Fiftieth Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

Tuesday 18th September 1917

The fiftieth day of this new offensive has not been marked by any offensive actions, everyone holding the line and, seemingly, waiting for something. Following the awards of medals to other ranks of the 7th Bedfords yesterday we have heard today that the Military Cross has been awarded to Lieutenant and Quartermaster F Corner and to Captain J A Vlasto of the Royal Army Medical Corps, the Battalion Medical Officer. A bar to his MC has also been awarded to Captain W W Colley.

Source: X550/8/1

The Umbrella Hill Raid

Umbrella Hill from The History of the Fifth Battalion Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA)

Saturday 21st July 1917

The adjutant of the 1st/5th Bedfords has managed to telephone me all the way from Palestine with details of last night’s raid. At 5.40 a.m. yesterday morning the General Officer Commanding 162nd Brigade inspected the raiders of 1st/5th Battalion and watched a rehearsal by the six new rifle sections added to the raid. Between six and eleven o’clock the Regimental Sergeant-Major and his party laid out stores at the place of assembly in proper dumps. The afternoon passed without incident.

At seven o’clock last evening the whole raiding party marched out, arriving at the place of assembly at about 20.15. Stores were issued. Everything was quite ready by about 20.50 and all stores issued. The raiders left the place of assembly at 20.55 in accordance with programme and the raid was carried through very successfully in accordance with the programme.

By sheer bad luck the enemy had put up an intense bombardment of 5.9 inch high explosive shells onto a very small area near the place of assembly and almost the whole of the casualties are due to this except for the missing and probably two or three killed on the hill and perhaps eight or ten wounded there.

Captain Miskin

About 9.45 pm the raiders, followed by the supports, came back to our front line. With so many men and in view of the tremendous noise and dense smoke some confusion was inevitable but the officers and non-commissioned officers of these parties quickly appreciated the situation and with the assistance of some parties organised by the reserve commander Captain Miskin, managed to retain most of their men in our front trench which was comparatively safe as the enemy barrage was plastering a zone some fifty to one-hundred -and-fifty yards in the rear of the front line. After some reconnaissance it was found possible to move the men to the flanks along the front line and so out of the barrage. They were then passed down communication trenches or in small parties in the open. The garrison had been relieved and all except wounded evacuated by 01.30.

The large number of wounded were evacuated by about 2.30 a.m. At 3.30 a patrol of one officer and five other ranks went in the direction of the Beanfield, about 150 yards short of Umrealls Hill, but found nothing. Everything was quiet on the hill itself. The remnants of the smoke and a thick mist made visibility difficult.

At four o’clock this afternoon a patrol of two went out, just as the dawn was breaking and the lifting mist enabled one to see. They only stayed out about ten minutes and found one dead body - from a former engagement - and some equipment which was brought in.

Today the dead, comprising one from the Royal Army Medical Corps, one from the divisional signalling company, one from 484th Company, Royal Engineers, one from the Machine Gun Corps, one from an unknown unit and sixteen from the Bedfords were buried in a cemetery near the headquarters of the raid(1). The remainder of today has been spent resting and writing reports.

One feature of the reports was that every commander of a Unit from officers commanding supports, reserves and raiders down to individual "mopping-up sections" has been asked for a written report of his own work. These will be forwarded to divisional headquarters.

Source: X550/6/8

(1) Now Gaza War Cemetery

Duck-Boarding for the Yeomanry

Tuesday 19th June 1917

The Bedfordshire Yeomanry are presently at Écurie a few miles north of Arras. Since 13th the commanding officer, Major Green, seven other officers and 199 other ranks have been transferred to XIII Corps to form 9th Pioneer Battalion along with contingents from the Royal Engineers, Royal Army Medical Corps and two other units. Altogether the Battalion has 20 officers, 597 other ranks and 36 horses and is under the command of Major Green.

They have been employed on strengthening communication trenches, including laying duckboards in the bottom of them to give a firm footing when wet weather turns the ground to mud.

Source: WW1/WD2

More Patrolling in Sinai

Wednesday 26th April 1916: The adjutant of 1st/5th Battalion tells us that a column has returned to Shalufa today after a five day patrol towards Turkish outposts in eastern Sinai.  The column concentrated at Wadi el Haj where the Bedfordshire Regiment met elements of the Camel Corps, Royal Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps. A post was established at the wadi to protect camel convoys and a signal station was set up to be in contact with Darb el Haj. Another post was set up further east next day near a ruined chapel at Wadi el Tawal, just under half way from Suez to the Turkish garrison at Nekhel. The post consisted of one officer and sixty other ranks. The men were involved in prospecting for water along with convoy protection duties. Trying to get further east was “very slow and hard work for both horse and man owing to the undulating and drifted sand” as the column commander reported.

The next day the column met up with another column to reconnoitre further east. All patrols sent out showed no sign of a Turk anywhere.

Source: X550/6/8

3rd/5th Bedfords at Windsor

Windsor Great Park by Martin Morgenstern

Sunday 29^th August: The following is from one of the Battalion members: “This Battalion, which, it will be remembered, was formed as a result of the Recruiting March held last June under the aegis of Major Orlebar, who is now in command, is at present encamped at Bears Rail, Windsor Great Camp. We left Bedford on August 9th and after about two-and-a-half hours’ run were landed safe and sound at Windsor”.

“Our camp is situate about two-thirds of the way along the Long Drive, or as we call it, the “Three Mile Walk”. One end is crowned by a gigantic equestrian statue of King George III and our home; the other is graced by the towering walls of Windsor Castle, the home of our King George”.

