Tuesday 8th October 1918

Billets at Gambellara.

Over the next week the Battalion would be “occupied in general training, route marches tactical exercises etc.”.

Maj. Edward Borrow DSO (see 26^th August) DSO, who had first joined the Battalion in August 1916 from 12DLI, left the Battalion to take up the post of Second-in-Command of 12^th Battalion Durham Light Infantry.

Maj. Edward Borrow DSO

Pte. Albert Smith (25953) (see 21^st July) was reported by Sgt. Alfred Dolding (see 4th October) and A/CQMS George Alfred Giles (see 18^th September) as being ‘deficient of mess tin’; on the orders of of Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips MC (see 4th October) he would pay for the missing item.

Pte. Clarence Hubert Bolt (see 22^nd June) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 24^th Casualty Clearing Station to 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from an abcess.

Pte. John Foster (see 18^th September), serving in France with 2/7^th DWR, departed on two weeks’ leave to England.

Pte. Patrick Conley (see 7^th August), serving in England with the Labour Corps, was posted to 615^th Labour Company.

A payment of £1 12s. 6d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Jabez Wintersgill (see 8th May), who had been officially ‘missing in action’ since 20^th September 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Betsy.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. Albert Armitage (18048) (see 13^th June), who had died of wounds in March; his mother, Charlotte, was awarded 12s. 6d. per week. However, the award would not be put into effect as Charlotte had recently remarried (she was now Mrs. Marshall) and was therefore ineligible.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. Walter Robinson (14753) (see 24^th April 1918), who had been killed in action while serving with 1^st/6^th DWR in France; his father, Albert, was awarded 5s. per week, backdated to 3^rd June.

Pte. Walter Robinson (14753)

Monday 7th October 1918

Billets at Montecchio Maggiore. 

Starting out at 7.35am, the Battalion marched a further nine miles south-west, via Montebello Vicentino to new billets at Gambellara.

Pte. Leonard Pankhurst (see 6th October 1916) was admitted via 21^st Field Ambulance and 39^th Casualty Clearing Station to 51^st Stationary Hospital; he was suffering from influenza.

Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 5^th October) sent a field service postcard to his sister Joy, acknowledging receipt of a recent letter.

Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson

Pte. Jack Edgar Hall (see 22^nd September) was transferred from 23^rd Division Rest Station; via 9^th Casualty Clearing Station to 38^th General Hospital in Genoa; he was now diagnosed as suffering from “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue) to both legs.

Pte. Smith Stephenson Whitaker (see 24^th September) was transferred from 23^rd Division Rest Station via 9^th Casualty Clearing Station to 11^th General Hospital in Genoa; he was now diagnosed as suffering from “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue) to both legs.

Pte. Ernest Portman (see 13^th December 1917), serving with 23^rd Division Military Police, was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 39^th Casualty Clearing Station to 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from influenza.

Pte. James Robert Ingleson (see 27^th August), who was under treatment at 2^nd Northern General Hospital, Leeds, was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service due to wounds. He would be awarded the Silver War Badge and a pension of 22s. per week to be reviewed in nine months.

A payment of £12 6s. 4d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Ernest Taylor (29168) (see 27^th July), who had died of wounds on 27^th July while serving in France with 1^st/6^th DWR; the payment would go to his widow, Elizabeth. She would also receive a package of her late husband’s personal effects, comprising of, “photos, pipe, religious book, cards, match book, pouch”.

Sunday 6th October 1918

Billets in Creazzo.

Training continued.

Starting out at 9.30am, the Battalion marched five miles south-west, via Tavernelle to new billets at Montecchio Maggiore. This move was intended to allow the Battalion, along with the rest of the Division, to carry out more training for projected future operations; appropriate training having been difficult in the heavily-cultivated areas around Creazzo. The opportunity for more training was made all the more urgent by a change of plan which meant that the remaining units of 23^rd Division would no longer return to France as had been planned, but would instead be prepared for offensive operations on the Piave front. In the words of the Divisional History, “The strictest secrecy was to be maintained; no hint was to be given that the move to France had been cancelled. The training that would be necessary would be in conformity with the idea that it was in preparation for the fighting on the French front, but it needed to be strenuous as little time would be available. The troops were to be prepared for the long marches it was anticipated would follow initial success on the Piave, and the direct co-operation between the smaller units of artillery and infantry was to be practised”.

Pte. Joseph Hadley (see 21^st September) was reported by Sgt. James Walker MM (see 26^th August) as being “improperly dressed on the line of march”; on the orders of Lt. Vincent Edwards MC (see 20^th September) he would be confined to barracks for seven days.

