On the Move

Monday 16th September 1918

After the disbandment of three of its battalions earlier this year, the Bedfordshire Regiment has now just three battalions on the Western Front - 1st, 2nd and 4th. Two of these have been on the move today as the generals move their pieces on the board that is the battlefront, preparing for the great assault on the Hindenburg Line.

2nd Battalion boarded a fleet of buses this morning at Leuze Wood on the old Somme battlefield and are this evening in a wood west of Aizecourt-le-Bas, south-west of Cambrai and a mile or two short of the Hindenburg Line. They expect to be in action in a few days.Meanwhile 4th Battalion marched to Saint-Leger south-east of Arras.

Source: X550/3wd; X550/5/3

Is the Enemy Advance Slowing Down?

Thursday 28th March 1918

At 3.30 this morning the 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment was relieved after its heroic attack yesterday. Grieving for its commanding officer, killed at the moment of triumph and for three officers and twenty seven other ranks also killed, the battalion marched back to Senlis where it went into billets for a shorty sleep, before moving again to Mailly-Maillet, just behind the front line, late this morning. The men are exhausted and the battalion much reduced as, in addition to the glorious dead, 88 men have been wounded and 124 are missing, probably captured.

The 2nd Battalion is still some way to the south. This morning it was still near Arvillers, astride the main road to Amiens, enduring German shelling. The enemy then attacked and got into Arvillers on the right flank and the hamlet of Folies on the left. The enemy was just 100 yards away when the battalion was ordered to withdraw, which it did about 2.30, moving through Moreuil where a halt was called to eat a hasty meal. Then this battered battalion moved a couple of miles further west to Rouvrel, where it has billeted, rejoined by its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H S Poyntz who had been serving on 90th Brigade staff. The battalion is now only about a dozen miles south of the vital rail-head of Amiens. It is widely speculated by the press corps that if this city falls the enemy will have succeeded in driving a fatal wedge between our armies and those of our French allies, and there will then be nothing to prevent the Bosches driving north for the vital channel ports of Boulogne and Calais.

However, there is curiously little worry here in Amiens. There is concern, certainly, but we have felt that the enemy advance finally seems to be slowing down, like a railway engine running out of steam. The enemy supply lines from Saint-Quentin and other cities must now be stretched to breaking point. An advance of nearly fifty miles means that their motorised supply will have much further to travel from their dumps of ammunition, food and water and they will, as yet be unable to use the railway, as damage has been deliberately caused to that during the retreat.

There seems to doubt that the German fingers are striving to reach Amiens. As their strength fails and our defences around the city harden, however, there is every hope of slamming those groping fingers in the door. Plenty of fresh units are available, most of which have not seen action since the autumn and as the Americans arrive in numbers every day the Kaiser is delayed before Amiens is another nail in his coffin.

One of the fresh units arriving to help stem the German advance is 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. Today, their adjutant has just informed me, they boarded a train at Caestre, close to Ypres and the Belgian border, leaving it at Mondicourt, just east of Doullens.

The final confirmation that things are beginning to stabilise is that the enemy launched a huge attack against Arras today. It is reckoned that up to a quarter of a million men took part in this attack. The front line here, however, is in a much better state of readiness and its defences much stronger than they were to the south, part of the defence, of course, is the formidable natural obstacle of Vimy Ridge, so gallantly taken by the Canadians in Spring 1917. This attack has been decisively defeated with only minor advances to the south of Arras.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/5/3; X550/7/1

Comparing Arras with the Somme

Second Lieutenant Aldridge [X550/1/81]

Sunday 1st July 1917

Today marks the first anniversary of the opening day of the Battle of the Somme in which our local battalions distinguished themselves. One of those Battalions was 2nd Battalion which was to the fore in attacks on Trônes Wood and Guillemont in July and at Gird Trench in October.

The Battalion is currently at English Wood behind the lines near Ypres. The adjutant mentioned to me today that 9675 Lance-Sergeant G Wilson, now attached to to 33rd Trench Mortar Battery, has been awarded the Military Medal and three men have been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal - 5846 Lance-Sergeant F Selby and 6095 Private J Harris, the third recipient is more unusual - 6229 Company Sergeant Major A F Aldridge who has now been promoted to Second Lieutenant in the Battalion.

