Saturday 1st July 1916

Coisy

When the massive British infantry assault on the Somme began, the Battalion was engaged in light training around 20 miles behind the lines at Coisy. However, the Battalion had been ordered to be ready to move at as little as six hours’ notice and at 8pm orders were duly received to move forward twelve miles to Baizieux; they arrived at 2 am on 2nd July and, in the terse comment of the War Diary, were ‘rested by the best means at their disposal’.

Pte. Albert Armitage (see 6^th June) was admitted via 10^th Field Ambulance to 3^rd Stationary Hospital at Rouen; he was suffering from shellshock.

A new officer reported for duty with the Battalion. 2Lt. Geoffrey Raymond Palmer was 28 years old, from Kettering, and had been working as an elementary school teacher before the war. He had joined 12^th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment on 29^th September 1914 and had then been commissioned in May 1915.

2Lt. Geoffrey Raymond Palmer

Pte. Alfred John Davis (see 6^th April), who had been attached to 176^th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers for the previous three months, was now formally transferred to the Royal Engineers as a Sapper.

The general picture of the events of 1^st July is well enough known to not require repetition here, but the events in the sector in which 69^th Brigade and specifically 10DWR were to be deployed do need to be understood. The area of operations for the Battalion was to be south-west of the heavily-defended village of Contalmaison. This in turn was part of what was known to the British as the Fricourt salient. On the first day of the battle Fricourt itself withstood the British assault, though some progress had been made either side of the village, leaving it isolated in a sharp, narrow salient. North-west of Fricourt, in front of Contalmaison, there had been some ground gained, though at very heavy cost to the attacking Battalions. Indeed some small parties had penetrated the German lines as far as Contalmaison itself but in such small numbers that the few survivors were forced to retire.

Among the almost 20,000 British soldiers killed on the first day was Pte. Farrand Earnshaw; he was the younger brother of Sgt. Kayley Earnshaw (see 23^rd June). Farrand had been serving  with 10^th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment near Mametz; he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. In less than five weeks Jane Earnshaw had lost two sons and a grandson (George Earnshaw had been killed at the Battle of Jutland).

 George, Farrand and Kayley Earnshaw

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury, who would later serve with 10DWR, was among the thousands of wounded from the first day of fighting. He was serving with 2^nd Battalion Duke of Wellington’s near Serre when “he was knocked down by a piece of shell and whilst lying on the ground 3 or 4 large shells burst quite near him; he did not lose consciousness but he was dazed and light headed for 6 hours”. Sainsbury had enlisted in 18^th Battalion Royal Fusiliers on 1^st September 1914, aged 23 (born 5^th December 1890). He was the son of John James Sainsbury, founder of the grocery empire, and had attended Malvern College, where he had been a member of the OTC, and had been working as an architect and surveyor before the war. He had been commissioned in February 1915 and had served in France with 2DWR since August 1915.

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury

Another man wounded was Skipton-born Pte. Arthur Gill, who suffered wounds to his left leg while serving with 2DWR near Serre. He was evacuated to England and treated at a military hospital in London; once recovered he would be posted (precise date unknown) to 10DWR.

Pte, Arthur Gill

Sgt. Henry Herbert Calvert (see 14^th June), who had been posted to the Dukes’ Regimental Depot at Halifax three weeks previously, was posted to 11DWR at Brocton Camp, Staffs..

Friday 30th June 1916

Fremont

New orders were received which saw the Battalion move off at 4.25pm and march two miles south-east to Coisy. An advance billeting party had been despatched at 2pm but found billets to be very scarce and many officers and men were left to bivouac out in the open. 

Lt. Dick Bolton (see 27th June) was admitted to 69^th Field Ambulance, suffering from inflammation of the face and neck.

Pte. Cecil Rhodes (see 25^th June) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from pyrexia, or high temperature, cause ‘not yet diagnosed’; three days later he would be transferred to 25^th Field Ambulance and from there to 19^th Field Ambulance on 9^th June to be treated for “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue) to his knee.

The Divisional Trench Mortar Battery, which had been in action in the Auchonvillers sector for the previous five days (see 26^th June) was withdrawn back to Mailly-Mailllet; they would remain there until re-joining 23^rd Division on 18^th July. Their War Diary makes only a brief reference to the tumultuous events which would follow next day, “Infantry attacked early next morning on a 16-mile front; held up opposite Beaumont Hamel”.

