THE 1/4TH BATTALION IN MALTA--FORMATION OF THE 2/4TH BATTALION
Under escort of H.M.S. _Amphitrite_, and accompanied by four other
transports conveying the remainder of the 1st London Infantry Brigade,
the _Galician_, carrying, in addition to the 1/4th Londons, two
companies of the 1/3rd Londons and a section of the 1/1st London Field
Ambulance, made a fair passage through the Bay and reached Gibraltar
without mishap. Here the convoy broke up, and the transports proceeded
independently to their destination.
Nine days of the comparative peace of ship's routine formed a pleasant
interlude for the 1/4th Battalion after its recent trying duties on
the railway line. The passage to Malta was too short to allow the
monotony of ship's inspections, watches, and roll calls to pall, and
the interest of the troops was constantly quickened by the incidents of
a sea voyage--all so strange to Londoners whose horizon hitherto had
for the most part hardly extended beyond Hampstead Heath or Chingford.
Occasional fleeting glimpses of France and Spain, the gambols of a
school of whales, the brilliant hues of the African shore, and the
indescribable blue of the Mediterranean all contributed to render the
Battalion happy and indifferent to the discomforts of their quarters
'tween decks, where the heat was certainly trying after the Gates of
the Mediterranean had been passed.
The first glimpse of Malta on the morning of the 13th September was
uninspiring. From the sea no vegetation can be seen owing to the system
whereby the scanty soil is walled up along the hillsides to prevent
it from being washed away; and the island presents to the passing
voyager an aspect of monotonous drab rock. No time was allowed for
despondency, however, for, with the pilot on board, the _Galician_
steamed into the Marsamuscetto Harbour at Valetta where the Battalion
could feast on the riot of colour which unrolled before its eyes.
[Illustration: _Ghain Tuffieha Camp_]
[Illustration: _Melleha Camp_]
[Illustration: _Selmun Palace_]
The responsibilities of the 1st London Brigade for the defence of the
Fortress of Malta began immediately, for the day after its arrival the
infantry of the regular garrison left for the front.
In the early hours of the 14th September the 1/4th Londons disembarked,
and being allotted quarters under canvas in Ghain Tuffieha Camp, was
introduced to the ardours of a sub-tropical summer by undertaking the
longest march it is possible to make in the island--a very trying
experience indeed.
Ghain Tuffieha is a summer station on the west coast of the island
about eleven miles from Valetta, and is an important outpost of the
main defences of the Fortress. It lies in a broad, fertile valley
known as the Wied Tal Paules, which traverses the island from east
to west, its eastern limit being the coast at St Paul's Bay. To the
north of this valley lie the Melleha and the Marfa Ridges, two of the
northernmost barriers against invasion. The coast round these two
ranges of hills possesses a considerable number of sandy landing-places
in well-sheltered bays, which, as they face Sicily at about three
hours' passage from that island, required special guarding at this
period.
The Battalion now settled down seriously to its training, and it was
found necessary to deal with some 250 men as recruits. These, however,
were passed through the Barrack Square stage of their training as
expeditiously as possible in view of the heavy duties which fell to the
Battalion in guarding the northern coast.
The guards found from the main body of the Battalion at Ghain Tuffieha
were mostly night guards at the landing-places, at St Paul's Bay on
the east coast, and at Ghain Tuffieha Bay, Karraba Ridge, and Gneina
Bay on the west coast. In addition to these, G and H companies were
immediately despatched on detachment, the former to Selmun Palace
(which commands the promontory between the shores of Melleha and
St Paul's Bays), the latter to Melleha (which dominates the head of
Melleha Bay and the Marfa Ridge beyond it). The latter detachment was
subsequently moved down the ridge to the coast near the head of Melleha
Bay. The guards found by these detached companies were at Cala Mistra
Fort (at the foot of Kalkara Ravine), Ir Razzet tal Blata, L'Imgiebah,
and Ghain Zeituna by the Selmun force; and at Melleha Bay, Torri
L'Ahmar cross roads, and Marfa Palace by the Melleha force.
The duties of the detached companies were found to be particularly
onerous, and the proportion of N.C.O.'s and men employed not only on
guards, but also on such necessary duties as signals, look-outs, and
water-carrying fatigues, continuously totalled rather more than a third
of the total strength of the detachments. Arrangements were therefore
made for the relief of the detachment companies every seven or eight
days, and this procedure was maintained throughout the Battalion's duty
on the island.
