Brigade Reserve, west of Zillebeke Bund
Small working parties were again provided
for the Royal Engineers.
However a detachment of 40 men from ‘D’ Company, led by Capt. Henry Kelly (see 9th November), and 2Lts. John Davis MM (see 6th November) and Frederick Millward (see 26th September) were ordered to proceed to the front line opposite Clonmel Copse, which was currently held by 11th West Yorks., from where they would undertake a raid on the German trenches. This action had been under planning for the last week, but the final scheme was a refinement of what had originally been suggested (see 16th November). The objective of the raid was a German sap at point J.19.c.0.9.3.5 which projected out from the front trench to only around 30-35 yards from the British trench known as Cross Street (I.24.d.); the idea being that having once gained access to the sap the raiding party would proceed into the main trench, fanning out both left and right, bombing dugouts as they went and securing as many prisoners as possible.
The raiding party was divided into an attacking party of
nineteen bombers and six bayonet men, led by 2Lt. Davis; a communicating party
of six men under the direction of 2Lt. Millward, whose job it was to ferry
bombs forward and prisoners back, with Millward directing them from on the
German parapet; a reserve party of six men, supported by a Lewis Gun, led by
Capt. Kelly; and a flanking party of three men plus a Lewis Gun from 11West
Yorks., placed in a British sap at I.24.d.8.5.5.0,
who were to support the 11West Yorks. in resisting any possible German
counter-attack.
The raid would be covered by a blanket of Lewis Gun fire
commencing at zero plus two minutes; three minutes later 18 pounders, trench
mortars and Stokes Guns would open fire to suppress German resistance,
supported five minutes later by fire from a British howitzer battery. The
recall signal (a prolonged whistle blast) was to be given 15minutes after zero.
At the conclusion of a successful raid, the order to retire
would be given by Kelly and the withdrawl of all men from raiding and
communication parties supervised by Millward, with all men then being rested
and refreshed in British dugouts known as Crab Crawl. Any prisoners taken were
to be processed by 11West Yorks and then passed on to Brigade HQ in Ypres.
At 6.30 pm the wire in front of the British trenches was cut
by a party from 11West Yorks. in preparation for the raid, the new gaps in the
wire being concealed by the placement of ‘gooseberries’ (free-standing balls of
wire which could easily be moved once the attack was underway), and gaps were
cut, as far as could be attempted, in the leading edge of the German wire, which
was as much as 20 to 30 feet deep in total and had been recently extended by a
‘light apron’ of wire extending a further seven feet. To deal with the
remainder of the German wire, at 9.15 pm, under cover of bursts of machine gun
fire, 2Lt. Cope and two sappers of 128th Company, Royal Engineers
positioned themselves at the edge of the remaining German wire and began
feeding out a 30 feet length of 3-inch diameter Bangalore torpedo which was to
be used to blow a hole through the wire through which the raiding party would
in turn advance. This delicate operation proceeded until 22 feet of torpedo had
been deployed, at which point it met an obstruction, which was assumed to be
the German parapet. Cope and his men then retired to the British lines from
where the torpedo would be detonated. During these operations, “the night was
still and fairly dark, and though the enemy fired a number of flares he showed
no further sign of activity”.
At 8pm Lt. Col. Robert
Raymer, CO 10DWR (see 13th
November) assumed command of the sector of the front line for the duration of
the raid and at 10.30pm the attacking party reached the trenches and were in
place in Cross Trench by 11.15pm.
A comprehensive secret code had been established to cover
all eventualities during the raid:
SECRET CODE FOR USE
Code Word
Torpedo successful placed Bat
Torpedo not yet placed. Enemy have spotted it and opened
fire Ball
Further attempt to place torpedo again stopped by the
enemy Base
All parties in position and everything ready Band
Enemy quiet Bowl
Enemy active Box
nemy's working parties busy Brick
Torpedo successfully exploded and attack launched Cow
No retaliation yet from enemy Cat
Enemy retaliating with trench mortars Camp
-do- Field guns Cox
-do- howitzers Cub
Enemy prisoners come in Cool
Total prisoners Crawl
Still held up by failure to place torpedo Crank
All going well Crib
Attack checked Crack
All raiding party returned Crow
Casualties nil Cable
All raiding party returned except … Dawn
Killed and missing … Dog
Wounded … Doll
Wounded seriously … Drink
Wounded slightly … Dump
All party back in dugouts in Crab Crawl Dry
I have taken over command Drag
Command resumed by OC 11th West Yorks Duck
....prisoners under escort left for Bde HQ Drift
....prisoners wounded … Drop
....prisoners detained for evacuation to dressing station
Dirt
At 11.17 pm the ‘gooseberries’ covering the gaps in the British
wire were cleared and the attacking party, under 2Lt. Davis, moved forward over
the parapet from a listening post in Cross Trench at I.24.d.9.0.5.7. and into
their positions beyond the British lines. The men had their faces blackened and
had removed all traces of identification, letters and personal property; the
bombers carried only a bayonet in addition to their bags of bombs and only the
nine bayonet men were equipped with rifles (they also carried two bombs each).
