Thursday 21st September 1916

Reserve trenches east of Pozieres

Conditions were relatively quiet, although German shelling resulted in four casualties. One man from ‘B’ Company died of wounds at 1^st South Midland Casualty Clearing Station at Dernancourt, south of Albert, although it is unclear whether this was a result of wounds received today or earlier. Pte. Arthur Campbell Foster was buried at Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension.

Sgt. Percy Cole (see 6^th August) who had suffered a compound fracture to his right arm on 29^th July was discharged from 2^nd Western General Hospital in Manchester. An Army Medical Board recommended that he be discharged from the army as no longer physically fit for service.

Notice of the award of the Military Medal to Sgt. William Jones (see 2^nd August), in recognition of his actions at Munster Alley in July,  was published in the London Gazette.

Pte. Sam Tinkler (see 6^th September), was posted from the Infantry Base Depot at Etaples to join 8DWR who were then near Martinsart Wood, three miles north of Albert.

Pte. Sam Tinkler

Carl Parrington Branthwaite (see 31^st August), who had recently been permanently discharged from the Army on account of illness contracted in service, was granted a pension of 20s. per week for the next six months, on the expiry of which his case would be re-examined.

Wednesday 20th September 1916

Reserve trenches east of Pozieres

There was a marked improvement in the weather, with the rain of the previous few days at last being replaced by drier, warmer conditions.  The Battalion found carrying parties for the front line. The danger of German shelling continued and one shell explosion buried five members of a Lewis gun team. The men were saved by the courageous and prompt response of 2Lt. Maurice Tribe (see 29^th July) and Sgts. Norman Roberts (see 2^nd September) and Harry Waller (see 14^th July; it is not known when he had been promoted) who dug them out, despite being under continued and heavy German shellfire. Roberts made light of the incident in a subsequent letter to his father, saying only, “A day or two ago I, along with a comrade, had a very remarkable excape. A huge shell came over and made a crater on the other side of us. Of course, we were partly buried and what a feeling we had!”. Their courage was recognised by the award of the Military Cross to Tribe and the Military Medal to Roberts and Waller. Sgt. Waller would pass on news of his award in a letter to his family six days later: “I have received enclosed wire last night which I think may interest you. I have not time to write any more at present as the Corporal is waiting for this to drop into the field post office. I am still in the pink and hope you are keeping the same”. The enclosed telegram read simply, “The G.O.C. congratulates you on being awarded the Military Medal by the Corps Commander”.

Sgt. Norman Roberts

Sgt. Harry Waller

At least one man was killed on the day, though whether in the incident involving Tribe and Roberts is unclear; Sgt. Ephraim Smith was buried at Peake Wood Cemetery. He was an original member of the Battalion; he had enlisted aged 21 whilst working as an attendant at the West Riding Asylum at Menston and had married Mary Bailey while the Battalion was in training in England in early 1915. He had been an athlete of some note, “He had a reputation as a sportsman in the Halifax district, especially amongst the Halifax Harriers. He held the Championship for a long time, carrying off many valuable trophies”.

Sgt. Ephraim Smith

A second man, Pte. James Dunn, is also registered in the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as having died on the same day. However, the date of Dunn’s death is also variously given as 25^th September and 25^th October in other official sources; he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

In the front line, 9^th Yorkshires recovered the remainder of the ground which had been lost to the Germans on the previous day and it was reported that, “enemy reported to have gone right back to his next main line”.

Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert, commanding 69^th Brigade, in a letter to his wife, expressed his thoughts on the current position “I do not suppose we shall be kept in the worst of it very long. In places Boche seems quite ready to come over but cannot quite make up his mind to and of course unless he drops his arms and comes over with his hands up we are ‘not taking any’, as they say. You cannot trust the devils, but they are not such keen fighters as some have been, at any rate among the infantry. If it were not for machine guns and shell fire we should be over there in no time”. He also commented on the tanks which had recently been introduced by the British, “The new ‘engines of war’ are extraordinary looking things and quite interesting. I had a very interesting tour round today, but at times the shell fire was very unpleasant and disconcerting”.

