Trench Lincs 19th October 2025
- trenchlincs
- 11 hours ago
- 22 min read
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Good Morning,
Welcome once again to Trench Lincs. This last week has seen me make a four-day trip to Artois, Loos and the Somme with Mike, Keith and Robin, where we attended the annual service of remembrance at the Hohenzollern Redoubt – see below.
We also have a number of excellent contributions from the TL readers and some better news from Tony Nutkins with regard to the London Irish Rifles.
I hope you find something of interest.
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS.
TOMORROW NIGHT - Next Lecture - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Monday, October 20th - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start - Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG - Tim Lynch presents: "The Enemy Within: Germans in Britain, 1914-1918"
In 1914 Britain was home to thousands of German immigrants. Overnight they became enemy aliens. British women who had never left their home towns but who had married German settlers became ‘hunwives’. Older men who had served in the British Army and whose sons were serving in the British Expeditionary Force suddenly found themselves rounded up and interned in prison camps as a threat to their adopted homeland. This talk explores the stories of Germans in Britain 1914-1918 and tells of soldiers in drag, drunken Princes, spy-mania and more!
Tim says he is a freelance military historian and author specialising in the social history of the World Wars. He had a proper grown up job but gave it up to pursue his dream of being paid to stand in fields across Europe, waving his arms about and boring tourists rigid. When not guiding battlefield tours he keeps match fit by boring WFA groups instead.
However, and truthfully, Tim is an old friend of Lincoln Branch having delivered several talks to us, and you will not find this talk boring at all as it tells the fascinating and painful story of how those Germans, either immigrants or of German immigrant parents, living in Britain on the declaration of war in 1914 found themselves on the receiving end of anti-German feeling; facing violence, discrimination and internment.
[For attendees wanting to pay for the Christmas lunch tomorrow night, Steve will be taking payments in the half time interval - Ed]
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Next Meeting - Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Thursday, October 23rd - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30 pm start - Spalding Baptist Church,Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT - Dr Scott Lindgren presents: "A Concept Vindicated; The Battle of the Falkland Islands, 1914"
On the 1st of November 1914, the Royal Navy's South Atlantic Squadron, led by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock and consisting of three elderly cruisers and a armoured merchantman, engaged in battle with the much superior German East Asia Squadron led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spree off the Chilean port of Coronel. Von Spree's six modern cruisers threw a much heavier weight of shell, and the meeting resulted in a devastating defeat for Craddock with two of his ships - HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth - were sunk with the loss of 1,570 men. HMS Glasgow and the merchantman, Otranto, escaped. The Battle of Coronel, as it became known, thus set the scene for a larger engagement off the Falkland Islands.
Following Coronel, the Admiralty despatched a large force consisting of the battlecruisers HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible, an improved armoured cruiser HMS Carnarvon, the armoured cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Kent, the light cruiser HMS Bristol and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Macedonia under the command of Admiral Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, with orders to hunt down, intercept and destroy von Spree's fleet.
On the 8th December 1914, and totally unknown to von Spree who had decided to raid the Falkland Islands and put its radio and coaling station out of action, Sturdee's fleet was at anchor in Port Stanley. Look-outs posted on the hills above Stanley, and on HMS Canopus - an obsolete pre-Dreadnought battleship that was acting as guardship - spotted the approaching German fleet. Almost at the same time von Spree spitted the British battlecruiser's masts and, realising he was up against a superior force, made a run for it. Sturdee ordered steam to be raised on his ships, had breakfast, and gave chase. With the advantage of speed, the British ships soon caught the German fleet, and, in the ensuing battle, the Germans lost Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg and Leipzig. Only the light cruiser Desden and the auxiliary Seydlitz escaped Sturdee's ships. The Battle of the Falkland Islands had been a decisive confrontation. The German force had been decimated with the loss of 1,871 men including Admiral Spee and his son. However, the most important outcome of the battle was the vindication of the decision by the Admiralty to build a class of fast, heavily armed, but relatively lightly armoured, battlecruisers, and it also led to the end of commerce raiding on the high seas by surface warships of the Imperial German Navy.