Chatting with fellow correspondents the subject of the Somme was raised and it was compared with the recent Battle of Arras. Though the Somme was longer and so bloodier, memory fades and the more recent fatalities are fresher in our minds. We reckoned that the recent battle was, at times, more ferocious than the Somme and the fighting, perhaps, harder, which probably shows that the enemy are more desperate and their position more perilous(1)

Source: X550/3/WD

(1) There were roughly 420,000 British and Imperial casualties on the Somme spread over 141 days, an average of 2,978 per day. At Arras 158,000 casualties were spread over 38 days, an average of 4,150 per day. The forthcoming Third Battle of Ypres would see 260,000 casualties over 103 days, an average of 2,525 per day, thus suggesting that the somewhat forgotten Battle of Arras, wedged as it is between the Somme and Passchendaele was by far the worst in terms of the actual fighting.

The Battle of Arras Begins Again

Monday 23rd April 1917 - Saint George’s Day

After a dormant period lasting eight days the Battle of Arras sprang into life once more today. There have been small, isolated flare-ups during those eight days but today saw the beginning of the second phase of operations with a concerted and widespread attack. Phase One saw VI, VII and XVII Corps making the running, today XIII to the north also joined in the attack. We here in Arras are hearing the fighting today has been gruelling(1)

The day began with a heavy mist from ground which was very wet after snow and rain over the preceding weeks. As the day developed it turned into a bright Spring day, whose beauty belied the grim struggle going on all around. The various objectives were grouped into two lines - the first known as the Blue Line and the second, east of that, known as the Red Line.

VII Corps was instructed to attack downhill towards the River Sensée between Vis-en-Artois and Bullecourt. 33rd Division, on the right flank, gained some ground but could not take all their objectives because the barbed wire was uncut. On their left flank 30th Division, still smarting from its lack of success in the opening phase of the battle, advanced on high ground overlooking the village of Chérisy. The 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, played no part in this attack, as it was in reserve around Neuville-Vitasse. Once again their attack was unsuccessful because enemy artillery rained down on them causing huge casualties. 50th (Norhumbrian) Division ‘s attack failed with heavy casualties. Finally we have just heard that 33rd Division has begun an attack of its own, with what results we do not yet know.

VI Corps to the north of VII Corps occupied a front from Wancourt and Guémappe to the River Scarpe, south-east of Fampoux, with a bulge, or salient, sticking out towards the enemy around the village of Monchy-le-Preux. 15th (Scottish) Division attacked Guémappe and points north. Guémappe fell after hard fighting and the rest of the Division was able to make some progress. Then a German counter-attack drove the Scots out of Guémappe, though the Germans could not occupy it and the battalions north of the village held their ground. 29th Division, on the Scots’ left flank, took most of its objectives.About four o’clock this afternoon, however, the enemy counter-attacked this division also and managed to force its right-hand units back. 17th (Northern) Division’s attack made very little progress, just obtaining a precarious foot-hold in the enemy trenches.

XVII Corps area lay north of the River Scarpe and their attack today was aided by a division of XIII Corps to its north - our old friends the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, with the 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment to the fore. Only two divisions of XVII Corps made any attack, both of them with local interest - 51st (Highland) Division, our Scottish friends who spent the first months of the war in Bedford, and 37th Division which includes 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment.

51st Division were given the task of taking the village of Roeux and its chemical works and station and then moving on to the fortified ridge and Delbar and Hausa Woods. Thanks to the aid of a tank (C7 under Second Lieutenant L Victor Smith) which fired its cannons through the windows of the houses, the Highlanders were able to take Roeux. The chemical works, however, proved resistant to being captured and then the Scots were forced out of most of Roeux apart from its western fringe. Nevertheless the first objective - the Blue Line - had been taken.

37th Division did very good work today - its 111th Brigade capturing both first and second objectives and ended up two hundred yards east of the road from Roeux to Gavrelle, where it could advance no further, 13th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps even managed to reach the road from Gavrelle to Plouvain. 112th Brigade advanced on Greenland Hill, south-east of Gavrelle, thinking that the Germans had fallen back, however, they were frustrated by the failure of 51st Division to take the chamical works outside Roeux, from which fire stopped any advance. The adjutant of 6th Bedfords was able to send me just a brief message that the battalion took part in this attack on Greenland Hill but could go no further than the road from Roeux to Gavrelle, much to his frustration.

