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THE 23RD (SERVICE) BATTALION
ROYAL FUSILIERS.
(FIRST SPORTSMAN'S)
[Illustration: _Army and Navy Stores, photo._
COL. THE VISCOUNT MAITLAND.
_Frontispiece_]
THE
23RD (SERVICE) BATTALION
ROYAL FUSILIERS
(FIRST SPORTSMAN'S)
A RECORD OF ITS SERVICES IN THE
GREAT WAR, 1914-1919
BY
FRED. W. WARD
CAPTAIN R.E.,
FORMERLY NO. 662 FIRST SPORTSMAN'S BATTALION
LONDON
SIDGWICK & JACKSON, LTD.
1920
CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORDS 1
THE SPORTSMEN 3
FROM MAJOR-GENERAL SIR C.E. PEREIRA, K.C.B., C.M.G. 4
FROM MAJOR-GENERAL R.O. KELLETT, C.B., C.M.G. 7
FORMATION OF THE BATTALION, THE HONOURS GAINED, AND ITS
RECORD IN BRIEF 9
A NEW TYPE OF SOLDIER--THE COSMOPOLITAN COMPOSITION OF
THE BATTALION 15
TRAINING AT HOME--HOW THE FINISHED SOLDIER EMERGED FROM
THE ROUGH MATERIAL 23
SERVICE OVERSEAS--HEAVY FIGHTING ALL ALONG THE FRONT,
AND A TRIUMPHAL MARCH INTO GERMANY 35
GREAT WORK ACCOMPLISHED--HOLDING UP A GERMAN ADVANCE--
SILENCING SNIPERS IN A DERELICT TANK--AND SOME OTHER
THINGS 67
PRESENTATION OF THE KING'S COLOUR--MAJOR-GENERAL SIR
C.E. PEREIRA, K.C.B., C.M.G., AND HIS PRIDE IN THE
BATTALION 73
"GOOD-BYE AND GOOD LUCK"--BRIGADIER-GENERAL A.E.
MCNAMARA, C.M.G., D.S.O., AND HIS FAREWELL TO THE 23RD
ROYAL FUSILIERS 77
THE BATTLE OF DELVILLE WOOD--AN ADVANCE IN FACE OF
HUNDREDS OF MACHINE GUNS--A PERSONAL NARRATIVE 81
EXPERIENCES AS A PRISONER OF WAR--EXTRACTS FROM THE
DIARY KEPT BY "MR. BROOKS, THE SCHOOLMASTER" 93
THE HONOURS' LIST: NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN AWARDED
DECORATIONS AND MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES 103
THE ROLL OF HONOUR: OFFICERS AND OTHER RANKS WHO
DIED THAT ENGLAND MIGHT LIVE 111
THE NOMINAL ROLL: NAMES AND NUMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL
MEMBERS OF THE BATTALION WHO JOINED EITHER AT THE HOTEL
CECIL, LONDON, OR AT HORNCHURCH, ESSEX 143
EDITOR'S NOTE 167
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
COLONEL THE VISCOUNT MAITLAND _Frontispiece_
FIRST INSPECTION OF BATTALION: HYDE PARK, OCTOBER,
1914 _to face p._ 20
MARCHING AWAY FROM HYDE PARK TO ENTRAIN FOR
HORNCHURCH _to face p._ 28
THE CAMP, HORNCHURCH " 30
INTERIOR OF A HUT, HORNCHURCH " 30
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL H.A. VERNON, D.S.O. " 42
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL E.A. WINTER, D.S.O., M.C. " 50
PRESENTATION OF COLOURS: NIEDERAUSSEM, GERMANY,
JUNE 24, 1919 _to face p._ 66
BATTALION HEADQUARTERS, HORNCHURCH " 80
THE BATTALION PIERROT TROUPE: GERMANY " 80
FOREWORDS
THE SPORTSMEN
Sportsmen of every kind,
God! we have paid the score
Who left green English fields behind
For the sweat and stink of war!
New to the soldier's trade,
Into the scrum we came,
But we didn't care much what game we played
So long as we played the game.
We learned in a hell-fire school
Ere many a month was gone,
But we knew beforehand the golden rule,
"Stick it, and carry on!"
And we were a cheery crew,
Wherever you find the rest,
Who did what an Englishman can do,
And did it as well as the best.
Aye, and the game was good,
A game for a man to play,
Though there's many that lie in Delville Wood
Waiting the Judgment Day.
But living and dead are made
One till the final call,
When we meet once more on the Last Parade,
Soldiers and Sportsmen all!
TOUCHSTONE
(of the "_Daily Mail_").
FROM MAJOR-GENERAL SIR C.E. PEREIRA, K.C.B., C.M.G.
The history of any New Army battalion is a valuable contribution to
the history of the war. This applies particularly to a battalion like
the 23rd Royal Fusiliers, which achieved a high morale and maintained
excellent discipline throughout the war.
At the Front our only knowledge of the New Army before they came
overseas was gained from the Brigade Staffs and Commanding Officers of
the new Formations, who were sent over for short attachment to troops
in the line.
We learnt from them the great difficulties that had to be overcome in
raising new units, with very few officers, warrant officers, and
N.C.O.'s to lead the new force and instruct them in military routine.
Without exception they were filled with admiration of the physique,
intelligence, and spirit of the men who had rushed to arms in those
dark early days of the war.
