Withdrawal from Passchendaele

Monday 15th April 1918

As predicted yesterday, our troops have begun to fall back from the Passchendaele Ridge today. One can only imagine how the men who fought for that ridge, saw their comrades fall, and shed many pints of sweat and, perhaps, blood, too, feel about this turn of events. As indicated yesterday this withdrawal is a strategic necessity, but Tommy Atkins does not have to like it, and doesn't. As far as we of the press corps are aware, the enemy has not followed up the withdrawal of our men, suggesting he is, as yet, in ignorance of it. If so, General Plumer's staff and all involved can congratulate themselves in carrying out that most difficult, as well as most unwelcome, manoeuvre, a retirement in the face of the enemy, to perfection.

Meanwhile the enemy attack towards the River Lys in the area around Bailleul has come to a halt only a little way beyond that town. 

Bailleul Falls

Sunday 14th April 1918

Yesterday and today the enemy has attacked and taken Bailleul, south of Ypres. This has forced General Plumer to make a very unpalatable decision. Much of the ground gained, with so much effusion of blood, last summer and autumn is likely to have to be given up. The Passchendaele Ridge is now a long way further east than the British line south of Ypres. This makes the line longer and, of course, due to casualties since 21st March there are now less troops to hold it. the only way, at the moment, to shorten the line, is to pull it back further west. 

The 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, continues to hold the support line between Pilkem and Langemarck. As they have a Belgian unit on their left flank they have received a distinguished guest - Flemish nobleman Viscount Obert, who will act as translator.

In recognition of the bravery shown by 4th Battalion at Bouzincourt Ridge and during the March retreat. several of its other ranks have received decorations for bravery. Private George Bunyan has received a bar to his Military Medal whilst the following have been awarded that same medal:Sergeant W G Marks; Lance Corporal P le Gros; :Lance Corporal W Batchelor and Private W E Auburn(1).

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550

(1) 14124 Private W G Batchelor MM would die on 27th August 1918 and is buried at Beaulencourt British Cemetery, Ligny-Thilloy

An Attack Signalled in Advance But Not Delivered

Saturday 27th February 1915: A curious incident has been reported to us by the adjutant of the 1st Battalion which is about to move back for a rest to Bailleul but has been in the front line near Wytshaete. They received a message from the Brigade headquarters that a lamp had been spotted in the German front line signalling that an attack was to be made at noon. The Battalion took precautions to receive the attackers but none came.

Whether this was the enemy's idea of a joke or not is unclear. It might have been that a traitor in their lines was discovered and the intended attack cancelled. Alternatively there could have been a mistranslation of the message when observed by our men. Or it could have been a German plan to get our men to pack the forward trenches so an artillery bombardment could be brought down on them to kill as many as possible. If so, no such bombardment seems to have taken place. So the incident must just be put down as another of those curious episodes with must take place in any great human endeavour.

Source: X550/2/5

Still Living

Wednesday 3rd February 1915: “He is not dead. I left him last Thursday morning alive and well in the trenches”.

Such was the remarkable statement made by Private Thomas George Wood of Bailey-street, Luton, who is serving with the 2nd Bedfords and who returns from Luton to the front tomorrow. The remark refers to a comrade, Private W. Boon, who was last week reported killed. The statement of Private Wood has caused much mystification, and his mother, Mrs Boon of 28 Saint Ann’s-road, Luton, is anxiously waiting for further news from her son. It was thought that there could be no doubt as to Boon’s death, for it was reported by the chaplain at No. 6 Clearing Hospital, who wrote that he was with the young fellow when he died. A letter, posted on the same day as the chaplain’s letter, was received and in it Boon complained of rheumatism, and said he would like to get home for a day or two. It was thought the letter was found on the dying man, but now that a mistake is suspected, it is surmised that the posting of the letter on the same day as that sent by the chaplain is purely a coincidence(1)

Private Wood said that he came out of the trenches last Thursday at 4.30 a.m. and he then spoke to Boon, with whom he had attended Surrey-street Schools, Luton as a boy. Last Friday he was home on leave and on going into a hairdresser’s shop in Bailey-street he saw an authoritative intimation in the “News” of Boon’s death. Wood added that he thought it was a case of mistaken identity and he will speak to Boon about it when he gets back to the trenches on Friday.

Private Wood has had some narrow escapes whilst at the front. Yesterday, detailing some of his experiences Private Wood said “One day in October we carried out a charge at Ypres and half my bayonet was blown away by a shell. My rifle was also smashed and I had to discard it. Another, in December, at Bailleul, when we went out to take some prisoners, a bullet entered the back of my coat and slightly grazed my skin. It was a miraculous escape. Two days later I was out on patrol and we were nearly all captured in barbed wire entanglements. The Germans were dropping shells all the time. Our officer told us to escape the best way we could but the Germans had all but surrounded us. I and another man from London managed to slip out and we jumped one of the barbed wire fences. I thought I was in a Marathon race, but we got back to our headquarters all right”.

