Chapter I: Part 1

VICTORY!

_By permission of_] [_The Proprietors of “Punch.”_

PUNCH’S VICTORY CARTOON USED FOR THE BATTALION CHRISTMAS CARD, 1918.
]

THE HISTORY OF THE EIGHTH BATTALION THE QUEEN’S OWN ROYAL WEST KENT
REGIMENT
1914–1919

PRINTED PRIVATELY FOR THE BATTALION BY
HAZELL, WATSON & VINEY, LD.
LONDON AND AYLESBURY
1921

TO ALL THOSE COMRADES, BRAVE MEN

AND TRUE, WHO FOUGHT AND DIED,

THIS BOOK IS REVERENTLY DEDICATED.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

_By permission of the Proprietors of “Punch.”_

INTRODUCTION

On the pages of this book an attempt has been made to set down the plain unvarnished story of the life of a Service Battalion during the European War of 1914–1919.

The book originated with a desire, strongly expressed by all ranks of the Battalion in December 1918, that a history should be written. Accordingly a Battalion History Fund was formed, and the work was commenced.

Many difficulties have been encountered since then which have delayed publication considerably.

The narrative, based on the official War Diary of the Battalion, kindly lent by the Officer-in-Charge of Regimental Records, is strictly correct in all main facts. A mass of other detail obtained from note-books and recollections of many who served with the Battalion has had to be sifted and analysed, and if there are criticisms of minor points, we can only assure readers that we have done our best to get accurate information. We regret that from the details available it has not been possible to prepare an accurate list of the total casualties, and we are therefore not attempting to give figures, which would be incomplete. In many cases, however, we have been able to give the number of casualties for definite actions or over certain periods.

The photographs were taken after the Armistice, and consequently show places in their condition at the close of the war.

The maps are included by permission of the Geographical Section, General Staff, who gave us every assistance to reproduce them at a reasonable cost.

The portraits are reproduced by the kind permission of the respective photographers.

We would like to acknowledge here the assistance and the considerate treatment received from the printers, Messrs. Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.

It is hoped that it will now be possible to distribute the history to those who served in the Battalion and who can still be traced, and to the relatives of our comrades who gave their lives.

We trust that all into whose hands the book may come will read and cherish it, with all its defects, as a memento of the days when they or those dear to them fought for England in the trenches of France and Flanders.

H. J. W.
H. S. B.

_March 1921._

CONTENTS

a. PHASE I

b. PAGE

c. THE FORMATION OF THE BATTALION—TRAINING IN ENGLAND—OVERSEAS TO
FRANCE—THE BATTLE OF LOOS (SEPTEMBER 1914–SEPTEMBER 1915) 1

d. PHASE II

e. TRENCH WARFARE IN THE YPRES SALIENT AND AT MESSINES (SEPTEMBER
1915–JULY 1916) 26

f. PHASE III

g. THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME (AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 1916) 45

h. PHASE IV

i. TRENCH WARFARE AT VIMY RIDGE, HULLUCH, AND MAROC—THE ADVANCE ON LENS
61

j. PHASE V

k. THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN IN THE YPRES SALIENT (APRIL–SEPTEMBER 1917) 88

