THE WAR HISTORY OF
THE 1ST/4TH BATTALION
THE LOYAL NORTH
LANCASHIRE REGIMENT
[Illustration: THE COLOURS]
THE
WAR HISTORY
OF THE
1st/4th Battalion The Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment,
_now The Loyal Regiment
(North Lancashire)_.
1914-1918
“_The Lancashire foot were as stout men as were in the world and
as brave plunderers as ever went to a field...._
“_It was to admiration to see what a spirit of courage and
resolution there was amongst us, and how God hid us from the fears
and dangers we were exposed to._”
CAPTAIN HODGSON, WRITING IN 1648, ON THE BATTLE OF PRESTON.
[COPYRIGHT]
1921
Printed by GEO. TOULMIN & SONS, LTD., Guardian Works, Preston.
Published by the BATTALION HISTORY COMMITTEE.
[Illustration:
_Photo: A. Winter, Preston._
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL RALPH HINDLE, D.S.O.
He commanded the Battalion from February, 1915, till wounded in action
at Festubert, and again from August, 1915, till killed in action at
Vaucellette Farm, on 30th November, 1917.
“_What do these fellows mean by saying, ‘I’ve done my
bit’? What is their ‘bit’? I don’t consider I’ve done mine
yet._”--Lieutenant-Colonel Hindle in 1917.]
Dedication.
To
The Main Body of our Comrades,
who have gone forward in triumph to
the Unknown Land,
We,
The Rear Party,
left behind to clean up and hand over,
Dedicate this book.
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to supply to the people of Preston and
district, for the first time, a complete and authentic record of the
adventures of their original local Territorial Infantry Battalion
during the Great War, such a record being a chapter of local history
which must sooner or later be written; to put into the hands of the
relatives and friends of those who have gloriously fallen the story
of the unit with which they served faithful unto death, with its
accompanying tribute from their surviving comrades; to supply to the
latter ... maimed or whole a book which they may hand down to posterity
to speak of their service; and last, but not least, to speak to those
who shall succeed to our traditions, of Comradeship, Cheerfulness,
Endurance, Devotion to Duty, and all the virtues which go to make up
“the Spirit of the Regiment.”
The delay in publication has been unavoidable, and even now the book is
not as complete as its compilers would wish; in particular, it is not
possible to give the names of casualties as they occurred, except in
the case of Officers; both Company and Battalion records have had to be
destroyed again and again, and there is little material left to work on
except the War Diary and individual diaries.
The book is a live product. Every line of it is either written by
those who were actually with the Battalion during the period of which
they write, or is condensed from the War Diary. It would have been far
easier, and, from a literary point of view, more satisfactory, to have
handed over the documents to a professional Historian to write up, but
it was felt that the vivid descriptions of eyewitnesses, even though
lacking in style, were preferable to any such compilation.
CONTENTS
Dedication
Preface Page
Chapter I.--Early History and Training in England 1
II.--Early Days and the Battle of Festubert 5
III.--Trench Warfare 22
IV.--The Somme Battles 31
V.--Trench Warfare in the Salient 40
VI.--The Third Battle of Ypres 61
VII.--Reorganisation and the Battle of the Menin Road 79
VIII.--Cambrai 95
IX.--Givenchy Period 106
X.--The Advance 126
XI.--After the Armistice 131
Appendix A.--The Honours List 137
B.--The Casualty List 141
ILLUSTRATIONS
Frontispiece: The Colours
Portrait of Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Hindle, D.S.O.
Facing Dedication
Reduced Facsimile of the Roll of Volunteers for Service
Abroad Facing Chapter I.
