Tuesday 11th January 1916

Front line trenches north of Rue du Bois.

The weather remained good. In the morning the Germans began a considerable bombardment of Rue Marle, Chapelle d’Armentieres and Armentieres itself, in the course of which a number of civilians were killed and wounded. From 11.30pm there was an exchange of artillery further north where men from 21^st Division had been raiding the German lines. In the Battalion sector conditions overnight remained quiet.

L.Sgt. Richard Farrar (see 7^th December 1915) was reported for ‘neglect of duty’ (details not specified) by Lt. Harold Lockhart Waite (see 27^th August 1915), CSM Alfred Swan (see below), Sgt. David Frederick McKrill (see below) and Pte. Dick Hinchliffe (see below); he would be reprimanded by Lt. Col. Hugh John Bartholomew (see 21^st November 1915), but would suffer no further sanction.

Alfred Swan had been an original member of the Battalion. He was a 31 year-old boilermaker from Halifax and was well-known rugby player; he was married, with two children. David Frederick McKrill had been an original member of the Battalion; he had been promoted Lance Corporal while the Battalion was still in England and further promoted to Sergeant whilst in France. He was 27 years old and from Middlesbrough, where he had worked as a clerk before enlisting. Dick Hinchliffe had also been an original member of the Battalion; he was a 19 year-old twister from Huddersfield.

It may have been during this period in the trenches that the photograph below was taken. The image comes from an album assembled by Lt. Dick Bolton (see 2^nd January) and he captioned it as featuring, “Ptes. Jowett (William Henry Jowett, see below), Wilkinson and self, Jan. 1916, in trenches at Armentieres”.

I am indebted to Henry Bolton for his permission to use this and many other photographs, and for his invaluable support.

William Henry Jowett had volunteered in September 1914 at the age of 24. He was the third of four sons of Henry and Nancy Jowett of Keighley; he had been working as a mill mechanic before the war. He had not been one of the original Keighley contingent attached to Tunstill’s Company. It has not been possible to make a positive identification of Pte. Wilkinson due to the frequency of this surname in the Battalion.

CSM Harry Dewhirst (see 8^th January) reported for duty at the Regimental Depot in Halifax, having been sent home as unfit for active service.