Scott Lindgren is a naval/maritime historian specialising in the 19th and 20th centuries. With a Masters in maritime history from Hull, he took his PhD at Salford under Professor Eric Grove. He spent a decade teaching naval, maritime and local history at Hull, before freelancing as a naval/maritime historian/researcher and lecturer. In this evening's talk, which was presented to much acclaim at Lincoln WFA last December, he will examine the engagement, plus the background and role of the battlecruisers involved.
Spalding is a small but friendly branch where you will be most welcome, but note we meet in a pleasant internal room from where we cannot monitor the front doors. To gain entry, should you find the main doors locked, please ring the doorbell on the single door to the right of them.
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The Leadenham Military History Group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday 28th October, at Leadenham Village Hall with a start time of 7.30pm. The evening will consist of two talks.
The Grand Old Lady – A Short History of HMS Warspite, the Royal Navy’s Most Decorated Ship – By Tim Sisson.
RAF Bruggen Tornado Operations 1988-1998 – By Dave Bentley.
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The next presentation in the Friends of Lincoln Tank 2025 season of talks will be held on Thursday 30th October when Peter Jacobs will present for ‘King and Country’.
The venue as usual is the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG. 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Everyone welcome.
Talk Title – For King & Country at Loos
‘Deeply regret to inform you that 2/Lt C F B Hodgins 2/Wiltshire Regt is reported killed Sept 25/26. Lord Kitchener desires to express his sympathy. Secretary War Office.’ – Telegram from the War Office dated 29 September 1915.
This is the true and previously untold story of one man’s war on the Western Front during the First World War. As a young man, still in his teens, Charlie Hodgins answered the call to ‘do his bit’ for King and Country. Like so many others, he was never to return. He was killed on 25 September 1915, on the opening day of the Battle of Loos. According to an officer in his battalion, he died 'leading his men with great gallantry, and even when wounded, tried to rise and take them on'. Drawing on the many letters, photographs and telegrams Charlie sent home, along with newspaper articles, war archives and other personal accounts, historian Peter Jacobs has pieced together the final moments of Charlie’s short life. This is a compelling and poignant tale of personal courage and one family’s loss. But it also tells of the tragedy and suffering experienced by a generation of men during the First World War.
The Speaker – Peter Jacobs
PETER JACOBS served in the Royal Air Force for thirty-seven years as an air defence navigator on the F4 Phantom and Tornado F3, after which he completed staff tours at HQ 11 Group, HQ Strike Command, the Ministry of Defence, and the RAF College Cranwell. He has written twenty-three books on military and aviation subjects, and as well as being a keen military historian, he is an active speaker and cemetery tour guide with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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Another group who meet at the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG are the Lincs Aviation Society.
I now have great pleasure in advertising their forthcoming events, which take place on the third Thursday of each month - entry is £2 for members and £3 for visitors.
The next speaker event will be held on Thursday 20th November when Tim Willbond will present – ‘Douglas Bader and the Duxford Big Wing.’
Having just read Stephen Bungay’s excellent book ‘The Most Dangerous Enemy – A History of the Battle of Britain,’ whilst on holiday, I think that this will be an excellent talk.
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The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA Branch meets again on Friday 14th November at 7.30pm at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, Nottingham, NG11 6HA. All welcome.
The speaker on this night will be Professor Jessica Meyer who will talk about “From No Man’s Land to Auxiliary Hospital – Evacuating the Great War Wounded.”
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Courtesy of Michael Doyle, please click on this link for the latest The Tiger newsletter.
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Please click on this link to read the latest newsletter from The Friends of the Tank Memorial Ypres Salient group. I do hope that you will click on this link as there is a superb piece from our old friend Wayne Evans regarding the life and VC action of Lt. Colonel (Acting) Lewis Pugh Evans. Pugh Evans was commanding the 1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment when he won his VC on 4th October 1917.
I hope you will recall that I wrote about this day two weeks ago when I compiled a short obituary for Private Frank Thompson who was killed in the action in which Pugh Evans won the VC.
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Last week, thanks to Tony Nutkins, we learnt that the London Irish Rifles drill hall and museum is to close and that the artefacts were likely to be sent to Northern Ireland.
