Thursday 1st April 1915

In a letter home to his family, Priestley revealed that he was apprehensive about the fact that he, along with the rest of the Battalion, was about to be vaccinated against typhoid fever. He told his family, “I think we shall be vaccinated this weekend so we look like having a very queer sort of Easter” (Easter Sunday would be 4^th April). He also described the weather as ‘beautiful’ and indicated that he might soon receive a four days’ leave but would be unlikely to travel home because of the long journey that would involve.

Wednesday 31st March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

At home in Burnsall, Molly Birch, wife of Pte. Henry Birch, gave birth to the couple’s fourth child; he would be named Christopher Henry. Henry Birch had enlisted in Skipton on 8^th September 1914; he was 33 years old and had worked as a joiner and roadman.

Tuesday 30th March 1915

The enlistment of John George Waggitt (see 22^nd March) in the Canadian Expeditionary Force was confirmed and he was posted to ‘B’ Squadron, 16^th Light Horse.

Monday 29th March 1915

Pte. John Henry Eastwood was appointed (unpaid) Lance Corporal. He was 41 years old and originally from Bradford, though he had been living in Brighouse; a married man with two children, he had been working as a turner before enlisting, but had previously served 16 years (1892-1908) as a regular soldier with the West Ridings.

Pte. Robinson Walker, aged 26, who was one of the Keighley recruits who had been posted to join Tunstill’s original recruits in September 1914, was married at the Register Office in Keighley. Robinson Walker was one of five children of William and Isabella Walker; William was manager of the spindle department at a local textile machine works and his son, before enlisting, had been working as a ‘consulting engineer’. At the time of the marriage, Robinson’s address was given as 8 Bournemouth Road, Folkestone. He was married to Ellen (known as Nellie) Corlass, aged 24,also from Keighley; the witnesses to the marriage were Nellie’s brother Thomas and his wife Ruth.

Sunday 28th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Saturday 27th March 1915

Pte. Arthur Hargreaves

  A team from 10^th Battalion played a charity football match against a team from the Brigade Pioneer Battalion (9^th South Staffordshires). Included in the 10^th Battalion team was Tunstill’s Man, Pte. Arthur Hargreaves. Arthur was a fine athlete, and a well-known sportsman. He had been a prominent member of both the Cowling Cricket and Football Clubs, playing right full-back for the team which won the championship in the Keighley and District League. He was also well-known as a bowler in the West Bradford Cricket League. He was at one time connected with other clubs outside the village, amongst those being Sutton United Football Club. He was said to be “deservedly popular both on and off the field, and was a thorough sportsman”.

The match was the subject of an extended report in the following week’s edition of the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate and Cheriton Herald.

MILITARY FOOTBALL

9^TH SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRES 1: 10^TH WEST RIDINGS 0

On Saturday afternoon last a football match was played on the Canterbury Road ground between 9^th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment and 10^th Battalion West Riding Regiment. The former team won by one goal to nil.

The teams were as follows:

9^th South Staffordshire Regiment: Davis, Young and Ellsmore, Lacock, Harrison and Gibbs, Lt. Sproat, Ramsdale, Hodges, Harris And J.H. Cox.

10^th West Riding Regiment: Layburn, King and Hargreaves, Lawton, Smith and Nowell, Mills, Clapham, Flaherty, Jason and Walsh.
 

Some fine passing was shown by the Staffords, who were again attired in the colours of the famous Wolverhampton Wanderers, lent to them by the directors of that club. The ‘Tigers’, as the Staffords are called, seemed in much better form this week, and played much more systematically. Some good play was seen on the part of Hodges (centre forward), who showed throughout great spirit and very cleverly eluded the Yorkshire backs on several occasions. Ramsdale (inside right) and Harris (inside left) also played finely, and proved of great help to their centre. They also showed some very tricky passing, which characterised their game all through. Lt. Sproat played well on the right wing and did some praiseworthy work, while J.H. Cox on the other wing was in fine form. The latter was responsible for the only goal of the match, which he put in very cleverly. The Staffords’ half-line was fairly strong, Lacock playing a fine game. The backs, Young and Elsmore, put up a vigorous defence, which was seldom broken. When the opponents’ forwards did get through they found a difficulty with the goalie, Davis, who proved a faithful custodian, and stopped all shots with a degree of celerity which won him great praise. 

