Family medals sought - Guerin, Jordan, Stafford

I am seeking the following family medals, and am happy to pair a fair price:

2684 Private John Carswell, 6th (Service) Battalion Royal Irish Regiment (BWM, VM, Death Plaque)

7095 James Guérin

(1911 Delhi Durbar Medal (?)(prob unnamed)

1908 India General Service Medal (7095 Sgt J Guérin Royal Irish Regiment)

1914 Star, BWM, Victory Medal trio (Captain[??] J Guérin))

L/7478 Pte George Henry Jordan, 1st & 2nd Btn East Surrey Rgt (1914 Star, BWM, Victory Medal trio, plus Aug-Nov 1914 bar)

119533 Gnr Edward Stafford, RGA (BWM, VM)

G-21027/ 569424 Pte Walter Stafford, 6th East Kent Regiment (The Buffs), Labour Corps (BWM, VM)

32117 Lance Corporal William Stafford, 1/4 Northamptonshire Regiment (BWM, VM, 1914-15 Star, Death Plaque)

74184 Gnr Arthur Stafford, RGA (BWM, VM)

Please leave a reply if you can help.

Thanks,

Anthony

L/7588 Signaller (later Bombardier) John Smith Carrick MM, 160th (Wearside) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery - BWM/VM pair - for gallantry

L/7588 Signaller John Smith Carrick MM, 160th (Wearside) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery - BWM/VM pair

(Please note that credit for the detailed information about the actions of of 160th Brigade and the circumstances of JS Carrick's recruitment and award of the Military Medal is due to Phil Adams, on whose "The Idle and the Dissolute" I have relied very heavily: http://160wearsidebrigade.co.uk)

John Smith Carrick's birth was registered in Tynemouth in the last quarter of 1896. He was born to George William and Mary Ann Carrick. In 1901 they were living at 16 Public House Row, Cramlington, and later (by 1911), 1 Blue Bell Row, West Cramlington. By this time John, aged 14, was a token carrier working at the pithead. He was a miner from Cramlington in civil life, like his father, George. His regimental number falls within the L7001-8000 band shared by the Tyne & Wear (recruiting office: Sunderland) and Nottinghamshire  (recruiting office: Nottingham) Brigades. He served in 'B' Battery of 160th (Wearside) Brigade, Royal Field Field Artillery. His regimental number would fit someone enlisting some time after 2 March but before 22 March 1915. He was the cousin of L/7586 Driver James William Carrick RFA, son of Mrs M Carrick of 30 Cross Row, West Cramlington, who died of wounds on 3 April 1918. The account of their enlistment, alongside two other volunteers from Cramlington, including John Smith Carrick's next-door neighbour, in 'Idle and Dissolute', confirms the date as 6 March 1915. This was less than a week after recruiting officially opened. The four men were examined by a local doctor in Cramlington, sent to the Northern Area Command Cente, Newcastle, the following day and then made their way to the brigade camp at Houghton-le-Spring. Judging by his later career he was most probably placed in 'D' Battery (renamed as 'B' Battery from 22 May 1916). After training in various places including Codford Camp, Gnr Carrick would have gone overseas with the brigade, as part of 34th Division, via Southampton to Le Havre on the morning of 9 January 1916, first going into action at Rue Fleurie south of Armentieres roughly a month later, 9-11 February. April saw the Brigade in action at Fleurbaix and May with the division in the 2nd Army Training Area, Lumbres, preparing for the Somme offensive. On the Somme the battery engaged in counter-barrages, general preparation and wire-cutting, the tempo of which accelerated as 1 July 1916 ('Z' Day) approached. 

On the day itself, and the following day, the Brigade fired on La Boiselle, Heligoland on the other side of the 34th Brigade's front, Horseshoe Trench beyond it, and then later Contalmaison and Pozieres. The 34th Division suffered 6,380 casualties in the attack. In later attacks the Brigade supported 19th and 23rd Divisions, fire tasks including box barrages, protective barrages and shoots on hostile positions, and (as part of the divisional artillery) received the divisional commander's thanks on 11 July for splendid work in the recent fighting: Major-General Ingouville-Williams was killed by shellfire at Mametz ten days later. 'A' Battery's commander commented, of this period, "In these succeeding days [after the Brigade had moved to new battery positions at The Horseshoe, in Tara Valley, at the end of July 1916] Col Warburton, who commanded our 160 Brigade R.F.A., showed great skill in the handling of his guns, and thus preventing repeated local hostile attacks from taking effect." Later, in mid-August, a special mention was received from Rawlinson, GOC 4th Army upon the division's departure for the Chapelle d'Armentieres sector, acknowledging their support for the infantry and the high standard of training this evidenced. 

