British War and Victory Medals Private J. E. Robinson, 1/8th Durham Light Infantry (6216 Pte. J. E. Robinson. Durh. L.I.), killed in action 5 November 1916

Private J. E. Robinson, Durham Light Infantry British War and Victory Medals (6216 Pte. J. E. Robinson. Durh. L.I.) 

6216 Private James Edward Robinson, from Finsbury was born circa 1880, to Henry James Robinson (a packing case maker) and his wife Henrietta. James Edward was a goldsmith and jeweller in civilian life. He had three brothers and three sisters. He attested his willingness to serve at Woolwich on 7 December 1915, aged 35 years 4 months, and was posted to the Army Section B Reserve the following day. Whilst on Reserve he married Rose Eleanor Robinson (née Smith) in the  Parish church of St-John-at-Hackney, London on 20 February 1916. By March he was a 'badged' worker, doing essential war work at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich, and living at 18, Ironmonger's Street, EC. For this reason his first call-up notice appears to have been withdrawn at the request of the Royal Ordnance Factories. However, on 9 June he was called up again. Reporting to the Central London Recruiting Depot Whitehall, he was medically examined and enlisted into the King's Royal Rifle Corps under the number R/26442, subsequently being posted to the KRRC depot at Winchester, and to the 24th (Reserve) battalion. Pursuant to the establishment of the Training Reserve, this battalion was aborbed into the 21st Reserve Brigade with effect from 1 September 1916. Accordingly, on 31 August, Pte Robinson was posted to 'A' Company, 88th Training Reserve Battalion (formerly the 19th (Reserve) Bn, the West Yorkshire Regiment), also part of the 21st Reserve Brigade, under the new regimental number TR/5/7[2]795. Save for one instance of overstating his pass, his conduct sheet was clean.

Pte Robinson's records show that he was posted overseas on 6 October 1916, to 35 Infantry Base Depot, presumably intended as a reinforcement for the 20th Durham Light Infantry. In the event, however, he was reposted to the 1/8th Durham Light Infantry, 151st Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division on 20 October, possibly whilst still in base depot and potentially therefore without having spent any time with the 20th. The same day he was allotted the regimental number number 6216 (posthumously 301833). 

This would have put him in line to have taken part in the 151st Brigade's attack on the Butte de Warlencourt (Warlencourt-Eaucourt Knoll), part of the Battle of the Ancre. The Butte, a white chalk mound close to the side of the Albert to Bapaume Road, offered very good views for the Germans and had been heavily mined, wired and fortified to form a formidable defensive position. As Roland Boys Bradford VC of the 9th DLI noted "The Butte itself would have been of little use to us for the purposes of observation. But the Butte de Warlencourt had become an obsession. Everybody wanted it. It loomed large in the minds of the soldiers in the forward area and they attributed many of their misfortunes to it. So it had to be taken." (Quoted in 'The Somme 1916 : The Strip of Murdered Nature')

The following account describes the attack in more detail:

"5 November

The 50th Division relieved the 9th Division from 24–25 October, in rain which had begun on 23 October and stopped around 3:00 p.m.the next day. The division took over the line east and south-east of Le Sars in the angle of the Martinpuich–Warlencourt, Eaucourt l'Abbaye and Martinpuich–Le Barque roads. The front line in Snag Trench was irregular and isolated posts on the left flank were joined, to make a continuous line. The German front line was still in Gird Trench and Gird Support Trench behind the butte. A British attack on 26 October, was postponed for two days and then postponed until 30 October, as preparations continued and trenches were repaired. Swampy conditions in no man's land were so bad, that no attack could take place until the ground dried. On 28 October, the ground had recovered slightly and the attack was scheduled for 1 November but then another downpour began in the night, followed by warmer weather, rain and gales from 30–31 October and the attack was again delayed, eventually being set for 9:10 a.m. on 5 November. The 149th Brigade and the 150th Brigade holding the line had become so exhausted that the 151st Brigade was moved up from reserve for the attack.

The 151st Brigade was to attack Gird Trench and Gird Support Trench, with the 1/8th, 1/6th and 1/9th battalions Durham Light Infantry (DLI); the 1/4th and 1/6th battalions Northumberland Fusiliers were attached from the 149th Brigade in support. The DLI battalions were to assemble in Snag and Snag Support trenches, Maxwell Trench and Tail Trench. As the 1/6th and 1/8th DLI took the Gird trenches, the 1/9th DLI was to capture the butte and the adjacent quarry and the Northumberland battalions were to support the attack from the flanks and the 1/5th Border Regiment was to stay in reserve in Prue and Starfish trenches; parts of the divisional machine-gun and trench mortar companies were to accompany the attack and a creeping barrage was to begin 200 yd (180 m) in front of the jumping-off line. Rain and high winds began again on night of 4/5 November and the attacking infantry floundered in mud, which was thigh-deep in places, as they advanced to the jumping-off points and several men drowned. The rain abated towards dawn, with the prospect of a fine cold day but the effect of the storm and a German counter-bombardment could be seen.

At zero hour the creeping bombardment began and infantry crawled out of their trenches, the first men pulling the following troops over the parapet. The British began to follow the creeping barrage, a moderate German counter-barrage fell short of Snag Trench and massed machine-gun fire began from the flanks, causing many casualties as the British troops struggled through the mud at walking-pace. The remaining men of the 1/8th DLI got close to Butte Trench, where they were also hit by British artillery and Stokes mortar fire and then retired to Snag Trench, leaving wounded and stragglers in shell-holes. On the right flank, a supporting Australian attack failed when the Australian artillery barrage fell behind the front line and a machine-gun barrage was so inaccurate that bullets hit the DLI trenches. In the centre the 1/6th DLI was held up on the right and on the left managed to overrun Gird Trench and form a strong point. The attack of the 1/9th DLI on the left flank, took the quarry, overran the butte and established a machine-gun position, advanced to Gird Trench and dug in on the Albert–Bapaume road. By noon, the 1/6th DLI were held up in Maxwell Trench and the 1/9th DLI had consolidated at the quarry, Gird Trench, Gird Support Trench and Butte Alley.

At 3:00 p.m., German counter-attacks began on the Gird Trenches and fighting in the butte continued for a strong point on the north side. By 3:00 p.m. the British had been forced back from Gird Trench and by 7:15 p.m. the Germans had advanced to Butte Alley and reinforcements were requested to recapture Gird Trench. At 12:20 a.m. (6 November) the 1/9th and 1/6th DLI were driven back to Maxwell Trench by converging attacks from the flanks and a frontal attack, which also overran the butte, where the German garrison emerged and joined in the counter-attack. German troops managed to get behind the quarry and by 1:00 p.m. on 6 November the British were back to their start line in Snag, Maxwell and Tail trenches. Another attack was ordered but cancelled later. The attacking battalions lost 967 men and other casualties made a total of c. 1,000 losses. RFC aircraft flew in support of the Fourth Army attacks, despite high winds and a contact-patrol crew flew for ​3 3⁄4 hours to observe the attack on the butte, reporting its capture and then loss to German counter-attacks.