Pte. Arthur Thomas Wilford (see 9^th September) was reported by L.Cpl Howarth Reid (see 18^th March) as having been ‘dirty on guard mounting parade at 4.30pm’; on the orders of Lt. Edwards MC (see above) he would undertake three extra guard duties.

RQMS Frank Stephenson (see 11^th August) was admitted via 71^st Field Ambulance and 39^th Casualty Clearing Station to 51^st Stationery Hospital; he was suffering from disptheria.

In the absence of RQMS Stephenson, CQMS Edgar Shuttleworth (see 25^th August) was appointed Acting Warrant Officer Class II and Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant. 

Cpl. John William Baird (see 5^th May) was promoted Acting Colour Sergeant and Company Quartermaster Sergeant, ‘D’ Company, in place of CQMS Shuttleworth.

Sgt. Willie Nichols (see 27th September) and Ptes. Arthur William Drane (see 7^th September 1917), Joseph McDermott (see 29^th September), Richard Metcalfe (see 29^th September), William Ward Pickles (see 14^th August 1917), Arthur Walton (see 29^th September) and Herbert Willoughby (see 5^th December) departed on two weeks’ leave to England.

Pte. John Cronin (see 11^th September) was discharged from 51st Stationary Hospital at Arquata Scrivia and posted to the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albaro, near Genoa.
Pte. Ernest Mudd (see 24^th September), who had been under treatment for inflammation to his left knee for the previous month, was transferred from 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia to 81^st Stationary Hospital in Marseilles.

L.Cpl. Victor Munnery (see 24^th September), who had suffered a shrapnel wound to his right elbow on 11^th September, was transferred from 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia to 57^th General Hospital in Marseilles.

Pte. Joseph Wilkinson (see 11^th September) was also transferred from 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia Ventimiglia to 57^th General Hospital in Marseilles; he was now diagnosed as suffering from rheumatic fever.

2Lt. Thomas Walsh (see 30^th April), serving in France with 2DWR, left his battalion having reported sick, suffering from “debility and general weakness”. 

Pte. Henry Wood Thrippleton (see 2^nd October 1917), serving in France with 259^th Employment Company, Labour Corps, departed for England on two weeks’ leave.

Pte. Joseph Chandler (see 27^th March), who had been in England since having been wounded in March while serving in France with 1^st/7^th DWR, was posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

Saturday 5th October 1918

Billets in Creazzo.

Training continued.

Pte. Fred Clayton (see 27^th September) was reported by Cpl. William McGill (see 11th September) as having ‘untidy kit’; on the orders of 2Lt. Sam Benjamin Farrant (see 27^th September) he was to be confined to barracks for seven days.

Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 28^th September) re-joined the Battalion, more than a year after having been wounded during the attack on the village of Veldhoek on 20^th September 1917.

Capt, Bob Perks DSO

Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson

L.Sgt. Harold Best (see 20^th September) and Pte. Newton Dobson (see 26^th August) departed on seven days’ leave to Lake Garda.

Pte. John William Kirby (see 28^th May 1917) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 39^th Casualty Clearing Station to 51^st Stationary Hospital; he was suffering from influenza. 

Ptes. William Shirtcliffe Mallinson (see 28^th July) and Herbert Stanley Smith (see 16^th June) were admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 9^th Casualty Clearing Station to 23^rd Division Rest Station; both were suffering from scabies. Pte. Smith would be discharged and re-join the Battalion after two days, but Pte. Mallinson would remain under treatment.

Pte. Farrand Kayley (see 20^th August 1917), brother of Tunstill’s recruits James (see 4th January) and Job Kayley (see 29^th July 1916), who was serving in France with 1^st/6^th Battalion West Ridings as a transport driver, returned to England on two weeks’ leave.

Lt. Charles Frederick Wolfe (see 14^th July), former Transport Officer to 10DWR, now serving with the ASC, was posted to 435^th H.T. Company, based at Chatham.

Pte. Willie Holmes (see 27^th August), who had been admitted to hospital whilst home on leave, was discharged from the War Hospital in Dewsbury and posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon. Within days of reporting he would be admitted to the Camp Hospital for further treatment to the boils and carbuncles which had seen him admitted previously.

A medical report was prepared on the condition of Pte. Walter Eary (see 28^th September), who was being treated for a laryngeal tumour at Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancs. It was noted that, “An oesophygal bougie (tube) could not be passed through the thyroid level and caused some blood-stained mucous to be brought up. There is some cough with blood-stained expiration. There is very marked dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing). The disease is probably malignant”.

Friday 4th October 1918

Billets in Creazzo.