69^th Brigade War Diary recorded casualties for the Brigade for the month of June:

Killed                                     3
Accidentally killed               0
Died of wounds                   0
Wounded                            12
Accidentally wounded       2
Missing                                 0

10DWR’s casualties were recorded as:

Killed                                     3
Accidentally killed               0
Died of wounds                   0
Wounded                            11
Accidentally wounded        0
Missing                                  0

It should be noted that these casualty figures take no account of the deaths of Pte. Edward Tetlow (see 8^th June), who was killed whilst attached to 181^st Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, nor of Pte. Thomas Smith (see 20^th June), who died of wounds sustained while attached to 176^th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers.

The official cumulative casualty figures for the Battalion since arriving in France were now:

Killed                                     30
Accidentally killed                 4
Died of wounds                     3
Wounded                           161
Accidentally wounded       43
Missing                                    3

Thursday 29th June 1916

Fremont

There was an improvement in the weather and the day remained fine. In the morning the Battalion undertook a ten-mile route march and in the afternoon the men were instructed in the construction of bivouacs from waterproof sheets, in preparation for their move closer to the front line.

Pte. Joseph Dent (see 24th December 1915) departed for England on one week leave.

Pte. James Arthur Heap (see 10^th May) who had spent seven weeks in hospital after reporting sick with influenza, was posted to 23^rd Infantry Base Depot at Etaples, en route to a return to active service.

Pte. Thomas William Woodcock (see 9^th March), who had been in England since having been wounded in March, was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service on account of his wounds; he was awarded an Army pension (details unknown).

2Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt (see 24^th June), serving with 9^th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s, who had been injured a week earlier, left hospital in Rouen to return to England, onboard the Hospital Ship St. George. On his arrival at Southampton he was transferred to Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital, Millbank, London, for treatment to his fractured leg.

Pte. Edwin Everingham Ison (see 22^nd June), re-joined his unit, 1^st Battalion, West Yorkshires, a week after having been discharged from hospital following a bout of illness.

Edward Everingham Ison, pictured while serving with 10DWR

(Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton)

Wednesday 28th June 1916

Fremont

As the British assault troops were made ready to launch their attack in the early hours of 29^th June, so 10DWR were ordered to move closer to the front line to be ready to take their part in the actions of subsequent days. During the morning orders were received that the Battalion should be ready to march eight miles to new billets and bivouacs in and around Molliens au Bois, departing at 9.15pm. However, at 3.30pm the orders were rescinded and the Battalion was instead instructed to stand fast. This was occasioned by the postponement of the opening of the infantry assault for the Battle of the Somme due to the incessant heavy rain and the forecast of a continuation of the same over the coming days.

Pte. Roy Sayles (see 4^th April) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from “pyrexia, NYD”, ie pyrexia, or raised temperature, ‘not yet diagnosed’; he would be discharged and return to duty after six days.

Tuesday 27th June 1916

Fremont

The day was, “devoted to physical training and getting all ranks fit”, which proceeded despite heavy showers. The exercises were in preparation for the part the Battalion was due to play in the opening stages of the British advance which was scheduled to begin in two days’ time. Writing many years later, Lt. Dick Bolton (see 25^th June), recalled that, “We quickly learnt of the great attack which was about to be launched, and it was strongly rumoured that we were to take part in the pursuit across open country after the first attack broke through the enemy lines as it was bound to do. Disillusionment was not long in coming.”

2Lt. Henry Kelly (see 20^th June) joined the Battalion; he had arrived in France a week earlier.

L.Sgt. Mark Allan Stanley Wood, serving with 16^th West Yorkshires, was admitted to 93^rd Field Ambulance, suffering from dyspepsia (acute indigestion). He had only been back with his unit for ten days after a previous bout of illness (see 17^th June). He would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.

Monday 26th June 1916

Longueau

After the arduous journey of the previous days, the day was set aside for rest. The weather, meanwhile, took a marked turn for the worse, with showers during the day and heavy rain overnight.

Meanwhile the Divisional Trench Mortar Battery, already in position in the Auchonvillers sector on the Somme (see 16^th June), began to take their part in the bombardment of the German lines ahead of the planned advance. Over the course of the next five days they would fire a total of over eight hundred rounds before being withdrawn on 30^th June.

