1914/15 Star and Victory Medal 13715 Pte H Perkins, Essex Regiment, HLI, MGC, possibly wounded in action 1 July 1916, Montauban

13715 WW1 1914/15 STAR MEDAL AND VICTORY MEDAL PERKINS ESSEX REG

Harry Perkins from Upton Park served with the 10th Essex, 18th (Eastern) Division, under the regimental number 13715. Like 13718 Pte William George Lewis Napper (a carman from Islington, only 3 service numbers away, 10th then 11th battalion) he probably enlisted on or around 7 or 8 September 1914 at Finsbury or City Road barracks.

He went overseas on 25 July 1915. At some point he was appointed to the rank of Lance Corporal. The 10th battalion attacked south west of Montauban on the Somme on 1 July 1916, suffering 30 men killed in action and 156 wounded. Pte Perkins appeared on War Office Daily List 28/07/1916 (suggesting a wounded in action date between 1 and 4 July 1916), in the same list as (3/)2037 Lance Corporal Bernard Parry, 2nd Essex and 18969 Pte Clement Peacock, 9th Essex (wounded in action on 1 July and 3 July 1916, respectively).

After a presumed period of recovery, he then transferred to a Territorial Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry - probably, like 282505 Pte Albert Maisey, the 2/7th (Blythswood City of Glasgow) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (as 282507). Going overseas once again some time presumably after March 1917 and the Territorial  Force infantry renumbering, he featured again as wounded on War Office daily list No.5567 for 16/05/1918, suggesting he was wounded some time in the course of the German Spring offensive. His HLI battalion is not recorded but was probably the 18th, like 33217 Pte R Andrew and 36375 Pte D Brown (wounded 26 and 28 March 1918 respectively and both on the same casualty list as Pte Perkins). Pte Perkins was subsequently transferred again, this time to the Machine Gun Corps (149404) - transferring some time before 30 May 1918, probably like 149393 Pte Percy Orgles, 58th Battalion MGC, around 28 May 1918.

He was finally discharged to the Army 'Z' Reserve on 11 May 1919.

Partially erased 1914-15 Star attributed to Pte E W Lawrence, 3rd London Rgt, wounded in action at Gallipoli

Partially erased 1914-15 Star attributed to Pte E W Lawrence, 3rd London Rgt, wounded in  action at Gallipoli

Impressed:

237[9]

Pte [E].W. L[A]W□□□CE

3-[L][O][N]□ R.

Possibly 2379 Pte E.W. LAWRENCE 3-LON R.

Edwin William Lawrence was born about 1895 in Paddington, Middlesex. He enlisted on 3 September 1914 aged 19 years 6 months. He was a clerk in civil life. He gave as his next of kin his father, also Edwin W, of 28 Alperton Street  Paddington. Edwin the younger served with the 2/3rd Battalion the London Regiment. First sent to Malta in December 1914 to relieve the 1/3rd Battalion in garrison there (where the opportunity was taken to train the recruits), he served in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan as part of the Khartoum garrison between about 15 April 1915 and 13 September 1915

He  then went to Gallipoli via Port Sudan, Port Said and Mudros, leaving around 15 September, landing at Suvla Bay to join the campaign on 26 September. The battalion was attached to the Regulars of 86th Brigade in 29th Division and assigned to 'C' section of the 'Dublin Castle' sector of the line. The battalion spent the next two months holding the trenches, losing half its strength in the process, Pte Lawrence amongst them. He received a severe gun shot wound to both feet on 15 October at Gallipoli and, after admission to 15th General Hospital, was invalided home to England via the Hospital Ship 'Asturias' on the 29th. Pte Lawrence was discharged due to wounds, under paragraph 392(xvi) of King's Regulations*, on 16 August 1916 and was entitled to the Silver War Badge, number 89735. A pension record ledger entry subsequently gave him addresses in Birmingham and at Holly House Newtown near Hyde, Manchester.

