Monday 1st April 1918

Billetted in huts at Granezza.

The recent snow turned to rain, making conditions at Granezza even more unpleasant.

Pte. Joseph Barber Taylor (see 15^th September 1917) was admitted via 71^st Field Ambulance to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from scabies; he would be discharged to duty a week later.

A/Sgt. George William Keeling MM (see 17^th December) relinquished his appointment as Acting Sergeant and reverted to Corporal.

Pte. Frank Easterby (see 18^th March) was transferred from 23^rd Division Rest Station, where he had been treated for scabies, via 24^th Casualty Clearing Station to 29^th Stationary Hospital in Cremona; his condition was now simply described as ‘sick, not yet diagnosed’.

Pte. James Austin (see 25^th January), serving at the Signal School at GHQ, Italy, was transferred to 273^rd Employment Company.

Pte. William Edmond Smith (see 17^th March), who was on leave in England, had his leave extended for a further week ‘on account of his mother’s illness’.

Cpl. Horace Dewis MM (see 22^nd January) was transferred to the RAF.

2Lt. Eric Dixon (see 21^st March), serving with the Royal Flying Corps, was promoted Lieutenant (Observer).


Pte. Wilfred Wood (see 17^th October 1917), serving with ‘D’ Company, 17^th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps, was admitted via 51^st Field Ambulance at Warloy to 3^rd Canadian Stationary Hospital at Doullens, suffering from “I.C.T.” (inflammation of the connective tissue) to his legs; the further details of his treatment are unknown.

Ten-year-old Harry Lawton died at the Royal Infirmary in Huddersfield; he was the eldest of the four children of Sgt. Herbert Lawton (see 27^th December 1917) who was with his son when he died. Harry’s cause of death was stated as being “acute periostitis of femur and septicaemia”.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. Arthur Hird (see 28^th January), who had died of wounds on 22^nd September 1917; his widow, Margaret, was awarded 13s. 9d. per week.

Sunday 31st March 1918

Billetted in huts at Granezza

Easter Sunday, “We formed up in the snow for a church parade and gradually froze. I’m afraid there was as much cursing as praying, but the Padre did his best”. Some consolation was a concert held at the military theatre, a neat all-wood building constructed by the Italian army, where the band of the West Yorkshire Regiment provided a concert of popular music, “which was well appreciated by an audience of all ranks”. The Divisional Concert Party (The Dumps) would later perform a review entitled, Niente (Italian for nothing), which was said to have provided “excellent entertainment”.

Ptes. Maurice Paignton (see 4^th March) and Frederick Sharp (see 25^th February) re-joined from two weeks’ leave to England; the reason for their delayed return is unclear.

Pte. Ernest Franklin (25969) (see 8^th March) was transferred from 11^th General Hospital at Genoa to 57^th General Hospital at Marseilles; he was diagnosed as suffering from ‘trench fever'.


L.Cpl. James Barker (12288) (see 28^th March), who had been wounded three days previously while serving in France with 2DWR, was evacuated to England from 2^nd Australian General Hospital, Boulogne; on arrival he would be admitted to Keighley War Hospital.

The Battalion War Diary recorded no casualties for the month; the official cumulative casualty figures since arriving in France in August 1915 remained as:

Killed                                   275

Accidentally killed                5

Died of wounds                  21

Wounded                       1,280

Accidentally wounded      53

Missing                              178

Saturday 30th March 1918

Billetted in huts at Granezza

It was around this time that news was received that a sum of 300 Francs had been presented by Madame Coquet in commemoration of the retaking by the Battalion of the village of Veldhoek in September 1917; the amount was to be expended in the purchase of a Silver Bugle.

The present whereabouts of the Veldhoek Bugle are unknown

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

Maj. Edward Borrow DSO (see 15^th February) left the Battalion to undertake a senior officer’s training course.

Maj. Edward Borrow DSO

Pte. John William Mallinson (see 2^nd March) was reported on a charge (details unknown) and would be ordered by Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 26^th March) to be confined to barracks for seven days.

Pte. Sidney John Rainbow (see 22^nd March) was reported by Cpl. Arthur Lee MM (see 22nd March) for “slackness on guard mounting”; on the orders of Lt. Thomas Beattie (see 3^rd March) he was to be confined to barracks for five days.

Pte. George Green (22749) (see 3^rd March) was discharged from 29^th Stationary Hospital at Cremona and transferred to the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albano.

Pte. Bertie Constantine (see 5^th May 1917), serving in France with 2^nd/4^thDWR, was transferred to 1^st/7^thDWR.

Lt. George Stuart Hulburd (see 1^st February) was posted for duty in the orderly room at the Officers Command Depot, Eastbourne.

Friday 29th March 1918

Billetted in huts at Granezza

Conditions at Granezza were miserable, with the snow knee-deep. Granezza was described as, “a large clearing, where the hills parted to create a miniature plain, on which a camp of crude hutments, now somewhat dilapidated in appearance, had been established. This was Granezza, our new temporary home, looking dreary enough on our arrival, amidst an expanse of snow. We were welcomed by a bread ration, our first for some days, but otherwise there was little to enthuse over. Our mountain billets were huts buried deeply in snow. The rocky sides of the mountain showed indistinctly through the mists … A more desolate spot would have been difficult to imagine … Our hut, divided horiziontally to double the sleeping accommodation, was far from weatherproof, but we were packed sufficiently close to provide one another with sufficient warmth”. It was extremely cold, with hard frosts at night, though there was plenty of wood available for the fires. It was also very hazardous marching on the icy, twisting mountain paths. Rations were transported by track mules.