Pte. Robert Sylvester Downey was appointed (unpaid) Lance Corporal. He was an original member of the Battalion, having enlisted in Halifax in September 1914, aged 19; originally from Liverpool, he had been working as a driller for an engineering company in Middlesbrough.

Pte. Robert Moody (see 16^th March) was reported by Sgt. Herbert Lawton (see 14^th March) and Cpl. Wilfred Blackburn (see 22^nd May) for “eating his emergency rations without permission’; on the orders of Lt. Col. Sidney Spencer Hayne (see 23^rd June) he was to undergo eight days Field Punishment no.2.

Ptes. William Peter Allen (see 11^th September 1915) and Thomas Robson (see 7^th April) were ordered to undergo 14 days’ Field Punishment no.2; the nature of their offence is unknown.

Pte. Robert Cresswell (see 7^th June) was transferred from no.2 Canadian General Hospital at Le Treport to the nearby no.3 Convalescent Hospital to continue his recovery following treatment for haemorrhoids.

Formal confirmation was sought from the offices of the most senior officers in the Army (Chief of the Imperial General Staff; Adjutant General and Quarter Master General) that 2Lt. William Neville Dawson (see 24^th June), who had been reported as being unfit to continue as a platoon officer, and had recently returned to England, should be called upon to resign his commission.

Cpl. Archie Allen (see 11^th June),serving with the Army Service Corps in France, was discharged to duty having been treated in hospital for the previous two weeks following a bout of tonsillitis; he would later serve as a commissioned officer with 10DWR.

A grant of probate was confirmed in favour of Fred Pickles in the administration of the estate of his late brother 2Lt. Harry Thornton Pickles (see 19^th June). His effects were valued at £79 15s.

2Lt. Harry Thornton Pickles

Sunday 25th June 1916

On trains en route from Berguette to Longueau.

The long train journey from Berguette finally ended with arrival at Longueau at 2.30am. At 4am the Battalion was again on the march, making the ten-mile journey back via Amiens to Fremont (north of Amiens) where they finally occupied their new billets at 9am. Lt. Dick Bolton (see 24^th June) remembered the march as seeming, “unusually long and tedious”. Remarkably, there had again been few men who had failed to complete the arduous march, although one who did fall out was Tunstill’s Man Pte. Richard Butler (see 24^th October 1915). He already had something of a disciplinary record and on this occasion he was found guilty of “falling out without permission on the line of march”; his punishment was to be confined to barracks for three days. Pte. Cecil Rhodes (see 6^th June) was reported by L.Sgt. William McLoughlin (see below) for “disobeying an order; viz. not having his feet washed on a foot inspection”; on the orders of Lt. Adolph Keith Lavarack (see 13^th June) he would be confined to barracks for four days.

William McLoughlin had been an original member of the Battalion; he was 26 years old and from Belfast.

Not surprisingly, the remainder of the day was spent, “having a complete kit inspection and resting”.

2Lt. Eric John Lassen left the Battalion, having been transferred to the Royal Engineers; he had been with 10DWR for less than a month (see 27^th May).

Pte. Charles Davey (see 9^th June), who had been wounded two weeks previously, was evacuated to England and would be admitted to the Royal Infirmary in Sunderland; he was now to be treated, not only from the original injury to his left eye, but also for shellshock.

Pte. Wilson Hepworth (see 24^th August 1915), on attachment to 23^rd Division HQ,  was admitted to hospital (cause unknown); he would be discharged and return to duty after six days.

L.Cpl. Albert Joseph Acarnley (see 8^th June), who would later serve as a commissioned officer with 10DWR, was released from hospital after spending 17 days being treated for myalgia and “PUO” (pyrexia of unknown origin); these were the typical features of what was often known as ‘trench fever’. He re-joined 2^nd Royal Berkshires on active service.