The Yorks’ playing was greatly impeded by the fact that nearly all the tram wore regimental trousers, some even turning out in puttees. Still, the West Riding Regiment put up an admirable game. Throughout the first half they tried hard to score, but the opponents’ backs usually overcame them. Their forwards too were perhaps not quite as strong as the Staffords, but they played well. Flaherty (centre) eluded the Tigers more than once, but failed to get the ball into the net. The wing play of the Yorks was good and capital shots were put up the field by Walsh and Mills, who were on the extremes of each wing. Lawton, a half back, played a good game, turning the ball on several occasions. The defence of the Yorks, generally speaking, was not very strong, but their goalkeeper, Cpl. Layburn, played an excellent game, stopping the ball on numberless occasions when it was in very awkward positions. It was probably through his first rate play that the Tigers did not score more points (sic).

During the first half of the game both teams seemed fairly equally matched and scrimmages around each other’s posts were not infrequent occurrences. Although both tried hard to score, no point (sic) was recorded in the first half.

Upon resumption, the Staffords played up, while their opponents seemed to flag a little. They soon, however, recovered when the ball was placed in their territory, but it was taken through and a scrimmage ensued near the Yorks goal, which after a time ended in Cox (outside left) putting in a clean shot. The Yorks now backed up and tried hard to equalise, but could not score, although some clever shots were attempted.

A large number of soldiers and civilians watched the game, and displayed much enthusiasm. The gate money, amounting to a very considerable sum, was in aid of the Bevan Hospital, Sandgate. Company Sergt-Major  Kilbert, South Staffordshire, took a leading part in organising this successful match. 

There may have been other of Tunstill’s Men among the 10^th Battalion team, but this has not been established for certain. It may well be that the man named in the newspaper report as ‘Jason’ was actually Frederick William Jesson. No men with the surname ‘Jason’ have been identified as serving with 10^th Battalion and it may well be that the surname was simply misheard and mis-reported. It may also be that either or both of ‘Smith’ and ‘Walsh’ may have been Tunstill’s Men of those surnames, but this cannot be confirmed.

 

Friday 26th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Thursday 25th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Wednesday 24th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Tuesday 23rd March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Monday 22nd March 1915

Pte. Stephen Grady was reported absent from roll call parade at 7.15am, as witnessed by Cpl. Irvine Ellis; he was ordered to be confined to barracks for five days. Stephen Grady had enlisted in Bradford on 9^th September at the age of 26. He was a married man, having married Elizabeth O’Connel in Bradford on 5^th April 1911; the couple had a daughter, Annie, born 14^th June 1912. Grady had been working as a woolcomber before enlisting. Irvine Ellis was the second son of Philip and Jessie Ellis. He was born in Redcar in 1892 and educated at Coatham Grammar School. However, following the death of his father, the family had settled in Bradford where, in 1911, Ellis had been working as an assistant textile designer. He had enlisted in August 1914 and had been posted to 10DWR. Either before or during training, Irvine Ellis had become a close friend of J.B Priestley.
In Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada, John George Waggitt signed his attestation papers and completed his primary medical examination as part of the process of enlisting for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was the younger brother of Willie Waggitt, who, although not one of the original members of Tunstill’s Company, was well-acquainted with a number of the original members of the Company and would later serve alongside them.

The Waggitt family were originally from Catterick but, more recently William Waggitt snr., his wife Jane Ann, and their six children (three sons and three daughters) had been settled at Moorside Farm, Addingham. John George Waggitt had emigrated to Canada in the Spring of 1914, leaving Liverpool on 14^th March, aboard the SS Alsatian. Willie had been among the Addingham and Ilkley men who had already volunteered just before Tunstill had begun his campaign; he had joined 9^th Battalion West Ridings.