l. PHASE VI

m. TRENCH WARFARE IN THE DEVASTATED AREA AT HARGICOURT (SEPTEMBER
1917–MARCH 1918) 133

n. PHASE VII

o. WITH THE FIFTH ARMY AGAINST THE GREAT GERMAN OFFENSIVE (MARCH–APRIL
1918) 154

p. PHASE VIII

q. TRENCH WARFARE AND “PEACEFUL PENETRATION” AT LENS—DEAN’S V.C.
(MAY–SEPTEMBER 1918) 196

r. PHASE IX

s. THE FINAL ADVANCE FROM CAMBRAI TO MAUBEUGE (OCTOBER–NOVEMBER 1918)
234

t. PHASE X

u. FROM THE ARMISTICE TO THE DISBANDING OF THE CADRE (NOVEMBER
1918–JUNE 1919) 256

v. APPENDIX—HONOURS AWARDS 282

ILLUSTRATIONS

a. PUNCH’S VICTORY CARTOON USED FOR THE BATTALION CHRISTMAS CARD, 1918
_Frontispiece_

b. FACING PAGE

c. PORTRAITS—

a. COLONEL E. VANSITTART, D.S.O. 4

b. LIEUT.-COL. J. C. PARKER 26

c. LIEUT.-COL. N. I. WHITTY, D.S.O. 62

d. LIEUT.-COL. H. J. WENYON, D.S.O. 144

e. LIEUTENANT D. J. DEAN, V.C. 224

d. SANCTUARY WOOD 34

e. CAFÉ BELGE 34

f. DELVILLE WOOD 52

g. THE MEMORIAL BOARD TO THOSE WHO FELL ON THE SOMME, 1916, PLACED IN
GUILLEMONT CEMETERY 52

h. PHILOSOPHE VILLAGE 66

i. POSEN CRATER 66

j. THE DOUBLE CRASSIER 72

k. LOOS VILLAGE AND PUITS 15, KNOWN AS TOWER BRIDGE 72

l. BATTALION HEADQUARTERS IN THE RAMPARTS AT YPRES 92

m. YPRES 92

n. THE MENIN ROAD AT HOOGE 128

o. INVERNESS COPSE 128

p. MONTIGNY FARM 136

q. VENDELLES 136

r. THE COTE WOOD POSITIONS 138

s. “LEICESTER LOUNGE” 138

t. THE TUMULUS 156

u. VADENCOURT CHÂTEAU 156

v. WATLING STREET, COOKER QUARRY, THE SUPPORT POSITIONS, AND IN THE
DISTANCE THE TUMULUS 160

w. THE BRIDGE OVER THE OMIGNON RIVER 160

x. FONCHES 182

y. WARVILLERS 182

z. CITÉ ST. PIERRE—THE OPERA HOUSE 200

aa. OLD GERMAN CONCRETE OBSERVATION POST IN OUR FRONT LINE OPPOSITE LENS
200

ab. HODSON’S HOUSE 208

ac. CAMERON CASTLE 208

ad. CONCRETE PILL BOX IN LENS 220

ae. DEAN’S POST 220

af. AWOINGT 236

ag. HAUSSY 236

ah. THE RIVER SELLE AND THE MILL FROM WHICH MANY PRISONERS WERE TAKEN
244

ai. THE MEMORIAL BOARD AT HAUSSY 244

aj. MAPS

ak. THE YPRES SALIENT 132

a. To illustrate Phases II and V.

al. ST. QUENTIN TO AMIENS 194

a. To illustrate Phase VII.

am. THE LENS AREA 232

a. To illustrate Phases IV and VIII.

an. CAMBRAI TO MAUBEUGE 254

a. To illustrate the Final Advance. Phase IX.

8th BATTALION, THE QUEEN’S OWN,
ROYAL WEST KENT REGIMENT

PHASE I
THE FORMATION OF THE BATTALION—TRAINING IN ENGLAND—OVERSEAS TO
FRANCE—THE BATTLE OF LOOS
_September 1914–September 1915_

The formation of the 8th Battalion, The Queen’s Own, Royal West Kent Regiment may be said to have commenced early in September 1914. The men who enlisted at the various recruiting offices of the Royal West Kent Regiment at that time were sent down to the regimental depot at Maidstone. The depot was not built to accommodate half the number of recruits which came pouring in, and the new-comers got a very bad impression of what the Army would be like. The feeding arrangements were bad, and they found that a man was lucky if he got someone else’s dirty plate, and still luckier if he got some food to put on it. After 5 p.m. all were allowed out into the town, and it was there that the majority got their only real meal of the day.

The sleeping accommodation was quite inadequate. There were about a dozen tents, and the gymnasium, dining-hall, and all available spaces were crowded. But even then many men had to sleep out of doors. A few slept in the town, as, although no one was allowed out of barracks, the military police on duty let it be known that it was possible to get through the railings without being seen.

The average stay at Maidstone was about three days, and on Saturday, September 12, some 600 or 700 men were collected and taken by train to Shoreham-by-Sea, under the command of Major Venables, who returned at once to Maidstone. The reception at Shoreham was even less encouraging than at Maidstone. After considerable difficulty the men were got into some sort of order and marched in simply pouring rain to a field opposite the infirmary, where there was no accommodation at all, and they were told to stay under the trees to keep dry. By this time every man was wet through, and as there was apparently nobody present with much authority and no likelihood of an improvement, it is small wonder that many men took train for home, returning on Monday, when things were rather better. For those that remained bell tents were eventually pitched, the men being told off ten to a tent. Later some wet blankets and equally wet loaves of bread were distributed. No feeding utensils were issued for some days, and a piece of wood or newspaper had to serve as plate, and the fingers as knife, fork, and spoon. The tea invariably had half an inch of grease on the top, while the food was almost uneatable.

On Monday, September 14, the majority of those who had gone away on the Saturday returned, and a further detachment of some three hundred arrived, bringing the number up to nearly one thousand. Up to this time there seems to have been no officer present at all, and the Battalion had been under the command of Sergt.-Maj. Evans, but on the 14th Col. E. Vansittart, Commanding Officer, and Lieut. and Quartermaster Guess arrived, and things began to improve. Capt. Middleton arrived on the 17th, and took up the duties of Adjutant.

The difficulties of maintaining discipline will be understood when it is said that there were now in camp at Shoreham the infantry of a whole division, all in mufti, and all, with the exception of a very few officers and a few N.C.O.s, absolutely untrained. The only man in the Battalion in uniform was Sergt.-Maj. Evans. The other N.C.O.s were recognised by a red arm-band for sergeants and a white arm-band for corporals, while an officer was only distinguishable by the carrying of a walking-stick. The number of experienced N.C.O.s was quite inadequate, and the necessary establishment had to be made up by picking out the men who seemed most intelligent and likely to act as leaders.

The Battalion was brigaded with the 8th Battalion, The Queen’s, Royal West Surrey Regiment, the 8th Battalion, The Buffs, East Kent Regiment, the 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment, and for the first few weeks the 13th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, which made up the 72nd Infantry Brigade, under the command of Brig.-Gen. B. R. Mitford, C.B., D.S.O. This Brigade, with the 71st and 73rd Brigades, formed the infantry of the 24th Division, under Maj.-Gen. Sir John Ramsay, K.C.B.

By the end of the month the camp was moved to the Oxenfield, or Recreation Ground, and the commands in the Battalion were then as follows:

Commanding Officer, Col. E. Vansittart.
2nd-in-Command, Maj. L. Brock-Hollinshead.
Adjutant, Capt. C. de C. Middleton.
Quartermaster, Lieut. C. Guess.
Sergt.-Maj. H. Evans.
Quartermaster-Sergt. W. Dadd.
Officer Commanding A Company, Maj. F. M. Walters.
Colour-Sergt. Skinner.
Officer Commanding B Company, Maj. E. V. O. Hewett.
Colour-Sergt. Lee.
Officer Commanding C Company, Maj. O. J. Daniel.
Colour-Sergt. Fisher.
Officer Commanding D Company, Maj. J. C. Chillingworth.
Colour-Sergt. Burn.
And about four subalterns per company.

