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Thread: 100 Years Ago Today

  1. #1801

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    Great reading as I catch up from my rest bed in the med Chris. Should be ok from next Tuesday but we need to discus Doncaster.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  2. #1802

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    Great reading as I catch up from my rest bed in the med Chris. Should be ok from next Tuesday but we need to discus Doncaster.
    Cool - I should be able to cover the Doncaster Weekend after all I get to go home at night, lol

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  3. #1803

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    23rd September 1916

    Let's shuffle the order around a bit and start with the dogfighting results...

    Canada 1 France 1
    England 3 Germany 3 (we won on penalties as one of the Germans was offside - well unconfirmed) (and actually two of the RFC victories were by a Welshman and an Irishman)

    Captain Alan Duncan Bell-Irving 60 Squadron RFC - claims his 3rd victory by bringing down a Roland C.II over Croisilles (Canada)

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    Sous Lieutenant Georges Charles Marie François Flachaire French Air Service - Escadrille N67 also claims his 3rd victory by downing an enemy aircraft over Bois de Vaux

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    Captain Albert Ball VC 11 Squadron RFC claims his 24th victory by destroying a Roland C.II over Mory

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    Oberleutnant Erwin Böhme Jasta 2 - has an unconfirmed Martinsyde Elephant (I guess it never crossed the line - where are the Russian linesmen when you need them?)

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    Hauptmann Hans -Joachim Buddecke of Jasta 4 completes his 10th victory by shooting down B.E.12 (6167)

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    Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen of Jasta 2 claims his second kill flying the Albatross D.II.

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    The plane was a Martynside G.100 serial number 7481: Von Richthofen's report read thus...

    11:00hrs. one-seater Martynside, GW No.174
    11:00 air fight above Bapaume. Adversary dashed, after 300 shots, mortally wounded, near Beugny (street Bapaume - Cambrai) to the ground.
    Two machine guns recovered, will be delivered.
    Dead occupant buried by 7th Infantry Division.
    Weather bright and clear all day: Ground mist in the early morning.

    The unfortunate pilot was Sergeant Herbert Bellerby (17018) of number 27 Squadron.

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    Lieutenant Patrick Anthony Langan-Byrne 24 Squadron RFC claims his 8th victory by shooting down (forced to land) a Rumpler East of Combles.

    Major Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones 32 Squadron RFC claims his second victory by destroying an LVG over Eaucourt l'Abbaye

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    10 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23RD 1916

    Three of them were from 27 Squadron -

    Sergeant Herbert Bellaby (see above) shot down and killed by Von Richthofen)

    2nd Lieutenant Oliver Cyril Godfrey killed in Action 23 September 1916 aged 28, during an aerial combat with planes of Jasta 2.

    2nd Lieutenant Eric James Roberts Killed in Action 23 September 1916 - he was probably shot down by Erwin Bohme (see above) but this was not confirmed at the time.

    The other recorded losses were...

    Air Mechanic 2nd Class Benjamin Roberts
    died on this day in 1916 - no further info located.

    Capt. Kenneth Algernon Brooke-Murray 15 Squadron RFC - Died 23 September 1916 of wounds received in aerial combat at Gommecourt on 16 September aged 25

    Private Harold Bullen 30 Squadron RFC - Captured when British Garrison at Kut el Amara surrendered 29 April 1916. Died 23 September 1916 as a Prisoner of War in Turkish Hands, in Asia Minor aged 20.

    Lieutenant John Mary Joseph Kenny (Mary Joseph... really?) 21 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 23 September 1916 aged 20 (oh no they killed Kenny !!) (apologies for non- South Park fans)

    2nd Lieutenant Percy Rowland Main (Training) Accidentally Killed while flying 23 September 1916 aged 24

    Lieutenant Wallace Gordon Warn 18 Squadron RFC - Killed in aerial combat 23 September 1916 aged 29

    Lieutenant Sydney Woodrow Australian Flying Corps - Killed in aeroplane accident 23 September 1916 aged 30

    On a day we lost 513 men ...

    Today’s losses include:

    The man purported to be the first member of the British Expeditionary Forces to land in France in August 1914
    A victim of Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron)
    The grandson of a member of the clergy
    Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
    A family that will lose four sons in the Great War
    A well known New Zealand boxer and footballer
    Brothers killed together

    ZEPPELIN RAID

    Undeterred by the army’s loss of an airship on 3 September, Strasser ordered a raid by 12 navy Zeppelins on 23 September, the older vessels targeting the Midlands and the new ‘r-class’ Zeppelins heading for London. Two turned back early, and another, L 30, appears not to have come inland despite later claiming an attack on London.

    The first to cross the coast, L21, commanded by Oberleutnant-zur-See Kurt Frankenburg, did so at 21.40pm over Suffolk. He appeared to be searching for Stowmarket where there were explosive works. At 10.35pm an HE bomb fell in fields at Coddenham, followed three minutes later by a sighting incendiary bomb over Needham Market, about three miles south-east of Stowmarket. With searchlights now trained on L.21, two 3-inch guns protecting the works fired off 25 rounds without success. L.21 responded by dropping 34 bombs. The first two, HE, dropped near Badley Bridge after which L.21 flew northwards. Another 16 HE and 10 incendiary bombs landed in the parish of Creeting St. Peter, near Creeting Hall and Pound Road. These bombs badly damaged a farm building and killed six pigs. Others landed in fields at Brazier’s Hall. The final salvo of five HE and an incendiary struck Crown Hill at around 10.43pm in the parish of Stowupland. No bombs landed nearer than 1600 yards from the explosive works. L.21 then headed back to the coast and went out to sea north of Southwold at 11.20pm.

    L.14 and L.17 came in together over the Lincolnshire coast at about 10.00pm. L.17, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kraushaar, advanced towards Lincoln with L.14, and an HE bomb dropped at the hamlet of Waddingworth has been attributed to her. The two separated near Lincoln at about 10.45pm, with L.17 heading the furthest inland that night. About an hour later L.17 reached Newark where an incendiary fell in the River Trent at North Muskham, but lights visible 16 miles away now attracted the commander who set course towards what was Nottingham. At 12.34am L.17 reached Colwick on the outskirts of the city and released two HE and four incendiaries on a large railway marshalling yard. A low mist hampered the searchlights as L.17 dropped six more HE bombs between Colwick and Sneinton. Lights still burning at a large railway depot and at the Midland Station provided L.17 with a perfect guide. Now over the city, Kraushaar released eight HE and 11 incendiary bombs; the first two causing minor damage but the third had a devastating impact. It landed on 32 Newthorpe Street destroying it and the neighbouring houses, killing Alfred Rogers and his wife Rosanna, burying eight people in the rubble and knocking down a man in the street. The latter all survived their injuries.

    Other bombs injured two men at the Midland Railway goods yard and caused damage around the station. The next two bombs caused serious damage to the Canaan Street Primitive Methodist Chapel, then an incendiary that struck No. 3 Chancery Place claimed the life of 21-year-old Harold Renshaw who suffered horrendous burns in the resultant fire. Further bombs fell in at the junction of Greyfriars Gate and Lister Gate, and at Castle Gate but no more lives were lost. L.17 continued on to Victoria Station on the Great Central Railway, dropping bombs as she went, with the last bomb on the city falling on the station’s Platform 7. At 12.49am L.17 steered away, having claimed the lives of three and injured 16 in the city, dropping a single bomb at Mapperley, which damaged a house and smashed many window panes, before following a course back over Lincolnshire and flying out to sea near Spurn Head, where the 3-pdr AA gun opened fire at her at about 2.00am.

    L.14, commanded by Hauptman Kuno Manger, appeared off the coast of Norfolk near Cromer at about 8.55pm and followed it westwards until she crossed The Wash and came inland just north of Skegness at about 10.00pm, striking a course towards Lincoln with L.17. At about 10.45pm the two separated with L.14 approaching Lincoln. A searchlight at Washingborough caught L.14 in its beam allowing the 12-pdr gun at Canwick to fire 19 rounds at her. Perhaps presuming this activity denoted he was already over Lincoln, Manger released his entire bomb load, which fell on the neighbouring villages of Heighington, Washingborough and Greetwell. At Heighington, 17 incendiary bombs landed without causing damage, followed by 12 HE bombs at Washingborough where they destroyed a chicken house, uprooted an orchard and damaged some outbuildings. The effect of the 15 HE bombs recorded at Greetwell was a dead cow and damage to railway telegraph wires. L.14 returned to the coast, going out to sea just south of Mablethorpe a little after 11.30pm. Although no one was killed in the raid, the following day large crowds came out from Lincoln to Washingborough to see the damage, many crossing over the River Witham on the old ferry. At 4.30pm the overcrowded ferry capsized, drowning 17-year-old Ernest Robinson and young George Melson, aged seven.

