Volume 21 www.legionnl.com 3 continued... Fredrick Wornell used to give a few dollars to his family every Remembrance Day. He knew if it wasn’t for the Armistice agreed to in 1918, he wouldn’t have the chance. Wornell was a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. He was born in Greenspond in 1897, and died in St. John’s in 1987. Years after the war ended, he took to writing letters to catalogue some of the memories that still stayed fresh with him long after the fighting stopped. One of the letters outlined a harrowing experience where, with his camp surrounded by Germans, the actions of William “White Line” Antle saved the battalion from certain death at the hands of the Germans. Rob Paddon, Wornell’s great-grandson, says the letters have become part of his family’s lore. He says it’s incredible to read a story from a relative about a moment where his bloodline could have stopped. “It’s hard to describe. It’s an emotional experience. You can build a connection 100 years later through the stories and letters that he left behind,” Paddon said. Paddon says the letters reveal how close the bonds between soldiers were when death was just around the corner. “It was very much not about him - it was a tribute to a comrade. It emphasizes the comradery that they had. He was well into his 80s or 90s and to have such a vivid memory of that speaks volumes of the importance of that event.” A few years ago, Paddon and his father, Terry Paddon, did the Trail of the Caribou and used the letters as a guide to retrace Wornell’s steps. First World War letter recounts daring escape involving Royal Newfoundland Regiment Paddon family connects to history, 100 years later David Maher As originally published: April 13, 2018 SaltWire Members of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who were saved, as described in Fredrick Wornell’s letter, were (left to right) Wornell, Billie Mac, Father Thomas Nangle and Bernard Forsey. - Submitted
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==