The site of the British forward base at Granezza (July 2017)

Morale among the troops at Granezza was not good “Depressing news (from France) about the war, temperatures much lower than we had been used to, the infernal desolation of the black pine forests; we had at that time little cause to be cheerful”. There were clearly some attempts to lighten the mood, as recalled many years later 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 28^th March); “But I’ll go back to where we were in the huts in the snow. We were not really there very long and I’m afraid the officers in our Company nearly got into trouble. We stole out and climbed very gently on to the roof of one of the other huts where the officers of another company were and put a flat stone on the chimney of their stove. At first they thought the fire was smoking and by the time they came out to see what the matter was we weren’t there. They didn’t find out or I guess they’d have played a trick back”.

Pte. Joseph Hirst (29641) (see 30^th December 1917) was admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance to 23^rd Division Rest Station, suffering from “I.C.T.” (inflammation of the connective tissue) to his right knee; he would be discharged and return to duty after one week.

Pte. Edward Somers (see 28^th September 1917), who had been in England since having been wounded on 20^th September 1917, was discharged from hospital in Cambridge and posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. Edwin Charles Church (see 28^th December 1917), who had been killed in action on 20^th September 1917; his widow, Florence, was awarded 22s. 11d. per week for herself and her two children.

The weekly edition of the Craven Herald reported on the death of Pte. James Stanley Williamson, the younger brother of William John Williamson (see 27^th March) who had been killed in action on 1^st October 1917:

EARBY WIDOW'S SACRIFICE - Three Sons in 12 Months

The sad news came to hand last weekend in a letter from an Army Chaplain in France, of the death from wounds of Private James Stanley Williamson, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, which look place in the 3rd Canadian Hospital on March 17th. He was 23 years of age, and the second son of Mrs. Williamson, 42 Skipton Road, Earby, who has had two other sons killed within twelve months. These were: Private Sydney George Williamson, K.O.Y.L.I. (20), killed April 9th 1917, and Private William James Williamson (29), Duke of Wellington's Regiment, killed October 1st 1917. They were all unmarried.

Private James S. Williamson enlisted in the early days of the war and had spent nearly three years in France. The family received a letter from him dated only two days prior to his death, which was due to gunshot wounds in the back, right leg and a fractured arm. He was formerly employed by Messrs. B. W. Hartley, Brook Shed, and was connected with All Saints' Church, where the Rector (Rev. J. F. Tanfield) made sympathetic reference to the family's sad loss on Sunday evening.

Pte. William John Williamson

Thursday 28th March 1918

Billets at Thiene

At 7.30am the Battalion marched out along the Thiene-Sarcedo road to a point 1,000 yards west of Sarcedo where they were then loaded on to Fiat motor lorries. The Battalion was divided into parties of 150 officers and men, each of which was then loaded in turn onto ten lorries, 15 men to each lorry, to be taken ten miles up the steep and winding roads on to the Asiago plateau to Granezza. Each man had been allocated an extra two blankets and a jerkin in addition to their normal load. 

Many years later 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 28^th February) recalled the dramatic journey and the change in the weather as the lorries ascended the plateau: “Well I told you we got to Thiene. This was at the foot of the hills which mount up into the great mountains of the Austrian and Italian Tyrol. After a day or two there, we were told we were going up the hills towards the front in lorries and were to live in some huts up there for a few days. I rode on the front of a lorry and it was warm sunshine. I had thin shorts on and a thin shirt. But oh dear! We rode up over 4,000 feet, into snow, and I was nearly stiff with cold. But what a ride! We got up the hills by winding all round the edges of great ravines down which we could see for hundreds of feet. The roads twisted and turned and often we went round three or four hair-pin bends one after another. But we arrived at our tents at last”.

Pte. Harold Charnock (see 19^th March) remembered that, “we left in motor lorries for Granezza … Here we were billeted in Italian huts. The ground was deep in snow and the cold was intense. The relief of the Italian troops was eventually concluded but there was some difficulty over the ownership of the huts”. The difficulties over the accommodation were also referred to in the Brigade War Diary, “Great difficulty with regard to accommodation due to the difference between Italian and British organization”.

Gnr. Herbert Airey, brother of 2Lt. Stephen Brown Airey (see 12^th February), serving with the Royal Field Artillery died of wounds and would be buried close to the village of Gentelles, south-west of Villers-Bretonneux; after the war his remains would be exhumed from his marked grave and re-interred at Moreuil Communal Cemetery Allied Extension. In a letter to Herbert Airey’s mother his Commanding Officer told her, “Your son was one of my best signalmen, and I feel his loss very keenly. The battery was heavily pressed, and he had been doing splendid work when a shell landed close to him, inflicting a wound, from which he died in the course of an hour. I feel wonderfully proud of his splendid courage."

