When news that war had broken out in Europe in August of 1914, Thomas immediately volunteered for service at the Winnipeg barracks. A few short weeks later he arrived in Valcartier, Quebec with the 90th Regiment of the Winnipeg Rifles, initially with the 11th Battalion, 'C' Company.

He signed his Attestation Papers at Valcartier on 23 September, 1914, where he listed his occupation as "blacksmith". Thomas and his Battalion left Quebec on 1 October, 1914 aboard the S.S.Franconia and arrived in England two weeks later.

On 31 January, 1915, Thomas and the rest of the 90th Regiment were transferred to the 8th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Canadian Division.

With the exception of 1915 where a letter confirmed his involvement during the Second Battle of Ypres, and in April 1917 when Thomas was Mentioned in Dispatches during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and for the latter part of 1918 where the exceptional war diaries recorded his involvement during the Battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line, his involvement during the battles of 1916, including Hill 70 and Passchendaele in 1917, are only indirectly inferred.

Since the periods when he was on leave are known, and that he was never known to have been hospitalized, it is assumed that he was present with the 2nd Bde Canadian Machine Gun Corps (C.M.G.C.) during the battles listed for 1916 and 1917, and with the 1st Battalion, C.M.G.C. during all of 1918.

Timeline of units that Thomas Hamilton Walker served with during the war:

Sep 1914 - Feb 1916: 8th Bn, 2nd Bde, 1st Division
Mar 1916 - Feb 1918: 2nd Bde, C.M.G.C.
Mar 1918 - Feb 1919: 1st Bn, (No.1 Co, "A" Battery) C.M.G.C.

Thomas Walker's Letter Although Thomas Walker’s service files provide a useful if incomplete record of where he served in France and Belgium during the First World War, the discovery of a letter he wrote to his brother John from the Western front during 1915 helped change that. Were it not for this remarkable letter, not as much would be known about him or what he experienced during his first year of the war.

Thomas Walker’s letter begins in early February 1915, when he described leaving Larkhill, England, and where, according to the war diaries, his battalion had undergone "musketry and company training".

Arrival in France On 10 February, 1915, Thomas and the 8th Battalion left for Amesbury Station and traveled by train to Avenmouth near Bristol. His battalion then sailed to France on the ship "Archimedes". As Thomas wrote:

"We set sail from there at midnight, and after a fine passage through the Bay of Biscay, which was nice and calm (a good job for us, as she was only a cattle boat) we arrived off the West coast of France, at a place called St.Nazaire, on Friday night, where we had to lie outside till Saturday morning."

Over the course of several days under what must have been trying conditions, his battalion traveled by train to Strazell where they arrived the following Tuesday, Feb 16th, 1915.

"We landed there at 12 noon, and we were marched to some place where we were kept standing around till about 10P.M. Then we marched to the train and before everything was on board, as we had to take horses and transports with us, it was after midnight before we got a move out of the place. We were put in box cars which were supposed to hold either 40 men or 8 horses, and as there was only room enough when we were all standing, you can imagine what it was like when we all tried to get a sleep."

On the 20th February, they were reviewed by Sir John French before being marched off to the front lines. After a day of marching and a day of rest, they were finally sent into the trenches on February 23rd for their "first lesson on actual warfare."

"Well, we were put into the famous Plouge-street, better known to us as Plug Street wood, and were actually in the firing line before we knew anything about it, but it was very quiet in there at the time, so we weren’t much impressed with the Germans as fighters then."

In early March the battalion was sent into the trenches near Fleur-Baix where Thomas reported it was "very quiet". It was soon afterwards that the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle took place just four miles to the south, between March 10-12, 1915.

"Monday, March 1st, we left our old farm and marched to a place called Blac St.Maur, and stayed there for the night in an old factory. We left there next night for the trenches at a place called Flaux-Baix, where we were in for three days and then relieved for another three days, but everything was very quiet. We had casualties there but nothing to speak of, although when one was taking in rations they were apt to get a machine gun turned on them."

