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WITH A RESERVIST IN FRANCE
A Personal Account of All the Engagements in Which the 1St Division
1St Corps Took Part, viz.: Mons (Including the Retirement), the Marne,
the Aisne, First Battle of Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Festubert, and Loos
by
F. A. BOLWELL
With Six Sketch Maps by the Author
[Illustration]
London:
George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.
New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
TO
THE LATE COLONEL KNIGHT
AND OFFICERS OF THE LOYAL
NORTH LANCASHIRE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE CALL, AND THE START 1
II. THE LANDING IN FRANCE 9
III. THE RETIREMENT 21
IV. THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE 35
V. THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE 45
VI. THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES 67
VII. THE FIGHT ON THE BIPSCHOOTE-LANGEMARCK
ROAD, OCTOBER 23RD, 1914 73
VIII. LA BASSÉE DISTRICT 115
IX. THE BATTLE OF FESTUBERT, MAY 9TH, 1915 135
X. LOOS 147
LIST OF MAPS
MAP
1. The Fight on the Marne, Sept. 10th, 1914 on page 39
2. Battle of the Aisne, Sept. 14th, 1914 " 49
3. Ypres, First Battle " 71
4. Rough Sketch of the Fight on the
Bipschoote-Langemarck Road " 77
5. The La Bassée Front " 119
6. Rough Sketch showing Attack at Loos " 151
CHAPTER I
THE CALL, AND THE START
Being a Reservist, I was naturally called to the colours on the
outbreak of war between England and Germany on August 4th, 1914, so I
downed tools; and, although a married man with two children, I was only
too pleased to be able to leave a more or less monotonous existence for
something more exciting and adventurous. Being an old soldier, war was
of course more or less ingrained into my nature, and during those few
days before the final declaration I was at fever heat and longing to be
away.
As all the world knows, war was declared on the fourth, which was a
sign for all reservists to present themselves at the post offices
throughout the country, there to procure their travelling allowance and
proceed to the depôt named by the authorities on each Identity Life
Certificate. This I accordingly did early on the following morning.
Late on the night before the General Mobilization notices had been
posted up outside all newspaper offices and public buildings.
I had rather a long journey before me, having to go from a town on
the South Coast, where I then resided, to a town in Lancashire, that
being the depôt of my Regiment. During the journey to London I had a
conversation with a clergyman, and of course the topic was war. We
agreed that it could not last for any length of time, and I remember
telling him that I was going to try and get a soft job, and that I
expected to have a nice holiday. Little did I think what was in store
for me! Waterloo and Euston were packed to suffocation, men flocking to
the colours from all parts of the country. The excitement was intense,
and the scenes being enacted partially carried away my thoughts of
sorrow at leaving home.
That evening I arrived at my depôt, and, after reporting myself at the
Guard Room, made my way toward the block of buildings which my unit
occupied, these particular barracks being the depôts of three units.
I met on arrival several old faces, and, after renewing our
acquaintances, I there and then fell in with a batch of men going up
for medical inspection. We were then examined by two doctors very
thoroughly. The next place to visit was the Quarter Master's Stores,
there to be fitted up with uniform, equipment, etc. After that, as it
was quite dark, we retired for the night, but not before we had all
taken advantage of a little refreshment kindly supplied by some ladies
who had come forward to release men employed in preparing food for work
in the stores. That evening a party of 500 men had been sent to join
the Home Battalion then stationed at Aldershot.
Next day a similar body of men had become fit to be sent away, and I
proceeded with them to the First Battalion at Aldershot.
On arrival, we were placed into Companies and Platoons. Most of us had
left the service some years ago, and had no idea of the existing new
formations. One man, on being asked by an Officer where his Platoon
was, replied: "I don't know, sir. I haven't got it on me."
However, after a week at Aldershot, we were pretty well knocked into
shape, and had also been fixed up in accounts and allowances, and other
details. We also had a lecture on inoculation by the Medical Officer,
who hoped that every man would consent to be operated on. Another and
more interesting speech was given by the Commanding Officer, Colonel
Knight, a man who fully realized the seriousness of the situation and
evidently had a good idea of what the present war would be like. His
speech was to this effect:
"Men of the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment! I wish to bring home
to you the fact that we have a hard task before us. We are out to fight
a great nation and men who are out for blood. This Regiment have always
been top-dogs even with the boys" (meaning time-serving men: they had
that year won nine football cups out of a possible eleven, besides
other sporting competitions). "What are we going to do now that we
have the men?" (meaning the Reservists). "None of you men will come
back--nor the next lot--nor the next after that--nor the next after
that again; but some of the next _might_. But we'll give those Germans
something to go on with, and we'll give a good account of ourselves!
Remember, men, the eyes of the whole world will be upon us, and I know
that you will perform whatever task is allotted to you, like men."
We were then interviewed by the King and the Queen; and, later in the
day, proceeded to Farnborough Station _en route_ for Southampton,
arriving that night, every one and everything being embarked by 11.30
p.m. No one of course knew for what port we were bound, though many
suggested Belgium.
We had no "send off" whatsoever; no shaking hands or wet
handkerchiefs--any one not knowing a war had been declared would have
had no suspicion that these men were starting out on active service.
Yet every one was jolly; every one was happy. They put us aboard an
old China boat, and stuffed us into the holds almost to suffocation,
with one large electric light burning in a distant corner: it was most
unhealthy. After an hour one could have cut the air with a knife.
No sooner had we left our moorings than we ran down a lighter, killing
one man on her and knocking a big hole in her side. None of us below
had the slightest idea of what was happening; all we heard was an awful
noise, with the lowering of the anchor. We all declared that we had
been either mined or torpedoed; but after a while things quietened
down, and we all tried to obtain a little sleep.
There had been issued out to us on starting seven-pound tins of jam
with our other rations. One was placed near the spot I had made for
myself to sleep in. It was one of the darkest parts of the hold; and,
being tired, I was soon fast asleep. On awakening next morning, to my
horror I found myself covered from head to foot in jam--a sorry plight
indeed, as we were not allowed to carry more kit than what we stood up
in. However, after fighting for a few drops of cold tea, which had to
satisfy me for a breakfast, and an hour in the sun and wind on deck, I
had become perfectly dry, but my clothes were as stiff as a board. All
I could do was to cheerfully declare that at any rate my armour was
perhaps more bullet-proof than before.
Having set sail on the eleventh of August, we arrived at Le Havre on
the morning of the twelfth, after a journey of twelve hours.