After spending about five months in the area, engaging in activity such as artillery support for rounding parties, the Brigade gradually moved towards Arras, where it was in place to support the 34th Division in its part of the Battle of Arras - First Battle of the Scarpe. The division's task was to mount an attack on the third line of the German positions on the southern part of Vimy Ridge ('the Brown line'). The Brigade, after taking part in four days of intensive preparation, then joined with units of the divisional artillery of 17th division to form the right group, covering the front of the right infantry Brigade in the attack, the fire plan consisting of four barrages on the successive German lines with associated 'lifts', followed by a creeping barrage, a standing barrage and then a protective barrage. The Brown Line was taken by 5.25pm allowing the batteries of the Brigade to move forward and, incidentally, for B/160 to take eleven prisoners - Germans found in a dugout. Meanwhile reports from the lead battalions of the 101st Brigade noted that "The enemy's artillery fire was weak, and his rifle and machine gun fire feeble, most of them being caught in their dug-outs. The trenches were badly shattered."

Subsequently the Brigade also supported the 37th Division in the Second Battle of the Scarpe and 34th Division in the Battle of Arleux, as well as subsequent attacks of 37th, 9th and 31st Divisions as the overall Battle of Arras continued on into May and the Third Battle of 

the Scarpe and beyond into June. The Brigade finally left the Arras battle area on 1 July 1917 after five months' continuous engagement, with the 34th's Divisional History noting "Our gunners did not get farther back than the Roclincourt Valley. The strain on the personnel was very great, and yet when called on, the guns never failed us. Day or night their barrage came down within a few minutes of an S.O.S. going up."

Between 26 and 29 August 1917 the Brigade distinguished itself as part of the artillery support for the 101st Brigade's successful attack on the high ground around Cologne Farm, opposite Hargicourt. The Brigade had been in this (up until then) relatively quieter sector since 10 July. The 18-pounder batteries laid down barrages in advance of the attacking battalions (15/16th Royal Scots, 10th Lincolns, 11th Suffolks), dispersed a forming enemy counter-attack and undertook further bombardments of the enemy positions with thermite and other shells, together with wire-cutting for the next stage of the attack and night bombardments of between 15 and 20 rounds per hour per gun. 

The 101st Brigade issued the following appreciation of the divisional artillery's efforts:

"Please convey to all ranks the appreciation of the 101 Infantry Bde, for the fine Artillery work performed in the operations of the 26th/29th August. The wire was so well cut that there was no check anywhere, the creeping barrage was particularly accurate and easily followed. After the capture of the trench, the protection given by both Heavy & Field Artillery was far beyond all praise, all S.O.S signals were promptly replied to. The Infantry in trenches over there [who] were in mud and water with no wire in front of them and with little or no protection and in many locations unable to fire from the parapet on account of the collapse of the firing step, felt perfectly secure from counter attack when they saw the splendid protection they were receiving from the Artillery." (Brig-Gen RG Gore, GOC 101st Bde, 29 Aug 1917) 

It seems likely that Gunner Carrick's Military Medal was awarded for gallantry in support of the above attacks.  Two other men of 'B' Battery received the MM at the same time, Gnr George W Herring and Dvr Hugh N White; Gunner Herring was wounded on 26 August 1917, possibly in the course of a joint MM action.

Then-Gunner Carrick was serving with 'B' Battery (the brigade's former 'D' battery), when he was was awarded the Military Medal, Schedule number 1084[11?]. The Morpeth Herald for 5/6 October 1917, which reported his award, also indicated that he was employed as a Signaller. As such, his duties would have included maintaining communications between the battery operaring post and its forward observation officers.  The Newcastle Gazette coverage indicated that he was advised of the award on 5 September 1917 and received his appointment as Lance-Bombardier at the same time, thus: "Writing home to his parents, Mr and Mrs G. Carrick, 5. Cross Row, West Cramlington, date of September 9, Signaller John S. Carrick, R.F.A., states that [he was] awarded the Military Medal on the 5th September, and the same date received stripe."