Training continued.

Pte. William Edmond Smith (see 1^st April) was reported by Pte. George Wheatley (see 23^rd June), Sgt. Alfred Dolding (see 23^rd September) and Capt. Paul James Sainsbury (see 20^th September) for ‘not complying with an order’ and being ‘absent off parade’; on the orders of Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips MC (see 3^rd October) he would be confined to barracks for seven days. 

Pte. Percival William Hall (see 24^th August), serving at XIV Corps Reinforcement Camp at Arquata Scrivia, was posted for duty at the GHQ Scouting School, also based at Arquata Scrivia.

Pte. Richard Henry Harris (see 7^th September), who had suffered a wound to his left hand on 26^th August, was transferred from 81^st Stationary Hospital in Marseilles to 16^th Convalescent Depot, also in Marseilles.

Pte. William McVeigh (see 11^th June), serving in France with 1^st/5^th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, was killed in action; his remains would be recovered in August 1919 and re-interred at Unicorn Cemetery, Vendhuile.

Pte. Frederick McKell (see 11^th June) was discharged from the Camp Hospital at Northern Command Depot, Ripon and posted to 3DWR at North Shields.

L.Cpl. Alfred Edward Wybrow MM (see 18^th September), serving at the Regimental Depot in Halifax, was posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

Having failed to report for duty with 3DWR on the expiry of his one week leave, Pte. John Stenson (see 27^th September) was formally reported as having deserted.

Lt. George Stuart Hulburd (see 24^th September), who had recently been re-classified as category Cii, wrote to the War Office confirming that he wished to apply for “No particular work. I feel I can do any light work, not wholly of a sedentary nature”.

A further medical report was added on the condition of L.Cpl. Dennis Waller MM (see 28^th September), who had been severely wounded in action on 8^th August while serving in serving in France with 2DWR, suffering a compound fracture of his left femur. He was being treated at Edmonton General Military Hospital, where it was noted that, “General condition satisfactory; temperature unsettled; shortening (of left leg) 1½cm”.

The weekly edition of the Craven Herald reported news of the death of Pte. Walter Limmer (see 12^th September), who had died of wounds on 12^th September.

GRASSINGTON FAMILY'S SACRIFICE - FOUR SONS: TWO KILLED, ONE WOUNDED

It is with deep sympathy and regret that we report the death in action of Private Walter Limmer, the youngest son of Mrs. Limmer, Grassington, and the second to fall in action. Another brother is wounded in hospital, and one is serving in France. Pte. Limmer enlisted in September 1914, went out to France in August 1915, and was transferred to Italy in November of last year. He came home on leave on August 10th in the best of health. He was a fine type of manhood. He was married whilst at home and much sympathy is extended to his young wife. He had acted as officer's servant, and in a letter to his wife his officer says the sad event took place on September 11^th while serving with the British Expeditionary Force in Italy.

The letter adds:- "I write on behalf of No. 4 Platoon and myself to express my deep sympathy in your great bereavement. I personally feel the loss very much, as perhaps you know he has been my batman for some months now, and consequently we have been much together in the trenches, and naturally got to know each other very well. We had just moved to a new camp on the 11^th , and your husband had only reported an hour before to me from leave. He had just finished tea when a shell came over that gave us no chance, and burst in the midst of us. Walter, I found, was badly wounded in his head. We immediately dressed his wounds and rushed off to the doctor, but I don't think he ever regained consciousness until the following day, when he died at 4-30; at any rate he did not suffer any pain. I assure you we all miss him very much because he was always cheerful and willing to do anything I asked of him. You will be glad to know that he is buried in a very pretty cemetery in a pine wood. We have made a very nice cross for his grave. Be assured his resting place will be looked after as far as we are able. Yours very truly, G.C. Sugden.

Lieutenant-Colonel F. W. Lethbridge, of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, writes very appreciatively of the deceased soldier, and says:- "He was a good and a gallant soldier, and it is particularly sad that he should have been hit just after returning from leave. Please accept the sincerest sympathy of myself and all my fellow officers in your terrible bereavement. Your consolation must be that your husband died doing his duty for his King and Country."

In another letter a pal says:- "He was always one of the cheeriest, best and bravest - an example of what a really good soldier should be. The regiment can ill afford to lose men of his type.

There were also reports of memorial services which had recently been held to remember, among others, Pte. Albert Christopher Benson (see 29^th September), and 2Lt. Harley Bentham (see 29^th September).

COWLING

A Memorial Service was held on Sunday morning at the Cowling Parish Church, conducted by the Vicar, to the memory of the late Signaller A.C. Benson and Corporal James Binns, both of whom have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of their country.

