A man, whose life was saved during the battle of Vimy Ridge by someone from Selkirk, wrote a letter to their family.
Amanda Kehler, owner of Prairie Pickers Café in Steinbach, is the one who found the letter. Kehler found the letter while searching for things for her store. The letter was found in a box of old newspapers and documents.
Reading old letters has been a hobby of hers for years.
Kehler received lots of help to find the descendants.
It took some help and about a week for Kehler to get in contact with the descendants of the people involved in the letter.
The letter is dated May 1917, sent from a hospital in Birkenhead.
An excerpt from this letter says,
“Well on Easter Monday the big advance on VIMY RIDGE started. At 5 o'clock we were all lined up in the trench waiting for the barrage to open up, and then we were to advance. At 5:30, we started. Gorden, sergeant of the platoon #9 led. The barrage was like a thunderstorm and we were trotting at a good pace. We had gone about 1200 yards and then "bang". I felt a sharp burn in my back and left arm. The next thing I remember was Gorden pulling me in a shell hole and he told me to stay there. That was the last I saw of poor Gorden. After I was helped to the dressing station by a corporal. It was the other day, in this hospital that I heard Gorden was killed. He died a hero, along with many others that day."