On 5 November, the 1st Guard Reserve Division had been relieving the 24th Division and Infantry Regiment 179 recorded that the British "swarmed" over the butte and reached the Warlencourt trenches. During the battle, German artillery also managed to fire on both sides and parts of I Battalion, Infantry Regiment 179, I Battalion, Infantry Regiment 139 and I Battalion, Guard Reserve Regiment 1 conducted the converging attack at 10:50 p.m. On the British right flank, Guard Grenadier Regiment 5 and Guard Reserve Regiment 93 of the 4th Guard Division engaged the British. Early on 6 November, 73 soldiers stranded in no man's land surrendered to Infantry Regiment 179." (Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacks_on_the_Butte_de_Warlencourt)

Although the Butte and part of Gird Trench (Gallwitz Riegel) by the Butte (1/6th DLI's objective), was partially secured, a failure to consolidate the position meant that 1/6th and 1/8th DLI had to withdraw, leaving 1/9th DLI on the other side of the Butte to face a series of German counterattacks which forced a withdrawal after dark. The Brigade suffered almost a thousand casualties in the attack. Having been first listed as 'Missing' on the War Office Casualty List of 25/12/1916, with effect from December 1917 Pte Robinson's death was presumed on or after 5 November 1916, having occurred at some point during the 151st Brigade's unsuccessful attack on the Butte de Warlencourt. He was possibly one of the stragglers or wounded left in no-man's land after the abortive attack on Butte Trench. His effects went to his widow, Rose, as did a weekly pension of 13/9 from 16 July 1917. Subsequently Rose appears to have emigrated to Australia, from where she wrote in July 1921 asking for information about her deceased husband, whose letters and identify disc had been sent to her in clean condition just prior to her leaving England. She took this as an indication  that his body had been found; unfortunately the response to her query, although preserved, sheds no light.

For his service Pte Robinson was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Having no known grave,  he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

Illustration: D/DLI 7/920/10(5) Drawing by Captain Robert Mauchlen of soldiers attacking the Butte de Warlencourt

201456 Pte John McKenna, 5th (Reserve) Battalion, DLI and 10th DLI, wounded Inverness Copse 23 August 1917

201456 Pte John McKenna, 5th (Reserve) Battalion, DLI and 10th DLI, wounded Inverness Copse 23 August 1917

John McKenna of South Shields, born circa 1884, attested his willingness to be enlisted for General Service/service with the Royal Garrison Artillery at South Shields on 11 December 1915 aged 31 years 4 months. Having presumably attested for deferred ('Class A') service, was posted to the Army Section 'B' Reserve the following day. He gave his employment as shipyard worker and union delegate.

He was mobilised on 19 June 1916, being appointed to the Durham Light Infantry at Newcastle and posted to 'C' Company, 3/5th DLI, on 20 June and given the regimental number 4804. He was aged 31 years 10 months at the time and gave his wife Ann McKenna (née McCaffery) as his next of kin. They had married at St. Bede's Roman Catholic Church, South Shields in July 1906 and had one child, Rachael, born in October the following year. The 3/5th DLI was a Territorial reserve battalion, being the third line of the 5th DLI, the first and second lines being (or just about to become) overseas service battalions. The 3/5th subsequently became the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the regiment, and in September 1916 absorbed the 6th-9th Reserve battalions at Newcastle as part of the Northumbrian Reserve Brigade before moving the following month to Redcar and Catterick.

Pte McKenna would have been given his new six-digit Territorial number of 201456 in March 1917 whilst still with the 5th Battalion. He was finally posted overseas to 35th Infantry Base Depot, Etaples on 29 March 1917. From there he was posted under Army Order 204 to the 10th battalion, Durham Light Infantry, "the Shiny Tenth" under Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Morant, on 18 April, probably joining them in the field shortly afterwards. At this time the unit was part of 43rd Infantry Brigade, 14th (Light) Division, in General Allenby’s Third Army.

At this time, the 10th Battalion had recently returned from the trenches by Arras, having taken part in the assaults on the Hindenburg Line (Nice Trench and the Blue and Brown Lines near Wancourt) on the opening day of the First Battle of the Scarpe, the first day of the Arras offensive. Although successful in its attacks, the battalion suffered in excess of 100 wounded on 9 April, Easter Monday 1917, and over 120 casualties on the 10th. During its rest at Sus St Leger in the Manin district, when Private Frisby is likely to have joined it, the battalion was training and firing musketry courses at Ficheux Wood, subsequently relieving 151st Brigade in the area Ronville to Telegraph Hill, where the battalion was mainly engaged in salvage work (including recovering ammunition, grenades etc for battalion use) in the vicinity of the old German front line. The battalion was then employed, with the rest of the Brigade, as divisional reserve in Niger Trench for the failed attack by the 41st and 42nd Brigades on the Wancourt Line, part of the Second Battle of the Scarpe, which took place on 3 and 4 May. ‘C’ and ‘D’ companies went into the line on 7/8 May, and made nightly patrols, whilst ‘A’ and ‘B’ companies were in reserve.

After further spells in the line, the Brigade moved out via Reserve Brigade Camp, Beaurains, Beaumetz and Saulty to the Divisional Rest Area at Bus-les-Artois in the middle of June for rest, particular orders being given regarding the cleanliness and order of the trenches and shelters left and the handing over of trench stores. March turnout (including the tidiness of packs and availability of Small Box Respirators and P.H. (Phenate Hexamine) Helmets) and discipline on the march were also addressed, a letter in relation to the latter from the Brigadier-General Commanding being read out to all ranks at Parade at the commanding officer’s instruction before setting off. In rest the battalion occupied itself with cleaning, inspection, various training, saluting drill, Church Parade and entertainments by the Pom-Poms (a theatrical troupe?) and the battalion’s band, and a divisional horse show in which the battalion took two prizes. Two officers were also detailed to observe a Platoon attack at the Third Army Infantry School at Auxi-le-Chateau and early the following month the battalion took part in brigade tactical schemes, in which the battalion did well, and a field day. The final day before mobilisation parade on 9 July was a holiday including sending off a party of thirty to Delville Wood (where the battalion had been heavily engaged at the end of August 1916) and games in camp. 

July 1917: Preparations for Third Ypres

Thereafter, the division moved to Gezaincourt and Doullens to join IX Corps of Second Army at St Jans Capel, near Bailleul, for more training, taking up the rest of the month, and a General Inspection by the Second Army Commander, General Plumer on 26 July. (As a matter of interest, the companies of the battalion at this time were all wearing a mixture of leather (438 sets) and webbing (311 sets) equipment, and part of the instructions for the inspection concern inter-company exchanges to secure that only ‘A’ Company wore leather equipment so as to present a uniform appearance.)

