Good Morning,
Welcome to this week’s Trench Lincs which falls in the week of the anniversary of the opening of the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915 and of course, today is the 106th anniversary of the 46th (North Midland) Division breaking the Hindenburg Line following the capture of the intact bridge at Riqueval on 29th September 1918.
The 8th Lincolns, a ‘Green’ Kitchener battalion was blooded at Loos suffering horrendous casualties at Bois Hugo including the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Harold Walter, who died in German captivity on this day in 1915. His name appears in the In Memoriam section below.
The battle of Loos is remembered as the first time that the British Army used gas against the German front line defences. On a still morning, the gas was slow to cross No Man's Land and in some sectors, affected the British attackers more than the Germans.
Personal cameras were forbidden at the front, but we are indebted to one unknown soldier of the London Rifle Brigade, 47th Division, who snapped this illicit shot of the London territorials advancing on 25th September through the gas cloud towards Loos village. It has been colourised by DB Colour.
For the 46th Division of North Midland Territorials, although with many conscripts in their ranks by 1918, this day was their zenith. Having been accused of cowardice and ‘Lacking Offensive Spirit’ at Gommecourt on 1st July 1916 [Many of you will have seen my talk on this subject – Ed] the division was deemed unworthy of fighting at Passchendaele and therefore spent 1917 holding the line, mainly in and around Lens.
On September 29th 1918, troops of the 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade captured the Riqueval bridge intact after a hurricane bombardment of the German lines with high explosive and gas, switching to smoke as the assault drew near. Aided by a heavy mist along with the smoke screen, the Staffies rushed the bridge killed the sentries and assisted by a detachment of Royal Engineers, the charges on the bridge were defused.
British Army tactics had matured by 1918, and in a text book rolling assault, the 138th (Lincs and Leics) Brigade moved through the Staffordshire’s and reached their objective with little loss. At this point, the 139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade leapfrogged the Leicester’s and Lincolns and reached their objective by late afternoon.
Having been accused of cowardice in 1916, which saw the divisional commander sacked, [E M Stuart-Wortley was sacked and made scapegoat as a result of a previous falling out with Haig, in my opinion – Ed] the division became the first division of the BEF to breach the much vaunted Hindenburg Line.
The Daily Mirror called it the ‘Greatest Feat Of Arms’ in the war – how a division went from nadir to zenith is entirely encapsulated in these two feats. Throw in the heroic struggle at the Hohenzollern Redoubt in October 1915, and it is easy to understand why, over 100 years later, there is still such a strong feeling towards this division and the Territorial Force men of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire who served in the 46th.
The Battle of Loos, the fighting at Bois Hugo and the Redoubt will feature in the forthcoming Lincoln and North Lincs WFA branch tour which sets off on the 9th October.
Map of the 46th Division attack at Riqueval/Bellenglise - the coloured lines show the objectives of each brigade as they leapfrogged each other. Riqueval Bridge is in the centre towards the top of the map.
NEWS & EVENTS
Please find details of the next meeting at Leadenham Village Hall of the Leadenham Military History Group. – 7 for 7.30 pm start.
Tuesday 22 October 2024
Show and tell: Marconi R1155 and T1154 Combination, By Steve Locking.
Presentation: The Gunners at the Imjin River, April 1951, by Chris Finn. A Korean War story; the battle that saved Seoul.
British gunners at the Imjin.
FINAL REMINDER: On Saturday 19th October, the Leadenham Military History Group are holding a Trafalgar Dinner at Leadenham Village Hall, 19.00h, at a cost of £25pp. I have six folk on my table so far and can take another 2 or 4. Therefore, if you fancy a convivial evening with good food and company – drop me a line.
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The next meeting of the Lincoln and North Lincs WFA Branch will be held on Monday October 28th: Tim Lynch – ‘Going Back; Pilgrimages to the Western Front.’
All meetings start at 19.00h and the venue is the Royal naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG. Everyone is welcome.
I haven’t received full details of this talk, but assume it is about the pilgrimages made to the battlefields in the 1920s and 30s by returning veterans and bereaved families.