63rd (Royal Naval) Division ws allotted the capture of the village of Gavrelle and an advance three hundred yards beyond it. They were well-supplied with artillery for this limited objective, though the wire in front of the village was not well cut. The adjutant of the 4th Bedfords, like his colleague in the 6th Battalion, has had time for little more than a brief message. They attacked at 4.45 a.m. and captured Gavrelle, reaching their first and second objectives. Its third objective, along the railway line from Arras to Douai proved beyond them, however beuase one of the battalions fo the brigade - 7th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, failed to take any of its objectives, expising the Bedfords to murderous fire. No units of the division could advance beyond the village. The Bedfords were shelled very heavily during the day and this afternoon they were counter-attacked by the enemy, an attack which they repulsed. They gave suffered about 260 casualties, around a quarter of their entire strength.

So much for events at Arras. It will be seen that fortunes, as usual, have been mixed - some success, some failure. We may only be able to judge the effectiveness of the attacks today over the coming few days.

North of Arras is the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle and the town of Avion. 5th Division has attacked in this region today, attempting to capture la Coulotte, despite the fact that wire was uncut and the prospects for success slim. I have just received a report from the adjutant of 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. Their attack was no avail and the battalion has suffered terrible casualties - eleven officers, including at least five killed and 320 other ranks. The other battalions in the attack (1st Northumberland Fusiliers, 1st Devonshires and 1st Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) have suffered correspondingly devastating casualties. Tonight the shattered battalion will withdraw, probably to Cambligneul. An attack further north by 46th Division was also a failure.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/5/3; X550/7/1

(1) The Official History of the War states: “The fighting of 23rd April is described by more than one participant as the hardest of the War so far”.

Is the Battle of Arras About to Restart?

Sunday 22nd April 1917

For the last eight days the Battle of Arras has been in suspension, the last attacks having been made on 14th April. However, we understand that this has been a time of consolidation and planning for the renewal of the offensive. The French to the south of us on the Chemin des Dames are also consolidating after advances of four miles in places.

The adjutant of the 1st battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment told me on the “blower” today that they have moved up to the front line near Givenchy-en-Gohelle facing a hamlet called la Coulotte, south of the town of Lens, which they expect to attack tomorrow.

The 4th Battalion is also in the front line facing Gavrelle, which they believe will be their target tomorrow. Now we wait.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/5/3

Second Day of the Battle of Arras

Tuesday 10th April 1917

Yesterday saw a day of great success for the British Army and for the Canadian Corps. Some units advanced as far as three and a half miles. Yet, as always, one hopes for the very best and the complete rupture of the enemy’s defences just eluded our forces’ grasp.

So it is that today hopes were high that this definitive breakthrough might be achieved. If only the enemy could be pressed hard all day and at all points it was felt that they must surely give way somewhere. Thus, north of the River Scarpe XVII Corps 4th, 34th and 51st Divisions were urged to make good all the final objectives of yesterday. 4th Division were, in places, already at these objectives at the beginning of the day.The other two divisions still had to take a feature known as the Point du Jour. In this 34th Division has been largely successful. The Highlanders, however, have not been so successful and your correspondent understands, from officers whom he knew when the division was in Bedford in the early days of the war, that staff work has been faulty to say the least(1). The officers concerned were angry that this reflects badly on the men who have been, they said “resilient and splendid”.

We understand that some consideration was given to sending the cavalry forward to take a prominent rise known as Greenland Hill as well as the village of Plouvain halfa mile east of it – both decidedly in the enemy rear areas where chaos might have been wreaked. In the event this was not put into action because probing attacks sent out by 4th Division met with withering machine gun fire. We fear that the hour for any breakthrough in this sector has now passed.

A similar situation, it seems, also applies south of the Scarpe. VI Corps lies immediately south of the river. We understand that the corps commander Lieutenant-General Haldane ordered each of his divisional headquarters to move forward closer to their troops where he felt they could exercise greater, and speedier, control of the battle.

