and the remainder of the Battalion was in a ravine 800 yards south
of Martinsart. The 22nd Battalion was on the left, with a gap of 400
yards between the two units. For three days this position was held,
and except for hostile shelling there was little enemy activity, the
casualties for the three days numbering little more than a dozen.
The 20th Battalion on the night of the 1st of April, relieved the
Civil Service Rifles, who moved into billets in Senlis, and after two
days’ rest and a more than welcome bath, the Battalion, now somewhat
reorganised, returned to the front line and relieved the 1st Surrey
Rifles on the night of the 4th of April. “A” Company held the right,
“C” the centre, and a company of the 1st Surrey Rifles, who were
attached, held the left. “B” and “D” Companies were in support and
Battalion Headquarters was in Bouzincourt. The 9th Royal Fusiliers
(12th Division) were on the right of the Civil Service Rifles and the
142nd Brigade on the left.
The few reinforcements who had joined included Major L. L. Pargiter, of
the Middlesex Regiment, who came to the Battalion on the 4th of April
as second in command.
Such were the dispositions when the battle for Aveluy Wood opened on
the morning of the 5th of April.
As usual, the enemy opened with a heavy bombardment on the front line,
support trenches, and Bouzincourt, gas shells being freely mixed with
the heavier missiles. The bombardment began at 7.0 a.m. and except for
three short intervals of about half an hour each, it continued until
4.30 p.m. Throughout the afternoon the bombardment of Bouzincourt
was particularly intense. The enemy was excellently supported by his
machine guns, which were active all day on the front line and support
trenches with both direct and indirect fire.
When the bombardment began the enemy could be seen along the crest
opposite the front line in twos and threes (total about 150). These
small groups were dispersed by rifle fire, but at about 10.0 a.m.
small groups again began to dribble forward over the crest, and these
advanced in spite of Lewis gun and rifle fire, by using the cover
afforded by huts and sheds, until they reached the trees and broken
ground on the outskirts of Aveluy Wood. It is estimated that roughly
300 of the enemy with light machine guns pushed forward in this way.
The front line held by the Civil Service Rifles was by this time
enfiladed with machine-gun fire and minenwerfers, and under cover of
this fire the parties in the broken ground crept forward to within 100
yards of the British front line. These parties showed up several times
as if about to rush the position, but whenever they appeared, Lewis
gun and rifle fire kept them back, and the intended assault was not
delivered.
In the afternoon the enemy was seen to be digging in on the crest from
which he had doubled forward earlier in the day, and by 6.0 p.m. this
ground was effectually swept by artillery fire, with the result that no
further signs of an advance were seen at that point.
By nightfall the enemy appeared to give up the attempt, at all events
for that day, and the situation became considerably quieter. “D”
Company now relieved the attached Company of the 1st Surrey Rifles
in the front line, and this latter Company moved into support. The
casualties in the Civil Service Rifles numbered fifty (all ranks),
including Colonel Segrave, who was slightly gassed, and who was sent
to the transport lines for a well-earned rest, Major Pargiter taking
command of the Battalion.
The 6th of April was a day of alarms, but although small parties of the
enemy were detected in the early morning moving forward under cover of
the mist, there was no real infantry engagement. The snipers were busy
on both sides and those of the Civil Service Rifles got many targets,
and one of the enemy was captured after being wounded.
Intermittent bombardments were the feature of the day, but the battle
died down for good after 10.0 p.m. with the Germans really well held,
and with this night came to an end the fighting in the great Retreat on
this front, and the Bosche thereafter did not gain any ground at all.
After holding the line for one more day, which was fairly quiet, the
Battalion was relieved on the night of the 7th of April by the 17th
and 21st Battalions, and marched to billets in Senlis. It was not yet
known that the Division was about to move back to a training area, but
the rumour soon began to get round to that effect, and the prospect
of a real rest acted as a splendid tonic to the weary survivors of
the darkest days in the history of the Division. They had been dark
days, indeed, but those who came through could look back on them with
satisfaction in the knowledge that their Battalion had played its part
nobly during a period when a trip to Germany--or elsewhere--had often
seemed to be the most probable end to their career in France.
This story of the movements of the 1st Civil Service Rifles during
the Retreat is based on the official narrative written by Battalion
Headquarters, but it should be borne in mind that the fighting during
the last days of March was of so extraordinary a character that the
description here given will fall very far short of the affair as it
appeared to many of the members of the Battalion. Only those who took
part in it will be able to realise the difficulty of describing a
series of actions in which the Battalion was split up into several
different bodies, each fighting battles of their own, with little or
no knowledge of the whereabouts of their comrades. If this feature of
the fighting is considered, it will help to explain why so many of the
casualties were reported as “wounded and missing” or “missing, believed
killed” without any definite information as to the place where they
occurred.
The casualties among officers, warrant officers and N.C.O.’s were very
heavy, but these serve to emphasise the splendid spirit of the men.
Nothing could illustrate their excellent discipline, determination and
fighting qualities more forcibly than that assembly at Bazentin le
Petit on the night of the 24th of March. In spite of being cut off from
their comrades these several small parties had carried on the fight
for more than twenty-four hours--often without even a Lance-corporal
in charge--and the simple statement that “10.0 p.m. saw the Battalion
reforming at Bazentin le Petit” is in reality a record of the finest
achievement of the men of the 1st Civil Service Rifles during the war.
A good many of the N.C.O.’s and men were decorated for their work
during the Retreat, but every one of those 230 all ranks who refused
to be beaten on the 23rd and 24th of March, 1918, is deserving of the
highest praise. It would have been some small recognition of their
great gallantry and devotion to duty if the names of these men could
have been inscribed on a special Roll of Honour.
CHAPTER XXI
MONTHS OF “WIND UP”
One night in Senlis was followed by a night in Hedauville, and then on
the 9th of April, after a march to Acheux, the Battalion was conveyed
by buses to the back area. The bus journey was pleasant enough at
first, but on arriving at Beauval, where the troops were to have been
billeted, it was found that all the accommodation had been allotted to
other troops.
The bus column halted in the main road outside the village where a
draft of 600 other ranks was waiting to join the Battalion. The draft
had been waiting by the roadside since noon, and the men had had both
dinner and tea in the same spot. But soon after dark the draft received
orders to march to the next village, Gezaincourt, the Battalion
continuing the journey by bus. The speed of the buses can best be
judged by the fact that the draft arrived at Gezaincourt--about three
and a half miles away--more than an hour in front of the Battalion.
The next day at Gezaincourt was spent in re-organising Companies and
sorting out the huge draft, which was found to contain parties from
practically every Battalion of the London Regiment except the Artists
and the Scottish. The Civil Service Riflemen were now in a minority in
their own Regiment.
The journey was continued on the 11th of April, when the Battalion
marched to Domart en Ponthieu, a delightful village, where all ranks
would have been happy to remain for the rest of the war. But it was
not to be, for the troops were on the move again early next day, and
after a fifteen miles’ march the training area was reached, and the
Civil Service Rifles were billeted in the village of Canchy, close
to the historic forest of Crecy. The village was also occupied by
Divisional Headquarters, and the billets allotted to the Battalion were
consequently poor, everything worth having being appropriated for the
use of Divisional Headquarters.
The usual training programme was carried out and drafts continued to
arrive until the Battalion grew to an unwieldy size, being over 1,300
strong. But although numerically it was stronger than it had ever been,
the vast majority of the men were very raw--recruits who had been
hurried out during the panic caused by the Retreat. It was soon found
that the Civil Service Rifles had received more than their share of
these men, and 250 of them were accordingly sent to the 142nd Brigade.
The only breaks in the routine of training were trips to Abbeville,
football matches, and a half-hearted sort of Sports Meeting.
The Divisional Commander visited the Brigade at a Brigade parade at
Forest l’Abbaye, on the 18th of April, when he complimented the Brigade
on its work during recent operations, and hinted darkly at further
“dirty work” in store in the near future.
The concluding sporting event at Canchy was a football match against
the Divisional Train, the holders of the Divisional Company, who were
well beaten by four goals to nil. While the match was in progress
orders were received for the Transport to move early the next day,
Sunday, the 28th of April, and for the Battalion to move by bus on
Monday morning.
Although the programme of training had been arranged for another week,
the sudden orders to move occasioned little surprise, for it was quite
a common thing for a “training holiday” to be cut short, and the
Transport Section accordingly moved to St. Quen without any fuss.
On the last afternoon at Canchy the _entente cordiale_ between the
Civil Service Rifles and the villagers was strengthened by a tea-party
which Colonel Segrave gave to the village children. To entertain them
were engaged the Divisional Cinema, the String Trio and Private Saipe.
The latter’s conjuring brought down the house, and was so popular that
the conjurer, on taking his evening stroll later on, was mobbed by the
villagers, who insisted on his giving them a “second house” in the open
air.
The bus journey to Contay was uneventful, and on leaving the buses, the
Battalion, just over 700 strong, marched to billets in Warloy. A battle
surplus of eight officers and 240 other ranks had been left behind at a
Divisional Reinforcement Camp at Estrées les Crecy.
The German advance had been held up in the neighbourhood of Albert, and
for some weeks now no move had been made on either side, though farther
north the allied lines in the Ypres and Armentieres districts had been
pushed back considerably. It was not, therefore, surprising when the
21st Australian Battalion was relieved on the night of the 1st of May
outside the Albert-Amiens Road that orders were issued to all units to
make every possible preparation to meet an enemy attack, which, to use
the official language, “is likely to develop on our front in the near
future.”
During this tour of the trenches the patrols of “B,” “C,” and “D”
Companies, who were the three front line Companies, all reported that
at 2.0 a.m. on the morning of the 4th of May, a noise resembling that
of steam tractors was heard coming from the vicinity of the railway
south of the Albert Road. As a result, the R.A.F. carried out a special
reconnaissance at dawn and found four enemy tanks hiding near the
railway. These were bombed, two being totally destroyed and the others
disabled. The Brigadier General specially commended the Civil Service
Rifles on the good work done by the patrols.
The discovery of the tanks, however, only served to increase the
warnings of a coming attack, and an otherwise uneventful spell in the
mud and water was frequently disturbed by such orders from Division as
“See that all men have a hot meal immediately: Attack probable this
morning.”
On the night of the 6th of May a somewhat complicated relief, owing
to a reshuffle of Brigades on the Corps front, brought to an end a
surprisingly peaceful stay in the front line. It did not, however,
bring much comfort to the troops.
The Battalion was to move back to support trenches in the neighbourhood
of Millencourt and Henencourt, but the Companies had the greatest
difficulty in identifying their positions, as they turned out to be
mere scratches in the ground. The night was black and the rain poured
in torrents throughout. The relief was accordingly exceptionally slow
and day was breaking ere the support positions were reached.
The Officer Commanding “A” Company found in Millencourt some unoccupied
cellars with plenty of straw, and decided to stow his men away there
and risk the consequences. “B” and “C” Companies found ruined houses
in Henencourt, and “D” moved into a barn in the yard of the château
at Henencourt, which had been Third Corps Headquarters during the
Somme battle of 1916. Battalion Headquarters was at the Grand Caporal
estaminet--a “house” that had been a favourite resort of the men of the
Civil Service Rifles during the rest after High Wood in 1916. But how
the village had changed since those days! In 1916 Henencourt had been
a tolerably clean inhabited village, but now all was desolation, every
house was in ruins, and there was not a civilian to be found anywhere.
By night the Companies occupied their battle positions and tried to
dig trenches there, and by day they kept under cover in their billets.
A search was made for bath tubs, and a bath-house was started in the
Château yard, and apart from occasional shelling of Millencourt and
Henencourt, a fairly comfortable time was spent in these villages.
The next visit to the front line was to relieve the 17th London
Regiment astride the Millencourt-Albert Road, a mile or so east
of the village of Millencourt. The trenches here were new, and so
exposed that no cooking could be done there. All food was cooked at
the Quartermaster’s stores at Warloy and brought up at night, when
the troops had their only hot meal of the day. The tea was sent up in
petrol cans enclosed in packs stuffed with hay--a method which had been
adopted by members of the Transport Section some months previously for
keeping tea hot on a long march.
Digging new trenches and wiring were the nightly tasks of all Companies
during five uneventful days in this sector, and on relief by the 6th
London Regiment--now in the 58th Division--the Battalion moved back to
billets in Warloy, and on the following day the Division moved into
Corps Reserve.
The period in Corps Reserve had generally been spent in tolerably
comfortable billets in inhabited villages some distance from the firing
line, but on this occasion the Division was kept close up, owing to
the possibility of an enemy attack, and it fell to the lot of the
140th Brigade to occupy small woods in the neighbourhood of Warloy and
Bazieux. The accommodation was distinctly poor, the men having to sleep
under bivouac sheets--or trench shelters as they were called officially.
Colonel Segrave accordingly indulged in a little billeting on his own
account and fixed his battalion up in comfortable billets in Warloy,
observing at the same time that as they were nearer to the front line
they were tactically in a better position to meet an emergency. A wordy
warfare with the Divisional Staff ensued, and for a few days the Civil
Service Rifles hung on to their billets, although the Colonel had been
withdrawn to command the 141st Brigade. But soon a move had to be made
to the bivouacs in the Bois La Haut, north of Bazieux, where the days
were spent by the troops in digging cable trenches near Henencourt
Wood, and the nights were often spent in alarms and standing to.
Indeed, a more restless period in Corps Reserve had never been known.
All officers were taken to reconnoitre positions of assembly for
counter-attack, and to each battalion in the Brigade was allotted a
definite objective. It was announced that the attack would be launched
on the 20th, and the officers were taken through a kind of rehearsal of
their counter-attack.
Nightly bombing raids by enemy aeroplanes added to the discomfort,
and on the night of the 18th of May an intense bombardment was heard.
Later, an alarm was sounded in an adjacent wood, and the Battalion
stood to arms at 2.0 a.m. and remained so for about an hour. Thereafter
the troops were made to stand to arms each morning at an hour before
dawn as in the trenches, and the cooks had to “keep up steam” in
readiness to serve a hot meal at once in the event of an enemy
attack on the Corps front. Happily nothing so unpleasant as an attack
developed, but the camp was shelled on the morning of the 22nd, with
the result that the Transport Section lost an old and tried friend in
Corporal Banks, who had been with them continuously since mobilisation.
It was cruel luck that he should be killed while in Corps Reserve,
after surviving such ordeals as the Somme, Ypres Salient, Bourlon Wood
and the Retreat. Two horses were also killed and two others wounded.
The Division moved out of Corps Reserve on the 24th of May, and after
a whole day spent in cable burying in the pouring rain, the Civil
Service Rifles relieved the 7th East Surrey Regiment in quarries near
the Franvillers-Albert road. Here the troops bivouacked amongst guns
and howitzers of all calibres; in some cases the men slept, or rather
spent the night, under the muzzles of the guns. The only good thing the
Battalion got out of this relief was a draft of 10 N.C.O.’s, who had
been wounded on the Somme in 1916, and on their return to France had
been drafted to the East Surrey Regiment. By a strange coincidence they
rejoined the Civil Service Rifles almost on the very ground where they
had been trained for the Somme battle, for the Bois Robert, where many
of the rehearsals for High Wood took place, was within a hundred yards
or so of the bivouacs.
A short stay amid the guns was followed by a move to comfortable but
shell-riddled billets in Baizieux--a village somewhat changed since the
previous Christmas, when it was occupied by Divisional Headquarters.
The 4th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers was relieved in the Lavieville
defences on the 26th of May, and here the Battalion spent four days in
support trenches, during the whole of which time all Companies were
at work with the Royal Engineers on cable burying. At the end of May
1918, the Civil Service Rifles occupied a field surrounded by new and
shallow trenches just north of the Franvillers-Berhencourt road, and
about half a mile west of Franvillers itself. These trenches were the
rear defences of the Lahoussoye system, but the men occupied tents and
bivouacs outside the trenches.
There followed five uneventful days in the front line opposite the
village of Dernancourt, and on relief by the 17th Battalion on the
night of the 6th of June, support trenches astride the Albert-Amiens
road were occupied for three days. The Battalion then relieved the 1st
Surrey Rifles in the front line on the immediate left of the sector
held previously. This particular area was held by the Brigade for
nearly three weeks, the Battalion changing round every four or five
days. Nothing worthy of note happened until, on the 19th of June, the
Division was relieved by the 58th Division, the 6th London Regiment
taking over from the Civil Service Rifles, who had a long march back
to the village of Berhencourt, which was reached at about 5 a.m. After
a few hours’ rest the march was continued to Molliens au Bois, where
a tented camp in a sea of mud was taken over from the Queen Victoria
Rifles. Here the Regimental Brass Band, which had been entertaining
the Commander-in-Chief at General Headquarters for the past six
weeks, rejoined, together with the battle surplus and a draft of
reinforcements from the Divisional Reinforcement Camp.
CHAPTER XXII
INTENSIVE TRAINING
Fortunately only one day was spent at Molliens au Bois, and on the 21st
of June a bus ride took the Civil Service Rifles through Amiens and
then round the country for a few hours, and back to Ferrieres, a little
village about four miles from Amiens. The Battalion then marched to
Guignemicourt, a village without any water supply, a real old-fashioned
out-of-the-way country place, which seemed miles away from the war.
The big château occupied by Battalion Headquarters was the property of
a French “nouveau riche,” who, according to the natives, had made his
fortune out of beer. He had fled hurriedly during the German advance,
leaving all his furniture behind him, but no trace could be found of
the commodity which was alleged to have earned him his francs.
A quaint feature of the village life was the town crier with his
drum, who took up his stand in front of the sentry outside Battalion
Headquarters and made such announcements as the fixed price of coal,
flour, etc., for the ensuing month. His services were utilised by
the Civil Service Rifles at the end of their stay to announce to the
villagers that any claims against the Battalion must be lodged at the
orderly room before the Battalion left the village.
To the members of the Civil Service Rifles who were at Guignemicourt,
however, the name does not revive memories of an old-world village
or of a quaint town crier. The memory that is inseparable from this
village is one of eternal parades. There were not only parades for
work, but also parades for play, the Battalion, after spending the
morning hard at work on the drill ground, being marched to the football
field every afternoon to take part in compulsory football. And for
officers the day’s work was carried on after lights out; for many were
the hours spent in conferences at Battalion Headquarters long after the
men were “between the sheets” in their billets.
The compulsory football took the form of six-a-side games, the
sides being chosen in alphabetical order throughout each platoon or
specialist section. Every able-bodied officer, warrant officer, N.C.O.,
or man, had to play, and the games were on the knock-out principle.
Only four games could be played at a time, and those who were not
playing had to look on, but, as the weather was beautifully fine, the
troops soon tumbled to the idea of bringing their writing-pads, with
the result that when the Corps Commander and many of the gilded staff
drove up to the ground on the afternoon of the 25th of June they found
a few men playing football and the majority of the Battalion squatting
on the grass writing letters. The final was won by a team from “B”
Company.
After the football competition, Major L. L. Pargiter, who was in
command of the Battalion during the absence on leave of Colonel
Segrave, introduced the game of puttocks--a game which “caught on” at
once with the Battalion. Major Pargiter was an enthusiast for sport
as well as for work, and he combined the two on the miniature range,
where shooting took place every evening, the prizes taking the form
of 10 centimes for every bull’s-eye scored. This was apparently too
easy a method of making money, for on some evenings nobody put in an
appearance except the Officer Commanding Range and the marker.
The eternal parades naturally provoked a certain amount of grousing,
but none the less the Battalion had reached a very high standard of
efficiency, when Colonel Segrave returned on the 2nd of July, after a
month’s absence.
On the next day a Divisional water carnival was held at Picquigny,
where R.Q.M.S. Hart improved on his previous year’s success by taking
the first two places in the odd craft race. He had trained on the horse
pond in the village and his craft finished so far in front of the rest
of the competitors that many of the spectators were unaware that he was
in the race at all.
The Battalion won the Divisional water polo championship with the
following team: Colour-Sergeant W. S. Watts, Corporal O. S. Wraight,
and Corporal T. Byron of “B” Company, Lance-Corporal H. G. Terry of “A”
Company, and Privates T. N. Smale, “B” Company, S. Paisley and R. Bull,
Transport Section. Other members of the Battalion who distinguished
themselves were Privates E. Manfield, who was third in the back stroke
race, and Privates F. J. Garnham, “B” Company, and P. A. Pooley,
“D” Company, who with Corporal Wraight and Private Bull gained for
the Civil Service Rifles third place in the Divisional Relay Race.
Altogether it was a good day for the Civil Service Rifles.
On the following day Major General Gorringe presented ribbons to those
in the Battalion who had been awarded decorations for their work during
the Retreat.
A Memorial Service to Civil Servants who had fallen in the war was held
in the Château grounds on the 11th of July, at the same hour as the
service in Westminster Abbey for the same purpose was being held.
The only other incidents worthy of note during the last week at
Guignemicourt were the Battalion Sports Meeting, at which “D” Company
won far more points than any other Company, and the visit of a
photographer from the French Flying Corps. Every Company and Specialist
Section and almost every platoon was photographed, as also were the
Battalion football team and many of the horses.
The Battalion returned to Warloy on the 12th of July and relieved the
First Surrey Rifles in support positions on the Senlis-Henencourt Road
on the 15th.
On the 18th of July the welcome news was received of a successful
French counter-attack on a large scale in the Soissons region. The news
was cheering to all ranks, but no one even suspected that this was the
beginning of the end, and that in four months’ time the Armistice would
be signed.
On the 20th of July the 17th Battalion was relieved by the Civil
Service Rifles in front line trenches due east of Millencourt, and
a company of American Infantry of the 131st Regiment, 33rd U.S.A.
Division, became attached for instruction in trench warfare. The
American troops were of fine physique and were very keen, but what
seemed to appeal to them most was the excellent cooking of the Civil
Service Rifles cooks. Many of them declared that although they were
living in trenches they had not been fed so well since they left home.
Each of the four Companies of the 131st Regiment (1st Battalion)
spent twenty-four hours under instruction with the Civil Service
Rifles, and on the 24th of July, the whole of the American Battalion
became attached to the 140th Brigade and relieved the Civil Service
Rifles who moved back to Contay. Colonel Segrave and his Adjutant,
four Company Commanders and some senior N.C.O.’s remained with the
U.S.A. troops until the following day, when all returned to Contay
except the Commanding Officer and Adjutant, who were attached to the
American Battalion for a further period of two days. In the meantime
the four Company Quartermaster Sergeants were attached to the American
Quartermaster to assist him in rationing his Battalion while it was in
the front line.
After five days at Contay the Civil Service Rifles relieved the 17th
Battalion in support to the front line recently held, where they were
relieved on the 30th of July by the 19th Battalion, and moved back
to the positions on the Senlis-Henencourt Road, now occupied by the
forward Battalion of the Brigade in Divisional Reserve.
The month of August, 1918, was certainly an eventful one, for it
brought with it a general advance on the whole of the Corps front.
There was little in the early days of the month to suggest the
startling changes that were to come over the military situation in the
immediate vicinity of the 47th Divisional front, though as time went
on, the news of advances in various parts of the allied line revived an
enthusiasm that had perhaps been on the wane since the beginning of the
year.
There was as yet no talk of a coming attack by the 140th Brigade, and
on the night of the 5th of August, after spending two days in Warloy,
the Civil Service Rifles relieved the 24th Battalion on the right of
the Divisional front, just outside Albert on the Amiens Road. But
although there had been no special preparation for an attack, it was
thought quite likely that one might soon be made, as the enemy had
withdrawn his line from the position round Albert, and even from the
town itself it was believed.
“B” Company occupied parts of the two old German front lines, and
had sentry groups also along the west side of the railway embankment
overlooking the River Ancre. It appeared to be quite true that the
Germans had withdrawn, for no trace of one was seen on the Battalion
front.
On the 6th of August news was received that Colonel Segrave, who was
at the time Acting Brigade Commander, had been promoted to the rank of
Brigadier General, and he left forthwith to command the 152nd Brigade
in the 51st Division, and the Civil Service Rifles had to part for good
with one who had been to them something far more than a Commanding
Officer.
Although Colonel Segrave’s promotion had been more or less expected for
some time, he received very short notice to depart, and was not even
given an opportunity to say good-bye. It is difficult to say whether
he or the Battalion felt the parting more keenly, for he was loved by
those whom he commanded as much as he loved them--which is saying a
great deal.
No story of the 1st Civil Service Rifles can be complete without an
appreciation of one who is regarded by all who served under him as
the finest Commanding Officer the Regiment ever had. His gallantry in
the field has already been referred to, and it was fortunate for the
Battalion that all its big defensive battles were fought during the
year in which Colonel Segrave commanded, for it was in such battles,
rather than in attacks which had been rehearsed in every detail, that
able leadership meant so much. Both at Bourlon Wood and in the Retreat
the Civil Service Rifles owed a great deal to the guiding hand of their
Commanding Officer.
But it was not only owing to his ability as a leader, nor to his
exceptional bravery under fire, that his presence gave such confidence
to the troops. They always knew that in Colonel Segrave they had a
Commanding Officer who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the welfare
of the Civil Service Rifles. He was a red-hot enthusiast for the
Regiment, and would tolerate nothing that was, in his opinion, likely
to bring it into disrepute. A tireless worker himself, he would have no
idlers among his officers, N.C.O.’s or men.
These are but a few of the qualities in Colonel Segrave which cause
men to speak with genuine pride of the fact that they served under
him. Outstanding among his characteristics was his pure unselfishness.
All that he did was done for his Regiment. He sought no personal
glorification. He indeed “did good by stealth and blushed to find it
fame.” But the splendid work he did for the Civil Service Rifles during
the hardest year of the war can never be forgotten by those who had the
good fortune to serve under Colonel Segrave.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE GREAT ADVANCE
A sensational change came over the military situation on the Divisional
front during August, 1918. When the month opened, the front line
Brigades were still holding the trenches outside Albert, and were
kept in a state of readiness to meet a German attack. It soon became
evident, however, that there would be no German attack from that
quarter, for it became known on the 3rd of August that the Germans had
withdrawn from Albert and the positions around that town, and by the
end of the month the troops of the 47th Division, instead of being on
the defensive, were in pursuit of a broken enemy several miles east of
Albert, and open warfare prevailed once more.
When Colonel Segrave left it was not known who was to be his successor,
but in the meantime Major G. G. Bates, M.C., acted as Commanding
Officer.
The first indication of the coming advance was a big attack launched by
the Allies at 4.0 a.m. on the 8th of August. The Civil Service Rifles
were at that time holding front line trenches just outside Albert, on
the north side of the Albert-Amiens road. No attack was launched in
that area, but there was increased artillery activity throughout the
day. On the following day an attack was delivered by the 58th Division
immediately south of the 47th Division and an Australian Division
further south. Their objectives were the villages of Ville sur Ancre,
Dernancourt, Morlancourt, and the German positions in the vicinity.
In spite of a ground mist, which made it difficult to follow the
operations, the attack was a big success. The Civil Service Rifles were
not affected, though the Battalion scouts were sent as spectators to
a point of vantage to watch for any developments likely to affect the
front held by the 47th Division. It was a curious sight to see a small
crowd on a slope on the left flank of the attack, watching the fight at
fairly close quarters, like a crowd at a football match.
About this time enemy aeroplanes were active at night, bombing
transport lines and billets at Warloy, and the Civil Service Rifles
lost their Acting Quartermaster, Second Lieutenant A. L. Mills, and
their Assistant Adjutant, Second Lieutenant P. J. Spencer, both of
whom were bombed in their billet, which was completely destroyed, the
officers being dangerously wounded.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE MOVEMENTS OF THE 1^{ST}
C.S.R. IN THE 47^{TH} DIVISION ATTACK 22-25 AUGUST 1918.]
On the 13th of August, after a short stay in support in Baizieux, the
Division moved south of the Albert Road and relieved the 58th Division
in the neighbourhood of Bray. The Civil Service Rifles relieved the
Queen Victoria Rifles in the forward position of the support Brigade.
The trenches occupied were the old British and German front lines west
of Morlancourt. The Transport Section and Quartermaster’s stores moved
to the village of Bonnay, which was visited nightly by enemy bombing
planes.
On the night of the 16th of August the Battalion moved up to the
front line and relieved the 22nd London Regiment on the right of the
Divisional front in the Bois des Tailles, just north of the village of
Bray.
The Bois des Tailles had doubtless been a very pretty wood in peace
time, but it was now strewn with the debris remaining after the German
occupation. It had afforded good natural cover for German guns, and in
the valley which ran through the middle of the wood were some rather
palatial dug-outs. The German guns were still in position, though the
emplacements had been destroyed and the ammunition was scattered about
the ground. Throughout its occupation by the Civil Service Rifles, the
Bois des Tailles was subjected to a steady bombardment, gas shells
being used freely every night. The aforesaid valley became saturated
with gas and the dug-outs were rendered uninhabitable. Casualties were
pretty heavy, and the five days spent in what became known among the
troops as “_toute de suite_ wood” were distinctly unpleasant.
At midnight on the 20th of August the 20th London Regiment took over
the positions in the Bois des Tailles, and the Civil Service Rifles
moved back to support positions in a valley near Marett Wood, close to
Mericourt L’Abbé. Here the new Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Colonel R.
C. Feilding, D.S.O., Coldstream Guards, took over the command of the
Battalion.
Colonel Feilding had not had time to get to know his troops before
he was leading them in battle, for after one day’s rest in support
positions, the 140th Brigade moved up on the 22nd of August and was
the Reserve Brigade in a big attack launched that morning by the 47th
Division, in conjunction with the 12th Division on the left, and an
Australian Division on the right.
The programme for the 47th Division was that the 141st Brigade holding
the front line was to move forward at zero, and capture and consolidate
the first objective, known for this battle as the Brown Line, running
parallel with the Bray-Albert road and about 500 yards east of it. The
142nd Brigade was to pass through the 141st Brigade ten minutes after
zero, and capture and consolidate the second objective (known as the
Green Line.) Corps cavalry and twelve whippet tanks were then to pass
through the 141st and 142nd Brigades, and capture the Blue Line (a
line of defences from Fricourt to the woods known as Great and Little
Bear), the 140th Brigade remaining in Divisional Reserve, ready to move
forward and consolidate the Blue Line when captured.
Soon after 6.0 a.m. on the 22nd of August, the Civil Service Rifles
marched forward from the positions near Marett Wood, and by 7.50 a.m.
the Battalion was in position at the rendezvous--the sunken road
running north and south along the western edge of the Bois des Tailles.
Here a squadron of cavalry, about 80 strong, was waiting its turn to go
forward, and just before 8.0 a.m. this squadron advanced to the attack,
accompanied by tanks, but both tanks and cavalry came dribbling back
about an hour later, having met with serious opposition.
The Companies of the Civil Service Rifles were now disposed in the
fields on either side of the road, awaiting orders. There followed
a long interval without any news, and throughout the whole morning
nothing definite was heard as to how the attack had developed. Late
in the afternoon, however, orders were received as to the part to be
played by the Civil Service Rifles in an attack to be delivered by
the 140th Brigade the following morning upon the Blue Line. Colonel
Feilding had only just explained matters to Company Commanders,
when the order was cancelled owing to the withdrawal of the 142nd
Brigade from the Green Line, under pressure from the enemy, and the
reoccupation by the latter of the Happy Valley (a valley just to the
east of the Bray-Albert road, and about a mile north-north-west of
Bray).
A gap existed between the right of the 141st Brigade and the left of
the Australians, and the Civil Service Rifles were ordered at 7.0 p.m.
to fill the gap. Colonel Feilding sent two of his Companies to the
front line to dig themselves in along a bank where the gap existed, and
two Companies to be in support along the Etineham-Méaulte road, just in
front of the old front line in the Bois des Tailles. He established his
Headquarters temporarily in the old front line north-east of the Bois
des Tailles.
Darkness was falling as the Companies went to take up these positions,
and when Colonel Feilding arrived with his Headquarters Company in
the old front line in the Bois des Tailles he found the Headquarters
of the 141st Brigade close by. He went into these Headquarters to see
what further information he could gather, and learnt that the enemy was
breaking through, and was believed to be coming on in large numbers.
The trench, he was told, should be put in a state of defence, and every
rifle would be needed. Headquarters Company was thereupon ordered to
line the trench and each man had to make himself a good fire position.
Officers’ servants and signallers, who had not used their rifles since
the Retreat, had visions of a repetition of the Bourlon Wood incident,
and every man got to work with his entrenching tool, and made every
preparation for the coming fight. Colonel Feilding pushed off into the
darkness ahead to find out how much truth there was in the story of the
counter-attack. He found all quiet in the front line, which was nearly
two miles ahead, and he decided to take his Headquarters Company and
two support Companies to the foot of a bank close to the front line.
These positions were occupied throughout the next day, when there was
considerable shelling from the enemy.
Early on the morning of the 24th of August, an attack was delivered on
the Green Line and the Happy Valley. The 140th Brigade was on the left
and the 175th Brigade (58th Division) on the right. The Civil Service
Rifles were to move through the Happy Valley behind a Battalion of the
175th Brigade, and deal with the enemy in the many dug-outs in the
valley. After clearing the valley they were to take up positions just
north of Bray and on the east side of the Bray-Méaulte road, in support
to the 17th and 21st Battalions, who were to be by that time in the
Green Line.
The attack began at 1.0 a.m., and by 2.0 a.m. large parties of German
prisoners began to arrive at Battalion Headquarters. The operation had
been entirely successful, the Civil Service Rifles having captured 300
prisoners in Happy Valley, as well as a considerable number of machine
guns and some trench mortars.
After spending the whole day under heavy shell fire in the positions
near the Bray Road, the Battalion moved through the Happy Valley again
at night and assembled for a further attack, which was to commence at
2.30 a.m. on the 25th.