(I am greatly indebted to Juliet Lambert for her generosity in allowing me to reproduce the letters here).

Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert

Image by kind permission of Juliet Lambert

Cpl. John William Dickinson (see 16^th August) was promoted (Acting) Lance Sergeant.

Pte. Herbert Walker (12315) (see 29^th July), who had re-joined the Battalion after being wounded in July, was appointed Lance Corporal.

Pte. Ben Butler (see 19^th September 1914) was briefly admitted to a Field Ambulance Unit, his condition simply stated as “N.Y.D.” (not yet diagnosed); whatever the problem, he was discharged to duty the following day. Ben Butler had an apparently unblemished record since enlistment, in contrast to his brother, Pte. Richard Butler, who had a series of brushes with military discipline and was currently in England, having been treated for wounds suffered in the actions at Munster Alley in July (see 16^th August).

RSM John William Headings (see 14^th September), returned to duty having spent a week in hospital, suffering from myalgia.

The three Headings brothers: from left to right, James Lawrence, John William (standing) and Henry George.
(Photo by kind permission of Jill Monk)

Two former members of Tunstill’s Company were commissioned Temporary Second Lieutenant; L.Cpl. Harry Widdup had left the Battalion some months earlier (see 3^rd May) but it is not clear when Sgt. Tom Pickles (see 18^th August) left, though he was certainly still with the Battalion at the end of July. Both Widdup and Pickles would join 9DWR.

Pte. Michael Hopkins (see 5^th August) was sufficiently recovered from wounds suffered seven weeks previously to be posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead. 

Pte. Patrick Sweeney (see 3^rd September), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, again found himself on a charge, as he had less than three weeks earlier; on this occasion he was found to have been, “continually complaining at meals”, and was ordered to be confined to barracks for seven days.

A pension award was made in respect of the late L.Cpl. Joseph Fieldhouse (see 5^th June), who had died of wounds in March; his widow, Eva, was awarded £1 0s. 6d. per week.

Tuesday 19th September 1916

Reserve trenches east of Pozieres

The wet weather continued and Brig. Genl. Lambert, for example, declared that “the state of the ground was awful”. There was also frequent German shelling of the Battalion’s positions, “causing a few casualties”; one of the wounded men died of his injuries. Pte. Tom Emmott died of his wounds whilst being treated in Contalmaison and was buried close to the ruined chateau, in what became known as Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery; two of his brothers had already been killed (see 26^th January). Also killed on the day was Pte. Myer Freedman MM (see 14^th September), who was on attachment to the Brigade Trench Mortar Battery. According to Capt. G. F. Sulman, writing to Pte. Freedman’s family, “We were suddenly shelled and I regret to say that among other casualties your son was killed. I enclose herewith a letter which I found in his paybook addressed to you. I am also sending you his Military Medal ribbon which was presented to him the day before for good work in this battery some months ago. I am sure you will prize the decoration he won”. Freedman was originally buried near Contalmaison, close to where Lt. Isidore David Marks (see 10^th July) and Pte. James Kettlewell (see 28^th July) had been buried, but, like Marks, his remains were exhumed in July 1919 and he was re-interred at Gordon Dump Cemetery near Pozieres. Among the wounded was Pte. Archibald Louis Norris (see 23rd August); he suffered wounds to his right buttock and would be treated in France (details unknown).

Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery in 1916

L.Cpl. George Mitchell (see 25^th July) was granted “Class I Proficiency Pay”, which would see him paid an additional 6d. per day on top of his standard 1s. per day. Proficiency pay could be awarded on the basis of long service or in relation to particular skills or qualifications; the details under which Mitchell received his award are not stated.

Pte. Joseph Fitzgerald (see 29^th July), who had been in England since having been wounded in July, was posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead.