    Kapitänleutnant Franz Eichler brought L.13 in over Lincolnshire. north of Skegness, at about 10.30pm. She headed south-west to Wainfleet then continued towards Boston. She hovered near Boston for some time then struck off westwards towards Sleaford. At 11.50pm L.13 was just south of Sleaford when mobile anti-aircraft guns at Rauceby opened fire and five minutes later a BE2c from RNAS Cranwell took off, but L.13 was gone before the pilot could gain the required altitude. In reaction to the guns, Eicher dropped five incendiary bombs. One landed at the village of Silk Willoughby and four around Holdingham, but none caused any damage. Eichler released 13 HE bombs over Rauceby from where the guns were firing but the only damage was to a house and some farm buildings. Passing to the north of Sleaford, L.13 released seven incendiary bomb over Leasingham, where they caused no damage, before Eichler took an easterly course back to the coast, going out to sea at 12.15am near Wainfleet. He then followed the coast up to Spurn Head, dropping a number of bombs in the sea before turning for Germany.

    L.22, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, was off the coast at Kilnsea around 10.25pm and dropped three HE bombs at sea. Dietrich then approached Spurn Head, dropping two more HE bombs near the searchlight there when it illuminated L.22. When the AA gun opened fire he tried to target that with three more HE bombs. They did no damage, but one bomb landed within 100 yards of the gun. Dietrich then took L.22 across Humber estuary, dropping another three HE bombs in the sea, followed by another three off the coast at Donna Nook where he came inland into Lincolnshire. Moments later, at 10.40pm, followinga westerly course over the next five minutes, L.22 dropped two incendiary bombs over North Somercotes, five at Grainthorpe and one at Fulstow. Dietrich now changed course, initially he steered south-west, dropping two incendiaries at Utterby, before turning north and approaching Waltham at 11.00pm. From there Grimsby lay straight ahead, but L.22 went north-west towards Laceby instead before following the road westwards to Caistor, dropping another incendiary there at 11.20pm. Dietrich now turned back and crossed over the coast at Donna Nook again at 11.35pm. None of the bombs dropped by L.22 caused any damage.

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    Super Zeppelin L.32

    L.23, the last Zeppelin to appear over Lincolnshire, came in over the coast near Mablethorpe at 11.00pm by Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Ganzel, having dropped a number of bombs at sea six minutes earlier. Once inland, Ganzel appears to have moved without any clear purpose within a triangle formed by Gainsborough, Lincoln and Grimsby. He dropped his first bomb, an incendiary, at Glentham at 11.45pm but 40 minutes passed before he dropped two more incendiaries at Kingerby near Market Rasen. At that point Ganzel appears to find a purpose and followed a direct north-east course headed towards Grimsby. But at 12.35am, before he reached the town, AA guns at Scartho Top and Cleefields burst into action. Between them the guns fired only seven rounds but it was enough to turn Ganzel away from Grimsby. Instead he released 19 HE and 11 incendiary bombs over Scartho, a village on the southern outskirts. It appears the first bomb landed 80 yards south-west of the junction of Waltham Road and Carr Lane (now Springfield Road), while another dropped in St. Giles’s Churchyard and one at the junction of Louth Road and Pinfold Lane, the others are harder to trace. Damage was recorded to the church roof and numbers of windows were smashed but beyond that the village escaped lightly. Five minutes later L.23 crossed back over the coast and returned to Germany.

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    These new airships 650 feet long, 75 feet in diameter and displacing some 50 tons are capable of a maximum 65 miles per hour and carry a bomb load of 5 tons. L32, commanded by Oberleutnant Werner Peterson of the German Naval Airship Division, set out with the intention of attacking London, but the heavy barrage from anti-aircraft guns forces him to jettison his bombs over the River Thames. Flying from Suttons Farm, Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey on routine patrol in a BE2c spots L32 picked out by searchlights and commences an attack. Firing repeatedly into the Zeppelin and despite being fired on by the enemy he is rewarded by the awesome spectacle of a rosy red glow within the heart of the airship. Seconds later L32 is rocked by explosions and the vessel plunges earthwards, crashing at Snail’s Hall Farm, Great Burstead, near Billericay. There are no survivors. For his actions Sowrey will awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

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    Picked up in the beams from the search-lights, the action had been watched by cheering sightseers who rush to the crash site in the thousands to gaze at the scene and gather what souvenirs they can, pieces of the Zeppelin being sold off at sixpence (6d) a time. The bodies of the twenty-two crew are buried at Great Burstead with full military honours, but in 1966 they will be exhumed and re-buried at the German cemetery at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.

    The L33 commanded by Kapitan Alois Bocker, is on its first mission and bombs London causing the deaths of a number of civilians; but eventually it is hit by an anti-aircraft shell causing considerable damage. The Zeppelin turns over the Essex countryside and above Chelmsford is attacked by a squadron of night fighters from Hainault Farm. Notwithstanding several hits the Zeppelin manages to elude its attackers. Despite jettisoning guns and equipment from the stricken airship, Bocker realizes his craft is doomed and cannot make the journey across the North Sea to its base. The airship continues to lose height and eventually crash lands near New Hall Cottages, Little Wigborough, much to the alarm of the inhabitants who witness the dying moments of the giant airship. Deciding to set the ship on fire, Bocker knocks on the doors of the cottages to warn the families of his intentions. However the terrified people refuse to open their doors and finally Bocker gives up and sets fire to the Zeppelin. He then gathers his crew together and in a body they marched off down the lane toward Peldon. Travelling on his bicycle in the opposite direction, attracted by the fire, is Special Constable Edgar Nicholas who is surprised by the sudden appearance of a body of men marching along a lane at that hour of the morning. He dismounts and flashlight in hand asks Bocker whether he had seen a Zeppelin crash. Bocker in perfect English asks him how many miles it was to Colchester. Nicholas replied, “About six”. He is thanked by Bocker and Nicholas in his subsequent report on the incident states that he ‘at once recognized a foreign accent’. The Germans continue their march followed by Nicholas. As they approach Peldon they are joined by Special Constable Elijah Taylor and Sergeant Ernest Edwards from Hatfield Board Oak, who are enjoying a few days rest in the area. The men consider their next move and eventually decide to escort the Germans to Peldon Post Office where they find the local constable, Pc 354 Charles Smith, who is busy trying to contact the military garrison at Colchester.

    MORE ON THIS STORY TOMORROW....

    Captain Tunstill's Men: The day was quiet, and the weather became bright and hot; the War Diary reported simply, “The usual activity in the air, nothing of importance is happening in our present sector”.

    Capt. Alfred Percy Harrison (see 1st August), who had been in hospital in England for the previous seven weeks after being wounded in action at Munster Alley, appeared before a Medical Board. It was reported that, “This officer was hit by a rifle bullet just above the middle of the left thigh. The bullet passed for about nine inches through the muscles on the outer side of the left femur. A small wound of exit still exists”. Harrison was declared unfit for duty for a further ten weeks, at which time he would need to be re-examined. Mr. Henry Brocker of Allcard & Co, stockbrokers, London, wrote in response to a request by Mrs. Marian Carpenter, mother of the late of Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter (see 22nd September), who had been killed in action on 5th July, to confirm that her son had indeed been giving her financial support. Brocker confirmed that Carpenter, who had been an employee of his firm before enlisting, had “instructed me to pay £5 per month into his account at Cox’s and that I understood it was for your benefit”.

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    Capt. HMS Carpenter

    Western Front
    Germany: HINDENBURG LINE BEGUN.
    Battle of the Somme: Rawlinson postpones today’s operations to September 25. British 23rd Division advances east of Martinpuich.

    Southern Fronts
    Italian Front: Italian XVIII Corps captures Mt Cardinal in Cadore area but Austrian mine explosion regains Mt Cimone d’Arsiero (Astico valley, Trentino) lost on July 23.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  4. #1804

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  5. #1805

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    Thanks for the good read. you deserve Reputation points but, You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to (Hedeby?) again.

  6. #1806

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    Thanks for the thought Mike - as the marketing department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation always says - 'Share and enjoy'

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  7. #1807

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    24th September 1916

    More Zeppelin themed tales today - so lets start by continuing the story from yesterday...

    Of the three Zeppelins that targeted London, L.31 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy, was the lucky one that night. It was Mathy's Zeppelin alone that returned safely to Germany.