37th Division, it will be remembered, had been unable to make any attack yesterday and 12th and 15th Divisions failed to take all their objectives and only then would 37th Division have moved through them to make its own attack. Today the division has gone forward, the 6th Bedfords to the fore. 111th Brigade was ordered to take the village of Monchy-le-Preux. 63rd Brigade was ordered to gain as much ground as possible between Monchy and the River Scarpe, which it did quite well. 111th Brigade failed in its attack, ending 500 yards west of the village. 112th Brigade on their right flank went forward and achieved a splendid result, taking all their objectives. The 6th Bedfords and 8th East Lancashires were the assaulting battalions. The Lancastrians reached a point a mile east of the Wancourt-Feuchy Line. But they were outdone by the Bedfords who got within six hundred yards of the village of Guemappe. 3rd and 12th Divisions were also successful; in their attacks, taking all the objectives they had been given yesterday.

VII Corps had been the least successful corps yesterday. So it has been again today. 56th Division managed to clear the enemy out if the Hindenburg Line but could not even get close to the Wancourt-Feuchy Line. 14th Division did manage to take its allotted part of the line but 30th Division could make no advance at all.

The 2nd Bedfords, part, of course, of 30th Brigade, had a quiet morning but at 1 pm received orders for two companies to attack the Hindenburg Line at 4 pm. This order was cancelled. Then came good news that British cavalry was in Héninel. In the last few minutes this has been found to be false.

So today has been one of disappointment. Some things have been achieved, particularly north of the river, but nowhere near what had been hoped. One has seen this before with battles in this war, notably Neuve-Chapelle and some of the attacks on the Somme: things go well on the first day, then resistance hardens and no clear breakthrough is made. Of course, things have been very tough today, it has been cold and and times men have had to attack the elements as well as the enemy, stumbling forward through squalls of snow. We all hope for better things in the coming days.

Sources: X550/3/WD; X550/7/1

(1) 154th Brigade believed it was already at its objective rather than some way short, as was the case. This muddle was not sorted out until 2 pm and all attacks that day failed in the face of defenders who had had plenty of time to prepare.

Stunning Breakthrough at Arras

Easter Monday 9th April 1917

Correspondents at the Front are receiving news of a stunning victory. The British Army attacked east from Arras with three corps (VI, VII and XVII). Meanwhile the Canadian Corps has achieved a magnificent triumph in driving the Germans from Vimy Ridge, north of Arras and it is here we will begin.

Readers may remember that 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, part of 5^th Division, is at Cambligneul a few miles west of Vimy, acting as reserve to the Canadians. They were not needed in today’s battle but the commanding officer has passed on his intelligence of what occurred today. It seems that there were a series of huge mines buried under the German trenches on top of the ridge which were blown just before the Canadians went over the top. The Canadians then stormed into the German front line and well beyond. Almost along the whole line they achieved complete success. They now have possession of the high ground that overlooks not just the German defences but well beyond into the rear areas. The Canadians have consistently proved themselves élite troops in this war, the best of the colonial forces in France and on a par with the very best the Mother Country has to offer. This victory will only add to their laurels.

The attacks launched by the British divisions today ran in an arc from Croisilles in the south up to Roclincourt in the north. In the south VII Corps launched attacks with (south to north) 21st, 30th, 56th and 14th Divisions. The 2nd Bedfords form a part of 30th Division and were in support to the assaulting battalions, more of their experiences will be related after a brief review of what took place across ther whole front.

Each of the assaulting divisions gained considerable ground. 21st Division were on the right flank of the British attack. They were not to attack until it was clear that the attack by VI to the north had been successful. Thus it was not until just before four o’clock this afternoon that they went forward. However, the division was only able to capture about two-thirds of the ground in front of its first objective due to heavy fire.

30th Division also had to wait until afternoon to attack, though the Bedfords, as we will see, had an important task to carry out in the early hours of the morning, in which they were successful. 89th Brigade was given the task of taking the remains of the village of Héninel. They passed through Saint-Martin-sur-Cojeul about 3.30 pm but could get no further in the face of unbroken barbed wire and heavy machine gun fire. The two assaulting battalions of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment suffered around two hundred casualties each. 21st Brigade of this division attacked at 11.30 this morning but also failed, for the same reasons. Today has been frustrating and discouraging for a division used to success.

