Sunday 1st October 1916

Peake Wood

On a fine, sunny morning  XV Corps, III Corps and the Canadian Corps began attacking along a four mile front line from north of Flers in the East to north of Courcellette in the West, in what became known as the Battle of Transloy Ridge. At the heart of the attack was the heavily-defended village of Le Sars, which would become the site of fierce fighting for Tunstill’s Men.

On the first day of the attack New Zealand troops of XV Corps on the right flank advanced, taking the German positions north of Flers. To their left was the front entrusted to III Corps. In fierce fighting troops of 47^th Division failed to occupy Eaucourt l’Abbaye but further left elements of 50^th Division did make progress, occupying the old German frontline (known to the British as the Flers Line). The extreme left of III Corps’ front, opposite Le Sars itself, was the responsibility of 23^rd Division; here too there was progress. To the east of the main Albert-Bapaume road 70^th Brigade occupied both the old German front- and second lines (Flers and Flers Support), but west of the road they gained only the frontline. Some patrols did enter Le Sars itself but were soon driven back by the Germans. West of III Corps’ front the Canadian Corps attacked on the afternoon of 1^st October and advanced the front line by some 400 yards to straighten the line, joining up with 23^rd Division by doing so. Further west the Canadians encountered stiff German resistance and their progress was more limited.

Meanwhile, on a fine morning, the Battalion had left their billets in Peake Wood to move forward to the support positions in Gourlay Trench, east of Pozieres. An advance party of one NCO from HQ and 21 NCO's per Company, led by 2^nd Lieutenant John Payne (see 10^th September) departed from Peake Wood at 7.30am. At 9 am the remainder of the Battalion set off, headed by ‘A’ Company, with a distance of 200 yards between platoons and a 20 minute gap between Companies. The men wore their steel helmets and carried full packs.

Pte. Fred Hird (see 11^th May 1915) was admitted via 21^st Casualty Clearing Station and 11^th General Hospital to 6^th Convalescent Depot at Etaples; he was suffering from myalgia.

It seems to have around this date that Sgt. Norman Roberts (see 29^th September), in anticipation of a return to the front line, wrote home to his father. He gave him news of his recent award of the Military Medal, and added his general thoughts on current conditions and future prospects:

“I have been awarded the Military Medal, the ribbon of which the General pinned on my tunic on Friday afternoon. A day or two ago, I, along with a comrade, had a very remarkable escape. 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! By the time you receive this I expect we shall have been through ‘the mill’ again, for the ‘heads’ don’t mean to let Fritz rest. I haven’t seen a ‘tank’ yet, but I am sure to do so before long. I have seen plenty of air duels, but most of them were when we came out here at first. On one occasion our men forced one of their machines to descend behind our lines. A few of our chaps made a rush for him (the machine) but Fritz turned on his machine gun and then some more Tommies turned up with rifles and the game of life was over for those two (the two Germans). Now of course they (the Germans) are licked in the air. I reckon most of the pictures you saw were ‘made up’, but a few days ago I saw a camera man out here in the trenches. He ‘took’ some of our Battalion whilst they were carrying bombs up to the line. I am really writing under difficulties as I cannot stand up or sit down in my present abode, and my supply of candles has run out. The weather has been variable of late; one day it rains like …… and the next perhaps the grateful sun comes out and smiles and dries out clothes. A Jack knife is the chief implement used to get the mud off one’s clothes and of course Tommy spends many an hour examining his shirt – probably to find the maker’s name. Fritz is a lazy …. And they look it, most of them. It would never do for parents to see their boys after a day or two in the front line trenches, especially after it has been wet and they have been bumped about a bit. I am glad you are still an optimist, for I think this war will not be won by an assault of arms. We are no doubt licking them, but at what a price! I think the war will go on for another winter”.

Sgt. Norman Roberts

Herbert Airey, elder brother of Cpl. Stephen Brown Airey, serving with 4^th Cameron Highlanders, but who would be commissioned and serve with 10DWR (see 25^th August), enlisted and would join the Royal Field Artillery.