*No longer physically fit for war service

WW1 Victory Medal to 43405 PTE.M.MARTIN.DURH.L.I., killed in action 31 July 1917, the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, Third Battle of Ypres

WW1 Victory Medal to 43405 PTE.M.MARTIN.DURH.L.I., killed in action 31 July 1917, the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, Third Battle of Ypres 

Matthew Martin was born in Kyo, County Durham circa 1892. By 1911 he was living with his grandmother, uncle and younger sister at 12 Towneley Street,  Stanley and was employed as a bottler in a mineral water factory. Matthew attested his willingness to serve at Stanley, County Durham on 9 December 1915. He was aged 24 at the time and was resident at 1 Towneley Street, Stanley where he worked as a coal miner (screener) for the South Derwent Coal Company, one of around 60 above-ground staff. His next of kin was officially given as his grandmother, Ann Robson (same address), later changed to his sister, Madeline Robson Martin. He was posted to the Army Reserve the following day (10 December) and spent approximately six months on the Reserve before being called up and appointed to the Durham Light Infantry by the recruiting officer of the 68th Recruiting District on 26/27 June 1916.

Pte Martin was posted first to the 3/9th DLI in June and then on 1 September 1916, following the absorption of the 3/9th and the three other third line battalions of the DLI into a new 5th (Reserve) Battalion, transferred to the new battalion, where he trained with 'A' Company. It was at this period that he presumably discarded his former regimental number 4689[?] and received the new number 8319. At some point he made an allotment out of his pay to his grandmother of three shillings and sixpence, to a total, including Separation Allowance, of thirteen shillings weekly.

Pte Martin was sent overseas on 25 October 1916 via Folkestone, disembarking at Boulogne the following day. After a fortnight at No.35 Infantry Base Depot, he was posted to the 13th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (68th Brigade , 23rd Division) on 10 November 1916, joining them in the field on the 13th, most probably as part of a draft of 70 men recorded in the battalion history. This is presumably when he received his new regimental number in the Regular sequence, 43405. At the time the 68th Brigade was out of the line, the 13th DLI being in Winnipeg camp, south west of Vlamertinghe. After participating on classes of instruction and enjoying some time off for inter-compant football matches, Pte Martin's first experience in the line probably followed three days later, from 16 to 20 November 1916. He then wintered with the battalion in the Ypres Salient, undergoing the usual pattern of working parties in and out of the line and patrols, wiring and improvements whilst in it, broken by the usual Christmas festivities. By mid-February of 1917, when the brigade was again in rest, he had developed a skin infection to the shoulder and right leg that caused him to pass via 69th Field Ambulance and 23rd Divisional Rest Station to 13th General Hospital, Boulogne and thence by ship to England. He returned home on 28 February 1917, diagnosed with an inflammation of the connective tissue (skin infection) which took him to 4th Northern General Hospital at Lincoln for 50 days' treatment for ulcers on the right leg. After a period on the strength of the DLI depot at Fenham Barracks, he was posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion on 1 May and went overseas again on 11 June 1917.

Upon arrival again at 35th Infantry Base  Depot he was posted to the 20th Battalion (Wearside), Durham Light Infantry, although he did not join them in the field until early the following month, 2 July. He served in the 10th platoon of C Company, under Captain Moreton Hand.  At this time the battalion was out of the lines at Mont des Cats, having recently taken part in  the Battle of Messines. The battalion history comments that of his draft, 234 Other Ranks, nearly all had been out with the BEF before. The battalion spent the next several weeks in intensive training and practice attacks for the forthcoming offensive, interspersed with inspections, sports and other competitions and parades, including an inspection of the new men by Brigadier-General CWE Gordon, GOC 123rd Brigade, in which Pte Martin would have taken part.

At this time, preparations for a further major attack at Ypres, designed to take the pressure off the French after the failed Nivelle Offensive and wear down and cut the supply lines of the German 4th Army opposite, were coming to a conclusion. In the assault, General Gough's British Fifth Army was tasked with securing Pilckem Ridge, the only high ground to the north east of Ypres, supported by the French First Army on the left and on the right by the British Second Army. In the attack the 41st Division, X Corps would advance either side of the Ypres-Comines Canal, with the 123rd Infantry Brigade on the north bank, 20th Durham Light Infantry on the left of the brigade attack.