_Photo by_] [_Elliott & Fry, London_.

COLONEL E. VANSITTART, D.S.O.

Commanding the Battalion September 1914–September 1915.
]

Training was, of course, very quickly in full swing. It consisted for the first few weeks of squad drill and marching and nothing else. Squad drill from 6.30 a.m. until 8 a.m., squad drill and a little marching from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and squad drill from 2 to 5 p.m. It became rather monotonous, but was, of course, very necessary. After a while a little physical drill was added as a slight variation, and just occasionally an afternoon was employed in marching down to the sea for bathing. On Saturdays work stopped at 4 p.m. instead of 5 p.m., while even on Sundays the 6.30 to 8 a.m. parade was held in addition to church parade, so that it can be seen that we were starting in no half-hearted fashion. So seriously indeed were we setting out on our training, that officers did not dare to ask for permission to go to Brighton after hours, unless it was to get their hair cut, and it must be admitted that hair seemed to grow rather quickly in those days.

By this time the interior economy of the Battalion was more or less on an organised basis, and considerable progress began to be seen in all directions. In physique and keenness a very large majority of the men were splendid, and there was no doubt that we had the nucleus of a very fine battalion. On the other hand, there were some men who were obviously medically unfitted for an army life, and who ought not to have been passed in at all. Fortunately it was quite easy in these early days to discharge such men, and by the end of October those “unlikely to make efficient soldiers” had been pretty well weeded out. No one could have wished for a finer set of men than the 1,026 who were retained.

It was about this time that the blue uniforms were issued. They were blue serge, and though not beautiful and not particularly military, they gave the Battalion an appearance of uniformity, and were an enormous improvement on the very varied collection of mufti previously in use. In addition to appearance, the change was very beneficial to discipline, as it had been formerly impossible to tell whether a man was a soldier or not.

The month of October was brilliantly fine, and very great progress was made with the training, but November was not so kind, and the weather got worse and worse, until by the end of the month the camp was no better than a mud patch about six inches deep, and, as always happens in a muddy camp, had become very unhealthy, and was condemned by the sanitary authorities.

The Division then went into billets at Brighton, Shoreham, and Worthing. The 72nd Brigade went by train on November 30 to Worthing, where the Battalion was billeted at the western end of the town, and had very good billets indeed. The people of Worthing were most kind to us, and no one will forget the very pleasant four months’ stay there. Right up to the end of the war we continued to get regular parcels of comforts sent out by the townspeople, and we cannot be too grateful to the town of Worthing for their kindness both during our stay and afterwards.

The training facilities were perhaps not quite so good at Worthing, but the Downs could still be reached by a short march, and the Recreation Ground was excellent for close-order drill parades.

One of the difficulties at Shoreham had been the absence of rifles. At first only a few imitation rifles made of solid wood were available; then a little later six D.P.s (i.e. for drill purposes only, unsafe for firing) were issued per company, and were used for training the officers and N.C.O.s in musketry. Shortly after reaching Worthing, D.P.s were issued to the whole Battalion, and arms drill became for a time one of the principal items on the programme of work.

The extreme, and in fact excessive ardour with which we had entered into our training had been wisely tempered down, and parades now lasted about seven hours a day, instead of eight and a half; we also had a proper half-holiday on Saturdays, and the early morning parade on Sundays had been knocked off. Christmas leave of four clear days was given to the whole Battalion in batches between the third week in December and the second week in January. When this was over, company training was started, and this was the order of the day for the rest of the stay at Worthing.

We now had supplies of full-dress scarlet tunics, which were obtained from the depot, and which were worn for church parades and when proceeding on leave. There were not enough to go round the whole Battalion, only 460 coats and trousers and 420 caps, so the men who appeared on parade in the ordinary blue were either excused or marched to church as a separate party.

About the beginning of March the Battalion was issued with its first khaki service dress, and this was a most cherished possession, and was only worn for battalion drill parades, which took place each Saturday, and for church parades on Sunday, the scarlet being then returned to Maidstone. We had previously, however, about the beginning of January, been issued with khaki greatcoats, which had been taken into general use. Five miniature rifle ranges were erected at Worthing, and much morris-tube firing was done, and the musketry made great progress all round.

At the end of March the Battalion moved by train from Worthing, which was left with many regrets, to Redhill, where we were again in good billets. The only work or training done during the three weeks’ stay there was digging trenches for the London defences at Merstham. This meant parading at about 7.30 a.m. and marching four and a half miles, working until 3 p.m., with half an hour’s break for eating haversack rations, and then marching home, a somewhat exhausting job and very tedious when repeated day after day.

In the third week of April the Battalion returned by train to Shoreham-by-Sea, and went into a new hutment camp which had been erected on the southern slopes of the Downs, just north of the village. The accommodation was quite up to the normal, except that we had by this time amassed something like seventy officers (every platoon had at least three, and most platoons four), and as a consequence the officers’ accommodation, which was only meant for a normal establishment, was rather overcrowded.

From the point of view of training it was much more satisfactory to be back in camp again. Most of this stay at Shoreham was devoted to battalion training, and no more suitable piece of country could have been found. The only difficulty was that the whole division was now at Shoreham, and that in order to save congestion the ground was divided into areas and allotted weekly to units, which meant very often a long march before the actual training could be started. Usually the Battalion had covered some twenty miles as well as carrying out a tactical exercise by the time that it returned to camp in the afternoon. Night work by companies was carried out frequently.

Some of the transport wagons and animals were issued here, and cookers occasionally accompanied the Battalion. Many of the mules were untrained, and were taken in hand by Lieut. S. R. Paul and Sergt. Wood, up to that time Sergt. Master-Cook, who became transport officer and transport sergeant respectively. The majority of the transport, however, was not issued until we reached Aldershot.