Two other men and one officer (Lt Basil Holmes Nelson, 'B' Battery, London Gazette 18 October 1917) received awards at around the same time; Lt Nelson was acting as a Forward Observation Officer for an attacking battalion at the time (Citation LG 7 March 1918: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as F.O.O. He selected an observation post in the captured trench, and then returned and endeavoured to lay a line forward under exceptionally heavy artillery, rifle and machine gun fire."). It is possible that Gnr Carrick's award was for the same action.

It is also possible that Gnr Carrick was awarded his medal for the same action in which Temporary Lt (Acting Captain), later Major, George William King MC, also of 'B' Battery, earned the Bar to his MC, for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as a liaison officer with an attacking battalion.  He reached the captured position through a heavy barrage and sent back valuable information as to the movements of the enemy which enabled his battery to fire with great effect.  He carried out his duties for three days under very heavy fire." (LG 25 September 1917, citation LG 9 January 1918 30466)

Gnr Carrick's award was formally Gazetted on 30 October, as part of the 2 November 1917 supplement to the London Gazette. This Gazette also dealt with awards for operations at Ypres in August 1917, principally between 8 and 26 August, in particular the Battle of Langemarck, but also Poelcappelle, Polygon Wood, Glencorse Wood, Steenbeek and Gillemont Farm. 

He was subsequently promoted to Bombardier (his highest rank in a theatre of war) and would potentially have taken part with the Brigade in the First and Second Battles of Passchendaele later in 1917 of which a source said "from 14th October to 3rd November, 1917 in the above operations [the attack of the 59th Division] near Houthoulst Forest, the Brigade was constantly firing day and night, was constantly shelled, had to bring immense quantities of ammunition up by pack through heavy shell fire and over ground utterly destroyed by shells and water, and lived practically in the open without even weather proof cover in most cases." Later he would have been caught up in the German Spring Offensive (First Battle of the Somme 1918), in which 'B' Battery was a 'silent battery' based near St. Leger, firing at Ecoust and later directly at the enemy over open sights as the attack developed; the battery kept the guns firing until 18:30 when enemy fire made the position untenable, and then, having previously removed the dial sights and breech blocks, returned and got the guns away without Infantry cover. The full losses of the day for the Brigade were sixty; eleven killed in action, twenty wounded and twenty-nine taken prisoner.  Later he would have taken part in the April retreat, in the Brigade's contribution to the Battle of La Becque in late June 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne, 1918,  and then the taking of Kemmel, Wytschaete Ridge, Menin and Anseghem in the Allied Hundred Days' Offensive. 

As a miner, it is possible that Bdr Carrick was selected for early demobilisation (some ex-miners from the Brigade going home as early as 24 December 1918. Alternatively, he may hav stayed on and accompanied the Brigade into Germany. After being demobilized, probably some time in 1919, John Carrick married Margaret H Greenwell, the marriage being registered in Tynemouth in the third quarter of 1921. John Smith Carrick died early in 1961, his death being registered in Northumberland South in the first quarter of that year.

WW1 Victory & British War Medals to 226266 GNR A.B. Berry R.A., Royal Field Artillery, wounded in action 21 March 1918

 WW1 Victory & British War Medals to 226266 GNR A.B. Berry R.A., Royal Field Artillery, wounded in action 21 March 1918

Albert Berry was from Horeham Road, East Sussex, the son of Ephraim and Fanny Berry, born circa 1898. Born into a large family, by age 13 (1911 census) he was already working as a general labourer. He enlisted on 17 March 1917 at Eastbourne aged 19 years and 11 months. He was given the regimental number 226266. In civil life he was a timber carter's boy, in the employ of James Best, Shepherds Hill, Buxted, Sussex. His next of kin was his father, Ephraim, of Tickerage Cottage, Framfield. Having been enlisted, he was posted to No.8 Depot, Royal Field Artillery at Hilsea and then shortly afterwards to 'D' Battery, 7th (Reserve) Brigade (Territorial Force). Having completed his training, around 21 November 1917 he was posted overseas, joining 223rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery in the field on 29 November 1917, shortly after the closure of Third Ypres. At this time the Brigade was in the Ypres sector, his battery having moved forward into the Stroombeek valley on 16 November, where it remained under orders of HQ 32nd Divisional Artillery until relieved by 'D' Battery of 317th Brigade at 9am on 29 November. 