The Brigade started moving up for the attack on 25 July and Pte Martin would have gone with 'C' Company into a line of advanced posts later that day, the companies rotating through the various posts whilst they waited for the postponed attack to take place. On the 29th the attack was back on for 3.50am on the 31st and the white tapes at which the battalion would assemble for the assault were laid. Here the rum ration went around - "three or four times if you wanted it", Pte George Thompson, another soldier of 'C' Company recalled - and the battalion prepared itself to go over the top. 

Attacking south of Klein Zillebeke, on the extreme left flank of Second Army's attack, towards the German-held line (the 'Red line') at Imperfect Trench, the battalion's objective was reached and passed, the battalion digging-in on the Blue Line and holding on to it in the face of counter-attacks until relieved after nightfall on 1 August. However, machine gun fire from concealed concrete pill boxes with interlocking arcs of fire, together with shell fire brought down by the enemy's S.O.S. rockets, caused the battalion over 430 casualties, Pte Martin amongst them. The battalion history reports that a group of C Company men under the Company Commander, Captain Hand, pushed on but was cut off and never seen again and it is possible that Pte Martin, if he did not fall in the initial assault, was one of this group.

In total, the attack, although taking the Pilckem Ridge, Bellewaarde Ridge and German observation posts on Gheluveld Plateau together with 5,000 prisoners, cost circa 32,000 casualties in the course of three days, in the face of unseasonal heavy rain, mud, a robust German defence and persistent counter-attacks.

Reported missing in the War Office daily casualty list No. 5365 of 15 September 1917, Pte Martin's death was presumed on or since 31 July 1917. His sister Madeline of Towneley Steet, Stanley, County Durham caused enquiries to be put in hand with the International Committee of the Red Cross, enquiries which finally received a negative reply on 15 June 1918. There was also an exchange with the War Office during the period. His financial effects of £1 7 4 and War Gratuity of £4 were released to Madeline in August 1918 and November 1919 respectively, whilst his grandmother Ann was granted a pension of 5/- a week from 26 March 1918.

For his service he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal, memorial plaque and scroll. 

Pte Martin, his body never having been identified, is commemorated at Bay 36H of the Menin Gate Memorial: 

"Here are recorded names of officers and men who fell in the Ypres Salient but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death".

30078 Pte T Beynon, 11th South Wales Borderers and 2nd Entrenching Battalion, killed in action at Merville, 11 April 1918

30078 Pte T Beynon,  South Wales Borderers 

Thomas Beynon was born to Thomas and Annie Beynon, both formerly of Breconshire, in Abercynon around 1893-94 (possibly the second quarter of 1893). Thomas the elder, apparently a bit of a rogue, had accumulated two convictions for drunkeness and three for non-payment of debt by late 1896. In the prison records he was described as a labourer, and in his probate record as a 'hitcher' (Hitcher 1894: a) Person putting waggons into the cage or b) Chief attendant at pit bottom). By 1901 the family, less Thomas the elder who had died in 1898, was living in Capcoch/Abercwmboi, Aberdare. In 1911 Thomas the younger was living at 19 Jenkin Street, Abercwmboi with his paternal grandfather, also Thomas,  mother Annie and three sisters, Mary Rebecca, Rose Ann and Jane. His mother worked from home as a confectioner whilst Thomas worked on his own account as a butcher. At some point, presumably after this, he married Mary Catherine, with whom he had a son, also Thomas, born on 10 August 1917.