Gnr. Herbert Airey

Pte. Albert Armitage (see 3^rd May 1917), serving with 2DWR, was wounded in action and evacuated to 8^th Casualty Clearing Station, where he died later the same day; he would buried at Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun.

L.Cpl. James Barker (12288) (see 13^th July 1917), serving with 2DWR, was wounded, suffering wounds to his right arm; the details of his immediate treatment are unknown but he would be admitted to 6^th Stationary Hospital at Frevent and from there, next day, to 2^nd Australian General Hospital, Boulogne.


Pte. Frederick McKell (see 24^th February), serving with 5DWR, was wounded in action, suffering shrapnel wounds to his thigh; the details of his immediate treatment are unknown but he would be admitted to 22^nd General Hospital at Camiers.

2Lt. William Jones MM (see 4^th February), serving with 2^nd Battalion, Border Regiment, was admitted to 2^nd General Hospital, Le Havre.

Sgts. Wilson Allinson (see 9^th January) and William Allen Sayer (see 11^th December 1917), who had been in hospital in England since having been wounded in 1917, were posted back to France from 3DWR; both were originally to have joined 2DWR but, within days of arriving in France would be re-posted back to 10DWR. However, for reasons unknown, it would be almost three months before they would actually re-join the Battalion in Italy.

Pte. Victor Hillam (see 9^th February) was reported absent without leave from 3DWR at North Shields. He would be located by the Military Police in Newcastle at 11.20am on 2^nd April and ordered to return to his unit. On his return, having missed his posting to France, he would be ordered to undergo 28 days’ detention.

Pte. Percival Albert Wiggins (see 22^nd January), who had been admitted to hospital whilst home on leave, was transferred from 3^rd Southern General Hospital in Oxford to the Camp Hospital at Northern Command Depot in Ripon; he had been suffering from ‘trench foot’.

Pte. Herbert Farrand Hogley (see 29^th January) was discharged from hospital at Northern Command Depot at Ripon and posted to 3DWR at North Shields.

Pte. Jim Coates (see 14^th December 1917), who had been wounded while serving with the West Yorks., was formally discharged from the army as no longer physically fit for service.

A payment of £3 12s. 1d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Francis John Bottomley (see 21^st November 1917), who had been killed in action on 21^st November 1917 while serving with 2/4^th DWR; the payment would go to his widow, Sarah. She would also receive a parcel of her late husband’s personal effects, comprising of, “disc, letters, four postcards, photos, note book, three religious tracts”.

A second payment, of 10s., was authorised, on the account of the late Sgt. Norman Wilson (see 11^th February) who had been killed in action on 17^th October 1917; the payment would go to his father, Joseph.

A second payment, of 14s. 8d., was authorised, being a further amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Frank Woodall (see 19^th February), who had been killed in action on 9^th October 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Lilian.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. David Lindsay (see 15^th October 1917), who had died of wounds on 20^th September 1917; his widow, Esther, was awarded 20s. per week for herself and her son David jnr.. The award was unusual in that it was made before any settlement had yet been made of Pte. Lindsay’s outstanding pay account.

Wednesday 27th March 1918

Billets at Dueville

Starting out at 9.55am the Battalion marched eight miles north-west, via Villaverla to Thiene, which was described as, “a very decent town with a fair amount of good shops … its shops had little for sale … but its surroundings were magnificent”.

From Dueville the Division would move on to the Asiago Plateau itself, which was situated north of the River Astico where the ground rises sharply to c.4,000 feet above the river bed onto the Asiago Plateau. It was considered “a very daunting prospect to locate and supply troops in such a position. However, in the centre and right it was possible to take wheeled transport up steep roads, with the ascent spread over around four miles due to the skill of Italian engineers”. To the left there were steeper slopes still near Monte Brusabo and Monte Pau. The plateau was described as being “like a vast step before the heights of the southern Alps”. From the southern edge of the plateau it was around 5,000 yards to the allied front line. There was then a No Man’s Land, mostly extending over around 800 yards to the town of Asiago itself, which was in Austrian hands. There was then a further 2,000 yards to the general slope of the Alps.

In the allied sector the plateau was composed of hills up to c.600 feet, which allowed for both lateral and forward routes. Further north, in No Man’s Land and in the area under Austrian control, it was an open, undulating plain. Between the allied and Austrian lines ran the dry bed of the River Ghelpac, which did get deeper further west, culminating in a steep ravine at Val d’Assa just west of the left boundary of the British front.

The Italians had constructed miles of trenches, often blasted out of solid rock. There was road transport, but also funicular railways and aerial trolley routes (known as teleferica). The allied forward defences were on the northern, descending slopes of the hills going down into the Ghelpac valley and would have been fully exposed to Austrian view, but for being concealed in the dense pine woods. There were, however, considerable problems in defending such steep, tree-clad slopes. The Austrian defences across the plain were easily visible, “like a trench map” from the British positions.

The front was considered ‘stagnant’, with very little activity, no trench raiding and with the trench lines widely separated. The intense cold and deep snow in winter and early spring also made action virtually impossible. However, with the southern edge of plateau only 5,000 yards from the front line, the Division would effectively be “fighting with its back to a chasm. If the front line was to be lost, then artillery support would become very difficult”. This meant that, unlike practice in France, it would not be possible to create an outpost zone and a battle zone for the organization of defence.