    Mathy crossed the Kent coast near Rye at 11.00pm from where he steered a very direct course to south London. At 12.25am, over Kenley, L.31 released four HE bombs that fell evenly spaced along a line about 130 yards long. Three small villas on Hall Road were damaged and the fourth landed in the road at the junction of Hall Road and Downs Court Road. Two people were injured. The Croydon searchlight then caught L.31 but Mathy dropped two parachute flares, momentarily blinding the crew and causing them to lose her. A couple of minutes later she was illuminated again and the Croydon AA gun fired off two rounds before another parachute flare meant the searchlight crew lost her again. Two HE and two incendiary bombs fell on two farms at Mitcham, but at about 12.35am Mathy approached Streatham, located on the southern approaches to London and commenced his main attack, which ran from there, through Brixton to Kennington.

    In Streatham, on a line running from Streatham Common Station to Tierney Road, a distance of 1.8 miles, Mathy released 10 HE and around 20 incendiary bombs, killing 7 and injuring 28. One HE bomb, in Estreham Road, demolished four houses and severely damaged a fifth, killing a 74-year-old woman and injuring nine adults and five children. Another HE bomb, in the road at Streatham Hill, killed the driver, conductor and four passengers on board a tram. Bombs also damaged two railway stations, seriously damaged nine other houses and ten shops, while also causing lesser damage to 165 houses and shops. Over Brixton, Mathy dropped six HE bombs and either 13 or 17 incendiary bombs, claiming the lives of another seven people and injuring 16. Of the Brixton bombs, one landing in Bay Tree Road demolished a house, killing the housekeeper and a 3-year-old child, and partially demolished the houses on either side. The exact same result followed from a bomb that fell in Beechdale Road where Albert Ward, aged 50, and his 21-year-old daughter Grace both perished. An HE bomb that fell in Brixton Road near the junction with Loughborough Road claimed three more lives. In all about 45 houses and shops suffered serious damage and about 40 houses and shops damage to a lesser extent, while many had windows smashed. Having dropped one final HE bomb in Kennington Park, Mathy flew over the Thames and across central London without dropping more bombs, only returning to his destructive mission when he reached the Lea Bridge Road in Leyton. There, at 12.46am, Mathy released 10 HE bombs as L.31 followed the road along its north-easterly line; those bombs caused serious damage to 11 buildings and lesser damage to many more while claiming the lives of four men, a woman and a child, and also injured 27. Among those killed were George (52) and Virginia (50) Sexton and 25-year-old bus driver, William Henry Webb. From there Mathy set a course across Essex and Suffolk, reaching the Norfolk coast near Great Yarmouth at about 2.15am. But an hour early, as L.31 passed Bishops Stortford, a great flaring light lit up the sky some 20 miles away to the south-east. There was no question what it was - it was a burning Zeppelin.

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    L.32, commanded by Oberleutnant-zur-See Werner Peterson, approached the Kent coast with L.31. After coming inland at Dungeness at 10.50pm, she dropped six HE bombs, wrecking a holiday home and partially wrecking a house occupied by six people, but all escaped without injury. L.32 flew a wide circle around the area for an hour, probably dealing with an engine problem. At 11.45pm Peterson finally set a course intended for London, reaching Tunbridge Wells at 12.10am. Having turned north, 20 minutes later she dropped an incendiary bomb at Ide Hill, near Sevenoaks, and at 12.50am a searchlight at Crockenhill caught her even though the skies south of the Thames were misty. Peterson retaliated with seven HE bombs but the only damage was broken windows at neighbouring Swanley. Peterson continued on the northerly course, with London away to his left, and crossed the Thames east of Purfleet at about 1.00am. Having been protected to some extend by the mist south of the river, L.32 now pushed into clear skies, and into a hornet’s nest. As searchlights locked on the two guns (34 rounds) at Tunnel Farm, West Thurrock and the single gun at Belhus Park (10 rounds) opened fire at 1.04am. Peterson offloaded 32 HE and 27 incendiary bombs as he ran north, these bombs falling on largely open countryside between Aveley (9 HE, 6 incendiary), across South Ockendon (23 HE, 21 incendiary) to a position about 400 yards short of North Ockendon. The bombs broke windows and injured two horses. By then the AA guns at Tilbury (14 rounds), Shonks (17 rounds) and Fobbing (3 rounds)were also engaged – and pilots of No.39 Squadron were closing in. At a height of about 13,000 feet L.32 now headed north-west but was intercepted by 2nd Lieut. Frederick Sowrey in a BE2c aircraft. Sowrey made two spirited but unsuccessful attacks, but the third attack ‘caused the envelope to catch on fire in several places; in the centre and front’. The flaming mass of L.32 smashed into the ground at Snail’s Hall Farm, just south of Billericay. There were no survivors.

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    Frederick Sowery DSO

    The third of the Zeppelins intent on London was L.33, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Alois Böcker. She came inland over Foulness, Essex, at 10.40pm. Heading west she dropped an incendiary at South Fambridge at 11.00pm and passed Billericay at 11.27pm, releasing a parachute flare near Brentwood eight minutes later. At 11.40pm, over Upminster Common, L.33 dropped four incendiary bombs that caused no damage, followed by six HE bombs at South Hornchurch, some of which landed at Suttons Farm airfield, home to a flight of No.39 Squadron. L.33 continued to Wanstead where she made some confused corrections, first turning south-east at 11.59pm then, seven minutes later, altering course to the south-west, passing between the AA guns at Beckton and North Woolwich. From there she steered north-west, approaching West Ham in London at 12.10am. Although the sky was misty in places, the guns and searchlights in this part of East London had now found their target and opened a fierce fusillade. At 12.11am, L.33 began dropping her main bomb load. A cluster fell on houses around St. Leonard’s Street near the junction with Empson Street, claiming the lives of six and injuring 11. Another HE bomb caused serious damage at the works of the North London Railway Company at Burdett Street. In Botolph Road an HE bomb severely damaged a Baptist chapel and inflicted lesser damage on many other houses in the locality. Moments later an HE bomb partially demolished ‘The Black Swan’ public house at 148 Bow Road and neighbouring properties, killing five and injuring four.

    By 12.15am, L.33 was under intense AA fire and sustaining damage. An exploding shell struck a propeller sending shell fragments into one of the gas cells behind the forward engine gondola before slashing their way through four others. L.33 released water ballast to gain height and continued dropping bombs as she turned away from the east end of London. Flying away over Stratford Marsh, Böcker’s final bombs caused havoc at the British Petroleum Company’s works and at Judd’s Match Factory. Gradually losing height through leaking hydrogen and down to 9,000 feet, L.33 was attacked by the gun at Kelvedon Common, which also claimed a hit at 12.25am. The crew now began throwing disposable objects overboard to lighten the ship and keep her aloft while she came under repeated but unsuccessful attacks from 2nd Lieut. Alfred de Bathe Brandon of No.39 Squadron. Despite the best efforts of the crew, L.33 continued to lose height. At about 1.15am – at about the time L.32 was shot down – L.33 crossed the coast near West Mersea, Essex, but Böcker quickly realised he’d never nurse L.33 home so turned back and crash landed at Little Wigborough in Essex. The crew set fire to the remaining hydrogen before being arrested by the local police. One of the crew suffered a broken rib and others had burns and cuts, but no one was seriously injured. The skeleton of L.33 remained largely intact and proved a significant prize for British intelligence.

    5 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 24TH 1916

    2nd. Lieutenant George Edwards 19 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 24 September 1916 aged 28

    2nd. Lieutenant Robert Shirley Osmaston 23 Squadron RFC - Killed while flying 24 September 1916 aged 22

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    He was the son of Francis Plumtre Osmaston (C, 1872-1876), of Hawkhurst Court, Sussex, and came to Winchester from Earleywood School near Ascot. He won the Gold Medal for gymnastics in 1911 and several diving prizes. On leaving school he underwent a short course of instruction in agriculture and at the outbreak of war immediately enlisted in the Public Schools Battalion, obtaining a commission in the 3rd Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment in May 1915. He went to the front the following December, and early in 1916 was appointed Lewis gun instructor and then acting Adjutant of his battalion. He was subsequently attached to Brigade Headquarters to obtain experience of staff work. He was awarded the M.C. in April 1916 for planning and executing a successful raid. In July 1916 he was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as an observer, and made a reputation for skill in handling his guns. He was killed on September 24th 1916, while engaged in an offensive patrol at some distance beyond the German lines: the aircraft in which he was acting as observer was suddenly attacked by an enemy biplane at close quarters and before he had time to fire the rear gun he fell, shot through the head. His aeroplane, an FE2c, flown by Second Lieutenant J C Griffiths, was damaged but landed safely; the pilot was uninjured.
    He is incorrectly listed as “Shipley” Osmaston on the Limpsfield Memorial Stores Memorial.