The weather was, on the whole, very fine and hot, and although these long days in such weather were very tiring, there is no doubt that they got us into the very pink of condition.

The second suit of khaki was issued on arrival at Shoreham, and from that time was taken into general use, and we felt that we really were soldiers at last.

It was at Shoreham also that our band was formed from men who already had a knowledge of, and were able to provide, their own instruments. These were later supplemented by gifts from various officers. The band was taken in hand by Sergt. Baker, and was the pet hobby of Capt. Middleton, the adjutant. We had possessed our own drums for a long time.

At the end of June we moved by road to Blackdown Camp, near Aldershot. The march occupied three days, halts being made at Horsham and Guildford, where billets for the night were provided. Blackdown, though of course a satisfactory place from a purely military point of view, was by no means so pleasant in other respects as our former stations. It had a dirty appearance and the country was anything but beautiful. It also had the disadvantage of being a long way from a station or town, being almost equidistant from Aldershot, Farnborough, and Camberley.

The men were in huts and the officers either in the old married quarters of the barracks or else under canvas.

Soon after arrival at Blackdown service rifles were issued, and the bulk of the training was devoted to brushing up musketry prior to firing the general musketry course. Most of July and the early part of August were devoted to firing, and little else was done all through this period, as companies not actually firing were nearly always on duty in the butts. The results were rather disappointing, due very largely to the abominable weather. After the lovely days of the early part of the summer it was very unfortunate that we should have such bad luck for the musketry course. It became very much colder, the light was often most indifferent, and we were also bothered by frequent high winds and a lot of rain. On many of the days on which we fired, shooting would have been cancelled under peace conditions; but time was short, and we were forced to get on with the work if the targets could be seen at all. However, the course gave the men confidence in their new rifles, and a very large majority attained at least the standard of second-class shot in spite of the weather. Bombing instruction, under 2nd Lieut. Hough, and scouting, under 2nd Lieuts. Harris and Eccles, was also carried out, and the Lewis guns were issued and used for training.

On August 12 the Division was inspected by Field-Marshal Earl Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War. The whole Division was drawn up in one line of battalions in mass, and Earl Kitchener rode down the line from the right, and was received with the general salute. The whole proceedings, as far as each battalion was concerned, lasted about two minutes, but no one with experience of these functions will be surprised to hear that we were on parade waiting for over one and half hours before anything happened.

The rest of the month of August was devoted to training in trench warfare, final preparations for proceeding overseas, and embarkation leave. The trench-warfare scheme was carried out by the whole division. The two opposing forces marched under war conditions until they met on Chobham Common after dark, when each side commenced to dig in with entrenching tools until the large tools were brought up. Work was continued under war conditions until 7 o’clock the next morning, when peace conditions were resumed in order to enable the work of completing the trenches to be pushed on more quickly. It was intended that the troops should occupy the trenches for some days and that reliefs should be practised, and finally a trench-to-trench attack and consolidation carried out. It happened, however, that the weather was very bad, and the scheme was abandoned on the second day.

On that day the King and Queen visited the Division and walked along the trenches, speaking to many of the officers and men, and we felt that this foreshadowed a fairly imminent departure for other trenches. Immediately the trench-warfare scheme was abandoned, embarkation leave commenced, each man getting four clear days.

On about Wednesday, August 25, instructions were received to be ready to proceed overseas on the following Sunday. All leave was cancelled from Friday, and the last three days were spent in one long rush of packing up, kit inspection, exchange and issue of new kit, and all the necessary preliminaries for proceeding on active service.

On Sunday, August 29, the Battalion actually left Blackdown for Southampton. The organisation of the Battalion as it proceeded overseas was as follows:

Commanding Officer, Col. E. Vansittart.
2nd-in-Command, Maj. L. Brock-Hollinshead.
Adjutant, Capt. C. de C. Middleton.
Machine-Gun Officer, Lieut. W. K. Tillie.
Transport Officer, Lieut. S. R. Paul.
Quartermaster, Lieut. H. Evans.
Regt.-Sergt.-Maj. A. Lee.
Regt.-Quartermaster-Sergt. W. Dadd.

A Company:
Commander, Maj. A. H. Pullman.
2nd-in-Command, Lieut. R. M. Old.
Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Campion.
No. 1 Platoon, Lieut. L. Gibbs.
No. 2 Platoon, Lieut. R. M. Old.
No. 3 Platoon, Lieut. H. S. Brown.
No. 4 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. C. D. N. Lawson.

B Company:
Commander, Capt. R. W. Grant.
2nd-in-Command, Lieut. P. T. Smith.
Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Ackhurst.
No. 5 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. E. A. Bigsby (Billeting Officer).
No. 6 Platoon, Lieut. N. B. Green.
No. 7 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. V. G. Don.
No. 8 Platoon, Lieut. O. Jones (Engineering Officer).

C Company:
Commander, Capt. A. C. Edwards.
2nd-in-Command, Capt. C. A. Hutchinson.
Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Mills.
No. 9 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. D. H. Watts.
No. 10 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. M. S. Ell.
No. 11 Platoon, Lieut. H. L. Lewis.
No. 12 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. A. N. Harris (Scout Officer).

D Company:
Commander, Major J. C. Chillingworth.
2nd-in-Command, Capt. P. M. Robertson-Ross.
Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Acland.
No. 13 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. R. F. T. Burrell.
No. 14 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. H. O. Beer.
No. 15 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. G. de L. Hough (Bombing Officer).
No. 16 Platoon, 2nd Lieut. D. W. Plant (Signalling Officer).

