Good Morning,
Welcome to the first Trench Lincs for November 2024. Is it just me, or are the years slipping by faster and faster?
You will find news for all of the forthcoming speaker events and further stories of remembrance, Victoria Cross winners and the next short instalment of the events that led up to the signing of the Armistice on 11th November 1918. I hope you enjoy the read.
NEWS & EVENTS
Next Meeting – Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch, WFA – Thursday, November 28th – Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT – 7.00 for 7.30 pm.
Alex Keyes presents: “England’s Difficulty is Ireland’s Opportunity; Sir Roger Casement and the German-Irish Brigade.”
Alex Keyes is a serving Prison Officer; formerly at Lincoln he is currently at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham. Alongside his career as a Prison Officer, he is a historian of modern Ireland. Next year he will be starting a PhD course researching the lives of Irish POW’s held by the British and Irish Governments from 1916 to 1924.
In this evening’s talk, he describes how in October 1914 a strange figure, travelling in disguise, took ship from New York bound for Germany. Only a decade before Sir Roger Casement had been heralded as one of the greatest diplomats and humanitarians of his age, knighted by King George V for his service to the British Empire. Now he was on a mission to defeat the very Empire to which he had once sworn allegiance. Casement's task, undertaken on behalf of the Irish Republican Brotherhood - and its American sister organisation: Clan Na Gael - was to raise and train a brigade of Irish prisoners of war who would form the backbone of a German invasion of Ireland, which, combined with a local rising, would establish an independent Irish Republic. Sir Roger's journey from Knight of the realm to public enemy number one was a globe spanning adventure taking him from the Congo to the Amazon via New York, Belfast, Dublin and Berlin, ending with humiliation and death at Pentonville Prison, condemned by his former friends and enemies alike. Why did Casement fail and what were Germany’s plans for Ireland following the Great War?
Discover the answers in ‘England’s Difficulty is Irelands Opportunity; Roger Casement and the German-Irish Brigade’ on the 28th November at Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT. Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start (please ring the door-bell for entry). There is ample on-street parking outside the Church, and free refreshments will be served at the end of the event.
Those who attended Lincoln Branch will know this talk was presented there in September when we suffered an IT failure. You will be pleased to hear we have taken steps to ensure we don’t suffer a repeat of this at Spalding. So, if you missed this excellent talk at Lincoln, or would like to experience it in its full glory – Alex says he has some excellent visuals supporting the talk – please come along to Spalding where you will be made very welcome.
Sir Roger Casement
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Next Meeting – Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA – Monday, November 25th – Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG – 6.30 for 7.00pm start.
Steve Warburton presents “First in – Last Out, Brig-Gen C H T Lucas (87th Brigade, 29th Division) at Gallipoli”.
Steve Warburton hails from Peterborough and is a history teacher and experienced public speaker who has undertaken extensive research of the career of Brig-Gen C H T Lucas, which forms the basis of a number of talks. He is also a former Chairman of the Cambridgeshire Branch of the WFA.
In this evenings talk Steve uses excerpts from CHTL’s diaries and letters home as well as photographs he took on the Gallipoli Peninsula, all in the context of a survey of the Campaign. CHTL was one of the 12 officers from the 29th Division who survived to experience the full Campaign from landing (April 1915) to evacuation (January 1916). CHTL went on to command the 87th Brigade until early 918 when he was promoted to command the Machine Gun Training School, briefly returning to the 87th before being given a division in Autumn1918. In 1919 whilst commanding the Fermoy Brigade in Ireland he was captured by the IRA but escaped after several weeks in captivity.
The Gallipoli Campaign is, of course, very close and of great interest to us here in Lincolnshire. A party of us visited the Peninsula in 2022, travelling extensively over the area of the Campaign under the expert guidance of Dudley Giles and his Turkish colleague Bulant. This talk should, therefore, be of great interest and we would urge you to come along to the Royal Naval Association Club on the 25th to enjoy the convivial atmosphere of our meetings, make new friends and learn something new in the process. Doors open 6.30pm for 7.00pm start (new start time of 7.00 for 7.30 does not come into force until January) and there is ample parking behind the club, and on-street in front.
Brigadier C H T Lucas.