It was evidently the flower of the nation that came forward, and
probably in the history of all wars such magnificent material has
never been equalled.
My acquaintance with the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers extended from
the end of 1916 to March, 1919, when the Battalion left the 2nd
Division, and it is interesting to look back at my first impression of
the Battalion, as I had not previously had any New Army battalions
under my command. Regular battalions have the pride of history to
sustain them, and traditions to live up to, but here I found a
battalion not two years old, with its history in the making, but with
the same spirit and self-consciousness that one finds in the old
formations.
Those who have not had considerable experience of troops in peace and
war may imagine that regiments are, at all times, sustained by a great
pride in their past, and a determination to live up to it. Alas! in
some cases this spirit dies away in adversity. I have seen the 23rd
Royal Fusiliers in good times and in bad, and I have never found them
downhearted.
When out for a few weeks' rest and training, in pleasant surroundings,
their work and play were carried out with much life and zest.
In the fighting in the Cambrai salient, in the Bourlon-Moeuvres
Ridge, on November 30, 1917, when the 2nd Division defeated six
successive attacks on their line, the 23rd Royal Fusiliers at the end
of the day held their line intact. This action was followed two days
later by a withdrawal which was necessary to get us out of a sharp
salient. This entailed very hard work and constant trench fighting,
extending over several days. The troops were very exhausted from the
extremely heavy calls that had been made on them, but after a few
days' rest it was almost incredible how rapidly they had thrown off
their fatigue and how good their spirits were.
They knew they had killed large numbers of Germans, and had
successfully defeated a German attack which, if successful, would have
been a great disaster for the British.
A more trying time was the March retreat in 1918. Lieutenant-Colonel
Winter had lost his voice from the effect of several days of very
heavy gas shelling of the Highland Ridge just before the Germans
launched their attack, and he was voiceless for the next ten days. A
large proportion of his Battalion were similarly affected, but time
after time during the retreat they turned and fought, and inflicted
heavy losses on the enemy until they did their share in repelling a
heavy attack at Beaumont Hamel, where the Germans were finally held.
It was the spirit of such battalions as the 23rd Royal Fusiliers that
broke the German offensive, and the marvellous power of recuperation
that they had, given a few days to rest and sleep.
In the offensive operations that lasted from August 21, 1918, to the
Armistice, the Battalion delivered many successful attacks with
undiminished dash and courage, and it was a proud day when I saw them
march through the Square in Duren with fixed bayonets, headed by the
few Regimental pipers that had been through the war with them since
their formation.
Well had they earned their Victory March into Germany, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Winter was justified in his great pride in their
fine appearance and magnificent transport.
In conclusion I must pay a tribute to the private soldiers, the
non-commissioned officers, and the young officers, who, year in and
year out, faced death and the greatest of hardships with that dogged
courage that has always broken the hearts of our enemies. The saying
that the British soldier never knows when he is beaten has never been
truer than in this war.
My hope is that histories such as this may have a wide circulation, so
that mothers, wives, and children may know what their men have done
for their country, what dangers they have faced, and what vast
sacrifices they cheerfully made.
FROM MAJOR-GENERAL R.O. KELLETT, C.B., C.M.G.
The story of the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers cannot fail to be a
fine one. Every soldier who, like myself, had the honour of fighting,
I may say, shoulder to shoulder with it, will read its history with
the deepest interest.
As its first Brigadier, I took up that appointment on December 19,
1914, when the Battalion was in its infancy, deficient of arms and
equipment, but full of men whose physique, zeal, and spirit were
magnificent, and this spirit was fully maintained, to the honour and
fame of the Battalion, in the face of the enemy in France during the
winter of 1915-16, and throughout 1916 and 1917, during which time it
was in my (99th) Brigade, which formed part of the 2nd Division.
Throughout the heavy fighting we went through during this period, the
23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers never failed me. What they were ordered
to do they did, and more; any objective they seized they held on to,
and never retired from. Few units can boast of as proud a record as
this.
Many hundreds of their best and bravest made the last sacrifice, but
the splendid gallantry and dogged and cheerful endurance of the
Battalion never lessened.
I was, and am, a proud man to have had such a Battalion in my Brigade,
a Battalion second to none amongst those who fought for the Empire in
the Great War.
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| FORMATION OF THE BATTALION, THE HONOURS GAINED, AND |
| ITS RECORD IN BRIEF |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
FORMATION OF THE BATTALION, THE HONOURS GAINED,
AND ITS RECORD IN BRIEF
RAISED IN LONDON IN 1914 BY MRS E. CUNLIFFE-OWEN (NOW MRS.
STAMFORD, O.B.E.)
PARTICULARS OF STRENGTH.
---------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
| Officers. | Other | Total. |
| | Ranks. | |
---------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
Total strength of Battalion on | | | |
embarkation | 31 | 1,006 | 1,037 |
| | | |
Total number of reinforcements who | | | |
were posted to and joined the | | | |
Battalion whilst overseas | 188 | 3,762 | 3,950 |
| | | |
Total number who have served on the | | | |
effective strength of the 23rd Royal | | | |
Fusiliers whilst overseas | 219 | 4,768 | 4,987 |
---------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
NOTE.--The above figures do not include those posted to the
Battalion for record purposes only, and who never joined the
Battalion in the Field. The figures represent only those who
have served on the effective strength of the Battalion
overseas.
COLONELS IN COMMAND.
Colonel Viscount MAITLAND. From formation of Battalion to January 29,
1916.