We journeyed to Southampton in two trains, half of the transport going with each half battalion, and on arrival in the afternoon the Battalion was marched to the docks and there detained in a large shed, on account of submarines. The next day was spent in the shed, and the Battalion embarked late in the afternoon, and left the docks in time to reach the open sea, where the convoy was met by a patrol of destroyers, as it was getting dark. The sea, without being particularly rough, was sufficiently uncomfortable to make many people wish for dry land again. We anchored outside Havre in the early hours of the morning, and went into the harbour soon after daylight. There we disembarked, and marched up to camp on the high ground about Honkville. The troops were delighted with the new experience of being in a foreign country, and were in most excellent spirits. We remained in this camp until the next morning, when we marched down to the Gare des Marchandises and entrained at about 11 o’clock. This being the Battalion’s first experience of travelling in cattle trucks (40 hommes and 8 chevaux), considerable disgust was expressed. But this mode of travelling became quite a normal thing for those who had an extended career in France. After a very slow journey of seventeen hours, via Rouen and Abbeville, we detrained at Montreuil at about 4 a.m. and marched to Hucqueliers, a halt being made on the way for breakfast.

The billets at Hucqueliers were very good, and the population was most kind to us. Training was continued by companies, considerable time being devoted to field firing, which was carried on in any likely spot, and seven ranges were constructed for target firing. Later some big divisional field days were included in the programme, the most memorable being an alarm in the night, followed by a field exercise lasting until 6 p.m. the next evening.

After a stay of nearly three weeks the Battalion marched out of Hucqueliers at 6 p.m. on September 21, and proceeded to Dennebroeucq, which was reached in the middle of the night. There were no billets or camp available, and the men bivouacked in a field with no covering except their own waterproof sheets. There was a barn available for the officers, but it was so plentifully supplied with fleas that many wished they had remained in the field.

The next night the march was continued to Isbergues, the Battalion being billeted in the brewery, and a much more comfortable day was spent than the last. The next night a short move of about three miles was made and quite satisfactory barns and billets occupied; while on the night of the 24th the march was continued through Choques, which was full of guns, ambulances, and other very warlike appliances, to Bethune, where the Battalion was billeted in the tobacco factory, with the officers in an empty house on the opposite side of the road.

The four nights’ marching had been rather exhausting, not so much on account of their length as on account of the congestion of traffic on the roads, which, combined with the darkness, made progress very slow.

The officers had already been told that they were going into the biggest battle the world had ever known, and were also told that their rôle would be to march through to Douai and hold it, a task which was considerably modified before we actually reached the battle.

On the morning of September 25 the 72nd Brigade moved to Beuvry, and from there marched to a point behind Vermelles, where the battalions rested on the road-side. The Battle of Loos was now in full swing, and many prisoners and wounded were coming down from the line, but no very definite information could be got from them. The task now allotted to the Division was that it should pass through the village of Hulluch, which was believed to be in our hands, and then capture and organise the Pont-a-Vendin bridgehead some three and a half miles further east. As a matter of fact, the 73rd Brigade and two battalions of the 71st were detached to other parts of the line, leaving only the 72nd Brigade to carry out the attack.

When night fell the Brigade moved up from Vermelles, and opened out into artillery formation, as the exits to the village were being shelled, advancing first on Le Rutoire Farm and then on a compass bearing to the Lone Tree, where the Battalion halted and got into touch with the other battalions of the Brigade. Later the advance was resumed, with the Battalion leading the Brigade, and the final position reached during the night was a line of old German trenches parallel to and some 1,000 yards west of the Lens-La Bassee road. It is interesting to note that although this part of the line was supposed to be occupied, no troops were passed on the way up, and there were none in the trenches to be relieved.

Although the shelling had been fairly heavy, the casualties were not very serious, but included Lieut. P. T. Smith, slightly wounded in the foot. He refused, however, to be sent down to hospital. Col. Vansittart was also slightly wounded in the hand during the night.

Our instructions were that we should attack at dawn, the objective for the Brigade being the main German position some 2,000 yards away, which stretched from Hulluch village on the left to the Bois Hugo and on to Hill 70 on the right, our frontage being from Hulluch to the Bois Hugo.

Considerable sniping and random shell-fire was kept up by the enemy during the night, but did very little damage. The Battalion scouts, under 2nd Lieut. Harris, were sent forward during the night, 25/26th, and came back with the report that Hulluch was in the hands of the enemy and strongly organised, and that they were also holding the line of the Lens-La Bassee road. The whole Battalion could not be accommodated in the main firing trench, and an attempt was made by C and D Companies to dig a parallel trench in front, but, owing to the approach of daylight, and the increasing attentions of the enemy’s whizz-bangs and machine-gun fire, this was abandoned, and the surplus was withdrawn into a communication trench, where the men hollowed out scoops for themselves as additional protection from the shelling which was enfilading them.

No orders for the attack at dawn came to us, and we had to wait. As the light grew stronger, the enemy’s artillery fire increased and casualties became more numerous, while our guns did heavy counter-battery work. At about 10.20 a.m. Col. Vansittart was sent for by the Brigadier and got orders to attack at 11 a.m.; he reached the Battalion again at 10.53, and only had time to give orders for the whole Battalion to move up into the fire trench, and to tell off companies as firing line and supports. We were told that there were plenty more fellows in reserve to go through us, and that the troops on either flank would attack simultaneously with ourselves. We were to leave Hulluch village on our left, and it would be dealt with by the troops on our flank.

Punctually at 11 o’clock the first wave, with B and D Companies in the front line, left our trenches, followed at short intervals by the subsequent waves. The 9th East Surreys were on our right, and the 8th Buffs (right) and the 8th Queen’s (left) were in support. Instead of a whole division attacking on our left, a handful of some fifty to seventy-five men, belonging to a Welsh regiment, alone left our trenches, the orders apparently having arrived too late, while the right flank of the East Surreys also appears to have been in the air.