Saturday 24th June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

The Battalion’s move to the Somme area began with Lt. Leonard Hammond (see 8^th May) and a loading party proceeding to Berguette by motor lorry at 11.45am to begin entraining supplies ahead of the arrival of the men. The move was a matter of some urgency and strict orders were issued to ensure that there were no unnecessary delays. The Battalion transport, along with Lewis gun limbers, mess carts etc. were to follow immediately behind the loading party and Sgt. George Smitham (see 25^th April) was to, “select the most convenient place for the issue of tea on the Lamres - Mollinghem road, west of Mollinghem. Tea to be ready for issue on arrival of Battalion. This must be done without delay and the cookers proceed as quickly as possible to Berguette Station”. Five NCOs were also to cycle to Berguette, ahead of the main party. Company Commanders were to ride to Berguette where they would then hand their mounts over to Transport Officer, Lt. Charles Wolfe (see 11^th May) for them to be boarded onto the train. 2Lt. John Smith (see 28^th May) and one NCO from each Company were detailed to follow in rear of the Battalion and “bring along any stragglers”. In the event the march  of over ten miles, which the Battalion began at 2.25pm, was completed in three hours with only a single, ten-minute, stop to take tea from Sgt. Smitham and his colleagues. The Battalion arrived just in time to be swiftly loaded into box wagons, with an average of 45 men per truck, to begin their journey. The train pulled out at 6pm. 

The train journey lasted through the night, taking more than eight hours  to cover just ninety miles. Lt. Dick Bolton (see 8^th June) later recalled, not surprisingly, that it was “a night with very little rest”. The route passed through Lillers, Chocques, Calonne Riccart, St Pol and Doullens, Vignacourt and Amiens before arriving at Longueau at 2.30am on 25^th June.

At some point during the day L.Cpl. Harold William Crowther (see 13^th June) suffered an accidental injury whilst at duty, which resulted in minor abrasions to his left ankle; he would be admitted to 22^nd General Hospital at Camiers on 26^th June but would then be discharged to duty after three days.

Prior to the move, 2Lt. William Neville Dawson (see 22^nd June), who had been reported as being unfit to continue as a platoon officer, finally left the Battalion. He travelled to Boulogne, and from there, next day, to Folkestone. 

2Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt (see 22^nd June), serving with 9^th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s, who had suffered an injury whilst wrestling two days’ earlier, left his Battalion for further medical treatment. His injury was now diagnosed as being a “simple fracture of left fibula”.

Pte. Harry Hinchliffe (see 11^th June) was transferred from 3DWR at North Shields to 11DWR at Brocton Camp, Staffs.

Friday 23rd June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

Training continued and orders were received that the Battalion would move next day, marching to Berguette Station and there entraining for Longueau (south-east of Amiens).

A.Cpl. Thomas Butler (see 10^th March) and Pte. Edward Isger (see 5^th October 1915) were reported by Sgt. Percy Cole (see 14^th May 1915) and Pte. Thomas Riding (see 13^th January) as having been, “drunk when warned for parade”; on the orders of Lt. Col. Sidney Spencer Hayne, (see 19^th May) Butler lost his promotion and reverted Private, while Isger was ordered to undergo 14 days’ Field Punishment no.1.

Pte. James Hatton Kershaw (see 11^th September 1914) was posted back to England, suffering from tuberculosis; the details of his treatment are unknown, but a later medical report would confirm that he had been suffering symptoms of the disease since March.

Pte. George Henry Hansford (see 3^rd May) was discharged from Huddersfield War Hospital; he would have ten days’ leave before reporting to 11DWR at Brocton Camp, Staffs..

Former member of Tunstill’s Company, Cpl. George Clark (see 11^th March), now serving with ASC, was transferred to the Motor Transport Section based at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire; he (temporarily) lost his rank of Corporal on transfer and reverted to Private.

The weekly edition of the Craven Herald carried further news of the recent death of Sgt. Kayley Earnshaw, D.C.M. (see 16^th June):

MALHAMDALE D.C.M. KILLED IN ACTION

Great gloom was cast over Malhamdale when the sad news came that Sergt. Kayley Earnshaw, D.C.M., of Scosthrop, Airton, had been killed in France.

He had seen service in South Africa, and was one of the first men to answer Capt. Tunstill's appeal for recruits when war broke out, and had been in France nearly a year with the 10th West Riding Regiment. It is only a few weeks since Sergt. Earnshaw was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for great gallantry, and he was expecting leave to come home to receive a presentation from his fellow Dalesmen as a token of their pride and esteem of his exploits.

Sergt. Earnshaw was hit by a trench mortar and killed instantly. The greatest sympathy is felt for his widow and children in the loss of the brave man who brought so much honour to the Dale, and his name will ever be remembered both there and in his regiment where he was deservedly popular, and is deeply regretted by both officers and men.

Sgt. Kayley Earnshaw, DCM

(Image by kind permission of Sue Lugton)

Thursday 22nd June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

Training continued. Having been notified that they would have as little as six hours’ notice of their next move,  all surplus stores, baggage and kit were despatched to the railway station at Berguette in preparation for the move. Meanwhile the opportunity was taken for the men to bathe. Pte. Patrick Conley (see 27^th April) was reported by Sgt. Edward Smith (11769) (see below) as, “absent off bathing parade”; on the orders of 2Lt. Christopher Snell (see 5^th May) he was to be confined to barracks for five days. 

Edward Smith was a 34 year-old coal miner; orginally from Staffordshire, he had been living in Leeds with his wife and their two children.

Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert, commanding 69^th Brigade, formally confirmed the sentence of the Field General Court Martial held the previous day in the case of Pte. Tom Darwin (see 22^nd June).

Ptes. Fred Brook, Tom Crowther, Albert Ellis and Harold Schofield Hanson were posted to France and would join 10DWR. Fred Brook was 22 years old and from Huddersfield. Tom Crowther was a 37 year-old iron turner from Lockwood, Huddersfield; he was a widower (his wife, Alice, had died in February 1915) with one daughter. He had enlisted in September 1914 and had served in France with 9DWR from September 1915 until being evacuated to England (cause unknown) in March 1916). Albert Ellis was a 37 year-old mason’s labourer from Sowerby Bridge. Harold Schofield Hanson was a 22 year-old textile worker from Huddersfield.

It was noted that 2Lt. William Neville Dawson (see 1^st June), who had been reported as being unfit to continue as a platoon officer, had not yet reported at the War Office, as previously instructed, in order to resign his commission. It seems that the earlier order had not yet been acted upon as Dawson had remained with the Battalion.

2Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt (see 12^th December 1915), serving with 9^th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s, was “accidentally injured whilst wrestling at Amiens”. 

Pte. Edwin Everingham Ison (see 30^th May), was discharged from hospital having been treated for three weeks at a variety of locations having been taken ill while serving with 1^st Battalion, West Yorkshires.

Edward Everingham Ison, pictured whilst serving with 10DWR

(Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton)

Wednesday 21st June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

Training again continued. Orders were received that the Battalion should be ready to move on 24^thJune. 

Pte. Ernest Wilson (11751) (see 13^th July 1915) was ordered to undergo 21 days Field Punishment no.2 (the nature of his offence is unknown).

Pte. Tom Darwin (see 12^th June), who had been absent without leave for four days stood trial by Field General Court Martial on charges of desertion and losing his equipment by neglect. He was found not guilty on the first charge but guilty on the second. The sentence passed was that he should serve one years’ imprisonment, without hard labour.

Cpl. Thomas Walsh (see 25^th November1915), who had been wounded in September 1915 and had been evacuated to England for treatment, re-joined the Battalion.

Thomas Walsh (seated), pictured in 1917, along with fellow senior NCOs, (left to right) Luke Dawson, Charles Edward Parker and 'Benson' (not positively identified)

(Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton)

Charles Edward Parker was, like Walsh, one of Tunstill's original volunteers (see 17th September 1914)

Having been sent back to England the previous day, Pte. Booth Dean Hartley was admitted to Dundee War Hospital, where he was to be treated for heart disease.

A payment of £3 5s. 8d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. James Frainey (see 23^rd March), who had been killed in action in March; the payment would go to his father, Michael.

Tuesday 20th June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

Training continued.

L.Cpl. Tom Jackson Tindall (see 29^th September 1915) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 2^nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station to 8^th British Red Cross Hospital at Paris-Plage; he was suffering from influenza.

L.Cpl. Harry Clark (see 12^th April) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from a high temperature; he would be discharged to duty after three days.

Pte. Thomas Barber Dudley (see 10^th June) was discharged from 4^th Stationary Hospital at Arques, following treatment for dental caries; he would rejoin the Battalion via one of the Base Depots at Etaples (details unknown).