Sunday 21st March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Pte. John Broadbent was reported by Cpl. Harold Cecil Bertram Knivett (see below) as “absent from roll call parade at 7.15am”; on the orders of Capt. Lewis Ernest Buchanan (see 5th March) he would be confined to barracks for five days. Pte. Broadbent was a 31 year-old labourer from Bradford; he was married with four children.

Pte. Vernon Barker was reported as “absent from Church Parade”; on the orders of Capt. Robert Harwar Gill (see 4th March) he would be confined to barracks for three days. Pte. Barker was a 27 year-old textile worker from Bradford; he was married, with one infant daughter (born June 1914) and had enlisted on 26^th September 1914.

Harold Cecil Bertram Knivett was a 20 year-old railway signalman, originally from Norfolk, but had been living in Bingley.

Saturday 20th March 1915

L.Cpl. Arthur Edward Hunt (see 5^th March) was promoted Corporal.

Three members of Tunstill’s Company were posted to join 3^rd Battalion West Ridings. They were Lance Corporal Frederick Griggs (see 12^th December 1914) and Ptes. Walter White (see 3^rd February) and Walter Shackleton.

Walter Shackleton was one of a number of volunteers from Burley-in-Wharfedale who had become ‘adopted’ members of Tunstill’s Company in September 1914. He was 28 yeas old and had married Susannah Mounsey in October 1910; their first child, Winifred, had been born in 1913. Walter worked as a fitter in a local printing works.

Friday 19th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Thursday 18th March 1915

Pte. Ernest Wilson (11751) (see 6^th February) was admitted to Thorncliffe Hospital having suffered a dislocation of his elbow.

Pte. Harry Thornton Pickles, who had been one of the Barnoldswick volunteers attached to Tunstill’s Company in September 1914 was commissioned 2^nd Lieutenant. It was no surprise that Pickles should be commissioned as he was an educated and highly-talented young man (see 2^nd October 1914). He was attached, briefly, to ‘D’ Company, 10^th Battalion, before being despatched to Bedford for officer training. From there he was posted to 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion West Ridings at North Shields. At North Shields he was involved in training and organising the despatch of recruits to the active service battalions of the West Ridings.

Harry Thornton Pickles

 

L.Cpl. Thomas Angus McAndrew (see 12^th December 1914) appeared before a District Court Martial on a charge of drunkenness; he was found guilty and sentenced to 56 days’ detention, a fine of £1 and was deprived of his rank.

Wednesday 17th March 1915

John Clarence William Redington submitted his application for a commission in the New Army. He was the younger brother of Frank Hubert Caudwell Redington who had been commissioned 2^nd Lieutenant in December 1914 and was serving as one of Tunstill’s fellow officers (see 12^th December 1914). John Redington was 19 years old and had been a member of the OTC at University College Nottingham. He would later serve alongside his brother as one of the officers of 10^th Battalion.
 

Pte. John Edward Emmott, brother of Tunstill’s Men, Ptes. William Hartley Emmott and Tom Emmott, returned to France to serve with 2^nd Battalion West Ridings, following a stay of four months in England, having been wounded in October 1914 (see 4^th November 1914).

Tuesday 16th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Monday 15th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Sunday 14th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Saturday 13th March 1915

Whilst in Folkestone many of Tunstill’s Company would have taken the opportunity to have photographs taken to send home to members of their family. One of those was Pte. Bob Maunders (see 9^th October 1914) who had a portrait photograph taken by H. Neame, photographers, of Broadmead Road, Folkestone. The photographer’s studio was located in the heart of the area where the men of 10^th Battalion were billeted (see 4^th March). The exact date on which Bob visited the photographer’s studio cannot be established, but Priestley’s correspondence makes it clear that he, at least, used his spare time on a Saturday to do so.

Pte. Bob Maunders, photographed in Folkestone.

An article in the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate and Cheriton Herald confirmed that householders providing billets for soldiers were indeed being paid at the higher rate of 3s. 4d.per man per day, rather than the 2s. 6d. which had originally been proposed (see 6^th March). The higher rate was considered to be “very satisfactory”.

