Tuesday 30th May 1916

Reserve trenches east of Bully Grenay

The usual artillery exchanges, described in the War Diary as ‘desultory’, resumed in the early hours of the morning and continued throughout the day. In the afternoon the Battalion was relieved by 2^nd East Lancs. (the sector being taken over by 24^th Brigade). Preparations had begun in the morning with billeting parties under Lt. Adolph Keith Lavarack (see 12^th May) departing to take over billets two miles west at Bouvigny Huts from 1^st Worcesters. The Battalion transport moved off from Bully Grenay at 2.15pm, with an instruction to maintain, “good intervals between each vehicle”, because of the danger from German shelling of the reserve areas. A similar instruction was applied to the main relief which commenced in mid-afternoon, once 2^nd East Lancs. were in place. The men were ordered to march out by sections, with one hundred yards between, until reaching Fosse 10; from there they were to move by platoons, but again maintaining a similar distance between parties.

Whilst at Bouvigny one of ‘A’ Company’s original officers, Lt. Robert Stewart Skinner Ingram (see 15^th May), left the Battalion to begin training which would lead to him serving as an observer with the Royal Flying Corps.

Pte. William Sutcliffe Wood (see 20^th June 1915), serving with 23^rd Division Headquarters, was posted back to England suffering from dysentery; on arrival he would be admitted to 2^nd Western General Hospital in Manchester.

Further enquiries were made into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of 2Lt. Samuel Lawrence Glover in January. A second statement was taken from Pte. John Driver (see 16^th May), who by this time had been moved to hospital in Le Havre; “He went out with a party of about 3 or 4 men at Armentieres on 22^nd December 1915 (sic., actually 13^th January 1916) to inspect German wire entanglements. The party were attacked and got cut off and Lieut. Glover was shot by a rifle bullet. His body was discovered next day on the wires by Lieut. Waite of B Company who had been sent with a search party to look for them”.

2Lt. Samuel Lawrence Glover

Image by kind permission of Andy Wade and MenOfWorth

Pte. Edwin Everingham Ison (see 4^th May),who had only recently joined 1^st Battalion West Yorkshires on active service in France was admitted to 17^th Field Ambulance; he was reported to be suffering from fever (“PUO, NYD, Pyrexia”; ie “Pyrexia of unknown origin; not yet diagnosed”). He would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.

Edward Everingham Ison, pictured while serving with 10DWR
(Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton)

A payment of £40 14s 6d was made to settle the amount due on the account of the late Battalion Medical Officer, Lt. John David Wilson, who had been killed on 9^th March (see 9^th March)