In 1920, Brigadier Lucas was involved in a most remarkable tale when serving in Ireland. Click below
The Army general who charmed his IRA kidnappers - BBC News
DATE CHANGE: Please note that the Lincoln WFA Show and Tell evening will now be held on Monday 2nd December at 7pm and not on Monday 9th as previously advertised.
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The next meeting of the Leadenham Military History Society will be Tuesday 19 November 2024.
Show and tell: Marconi R1155 and T1154 Combination - Steve Locking.
Presentation: 61st Troop Carriers Mid-Air Collision, by Dave Bristow. A brief history of the USAAF 61st Troop Carrier Group based at RAF Barkston Heath in 1944.
The meeting will be held at Leadenham Village Hall with a start time of 7.30pm.
NB - The planned quiz has been postponed to a later meeting.
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The next meeting of the Friends of the Lincoln Tank Group will be the last one for 2024. On Thursday 14th November at 7.30pm, it will be the annual Show and Tell evening.
This will be an early Christmas event where any attendee can take the floor for ten minutes and talk about a Great War related artefact – it may be a set of medals, a letter, post cards, uniform items or anything that you would like to share with the group.
The event will be held at the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln LN6 7BG and everyone is welcome.
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Tony Nutkins notes that; ‘The Spa Singers will be performing their annual Remembrance concert of songs poems and readings “We Will Remember” to honour the fallen of war and conflict at St. Peters church, The Broadway, Woodhall Spa at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 6th November. There is no admission fee. The performance will last approximately 70 minutes with no interval and there will be an Act of Remembrance including the Last Post and the Rouse. There will be a voluntary collection for the Royal British Legion.’
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On Monday 11th November at 11am, there will be the annual Armistice Day Service held at Thorpe in the Fallows. This service is organised annually by the Lincoln and North Lincs WFA branch, and everyone is welcome to attend. Please be at the memorial for 10.45.
Thorpe in the Fallows can be found just off the A1500 Scampton to Sturton By Stow Road. See map below.
If you would like to go for a light lunch after the service, it will be at Tillbridge Tastery, High Street, Sturton By Stow. The café have asked for an idea as to numbers, so please let me know if you plan to attend.
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On Wednesday 20th November at 11am, there will be the annual Cambrai Day service held at the Tank Memorial on Tritton Way, Lincoln. This event is organised by Friends of the Lincoln Tank and again, everyone is welcome to attend. Please be on site for 10.45.
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To complement the Cambrai Day service listed above, please see the following details of Tank Tour Two which starts on the evening of the 20th November with a dinner at the White Hart Hotel in Lincoln.
Andrew Blow has full details for you and writes; ‘Richard Pullen and I are launching Tank Tour Two – with revised talks, new film, new images, new anecdotes - on the night of Cambrai Day, Wednesday, November 20th, after a gap of six years. (We appeared 18 times in TT1 between 2015 and 2018). (Please see attached poster and flier.)
Our main theme is the internationally important story of the Lincoln tanks and William Foster & Co Ltd, and we will be acknowledging the skill and energy of their leaders, workers and munitionettes.
After months of planning we are trying to ensure a good start so we are beginning with a “Dine with Heritage” launch at the White Hart Hotel, Lincoln, birthplace of the tanks, from 6pm on that day.
The Tank Room (where Tritton and Wilson invented the tank) will open from 6pm (as will the bar!) We will bring exhibition materials and memorabilia too. There’ll be illustrated talks of 45 minutes from each of us, and a two course meal, plus coffee and mints, in the convivial surroundings of the King Richard Room as the evening unfolds from 7p.m.
Address for the online order of tickets (£39.95):
Afterwards we will be heading off to more orthodox venues e.g. libraries, village halls….wherever a host organisation can welcome us. Four venues are booked and other conversations are being held. We are grateful to the newly-renovated White Hart Hotel for sponsorship enabling us to undertake the Tour.
Last time round we heard a priceless 1940s anecdote about Sir William Tritton (still working at Fosters at the time) and also met 95 year old Eva, who was billeted with Sir William and Lady Tritton in WW2 after the nurses accommodation at Lincoln County Hospital suffered bomb damage.
By carrying the story to the people we get feedback and stories which I don’t think we would otherwise get.