Friday 12th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Thursday 11th March 1915

At some point during their stay in Folkestone, Tunstill’s Company received a programme of French lessons in preparation for their deployment. How this came about cannot be established for certain, but the basic fact can be established from a newspaper advertisement which subsequently appeared in several editions of the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate and Cheriton Herald. 

INSTITUTE OF LANGUAGES

AND TRANSLATION OFFICE

DIRECTOR: PROF. E.  de NIEMIRA

Late Instructor in French of the N.C.O.’s and men of “A” Company, Duke of Wellington’s 10^th West Riding Regiment and 30^th Battalion C.E.F.

TEACHINGS AND TRANSLATIONS IN

French, English, Flemish, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Greek, Latin

2 BROADMEAD ROAD, FOLKESTONE

Edgar de Niemira was a Belgian citizen who had spent some time in England before the outbreak of war (he had married in London in 1912). He became a well-known figure in Folkestone during the war, not only providing language lessons for civilians, officers and men, but also subsequently being employed as a languages master at The Harvey Grammar School. He and his wife, Marguerite, were also heavily involved in presenting musical concerts and other entertainments in the town and Edgar spoke to a local audience about the German occupation of his home town of Aalst in Belgium. He subsequently became involved in a protracted case relating to his eligibility for compulsory military service.

Wednesday 10th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Tuesday 9th March 1915

Tunstill’s Company, along with the rest of 69^th and 70^th Brigades were inspected by Lt. General Sir Leslie Rundle, commanding Third Army.

Monday 8th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training in Folkestone.

Sunday 7th March 1915

Part of the training for Tunstill’ s Company, and other men of 69^th Brigade, whilst stationed in Folkestone took place in Radnor Park. This large open space provided the opportunity for drill for large numbers of men; many of whom were billeted nearby (see 4^th March).

Radnor Park area of Folkestone. Note the proximity of many of the billets to the Park (see 4th March)

Saturday 6th March 1915

Concerns were expressed in the local press about the arrangements in hand for the billeting of soldiers, including Tunstill’s Men, in Folkestone and Hythe.

FOLKESTONE, HYTHE, SANDGATE AND CHERITON HERALD 

A Billetting Grumble

On Tuesday in last week some Territorials were billeted in the town; they were not expected to arrive before dinner time, but they did. To be exact they were being conducted around to their billets at about 11 a.m. Naturally, they were given a dinner by the landladies, and they had every meal regularly afterwards. Saturday came and each landlady received the sum of 12s. 6d. for each soldier. This was at the rate of 2s. 6d per day for five days, so that the men were expected to make their departure after breakfast on the Sunday. But the expected did not happen. The men remained to dinner and, as the train by which they were to leave Hythe did not leave until 4.45 p.m., those Territorials were also given their teas. Now, if three, four or five men were billeted in one house these extra two meals meant a good bit out of the household purse, and in consequence of this the landladies concerned in one instance have put their heads together. The residents of one whole thoroughfare, at least, have, I understand, written letters to the Commanding Officer of the regiment concerned.

Two and Six or Three and Four?

Moreover, not content with this, those same determined landladies decided on a further move. When they were asked to billet more soldiers – a different regiment this time – each enquired of the billeting officer if the rate was to be 3s. 4d., and said, unless this was the case, they felt that they could not take any soldiers in as it did not pay. The officer answered to the effect that the soldiers must not be fed so well, and it is recorded that one landlady thereupon remarked, “Well, you want them to be kept fit and well, ready to go to the Front, don’t you?” The Officer eventually remarked that they were trying to get 3s. 4d. a day for the landladies and, relying upon that statement, the soldiers were taken in and – no, not ‘done for’, but done well. Next Tuesday will be pay-day for the billets, and it remains to be seen whether 3s. 4d per day will be paid. Meanwhile, there is another little complaint to be aired. On the last two occasions when troops arrived in the town the landladies of billets had previously been informed that the soldiers would not arrive until the afternoon when in reality they unexpectedly arrived before dinner, with the consequence that there was no proper meal for the hungry men.