For this attack the 140th Brigade was in front, with the 175th Brigade
on its right. The Civil Service Rifles were on the right of the 140th
Brigade, and the centre of the Battalion’s assembly position was an
old German prisoners-of-war cage on the Bray-Fricourt Road. It was
dark when the men reached the assembly position, and the country was
quite strange to all the attacking forces, none of whom had even so
much as seen it by daylight. The objective was just over 2,500 yards
beyond the assembly position, and was a line of old German trenches on
the western edge of Billon Copse, about two miles south of Mametz. In
spite of the strange surroundings, total darkness, and the fact that no
reconnaissance had been made, the attack went well, and the objective
was reached with very few casualties--not more than thirty-five all
ranks. The opposition was slight, but a thick fog which settled down
before daylight made it very difficult to find even so prominent a
landmark as Bronfay Farm, which was about the southern boundary of
the Civil Service Rifles’ objective. The result was that when Colonel
Feilding reached the front line soon after 4.30 a.m., he found that the
troops were a few hundred yards short of the real objective. However,
he was able to guide them to the so-called old German trench, which “A”
and “C” Companies manned as front line Companies, “B” and “D” remaining
in the railway loop behind in support.
So ended the first stage of the part played by the Civil Service
Rifles in the final advance of the Allies. It had been a long drawn
out battle, and the troops had had little or no rest since leaving the
trenches near Marrett Wood on the morning of the 22nd of August. The
fighting, however, had not been severe, and the total casualties during
the few days were only sixty all ranks, of whom only nine were killed.
The men were, therefore, in very good spirits when they marched back,
on the 26th of August, to the trenches near Marrett Wood, taking with
them one captured minenwerfer, four heavy and ten light enemy machine
guns.
There followed the usual visits from the Brigade Commander and
Divisional Commander, both of whom congratulated the Battalion on its
work during the past few days. They added, however, the news that the
advance would be resumed very soon. Major General Gorringe explained
that there would be no more coming back to rest while the Division was
taking part in this advance. In future the transport lines would move
up to the Battalion after a battle, as the general scheme would be that
Brigades would be continually passing through each other, and so the
front line area of to-day would become the support or reserve position
to-morrow.
On the 29th of August the Civil Service Rifles marched to huts in
an old French brickfield about a mile north of Maricourt, and close
to Montauban. Battalion Headquarters was at Carnoy Craters on the
Carnoy-Montauban Road. These craters were a relic of the Somme battle
of 1916, when the attack often opened with the blowing of a few mines.
The Germans had only recently left this district, and a sharp look-out
had to be kept for “booby traps.”
The 47th Division continued the advance on the 30th of August, the
142nd Brigade being in front, the 141st in support, and the 140th
Brigade in reserve. The Civil Service Rifles moved off from the
Brickfields soon after 7.0 a.m., and after a short cross country
scramble, halted in Maurepas Ravine about midday. Cookers and limbers
followed the Battalion, and soon after halting, the troops received a
pleasant surprise in the shape of hot dinner. A draft of two officers
and 100 other ranks, who had been following the Battalion for some
days, managed to catch it up in Maurepas Ravine during the afternoon of
the 30th of August. It was quite a novelty for a draft to join during
battle.
The Battalion bivouacked in Maurepas Ravine, and spent the whole of the
next day there, but on the morning of the 1st September there began
what proved to be the last battle in which the Civil Service Rifles
were to take an active part. It was a battle worthy of the occasion,
and during the six days while it lasted, the men lived up to the very
best traditions of the Regiment. There were very few indeed among
them who had embarked with the Battalion in 1915, or even of those
who had fought on the Somme in 1916, but the spirit was still there,
and the achievements of the 1st Civil Service Rifles in this great
battle are worthy of a detailed description. The following account of
the operation is founded upon the official report written by Colonel
Feilding when the action was over. The narrative can best be followed
by reference to the map on page 211.
On the 1st September the 140th Brigade, in conjunction with the 141st
Brigade on the right, and the 18th Division (55th Brigade) on the left,
was to advance and capture Rancourt and the line of trench following
the south-west edge of St. Pierre Vaast Wood. The 1st Surrey Rifles
were on the right, the Civil Service on the left, and the Poplar and
Stepneys were to follow up and “mop up” Rancourt and the trenches
around that village.
The assembly position for the Civil Service was a line about three
quarters of a mile south-south-west of Rancourt, between the road
leading from Rancourt to Le Forest and the road from Rancourt to
Marrieres Wood. Battalion Headquarters was at the cross roads about
half a mile east-north-east of Le Forest, with advanced Headquarters in
a shell hole near the assembly position.
A certain amount of shelling was encountered on the way up to the
assembly position, and the Battalion lost, among others, Sergeant
Moore, signals sergeant, one of the few remaining “17th of March men,”
who had been present with the Civil Service Rifles throughout their
stay in France.
The assembly position was reached at 5.0 a.m., and zero was at 5.30 a.m.
Some anxiety was felt when, at three minutes before zero, the 1st
Surrey Rifles had not arrived, but thanks to Second Lieutenant Gray,
the Civil Service Intelligence Officer, touch was established before
zero.
After a five minutes’ “crash” by the artillery, “C” and “D” Companies
moved forward behind a creeping barrage to take the final objective,
followed by “A” and “B” Companies, who were to be in support in
trenches running north and south, quarter of a mile east of Rancourt.
The attack was completely successful, prisoners beginning to come down
within ten minutes of zero.
Lieutenant E. R. Lascelles, commanding “C” Company, was killed early
in the advance, but otherwise the losses were slight, and by 7.30 a.m.
all objectives had been reached, and were being consolidated. Touch was
obtained with the East Surreys (55th Brigade) on the left, but there
was a gap on the right, the 1st Surrey Rifles having been held up.
During the process of consolidation “B” and “D” Companies were shelled
heavily from a German Field Gun Battery which remained in action in the
open, firing over open sights from about 1,000 yards’ range.
An attempt by the enemy to rush through the gap on the right was
prevented by Lewis gun and rifle fire from developing, and this brought
to a close a good day’s work in which the Civil Service Rifles had
taken 150-200 prisoners and ten machine guns.
The battle, however, was by no means over, and at 11.30 p.m. the
Battalion was relieved by the London Irish and marched to an assembly
position on the Rancourt-Peronne road, just S.W. of Bouchavesnes and
300 yards north of the old quarry there, in readiness for a further
attack the next morning. Arrived at this assembly position, the Company
cooks again earned the gratitude of their comrades by producing an
excellent hot meal.
The operation of the 1st of September had been simple and
straightforward, and had been carried out without a hitch, but a much
more complicated attack took place on the 2nd.
The plan was that the 74th Division should attack from trenches
immediately south of Moislains Wood and, after capturing and mopping
up Moislains, should take the village of Nurlu. The 140th Brigade was
to follow them closely, the Civil Service on the left, the Poplar and
Stepneys on the right, and the East Surreys in support. After crossing
the Canal du Nord east of Moislains, the 140th Brigade was to wheel
left, forming a defensive flank on the high ground to the north of
Monastir trench, where they were to join up with the 142nd Brigade,
who were to capture this trench. The order from left to right on the
defensive flank was First Surreys, Civil Service, Poplar and Stepneys.
The 140th Brigade was to follow the 229th, who would also prolong the
defensive flank, facing north as far as Nurlu.
The Battalion was in position at 3.0 a.m. and zero was at 5.30
a.m., but, in order to get well up behind the 229th Brigade “A” and
“B” Companies led off at 5.0 a.m. with “C” and “D” in support and
Headquarters bringing up the rear.
The 140th Brigade was to pass Moislains on the south, and the formation
of the defensive flank therefore presupposed the capture by the 74th
Division of that village.
From the outset the Brigade came under heavy shell and machine gun
fire, and as it moved down the slopes to the south west of Moislains,
under still heavier machine-gun fire directed from the village and from
both flanks.
The casualties caused by this fire were enormous, amounting to more
than half the strength of the Battalion, but the men went forward
without any hesitation, and, as Colonel Feilding said afterwards, as
though they were beating up partridges. The behaviour of the Civil
Service under this sweeping fire was commented on by the Commanding
Officers of other units present, who said they had never seen anything
like it. The determination of all ranks was ultimately rewarded when
they succeeded in establishing themselves in Moislains trench, with
details of the First Surreys on the left, the Poplar and Stepneys on
the right, and an officer and about a dozen other ranks of the North
Devon Yeomanry.
The garrison of Moislains trench now had to fight hard to hold the
position, for the enemy were occupying the same trench to the left
and Quarry trench in the left rear, while they could clearly be seen
moving in Moislains a quarter of a mile in front, and assembling in the
village and around the huts immediately south of it.
Simultaneous counter-attacks were, in fact, developed on the left rear
and on the right front, while the enemy at the same time attempted to
bomb up the trench on the left.
Both parapet and parados were manned, and the attacks across the open
were beaten off, but the bombing attacks continued all day, and, owing
to scarcity of bombs, were with difficulty held up.
It was at once obvious that there were no British troops in front of
the 140th Brigade, though elements of the 74th Division could be seen
in the distance on the right, on a level with Moislains trench. In
the face of the very heavy flank and frontal machine-gun fire, of the
heavy casualties incurred and of the fact that one flank at least was
“in the air,” it did not seem practicable to Colonel Feilding or to
Colonel Dawes, commanding the First Surreys, for their Battalions to
assume the rôle allotted to the 74th Division, and to attempt, without
a barrage, to capture the village, which, as a result of the failure,
or absence, of that Division, was still strongly held by the enemy.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE MOVEMENTS OF THE C.S.R.
FROM 1 SEPT 1918 TO 6 SEPT 1918]
A small local attack by about two Companies was actually delivered
by the 74th Division on the right, but, though it made some little
progress, and at one point crossed the Canal, it hardly did more than
establish the right flank of the 140th Brigade. With this exception,
there was no indication of any attack having been delivered by the 74th
Division in the vicinity of Moislains. A German Field Gun Battery was,
in fact, in action for some four hours in the open, immediately south
of the village, and less than 1000 yards east of the Canal, firing over
open sights on to the part of Moislains trench occupied by the 140th
Brigade.
Colonel Feilding was able to confirm the foregoing account by a very
careful examination of the battle-field made afterwards. He saw no
British dead either in Moislains or between Moislains trench and the
village. The only dead in the vicinity of Moislains trench were those
of the 140th Brigade and of Germans killed in the counter-attack
previously referred to. Twenty-five men of the Civil Service were found
and buried in an hour in this area alone, and others of the Brigade
were still lying there.
To quote from Colonel Feilding’s report:
“The only dead of the 74th Division whom I personally saw in
the section of ground with which my Battalion was concerned
were lying about 300 yards from our starting point--the
Rancourt-Peronne road. Since these dead were not there when we
originally advanced, I can only come to the conclusion, which
is shared by all who were with me on the battlefield during
the action and after, that here, at least, the 140th Brigade,
instead of being in support, found itself with its flanks
unsecured, and with the barrage so far ahead as to be useless,
carrying out the main attack on a strong enemy position, and
that the 74th Division, so far from being in front of us, was
behind us.”
The position in Moislains trench was held until 10.30 p.m. on the 2nd
of September, when the Brigade Commander withdrew the troops, and the
survivors of the Civil Service Rifles marched back about three miles
and rested in trenches just east of Rancourt.
The Battalion rested here for two days, but even then the fighting was
not over, and, reorganised owing to heavy losses on a two Company basis
each with two platoons, the Civil Service Rifles took part in another
fight on the 5th of September. At 5.30 a.m. on that day, the 141st
Brigade passed through the 142nd, and was followed by the 140th at 8.0
a.m., the Poplar and Stepneys in front with the Civil Service and one
Company of the First Surreys attached in support.
The Civil Service assembled in Pallas trench, south-west of Moislains
Wood, and at noon the two Companies had moved forward and occupied
Sorrowitz trench (a continuation of Moislains trench, north-west of
Moislains) with Battalion Headquarters and the attached Company of the
First Surreys in the sunken road 300 yards behind. Half an hour later,
“A-B” Company under Lieutenant R. Upton, crossed the Canal and occupied
a position facing north-east on the Canal bank in a continuation of
Monastir trench about a quarter of a mile north-east of Moislains. At
the same time “C-D” Company, under Captain L. D. Eccles, crossed the
canal and occupied a trench further south, parallel with the canal and
facing east, formed a defensive flank. The remaining Company was kept
in reserve in and around Sorrowitz trench.
At 7.0 p.m., considerable opposition having been met with from the
enemy, an organised attack was made on the Peronne-Nurlu road by the
Poplar and Stepneys in conjunction with the 141st Brigade and the
12th Division on the left. The right was protected by Captain Eccles’
Company and the operation was entirely successful.
At 6.0 a.m. on the 6th of September the advance was resumed. The 19th
and 20th Battalions (141st Brigade) moved across the Peronne-Nurlu
road, and at 8.0 a.m. the London-Irish and the Civil Service, who had
formed up behind in conjunction with the 12th Division on the left and
the 74th Division on the right, advanced on a position running north
and south, just south of the village of Lieramont.
The Civil Service reached the objective about noon and the men came
under heavy machine gun fire from the left, where the London-Irish had
not yet arrived. In addition, rapid fire from enemy field artillery
raked the men as they appeared over the crest in front of the final
objective. Colonel Feilding accordingly took his men back to the
reverse slope, where they immediately turned and dug in.
This position turned out to be the “farthest east” of the Civil Service
in the advance on this part of the Allied front, for during the night
of the 6th-7th September the Battalion was relieved by the Queen
Victoria Rifles (58th Division) and moved back to bivouacs in a valley
about a mile east of Moislains, close to the position occupied by
Captain Eccles’ Company on the afternoon of the 5th of September.
The fighting, so far as the Civil Service Rifles were concerned, had
come to an end for a time, and the short rest in this valley near
Moislains enabled a thorough search to be made of the scene of the
heavy casualties on the 2nd of September. The bodies of all the killed
of the Civil Service in that battle were buried before the troops left.
There was also an opportunity to count the cost, and it was found that
the casualties suffered during the first six days of September numbered
12 officers and 317 other ranks, out of a total trench strength of less
than 500 all ranks.
It has already been mentioned that Colonel Feilding had not had time
to get to know his men before he was leading them in battle, but what
he saw of them in the battles of August and September filled him with
genuine admiration for and pride in the men whom he commanded and he
at once became fired with the enthusiasm of his two predecessors. The
troops, on their part, were not slow to see that the Regiment had been
fortunate in gaining a worthy successor to Colonel Segrave for in
these final battles Colonel Feilding’s energy knew no bounds. He was
constantly faced with unexpected developments but he was never at a
loss as to how to deal with them. From start to finish he was “here,
there and everywhere” moving about among the Companies seeing things
for himself. What struck the troops most forcibly perhaps was his
coolness, for although on the 2nd of September particularly, he was
faced with difficulties sufficient to put the best soldier “off his
game” he was perfectly calm and unruffled throughout.
CHAPTER XXIV
BACK TO THE COAL-FIELDS
It is a far cry from the battle-field to the coal-field, but after the
events narrated in the last chapter, the 47th Division returned to the
area which it occupied during its first few days in France.
On the 7th of September the Civil Service Rifles went by bus from the
vicinity of Moislains to billets at Heilly, and after two nights in
that once delightful village, entrained in the afternoon of the 9th
for Chocques. The train journey took just over 12 hours, and it was
consequently in the small hours of the 10th of September when the
Battalion reached its billets in Chocques. Two days later, the 140th
Brigade marched to the Auchel area, where it remained until the 27th of
September.
Auchel is not by any means a pleasant village, but after the Somme
battlefield any place was welcome, and the three weeks spent here
were very enjoyable, concert parties and football matches being the
great attraction. The chief excitement at this time, however, was the
prospect of a trip to Italy. Definite orders had been received for
the 47th Division to be transferred to the Italian front, and more
than once during the stay at Auchel the Civil Service Rifles actually
received entraining orders. The last entrainment order was for the
26th, but, like the others, it was cancelled, and on the 27th of
September the Brigade marched to the St. Pol area, the Civil Service
Rifles being allotted some very poor accommodation in Foufflin-Ricametz.
On the 2nd of October the Division was transferred to the 5th Army.
The Civil Service Rifles moved by train from St. Pol to Merville and
marched thence to Lestrem, which was reached at 4.30 a.m. on the 3rd
of October. There the men rested in tents for a few hours and in the
afternoon the march was continued to Fauquissart, where the night was
spent in dug-outs.
On the following day the 47th Division began an advance on to the
general line Beaucamps-Radinghem, with the ultimate object of taking
Lille. The Civil Service Rifles occupied reserve trenches at Le
Maisnil, the advance being carried out by the 141st and 142nd Brigades.
It was no doubt in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, and also
to avoid doing any further damage to the town, that the taking of
Lille was a slow process. There was no determined attack made on it
directly, but one by one the various strategical and tactical positions
were captured, and the Germans were forced to clear out eventually on
the 17th of October. The capture was a somewhat tame affair, and the
first intimation that the British troops had was when a few civilians
timidly came out and announced that the Germans had gone. For some days
afterwards pickets were posted at all the entrances to Lille and only a
privileged few were able to enter the town.
The early part of October was uneventful for the Civil Service Rifles.