    2nd. Lieutenant Philip Ryland Pinsent
    - 32 Squadron RFC - Died 24 September 1916 of wounds received on 23 September 1916 aged 18 (The second ex Winchester College chap to die on this day - see above)

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    He was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Richard Alfred Pinsent CBE., DSO, Legion of Honour and President of the Law Society and Laura Pinsent, nee Ryland. The family lived at Selly Wick, near Birmingham, and also at Priors Barton, Kingsgate Road, Winchester. He was one of three Wykehamist brothers, another of whom, Lieutenant Laurence Alfred Pinsent (Coll., 1908-1913), North Staffordshire Regiment, fell in August 1915 (see individual entry). He came to Winchester from Horris Hill, and on leaving school went to the Daimler Works in Coventry, to take a three months’ course in aeronautic engineering, to qualify himself for the Royal Flying Corps. He obtained a commission in March 1916 and in the following July flew to France to join 34th Squadron, where he made a reputation as a skilful pilot and director of artillery fire. He was mortally wounded while flying on September 23rd 1916: his machine was suddenly attacked by an enemy aeroplane, which dived at it silently with the engine shut off. He died of his wounds at Allonville the next day – the eve of his nineteenth birthday – and is buried in the cemetery there.

    2nd. Lieutenant Michael Hubert Francis Thunder 51 Squadron RFC - Lt. Thunder was the first airman to be killed serving with 51 squadron and the only 51 squadron airman to be killed in action during the Great War (that I have managed to find so far). Born the 6th September 1879 in Ramsgate, Kent the son of Major George Thunder of the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers and Margaret Pugin. He had a private education, qualified as a mining engineer and spent some time working in Argentina and Malaya before returning to the UK. He joined the Royal Flying Corps and qualified as a Pilot on the 16th January 1916 at the Military School in Ruislip, Surrey later to join the newly created RFC 51 Squadron. 51 Squadron formed at Thetford, Norfolk, on 15 May 1916 as a Home Defence unit. The Squadron flew BE2s and BE12s on anti-Zeppelin patrols, the unit also providing night flying training for newly qualified pilots with Avro 504Ks.

    From September 1916, units of 51 Squadron Home Defence were based at Marham but also used airfields dotted about the county for training exercises such as night flying. (Mattishall, Earsham, Freethorpe, Gooderstone, Warren, Mousehold Heath, Saxthorpe, Sedgeford, Sporle, Tottenhill and West Rudham). On the 24th September 1916 Lt. Thunder scrambled from Mattishall to intercept an attack from a dozen Zeppelin airships that were reported to have crossed the North Sea to attack London and the East coast. According to the cause of death from his death certificate he failed to gain enough height on take off and crashed: Cause of Death: Accidently burnt and his death was occasioned through the petrol of an aeroplane he was flying becoming ignited after colliding with a tree and falling to the ground. There are reports that say that although badly burnt he managed to crawl away from the aircraft to a nearby hedgerow bank where he was picked up and taken to Thorpe St. Andrew War Hospital in Norwich where he later died of his injuries. Michael Thunder’s second claim to fame is that he was the grandson of Augustus Northmore Welsby Pugin leading architect of Victorian Britain and famous for his Gothic style of architecture in many churches around the country, not forgetting his most famous work the Palace of Westminster in London. 2nd Lt. Michael Thunder now rests with his grandfather in St. Augustine’s Church, Ramsgate which was also designed by Augustus.

    2nd Lieutenant Theodore West 19 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 24 September 1916 aged 21.

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    Eight Aces claimed nine victories on this day (although one was unconfirmed). Lets start with chap who opens his account by soloing a super Zeppelin in a BE.2c and winning the DSO
    (should have had an upgunned Bristol - so much simpler... BANG and the Zep was gone !!)

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    Major Frederick Sowery (See above for photo) Commissioned in the Royal Fusiliers in 1914, Frederick Sowrey, the son of John W. and Susan M. Sowrey, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in December 1915. 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2838 on a Maurice Farman biplane at military school, Thetford on 23 April 1916. Posted to 39 Squadron, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for downing Zeppelin L32 on 24 September 1916. After serving with 37 Squadron he was sent to France before joining 19 Squadron as a flight commander on 14 June 1917. With this unit he scored 12 more victories and was awarded the Military Cross. Upon returning to England, he assumed command of 143 Squadron for the duration of the war.

    He was posted to 39 Squadron on 17 June 1916; he was duly appointed a Flying Officer. It was during this assignment that he scored his first and most notable victory. On the evening of 23 September 1916, Second Lieutenant Sowrey launched from Sutton Farm at 2330 hours in a Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2c to patrol toward Joyce Green. Flying at 13,000 feet, he spotted Zeppelin L32 at about 0110 hours and closed with it. He fired three drums of incendiary ammunition into the belly of the gasbag before it exploded into flame. There were no survivors from the aircrew; most of the bodies recovered were charred and burned. The burning wreckage at Billericay drew enormous crowds. Sowrey received the Distinguished Service Order for his feat, which was gazetted on 4 October 1916. That same day, Temporary Second Lieutenant Sowrey was nominated for a regular commission in the Fusiliers. Shortly thereafter, on 1 December 1916, he was appointed a Flight Commander with the accompanying rank of Temporary Captain. Sometime in late 1916, he transferred to 37 Home Defence Squadron. Sowrey went on liaison duty to France, and while there transferred to 19 Squadron on 14 June 1917 and resumed his success in combat. In the four months between 17 June and 15 October 1917, he scored a dozen times, both by himself and teamed with aces Alexander Pentland, John Candy, and Richard Alexander Hewat, as well as three other pilots. His final summary for the twelve victories other than the L32 tallied six enemy airplanes destroyed and six driven down out of control. On 1 January 1918, Sowrey was promoted from Flight Commander to Squadron Leader; this meant that Second Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Frederick Sowrey was now a Temporary Major. On 4 April 1918, he was finally promoted from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant. He assumed command of 143 Squadron until war's end. On 1 August 1919, Sowrey received a permanent commission in the new RAF, with the rank of squadron leader. Sowrey's postwar career saw him promoted from Squadron Leader to Wing Commander on 1 July 1928. He eventually retired as a Group Captain on 26 May 1940.

    Captain Kenneth Lloyd Gopsill 23 Squadron RFC - claims his second victory by downing an enemy scout whilst flying an F.E.2b (6964)

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    Sergeant Frank Johnson
    22 Squadron RFC claims his first victory whilst flying F.E.2b (4924) - he shoots down a Halberstadt D over Epehy. Sergeant Frank Johnson DCM* (28 December 1896 – 1961) was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.He flew as both an observer/gunner and as a pilot, and is the only enlisted man to receive a second award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

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    Johnson scored his first four victories between 24 September 1916 and 4 February 1917 while assigned to No. 22 Squadron. He flew in the back seat of four different F.E.2bs with four different pilots to do it. Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal on 26 April 1917. He then retrained as a pilot, receiving Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 4531 on 21 April 1917, and returned to action as a member of No. 20 Squadron, which operated Bristol F.2 Fighters. He then scored nine more victories between 11 October 1917 and 17 February 1918, using four different gunners in the rear seat of the two-seat fighter. He then transferred to No. 62 Squadron to score his last three victories, one on 27 March 1918, and the other two on 12 April. Once again, he was piloting Bristols, and he used two different gunners to score this last trio of triumphs.[1] He was awarded a Bar to his DCM in lieu of a second award on 3 September 1918. His final tally showed six enemy aircraft destroyed and twelve driven down out of control.

    Captain Laurence Henry Scott 20 Squadron RFC claims his 4th kill when downing a Fokker D over Rumbeke

    Hauptmann Rudolf Berthold has yet another unconfirmed kill whilst flying for Jasta 4 - a Nieuport Scout shot down over Rancourt.

    Oberleutnant Hans Schilling claims his 5th kill by shooting down a BE12 over Morchies.

    Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of Jasta 1 claims his 18th and 19th victories on this day - however they are due to be his last as he is shot down and killed tomorrow.

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    Major John Ingles Gilmour 27 Squadron RFC claims his second kill whilst flying a Martinsyde Elephant - he will later switch to Sopwith Camels and finish the war with 39 kills...

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    On a day we lose 599 men:

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Major Maurice Gordon Soames (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action at age 32. He is the son of Arthur Wellesley Soames, MP and his brother will be killed in January 1917.
    Lieutenant and Adjutant Maurice Leonard Pearce (Hampshire Regiment attached Sussex Regiment) is killed at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend Duncan Pearce Vicar of Lynchmere.
    Second Lieutenant Philip Ryland Pinsent (Royal Flying Corps) dies of wounds at age 18. His older brother has been killed one year ago and they are sons of Richard Alfred Pinsent 1st
    Lance Corporal Geoffrey Seldon Arnold-Wallinger (Inns of Court OTC) dies on service at age 27. He is a Clerk in Holy Orders.
    Private Frederick J Lush age 28 dies of wounds received in action three day previously the day his brother was killed serving in the same regiment, the 60th Canadian Infantry.
    Private Albert Baguley (Sherwood Foresters) is killed at age 22. His brother was killed in August 1915.