Short biographies:
Richard, is well-known to many of your readers, and is a Military Historian, Chairman of the Friends of the Lincoln Tank, and author of “Landships of Lincoln”.
I’m a film-maker involved on and off with the story of the Lincoln tanks since the late 1970s when I found the only known WW1 film of the tanks on Fosters test ground. I’ll be playing this film in TT2. I was working for Yorkshire TV at the time and this discovery led me to a meeting with William Rigby, then aged 89. He was the young Fosters draughtsman who was in the room with Wilson and Tritton doing the engineering drawings as they devised the tank.
I also met Harry Emans of Sheffield who entered the first ever tank battle at Flers-Courcelette during the Battle of the Somme in September 1916. Like many of the machines that set off that morning, his soon broke down in atrocious ground conditions. Both men appeared in a 12 minute film we made for Yorkshire TV’s Calendar programme, a film now unfortunately lost.
In my later career at Blow by Blow Productions, I have produced with Richard as Presenter the “Birth of the Tanks” DVD – commended by the Curator of the Bovington Tank Museum - and the “Lincoln Tank Weekend” DVD about the unveiling of the Lincoln Tank Memorial, a ceremony included relatives of Tritton, Wilson and Rigby.’
Thank you very much Andrew, I am sure TT2 will be well supported. Please let me have dates and venues for future events.
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Steve Williams was taken by last week’s tale of Theodore Veale winning the VC when serving with 8/Devons. Steve takes up the story; ‘I was interested to see David East’s photo of the commemoration to Private Veale VC.
The 8th Devons was to the left of my grandad’s 9th Devons on that day. All in the area we walked last October near High Wood.
Post war, my grandfather was interviewed by the Imperial War Museum and I’ve attached a recording where grandad mentions that battle and the fact that the 8th were awarded a VC on 20th July 1916.’
Click on the link to listen to an extract from Steve's grandad's IWM interview.
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John Pritchard can often be found rooting out lone CWGC headstones in our locality and today he has another one for us. John notes; ‘Whilst wandering about St. Botolph's graveyard in Quarrington I came across this grave of 156723 Private R H Thompson, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) who died from his wounds on 20th May 1919, aged 31.
I have also attached the details that can be found in the church information booklet, which I thought was interesting. He was wounded, then recovered, then gassed and finally severely wounded, hospitalised at Edmonton Military Hospital, which led to the removal of a leg, but he died shortly afterwards. So sad.’
Did you spot the typo!!
It is a ‘sad’ tale John but your work in finding these solitary graves allows us all to remember their sacrifice of over one hundred years ago.
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Occasionally I receive an email that really whets the appetite and last week was no exception. Like John above, Alan Hicks spotted a CWGC headstone in the cemetery where his late father lies and Alan writes; ‘Before I start .... Please accept my plaudits for the continued high quality Trench Lincs editions that you reliably issue each Sunday morning - even when you are on holiday! I continue to be amazed how you put all the tremendous content together in the timescale you have to work with. Well done!! [You are very kind Alan – Ed]
You may recall that I contacted you earlier this year about a small number of anomalies I had discovered regarding Tommies apparently erroneously recorded on the Thiepval Memorial. My interest was that a number had been killed in action away from the Somme area (Vierstraat and Messines in Belgium etc.) but their names appeared on the piers at Thiepval rather than on the Menin Gate. Following your help and suggestion I did raise a query with the CWGC who eventually responded with some very general comments. They did not provide any further data or explanation but acknowledged that errors did exist in some of the information provided by the Service Authorities at that time. They suggested that I should submit a "Casualty Amendment Form" but given that my interest was fairly general and out of curiosity I did not think this was appropriate so I have let the matter rest. Perhaps a fuller explanation may emerge in the fullness of time? [Dealing with the CWGC can be a very thankless task in my experience – Ed]
Returning to a common theme of Trench Lincs, I note that a number of your regular contributors tour local (and not so local) churchyards and cemeteries supplying you and your readers with photographs and stories of both the memorials and those souls who are remembered and lie there. I would therefore, if possible, like to add to this theme but with a very local item......
My Father is buried in St. Helen's Churchyard, Boultham Park, Lincoln. He died in 1967 aged just 45. I visit him occasionally and had noted that a small sign exists at the gated entrance to the churchyard stating that Commonwealth War Graves are present.