Lieut.-Colonel H.A. VERNON, D.S.O. From January 31, 1916, to May 23,
1917.
Lieut.-Colonel E.A. WINTER, D.S.O., M.C. From May 24, 1917, to April
14, 1919.
Lieut.-Colonel F.L. ASHBURNER, M.V.O., D.S.O. From April 15, 1919, to
March, 1920.
The Battalion proceeded overseas on November 15, 1915.
CASUALTIES SUSTAINED.
--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
| Officers. | Other | All |
| | Ranks. | Ranks. |
--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
Killed in action | 26 | 427 | 453 |
Died of wounds | 2 | 128 | 130 |
Wounded in action | 81 | 2,216 | 2,297 |
Missing in action | 19 | 331 | 350 |
Died from sickness whilst on active | | | |
service | Nil | 11 | 11 |
--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
Total | 128 | 3,113 | 3,241 |
--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+
HONOURS AWARDED.
D.S.O. 5
Bar to D.S.O. 1
M.C. 27
Bar to M.C. 5
Order de l'Caronne 1
D.C.M. 14
M.M. 93
Bar to M.M. 6
M.S.M. 8
French Croix de Guerre 1
Belgian Croix de Guerre 1
Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valour 1
MOVEMENTS OF THE BATTALION AND BATTLES IN WHICH
IT TOOK PART.
1915.
November: Bethune sector.
December: Cambrin sector.
1916.
January: Festubert sector.
February: Givenchy sector.
March: Souchez sector.
April: " "
May: " "
June: Carency sector.
July: Somme and Battle of Delville Wood.
August: Somme, in support.
September: Hebuterne sector.
October: Redan.
November: Battle of Beaumont Hamel.
December: Battalion resting.
1917.
January: Courcelette sector.
February: Battle of Miraumont.
March: Battles of Greyvillers and Lady's Leg Ravine.
April: Vimy Ridge and battle in front of Oppy.
May: Battle for and capture of Oppy-Fresnoy line.
June: Cambrin sector.
September: Givenchy.
October: Battalion resting.
November: Battalion moved to Herzeele, behind Passchendale, ready to
go in, and was then moved south to meet the German counter-attack
at Bourlon Wood.
December: Holding Hindenburg line.
1918.
January: Highland Ridge.
February: Highland Ridge.
March: German attack. Battalion fought a rearguard action from
Highland Ridge to Mailly-Mailly.
April: Battalion holding line at Blairville and Adnifer.
May: " " " "
June: Holding line at Adnifer and Ayette.
July: " " "
August: Battalion led off for the Third Army on 21st inst., attacking
and capturing enemy positions near Courcelles.
September: Battalion attacked and captured part of the Hindenburg
line at Doignes, and later helped to capture Noyelles, and
attacked Mount sur l'[OE]uvres.
October: Battalion attacked and captured Forenville.
November: Battalion attacked and captured Ruesnes.
November and December: Battalion marched forward into Germany.
1919.
Battalion in Cologne area as part of Army of Occupation.
1920.
Battalion in Cologne area until it was disbanded in March.
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| A NEW TYPE OF SOLDIER--THE COSMOPOLITAN |
| COMPOSITION OF THE BATTALION |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
A NEW TYPE OF SOLDIER--THE COSMOPOLITAN
COMPOSITION OF THE BATTALION
With the formation of the Sportsman's Battalion it will be admitted
quite a new type of man was brought into the British Army. Public
Schools battalions, the Chums, the Footballers, and other battalions
were formed. But to the First Sportsman's belongs the honour of
introducing an actually new type.
To begin with, it was cosmopolitan. Practically every grade of life
was represented, from the peer to the peasant; class distinctions were
swept away, every man turned to and pulled his bit. To illustrate what
is meant one hut of thirty men at Hornchurch may be mentioned.
In this hut the first bed was occupied by the brother of a peer. The
second was occupied by the man who formerly drove his motor-car. Both
had enlisted at the same time at the Hotel Cecil, had passed the
doctor at the same time at St. Paul's Churchyard, and had drawn their
service money when they signed their papers. Other beds in this hut
were occupied by a mechanical engineer, an old Blundell School boy,
planters, a mine overseer from Scotland, a man in possession of a
flying pilot's certificate secured in France, a photographer, a
poultry farmer, an old sea dog who had rounded Cape Horn on no fewer
than nine occasions, a man who had hunted seals, "with more patches on
his trousers than he could count," as he described it himself, a bank
clerk, and so on.
It must not be thought that this hut was an exceptional one. Every hut
was practically the same, and every hut was jealous of its reputation.
Scrubbing day was on Saturdays as a rule, and it was then that the
"un-char-lady" side of various men came out. They were handling
brooms, scrubbing-brushes, and squeegees for the first time in their
lives, but they stuck it, and, with practice making perfect, it was
surprising to what a pitch of cleanliness things eventually got.
Even church parade has been dodged on a Sunday morning in order that
three pals might unite in an effort to get the stoves blacked, the
knives and forks polished, and a sheen put on the tea-pails.
One may smile about these things now when in civilian life again, but
it was all very real at the time. The First Sportsman's were not
coddled; no man thought twice about getting in a terrible mess when
domestic duties had to be performed. The only kick came when the hut
windows had to be cleaned with old newspapers. The man who had
forgotten to wash the old cloths or buy new ones came in for a
terrible time.