Thomas Beynon is recorded as enlisting at Mountain Ash and may have spent some time in the Army Reserve before being called up. He served with the 11th Battalion, South Wales Borderers (2nd Gwent), being posted, via infantry base depot, to join them some time probably in mid-1917. He would have potentially served with the battalion at Third Ypres when, as part of the 115th Brigade of the 38th Division, it was in follow-up to the attacking brigades on 31 July 1917 during the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, leapfrogging over them once they had breached the Green Line and proceeding to attack and take the Steenbeck on Messines Ridge, pushing forward to Au Bon Gite, facing Langemarck. The battalion was finally withdrawn on 5 August,  having suffered 330 casualties,  killed, wounded and missing, returning to the line later in the month to take part in the Battle of Langemarck. 

From mid-September to December 1917 the battalion was in the line at Armentieres, working on the line, undertaking much patrolling and wiring and helping train troops of the 4th Regiment, Portuguese Expeditionary Corps.  The battalion then spent January resting and training prior to its disbandment.

After the battalion's disbandment on 10 February 1918, Pte Beynon served with the bulk of the battalion in a composite unit under the title of the 2nd Entrenching Battalion.

Entrenching battalions formed in effect holding units, which could keep men usefully employed on defensive works whilst they awaited posting to fighting units under control of the parent formation as gaps arose through wastage and battle casualties. Entrenching battalions were under Army or Corps (rather than divisional) control and were not intended for deployment closer to the front than the Rearward zone, although this appears to have been disregarded once the German Spring Offensive began. 

The 2nd Entrenching Battalion was set up at Doulieu under the aegis of the First Army Group of Entrenching Battalions (HQ at Bray) and was under the control of XV Corps. It contained troops from disbanded battalions of a range of units as well as the South Wales Borderers, including East Surreys, King's Liverpool, South Lancashires, Middlesex and Royal Fusiliers. The battalion did not accompany the 38th Division to the Somme, but remained at Merville, at this time a billeting and hospital centre, lying roughly between Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Estaires, and Bethune. They were employed working on rear lines of defence in the La Bassee-Armentieres area in anticipation of the German Spring Offensive. When the Battle of the Lys commenced, the battalion took part in the defence of Merville on 11/12 April 1918, during which time the Germans forced their way into and took the town. The action is described in Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's Sixth Despatch as follows:

“The Fall of Merville.

(56) On the morning of the 11th April the enemy recommenced his attacks on the whole front, and again made progress. Between Givenchy and the Lawe River the successful resistance of the past two days was maintained against repeated assaults. Between Locon and Estaires the enemy, on the previous evening, had established a footing on the west bank of the river in the neighbourhood of Fosse. In this area and northwards to Lestrem he continued to push westwards, despite the vigorous resistance of our troops. At Estaires, the troops of the 5th Division, tired and reduced in numbers by the exceptionally heavy fighting of the previous three weeks and threatened on their right flank by the enemy’s advance south of the Lys, were heavily engaged. After holding their positions with great gallantry during the morning, they were slowly pressed back in the direction of Merville. The enemy employed large forces on this front in close formation, and the losses inflicted by our rifle and machine-gun fire were unusually heavy. Our own troops, however, were not in sufficient numbers to hold up his advance, and as they fell back and their front gradually extended, gaps formed in the line. Through these gaps bodies of German infantry worked their way forward, and at 6 p.m. had reached Neuf Berquin. Other parties of the enemy pushed on along the north bank of the Lys Canal and entered Merville. As it did not appear possible to clear the town without fresh forces, which were not yet available, it was decided to withdraw behind the small stream which runs just west of the town. This withdrawal was successfully carried out during the evening."

It is likely that it was in the defence of Merville that Pte Beynon was killed, being recorded as presumed dead on or since 11 April 1918. He was aged 25, and is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial along with thirteen of his fellows. His effects, including a War Gratuity of £5, were split between his sister, Mary and his widow, who also received a pension of 20/5 a week, effective from 16 December 1918 for their son, Thomas. By this time the whole family was living at  19 Jenkins Street, Abercwmboi.

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

Seeking Silver War Badge number 26004, Ernest Rumsey, Suffolk Regiment

I am searching for Silver War Badge number 26004, to Ernest Rumsey, Suffolk Regiment, listed on Facebook about 3 1/2 years ago. Please let me know if you have it and are willing to sell.