    Western Front

    Krupp's works at Essen bombed by two French airmen; 12 bombs dropped.

    South of the Ancre enemy made three attacks on Allied lines, west of Lesboeufs, all failed.

    Tunstill's Men : On another fine, warm day the Battalion provided a working party of 250 men who were employed on road repairs (the Brigade as a whole found working parties comprising some 700 men). Otherwise the day was generally quiet although considerable British artillery activity could be heard in the distance.

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    The improvement in the weather and the distance from the front line provided some relief for the men, as noted by Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert (see passim) in a letter to his wife. He wrote that, “Yesterday and today have been beautiful sunny days at last and so I hope we are in for a spell of fine weather again with any luck. It is just as well as our men had a rotten time when we went in among the deep mud and slush and this gives them a chance of getting dry and clean again now we are out for a day or two. I hear we have got another Zep near London but we have had no details yet and of course the papers about it have not come yet. I am sorry to say another good friend of mine has just been killed, Col. Walker, RAMC, who was in charge of a field ambulance which worked a great deal with us (Lt. Col. Arthur Nimmo Walker, RAMC, was killed in action and buried next day at Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery). The rain has had one excellent result of laying for a time the awful dust! Those who have not been here can hardly realize what it was like except perhaps by imagining an eternal Derby Day assembly mixed up with explosions on all sides and covering an area compared with which Epsom Downs are a mere spot on the map. Will you keep the enclosed picture of young Bell for me please. Later on I hope to get a photo from his people to put in my book. But for the time being the picture will do (this refers to 2Lt. Donald Bell, 9th Yorkshires, who had been awarded the VC for actions near Contalmaison in early July). At the moment we are living in shelters rather like workmens’ huts on a new railway line but they meet the case except that they were built for people of about 5 feet high and I get a chip over the head every time I stand up unthinkingly. The number of flies and of rats is rather trying. The latter crawl about everywhere all night and we have already killed over 20 in the first 24 hours! I am glad to say Fraser is getting along all right. They taped (this word is unclear) him the other day and it seems to have eased him a good deal as it did me. He expects to get to England in a week or two now. As usual I have been spending a lot of time lately in trying to get medals and rewards for a lot of our heroes, but it is remarkable how the demands for lists always seems to come in just when one is busiest. However, the Brigade has got 2 VCs, 3 DSOs, 13 Military Crosses, 7 DCMs and 71 Military Medals since 1st July, so we have something to show! The post is just off so I must stop.

    Eastern Front

    A Zeppelin attacks Bucharest, and drops three bombs.

    Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

    Sherif of Mecca reports he has forced Taif (60 miles south-east of Mecca) to surrender; garrison Turkish, many prisoners, guns and stores.

    Air War
    Western Front: 60 RFC fighters (3 lost) destroy at least 4 German aircraft, in group attacks on Cambrai area airfields.
    France: Dunkirk has 17 casualties to German bombs (1 raider shot down).
    Germany: 2 French aircraft drop 12 bombs on Krupp, Essen.

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    Home Fronts
    Canada: £20 million war loan; £16m over-subscribed.

    Western Front - The Battle of Morval

    The Battle of Morval, 25–28 September 1916, was an attack during the Battle of the Somme by the British Fourth Army on the villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesbœufs held by the German 1st Army, which had been the final objectives of the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (15–22 September). The main British attack was postponed, to combine with attacks by the French Sixth Army on the village of Combles south of Morval, to close up to the German defences between Moislains and Le Transloy, near the Péronne–Bapaume road (N 17). The combined attack from the Somme river northwards to Martinpuich on the Albert–Bapaume road, was also intended to deprive the German defenders further west near Thiepval of reinforcements, before an attack by the Reserve Army, due on 26 September. The postponement was extended from 21–25 September because of rain, which affected operations more frequently during September.

    Combles, Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt were captured and many casualties inflicted on the Germans. The French made slower progress near the inter-army boundary, due to the obstruction of St. Pierre Vaast Wood to the French attack north towards Sailly and Sailly-Saillisel. The inter-army boundary was moved north from 27–28 September, to allow the French more room to deploy their forces but the great quantity of German artillery-fire limited the French advance. The Fourth Army advance on 25 September was its deepest since 14 July and left the Germans in severe difficulties, particularly in a salient which developed to the north-east of Combles. Tiredness and lack of reserves prevented the Fourth Army exploiting its success beyond patrolling and cavalry probes. The Reserve Army attack began on 26 September, at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge. Deteriorating weather and the shorter days, greatly increased British and French transport difficulties; rain and fog grounded aircraft and impeded artillery observation. Mud reduced the blast effect of shells and immobilised infantry, which was an advantage to the defenders. A small number of tanks joined in the battle later in the afternoon, after having been held back because of the later start and reduced a number of German strong points which had withstood earlier attacks.

    After the attacks of 12 and 15 September, Foch and Haig kept the Germans off balance, by mounting smaller operations. The British 6th Division captured the Quadrilateral north of Combles on 18 September.[b] While the French Sixth and the Fourth Army prepared to resume larger attacks, the French Tenth Army to the south of the Somme captured Berny, Vermandovillers, Déniecourt and took several thousand prisoners. On the nights of 19 and 20 September, parties of the 56th Division consolidated a line west and north-east of Combles, from Beef Trench to Middle Copse. The new trench was dug north-east to a tram line near the junction of the Ginchy–Morval road, which connected Middle Copse with the Quadrilateral further north, creating a line 900 yards (820 m) long facing Bouleaux Wood. The division was ready to attack from Combles to Leuze Wood and Bouleaux Wood to envelop Bouleaux Wood and avoid a costly fight at close-quarters.

    Careful planning for the Anglo-French attack was necessary, due to the French Sixth Army advance diverging to the east and north-east. The attack northwards at Combles to keep touch with the British needed reinforcements, which were taken from the Tenth Army on the south bank. More artillery and aircraft were brought from Verdun and VII Corps was relieved; V, VI and XXXII corps entered the line (which had become 12 km (7.5 mi) longer, since the advance of 12 September) between I and XXXIII corps, increasing the Sixth Army to five corps.The resumption of the general attack was planned for 21 September but poor weather forced a delay until 25 September. The preliminary bombardment began on 24 September but a thick autumn mist in the morning and hazy conditions all day, reduced the amount of counter-battery fire that could be delivered. Late on 25 September, after the Sixth Army had been held up by the fire power of the German forces north of St. Quentin, Foch arranged a northward move of the inter-army boundary, so that the I and XXXII Corps could attack Sailly-Saillisel from the south, with V Corps as right flank guard. A conference at the British Fourth Army headquarters on 26 September, arranged the move of the inter-army boundary to run from Lesbœufs, north-east towards Rocquigny.

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 09-24-2016 at 15:13.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  8. #1808

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    That's how you do it..

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 09-24-2016 at 15:17.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  9. #1809

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    You deserve reputation points but I can't at this time sorry. You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Hedeby again.

  10. #1810

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    No worries Mike - thanks for the thought

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  11. #1811

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    25th September 1916

    You have to give the Germans points for persistency...[B] MORE ZEPPELIN RAIDS[/B

    Less than two days after the loss of two of their Zeppelins, the navy launched another raid on Britain. Two of the ‘super-Zeppelins’, L.30 and L.31, had orders for London, but after the recent losses they were advised to exercise caution and as there was no cloud cover both selected other targets. L.30 claimed to have bombed Ramsgate and Margate but in fact never came inland, while Heinrich Mathy, commanding L.31, headed down the English Channel intending to strike the naval docks at Portsmouth. Directly over Portsmouth harbour at 11.50pm, searchlights located L.31 and AA guns opened a heavy fire. Mathy claims to have released bombs over Portsmouth but as none were traced on land, it seems likely they all fell in the sea. Flying back over Sussex he reached the coast at Bexhill at 1.45am, passing Dover at 2.25am before setting course back to Germany.

    Four other Zeppelins targeted the Midlands and industrial North.