The ground to be covered sloped gradually down to the Lens-La Bassee road, and from there rose to the main German positions, about 1,100 yards beyond, near the crest of the ridge running north from Hill 70. The attack was carried out at a marching pace in order to save the men’s breath for the final charge and bayonet work, and the advance was so steady and the formations so regular that it looked more like a field day at Aldershot than part of a great battle. The enemy brought a very heavy rifle, machine-gun, and artillery fire to bear on the attacking lines, and shortened his range to keep pace with the advance with wonderful precision; but the casualties up to this point, though severe, were not inordinately heavy.

When the first wave was still some hundred yards short of the main road, the enemy withdrew, some retiring in very open order up the hill, and many of these were shot down by our men, while stronger parties made off to either flank, those on our left gaining the village of Hulluch, and those on the right reaching a sunken road on the near side of the Bois Hugo. A very severe machine-gun fire from either flank swept the road, and very heavy casualties were sustained in crossing it. About 400 yards east of the road the Battalion passed a forward German trench full of enemy dead.

As the advance swept up the long slope towards the main German trenches the machine-gun fire increased in intensity, being very severe from both flanks. Shelling directed from behind Hill 70 and from the south-eastern part of Hulluch was also very heavy, and two field guns were brought up to a position from which they took the attack first from the flank and later from the left rear, firing practically over open sights. In spite of the very heavy casualties which were being sustained, the Battalion continued its advance up the slope with the utmost gallantry, but it was found on reaching the enemy’s main position that the barbed wire protecting it was absolutely intact. What more hopeless situation could possibly have arisen? When the orders for the attack were issued, it had been assumed that all the enemy’s wire had been cut by our bombardment, but here, after a most gallant advance of about 2,100 yards in face of a murderous fire, not only from the front, but also from both flanks, the Battalion, and in fact the whole Brigade were faced with a thick belt of uncut wire, swept by artillery, rifle, and machine-gun fire from three different directions. With assistance on our flanks to keep the enemy occupied and to draw a due proportion of his fire, it would perhaps still have been possible to force a way through the wire and capture the trench. We wish to make it quite clear that we are not blaming our comrades on either flank for their failure to help us. The facts appear to be that at the time fixed for our attack the enemy himself launched a counter-attack against the troops on our right, who were consequently pinned to their ground, while the orders did not reach those on our left in time, with the consequence that the 72nd Brigade had both its flanks exposed, and the enemy was able to concentrate on the one brigade the fire of the artillery and small arms which would normally have been used on the front of three divisions. Many men made gallant attempts to get through the wire, 2nd Lieut. Don being killed when half-way through. The remainder dropped to the ground where they were and returned the heavy fire from the enemy’s trench. The situation, however, was hopeless. In front was an impenetrable belt of wire, and the line, such as was left of it, raked with rifle and machine-gun fire from the front and both flanks, and enfiladed by an equally deadly artillery fire. What were the men to do? Turn to their officers for orders? Out of the twenty-five officers who had left our trench little more than an hour before, only one was now unhit. To stay where they were, outflanked on both sides, was impossible, and the poor remnant of that gallant Battalion was forced to make its way back to the line of German trenches from which it had started. There they remained for the rest of the day, subjected to heavy shell-fire. Lieut. W. K. Tillie, the Battalion M.G.O., the only officer who was not a casualty, brought the Battalion out of the line the same night, when it was relieved and moved back to bivouac in a field near Noeux-les-Mines.

Had the Battalion had more experience of modern warfare, it is probable that a nucleus of officers, N.C.O.s, and specialists would have been left behind at the transport lines before entering a big battle; but, as it was, every available officer and man went into the line, and with casualties to every combatant officer except one, and over 550 other ranks out of about 900, the organisation of the Battalion was temporarily ruined, and what remained of one of the finest and most gallant battalions that ever left England required months of careful rebuilding before it was a semblance of its old self. To those who had seen the Battalion grow from its infancy and who lived to look back on that day, there remained, and will remain, an everlasting regret that it should have been frittered away in two short hours on a hopeless task; but at least we know and are proud that the task was undertaken with a determination and bravery which could not have been excelled, and the fact that it was impossible is the only reason why it was not accomplished.

Of the twenty-four officer casualties, thirteen were killed. Major Brock-Hollinshead, the 2nd-in-Command, Lieuts. Gibbs and Lawson of A Company, Lieuts. Smith, Bigsby, and Don of B Company, Capt. Edwards and Lieuts. Watts and Harris of C Company, and Capt. Robertson-Ross and Lieuts. Burrell, Beer, and Plant of D Company; Col. Vansittart and Major Chillingworth, Capts. Middleton and Hutchinson, Lieuts. Old and Ell were badly wounded, and were picked up by the enemy after lying exposed in No Man’s Land for many hours; and the only five to reach England were Major Pullman, Capt. Grant, and Lieuts. Green, Lewis, and Hough.

For gallantry in this battle Major Pullman was awarded the D.S.O., Lieut. Tillie the Military Cross, and Col. Vansittart and 2nd Lieut. Don were mentioned in dispatches. After the Armistice a further award of the Distinguished Service Order to Col. Vansittart was announced, and was a most fitting tribute to his gallant personal leading and a great compliment to the Battalion which he had brought to such a high state of efficiency during the period of training.