Until now I hadn't really explored the detail save for a cursory walk around all the site looking for an identifiable row of similar and familiar headstones. As no such row exists a search of the CWGC website revealed that there are just 4 war dead at this churchyard and of them just one serviceman is from the Great War.
A more detailed search of the churchyard revealed the gravestone of Private 10498 James Harry Bentley of the Lincolnshire Regiment who died in early 1919 aged just 28. Amazingly Private Bentley's final resting place is only about 20 feet from my Father's! He is also remembered on the memorial at the junction of Boultham Park Road and Dixon Street. Photos of the church roll of honour, his gravestone and the memorial are attached. His gravestone is quite grubby due to its location under the trees.
From what I can discover, Private Bentley enlisted on 29th August 1914 aged 22 when he stood 5'9" tall and weighed in at just 8st 5lbs (well before the advent of fast food I think!!). His family lived on Beresford Street which from my basic research would have been at the bottom of Coulson Road - possibly now somewhere beneath Tritton Road and Morrison's car park!
Since St. Helen's Churchyard, the Bentley family home and the above mentioned memorial are on the doorstep of the Naval Club, the WFA's regular meeting place, it may be that you have covered Private Bentley's story in the past and I apologise upfront if I am going over old ground.
I have found the details of his military service somewhat difficult to decipher so I would appreciate any light you might shine upon this. He served with the 6th Battalion in the Dardanelles campaign (I did attend your FOLT talk on this subject as a consequence) from where he was invalided home in September 1915 with a gunshot wound to his left buttock. His record states that, upon recovery, he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion in January 1916 and went to France. One assumes he was present for the Battle of The Somme perhaps serving under Lt. Col. Bastard and then on to all subsequent 2nd Battalion escapades. It appears perhaps that he didn't have the greatest discipline, being punished a number of times for missing parades and being several days late back from a leave spell! I note that he finally succumbed to bronchial pneumonia in early 1919 following gas shell poisoning. If this was received whilst still with the 2nd Battalion then it would appear that he was probably gassed on the Messines ridge near Wijschate on 10th April 1918 whilst pushing back the Germans after their spring offensive. He never really recovered from this gas attack and was transferred out of active duty and died at Shorncliffe Camp Hospital in Kent almost 3 months after hostilities had ended.
I did find a clipping from The Lincolnshire Leader dated 15th February 1919 which hails him as “Hero of Suvla Bay.” It carries a photograph of him which is a nice touch but I think some of the narrative in the piece is inaccurate when one compares it to his official military records. I attach a copy of the clipping and his photograph.
I also attach some documents that I have been able to uncover which gave me the details of some of his military exploits.
I realise I have no family links to James Harry Bentley but the discovery of his gravestone close to my Father stirred my interest which I hope will also interest the readers of Trench Lincs due to its close geographical ties to your WFA branch.’
We haven’t covered the story of James Bentley before and I was delighted to be able to help Alan fill in the details of Bentley’s service.
Yes, James Bentley was disciplined on more than one occasion, twice being awarded Field Punishment No. 2, but in January 1917 he was awarded additional Proficiency Pay Class I, so he was obviously a bright young man.
His total service was 4 years and 159 days including service in Gallipoli and on the Western Front. I did find his medical records and in answer to Alan’s thoughts about the Somme, no, he wasn’t present on 1st July 1916 when the 2nd Battalion suffered 471 casualties in their attack at Ovillers. James Bentley was admitted to 25 Field Ambulance on 28th June 1916 with multiple leg ulcers – I suspect brought on by the wet conditions and that it was a severe case of ‘Trench Foot’. This illness saw James recuperate in England for 11 months before he returned to the front in June 1917.
Further illness brought on another return to England in mid-December 1917 until 20th February 1918 before he was affected by gas in April 1918. The battalion War Diary states that nine men were wounded by gas at this time, and James must have been one of them.
In due course, James was declared category B II and not fit enough to return to a fighting battalion. A transfer to the Labour Corps ensued where he served with both the 576th and 301st Labour Companies into 1919 before illness, possibly Spanish Flu? struck him down. Hospitalised at Shorncliffe in Kent, pneumonia set in and as he was weakened by the effects of gas, James died in February 1919.