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The next meeting of the Spalding and South Lincolnshire WFA branch will be held on:
Thursday October 24th: Phil Watson – Audregnies Flank Guard Action of the BEF; the First Charge, 9th Lancers.
Venue: Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1BT.
Times: Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30 pm start.
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Will you be in Belgium at the beginning of October? If you are, the Tank Memorial Ypres Salient Group will be holding their last service for 2024 and everyone is welcome to attend.
Forthcoming Event Saturday 5 October 2024 Friends of The Tank Memorial Ypres Salient.
The next Friends of the Tank Memorial Ypres Salient event will be held on Saturday 5 October 2024 to commemorate the action at Robertson’s Bridge.
The first VC awarded to the Tank Corps
We will be visiting Robertson’s Bridge and Oxford Road Cemetery during the morning of the 5th October 2024
1045hrs - Assemble at Reutelhoekstraat 17, 8980 Zonnebeke.
1100hrs - Commencement of Ceremony at Robertson’s Bridge
Then on to - Oxford Road Cemetery
The Order of the afternoon Ceremony at the TMYS Memorial in Poelkapelle will be as follows:
1415hrs - Assemble at the Memorial
1430hrs - Commencement of the Ceremony
Welcome & opening address by the Master of Ceremonies
Carry Standards
Wreath laying
The ‘Exhortation’
Last Post
Minutes Silence
The Rouse
National Anthems – United Kingdom and Belgium
‘Kohima’ Epitaph
Close of our Remembrance Ceremony
A ‘Toast to the Fallen’ – will be taken at the Bar of Guynemerpaviljon, Poelkapelle, just across the Roundabout from the TMYS Memorial.
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Melvin Dobbs kindly writes for us; ‘Today I am continuing my excursion to Norfolk in the search of Military Heroes and their memorials. Attached are pictures from the Churchyard and Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Northrepps.
Of note is the unusual headstone with an RAF wings design. Also the memorial plaque to Hugh Christopher Gurney. I also noted the seventeen men with the surname Risebrow on the Roll of Honour who served during the Great War and six in the second war. The Risebrow family certainly ‘did their bit’.’
They certainly did Melvin. Thank you.
Northrepps war memorial
See the Risebrow family names 39/45.
And 17 Risebrow family members 14/18.
Thank you Melvin.
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Also in Norfolk recently was John Pritchard who notes; 'During a recent stay in Salthouse Norfolk we went to Sheringham, whilst Shirley was shopping in the town I ventured off into St Peter's Church (RC) where I found some interesting displays.
The brass plaque reads; "In the loving sacred memory of THEREAS G. L BULLEN Norfolk Regiment. Killed in action in France. October 18th 1916 Age 23. ALSO REGINALD T H BULLEN Norfolk Regiment. Killed in action in France. March 21st 1918 Age 20
This tablet is erected by their sorrowing mother. "Greater love hath no man than this" [A tragic episode for the family - Ed]
The second picture is a general view of the memorial plaque, flags displayed on the side, also a picture of Edith Cavell. There is also a very well made diorama of a trench. Next to it are wooden crosses with names of families.'
All at St. Peter's RC church, Sherringham, Norfolk.
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A couple of weeks ago we read, thanks to Mike Credland, about the death of young Arthur John Purey Cust, scion of the Cust family, Earls of Brownlow who lived at Belton Park, when HMS Strongbow and HMS Mary Rose were sunk on 17th October 1917 off the Shetlands.
Mike noted that this story would interest Jon Sandison, who lives in Lerwick. Sure enough, Jon picked up the reins and was very au fait with the sinking of HMS Strongbow. Jon has now kindly written a piece for us to enjoy and sent photographs of the men of Strongbow whose bodies were recovered and buried at Lerwick. Jon writes;
HMS Strong Bow, Lerwick C.W.G.C.
In the naval First World War plot of Lerwick Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, there are six remains of seaman lost from both HMS Mary Rose and HMS Strongbow. There is a further Norwegian connected burial from the convoy. These men are always Remembered on local Commonwealth War Graves walking tours which take place month every year from May to November.
