Renewing Acquaintance

Tuesday 13th August 1918

Things continue to be relatively quiet here just west of Albert. Artillery fires and people scurry about but there has been no attack here today, though all the signs are that there will be one soon. For the last two days the American 1st Battalion, 129th US Regiment has been attached to the 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. This unit is part of 66th Infantry Brigade, 66th Division and was raised in the state of Illinois. 

Back in June elements of 129th regiment were trained by the training cadre made up from old 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, all of whom have now joined 2nd Battalion. It can thus be imagined that there has been a general degree of happiness at friendships being resumed between the old 7th Battalion cadre and the men of the 129th. The Americans have performed well in the recent fighting and the two units, it is fair to say, are looking forward to going into action together.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/8/1

Attack in 2nd Battalion

Tuesday 6th August 1918

Yesterday we mentioned that 2nd Battalion was in the same positions 7th Battalion had occupied just before their triumph on the Somme in 1916. Many of the men in 2nd Battalion recently came from 7th Battalion and saw their current position as an omen for a successful attack, which the whole army seems to feel is coming. However, the enemy beat them to it. 

Last night the battalion was due for relief by 8th Battalion, London Regiment, part of 174th Brigade. Arrangements were made accordingly, and owing to the bad state of the trenches and the heavy shelling, guides for the incoming units were ordered to start with their relieving Platoons from further forward, in order to get as far as possible before dark. At the last moment the incoming 174th Brigade altered all arrangements and postponed the start till 9.30 p.m. and it was actually 10 p.m. and quite dark before the guides were able to start. The men were by then very exhausted and distressed from the start, and progress was slow.

At 3.30 a.m. this morning the leading company was stuck in the communication trench 600 yards short of the front line. One incoming company had relieved the right company of the Bedfords overland, but the other three incoming companies were sticky and exhausted. At this period it became obvious that the relief could not be completed by night, and all available officers and N.C.O.s. from Battalion Headquarters were sent forward to expedite the completion of the first relief. 

At 4 a.m. the enemy put down a heavy barrage on the old British Front line, all communication trenches and back areas which was followed by a strong Infantry attack at about 4.30 a.m. By then the two right companies of the Bedfords had been relieved and were moving to their new positions in support. The two companies on the left had not been completely relieved. There was no communication with companies except by runner, and it took more than an hour to get a message forward. 

The result of all this muddle was that the enemy had captured the Bedfords' outpost line and penetrated deeply on the front of the Battalion on the left (the East Surreys) particularly on the Bray-Corbie road where a quarry was entered by the enemy and prisoners were taken. The two left companies holding the original British front line put up a very strong resistance which prevented any further penetration. The two left-hand companies then counter-attacked on their own initiative and regained the outpost line which was handed over to the London Regiment.

The supporting companies with the East Surreys' stragglers cleared up the situation and occupied the front line intact. Local fighting has taken place during today and all positions were maintained and improved. 

Source: X550/3/wd

Four Years On

Sunday 4th August 1918

Today is the fourth anniversary of our country joining this Great War to End All Wars to put an end to Prussian aggression and the misery it has inflicted on its neighbours. The 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire, formerly the Hertfordshire Militia, was then a part-time formation which met for training exercises each summer. Since 1916 it has been part of 63rd (Royal Naval) division and has taken part in some of the greatest struggles such as the closing days of the great Somme Battle and the swamps of Passchendaele. Today the battalion held a special church parade to commemorate four years of war, top remember fallen comrades and to pledge itself anew to the struggles to come in the hope that Victory will crown the efforts of 1918.

Captain S E D Cline [X550/1/81]

The 2nd Battalion, meanwhile, received that last of the 7th Battalion vintage. Captain S E D Cline, Lieutenant H de Buriatte, 2nd Lieutenants T H Flavell, A D Greenwood and J Kerr(1)

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

(1) Arthur Donald Greenwood would not see out the month, he died on 30th August and is buried at Dantzig Alley Cemetery amongst 7th Battalion fatalities fro 1st July 1916. 

To 2nd From 7th

Thursday 1st August 1918

Today 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, in brigade reserve west of Albert, received reinforcements. Thirty nine other ranks arrived from the now disbanded 7th Battalion training cadre. These men will be a very valuable addition as they are almost all warrant officers (mostly company sergeant majors) and non-commissioned officers.

Sources: X550/3/wd

The End

Sunday 28th July 1918

After some official shilly-shallying over the last few days the adjutant of the 7th Battalion has just heard that the training cadre, all that remains of this extraordinary fighting battalion, is to be disbanded tomorrow and absorbed, like the rest of the unit, into the 2nd Battalion. He says that most are excited to be part of what everyone fervently hopes will be a grand allied offensive to drive the Bosches out of Belgium and France for good. He did note, however, that some of the older men, those with wives and children at home, are more anxious.

Source: X550/8/1

The End or Not?

Thursday 25th July 1918

Over the last two days the training cadre which is all that remains of 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire has received contradictory orders. They are at Abancourt fifteen miles or so south-east of Dieppe. Yesterday they heard that they were finally to be disbanded and all personnel sent to base. This morning the order was countermanded and they were instructed to remain where they are. The adjutant remarked that it was all rather frustrating and that he, personally, wanted disbandment as soon as possible so he could have "another crack at the Bosche".

Source: X550/8/1

Temporary Promotion

Lieutenant Colonel Percival

Sunday 7th July 1918

Part of 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment have been engaged in working parties today. A draft of 87 other ranks also arrived from base. Meanwhile the commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Percival DSO MC has moved to be temporary commander of 54th Infantry Brigade, Major Leslie Keep taking over as CO of the Bedfords.

Sources: X550/3/wd

7th Battalion Cadre Moves

Thursday 13th June 1918

Yesterday the training cadre of 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, moved from Rogeant, south-west of Abbeville to Moncaux, about 24 miles east of Dieppe. They will still be engaged in training American infantry units. 

Source: X550/8/1

The Americans Arrive

Sunday 2nd June 1918

Yesterday we heard from the cadre of 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, waiting for its Americans to arrive for training. Major J T Coe, the adjutant of the other battalion reduced to a training cadre, 7th, today informed me that they had been joined by Companies H, I and K of 129th Infantry Regiment of 33rd Division for training at Rogeant, south-west of Abbeville(1)

Source: X550/8/1

(1) 129th Infantry Regiment was part of the Illinois National Guard. The division's first action was, appropriately enough, on 4th July at Hamel on the old Somme battlefield, fighting alongside British and Empire troops, though 129th Regiment did not see action that day. 

Heavy Casualties for the 2nd Battalion

Tuesday 28th May 1918

Yesterday 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment was brought up to strength again by absorbing the 7th Battalion. During the month the 7th Battalion had total casualties of thirty. By contrast the 2nd Battalion suffered five officers and around two hundred other ranks being killed and wounded and going missing. These figures underline why such an amalgamation was necessary as there are now few reinforcements coming from England.

Source: X550/3/wd

Absorption

Monday 27th May 1918 

Today the 7th Battalion were officially absorbed by the 2nd Battalion - the 7th Battalion providing the lion's share of men - 30 officers and 664 other ranks. During the month the 7th Battalion suffered four other ranks killed, twenty-three wounded and one missing. In addition two other ranks were wounded but remained at duty.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/8/1

Another Battalion Bows Out

Saturday 25 May 1918

The 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment was disbanded in January and the 6th Battalion was absorbed into the 1st/1st Battalion, Herfordshire Regiment three days ago. Today it has been announced that it is to be the turn of that extraordinarily successful unit, the 7th Battalion. The 2nd Battalion has been so reduced in strength by the gruelling retreat in March and then by the German attacks south-east of Ypres that the decision has been made for it to join the much larger 7th Battalion as part of 18th (Eastern) Division, though, naturally, the new battalion will be numbered as the 2nd. 

It is a measure of the casualties inflicted by this war that since 1916 the Bedfordshire Regiment has had seven battalions in the field but now only has four.

Lieutenant-Colonel R O Wynne [X550/1/81]

As with the 6th Battalion, a training cadre will continue to be known as the 7th Battalion and will be bust training Americans. This cadre will be commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel R O Wynne DSO with Major J T Coe as adjutant. The company commanders are Captains J K Batten, F Everitt, S E Cline and R E Oakley MC. The Lewis Gun Officer is Second Lieutenant J Kerr, the Scout Officer Second Lieutenant W Ashton and the Signalling Officer is Second Lieutenant H Flavell(1). There are fifty other ranks. 