The training of the Battalion proceeded smoothly but under conditions
of some difficulty, partly owing to the number of men constantly
engaged in coastal defence duties, and partly owing to the unfavourable
conditions of terrain. Every square yard of the rocky hillsides which
is covered with soil is devoted to some sort of cultivation by the
thrifty inhabitants, and the walling up of the soil on the hillsides,
which has already been alluded to, converts every hill into a series
of steps, over which manœuvres are both laborious and painful. In
spite of these obstacles, however, a good deal of useful work was
achieved, and the Battalion rapidly began to take shape as a useful
and well-disciplined unit. There can be no doubt that the experience
gained by all ranks in taking their share in ordinary garrison duties
at so early a stage in their embodied career proved of infinite value
later when the 1/4th Londons ultimately took their place in the
fighting line; and, moreover, the knowledge that they were subject to
the critical--and at that period not always sympathetic--surveillance
of the regular staff of the Fortress provided the strongest possible
incentive to all ranks to conduct themselves with credit to their
Regiment and to the Territorial Force.
Early in October a very thorough course of musketry instruction
under Fortress arrangements was begun, firing taking place on the
Naval ranges of Ghain Tuffieha. The companies were thus employed as
follows:--2 on detachment, 2 on musketry course, 3 on company training,
and 1 finding all the duties at Battalion Headquarters, the whole being
worked on a roster so that each company was kept for training and
detachment purposes at its greatest possible strength.
During the early days of the Battalion in Malta a few changes of
distribution took place among officers as follows:
Major R. J. J. Jackson was evacuated to Cottonera Hospital sick. He
unfortunately remained in hospital until early in December 1914,
when he was invalided to England. Command of F Company was taken by
Lieut. F. C. Grimwade, and the Machine-Gun Section was taken over by
2/Lieut. T. I. Walker, Lieut. S. Elliott transferring to E Company.
The Battalion was also joined by 2/Lieut. R. C. Kelly who, however,
remained with the unit for a few weeks only, at the end of which time
he was appointed to the Secret Service, and with this he remained until
the end of the War.
The middle of September, when the Battalion landed in Malta, found
the hot season waning, and although the temperature remained high
for some weeks the full intensity of the sub-tropical summer was not
experienced. In the early part of October, however, the scirocco, a
warm south-westerly wind which originates in the Sahara, followed, with
all its usual enervating effects, which were indeed quite as trying
as the intense heat of the sun had been. Towards the end of the same
month the wet season set in in earnest, and from that time until the
early part of December the camping ground at Ghain Tuffieha was swept
by tropical rains and sand storms of considerable violence, which from
time to time caused a certain amount of material damage and not a
little discomfort to the troops. The memory of suddenly having to turn
out and clear blocked drainage trenches and lay on to straining tent
ropes in the--sometimes--vain endeavour to prevent one's temporary home
from vanishing into thin air, and to rescue one's kit from a mud bath,
is now sufficiently remote to be contemplated without acute distress,
but the feelings which these encounters which the elements evoked at
the time were by no means so calm!
During the worst phase of the Malta climate the Battalion remained
under canvas, and it is of some interest--though admittedly of little
consolation--to remark that no battalion had previously spent the
winter in Malta in other than permanent barracks.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of the Battalion Medical Officer, Major
J. F. F. Parr, the bill of health during these marked variations of
climate remained extraordinarily clean, and in spite of its exposed
situation the Battalion suffered less from sickness than the others of
the Brigade which were accommodated in modern barracks.
The month of December, however, saw the beginning of the most
delightful season in the island's year. The temperature was mild but
the evenings cool; vegetation began to spring up with almost startling
rapidity, and the prospect of the island, seen from the tops of the
hills, when looking down on to the terraced fields set in a sea of the
deepest azure, formed a most welcome and delightful contrast to the
sun-baked and drab view which had greeted the Battalion on its arrival
three months earlier.
At the end of November the detachments were redistributed, the defence
duties on the northern coast being dealt with by one company only, half
at Selmun Palace, which formed its headquarters, the other half at
Melleha Bay. A fresh detachment was formed by the despatch of another
company to Verdala Barracks (in the Cottonera Lines, the Southern
Fortress of Valetta), for the duty of guarding prisoners of war,
notably the crew of the German raider _Emden_ who had just been landed
on the island.