Pte. Booth Dean Hartley was sent home from France having been taken ill. He had been one of the Earby volunteers who had been added to Tunstill’s original recruits in September 1914. He was born on 23^rd October 1888 and was the third of four children of Greenwood and Elizabeth Hartley; his father had been licensee of the White Lion Hotel in Earby, but he had died on 6^th February 1913. Booth himself had been working as a twister in the local cotton mills. 

Pte. Thomas Smith of 10DWR (though not of Tunstill’s Company), died at 22^nd Casualty Clearing Station and was buried at Bruay Communal Cemetery; he had been injured while attached to 176^th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers.

2Lt. Henry Kelly arrived in France en route to join 10DWR. He was born 10^th July 1887, the eldest son of Charles and Jane Kelly. His father was originally from Ireland but the family was settled in Manchester. Henry was educated at St Patrick's School and Xaverian College, both in Manchester. After moving to King Street in Moston he was employed as a sorting clerk at the Newton Street sorting office and joined the Manchester Royal Engineers Territorials. On 5^th  September 1914 he enlisted with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders as a Private. He transferred to the Manchester Regiment and was promoted Lance Corporal and two weeks later Sergeant Major. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant on 12^th May 1915.

Pte. Benjamin Wilson (see 31^st January) was formally discharged from the Army as no longer physically fit for service due to wounds; he had had his left leg amputated having been wounded in November 1915. He was awarded an Army pension of 25s. per week for two moths, reducing thereafter to 12s. 6d. per week for life.

Monday 19th June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

Further training continued, with the weather remaining good. The Brigade took part in Divisional manoeuvres, with the emphasis on attacking trenches, in anticipation of the Division’s involvement in forthcoming operations.

Pte. Thomas Anthony Swale (see 17^th June), who was one of the draft which had arrived only two days previously, was promoted Lance Corporal.

Cpl. Maurice Harcourt Denham (see 20^th May), re-joined the Battalion from 23^rd Infantry Base Depot at Etaples, where he had been following recent medical treatment.

Pte. John William Addison (see 13^th June) re-joined the Battalion from 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples. 

Pte. Joseph Alfred Formby (see 9^th June), who had been wounded ten days’ previously, was discharged from 2^nd General Hospital in Le Havre and posted to one of the convalescent depots; he would subsequently (date and details unknown) re-join 10DWR.

Pte. Edmund Peacock (see 14^th June) was discharged to duty with 9DWR, having spent the previous two weeks in hospital suffering from trench fever and myalgia; he had originally been a member of Tunstill’s Company but had been invalided back to England having been wounded in November 1915 and subsequently posted to 9DWR. 

Pte. Frank Hargrave (see 26^th May), who had originally served with Tunstill’s Company, but latterly with 9DWR, re-joined his Battalion from the Infantry Base Depot at Etaples, following a seven-week spell in hospital.

The parents of 2Lt. Samuel Lawrence Glover who had been officially posted as missing in action since January (see 14^th June) wrote in acknowledgement of the recent confirmation of their son’s death: “Mr. and Mrs. J. Glover present their compliments to the Military Secretary and wish to thank him for the kindly tone of his letter though it contained the very sad notice of their son’s death. They will be most grateful to have further details if any come to hand later. They also wish to express their thanks for the kind message of sympathy from the Army Council”.

2Lt. Samuel Lawrence Glover

L.Cpl. George Liddemore (see 15^th February) was formally discharged from the army on grounds of sickness. He had been posted back to England having been taken ill in February. It is unclear what happened to George after the war, other than that he died in 1973.

A payment of £68 5s. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances for the late 2Lt. Harry Thornton Pickles (see 12^th May).

2Lt. Harry Thornton Pickles

Sunday 18th June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

There was a Brigade Church Parade and time allowed for rest.

Pte. George Albert Wright (see 19^th April), serving at 23^rd Infantry Base Depot at Etaples, departed for England on one weeks’ leave.

Pte. Eli Bradley (see 12^th June) was evacuated to England from 6^th General Hospital in Rouen; he would travel onboard the Hospital Ship St. David. Having arrived in England he would be admitted to the Military Hospital in York, where he would be re-diagnosed as suffering from neurasthenia.