In late March their battalion moved to the town of Estaires, where on April 2nd, 1915 they heard a speech from the Bishop of London. A few days later they were marched northward to the town of Godewaerswelde, south-west of Ypres. Thomas wrote:

"Monday, April 5th, left Estaires for the longest march yet and arrived at a place called Godewaerswelde, near the frontier of Belgium. Here we had quite a nice time of it, although we were out for a short march every day. It was here that I lost the little watch you gave me before I left, so I got them to send me one from home."

It was also here that the battalion learned that they were being sent to the front-line trenches north of Ypres.

"Sunday, April 11th, Reviewed by General Smith Dorrien, and he told the officers that they were going to a warmer part of the line, and when we knew that we all appeared to be greatly pleased with the prospect of having something to do."

A few days later, the Battalion got their first ride in motor buses:

"April 14th, left our billets for the trenches in motor buses. The boys often heard about them, but this was the first time we had the chance of a ride to the firing line. After about 2 hours’ ride, we had another 12 Kilos to march, and on the road we passed through the much talked about Ypres, but there wasn’t much damage done to it then, bar the famous Cathedral and Cloth Hall, which were in ruins.".

"We were taken right through that night to the trenches near Zonnebeke, where we relieved a French regiment, but we were only there two days and went back to Ypres on April 16th, where we were billeted. April 17th, had a walk through the town and quite a few shops, and saw plenty of people around.".

A few days later Thomas recorded that he had heard the British attack on Hill 60, and how he felt upon seeing the effects of German shelling on Belgian civilians:

"Sunday, April 18th, Germans start to shell the town but didn’t do very much damage. This was the night that the British made the attack on Hill 60, and as our guns were just on the outskirts of the town, I can tell you they make some noise and we were thankful we were behind them and not in front."

"Monday, Germans still shelling the town and making a lot of people move. In one place I saw where a shell had burst and there were quite a few old women living in some houses there, and I can tell you if you had seen them, you would have thought nothing of chasing the Germans right there. Left for trenches that night and relieved the 7th Battalion at Langemarck where we were to get our share of the German attack."

That same evening his Battalion was sent into the trenches of the Canadian sector in the Ypres Salient where he described how his Battalion was heavily shelled by the Germans. This was a prelude to an extraordinary event which he witnessed the following day.

"Tuesday (20th April), this day passed off very quietly, and thought we were going to have an easy trip, but there was to be rude awakening. Wednesday, Germans start to shell our trenches with high explosives and as they weren’t as good as they could have been, made matters worse. We lost our officer that day, he got wounded in the head and arm, also lost quite a few men, but that was only a start."

A few days later, on Apr 22nd, 1915, Thomas described how he witnessed the first gas attack on the Western Front against allied troops. It was on this day that the Germans discharged an estimated 160 tons of chlorine gas into the Ypres Salient.

The attack routed the 45th Algerian Division who fled their trenches for safety leaving a 4 mile wide gap in the front line. It fell upon the Canadians to reinforce the exposed gap and hold that part of their line. The 8th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, led by brigade commander Arthur Currie, were involved in this action between the 22nd and 25th of April, which became known as the Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge, during the Second Battle of Ypres.

Thomas described this extraordinary event in his letter as follows:

"Thursday, the 22nd, still being shelled, also Ypres, which town is now in ruins, and this was also the day that they used gas on the French who were on our left. I think it was the Algerian troops, and as you know they didn’t stand it very long."

"Friday, still being shelled and not very much support from our own artillery. Saturday (Apr 24th), much the same, but they used their gas again, on us this time, forcing the 3rd Brigade out of their trenches. One of our Companies was pretty badly gased, and the gun crew I was with was sent from the right flank to the left to support them, and as some of the communicating trenches weren't very deep, we had a very exciting time getting there, and as the gas was still hanging around our trenches, we were all in when we did."

"You should have seen the boys lying around there all in, and if the Huns had tried an attack just then they might have succeeded easier than when they did. This was a very warm corner we were into now and we weren't half an hour up till we lost two of our gun crew, then shortly after that we lost another, being wounded in the shoulder with shrapnel."