But for these changes the routine of training proceeded with little
variation, and it began to be thought by some that the Battalion would
be condemned to continue its duties in Malta until the end of the War;
but on the 22nd December 1914 a warning order was issued that the
Brigade would leave the island at an early date.
On the 23rd the Battalion (less E and F Companies on detachment),
marched to Valetta to be reviewed by His Excellency the Governor on
the Marsa, a sports ground near the town. The review took place on the
following day and the Battalion returned the same evening, arriving in
camp at 6.30 p.m.
The following Fortress Order was published on the 24th December:
The Commander-in-Chief, after having inspected the units of
Lord Lucan's Brigade this morning, desires to place on record
his great satisfaction at the evident progress made by them to
become efficient soldiers of the King. His Excellency, who fully
appreciates the patriotic sentiments which have caused such a
magnificent body of men to respond to the call of the Empire in
this hour of national danger, has had much pleasure in telegraphing
to Lord Kitchener reporting the high state of efficiency and
fitness which the Brigade has reached. Such a result, which must
have been apparent to everyone who saw them on parade this morning,
could only have been obtained by the whole-hearted devotion to
their Country's cause of every officer, N.C.O., and man, and the
Commander-in-Chief wishes to congratulate the Earl of Lucan and the
whole of his Brigade on achieving such highly satisfactory results.
No further preparations for departure were made until after the
Christmas festivities, which were rendered very enjoyable by the
arrival of many good things from home and by special gifts from the
Corporation of the City of London and the Regimental Association,
the latter organisation providing a gift of a pipe and tobacco-box
for every officer, N.C.O., and man. Christmastide over, however, the
Battalion concentrated on its preparations for leaving the island at
short notice.
On the 28th December the detachment at Selmun was withdrawn, its place
being taken by a company of the Malta Militia; that at Verdala being
relieved by the 1st London Regiment, which for the time being was to
remain in the island.
* * * * *
On the departure of the 1/4th Battalion overseas the following officers
had been detailed to remain at headquarters to supervise the formation
of a Reserve Battalion:
Captain E. H. Stillwell.
Captain W. H. Hamilton.
Lieutenant H. G. Stanham.
Lieutenant H. Parkhouse.
These officers were assisted by a small number of N.C.O.'s and men
of the 1/4th Battalion who had been found medically unfit to proceed
overseas. The intention in raising the new battalion originally was to
provide a unit to supply reinforcements to the overseas battalion, but,
as will be seen, this intention was subsequently modified to a large
degree.
Recruiting for the new battalion, which was at first designated the 4th
(1st Reserve) Battalion The London Regiment, and later was known as
the 2/4th London Regiment, proceeded (as indeed for all the formations
then being raised) with unprecedented rapidity, and within a fortnight
over 400 men had been enrolled, while the ranks continued to be swelled
daily by the advent of fresh recruits.
Colonel Vickers Dunfee, V.D., was appointed with effect from 6th
September 1914 to command the new battalion with Hon. Lieut. E. V.
Wellby (late Lieut.-Col. 4th V.B. The Royal Fusiliers) as Captain and
Adjutant.
The available accommodation proving utterly inadequate for the growing
numbers, the 2/4th Battalion moved on 23rd September, after inspection
by the Lord Mayor, Sir Vansittart Bowater, to quarters under canvas at
Folly Farm, New Barnet. The strength was now 6 officers and 480 other
ranks, and steadily increased from this time until the establishment
in all ranks was filled. Training now began in earnest--so far as the
wills of every officer, N.C.O., and man were concerned--but under the
most acute practical difficulties, such as were general among the newly
raised formations, owing to the lack of stores of all kinds, including
clothing, arms, and equipment. Gradually, however, "wooden equivalents"
gave place to rifles, and mufti made its final disappearance from the
parade ground. During the following month the Battalion moved into
winter quarters, occupying as barracks two vacant houses at Barnet,
namely, "Littlegrove" and "Beech Hill," and also some stabling and
out-buildings at "Oakhill."
The Battalion owes a considerable debt of gratitude to the owners of
these houses and to other local residents, notably to W. H. Vernon,
Esq., and Sir Philip Sassoon, for their generosity in providing
accommodation and training facilities and for extending hospitality to
the Battalion in various ways, generosity which was also extended to
the 4/4th (Reserve) Battalion when it was formed in the following year.
Facilities for musketry training were also provided by the Enfield
Rifle Club, who very generously placed their range and the services
as instructors of several of their members at the disposal of the
Battalion.