Friday 5th March 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Folkestone.

L.Cpl. Arthur Edward Hunt (see 4^th November 1914) was admitted to Shorncliffe Military Hospital, suffering from influenza; he would be discharged to duty on 16^th March.

At some point (exact date unknown) whilst billeted in Folkestone Pte. Arthur Walton (see 25^th January) would raise a query as to his rank, having previously been a Sergeant with 3DWR. According to a report which would be made in August by by Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter, then commanding ‘B’ Company, Walton had ‘re-enlisted in answer to Lord Kitchener’s appeal for ex NCO’s as instructors. He was not promoted to non-commissioned rank on enlistment. At Folkestone he made a statement to CSM John Kearns who brought this matter to Capt. Lewis Ernest Buchanan (see 1^st January), then commanding ‘B’ Company. His statement, with his certificate, were forwarded to the orderly room for Maj. Mayor’s consideration. Maj. Mayor, after going in to the case, offered to make him Lance Corporal, with a view to further promotion if found suitable, this Pte. Walton declined’.

Thursday 4th March 1915

In Folkestone, Tunstill’s Men, along with the rest of the Battalion, were billeted in threes and fours with the inhabitants (other units of the Division were billeted in Ashford, Canterbury, Shorncliffe and Rye). The Officer’s Mess and Orderly Room were in two empty houses in Julian Road and the majority of the officers were also billeted in the neighbourhood. Among the known billets for the rest of the men were properties in Linden Crescent, Broadmead Road and Bournemouth Road.

Julian Road, Folkestone (2015); it was in this street that the Officer's Mess
and Orderly Rooms for 10th Battalion were located in 1915.

Houses in Broadmead Road, Folkestone (2015), where members
of Tunstill's Company were billeted in 1915.

One of the houses in Linden Crescent (2015) where members
 of Tunstill's Company were billeted in 1915.

Priestley was billeted with a family in Radnor Park Road, “at the house of some French people, where I shall live entirely while we are here. Think of it! – I shall sleep in a bed and have real meals! It is like having a holiday at the seaside.”

The house in Radnor Park Road (2015) where J.B. Priestley
was billeted in 1915.

Pte. Harry Wood (see 14^th October 1914) was reported by Sgt. John William Headings (see 14^th October 1914) as ‘late falling in and improperly dressed on 7.15am parade’; on the orders of Capt. Robert Harwar Gill (see 28^th February) he was to be confined to barracks for three days.

Following the various stages of the administrative process, both Pte. Robert Newhouse and Pte. William Barker (see 24^th February) were finally formally discharged from the army on medical grounds.

Wednesday 3rd March 1915

Early in March (though the exact date is unknown) 2Lt. Maurice Odell Tribe joined 10^th Battalion, and would serve alongside Gilbert Tunstill. Maurice Odell Tribe was born 4^th June 1893; he was the youngest of five children, and only son, of Rev. Odell Newton Tribe and Annie Newton Beane. Maurice’s two eldest sisters, Dorothy and Annie, had been born in Ware, Herts, while Naomi, Margaret and Maurice had been born after the family moved to Tottenham, where they were living at 36 Lordships Lane. Maurice attended boarding school at Radley College from 1907 to 1911. At school he was a talented scholar but also a bundle of energy and often in trouble. A friend later described him as being “as explosive as any atom God ever made … a big-hearted lad with five loaves of science and two fishes of mischief’. He did however show a great aptitude for chemistry and went on to study at St John’s College, Oxford, from where he graduated in 1914.

On the outbreak of war Tribe sought a commission in the Army but was rejected, apparently on account of his height (although at five feet six and a half inches he was well within the ‘normal’ requirements). Instead he volunteered to serve as a stretcher-bearer with 5^th London Field Ambulance (RAMC), signing up at Hatfield on 2^nd September 1914.  However, he was subsequently granted a commission with the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment, with effect from 25^th January 1915.