It was certainly a change to get back once more to trench warfare, but
it was only for a day or two, and after the short stay at Le Maisnil,
a few days were spent in reserve near Fromelles and on the 14th of
October the Battalion marched to Estaires, thence on the 15th to St.
Venant, thence to Norrent Fontes, where the Battalion trained for ten
days.
Arrangements had now been made for a triumphal march of British troops
through Lille and the Civil Service Rifles entrained at Berguette on
the 26th of October, and after a journey across the devastated area
which had been No Man’s Land for more than three years, detrained at
Perenchies and marched to Lomme, a suburb of Lille, which was reached
at about 7.0 p.m.
The march from the railway station to the factory in Lomme, where
the Battalion was billeted, was a memorable one. On approaching
the suburb the regimental band struck up the Marseillaise and kept
it up throughout the march. The inhabitants--old men, women and
children--threw up their windows or lined up on the roadside to sing
the words they had not forgotten during the four years of German
rule. The kiddies ran by the side of the troops and insisted on
shaking hands. The welcome indeed was so spontaneous that it was more
impressive than the ceremonial affair two days later.
It was appropriate that the 47th Division should have been selected
for the triumphal march through Lille, as it had spent more time in
the front line around this town than had any other Division. Further,
it claimed to have been the senior division in France at the taking of
Lille.
For this, “_L’Entrée Solennelle des troupes Britanniques_,” as it was
advertised in the town, which took place on the 28th of October, “C”
Company was detailed to form part of a cordon round the Grand Place,
and the remainder of the Battalion took part in the long procession
through the gaily decorated streets between the cheering crowds of the
recently liberated populace.
The Battalion proceeded to Hellemes, a suburb on the eastern side of
Lille, and were again billeted in a factory, where German field-post
letters were strewn about the floor and orders to troops still posted
on the walls. In the afternoon nearly every one enjoyed the interest
of a visit to the town, where famine prices prevailed. In several shop
windows the following placard printed in red, white and blue had been
placed:
“HONOUR AND GLORY TO THE 47TH DIVISION.
OUR DELIVERERS.”
“LILLE, le 17 Octobre, 1918.”
The enterprising Canteen Manager of the Civil Service Rifles sought out
the publisher of this poster and secured a batch of posters for sale as
souvenirs in the Regimental Canteen. One of them has been framed and
now hangs on a wall of the dining room in the Civil Service Rifles’
Club.
CHAPTER XXV
THE ARMISTICE
Although the inhabitants of Lille considered the war to be over--as it
undoubtedly was so far as they were concerned--the guns could still
be heard out on the Tournai road, and on the 30th of October the 47th
Division left Lille and continued the pursuit of the enemy. The Civil
Service Rifles marched along the Tournai road and spent the night
at Chereng, continuing the march next day to Froyennes, a suburb of
Tournai, where they relieved the 2/4th South Lancashire Regiment in the
front line under conditions which have surely never existed before in
any part of the front line in any war.
Froyennes is a suburb of convents and magnificent châteaux. One of the
latter had been the Headquarters of Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria when he
commanded a German Army Corps. It now became the Headquarters of a half
of “A” Company of the Civil Service Rifles.
There were no trenches in the front line at Froyennes, the sentry posts
being either in the front room of a house, the back garden or a street
corner. In one street the Germans occupied houses on one side, and the
Civil Service Rifles the houses opposite.
The suburb was pretty freely shelled, mostly with gas shells, but the
houses for the most part were not very badly damaged. In a good many of
them and in most of the convents the civilians had remained. They had
been allowed to do so because it was thought at first that the advance
would soon carry the front line beyond Froyennes.
The advance, however, was held up for some days along this line, which
followed the general line of the River Scheldt hereabouts. The Scheldt
ran through Tournai and outside the eastern and northern borders of
Froyennes.
Tournai was still occupied by Germans at this time, and, as at Lille,
the capture of the town was a somewhat slow process.
The situation in Froyennes remained unchanged for some few days, the
posts, as has been stated, being mostly in houses by daytime. By night,
further posts were held alongside the roads.
The Company Headquarters were all either in châteaux or convents. “A”
Company Headquarters was in the Château Beauregard, the residence of
the Comtesse Thérèse de Germiny, who, although her house had been
knocked about by a shell which came through her drawing room wall,
remained in residence. The Countess was the “Lady Bountiful” of the
village, she having taken under her wing all the poor and homeless who
cared to accept her hospitality. To these she gave not only a home, but
also refuge from shell fire in her cellars.
The Countess spoke excellent English, and by the kindly interest she
took in the comfort of the troops occupying her château, she became
quite a favourite of the men of “A” Company.
The “B” Company Headquarters was in a convent for the aged and infirm.
In this building were nuns, many of whom had been bedridden for years
before the war began. These invalids had all been moved down into a
cellar, which the troops endeavoured to make gas proof.
The front line posts were held by “A” “B” and “C” Companies, “D” being
in reserve. Roughly speaking, “A” Company was responsible for the east
of the village, “B” the south, and “C” the north.
“C” Company’s front, in fact, was right outside the town, the posts
being between the river and the main road running from Tournai to
Courtrai, though by day the men were withdrawn to houses. This front
was much wider than that allotted to the other two Companies and it
was more in the open. The Company Headquarters was in a convent at the
western edge of the suburb. Civilians shared the accommodation with the
troops, and it is said that the children played in No Man’s Land by day.
Between the posts along the road and the River Scheldt was a wide
marsh, and it was the duty of patrols at night to make their way across
the marsh and creep along the river bank.
“C” Company had further excitement on the night of the 3rd of November
when the Royal Engineers tried to bridge the Scheldt, which at this
point is quite a narrow stream. Two platoons, acting as covering party,
got into position on the river bank without any difficulty, but as soon
as the work began, an enemy machine gun across the river opened fire.
The bridging operations were shut down for the night, and the troops
were lucky to get away without casualties.
“D” Company occupied a large building, a convent which had been
deserted, near the “C” Company Headquarters. The men had had many a
worse billet, even when out of the line.
The shelling became more frequent as time went on, and casualties
occurred to several civilians. On the 3rd of November the civilians
were ordered to evacuate Froyennes. Hitherto they had simply been
advised to go, and told that transport would be lent to them to help
them remove their belongings. But it now became necessary to compel
them to go, and on the night of the 3rd a fleet of motor ambulances and
other transport took them all to a place of safety in Lille. It was a
pathetic sight to see the poor old creatures from “B” Company’s convent
being loaded into ambulances, for they had accepted the situation in
the cellar so calmly and philosophically, and they were now loath to
leave what had been their home for so many years. It was almost a
self-supporting convent, for in the gardens vegetables of all kinds
were grown. Many fowls and rabbits were also kept, and the Mother
Superior on her departure presented these to “B” Company. Roast fowl in
the front line was a luxury which surprised the oldest soldier in the
Company.
It should not be thought, however, that life at Froyennes was free from
the horrors of war for, the Civil Service Rifles lost one killed and
ten wounded in the five days spent there. After the assurance from the
people of Lille that the war was over, this was regarded as a heavy
casualty list. Of these casualties, Private G. A. Watson, “B” Company,
who was killed on the 2nd of November, proved to be the last man of the
1st Civil Service Rifles who was killed in action.
The Battalion was relieved on the 4th of November, and marched to
reserve billets in the village of Cornet, just off the main road, and
half-way between Tournai and Lille.
Froyennes had been described as a village of convents and châteaux.
Cornet can only be described as a village of hovels and mud, but the
squalor of this wretched place was forgotten in the excitement caused
by the news that the war was now “all over bar shouting,” and that the
signing of the terms of the Armistice was expected daily.
The Bulgars, the Austrians and the Turks had already accepted terms,
but these had caused no excitement. The only terms that mattered to
the troops in France were those to be imposed on the Bosches. A big
sweepstake was organised in the Battalion at Cornet on the hour at
which the Armistice terms to Germany would be signed. But before the
prize was won the military situation in the immediate vicinity had
undergone a change, and the Civil Service Rifles were pursuing the
enemy in open warfare once more.
News was received on the 9th of November that the Scheldt had been
crossed and the Germans had left Tournai. The Battalion immediately
left Cornet and moved to Froyennes, Companies occupying their old
billets. Pursuit of the enemy was slow owing to the fact that the
pontoon bridge constructed by the Royal Engineers at Froyennes was the
only passage across the river for the whole Division. The arrangement
was for the two Infantry Brigades holding the front line to advance
simultaneously, with the Reserve Brigade following close up.
The 140th Brigade on the right accordingly advanced on Melles, a
village about six miles north-east of Tournai on the main road to Ath.
The Civil Service Rifles, being the Reserve Battalion, did not move
beyond Froyennes on the first day of the advance, but on the 10th
of November the Battalion crossed the river and joined in the hunt.
Although the advance was continued well beyond Melles the Germans had
retreated so quickly that they were not seen even by the advanced
guard, and the 140th Brigade halted for the night in the villages
around Montroeul Au Bois, the Civil Service Rifles being billeted in
the little hamlet of Barberie. The natives gave the troops a warm
welcome, for it was only on the previous night that they had been
compelled to shelter the retreating Bosches.
It was now decided that each Brigade in turn should furnish the
advanced guard for the advance of the Division, and the 140th Brigade
was detailed to act in that capacity on the morrow. The Civil Service
Rifles would be the vanguard, and the details were explained to Company
Commanders late on the night of the 10th. The Battalion scouts, on
bicycles, were to move off at 6.45 a.m. and keep in touch with the
cavalry screen furnished by the 19th Hussars. The Companies were to
move off at 7.30 a.m. and the duty of the Battalion was to advance on
the general line of the river Dendre and seize the bridges over the
Dendre canal on the outskirts of Ath, not far from Brussels.
This would have given the Battalion its first experience of vanguards
in real war, and the troops were eagerly anticipating a visit to
Brussels during the next few days. These hopes, however, were never
fulfilled, for at 2.30 a.m. on the 11th of November, the news reached
the Battalion that the orders for the advance were cancelled. No
explanation was given, and a rumour that the war was over was
strengthened by an order received later in the morning for the
Battalion to march back to Tournai.
The rumour was discredited when the Battalion got on the main road
to Tournai and met a whole Division going in the opposite direction,
but when a low-flying aeroplane appeared, gaily decorated with
coloured ribbons and making a terrible noise with its Klaxon horn,
there could be little doubt that the Armistice terms had been signed.
This was confirmed by a passing officer in a motor-car, and the news
was conveyed to the troops by the Regimental Band, who, by a happy
inspiration of Sergeant Blackmore, the Bandmaster, struck up an air
which had been popular throughout the British Army during the past
four years:
“When this ruddy war is over
Oh, how happy I shall be.”
It should be placed on record that this was the only intimation of
the armistice which reached the Battalion beyond announcements in the
Press. The Civil Service Rifles received no official news that an
armistice had been granted, although a telephone message from Brigade
on the night of the 12th of November gave particulars of the various
armaments, etc., which were to be surrendered.
Tournai was reached in the afternoon of the 11th of November, and the
men were once more accommodated in a convent, where the nuns came out
in a body and expressed their gratitude to the British troops.
So the Civil Service Rifles saw the end of the Great War, and a tamer
finish it is impossible to imagine. There were many whose ambition it
had been to be in the front line on the last day of the war, and many
were the conjectures as to what it would be like, but none ever guessed
that it would fizzle out in such a miserable and uninteresting fashion.
To be left to read of it in the newspapers was about the feeblest
finish that could have happened, and while there were jubilations in
London and elsewhere on armistice night, there was absolutely nothing
in the area occupied by the 140th Infantry Brigade in the nature of a
celebration of so great a victory. The district was very gloomy, and
its name, La Tombe, appeared a very appropriate one.
Things looked up somewhat on the following evening, when a Battalion
concert was held in the Convent, to which the civilians were invited.
They did not understand a word of the concert, but they applauded
everything vigorously, and at the close, when the chairs were cleared
away, the natives went fairly mad with joy at an impromptu dance.
CHAPTER XXVI
HOME
Little remains to be said of the history of the 1st Civil Service
Rifles in France, but before the story is closed mention should be
made of a few incidents which stand out in the last few months before
demobilisation was complete.
After the concert at Tournai the Battalion once more marched out along
the road to Brussels, but this time the route was along the lower road,
and the troops were employed for a time in repairing the railway at
Leuze. They were billeted in the little village of Pipaix, where they
made great friends with the villagers and were very happy. It was hoped
that even yet they would get to Germany, but a bitter disappointment
was in store, for it was decreed that the 47th Division should end its
career in France in the same district where it started, and in less
than a week the Civil Service Rifles left Pipaix for Willems, a village
between Tournai and Lille, where a week was spent before starting
the trek across the devastated area to the mud and squalor of the
coal-fields around Auchel.
It should perhaps be mentioned that to Sergeant Haycock, the Battalion
Pioneer Sergeant, fell the distinction of being the first member of the
Battalion to be demobilised. He left Willems for that purpose on the
23rd of November, 1918.
The journey to the coal-fields began on the 26th of November, and,
after a night in the suburbs of Lille, the interest of the trek,
especially to “the 17th of March man” consisted in a last glimpse at
the ruins of La Bassée and the Double Crassier, dominating the village
and battle-field of Loos, and, later, the brick-fields at Cuinchy he
had fired at so zealously nearly four years ago. The night of the 27th
of November was spent at Bethune, within a stone’s throw of the Girl’s
School where the Battalion had been quartered on its first visit to the
line. Suppers were obtained at small cafés in the suburbs, but those
who looked for the gay patisseries they once knew now found the site
of the old town, including the picturesque church, belfry and Hôtel
du Nord, a desolate waste of charred bricks! The next day a war-worn
and weary Battalion reversed the march described at the beginning of
Chapter II, the journey being extended some two kilometres beyond
Cauchy-a-la-Tour to Ferfay.
In spite of Ferfay having been a Corps Headquarters, the accommodation
at first was poor, but the troops soon settled down, and, making the
most of the wretched conditions, contrived to have a jolly good time
during their last days in France.
A number of N.C.O.’s and men distinguished themselves as educational
instructors at the classes which were held daily, and Sergeant
Blackmore’s “Sunday League Concerts” became quite a popular weekly
function.
A good deal of football was played, and the Battalion got together
excellent teams, both Rugby and Association.
The Association match against the 2nd Battalion Civil Service Rifles,
who were beaten by four goals to three, on the 14th of December, was
the event of the season. The crowd was a record one and included about
100 members of the 2nd Battalion who were billeted about twelve miles
away. In the evening a concert was held in the theatre, the programme
being provided by talent from both Battalions.
After a really merry Christmas the Battalion began to melt away.
Demobilisation began in earnest with the New Year, and parties of
twenty-five or thirty left for England almost daily. Large crowds
assembled outside the Battalion Headquarters to give the lucky ones a
rousing send-off, and the procession through the village was headed by
the Regimental Band, until the day came when the Band played itself out
of the village and left for home.
Before that day came, however, the Band had supplied the orchestra for
a highly successful revue, “Pack up,” which was played in the theatre
by a company of officers, N.C.O.’s and men of the Civil Service Rifles
trained by Corporal Bailey of “B” Company. The “book” was written by
Major D. Young, M.C., second in command of the Battalion, the music
was “put together” by Second-Lieutenant P. H. Small, and the play was
produced by Corporal Bailey. R.Q.M.S. Hart excelled himself with the
wonderful stage effects which he devised.
Of the actors special mention should be made of Private Perrin, Captain
“Florrie” Ford, and the two “girls,” Lance-Corporal Harnett and
Lance-Corporal Flight, and Sergeant Taylor. But the whole Company is
to be congratulated on the best show ever given by a Battalion concert
party. The production got such an enthusiastic reception that it was
given at Auchel and other places for the benefit of other units.
Although demobilisation began just before New Year, it was not until
the 10th of May, 1919, that the last remnants, the “Cadre,” consisting
of about thirty all ranks, reached England.
It should perhaps be mentioned that there was not a single officer,
N.C.O. or man outside the Quartermaster’s staff and transport section
who served with the Battalion continuously throughout its stay in
France.
Included in the Cadre was Sergeant Teasdale, a member of the Regiment
for nearly twenty years. For more than nineteen of his twenty years he
had been a humble private, and as a raconteur at Regimental concerts
he never had an equal. He had been in France with the 1st Civil
Service Rifles as a member of the Quartermaster’s staff ever since the
Battalion landed in 1915. It is said that he accepted his third stripe
owing to the keen demand for his stories in the Sergeants’ Mess.
The two war trophies that had been preserved by the Civil Service
Rifles and brought home also deserve special mention.
One generally expects a war trophy to be some instrument of war, but
the Civil Service Rifles war trophies were an instrument of music,
viz., a piano, and a presidential chair.
The piano was captured at Nurlu during the heavy fighting on the Somme
in the first days of September, 1918, and the Regiment is chiefly
indebted to Major Young for this uncommon trophy. It is also through
the ingenuity of the same officer that the Regiment was represented
in the salving of H.M.S. _Vindictive_ at Ostend, whence came the
“presidential chair,” for it was through his efforts that two pioneers
of the Civil Service Rifles found their way to Ostend in 1918, and
worked on the salved ship, producing out of a piece of teak taken from
the decks, a handsome chair on which the Regimental crest is carved.