Group of Officers--Bedford, 1915 Facing Page 4
Photograph--Meteren, 1915 " 7
Battalion about to Parade for Trenches, 1916 " 31
Christmas Card, 1916 " 50
Aeroplane Photograph of Trench Lines in Salient " 57
Aeroplane Oblique Photograph of Trenches in Salient " 58
Aeroplane Oblique Photograph, showing Objectives for Third
Battle of Ypres " 61
Panorama Photograph from Pond Farm " 81
Aeroplane Photograph of D.13.c. " 82
Aeroplane Oblique Photograph of Objectives--Menin Road
Battle " 85
Group of W.O.’s and N.C.O.’s--Delettes, 1918 " 106
Remnant of Givenchy Keep, 1920 Page 116
The Colours Marching Past--Brussels Facing Page 131
Site of the Battalion Memorial Page 132
Divisional Cocarde " 133
MAPS
Map No. 1--Festubert Facing Page 12
Map of Battle of Festubert (Sketch Map) " 15
Map of Battle of Festubert (7 p.m.) Page 16
Map of Battle of Guillemont " 34
Map of Battle of Delville Wood " 37
Map of Battle of Guedecourt " 38
Map No. 2--Ypres Salient Facing Page 40
Map of the Third Battle of Ypres, showing Objectives Page 63
Map No. 3--Menin Road Battle Facing Page 83
Map No. 4--Gillemont Farm Sector " 96
Map No. 5--Vaucellette Farm Area " 100
Map No. 6--Givenchy " 108
Facsimile of German Map, showing Plan of Attack, Captured
April 9th, 1918 " 110
A Reduced Facsimile of the Roll of Volunteers for
Service Abroad signed in the Public Hall, on 8th August,
1914
[Illustration: A Reduced Facsimile of the Roll of Volunteers for
Service Abroad signed in the Public Hall, on 8th August, 1914.
A Company B Company C Company
D Company E Company F Company
G Company H Company
]
CHAPTER I.
Early History and Training in England.
The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment has a peculiar history, being
descended from the old 47th, the Lanarkshire[A] Regiment, and the 81st,
the Loyal Lincoln Volunteers.
In 1881, when these two Regiments were at their Depot at Preston, it
was found convenient to amalgamate them, and they became the 1st and
2nd Battalions of the North Lancashire Regiment. The Lincolnshire men
were not pleased at having to drop the epithet “Loyal” (conferred on
them[B] in memory of an occasion during the Peninsular War when, on
volunteers being told to step one pace forward, the entire Battalion
moved forward one pace), and they placed their views before the War
Office, with the result that the new formation was allowed to retain
the epithet, and it became the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.
This little outline of its history explains why the 1st Battalion’s
March-past is “My love is like a red, red rose,” generally known as the
“Red Rose,” and the 2nd Battalion’s “The Lincolnshire Poacher.”
A Volunteer Rifle Corps was formed in Preston in 1859 as a
consequence of the talked-of possibilities of a French invasion.
This Corps continued in existence as a Volunteer Corps until the
territorialisation of Regiments about the year 1878, when it became a
Volunteer Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment; later, on
the formation of the Territorial Force it became the 4th (T.) Battalion
of the same Regiment.
This Territorial Battalion succeeded to the traditions of the
amalgamated units, and strove as best it might to emulate its Regular
Battalions, but the Territorial scheme did not produce the full
complement of officers and men, and it should be realised that those
who served in it prior to the war did so in the face of a certain
amount of ridicule, gave up nearly the whole of their spare time to
camps and drills, and in most cases were seriously out of pocket over
the whole business.
With the exception of a Company which was sent to South Africa to
reinforce the Regular Battalion, the unit had not seen active service
prior to August, 1914, but those who then belonged to it were keen, and
had, in the face of discouragements, done their level best to master
their job.
The beginning of August, 1914, found the Battalion, under strength in
officers and men, in camp at Kirkby Lonsdale. When war was declared
on the 4th of August, and the Territorial Force was embodied, the 4th
were hurriedly recalled, and took up their quarters in the Public Hall,
Preston. Within two or three days they had recruited to strength in all
ranks, and had volunteered, practically to a man, for service abroad.
Photographs of the original roll signed on that occasion will be found
immediately preceding Chapter I.
That first fortnight in the Public Hall will never be forgotten by
any of those who went through it. The Companies lived, ate, and slept
on the floor, or on the benches in the gallery; the officers slept on
the floor of one of the crush-rooms, and the whole business was a bit
of a nightmare, but we were firmly under the impression at that time
that any day might bring orders to go abroad, and we were kept fully
equipped and issued with ammunition according to the mobilisation scale
then in force.
On the 8th August, the Battalion paraded in the Market Square, Preston,
and the colours were handed over to the Mayor for safe custody, no one
at that time foreseeing that they would remain there for just on five
years. A photograph of the colours appears as a frontispiece to this
book: in the fulness of time, no doubt, the battle honours earned by
the Battalion in the Great War will be embroidered upon them.
On the 22nd August, we moved down to Swindon, where the Battalion
remained for nearly three months, billeted in schools, training, and
generally improving discipline, but it was very difficult to get much
real work done, as detachments were sent off to guard the main line
of the Great Western Railway. These detachments, on the whole, had a
pretty good time, as they were stationed at various places along the
Thames Valley and the local people took a great interest in them, and
were most hospitable. They learnt a good deal, especially in getting
used to night sentry work, but no one was sorry when in November they
were recalled and the Battalion moved as a whole to Sevenoaks.