(T) 765, R.E. (T) 1472 and 402929 Sapper James A Clark, 2nd Highland Field Company, Royal Engineers

(T) 765, R.E. (T) 1472 and 402929 Sapper James A Clark, 2nd Highland Field Company, Royal Engineers

James A Clark was probably a native of Aberdeen, judging by his Territorial unit affiliation and his 1918 next of kin address (as found on his daily casualty list entry). A pre-war Territorial, he probably joined some time between the end of April 1914 and beginning of August. Judging by his 1917 service number, he was most probably a member of the 2nd Highland Field Company. He was almost certainly a serving member of the Territorial Force on the outbreak of war and as such, only obliged to undertake home defence. To address the manpower needs of the British Expeditionary Force, men of the Territorial Force were invited to volunteer for active service overseas ('the Imperial Service Obligation'). From the evidence of his Territorial Force War Medal entitlement Sapper Clark clearly accepted the Imperial Service Obligation. However, unlike many of his comrades he was almost certainly not sent overseas in 1914 and 1915, but rather in 1916 or afterwards.

During this time, he was possibly on the strength of those elements of the three Highland Field Companies which stayed with the newly-formed Home Service second-line Division, the 64th (2nd Highland) Division, in the UK when other elements went to France in 1915.

The first line Highland Field Company (1/2nd) went to France via Le Havre on 3 May 1915 and by June 1917 had been renumbered as the 401st. Having previously served with 7th Division it joined the 51st (Highland) Division on 31 January 1916 and remained with them for the rest of the war. The service history of the second line (2/2nd) Company was very similar. 

Until joining the first or second line company on active service, Sapper Clark was possibly with 3/2nd Highland Field Company (later 405th Field Company) or 4/2nd Highland Field Company, both home service units. With them he may have been on the training staff, an orderly or an administrator. His service with them would have taken him to Blair Atholl, Perth and Scone, Perth, then Alyth, Dundee and Coupar (winter quarters) and finally Norwich, Taverham, North Walsham and Kelling before a major restructure and withdrawal of second-line units took place in 1917.

Possibly, like 571/1446/402903 Sapper Alfred Webster, he went overseas in October 1916, joining his Company in November. Certainly the fact that he went overseas with his four-digit service number would indicate that his posting overseas took place before February 1917, when the Territorial RE was renumbered. Similarly, his later 6-digit service number indicates that, when he received it, he was on the strength of one of the various 'lines' of the 2nd Highland Field Company. 

Assuming Spr Clark was not posted elsewhere on his arrival in France (as was the case of some of his comrades with close service numbers), he would have joined either 1/2nd Highland/401st (Alfred Webster's Unit) or 2/2nd Highland/404th Field Companies. These companies principally served with 51st  (Highland) Division on the Western Front. 

With them, his service would have included, if he joined them early enough in 1916, service with the Division in support of the division's successful assault on Beaumont Hamel on 13 November during the closing (Battle of the Ancre) stage of the Battle of the Somme. One exploit of the 404th (then 2/2nd) Field Company during this period was the overnight digging (alongside one company of the 8th Royal Scots, the divisional Pioneer battalion) of New Munich Trench, enabling it to be garrisoned before dawn. For their service on the Somme, both Field Companies were awarded the unofficial RE battle honour "Ancre '16".

Service in 1917 would have included the Battles of Arras (battle honours "1st Scarpe '17" and "2nd  Scarpe '17"). The Field Companies were the first elements of the division to travel down to the Arras sector in January 1917 and it was in the preparatory period for the Battle of Arras that 402903 Alfred Webster was wounded by gassing (from a gas shell) whilst with the 401st Company. The RE also distinguished themselves, at this time, by running a pontoon ferry service from Fampoux via Athies to Blangy for conveying ammunition up the river Scarpe to battery positions in the Scarpe valley, and bringing back the wounded, to take some pressure off the RAMC. 