Two men from the Battalion are officially noted in the records of the CWGC as having died on 1^st October. Pte. Herbert Moorhouse died in the care of 9^th Casualty Clearing Station at Contay, five miles west of Albert. It is not clear when he had sustained the wounds which resulted in his death; he is buried at Contay British Cemetery. The other man, Pte. James French had actually been listed as missing since the actions near Pozieres on 29^th July. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. It is not clear how he comes to be listed under 1^st October, as other records clearly refer to 29^th July.

Saturday 30th September 1916

Peake Wood

Although the weather remained cold, there was no rain. Orders were received for the Battalion to move forward to Gourlay Trench, east of Pozieres, next morning.

Pte. Ernest Ashness (see 13^th September) reported sick, suffering from myalgia, which would later be ascribed to rheumatic fever. He would be transferred via 5^th Casualty Clearing Station to 18^th General Hospital at Camiers.

Pte. Harry Briggs (19286) (see 18^th August) reported sick, suffering from PUO (pyrexia, or raised temperature, of unknown origin); he was admitted via 5^th Casualty Clearing Station to 11^th General Hospital at Etaples.

In another letter home to his wife, Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert (see passim) gave an indication that he clearly expected vigorous action for his Brigade over the coming days:

“We shall probably shift again to quieter but rather less healthy scenes again soon but of course I do not know and could not say if I did. Anyway I anticipate a very strenuous few days before then in which anything may of course happen”.

(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

Pte. Thomas Robinson (16490) MM (see 14^th September), who had been in England since suffering suffered facial wounds six weeks previously, was discharged from Lord Derby’s War Hospital in Warrington and posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead. 

Pte. Thomas Robinson (16490), seated.

Image by kind permission of Gary Robinson

The weekly edition of the Keighley News carried a report regarding Pte. Arnold Wakeling (see 22^nd July) who had been wounded in early July and also about his younger brother who was also in hospital; Clifford had been serving with 2DWR:

Private Arnold Wakeling, of the West Riding Regiment, brother of Lance Corporal Wakeling, was wounded in the thigh in the Somme fighting, and after treatment in a Glasgow hospital was removed to the Broomhills Convalescent Home, Dumfries.

Lance Corporal Clifford Wakeling, of the West Riding Regiment, son of ex-Police Constable John Wakeling, of Keighley, is in the Queen Mary Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancashire, suffering from shell shock. Lance Corporal Wakeling, who was wounded at the Dardanelles in August 1915, led his section over the top in one of the recent advances.

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

Killed                                     1 officer and 52 other ranks

Accidentally killed               0

Died of wounds                   1 officer and 1 other rank

Wounded                              8 officers and 185 other ranks

Accidentally wounded        1 officer and 7 other ranks

Missing                                 19 other ranks

10DWR’s casualties were recorded as:

Killed                                    3 other ranks

Accidentally killed              0

Died of wounds                  1 other rank

Wounded                           23 other ranks

Accidentally wounded       2 other ranks

Missing                                 0

These official casualty figures do not take account of the deaths of Ptes. Collinson (see 6^th September) or Foster (see 21^st September), both of whom died after being evacuated from the Battalion having been wounded in action.

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

Killed                                  100

Accidentally killed                4

Died of wounds                    7

Wounded                           515

Accidentally wounded       47

Missing                                 74

Friday 29th September 1916

Peake Wood

The weather turned much colder with heavy showers and mist. Another working party, this time of 100 men, was again employed on road repairs. There was a protracted British artillery bombardment, lasting for much of the day and into the night.

Sgt. Norman Roberts (see 20^th September) was presented with the ribbon of the Military Medal, which he had been awarded for his actions in ten days earlier.

Sgt. Norman Roberts

Pte. Patrick Ferguson (see 9^th July) was taken ill, suffering from rheumatic fever, and was admitted to 5^th Casualty Clearing Station; he would be transferred to 11^th Stationary Hospital at Rouen.

Pte. Joseph Harry Poole (see 7^th February) who had been serving with 11DWR since being sent back to England due to illness in January, was formally discharged from the army.

A pension award was made in respect of the late Pte. Harry Briggs (16040) (see 17^th May), who had been killed in action in March; his widow, Ada, was awarded 18s. 6d. per week.

Thursday 28th September 1916

Peake Wood

Another fine, though dull, day which passed quietly, disturbed only by the usual aeroplane activity.