Immediately north, 56th (1st London) Division made their attack at 7.45 this morning, tasked with taking Neuville-Vitasse and the Hindenburg Line beyond. They succeeded brilliantly in taking the village in the first hour of the attack and managed to take the front line trench of the Hindenburg Line – a fine achievement capturing 2,000 yards and over six hundred prisoners.

The left-hand division of VII Corps is 14th (Light) Division. Their task was, of course, to get into the Hindenburg Line, but a particular difficulty would be a large German defensive system Headquarters have dubbed The Harp, due to its shape. The division had to take the southern third of this fortification. They also had to tackle a position known as Telegraph Hill. With the aid of tanks the division took its objectives in decisive fashion, some reports suggesting that the defenders seemed demoralised, certainly not up to the standard of the enemy’s usual troops.

Next in the line going north is VI Corps. Here again great success attended the day’s efforts. 3rd Division was given the task of sweeping through the Hindeburg Line and on to the supporting trenches beyond, known as the Wancourt-Feuchy Line. They would have to take the northern two-thirds of The Harp and the village of Tilloy-lès-Moufflaines. The attack began at 5.30 this morning and both Harp and Tilloy were taken. It seems that, as this is written, the division is still advancing on the Wancourt-Feuchy Line.

12th (Eastern) Division had been sheltering in caves and tunnels, reportedly they could go from the crypt of the cathedral in Arras to the German front line entirely underground! One of their objectives, shared with 15th Division, on the left, was the capture of Observation Ridge, behind which German artillery was massed. This ridge did not fall according to the timetable, holding out for three hours longer than expected, but it did fall. The German artillery behind it was ripe for the taking and over thirty pieces were captured. Unfortunately, however, the Wancourt-Feuchy Line could not be breached. It seems harsh to cavil at this failure given all that this division achieved, but it did mean that a complete breakthrough into the open country beyond could not take place. Still, all attacks in this war expect great things and have to settle for what they can get(1).

37th Division was ordered to take the villages of Guemappe and Monchy-le-Preux once 12th and 15th Division took their objectives. One of the assaulting battalions was 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. However, it did no assaulting today as the other two divisions had not managed to take all their objectives. In common with the rest of the division the Battalion simply dug in as far forward as it could get, in this case the road running north-south through Feuchy Chapel.

The 15th (Scottish) Division advance captured more German artillery pieces on the other side of Observation Ridge. It also took the village of Feuchy on the south bank of the River Scarpe and forward patrols entered Fampoux on the north bank. The Scots (of two divisions) achieved more, perhaps, than any others on a day of some success for most attacking units. VI Corps in all has advanced, on average, two miles, it is reckoned.

The northern corps in this attack was XVII Corps. On the left of one Scots Division, 15th, was another, 9th. It has been in the neighbourhood of Arras since the beginning of December last year. One might think these Scots in competition with their compatriots, so great was their advance. They took the villages of Saint-Laurent-Blangy and Athies and all their objectives along with two thousand prisoners!

4th Division were given the task of moving through 9th Division to assault the final objective for the army today. Many Germans, it is reported, ran forward and surrendered rather than fight. If this is the shape of things to come this war might be over before the Americans arrive! The village of Fampoux, entered by patrols of 9th Division, was taken. The advance of 15th and 4th Divisions has been prodigious. It is believed the advance, three and a half miles is the greatest made in one day by anyone since trench warfare set in back in the autumn of 1914.

34th Division also advanced a long way, in the face of largely ineffective opposition. It is believed that some positions were abandoned wholesale by their terrified opponents. Only on the left, 103rd Brigade, was total success not achieved and even here good progress has been made.