They are as follows:-
Ordinary Seaman Henry Joseph Dover. HMS Mary Rose. Son of Henry and Emily Sarah Dover, of 64, St. Ann's Rd., Barking, Essex.
Able Seaman A.C. Elmer. HMS Mary Rose. Son of Harry and Alice Elmer, of Windmill Farm, New Town, Kelvedon, Essex.
Leading Seaman Arthur Frankland. HMS Strongbow. Husband of Mary Ann, 7 Withers Place, Whitecross Street. St Lukes.
Ordinary Telegraphist. Clifford Hembrough. HMS Strongbow. Son of John William and Alice Maud Hembrough, of 18, Bentley Rd., Oxton, Birkenhead, Cheshire.
Acting Leading Stoker, Arthur Preston. HMS Strongbow. Son of William Henry and Emma Preston, of Tooting, London.
Ordinary Seaman Charles Frederick Savage. HMS Strongbow. Aged 25. Son of Mrs. Elizabeth Mary Savage, of 2, Lee St., Kingsland Rd., London.
Also buried in Lerwick Cemetery is Norwegian sailor Simen Simensen, serving on Norwegian cargo ship. S/S. Kristine. His ship was carrying wood pulp.
The story of Arthur Preston is particularly heartfelt. His sister Emily married a soldier called James William Bryan in 1913. He was killed in Belgium on the 4th of October. Thirteen days later she lost Arthur, her brother.
Both the German cruisers involved in the action, the Brummer and Bremse, ended up being scuttled in Scapa Flow. One was salvaged, the other is still there.
The piece below is an extract from Linda Riddel's Book, 'Shetland and the Great War'.
"The convoy system was effective in protecting shipping, but there were still losses. Of the 3,423 ships convoyed across the North Sea and 3,654 on the East Coast route, were sunk. An attack on an eastbound convoy in July 1917 was foiled by the escorting destroyers. A week later, westbound, one ship was sunk and one torpedoed. Then on 17th October, nine merchant ships, three trawlers and two destroyers, HMS Mary Rose and HMS Strongbow, of the westbound convoy were sunk by two German cruisers; only three freighters and two trawlers survived. A few days later in atrocious weather, two convoys collided and HMS Marmion struck HMS Tirade and sank along with several merchant ships. On 12th December, two ships bound for the Humber were sunk and an eastbound convoy was attacked; one destroyer, the four trawlers and the six merchant ships were sunk and only the other destroyer escaped. After that, the route was changed and Methill became the collection point, but the Shetland patrol continued to escort shipping when required."
This piece below is from the book by James Irvine: "Lerwick Harbour'
Thank you Jon for this excellent additional information to Mike's story.
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My old mate, Robin Sayer writes from Lichfield Cathedral and says; ‘Please find attached a couple photographs from within Lichfield Cathedral showing the colours of the Staffordshire Regiment and a very interesting display of shields with names of the dead from the Zulu wars.
Nearby is a very detailed museum showing 300 years of the history of the Staffordshire Regiment, it looks well worth a visit.’
Staffordshire Regimental battalion colours.
Zulu shields as war memorials. Well worth a visit to Lichfield cathedral.
Cheers Robin.
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Peter Garland has (I believe!!) been inspired by my recent articles on the Lincolns retreat from Mons to the Marne and now writes;
'Reading through back copies of the SDLAS newsletter to find info for a member, I came across some short articles I wrote back in 2016 for the newsletter which I thought might be of interest for Trench Lincs? They are written with the intended audience in mind, so a little short on absolute detail, but might make sort of synergy with your articles on the days of August 1914.
Europe goes to War – The road to the Trenches.
Writing in “The Future of War” in 1897, Polish financier and industrialist Jan Bloch wrote: “Everybody will be entrenched…the spade will be indispensable.” How right he was, as by the commencement of the Great War in 1914 trenches, defended by barbed wire (invented in the American mid-west as a way of controlling the movement of cattle) and artillery had already seen widespread use in the American Civil War and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Armies of all sides practiced digging-in and the creation of defensive trenches to provide cover for troops under attack during their regularly held pre-war military exercises. Official manuals gave instruction on how trenches were to be dug, how deep, how wide, what materials were to be used to reinforce them, and even where to locate and disguise them from enemy view.