The 8th Battalion remained in their trenches for five days during the German attack. After losing several of his gun crew, Thomas described the scene:

"Our trench was beginning to look like a butcher shop, and men were lying all around dead and wounded, and all one could do was to tie up their wounds and if they were able to walk they tried their best to get out, but as it was only safe to go out at night, quite a few of them got away. Those who were too badly wounded were put in the dug-outs till night, but then only a few were taken out and some were left there on the Sunday night when we were forced to retire. "

"On Saturday night we were reinforced by two companies of the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers, who helped us to keep the Germans back that night. I can tell you we were all pleased to see them. Sunday, the 25th, our Battalion was relieved by the 8th Durhams, except one company and the machine guns, and I can tell you they certainly caught it for their first taste of war, as they had only been over from England for a week."

"We were under shell fire all day, and to make matters worse during the night the Germans had come through the gap in the left and we could see them digging themselves in at the top of a small hill behind us, so you can see we were in a nice fix. However, we managed to stick it till late in the afternoon, about 7 P.M. I think, and then had to beat it, as they were coming in all directions."

The 8th Battalion were relieved on Apr 25th and that evening withdrew a few miles south to the town of Wieltje. Thomas described the harrowing experience:

"How I managed to get back, I don’t know, as the bullets were flying all around and there was no shelter from them, so you had just to keep going. Out of our section of 32, I think we numbered about 8, next day, and the battalion something about 300 out of 1000 men… we went back about 2 or 3 miles to a place named Wiltjie and slept out in a field, but we were all so tired, we went to sleep and never felt any cold or anything else."

When the battle was over the 8th Battalion had lost about 2/3rd’s of their men. The following day, Thomas described what he saw as the remains of his battalion were sent into reserves outside of Ypres:

"On Monday morning (Apr 26th), we had to go in reserve, and as we had lost all our guns we had to fall in with the companies. It certainly was great to watch the battalions going up there under shell fire, and there was plenty of it flying around. At one crossroads, there were five fellows all lying knocked out with one shell, and the road down from the trenches on the Sunday night was simply awful. Horses and men lying at the side of the road, having been killed trying to get up to reinforce us, but the Germans must have seen them as they just shelled that road for all they were worth".

As the Battalion continued their march south,

"...after we reached a certain point we were told to lie there and dig ourselves in, which had to be done everytime we had a halt, but we weren't free from shell fire then, as we were lying beside some of our artillery and you know that they try to knock them out first, and we never knew when they would drop a shell amongst us, but they certainly put quite a few near to where we were."

Thomas then described what he saw when the remnants of his battalion were marched through the devastated town of Ypres,

"We had to lie there till Wednesday night when we were marched back to the other side of the town of Ypres, which was a different place to what we had left."

"Not a sound were to be heard but the howling of some dogs which had been left behind and the rattle of our transports as they galloped through, as it wasn’t healthy to stay too long there. Everyplace was as dark as night, and here and there could be seen the bodies of men and horses lying in the streets. "

"There was one place in the street where a 'Jack Johnson' (large German shell) had lit right in the center of the street, and one had to walk as close to the houses at the side to get past. I am sure it must have been 24 feet side and about half of that in depth."

"We were taken to some huts 2 miles out of town and spent the night there, but next day we were shelled out of them and made ourselves some dug-outs in the field, where we were for a week."

Thomas then described how the battalion spent the next few days marching between the towns of Bailleul and Busnes, where on Sunday, May 16th, their march was cancelled so they could, "attend a church parade instead, and where we held a short service in memory of our departed comrades."

On the following day, Monday May 17th, they marched to the outskirts of Bethune where Thomas described seeing,

"...about 200 German prisoners brought in. They were a pretty dirty-looking bunch but I guess so were we at Ypres."

A few days later the battalion was sent into reserve trenches where Thomas described being heavily shelled, in what later became known as the Battle of Festubert.