    Hauptmann Kuno Manger brought L.14 inland at Atwick on the Yorkshire coast at about 10.05pm and steered towards York. Forty minutes later he dropped a single HE bomb at Heworth Without, north-east of the city centre, smashing windows in houses and at Elmfield College on Malton Road. L.14 skirted the eastern edge of York, heading south, dropping seven more HE bombs and two incendiaries. The incendiaries set fire to timber stacked at a brickyard while most of the HE bombs landed in fields. One, however, exploded close to Holy Trinity Church, Heworth, smashing all the windows on the west end of the church and wrecked a doctor’s house opposite on East Parade, but those inside escaped injury. Nearby though, a woman died of shock. A searchlight located L.14 at about 11.00pm as she released two HE and five incendiaries over Fulford, south of the city, where they brought down some telephone wires in a field. Coming under fire from the AA gun at Acomb, Manger turned away, flying northwards. At Pilmoor, he dropped an incendiary before changing course towards Ripon. At about 11.40pm he dropped an HE near the village of Newby with Mulwith, followed by four more on Ripon Rifles Ranges at Wormald Green. One landed within 30 yards of the Ripon-Harrogate road in a field on Monkton Mains farm; another smashed the glass in a workshop on the range. Continuing southwards, L.14 dropped four HE bombs harmlessly at Dunkeswick where the RFC maintained a night landing ground. Within five minutes 13 incendiary bombs dropped in fields at Harewood, one causing slight damage to a cottage. A few miles to the east a mobile searchlight at Collingham, near Wetherby, caught L.14 and a 13-pdr AA gun fired nine rounds. Manger aimed three HE bombs at the light and severed the telephone line between the gun and the searchlight. He then returned to the coast, going out to sea at Scarborough at about 1.30am.

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    L.16, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Erich Sommerfeldt, crossed the Yorkshire coast near Barmston on Bridlington Bay, at about 10.05pm. Sommerfeldt spent almost two hours over Yorkshire but only dropped three bombs. Initially heading west, L.16 appeared to be making for York, but at Huggate at 10.27pm, Sommerfeldt changed direction to the north-west. At 10.50pm, after dropping an incendiary harmlessly on Velmire Farm at Whitwell-on-the-Hill, L.16 turned back to the east. Ten minutes later an incendiary dropped in an open field at the village of Langtoft. The third incendiary landed in a field at Burton Fleming (formerly North Burton) at 11.30pm. Although now less than five miles from the coast, it was another 25 minutes before Sommerfeldt went out to sea near Speeton on Filey Bay.

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    Oberleutnant-zur-See Kurt Frankenburg brought L.21 inland at Sutton-on-Sea on the Lincolnshire coast at 9.45pm, and headed west, skirting to the north of Sheffield at about 11.15pm, before flying over the Peak District and Pennines. About 40 minutes later observers picked L.21 up again at Todmorden in Lancashire. She passed Bacup five minutes later before dropping two incendiaries near Newchurch and two HE bombs in fields at Rawtenstall without damage. Continuing towards Helmshore, L.21 dropped an HE and incendiary bomb either side of Green’s Lane at the golf course, then released a salvo of six or seven bombs at Ewood Bridge, around the sewage works and Irwell Vale railway sidings, causing minor damage but no injuries. On a southerly course, Frankenburg reached Holcombe, where two HE bombs fell on a sloping field behind the village school, knocking down a field wall and causing some damage to the school. It also claimed a victim – a thrush. The unfortunate bird was stuffed and put in a glass case as some sort of macabre memento. Another bomb in a field between the school and Moor Road destroyed a chicken run, while one that exploded in the roadway between the inn and the post office caused damage to both buildings as well as to a cow shed and a barn. Blasts from these bombs smashed windows at the church and stopped the church clock. L.21 moved towards Ramsbottom, dropping three HE bombs, one ‘in the drive of Mr Woodcock’s house’ and two in fields between Holcombe and Ramsbottom. The next HE bomb exploded in a field by Dundee Lane on the western edge of Ramsbottom, as L.21 continued its circling movement, dropping another in Regent Street where it caused serious damage to a mineral water works. Approaching Holcombe Brook, Frankenburg dropped an incendiary, which caused no damage, but another, released over Greenmount, set fire to a cottage near the church in Holcombe Road, narrowly missing two children in bed. Neighbours quickly extinguished the flames and no one was injured.

    We shall continue this tale tomorrow - but here is a trailer for what happens...

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    1 AIRMAN HAS FALLEN ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25TH 1916

    Lance Corporal Stephen Albert Colburn
    RFC Died 25 September 1916 - apologies I am unable to locate any definite information on this poor chap.

    ACE KILLED: Lieutenant Kurt Wintgens of Jasta 1, with 19 victories to his name is shot down and killed on this day in 1916...

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    On 1 July 1916, Wintgens became the fourth airman to receive the 'Blue Max', after he had completed the required (at the time) eight victories over enemy aircraft. Wintgens continued to score throughout the summer and into the autumn. He continued to use the Fokker E.IV even as his contemporaries upgraded; Hans-Joachim Buddecke's writings mention Wintgens blipping the Fokker's rotary engine on and off as a signal to waiting squadron members that a flight had been victorious. As he entered September, Wintgens remained the third-ranking Eindecker ace, behind Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, with some 14 victories in the Fokker monoplane. (must be worth a re-paint on an ARES miniature)

    On 25 September, Wintgens flew his E.IV on patrol along with his friend Walter Höhndorf. It is claimed that they went to the assistance of a two-seater flown by Josef Veltjens, which was under attack by French scouts. After downing at least 19 aircraft (with probables and force-downs, as high as 22) in air combat, Wintgens was killed in action near Villers-Carbonnel, probably by French ace Alfred Heurteaux, for Heurteaux's eighth aerial victory. Heurteaux was most likely flying one of the early examples of the SPAD S.VII fighter. Höhndorf rushed back to base to sorrowfully report that Wintgens' plane broke up under the impact of "explosive bullets". Josef Jacobs remarked in his diary that recovery of Wintgens' body from no man's land was difficult. Buddecke blamed the crash on a severed elevator spar, and noted that Wintgens showed no bullet wounds. Two days later, Wintgens was laid to rest in the same French graveyard that already contained the body of his fellow Fokker Eindecker pioneering pilot, Otto Parschau.


    Capt Albert Ball VC - claims his 25th victory by shooting down an Albatross between Bapaume and Cambrai

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    Sous Lieutenant René Pierre Marie Dorme
    Escadrille N3 French Air Service claims his 12th victory by shooting down an LVG

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    Adjutant Maxime Albert Lenoir
    Escadrille N23 French Air Service claims his 11th and final victory on this day (he will be shot down and killed himself in a few weeks time)

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    Flight Lieutenant Edward Rochfort Grange RNAS claims his first kill by shooting down an enemy seaplane in his Sopwith Pup (N5182)

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    Born to British parents in Lansing, Michigan, Edward Rochfort Grange was raised in Toronto and after joining the Royal Naval Air Service, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Grange received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 1850 on a Curtiss biplane at the Curtiss school, Toronto on 20 September 1915. In early 1916, he traveled to Britain to join the Royal Naval Air Service. Flying the Sopwith Pup he served with 1 Naval Wing and was wounded in action on 25 September 1916. In October 1916 he was posted to 8 Naval Squadron. On 4 January 1917, Grange claimed three Albatros D.IIs and three days later, he was wounded in action scoring his fifth victory over another Albatros D.II. He finished the war as a flight instructor in England before returning to Canada where he became a successful businessman and engineer. During World War II, he joined the civilian arm of the Canadian Air Force and served as an inspector/auditor.

    Sous Lieutenant Marcel P. Viallet
    French Air Service Escadrille N67 claims his 4th kill by shooting down an enemy aircraft over Ablancourt.

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    Leutnant Rudolf Klimke FFA 55 claims his first victory by shooting down a Morane Parasol over Bourney

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    The aerial exploits of Rudolf Klimke were certainly not uninteresting. In 1916, he gained his first aerial victory on the Russian Front as a pilot attached to FFA 55. In May, 1917, piloting an Albatros C.VII of FA 19, he mounted a solo night attack on London, together with his observer, Leon. After transferring to Jasta 13/KG 3, he served on Gotha bombers. On July 7th, 1917, the crew consisting of Klimke, Leon and Reintrop shot down a Sopwith fighter over London. Later, Klimke went through training at Jastaschule I, and in September, 1917, he was attached to Jasta 27, where he gradually accumulated aerial victories until, on August 21, 1918, he got his seventeenth. On the same day, he was seriously wounded by rounds fired from enemy fighters. He managed to land on his own airfield, but was almost killed in the bombing of the hospital. He was not able to return to his combat unit before the end of hostilities.

    Western Front:

    First Brigade Royal Flying Corps squadrons carry out a successful series of raids on railway traffic at Libercourt Station, near Douai. In order to perform this without intervention by German aircraft, the aerodromes at Provin, Tourmignies and Phalempin are attacked by pairs of FE2bs of 25 squadron each escorted by an FE8 from 40 squadron. They drop phosphorus bombs at intervals shrouding the landing ground in smoke occasionally dropping twenty-pound bombs. Besides grounding enemy aircraft, the bombing destroys a hanger at Provin and causes a major fire at Phalempin. Simultaneously, another formation bombs and strafes two troop trains, derailing one and scattering the troops, while the main force – seven B.E.2s of 16 squadron and six FE2bs of 25 squadron, escorted by FE8s – attack the railway station at Libercourt, causing severe damage and starting fires.