He served as a gun layer with 'D' Battery of the 223rd Brigade - formerly A (Howitzer) Battery, 1/4th Home Counties (Howitzer) Brigade  - which was attached to 63rd (Royal Naval) Division. The unit operated the Coventry Ordnance Works 4.5" field howitzer, in three sections of two guns each. This piece, described by Hogg and Thurston as the best field howitzer in the world in 1914, fired a 35lb shrapnel shell 7,300 yards, each being manned by a 10-man detachment. 

The War Diary for December 1917 notes that the batteries of the Brigade remained in action near St Julien until 4/5 and 5/6 December, when they were taken out of the line to rest in the wagon lines until 13 December when they began to proceed by march route to join V Corps, Third Army at Lechelle towards the end of the month, the batteries being emplaced near Beaucamp.

Almost immediately the Brigade was in action, firstly providing day and night harassing fire and then responding to a S.O.S. call from the infantry in response to an enemy raid on the line at Welsh Ridge west of La Vacquerie on the 30th (the occasion of the famous John Nash painting, ‘Over The Top’. 1st Artists’ Rifles at Marcoing, 30th December 1917, © IWM (Art.IWM ART 1656)).

This entailed putting down fire on the enemy during the day and then covering a counter-attack which went in at 4.30 in the afternoon. The brigade remained in action here, principally engaged in further day and night harassing fire at an average range of 4,000 yards - interspersed with one Corps barrage on 11 Jan 1918 - until relieved again on 20 January. During this period, batteries also prepared forward positions as well as working on their main positions, which were equipped with the beginnings of mined (i.e. excavated by tunnelling) dugouts. 

Upon becoming V Corps Mobile Reserve Artillery at Equancourt the brigade took the opportunity to institute schemes of training in the morning as well as recreation in the afternoons and evenings, which Gnr Berry probably found welcome, as well as air-raid proofing (providing splinter protection) their huts and horse standings. Training included riding school, riding drill, [gun]laying, musketry, small box respirator drill and signalling. The Brigade returned to action again from 5-15 February at Beaucamp, 'D' Battery being under the command of 19th Divisional Artillery and then from 15-22 February back under control of 63rd Div Arty in the same position, moving (to the Trescault Valley?) to coincide with a shift of the divisional front on 22 February in the afternoon. The main activity was night firing (6pm to 6am) on roads, tracks, trench mortars (in particular), machine gun emplacements, wiring parties, new work and all approaches. Single 'sniping' guns were also moved forward under cover of dark to engage targets beyond the range of the main positions. 'D' Battery sent its gun forwards on the night of the 25th. 

The first ten days of March were noted in the War Diary as marked by great enemy movement, with the guns in the forward position and the 'sniping gun' "continually employed in engaging moving targets". On the 11th, 12th and 13th March each night the valley was shelled and drenched with gas, albeit with reducing numbers of casualties. Between 14 and 16 March, by contrast, the enemy was very quiet, whilst the British field artillery put down harassing fire on the enemy front line at dusk and dawn; a resumption of enemy activity in the daytime over the next three days gave renewed opportunities for sniping.

At the time of the commencement of the German Spring offensive, the 63rd division, part of Fanshawe's V Corps in Byng's Third Army, was occupying the vulnerable tip of the Flesquieres salient midway between Bapaume and Cambrai, west of Havrincourt Wood.

The carefully-planned enemy bombardment opened in the early hours of the morning, particular attention being paid to the rear of the British lines, not just to disrupt communications but also to destroy the British artillery. The Brigade War Diary narrates the attack as follows: "During the night of 20/21st the enemy was quiet until 4am 21st when he started a concentrated bombardment of gas shell on Ribecourt & forward & rear gun positions.  At 6.20am the enemy attacked & S.o.S. Signal was sent up by the Infantry, a good barrage answered this call. At 8am the gas shelling stopped & by 10am the ground was clear of gas. The result of this attack on our sector was that the enemy held a few of our posts. 

     During the day of 21st everything was quiet as our Infantry were preparing to counterattack. During the night the forward sections had orders to withdraw to the intermediate positions in Havrincourt Wood."