Pte. Samuel Cordingley (see 6^th June) was admitted to hospital (casuse and details unknown). 

Pte. Harry Simpson (see 17^th July) reported sick; he was suffering from “ICT” (inflammation of the connective tissue) to the fingers of his right hand. He would be admitted, via 5^th Casualty Clearing Station, to 20^th General Hospital at Camiers.

As requested a few days earlier (see 26^th September), Lt. Col. Sidney Spencer Hayne (see passim), commanding 10DWR, forwarded the medal ribbon of the DSO due to 2Lt. Bob Perks to his father’s address in England, where Perks was currently recovering from his wounds. Hayne added simply, “the best congratulations of all Officers, 10^th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment”.

(I am greatly indebted to Janet Hudson for her kind permission to quote from Bob Perks’ correspondence).

Lt.Col. S.S. Hayne

2Lt. Bob Perks, DSO

Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson

Ernest Cyril Coke (see 28^th August), who had been wounded in the actions around Munster Alley, losing the tip of the middle finger of his left hand, was declared fit for ‘light duty’ and joined 3DWR at North Shields.

Pte. Harold Howlett (see 10^th July), who had been in England for ten weeks after suffering shrapnel wounds to his right thigh near Contalmaison in July, was transferred to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

Pte. John Henshall (see 16^th July) who had been wounded in July, was transferred from Edinburgh War Hospital to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, for further treatment for ‘neurasthenia’.

.

Wednesday 27th September 1916

Peake Wood

The weather remained fine until the evening when there was some rain. A total of 150 men were deployed in a working party placed under instruction of the Royal Engineers. There was a good deal of aeroplane activity from both sides, but conditions were generally quiet.

Cpl. John Stewart (see 14th September) had his acting appointment to his rank confirmed.

Pte. James Bradley (18319) (see 6^th June) was admitted to 5^th General Hospital at Rouen, suffering from ‘trench fever’.

Pte. Thomas Ward (see 23^rd December 1915) was admitted to hospital; the reason for his admission and the length of his stay are unknown.

Pte. John Whitham (see 22^nd July), who had been in England since having been wounded in July, was discharged from 2^nd London General Hospital.

Pte. Robert Cresswell (see 10^th July), formerly of Tunstill’s Company, but who had been temporarily attached to 2^nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment since July, was now formally transferred to his new Battalion.

Tuesday 26th September 1916

Bivouacs in and around Shelter Wood

The good weather continued and there was continued shelling by the British, but very little from the Germans. Orders were received that the Battalion would relieve a Battalion of 70^th Brigade, moving forward to support positions in Peake Wood. Prior to departing, four officers, Lt. Dick Bolton (see 6^th September) and 2Lts. David Evans (see 21^st August), Godfrey Isaacs (see 2^nd September) and Frederick Millward (see 30^th July), were ordered to return to the transport lines. Advance parties moved off around 3pm and ‘A’ Company took the lead in the main relief, moving off at 6 p.m., and maintaining a distance of 200 yards between platoons, followed, at ten minute intervals by ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies. Behind them followed the Battalion’s cookers and water carts which would be established in Peake Wood. The men marched off carrying full packs and wearing their steel helmets.

Lt. Dick Bolton

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

2Lt. and acting adjutant, Hugh William Lester (see 10^th July), was formally confirmed in his role on a temporary basis and promoted Temporary Lieutenant whilst so employed, with seniority and pay from 14^th July.

In a letter home to his wife, Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert (see passim) commented on the improved weather and also shared his observations on the current state of affairs:

“We are moving again but only in a small way. Of course we have been there before several times. It has changed a bit but is now not quite so near the front line as it once was though Boche daily puts some heavy stuff into it still. Col. Walker that I wrote about (see 24^th September) was killed there only the other day. It has changed a bit since we last occupied it but is not an uncomfortable spot. Now it is fine again I am hoping the good weather will continue. The push still continues as you will have seen in the papers and we have done well yesterday and today further South, as have the French. I do not think we have much love left for our enemies in this part of the world and the longer we go on the more I hope we shall manage to rid ourselves of.”