His personal effects and back pay were paid to his parents at 16 Beresford Street, New Boultham, Lincoln and the final records show his parents signing for the safe receipt of his Death Plaque, Scroll and Medals in March 1922.
It is through stories like Alan’s that we can continue our duty to Remember men like James Bentley who I believe in more than four years of service, that he more than ‘did his bit’ for the Great Cause.
James Bentley's Medal Index Card.
James Bentley's name on the Boultham memorial.
James Bentley's Conduct Sheet - twice sentenced to Field Punishment No. 2.
James Bentley's back pay and war gratuity were paid to his parents. £30 0s 11d.
Roll of Honour
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I wrote some weeks ago about an artist who styles himself CJS Colour, and who spends his time colourising Great War portraits. I know that some people do not like to see old black and white photos tampered with, but I admire CJS’ work and feel that his colourisation can bring and old photograph to life. What do you think?
A couple caught my eye this week as they are of local interest. The first is Nurse Jane Bemrose MM.
The text reads like this; ‘Jane Bemrose MM
Jane’s family home was in Asterby, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
She trained as a nurse at the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary between 1909 and 1912.
She then served in the British Red Cross and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from December 1914 as a sister in various hospitals in England before going to France in August 1915.
She was based in the St. John Ambulance Brigade Hospital at Etaples.
The area around the Hospital was full of military facilities which were regularly attacked by German night bombers.
The Hospital was bombed on 31st May 1918. Every department sustained damage and nine members of staff and seven patients were killed and 60 injured.
For her actions during and immediately after the attack Jane was awarded the Military Medal.
The citation published in the London Gazette on 30th July stated that the award was “For gallantry and devotion to duty during an enemy air raid. She showed disregard of danger, and continued to attend the wounded in her charge during the heavy bombardment”.
Following the air raids it was decided to move the Hospital to a safer location in Trouville.
She continued to serve at the hospital until she was demobilised in January 1919.’
Jane Bemrose MM.
A Lincolnshire lass that we can all be proud of.
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William Johnson and Charles Hudson both appeared in the work of CJS in the last two weeks, and they caught my eye as they were both VC winners and both served in the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby) Regiment.
William Johnson won his Victoria Cross on 3rd October 1918 at Ramicourt, just four days after the 46th Division had breached the Hindenburg Line on 29th September. On this day of success, Lt. Col. Bernard Vann won the Victoria Cross whilst commanding the 6th Sherwood Foresters, sadly, Vann would be killed on 3rd October in the action at Ramicourt that would see Johnson win his VC.
Ramicourt is a piece of ground that I know well and I last walked the ground with Robin, Keith and Mike last year.
Lt. Col. Bernard Vann, VC, MC and Bar, Croix de Guerre Avec Palmes.
JOHNSON, William Henry, Sergeant, 1/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters – 3rd October 1918 – When his platoon was held up by a nest of machine guns at Ramicourt, France, he charged the nest single handedly, bayonetting several gunners and capturing two guns. Despite being severely wounded by a bomb during this attack, he later rushed another machine gun post, bombing the garrison and putting the gun out of action.
William Johnson worked at Manton Colliery, Worksop before enlisting in 1916. He also won the French Medaille Militaire, he served in the Home Guard in WWII but died in1945 aged only 54. He is buried in Redhill Cemetery, Arnold, Nottingham - the same cemetery as my Great Grandmother, Kate Clara, who on her death in 1954, had her headstone engraved with the name of her son, Henry (always known as Jack) who was in her eyes, not dead just missing since 1916.
William Johnson VC.
Charles Hudson was Temporary Lt. Col. Commanding the 11th (Service) Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters when he won his Victoria Cross in Italy. Hudson had already been awarded a DSO and Bar, MC and Croix De Guerre for his service in France and Flanders before his time on the Italian Front.
HUDSON, Charles Edward, T/Lieutenant Colonel, commanding 11th (S) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters – 15th June 1918 – When the enemy penetrated the British front near Asiago, Italy, he collected together orderlies, servants and runners, led them against the attackers and drove them back. Despite being badly wounded by a bomb which exploded on his foot, he continued to organise the counter attack , which captured a hundred prisoners and six machine guns and averted a dangerous situation.
