Wednesday 3rd May 1916

Billets at Hersin

Another quiet day, with more training and working parties and a resumption of artillery activity through the evening. The weather remained hot.

L.Cpl. Harry Widdup (see 12^th February) left the Battalion to return to England where he would begin his training as an officer cadet.

L.Cpl. James Shackleton (see 23^rd August 1915) was promoted Corporal.

Cpl. James Shackleton

Pte. John Whitham (see 9^th November 1915) was admitted to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from debility.

Four men from the Battalion were admitted via 100^th Field Ambulance at Barlin to 23^rd Casualty Clearing Station at Lozinghem for treatment for dental caries. They were Ptes. Edwin Baldwin, George Illingworth (see 10^th March), Tom Nixon (11904) and Harry Smith (15201). Ptes. Baldwin, Nixon and Smith were original members of the Battalion. Edwin Baldwin had enlisted in Keighley in September 1914, giving his age as 39; he was in actual fact 42 years old. He was married with three children. Tom Nixon (11904) was 46 years old and originally from Lundhill near Barnsley, but had lived for a number of years in Keighley; he was married with ten children and had served 14 years in the territorial battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment. Harry Smith (15201) was 43 years old and married with five children; he was from Bradford and had been working as a wool sorter before enlisting.

Pte. Rennie Hirst (see 12^th April) was discharged from 11^th Stationary Hospital in Rouen and posted to 23^rd Infantry Base Depot at Etaples; he would re-join 10DWR from Etaples on 9^th May.

Pte. George Henry Hansford (see 8^th April) was evacuated to England from 9^th General Hospital at Rouen onboard the Hospital Ship St. David; he was suffering from ‘trench foot’ to his right heel. On arrival in England he would be admitted to Huddersfield War Hospital.

At home in Leeds, Grace Nixon, wife of Pte. Albert Nixon (see 23^rd December 1915) gave birth to the couple’s second child, a daughter, who would be named Annie.

The parents of 2Lt. Harry Thornton Pickles who had originally served with Tunstill’s Company before being commissioned, received a letter from Pte. James Mudd, another Barnoldswick man, who had been serving with their son when he was killed. Mudd told them something of the circumstances of their son’s death: he told them that he was, “killed by concussion from a bursting shell whilst going through the trenches to see that his men were all right. A bombardment from the enemy's heavy guns, lasting nearly 3 hours, was in progress at the time … he was not struck by the projectile nor disfigured in any way, and that had he stuck to his dugout he would doubtless have come through scathless” (see 30^th April).

Several of Pickles’ comrades visited his grave at Cite Bonjean Cemetery, Armentieres, not far from where they were now billeted having been relieved from the front line. They went to pay their respects not only to Pickles, but also to eighteen other of their comrades buried there after the fighting of the previous days, including another local man, Pte. James Walsh from Earby, who had been killed on the same day. Four other men from 9DWR killed in the same actions have no known grave and are commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, while three others died of wounds and are buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension. News of their visit was related by Sgt. Richard Wharton, who was the brother of Pte. Allan Wharton (see 20th August 1915) who was serving with Tunstill’s Company (hence the reference to “our Allan”), “You must excuse me not writing before. We have been having a rough time of it lately. We lost about 100 last week (he would have been referring to both killed and wounded). No doubt you will have heard about J. Walsh getting killed, and Lieut. Pickles who used to be with our Allan. Well, dear mother, we went to see the graves of the boys we had lost last night. We are now out for a rest. It is a grand place where they are buried; Walsh and Lieut. Pickles are laid side by side. You must tell Mrs. Walsh I am getting some flowers to put on their graves, and shall see they are all right every time I come out of the trenches. Jim had not been with us long, but he was liked by all the Company. It was a blow to me when I got to know.”