Subsequently the companies also served at Third Ypres (20-25 September 1917, for which they received the battle honour "Menin Road"), and Cambrai.

After this year of heavy fighting,  the Division was sent to the South and took over a poorly-placed and sited section of the front line in the Lechelle area, opposite the Hindenburg Line. To help remedy this situation, General Harper, the General Officer Commanding,  laid down principles for the construction of a new defensive system, and each of the Field Companies was given a particular sector of the line, with the responsibility for maintaining and developing the defences devolved to the infantry under the Sappers' direction. As such, the Field Companies were heavily engaged throughout the winter and early spring of 1918. For their good work, all ranks and arms were congratulated by General Byng, GOC 3rd Army. In addition, the Royal Engineers were also employed in salving buildings in the rear sector for use by a wide range of Divisional amenities including hot bathhouses for officers and men, Divisional canteens, both retail and wholesale, at which battalion canteens could purchase their stock; wet canteens, a fresh fish, vegetable and egg store, a picture palace, a Divisional theatre, a Divisional soda-water factory, a rest camp for officers and men, and hot soup kitchens.

In 1918 the companies were caught up in the German Spring Offensive, receiving the battle honour "St Quentin '18" amongst others. During this critical period, both companies took an active part in repelling the German attacks. The 51st Division was in the line at the eastern edge of the Artois plateau when the German attack fell on 21 March 1918, with 152nd Brigade holding the central section. The attack was heralded by a severe four-hour bombardment which interrupted all communications within the first quarter of an hour. Once the Germans had gained a foothold in the British line, companies between the Bapaume — Cambrai road and the Louverval valley were forced back into Boursies. Here the divisional artillery came into play, and men of the 401st Field Company were involved with units of 152nd Brigade in holding a wired communications trench, specially sited as a switch line, which played a crucial role in delaying the enemy's advance through Boursies. Dvr. G. S. Copland, of 404th Field Coy. Royal Engineers, who died of wounds 22nd March 1918, aged 24, was most probably wounded in this action. Also an Aberdeen man, he was the eldest of three brothers who fell in the Great War, one - 402132 Cpl C. Copland - who died 8th Sept, 1917, aged 22 with the 404th's sister company, the 401st Field Coy, Royal Engineers at Ypres.  Elements of both Field Companies continued to be engaged throughout the following days, as the fighting retreat continued, fighting alongside both 152nd and 153rd brigades and also subsequently during the Battle of the Lys, to which sector the division had, ironically, been sent for a rest.

Sapper Clark appears on the War Office daily casualty list for 7 July 1918, suggesting a wounding date of early June 1918.

Depending upon the severity of his wound, Sapper Clark may have been back on duty in time to serve during the Hundred days' offensive, when the 404th Company took a prominent part in the Battle of the Selle, bridge building alongside the 400th company, which had been with the 51st Division throughout the war. Here, at Noyelles, the 404th Company brought up its Weldon trestles and pontoons by waggon under accurate rifle and machine gun fire but nonetheless managed to put in place a bridge by 3.45am, only eight hours after Infantry patrols had reached the bank. 

The Divisional Engineers did much good work in throwing both light and heavy bridges over the rivers encountered during the advance, for example over the river Ecaillon at Thiant in October 1918. Here, finding that two fifteen-foot decks could just span the crossing, engineers of the 404th Field Coy under Lt E F Smith constructed the bridge from standard parts in eighteen and a half minutes under heavy shell fire. The division finished the war in rest in the Cambrai-Iwuy area on 11 November 1918.

It is not clear when Sapper Clark was demobilised but assuming he was with the 51st Division, it is likely that it was between December  1918 and March 1919. This would have been part of the division's reduction to a cadre prior to reformation in Scotland as part of the new Territorial Army. 

Sapper Clark's Territorial Force War Medal was  issued to him on 19 April 1922 and he clearly had received his British War and Victory medals by 1924 as in this year they were returned, apparently for adjustment (usually of name or number), and reissued on 16 June 1924.