Meanwhile, some time on 21 March 1918, Gnr Berry suffered a shrapnel wound to his right leg, resulting in a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, a piece of shrapnel having seemingly entered his leg via the shin. He was admitted to 149th Field Ambulance, and from there transferred to No. 48 Casualty Clearing Station, where 500 units anti-Tetanus serum was given, and the following day to the 7th Canadian General Hospital before his evacuation to England on 1 April for treatment at the Wharncliff[e] Hospital, Sheffield. His wound was recorded on War Office Daily List No. 5558, dated 6 May 1918, his next of kin address being recorded as 'Framfield'. Whilst nearing the end of his treatment at Wharncliffe  his wound was assessed as 30% disabling, the knee movement being not quite free, ankle movement fair and some wasting to the calf muscle. He also described himself as suffering (or having suffered) from pneumonia due to gassing and deafness due to gunfire. After fourteen months stay in hospital, due to his wound and subsequent 1/2" shortening of the leg, for which he required a special rest, he was discharged Physically Unfit, aged 22, on 12 June 1919, and awarded the Silver War Badge, number B229987. His address on discharge was Upper Honeys Green, Framfield, Sussex.

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

Pte A B (or B A) Heath, 1st KSLI and 7th and 2nd Leinsters- twice wounded

Arthur Benjamin Heath of Cressage, Shropshire was possibly a Derby Scheme volunteer. Probably, taking the service history of 33219/15365 Herbert Hammond of Clee Hill, Ludlow, as a guide, he was mobilised some time prior 22 March 1917 at Shrewsbury. He was  probably mobilised at Copthorne Barracks, and then posted for training to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry at Pembroke Dock.

 He would then have proceeded overseas to join the BEF around 26 June 1917, as part of a draft of men for the 1st KSLI. Upon arrival in France he would have been posted to one of the numerous base depots situated near the coast to complete his training and wait to be posted to join his battalion in the field. Most probably whilst still at base Depot, he would have been transferred to the Leinster Regiment on or around 22 July 1917 and then posted immediately to the 7th (Service) Battalion, then part of the 47th Brigade of the 16th (Irish) Division. This was most probably to make good losses incurred in the opening three weeks of the Third Battle of Ypres. His first wound was recorded in War Office Daily List No.5370 dated 21 September 1917 and probably indicates that Pte Heath was wounded with the 7th Leinsters at Third Ypres - possibly, like Pte Hammond, by gun shot wound around 18 August 1917. He was most probably wounded during the battalion's participation in the Battle of Langemarck on 16 August 1917. Prior to the battle the 16th and 36th Divisions had been providing carrying parties since the last week in July and had been holding ground from 4 August in the Hanebeek and Steenbeek valleys, which were overlooked by the Germans. This had exhausted many men and from 1 to 15 August, the divisions had lost about a third of their front-line strength in casualties. Accordingly the divisions struggled in the attack, which took place along a front from north of the Ypres–Roulers railway to just south of St Julien, finding that the German strong points had not been destroyed by the artillery. The garrison at Potsdam, Vampire and Borry farms inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers of the 16th Division and it is possible that Pte Heath was wounded in this attack.

As part of a wider manpower rationalisation in the British Army, the 7th battalion was disbanded on 14 February 1918 at Tincourt. The personnel were sent to the 19th Entrenching Battalion (200 men) and to the 2nd Leinsters, a Regular battalion of the regiment. It seems likely that Pte Heath may have been sent back to the 7th after recovering from his wound and that his transfer to the 2nd Battalion - as indicated in his medal roll entry - took place at this time. This was during the brief period when the 2nd battalion was part of 16th (Irish) Division; from 30 April it moved across to the 88th Brigade of the 29th Division. Pte Heath's second wound, which probably took place not long after his transfer, was recorded in War Office Daily List No.5601 dated 25 June 1918. It was incurred possibly in the course of the Battles of St Quentin and Rosieres in late March 1918, both battles of the German Spring Offensive. The battalion, along with the rest of the 47th Brigade was in Reserve when the German attack commenced on 21 March and swiftly found itself reduced to two companies. These companies were then in defensive positions around Proyart when the Germans broke through north of the Somme on 27 March, and forced to perform a further fighting retreat. Pte Heath could have been wounded on either of these occasions. Alternatively Pte Heath may have been wounded when the 2nd Battalion (now part of 88th Brigade of the 29th Division) was caught by shelling on the road from brigade headquarters to relieve the 10th East Yorkshires in the line opposite Vieux Berquin on 27 April.