Saturday 17th June 1916

Billets at Enquin-les-Mines

Once settled in billets at Enquin-les-Mines the Battalion was engaged in training and preparations for the part they would take in the forthcoming battle, with the emphasis on “manoeuvres, practising attacks, wood-fighting, artillery formations. Also the men have been practised in the handling of arms, musketry, extended order drill and all movements which are necessary in the present war”. The billets were considered good, the weather remained fair and the Battalion was reinforced by a draft of men fresh from training in England. The Battalion Memoir reported, “This period was most enjoyable, the weather was good and the men very keen and fit. We had a large and particularly good draft from North Shields. Billets were also good and we had some very successful Battalion sports”.

A number of men from this draft have been identified. Sgt. Charles Smith (11791) was 37 years old; he was a veteran of the Boer War and had re-enlisted on the outbreak of war and been posted to the newly-formed 10^th Battalion. The reason why he had not been posted to France in August 1915 is unclear. Originally from Elland, he had worked as a policeman in Huddersfield after leaving the army. In 1904 he had married Elizabeth Olive Stokes and the couple had two children. The family had subsequently moved, firstly to Dover and latterly to Maida Vale, London. Pte. Paul Bland was a 20 year-old grocer’s assistant from Bradford. Pte. Victor Frank Collen was a 19 year-old textile worker from Keighley. Pte. Ernest Fozard was 20 years old and from Bradford. Pte. George Heeley was 19 years old and from Mirfield, where he had been working as a woollen piecer.  Pte. Norman Greenwood was 19 years old and from Keighley. Pte. Arthur Hodgson was a 31 year-old warehouseman from Oakenshaw Bridge.  Pte. Ronald Jeckell was a 21 year-old groom and gardener from Norwich. He had originally enlisted into the Corps of Lancers in September 1914 but had been transferred to 8DWR in June 1915, going out with them to Gallipoli in July 1915. He had been invalided back to England in December 1915, suffering from frostbitten feet and had spent time in the Alexandra Hospital in Cosham. Once recovered he had been posted to 3DWR in April. Many of this draft were men who had attested under the Derby Scheme in December 1915 and had been called up in January and February 1916. Pte. Harold Howlett was a 21 year-old window cleaner from Brighouse. Pte. Herbert Kitley was a 20 year-old textile worker from Halifax. Pte. John William Mallinson was a 20 year-old labourer from Greetland, near Halifax; he had attested in December 1915. Pte. Richard Marsden was a 20 year-old grocer from Settle. Pte. Clifford Midwood was a 23 year-old grocer from Mirfield. Pte. Fred Riddiough was a 21 year-old clerk from Bradford. Pte. William Allen Sayer was a 26 year-old labourer from Burslem; he was married with two children (a third child had died in September 1915 aged 23 months). He had been wounded in February 1916, suffering a relatively minor shrapnel wound to his neck. However, the wound had become infected and he had been evacuated to England and had spent a month in the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital in Whitchurch, before being posted back to France on 24^th May. Pte. Samuel Stansfield was a 19 year-old textile worker from Sowerby Bridge. Pte. John Stephenson was a 21 year-old textile worker from Yeadon. Pte. Jonathan Richardson Sunderland was 20 years old and from Keighley; he had been working as a clerk to a firm of farmstock auctioneers. Pte. Thomas Anthony Swale was a 21 year-old carter from Shipley. Pte. William Postill Taylor was a 21 year-old motor engineer from Huddersfield. Pte. Lewis Walton was a 19 year-old weaver from Todmorden. Pte. Samuel Wilson was a 20 year-old warehouseman from Wibsey, Bradford. Pte. Milton Wood was a 19 year-old joiner from Halifax.

Pte. Sam Shuttleworth (see 10^th June) who had been undergoing medical treatment for tooth decay over the previous days, was discharged to duty. However, he did not re-join the Battalion, but was instead posted to 23^rd Infantry Base Depot at Etaples. 

Pte. Stephen Grady (see 2^nd May), serving with the Brigade Trench Mortar Battery, was promoted Lance Corporal.

L.Sgt. Mark Allan Stanley Wood, serving with 16^th West Yorkshires, was discharged from hospital, having spent the previous nine days being treated for suffering from seborrhea (see 8^th June). He would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.

Friday 16th June 1916

Billets at Camblain Chatelain

The Battalion formed up at 9.45am and marched eleven and a half miles via Berfay, Bellary and Estree Blanche, to Enquin-les-Mines. The march was duly completed with the Battalion arriving at 3pm. 2Lt. Henry Dawson (see 24^th May), accompanied by an NCO from each Company, had been detailed to follow in rear of the Battalion in order to “pick up any stragglers”. The War Diary reported, “To say the Battalion had such a trying time during the last few days and that only 12 men fell out during the march, it is a very creditable performance”.