From 9 August the battalion moved via Caestres and Abeele to Dickebusche prior to going back into the line at Inverness Copse astride the Menin Road four miles from Ypres and a mile and a half out East of Hooge, marching off from Zillebeke Bund on 21 August in order to participate in the Battle of Langemarck. After taking casualties from both gas and shell en route, the four companies were distributed as follows; two to hold the original front line after the assaulting battalions had left it (in ‘A’ Company’s case, the original front line South of the Menin Road), one company (probably ‘B’) to follow the right assaulting battalion to form a defensive flank if needed, and one company in reserve. ‘B’ Company, following the assault on the right of the line pushed on as far as the Dry Lake (Company HQ) and one platoon got as far as Harenthage Chateau, capturing the garrison of the chateau, but suffered severe casualties and was forced by 10am to withdraw back to the Dry Lake. Nevertheless, the two platoons of DLI defenders were able to maintain the line for two days, beating off an enemy attack on the night of the 24th and then able to spare a platoon to more or less re-establish the centre of the line.

Whilst the action around Harenthage Chateau was taking place, two platoons of the Reserve Company were sent to Inverness Copse before 9am on the morning of 22 August in support of the left flank of the much-depleted Somerset Light Infantry and dug in just outside the wood at its Northern edge. The copse and its right flank was further reinforced throughout the day and evening by A Company, the other two platoons of the Reserve Company and a further platoon, followed that night by the rest of the company holding the original front line North of the Menin Road. 

The following account taken from Captain Wilfrid Miles' "The Durham Forces in the Field", relating to the part played by the 10th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry in the Third Battle of Ypres, expands on the battle:

"The tenth were the next [of the service battalions of the Durham Light Infantry] to enter the battle. They arrived at Zillebeke Bund on August 20th and on the following day the officers reconnoitred the brigade line which lay astride the Menin Road, west of Inverness Copse. At 2.00am on August 22nd the battalion came forward through a bombardment of gas shells to occupy support positions for the attack. By the time a hostile barrage in Sanctuary Wood was passed casualties already amounted to 60. 'A' company were in the open on Stirling Castle ridge, south of the Menin Road; 'B' company in support trenches in Sanctuary Wood; and 'C' and 'D' companies in the tunnels under the road. When the attacking battalions advanced two hours later, the 10th occupied the old British front line. But one company had to follow the Somersets on the right, and form a defensive flank facing south, besides sending a bombing section and some rifle grenadiers up Jasper Lane to meet and escort a tank. The monster did not keep the appointment, but this party pushed on and captured a German machine-gun and its detachment as well. Meanwhile the rest of the company had pushed forward on the right and established themselves in the vicinity of Dry Lakes. Here the company commander was killed after organising a successful attack upon a machine-gun which was taken, together with 5 Germans. The leading platoon managed to reach Herenthage Chateau and the platoon commander and his surviving men accepted the surrender of the garrison. There were 50 prisoners to bring back, but few, if any, of the party survived the terrific shell fire encountered on the way. What remained of this company of the 10th withdrew during the morning to a position in Jasper Avenue.The Somerset Light Infantry who led the brigade attack upon the right, had passed through Inverness Copse and would have taken Jap Trench if the left battalion had not been held up at their first objective. To conform to their line on their left the Somersets now had to fall back to a position in the copse, astride the Menin Road. At 8.50am they asked for reinforcement. Two platoons from one of the reserve companies of the 10th went forward and dug a post north of the copse, where they were in touch with the Cornwalls who were lying in a chain of shell-holes in front of the trench they had taken. At eleven o clock more reinforcements were required and a company of the 10th were sent forward to the western edge of Inverness Copse. In response to later appeals more of the 10th were put in, till, by evening, the whole battalion had gone into the copse to reinforce the line. The night was comparatively quiet, but at 4.30 in the morning of August 23rd British tanks arrived upon the scene and at once became a target for the German guns. One tank, which had evidently lost its bearings, travelled along the northern outskirts of the copse and fired upon the post there, wounding 2 men. Afterwards it was put out of action, being hit twice by German shells. No ground was gained on this day and at night the hostile shell fire was much heavier, while our own gunners put down a heavy barrage." In the midst of this action Pte McKenna suffered a severe Gun Shot Wound (any penetrating wound, including shrapnel - his fragmentary surviving record appears to indicate that the wound was to his right side) on 23* August 1917. He was probably either an artillery casualty or (conceivably) a victim of friendly fire from the British tank mentioned above. Whilst Pte McKenna was being taken back through the casualty evacuation chain towards the base hospitals on the French coast, the battalion successfully held off German counterattacks throughout the day of the 24th whilst under shellfire from the British guns, only relinquishing the wood (save its north-west corner) at nightfall, before being relieved the following day. Pte McKenna, one of 369 casualties suffered out of a battalion strength of 628 at the start of the battle, featured on War Office Daily [Casualty] List No.5375 dated 27 September 1917.

After hospitalization and stabilisation treatment in France, Pte McKenna was evacuated home from France on 6 September 1917, being posted for records purposes to the 73rd Territorial Force Depot (the Drill Hall, Stockton-on-Tees) the following day, 7 September 1917. After a period of hospitalisation of roughly two months, he was posted to Ripon Command Depot to convalesce on 12 November 1917, returning apparently to his old reserve battalion on 1 January 1918.

Subsequently he was transferred to the Territorial Force Reserve (Army Reserve Class 'W' - 'for all those soldiers whose services are deemed to be more valuable to the country in civil rather than military employment') on 20 March 1918 for employment in shipbuilding with John Readhead & Sons, South Shields. He and his wife subsequently adopted a daughter, Peta Fortescue. He was discharged under paragraph 392 xxva of King's Regulations on 19 March 1919; this provision related to soldiers who were 'surplus to military requirements (not having suffered impairment since entry into the service)', thus implying that he had enjoyed a full recovery from his wound. His transfer to the Army Class Z Reserve followed on 5 May 1919.

Upon discharge his address was given as 13 John Williamson Street, South Shields, and his military character was given as 'Good'.

For his service with the Durham Light Infantry (the old 68th of Foot, as noted on his medal index card) he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal, receipt of which was acknowledged on 1 April 1922.

John McKenna died on 4 August 1921.

*26 August according to the Military History sheet in his records: this is almost certainly incorrect however, as the battalion had been withdrawn from the firing line to Ouderdom the preceding day

73184 Pte James Tait, 10th and 1/8th Battalions, Durham Light Infantry WiA

73184 Pte James Tait, 10th and 1/8th Battalions, Durham Light Infantry

James Tait, born in Moor Row, Cumberland, attested his willingness to serve for the duration of the war on 13 December 1915, having been medically examined on 9 December.  He was 27 and a half at the time, married and employed as a labourer although,  perhaps surprisingly, his physical development was described as "poor". He was posted into the Army Reserve the following day.