Training at Barnet continued until 14th December 1914, when, after
inspection by Lieut.-Gen. G. H. Moncrieff, Honorary Colonel of
the Regiment, the Battalion, which had now grown to a strength of
27 officers and 986 other ranks, joined the Brigade in billets at
Maidstone. Here the Brigade received on the 17th a warning order to
proceed on foreign service at short notice. The necessary preparation
of equipment, medical inspection, inoculation, etc., was at once put in
hand, and the Battalion was inspected by Major-General W. Fry, C.B.,
C.V.O., commanding 1st London Division, who addressed the troops.
It was fortunately possible to grant forty-eight hours' leave to all
ranks before departure, destined to be the last home leave for some
nineteen months, and on 23rd December the Battalion entrained at 10
a.m. for Southampton, where it embarked on H.T. _Avon_ (Royal Mail
Steam Packet Company), the strength on embarkation being 27 officers
and 889 other ranks.
The following officers proceeded overseas with the Battalion:
Colonel Vickers Dunfee, V.D., in command.
Major V. H. Seyd, second in command.
Captain W. G. Hayward, Adjutant.
" G. H. Moore.
" H. Morris.
" F. C. Read.
" H. G. Stanham.
" H. Parkhouse.
Lieut. L. C. Coates.
" W. N. Towse.
" A. H. Simpson.
2/Lieut. R. N. Keen.
" W. A. Stark.
" W. R. Botterill.
" V. S. Bowater.
" S. N. Davies.
" R. C. Dickins.
" W. H. Stevens.
" N. L. Thomas.
" J. R. Webster.
" L. A. Dickins.
" L. R. Chapman.
" H. W. Dennis.
" E. G. Lovell.
" H. W. Vernon.
Hon. Lieut. and Quartermaster, J. E. W. Lambley (Quartermaster);
Lieut. Casey, R.A.M.C., Medical Officer attached.
Just before departure the following telegram was received by Colonel
Dunfee from General Sir Ian Hamilton, G.C.B., D.S.O.:
Had arranged to go down and see your Battalion. Unfortunately
situation renders imperative my presence at Headquarters. Can only,
therefore, wish you best of good luck and hope we may meet again.
At about 5 p.m. on the 23rd December H.T. _Avon_ put to sea, and the
following day at daybreak the convoy assembled, consisting of:--
H.T. _Avon_--2/4th London Regiment and two Companies 2/3rd
London Regiment.
H.T. _Euralia_--2/2nd London Regiment and 2/3rd London
Regiment, less two companies, under the escort of
H.M.S. _Eclipse_, which accompanied the transports as
far as Gibraltar.
[Illustration: _Melleha_]
[Illustration: _Grand Harbour, Valetta_]
[Illustration: _Grand Harbour, Valetta_]
The following appointments were made on H.T. _Avon_: Colonel Vickers
Dunfee to be O.C. Ship; Captain and Adjutant W. G. Hayward to be Ship's
Adjutant.
Christmas was spent at sea with as much good cheer as circumstances
permitted, and after an uneventful voyage Malta was reached and H.T.
_Avon_ dropped anchor in the Grand Harbour at Valetta on 31st December
1914.
* * * * *
On the 30th December the 1/4th Battalion marched from Ghain Tuffieha to
St George's Barracks and handed over its arms and equipment, as it was
understood that these would be required for the relieving troops.
The strength of the 1/4th Battalion on leaving the Island was 24
officers and about 850 other ranks. Major J. F. F. Parr remained
on the Island and took over the duties of Medical Officer to the
2/4th Battalion, his duties in the 1/4th Battalion being assumed by
Lieutenant Casey, who had just arrived with the 2/4th Battalion. In
addition Captain R. N. Arthur and Lieut. V. W. Edwards transferred to
the 2/4th Battalion together with about 85 N.C.O.'s and men who were
found medically unfit for active service. These officers, N.C.O.'s, and
men reported on the 3rd January to the 2/4th Battalion which was thus
brought to about war strength.
On the 2nd January the 2/4th Battalion disembarked and marched to
quarters at St Andrew's barracks, and the same day at 6.35 a.m. the
1/4th Battalion paraded for the last time at Ghain Tuffieha, marched
to Valetta and embarked on the _Avon_. That afternoon the _Avon_,
conveying in addition to the 1/4th Battalion the 1/3rd Londons, put
to sea under sealed orders, which were subsequently found to be for
Marseilles.