Rivalry, perfectly friendly in character, was great in the earlier
days before chums began to be split up as the result of taking
commissions. If we were digging trenches "somewhere in Essex," our
particular sector had to be completed quicker and be more finished in
character than any other. Jobs were done at the double if it were
thought to be necessary; if any man developed a tendency to take a
rest at too frequent intervals--well, he was ticked off in the most
approved fashion. It all made for the good of the whole. The N.C.O. in
charge had an easy time, he hadn't to drive a man. All he had to do
was to see that in over-eagerness his working party did not take
risks.
But the time came when the calculations upon securing a commission
began to make their appearance. It may be some men were approached on
the matter, or that others thought they would get to the Front more
quickly as individual officers than as members of the Battalion (as
indeed proved the case in many instances), but certain it is that the
Colonel began to be inundated with applications to apply for
permission.
Whilst freely recommending all suitable applications, the Colonel, in
order to keep up the strength of the Battalion, made a rule that an
applicant was to supply two other recruits to the Battalion of a
certain height and of absolute physical fitness.
Naturally this was conformed with, and the recruiting sergeants round
Whitehall were all the richer for it. So, too, were the recruits, and
everyone was satisfied. If one man went two others took his place.
[Illustration: FIRST INSPECTION OF BATTALION: HYDE PARK,
OCTOBER, 1914.
To face p. 20]
Finally, as it was found that men constantly leaving was interfering
with the internal organization of the companies, a special company was
formed of all those waiting for their commission papers to come
through.
This company, "E," proved the friendly butt of all the others, one wag
even going so far as to christen it the "Essex Beagles," alleging they
did not "parade," but "met"!
So, in order to free the others for harder training this company
provided very nearly all the fatigue parties for the camp.
Still, this didn't matter. It just gave the budding officers a chance
to show what they were capable of. On several occasions a member of
"E" Company proved he was more than a little useful with his hands
when it came to a matter of treating things from a physical point of
view and cutting the cheap wit out. The fatigues were also done
without a murmur, that was another point of honour, and although the
available strength of the company was dwindling day by day, "grousing"
about extra work was conspicuous by its absence.
There was a funny side about this dwindling of the strength, too. Men
would be on the morning parade, and not on that later in the day. The
explanation was a simple one. Their papers had come through. A man
would walk out through the gates and be pulled up by the sentry.
"What about your pass?" the latter would ask.
"Got my discharge," would be the reply.
"Got a commission?"
"Yes."
"Good luck, old chap. I'm getting my papers to-morrow."
So, many of the original members of the First Sportsman's Battalion
were scattered about on every front in their various regiments.
Walking through the Rue Colmar, Suez, one day I met my old company
officer, then in the Royal Flying Corps. At Sidi Bishr, on the banks
of the Mediterranean, I met another. A fellow-sergeant in the
Battalion came up in the Rue Rosetta, Alexandria, and claimed me.
Out beyond the Bitter Lakes, east of the Suez Canal, I met an old
Sportsman who had been a fellow-corporal with me. Back of the Somme, a
prominent West Country Sportsman shouted a greeting to me from the
Artillery. He still remembered rousing the camp at Hornchurch one
night by sounding a hunting horn.
In an Artillery Captain in the Hebuterne sector I recognized another
member--a Machine-Gun officer rolled up smilingly on the way up the
line, and, finest time of all, I had nearly a whole day with what was
left of the old crowd when they were resting after Delville Wood.
Friendships made in the First Sportsman's Battalion were not easily
broken. We are out of it now, but--once a Sportsman, always a
Sportsman. That, at least, has been my experience.
And it must not be forgotten that to Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen is due the
credit of conceiving the idea of a battalion formed of men over the
then enlistment age, who, by reason of their life as sportsmen, were
fit and hard. Approaching the War Office, she obtained permission to
raise a special battalion of men up to the age of forty-five. This was
how the Sportsman's Battalion was actually brought into being.
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| TRAINING AT HOME--HOW THE FINISHED SOLDIER EMERGED |
| FROM THE ROUGH MATERIAL |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
TRAINING AT HOME--HOW THE FINISHED SOLDIER EMERGED
FROM THE ROUGH MATERIAL
Formed almost as soon as the war broke out in 1914, the First
Sportsman's Battalion may have provoked some criticism. It was
uncertain at first as to what branch of the service it was to
represent. Personally I thought it was to be mounted, and I was not
alone in this idea either. More than a few of us got busy at once in
settling how, if possible, we could provide our own mounts. That was
in the days when we were new to war, long before we began to know what
something approaching the real thing was.
Recruiting went on briskly at the Hotel Cecil, London, where Mrs.
Cunliffe-Owen and her staff worked hard and late. Lieutenant-Colonel
Winter, then Second-Lieutenant Winter, with his ledger-like book and
his green-baize-covered table, was a familiar figure. So, too, was the
tailor who had been entrusted with the task of fitting us out with our
uniforms. He, poor man, was soon in trouble. The stock sizes could be
secured, but stock sizes were at a discount with the majority of the
men who first joined up. They wanted outside sizes, and very
considerable outside sizes, too, for the average height was a little
over six feet, and the chest measurements in proportion.
