Friday 31st December 1915

Billeted in huts near Rue Marle

The recent improvement in the weather continued, as conditions remained dull, but dry, and generally quiet. 

Much of the days’ activity was focussed on preparations for trench raids which were to take place overnight. These raids were a relatively new aspect of trench warfare and had been in the planning for some time. The objectives were stated to be: “1. To kill Germans; 2. To capture prisoners; 3. To destroy important work in the trenches”. The British artillery had already been employed for some days in cutting the German wire at designated points and also in targeting key machine gun positions in the German lines. On this occasion there were to be two simultaneous raids against salients in the German line. Since 14th December, two officers (plus others to join on their return from leave) and one hundred men from each of 10th Northumberland Fusiliers and 9th Yorkshires had been preparing for such an operation. They had been in training near Croix du Bac, where they had “been billeted together and have had continuous training in their respective duties”. One raiding party, from 10th Northumberland Fusiliers, was to enter the German lines opposite Farm Grande Flamengrie and the other further left near what was known as German House, on the eastern edge of Rue de Bois. This latter raid, to be undertaken by 9th Yorkshire Regiment, was to be launched from a section of the British lines which was barely 100 yards from the German line. This raid was the one for which 10DWR was tasked to provide support if necessary. However, plans for the raids were disrupted by an accidental explosion which occurred whilst the Royal Engineers were preparing charges to be used by the raiding parties; one officer and four men were killed and 28 others wounded; as a result the objective of destroying sections of the German trenches by the use of explosives was abandoned.

For 10DWR, the planned raid created an expectation that they might be required, at short notice, to reinforce the defence of the Bois Grenier line in the event of any German attack, and detailed orders were issued to be followed in the event of the alarm being raised. If they were called forward, HQ was to be established at the entrance to the communication trench known as Park Row Avenue, while ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ Companies respectively were to be positioned along the Bois Grenier line from the road from Chapelle d’Armentieres to Lille in the north as far south as La Guernerie. Tunstill’s Company was allocated a section in the centre, running from Farm Desplanques south-west to Dogs Leg Road. Each Company had responsibility, if it became necessary, for blocking off, in their section, the communication trenches which ran from the front line back to the Bois Grenier Line. For Tunstill’s Company this meant that one NCO and six men (two of whom were to be trained bombers) were to be placed in each of Salop Avenue and Railway Avenue. If the alarm were to be raised, then the Companies were to move off from Rue Marle immediately, whilst detailing one subaltern to go to Battalion HQ for further instructions.

During the day, working parties were provided, with fifty men delivering mortar bombs to the Divisional Trench Mortar Battery in their positions near Rue du Bois, from where they would be firing in support of the trench raids.

In the late evening the Battalion received orders that they were to “stand to arms” at 1.25am the following morning in support of the raids. 

Pte. James Leonard Bloomer (see 26^th September), who had been in England since having been wounded three months previously, was sufficiently recovered to be posted 11DWR at Brocton Camp, Staffs, en route to a return to active service.


L.Cpl. William Murphy (see 10^th October), who had been in hospital in England since having been severely wounded in September, was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service on account of his wounds. He was assessed as having suffered a 70% disability and was awarded an Army pension of £1 8s. per week.

A payment of £2 15s. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Albert Flitcroft (see 24^th September), who had been killed in action in September; the payment would go to his widow, Elizabeth.

The weekly edition of the Craven Herald carried news of a recent injury to Capt. Gilbert Tunstill (see passim):

ACCIDENT TO CAPTAIN TUNSTILL

Captain H.G. Tunstill, of the 10^th West Riding Regiment, met with a nasty accident in France last week. Owing to the muddy ground, his horse fell and rolled over him. Luckily no bones were broken, but he is in hospital suffering from a badly-sprained leg and bruised from head to foot. He is going on as well as can be expected.

The weekly edition of the West Yorkshire Pioneer published an extract from a letter written by Pte. Reuben Smith (see 10^th December):

ADDINGHAM SOLDIERS' LETTERS

Pte. R. Smith writes:- "Your most welcome parcel to hand. Don't forget to thank all the Addingham people for us. It is getting quite a hot shop out here. The shells are coming over from morning to night, and they make it quite uncomfortable for us, for they shell poor Tommy's trenches. But you cannot blame them, as our men also do the same to them-but it is no picnic, I can tell you. The trenches are in a bad state, and the parapets fall in without anyone touching them. It is awful going into them for water; we have to keep the pumps going all the time."

Pte. Reuben Smith

69^th Brigade War Diary recorded casualties for the Brigade for the month of December:

Killed                                     5

Accidentally killed              1

Died of wounds                   2

Wounded                           34

Accidentally wounded       4

10DWR’s casualties were recorded as:

Killed                                     1

Accidentally killed              0

Died of wounds                  0

Wounded                             9

Accidentally wounded       3

These figures would appear to exclude the death of Sgt. Williams (see 5^th December).

The official cumulative casualty figures for the Battalion since arriving in France were now:

Killed                                     17

Accidentally killed                4

Died of wounds                     2

Wounded                             70

Accidentally wounded       35