When the torpedo was detonated at 11.34 the attacking party rushed forward
under cover of supporting fire from the Lewis guns and ten rounds fired by the
Divisional Trench Mortar Battery, but found that the final eight feet or so of
the German wire was untouched; the torpedo had evidently caught on the edge of
a shell-hole or some similar obstruction and had not penetrated through all of
the German wire. Faced with this obstacle the attacking party were quickly
exposed to German fire, despite the attempts of the raiders to bomb the German
lines, and several of the wire-cutters were immediately wounded. Realising the
seriousness of the situation Kelly quickly (at 11.39 pm) signalled the recall
of the raiding party, and by 11.43 all men were back in the British trench
lines. The planned artillery barrage went ahead in accordance with the scheme
even though the raid had been aborted.
Remarkably, none of the raiders had been killed but 2Lt. Millward had been severely wounded. He had suffered multiple bomb wounds; his right leg was blown off below the knee, he had significant injuries to both arms and considerable ‘peppering’ of his legs, chest and face by smaller fragments. He would be awarded the Military Cross for his actions and the citation recorded that, “Although severely wounded, he assisted another officer to force a passage through the enemy wire and continued to command his men. He was again wounded”. Millward’s birthday was 21st November; he would turn 20 just hours after being wounded.
Ten other men had been wounded. Pte. Leonard Ackroyd
(see 17th October) suffered a bayonet wound to his right leg;
he would be evacuated to England (details unknown). Pte. Ernest Arthur Carter (see 17th
October) suffered shrapnel wounds to his right buttock and left arm, and would
be evacuated, via no.10 Casualty Clearing Station, to 2nd Australian
General Hospital at Wimereux. Pte. Arthur
Chapman (see 17th October) suffered compound fractures to
his right tibia and fibula. News of his injuries would reach his family in a
letter from one of his pals, L.Cpl. John
Hudson, (see 29th July),
who told them that he had spoken to one of the stretcher bearers who had tended
to Chapman and that he had described his wound as “a splendid Blighty” (ie a
wound which would not be life-threatening, but would see Chapman sent home to
England). Neither Chapman nor Hudson had been original members of the Battalion
but both had been transferred having originally served with other Battalions of
the West Ridings; they had, however, known each other before the war as Hudson
had worked for Chapman’s father who ran a building business in Skipton. It
seems that Hudson proved correct about the ‘Blighty’ wound as Chapman would indeed
be invalided home. Pte. Albert Chapman (see 17th October);
the details of his wounds and treatment are unknown but it seems likely that he
was evacuated to England as he would subsequently be transferred to the Royal
Defence Corps. Pte. Robert Fahy; the details of his wounds and treatment
are unknown. He was a 32 year-old labourer from Huddersfield. He had originally
served with 2DWR and had been posted to France in January 1915; he had been
wounded in April 1915, suffering wounds to his right thigh, and had been
subsequently (date and details unknown) transferred to 10DWR. It seems likely
that he was evacuated to England as he would be subsequently transferred to the
Labour Corps. Pte. George Frederick Glover (see 29th July)
suffered severe wounds and would be evacuated to England and subsequently
admitted to Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley. Pte. Bertie Greaves
(see 17th October); the details of his wounds and treatment
are unknown but it seems likely that he was evacuated to England as he would
subsequently be transferred to the Labour Corps. L.Cpl. Willie Marsden (see
3rd November) suffered very severe wounds to his right leg and left
arm and shoulder; he would be admitted to 3rd Canadian Casualty
Clearing Station at Remy Sidings. He would (date and details unknown) be
transferred to 13th General Hospital at Boulogne and, at some point,
an operation would be carried out to amputate his right leg. L.Cpl. Ernest
Stead (see 4th October); this was the third time he had
been wouinded. The details of his wounds and treatment are not known, but it
seems likely that he would soon re-join the Battalion. Pte. Harry Wilcox;
in the absence of a surviving service record I am unable to make a positive
identification of this man, beyond the fact that he was from Bradford, or to
establish any further details of his military career.
Despite British shelling of the German lines which had been
intended to suppress any possible counter-attack the Germans did mount a heavy
bombardment by trench mortars against the British positions, in the course of
which two men of the 11th West Yorks, were killed and two others
wounded.
Despite British shelling of the German lines which had been
intended to suppress any possible counter-attack the Germans did mount a heavy
bombardment by trench mortars against the British positions, in the course of
which two men of the 11th West Yorks, were killed and two others
wounded.
The official verdict of Lt.Col. Raymer on the raid was that
there was a need for a re-design of the torpedo; “I am of opinion that a
torpedo of smaller bore and pushed through on some sort of cradle which would
keep the point as long as possible off the ground would be more effective”. Otherwise,
Raymer concluded that, “all other arrangements, so far as they were tested
worked well, and give every promise of a successful attack had the breach of
the enemy’s wire been practicable”. Raymer also added that, “I consider that
2Lt Cope 128th Coy R.E. showed great courage and determination in carrying out
a difficult task, and that the conduct of 2Lt J. Davis and his men in their
efforts to force a passage through the uncut wire is worthy of commendation”.
Sgt. Charles Edward
Parker (see 10th October)
would be awarded the Military Medal for his conduct during the raid; it was
reported that Parker, “when an attempt was being made to cut through the German
wire untouched by the torpedo Sgt. Parker showed great courage and resolution
in assisting to organise cutting and covering parties and withdrawing the
wounded in the face of a strong enemy bomb attack. Sgt. Parker has, on previous
occasions shown great enterprise and resolution in leading patrols to the
German lines”.
 |
Sgt. Charles Edward Parker (standing centre)
Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton
|
Just eight days after joining the battalion Pte. Albert Edward Everitt (see 12th November) was
admitted to 70th Field Ambulance, suffering from piles; he would be
discharged to light duty three days later.
Cpl. John Stewart
(see 5th November), who
had been suffering from suspected dysentery, was transferred from no.14
Stationery Hospital at Wimereux to no.7 Convalescent Depot, near Boulogne.
One day before appearing before an Army Medical Board, Capt.
Gilbert Tunstill (see 3rd November) was
examined, apparently on his own initiative, by Dr. F.W. More, who reported
that, “I certify that I have this day medically examined Capt. H.G. Tunstill
and that I find him suffering from slight swelling of the right knee, some
distortion of the outline of the foot (right), the results of injury. There is
still some pain, both in the knee and foot, on walking any distance, especially
in the foot”.
Pte. Harold Howlett
(see 19th October),
serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was promoted (unpaid) Lance Corporal; he
would then be confirmed and paid in his rank from 2nd December.
Cpl. Fred Hopkinson
(see 22nd September), who was
home on leave from 83rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at
Gateshead, was admitted, sick, to Keighley War Hospital; the nature of his
illness is unknown.
Robert Singleton
(see 29th October 1915),
who had been one of Tunstill’s original volunteers, but had been discharged as
unfit in January 1915 wrote home to his family. At some point after his
discharge he had re-joined and was now serving in Greece. Part of his letter
was published later in the Craven Herald,
“We are having some very wet weather just now and we are up
to the knees in mud. We are very busy as you will be able to see by the papers.
We have soldiers from every nation with us, and we are fairly pushing on. Have
they left you many young men about Bolton? They burn their farms here if they
won’t go. It is a very hilly country and the Greeks are very dirty and unclean
and the biggest thieves you could ever come across. The crops are coming up now
and are looking nice and green; they are mostly oats and wheat, but it would do
the people good to see them ploughing; they do not get above four inches deep
with oxen, and the plough is something like a spade with a pole attached to it,
and there is a little handle he can just get hold of with one hand. In the
other hand he carries a long stick with which he prods the oxen to make them go
faster or to turn the corners. The only means by which the oxen are fastened to
the plough is a bar under and over their necks. You see the children going to
school with a bit of sheep or goat’s skin on their feet and a pair of breeches
like a bag of flour, with a piece of flannel round their waists about fifteen
feet long, and a little carpet bag on their backs”.
A payment of £2 9s. 11d. was authorised, being the amount
outstanding in pay and allowances to the late L.Cpl. Harry Thornton (see 12th
August), who had been killed in the actions around Munster Alley in July.
The payment would go to his widowed mother, Louisa.
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