However, here is the latest update from Tony, who notes; ‘Thanks for the mention of the London Irish Rifles. There is a glimmer of hope regarding the matter of the relocation of the accumulation of all sorts from the regimental silver (146 pieces!) to the contents of the museum, the weapons collection and everything in between. While everything has been packed up and will go in to storage for the time being. This is well before the 1st December deadline and the efforts of those involved have been stupendous. The Pipes and Drums, supported by the Regimental Association since 1993, have been found a suitable location to practice, store their instruments, music and uniforms, in South London. Negotiations and discussions are ongoing but it would seem that there will a place for the collection within an Army location at some time in the near future, together with other Irish Regiments. Will let you know when things are confirmed.’
That all sounds more promising Tony. Thank you.
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Also from last week, I mentioned Lieutenant Henry Webber, who at 67, was the oldest soldier in the British army to be killed in action. He is buried in Dartmoor Cemetery on the Somme and I noted that it was 2016 when I last visited Henry Webber.
I am pleased to say that I put that right this last week by visiting him once again last Tuesday. Here is an up to date photo of his headstone. [See Loudoun-Shand below – Ed]
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News from Bev Davey again this week who has been in Scotland and comments; ‘I came across this on a visit to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow last week. I gather it was saved when the tramways buildings were demolished.
So many men just from one organisation!
The War Memorial is for the 15th Battalion Highland Light Infantry (tram), bronze. On the top is the regimental badge with names of battle honours along each side. The plaque lists the names of those members of the Glasgow Corporation Tramways
Maybe TL readers would be interested?’ [They certainly are – Ed]
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Are you in Ypres (Ieper) later this month? Here is the latest news from Wayne Evans who is domiciled just north of Ypres. Wayne writes; ‘For those visiting Ieper during the next couple of months and attending the Last Post will not fail to miss a new temporary sculpture near the Menin Gate.
‘The Hauntings’ is a scrap metal sculpture of a war-weary soldier and is currently on display near the Menin Gate, Ieper until 7 December of this year.
The ghostly sculpture standing an impressive 6.5 meters high, was commissioned for the World War One centenary in 2014 by a couple based in Somerset, Jo Oliver and Paul Richards, in commemoration of those who served during World War I. It is made from over 1,000 pieces of locally sourced scrap metal including horseshoes, brake discs, old tools, heavy duty chain and clutch plates etc. and its intricate design allows the light to filter through his body giving an eerie persona, especially at night.
After his ‘tour of duty’ at the Menin Gate, ‘The Hauntings’ will return to the United Kingdom for its final and permanent location in Somerset.’
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I have mentioned in recent weeks how much I am heartened when I see TL readers picking up the research bug, and this definitely applies to my old friend Bill Roffey.
Bill writes; ‘I recently attended my son’s graduation from drama school, which was held in the Holy Trinity Church in Lamorbey, Sidcup, Kent, I found myself sitting right in front of a fine wooden memorial to local people who fell in WW1. I noticed two with a Lincolnshire connection, but was more intrigued by the three Captains named Kekewich. (See photo). I thought the name was unusual but was more intrigued by the fact they were all Captain’s which I thought was equally unusual. A fourth Kekewich son, Sydney. was seriously injured, but survived the war. I felt compelled to look into the background of the three who didn’t make it.
Captain Downes and Private Earwaker of the Lincolnshire Regiment are on the memorial near Sidcup in Kent. [Downes features in my talk about the 6/Lincolns in Gallipoli - Ed]
The three Kekewich brothers also feature on this memorial and caught Bill's eye.
When the Great War broke out in 1914 all four sons of Lewis Pendarves Kekewich volunteered for service. John, George and Herbert died in action; Sydney was seriously wounded. Their cousin Arthur was killed too, and Lewis’s brother Robert, a Major-General, also died during the war. [Cousin Arthur St. John Mackintosh Kekewich died at Loos on 25th September 1915 whilst serving with 8/Devons – Ed]
So in the order they appear - here we go. Captain Herbert L. Kekewich died on November 6th 1917. He is buried in the Beersheba War Cemetery in Israel/Palestine. He was an Old Etonian. He was the last of the three to die in the war, and the eldest son in the family. He is also commemorated on the Hove Library war memorial, which is where his parents were living at the time of his death and at Lords Cricket Ground. He worked in the family metal broking business prior to the war and at that time his family were living in Cray, which is very close to Sidcup where I saw his name. He was originally commissioned into the Territorials and was mobilised at the outbreak as a Lieutenant and temporary Captain. He saw action at Gallipoli and on December 30th the regiment was evacuated to Mudros. His regiment moved to Egypt in February 1916 to defend the Suez Canal. They spent a year there. Kekewich was promoted to Acting Major and 2nd in command of the16th Sussex Yeomanry during the attack on Turkish lines defending Gaza. During the 3rd battle of Gaza he was killed in action.
My Mum’s Uncle, William Thomas Chapple was also involved in this campaign as a farrier and a horse driver pulling eighteen pounders. William was with the 2nd East Anglian Brigade, RFA. It is likely he served in Egypt up to the capture of Jerusalem and ended up with his regiment in Beirut (thank you Jonathan for this detail from a year or two back when you researched William for me). William survived the war. I met him a few times, and he always walked with a pronounced limp. Anyway, I digress, back to the Kekewich family.
Beersheba War Cemetery above. This is a google image, and it is in a war zone (same part of the world incidentally where my Dad did his post war national service). I wonder what state the cemetery is currently in as it is in such a dangerous part of the world? You would hope it is respected and cared for.
The next Kekewich on the memorial is Captain George Kekewich. He is coincidentally buried in the same cemetery as brother Herbert. I learnt doing my research that the boys were the nephews of a Major General Robert George Kekewich who had a prominent role in the successful defence of Kimberley during the second Boer war. He took his own life in 1914 after being relieved of his command due to his age at the start of World War I.
[Maj.Gen. Robert Kekewich had fought for his country in four Victorian wars and at the start of WWI, he came out of retirement to train and command 13th (Western) Division, a K1 Kitchener New Army Division.
When the division was ready to go overseas, he was relieved of his command due to his age. This was too much for him to bear, so he took to his bed and shot himself through the temple. Click here to read about him Kekewich, Robert George - Ed]
Captain George Kekewich was serving with the City of London Yeomanry. He died of his wounds on October 28th 1917. Captain George Kekewich of the Inns of Court and City Yeomanry (The Rough Riders) lost his life as a result of an action launched against the Turks on the Gaza-Beersheba line in Palestine in October 1917 as part of a plan to liberate Jerusalem, which was ultimately successful.
Under orders to reach a British outpost, his cavalry squadron inflicted heavy losses on the enemy but suffered casualties as it braved a storm of machine-gun bullets. George, 28, died of wounds on October 28th, and is buried in the Beersheba War Cemetery, 74km south west of Jerusalem.
The third brother, John, enlisted at the start of the war in September 1914, joining the 8th Battalion, The Buffs, at Shoreham Camp. The 8/Buffs, the East Kent Regiment, were formed at Canterbury in September as part of Kitchener's Third New Army. From September 1914 to October 1915 they were part of 72nd Brigade, 24th Division. The battalion embarked for France on 31 August 1915 and after a few days was required to make a forced march to act as a reserve for the intended British assault at Loos. On day one of the Battle of Loos they were too poorly placed by British headquarters to be of real use in the battle formation. On 26th September at 10.30am they were ordered to go 'over the top' at 11.00am. Captain John Kekewich was in command of C Company. The brigade advanced under heavy shelling and increasingly accurate machine gun fire. Despite heavy losses some soldiers reached the thick band of barbed wire in front of the German trenches but were unable to get through and were forced to retire. They suffered heavy shelling, some being out in the open for nearly four hours. Many of the wounded could not be rescued that night as German machine guns covered all the approaches. John Kekewich was one of these wounded men left lying in No Man's Land. It was said that he was offered assistance but refused it as it would be too dangerous for his men to take the risk. The advance lasted just 55 minutes before the decision to retire. 24 Officers and 610 other ranks of the Buffs were lost. Only one officer survived.
John Kekewich's body was never identified. He was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the 1914-15 Star. The medal citation reads 'Death Accepted' September 26th 1915. In other words, there was no body identified as being John.