Charles Hudson became Chief Instructor at the Royal Military College 1933-37, rose to the rank of Major General, acted as Aide De Camp to King George VI during the second world war and died in retirement on the Scilly Isles in 1959, aged 66.
Charles Hudson VC, DSO*, MC and Croix De Guerre.
Both of the Victoria Crosses won by Johnson and Hudson are held at the Sherwood Foresters Regimental Museum but since the downsizing of the museum at Nottingham Castle, they are sadly no longer on display.
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You may recall that last June I visited the Normandy beaches just after the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day. At the new British memorial park just inland from Arromanches, there was a beach side display of figurines titled Walking With Giants.
Ver Sur Mer, Normandy.
Matt Colley now picks up the story; ‘Recently, the display was transferred from the Normandy beaches to Stowe Gardens, Buckinghamshire. It runs until November 11th.
Malcolm and I visited there yesterday and it is very evocative. Because of its popularity I would suggest a weekday visit. There are also dawn and twilight tours. You can see the marvellous images in the late afternoon sunshine from the attached photos.’
Thank you for the news update Matt.
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As the 11th November approaches once again, here are two unusual Poppy Displays seen this week. Bill Pinfold spotted this one in a supermarket in Rushden, Northants.
And I spotted the village cross at Bottesford, Leicestershire adorned with a blanket of knitted poppies.
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Last week we left the story of the end of the fighting with the signing of an Armistice by the Ottoman Turks on 31st October 1918. Austria had already asked for a separate Armistice, and this was signed on 3rd November.
On November 5th, the British, French and Americans launched a simultaneous attack from Valenciennes in the north to the river Meuse. The German rearguard actions were unable to withstand the Allied onslaught.
In the House of Commons, it was announced that at the Allies conference at Versailles, they had drafted the terms of surrender for the Germans. These were to be relayed to the Germans by Foch’s staff.
On November 6th, with the Germans in full retreat on a one hundred mile front, the German authorities announced that their Plenipotentiaries had left Berlin for a meeting at Foch’s headquarters.
Next week I will set out the actions of the final days from November 7th to the 11th.
IN MEMORIAM – The Lincolnshire Regiment 3rd November.
1914
6054 Private G E Plowright, 1st Battalion. Buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery, France.
1915
16604 Private Arthur David Platford, 3rd Battalion. Buried in Caistor Old Cemetery, UK.
2201 Private J Boothby, 5th Battalion. Buried in Rue Petillon Military Cemetery, France.
2819 Private F Nicholson, 5th Battalion, aged 19. Buried in Le Treport Military Cemetery, France.
1916
Twenty four men, virtually all from the 7th Battalion, died on this day in 1916.
1917
23200 Private G Stutters, 10th Battalion. Buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France.
19810 Private J H Wilson, 1st Garrison battalion, aged 34. Buried in Birmingham Witton Cemetery, UK.
1918
Thirty three men, mainly from the 8th Battalion, died on this day as the fighting on the Western Front entered its last week.
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We also remember this week 2nd Lieutenant J D Baxter who was killed on 7th November 1918. Tony Nutkins provides the narrative; ‘Attached is a photograph of the grave of the last of the 1100+ men of the 18th (County of London) battalion London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) killed or died during WW1.
2nd Lieutenant J D Baxter, 7th November 1918 Willems Communal Cemetery Dept. Nord, France (the flowers placed there by local people as were all the British graves on my visit one November).
The battalion War Diary of the 18th London Regiment for 7th November 1918 states that – ‘the battalion was in the line around Ramegnies-a-Chin and Pont -a-Chin just North of Tournai, Belgium.’
"This was the last day which the battalion spent in the line before the signing of the armistice. Three patrols were out at dawn to discover whether the Boche, who were expected to withdraw overnight, had actually retired, but his presence was soon discovered by rifle fire from his line. 2/Lt J D Baxter took a small party of men out during the morning to engage an enemy post which had been discovered. He was directing the fire of his men when he was struck by a bullet and killed on the spot. His body was discovered during the evening and taken back to Willems.
At 1900 the battalion was relieved by the 22nd London regiment and marched by Companies via Templeuve to Willems..."
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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