A Medical Board assembled at 4^th London General Hospital considered the case of Capt. Gilbert Tunstill (see 16^th September) who had been injured in a fall from his horse and evacuated to England. The Board found that the injury was relatively minor and likely to improve with rest; “between Amiens and Coissy … while going from station to billets he fell from his horse twisting the right knee. He was evacuated to 24^th General Hospital at Etaples with synovitis and abrasion of right knee. On September 17^th he was admitted 4^th London General Hospital with slight swelling of right knee and no effusion. Advised manage.” Tunstill was deemed to be likely to be unfit for five weeks from the date of the injury and consequently granted four weeks’ leave, to 17^th October, at which point he would attend a further medical board. Whilst on leave he would stay with his parents at their home at Thornton Lodge, Aysgarth, North Yorkshire. 

Capt. Gilbert Tunstill

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

Lt. John Charles Brison Redfearn (see 15^th September 1915) who had originally served with Tunstill’s Company but had been commissioned and joined a battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment, left his battalion in France for medical treatment, suffering from the symptoms of trench fever.

Monday 18th September 1916

Billets at Millencourt

There was heavy rain throughout the day and the ten march from Millencourt, which began at 10.10am, was a miserable experience. The route took the Battalion through Albert and on beyond Becourt Wood, where a halt was taken for the men to be fed. From there the men marched, via their old battleground at Contalmaison, on to their new positions in reserve trenches in Lancashire Trench and Bacon Trench, east of Pozieres and just a few hundred yards south-east of Munster Alley, where there had been such fierce fighting at the end of July (see 29^th July). The relief was completed by 7pm, by which time the men were thoroughly soaked. The Gordons’ War Diary described the situation, “Rained persistently all day and the men have no shelter … relief under wretched conditions, otherwise without incident”. For 10DWR they found the trenches here to be in very poor condition with few dugouts in what was described as “a comfortless position”. This difficulty was made much more acute by the fact that they found themselves under frequent shelling from the German lines which were by then just north of Martinpuich.

The conditions were described graphically by Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert, commanding 69^th Brigade, in a letter to his wife, “We have had most awful weather for our restart. It poured steadily all day which we had to spend sitting about in mud and rain, soaked through with no chance of changing. Of course I was much better off than most but it was beastly cold and miserable. I got under shelter to a dugout towards evening and was more or less comfortable. The men had nothing. We none of us got much sleep as we who were in comparative comfort had to sit up very late until about 5am. The men of course could not sleep in the muddy trench and the shell fire was pretty heavy”.

(I am greatly indebted to Juliet Lambert for her generosity in allowing me to reproduce the letters here).

 

Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert

Image by kind permission of Juliet Lambert

The Battalion's move forward was part of a larger relief by 23rd Division, taking over from 15th Division who had attacked and occupied the village of Martinpuich on 15th and had held it ever since, despite a number of German counter-attacks.

Pte. William Kershaw (18282) (see 12^th June) was admitted to one of the local Casualty Clearing Stations (details unknown), suffering from “P.U.O” (pyrexia, or high temperature, of unknown origin).

Sunday 17th September 1916

Billets at Millencourt

Training continued. In the evening orders were received that 23^rd Division was to relieve 15^th Division next day, with 10DWR relieving 8^th/10^th Gordon Highlanders in support trenches south-west of Martinpuich.

L.Cpl. George Richard Goodchild (see 17^th August) and Ptes. Alfred Rose Botterill, William Henry Harris, Edgar Johnson, Willie Kershaw and John Richard Thornton were posted to France and would join 10DWR, although the exact date when they joined the Battalion has not been established. Pte. Botterill was a 20 year-old textile worker from Huddersfield. Pte. Harris was was a 23 year-old textile worker from Todmorden; Pte. Johnson was 20 years old and from Settle, where he had worked as a gardener’s assistant; Pte. Kershaw was a 20 year-old French polisher from Bradford; Pte. Thornton was a 27 year-old boot maker from Bradford.

L.Cpl. George Richard Goodchild

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

Capt. John Atkinson (see 5^th September), who had left the Battalion twelve days earlier, suffering from trench fever, was evacuated to England, travelling overnight from Boulogne to Dover.

Pte. James Edward Simpson (see 5^th July), who had been in England since having been wounded on 5^th July, was discharged from Wharncliffe Military Hospital in Sheffield and posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead.