When he was back in England in 1917, Col. Vansittart closed his report to the War Office with the following paragraph: “Might I add that the 8th Royal West Kents actually got from half to three-quarters of a mile east of Hulluch—that although the fire was very heavy and from every direction, officers and men alike showed not the least semblance of any check or stop. They advanced as if on parade and under perfect discipline till they reached the enemy’s undamaged barbed-wire entanglement, beyond which they were unable to go; and here our losses were very heavy.”

Writing to Mrs. Vansittart after the battle, Gen. Mitford said: “Nothing too much can be said for the 8th Royal West Kent Regiment; notwithstanding the shell and machine-gun fire under which they advanced over open slopes destitute of cover, they never wavered an instant, but moved on towards their objective as if on parade.”

The other three battalions of the Brigade were nearly as badly hit, and the total casualties were approximately 78 officers, and 2,000 other ranks, out of about 3,600.

The following address by Brig.-Gen. B. R. Mitford, C.B., D.S.O., was read to the 72nd Infantry Brigade at the Parade Services on October 3, 1915:

“72ND INFANTRY BRIGADE,

“Last Sunday the Brigade went into action for the first time, only a year after they came forward at their Country’s call.

“The way the Brigade advanced under very heavy machine-gun and artillery fire from flanks and rear has evoked the approbation of the Divisional and Corps Commanders. You were an example in steadiness and determination to carry out your task, not only to the new Armies, but also to seasoned troops, who could not have done better than you have.

“As I say, you carried out your task, but you had to retire. Yet do not think it was a failure, for it was not, as you caused 16 battalions of the enemy reserves to be brought up into your area and taken away from the French just South of us, thereby enabling the French to make an appreciable advance.

“I should like all of you who know the relatives of those who are no longer with us to tell them how gallantly they fought and how nobly they served their Country, in whose service they fell, and what prestige they brought on the names of the Regiments to which they belonged.

“Men of the Queen’s, Buffs, East Surreys, Royal West Kents, you have added glory to the ancient Regiments of which you are the children. You have made for the 72nd Infantry Brigade a name which none of you can be anything but proud of, and which I know, in the future, you will never allow to diminish.

“I feel it a great honour to have had the chance of commanding such troops on service, and I shall never forget the ground about Hulluch village.”

PHASE II
TRENCH WARFARE IN THE YPRES SALIENT AND AT MESSINES
_September 1915–July 1916_

After Loos the work of rebuilding the Battalion was commenced at once.

From the plains of Hulluch the remnant of the Battalion was withdrawn to Mollinghem, thence to Houtkerque, and finally to the muddy camps at Reninghelst.

Here, on Oct. 6, Maj. J. C. Parker came to take over command of the Battalion. Large drafts of officers and other ranks had been arriving from the 3rd and 9th Battalions, but it was not possible to give many days to the important work of reconstruction, and on October 15 Major Parker took the Battalion into the trenches at Spoil Bank, on the Ypres-Commines canal. Six-day trench tours with four-day intervals spent in the Reninghelst mud were the order of the day.

_Photo by_] [_J. Weston & Son, Folkestone._

LIEUT.-COL. J. C. PARKER.

Commanding the Battalion October 1915–August 1916 and January-October
1917.
]

During the tour on the Bluff, November 3 to 7, the Germans blew a crater in front of our lines. This was distinctly an “experience” for the Battalion in the trenches for almost the first time. This trench work was a very trying time indeed. The state of our positions at St. Eloi, where we held the trenches from November 12 to 19, was almost indescribable. Our trenches were towards the bottom of the slope east of St. Eloi village, and all water drained into the bottom of the valley. Rain was continuous, there were practically no shelters whatever in the front line, and the trenches were nearly waist deep in water. The enemy whizz-banged our tottering parapets at all hours, and the sniping from the trenches on the high ground was wonderfully accurate. The removal of wounded was a matter of extraordinary difficulty and danger. The rests at Reninghelst between trench tours were rests only in name. Large working parties had to go up every day to St. Eloi, the Bluff, or Spoil Bank. Parades were usually at 5.30 a.m., and the parties were conveyed to Café Belge in G.S. wagons. From there a march of two hours, often in a deluge of rain, brought the party to its work. About 5 p.m. the return journey from Café Belge would commence, and the tired party—usually depleted by a few casualties—would be swallowed into the mud of the camp again between 6 and 7. Training was almost impossible. It was with great relief that the Battalion heard during that terrible tour in the St. Eloi trenches that it was to be the last for the time being. On November 19 the Battalion came out of the trenches at St. Eloi, and marched, via Eecke, Ochtezeele, and Houles, to Bonningues, a small village some ten miles from St. Omer.

Towards the end of this march Capt. N. I. Whitty, 2nd Battalion, joined as 2nd-in-Command.

The Battalion arrived at Bonningues on November 25, 1915, and stayed there till January 4, 1916. Few who were with the Battalion during those five weeks will ever forget the stay there. The villagers were very kind to us, and the rest and peace after the terrible shock of the Battle of Loos, and the very trying trench life which had followed, were just what were required to knit together the Battalion and set it firmly on its feet again. New officers got to know their men, and the men got to know their platoon commanders. Training and refitting occupied most of each day, but on half-holidays and on Sundays one could roam on to the hills and gloat over the really beautiful scenery. The weather was fine on most days. During the month a good deal of football was played. In the Inter-company Competition B Company won, while in the Officers v. Sergeants’ match the Sergeants lost by 14 goals to nil! B Company also reached the semi-final in the Divisional Inter-company Competition. An inter-company cross-country run was arranged, forty runners per company, and was won by A Company.

The whole Battalion spent a very happy Christmas at Bonningues.

