Sunday 7th November 1915

Front line trenches near Fauquissart.

The weather remained dry, but much colder than on previous days. The War Diary reported that it remained, “very quiet, except for machine guns which traversed the parapet”. There was always some light relief to be had, some of which came from the frequent exchanges across No-Man’s Land.  On one occasion whilst in this sector (the precise date is not recorded) German troops tossed a lighted match above their own parapet and shouted out, “a British flare”, in mockery of the poor standard of the British flares. It was remarked that ‘the jest was quite appreciated’.

Pte. George Arthur France was wounded and would die of his wounds in the care 26^th Field Ambulance (8^th Division). The circumstances surrounding his death would be described in a letter written by Lt. George Reginald Charles Heale (see 26^th October) which would later (20^th November) be published in The Halifax Courier;

“In case you have not yet been informed by the War Office, I am writing with deep concern to tell you that Pte. George France has died from wounds received on the 7^th. Will you please break the news to his nearest relations as I have not been able to get his address. He was in my platoon and had lately become a very proficient grenadier. He will be greatly missed as he had much influence among the men and his pluck when in action was always of great value. He was hit in a most unfortunate manner. Under cover of fog he was working on a parapet. The fog lifted suddenly, but he continued calmly with his work, remarking that he would probably be fired at. His next remark was ‘They’ve done it’. The bullet entered his side. The medical officer was soon in attendance and all that was possible was done for him, but he died that evening when he had nearly reached the base hospital. Please accept my sincerest sympathy and if there is anything else I can let you know I shall be glad if you will inform me. He was an excellent soldier and very popular among the men and I always had a very high opinion of him”. The newspaper report would go on to add that “France would have been 21 years of age on 20^th November and there is a pathetic interest in the fact that relatives and friends have in the post messages of congratulations and gifts in honour of his coming of age. France was a member of Square School and passed through the Square Boys’ Brigade. Fitting reference to his death was made at a special service in the school on Sunday afternoon. He formerly worked at Drakes Ltd., Ovenden, as a brick setter. Pte. France was buried at Sailly-sur-la-Lys Canadian Cemetery.

Pte. George Arthur France

Pte. Willie Normanton was admitted to 2^nd General Hospital at Le Havre suffering from ‘shock’ as a result of a ‘fall from a waggon’; he would be treated for three days before being discharged to a local convalescent camp en route to re-joining the Battalion. He was a 19 year-old textile worker from Sowerby Bridge.

Writing home to his family J. B. Priestley related the story of his experiences on the working party a few days earlier (see 4^th November), but also expanded on life in the trenches more generally, with a surprisingly upbeat tone; “We have been in the trenches these last five days and shall stop for some few more, these trenches are in a quite different part of the line to the others we have been in; and it’s a part we don’t want to see again. Talk about a hole! The communication trenches are simply canals, up to the waist in some parts, the rest up to the knees (one of the chaps was enquiring about fishing rights); there are only a few dug-outs and those are full of water or falling in (three killed this week with falling dug-outs) (see 2^nd November), and the parapets are tumbling down. O it’s some place I can assure you. And Fritz (our name for the gentle Hun) keeps things pretty exciting here with snipers, trench-mortars, aerial torpedoes etc. Good old Fritz, he does relieve the monotony. ... since we came out here we have had two drafts from the Reserve Battn (see 9^th October) to make up the strength, but we’re not at full strength by a long way, owing to continual casualties. I haven’t had a wash since we came into these trenches and we’re all mud from head to foot. I believe the hazardous nature of this place has bucked me up considerably, for I feel more cheerful than I have done for some time. We’re supposed to start leaves on the 26^th of this month, but it takes a long time to get everybody through”.

One man from 10DWR, though not from Tunstill’s Company, died whilst in the care 26^th Field Ambulance (8^Th Division); Pte. George Arthur France (11832) was buried at Sailly-sur-la-Lys Canadian Cemetery.