(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

Pte. Thomas Angus McAndrew (see 2^nd May) was posted back to England. At some point in the previous few weeks (the precise date is unknown), he had been wounded in a shell explosion, suffering a fractured ankle and some symptoms of neurasthenia (shellshock). He had been treated at 23^rd General Hospital at Etaples and on returning to England would receive further treatment at both St. George’s Hospital, Stockport and Harewood House, Disley.

Official notice of the award of the DSO to 2Lt. Bob Perks (see 24^th September) was published in the London Gazette:

“His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the appointments of the undermentioned Officers to be Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, in recognition of their gallantry and devotion to duty in the field:
Temp. 2nd Lt. Robert Clement Perks, W. Rid. R.
For conspicuous gallantry during operations. When leading a bombing party, he was wounded in the face and rendered insensible. On recovering, he again took part in the attack. While throwing bombs he was again twice wounded, in the hand and foot, but continued to lead his men till rendered unconscious by a fourth wound in the face.”

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

2Lt. Bob Perks, DSO

Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson

Enquiries continued regarding 2Lt Roland Herbert Wyndham Brinsley-Richards (see 22^nd September) who was officially reported ‘missing in action’ following the attack on Munster Alley. A statement was taken, at no.10 General Hospital, Rouen, from Pte. A. Dean. He reported, “I was with the machine gun at Horseshoe Trench near Contalmaison (sic. this was actually 5^th July). Mr. Richards led the Company over the parapet and on the tiop of the German parapet he was shot by machine gun fire. I saw him shot. We were about 200 yards behind, and when I got in the trench I saw his body”.

Pte. Angus Dean had been commended for his work in maintaining communications during the actions around Munster Alley (see 30^th July); he later served with both 8DWR and 2/5DWR.

2Lt. R.H.W. Brinsley-Richards

Having completed his cadet training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Herbert Middleton Hands (known as ‘Bob’) completed a form stating his preference as to Regiment he would prefer to be gazetted; he gave the Worcesters as his first preference, with the West Ridings as second choice. He would, in fact, be posted firstly to 2DWR and latterly to 10DWR. Bob Hands was 18 years old and the eldest child of Herbert and Helen Hands; his father was the managing director of a South American trading company and the family lived in Kenilworth.

Monday 25th September 1916

Bivouacs in and around Shelter Wood

The day was again bright and hot. Arrangements were made for the whole Battalion to take a bath and the men were afterwards provided with clean underclothes. It is not clear exactly how this was carried out and the Brigade War Diary refers to men bathing in Albert and Becourt. However, the process of bathing in this area in August had been described by a man of the 7^th/8^th King’s Own Scottish Borderers, “near Shelter Wood … A bath was made by digging a large pit, which was then lined with a sail-cloth and filled with water from the water-carts, with a dash of creosol added for hygienic reasons”.

There was continued shelling by the British and a concerted response by the Germans in the late afternoon and early evening. One heavy shell landed very close to the Battalion HQ Mess, killing one man and wounding another. The man killed was Pte. Ernest Balmforth; it seems likely that he was originally buried locally but that the grave was subsequently lost, and he is now commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. Ernest Balmforth was a 23 year-old blacksmith from Huddersfield; he had originally served with 2DWR, going out to France in August 1914 and had been wounded near La Bassee in October 1914. In the absence of a surviving service record I am unable to establish exactly when, or under what circumstances, he had joined 10DWR. 

The man wounded may have been Pte. George Harold Toseland DCM, who was on attachment to 10DWR from 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment; he would die of his wounds the same day and would be buried at Peake Wood Cemetery. Pte. Toseland was 22 years old, unmarried and from Kettering. He had been awarded the DCM while serving with 2nd Northants "for consistently good work as an orderly in the trenches. He has always got through with his messages quickly, though often under shell and rifle fire. His services to the Battalion have been invaluable".

Two other men also appear in the official records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as having been killed on this day and are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. However, Ptes. Harold Heeley and Harold Hinchcliffe had actually been among a draft of thirty men originally destined for 10DWR but who had been attached to 10^th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry after arriving in France on 8^th July and were serving with that Battalion in an attack near Guedecourt when they were killed. A third man, Pte. Arthur Hewitson, was wounded and died three days later in hospital in Newcastle; he is also officially recorded as 10DWR but had also been attached to 10^th KOYLI. He was 30 years old, from Baildon, and had only been married for four months.