Still, we recognized that these things had to be, and we kept on with
a smile and a joke for everything. Perhaps we had a pair of army
trousers and a sports-coat. Perhaps we had a pair of puttees, and the
rest of the costume was our own. It didn't matter. It was good enough
to parade in off the Embankment Gardens. It was good enough to route
march in through the London streets. And the traffic was always
stopped for us when we came home up the Strand, and proceeded down the
steps by the side of "the Coal Hole" to the "dismiss." Rude things
might be said to us by the crowd, but there was a warm spot in their
hearts for us. We just carried on.
Bit by bit we were provided with our uniforms, and we began to fancy
ourselves as the real thing. We began to make new friends, and we were
drawn closer to those we knew. We came from all over the world. At the
call men had come home from the Far East and the Far West. A man who
had gone up the Yukon with Frank Slavin, the boxer; another who had
been sealing round Alaska; trappers from the Canadians woods; railway
engineers from the Argentine; planters from Ceylon; big-game hunters
from Central Africa; others from China, Japan, the Malay States,
India, Egypt--these were just a few of the Battalion who were ready
and eager to shoulder a rifle, and do their bit as just common or
garden Tommies. The thought of taking a commission did not enter our
minds at the start. Every man was eager to get on with the work, with
but a dim thought of what it was going to be like, but worrying not a
bit about the future.
In a few weeks the Battalion had learnt how to form fours, to wheel,
and to maintain a uniformity of step. Every man was desperately keen;
to be late for parade was a great big sin. And this despite the fact
that every man had to come into London from all parts of the suburbs,
and farther out than that in many instances, by train (paying his own
fare) every morning.
So the time went on. Then came the news that we were to go into camp
at the Grey Towers, Hornchurch, Essex, and next came the formation of
a fatigue party to go on ahead and get things ready for the reception
of the Battalion. There was a rush to get into this party as soon as
the news went round. Everyone was eager to do something fresh, and,
after all, we didn't know what fatigues were in those days. So the
party went on ahead.
We who were left kept on with our drills; we even did physical jerks
on the slopes of Savoy Street, Strand. Then came the news that we were
to march away. That bucked everybody up tremendously, for, to tell the
truth, we were really beginning to get tired of the London life. Some
of us, who had seen life in various parts of the world previously,
were sighing again for the open air. All of us were thinking it was
really time we did something to justify our existence. We did not
claim to be show soldiers; we wanted to get at it.
[Illustration: MARCHING AWAY FROM HYDE PARK TO ENTRAIN FOR
HORNCHURCH.
To face p. 28]
All things come to those who wait, however. We were to move to
Hornchurch--the first step to active service. We had our uniforms, we
even had white gloves, and at last we fell in, by the Hotel Cecil,
with a band at our head, and off we went. Funnily enough, some of us
felt this break with London more than we felt anything afterwards. It
was really our first introduction to "the Great Unknown."
Had the Guards been marching away they could not have had a greater
and a more enthusiastic send-off. The streets of the City were packed;
it was a struggle to get through. At Liverpool Street we were reduced
to a two-deep formation, and even then it became a case of shouldering
your way through those who had gathered to wish us "God speed." But we
were entrained at last; we detrained at Romford, and we marched to
Hornchurch. We were in the camp.
OUR FIRST SURPRISE.--That's when we had the first surprise sprung upon
us, for we learnt that the camp would be our home for a whole solid
fourteen days. No one was to be allowed to go into the village; we
were to begin our course of instruction in discipline. There were a
few heart-burnings, but nothing more. The Battalion played up to its
ideal.
We were drilled early and late; we were instructed in the art of guard
mounting; we peeled potatoes in the cookhouse; we fetched coal from
the quartermaster's stores; we fell in to get our rations from the
cookhouse; and last, but not least, we began to grouse. That was our
first advance to becoming real soldiers. At least, so the author was
told by an old N.C.O. who had marched with Roberts to Kabul, and who
was again in the Service, too aged to do more than to instruct, but
not too aged to do that well.
Hard work and plain but plentiful food soon made the Battalion as hard
as nails, a phrase coined by the London _Evening News_, and a phrase
that stuck. Quite as important, too, was the fact that a member of the
"hard as nails" Battalion had to prove he was capable of acting up to
it. So it was just a matter of honour that every man should keep off
the sick parades, and not come home in the ambulance when a long route
march or a field day was indulged in.
This took a bit of doing sometimes, for there was no mercy shown us.
We said we wanted the real thing, and, between ourselves, we got it. A
march of seven miles to the scene of operations, a hard field day, and
a march of seven miles home again, with pack, rifle, and full
equipment in other ways, was our lot. We began to recognize that we
were really soldiers, and we patted ourselves on the back.
Sport, too, played a very big part in our training. The Army of to-day
recognizes the fact that athletics makes and keeps our youngsters fit
and well. Our Colonel recognized it from the start, and as we had
plenty of material to work upon we went right away with it. We had a
"soccer" team, a "rugger" team, and a cricket eleven. The records of
the matches we won, and the fact that very few defeats were notched up
against us, proves we had a perfect right to style ourselves "the
First Sportsman's Battalion, the 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal
Fusiliers."
[Illustration: THE CAMP: HORNCHURCH.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A HUT: HORNCHURCH.
To face p. 30]
Scullers, footballers, boxers, runners, wrestlers, actors, musicians,
artists--all these could be had for the asking, and we drew upon them
liberally. We were given plenty of opportunities to indulge in our
passion for sport in the ordinary way, but the private who once asked
for leave in order to go grouse shooting didn't get it. It was
suggested he might put in a little time at the rifle range instead. No
restrictions, however, were put upon any early morning running
matches, and the football and cricket teams were helped in every way.
To get back to the purely military side, however. We groused at the
amount of drills and night operations, to being hut orderlies, going
on guard, and so on. But we did them as a means to an end. Then we had
the rudest shock of all. We learnt we were to embark on the task of
digging trenches--somewhere in Essex! That put the lid on things, so
we considered. We, infantry soldiers, to dig trenches! It couldn't be
right. We thought the Engineers, or the Pioneers, or somebody else,
always did that. Our job was to carry a rifle, and to shoot Germans.
That's how the rank and file looked at it in the first place. Of
course they discovered other things when the Battalion got to France,
but that's another story.
However, it had to be done and, like everything else, it _was_ done.
After an early breakfast, the company detailed fell in and marched off
to the station. After a while, a special train arrived and we
scrambled in. In the interim, it may be mentioned, packed trains
proceeding cityward went by, the passengers cheering us. That passed
the time if it did nothing else.
Nearly an hour in the train, a march of perhaps a couple of miles, and
we reached our objective. Mysterious personages, with a big "G.R." in
gold on scarlet armlets popped up from somewhere, produced plans, and
informed our Company Officer that trenches had to be dug at such and
such a place. As a rule it was somewhere where the water from an
adjacent brook would percolate through the earth and make things
uncomfortable. That's by the way, though, and after all it was good
practice, this working out a method of trench drainage on our own. As
a matter of fact we had a lot of Civil and Colonial Engineers in our
ranks, and so we put all the mistakes made by the others right.
Whenever possible, of course. One or two things, it must be admitted,
beat us.
Sometimes it rained, sometimes it snowed, occasionally, very
occasionally, it happened to be fine. But we got on with our work,
waiting for the bugler to blow for the midday lunch. When "cookhouse"
went we straightened our backs, got _some_ of the mud off our boots,
and proceeded to take what the gods (in this case the quartermaster)
were good enough to give us. We always had two guesses, and we were
always right. It was either bread and cheese, or bread and bully. If
we were fortunate we might be able to purchase beer at a local
hostelry, or Oxo at a village shop. If not so fortunate, the
waterbottle or, if again lucky, a pocket-flask was brought into
service.
THE KINDLY SHOPKEEPER.--Digressing for a moment, though, it may be
mentioned that the various shopkeepers were always very, very good to
us! They always supplied us with what we needed, if they had it, and
they never put the prices up to us! At least, not much. For instance,
if a resident could buy a pair of bootlaces for a penny, we were only
occasionally charged more than threepence. Other things were in
proportion, and Essex to-day has quite a lot of nice new shops,
unknown before the advent of the First Sportsman's Battalion. It is
pleasing to remember that a Navvy Battalion followed us!
To resume the trench digging. As we were later complimented on the
quality of the work we did, we must have shone in the way of handling
the pick and the spade. At the end of our labours, when the "fall in"
was sounded, we were quite ready to say we were looking forward to a
hot meal in our huts in camp, where, outside, the breezes whispered
through the branches of the trees lining the drive, where the moon
silvered the tin roofs of our living quarters, and all was bright and
jolly--in the sergeants' mess!
So time sped away, and still we kept on wondering if we were
forgotten. We sat by the fires in "stoves, hot, combustion slow," and
we told the tale of the two highly placed War Office officials who
were discussing the war years after it had finished. One had asked the
other how the Sportsman's Battalion had shaped in "the Great
Adventure," and then would come the climax. "Good God!" the other
would say, "I've forgotten them. They're still at Hornchurch!"
All things have to come to a finish though, and so we found. We had
night attacks, some three and four day route marches, even a
recruiting march through Barking and its neighbourhood, we did our
shooting tests, got through our bayonet exercises, had battalion drill
in the early mornings, with a fair amount of ceremonial drill thrown
in as a makeweight, and then came the rumour that a real big move was
to be made, such a move that the departure for the Front could not be
long delayed.
This was the move to Clipstone Camp for brigade training. We had heard
so many rumours previously that we did not believe this, the latest,
at first. But it was correct, and at last the Battalion, formed up in
hollow square, was found on the parade ground at Grey Towers, where
the Rector of Hornchurch bade us God speed and good cheer.
A few days later the Battalion, leaving two companies behind as depot
companies, entrained at Hornchurch for the new camp at Clipstone.
There it went through brigade training, was equipped with its
regimental transport, and afterwards moved to Candahar Barracks,
Tidworth, to undergo divisional training with the 33rd Division, of
which it formed a part.
Finally, after being reviewed with the Division by Queen Mary, acting
in place of His Majesty the King, who was suffering from his accident
sustained in France, all was in readiness for the next and biggest
move of all.
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| SERVICE OVERSEAS--HEAVY FIGHTING ALL ALONG THE |
| FRONT, AND A TRIUMPHAL MARCH INTO GERMANY |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
SERVICE OVERSEAS--HEAVY FIGHTING ALL ALONG THE
FRONT, AND A TRIUMPHAL MARCH INTO GERMANY
The day of the move overseas arrived. This was on November 15, 1915,
when the regimental transport entrained at Tidworth for Havre,
followed one day later by the Battalion, which proceeded to
Folkestone, Boulogne being reached on November 17, Ostrohove Rest Camp
being the first objective. No time, however, was wasted there, for on
November 18 the Battalion entrained at Pont-de-Briques, joining the
transport which had come up from Havre.