Tuesday 2nd March 1915

Geraldine Tunstill, wife of Gilbert, again followed the move of the Battalion, as she had done on their departure in the Autumn of 1914. The precise date of her arrival in Folkestone has not been established but she was certainly staying at the Metropole Hotel by early April when a further advertisement for the letting of the family home in Otterburn appeared in the Yorkshire Post. All enquiries were to be directed to Geraldine at the Metropole.

Geraldine Tunstill (second from right), with Gilbert (front right) and other
members of the Parker family, c.1917?



The Metropole Hotel, Folkestone, early 20th Century

The Metropole Hotel, Folkestone, 2015

Monday 1st March 1915

23^rd Division completed their march from Aldershot to Folkestone, covering the final 16 miles from Maidstone into Folkestone. The Brigade had covered a total of around 110 miles in seven days’ unbroken march.


Writing home to his sister, Edith, L. Cpl. Wright Firth (see 11^th January) told her how he “arrived at Ashford from Maidstone, 19 miles. We go today on our last march. We passed Lord Kitchener yesterday. 15 miles today. Feel fit and well.” Wright Firth had enlisted on 7^th September, before Tunstill’s recruiting campaign had begun, and had been one of the first three men from Earby (along with Ptes. William Digby Stockdale and Walter Robinson (14753)) to volunteer; all had been posted to 10^th Battalion but not originally to ‘A’ Company. However, all were closely associated with the Earby volunteers who had been added to the original ‘A’ Company. Wright Firth was 21 years-old when he volunteered and was one of eleven children of Squire and Clara Firth; he had been working as a twister in the local cotton mills before joining up. William Digby Stockdale was 21 years old and had worked as a weaver at Messrs. Shuttleworth’s Victoria Shed, Earby. Walter Robinson was 22 years old and had worked as a weaver for Messrs. J. S. Watson and Sons., Albion Shed, Earby. Both Stockdale and Robinson were from Thornton-in-Craven.

Priestley described his sense of exhilaration and achievement: “We started off this morning from Ashford with clenched teeth, and had the finest march of all. We passed through miles of Kentish hopfields, and then, through a cleft in the Downs, we caught a glimpse of the sea – the sea! – and a huge cheer went up from the long, weary ranks. We walked five miles on the edge of the sea and it was glorious for it is Spring here. We passed through Hythe, then Sandgate, and finally reached Folkestone, a beautiful town, full of large hotels and boarding houses”.

The passage of the Battalion through Folkestone provoked comment in the local press as Captain Hildyard, commanding Tunstill’s Company (see 19^th September), was a local man. Under the headline “A Popular Officer”, the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate and Cheriton Herald reported:

"With the troops who passed through Hythe on Monday was Captain H.R. Hildyard of the Yorkshire Light Infantry (sic). Captain Hildyard will be remembered by all as the promoter of our Cricket Weeks in years gone by. On Monday he was heartily greeted, not the least by a little group who took up their stand on the steps of the General Post Office; a family group it was and a happy one too. But perhaps the first greetings were those offered by Hythe’s Town Clerk, a colleague of Mr. Hildyard in regard to matters affecting the Hythe lifeboat. With other friends, the Town Clerk (Mr. B.C. Drake) awaited the regiment in Red Lion Square, and as Captain Hildyard – mounted on horseback and wreathed in smiles – approached, so were several hands raised to foreheads, and looks of pleasant recognition exchanged. Well, it may be of interest to mention that when the War broke out Mr. Hildyard’s services were first of all refused by the authorities. But our energetic friend was not discouraged; he kept trying, and at the same time was one of the ambulance class being drilled in the grounds of the School of Musketry. I am told that he is a very popular officer with the men under him, and we who know him can quite believe that”.

Hythe Post Office (2014)

Red Lion Hotel, Hythe (2014)

Pte. James Pickering would be admonished for “overstaying his pass from 11am until 8pm on 3^rd March” whilst at Aldershot; it is not known why he had not gone with the rest of the Battalion to Folkestone. He was a 34 year-old miner from Sheffield and had enlisted in September 1914 and been posted to the newly-formed 10^th Battalion.