John Kekewich is also commemorated along with other members of his family on this memorial panel in Exminster Victory Hall in Devon, which was the home county of the Kekewich family. They lived in a place called Peamore House, which was once the home of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey who was queen for nine days in 1553, and later beheaded for high treason.
Herbert Kekewich
John Kekewich.
An excellent piece of work Bill, thank you.
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Matt Colley knows me too well. Anything with a Nottingham flavour and especially if it concerns a man who served with the 7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters (Robin Hoods), will arouse my interest.
Therefore, I hope you will click on this link to read a marvellous tale from Simon Wilson of the Peterborough Military History Group who purchased a key in medal dealers shop in Devon that had connections to Nottingham.
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On Friday 10th October, I was joined by eight TL readers for a tour of memorials of interest in and around Nottingham.
Firstly, as we left my home, we stopped at Welbourn church to view the Sir William Robertson memorial plaque before visiting Sir William’s birth place in Welbourn village.
Next stop was the Lisle Rockley Memorial Garden at Radcliffe on Trent, a prime example of a philanthropic functional memorial. The gardens were laid out on land given to the community by Lisle Rockley in memory of his son, Lieutenant William Rockley, who was killed on 11th October 1917 near Passchendaele whilst serving with the 10th Battalion Yorks and Lancs.
We then headed to the Lenton area of Nottingham to stop at Holy Trinity church. Lenton today, is an area of inner city Nottingham which has its share of problems and many of the gorgeous Victorian and Edwardian properties are sub divided to create student accommodation for both Nottingham University and the Queen’s Medical Centre.
However, during the Great War, Lenton was an affluent area of successful businessmen who raised their families with the help of live in domestic servants. One of the families associated with Holy Trinity Church was the Ball family, including Captain Albert Ball VC, DSO**, MC, Legion d’Honneur.
Ball rose to the rank of sergeant before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 2nd/7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters (Robin Hoods), Ball transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and quickly established himself as something of a loner, but an excellent pilot with a killer’s instinct.
Ball had 44 confirmed victories when on 7th May 1917, he crashed during a dog fight with Lothar von Richthofen. Richthofen was credited with downing Ball, but it is believed that he may have crashed as a result of mechanical failure.
Ball’s father, Sir Albert Ball, an Alderman of the city and later Mayor, memorialised his son at Holy Trinity church, Lenton, and with the Albert Ball Memorial Homes in Lenton, in the grounds of Nottingham Castle and in France, by purchasing the land on which his son had crashed.
Please click here to read about Ball’s 44 victims and the citations for his Victoria Cross, three Distinguished Service Orders and his Military Cross, all achieved before the age of 21.
Albert Ball: English WW1 Ace
The plaque in Holy Trinity church.
Just half a mile or so from the church you will find the Albert memorial Homes, built by his father as Alms Houses in memory of his son. Standing in front of the homes is the Lenton war memorial.
The Albert Ball Memorial Homes - NCHA | NCHA
Above - The Albert Ball Memorial homes, Lenton war memorial and Ball's name on the memorial.
After travelling into the city centre where we parked up, we walked to the Pitcher and Piano pub, once the Nottingham Unitarian church. This gave us time for a quick lunch whilst viewing the memorial window placed in the church in memory of several Nottingham boys who were killed in the Great War, including Acting Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Hind, MC and Captain Roby Gotch.
Hind was the commanding officer of 7th Sherwood Foresters (Robin Hoods) and Gotch was the battalion Adjutant. Both men were killed on 1st July 1916 in the disastrous diversionary attack at Gommecourt.
Next stop was St. Mary’s church in the Lace Market which contains an array of memorials including the Robin Hoods Great War memorial tablet, a stunning relief of men going into action.
The Robin Hoods memorial in St. Mary's church, Nottingham.
A second stop was made at St. Peter’s church before we took to the cars once again and headed for the Victoria Embankment Memorial Garden. Here there is a splendid statue of the Queen – Empress, Victoria, a memorial to all of Nottinghamshire’s Victoria Cross winners, the city’s remarkable memorial arch constructed in Portland stone and unveiled in 1927, and we visited the 2018 Centenary memorial to all of the Nottingham men and women killed in the Great War, which includes my Great Uncle’s name and would have upset my great grandmother if she knew about it!