It was at Steenbecque, reached a day later, and where billets were
found in barns and farmhouses, that the sound of artillery in action
was first heard by the Battalion. Four days were occupied here in
sorting things out generally, the companies parading, route marching,
and being inspected.
On November 23 a move was made to Busnes, the first part of the route
being over badly cut up second-class roads, and the remainder on pavé.
The men, the war diary tells us, marching in greatcoats, and carrying
blankets, found the march very trying. Billets in the area La
Miquellerie were reached at 3 p.m. Distance, 11½ miles.
Then came a very important thing from a soldier's point of view. Pay
was drawn from the Field Cashier, and distributed for the first time
in France. Next came the notification that in conformation with the
policy of re-forming the 33rd and the 2nd Divisions by forming
brigades, each consisting of two new battalions and two regular
battalions, the 99th Brigade was to lose the 17th and 24th Battalions
Royal Fusiliers, receive the 1st Royal Berks and the 1st King's Royal
Rifle Corps and join the 2nd Division.
On November 25 the Battalion paraded to march to their new billets at
Bethune, being inspected _en route_ by General Walker and the Staff of
the 2nd Division. General Walker's opinion was that the 23rd Royal
Fusiliers was one of the best battalions he had seen in Bethune.
Still moving, on November 26 the Battalion marched to Annequin, Fosse
9, and owing to the road being frequently shelled, orders were given
that seventy-pace intervals should be kept between platoons east of
Beuvry. To improve matters, it may be mentioned, there was a heavy
fall of snow, and in the portion of the village south of La Basse the
majority of the houses were in ruins, the result of frequent
bombardments by the enemy.
Then began the first experience of the Battalion in warfare. Before
being trusted to hold a line by itself it had to serve an
apprenticeship. This was done by attaching, in the first place,
platoons, then companies, and then the half-battalion to battalions in
the line in order to learn the work and what was expected of them.
During this time much kindness was experienced from the regular
battalions to which the attachments were made. The units of the
Battalion not doing attachment duty were used for working parties in
the trenches and suffered several casualties. No. 2 platoon, right
flank company, specially suffered, being caught by shrapnel fire on
the Bethune-La Basse road, ten N.C.O.'s and men being wounded.
On December 10 instruction in the use of the gas helmet was given.
Every man was required to pass through a hut sprayed with chlorine gas
ten times as strong as would be used on ordinary occasions, General
Kellett being present while this was being carried out, and himself
going through the test.
So things went on until December 19. On that date the Battalion
marched to Cambrin support point to relieve the 1st Royal Berks and
take over a sector "on its own." In the trenches, No. 1 Company was on
the right, adjoining the 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps, No. 2 Company
on the left, adjoining the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, No. 3
Company was in the centre, and No. 4 Company was in support at
Annequin (Fosse).
It was a very busy time, for No. 3 Company held command of the sap
head at New Crater, a spot where German snipers were particularly
troublesome. A gas attack was ordered upon the enemy, but, much to the
disappointment of the officers and men, it proved a "wash-out" owing
to the breeze dying down at the last moment. On December 21, however,
as the wind was favourable, a gas attack took place on a front of
about a mile. It was on this day that Captain Cameron, of No. 1
Company, was wounded in the arm by a piece of high-explosive while
entering the front line.
Then the Battalion, less No. 4 Company, was relieved by the 1st Royal
Berks, and proceeded to reserve billets at Annequin (Fosse) on
December 22. Not for complete rest, though, as it is generally
understood by the civilian, for working parties had to be detailed;
indeed, on December 24 all four companies were out, less sick and
those on duty. And, says the war diary, no straw was provided for the
billets, no coke, coal, or wood for the drying-room, and no facilities
for drying or cleaning clothes.
CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE TRENCHES--On Christmas Day the Battalion paraded
for trench duty to relieve the 1st Royal Berks, the trenches taken
over being the same as were occupied on December 19-22, with the
alteration in disposition that made No. 4 Company replace No. 3
Company in the centre.
There was also a special bombardment on this day, and the Battalion's
first patrol, consisting of four men and an officer, went over the
parapet, being out in No Man's Land for an hour. During that time the
party located a sniper's post, cut out some wire from the enemy's
entanglements, and were persistently sniped at themselves, while great
difficulty was experienced in maintaining direction.
Then, on Boxing Day, Colonel Lord Maitland was wounded in the knee by
a piece of high-explosive while proceeding to the 99th Brigade
Headquarters via Cambrin Church.
The German snipers continued their activity, there were intermittent
bombardments, several casualties were sustained, and on December 29
the Battalion was relieved by the 18th Royal Fusiliers. Owing to the
bad state of the trenches this relief did not take place until 5.10
p.m., although it was due to be effected at 3 p.m.
Still, the Battalion got back to its billets at Annequin (Fosse), and
on December 30 marched back to Busnettes for sixteen days' divisional
rest. Owing to the very arduous work which had been done since
December 19, on this occasion no packs were carried, and only three
men fell out in a tiring march of 11¼ miles.
1916.
The New Year opened quietly, the usual rest-time routine of kit
inspection, squad drill, route marching, and so on, being indulged in,
a draft coming up from the base on January 7, while on January 11 the
first leave for officers commenced. Then came a move, and on January
19 the Battalion marched to Le Touret, relieving the 6th Queen's
Regiment, the 99th Infantry Brigade taking over a sector of the front
at Festubert from the 37th Infantry Brigade.