He was not finally mobilised until 14 August 1917, when he was posted for duty at Newcastle-upon-Tyne to 'D' Company of the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry. By this time he was employed as a miner. He was medically graded Class A. As part of his preparation for active service, he was vaccinated on 17 and 28 August 1917,  and seen by the Oculist on 31 October, who recorded that no glasses were ordered and that he was fit for class 'A'. Pte Tait embarked for France on 22 December 1917, disembarking and being sent to 'E' Infantry Base Depot at Etaples the following day. Upon arrival he was posted, according to his Casualty Form, to the 5th Battalion, DLI (presumably from the context the 1st/5th, at that time serving with 50th Division). However, within three days, and presumably whilst still at Base Depot, he was re-posted, under Army Order 204/16, to the 10th battalion, which  he joined in the field on 27 December 1917. At this time the battalion, having spent the autumn and winter at Passchendaele, was at Zudausques in the Pas-de-Calais, where they had spent much of the month resting and training, and in keeping the Christmas holiday on 31 December, when the whole division was out of the line. The battalion had suffered 110 other rank and 5 officer casualties during its stay in the Passchendaele sector, on top of heavy losses at Inverness Copse in August, and Private Tait was no doubt re-posted to help make up these losses.  

Having proceeded to ‘Edgehill’ near Beur-Somme on 2 January, the battalion occupied itself with further training and inspections amid the snow and freezing weather. Responding to a brigade order of 21 December, the battalion also took the opportunity, on 10 January, to reorganise its companies on a basis of four companies of four platoons each, just in time to receive a further order to reorganise on a three platoon per company basis on 15 January. Military activity was broken up by a range of competitions including cross-country runs, a brigade wiring competition (won by ‘C’ Company’s wiring team) and Army Rifle Association competitions at battalion, brigade and divisional level on 12, 16 and 18 January respectively, No.5 Platoon, ‘B’ Company winning the first two and coming second in the latter. 

On 22 January the battalion moved out, arriving in Mesnil-le-Petit and Mesnil-St-Nicaise on 23 January. This was probably Pte Tait's first experience of the full devastation wreaked by war, the battalion war diary noting that they were moving through evacuated country with most of the villages “burnt out by the Boche”. On 26 January the battalion took over the line at Montescourt from the French 414th Regiment; this appears to have been a disappointment, the trenches being recorded as very muddy and needing fire-steps making. For Pte Tait this was probably a relatively gentle introduction to trench warfare, with only desultory enemy shelling and some aerial activity recorded in the battalion's war diary until the battalion was relieved on 1 February.

In February 1918 there was a general reorganisation of the infantry component of the British Army to make better use of the dwindling stocks of manpower. This manpower crisis had affected many battalions in one way or another - the 10th battalion itself, for example, had received few reinforcements since September the previous year, after the fighting at Inverness Copse. The chosen solution was to move from a twelve battalion per division structure to nine, achieved by the breaking up of the more junior battalions, and the 10th battalion was one of those chosen. On 2 February, whilst in camp at Haute Tombelle, the order was received and on 4 February 1918, after nearly three years’ service on the Western Front, the 10th Battalion was disbanded. The men paraded at 6am on the 4th February and were split into a number of parties, ‘A’ Company going to 1/5th DLI , ‘B’ Company to the 2/7th (probably a mistake in the war diary for 1/7th) and 1/8th DLI, ‘C’ Company to the 15th and 1/8th DLI, and ‘D’ Company to the 1/6th and 1/8th DLI. 2nd DLI got the runners, best NCOs and the band. 

Private Tait was one of the party sent to join the 1/8th battalion, 150th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division, in his case 'B' Company under Captain Holdsworth. At this time the battalion was in the Passchendaele sector.

He spent relatively little time with his new battalion, suffering two bouts of inflammation of the connective tissue (ICT) in his arms in February and March which took him away on 23 February, whilst the battalion was in GHQ Reserve at St Martin-au-Laert. After a stay at 10 Convalescent Depot, Escault and E Infantry Base Depot, Etaples, he returned to his unit on 20 April 1918, shortly after its participation in the Battle of the Lys. Within not much more than a month of his return he was wounded at Soissons, suffering a Gun Shot Wound (bullet) to the right thigh on 27 May 1918, during Operation Blücher-Yorck (or the Battle of the Aisne 1918 to the British), an action in which the battalion was effectively destroyed. The Battle commenced with an exceptionally heavy and carefully targeted gas and High Explosive bombardment of 3,700 guns at 1am, with the assault itself, supported by tanks, following at 4am. The 8th battalion, along with the 6th, was in the front line, emplaced on lower ground East of the Californie Plateau on the Chemin des Dames,  and was swiftly overwhelmed. Pte Tait was one of 70 wounded recorded in the War diary for that day, 7 other ranks being killed and a further 371 missing - mostly captured. After passing through the hands of the 1/3rd Northumbrian Field Ambulance, he passed through the casualty evacuation chain via the 1st Australian General Hospital, Rouen and Hospital Ship St David across to England. He was at the Military Hospital, West Bridgford,  Nottinghamshire between 31 May 1918 and 8 August, then at 'C' Division, King's Lancashire Military Convalescent Hospital, Blackpool until 17 September. His wound was reported as healed and improved with massage and physical training. Having been on the books of the Regimental Depot since his return to England he was transferred to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion on 26 September and seen by the Battalion Medical Officer on 29 September 1918. Here, at St John's Hospital, South Shields he was medically graded Bii. Then, following a medical board at Ripon his discharge was approved on 17 October 1918 and he was transferred to Army Reserve Class 'P' on the same day. This indicated that he was regarded as one ‘whose services are deemed to be temporarily of more value to the country in civil life rather than in the Army’ and entitled to a pension owing to length of service or, in this case, disability upon discharge. He was graded as 20% disabled and granted a pension of 5 Shillings and Sixpence a week for 52 weeks from 18 October 1918. He was also entitled to the Silver War Badge, Number B293164. He was finally discharged under Para 392 xvia of King's Regulations on 26 April 1919 whilst on strength of 3rd (Reserve) Battalion,  Durham Light Infantry. Upon appearance before a further medical board on 10 September he received a supplementary war gratuity of £5.

Private (Acting Lance-Corporal) Herbert Joseph Raven, 2nd/5th Durham Light Infantry, Salonika. Battle Honour: Macedonia

Private (Acting Lance-Corporal) Herbert Joseph Raven, 2nd/5th Durham Light Infantry, Salonika. Battle Honour: Macedonia

Herbert Joseph Raven was a commercial traveller by trade and married with three children, born in Stoke Newington in 1883 and living in Edmonton, Middlesex. He was medically examined at St Pancras on 28 June 1915 (?) and then called up for service and attested on 7 June 1916, being posted to the Army B Reserve the following day. He was aged 33 1/2 when called up. His medical grade at enlistment was retrospectively recorded on Army Form Z.22 as "B1" (whilst it is possible this may reflect his grade on demobilisation it would also be consistent with his eventual posting to a Garrison unit). 

After serving the obligatory one day with the Colours on enlistment, he was then mobilised the following month, on 7 July, and posted to 5th Durham Light Infantry the following day. From there he went on 9 July to 25th (Provisional) Battalion (formed in 1915 from Home Service personnel of Territorial units the 4th East Yorkshire Regiment and 5th DLI, and later to become 27th Battalion, DLI) before being posted on to the 2/5 DLI, a second line Territorial Battalion then based at Catterick, on 15 July. The battalion was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel P. W. Williams-Till. This sequence of posting is not untypical as the Provisional battalions were made up of a combination of existing Home Service Territorials (eg men who had not volunteered or had been found unfit for service overseas, drawn from the 2nd and 3rd line Territorial Battalions of the DLI) and new Conscripts. Part of their role was physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas, working alongside units of the Training Reserve. Pte Raven was given the Service number 5142.

His home service ended on 5 November 1916 when - it having received order to proceed overseas - he was posted with 2nd/5th DLI for Salonika where it was to become a Garrison Battalion there (a class of formations not normally expected to serve in the front line due to the men's age or low medical category). On 6 November he embarked for Salonika via Southampton, Havre and Marseilles, arriving on 17 November 1916 and serving there until 7 January 1919, when he once more returned home. 

Upon arrival at Salonika, 2/5 Durham Light Infantry became headquarters troops for XVI Corps (British Salonika Force). They, along with their sister battalion, 2/9 DLI, spent the first few months of their time in Salonika on guard and road-making duties and undergoing inspections, as would be expected of a formation comprising largely of men classified, like Pte Raven, in medical category B1. In January 1917 they were encamped, presumably quite uncomfortably, in tents at Kilo 71 (K71), partway down the western slope of the Struma Valley in or near what is now the village of Kalokastro, amidst the snow. K71 was also the site of 2/3 Northumbrian Field Ambulance from September 1916, then of 40th Casualty Clearing Station until July 1918 and, with the usual melancholy logic, now hosts the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Struma Military Cemetery.

Whilst the battalion was fulfilling its garrison role, on 1 February 1917 Pte Raven was attached to No.143 Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers,  returning to his Unit on 7 March 1917. The Army Troops Companies were concerned with improving the physical infrastructure to support the army's movements and in this area were particularly concerned with roads, bridging and water supply. In April 1917 143 AT Coy was based at, or possibly moving between, K62 1/4 and K58, a little further back down the Seres Road towards Salonika, so he may not have had too far to go. There are other records of other 2/5 DLI men being attached to this unit for a time so it may not have been an uncommon occurrence. He would have received his new service number of 201576 at around this time, as part of the general renumbering of Territorial infantry units which took place in March 1917.

Meanwhile, on 1 March 1917 the battalion was moved to 228th Brigade, an independent formation within the British Salonika Force associated with 28th Division, with which 2/5 DLI would be acting as front-line troops. The brigade was moved to the front line in light of a shortage of manpower, its deployment allowing the release of one of the fighting brigades, the  83rd, for an eastward move, to the Doiran sector in preparation for the Spring offensive and the First Battle of Doiran.

The other battalions in the brigade, also Garrison Battalions, seem to have been similar in composition to the 2/5th, as per the following description by one of the 28th Division's staff officers:  "Physically the brigade was in a terrible state. They were splendid crocks ... Some were almost blind, some almost deaf, and the 22nd Rifle Brigade ... had more than sixty men over sixty years old". As a typical example of Tommy humour, it is said that because of its slow rate of marching, the 228th became known as the 'Too Too Late Brigade'.

The 2/5th Battalion served on the Butkova Front, one of the quietest parts of the battle line, holding a strong defensive position on the lower slopes of the Krusha Balkans range above the valley of the Struma. The strength of the enemy positions far across the valley combined with little enemy activity contributed to a relatively static front and no doubt held down battle casualties. In any case, the Battalion did well enough to secure Colonel Williams-Till, its officer commanding, two mentions in dispatches and a Military O.B.E., the first MiD being Gazetted on 24 July 1917.

The following is an interesting account of service with the 2nd/5th DLI from Lt Borgognon, when he joined them in the line for a brief period of service with 'D' Company, between 18 and 31 March 1918 (having been posted there by mistake for the 2nd/9th, Army Troops in Salonika):

"My first night "up the line", I spend in an old Greek house with a nice wood fire burning in the grate. Had dinner in the mess with my new Company commander (Hon H de Vere Stacpoole) [author] quite a nice chap. Next morning I took over my post in the front line together with the Platoon who were holding it .

The Bulgars were quite a safe distance away, but not too far off to send a few shells over occasionally. Here(?) the unit I joined was essentially a garrison unit and was composed of category men, men with defective vision, defective hearing, bronchial subjects, malarial wrecks etc.. These were the types of men holding the front line. It was not surprising therefore that I could go right up close to the sentries in the middle of the night without being challenged.

Fortunately, nothing serious happened.. It's true Very-lights went up from our trip wires, also grenades went off, but these were probably occasioned by stray dogs.

Talking of dogs I had a beauty come to my dugout. A large white dog more like a polar bear than a dog but he was a splendid companion and used to sleep outside my dugout every night. I often heard him growling and barking in the night whenever any of the men passed near my dugout.

By the way, my dugout was a splendid structure under a large plum tree and even in March with snow upon the ground, the tree was in full blossom. The country round this part is very prolific, grape vines are entwined round about practically every tree, pears peaches also grow in profusion.

Men forming my platoon had been out in this country for over two years, many had never been into the town of Salonica or seen a woman since they landed in the country. Their days were made up of drills, work, sentry go, outpost duty, fatigues, with football as a recreation once a week. Truly a monstrous life for a man. Lt King at the next post formed a choir, and I assisted him, singing bass. We had regular choir practice and though we had no musical instruments we got together quite a decent choir. King and I also started a concert party and were practising turns ourselves. Duets etc., also a conjuring stunt, but unfortunately before the great day for our first performance I received orders to go back to base. So our concert party fell through.

...

I have remarked previously the enemy were quite a distance away. In proof of this I might say I often wandered out, unaccompanied, in front of our wire entanglements in broad daylight in fact I often went out to burn reeds and tall growing grasses as a malaria preventative measure. It appeared that so long as we did not annoy Johnny Bulgar with shells he was content to keep quiet. Patrols went out each night towards enemy lines and on one occasion the British patrol "bumped" against a Bulgar Patrol, the British were taken prisoners, owing to the superiority of the Bulgar numbers. The next might our new Patrol found a notice written by the captured British Patrol Leader asking his C.O to send his kit down to the enemy wire and the Bulgars would send two men down to carry it to him. His C.O was to give an undertaking that the two Bulgars would not to be interfered with and the enemy would give a similar undertaking regarding the British messengers(?). The undertaking were exchanged and the kit sent down. Next night a receipt was found on the post thanking the C.O for sending kit which was safely received." Source: http://www.borgognon.net/VEBdiary.html

On 20 April 1918, Private Raven proceeded on a course at Army Signalling School, going from there to No.2 Base Depot on 26 April, rejoining his Unit in the Field on 30 April. His Army Form W.3226 describes his employment in the army as light duties signaller. This would have involved work in the Signals Section including the paying out of wire and the use of field telephones in the field, potentially in positions of some danger, and wireless telegraphy using Morse Code. On 25 July 1918 he was appointed Paid Acting Lance-Corporal. Some time after mid-August 1918 he was granted Professional Pay Class 1.

Apart from an attachment to 28th Division's 84th Infantry Brigade between 14 October 1917 and 10 March 1918, 2/5 Durham Light Infantry saw out its service in the Salonika theatre with the abovementioned 228th Brigade,  seeing active service in the field in the latter (September 1918) stages of the Salonika campaign. In particular, the battalion was in support of the Greek Crete Division during the murderous Second  Battle of Doiran, 18-19 September 1918 when the combined Anglo-Greek forces attempted but failed to take the well-built Bulgarian defences on Pip Ridge and the Grand Couronne. By the end of the war the battalion was near Lake Doiran, falling under the command of the Crete Division from 30 September 1918 until  4 October, when the brigade was broken up.

Reflecting its employment at home, as a Garrison Battalion, and then on a relatively quiescent sector of the front, 2/5 DLI is recorded as having suffered 23 fatal casualties during the Great War, the main causes of death being malaria and dysentery. Whilst in Salonika the battalion seems to have made a contribution to keeping the troops entertained with a Regimental bandmaster sufficiently skilled to make a living with his own band (drawn partly from bandmates from his DLI days) after the war. After the Armistice the battalion was engaged in Occupation duties in Bulgaria before proceeding to join the Army of the Black Sea in South Russia in February 1919. The Battalion, along with the 2/9th, received the Battle Honour "Macedonia" for its efforts.

On 19 November 1918, Lance-Corporal Raven appears to have been sent to Base for leave(?). The rest of his record (Army Form B.103) is largely illegible. His Character was given on his Conduct Sheet as "Good" and he was described as sober, [reliable] and intelligent. He embarked for home on or about 7 January 1919. 

He was medically examined prior to demobilisation on 11 January 1919 at No.1 Dispersal Unit, Wimbledon. On 8 February 1919 at York he was demobilised and transferred to the Army Z Reserve. He received the British War Medal and Victory Medal, being his full entitlement, on 12 December 1921 and was obviously proud enough of his war service to pay for the following entry in the National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918:

H.J. RAVEN 

He joined in July 1916, and in the same year was sent to Salonika, where he took part in important operations until 1918, when he was then sent into Bulgaria and Serbia. In January 1919 he was sent home and demobilised, holding the General Service and Victory Medals. 141, Croyland Road, Lower Edmonton, N. 9.

42311 Pte H Robinson North'D Fus and Durham Light Infantry 12420, 5729, 203870 - wounded Battle of Rosieres

42311 Pte H Robinson North'D Fus.

12420, 5729, 203870

Background, training and home service:

Pte Henry Robinson, a woollen spinner from Ossett, near Leeds was a "Derby/Group Scheme" Regular enlistment recruit. Born in 1892, he stood 5ft 2 3/4", weighed 126lbs and was married with two children. He attested his willingness to serve before a justice of the peace at Pontefract (?) on 11 December 1915, aged 23 years 6 months and, having chosen to defer his service, was posted to the Army Section B Reserve the following day (receiving a day's pay for the day of his Attestation). His Attestation was approved, and he himself called up and appointed to the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry,  on 15 June 1916, under the service number 12420. On 17 June he was posted to the 11th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry , which from 1 September 1916 became the 8th Training Reserve battalion (he was recorded as being "attached"). 

Service in France:

On 6 October 1916, on disembarkation in France Pte Robinson was posted to the 13th (Service) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, part of 62nd Infantry Brigade, 21st Division (new Service number 42311).  At that time the battalion was readying for a move into I Corps area (completed on 7/8 October) to billets at La Bourse, prior to replacing the 2nd Northamptonshire in the front line in the Quarries sector, garrisoning and maintaining the "keeps" in this area (10 men per keep) and finding spoil parties for the 180th Tunnelling Company.  They were relieved by 12th Battalion the following day. I suspect that he may still have been at Infantry Base Depot when transferred to the DLI  (as below.)

Transfer to the 1/6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry:

On one of his two "Statement of Services" forms there is a hard-to-decipher entry on the record which suggests a further transfer on 20 October 1916 to 1/6th Durham Light Infantry,  50th (Northumbrian) Division, only two weeks into his time in France. His service numbers with the DLI were, respectively, 5729 and 203870. This transfer is absent from the other Statement of Services sheet elsewhere in the record, which implies service with the Northumberland Fusiliers until posted to 5th Reserve Battalion DLI on 24 March 1917. However, in order for him to have two DLI Territorial service numbers, he would have to have been serving with the DLI before 1 March 1917 (when the renumbering took effect); in addition, the fact that both numbers appear on the medal roll strongly suggests that he served in France with his original 4-digit DLI service number prior to 1 March 1917 (and not that the 5th (Reserve) Battalion - a home formation - was his first posting, as might otherwise be inferred). On 20th October 1916 the 1/6 DLI was at Henecourt Wood, also in the Departement of the Somme, on fatigues, erecting huts and road making.  His posting date would put him in line to have served during the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme, including a week spent on working parties whilst encamped just outside Mametz Wood, immediately after which he would have taken part in 151st  Brigade's 5 November attack on the Butte de Warlencourt (Warlencourt-Eaucourt Knoll), part of the Battle of the Ancre.  In this attack, Gird Trench, running north east to south west behind the Butte, was 1/6th DLI's objective.

As the battalion history notes, "On the night of Saturday, the 4th November, X, Y and Z Companies took over the front line in preparation for an attack on the Butte de Warlencourt on the Sunday morning. Zero had been fixed for 9.15 a.m. and the relief was not complete, owing to the extremely bad state of the trenches, till 9 a.m. The battalion was disposed for the attack with X Company on the right,  Y in the centre, Z on the left and W in support,  with the 9th Battalion on the left flank and the 8th on the right... The enemy position eas exceptionally strong, the trenches from which the attack started were so muddy that several men were drowned in them,  and the time for preparation was so short that the attack broke down almost as soon as it started." 

Although the Butte and part of Gird Trench was partially secured, a failure to consolidate the position meant that 1/6 and 1/8 DLI had to withdraw, leaving 1/9 DLI on the other side of the Butte to face a series of German counterattacks which forced a withdrawal after dark. The Brigade suffered almost a thousand casualties in the attack.

Harry Cruddace, also of the 1/6th, gives a short account of the attack quoted in 'The Somme, 1916: The Strip of Murdered Nature':
"Zero hour was almost upon us. Serious men gazed into one another's faces and some muttered thoughts of God and their loved ones. Chums clasped hands and said "Cheerio lad". Immediately the first wave made off they were met by terrific fire and crumpled up like snow in summer. We held on and the 9th Durhams reached a quarry on the edge of the Butte. I took up position  with the gun and opened fire on the opposing troops."

Although not stated, it was presumably sickness which caused him to be posted home on 11 December 1916. The battalion was resting in billets at Warloy during this period, following its bloodying at the Warlencourt-Eaucourt Knoll the previous month.

Convalescence at home:

On 12 February he was admitted to Woodcote Park Military Convalescent Hospital, Epsom, Southern Command, being discharged from there on 15 March 1917. Following on this, a further posting to the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry took place on 24 March 1917 (possibly to No.8 Company). On 27 May 1917 he was again posted overseas.

On active service in France again, May 1917-on:

Pte Robinson disembarked at Boulogne on 27 May 1917 and was posted to 35 Infantry Base Depot on the same day. He was posted from 35 Infantry Base Depot on 9 June 1917 (making his will the following day) to 6th (presumably again 1/6th) Durham Light Infantry and on 25 June 1917 is recorded as having joined the unit in the Field. During the time of his absence the battalion had taken part in the Battle of Arras and was at the time of his rejoining it in divisional reserve near Boisleux-au-Mont.

After a fairly quiet three months in the Arras area, alternating between the front line (Henin), support (Neuville-Vitasse) and reserve (Mercatel), he would have moved up to the Ypres Salient with the battalion in late October. Here, just inside the remains of Houthulst Forest, he would have taken part in the Second Battle of
Passchendaele, 26 October to 10 November 1917, in which the battalion held and, by pushing their posts out under cover of night, advanced the line (described as "a series of waterlogged shell holes, which were troubled considerably by low-flying aeroplanes") by 200 yards in the sector. In consideration of the danger of being relieved in a position reached by a six mile walk on duck board tracks over devastated land under artillery fire, the battalion did one six day tour in the sector rather than the proposed four and two. After some time out of the line at Watten, December saw the battalion take over the line in Passchendaele Village itself, alternating between that an divisional reserve at Brandhoek (where Christmas Day 1917 was spent).

Wounded, March 1918:

From 6 February 1918 Pte Robinson had leave to England, probably whilst the battalion was encamped at St Omer. In early March the the battalion made its way once again to the Somme sector, there to form part of 5th Army reserve, and it was from this that it first went into the partially-completed Green Line at Beuzy on the night of 21 March. This was followed by successive withdrawals west of the Somme via Cardigny and Le Mesnil (in both of which places the battalion fought actions) as the German attack was pressed home. Pte Robinson was recorded as wounded in the Field, on 27 March 1918. This would place him in the midst of Operation Michael, the German Spring Offensive, quite possibly during W, X and Z Companies' counterattack to regain the battalion's lost position during the Battle of Rosieres. The 6th Durham Light Infantry were in the Rosieres Line about a mile south-east of the village, along with units of the 24th brigade when the action of a Labour company in falling back caused the right flank to be exposed and required an attack to stabilise the situation. Short shooting by the artillery caused the battalion casualties later in the day, whilst a further attack of twelve waves of German troops was beaten off with rifle and machine gun fire.

The next entries in Pte Robinson's record are largely illegible but appear to relate to his evacuation  via ?? Ambulance and ?? Casualty Clearing Station, thence to England per Hospital Ship St [Denis (?)] ex ??? (which presumably did not take place until 17 April). He was one of 189 Other Ranks of the battalion wounded during the fighting from 21-31 March 1918. He appeared on the War Office Daily List No. 5559 published on 7 May 1918.

Hospital and home service, April 1918-on:

He is recorded as having been hospitalised from 17 April 1918 to 2 August 1918, with Gun Shot Wounds to right forearm and left leg. During this time he appears to have been treated as posted to 73 Infantry TF Depot (Stockton on Tees), presumably for pay and rations purposes. On 8 (or 9?) August 1918, he was posted from the Depot to 5th Reserve Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and then on 24 August 1918 transferred to [Infantry] C[ommand] D[epot], Ripon, a convalescent establishment for soldiers not yet fit to return to their units. (the records are hard to decipher at this point but appear make a reference to "class ii, attributable"(?) - probably referring to the severity of the aforementioned GSW, and confirming for pensions purposes that it was attributable to military service).

Then, on 25 October he was posted again to the 5th (Reserve) Battalion,  DLI, (presumably, from other records, to B Company) at Sutton-on-Hull, remaining there until at least 10 November 1918. He was discharged to the Army Z Reserve 13 February 1919. Presumably he made a full recovery from his wounds as no pension claim is recorded against him and his Soldiers Protection Certificate appears to medically categorise him as "A".

A table gives the following service:

Served at home 15 June 1916 to 5 October 1916, then France 6 October 1916 to 11 December 1916. Home again 12 December 1916 to 26 May 1917, then to France again 27 May 1917 (making his will on 10 June 1917) to 16 April 1918, returning home again 17 April 1918, and there remaining.

Private John Weatherstone, 1/5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and Royal Defence Corps; wounded at Second Ypres, eight days after arriving in France

Private John Weatherstone,  1/5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and Royal Defence Corps; wounded at Second Ypres, eight days after arriving in France.

John Weatherstone was born in 1889. I  believe him to be the same as the "John Weatherston" who in 1911 was employed as a servant (presumably an apprentice blacksmith or similar) to a blacksmith in Horncliffe in the Parish of Wooler in Northumberland. At the outbreak of war he was resident at 14 Waverley Terrace, Darlington.  Amidst extensive efforts by the territorial battalions of the Durham Light Infantry to recruit for war service, he attested his willingness to serve for 4 years on 14 September 1914, at Darlington, as a Private. 5' 10" tall with a 38" chest, he was medically examined and declared fit to serve in the Durham Light Infantry and given the service number 2719. He signed the Imperial Service Obligation (Army Form E624) the same day, thus volunteering to serve overseas, and was posted to the Durham Light Infantry reserve, 5th Battalion. The 5th Battalion was a Territorial formation headquartered at the Drill Hall, Stockton, but three of the battalion's eight companies (D, E and H) were headquartered in Darlington, at the Drill Hall there. 

Pte Weatherstone was then posted for General Service on 28 November; in practical terms this probably indicates that he was posted to the first line Battalion of the 5th, 1/5 DLI (then based at Newcastle), on this date - rather than remaining with the Reserve battalion, then the 2/5th.

He entered the France and Flanders theatre with the 1st/5th Durham Light Infantry on 18 April 1915, landing at Boulogne as part of 150th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division. The 50th Division was the fourth Territorial Division declared fit for overseas service and on disembarkation concentrated around Steenvorde in Belgium.  Lieutenant-Colonel Gilbert Spence of Preston Park, Stockton was the officer commanding the battalion. 

This was about the time of the fierce fighting at Second Ypres, and the First-line Territorial Battalions of the DLI were split up and rushed into the line at Ypres to support the hard-pressed British front.   