Before we watch the Battalion marching into the line again, we might recall the names of some of the officers and N.C.O.s of the Battalion at this time. Lieut.-Col. J. C. Parker was commanding the Battalion, with Capt. N. I. Whitty as 2nd-in-Command. Capt. W. K. Tillie, M.C., was adjutant. The company commanders were: A Company, Capt. W. Wood (one of the family of Wood which has been so long associated with the Royal West Kent Regiment); B Company was commanded by Capt. W. V. Ross (who had till recently been an N.C.O. in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders); C Company, Capt. T. P. P. Walker (from the 9th Battalion); and D Company, Capt. C. F. Penton (who had been with the 8th Battalion in England). Lieut. Evans was Quartermaster. The Warrant Officers were: Regt.-Sergt.-Maj. Lee, Regt.-Quartermaster-Sergt. Dadd; A Company, Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Elson; B Company, Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Ackhurst; C Company, Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Verrall; D Company, Coy.-Sergt.-Maj. Acland; Cpl. W. C. Carr was chief clerk in the orderly room, and Sergt. Wood was Transport Sergeant.

During the rest at Bonningues two very successful Sergeants’ suppers and concerts were organised under Regt.-Sergt.-Maj. Lee.

A few days before leaving the rest area the whole of the 72nd Brigade, still under the command of Brig.-Gen. B. R. Mitford, C.B., D.S.O., were reviewed by Gen. Plumer, whose army in the Ypres Salient the 24th Division was about to join.

The usual reconnoitring party set off early on the morning of December 28, by motor bus, to reconnoitre the Boesinghe Area with a view to taking over those trenches. On arrival it was found that a gas attack had been launched by the Boche a few days previously, and he had attempted to come over, but had been driven back by the 47th Division, whom he had then shelled mercilessly and with little reply for thirty-six hours. The 47th Division had suffered many casualties and were very weak in numbers, one company being down to twenty-three men. The reconnoitring party was hailed with joy by the men in the line. The trenches were in a bad state and reeking of asphyxiating and lachrymatory gas.

Having spent thirty-six hours in the trenches and thoroughly reconnoitred the area and the Canal Bank Dug-outs, the party returned, not very favourably impressed with what it imagined to be its next trench area.

The next few days were spent by the Battalion in rigorous gas training, a special expert being sent down by General Headquarters to lecture on the subject. On January 2 orders were received that the Battalion would entrain on the 4th and 5th, and proceed to Poperinghe, preparatory to taking over the Hooge Sector. Although not very sweet on the Boesinghe Area, the name of Hooge struck an almost more unpleasant chord with some of us.

On January 5 the Battalion, now quite up to strength again, entrained at Audrieq for Poperinghe.

On January 6 the Battalion moved up and took over from the 12th Manchester Regiment the right sector of the Hooge Trenches B1-C3, being disposed as follows: B Company on the right, A Company on the left, D Company in support, C Company in reserve.

A quiet five days were passed, B Company being slightly shelled from the direction of Hill 60, and suffering a few casualties.

On the night of January 11 the Battalion moved back to Belgian Château, and remained there in support till the evening of January 14, whence it moved back to Ouderdon, forming part of the 24th Divisional Reserve.

Here from January 15 to 26 training was continued.

On January 27 the Battalion took over the left of the left sector of the Hooge trenches from the 8th Queens, where it remained till January 31. A very quiet few days were spent in the trenches, only two casualties being recorded.

On the night of January 31, B Company and half C Company moved back to camp at Ouderdon, and A Company, D Company, and half C Company moved across to the left in support to the Railway Wood Trenches, A Company and half C Company being in the Ramparts, and D Company in direct support.

Working parties were the order every night while in this position, assisting the Mining Company in making deep dug-outs in Hill 20 and Leicester Alley.

On the night of February 5, A and D Companies moved up and took over trenches A1, A2, and Hill 19 and 20 from the 8th Queens, D Company taking over A1 and A2. A1 was a trench entirely unconnected with the remainder of the system, there being no access to it except a duckboard walk “over the top”.

As this was about the date of the Kaiser’s birthday, the Boche became very bombastic, and prophesied large attacks, but nothing of any importance took place.

On the night of February 8 the Battalion was relieved in this sector by the 2nd Leinsters, and moved back to rest in Camp C, where it remained for a week, training being continued, chiefly in bombing.

On the 16th the Battalion moved up and took over the Belgian Château Dug-outs from the 8th Buffs.

The Boche was now getting considerably more aggressive all round the Salient, and it was thought that he might attack during the coming spring.

On the afternoon of the 19th a disaster occurred which shook the Battalion very considerably, and carried off some of its best officers. The Battalion was due to move into the Sanctuary Wood Trenches about 5 p.m., and all orders had been issued to that effect. At about 3 p.m. a long-range naval shell fell in the neighbourhood of B Company’s Headquarters Dug-out, followed by another at a short interval which obtained a direct hit on the dug-out. Capt. Ross and Lieut. Atkinson, who were in the dug-out, were badly wounded. Capt. Ross subsequently died, and Lieut. Atkinson lost a leg. As D Company’s Headquarters’ Dug-out was close by, the Officer Commanding D Company at once left his dug-out and tried to summon aid and render what assistance he could. He had only got about six yards from the entrance of D Company’s Dug-out when another shell followed, which burst right in the dug-out entrance, severely wounding its three occupants, all of whom subsequently died of their wounds. Thus perished Lieut. W. L. Wigan, a regular officer, who had served with the 1st Battalion, and who was universally loved by all ranks. His loss to D Company could not be adequately expressed. Also 2nd Lieut. Cadell of D Company, a bright, cheery boy, and 2nd Lieut. G. M. Stanton, who had only been with the Company about a week.

The commotion caused by this unhappy event seems to have been observed somehow by the Boche, who shelled the whole length of the dug-outs for the next hour or so, though without inflicting much further damage.