Death Comes to the Feast

Second Lieutenant R L V Doake [X550/1/82]

Tuesday 27th June 1916: The adjutant of 7th Battalion reports that the British bombardment continued yesterday but the Germans were also active, retaliating heavily on the British lines near Carnoy. One German shell fell in C Company Officers’ Mess, killing Second Lieutenants Baden and Hasler and wounding Captain Clegg and Second Lieutenants Doake and Johnson(1)

Source: X550/8/1

(1) Evelyn Walter James Johnson died of wounds on 20th July 1916 and is buried Saint-Sever Cemetery, Rouen, aged 19

A Spectator at Jutland

HMS Revenge (Imperial War Museum photograph)

Tuesday 6th June 1916: The adjutant of the 7th Battalion tells us that Captain E Clegg has returned from leave. He was certainly not taking things easy as he was a spectator of the Battle of Jutland from on board HMS Revenge.

Source: X550/8/1

(1) The Battle of Jutland, the largest battle between battleships ever fought, took place on 31st May and 1st June 1916. Although the British lost 14 of their 151 ships to the Germans’ 11 (out of 99) with three battlecruisers being lost the battle could be accounted a British strategic victory as the High Seas Fleet hardly left port again in large numbers to enter the North Sea, rendering it useless for the rest of the war. Revenge, a brand new super-dreadnought, weighing 30,000 tons and carrying eight 15 inch guns as main armament formed part of 1st Battle Squadron along with Marlborough, Hercules, Agincourt, Colossus, Collingwood, Saint Vincent and Neptune. Her captain was E B Kiddle. She assisted in sinking the light cruiser Wiesbaden and inflicting significant damage on the battlecruiser Derfflinger.