George Henry Perkins
Private
3rd Battalion
Canadian Pride
Despite being located on the often cold banks of Lake Ontario, the brick and mortar metropolis of Toronto continued to expand inland and remained one of the largest cities in Canada. For those born upon it’s long and vibrant streets like George Perkins, it was a beloved home. The Toronto youth being brought up to value an honest living and inheriting a strong work ethic from both his English emigrant father who worked as a peddler despite being blind and from his black Canadian mother who worked as a confectionery. Unafraid of hard work, George began his career as a box maker at 16, eventually securing a job as a telegrapher and boil maker for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The stability offered by such a position allowed him to court an emigrant gal from Middlesex, England, Clara Huntley, the young couple being married in June of 1913.
As wonderful as everything was, the outbreak of war and cry for Canadian volunteers in 1915 soon drowned out regular life. For 21-year-old George, it was a call he felt he had to answer, being a proud and true Canadian who could trace his roots in the nation back to his great grandfather, John Trim, a freed slave who made his fortune in the young nation in the 1700s. His family had been able to make a good life here and it was with that in mind that he walked into the recruiting office of the 95th Battalion and volunteered in October 1915. The following summer, George’s browneyes met those of his wife Clara one final time before his departure to England.
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Hellfire of Regina Trench
Wet rain soaked the wool uniforms of George and the other 98 replacements as they arrived at the less than hospitable billets inhabited by the 3rd Battalion at Albert, France in October of 1916. Despite the quiet location behind the line, the 3rd Battalion was doing anything but relaxing, with preparations already being made for a major offensive. Within 2 days of arrival, George’s 5’7” frame was being loaded with ammunition and bombs to be hauled through Death Valley into the trenches (1). By October 7th, he got his first glimpse of what the war was really like, relieving the battered souls in the 1st Battalion, positioned opposite of Regina Trench (1).
The hoarding of ammunition and bombs had certainly not been for sport, and on the morning of October 8th, George was assembled into his Platoon to prepare to go over the top (1). Upon the order, the 3rd battalion advanced by Platoon in waves of two, with A & D Companies moving first, followed by B & C Companies (1). Expecting a German onslaught, the Toronto lads were relieved to find resistance light and took both their objectives very quickly, settling into portions of Regina trench (1). For the Battalions on either side, it was a different story, and the 3rd Battalion men began passing up their surplus of bombs to be used by their fellow Canadians (1). For two hours the quiet held, until suddenly the German focus shifted to them, with horrendous artillery fire being unleashed on the men (1). |
Though shaken by the barrage, the surviving 3rd Battalion soldiers managed to compose themselves in time to face the mass wave of angry Germans rushing towards them. The two sides quickly exchanged rifle fire and bombs as they scuffled over the trench. Major casualties forced the Canadians to withdraw to their first objective with only 2 out of 14 of their Officers remaining (1). Still the men put up a good fight, being dislodged but returning with a bayonet charge (1). The Toronto lads exhausted their ammunition and bombs, fighting hand to hand with the aggressive Germans to hold onto what they had taken (1). But it became clear it was hopeless and the Battalion was withdrawn to it’s starting point (1).
495 proud Toronto men had gone into the inferno of Regina Trench, but only 86 came out unscathed (1). George Perkins was not one of them, suffering major wounds to his wrist, knee, thigh, and eyes. Somehow his friends pulled him from the hellfire of the battlefield and transported him to a first aid post. The young Canadian was then moved to the 13th Hospital in Boulogne, France where he tragically died of his wounds despite the best efforts of the medical staff on October 13th, 1916. His beloved Clara wrote to a newspaper and said that “my hero husband gave his life for freedom." He rests in a cemetery in Boulogne, a true Canadian hero.
Sources:
(1) “3rd Bn War Diaries 1916.” The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive, 22 Mar. 2017, https://qormuseum.org/history/timeline-1900-1924/the-first-world-war/perpetuated-battalions/3rd-toronto-battalion-canadian-expeditionary-force/3rd-battalion-war-diaries-1916-january-to-june/.
(1) “3rd Bn War Diaries 1916.” The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive, 22 Mar. 2017, https://qormuseum.org/history/timeline-1900-1924/the-first-world-war/perpetuated-battalions/3rd-toronto-battalion-canadian-expeditionary-force/3rd-battalion-war-diaries-1916-january-to-june/.