    The 1st Grenadier Guards attack Lesboeufs in support passing through the leading waves to take the final objective by 15:30. The 3rd Grenadier Guards attack Ginchy at 12:35. The assault is held up by uncut wire and four officers go forward to try and cut it by hand. The battalion led by NCOs charge through the gap to take the objective, though the cost is high.

    On a day we lost 2006 men

    Today's highlighted losses are (with apologies to all non officers but the list is alas just too long)

    Major Herbert John Walker (Royal Engineers) dies at the Salonika Front at age 46. He is the son of General J T Walker. His son K S Walker will die on service in February 1946.
    Captain Leopold Reginald Hargreaves MC (Irish Guards) is killed at age 33. His brother was killed in May 1915 and they are sons of Alice Liddell Hargreaves who was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
    Captain Patrick Hallam Murray (Royal Field Artillery) is killed. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Hugh Murray.
    Skipper Charles Allen Campbell (HM Trawler “Silanier Royal Naval Reserve) dies at sea at age 38. He is the son of the Reverend Thomas Campbell.
    Lieutenant Geoffrey Weldon (Royal Field Artillery) dies of wounds at age 30. He is the son of the Reverend Edward Weldon.
    Lieutenant Frank Graham Evans (Welsh Fusiliers) dies on service at home at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend Graham Evans.
    Second Lieutenant Philip Edward Webb (Royal Engineers) is killed in action at age 30. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Aston Webb.
    Second Lieutenant Charles Dean Prangley (Lincolnshire Regiment) is killed at age 19. He is the son of the Reverend Charles Wilton Prangley Rector of Bexwell.
    Second Lieutenant William Broughton Bothamley (Middlesex Regiment) is killed at age 31. His brother will be killed in April 1918.

    The Battle of Morval (cont

    Foch intended to resume the French attack from Mont St. Quentin, east of the Somme bend to Combles, at the boundary with the British Fourth Army. The Sixth Army was to advance 3,000 yards (2,700 m), close to the German line running from Moislains to Le Transloy. In the south, VI and XXXIII corps would advance east and south-east, to establish a defensive flank along the Tortille stream, menacing Péronne from the north. V and VI corps would capture the south of St. Pierre Vaast wood and southern Saillisel, while I and XXXII corps advanced east to take Rancourt, the rest of Saillisel and Bois St. Pierre Vaast (St. Pierre Vaast Wood), Frégicourt and Sailly-Saillisel. Distant objectives east of the Péronne–Bapaume road were selected, should the German defence collapse and the cavalry was made ready to prolong an advance. The British plan was for an advance to the final objective set for the attacks of 15–22 September, during the Battle of Flers–Courcelette. The ground to be taken was on the east side of Bazentin ridge, which ran north-west from the Somme to a hollow facing north-east with Combles at the west end, the hollow running towards Rocquigny beyond the Péronne–Bapaume road. North of the hollow the ridge continued through Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt, then the Albert–Bapaume road, west of Le Sars to Thiepval. Spurs ran down the eastern slope, generally to the north-east in the direction of the Péronne–Bapaume road, before the ground rose again from St. Pierre Vaast Wood to Sailly-Saillisel, Le Transloy, Beaulencourt and Thilloy. An advance on the main front of the British attack of 1,200–1,500 yards (1,100–1,400 m) was to be made in stages. The first step was an advance to the third of the objective lines set for 15 September and to the Gird Trenches (Gallwitz Riegel) south of Gueudecourt, beginning at 12:35 p.m. The second objective was a line along the sunken road running from Combles to Gueudecourt, west of Morval and Lesbœufs, then over a spur south-east of Gueudecourt and through the centre of the village, beginning at 1:35 p.m.. The final objective was on the east side of Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt, the advance to begin at 2:35 p.m., with the objectives to be reached by 3:00 p.m.

    The use of tanks was discussed at a conference on 19 September, where the difficulty in hiding them until the late zero hour, led to a decision to keep them in reserve, ready to assist the attack on the villages at the final objective. The open ground on the approach to Gueudecourt was also considered to be too dangerous for tanks. Two brigades of the 1st Indian Cavalry Division were to move forward to Mametz, with all of the division to be ready to advance on Thilloy and Ligny Thilloy in the III Corps area, once Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt were captured, if this was done before 6:30 p.m. Small cavalry detachments were also attached to XIV and XV corps to exploit local opportunities. The British conformed to the French preference for afternoon attacks, which meant that the final bombardment took place in daylight, although they preferred dawn attacks, to avoid the attacking infantry waiting for too long in the front-line, vulnerable to German counter-bombardment. The XIV Corps commander Major-General the Earl of Cavan put all four divisions of the corps in line, to give them narrower fronts, for an easier deployment of supporting infantry. The 56th Division was to mask Bouleaux Wood and reach trenches to the north-east, cutting the tram line which looped around the north end of the wood. The division was to gain touch with the 5th Division on the left, while trench mortar and machine-gun fire on the wood and on the north-eastern exits of Combles, kept the Germans under cover. The right flank brigade of the 5th Division was to advance from the second objective to Morval, with four 30 minute halts, gaining touch with the 56th Division. The 6th Division to the north, had already reached the third objective of the attack of 15 September, on a front of 700 yards (640 m). The German defences on the flanks were too close for an artillery bombardment, so the division substituted a Stokes mortar and machine-gun barrage, to begin at zero hour.

    The Guards Division (Major-General G. P. T. Fielding) anticipated "strenuous" German resistance. Maintaining direction, momentum and preparation for house to house fighting was emphasised by the divisional commander. Three objective lines on a 1,500 yards (1,400 m) front were set, the green line 500 yards (460 m) west of Lesbœufs, the brown line from the crossroads south of Lesbœufs, along the western edge of the village and the blue line east of the village from the Lesbœufs–Le Transloy road, north along the Lesbœufs–Gueudecourt road. Three tanks were attached to the divisional reserve, to be ready to move from Trônes Wood, once the infantry attack started. The artillery was divided into two groups of three field artillery brigades each, to support the two attacking infantry brigades and the bombardment was to begin at 7:00 a.m. on 24 September. During the attack, half of the artillery was to fire standing barrages and the other half was to fire a creeping barrage, moving at 50 yards (46 m) per minute until 200 yards (180 m) beyond the green line, where it would become a standing barrage. Creeping barrages to the second and third objective lines were to begin at 1:35 p.m. and 2:35 p.m.

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    At 12:35 p.m. on 25 September, the Sixth Army attacked with seven divisions.[c] The XXXIII Corps attacked along both sides of the Somme and made very slow progress towards Feuillaucourt; further north VI Corps was stopped south-east of Bouchavesnes and V Corps was stopped short of the village. German artillery on Mont St. Quentin swept the southern part of the Sixth Army front and at Inferno Trench, dug on a reverse-slope, strafing by German aircraft and fire from machine-guns hidden in shell-holes, stopped the French advance after 300 metres (330 yd). The 10th Division managed a costly advance close to the edge of St. Pierre Vaast Wood on 26 and 27 September. The 42nd Division of XXXII Corps captured Rancourt, then occupied Frégicourt shortly after midnight on 26 September, before reaching the west end of St. Pierre Vaast Wood, where its advance was stopped by massed machine-gun fire from German positions hidden in the edge of the wood.

    A combined attack by the 2nd Division and the British 56th Division took Combles, before all of the German garrison escaped, after I Corps had been held up for most of the day, by German machine-gun fire south-east of the village. Patrols got into Combles overnight and by dawn on 26 September, the south-east of the town had been occupied and 200 prisoners taken. German troops retreating east were "routed" in the direction of Haie Wood by machine-gun fire. Much German equipment was captured, including 1,500 rifles, two million rounds of ammunition, 15,000 shells and many hand-grenades. I Corps then advanced a short distance east of the Fregicourt–Le Transloy road. A renewal of the attack towards the German defences between Haie Wood and St. Pierre Vaast Wood, was delayed, until Mutton Trench on the left flank was attacked at 4:00 p.m., by the British. The French attack managed to advance on the flanks but was held up in the centre.