[Illustration: LT.-COL. H.A. VERNON, D.S.O.
To face p. 42]
On January 22 the Battalion relieved the 1st Royal Berks, "B" Company
being in reserve in the old British line, "A" Company in support in
Richmond Trench, "C" Company in front line Cover Trench and Islands,
and "D" Company in front line Orchard Trench. The front line and
support line garrisons, it may be noted, had to take up their
positions over the top, and so could not be visited in daylight. The
position remained the same until the then Kaiser's birthday, on
January 27, when although the order for relief was given at 6 p.m., a
"stand to" was ordered in anticipation of an attack.
This did not come off, and, the relief by the 24th Royal Fusiliers
being effected, the Battalion marched back to Bethune on January 28,
where the billets were inspected by General Kellett.
On January 29 Colonel Lord Maitland relinquished the command of the
Battalion, temporary command being taken by Major Richey, D.S.O., and
Lieutenant-Colonel H.A. Vernon (1st King's Royal Rifle Corps) assumed
command on January 31, while Lieutenant Cooper was appointed
machine-gun officer in place of Lieutenant Lewis, who had been
wounded.
Le Quesnoy was the next move, made on February 3, and relieving the
1st Royal Berks on February 7, the Battalion was in turn moved out of
the trenches into the village line Givenchy on the 11th, remaining
there until the 15th, when it again relieved the 1st Royal Berks in B3
sub-sector Givenchy. On the 17th the Battalion was relieved by the
16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers and moved to Le Quesnoy, remaining there
until the 27th, when it proceeded to Barlin. On February 28 another
move was made to Petit Sains, relieving the 22nd Royal Fusiliers, and
on the 29th the Battalion took over the Souchez North sector of
trenches from the French 77th Infantry Regiment.
From March 1 to March 13 the Battalion held the line at Souchez North
in turn with the 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps and on the latter date
proceeded to billets at Noulette, returning again to the trenches on
the 17th, the Battalion on the left being the 17th Royal Fusiliers,
and on the right the 1st Royal Berks. Then on March 28 it moved to La
Comte for divisional rest.
Reclinghem was the next move, made on April 9, and on April 11 there
was a Brigade field day, another reinforcing draft arriving on the
same day. Then on the night of April 21-22 the Battalion relieved the
1st King's Royal Rifle Corps in the Souchez second sector of the line.
So the end of the month arrived with alternate duty in the trenches
and rest in billets.
More reinforcements, to replace wastage, arrived in the early part of
May, and on the 23rd the Battalion was in the trenches at Berthouval,
marching to its billets at Camblain l'Abbé on May 30. Working parties
were naturally provided for the trenches while the Battalion was
resting, and two men were accidentally wounded on the 4th. But things
were moderately quiet until the night of June 10-11. On that date the
Battalion relieved the 17th Middlesex Regiment in the Carency left
sector of the front.
On June 21 Lieutenant-Colonel Vernon was wounded whilst visiting a sap
head held by Jerry Delaney, the boxer, Major H.V. Pirie assuming
command of the Battalion until he returned to duty. The Battalion was
relieved by the 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps on the night of June
22-23, and proceeded to billets at Villiers aux Bois. The next move,
on the 27th, was made to Estrée Cauchie.
THE SOMME FIGHTING.--Then came the move to the Somme and the July of
1916, when the average life of the infantry subaltern in France was
only worth three weeks. Many, indeed, were killed within a week of
their crossing the Channel, on the very first day of entering the
trenches and taking part in the British advance. The 23rd Royal
Fusiliers were engaged in the whole of the desperate fighting on the
Somme, including the battle of Delville Wood, the story of which is
told in another part of this volume.
Following this bath of blood, on August 1 the Battalion left Bund
support trench, two companies going to Longueval Alley, and two
remaining to garrison and dig trenches at Montauban.
Becoming united again, on the 29th the Battalion, under the
impression that it was going out for a promised rest after its battle,
moved to The Citadel, Sandpit Valley, and on to Mericourt l'Abbé;
thence on to Fremont (passing through Amiens), Naours, Longuevillette,
Authie, and Bus les Artois; and next, instead of the longed-for rest,
found itself back in the trenches again at Hebuterne, relieving the
1st Coldstream Guards!
September was spent in the Hebuterne sector, and October saw many
moves. Starting with Coieneux (Basin Wood) the Battalion was at the
Redan (Serre sector), Mailly-Maillet (where the church, it will be
remembered, had been protected by means of fascines), Raincheval, and
Acheux Wood, where the rail-head and the factory with its tall chimney
were bombed heavily from the air and shelled by the German heavies.
Finally, on October 30, the Battalion relieved the 2nd Highland Light
Infantry in the Redan right sub-sector, being in the trenches there
when the month drew to a close.
November saw the Battalion taking its part in the Battle of Beaumont
Hamel. Told by the War Diary this month's events were:
November 1.--Battalion in Redan right sub-sector.
November 2.--Battalion relieved by the 1st King's Royal Rifle
Corps, and proceeded to billets at Mailly-Maillet.
November 3-4.--Battalion in billets, providing working and
carrying parties.
November 5.--Battalion relieved 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps
in Redan right sub-sector.
November 6.--Battalion in Redan right sub-sector.
November 7.--Battalion relieved by 24th Royal Fusiliers and
proceeded to billets at Bertrancourt.
November 8-12.--Battalion in billets, providing working and
carrying parties.