Saturday 16th September 1916

Billets at Millencourt

Training continued; various inspections were carried out and the Battalion bombers were given practice in throwing live bombs. 

L.Cpl. Richard Cleasby Chorley (see 4^th April), was granted “Class I Proficiency Pay”, which would see him paid an additional 6d. per day on top of his standard 1s. per day. Proficiency pay could be awarded on the basis of long service or in relation to particular skills or qualifications; the details under which Chorley received his award are not stated.

L.Cpl. William Hutchinson (see 3^rd August) who had suffered shrapnel wounds to his scalp on 3^rd August, was discharged from 2^nd Convalescent Depot at Rouen and re-joined the Battalion. Ptes. John William Dawson (see 4^th September) and James Arthur Heap (see 29^th June), who had been away from the Battalion since being taken ill with influenza; and Thomas Lloyd (see 18^th August) and Charlie Wilman (see 15^th August), both of whom had been wounded on 29^th July; also re-joined the Battalion from 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples.

L.Cpl. John Henry Eastwood (see 29^th July) was discharged from 6^th Convalescent Depot at Etaples and posted to 34^th Infantry Base Depot, also at Etaples. He would remain at Etaples having been declared fit only for permanent base duty.

Capt. Gilbert Tunstill (see 11^th September), who had been injured in a fall from his horse a few days earlier, left 24^th General Hospital at Etaples and was taken to Calais, where he embarked aboard the Hospital Ship ‘Dieppe’ for Dover. Having travelled overnight, on arrival next day in England he would be admitted to 4^th London General Hospital for treatment for ‘synovitis and abrasions to the right knee”.

Capt. Gilbert Tunstill

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

Pte. Reginald Jerry Northin (see 26^th August), serving with 11DWR at Brocton Camp, Staffs., was reported ‘Absent from 2pm parade’ and would remain, ‘absent from tattoo until reveille on 17th‘; he would be confined to barracks for four days.

A/Cpl. Frank Shackleton (see 29^th July) and L.Cpl. Walter Maynard Willis (see 23^rd August), who had been in England since having been wounded in July, were posted to 3DWR, but temporarily attached to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead.

Two months after returning to England suffering from shellshock, Pte. William Postill Taylor (see 16^th July)) was posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead.

Capt. Thomas Lewis Ingram, DSO, (see 15^th May), RAMC, attd. 1^st Shropshire Light Infantry was reported missing in action; he was the elder brother of Lt. Robert Stewart Skinner Ingram (see 11^th September), who had been one of the original officers of Tunstill’s Company, but had latterly transferred to the RFC. The War Diary of the Shropshire Light Infantry reported that, at Guillemont, “10pm Capt. T.L Ingram, DSO MC, while searching for the wounded at night fails to return”; another man from the RAMC was also reported missing with him. It seems that both were originally buried by the Germans as, in August 1919, their remains were recovered from marked graves at map reference 57c.T.10.c.2.1 (behind German lines at the time) and reburied at Guards’ Cemetery, Les Boeufs.

Friday 15th September 1916

Billets at Henencourt Wood

The day was brighter, but cold, and at noon an order was received to move forward to Millencourt. Within an hour the Battalion was on the road and completed the one mile move. This move was in preparation to move forward in support of the renewed British and French advance on the Somme which had begun in the early hours of the morning. What became known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette saw British, Canadian troops attacking along a seven mile front from Combles in the south-east to Courcelette, north-west of the Albert-Bapaume road.

Pte. Edmund Jones (see 31^st August), who had been severely wounded on 31^st August, was evacuated to England from 13^th Stationary Hospital in Boulogne; the details of his treatment in England are unknown.

Pte. Albert John Start (see 3^rd September), who was at 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples having been wounded on 21^st August, was declared fit only for Base Duties and would therefore remain at Etaples.

A Medical Board convened to consider the case of Lt. Paul James Sainsbury, (see 1^st September) who would later serve with 10DWR, concluded that he was still suffering from the symptoms of shellshock and remained unfit for any duty. His period of leave was extended for a further three weeks, before attending another Board.

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury