Le Coq de Pailie, close to Berthen
A beautiful, hot day. Brig. Genl. Lambert (see 14th
June) rode round to see Maj. Charles
Bathurst (see 12th June)
and 10DWR.
Lambert also spent a large part of the day writing up descriptions,
honours lists etc and the photographer he had arranged the previous day took a
series of four photographs at Brigade HQ. When he received the prints Lambert
regarded them as, “not very successful. In fact some are rather appalling … The
trophies look well even if we do not. The man took us staring at a blazing sun
and it was most trying”.
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Brig. Genl. T.S Lambert (seated centre)
The 10DWR officers featured are Maj. Charles Bathurst (seated second from right); Capt. Hugh William Lester MC (middle row, third from left), Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips (back row, fourth from right) and Lt. Charles Frederick Wolfe (see 9th April)
Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton
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| Image by kind permission of Juliet Lambert |
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| Image by kind permission of Juliet Lambert |
It seems to have been the same day that a series of
photographs were also taken of the officers and men of 10DWR. Copies of the
photographs were kept by Capt. Dick Bolton
(see 13th June) and,
although undated in his album, the images can be dated by reference to the
officers present. 2Lt. Herbert Edwin
James Biggs (see 14th June)
and Rev. Hugh Wilfrid Todd (see 14th June) had only
arrived the previous day and on the same day. Lt.
Arthur Halstead and 2Lt. Leopold Henry Burrow (see 14th June) (not featured
in the photograph) had left to attend courses; Capt. Hugh William Lester MC (see 3rd
June) would leave the Battalion on the
following day; Capt. Hugh William Lester MC (see 3rd
June) would leave the Battalion on the
following day.
Officers and NCOs of 10DWR
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| Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton |
Second row, officers seated, from left to right
1. Capt. Cecil Berry (see 13th June)
2. 2Lt. Bob Perks DSO (see 14th June)
3. Capt. Adrian O’Donnell Pereira (see 28th May)
4. Capt. Hugh William Lester MC (see above)
5. Maj. Charles Bathurst (see above)
6. Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips MC (see 4th June)
7. Capt. Dick Bolton (see above)
8. Capt. John Edward Lennard Payne (see 20th May)
9. Lt. Herbert Sparling (see 26th October 1916)
Third row, officers standing, from left to right
1. 2Lt. David Lewis Evans (see 23rd October 1916)
2. 2Lt. Arthur Lilley (see 14th March)
3. Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt (see 19th December 1916)
4. 2Lt. Herbert Edwin James Biggs (see above)
5. 2Lt. John Robert Dickinson (see 10th June).
6. 2Lt. Charles George Edward White (see 30th May)
7. Lt. John William Headings (see 23rd February)
8. 2Lt. William George Wade (see 11th June)
9. 2Lt. John William Pontefract (see 5th April)
10. 2Lt. Vincent Edwards (see 6th June)
11. Rev. Hugh Wilfrid Todd (see above)
The officers of 10DWR
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| Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton |
Front row, seated, from left to right: White, Lilley, and Garratt
Second row, seated, from left to right: Berry, Lester, Bathurst,
Phillips and Bolton
Third row, standing, from left to right: Perks, Edwards, Pereira,
Headings, Wade, Sparling and Payne
Back row standing, from left to right: White, Dickinson, Pontefract,
Biggs and Todd
Officers and men of 'A' Company
It is worth noting that the photograph features just 109 men and 5 officers; the Company, at full strength, would have numbered in excess of 200.
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| Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton |
Five officers seated along the second row, from left to right are Evans, Wade, Bolton, Dickinson and Biggs.
Pte. Albert Hoggarth
(see 13th January) was
promoted Lance Corporal. Ptes. Paul
Bland (see 17th June 1916);
Alfred Exley (see 11th January); Fred
Greenwood (24522) (see 12th
November 1916); John Smith Hodgson
(see 7th June); Arthur Lee (see 7th June); Frank
Mallinson (see 7th June);
Edward Shaw Powell (see 8th February); Victor Race (see 8th June), Joseph
Edward Robinson (see 12th
November 1916) and Albert Edward
White (see 11th February)
was were all promoted (unpaid) Lance Corporal. Despite a recent series of minor
brushes with military discipline, Pte. John
William Mallinson (see 6th
May) was also promoted (unpaid) Lance Corporal.
Pte. Joseph Holmes
(see 22nd December 1916)
was charged with being drunk and crearing a disturbance; he was awarded 21 days’
Field Punishment no.1.
Pte. William Norman
Whitehead (see 10th June)
who had been wounded five days earlier was evacuated to England for further
treatment, though the details are unknown.