I am sorry to say, that the 2018 memorial, which is now only seven years old, is looking very tatty and unkempt. It needs a good clean, weeds are growing everywhere, the grass banks have not been mown and in several areas the pointing (mastic) between panels is now missing allowing water to enter. I do not know who is expected to maintain the memorial, but with the City Council having declared bankruptcy, I suspect that no one is thinking very much about the care of the memorial.
A happy band of TL readers at the Nottingham City memorial arch.
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I will write more over the next couple of weeks about my recent trip away, but for this week, I will keep the tales to news from the Hohenzollern Redoubt and details of the three Victoria Cross winners that we came across.
Monday 13th October was the 110th anniversary of the bloody attack made by men of the 5th/Lincolns alongside the 4th/Leics, 5th/N. Staffs and 5th/S. Staffs. The fighting on this day resulted in the 46th Division suffering 3,763 casualties, and for a number of Lincolnshire communities, including Sleaford, it was their bloodiest day of the war, even eclipsing 1st July 1916.
In the early 2000’s, Michael Credland, and a band of dedicated volunteers raised sufficient money and received all of the necessary permissions to erect a new 46th Divisional memorial at a site just to the rear of the Redoubt. This memorial, designed by Mike, was unveiled in 2006 and apart from the first Covid year of 2020, there has been an annual service of remembrance held each year, including a large event in 2015 for the centenary of the fighting.
The village of Auchy les Mines, where you will find the memorial in the farmyard at the bottom of Rue de Dunkerque, has taken this service very seriously and it is always attended by the town Mayor, civic dignitaries and a good turnout of French veterans and members of the public from both France and the UK.
This year was no different and the splendid service was followed by speeches and refreshments in the Salle de Fetes (village hall). Here are a selection of my photos from the event last Monday.
Mike Credland laid a wreath on behalf of the Friends of the Hohenzollern Redoubt.
Robin and Keith added their usual gravitas to the proceedings!
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As we travelled around the Western Front, we stopped at locations old and new and this year, I made a special effort to stop at cemeteries that contain men of the 46th Division killed at Gommecourt on 1st July 1916. I have been to Gommecourt and Foncquevillers cemeteries many times, but on this recent trip, I ticked off Gommecourt No.2 cemetery as well as Hebuterne and Hannescamps.
Lying in Foncquevillers cemetery is Captain John Leslie Green VC, MD, of the Royal Army Medical Corps. A qualified doctor and surgeon, he was appointed Medical Officer to the 1st/5th Sherwood Foresters and as the attack at Gommecourt faltered, Green left his medical post, the 1st/2nd (North Midland) Field Ambulance, and went out into No Man’s Land to help tend the wounded.
His Victoria Cross citation reads; ‘For most conspicuous devotion to duty. Although himself wounded, he went to the assistance of an officer who had been wounded and was hung up on the enemy’s wire entanglements, and succeeded in dragging him to a shell hole, where he dressed his wounds, notwithstanding that bombs and rifle grenades were thrown at him the whole time. Captain Green then endeavoured to bring the wounded officer into safe cover, and had nearly succeeded in doing so when he was himself killed.’
Captain John Green VC. RAMC.
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Whilst visiting the 67-year old Henry Webber at Dartmoor Cemetery, I was having a good walk around this large cemetery when I came across the headstone of Major Stewart Walter Loudoun-Shand VC. This was a name that rang a bell with me, although I was not aware he was buried in Dartmoor cemetery.
Major Loudoun-Shand was serving with the 10th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment on 1st July 1916 near Fricourt. When the attack faltered, he personally led the men on in the attack until mortally wounded.
Loudon-Shand’s VC citation reads; ‘For most conspicuous bravery. When his company attempted to climb over the parapet to attack the enemy’s trenches, they were met by very fierce machine gun fire, which temporarily stopped their progress. Maj. Loudoun-Shand immediately leapt on the parapet, helped the men over it and encouraged them in every way until he fell mortally wounded. Even then he insisted on being propped up in the trench, and went on encouraging the non-commissioned officers and men until he died.’
Major Loudoun Shand VC.