Here we were allotted good training grounds and serious training was
possible. Though the nature of the billets, mostly empty houses, threw
us much on our own resources, it had the advantage that we began to
learn to make ourselves comfortable under any circumstances.
We spent Christmas here, and had a very elaborate Christmas dinner,
followed by a really good concert, in a large marquee provided by the
generosity of one of the inhabitants. We found many hospitable folk at
Sevenoaks, and made many friends.
The two King’s Own Battalions and the 5th Battalion of the Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment were also billeted at the same place, and there
was a good deal of unavoidable overcrowding. Up to this time we had
been the only 4th Battalion, but in November, 1914, an order was issued
that 2nd Line Territorial Battalions should be formed, for Home Service
only, to find drafts for the 1st Line Battalions, and we took the title
1/4th, to distinguish ourselves from the 2/4th, then in process of
formation at Blackpool. The latter was later on--early in 1916--sent
overseas, and served in France and Belgium in the 57th Division.
About February, 1915, the 1/4th, which had previously been worked on
the eight-company organisation, with a Captain, two Subalterns, and a
Colour-Sergeant to each Company, was reorganised in accordance with a
War Office Order on the four company system. This system had been in
operation in the Regular Army for some time prior to the war; why it
had not previously been applied to the Territorial Force we never knew,
and only surmised that it had been on its trial until the change was
actually made.
February, 1915, will always be regarded as the turning point
in our history. Major Hindle, then Junior Major, was promoted
Lieutenant-Colonel and given command of the unit. A severe process of
weeding out started, coupled with vigorous inoculation and vaccination,
and we commenced to train in accordance with the new War Office
syllabus of training. We trained very hard, but everybody was becoming
restive. It is not too much to say that we had daily been expecting to
be sent abroad ever since the previous August, and by this time we were
beginning to think that we should never go. In consequence there was
much muttering, which was not allayed when we saw the 1/5th Loyal North
Lancashires hand in their blankets one morning, and parade for France.
In March, 1915, we were suddenly moved to Oxted, where we were
billeted in empty houses. There we began to dig, and completed, to
the satisfaction of those who were in charge, a section of the London
Defences running over the Downs. This was excellent experience, as
there was every kind of soil to be contended with--clay, chalk, sand,
and a sort of conglomerate, composed of what seemed to be melted
flints, which blunted any pick in about five minutes. Here we first
came into contact with elements of Kitchener’s Army, which were engaged
on similar work.
In April, 1915, it was suddenly made known that at last we really were
going to France, and we were moved to Bedford, where we joined the 51st
Highland Division. The ten days at Bedford were spent in completely
re-equipping the Battalion and transport, and in bayonet fighting and
route marching, our last route march before crossing to France being
one of 18 miles in full pack.
The Lancashire men and the Highlanders fought like anything when they
first met, and a keen rivalry sprang up between them, which only became
friendly when one evening a fight took place between one of our fellows
and one of the Highlanders. It was reported amongst us that our man
had won. Probably a similar report was current amongst the Highlanders
with regard to their champion! Whatever the truth was, from that day we
settled down together and became the best of friends.
It has been impossible to devote very much space to these early days
in England. Everyone was as keen as mustard, and we had the advantage
of having, besides our Regular Adjutant Captain Norman (Royal Welsh
Fusiliers), and Sergeant-Major Farnworth (of the 1st Battalion), a
number of senior Officers who had made soldiering their hobby for
years and passed the examinations necessary to attain their rank. The
Warrant Officers and many of the Non-Commissioned Officers were also
thoroughly trained. The disadvantages under which we laboured were
that, being a Territorial unit, our equipment had not been up to date,
and we were not, at first at any rate, taken in hand and pushed on as
the newly-formed Kitchener’s Army were; but there is no doubt that
at Bedford, when at last we were under orders for overseas, we held
our heads high, and in all the glory of a new issue of equipment and
clothes were on the whole a pretty smart and likely looking lot. It
is most unfortunate that the only photographs taken of Companies at
Bedford are not now available, the films having been destroyed by fire.
Two Officers and a number of men had been left at Oxted, and one can
never forget the pitiful disappointment shown on their faces as we
marched away, leaving them behind. Some of them afterwards came to us
as reinforcements.
[Illustration:
_Elliott & Fry._
OFFICERS GROUP.
Bedford, 1915.]