Private Duval here.