Over a hundred men from the Hazelton District served during World War One. Many went overseas. Sergeant Jack Bennett from Hazelton was at the battle at Vimy Ridge. Wounded—this was his third wound, the first being from Hill 160 and the second from Zillebeker, he wrote from Seaford Hospital in Sussex to his friend Jack Frost. He survived the war.
“That was some show on the 9th. It was the last thing in shell-fire which our boys put up; some contrast to Festubert, I can tell you. Our guns had been giving it them at intervals for nearly a week, but the final three minutes before we went over was terrific; it nearly takes my breath away when I think of it. We crept out into no-man’s-land the night before and dug in our kicking-off trench. We were well dug in by day break, then we waited for the final moment to come. We did not have long to wait. At 5.27 the guns opened up as one. It was to be a three-minute preparation and then the barrage was to creep forward over his second and third lines and we were to climb over and follow. Three minutes don’t seem long for a bombardment, but it did the work alright for there were not many Huns left in his front line or much of his second line either. The survivors were game though and did their best. I had the pleasure of lobbing a bomb between two of them who were still firing at us as we approached. It sure closed them up. I had a bit of good shooting with my rifle after we had passed the front line. They could be seen getting away in bunches of from three to a dozen in the haze of smoke, but not many got away, for our barrage was dropping almost like a wall of fire and smoke and fire ahead of them. We got to our first objective in a very short time and it was here I got pinked over. After the fury had passed on I got a stick and with the aid of it hobbled back to the rear. It was a great start for the first day and I thought we were going to bust right through but Fritz is a very tough proposition to break up. I am now a grenade instructor here, just temporary of course, but I am going to hang on as long as I can and show the young bloods how to wield the grenade.” (Omineca Herald)