Cpls. John William Pennells (see 10^th January), Ernest Reeve (25923) (see 29^th October 1917) and John Starling (see 29^th October 1917); A/Cpls. William Atkinson (25980) (see 6^th February), Alfred Bradbury (see 29^th October 1917), John Thomas Damant (see 29^th October 1917), Bertie Gooch (see 15^th February) and Albert Reynolds (see 11^th January) and L.Cpls. Percy Harry Bentley (see 29^th October 1917), Stanley Arthur Bones (see 29^th October 1917), Roderick Harmer (see 27^th November 1917), Jesse Merritt (see 22^nd February) and Reginald James Nosworthy (see 12^th March) who had held their appointments as NCO’s with the Army Veterinary Corps, prior to being transferred to 10DWR in October 1917, now relinquished their appointments at the expiry of six months with their new unit and reverted to the rank of Private.

Pte. Herbert Ridley (see 24^th February) was killed in action while serving in France with 5DWR. His body, along with those of a number of other members of the Battalion, was buried but the site of the grave would be lost in subsequent fighting.

Pte. Ellis Sutcliffe (see 14^th December 1917), serving with 2^nd/5^th DWR, was reported missing in action near Acihet-le-Petit; he would later be confirmed as having been taken prisoner. He would be held at prison camps at Limburg, between Cologne and Frankfurt and at Gustrow, east of Hamburg.

Pte. Joseph Chandler (see 6^th February), serving in France with 1^st/7^th DWR, was posted back to England; the reason for his posting is not known for certain, but it seems likely that he had been wounded in action.

A second payment, of £1, was authorised, on the account of the late Pte. Joseph William Henley (see 19^th February) who had been killed in action on 18^th October 1917; the payment would go to his widow, Lilian.

A second payment, of 7s., was authorised on the account of the late Pte. Tom Horsfall (see 5^th February), who had died of wounds on 5^th October 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Mary.

A payment of £10 7s. 11d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Stanley Peace (see 20^th September 1917), who had died of wounds on 20^th September 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Mary Ann.  

A second payment, of 2s. 9d., was authorised, on the account of the late Pte. William John Williamson (see 19^th February) who had been killed in action on 1^st October 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Mary.

Pte. William John Williamson

A pension award was made in the case of the late Sgt. Ernest Nussey (see 24^th January), who had been killed in action in September 1917; his mother, Martha, was awarded 5s. per week, later increased (in March 1919) to 12s. 6d. per week. 

Sgt. Ernest Nussey

Tuesday 26th March 1918

Billets at Dueville

Pte. Joseph Wilkinson (see 18^th June 1917) was reported by Sgt. Ellis Rigby (see 7th March) as having been “absent from 10am parade”; on the orders of Capt. Dick Bolton MC (see 23^rd March) he would be confined to barracks for seven days.

Pte. Reginald Dayson (see 21^st March), who had been reported as having been drunk five days previously, was again reported for the same offence. On this occasion the report was made by CQMS Hubert Charles Hoyle (see 21^st January), Sgt. Middleton Busfield (see 30^th November 1917) and Cpl. Percival John Munn (see 29^th October 1917) and, on the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 23^rd March), Dayson would be sentenced to a further 28 days’ Field Punishment no.1, to run concurrently with the sentence he was already under as a result of the earlier offence.

Pte. Leonard Briggs (see 13^th March) was posted back to Italy from ‘B’ Infantry Base Depot at Arques; he would join XIV Corps Reinforcement Camp at Arquata Scrivia.

Pte. William Henry Gray (see 28^th January) was initially reported missing but later confirmed as having been killed in action while serving in France with 2^nd/7^th DWR. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Pte. Gilbert Bell (see 19^th May 1917), now serving in France with 9DWR, was admitted via 51^st Field Ambulance to 3^rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station suffering from myalgia; the details of his treatment are unknown.

2Lt. John Robert Dickinson (see 15^th February), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, following a period of hospital treatment as a result of gas poisoning, was promoted Lieutenant. 

Cpl. George Wallace Fricker (see 5^th October 1917) having completed a course of officer training, was discharged to a commission as Temporary Second Lieutenant and would be posted to 3DWR at North Shields, reporting for duty on 5^th April.

Sgt. Arthur Kilburn Robinson (see 15^th August 1917), having completed a course of officer training, was discharged to a commission as Temporary Second Lieutenant with the York and Lancaster Regiment. When he had left 10DWR and returned to England has not been established.

Cpl. Cecil Stanley Pitblado (see 14^th December 1917), serving in England with 4DWR, was temporarily transferred to the Military Provost Staff Corps.

The Army Chaplains Department wrote to the former Battalion Chaplain, Rev. Wilfred Leveson Henderson MC (see 14^th February), who had been severely wounded in the attack on the Messines Ridge on 7^th June, to inform him that he had been selected for duty at Boyton Camp, Codford, Wiltshire, and was to report for duty on 28^th March.

A payment of £6 18s. 4d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late A/Sgt. James Collings (see 20^th September 1917), who had been killed in action on 20^th September 1917; the payment would go to his widow, Mary Ann.  