Thus it transpired that whereas their keenest rivals in the London
Regiment are said to have sunk the _Emden_, the 1st Civil Service
Rifles can claim to have salved the _Vindictive_.
The home-coming of the Cadre was an even more dismal experience than
the celebration of the Armistice, for the party was taken stealthily
to Felixstowe of all places, and from there the members drifted
away one by one until all that remained were Colonel Feilding and
Colour-Sergeant Chubb, the Orderly Room clerk. These were then
permitted to return to Somerset House.
But although the Battalion had, as it were, been scattered to the four
winds, the spirit of comradeship, which had been so characteristic of
the Regiment in war, still prevailed in peace-time.
Already, before demobilisation was nearly completed, a meeting of
members of the Regiment had been held at Somerset House, and it had
been resolved to proceed forthwith to found a Club as a memorial to
those of the Regiment who had lost their lives in the war, and as a
place of reunion for those who survive. A temporary home was found at
Somerset House, where the School of Arms was converted into a lounge,
and on the 28th of April, 1920, the Club was opened by Major-General
G. D. Jeffreys, G.-O.-C. London District, who congratulated the Civil
Service Rifles on being the first Territorial unit to form such a club,
which forges a link between the old generation and the new in the
Regiment, and where, for many years to come, the new members of the
Regiment will be able to meet those who, in the Great War of 1914-1918,
helped to make history for the Civil Service Rifles.
2nd Battalion, Civil Service Rifles
BY MAJOR A. C. H. BENKÉ.[15]
[15] Major Benké, D.S.O., M.C., acting Lieut.-Colonel, 1919, till
demobilised.--EDITOR.
PREFACE
This brief story of the 2/15th Battalion, London Regiment, is written,
not as a specimen of literary art, but merely as a record of the work
of the Battalion during the War of 1914-1918.
It is compiled from rough notes in my pocket diary, and probably some
of the events in the experience of others have been overlooked, and to
these I offer my apologies.
I have to thank Lieutenants J. L. Hutchinson, M.C., and T. H. E. Clark
for their kindness and assistance in furnishing the notes for the
greater part of Chapters IX and XI, especially the accounts of the
Capture of Jerusalem, the Turkish Counter-Attack at Tel el Ful, and the
journey to Es Salt. In these actions both these officers served with
distinction.
I have also taken the liberty to include extracts from a Brief History
of the 30th Division in France, in writing up the last three chapters
of this book.
A. C. H. BENKÉ.
CHAPTER XXVII
FORMATION--TRAINING--IRISH REBELLION, 1916--AND DEPARTURE FOR FRANCE,
JUNE, 1916
During the early days of August, 1914, the Headquarters of the Civil
Service Rifles at Somerset House was besieged by crowds of younger
Civil Servants; either wishing to re-enlist in their old Battalion, or
to start their military career in the Civil Service Rifles, which had
been mobilised for Active Service. Many of them were able to gain an
entrance into the 1st Battalion, but others were disappointed. From the
latter the nucleus of a second line unit was formed, and eventually
the War Office authorised the existence of a new Battalion, the 2/15th
Battalion, County of London Regiment.
The feeling of a separate existence brought with it great enthusiasm,
and although arms, equipment and stores were slow in coming, every one
worked hard to make an efficient unit. Training was carried out in
the London parks, and each morning the semi-equipped army of recruits
marched out of Somerset House for the day’s work. Indeed, so slow was
the equipping of the Battalion that many of the keener members wondered
whether they would be “too late for the war.”
However, before very long the new unit, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel R. G. Hayes, T.D., left London for Dorking. This
was, indeed, a pleasant change from the Metropolis, where friends
constantly asked the budding rifleman, “Why aren’t you at the front?”
Training was pursued with more realism in the new area; organisation
improved, and the novelty of “billets” was still prevalent. A word of
appreciation for the kindness of the people of Dorking might well be
included in this book. They did all they could to make the new soldiers
comfortable.
Route marches among the beautiful Surrey Hills and sham fights over the
surrounding country-side soon brought the physique of the men to a high
standard, and the rigors of a cold, wet winter were easily borne. Leith
Hill, the pleasure ground of many a week-end in previous years, became
the training ground of England’s new armies. True, the pack and the
rifle made the climbing stiffer, but keenness and enthusiasm to get
out to fight the Bosche helped one to forget the additional fatigue.
Early in the spring of 1915, drafts were furnished for the completion
of the 1st Battalion at Watford, which had then been ordered to France.
This depleted the ranks of the younger unit, but recruits arrived from
Somerset House, where a third line depot had been established, and
the 2nd Battalion soon recovered its numbers, and shortly afterwards
followed in the footsteps of the 1st Battalion which had then left for
the front.
The move of the 2nd Battalion from Dorking was the first real move as
a unit, and was creditably done. How many hours of worry and labour
it involved does not concern us here, but what a contrast to the 2nd
Battalion of two years later, which moved its home complete within a
couple of hours after the receipt of orders; every one working with the
precision of an automatic machine.
Following so closely on the heels of our 1st Battalion at Watford,
added to the welcome of the people of Hertfordshire. The impression
left by the parent Battalion was exceedingly fine, and the Watford
folk looked upon the 2nd Battalion as part of a regiment they loved;
in fact, they felt a part ownership in the Civil Service Rifles,
and continued to thrust upon us all those wonderful kindnesses they
had so recently bestowed upon the 1st Battalion. Houses were thrown
open for entertainment, baths and meals; and there was no difficulty
in billeting; every one was welcomed into the household. It must be
remembered that at this time the billeting of troops in private houses
was new to the people of Britain. In some parts it was a matter for
misgivings and suspicions. In Watford, however, the whole town opened
their hearts to welcome the Battalion, and, in fairness to the troops,
it must be recorded that they lived up to that splendid standard
expected of them as soldiers and gentlemen.
The stay at Watford was indeed a happy one, and training was carried
out in the local parks at Cassiobury and Munden. Each day areas for
manœuvres were allotted to the various Battalions of the Brigade, now
known as the 2/4th London Infantry Brigade, comprising the second line
units of the Kensingtons, London Scottish, Civil Service and Queen’s
Westminsters.
Musketry was done at Chalk Hill ranges, a few miles from St. Albans,
and by the summer the Battalion was an efficient unit. The earlier
heart-burnings of the “fire-eaters” that they would be “too late” were
dispersed; the war on the continent had developed into a far greater
conflict than many had ever imagined.
In June, 1915, the Battalion, now under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel E. F. Strange, trekked to Saffron Walden, and
encamped in Audley End Park. It was a lovely English summer, and all
will remember the glorious golden carpet of buttercups in the camp;
undoubtedly one of the prettiest camps in England. Being under canvas
was a new experience for many, but the Battalion soon settled down to
its new life away from the home comforts of Watford.
Here the summer of 1915 was passed. Training on similar lines to that
at Watford was continued. Classes were instituted for specialists. Day
after day the same routine was pursued, until rumours furnished the
only excitement; and such rumours too! Was the Battalion to be kept in
England on Home Service? Had the War Office forgotten its existence?
Was not the Battalion good enough? Was it to be a draft-finding unit?
etc., etc.--such were the questions that resulted from these rumours.
Then came the furnishing of a draft of about 100 strong to the 1st
Battalion in France, and this in the minds of many sealed the fate
of the Battalion. Never would the 2nd Battalion take its place as a
fighting unit in the Great War.
However the horizon brightened, and all those men who had only
volunteered for home service were ordered to be transferred to the
3rd line unit. It is not for anyone to comment upon the actions of
others; circumstances alter cases, and during the war to act up to the
dictates of one’s own conscience was the duty of all. Nevertheless, the
departure of the home service contingent was a matter of great relief
to the 2nd Battalion. True, many good friends were lost, and many who
had striven hard for the efficiency and well-being of the Battalion had
to bid farewell; but for those who remained there was that resuscitated
feeling that the 2nd Battalion would some day take its proper place in
the fight on the continent.
Fresh drafts were received, and a large training company was
established where men qualified as trained soldiers and then passed
into their respective companies. New N.C.O.’s had to be found, and
special classes of instruction were organised, and again the Battalion
felt itself to be an independent unit, every one earnest for foreign
service.
This history of the Battalion’s doings at Saffron Walden must contain
a reference to the two treks, the one to Furneaux Pelham and the other
to Braintree and Stebbing. It was during these two expeditions that the
2/15th had their first real taste of campaigning; a day’s marching, an
outpost or an attack, then a night in the open, which was the nearest
approach to the actual war obtainable in England. From a military point
of view the success of these operations was, of course, doubtful;
every one had different views, but as a well-known Brigadier always
said to the 1st Battalion at the end of a day’s operations, “Shot and
shell would tell.” However, there can be no doubt that they proved
conclusively that the spirit of the Battalion was right, and that all
the inconveniences of treks were taken, by all, as part of the game.
By this time winter was approaching, and the canvas camp at Saffron
Walden was becoming a rather cheerless place on wet days. On the 26th
October, 1915, the Battalion proceeded by road to billets at Bishop
Stortford. The whole of the Brigade was billeted in the area, and
memories of the happy days at Watford sprung up. The billets were
good, and the local people made the Battalion welcome. It is true many
billets were crowded, but the size of the town would not admit of so
large a concentration as the Brigade, less the Kensingtons who were
billeted in a village a few miles south. The stay, however, was not to
be a long one, for no sooner had the central cook-houses, miniature
range, etc., been thoroughly established, than orders for a move to
Ware were received.
On the 29th of November the Battalion packed up, and after a long march
of about sixteen miles arrived at Ware. An earnest welcome was given by
the townspeople, and the prospect of Christmas in Ware caused every one
to keep a bright look-out for any good things Ware might produce. The
officers of the Battalion formed a regimental mess in a large, roomy
house at the top of the hill overlooking the town, where most of the
officers were billeted. In the same building an excellent dining-room,
a smoke-room and a card-room had been arranged, all of which proved to
be great boons, more especially as the attractions of Ware in the way
of evening entertainments were few.
The local drill hall was taken over as a central place for battalion
messing, each company marching from its own area for meals. At
Christmas time this hall was used for concerts, and a splendid
Battalion dinner was held on Christmas Day. Some of the less fortunate
members were, however, detailed at that time for aeroplane guards in
the surrounding villages. Ware was on the outer defences of London
against air raids, and pickets were arranged in the Ware district,
armed with mysterious rockets for the purpose of representing
anti-aircraft batteries. However, on no occasion was it necessary to
use these alarming fireworks, and in spite of being on duty, these
outlying posts are believed to have spent a very jovial Christmas.
Leave was freely given, and the proximity of Ware to London was a great
advantage, as was proved within a very short time; for on the 22nd
January, 1916, the Battalion entrained during the night for Salisbury
Plain.
Late in the afternoon of the 23rd, Warminster was reached, and after a
march of about four or five miles a city of comfortable looking huts
appeared. Their apparent comfort, however, quickly disappeared when
the mud of Longbridge Deverill came into evidence. The interior of
the huts so recently vacated by a division which had left for France,
was little better than the filth outside. However, the Battalion was
now becoming accustomed to this kind of thing, and soon settled down.
Improvements were made in the camp, and competition between the various
units of the Division for the smartest camp was soon astir. The whole
Division (now known as the 60th (London) Division) was concentrated
between Longbridge Deverill and Sutton Veny. The divisional R.E.,
A.S.C., R.A.M.C., and R.F.A. appeared in reality, and it was obvious
to all that the Battalion was at last part of a real fighting division
destined at some time or other to go abroad.
Everything was advancing at a pace, and stores and material were
brought up to War Establishment. Training and musketry was being
completed, the Regular Army Course having been fired on the local
range. Manœuvres by the whole Division became daily routine, and
inspections were frequent. Hopes ran high for an early departure for
France, when suddenly, on the 28th April, 1916, the Battalion was
ordered to proceed to Ireland with the rest of our Brigade.
Political events in Dublin had developed into war during Eastertide,
every one was full of the possibility of Dublin; others said that
France was the real destination, and the orders for Ireland were mere
camouflage to deceive the Hun; while others, less optimistic, imagined
a permanent exile in Ireland for the duration of the war.
However, all rumours were soon dispelled during the night of the 29th
April, and the Battalion entrained at Warminster bound for Neyland near
Pembroke Dock.
The following day was Sunday, and the Battalion spent a beautiful
summer day on the grassy slopes facing the sea, awaiting embarkation
to an unknown port, while the officers were kindly entertained by the
Officers’ Mess of the 4th Welsh Regiment, which was stationed a few
miles inland. Late in the evening a large quantity of rations was
issued, and the prospect of a long sea journey arose in the minds of
most of us. The night, however, was without alarms, and not until
the following morning did the Battalion embark. Part of the unit,
together with the transport section, sailed on the _Archangel_, and the
remainder on board the _Rathmore_; both transports leaving the harbour
early in the evening.
Here was real adventure at last, sailing to an unknown destination
through seas frequented by enemy submarines. At daybreak the coast of
Ireland was sighted, and at 4.30 a.m. we were alongside the quays of
Queenstown. The disembarkation was without incident beyond the warning
that we were now in “enemy” country. We proceeded straightway through
the town to Belvelly Camp on Fota Island. No demonstration was made
by the Irish people, and no one could understand why they should be
regarded with suspicion. Smiles greeted the troops, and the unfortunate
Battalion Signalling Officer, who was leading the Battalion on the
march, was severely reprimanded by his superior for talking to some
charming Irish damsels. The B.S.O. excused himself on the grounds that
he was asking the way; a reply which brought forth a still further
admonition for “enquiring of the enemy.” The new camp on Fota Island
was situated in a beautiful Irish park, the property of Lord Ballymore,
and for the next few days the Battalion was engaged on ordinary field
training and not a bloodthirsty battle as many had anticipated.
The weather turned wet, and this fact alone appears to be a sufficient
reason for the “Staff” to order a move with its consequent discomfort.
On the 6th May the Battalion left the camp at Belvelly and proceeded
to Ballincorrig via Cork. The march was performed in the rain, though
while actually passing through the City of Cork the weather became
kinder, and the streets were lined with the citizens, none of whom
appeared to be really warlike. The real sensation, however, was an
officer of the Munsters who passed the Battalion. He wore a steel
helmet, which at that time was unique and rarely seen in the United
Kingdom, and the atmosphere of real war conjured up by that single
steel helmet somewhat counteracted the peacefulness of Cork. Leaving
the town was to leave the finer weather; for the rest of the journey
the downpour was terrific, and when the Battalion reached Ballincorrig
no one was sorry. The Battalion was housed in the local cavalry
barracks, and every one will remember the splendid comradeship of
the artillerymen stationed there, who did all they could to attend
to the needs of the soaked Battalion. The riding school was full of
tired Londoners, but how they welcomed those steaming “dixies” of
tea prepared by the barracks cooks. Tiredness soon disappeared, and
fraternising was the “order of the night”; officers to the officers’
mess, sergeants to the sergeants’ mess, and men to the canteen. The
horrors of the day’s march of 16 miles in the rain were forgotten, and
a pleasant evening was spent. A word of thanks is also due to those
artillerymen who so kindly took over the Battalion transport on arrival
and groomed and fed the horses. Here, indeed, was the brotherly spirit,
which existed so strongly in the British Tommy, illustrated.
The next morning the Battalion was astir early, the march was resumed,
our destination being Coachford. The journey was shorter, about 12
miles, and the Battalion marched through some of the most beautiful
Irish scenery, small villages like Dripsey on the route, with its
tiny hovels sheltering animals and fowls in the living rooms, gave us
an insight into Irish village life. Coachford, a sleepy little Irish
village, was reached in the evening, and tents, which had been conveyed
in advance by motor lorries, were soon erected on the local recreation
ground, and the Battalion nestled down for the night. The next day the
march was continued as far as Macroom, the day was fine and the march
fairly short. Early in the afternoon the town of Macroom was reached,
and the population turned out to welcome the Battalion. The camping
ground was situated on the river banks in the grounds of the ancient
castle of Macroom. By evening time the Battalion had settled down and
every one hoped for a long stay in this glorious spot. The following
day was market day in Macroom, and the town was crowded with people
from the surrounding villages and farms; officers and men were allowed
in the town, a happy release after the restrictions in existence since
our arrival in Ireland. Shops were besieged and luxuries were purchased
to supplement the rations of “active service.” Talking of purchases,
most members of the Battalion will remember the famous small goat
bought by an officer, which although an affectionate animal, became a
nuisance by thrusting its vocal efforts upon that tent in any battalion
camp which should be approached with bated breath, a salute and the
word “Sir.”
Mystery surrounded the first armed party of about 100 strong which left
the camp that night under the guidance of the Royal Irish Constabulary.
However, the following morning all was common knowledge; a few Irishmen
had been arrested, while the farm in which they lived had been
surrounded by the troops to prevent escape. These were the “rebels”
which the Battalion had set out to quell.