The cadre will leave at 6.30 tomorrow morning and head by train to Chipy-Valines andwill be billeted at Rogeant about six miles south-west of Abbeville. They will come under the aegis of 30th Division, from whence came the 2nd Battalion.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/8/1

(1) Joseph Keith Batten, from Peterborough, would die on 27th September serving with 4th Battalion, aged 26, he is buried at Moeuvres Communal Cemetery Extension; 

Chinese Attack

Sunday 19th May 1918

The 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, yesterday moved into the front line west of Albert. The adjutant casually mentioned to me this evening that they had successfully carried out a Chinese attack earlier in the day. Now there are large numbers of Chinese labourers in France, doing lifting and carrying tasks for the army so I wondered if the army had armed some of them to replace British losses.

Not so. A Chinese attack, I learned, is a stratagem whereby what seems to be a preparatory bombardment takes place after which troops duly advance into no man's land, but not very far. Then they dash back to the front line and the artillery shoot down the enemy as they line their parapet. A variation to to throw up dummies for the enemy to shoot at immediately after the first bombardment, the second one catching them in the same way. I have no idea why this is referred to as a Chinese attack but it may be a stratagem adapted from The Art of War by the ancient Chinese military thinker Sun Tzu.

Source: X550/8/1

Minute Observations

Thursday 16th May 1918

The 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is near Jaffa in Palestine. This morning the adjutant was able to speak with me to tell me about the sort of patrol work they have been undertaking. On the night of 14th/15th, for example, whilst in no man's land, they spotted a patrol of ten Turkish cavalry and heard and saw Turkish picquets in their advanced posts along a railway line. These picquets seem to be eight strong and one was covering a working party of a dozen men who were cutting grass to enable a better view. Several wagons, each with six men, were seen coming forward to the front line. Three more cavalry patrols were seen. Such minute observations help to draw up a detailed picture of enemy positions and, over a number of nights, patterns of behaviour can be determined which may help in planning a raid. 

Captain R L V Doake [X550/1/82]

Meanwhile the 7th Battalion has been withdrawn from the reserve positions west of Albert to the village of Baizieux. They are pleased that Captain R L V Doake and Captain A B McBride have both been awarded the Military Cross, as has Captain Stevenson of the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached as Medical Officer. Captain McBride died on 24th April last(1). In addition Sergeant A Scott has been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal - all four awards for actions in the recent fighting.

Sources: X550/6/8; X550/8/1

(1) He is buried at Longueau British Cemetery; Sergeant Alexander Scott would die on 1st October - he is buried at Vendhuile Communal Cemetery)

Arthur Percival DSO, MC

Lieutenant-Colonel Percival

Tuesday 14th May 1918

The 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment are currently in reserve west of Albert. They had the good news today that their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Percival MC has been awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Also Captain Browning has been awarded the Military Cross. More importantly fifty two other ranks have arrived from base as reinforcements as well as one officer - Second Lieutenant S A Peerless.

Sourcer: X550/8/1

Headquarters Blown In

Sunday 12th May 1918

The 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, are in brigade reserve at Warloy-Baillon, west of Albert. Being in reserve does not exclude them from violence, however. This afternoon a slightly shaken adjutant informed me that the enemy had shelled their positions and,by chance, a shell found the building hosting the battalion headquarters and blew it in. Fortunately the bombardment had been going on for some minutes by this point and everyone was sheltering in dug-outs so no one was wounded, though as the adjutant said it made a mess of "all the d****d paperwork". The headquarters has moved a couple of miles down the road to Lavieville, closer, as the adjutant noted with disgust, to the front line!

Source: X550/8/1

Salvage Work at Isolated Wood

Monday 6th May 1918

The 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment remains active in Palestine. They are in the front line east of Jaffa and just north of the old German Templar colony of Wilhelma(1). Over the last few days the, the adjutant tells us in a wire, they have been at a position called Isolated Wood. They reconnoitred this place on 3rd May and found an abandoned Turkish ammunition dump. They looked for more the following day and yesterday salvaged twenty-eight rounds of 4.1 inch (105 mm) artillery shells. 