A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. William Stanley Davies (see 5^th February 1918), who had died of wounds in September 1917; his mother, Elizabeth, was awarded 5s. per week, later increased (in October) to 9s. per week.

Pte. William Stanley Davies

Monday 25th March 1918

Billets at Marola

The final reflections on the stay of the Brigade in the area were that, “During the whole of this period the weather was fine and sunny. The Italian inhabitants were most kind and pleasant”.

Starting out at 10am on another hot day the Battalion marched nine miles north, via Quinto Vicentino to Dueville; the journey on dusty roads meant that, “we came to look like a band of millers”. This was described as “A long hot march. The column halted for 1½ hours about midday. The troops marched well and in spite of the great heat few fell out. Full kit and one blanket carried”.

Pte. Cyril Hollingsworth (see 5^th July 1917) was posted back to England; the reason for his departure is unknown.

Pte. John Edward Scott (see 22^nd December 1917) was killed in action while serving with 2^nd/7^th DWR; he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

L.Cpl. Arthur Lund (see 28^th February), who had been wounded a month previously while serving in France with 1^st/4^th DWR, was evacuated to England.


Cpl. John Henry Crawshaw (see 16^th December 1917), was discharged from hospital (location unknown) and posted to the Regimental Depot at Halifax.

Catherine Wood, widow of the late Pte. Thomas Wood (see 24^th December 1917), who had been killed in action in June 1917, re-married, to Stoker Douglas Godfrey Ashby, of HMS Invincible.

A payment of £2 7s. 1d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Edwin Charles Church (see 28^th December 1917), who had been killed in action on 20^th September 1917; the payment would go to his widow, Florence. She would also receive a parcel of her late husband’s personal effects, comprising of, “disc, wallet, photos, cards”.

A second payment, of £1, was authorised on the account of the late Pte. John Driver (see 28^th January), who had been killed in action on 18^th October 1917; the payment, like the first one, would go to his widow, Mabel.

Image by kind permission of Andy Wade and MenOfWorth

A payment of £15 1s. 5d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. John Lever (see 5^th January), who had died of wounds in January while serving with 9DWR; the payment would go to his widow, Sarah Elizabeth.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. Percival James (Percy) Pemberton (see 14^th March 1918), who had been killed in action in September 1917; his widow, Alice, was awarded £1 2s. 11d. per week.

Sunday 24th March 1918

Billets at Marola

The Brigade assembled at Gaianigo for a church service at the end of which Brig. Genl. Lambert (see 19^th March) presented medals to a number of officers and men, including the Military Cross to 2Lt. Albert Joseph Acarnley (see 28^th February) and the Military Medal to Sgt. Christopher Clapham (see 28^th February), awarded for their conduct during the patrol action across the Piave on 28^th February. Silver and bronze medals were also presented to the winners of events in the Brigade sports and transport competitions. A commemorative medal was also presented to Signor Forasaco Paolo, who had made the land available for the events to be held. In the afternoon “an Officer’s mounted paperchase took place; 35 officers of the Brigade starting”.

Pte. Harry Pullin (see 11^th March) was reported by Sgt. William McGill (see 16^th November 1917) and Cpl. Reginald Robinson (see 23^rd March) for “insolence to an NCO”; on the orders of Maj. James Christopher Bull MC (see 22^nd March) he was to be confined to barracks for five days.

Ptes. Bertram Edwin Earney (see 29^th October 1917) and James Pidgeley (see 29^th October 1917) departed for England on two weeks’ leave. Pte. John George Inshaw (see 22^nd November 1917), serving at the Trench Mortar School at the Base Depot at Arquata Scrivia also went on leave to England.

Ptes. Thomas Henry Fearn (see 7^th March), Samuel Richards (see 10^th March) and Erwin Wilkinson (see 11^th March) were discharged from 11^th General Hospital at Genoa and transferred to the
Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albano.

As fierce fighting continued in France during the German Spring Offensive, 2Lt. Norman Roberts MM (see 1^st November 1917), serving with the Machine Gun Corps, was among those taken prisoner. According to his later recollection, “he was first taken by his captors to a lonely little village and afterwards behind the lines at Cambrai. He did not complain of ill-treatment here, but it will be readily understood that the position of prisoners near the fighting line is anything but pleasant. After four or five days he, along with others, was removed to a camp at Rastatt in Baden, where the treatment was systematically cruel. Seventy English officers were placed in a hut about the size of those at Raikes Camp (the prison camp for German prisoners established in Skipton), and the sleeping and sanitary arrangements were, to say the least of them, crude and insufficient for civilised human beings. The food was only fit for pigs and there was very little of it. For breakfast there was usually a slice of black bread with some substitute or acorn coffee; dinner consisted of boiled rice and vegetable leaves chopped up; and tea was similar to breakfast”.

2Lt. Norman Roberts MM

Sgt. Rennie Hirst (see 18^th February), serving in France with 2DWR, was evacuated to England from 15^th General Hospital at Abbeville; he was suffering from ‘trench fever’. On arrival in England he would be transferred to hospital in Glasgow.

Saturday 23rd March 1918

Billets at Marola

Ten days after orders had been received at Divisional level, it was said that “Rumours began to circulate among the men of a possible move to the mountains”.