"We left there next night (Tues May 18th) and arrived in some reserve trenches where we passed the night, and the next night we were sent to the trenches at Festubert, where they had made the charge some 2 or 3 nights before and where the 13th Battalion made a charge the next day. Here we had quite a few casualties as the Germans were shelling us very heavily with heavy shells. Our section lost 8 men out of 30 itself. We were in here for three days and were relieved by the Lord Strathcona Horse, this being their first time in the trenches."

Thomas next described a close call while being shelled in the trenches:

"It was here I had a very narrow escape. There were five of us all sitting together, when a shell burst close to us and caught three of them, two of them have since died of wounds. I sure thought it was all over that time as there was a dixie of tea at our feet and I got the contents in my face, so I consider myself very lucky."

After this the 8th Battalion spent the last week of May in reserve trenches near Bethune. On June 1st, 1915 they were sent into the trenches near Givenchy, where Thomas described being shelled by their own guns:

"Next day (June 2nd) was quiet but on the 3rd the Germans started to throw all kinds of shells around but we had very few casualties. In some places the trenches were within 40 yards of one another. On Friday, we lost one of our boys of the gun crew, through one of our shells dropping short and bursting in the dugout, where 3 of them were sleeping, but it only caught one of them, taking his right arm off, but I heard he had died since."

"June 5th, relieved by the 7th Batt. but as we had to lie in reserve trenches only 20 yards behind, it was worse than the front line."

The following day the Battalion was sent into reserve billets outside of Bethune where they stayed until the middle of June, and where Thomas mentioned they were finally able to get rid of their much despised Ross rifles, which they exchanged, "…for the short Lee Enfield during that time".

The letter closes at the end of June 1915, when the 8th Battalion were marched to "Plugstreet Wood". Here his letter ends on a positive note, where he described his current circumstances as:

"…5 days in the front, and 5 days out, and up to the present it has been nice and quiet."

Soon after this his letter ends. A month later, Thomas Walker was promoted to unpaid Lance Corporal, in August 1915.

In late 1915, the decision was made to create dedicated Machine Gun Companies attached to each Brigade. In February 1916, Thomas Walker was promoted to Sergeant and at the same time transferred to the 2nd Brigade, Canadian Machine Gun Company (C.M.G.C), where he remained until February 1918.

The 2nd Brigade, C.M.G.C. spent the winter of 1915-16 in the area around the Ypres Salient. Once summer arrived, the Brigade was sent into the front lines where they were involved in the following battles:

The Battle of Mount Sorrel took place between June 2-13, 1916. The objective was a hill 3 kms East of Ypres with a commanding view of the area which the Germans used to their advantage to shell the city. Led by Commander Julian Byng, Canadian and British troops attacked entrenched German positions there and eventually recaptured the strategic hill on 13 June, 1916.

The 2nd Brigade, C.M.G.C. supported the attacking troops with indirect machine gun fire, but it was a costly battle, with over 8,000 Canadian men killed, wounded or missing during the fighting.

On July 8th, 1916, Thomas was promoted to Company Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer 2nd Class, the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer.

After the tremendous losses suffered by the Allies during the opening battles on the Somme in July 1916, three Canadian Divisions were relocated there from Ypres in August to help with the offensive and went into action in early September 1916.

The 2nd Brigade fought at Thiepval between 2-28 September, and then at Ancre Heights between 1 October - 11 November, 1916. The 2nd Brigade C.M.G.C. again provided indirect fire in support of the infantry during the battles.

The Battle for Vimy Ridge was the first time all four Divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together. Both the French and British had previously tried and failed to capture Vimy Ridge at a terrible cost.

After a winter of careful preparation, the entire Canadian Corps under General Arthur Currie, began the attack early on Easter Monday, April 9th, 1917. Thomas Walker was with the 2nd Canadian Machine Gun Company attached to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cdn Division that attacked the south-east flank of Vimy ridge. The 2nd C.M.G.C moved up with the 5th and 10th Battalions to provide covering fire and light artillery barrages.

According to the War Diaries for the 2nd C.M.G.C., on the morning of 9 April, 1917:

"All artillery and M.Guns opened fire punctually at 5:30am and the infantry commenced their advance. The machine gun crews provided covering fire for the 2nd Brigade Infantry Battalions. There objectives were achieved by 1pm".

The War Diaries went on to mention that: "Casualties of 2nd Brigade severe, but the operation was a complete success."

After the battle, Thomas Walker was "Mentioned in Dispatches" in the London Gazette, issue #30107, p.5425 on 9 April, 1917, the day the Canadian Corps successfully stormed and captured Vimy Ridge.

Three months after Vimy Ridge, in July, 1917, Thomas was sent to the British 1st Army School where he spent three weeks in training before returning to his unit, the 2nd Brigade, C.M.G.C. in August 1917, just in time for the Battle of Hill 70.

The Battle of Hill 70 near the city of Lens, France was planned as a diversionary attack on the Germans to draw them away from the main offensive underway near Passchendaele, the Third Battle of Ypres.

On August 15th, 1917, the 1st, 2nd and 4th Canadian Divisions launched an attack on Hill 70 under the protection of one of the most intense artillery and machine gun barrages yet devised. As the attack got underway, the Machine Gunner Corps launched an intense light artillery barrage as they had done at Vimy but also sent mobile guns forward with the attacking infantry.

The Canadians captured the high ground outside of the city but in the face of repeated German counter-attacks were unable to hold any of the city itself. The attack on Lens was over by August 25th, 1917, but at a high cost, with over 10,000 Canadians killed, wounded or missing.

The Third Battle of Ypres began in July 1917 with the ambitious intention of breaking through the German lines in the Ypres Salient near Passchendaele and then advancing to the coast to capture the German occupied Belgian channel ports. After three months, British and Australians had advanced no more than a few thousand yards at a cost of over 100,000 casualties.

The soldiers endured conditions of unimaginable desolation. Continuous artillery bombardments, bottomless quagmires of mud and heavy rains conspired to make this battlefield the worst on the Western Front. Against the objections of the Canadian Commander Arthur Currie, the Canadian Corps was ordered into the Passchendaele sector to relieve the British in October 1917.

The 2nd C.M.G.C., part of the 2nd Inf Brigade, moved into the Passchendaele sector in early November 1917. On November 10th, under relentless artillery fire, the 2nd Brigade reached their objectives on Passchendaele Ridge.

One of the objectives the brigade traveled through was the town of Gravenstafel, which Thomas Walker had already seen two years earlier during the Second Battle of Ypres. Considering the conditions at the time, it is unlikely any of it was recognizable.

By the time the battle for Passchendaele was over, and for the 10 days between November 2nd and 12th, the 2nd Brigade C.M.G.C. lost 170 men. As a whole, the Canadian Corps lost almost 16,000 men (as Currie predicted they would) in the two weeks they fought for, and captured, the strategically insignificant town of Passchendaele.

In March 1918, the Canadian Machine Gun Corps was reorganized into their own battalions and Thomas was transferred to the 1st Battalion, C.M.G.C. (No.1 Company, "A" Battery).

The same month, the Germans began a surprise spring offensive intending to end the stalemate on the Western Front with a breakthrough that penetrated deep into Allied lines and almost separated the British and French Armies. The situation became very dire, and as General Currie put it in a speech to his troops soon afterwards, "Today, the fate of the British Empire hangs in the balance".

Currie argued that rather than put the Canadian troops on the defensive, the Canadians Corps would attack instead. In planning their offensive, an elaborate subterfuge was carried out to convince the Germans that the Canadians planned to attack at Flanders. Instead, the entire Canadian Corps was marched in total secrecy, to Amiens.

The Battle of Amiens began on August 8th, 1918 and marked the beginning of a major counterattack by the Canadian Corps on the German lines. The initial attack was a great success and by the following day the German lines had been breached and the Canadians had pushed 13 kms into German held territory.