The stay at Macroom only lasted a few days, and the Battalion
continued its march inland under the command of Major A. A. Oliver;
our Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Strange having been sent
to hospital seriously ill. Only a privileged few knew the day’s
destination, but towards dusk the Battalion halted near Mill Street
and turned off the main road into a field where tea was soon prepared
by the company cooks. No tents on motor lorries were to be seen; a
drizzle set in, and every one wondered whether it would mean a night
in the wet with only waterproof sheets, which had already done great
service throughout the day. Several hours passed, no orders were
forthcoming, and every one became pessimistic. Finally, however, an
entraining officer was appointed with the usual complement of N.C.O.’s
and this ended all discussion. The Battalion was to move off by train.
The geography of Ireland had been forgotten since school days and
the names of likely places were confined to the Limerick and Dublin
areas; however, about midnight the Battalion marched to the station
at Mill Street, entrained rapidly and steamed out into the gloom of
a wet, misty Irish fog. Tired by the day’s march of 16 miles over
the moorlands of the Bochragh Mountains every one slept, and no one
troubled about our destination. Great was the surprise, however,
the next morning to wake and find that the train had pulled up on
Rosslare Pier. France was in every one’s mouth, and then the memory
of the Quartermaster Stores and rear details at Warminster dispelled
such ideas. The day was spent on the stone pier of the harbour and
eventually at 7 p.m. the Battalion set sail on the _Connaught_,
reaching Fishguard after a pleasant crossing of four hours’ duration.
Little did one think that within a few weeks the same troopship would
convey the Battalion to France. Within an hour of reaching Fishguard
the Battalion was entrained and started for Warminster, which was
reached about 7 a.m. on the 13th May, 1916. After a short march we
arrived back at our old camp at Longbridge Deverill. The visit to
Ireland soon appeared like a dream, so sudden and so short had it been.
The value of the “Irish stunt,” as it was commonly called, cannot
be discounted, even if actual warfare had not been encountered. The
Battalion had learnt to entrain and detrain; embark and disembark; and
move its home day by day and in general to become a mobile unit. The
experience was invaluable.
Back in Warminster the old question cropped up: “When is the Battalion
going to France?” The slightest alteration in the daily routine was
regarded by the numerous Sherlock Holmes in the Battalion as distinct
clues pointing to an early departure for the front. However, signs
soon became very real when additional Lewis guns, field dressings,
active service pay books, and identity discs, were issued, and soon the
Battalion was complete in regard to stores. A final medical examination
was held and innoculation and vaccination were soon in full swing.
Embarkation leave was granted and one whole day was spent before the
camera; photographs of companies, sections and specialists were taken.
Every one was hopeful.
On the 31st May, 1916, the whole division was inspected by H.M. The
King, and it was a splendid sight to see the troops in review order
on the slopes of the Wiltshire Downs. The 60th Division was fit and
ready for the front; and on the 21st June, 1916, the final orders were
received and the following morning the Battalion, under the Command
of Lieutenant-Colonel C. de Putron, entrained at Warminster for
Southampton. Many of the townsfolk turned out in the early morning and
gave us a hearty send-off.
The following was the list of Officers and Warrant Officers, etc. who
left for France:--
Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel C. de Putron.
Second in Command Major A. A. Oliver.
Adjutant Captain A. W. Gaze.
Medical Officer Captain F. J. Leech, R.A.M.C.
Quarter Master Lieutenant A. A. Joslin.
Transport Officer Second-Lieutenant F. T. Bailey.
Lewis Gun Officer Lieutenant W. S. H. Smith.
Signalling Officer Lieutenant P. W. Thorogood.
“A” Company: Captain F. F. Tarver, Lieutenants C. H. Rimington and H.
F. Rust, Lieutenant B. Peatfield, and Second-Lieutenant L. H. Hart.
Company Sergeant Major H. A. Syrad and Company Quartermaster Sergeant
J. C. Sale.
“B” Company: Captain C. A. Bailey, Captain A. C. H. Benké, Lieutenant
J. H. Randolph, and Second-Lieutenants A. V. James, S. C. Bennett
and H. J. Spencer. Company Sergeant Major H. T. Bassett and Company
Quartermaster Sergeant W. D. Shanahan.
“C” Company: Major H. F. M. Warne, Captain K. A. Wills,
Second-Lieutenants F. J. Smith, E. E. Andrews, F. E. Gearing, and F. W.
Westmore. Company Sergeant Major J. S Oldcorn and Company Quartermaster
Sergeant A. J. Rodd.
“D” Company: Captain F. R. Radice, Captain K. W. M. Pickthorn, and
Second-Lieutenants F. W. Lewis, C. M. Kilner, G. E. Thompson and K. A.
Higgs. Company Sergeant Major H. W. Lovelock and Company Quartermaster
Sergeant F. King.
Regimental Sergeant Major A. H. Freemantle (Scots Guards).
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant A. C. Gibson.
CHAPTER XXVIII
FRANCE, 22ND JUNE, 1916, TO 19TH NOVEMBER, 1916--IN THE TRENCHES AT
NEUVILLE ST. VAAST--BATTALION RAID--JOURNEY TO MARSEILLES.
The journey to France was without incident; the train from Salisbury
Plain arrived at Southampton Docks about midday on the 22nd of June,
1916, and after a few hours on the quayside the Battalion embarked on
board H. M. Transport _Connaught_, the boat which only a few weeks
before had brought us over from Ireland. Complimentary messages from
the Embarkation Staff on the excellent and business-like behaviour
of the Battalion pleased us. At about 10 p.m. we set sail, and the
calm sea made the journey comparatively comfortable. True, it was
crowded on board, but not to that extent that it reminded one of the
proverbial “sardines in a box.” During the morning of the 23rd of June
the Battalion set foot on the Continent at Havre. Great excitement
prevailed; the novelty of France, the quaint French poilus in their
blue service kit; everything, in fact, seemed to belong to that world
of dreams that had for so long evaded us; while a group of German
prisoners of war on the quayside added spice to our first taste of
foreign service. Rain set in, however, and made the short march to the
rest camp distinctly unpleasant.
Leave was granted to limited numbers, who immediately availed
themselves of the “good things” in the town, and incidentally the
opportunity of airing their French, much of which was of the “primer”
lesson book type, and was neither greatly appreciated nor understood by
the townspeople, who replied in good English. But the French people are
so polite that one is encouraged to persevere.
The Battalion retired to their tents for the night, but an early
réveillé at 2.30 a.m. reminded every one that they were now on “Active
Service,” and soon the whole camp was astir preparing to move. After
a wait of many hours the Battalion left (less “B” Company, which
moved later in the day) for the station, and were entrained in the
famous “8 Chevaux, 40 Hommes” wagons of which we had heard so much.
Any discomfort in travelling in these trucks was recompensed by the
novelty of our new surroundings. The French people by this time had
become serious over the war, and the route was not lined by cheering
crowds as had been the case in the earlier days of the war; though
the French children on the route still made frequent requests for
bully beef, biscuits and cigarettes, in their best “Engleesh.” The
journey terminated on the 25th in the St. Pol area, and the Battalion
soon marched to its billets in the villages of Penin, Averdoight, and
Roellecourt. These were the first billets in France, but every one
managed to settle down comfortably whether in a cottage or in a barn.
The local “vins rouges et blancs” were sampled, and the 2/15th Londons
appreciated the mystic word “estaminet” for the first time. At times
the rumble of heavy artillery could be heard in the distance, and this
brought home to us the fact that we were nearing the firing line.
Orders were received the following day to move forward to Maroeuil,
a few miles north of Arras. The Battalion formed up on the high road
from Penin, and started off gaily enough on a glorious summer evening.
An advanced aerodrome was passed on the way, and the planes in the
air, and the observation balloons in the distance, helped to make the
first part of the marching interesting. Gradually the night clouds
gathered, and a heavy downpour of rain rather “spoilt things.” French
“pavé” roads which up to this time had been traversed unnoticed, became
torture to tired feet, and troops billeted on the line of march were
envied; however, the Battalion plodded along, and by 11 p.m. reached
the battered town of Maroeuil, where a few civilians still remained.
Not realising that the town was close to the firing line, and under the
direct observation of the German lines, the Battalion freely used its
hurricane lamps which reflected their rays on the ruined walls of the
buildings, and there can be no doubt that the salvos of shells that
greeted us on our arrival had been “asked for.”
Only two men were wounded slightly; not forgetting “A” Company’s
cooker, which received a direct hit. However, these incidents were
quite sufficient to make us realise the unpleasantness of war. Billets
were soon found under the able guidance of the “Scotties” of the
51st Division, who apparently knew all the cellars in the town. The
Battalion, after having a hot meal, went to bed feeling tired, but
many spent a restless night wondering when the next strafe was due.
The night was, however, quiet, and the next day, the 27th of June,
was spent in finding our way around the town, and investigating the
few estaminets which remained open, where we were regaled with the
horrible details of war by the men of the 51st Division of Scottish
Territorials who were then holding that part of the front line. The
following morning the Battalion moved a few miles farther north under
the cover of the valley behind the town as far as Bray, which nestled
behind the ridge of Mont St. Eloy, and was out of observation by the
Bosche. The Battalion was housed in large Army huts, similar to those
we had left on Salisbury Plain. Every one was relieved to get away from
the dingy cellars of Maroeuil, our unpleasant reception having given
most of us a bad taste of the village and its cellars. On the 29th of
June, the Battalion left Bray via Maroeuil for the firing line, and by
means of deep communication trenches, which had been dug for a distance
of four to five miles from the front line system as far back as
Maroeuil, the relief was carried out by day. This was a great advantage
to the new Battalion as it became accustomed to that weird feeling of
being in a trench, before the night fell and obliterated all.
The surrounding country was covered with red poppies, and the setting
sun shone gloriously on this carpet of colour. On the way ruined farms
were seen at points of vantage, and near the main road from Arras to
Souchez, with its avenue of trees destroyed by shell fire, we passed
the famous Maison Blanche, a deep dug-out, large enough to hold a
battalion. In nearly every depression in the ground were cleverly
camouflaged battery positions, the sight of which encouraged us in
our new venture. After a long march through communication trenches
the reserve line of the Elbe shelters in a sunken road was reached,
and companies were distributed in the support and reserve areas for
the night. Seven days after leaving England the Battalion was in the
firing line. During the night of the 29th of June, the Bosche raided
the trenches of the “Black Watch” in the front line, and many of the
Battalion who got mixed up in the “Box” barrage will never forget the
terrific local bombardment which lasted for some twenty minutes. The
Battalion was fortunate and sustained no loss, but the “Black Watch”
unfortunately lost about ten men killed and missing, while others were
wounded. For the next few days the Battalion was held in support and
reserve, and tours of duty in the front line were made by officers and
N.C.O.’s, under the instruction of the “Black Watch.” Dug-out life was
studied, and every one became acquainted with the new routine. The
Battalion soon acquired the attitude of the “man in the line,” and very
many thanks are due to those battalions of the Scottish Division which
so kindly assisted us to pick up the threads of trench life. On the
2nd of July, 1916, the Battalion took over the front line, and became
responsible for that part just north of Roclincourt, and in front of
Neuville St. Vaast. The weather was unkind, rain made the trenches
extremely unpleasant, and together with the constant salvos of enemy
trench mortars known as “Grey Pigeons,” “Lead Pencils,” “Oilcans,” and
so on, according to their various shapes and sizes, those first few
nights in the line proved rather trying to the Battalion of novices.
Casualties were few, and the men soon learnt the “unhealthy” spots
in the line, and avoided them whenever possible. This section of the
front which was adjacent to the “Labyrinth” had been held by the French
during the earlier stages of the war, and sad and gruesome relics of
the heavy fighting by our gallant Allies were numerous in the trenches.
The Battalion set to work, and did a great deal to improve them, though
our work was constantly being destroyed by the intermittent bombardment
of the enemy’s trench mortars and minenwerfers. Wiring along the front
was improved, and patrols were sent out each night into “No Man’s
Land,” although the proximity of the Bosche did not allow much latitude
in this respect. At this time the great Somme Offensive had commenced,
and the heavy artillery fire farther south could be distinctly heard;
and although the 2/15th Londons had not participated in the actual
fight, there was a great consolation in the fact that the Battalion
was at last holding part of the line, thereby releasing more seasoned
troops for the offensive and at the same time preparing themselves for
their turn when it should come.
The insertion of a sketch of this sector might prove interesting at
this point, for it was here that the Battalion was destined to spend
its stay in France.
The front held by the 179th Brigade was from the Stone Communication
Trench on the north to the Victoire Communication Trench on the south,
about 2,500 yards in all. Two battalions held the front lines, a third
battalion forming the supports and reserves, while the fourth battalion
of the Brigade was out at rest at Bray. The 2/15th always occupied the
right sub-sector of the Brigade front being relieved by the 2/14th
(London Scottish); while the 2/13th and the 2/16th Battalions shared
the responsibility of the left sub-sector.
The right sub-sector in which the Battalion was located ran from the
Vissec Communication Trench to the Victoire, on the right flank.
This sub-sector was again divided into three company fronts as
follows:--
(1) Vissec C.T. to Bentata C.T.
(2) Biras Sap to Point ‘D.’
(3) Point ‘D’ to Bonnell Avenue at Point ‘A.’
The front line proper ran along the Doublement, MacIntyre Street,
across Argyle Street to Bonnell Avenue. The support line ran parallel
to the front line at distances varying from 70 yards to 150 yards
at the different places, while between the front line and the support
line an intermediate line, chiefly occupied by machine guns and trench
mortars, had been constructed. Forward of the front line an observation
line had been dug, and in the centre of the Battalion front a strong
redoubt known as the Paris Redoubt had been constructed. From the front
line system connection with the rear was maintained by four arterial
communication trenches, the Vissec, Claudot, Douai, and de la Vase.
Many minor trenches made the whole system a perfect maze, and many
disused trenches added to the difficulties of the network.
[Illustration:
_ROUGH SKETCH MAP
SHOWING TRENCHES AT
“NEUVILLE ST VAAST”
ALSO
SKETCH OF THE
NEUVILLE ST AREA._
_SCALE ½" = 100 YDS._]
Three companies of the Battalion held the front line while the fourth
company was in support on the right flank; the left flank support being
furnished by the third battalion in the Brigade. While holding the
line, Battalion Headquarters were situated in the Elbe Shelters, but
when the line was handed over, and the Battalion had become support
or third battalion of the Brigade, Battalion Headquarters transferred
their activities to Maison Blanche.
On the 5th of July the Battalion were taken out of the line for a
“rest,” but the word proved a misnomer. The Battalion was taken back
as far as the Aux Rietz Cave in rear of Neuville St. Vaast and La
Targette. Three companies were located in the cave, while “A” Company
were billeted in dug-outs near La Targette. In the front line the
Battalion had the good fortune to be housed in excellent dug-outs
bequeathed to us by the French, but in no place on the whole British
front could have been more secure from air-raids and shell fire than
the Aux Rietz Cave.
Down wooden steps for over a hundred feet the weary infantrymen
stumbled, and finally a wonderful underground world presented itself.
A large cave capable of holding a thousand men, with hundreds of
small candles lighting its sombre darkness, was the new home of the
Battalion. Down here cook-houses were established, and all were able
to roam about free from bombs, shells and bullets. A hot meal was soon
prepared, and the weary Tommies soon fell asleep, in spite of the
great heat and oppressive “fugginess” of their underground dwelling.
The Battalion had not, however, escaped all the horrors of war, for
the orderly sergeants of companies soon appeared and detailed numerous
working parties, which were sent up the line that same evening to
furnish Royal Engineer mining fatigues. Within a few hours most of
the Battalion was retracing its steps through miles of trenches,
knee deep in mud and water, to the front line, and after about six
or eight hours strenuous work lifting and carrying heavy sandbags
full of clay, they returned to the cave at Aux Rietz. A few hours’
respite was granted, and then the working parties were again paraded
for another tour of duty with the Royal Engineer sappers. In fact,
for several days it was a constant procession day and night of weary
working parties leaving and returning to the cave. No one grumbled at
the actual work with the Royal Engineers, but the long journey to and
from the line provided sufficient for a “grouse”; every one longed for
the front line again. The desire was quickly granted, and the Battalion
were soon back in the trenches, and not until the 4th of August was
it relieved. During this long stay in the line the Battalion became
“old soldiers.” The cook-houses in the Elbe Shelter were thoroughly
organised, and provided a hot meal each day to the men and a cup of
hot cocoa each morning at “stand down.” The daily post and canteen
stores came up with the rations each night, having been brought as far
as Battalion Headquarters by the transport and Quartermaster’s staff;
from which point company ration parties carried them to the front
line. Specialists such as signallers, snipers, and bombers, overcame
the various difficulties of their work. Every man learnt the way round
his own particular sector; names of trenches, saps and craters became
familiar, in fact the whole place became “a home from home.” Friends
were made with the artillery forward observation officers and men, and
the tunnellers on our front became companions in distress. A great deal
of mining was carried on in this part of the British front, and our
tunnellers were extremely busy combating the activities of the Bosche,
and many restless nights were spent wondering whether the constant
tapping underground was that of friend or foe.
Casualties were fortunately not very heavy, although one recollects
with sadness such incidents as the dug-out in Argyle Street being blown
in, burying Sergeant Wigney and his gallant fellows, but on the whole
the Battalion had been lucky.