Pte Heath was demobilized by transfer to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 21 October 1919. 

He was possibly one and the same with Benjamin Arthur Heath, born in Albrighton Shropshire in the second quarter of 1889 to Benjamin and Elizabeth Heath, his father Benjamin being a farm servant originally from Montgomery in Wales. In 1911 Benjamin the younger was a Farm Waggoner boarding with Clement and Edith Thomas at 2 Plex Cottage, Broad Oak.

60822 Pte J Liddle, 9th Green Howards - fourteen days of war in 1918

60822 PTE Joseph LIDDLE 9th Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) - Battle of the Sambre

Born in 1888, Joseph Liddle was from Butterknowle, County Durham, a village situated between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. He worked as a miner and was married to Florence Liddle (née Blackett), whom he had wed at West Auckland on 21 September 1913. They had one child, Claude, born 22 January 1917. Having been conscripted under the Military Serice Acts, Joseph Liddle was aged 29 years 7 months when mobilised in May 1918 at Sunderland and was posted for training from the Reception Depot at Newcastle to 'D' Company of the 4th (Reserve) Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), a reserve battalion, under the regimental number 60822. At the time he was resident at 27 Pinfold Lane, Butterknowle. He was posted overseas to the BEF on 23 October 1918, seemingly on posting to the 2nd Battalion. However, he appears to have been redirected to another battalion whilst still at base, proceeding via 'J' Infantry Base Depot to join the 9th (Service) Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) in the field on 27 October 1918. This unit was then part of 3rd Army and had only been back in France from Italy about a month at the point at which he joined it, having been made a part of 74th Brigade of the 25th Division. At the time the battalion was in the front line, with headquarters at Mal Garni, until relieved by the 5th Gloucesters on 31 October. The battalion had suffered in excess of 459 casualties in the month. This date of joining would have put him in line to take part in the Final Advance in Picardy, including the Battle of the Sambre, 4 November 1918.  

In this, the battalion moved from billets in Pommereuil to Mal Garni (Fontaine au Bois) 3 miles west of Landrecies and at two o'clock crossed the Sambre canal north east of Landrecies by means of two petrol tin float bridges, took an enemy outpost on the opposite (eastern) side of the canal and captured an enemy battery headquarters, together with some 4.2" and an 8" howitzer (possibly either a former British 8" or a 21cm mortar) and some prisoners.  They continued advancing next day via Old Mill des Pres to Maroilles and then on the 6th being involved with the support of two armoured cars in fighting which led to the capture of Mairbaix. As the war diary notes, "Had a running fight with enemy but could not come into close contact with him". On 7 November the 75th Brigade passed through the 74th and took up the advance, allowing the battalion to withdraw to billets. 11 November 1918 found the battalion in billets at Bousies north west of Landrecies. Casualties for the month were 3 other ranks killed and 32 wounded. After the Armistice the battalion went into billets at Le Cateau and later St Vaast and from 20 November was involved in salvage work around Cambrai. Pte Liddle was sent home to be demobilized as a miner on 20 December 1918, and having been medically examined at the depot at Ripon, was subsequently discharged to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve around 27 January 1919. His full entitlement for his service was the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

G/11268 Pte Ernest Arthur Newby, 2nd Royal Sussex BWM/VM pair, killed in action nr High Wood, 9 September 1916

G/11268 Pte Ernest Arthur Newby, 2nd Royal Sussex BWM/VM pair, killed in action nr High Wood, 9 September 1916

Ernest Arthur Newby's birth was registered in the Blything district of Suffolk in the second quarter of 1887. He was the son of Arthur (a tile maker and later general dealer and grocer) and Hannah Newby. In 1911 he was living with his parents in Yoxford (Little St., Yoxford, Suffolk), where he was employed as a domestic gardener. 

He enlisted in nearby Saxmundham, possibly under the 'Derby' or 'Groups' Scheme of deferred enlistment, probably some time in 1915. His Sussex regimental number of 11268 fits roughly between G/10552 (joined on 5th April 1916) and G/11558 (joined on 11th May 1916), suggesting it was allocated around the last week in April, 1916.

