Monday 22nd November 1915

Front line trenches east of Bois Grenier.

At 5pm the Battalion was relieved by 8^th Yorkshires. Following the relief,  ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies along with Battalion HQ returned to their former billets in Rue Marle. ‘B’ Company, however, went to billets in Chapelle d’Armentieres in immediate support to 8^th Yorkshires and Tunstill’s Company retired only as far support positions in the Bois Grenier Line.

Although the War Diary makes no mention of casualties, two men from the Battalion, neither of them from Tunstill’s Company, died. Pte.  Herbert Shackleton Proctor (15184) was officially recorded as ‘killed in action’ and is buried at X Farm Cemetery, La Chapelle d-Armentieres.

Pte. George Herbert Redgwick (15177), who was 20 years old and from Kirkburton, near Huddersfield, died in the care of 26^th Field Ambulance and was buried at Sailly-sur-la-Lys Canadian Cemetery; he was reported as having died after being ‘accidentally wounded’. The circumstances of his death were described in a letter to his parents, written by Lt. George Reginald Charles Heale (see 7th November): “A man was showing another man how to use a periscopic rifle and a loaded rifle was handed to him to fit into the stand. Of course all rifles are kept loaded in the fire trenches but this one happended to have the safety catch unapplied. One of the men nearby noticed this and remarked upon it. Whereupon the man who was handling the rifle placed his hand on the safety catch to apply it. In doing so he seems to have jerked the rifle causing it to go off. The bullet struck your son who was sleeping nearby. This is the most unfortunate and distressing thing that has happened since we have been out here. The men who were handling the rifle when it went off were devoted friends of your son and on their request I had taken him as one of the battalion snipers. Private Redgewick was in my platoon and always earned my highest opinion as well as the respect and esteem of all the Officers of the Company. His loss is mostly deeply felt by everyone in the Company and I leave to your imagination the extent of the distress on the part of his chums who were responsible for the accident. Three of them went to his funeral today. He is buried at Sailly. Please accept my deepest sympathies on your great loss”. 

Ex-Tunstill’s Man, Dvr. Arthur Overend, now serving with the ASC at Maidstone, Kent, had his third brush with military discipline in less than three months (see 12^th November); on this occasion he was reported as having been absent from duty without permission. He was found guilty of the offence and ordered to be confined to barracks for four days.