WW1 medal pair 4405 Pte Henry James Hicks 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade), Wounded in action, Somme, circa 8 October 1916

WW1 medal pair 4405 Pte Henry James Hicks 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade), Wounded in action, Somme, circa 8 October 1916

Henry James Hicks was from East Finchley. Probably a volunteer under the 'Derby' scheme of deferred enlistment, he served with the 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) under the Regimental Numbers 4405 and, later, 302628. The former number, within the London Rifle Brigade sequence would suggest (per Paul Nixon's Army Service Numbers blog) that Pte Hicks joined the 5th battalion between mid-March and late April 1916; at this time the 3/5th Londons (5th (Reserve) Battalion) was at Fovant, on Salisbury Plain. By comparison, 4402/302625 Reginald Frank Gordon attested his willingness to serve on 1 February 1916 at Folkestone; after forty days in the Army Reserve his Attestation was approved by the Approving Officer at 130 Bunhill Row on 23 March 1916; he was appointed to the 5th City of London Regiment that day and posted to the 3/5th Battalion. He was recorded as sent overseas on 13 July 1916, subsequently to be attached to 169 Trench Mortar Battery. By contrast, 4427/302638 Henry James White attested on 8 December 1915 at Hackney and after just under 4 months in the Army Reserve was mobilised and joined on 27 March 1916; a sprained ankle on the obstacle course at No.4 Camp, Fovant whilst with the 3rd London Rifle Brigade (3/5th Londons) on 14 June probably prevented him going overseas in July 1916 with his fellows.

Hicks' highest rank was Acting Lance Corporal. He served with the 1/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade) in the France & Flanders theatre from 14 July to 13 October 1916. The battalion (often known as the 1st London Rifle Brigade) served with the 169th Brigade of the 56th (London) Division. Pte Hicks was most probably sent out on 13 July as part of a draft to make good the 569 casualties reported as a result of the 56th Division's failed diversionary attack at Gommecourt on 1 July 1916. Possibly joining the battalion whilst it was alternating time in billets out of the line at Bienvillers or in a rear part of the line at Hannescamps, between approximately 17 July and 21 August, this would have put him in line to hear a bayonet-fighting lecture from the famous bayonet instructor Major Campbell and practice working with tanks. Subsequently he would have been able to fight with the 1st London Rifle Brigade on the Somme, at Ginchy on 9 September 1916, at Bouleaux and Leuze Woods on 15 and 18 September and at Combles on 26 September.

On 1 October 1916 the 1st London Rifle Brigade/1/5th Londons was in the trenches near Guillemont, supplying working and burying parties, prior to relieving the Queen Victoria Rifles and Queen's Westminster Rifles in the trenches opposite Lesboeufs the following day. After occupying an enemy trench (subsequently named 'German Trench') 100 yards to the battalion's right front at dusk on 3 October, the battalion was in turn relieved by the London Scottish that night, spending the next three days in trenches between Bernafay and Trones Woods.

Meanwhile, as 4405 Private H J Hicks, London Regiment, he was Listed as "Wounded" on the Casualty List issued by the War Office, Report Date 27/11/1916. He was therefore entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being met by his naming in this list. The List gave his Resided Town [upon enlistment] as East Finchley, London N.

Given the date of the List and the dates given for his overseas service on the London Regiment medal roll, he was most probably wounded in early October 1916, possibly on 8 October 1916 at Lesboeufs during the Battle of le Transloy, and rapidly evacuated to the United Kingdom for treatment. In support of this inference, the battalion was relieved in the front line on 9 October and remained out of the line for most of the rest of the month. Between 28 October and 3 November it was in the line at Richebourg L'Avoue; no casualties were recorded in the war diary for this period.

In this attack, the battalion, as part of 169th Brigade, was given the task of capturing Hazy Trench after the failed effort of the 167th and 168th Brigades to take it and the associated systems the previous day. This was part of a general effort (along with the 20th Division and the French) to establish a line on the forward slope of the le Transloy ridges to allow observation of the le Transloy trench system and (in the 20th Division's sector) provide a jumping-off point for a further assault. Attacking at 3.30pm on the 8th, the London Rifle Brigade reached Hazy Trench but was forced to withdraw due to a lack of support on its flanks that night, being taken out of the line the following day.

The following extract from The History of the London Rifle Brigade 1859 -1919, shared on the Great War Forum by user chrrip, gives an account of the action:

"Section 25 : 1st Battalion - Les Boeufs 6 – 9 October 1916

The respite from the fighting was all too brief as the Battalion was ordered to occupy old German trenches at Talus Bois near Guillemont which it did on 29 September in pouring rain. Little was known about the whereabouts of friendly troops let alone the enemy as no maps or aerial photographs were available. For two days both the LRB [London Rifle Brigade] and Q.W.R. [Queen's Westminster Rifles] pushed out patrols to find the French and German positions and they, along with working parties that were fired upon, eventually discovered the enemy positions. The Germans were manning a line of shell holes, trenches and old gun pits well protected by their artillery which was particularly effective, inflicting heavy casualties on the working parties.

On 2 October the Battalion took over the portion of the line which ran in front (east) of the village of Les Boeufs. The appalling weather made any troop movements extremely difficult and even simple reliefs were a nightmare. The incessant rain, the few tracks and paths deep in mud and heavily cratered, led to the cancellation of several attacks. On 7 October the London Scottish were ordered to capture Hazy Trench and were nearly wiped out. At 11 p.m. the Battalion was ordered to relieve them. The state of the ground, the congestion on the few passable tracks, and the continuing appalling weather delayed the relief into full daylight so that the troops were clearly visible to the enemy who held their fire, choosing to wait for the forthcoming attack.

‘A’ Company occupied Aeroplane Trench, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Shamrock Trench and ‘D’, in reserve, eventually occupied Fluffy Trench. ‘A’ and ‘B’ were ordered to attack Hazy Trench which was about 600 yards from them, ‘C’ was to follow closely with ‘D’ in support. ‘D’ Company was instructed to use every officer and man to bring up tools, ammunition and equipment to the front line presenting a target the German gunners could not resist, inflicting heavy casualties. The preparations for the attack on the forward slopes in front of the village were in full view of the enemy so that the inevitable occurred; the first waves were met by a murderous barrage as soon as they left their trenches. The shell fire was so heavy that the troops could not see the British creeping barrage. The first two Companies pressed on nevertheless and came under heavy machine gun fire from the disused gun pits. These machine guns were the same ones which had inflicted heavy casualties on the London Scottish and had not been destroyed by the British barrage as expected. A few men from [text missing?] may have reached the German lines where they died fighting, but both ‘A’ and ‘B’ were wiped out.

‘D’ Company moved up as planned but as soon as it appeared on the ridge it ran into an even heavier barrage. The men advanced to a line of shell holes passing all the officers of the other three Companies lying dead or wounded. Here they dug in along with a few survivors from ‘C’ company. The Company Commander Capt. Crews, one of the two officers left in action, sent out patrols to find the French on the right and the Q.V.R. [Queen Victoria's Rifles] on the left. One patrol only encountered parties of Germans, the other did not return. Lewis gun teams beat off several enemy counter attacks and prisoners were taken, including the machine gunners who had caused so many deaths. By 9.30 p.m. it was clear that the French were not in touch and that the Q.V.R. had been pinned down in their trenches for the whole day. The 80 or so LRB survivors fell back in small parties, taking many of their wounded with them, covered by the Lewis gun teams. By 10.30 they were back in their jumping off trench.

11 officers were dead – the highest number killed in a single day in the war and another 9 were wounded. One young officer, disabled by MG bullets in both legs, was callously shot dead by a German soldier as he lay helpless in a shell hole. In contrast a German prisoner, a stretcher bearer, undoubtedly saved several LRB lives by carrying many wounded men to safety. The casualties in the ranks had been very heavy. On 9 October stretcher bearers stayed behind and spent all day looking for the wounded despite the heavy shelling directed at them, and brought in many London Scottish men who had been lying out since the 7th. Only two stretcher bearers and Capt. Crews survived out of all the parties."

After treatment and convalescence Pte Hicks does not appear (from the evidence of the medal rolls) to have gone overseas again, but the fact that he also has a six-digit Territorial regimental number (302628) within the number bloc allocated to the 5th Battalion would suggest that he remained on the strength of the London Regiment until after March 1917.

Presumably being discharged some time in 1919, he would have received his British War Medal and Victory Medal, being his full entitlement, some time after October 1920. The Regimental Code given on the medal roll also confirms that the 5th Londons represents the unit he last served with (and through whose record office - in this case London - his medals were issued). 

There also seems to have been an application made for a pension for him, however the details are no longer recorded.

1/5th (City of London) Battalion (Rifles)

04.08.1914 Stationed at Bunhill as part of the 2nd London Brigade of the 1st London Division and then moved to Bisley and then Crowborough.

Nov 1914 Mobilised for war and embarked for France leaving the 1st London Division arriving at Havre.

17.11.1914 Joined the 11th Brigade of the 4th Division and engaged in various actions on the Western Front including;

1914

The Battle of Le Cateau, The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne, The Battle of Messines 1914.

1915

The Second Battle of Ypres.

19.05.1915 Transferred to the G.H.Q. Troops forming a composite battalion with the 1/12th & 1/13th Battalions.

11.08.1915 Resumed its identity.

25.10.1915 Transferred to the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Division.

10.02.1916 Transferred to the 169th Brigade of the 56th Division;

1916

The diversionary attack at Gommecourt, The Battle of Ginchy, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval, The Battle of the Transloy Ridges.

(Transferred to the corps of the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) on 7 July 1916)

2/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade)

Sept 1914 Formed London and then moved to Haywards Heath to join the 174th Brigade of the 58th Division.

May 1915 Moved to Norwich and then Ipswich.

April 1916 moved to Foxhall Heath, near Ipswich and then Sutton Veny.

3/5th Battalion

26.11.1914 Formed at Bunhill Row.

April 1915 Moved to Tadworth and then Sutton.

Jan 1916 Moved to Fovant.

08.04.1916 Became the 5th (Reserve) Battalion.

01.09.1916 Joined the 1st London Reserve Brigade.

Image: Troops of the 1/5th Battalion (London Rifle Brigade), London Regiment, in a reserve trench in Chimpanzee Valley between Hardecourt and Guillemont, 6 September 1916.