The Divisional Trench Mortar Battery, having arrived on the Somme the previous day, began preparing themselves for the part they would play in the British bombardment of the German lines; over the next few days they selected their gun positions in the Auchonvillers sector and began to dig in their guns and carry up large quantities of ammunition.

Cpl. Vincent Edwards (see 3^rd April) serving with 28^th (Reserve) Battalion Royal Fusiliers, having been wounded in February, received a mention in dispatches. He would later be commissioned and join 10DWR.

The weekly edition of the West Yorkshire Pioneer carried an extended report on the recent death of Sgt. Kayley Earnshaw, DCM (see 10^th June).

SERGT. KAYLEY EARNSHAW, D.C.M., KILLED

News was received on Wednesday that Sergt. Kayley Earnshaw, D.C.M., of 10th West Yorks. (sic.), had been killed in action by a trench bomb. The news was received by Sergeant Earnshaw's wife, who resides at Scosthrop, near Airton, and when it became known in Malhamdale great sympathy was expressed for the widow and family. The following letter was received from Captain Tunstill:- "It is with very great sorrow that I have to tell you that your husband was killed yesterday in doing his duty as a brave man. He was taking his machine gun team to the trenches when a trench mortar hit him, and he was killed on the spot. I knew nothing about it until today, and this evening it has been my duty to see him buried. There was no man in this Battalion more respected than your husband. He was one of the few who had won the D.C.M., and he had won the respect and admiration of every officer and man of the Battalion. It is difficult for me to tell you what I think, but I feel his death more perhaps than any other N.C.O. of this Battalion. I remember him as a civilian, and I knew him as a soldier, and you have my sympathy in losing a husband who was a very brave and valiant soldier. I have tonight seen him buried. He is buried some few hundred yards behind the firing line between two little woods. There were not many of us there, but those who were there grieved to lose a man who could be ill spared, and the thought of those there were with you."

Mr. Harry Foster, a machine gun office, wrote:- "No words of mine can adequately express the sympathy which I, and indeed the whole machine gun section, wish to convey to you in your loss. Earnshaw was one of the finest men and the best soldier in the Battalion, and was respected by officers and men alike, and no man had more thoroughly earned the medal which was recently conferred upon him for distinguished conduct in the field. Sergt. Pickles has collected the articles of personal value which he had with him, and is sending them on to you in due course. I cannot say any more to you, except to tell you that he died instantly (I was there just after he was hit), and without suffering any pain, and I can only hope the thought that he died while doing his duty to his King and country, like the man he was, will be some slight comfort and consolation to you."

Sergeant Earnshaw, who enlisted in Captain Tunstill's troop from Airton, went through the Boer War, serving as gunner attached to the 63rd Battery. He was drafted home as an invalid after suffering from fever. He joined the Leeds Royal Artillery at Leeds at the age of 18. He sailed from Bristol in the transport 'Ismore', and the vessel was wrecked off Columbia Point, about 90 miles from Cape Town. After spending some days on land, two gunboats were sent down from Cape Town, but they could not get within 12 miles of the spot, and a transport had to be requisitioned to take the men off. Sergeant Earnshaw was in at the capture of Spion Kop and the relief of Ladysmith.

Before joining Captain Tunstill's troop, Sergt. Earnshaw was under gardener for Mr. Dudley Illingworth at Hanlith Hall. He was highly respected in the district and his wife and two children live at Scosthrop. He earned the D.C.M. in April last. We quote from a report given at the time:- "Sergeant Earnshaw, after his machine gun had been blown up by a shell, succeeded in digging it out, and then got it into working order, all the time being heavily shelled by the Germans, who were only 60 yards away. He also rendered great aid in bandaging up the wounded."

Sergeant Earnshaw leaves a wife and young family, and for them, as well as for his mother and sisters, great sympathy is felt. His youngest brother recently went out to France, and a nephew, who belonged to Carleton, went down on the 'Defence' last week.

 

Sgt. Kayley Earnshaw, DCM

(Image by kind permission of Sue Lugton)