The remains of Pte. Hector
Salembier (see 7th June),
who had been reported missing in action, were identified. However, the cross
marking his grave would be destroyed in subsequent fighting and the site of his
burial lost. He is now commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial.
2Lt. Bob Perks
DSO (see 12th June) again
wrote home to his mother, with an optimistic view of future prospects:
“You rightly guessed I was to be in the fighting, and, what
is more, I was training “A” Company for it.
It is rather funny having been ages with “B” Company, a time with “A”
and a little bit with “D” (when I was in Trench Stores) I should be put in
charge of “C” the one I know nothing about.
However, I am progressing well and happily, and shall have “some”
knowledge of the Battalion when I have finished. As to our future, no one has any idea, but we
expect a fairly decent rest and hope for decent trenches after that for a bit;
but the division has done so well and been complimented so much that we seem
quite likely to be rewarded by more. I
see in the papers a forecast of another push south of this. I believe it, also activity here and a
combined allied push. What faith I
have! If only Russia had stuck it, we
should have been running after them now.
By their own documents it is shewn they are short of munitions (cheers!)
and also that they meant to stop this last attack of ours from its beginning,
and yet they ran like rabbits. They are
beaten, but for the moment there are rather a lot of rabbits. Most of the prisoners seem to hold that view
and trust to submarines or some other miracle to save them”.
(I am greatly indebted
to Janet Hudson for her kind permission to allow me to quote from Bob Perks’
correspondence).
The Clitheroe Times
reported news of Pte. Fred Brown (see 11th June), who had
originally been reported killed in action; the news that Brown had subsequently
been reported wounded, rather than killed, had not yet reached England:
Private F. Brown,
Waddington - Reported Killed, This Morning
Another Waddington family was plunged into mourning today
when Mrs. Brown received a letter informing her that her youngest son, Private
Fred Brown, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regt., was killed in action on 7th
inst. The letter was signed “Pte. J. Walton”, the writer stating that he and
Pte. Brown were comrades. On the date mentioned, they were together, and Private
Walton went to procure a stretcher. When he returned, death had claimed Pte.
Brown, who was 20 years of age and was the first to leave Waddington under the
Derby scheme, on January 20th 1916. Having been a member of the
village band as a cornet player, he was selected as a bugler, but a short time
ago he became a stretcher bearer. He had been in France 13 months and saw the
recent fighting in the neighbourhood of Messines. His brother received a letter
from him last Friday, in which he said he was alright and the news of his death
came as a great blow, not only to the members of his family, but to a wide
circle of friends and his former colleagues at Messrs. Holgate’s West Bradford
Mill, where he was a weaver.
The weekly edition of the Craven Herald reported on the death of Pte. Samuel Woodhead (see 9th
June):
BARNOLDSWICK
SOLDIER'S PRESENTIMENT OF DEATH
On Wednesday evening, Mrs. Woodhead, 8, Calf Hall Road,
Barnoldswick, received an intimation from a Casualty Clearing Station in France
of the death of her husband, Private Samuel Woodhead, Duke of Wellington's.
Deceased, who was 37 years of age, had been in France two years. He was wounded
during the first big push on the Somme in July last, and after recuperating in
England returned to the Front in October, after spending ten days leave at his
home. The letter conveying the sad news is dated June 9th and reads as
follows:-
"Dear Madam, - I am very sorry to have to tell you that
your husband was brought to hospital yesterday dangerously wounded in the head.
Everything possible was done to relieve him, but he died at 4p.m. this
afternoon, never being conscious since admission. Tomorrow at 2 o'clock he will
be buried in the military cemetery at Remy. There will be a cross placed on his
grave with his name and regiment. I am very sorry I have so little to tell you
about him, but he was quite unconscious all the time. All your husband's
personal effects will be forwarded to you by the proper authorities in due
course. M. A. WOODHOUSE."
By the same post Mrs. Woodhead received a letter written by
her husband just before going into battle, which was found on him fully
addressed, in which occurs the following passage: "It is a beautiful day
and you wouldn't think there was a war on, but all the same, the Huns are going
to get hell - one of the most terrible battles in the history of the world. If
I should get knocked out I hope this reaches you all right."
Before the war Private Woodhead was a weaver employed by the
Monkswell Manufacturing Co., Calf Hall Shed.
There was also news about Pte. Alfred Carey; he was the younger
brother of Norman Carey (see 9th
January 1916) who had been one of Tunstill’s original volunteers. An older
brother, Pte. Harold Carey, had already been killed in action:
BOLTON-BY-BOWLAND -
Wounded
Word has been received that Pte. Alfred Carey and Pte.
Joseph Moon are wounded and in hospital. Corporal W. Oddie and Pte. Geo.
Harrison are reported as improving.
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