The third Scottish formation attacking today are our old friends the 51st (Highland) Division, which spent the first months of the war in Bedford. They form the left flank of the British attack, and have the triumphant Canadians on their left. They encountered stiffer resistance than their fellow countrymen. As a result, it is reported that they have suffered many casualties. It has also failed to gain its final objectives, but has advanced a good distance, and taken seven hundred prisoners to boot, which is not too shabby!(2)

Now to return to the actions of the 2nd Bedfords. They had been given the job of taking the village of Saint-Martin-sur-Cojeul, north-east of Hénin-sur-Cojeul. At 1.30 this morning D Company under Second Lieutenant J P Pitts attacked the village. At the same time C Company under Captain R E Oakley pushed forward on the flanks and established posts. After D Company had cleared Saint-Martin, Second Lieutenant A F Aldridge of C Company established a post holding one Platoon. This attack, in pitch darkness resulted in three men wounded and the capture of a number of prisoners of the 86th Reserve Infantry Regiment.

The remainder of the Battalion’s morning was quiet and was spent in fitting and resting. When the 89th Brigade attack began at 2 o’clock this afternoon A and D Companies were supporting 19th Battalion, King’s (Liverpool) Regiment south of the River Cojeul. B Company supported 19th and 20th King’s north of the river. C Company was in posts at Saint-Martin and in reserve.

Though the enemy put up a fairly strong barrage in Hénin-sur-Cojeul, B Company avoided casualties by keeping to the left of the village. A and D Companies crossed the river 500 yards west of Hénin. The attack, as mentioned above, was held up by uncut wire and by machine gun fire, also owing to 21st Brigade on the left being held up. In the end B and D Companies dug in as shown in blue on the map above with A Company in advance on the right flank as shown by the blue cross.

Source: X550/3/WD

(1) Sir Edmund Allenby, Commander-in-Chief of Third Army reportedly said that they had aimed for the sky, but hit the ceiling.

(2) Total prisoners-of-war taken that day were reportedly about 5,600.

A Raid Repulsed

Friday 2nd June 1916: The adjutant of the 1st Battalion, which is near Arras, reports that a German raid was repulsed yesterday. All afternoon they had suffered a bombardment by enemy artillery and this started up again just after dark around 9 pm. At the same time the enemy also blew up three small mines on the Bedfords’ left and raided the 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, which was holding that part of the line. The Norfolks, assisted by fire from some of the Bedfords, repulsed the raid. The enemy opposite the Bedfords did not leave their trenches but the battalion suffered sixteen casualties from the shelling alone.

Source: X550/2/5

1st Battalion in Tears

Monday 22nd May 1916: The adjutant of the 1st Battalion, in the front line near Arras tells us that yesterday the Germans attacked Vimy Ridge, some way to the south, using lachrymatory shells, which cause irritation to the eyes with resultant streaming from the tear ducts(1). The wind was blowing in such a way that the Battalion was also affected, particularly those close to the River Scarpe(2).

Source: X550/2/5

(1) Today known as tear gas

(2) On 21st May 1916 the Germans shelled the British positions on Vimy Ridge with eight batteries of guns. The German infantry then attacked along a 2,000 yard front, capturing several British tunnels and mine craters but failing to take the British trenches. Nevertheless the two front lines were now very close to one another on the ridge.

Lieutenant Green Buried

Reginald Cumberland Green [X550/1/82]

Saturday 20th May 1916: It is somewhat singular that the last sad rites for Lieutenant Green yesterday should have been performed by a clergyman known locally. The chaplain who officiated at the simple burial was Rev A R K Wells, who succeeded Rev G H C Shorting of Stopsley in the Vicarage of Kimpton, Hertfordshire.

Source: Luton News 25th May 1916

Killed Examining Barbed Wire

Reginald Cumberland Green [X550/1/82]

Friday 19th May 1916: We have heard today of the death of Lieutenant Reginald Cumberland Green, youngest son of Luton brewer J W Green. From all classes in the town the deepest sympathy has been aroused by the sad event and, while the sorrow and pain of the loss can only be known and experienced by those who have lost their loved one, the sympathy expressed on all hands cannot fail to be a solace and to some small extent an alleviation of the poignancy of the grief occasioned by the blow.