HELLIFIELD - Memorial Service

A service in memory of the late Second-Lieutenant H. Bentham, whose death was reported last week, was held in the Wesleyan Chapel on Sunday evening. A large congregation included the local members of the 6th West Riding Cadets, in charge of Lieuts.H. Bilton and T. Holmes. The service was conducted by Mr. J.V. Harger, of Settle, who paid a glowing tribute to the deceased officer's character, and made sympathetic reference to the bereaved. Special hymns were sung, and at the close the 'Dead March' in 'Saul' was played by the organist, Miss A. Thompson. The 'Last Post' was sounded by Lieut. Bilton.

There was also a brief report regarding Pte. William Watson (see 21^st September 1914), who had recently been home on leave.

“Pte. W. Watson, Duke of Wellington’s Regt., after spending a furlough with his parents in West Bradford, returned en route for Italy on Wednesday”.

Thursday 3rd October 1918

Billets in Creazzo.

Training continued.

Pte. Alfred Whittaker (see 20^th September) re-joined the Battalion having been reported ‘absent off leave’ whilst in England. He would be charged with the offence, found guilty and, on the orders of Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips MC (see 28^th September), would undergo seven days Field Punishment no.1 and forfeit two days’ pay.

L.Cpl. William (Billy) Hoyle MM (see 11^th September) re-joined the Battalion following hospital treatment for ‘dental caries’.

Pte. Samuel Garside Hardy (see 22^nd August 1917) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 28^th Casualty Clearing Station to 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from dysentery.

Pte. Alfred Shaw (see 14^th September) was posted from 16^th Convalescent Depot in Marseilles to the Base Depot at Arquata Scrivia.

Pte. Frederick Thorn (see 22^nd August), serving as an officer’s servant at XIV Corps reinforcement camp, was admitted to 9^th Casualty Clearing Station, suffering from bronchitis.

Mrs. Elizabeth Goodship, mother of Pte. John James Goodship (see 21^st June), received a postcard from her son, confirming that he was a prisoner of war in Germany, having been captured during the trench raid on 21^st June.

2Lt. Conrad Anderson (see 23^rd July), who had been serving with a battalion of the Dukes in France (details unknown), left his battalion having reported sick.

Pte. Herbert Wood (see 23^rd September), who had been in England since having been wounded in April, was discharged from Lichfield Military Hospital; he would have one weeks’ leave before reporting to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

Pte. Robinson Butterfield (see 20^th September 1917), who had been in England since having been severely wounded in September 1917, was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service on account of his wounds; he would be awarded the Silver War Badge and was assessed as having suffered a 30% disability and was awarded an Army pension of 17s. 3d. per week.

Pte. Trayton George Harper (see 5^th June), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service due to his wounds; he would be awarded the Silver War Badge and a pension of 8s. 3d. per week, to be reviewed in one year.

Pte. Fred Smith (23056) (see 6^th March) serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service due to his wounds; he would be awarded the Silver War Badge and a pension of 11s. per week, to be reviewed in one year.

Wednesday 2nd October 1918

Billets in Creazzo.

Training continued.

Pte. Thomas Alfred Simpson (see 25^th August) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 24^th Casualty Clearing Station to 51^st Stationary Hospital; he was suffering from influenza.

A postcard was sent to Capt. Dick Bolton MC (see 29^th September) who had recently departed on thirty days’ leave to England. The postcard, posted from Vicenza and addressed to Capt. Bolton at 8 Gloucester Street, London, S.W.1, appears to be from someone with whom he had struck up a friendship whilst billeted in Creazzo; “I am very sorry that your departure has been so ready. I present to you my salutations, also for my family, and thanking you for your amiability. We have already consumed the tea that you had presented us. I wish you a good recreation and I hope to see you again in Creazzo”.

Images by kind permission of Henry Bolton

2Lt. Keith Sagar Bain (see 16^th September), who had suffered wounds to his right leg and buttock during the trench raid on 26^th August, was transferred from an Officers Convalescent Hospital in Portofino to 11^th General Hospital in Genoa, suffering from jaundice.

Pte. James Arthur Markinson MM (see 3^rd May), serving in France with 2DWR, was posted to First Army Rest Camp for two weeks.

2Lt. George Clifford Sugden (see 12^th September), who was home on leave (details unknown), was married, at St. Matthew’s Parish Church in Hull, to Muriel Rutter.

Pte. Septimus Chapman (see 15th September), who was on home leave, was admitted to Bradford War Hospital (details unknown). Following admission he would be formally transferred from 10DWR to serve at the Regimental Depot at Halifax.