["On 24th April at 1.00 am the battalion was assembled to move into action. They moved to take up positions on both banks of the Yser canal. From here the men moved to Potijze and in the early daylight they passed refugees and the gassed and wounded soldiers from the Front who warned them of their impending death. Ypres was to their right flank and visibly in flames. In occupying a line of reserve trenches at Potijze the first casualties were recorded..." ]

Pte Weatherstone was injured (Gun Shot Wounds to foot and back) on 26 April 1915, most probably whilst in the line at Fortuin during the Battle of St Julien, just outside Ypres, a brutal combat in which the six DLI Territorial Battalions lost 62 officers dead, wounded, invalided or missing, whilst the five battalions excluding the 1/6th suffered nearly 1,400 other ranks casualties. Pte Weatherstone was serving with C Company of 1/5 DLI at the time. 

After his wounding he was passed back through the casualty evacuation chain until he was admitted to No.2 General Hospital, Quai D'Éscale, Havre on 29 April. Shortly afterwards he was invalided home via the Hospital Ship Carisbrooke Castle on 3 May, arriving home on 4/5 May 1915.  

After what was presumably an extended period of treatment, on 27 November 1915 he was transferred to 34 (Northern) Command Depot, Ripon, which would later become a unit for the rehabilitative training of soldiers too fit for convalescent camp but not yet fit enough to be returned to unit. Following this, on 11 May 1916, he was transferred from the convalescent establishment and added to the permanent staff.  In early 1917 he was renumbered, as part of the wider renumbering of the Territorial Force, being given the new service number  271987. Whilst there he married Daisy Clarice Bint (born 1890 in Henley, Oxfordshire) on 6 June 1917. 

On 30 June 1917 he was transferred to the Labour Corps and, probably about that time, transferred to 473rd HS (Home Service) Employment Company, which had been formed at Ripon. It is possible that this was simply a continuation of his existing duties under another "badge", as the circa 275-man Home Service Employment Companies consisted of medically downgraded personnel in recognised trades and provided batmen, clerks, sanitary men, cooks, laundrymen, storemen, tradesmen such as butchers and tailors, and other essential staff members for hospitals, barracks and command depots like those at Ripon.

Later, possibly around 29 June 1918, he was transferred to the Royal Defence Corps, service number 78135, and posted to 166th Protection Company, also part of Northern Command.  The RDC was created in April 1916 to guard strategic areas such as ports, munitions factories and Prisoner of War camps. It was princpally composed of older men and those who were less fit (including those, such as Pte Weatherstone, impaired by or recovering from war injuries). Between January and the end of June 1918 the Company, under the command of Captain Edward Paxton, was on guard duties at  Brocton POW camp,  Cannock Chase, the Royal Defence Corps Depot being at 24 Sun Street, London EC2. There were two camps at Brocton, the facility later being extended to include two “transit” camps nearby for those being sent to neutral Netherlands and a 1,250 bed hospital. It seems likely that Pte Weatherstone was posted to the Company to coincide with its next posting after Brocton. (Possibly to Revesby outside Lincoln, a work camp, to which one of his fellow soldiers was posted in 19th October 1918). At some point during this service he was promoted to Lance Corporal. 

He was demobilised from No.1 Dispersal Centre on 20 March 1919 after having given four years and 188 days' service. He was discharged on demobilisation as being surplus to military requirements having suffered impairment since entering into the service (Para. 363 (xvia) of King's Regulations). His medical grade was given as B.II (Free from serious organic diseases, able to stand service on lines of communication in France, or in garrisons in the tropics: Able to walk 5 miles, see and hear sufficiently for ordinary purposes). He had a clean conduct sheet and his character on demobilisation was described as Very Good. His address on demobilisation was his mother's, Mrs R Patterson, Rose Cottage, East Learmouth/Branxton, Cornhill-on-Tweed. As well as a pension of 40/- a week (plus 10/- a week for his wife), he received a War Gratuity of £35 in 1921, in consideration of a Gun Shot Wound right ankle, attributable to service. In January 1922 he was writing from his new address of Burn Cottage to the War Office to enquire to whom he should apply for his medals. He received his medals on 11 March 1922 and died at home on 9 [August?] 1924 (or 1923?), the War Office being notified of his death by his Half-Brother, Arnold Patterson on 15th August. His cause of death is hard to ascertain as the record is almost illegible but it appears to have been heart-related. He is presumably the same man as the "John Weatherston" who is recorded on the Civil List of death registrations for September 1924 in the registration district of Wooler, containing the parish of Branxton, also in Northumberland.

A late-War Conscript: Pair to Private Charles Clifford Mallinson, 28th and 2/6th Battalions, Durham Light Infantry and 4th Labour Company, Labour Corps

Holder's service details

Charles Clifford Mallinson
Year 1914-20
Service number106281, 652805
Second service number 652805
Rank Private,Private
Second rank Private
Regiment Durham Light Infantry, Labour  corps

Service record

Soldier Number: 106281,
Rank: Private, Corps: Durham Light Infantry
Second service record
Soldier Number: 652805,
Rank: Private,
Corps: Labour Corps

Charles Clifford Mallinson
Age in 1911:11
Estimated birth year:abt 1900 [actually mid-1899]
Relation to Head:Son
Gender:Male
Birth Place:Morley, Yorkshire, England
Civil Parish:Morley
County/Island:Yorkshire-West Riding
Country:England
Street address:82 Springfield Lane
Occupation:School
Registration district:Dewsbury

Married 13 Jun 1925 Parish:Morley, St Paul, West Yorkshire, England
Spouse:Margaret May Buraham
Father:James Arthur Mallinson. Residence at time of marriage was family home, 82 Springfield Lane, profession was Plate Moulder.

Judging by the careers of 106273/652808 Pte Alfred Bentham of Brightlington and 106282/652804 Pte Thomas Daniel of Leeds, CC Mallinson was probably called up between 10 and 17 July 1918 and posted immediately to 28th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, then posted to the BEF, 2nd/6th DLI on 29 September 1918, and then permanently and compulsorily transferred for the "benefit of the  service" on 12 October 1918 to 4th Labour Company, Labour Corps.

Notes on formations

28th (Home Service) Battalion:
Formed at Frinton on 27 April 1918.

2/6 DLI:  Landed at Calais as a Garrison Guard Battalion on 1 May 1918, under orders of 177th Brigade in 59th (2nd North Midland) Division. "Garrison Guard" title was dropped on 16 July. The 59th was trained to enable it to hold a sector of front line again in June-July 1918 and took over a sector on 25 July 1918 under the command of Third Army. During the latter phases of the Second Battle of the Somme it was used to follow up attacking units, consolidate positions held, and provided working parties. By early October it was operating in the River Lys area, advancing towards Lille as part of the general final advance in Artois and Flanders (2 October – 11 November 1918.) CC Mallinson was transferred out of the Division before the main attack on 16 October 1918.

4th Labour Company: Nothing known as yet.

Medal condition :

Both Extremely Fine.

XXXIII