The sympathy of the townspeople has not stood alone, for from the Colonel and Company Commander of the late lieutenant’s battalion sympathetic and sterling appreciations were received. The Colonel(1) writes: “It grieves me most intensely to have to write and confirm the bad news which has doubtless been communicated to you by the War Office regarding your son Rex. He took his risks with the best and was always so cheery and a general favourite; besides, he was doing uncommonly well as a soldier. I shall miss personally a really useful and hard-working officer and a personal friend and all the officers a very popular comrade and friend. Allow me to send you my sincerest condolences from myself and from all the officers of the battalion. He died as a gallant Englishman, doing his duty. When he was shot he was examining a wire entanglement and was hit in the thigh. One would think, and I hoped when I heard of it, that it was a slight enough wound, but apparently some blood vessel was cut and he had bled most copiously, dying just as they got him to the field ambulance, within two hours of being wounded. I saw him at 4 am on his way down. He seemed to be in a certain amount of pain but we hoped for the best and wished him luck and tried to cheer him up. You will think I am making a number of matter of fact statements, but my heart is very sore at losing him from our family and in having to write and give you all this information. Please accept my most sincere condolences”.

The letter from Lieutenant Green’s Company commander was as follows: “He was shot through the right thigh about 2.30 this (Thursday) morning while out in front of our trenches looking at the wire and died almost as soon as he reached the field ambulance. I went to him directly I heard that he was hit. He had been bandaged by our stretcher bearers and they had for the time being stopped the bleeding. Rex said: “I’m all right but I feel awful”. I don’t think he was in much pain, but he felt weak from loss of blood. I cannot speak too highly of his good qualities as an officer. He was my right hand in the company – brave, gentle and ready for everything. He was also a universal favourite with the men. We loved him and our hearts go out to his mother and you in your terrible loss. We do not realise it yet and it seems as if Rex might come in now, keeping us all cheery by some remark. He will be buried tomorrow along with the other brave fellows whom we have lost here in the Military Cemetery(2)”.

The loyalty and self-sacrifice of the family of Mr and Mrs J W Green has, since the outbreak of war, found full scope and expression in ready active service and also in attending those who have suffered in the stern experiences of the battle zone. Major Sidney and Major Harold Green have for many years taken a great interest in military matters and displayed much energy in furthering the successful development of the Volunteer and Territorial movements. Mrs Green is the Commandant of the VAD Hospital at Wardown(3), a work in which she is actively assisted by her daughters, while her son in law Lieutenant Tabor is also on war service and some months ago was wounded in France(4). Major Sidney Green is at the moment on active service with the Bedfordshire Yeomanry having been in France for some months past with the Regiment.

The late Lieutenant Green, previous to the outbreak of war, had had no military experience and in deed he had displayed no bent for taking a pronounced part in Army work. The call of the country, however, came to him as it has come to so many and he was not slow to respond. On the declaration of hostilities he at once took steps to obtain a commission, joining the 3rd Bedfords at Landguard near Felixstowe in which Regiment his brother Harold was serving. Here, under Lord Ampthill’s command, he remained in training until drafted out to France in October of last year. In December he joined up with the 1st Battalion of the Regiment at the Front. For some weeks past the late lieutenant had been in temporary command of a company, and although his temporary captaincy had not been gazetted there is little doubt that, had his life been spared, his promotion would have quickly followed.

Lieutenant Reginald Green, who had attained the age of 31, was a young man of great charm of manner, and was a favourite of all with whom he came in contact. Educated at Bedford Grammar School, he proceeded in due course to Exeter College, Oxford, where he took his BA degree. He then became a law student in the chambers of Mr George Elliott, KC (a very old friend of his father’s) in the Temple. About four years ago he was called to the Bar. It was not, however, his settled intention to practise as a barrister, although on one occasion at Luton County Court, he appeared in wig and gown before His Honour Judge Wheeler. When the war broke out he was looking forward to an active commercial career, being just about to enter the business of Messrs J W Green Limited.

Major Harold Green, who has seen strenuous service with the Bedfordshires, was filling the important position of Camp Commandant at the time he was invalided home with pneumonia. He is now practically well again and is due to return to duty early next month. His presence at home during their heavy trial has been a great comfort to the bereaved parents.

Source: X550/2/5; Luton News 25th May 1916

(1) Lieutenant-Colonel C C Onslow

(2) He is now in Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras

(3) The Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital was at the building which is now Wardown Park Museum

(4) Like his brother-in-law he was in the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, later transferring to the 7th Battalion. 