Pte. William Currey (see 17^th July), who had been on attachment to 10DWR for the previous two months, was now formally transferred to the Battalion.

Pte. William Frederick Ackrill (see 11^th September 1915) was admitted via 1^st (Northumbrian) Field Ambulance to a Rest Station (details unknown). He was suffering from “P.U.O” (pyrexia, or high temperature, of unknown origin); this would subsequently be ascribed to influenza.

Two officer cadets were formally commissioned Second Lieutenant and posted, initially, to 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion DWR; both would later join 10DWR. Cpl. John Robert Dickinson, (see 19^th May), formerly 18^th Royal Fusiliers, completed his officer training with no.4 Officer Cadet Battalion, based at Oxford. Pte. Arthur Calvert Tetley (see 27^th May), formerly 21^st Royal Fusiliers, completed his training with no.10 Officer Cadet Battalion at Gailes, Ayrshire.

Ronald Ferguson completed his attestation papers to join the Inns of Court OTC; once commissioned he would serve with 10DWR. He was 18 years old (born 2^nd July 1898) and had just completed his studies at Winchester College, where he had been a member of the OTC. He was one of five children of George and Mary Ferguson; his father was a successful and prosperous stock and share dealer on the London Stock Exchange and the family lived in some style in Weybridge, Surrey, with a staff of seven servants.

Sunday 24th September 1916

Bivouacs in and around Shelter Wood

On another fine, warm day the Battalion provided a working party of 250 men who were employed on road repairs (the Brigade as a whole found working parties comprising some 700 men). Otherwise the day was generally quiet although considerable British artillery activity could be heard in the distance.

A Daily Mail postcard depicting troops clearing roads through Contalmaison

L.Cpl. John Matthewson Richard Grieves (see 25^th July) was promoted Corporal.

Pte. Albert Saville (see 3rd June) was injured and had to be evacuated for further medical treatment. Saville “was sitting in a trench when shell struck parapet and he was buried in fall of earth”. He was taken to 1^st General Hospital at Etaples.

Pte. Arthur Hodgson (see 17^th June) was evacuated to England having been wounded at some point (date and details unknown).

The improvement in the weather and the distance from the front line provided some relief for the men, as noted by Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert (see passim) in a letter to his wife. He wrote that, “Yesterday and today have been beautiful sunny days at last and so I hope we are in for a spell of fine weather again with any luck. It is just as well as our men had a rotten time when we went in among the deep mud and slush and this gives them a chance of getting dry and clean again now we are out for a day or two. I hear we have got another Zep near London but we have had no details yet and of course the papers about it have not come yet. I am sorry to say another good friend of mine has just been killed, Col. Walker, RAMC, who was in charge of a field ambulance which worked a great deal with us (Lt. Col. Arthur Nimmo Walker, RAMC, was killed in action  and buried next day at Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery). The rain has had one excellent result of laying for a time the awful dust! Those who have not been here can hardly realize what it was like except perhaps by imagining an eternal Derby Day assembly mixed up with explosions on all sides and covering an area compared with which Epsom Downs are a mere spot on the map. Will you keep the enclosed picture of young Bell for me please. Later on I hope to get a photo from his people to put in my book.  But for the time being the picture will do (this refers to 2Lt. Donald Bell, 9^th Yorkshires, who had been awarded the VC for actions near Contalmaison in early July). At the moment we are living in shelters rather like workmens’ huts on a new railway line but they meet the case except that they were built for people of about 5 feet high and I get a chip over the head every time I stand up unthinkingly. The number of flies and of rats is rather trying. The latter crawl about everywhere all night and we have already killed over 20 in the first 24 hours! I am glad to say Fraser is getting along all right. They taped (this word is unclear) him the other day and it seems to have eased him a good deal as it did me. He expects to get to England in a week or two now. As usual I have been spending a lot of time lately in trying to get medals and rewards for a lot of our heroes, but it is remarkable how the demands for lists always seems to come in just when one is busiest. However, the Brigade has got 2 VCs, 3DSOs, 13 Military Crosses, 7 DCMs and 71 Military Medals since 1^st July, so we have something to show! The post is just off so I must stop.

