Saturday 2nd September 1916

Front line trenches east of Ploegsteert Wood

At 9am the Battalion was relieved by 11^th West Yorkshires and withdrawn a few hundred yards to close reserve trenches in Ploegsteert Wood. The relieving troops were first guided in to their new positions, with Tunstill’s Man Sgt. Norman Roberts (see 3^rd December 1915) responsible for the safe arrival of the new Lewis gun teams, before the men moved off, proceeding by half companies, with 100 yards between, to their new positions. ‘A’ Company were now to be positioned at St. Andrew’s Drive (this seems to have been close to Mud Corner); ‘B’ at Hunter’s Avenue (Dead Horse Corner); ‘C’ “just beyond Gloster House”; and a’D’ at Gloster House. It was noted in the War Diary that, “there was some aeroplane activity during the afternoon”.

Pte. James Young McDonald (see 17^th July) was wounded, suffering shrapnel wounds to his left foot; he would be evacuated to hospital in Boulogne.

In their new positions the Battalion was joined by the six new officers who were to replace the casualties of the previous month. Lt. Payne (see 1^st September) and 2Lts. Graham, Halstead, Hunt, Isaacs and Roberts had all arrived in France a week earlier (see 25^th August).

In a letter home to his wife, Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert, commanding 69th Brigade, reported, “It is nearly midnight now so this letter should really be dated the 3^rd. We are off again so I may not have much time for writing and certainly none for leave, but we shall have a short time for training I hope. In the meanwhile things still seem to be going very well everywhere and I don’t think the Boche can be happy, though we shall have to do a good deal more yet before it is over. It will never do to let the war end before we have made Germany suffer the personal discomforts of invasion and have let the French, Belgians, Serbians and others get a bit of their own back, not in territory only”.

(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

Spr. Alfred John Davis (see 1^st July), serving with 176^th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, was admitted to 14^th General Hospital at Wimereux, suffering from pleurisy. He would be evacuated to England ten days later and admitted to hospital in England (details unknown).


L.Cpl. Matthew Best (see 10^th July), who was in hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne having been wounded in July, underwent an operation to try to relieve the paralysis in his left arm; the outcome is unclear.

L.Cpl. Matthew Best

Pte. Norman Greenwood (see 13^th July), who had been in England since being wounded on the Somme in July, was now sufficiently recovered to be posted to 3DWR at North Shields.

Pte. Edward Smitham, the eldest son of Sgt. George Edward Smitham (see 30^th July), who had attested for service (though underage), was transferred from 6^th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders to 2^nd (Garrison) Battalion West Yorks.  

Trooper Claude Darwin (see 29^th August), serving with 11^th Australian Light Horse in Egypt, who had been taken ill a few days previously was relaeased from 24^th Stationary Hospital and discharged to duty. He was the brother of Tunstill recruit, Pte. Tom Darwin (see 24^th August).

Pte. Cecil Stanley Pitblado (see 13^th July), who had been wounded in March, was discharged from the Military Convalescent Hospital in Alnwick; he would have ten days’ furlough before reporting to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead.