Thursday 26th October 1916

Front line trenches south-west of Hooge

The wind veered round to a more northerly direction which meant a reduced threat from German gas and the "wind dangerous" warning was taken off. British artillery fired sporadically through the day. Otherwise the day was again quiet. The War Diary reported that, “Our patrols have been out each night & have found the ground very marshy & in places impassable. These patrols have only occasionally been fired at & have sustained no casualties”.

The relative quiet allowed for a more gentle introduction for five new subalterns who arrived to replace the losses suffered at Le Sars. All five had arrived in France on 22^nd or 23^rd September but only now joined the Battalion. They were Lt. Herbert Sparling and 2Lts. Joseph Crocker, Eric Dixon, Harold Sykes Holroyd (see 23^rd September) and Charles Archibald Milford (see 22^nd September).

2Lt. Eric Dixon

Pte. John Hargreaves (18009) (see 18^th October) re-joined the Battalion from 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples; he had suffered a minor wound on 3^rd October.

Pte. Bertie Constantine (see 6^th September), who had been wounded on 29^th July, was evacuated to England; the details of his treatment are unknown.

A further statement was taken regarding the death in action of 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford (see 24^th October); the informant was Pte. John Roebuck of ‘D’ Company, who was then being treated at no.13 General Hospital at Boulogne. Roebuck reported that, “We went over first on Oct. 6^th (sic.), at Le Sars, and this officer got killed on the German parapet. At this time we failed to take the trench and had to go back to our own line again. On the 7^th, Saturday, we went again, and succeeded, and found his body, and the body of Mr. Graham (see 12^th October) both dead. I saw their bodies and they would certainly have been buried by now. We held the trench that we took after the attack of 7^th October. Mr. Stafford was a very nice officer indeed and liked by all the men”.

John Roebuck had attested under the Derby Scheme in November 1915 and arrived in France on 11^th May 1916, serving for two months with 2DWR before being transferred to 10DWR on 16^th July. He had recently been taken ill and was awaiting evacuation to England.


Pte. John Onion (see 28^th August), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was posted back to France and would join 2DWR.

A payment of £1 7s. 3d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Sgt. Edward Smith (11769) (see 5^th July) who had been killed in action in July; the payment would go to his widow, Rosetta.

The London Gazette announced the appointment of Herbert Middleton (Bob) Hands (see 26th September) to a commission as Second Lieutenant with the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment; he would later serve with 10DWR.