“Another day I was on outpost duty and the force was so strong against us that we had to retire under machine gun fire. A bullet went through the butt of my rifle but did not touch the mechanism and I have fired out of it since. My skin was grazed, however”.

Private Wood has evidently led a charmed life and his friends in Luton wish him a safe return to their midst again.

Source: Luton News 28th January 1915

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(1) A Private Edgar Boon of the 1st Battalion, who came from Saint Neots, died of wounds on 10th January and is buried at Bailleul

(2) Sadly 3/7361 Private William Boon, from Luton, was killed in action with the 2nd Battalion on 17th May 1915 during the Battle of Festubert. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the le Touret Memorial

Route Marches

Bailleul

Sunday 17th January 1915: The 1st Battalion have left the waterlogged trenches at Wulvergem and proceeded to slightly drier ground at Bailleul just over the French border. After the cold damp of the trenches the men will be warmed up by a series of route marches over the next few days.

Source: X550/2/5

New Year’s Day

Bailleul

Friday 1st January 1915: The commanding officer of 2nd Battalion has told us that there has been no repeat of the fraternisation with the enemy which happened over Christmas. The Battalion is once again in the front line near Fleurbaix and last night they heard the Germans singing songs and saw lighted Christmas trees on the enemy parapets. They evidently welcomed the New Year in by Berlin time because at 11 o’clock they rang bells in the villages behind their lines.

One or two of the Battalion’s companies decided to respond to the Germans’ festivities and did this to the tune of a burst or rapid fire from their rifles aimed at the enemy positions. Indignant yells were heard from across the way.

The 1st Battalion is behind the lines at the moment. It is billeted in the French town of Bailleul near the Belgian border and is in Divisional Reserve. The men are given exercise in the form of short route marches and drills.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/2/5; The Story of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (The 16th Regiment of Foot) Volume II 1914-1958

No Baths

Monday 14th December 1914: the 1st Battalion has been enjoying a few days in billets behind the front line at Saint-Jans Cappel, a few miles south-west of Ypres. Today they were due to be bathed – a chance to remove several weeks of dirt and wash off lice before having a change of uniform. Sadly they have been unexpectedly ordered to move to Corps Reserve at Nieuwkerke so the baths at Bailleul will be allotted to some other, luckier, unit.

The Battalion has been bivouacked in a muddy field whilst they wait to be ordered into action. An attack can be heard in the distance, somewhere near Wijtschate to the east (1). However the call has not come and they are now expecting to return to rest billets nearby.

Source: X550/2/5

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(1) A costly, failed attack by 3rd Division in support of operations by the French

A Meeting of the Battalions

Friday 6th November 1914: The 2nd Battalion have finally been relieved from their front line position near Zandvoorde. They have travelled seventeen miles to a place called Loker or Locre. The adjutant tells us: “The men found the march very tiring both on account of their physical condition from being eighteen days in the trenches and on account of the mud on the cobbles”. It seems they will have another march this afternoon as their destination is a town on the French side of the border – a place called Bailleul.

It may have done their morale good to know that they are leaving the danger of the front line behind. It may also have done them good to meet their companions in adversity in the 1st Battalion on the way. Our contact with the 1st Battalion, themselves on the move from Festubert, tells us: “We got the men into buses (35 to a bus) and we all got into another and at 7 am started off for our still unknown destination. We went through Lestrem – Éstaires -  Bailleul -  Locre – Dickebusch. The roads were awful and we were at times up to our axles in mud and very nearly in the ditch several times”.

“At Dickebusch we had a halt at 2 pm and then got orders to push on to Ypres. Here the roads got worse and we skidded all over the place, into ditches, trees and sometimes nearly turning right over or getting our heads taken off by telegraph wires stretched across the road”.

“On the Dickebusch – Ypres road we suddenly came across the remnants of the 2nd Battalion. We hardly knew that they were in Flanders and had only vaguely heard that they had left South Africa”.

“They are in the 7th Division and we knew that they had left South Africa a very fine Battalion, 29 Officers and about 1,100 men strong and we now found them after having landed in Belgium 18 days, 2 Officers (Captain Foss and Lieutenant Mills) and about 220 men strong”.

“We stopped the buses and heard all about the Battle of Ypres. We heard that Majors Traill, Stares etc. had been killed and most of the men found that their brothers etc. had also mostly been killed. The whole show was most pathetic and put guts into our fellows as we will be going into action amongst the 2nd Battalion graves”.

It is one of the ironies of war that, with only two battalions at the front one should be more or less relieving the other which is in a different division; although in fact the 1st Battalion have taken over the line from the Yorkshire Regiment which had been on the flank of the 2nd Battalion.

Sources: X550/2/7; X550/3/wd