With best love ever yours affectionately

Tom

Can you manage to send me a sponge. I cannot get a good small bath sponge here that will wear.

(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

A Staff Captain at 69^th Brigade forwarded the medal ribbon of the DSO due to 2Lt. Bob Perks (see 17^th August) to Lt. Col. Sidney Spencer Hayne (see passim), commanding 10DWR, with instructions that he should, “forward the ribbon to Lt. Perks at his private address, and send the receipt to this office”. Perks was currently in England, recovering from his wounds.

(I am greatly indebted to Janet Hudson for her kind permission to quote from Bob Perks’ correspondence).

 

2Lt. Bob Perks, DSO

Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson

Lt. John Charles Brison Redfearn (see 19^th September) who had originally served with Tunstill’s Company but had been commissioned and joined a battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment, was evacuated to England, via Boulogne and Dover, onboard the Hospital Ship St. David for further treatment for trench fever. 

Lt. Thomas Beattie, (see 14^th September), who had been wounded in July while serving with 9DWR, was released from Western General Hospital in Manchester following his recent operation to remove shrapnel from his shoulder. He was granted six weeks’ leave.

L.Cpl. Sam Benjamin Farrant (see 18^th May), serving with 2^nd Battalion East Lancs. was promoted Corporal; he would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.

Saturday 23rd September 1916

Bivouacs in and around Shelter Wood

The day was quiet, and the weather became bright and hot; the War Diary reported simply, “The usual activity in the air, nothing of importance is happening in our present sector”. 

Capt. Alfred Percy Harrison (see 1^st August), who had been in hospital in England for the previous seven weeks after being wounded in action at Munster Alley, appeared before a Medical Board. It was reported that, “This officer was hit by a rifle bullet just above the middle of the left thigh. The bullet passed for about nine inches through the muscles on the outer side of the left femur. A small wound of exit still exists”. Harrison was declared unfit for duty for a further ten weeks, at which time he would need to be re-examined.

Mr. Henry Brocker of Allcard & Co, stockbrokers, London, wrote in response to a request by Mrs. Marian Carpenter, mother of the late of Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter (see 22^nd September), who had been killed in action on 5^th July, to confirm that her son had indeed been giving her financial support. Brocker confirmed that Carpenter, who had been an employee of his firm before enlisting, had “instructed me to pay £5 per month into his account at Cox’s and that I understood it was for your benefit”.  

Capt. H.M.S. Carpenter

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

Pte. Andrew Aaron Jackson, (see 9^th September), serving with 103^rd Training Reserve Battalion, who had recently completed his application for a commission, was promoted Lance Corporal. He was then posted to no.9 Officer Cadet Battalion at Gailes Camp, near Troon, Ayrshire, to begin his officer training.

Henry Wain died, aged two; he was the youngest of four children of Cpl. Harry Wain (see 29th May), who had died of wounds in March.

Friday 22nd September 1916

Reserve trenches east of Pozieres

The Battalion provided a burial party for the internment of two British and 21 German soldiers. Orders were received that the Battalion was to be relieved by 13^th Durham Light Infantry and would withdraw to positions in and around Shelter Wood, south-west of Contalmaison, close to the German frontline of 1^st July. Advance parties departed at 10am to be guided to their new tents and bivouacs. The continued risk of German shelling was reflected in a Brigade order which stated simply that, “Any movement taking place during daylight will be by small parties at large intervals” the relief began from 5.10pm and was completed, without incident, by 7pm. 

2Lt. Frederick Lowther Dawson Barker (see 29th July), who had served with ‘A’ Company since joining the Battalion four months earlier was taken ill and left the Battalion. The circumstances of his illness have not yet been established, but he was to spend more than a year away from the Battalion before returning. 

Capt. James Christopher Bull (see 13^th September), commanding ‘D’ Company, was taken ill and admitted to hospital (details and location unknown); he was found to be suffering from the symptoms of paratyphoid.

Capt. J.C. Bull

Image by kind permission of the Trustees of the DWR Museum

Pte. Harold Best (see 29^th July) reported sick, suffering from “PUO” (pyrexia, or raised temperature, of unknown origin); he was admitted to 13^th Casualty Clearing Station and would be transferred to 19^th General Hospital at Etaples.

