A Woburn Man and the Germans

Tuesday 16th February 1915: Lance Corporal Sturgeon of the 2nd Bedfords tells us: “The weather is still rough and cold. We shall be able to go to the North Pole when this war is over, as we have been in all weathers out here. The nights seem long to us”.

“We are having another few days rest; that is when we find out what day it is. My bed is a little straw drawn up a lot, not too warm, but we are used to it now”.

“We are about three hundred yards from the Germans’ trenches. Some of our chaps shouted and asked them when they were going to chuck it up and one shouted back: “When we have done you all in”. Then we asked if they thought they were going to win. They shouted: “Yes, we have destroyed London and you are not in Germany yet”. Then they all shouted: “Hooray” but they will get a ‘hooray’ from us as soon as the weather is a little better”.

Source: Bedfordshire Times, 26th February 1915

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(1) Sadly Lance Corporal David Law Sturgeon never got the chance to go to the North Pole as he was killed on the Somme on 3rd July 1916. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial and the Woburn War Memorial.