Judging by the careers of 11224 Pte Albert Gurry and 11308 Pte Herbert Seaman, he was probably first enlisted into the 10th (Reserve) Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment, then part of a bulk transfer of men to the 10th (2nd Reserve Battalion) Royal Sussex Regiment on or about 29 April 1916, with whom he trained before embarking overseas around 8/9 August 1916 on posting via 40th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples to the 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion. Pte Gurry, who was sent overseas on 8 August, on 22 August is recorded as having been posted to 2nd Battalion (this being possibly his date of joining the battalion in the field). Pte Newby was also part of a draft to the 12th (2nd South Down) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, very possibly the same one as Ptes  Gurry and Seaman, both of whom were less than 50 service numbers away from him; certainly once in France like Pte Gurry he was posted to join the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Sussex, then part of 2nd Brigade, 1st Division.

Meanwhile, the battalion spent the early part of August 1916 resting and training in Henencourt Wood, prior to entering the firing line again at High Wood on the 14th, then going to Brigade reserve in Mametz Wood a few days later. Further fighting in and around High Wood on 19 and 20 August reduced the battalion's fighting strength to 4 officers and 150 men* before the battalion was withdrawn and sent to Albert for rest. It was here, on 23 August, that a draft of 128 other ranks, including 97 from the Royal East Kent Reserve Yeomanry, joined the battalion, augmented by another draft of 57 the following day. It is not clear which draft Pte Newby may have been in; either way presaged a return to the firing line, this time to the right of High Wood, on 31 August 1916, 'A' Company (probably already with Pte Newby in it) holding the front-line trench. The war diary notes that the company had a fairly trying time owing to shelling, parts of the line being filled in and men buried, so it was probably with some relief that they handed over the line to 'B' Company on 1 Sept. Further drafts of 328 and 9 men joined on 5 and 6 September, while the battalion moved from Becourt Wood to Lozenge Wood, and then on 7 September back to the firing line to prepare for the forthcoming attack. A further 4 men arrived on the 9th itself.

(*battalion casualties for the previous seven days' fighting being given as 3 officers and 56 other ranks killed, 14 officers and 320 other ranks wounded, and 87 other ranks missing)

After the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 14 July 1916, the well-wired German reserve/second line at High Wood had become the front line.

By early September the wood, although partially taken on a number of occasions, still defied repeated British attempts to hold it and so it was determined that operations should take place on 9 September, addressing the wood itself and its left and right flanks, to improve the British position prior to a major attack with tank support on the 15th. One of the positions selected for attack was Wood Lane trench, part of a trench system running from the northern tip of High Wood along its eastern edge and then extending south south east towards Longueval. The attack was on a front of three battalions, the 2nd Royal Sussex being the middle battalion with the 1st Northamptonshires on the left, nearest High Wood, and the 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps on the right. The 2nd Sussex arranged their assault with two companies ('C' and 'D') leading, with Pte Newby's 'A' Company given the task of following-up the left-hand company ('C') and then establishing an outpost line in front if the line was secured.

Among those taking part in the attack on Wood Lane trench on the 9th September was G/17582 Pte Walter Ernest Grover, formerly of the East Kent Yeomanry and freshly joined the 2nd Royal Sussex from England earlier the previous month - probably in the draft of 23 August mentioned above. He recalled marching in sections up the pavé to the shattered remains of Mametz Wood on a Sunday evening (probably 27 August) where they were bivouacked, and spending up to a week there (and in other locations by Becourt and Fricourt) prior to the attack, the battalion being employed in taking ammunition, rations, barbed wire and other supplies up to the front line.

