Wednesday 15th September 1915

In front line trenches near Bois Grenier.

Bois Grenier was widely regarded as a quiet sector, although it had been the scene of sharp fighting between French and German forces early in the war. 23^rd Division now held a front of 4,500 yards, running from a point 300 yards south of the Ferme Grande Flamengerie to the Armentieres – Wez Macquart Road. Divisional HQ was established at Croix du Bac with 69^th Brigade, taking control of the right sector of the front, with HQ at Erquinghem-Lys.

The front line in the area was well-established but this had only been achieved following much hard work in early 1915. The first defensive line of trenches had been dug in dry conditions in the Autumn of 1914. These had been paved with brick ‘harvested’ from nearby walls and buildings or with bully-beef tins (often full ones). However, as the weather became wetter and the damage caused to the underground drainage system by continued shellfire took effect, the impact of the high water table became apparent and the trench system became mired in mud.

In January 1915 the Royal Welsh Fusiliers had attempted to reinforce the trenches but found themselves fighting a losing battle against the rising water levels (they were striking water at a depth of only one or two feet). Instead they began to create a line of defensive breastworks above ground. When work began on the new breastwork, in late January 1915, there had been great difficulties because of the collapse of the original trenches and also because of the disturbance of bodies remaining from earlier fighting in the area. Frames for the parapet were pre-fabricated in sections by the Royal Engineers and brought up at night by carrying parties, along with large brushwood hurdles, corrugated iron sheets, sandbags and all other necessary supplies.  Often, the sandbags had to be filled with what was described as little more than ‘liquid mud’. New belts of barbed wire were also laid out in front of the line. Gradually, improving the trenches became easier, so that the line was continuous and complete by March 1915. Lt. Dick Bolton (see 14^th September) remembered the trenches as being, ‘mainly above ground level, with built up parapets and parados. Although some dugouts were fitted with chairs, tables and glass windows, and one in the support line even had a piano in it, they would not have lasted long under a heavy bombardment’.

Behind the front line was a close support line and a network of support and communication trenches, and 1,000 yards in rear was the reserve line. This was known as the Bois Grenier line, anchored, as it was at its right-hand (southern) end, by the village of that name.  The village church was sited at a crossroads and a string of houses was laid out along the two principal roads, one of which ran roughly parallel to the British front line while the other crossed the line at the right-hand end of the Divisional front, south of Farm Grande Flamengrie. The village housed an advanced dressing station, located in the cellar of one of the houses, a wash house and ‘other conveniences’. The disused brewery was used as a ‘doss-house’ by companies out of the line. 

The portion of the line allocated to 10DWR was the right sector of the line, from just south of Water Farm, north-east, to and just beyond Farm Grande Flamengrie. Battalion HQ was situated at Moat Farm on the eastern edge of Bois Grenier. Within this sector, D Company held the left (northern portion), B Company the centre; and A Company held the right flank, to the point where 1^st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (25^th Brigade, 8^th Division) took over the front line. C Company, in reserve, occupied the section of the Bois Grenier line running from Moat Farm to the north-east.

A and B Companies were already in position, following their period of instruction and the rest of the Battalion occupied their positions between 7pm and 10.30 am the following morning. The relief was carried out without incident but it was noted that there were places where parapets and dugouts had been destroyed and the men were immediately set to work to effect the necessary improvements. It was reported that ‘several German snipers annoyed the sentries during the night’, but the Battalion suffered no casualties.

On their first night in the trenches the War Diary noted that some 5,060 rounds of small arms ammunition had been expended by the Battalion. This confirms Lt. Dick Bolton’s later recollection that, “Another peculiarity of this Armentieres sector in 1915 was the amount of rifle ammunition wasted every night. Anyone who felt spiteful could get up on the firestep and blaze away towards Germany with his rifle to his heart’s content. The next Division even had organised ‘strafes’ by companies and battalions”.

L. Cpl. John Charles Brison Redfearn (see 28^th August) was formally discharged from 10DWR to take up a commission as a Temporary Second Lieutenant with the South Staffordshire Regiment.

Cpl. Henry Herbert Calvert (see 30^th August), who had been demoted after being found guilty of  drunkenness, was re-appointed to his rank of Pioneer Sergeant.