Two days later, August 10th, the Canadians had pushed the Germans back an additional 24 kms and had taken over 10,000 prisoners. The German offensive had been stopped, and the tide of the war reversed.

On August 26th, 1918, the Canadians began the Battle of Arras which required them to break through a succession of heavily fortified systems of trenches. This hard fought battle ended up destroying the very heart of the German defence system.

Tenacious fighting had forced the Germans into retreat and by early September, the Canadians had reached a critical barrier, the Drocourt-Queant Line, part of the famous Hindenburg line and a defensive system that the Canadians would have to overcome. The battle for this line lasted two days, and against the odds, the Canadians overwhelmed a larger German force and breached 1,500 yards of barbed wire and trenches.

As General Arthur Currie described the battle in a speech he gave on Aug 29, 1919 at Massey Hall:

"The Drocourt-Queant Line is the front line and support line, well wired in front, five hundred yards (deep) and then another line with more wire, six or seven hundred yards heavily wired and another line. In this battle there were nearly 10,000 prisoners taken. There were ninety-eight guns taken, a penetration of 20,000 yards made, the Hindenburg system for the first time pierced, and eighteen German divisions fought and decisively beaten."

The breaking of the formidable Drocourt-Queant Line by Currie’s Canadians is considered one of the greatest Allied successes of the war.

Thomas Walker and his gun crew played a decisive part in this battle, which was significant enough to warrant a mention in the War Diaries of the 1st Battalion, C.M.G.C. for Sept 2nd, 1918:

"'A' Battery, passing through Cagnicourt, came under intense shell and M.G.fire, and at this point Capt.G.C.Ferrie was wounded, being hit in the foot by a M.G.bullet. Lieut. E.Hancock was also injured and temporarily missing. The work of Sgt. Major T. Walker at this time was excellent, and it is largely due to him that the Battery suffered so few casualties."

"When Capt. Ferrie was put out of action, he ordered the Limbers to be unloaded, and the Crews immediately got their Guns and Equipment off the Limbers and ready for action. Sgt. Major Walker took charge of No.2 Section, and had the Guns rapidly mounted, bringing fire to bear on an enemy M.G. nest, which was firing at the Battery at point blank range."

"After some minutes of gruelling fire, the enemy fire from this nest was beaten down and the Transport enabled to retire with the loss of only three horses and one limber. The remainder of the Guns of the Battery were then mounted in commanding positions and fire was brought to bear on targets of enemy Infantry on the slopes in front of Buissy."

For these actions during the battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line at Cagnicourt on 2nd Sept 1918, Thomas Walker was "awarded the D.C.M (Distinguished Conduct Medal), for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty".

The success of the battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line was vital to the Canadians in that it paved the way for the storming of the Canal du Nord, the capture of Cambrai and the subsequent march to Mons and the Armistice.

Thomas returned to Canada with his battalion in 1919 and soon afterwards moved to Pilot Mound, Manitoba where he farmed with his sisters Mary, Elizabeth and brother-in-law, Thomas Watson. One of his early interests was radio, and in the late 1920's he built his own crystal set, which on cold winter evenings, the family would listen to long into the night.

His brother John Walker joined the rest of the family out at the farm in 1925. In the late 1960's Thomas moved to a retirement home in Winnipeg, where he died in 1975 at the age of 88.

In his obituary, his friend Aileen Stewart, gave the following tribute:

"As I stood at the graveside at the interment of a great man, I realized a scene I shall never forget. A Union Jack covered the casket, bearing a Legion poppy wreath and Tammy's cap. A soft July breeze was blowing over the prairies, slightly rippling the flag and sending the wee cap askew."

"Legion members bade Tammy Walker their last farewell by placing a poppy and giving their salute. A prayer was given, and all were silent while we gave thanks for our freedom – ensured by men like Tammy, who were willing to fight for it."

"Just then, it seemed like the peace he had fought for serenely enveloped the little country cemetery, as the Last Post and Reveille was sounded. As I listened I was thankful for men like Tammy and all the other men who sacrificed themselves for democracy."

"God bless our vets"