L.Cpl. Edward Isger (see 25^th July) was promoted Corporal.

Four new subalterns arrived in France, en route to join 10DWR. Lt. Herbert Sparling, 21 years old, was the eldest of three sons (he also had an older sister) of Frank and Sarah Mary Sparling. His father was a retired fish merchant living in Leeds, and Herbert had been a student at the University of Leeds. He had been commissioned from the University OTC on 12^th July 1915 and promoted Lieutenant on 1^st March 1916. 2Lt. Joseph Crocker had been commissioned on 11^th July 1916, having been a cadet with the Artists’ Rifles OTC; he was from Lee in London, but nothing more has, as yet, been established about his background. 2Lt. Eric Dixon was 20 years old (born 6^th February 1896); he was the son of George Edward Dixon who was a retired indigo importer from Leeds. Eric Dixon had been a dental student before joining the army and had been commissioned on 17^th November 1915. 2Lt. Harold Sykes Holroyd was 21 years old, the only son (he also had one sister) of Sam and Ellen Holroyd, of Longwood, Huddersfield. Harold Holroyd had been a student at the University of London and had been commissioned from the University OTC on 23^rd August 1915.

 

2Lt. Eric Dixon

Image by kind permission of Scott Flaving

Following three months’ treatment for sickness (details unknown) Cpl. Fred Hopkinson (see 26^th July) was discharged from Keighley War Hospital; he would be posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead.  

Mrs. Marian Carpenter, mother of the late of Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter (see 4^th September), who had been killed in action on 5^th July, wrote to the War Office to explain her situation in regard to the estate of her son;

“I beg to state that my son, Captain H.M.S. Carpenter, 10^th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, was killed in action near Albert on July 5^th last. For some years past he had allowed me financial support, and, at the date of his death was allowing me £1 a year. I have no private means of my own and was therefore largely dependent on him for support. My eldest daughter who was engaged in the Casualty Department at the War Office used also to assist me but she died suddenly on July 15^th from shock of her brother’s death and so I have lost the support I had from both. I have two daughters left, one in delicate health and dependent on me. I trust therefore I am entitled to your favourable consideration for a pension or compassionate allowance”.

 

Capt. H.M.S. Carpenter

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

A brief entry in the weekly edition of the Craven Herald noted that, “letters and cards acknowledging receipt of parcels have been received”, from, amongst others Pte. Reuben Smith (see 4^th August) and L.Cpl. Willie Waggitt (see 30^th July), both of whom were serving with Tunstill’s Company.

Pte. Reuben Smith

L.Cpl. Willie Waggitt

Enquries continued regarding 2Lt Roland Herbert Wyndham Brinsley-Richards (see 13^th September) who was officially reported ‘missing in action’ following the attack on Munster Alley. A statement was taken, at no.26 General Hospital, Etaples, from Pte. Bertie Scott, who, like Brinsley-Richards, was a member of ‘B’ Company, though not in the same platoon. Scott’s eye-witness version of events largely corroborates that given by Pte. Norris (see 23^rd August) and, taken together, these seem to represent the most convincing explanation of what happened to Brinley-Richards;

“He belonged to 8 Platoon, B Company. He took part in a bombing raid on 29^th July and was killed by a bomb or a piece of shell while he was going across. My friend, L.Cpl. E. Smith, 8 Platoon, B Company, was with him when he was killed. The officer was waving his revolver and calling for the men to come on when he was struck. Part of his head was blown away. Our stretcher-bearers went out to try and bring him in the following night but the fire was too heavy for them to reach him. He was a great favourite, the pride of the Regiment. He was the bravest man I have ever known”.

Pte. Scott was subsequently transferred to the Royal Defence Corps.

2Lt. R.H.W. Brinsley-Richards

Pte. Sam Tinkler (see 21^st September), who had joined 8DWR near Martinsart Wood, three miles north of Albert, the day previously, was kicked on the left knee by a horse; he was treated locally in the first instance.

Pte. Sam Tinkler

2Lt. Charles Archibald Milford (see 11^th June), who had been a leading figure in Tunstill’s original recruitment campaign, arrived in France en route to join 7DWR.