Under Bombardment

Monday 8th May 1916: The adjutant of the 1st Battalion, in the front line near Arras, tells us that yesterday: “At 3 p.m. the enemy started a heavy bombardment of our front line, keeping it up, intermittently heavy to fairly heavy, from 4.30 to 5.30 when it became intense and ceased at 6 p.m. Our artillery retaliated. It was thought that enemy were retaliating on our mine heads in return for 2 shoots on their mineheads and the camouflets(1) we blew. Probably all these had done his mines harm. The New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company has been working this sector for the last month or two”.

The Battalion suffered eight casualties, all very slightly wounded. The adjutant reported: “All ranks very steady and cheery. Congratulatory messages from Brigadier and Commanding Officer sent round the Battalion”.

Source: X550/2/5

(1) Charges intended to collapse enemy mine shafts. 

1st Battalion in For a Hot Time?

Saturday 6th May 1916: The adjutant of the 1st Battalion tells us that they have just gone back into the trenches, near the city of Arras. Rather laconically he tells us that B Company is in trenches “nearly all said to be dangerous from mines”, the trenches occupied by D Company are “nearly as bad” and those of A Company “about the same”. C Company is in reserve at a spot dubbed “Britannia Iron Works”, though he did not say if this was named in honour of the iron works of the same name in Bedford.

Source: X550/2/5

Settling In Eventful

Saturday 11th March 1916: The 1st Battalion’s first few days in their new home near Arras have been eventful. The night before last Second Lieutenant Beale and one of his men were wounded when out on patrol in no man’s land when a German patrol threw a bomb at them. Then yesterday Second Lieutenant Cook was shot through the head by a sniper and killed instantly.

Source: X550/2/5

1st Battalion near Arras

Thursday 9th March 1916: We understand that the 1st Battalion has moved from the Somme area to the Arras area to the north and are now in the front line near the village of Saint-Laurent-Blangy. Their advanced posts are in the ruins of houses in the village and are just ten yards from the German advanced posts. The adjutant commented that: “The front line trenches are pretty good, but there is no supporting line and communications are bad. A good deal of work is required in the sector, improving communication trenches and draining chiefly”. Their first night in their new home was quiet but there was a considerable fall of snow.

Source: X550/2/5

The Battle of Aubers Ridge

Sunday 9th May 1915: We understand that another British offensive is under way in northern France. Our French allies are attacking the area around Arras, in order to push back a large area where the German lines bulge westward. In particular they want to capture the high ground north of Arras at a place called Vimy. Not only, it is hoped, will there be a breakthrough but the attack will divert German troops away from Ypres in Belgium where heavy fighting is still going on.

Our offensive is designed, naturally, to break through the German lines and send them retreating back towards Berlin. Such a feat, however, as the attack at Neuve-Chapelle in March demonstrated, is no easy matter and a less exulted, but perhaps more realistic expectation is to draw German reinforcements away from the French attack and thus aid its chances of success.

The 1st Bedfords are currently still near Ypres but the 2nd Battalion is near the village of Aubers, a few miles east of Neuve-Chapelle. The British attack is designed to size the ridge at this place. The high ground will allow us to overlook the German lines, get a better understanding of their movements and allow us to shell them more effectively.

The main French attack is to the south. The ground at Aubers, as at Neuve-Chapelle, is very flat, the ridge itself only being twenty feet or so high, and the fields are intersected by drainage ditches which can be as much as ten or fifteen feet across. This, of course, hampers attackers. There are two attacks going on, one to the south by the 1st Division and our gallant Indian troops of the Meerut Division. They are heading due east towards Aubers. The other attack is to the north and will be made by 8th Division attacking due south towards Aubers. It is this attack which, we understand from the adjutant, the 2nd Bedfords are to help exploit if things go well, currently the are being held in reserve. Once Aubers itself is taken both prongs of the attack are to advance on the Haute Deule Canal some five miles away.

It is understood that the French have been bombarding German positions for a few days. General Haig however, we understand, is very short of ammunition and so has had to adopt a different approach. As at Neuve-Chapelle there has been a short but heavy bombardment and the troops are attacking as we write this. We wish them the best of British luck.