“Our main purpose, of course, is to train and send out drafts to fill up those much regretted but unfortunately essential gaps that occur in our first line, the 1st/5th, now fighting hard out at Suvla in Gallipoli”.

“Tent life we find is very jolly, and a great change from the billet era of our previous existence. We are not without some of the luxuries of life either, as a maternal Government has arranged such items as shower baths and floor boards for our tents”.

“Members of the Royal Family constantly visit our lines, even HRH Prince of Wales, home on leave from the front(1). We have frequent calls from battle-planes which come careering madly round the Castle, over the Camp and away again before we have got the stiffness out of our necks”.

“While I think of it, we are all anxious that amongst our forthcoming recruits we should have some good footballers and cricketers; we’re keen to play and beat the Essex, Northants, Hertfords, RAMC(2), ASC(3) etc. who are all here in Camp with us, not to mention the Guards”.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 27th August 1915

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(1) The future Edward VIII, he joined the Grenadier Guards in August 1914 but was not allowed by Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to serve in the front line. He still managed to win a Military Cross in 1916. This later made him popular amongst Great War veterans.

(2) Royal Army Medical Corps

(3) Army Service Corps

The Lusitania Battle-Cry

Tuesday 22nd June 1915: News has reached us of three Lutonians at the front: Private F. Halsey, 2478 Royal Army Medical Corps, Private A. Halsey, 19616, 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment of Brunswick Street and Private H. Halsey, 8296, 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, of 6 New Town Street.

Private F. Halsey has been through some lively times of late and tells us of a fine charge by the Liverpool Scottish(1) whose battle-cry, as might have been expected of Liverpool men, was “Remember the Lusitania”(2). The damage done to the German ranks is briefly summed up in the statement that after British soldiers had spent three nights burying German dead, many of the enemy were still lying waiting to be put in their graves.

Source: Luton News 1st July 1915

(1) 1st/10th Battalion, King’s (Liverpool) Regiment – part of 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division

(2) RMS Lusitania was a liner sunk by a U-Boat off the coast of Ireland on 7th May 1915. Liverpool was her home port. She was on her way from New York to Liverpool at the time. Today the incident tends to be remembered because 128 Americans died, the remaining 1,070 passengers and crew being largely overlooked. Mercifully, 764 were saved.

2nd Battalion Casualties at Givenchy

Lieutenant T G M Horsford [X550/1/82/23]

The Centenary of the Battle of Waterloo

Friday 18th June 1915: Captain Foss, adjutant of the 2nd Bedfords has today given us the casualty figures for the action at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée between 15th and 17th. Lieutenant T. G. M. Horsford was killed by a shell in his dugout and was buried behind Scottish Trench. Second Lieutenant W. H. Fox was killed by the same shell and buried in the same place. Both Lieutenant C. W. Macfie and Second Lieutenant L. Turnbull were killed in the crater and their bodies have not been recovered(1).

Lieutenant G. M. Fleming, Royal Army Medical Corps, was killed by a shell whilst attending to a case at the Regimental Aid Post. He is the second medical officer to be killed with the battalion this year, and is buried “in the country at Windy Corner”(2). 18 other ranks were also killed.

Lieutenant C. H. Brewer was wounded by shrapnel and Second Lieutenant F. Powell wounded twice in the crater. Five other officers were wounded along with 72 other ranks. 27 other ranks are missing

Source: X550/3/wd

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(1) None of these officers has any known grave and they are all commemorated on the le Touret Memorial

(2) Where he remains – his grave is in the Guards Cemetery at Windy Corner, Cuinchy.

A Ghastly Wound

Wednesday 23rd December 1914: It is always interesting and informative to hear from our boys at the front, even if the news they relate might, at first glance, seem rather out of date. Private H. Clark of 332 Hitchin Road, Luton, a reservist who went to the front with 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is now in the London Hospital recovering from a terrible wound received near Ypres on 31st October. He writes us a letter which gives a remarkable instance of what a soldier can go through and live and though he is likely to be partially disabled for the rest of his life, he is quite cheery, says he is getting on well and sends wishes for a Merry Christmas.

With regard to his injury he says: “I got wounded with shrapnel. A piece of shrapnel cut clean through my shoulder and tore my side right open. I had to run and walk for a mile and a half and blood was pouring from me like a tap. I reached a barn and found some RAMC(1) chaps. They bandaged me up and I reached Ypres in a collapsed condition. I thought I was on the way to England, but the trainload of wounded was shelled by the Germans. I was transferred to the Duchess of Westminster’s War Hospital, France and a piece of shrapnel that nearly cost me my life was found embedded in my ribs, having torn my left lung. The doctor says it’s a miracle that I lived to go under an operation, as I was dangerously ill and almost bloodless. A nurse was sent to watch me and I had to have the foot of the bedstead tilted up to keep what little blood there was in my body(2). I am terribly torn open from hip to top of shoulder and the doctor fears I shall be partially disabled for the rest of my life. Though I have been in hospital six weeks I cannot lift my left arm and my side is still open, though considerably better. It will be a long time before I leave hospital and the doctors say they have never seen a case like it before”

The piece of shrapnel taken from Private Clark’s body is sent on to us for our inspection and it looks quite capable of inflicting a very ghastly wound. It will be a gruesome keepsake for the family. Referring to the dangerous nature of shell wounds Private Clark says: - “These pieces of shell are hot when they penetrate the body and cause blood poisoning, lock jaw and death in a very short time if not extracted”.

Source: Luton News 24th December 1914

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(1) Royal Army Medical Corps

(2) Blood transfusion was in its very early infancy and very far from being used in cases such as this.