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On the Monday, the day of the Hohenzollern Redoubt service, we called in at the Loos British cemetery extension to see the new headstones erected for the 100’s of bodies that are being discovered during the construction of a new hospital and canal basin in Lens.
You will recall that last week we mentioned that four soldiers of the 1st/5th Lincolns have been discovered and identified through familial DNA testing, they will be buried at Loos on Tuesday 21st October, and I took this photograph of the plot already prepared for them.
Whilst driving around the Loos battlefield area, we called in at Arras Road cemetery, Roclincourt. Roclincourt is more associated with the opening day of the Battle of Arras on 9th April 1917, but as I wandered around, I came across the headstone of Captain Arthur Forbes Gordon Kilby VC, of the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire regiment who was killed on 25th September 1915.
Kilby’s VC citation reads; ‘For most conspicuous bravery. Captain Kilby was specially selected, at his own request, and on account of the gallantry which he had previously displayed on many occasions, to attack with his company a strong enemy redoubt. The company charged along the narrow tow-path, headed by Captain Kilby, who, though wounded at the outset, continued to lead his men right up to the enemy wire under a devastating machine-gun fire and a shower of bombs. Here he was shot down, but, although his foot had been blown off, he continued to cheer on his men and to use a rifle. Captain Kilby has been missing since the date of the performance of this great act of valour, and his death has now to be presumed.’
Captain Arthur Kilby VC.
There will be more news from France next week.
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Leaving France, I return now to my recent holiday in Italy. On an excursion, we visited the town of Amalfi. Whilst the primary purpose of the visit was to explore the town, I had already researched the fact that Amalfi possesses a superb war memorial.
Guiding my wife to a very nice café bar in the vicinity of the memorial we enjoyed a coffee and a cake before setting off for the main square, the Piazza Municipio. Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner only to find that the memorial was shrouded and covered with scaffolding, as it is obviously undergoing restoration.
Here are my photos and one that I found on the internet.
I poked my camera lens between the scaffold poles!
The Amalfi memorial. Photo from Google images.
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As usual, we finish with this week’s colourised photograph from Colour by CJS.
Second Lieutenant John Geoffrey Stobart.
John was born in 1892 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire but the large family later moved to County Durham, where John was the youngest of eleven siblings.
John was educated at Malvern College and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was a member of his college’s rowing crew. Whilst at university, he joined the Officers Training Corps, and at the outbreak of war in August 1914 he was commissioned and joined 6th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade.
On 17th February 1915 he was attached to 4th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade in France. A month later, on 14th March 1915, his company was holding a length of front line trench near St. Eloi, south of Ypres in Belgium.
Later that day the Germans detonated two mines under the British positions and launched a surprise attack. Following fierce hand to hand fighting they captured the British line and the village.
John Stobart was killed the following day leading his platoon in a counter attack to retake the trenches and village of St Eloi.
Today, John is buried in Voormezele Enclosure No. 3 cemetery. He was just 23 years old.
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IN MEMORIAM - The Lincolnshire Regiment 19th October.
1914
9569 Private William Joseph Roberts, 1st Battalion. Buried in Bethune Town cemetery, France.
8072 Private Walter Stanley Fox, 1st Battalion. – Ditto. –
6605 Private Richard Wyatt, 1st Battalion. Remembered on the Le Touret Memorial, France.
1915
23294 Private William Lacey Williams, 2nd Battalion, aged 26. Remembered on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium.
1826 Sergeant R Davies, 5th Battalion. Buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, France.
12860 Private George Wilkinson, 6th Battalion, aged 20. Buried in the Alexandria War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.
1916
40077 Private James Lawson, 2nd Battalion. Remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, France.
23260 Private John William Townsend Thompson, 2nd Battalion. – Ditto. –
15325 Private Tom Wattam, 2nd Battalion. – Ditto. –
1917
Seven men of the Lincolnshire Regiment are recorded as having died on this day.
1918
A further seven men also died on this day in 1918.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
I am always pleased to hear from new contributors and look forward to hearing from you. I am also still looking for a volunteer to call at the Lincoln Hospital and take up to date photos of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry memorials. Any volunteers out there? Please let me know. Thank you.
Until next week
All best wishes
Jonathan
© Jonathan D’Hooghe
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