On the 4th of August the Battalion was relieved and marched back to
Bray, this time for a real rest. The Quartermaster’s staff had prepared
a hot meal, and after this repast was finished every one settled down
for a well-earned rest away from the continual noise of the front
line. The next few days were spent in cleaning up, replacing damaged
equipment and boots, writing letters (not forgetting the censoring)
and attending sundry parades. Dinners and suppers of varying degree
were held either in the huts or in the local estaminets, and every
one appreciated the restful green fields and shady trees near Bray,
which had not been destroyed by the ravages of war. Entertainment was
provided at Acq by the Divisional concert party, and our own Battalion
concert party, “The Plumes” of Warminster days was resuscitated in
an endeavour to add to the gaiety of life. On the 9th of August His
Majesty the King visited the observation posts at Mont St. Eloy near
by, and many of the Battalion were privileged to line the route and
cheer His Majesty who was accompanied by His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales (our Honorary Colonel) and the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas
Haig.
On the 12th of August, after a week’s rest, the Battalion again
proceeded to the line, and the old life amid the constant “strafes”
of the Hun was resumed. Reliefs between companies were carried out
with precision, and various fatigue parties, sap guards, gas guards,
patrols and wiring parties kept every one busy. Parties of officers and
N.C.O.’s spent a few days with the artillery batteries for the purpose
of instruction. Nothing of importance, however, marked this tour in the
line, and on the 1st September the Battalion was relieved and marched
back to the huts at Bray.
On the 6th of September, we were again ordered up to the trenches. This
tour of duty was to be one of importance. A mysterious section of two
officers and twenty men were left behind to train for a raid on the Hun
lines. The party was under the command of Lieutenant B. Peatfield, with
Second Lieutenant G. E. Thompson as his second in command. The raid
was of considerable importance as information of the exact disposition
of the enemy was urgently required at General Headquarters in order
to ascertain which German Divisions had been withdrawn from the heavy
fighting on the Somme. The raiding party were trained over a facsimile
of the actual ground over which they were to raid which had been dug
near Divisional Headquarters. When the party arrived at the trenches
on the 10th of September, excitement in the Battalion ran high. The
raiders, all of whom were volunteers, were located in a small dug-out
in the Paris Redoubt, and made preparations for the show. Unfortunately
Private Rule, “B” Company, one of the party, was killed by a trench
mortar shell that afternoon, but undaunted the remainder looked forward
to the adventure. The raid was to be launched from the Paris Redoubt on
the night of the 11th September, and was to be supported by covering
fire from our trench mortars and machine guns while the artillery
assisted the operation with a heavy local “box” barrage. Early in the
evening all the officers concerned in the raid gathered together at
Battalion Headquarters in the Elbe, and final instructions were issued,
and watches were synchronised. Just as this party came out of the
dug-out a salvo of shells arrived and caused great consternation, but
no casualties occurred. That evening all sap guards were strengthened,
and in the middle of the night every one “stood to,” when suddenly
the barrage from our lines burst forth with a terrific crash, and the
raiding party with its blackened faces sallied forth. No one but those
who actually took part in the raid can describe the inferno which
reigned for the next few minutes. The Hun soon sent up his S.O.S.
signals and retaliatory fire opened up, but most of this fell in the
“D” Company area on the left flank of the operation, where two lamps
had been specially erected to mislead the enemy as to the actual part
of the line from which the raid had started. Shortly afterwards the
success of the raid was wired to all companies, and a sense of relief
overwhelmed the Battalion. Apparently our fellows had followed closely
to the creeping barrage of our trench mortars and had entered the Hun
trench, killing or wounding the occupants, and bringing back a few
prisoners. Luckily none of our men were killed although wounds were
numerous among the raiders, and unfortunately Private J. F. Small of
“B” Company succumbed later to his severe injuries. Both officers had
been badly wounded but stuck to their job, and inspired the men by
their example. Second Lieutenant G. E. Thompson, together with Private
A. Small, returning to the Hun trench to rescue the latter’s brother
who was found to be missing at the first roll call.
Valuable information had been obtained, and only the death of Private
J. F. Small, who had been so gallantly rescued, marred the operation.
Credit must be given to the artillery, machine gunners, and trench
mortar batteries who so ably assisted in making the raid a success.
The raid placed the Battalion on a high footing, and great credit is
due to all concerned.
On the 25th of September, the Battalion was relieved, and although
nothing of importance happened after the raid, for many nights
afterwards we expected a return visit from the enemy.
The return to Bray was accompanied by the usual luxuries of baths
at Maroeuil, the concerts at Acq, and the refreshments of the
local estaminets. On the 26th, ribbons were presented by the
Divisional General to those members of the raiding party who had
escaped unwounded; while on the following day the Corps Commander,
Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Fergusson, K.C.B., inspected the
Battalion. A few days afterwards, on the 30th September, orders to
return to the line were received, and the march was accomplished
without loss, although the enemy artillery was active on the roads
leading up to the trenches. Nearing the line a great activity on the
part of the enemy machine gunners and snipers was noticed, and it was
learnt that during the night the Germans had exploded two large mines
on our front near the Claudot Sap. The London Scottish were holding
that sector of the line that night, and it is to their great credit
that the Hun made no inroads on our front. How great a fight they had
made was best judged from the heavy casualties they had sustained.
“D” Company of the 2/15th relieved this part of the front, and by dint
of hard digging under considerable fire soon consolidated the new
craters, and linked them up by saps with the observation line. Days of
comparative quiet ensued, although at this time the enemy commenced to
use large trench mortar shells standing some thirty-six inches high,
with a diameter of ten or twelve inches. As a retaliation for this
unwelcome increase in the size of missiles a deep emplacement was made
in rear of “D” company’s sector in the Bessan Redoubt, and in it was
placed a very heavy type of British Trench Mortar, having a projectile
of similar proportions to those introduced by the Bosche. This shell
was nicknamed the “Flying Pig,” and to fire it was only an experiment,
so all the men in the trenches in advance of the emplacement were
temporarily withdrawn lest the shell should accidentally fall short.
The test was successful, and large craters about ten feet deep, and
twenty yards wide were made in the Hun lines. However, the experiment
was not taken by the Hun in the right spirit, and retaliation on
his part for the next few days was very brisk. A strafe of shells
from guns and minenwerfers of all calibres was poured on to the
unoffending infantrymen’s heads. Dug-outs were blown up, but the
resultant casualties were small. “D” Company’s headquarters dug-out was
destroyed, and the signallers were entombed, but several hours work got
them out, and they were rescued little the worse for their experience.
After these few days of continual bombardment a sigh of relief was
breathed when the Canadian Division much depleted in numbers through
heavy fighting on the Somme, marched up to take over the trenches at
Neuville St. Vaast, and the Battalion left this sector for the last
time.
Rumours of transferring our activities to the Somme were soon afoot,
and after a few days rest at Bray, the Battalion made tracks for the
Abbeville area via Hermaville, Frevent, Auxi-le-Château, and Beauvoir
Rivière. Each night billets were arranged in the villages en route,
and pleasant evenings in the local estaminets were spent after the
day’s march. The weather was only moderate but the Battalion was well
seasoned by now, and cared little for the discomfort of the trek
after its long stay in the trenches. The Battalion finally halted at
Francière a few kilometres south of Abbeville, and leave to England was
granted to a privileged few. Preparations for a journey to the East
were made, and these soon dispelled all rumours of fighting on the
Somme.
On the morning of the 15th of November, the Battalion marched to
Longpres and entrained on the familiar “8 Chevaux et 40 Hommes” troop
train bound for Marseilles, leaving Longpres at 4.0 p.m. The journey to
the south of France was most enjoyable, and the route taken was via
Montreau, Dijon, Macon, Pierre Latte to Marseilles. At each of these
places a halt was made when rations for the next stage of the journey
were drawn, and hot tea prepared by permanent staffs stationed on the
route was issued. Although halts sometimes were made in the middle of
the night, most men were lured from their uncomfortable beds in spite
of the cold nights to drink the hot tea.
The weather though cold was bright, and while daylight lasted everyone
drank in the beauty of the French scenery, especially while passing
along the valley of the Rhone, with its wonderful river scenes and
terraced vineyards, which clothed the rugged slopes of the valley.
Marseilles was reached on the 17th of November, after a journey of
just over two days, and the Battalion marched to the Rest Camp on the
western outskirts of the city. Here it poured constantly, and the
whole camp was a veritable quagmire; fortunately the stay was a short
one, for on the 19th November, 1916, half the Battalion marched to the
Docks, and boarded the _Transylvania_, one of the large Transatlantic
liners, at 11.0 a.m., bound for Salonica, while the other half followed
in the _Megantic_, a week later.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE VOYAGE TO SALONICA--MALTA--SALONICA, 30TH NOVEMBER, 1916--JOURNEY
TO KATERINA--OUTPOSTS AT STIPI.
H.M. Troopship _Transylvania_, which was unfortunately sunk by torpedo
a few weeks later, set sail from Marseilles at midnight on the 19th
November. A rough sea was encountered, and it was afterwards learnt
that a tidal wave had swept over the harbour that night, destroying a
great amount of shipping. The next day all was calm, and the officers
and men of the Battalion became accustomed to their new surroundings,
and acquainted with the interior of this huge vessel. Boat drill was
the novelty, but even this soon became a “bore,” and after the first
few parades everybody looked upon the compulsory life-belt attached
to one’s body as a millstone, rather than the reverse. On the 20th,
the islands of Corsica and Sardinia were passed about 4 p.m., and on
the following day the vessel steamed along the north coast of Africa.
During these days the calm Mediterranean lulled all into a sense of
peace and security, and only when the three blasts of the ship’s syren
disturbed the quietness and everyone bustled to their boat stations
did one realise the possibility of enemy submarines spoiling the trip.
It is said that R.S.M. Freemantle gained a handsome monetary reward
for spotting a submarine, but the fact that only the R.S.M. saw it
causes doubts in many minds. Regardless of any submarine reported to
have been seen by the R.S.M., the _Transylvania_ was ordered by its
escort of torpedo boat destroyers to put into St. Paul’s Bay, Malta,
on the morning of the 22nd November, and about midday on the 24th, the
liner proceeded into the harbour of Valetta. This harbour is one of the
most wonderful in the world, and has a very narrow, heavily fortified
entrance leading from the outer bay to the inner harbour, which was
full of shipping, while men-o’-war of all classes were constantly
passing in and out. The town itself is on the high ground around, and
was glistening white under the hot sun of the Mediterranean, which
poured down its rays from a cloudless blue sky. During the night of
the 24th, a slight mishap occurred to the _Transylvania_ and she broke
from her moorings, but the Battalion slept on under the protection of
the submarine-forbidden harbour, unaware of any possible disaster.
It was not until the 27th that the word to proceed was given by the
Naval authorities, and a few days’ stay at Valetta had been thoroughly
enjoyed by those members of the Battalion (officers and N.C.O.’s only,
I am afraid), who were permitted ashore. A route march through the town
had been arranged for the troops, but unfortunately this had to be
cancelled on the receipt of orders to sail.
The journey was continued from Malta without event, and on the 29th
November we passed the islands of the Greek Archipelago, the names of
which were always in dispute and finally were dubbed with nicknames
such as Enos, Kolynos, Thermos, Chaos, and so on. When nearing Salonica
several hospital ships, which had been ruthlessly torpedoed, were
just visible above the water where they had been beached. The next
day, the 30th, the harbour of Salonica was reached, and the Battalion
disembarked on the quay during the morning. From the harbour the
town of Salonica looked very fine, and extends from the green slopes
of the hills on the east along a flat stretch of some five miles to
the low dismal country at the foot of the Greek mountains. The town
is dotted with mosques and oriental churches, and the famous White
Tower on the promenade forms a striking contrast to the low shops
and hotels which line the harbour front. However, all this apparent
beauty was soon dispelled, and the mud and smell of even the main
thoroughfares was simply indescribable. On the quayside hundreds of
troops, French, Serbians, Russians and Greeks, were shouting and
making the harbour a babel of foreign tongues. The route taken by the
Battalion lay through the western end of the town, and the curious
shops with their gaily-dressed, though ragged, merchants caused much
comment among the troops. Slow, lumbering oxen wagons formed the
local method of transport, and these, intermixed with the heavy army
motor lorries, caused considerable congestion. After the jumble of
traffic through streets a foot deep in mud and filth, the Battalion
was relieved to strike the main high road for Dudular. All along
this road were signs of military activity; ordnance stores, A.S.C.
dumps, motor lorry parks, and ammunition depots lined the route, and
a few miles from the town the Battalion passed two extensive canvas
general hospitals. Through this military city, which had sprung up
with mushroom-like growth during the war, a railway had been built,
and it struck one as being extremely humorous to see a green engine
with L.S.W.R. in golden letters on its side puffing along under the
control of the R.E. drivers. What visions of Waterloo and leave
trains! This line was continued as far as Monastir, and troop trains
of French and Serbians constantly passed up and down. The camp was
finally reached after a march of about eight miles, and was situated
on barren, desolate ground, which extended from a chain of hills to
the marshes along the Salonica-Monastir Road. On this plain the whole
Division was concentrated under a huge canvas camp. The ground was
rough, uneven, stony and cut by numerous “nullahs.” Every one pitched
his tent wherever the geographical and geological conditions permitted,
and it is regretted that the beautiful straight lines of tents that
distinguished our camp at Saffron Walden were no longer to be seen.
Natives wandered around the camp and were promptly dubbed “hoojahs,”
a word which was attached to all things Greek for want of a better
descriptive word. These natives presumably desired to sell their fruits
and wares, but judging by their mixed uniform of khaki and native garb
it was doubtful whether “scroungeing” was not their real intention.
On the few more level spots that were available football commenced,
and for the first few days life was enjoyable. Letters were again
allowed, and in spite of drills and parades it was a most restful time
by day. Night time, however, was disturbed by the inroads upon the
tired flesh of the troops by numerous “minor horrors of war,” which
had been encouraged to life by the blankets and conditions generally
on board the transport ship. Changes of underclothes were issued and
washing in the muddy streams somewhat arrested the unpleasantness. This
period was a particularly busy one for the Quartermaster’s Stores, and
stores and equipment peculiar to the East were issued, among which
were bivouac sheets. Each man having been presented, gratis by the
thoughtful authorities, with a small khaki canvas sheet about a yard
square, together with a pole 2 feet 6 inches long, two tent pegs and
a piece of stout cord, bivouac parades were instituted. The erection
of a bivouac was not an easy matter on such stony ground, and even
when erected (sometimes by the aid of bayonets and entrenching tools,
the use of which was soon forbidden) the open end provided little
comfort from the cold winds which blew from the hills at night. To
add to this discomfort, heavy torrential rains poured down on the
8th December, and bivouacs fell down on their occupants during the
night with alarming rapidity, even the bell tents which remained were
rooted from their moorings, and an unpleasant night was spent. The
ground soon became a quagmire, and in the nullahs streams of brown,
muddy water rushed along. The colour of the water used for cooking
and making tea was of the same delightful solidity, and there was
little difference between the tea before and after brewing. However,
the weather improved slightly, and the next item of interest was the
arrival of over 100 mules for the transport section, “straight from the
nest” as it were, and with no decorous idea of military discipline.
The Quartermaster’s Stores was full of pack saddlery absolutely new,
slippery and unpliable, and the following day “Bill Bailey’s Circus”
was in full swing. The transport section, under Second Lieutenant F.
T. Bailey, was supplemented by fatigue parties from the Battalion,
until each mule had nearly a dozen attendants, all of whom were
absolutely necessary. The mules were then dressed in their new kit
by the untiring energies of the transport section and their co-opted
fatigues and paraded for the Commanding Officer’s inspection. This,
however, did not last for many minutes; objections were raised, not
forgetting the hind legs, by the four-footed members of the transport,
and “saddles reversed” was soon performed. It was infectious, and half
the animals soon left the arena with kits incomplete, or at least in
quite the wrong places on their bodies. Finally the parade, or rather
what was left, was dismissed, and then followed the counting of the
mules, several of which had escaped. This, however, did not disturb the
Transport Officer, he calmly remarking, “They will turn up at feeding
time.” The next morning a recount was made, and apparently the mules
had decided with which Regiment in the Brigade they would be billeted.
Exchanges were made and, needless to say, the receiver was never the
chooser. On the following day, after another wet night when the mule
lines had become a horrible mixture of muddy transport men, mules
and saddlery, the Battalion, complete with transport, was ordered to
parade for a route march, apparently not so much for the benefit of the
troops, but as a test for the endurance of “Bill Bailey’s Circus.” The
mules were “dressed up” and the saddles loaded with panniers, etc.,
and after a considerable delay the Battalion started along the road. A
few paces was sufficient to bring about a debacle in the column; packs
slipped, and the men were detailed to fall out and reload the mules.
