Friday 21st September 1917

Front line trenches on the ‘Green Line’, east of Veldhoek.

The day was described as being “fairly quiet” and the events concerning 10DWR are again best reported in the words of the Battalion War Diary:

“Early on the morning of 21^st September A Coy 8^th Yorks relieved my B and D Companies in the centre of the left of the line; C Company 8^th Yorks having been sent up to support my right on the previous afternoon (B and D Companies had suffered especially heavy casualties on the previous day and were withdrawn into Brigade Reserve). 

The day of the 21^st September was fairly quiet with the exception of some shelling of my HQ and the Tower about 1pm and again during our trial barrage - when the various dugouts in the Green Line were also shelled. A faint-hearted attempt to form up for a small local attack on our front was made at about 1pm which was nipped in the bud by our rifle and machine gun fire, in which we used a Bosche Gun with great effect in the neighbourhood of the Chateau. 

At 6.30pm I noticed from the Observation Post a fairly heavy mixed shrapnel and H.E. enemy barrage in the neighbourhood of our front lines and at 6.40pm I received a message from Maj. Grellet that the enemy could be seen massing for attack at J.16.a.7.6. I also noticed at this time the enemy barrage beginning to advance. I at once let Brigade and Artillery and my Companies in front know, and at 6.47pm our barrage came down, actually three minutes before our S.O.S. went up from the front line where about 150 of the enemy appeared in front of my A and C Companies and were promptly wiped out by rifle and Lewis Gun fire. There is little doubt this was meant to be a strong counter-attack and the enemy must have lost very heavily in our barrage. Large numbers of enemy wounded and dead were seen being still taken away early next morning under cover of the red flag.

The remainder of our time in the line was perfectly quiet with the exception of bursts of shelling on all dugouts and intermittent searching shell fire. Snipers from the direction of Tower Hamlets or thereabouts and also from the Chateau in front and from the Red House to the left front of it were always more or less active. A machine gun was located in the latter and movement in the open daylight in front of my HQ was always a risky proceeding. 

Our relief by the 11^th Sherwood Foresters and 9^th Yorks were carried out with the utmost smoothness and practically without casualties”. (On relief by the Sherwood Foresters A and C Companies were withdrawn only as far as the Blue Line, where they were in support of 9Yorks.)

Whilst holding the line the two Vickers guns on my left were very well handled by the officer in charge of them and did several executions on several occasions. During the operations we captured three Trench Howitzers, four machine guns and a very large amount of trench materials of every description including many Flammenwerfers, many thousands of rounds of M.G. ammunition etc. We captured about 190 prisoners, of whom the first 47 were sent back in one batch under an escort, but the rest could not be escorted owing to the thinness of our line, and went back to rear units by themselves covered by a Lewis Gun until they were seen to be taken over. We buried 146 Germans, including several officers, and sent back about 70 badly wounded Germans. A necessarily very rough estimate of casualties inflicted by our Machine Guns, Lewis Guns and rifles on the enemy in front of the line places the number of his casualties at about 450 for the 36 hours we were in the line. In addition to this our artillery barrage must have accounted for large numbers of the enemy during the attack and each of his counter attacks.

Our own casualties during the course of the fight were 3 officers, 40 other ranks killed; 6 officers, 244 other ranks wounded; and 50 missing, of whom a majority will I fear be found to be killed or wounded and certainly none are prisoners”.

Four men were killed in action. They were: Cpl. George Herbert Moody (see 8^th September); Pte. Ernest Hardcastle (see 13^th September), who had only re-joined the Battalion eight days previously after receiving treatment for accidental, minor, burns to his hands; Pte. James Jackson (see 5^th July) and Pte. Harold Jefferson; he was 19 years old and from York, where he had worked as a pattern maker for the North Eastern Railway Company. All four have no known grave and are commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

A number of other men were wounded. Sgt. Michael Kenefick MM (see 13^th August) suffered shrapnel wounds to his back and shoulder; he would be admitted to 1^st Australian Field Ambulance. Pte. William Stanley Davies DoW (see 5^th July) suffered shrapnel wounds to his head; he was admitted to 17^th Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings. Pte. Arthur Hird (see 17^th October 1916) suffered severe wounds to his back and abdomen; he was evacuated to 2^nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings. Pte. James Moran (see 7th June) was wounded, suffering shrapnel wounds to his head and back. The details of his treatment are unknown, but, his wounds being relatively minor, he would be treated in hospital in Boulogne before being transferred to a Convalescent Hospital at Ecault; he would not be evacuated to England.Pte. William George Ruddock (see 15^th September) also suffered shrapnel wounds to his head; he was evacuated to 1^st South African General Hospital at Abbeville.

Pte. Meggison Bonass (see 20^th September) died of wounds at 10^th Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Pte. Henry Thomas Lackey (see 20^th September) died of wounds at one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Pte. William Llewellyn (see 20^th September) died of wounds at one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Remy Sidings.

Ptes. Ernest Thorn (see 20^th September) and Thomas Irvin Wood (see 17^th July 1916) who had been wounded the previous day were evacuated to England.

Pte. Sidney Powdrill (see 10^th September July), who had been taken ill with influenza eleven days later, re-joined the Battalion from 23^rd Division Rest Station.

Lt. Henry Kelly VC (see 7^th July) who had been in England since being taken ill on Christmas Day 1916, was promoted Captain.

Pte. James Dobson MM (see 12^th March), who had been in hospital in England having been wounded in the German shelling of Ypres in January, died in hospital at Epsom; he would be buried at Undercliffe Cemetery in Bradford.