Sunday 3rd September 1916

Close reserve trenches in Ploegsteert Wood

The Battalion provided working parties of 160 men for the Royal Engineers. In the afternoon, orders were received for the Battalion to be relieved next day by 7^th South Lancs. Overnight three men were wounded by German shelling.

It seems likely to have been around this time (though the precise date of the letter has not been established) that one of the Austwick men in Tunstill’s Company wrote home to his family. An extract from the letter was subsequently published in the Craven Herald and though the correspondent is identified only as “a village lad in France” serving with Tunstill, it seems most likely that it was written by Cpl. Fred Swale (see 6^th July):

“I want to write to you today because it was a year ago on August 26^th since we left dear Old Blighty. Sometimes we seem to have been here ages, and at other times it seems but a month or two. It has been a wonderful year, and when one looks back, and thinks of all that has happened, and the changes at home (that is the homes in England), the thousands of new faces seen at one place or another, it makes you wonder whether everything will ever get back to the old peaceful carry-on that we out here so often talk about. All the boys left England last year with smiling faces. There were nearly a thousand of us then, but lots of those poor lads will never smile again on Earth. Of course, quite a lot of our lads have been wounded, but if you were to cross out the “0” in the thousand you would not be far off from the number that is left, of what we call “Frensham Wallers”. Our Company has been jolly lucky up to the present, for we have always been there when there has been anything doing. God grant our good luck may still stick to us, and that the war will be very soon finished”.

Sgt. Edgar Shuttleworth (see 28^th August) returned to duty following treatment to his injured right knee. He was now promoted Company Quarter Master Sergeant with ‘D’ Company.

Sgt. Harry Pickersgill was taken, onboard No.31 Ambulance Train, from one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Bailluel to hospital in Boulogne; he had at some point (date and details unknown) suffered wounds to his right buttock. In the absence of a surviving service record I am unable to make a positive identification of this man beyond the fact that he had been an original member of the Battalion and was from Castleford. He would subsequently (date and details unknown) be transferred to 9DWR and then to 1^st Northumberland Fusiliers.

Pte. William Andrew Leiper Long (see 2^nd March) was admitted via 2^nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station to 34^th Stationary Hospital in Boulogne; he was suffering from “P.U.O” (pyrexia, or high temperature, of unknown origin). 

Pte. Joseph Crabtree (see 11^th September 1915) was taken, onboard No.31 Ambulance Train, from one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Bailluel to hospital in Boulogne; he was suffering from “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue) to his leg. In the absence of a surviving service record it has not been possible to establish when he had first reported sick, or the details of his treatment, but he had been attached to 69^th Brigade Machine Gun Company at the time. Having recovered, it would appear that he would not re-join 10DWR but would instead be transferred firstly to 2DWR and subsequently to 2^nd/5^thDWR.

Image by kind permission of Andy Wade and MenOfWorth

Pte. Sydney Charles Nicholls (see 1^st September), who had been admitted to hospital in Boulogne two days earlier, was now diagnosed as suffering from, not only the inflammation of the forearm for which he had originally been admitted, but also from “PUO”  (ie pyrexia, or raised temperature, of unknown origin), which was attributed to the condition known as ‘trench fever’. Nicholls himself identified his illness as having started, “in June on the Somme … got rheumatism from laying so much in the wet”.

Pte. Albert John Start (see 21^st August), who had been wounded two weeks previously, was discharged from 8^th Stationary Hospital at Wimereux and posted to 34^th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples.

2Lt. Philip Howard Morris and 2Lt. Fred Helliwell Baume (see 6^th July), having both completed their officer training at Denham, arrived in France, en route to 10DWR.

Pte. Albert Hoggarth (see 1^st September) was posted from the Regimental Depot at Halifax to join 3DWR to begin his military training; would later be posted to 10DWR and serve with ‘A’ Company.

Within a week of re-joining the Army Pte. Patrick Sweeney (see 28^th August) found himself on a charge, having been absent from 10pm on the night of 2^nd September until 12.40 am on 3^rd; he was sentenced to be confined to barracks for two days.

Pte. Percy Wharton, brother of Pte. Allan Wharton (see 10^th July) who had left 10DWR after being wounded in action with Tunstill’s Company at Contalmaison, was reported missing in action whilst serving with 1^st/6^th DWR; his Battalion had launched an attack against German positions near Thiepval, and though their advance was initially successful, they were forced to withdraw as units around them failed to achieve their objectives.