Pte. Ernest Wilson (11751) (see 16^th January) was reported by Cpl. Harry Shackleton (see below) and L.Cpl. John Smith Hodgson MM (see 16^th August 1917) as “absent from 9pm”; he would not return until 6.30am on the 25^th and, on the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 22nd March), he would undergo 14 days’ Field Punishment no.1.

Harry Shackleton had previously served with 2DWR, going to France in November 1914, but, in the absence of a surviving service record, I am unable to make a positive identification of this man or to establish when, or under what circumstances, he had had joined 10DWR.

Pte. John Eastwood (see 5^th October 1917) was reported by L.Sgt. Jonathan Richardson Sunderland (see 7^th January), Cpl. Reginald Robinson (see 21^st March) and Capt. Henry Kelly VC (see 16^th March) as having been, “absent from roll call 9am until found drunk about 12.30pm in D Company billet”; on the orders of Lt.Col. Lethbridge (see above) he was ordered to undergo seven days Field Punishment no.2.

Pte. Frank Dunn (see 22^nd March) found himself on a charge for the second consecutive day; on this occasion he was reported by Cpl. Abel Roberts (see 29^th October 1917) as having “dirty equipment on parade”. On the orders of Capt. Dick Bolton MC (see 22^nd March) he was to be confined to barracks for a further five days.

2Lt. Keith Sagar Bain (see 12^th March) left the Battalion temporarily on “a course of instruction” (details unknown).

L.Cpl. Richard Cleasby Chorley (see 20^th January), serving with 223^rd Employment Company, relinquished his appointment as Lance Corporal at his own request and departed for England on two weeks leave.

Pte. James Stott (see 10^th March) was transferred from 24^th Casualty Clearing Station to 51^st Stationery Hospital at Arquata Scrivia; he was suffering from myalgia.

L.Cpl. William Frederick Ackrill (see 2^nd February), who had spent seven weeks in hospital having been wounded while serving in France with 2DWR, was discharged from 16^th General Hospital at Le Treport and posted to 3^rd Convalescent Depot, also at Le Treport.

Pte. Harold Walker Bray (see 5^th February) was posted from Northern Command Depot at Ripon to 3DWR at North Shields.

L.Cpl. Clarence Best (see 5^th March) was formally discharged from the army as no longer physically fit for service due to the wounds he had suffered on 20^th September 1917. He was awarded a pension of 27s. 6d. for four weeks, reducing thereafter to 16s. 6d., and to be reviewed in one year.


A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. Stanley Roebuck Hutton (see 26^th January), who had been killed in action in September 1917 his widow, Mary, was awarded 18s. 9d. per week.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Cpl. George Herbert Moody (see 29^th January), who had been killed in action in September 1917; his widow, Annie, was awarded £1 10s. per week.

A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. James Tunnicliffe (see 20^th September 1917), who had been killed in action in September 1917; his father, James, was awarded 5s. per week.

Friday 22nd March 1918

Billets at Marola

L.Cpl. William Hay Murdock (see 8^th January) was promoted Corporal.

Pte. Walter James Biddle (see 18^th March) again found himself on a charge. He was reported by Sgt. Joseph Bell (see 7th March) for “inattention on Commanding Officer’s parade”; on the orders of Capt. Dick Bolton MC (see 20^th March) he would be confined to barracks for three days.

Pte. Frank Dunn (see 8^th February) was reported by Sgt. Herbert Wheyland (see 21st March) for “leaving the ranks without permission”; on the orders of Capt. Dick Bolton MC (see above) he was to be confined to barracks for five days.

Pte. Edgar Baron (see 31^st January) was reported by Sgt. Frank Brierley (see 21^st March), Cpl. Arthur Lee MM (see 21^st March) and L.Cpl. Robert Hitchen (see 21^st March) as having been “absent from billet from 9am”; he would not return until 9.50pm on the 24^th. On the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 21^st March) he would undergo 28 days’ Field Punishment no.1 and forfeit three days’ pay.

Pte. Richard Metcalfe (see 5^th April 1917) was reported by Sgt. Harry Smith (12240) (see 16^th November 1917), Sgt. Ernest Taylor (12370) (see 10th July 1916) and Cpl. Harold Best (see 18^th November 1917) as having been “absent off 2pm roll call until reporting himself at 4.45pm the same day” and also for “having in his possession the property of Italian civilians”; on the orders of Maj. James Christopher Bull MC (see 21^st March) he would undergo seven days’ Field Punishment no.1.

Pte. Joseph William Carter (see 25^th November) was reported by L.Cpl. Enoch Wilson Rhodes MM (see 11^th January) and Cpl. Harold Best (see 18^th November 1917) as having been “absent from 9.30pm until reporting himself at 9.45pm on the same date; on the orders of 2Lt. John William Pontefract (see 21^st March), he was to be confined to barracks for seven days.

Cpl. Joseph Edward Robinson (see 25^th February) and Ptes. William George Clements (see 25^th February), Walter Eary (see 18^th February) Ernest Heyhirst (see 25^th February) and Lancelot Johnson (see 18^th February) all returned from two weeks leave; the reason for their delayed return is unclear.

Pte. Ernest George Denyer (see 10^th March) was transferred from 51^st Stationery Hospital at Arquata Scrivia to 11^th General Hospital in Genoa; he was suffering from psoriasis.

Pte. Tom Swales (see 15^th August 1916), serving with 9DWR near Havrincourt, was reported wounded and missing. He would subsequently be presumed to have been killed on or around this date; he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Pte. Tom Swales

Cpl. Michael Kenefick MM (see 27^th February), who had been in England since having been wounded in September 1917, was transferred to Northern Command Depot at Ripon where he would be admitted to the Camp Hospital for further treatment to his wounds.

L.Cpl. Wright Firth (see 4^th January), who had had a leg amputated having been severely wounded in October 1916, was formally discharged from the army as no longer physically fit for service. He was awarded the Silver War Badge and an Army pension (amount unknown).

L.Cpl. Wright Firth

At home in Kirtlington, Sidney Charles Rainbow jnr. died; he was the son Pte. Sidney John Rainbow (see 22^nd March). He was just 23 months old and his cause of death was recorded as having been “cerebral meningitis and tuberculosis”.

The weekly edition of the Craven Herald reported on the memorial service held for Gnr. George Thistlethwaite (see 17^th March), who had died of wounds on 18^th February.

AUSTWICK - Memorial Service

On Sunday evening, at the Parish Church, the Vicar conducted a memorial service to the memory of the late Gunner G. Thistlethwaite, R.G.A., second son of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Thistlethwaite, Main Street. Hymns suitable to the occasion were sung with tender feeling. 'O Rest in the Lord' was sung as a solo by Miss Ethel Robinson. The Rev. A. C. Sutcliffe delivered an address.

Gnr. George Thistlethwaite

There was also news of the official confirmation of the death of Pte. Sydney Whitaker, who had been reported missing in action in May 1917 while serving with 2^nd/5^th West Yorks.; he was the younger brother of of Pte. Edgar Whitaker (see 3^rd May 1917), who had been killed at Le Sars in October 1916.

Grassington Lad Killed in Action

Official information has been received by Mr. Wm. Whitaker, of Brooklyn, Grassington, that his younger son, Pte. Sidney Whitaker, West Yorkshire Regiment, who has been missing since May 3rd last, is now presumed to have been killed in action on or about that data. Much sympathy is felt with Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker, who have lost their only two sons in the war.

Thursday 21st March 1918

Billets at Marola

In continuation of the Brigade sports, a boxing competition would be held over two days, commencing at 5pm each day and held in a field between Grantortino and Rampazzo. It was said that, “The number of entries did not come up to expectation but some good boxing took place”. 10DWR, however, did take to the boxing competition. With men from the Battalion making up nine of the 19 entrants across the various weight divisions, the Battalion would finish second overall. The Battalion’s entrants were Pte. Louis Charles Preen (see 2^nd December 1917), who, being the only entrant, was granted a walkover in the heavyweight division. The other contenders from 10DWR were Cpl. George Alma Cook (see 29^th October 1917), Cpl. Alfred Sayer (see 9th March), Cpl. Sidney Twine (see below) Pte. Joseph Binns (19614) (see 29^th October 1917), Pte. John Craven (he was an original member of the Battalion, but I am otherwise unable to make a positive identification of this man), Pte. William Henry Luke (see 18^th December 1917), L.Cpl. Victor Munnery (see 1^st November 1917) and Pte. William Sugden (he had previously served with 8DWR, with whom he had gone to Gallipoli in July 1915; I am otherwise unable to make a positive identification of this man).

Cpl. Sidney Twine was a 23 year-old former machine fitter from Keighley. He had previously served with 1^st/6^th and 2^nd/7^th DWR and had first gone to France in April 1915. In the absence of a surviving service record I am unable to establish when and in what circumstances he had joined 10DWR.

Pte. Joseph Hadley (see 20^th March) was again reported for a breach of discipline; on this occasion by Sgt. Herbert Wheyland (see 20^th March) and Cpl. John Kennedy MM (see below); for “not complying with an order; ie not wearing his equipment when ordered to do so”. On the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 20^th March) he would undergo seven days’ Field Punishment no.2.

John Kennedy MM was a 37 year-old widower from Seghill. He had previously served with 1^st/5^th DWR; in the absence of a surviving service record the date and circumstances of his joining 10DWR are unknown.  

Pte. Reginald Dayson (see 15^th February) was reported by Cpl. James Shackleton MM (see 26^th May 1917; it is not clear when Shackleton had re-joined the Battalion, having been wounded in February 1917),  as having been, “drunk and crerating a disturbance in his billets after lights out”; on the orders of Maj. James Christopher Bull MC (see 14^th March) he was to undergo 21 days’ Field Punishment no.1.

Pte. Frank Wood MM (see 17^th December 1917) was reported by L.Cpl. Robert Whitaker (see 30^th January) and Cpl. Reginald Robinson (see 20^th March) as being, “absent from roll call 9am until reporting himself at 9.45pm”; on the orders of 2Lt. John William Pontefract (see 11^th March) he was to confined to barracks for five days.

L.Cpl. Joseph Henry Haywood (see 15^th November 1917) was reported by L.Sgt. Jonathan Richardson Sunderland (see 7^th January) as absent off 1.40pm parade; he was reprimanded by 2Lt. John William Pontefract (see above).

Ptes. James Butterworth (see 15^th March), Michael Hannigan (see 2^nd February) and John Newton (see 5^th October 1917) were reported by Cpl. Arthur Lee MM (see 6^th October 1917), L.Cpl. Robert Hitchen (see 15^th March) and Sgt. Frank Brierley (see 22^nd February) as being “absent from billets from 9pm”; they would not return until 9.50pm on the 24^th and would be ordered, by Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 20^th March), to undergo 14 days Field Punishment no.1 and forfeit 14 days’ pay.

Pte. Lewis Batey (see 12^th March), who had suffered an accidental injury to his right knee ten days previously, was discharged to duty and re-joined the Battalion from from 23^rd Division Rest Station.

Pte. William Ryan (see 6^th December 1917) suffered abrasions to his face and bruising to his right shoulder when falling from a ladder whilst climbing up to his billet at around 10.50pm. In Ryan’s own words, “I made my way up to my billet which was a loft over a barn by way of a ladder. When I reached the top I missed my footing and fell backwards to the ground. Then I was taken to the Battalion aid post”. Statements were also taken from a number of other men who corroborated Ryan’s account. According to Pte. Frederick Thomas Peart (see 29^th October 1917), “I saw Pte. Ryan come up the ladder into the billet and when he got to the top he seemed to overbalance and then he fell down. I went down after him and helped him into the gurad room. Pte. Ryan was not drunk”.  Pte. Harry Moorhouse (unidentified), stated that, “I saw Pte. Ryan come down the ladder from his billet to go to the latrines. When he returned, I heard him fall, but did not see him fall. I was on sentry duty and at the other end of my beat. Pte. Ryan was taken into the guard room. He did not seem to be drunk”. Pte. Louis Charles Preen (see above), added “I was awake and heard Pte. Ryan fall down the ladder from his billet. I awakened Pte. Holmes and helped to take Pte. Ryan to the aid post”. Pte. Willie Holmes (see 21^st February) added that, “I was called because Pte. Ryan had fallen down the ladder from the billet. Pte. Jaeger and myself helped to bandage his head and take him to the aid post. Pte. Ryan was unconscious. He was sober”. Pte. Moses Henry Jaeger (see 5^th October 1917) confirmed that, “I was awakened by the call for stretcher bearers at 10.50pm and found Pte. Ryan being taken into the guard room by Pte. Preen. He was cut over the left eye so I applied a dressing and then he was taken to the aid post in an unconscious condition. As far as I know he was sober”. Cpl. Harry Wood (see 22nd November 1917) also confirmed the details, “I was NCO in charge of the billet guard. Pte. Ryan was brought into the guard room in an unconscious condition, caused by having fallen down the ladder from his billet. He was taken to the aid post immediately. Pte. Ryan was not drunk”.

Ryan would be admitted via 69^th Field Ambulance and 37^th Casualty Clearing Station to 11^th General Hospital in Genoa.

Over the next few days a number of former members of 10DWR, now serving with other Battalions in France, would be caught up in the opening attacks of the massive German Spring Offensive, which became known as the  Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser's Battle) or the Ludendorff Offensive, and which put the allies under enormous pressure.

2Lt. Edwin Merrall (see 4^th December 1917), serving with 2^nd Battalion Yorks. and Lancs., was reported missing in action; it would be some weeks before confirmation was received that he had been taken prisoner.

2Lt. Edwin Merrall

Pte. Robert Cresswell (see 14^th September 1917), serving with 2^nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, was taken prisoner near Savy; he would be held at the Giessen Prisoner of War Camp, near Frankfurt.

Pte. James Arthur Heap (see 7^th March), serving in France with 63^rd Labour Company, Labour Corps, was evacuated to England following two weeks’ treatment for diarrhoea and rectal bleeding; on arrival in England he would be admitted to the Auxiliary Military Hospital, Southall. Here it would be confirmed that he was suffering from an acute episode of haemmerhoids, from which he had suffered for six years.


Pte. Thomas George Coates (see 29^th January), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was compulsorily transferred to the Labour Corps and posted to 406^th Agricultural Company at York; his transfer was noted in his record by 2Lt. Harry Widdup (see 8^th March), formally of 10DWR, but now serving with 3DWR.

Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 8^th March), serving at Northern Command Depot at Ripon, appeared before a further Army Medical Board. The Board reported that he had “dentures fitted since last board” and instructed him to resume his duties, pending further instructions.

Capt. Bob Perks DSO

Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson

2Lt. Eric Dixon (see 3^rd December 1917), serving with the Royal Flying Corps, appeared before a further RFC Medical Board which now found him fit for general service.

Pte. Sam Shepherd (see 27^th July 1917), who had been one of Tunstill’s original recruits but had been transferred to the Army Cyclist Corps, was formally discharged from the army as no longer physically fit for service; he had been in England since July 1917, suffering from ‘trench fever’. 

The War Office declared an official presumption of death in the case of Pte. James Buckley Kenworthy (see 22nd January), who had been officially missing in action since 7^th June 1917.

A payment of £1 17s. 9d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late L.Cpl. Alfred Exley (see 18^th October 1917), who had been killed in action on 18^th October 1917; the payment would go to his father, Joseph.