Every yard of the route was strewn with loads of all descriptions, many
of which had, no doubt, been unevenly weighted. The plain was dotted
with muleteers chasing after mutinous mules which had dispensed with
their encumbrances and taken flight. How many mules finished the march
is not recorded, but sufficient to say the march proved amusing if
nothing else. The next few days were spent in scraping mud and salving
blankets, waterproof sheets, equipment and saddlery, which had been
mislaid in the mud that followed the heavy rain each night. On the
Sunday, 10th December, a Brigade route march was ordered, and we were
inspected by our new Brigadier, General F. M. Edwards, C.M.G., who had
taken the place of Brigadier-General Baird, who had remained in France.
The same afternoon secret orders were received, and by midnight the
Battalion, less its transport, was marching to Salonica Docks. After
a few hours’ wait on the quayside, the Battalion embarked on board
H.M. torpedo boat destroyer _Mosquito_, and set sail for somewhere in
Greece. Accommodation was very limited, and the black smoke from the
funnels of the boat soon covered every one with soot. The officers and
crew of the destroyer did all in their power to secure the maximum
amount of comfort for the troops, and the whole of the Battalion
officers were given an excellent breakfast in the small ward room.
During the afternoon the Greek coast was approached, and in the
distance we could see the snow clad peaks of the Olympus group. The
destroyer anchored a few hundred yards from land, and parties of the
Battalion were sent ashore in the small boats. Great credit is due
to the Naval folk for their handling of these boats, and, with the
exception of a few hasty members who jumped ashore out of the boats
too soon, no mishap occurred, and with a cheer from both arms of the
Service the destroyer left for sea. The Battalion lined up on the beach
at a place called Scala Vromeris. The weather was glorious and the wet
clothes of the unfortunates were soon dried. Small fires were made on
the beach and a frugal meal was partaken. Scala Vromeris consisted of a
few wooden huts, and apparently was the “port,” or rather the landing
place, of the town of Katerina, which lay a few miles inland. Only a
few Greeks were in occupation, and a large party of Maltese, working
under some French soldiers, were housed in the small huts. Orders were
received to march inland, leaving a rear party of about 50 men to await
the arrival of stores from Salonica. The march was along a genuine
“Greek” road, the chief constituents of which were mud, holes, ruts
and large stones, but the route was without steep gradients, and the
town of Katerina was reached early in the evening. This was a typical
Grecian country town, and the natives thronged the streets half in fear
and half in jubilation on the arrival of the troops. On the further
side of the town was a large Turkish barracks, and here the Battalion
was billeted. Men soon made purchases at the shops of very inferior
tasteless cigarettes, but nuts and fruit were of excellent quality,
though the prices were somewhat exorbitant. A party of officers found
their way into a “café,” but when one realises that the plates were
returned three times to the washer-up before they could be accepted for
eating purposes, the quality of this “café” can be better appreciated.
Like the rest of the town and its people it was extremely filthy.
The next day was spent in cleaning up the barracks, which afterwards
reached a state of comparative comfort in spite of the broken windows
and damaged floors. The day was peaceful enough, but when the day’s
rations of bully beef and biscuits had been eaten every one wondered
where the next meal was coming from. Neither the stores from Scala
Vromeris nor the Battalion transport had yet arrived. The town itself
had been practically exhausted of its eatables, and finally the
question was settled by means of “local purchase.” A flock of sheep
was bought by the Brigade, and mutton was issued to the men, but
even fresh killed mutton stewed in mess-tins does not make a very
substantial day’s feed for hungry troops. The Battalion, however,
managed to “scrounge,” and a few additions were obtained privately from
a French Quartermaster’s stores located in one part of the barracks,
and these helped to eke out the meagre rations. It was a couple of days
afterwards before the Battalion transport, which had taken an overland
route from Salonica, arrived, and stores also arrived from the shore,
though in the meantime it had been necessary to eat our “iron rations.”
Both the transport and the stores’ escort had their special adventures.
At Salonica the Battalion stores had been loaded on flat lighters,
which had proceeded to Scala Vromeris in tow of tugs. Heavy seas were
encountered and many of the lighters broke loose and some drifted back
to Salonica, while others, with half their cargo washed overboard,
fought their way to Scala Vromeris. Those that landed back at Salonica
proceeded under better conditions a day or so later, and on arrival
were soon unloaded by the fatigue party we had left on the sea-shore.
Much, however, was lost at sea, including officers’ valises, mess
boxes, cooks’ gear, spare saddlery, Lewis gun panniers, ammunition,
blankets, etc., but what remained was carted from the shore to Katerina
by the aid of local ox-waggons, which lumbered along at a snail’s pace.
The Battalion transport, which had travelled overland from Dudular
Camp near Salonica, left there the same evening as the Battalion, and
had been brigaded with the transport of the other units in the 179th
Brigade, and had been escorted on the route by mounted troops. The
journey was not a happy one, and they had only moved at night for
purposes of secrecy. This fact alone made travelling difficult, but
the wet weather multiplied their troubles threefold. The roads were
heavy and badly made, mere tracks across waste land, and maps were
indistinct and even incorrect. Many of these tracks were built up above
the level of the surrounding country, and so heavy were the floods
that the water covered these roadways, and frequently pairs of mules
were struggling in the water at the roadside sometimes five feet deep.
When the catastrophes happened there was nothing to be done but to cut
off the load and give it a watery grave; no attempt to salve them was
possible or even desirable in the darkness. On one of these occasions,
when mules and muleteer were thrown into the deeper water, an artillery
officer, at great personal risk, dived in and saved the mule driver’s
life, and Private Phillips, of our own transport section, was highly
commended for his assistance, while the officer later received the
Silver Medal of the Royal Humane Society for saving life. However, all
is well that ends well, and the various parties of the Battalion which
had set out from Salonica by different routes reunited at Katerina, but
as a result of their respective adventures huge deficiency lists were
prepared. For the next week the whole Battalion was employed on road
making, and other Battalions assisted the R.E. parties to repair the
embankment of the coastal railway from Salonica to Lharrisa, which had
been washed away in many places. It was not long afterwards that the
deserted railway station we had passed on the way from the coast became
a centre of activity. Ration trains arrived daily from Salonica, and
a large dump of stores and ammunition was formed at Katerina Station.
The Army Service Corps and Royal Engineers did great work, and soon
rations, letters, and stores appeared with unfailing regularity from
the Base. The Brigade soon established itself comfortably at Katerina,
and even the local residents appreciated the situation and replenished
their stores with foodstuffs, wines and cigarettes.
A word must also be said in praise of the N.C.O.’s and men of the
French contingent in this area. They did all they could to welcome
the Britishers, and dinner parties were held nightly in the Turkish
barracks in our honour, probably to the detriment of the French ration
supply, but that was beside the point; “a short life and a gay one”
was their motto. After dinner, songs in English and French were sung,
toasts were drunk and friendships made. These convivial evenings will
live long in the minds of those who participated.
On the 20th December, 1916, the Battalion marched out to Stipi, a few
miles south of Katerina, to take over an outpost line which had been
held by the Queen’s Westminsters since our arrival in this part of
Greece. The march was over rough country, and the additional kit in the
shape of bivouac sheets, waterproofs, blankets, winter clothing and
cardigans, extra bandoliers of ammunition fairly broke the backs of the
men.
“A,” “C” and “D” Companies relieved the outpost line, and “B” Company,
with Headquarters, Transport, and Quartermaster’s Stores were kept
in reserve. The outpost line was along the low ridge of hills which
ran from Stipi to Kundariotisa, and strict orders were issued that
no movement on the skyline should be made by day. Bivouac camps were
therefore erected on the reverse or northern slopes which ran down to
the grassy valley of the River Mavourneri. From the southern slopes
of this ridge the panorama was wonderful, a flat stretch of country
for some twenty miles could be seen in the direction of Lharrisa, so
that observation from the defences was perfect. On the further side
of the plain rose the gigantic chain of snow-capped peaks, of which
Mount Olympus formed a massive centrepiece. This mountain wall cut off
the Katerina area from the rest of Southern Greece. Only by way of the
narrow seashore plain and through the famous Petras Pass on the west
of Katerina could the south be reached. At this time the attitude of
Greece towards the Allies was questionable, and the position taken up
by the Brigade was to secure the base at Salonica from any attack that
might have been made from the south.
The Battalion employed itself now in commencing to dig a defensive line
on the southern slopes of the ridge, and trench-digging in this part of
the world was extremely laborious, as the ground was practically solid
rock.
Barbed wire was not obtainable, and for the purpose of obstacles
thick zarebas of short, stiff, prickly thorn bushes which covered the
hill-side were used for entanglements. In our spare time football was
played, and platoon and company competitions were soon in full swing. A
splendid flat field had been cleared near the river bank, and was the
scene of many exciting struggles. Christmas was approaching, and funds
were collected for additional luxuries. The canteen opened by Brigade
at Katerina was insufficient to supply the extra needs for the festive
season, and Lieutenant Andrew and an able assistant were sent to
Salonica by rail, where a Base Canteen was successfully attacked, and
on Christmas Eve large supplies of Christmas goods arrived; not so much
in quantity as we should have liked, but considering the difficulties
of transport, Lieutenant Andrew was to be congratulated. Chicken and
eggs were purchased from the local villages of Stipi and Kundariotisa,
and altogether a happy Christmas was spent in the bivouacs. Christmas
decorations were numerous and consisted chiefly of grey-back shirts
and underclothing which had become unpleasant to wear and decked the
surrounding thorn bushes.
The festival of Christmas was celebrated by the local residents, and I
had the pleasure of accompanying the Commanding Officer to the village
of Stipi, where the chief man of the village bade us enter his house.
Here we were ushered into the best room and seated on mats on the floor
while the daughters of the house, in gay dresses, waited upon us,
bringing in coffee, aniseed liqueur and apple jelly as refreshments.
Conversation was carried on through the medium of the heir to the
house, who had picked up a smattering of French in Salonica, where he
was employed.
For the men sing-songs were arranged and sports were held, but the
festivities of Christmas soon ceased, and the work on the trenches was
resumed. New Year celebrations were limited to an excellent concert
given in the Turkish barracks at Katerina by the French soldiers, and
those who were privileged to attend thoroughly enjoyed their efforts.
The weather continued fairly fine, though spells of heavy rain, and
sometimes snow, fell, making life in small canvas “bivvies” rather
miserable. The Battalion remained on this outpost line for just over
six weeks, during which time a strong defensive line facing Lharrisa
had been built, and this was continued to the coast on the left flank
by a series of strong points built and manned by the Westminsters.
Road making and bridge building were carried on by the reserve
Company, and I am sure the local Greeks must have appreciated our
efforts, which resulted in the many military roads connecting Katerina
with the surrounding villages. Occasionally field days were held by
the Brigade, the rendezvous always being the Tumulus, which was an
ever-present landmark for miles around our position. Kit inspections
were frequent, and the losses of equipment, etc., resulting from our
journey from Salonica led to lengthy sittings of a Board of Enquiry,
and consequently many entries were made in pay books for loss of kit.
In our spare time we played football after the day’s work, and keen
competitions between platoons and companies resulted. Matches were
arranged with the other Regiments in the Brigade, in which the Civil
Service came through with considerable credit. For the benefit of
officers a riding class, under the Medical Officer, Dr. J. W. Leech
(John Willie to all his friends) was instituted, and the quality of
riding in the Battalion greatly improved. While referring to John
Willie’s equestrian ability, one must not overlook his medical skill.
His sick parade each morning was divided into two classes; one from the
Battalion and the other from the local villages, which brought their
sick for attention. Frequently the Doctor was called out to a village
to attend an invalid, and among the natives his skill was considered
wonderful; not that I infer the Battalion did not appreciate his
efforts, for his droll manner and Irish humour were characteristics we
all loved, and his attention to all ranks was without fault. The only
difference was that the natives presented him with fowls, fruit and
small gifts, whereas the unfortunate recipient of a No. 9 offered his
thanks in words alone. When a man was beyond the curative powers of a
No. 9 or its brother pills he was transferred to the Field Ambulance,
which had been established at Katerina. The country around was rough,
and was only traversed by mule tracks, so that it was impossible to
bring motor ambulances up as far as the Regimental Aid Post. The lying
cases were, therefore, taken to hospital by means of a strange vehicle
drawn by a mule. This vehicle simply consisted of two long poles some
twenty feet in length which were attached to the mule after the manner
of shafts, while the ends dragged on the ground behind the mule. These
two poles were secured to each other in rear of the mule, and the
stretcher was fixed resting between the poles, so that the patient’s
head was higher than his feet. Whether this was a comfortable means of
transit must be left to the judgment of the victims, but undoubtedly it
was the most suitable means in those parts.
No mention hitherto has been made of “Peter,” who was appointed
Battalion interpreter. He was an undersized Greek, who loved the
Regiment, and no doubt worked very hard in the “Grecian way,” and
although no one understood his parleys with the local natives when
we wished to dig up their land for trenches, it is believed that he
coerced them by the authority given to him by the wearing of the Prince
of Wales’s feather in his cap. He loved the Battalion better than his
countrymen.
About the middle of February the Battalion left the outpost line at
Stipi, and two Companies, “A” and “B” proceeded to Katerina barracks
together with Headquarters Company, Transport, and Quartermaster’s
Stores. The other two Companies, under the command of Major A. A.
Oliver, moved to Kolukuri, a few miles west of Katerina, and erected
their bivouacs in Shrine Woods. Here a flank defensive line was held
by night posts. From the 15th of February until the 28th the Battalion
remained in these stations, and the only excitement which broke the
monotony of the life was the visit of a strange aeroplane, which flew
over the square at Katerina barracks. No one understood its mission and
gazed at it curiously, for underneath its wings were two large blue
crosses and not the black Maltese cross used on German aeroplanes.
After it had taken note of everything it flew away; no one fired at
it, and no one to this day knows the meaning of this “mystery” plane.
Orders from Brigade to fire at it came later on, but by that time the
plane was well out of the range of our field guns.
On the 28th of February the Battalion concentrated on the main road
near Kolukuri on the way to the Petras Pass and proceeded up towards
the Pass, where a strong defensive position had been held since our
arrival in December by the London Scottish. The Battalion halted at
Kalivia Miljas for the night, and the most unpleasant night it proved
to be with the heavy rains. The following day orders were received to
return to Katerina, and the Battalion marched back again as far as the
banks of the River Mavourneri, just outside the town. In flood time the
river is over a mile in width, but at other times it dwindles down to a
fast stream only 40 to 50 feet wide. It was on the rough, dry sandy bed
of the river that the whole Brigade was encamped, and here preparations
for a long trek were made. The weather was fine, but the strong winds
that blew and raised sandstorms made it an unpleasant resting place,
and no one regretted the order to move, which was received on the 9th
of March.
Before ending this chapter on our stay in Macedonia, the following
letter, written from Greece, might prove interesting:--
“Macedonia is a lovely country, and the lack of reading matter
a considerable hardship. It is a land of bare treeless valleys,
strongly reminiscent of the Veldt and high snow-clad spurs of
the Balkans. Of the people, the less said perhaps the better.
St. Paul in old time was of the opinion that the Thessalonians
were ‘lewd persons of the baser sort,’ or words to that effect,
and my experience is that they have not improved by keeping
in the interim. A motley mixture of Turks and Bulgars with
a smattering of Greeks, they are undoubtedly picturesque in
garb, more undoubtedly filthy in person and habits, and most
undoubtedly the finest collection of thieves, brigands and
cut-throats that could be brought together. When the brigandage
business is slack, as at present, they apparently fill in
their spare time as herdsmen and shepherds. We are employing
considerable numbers in road making and the other day I heard
the following: A party of Greeks came along towards our
transport, and one bright youth on sighting them lifted up his
voice to his chum, ‘Look out, Jack! Here comes Ali Baba and his
forty ---- thieves.’
“The days are hot and the nights bitterly cold, while at times
a terrifically strong and piercing wind, called the Vardar
blast, blows from the Balkans. Taken altogether the majority of
us heartily wish ourselves back in France.”
CHAPTER XXX
LEAVING KATERINA--TREK TO THE DOIRAN FRONT--KARASULI NIGHT
On the 10th of March, 1917, reveille was at an early hour, and by
eight o’clock in the morning the 179th Brigade had formed up in column
of route together with the Artillery, Royal Engineers, Machine Gun
Corps, and Army Service Corps detachments which had joined it since its
arrival at Katerina in December, 1916. The whole town turned out to bid
us farewell, and the local band played appropriate music in the market
place. Flags decked the low-built houses of the town, and the people
of Katerina were sorry to lose the Brigade which, during its short
stay, poured thousands of “drachmas” into the town coffers, turning
indolence and poverty into business and wealth. The French Commandant
also did honour to the British troops and furnished a strong guard of
honour, which gallantly stood at the “Present” while the Brigade passed
by. The first day of the march was to a place called Tuzla, near the
coast some ten miles north of Katerina, and although ten miles on a
good English road is a small journey, the badly cut-up roads of Greece
and the heavy kit the men were carrying made the journey appear to be
twice its actual distance. Mules were loaded to their fullest capacity,
and many loads slipped off, causing disorganisation on the march.
Eventually, after about five hours’ marching, the Brigade reached the
night’s bivouac area, where a terrific cold wind was blowing from the
sea. However, “bivvies” were erected and a meal prepared, and every one
retired for the night, wondering what the next day would bring.