Meanwhile here on the Western Front 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment following its rest, refit and training after its exertions in the March retreat and at Villers-Bretonneux in the middle of last month, is back in the battle zone again. At 9.30 this morning it boarded a fleet of buses at Warlus and ended up in Contay. From there it marched to Warloy-Baillon, mile or two south-west of Bouzincourt and so near enemy-held Albert, and took its place behind the front line in Brigade Reserve. 

Sources: X550/6/8; X550/8/1

(1) Today Bnei Atarot on the eastern perimeter of Ben Gurion Airport.

Memories

Friday 3rd May 1918

Today marks the anniversary of the action at Cherisy which, as the adjutant admitted unhappily, has been the only reverse suffered by the 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment in this war. Today the battalion is at Avesnes-Chaussoy west of Amiens, training.

Lieutenant-Colonel Collings-Wells

The 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is gradually recovering from the hardships and losses of the March retreat, including the action at Bouzincourt Ridge in which they lost their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Collings-Wells. A few days ago the battalion heard that Lieutenant-Colonel Collings-Wells had been awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his leadership during the retreat and his courage immediately before his death. Second-Lieutenant Charles Lovatt, who was killed on 12th April after only eight days with the battalion has also been awarded a posthumous Military Cross; he had previously served with 26th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. The battalion is currently at Talmas, south of Doullens and today welcomed back a working party of four hundred which had been employed at Varennes, a couiple of miles from Bouzincourt.

Sources: X550/5/3; X550/8/1

Attacks on 1st and 2nd Battalions

Saturday 27th April 1918

Last evening the 2nd Bedfords, now part of a composite battalion, were lining the Yser Canal from Lock 8 to Spoil Bank but had just been outflanked by the enemy crossing Norfolk Bridge near The Bluff. Number 1 Company was forced back and about midnight was ordered to withdraw.

The front line now runs from Zillebeke to Lock 8 on the canal. The composite battalion was able to withdraw successfully behind this line last night with few casualties, though in the fighting 107 men had been wounded. They are now at Scottish Camp, south-east of Poperinge.

The 1st Battalion, west of Estaires, were also attacked today. They were relieved during the day and have withdrawn to a camp in a wood. 

7th Battalion have withdrawn from the line. They marched to Amiens and were then taken by bus to Avesnes-le-Comte west of Arras.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/3/wd; X550/8/1

Not Again ...

Friday 26th April 1918

The 1st and the 7th Battalion were both in action yesterday, with considerable success. The 7th Battalion held the line they had taken between Villers-Bretonneux and Aubercourt and last night were relieved by a unit of French Colonial troops. They have lost three officers, including two captains, killed and seven wounded. From resources which were already slender 13 other ranks have been killed, 105 wounded and 70 are missing. About 200 prisoners were taken.

The 1st Battalion was also in action in the darkness last night. Their attack, between Merville and Lamotte, west of Estaires, was to advance their line from les Lauriers and capture a farm dubbed Bedford Farm. The attack was undertaken by A Company and one platoon of B Company and got underway at 9.15 following a barrage. Three prisoners and a machine gun were captured. All objectives were taken by 10.35. The officer in charge, Captain Hague, carried out the attack and then made sure that the new line was secure and it was only on his return to headquarters that it was discovered that he was badly wounded in the thigh and he was sent to the dressing station.

If these two battalions have had a lively couple of days one cannot but sympathise with 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. They were roughly handled during the March retreat and are woefully under-strength, indeed, they form part of a composite battalion with 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment. They are presently in positions on the Yser Canal near Ypres. This morning the enemy attacked them in strength just south of the canal. Battalion Headquarters was at Spoil Bank on the north bank but the position was evacuated as the enemy got closer. They have fallen back to, appropriately enough, Bedford House. The front line of the composite battalion is along the canal facing south and stretches from Lock 8 to Spoil Bank. As I write these lines the enemy are reported to have taken The Bluff and to have crossed the canal at Norfolk Bridge. The composite battalion has this been outflanked on its left. The situation here is, thus, critical.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/3/wd; X550/8/1