Of the attack on the afternoon of Saturday 9 September, Pte Grover recalled that the battalion was told they were going over the top to attack Wood Lane Trench the previous day; at this time they would have been in the front line south east of High Wood. He recalled "[...when I joined, they had just come out of the line at High Wood again, 130** strong and 4 officers, and the fighting strength of a battalion when they went in, full strength, would be about 5-600 men ...so you can see the slaughter of the Somme...it was carnage...] When we got over the top and were going over, the 1st brigade had been over before us, the day before or week before and there they were, the dead were laying all out...we knew they were the Cameron Highlanders and the Black Watch***...all the kilts you see. We knew they were our division...and we had to go across and stumble over those and of course you couldn't go in a straight line because it was all pitted with shell-holes, and the bullets were coming from High Wood catching us from that way, and the bullets were coming in front of us that way, shrapnel was coming down overhead...and you had all the German artillery banging away at us, and our own artillery going over that way. ... I didn't realise this 'swish, swish' was bullets, and of course you never hear the one that catches you...[We only looked at what was ahead...at High Wood where we were the Germans had part and we had part...Wood Lane trench went right back through where the Germans were... They could enfilade us as we went over - the Germans could fire their machine guns at us that way and also from Wood Lane trench that way, so we were getting it all ways, two sides, with machine guns and trench mortars and what have you... You could see them falling, especially if they were in front, the first advanced/attacking troops...you could see them falling or coming back wounded, and you could hear the bullets whizzing past.]  We got to the wire, and then we got held up with the wire, we couldn't get through. And then the wire-cutters came along and cut the wire and we got through, and then we were held up again in front of Wood Lane trench and we laid there until it got dark...[We were lying in front of this German trench waiting to get in and I noticed two men carrying a box of rifle ammunition; one was shot down, and still this other chap dragged this box along 'til another man came along and helped him; he was shot down and still this man hung onto this box and dragged it in.]... A sergeant came along and pulled us...got us more or less in line and we got into the German trench. That was to be seen to be believed - the Germans were buried in the side of the trench still holding their rifles... the trench was full of the dead, ours as well as Germans... We lost a thousand men on the Somme, our battalion alone."

(**150 strong according to the war diary

***these would have been men of the 1st Cameron Highlanders and 1st Black Watch, probably casualties of the previous attack on 3 September.)

'The Hell that was High Wood'**** continues the account: "We could see High Wood on our left, all battered and shell-torn, and the barrage from our own artillery and that of the Germans on that afternoon was incredible. The ground over which we attacked was swept by machine-gun and field gun fire - whizzbangs - with 5.9s for good measure. I did not know at the time what they were, having only been in France since the 8th August, but I soon learned. Seeing my friends shot down on either side of me gave me a feeling of dread. I wondered when it was going to be my turn."

The battalion war diary narrates the attack as follows:

'At 4.45 pm, in conjunction with the 1st Northamptons on our left and the 2nd K.R.R.C. on our right, the Battalion advanced to the attack, our objective being a portion of the trench WOOD LANE.     In spite of very heavy artillery & M.gun fire, the attacking line, which consisted of "C" & "D" Coys, advanced steadily and in splendid order, closely followed by "A" Company, which was to form an outpost line in front, and "B" Company which was to consolidate. "D" Coy secured its objective with few losses. "C" Coy on the left was less fortunate, suffering rather heavily from M.Gun fire from HIGH WOOD.  It entered the enemy trench, however with little difficulty. "A" Coy pushed through and advanced some distance in front of the captured line, accounting for several of the enemy who had run back.      On our right the 60th Rifles gained their objective, but the Northamptons on our left were driven back by an intense fire.    This left our flank exposed and a defensive flank was dug connecting the captured line with their original front line. By dusk consolidation was well under way. Several prisoners were captured and one Maxim Gun which was secured by the Battalion Scout Sergeant. Our casualties were as follows:

Officers: [6 Killed, 4 Wounded]

Other ranks: 43 Killed, 146 Wounded, 59 Missing, 4 W'ded & Missing.'

The attack by the 2nd Royal Sussex and 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps was successful but that by the 1st Northamptons and the other associated attempts to improve the position in High Wood prior to the attack on the 15th were not. High Wood itself finally fell, after two months and a day of fighting and 8,000 casualties, at 1pm on 15 September 1916 to the men of the 47th (London) Division.

Pte Newby was serving with 'A' Company of the battalion when he was killed in action during the attack on Wood Lane trench on 9 September 1916. 94 comrades including G/11260 Archibald Montague and G/11270 Charles William Nelson fell with him.

Ernest Arthur Newby was aged 29 when he died, and having no known grave is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. He also features on a memorial once set up in the Primitive Methodist Chapel, The Street, Yoxford and now in St Peter's Church in the town. His financial effects, including his War Gratuity of £3 - indicating less that twelve months' overseas service - went to his father, Arthur. Probate for his civil effects of just over £147 was not granted until May 1918, his father again being the beneficiary.

(****Walter Grover, 2nd Royal Sussex Regiment, 'The Hell They Called High Wood', p.210, plus my own simplified and reordered transcript of reel 2 of the recording of him on the IWM website (© IWM), reordered portions in square [] brackets)

Images:

Trench map, High Wood area (including Wood Lane)

Aerial view of High Wood, 1916