In 1905 the German Count Alfred von Schlieffen devised his now famous “Schlieffen Plan” to attack and neutralize France – at the time considered, along with Russia, as a threat to the future of Germany – in a war lasting no more than 42 days. He is credited with saying “Let the last man on the right brush the Channel with his sleeve.” Fine words, but the Germans did not count for the fierce determination of the small, poorly equipped but brave Belgium Army, neither did they count for the arrival of the professional troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) thinking that Great Britain would not risk war with Germany over promises to defend Belgium neutrality. They were wrong of course. Great Britain did honour its promises to “Brave Little Belgium” and the BEF gave the Kaiser’s troops a bloody nose before being forced into a retreat from Mons to Le Cateau and beyond by overwhelming numbers of field-grey clad Germans. Eventually, the joint actions of the BEF and French troops at the Battle of the Marne – the “Miracle of the Marne” – on September 6th, 1914, put a final nail in the coffin of the “Schlieffen Plan” and the war of stalemate, trenches and attrition began to develop. The week-long battle had stopped the German advance. They had suffered their first major defeat. They were not invincible after all, Paris had been saved, it seemed like a miracle. After the battle, Winston Churchill declared that, “….it was also true that the Marne decided the World War…” and that, “…never after the Marne had Germany a chance of absolute triumph…” General Helmuth von Moltke junior (as he was known, being named after his father Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke who died in 1891), who had succeeded Schlieffen as Chief of the General Staff, agreed, telling the Kaiser, “Your Majesty, we have lost the war.” He was sacked and replaced as Chief of the General Staff by Erich von Falkenhayn on September 14th.
Following the “Battle of the Marne” and Von Moltke junior’s sacking – he had actually suffered a nervous breakdown and died in 1916 – Generals Bulow and von Kluck took command of the situation and ordered a skilful retreat to prepared defensive positions on the heights above the east bank of the River Aisne. A joint British-French attack on Septemer13th, 1914, was repulsed, as was a German counter-attack on British-French positions on the west bank of the Aisne. Both sides now faced each other across the Aisne, and so gradually began the building of trench systems. It was realised, however, that the area north of the Aisne to the Belgium coast was almost empty of troops, and so began the “Race (North) to the Sea” with each side trying to outflank the other in a series of leap-frog attacks through France to the Belgium coast at Nieuwpoort.
In October, the Germans stop the French at Arras; October 16th, the Belgium’s stop the Germans on the banks of the Yser Canal; October 19th sees the First Battle of Ypres (Wipers to British troops, Ieper to the local Flemish people) as both sides realise Ypres is the key to the vital Channel ports. On October 30th, King Albert of Belgium orders engineers to open North Sea sluice gates and flood the Yser canal and the area in front of the Nieuwpoort-Diksmuide railway embankment beside the Yser, which becomes the Belgium army’s front line for the rest of the war, the so-called “Trenches of Death” as they became known to the Belgium defenders.
Trenches proper developed slowly at first through the remainder of 1914 and into 1915. One or two-man fox-holes were enlarged and deepened until eventually they began to join into short sections of trench, which again were slowly enlarged and developed into ever longer sections linked by communication trenches, supply trenches and reserve trenches. Eventually, the entire Western Front system stretched some 460 miles (740 km) from “Sentier du Kilometre Zero du Occidental” near Pfetterhouse where the French-Swiss-German borders met, to the Belgium coast at Nieuwpoort. The last man on the front occupied the so-called “Barrel Post” by the Yser canal jetty – it was, literally, a huge barricade of large, filled wooden barrels stretching out across the dunes on the Belgium coast into the North Sea – from where he looked across the wide canal mouth (where the Yser flows into the North Sea) at his German opposite number on the East bank of the canal. Meanwhile, back home in Britain, such was the fear of invasion that the first true British trench system was actually built along the south coast, manned by Territorial Home Defence Troops.
