Sharing the gospel in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War
“What I liked about Elder Carroll's religion was that it was backed up by Bible quotations, in which Elder Carroll is well versed.”
In the First World War, William Albert Carroll was one of the many England-born soldiers who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Born in Portsmouth, England, he arrived in the United Kingdom in November 1915 as part of the 47th Battalion of the CEF. He was a Latter-day Saint and in June 1916 an undated letter of Carroll’s was published in The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. It had probably been written in the spring of that year as he was stationed at Bramshott Camp in England at the time. The lengthy piece related one of the more unusual conversion stories from before the war.
In August 1916, a few months after the letter was published, Carroll arrived in France. He was there as part of the Canadian Corps which was soon put to fight in the Battle of the Somme. A month later he was taken to hospital with influenza. He spent several days in hospital recuperating before returning to the front. For several months Carroll and other CEF soldiers battled over trenches with German forces.
In November 1916, after three and a half months on the front, Carroll was injured near Albert, France, just as the Battle of the Somme was concluding and the two armies began preparations to overwinter. A medical report dated 27 January 1917, reveals that Carroll had been blown up by an artillery shell, but survived. Shrapnel injured his right cheek and the back of his hands, and he was bruised all over by the force of the explosion. The principal ailment, however, was the accompanying shell shock. Another report noted that he had a “Very slight tremor” but that he still wanted to serve in the war effort as a bandsman or on garrison duty in England.[1]
Carroll soon arrived at a military hospital in Étretat, France, before he was taken back to England where he spent time in several facilities in places such as Norwich, Epsom, Seaford, and Hastings. By early 1918 Carroll was suffering from the injuries he had incurred from months of fighting in France as well as some pre-existing conditions. Part of the issue was that Carroll had been dishonest about his age. When enlisting on 1 June 1915 he reported his age as forty-three years old, but he was actually forty-nine, which was four years over the loosely observed age limit of forty-five.
He continued to live his faith and write letters to the Millennial Star. Another letter from Carroll reveals that he was involved in preaching the gospel while recuperating in England. William John Williams was a fellow England-born CEF soldier serving in France with the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion. He too sent a letter to the Millennial Star editor, which was published in September 1917. Williams outlined how he had been introduced to the Church by Carroll while also serving in the armed forces.
Williams had enlisted to fight for Canada in the opening weeks of the war and arrived in France in February 1915. A year later, on 1 February 1916, Williams was in the trenches near Messines, Belgium, when he was assigned to a ration party to prepare food while the frontline was only some 300 yards away. There was less shelling than usual and the battalion war diary notes that it was “Quiet all day.”[2] However, gas alerts and the threat of snipers always loomed. In fact, it was while preparing food that Williams was shot in the right side of the chest by a German sniper.
“O my God!” he exclaimed falling to the ground with blood staining his uniform.
While lying on the ground in terrible pain he prayed fervently that he would recover and avoid death.
The bullet had passed straight through Williams’ chest and out through his back and he was taken immediately for medical treatment. He spent more than a month in France recovering before being transferred to England for surgery. In his letter to the Millennial Star, he noted that while receiving anaesthetic he was praying for deliverance and felt that he received it. During the surgery, part of one of his ribs was removed. Williams had suffered damage to his right lung and his heart had been slightly displaced, but he had survived a serious injury.[3] Eventually, he was judged fit enough for desk duties and was kept in England for the duration of the war working in a clerical capacity.
Eventually, Williams was transferred to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, at Woodcote Park, Epsom. It was while staying at Epsom that Williams met William Carroll and was introduced to the gospel. Carroll was transferred to Epsom in December 1916 to recover, but he would preach to fellow soldiers in the evenings.
“What I liked about Elder Carroll's religion,” Williams wrote in his letter, “was that it was backed up by Bible quotations, in which Elder Carroll is well versed.”[4] He later attended church meetings and was impressed by the “brotherly feeling that was common with the saints there.” After becoming convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel he asked for baptism. On 6 May 1917, he was baptised by William Carroll. In his testimony to the Millennial Star, he was effusive about his new faith community:
“…now I am a “Mormon," and glad of it, too. I have thanked God for the gospel, and I rejoice in the gospel that has been revealed. I really believe that this is a continuance of the church that Christ established while He was on this earth.”[5]
William Williams’ letter, in conjunction with extant military records, reveals one example of how invalided Latter-day Saint soldiers were able to share the gospel and bring new members into the Church. I have a forthcoming article in academic journal about the First World War and Latter-day Saints who served on the frontlines. Their letters are used to explore the experiences of servicemen far from home.
Ultimately, more than 60,000 Canadians died in the First World War with a further 170,000 injured out of a total of 620,000 who served in the CEF. Many Latter-day Saints served in the CEF during the war, including future Apostle and member of the First Presidency, Hugh Brown Brown. William Carroll and William Williams were just two of England’s many native children who, although far from their place of birth, returned to serve.
Film footage of the Canadian Convalescent Hospital in Epsom, England, 1914.
[1] National Personnel Records Centre, Carroll, William Albert, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 1527 – 42, Libraries and Archives Canada [digital].
[2] War Diaries, 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion, RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4917, Microfilm reel number: T-10709, File number: 365, File part: 1=1914/10/16-1915/12/31;2=1916/01/01-1916/11/30, Library and Archives Canada [Digital]. [https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=1883213&q=7th%20battalion%20war%20diary]
[3] National Personnel Records Centre, Williams, William John, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 10410 – 7, Libraries and Archives Canada [digital].
[4] W. J. Williams, ‘A Soldier’s Testimony,’ The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Vol. 79, No. 37 (1917), pp. 581-582.
[5] W. J. Williams, ‘A Soldier’s Testimony,’ The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Vol. 79, No. 37 (1917), pp. 581-582.