It is a myth that trench systems were continuous or straight, they weren’t. They did have gaps in them, they overlapped each other, and were dug in a Greek Key or “zig-zag” pattern – known to the British as a “traverse” – to stop the spread of blast, shrapnel and enemy fire sweeping the entire length of the trench. As it was the policy of the British and French to attack and drive the Germans back, their trenches were built as temporary jumping-off points for attacks, and were not as well built or as deep as German trenches. The German policy, after the failure of the “Schlieffen Plan”, was defend and hold in the west, attack and defeat the Russians in the east, after which they would transfer troops to the Western Front to defeat the British and French. As a result, German trenches on the Western Front were constructed in depth, with a 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd line incorporating hard points - or “Redoubts” – which were strong defensive positions bristling with machine-gun posts and manned by “Jager” troops – literally “hunters” or “sharp shooters”. They made extensive use of concrete bunkers, and developed deep dug-outs providing cover for their troops, which in some areas were equipped with electric lighting and electric pumps to keep them dry. The British and French made do with candles, oil lamps and hand pumps. On the British Side, so much sand for sandbags, plus wood for reinforcement, was required that large sand quarries – such as the one at “Mont Noir” near Kemmel, south west of Ypres – were established. Indeed, the French became so concerned at the amount of wood being harvested that they declared certain forests as “No Logging Zones”, and rationed logging in other areas.
Another myth is that men spent all their time in the trenches, but the reality was that they only spent a few days in the front line before going back to the reserve lines for a period, then to the rear for rest and periods of training. Subaltern Charles Carrington of 1/5th Royal Warwickshire’s recorded in his diary for 1916 that he spent (in total) 65 days in the front line, 36 days in supporting positions close at hand (just in case), 120 days in reserve trenches near enough to give support and provide work parties, 73 days at rest, 10 days in hospital and 17 days on leave. He records that the 101 days in total under fire were spread over 12 tours lasting from 1 to 13 days in length. The final legacy of the trenches was the ultimate post-war spread of the so-called “Spanish Fu Pandemic”. The virus responsible for the out-break found conditions in the cramped trenches much to its liking, and, at the wars end, hitched a ride home with the returning troops, going on to kill an estimated 50 to 100 million people world-wide, the exact figure being unknown.'
I hadn't seen Peter's articles in 2016, but re-reading them now, he certainly has nailed the basic facts that we all need to understand when we come to consider how the Western Front developed into the morass of trenches that eventually existed.
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IN MEMORIAM – The Lincolnshire Regiment 29th September.
1915
Lieutenant Gerrard William Parker, 8th Battalion, aged 21. Buried in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, France.
Lieutenant Colonel Harold Ernest Walter, 8th Battalion. Buried in Douai Communal Cemetery, France.
1374 Private Thomas Maddison, 4th Battalion, aged 19. Remembered on the Menin Gate, Belgium.
1916
7283 Private J Hands, 1st Battalion. Buried in Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, France.
7693 Corporal H Lilley, 1st Battalion. – Ditto. –
9547 Private F R Ellis, 1st Battalion. – Ditto. –
43096 Private E T Edwards, 1st Battalion, aged 24. Buried in St. Sever Cemetery, France.
15046 Private Laurance Tom Curtis, 6th Battalion, aged 21. Buried in Puchevillers British Cemetery, France.
18783 Lance Corporal E Fowler, 6th Battalion. – Ditto. –
13490 Private Walter Swinger, 6th Battalion. Remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, France.
Second Lieutenant J Hamilton Ingersoll, 2nd Battalion. Buried in Aveluy Communal Cemetery, France. (He was the son of J H Ingersoll of St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada.)
1918
Forty six men of the regiment are recorded as having died on this day, primarily with the 1st Battalion in the fighting around Cambrai (Second battle of Cambrai) and the 5th Battalion at the taking of Riqueval Bridge.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Until next week,
Kind regards
Jonathan
Email me on: trenchlincs@gmail.com
© J C J D’Hooghe.
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