    XIV Corps attacked on the right with the 56th Division next to the French Sixth Army, in co-operation with the French 2nd Division, with two battalions of the 168th Brigade while the other two on the right flank contained the Germans in Bouleaux Wood and the western defences of Combles. The brigade quickly advanced round the north of the wood, despite resistance in the embankment of the tram line and then sent patrols towards Combles. Artillery observers reported small groups of German soldiers moving eastwards from the village. By midnight all three brigades had moved forward and at 3:30 a.m. British and French troops met; by dawn a patrol met French soldiers east of the town, the 56th Division line being consolidated 1,500 yards (1,400 m) east of Combles, with the Germans beyond in Mutton Trench. A further attack was planned with tank support then cancelled when the tanks failed to appear. North of the 56th Division, the 95th Brigade of the 5th Division was delayed by enfilade machine-gun fire from the embankment north of the tram line and a strong point on the Ginchy–Morval road until bombed from the north. On the left the 15th Brigade followed the creeping barrage closely down into the valley, over-running and taking prisoner numerous Germans. The 95th Brigade resumed its advance up the far slope and rushed the German trench running south from Morval, as the 15th Brigade overran the trench further north, west of the village, taking many more prisoners. After another halt to reorganise, the village was occupied by the 15th Brigade at 3:00 p.m.. The final objective from the "Moulin de Morval" windmill, south to the 56th Division area, was consolidated by nightfall. Several weak German counter-attacks were defeated and the 95th Brigade began working its way southward, towards the French at Frégicourt.

    The 6th Division attacked from north of Morval, to the road through the middle of Lesbœufs, on the left of the 5th Division. The first objective was taken by a battalion of the 16th Brigade on the right and two battalions of the 18th Brigade on the left. The final objective east of the Morval–Lesbœufs road, was captured by two battalions leap-frogging through on the right and one on the left, to clear the south end of Lesbœufs, where the Guard Division was met as it occupied the north end. The attack benefitted from good weather, which led to a good preliminary bombardment and an accurate creeping barrage, 500 prisoners being taken. The 5th and 6th divisions consolidated on spurs east and north-east of Morval. At 6:00 p.m., the adjoining brigades advanced another 200 yards (180 m) east of Morval and also put posts on a line from Morval Mill north to Lesbœufs.

    The Guards Division attacked with two brigades in line, which advanced in waves 75 yards (69 m) apart. A German counter-barrage began on the Guards Division front, within a minute of the infantry advancing but the leading waves moved fast enough to avoid the bombardment. The foremost battalions of the 1st Guards Brigade found little opposition, apart from uncut wire, which was cut by the officers, while the men provided covering fire and fire from dug-outs along a sunken road on the extreme right flank. The first objective was rushed at 12:40 p.m. and captured by 1:20 p.m. The advance to the next objective took ten minutes, against "slight" opposition and the advance to the final objective was conducted against little resistance, the right-hand brigade digging-in on the east side of Lesbœufs by 3:30 p.m.

    On the left flank, the 3rd Guards Brigade reached the first objective on the right but was delayed on the left until 1:35 p.m., by Germans in a trench which had been missed by the artillery bombardment, before reaching the first objective. The neighbouring brigade of the 21st Division had been held up by uncut wire, so a defensive flank was formed; the rest of the brigade pressed on, arriving at the second objective at 2:35 p.m. and the final objective at 3:30 p.m. Touch was gained with the 6th Division north of Lesbœufs; a further advance in the evening was postponed due to the vulnerable northern flank, although the disarray seen among the German defenders further south, led local commanders to call for cavalry to exploit the "rout" they believed was occurring south of Gueudecourt, as British artillery inflicted many casualties on retreating parties of Germans.To the north of XIV Corps, the 21st Division attacked on the right flank of XV Corps. Two battalions of the 64th Brigade on the right were held up by uncut wire at Gird Trench (Gallwitz Riegel), except for some troops who advanced on the extreme right, in company with the 3rd Guards Brigade. A reserve battalion moved forward to attack the second objective but got no further than the British front trench, due to German artillery fire. The 110th Brigade on the left of the 21st Division took Goat Trench, then machine-gun fire from the right held them up, before the leading battalions reached Gird Trench. Eventually a defensive flank was formed, facing south in part of the Ginchy–Gueudecourt road and a small number of troops got into Gird Trench and gained touch with the 55th Division, which had attacked with 165th Brigade and taken Gird Trench early in the afternoon, then gained a foothold in a sunken road between Gird Trench and Gueudecourt at 2:40 p.m., linking with the 21st Division on the right and the New Zealand Division on the left.

    The 1st New Zealand Brigade was to form a defensive flank either side of Goose Alley, which ran from Flers Trench to the Gird Trenches, facing north-west towards Eaucourt l'Abbaye. The leading waves kept very close to the creeping barrage, advancing quickly against sparse German artillery fire and unusually feeble resistance from German infantry; a battalion headquarters was captured and a defensive flank was formed along Goose Alley to Gird Trench.[32] Touch was gained with the 1st Division (III Corps) to the north in Flers Support Trench and later the 55th Division was met beyond Factory Corner to the south.[33] In III Corps the 1st Division took 300 yards (270 m) of Flers Trench and the attacking brigade of the 50th Division, remained in posts beyond no man's land, built the previous night. To the west the 68th Brigade of the 23rd Division attacked 26th Avenue with two tanks attached. One tank crossed the crest and attracted so much German artillery fire that the advance of the brigade was stopped. An attempt to bomb forward from west of Martinpuich Mill also failed.

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    Thomas Alfred Jones, VC, DCM (25 December 1880 – 30 January 1956), also known as 'Todger' Jones, was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces

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    The Battle of Morval, which began on 25 September 1916, was an attack by the British Fourth Army on the German-held villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs on the Somme battlefield. A 35-year-old Private serving in the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment, Thomas Jones was one of those involved in the fighting around Morval.

    The London Gazette of 26 October 1916, describes Jones’ actions that day, actions which resulted in the award of the Victoria Cross: “He was with his company consolidating the defences in front of a village, and, noticing an enemy sniper at 200 yards distance, he went out, and, though one bullet went through his helmet and another through his coat, he returned the sniper’s fire and killed him. He then saw two more of the enemy firing at him, although displaying a white flag. Both of these he also shot.

    “On reaching the enemy trench he found several occupied dug-outs, and, single-handed, disarmed 102 of the enemy, including three or four officers, and marched them back to our lines through a heavy barrage. He had been warned of the misuse of the white flag by the enemy, but insisted on going out after them.”

    Speaking of the incident in 1929, Jones, known by the nickname “Todger”, made the following remarks regarding the incident: “Looking back and thinking over the incident, I feel that I must have had what the poets call ‘a charmed life’, for, after jumping out of the trench and before I had accounted for the sniper in the tree, a bullet went through my helmet and was buzzing round my head-piece like a marble in a basis, finally galloping down my back and burning me during the journey. Four or five other bullets passed through my tunic, but I wasn’t aware of it until afterwards. It never entered my mind that I should be killed and I didn’t think my time had come.”

    This was not the only occasion on which Jones displayed remarkable bravery. On 5 December 1918, it was also announced that he had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation explained Jones’ action, which occurred on 28 September 1918, thus: “This man went forward five times with messages through an intense barrage. He also led forward stragglers and placed them in positions. His fine example and utter fearlessness of danger were a great incentive to the men.”

    “Todger” Jones VC, DCM, was regarded as a quiet and unassuming man by those who knew him. Appeal organiser Tony Miller has spoken to Mildred Walker, Jones’ great-niece. “[She] knew ‘Todger’ very well,” said Mr. Miller. “‘Todger’ was a very quiet man, never spoke about the war or how he got his VC; when he did talk about it, it was just something he had done. He kept his medals, including his VC, in a kitchen drawer. If anyone wanted to look at them, he’d get them out and afterwards just ‘throw’ them back in the drawer”.

    Capt. Tunstill's Men : The day was again bright and hot. Arrangements were made for the whole Battalion to take a bath and the men were afterwards provided with clean underclothes. It is not clear exactly how this was carried out and the Brigade War Diary refers to men bathing in Albert and Becourt. However, the process of bathing in this area in August had been described by a man of the 7th/8th King’s Own Scottish Borderes, “near Shelter Wood … A bath was made by digging a large pit, which was then lined with a sail-cloth and filled with water from the water-carts, with a dash of creosol added for hygienic reasons”.

    There was continued shelling by the British and a concerted response by the Germans in the late afternoon and early evening. One heavy shell landed very close to the Battalion HQ Mess, killing one man and wounding another. The man killed was Pte. Ernest Balmforth; it seems likely that he was originally buried locally but that the grave was subsequently lost, as he is now commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. Two other men also appear in the official records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as having been killed on this day and are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. However, Ptes. Harold Heeley and Harold Hinchcliffe had actually been among a draft of thirty men originally destined for 10DWR but who had been attached to 10th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry after arriving in France on 8th July and were serving with that Battalion in an attack near Guedecourt when they were killed. A third man, Pte. Arthur Hewitson, was wounded and died three days later in hospital in Newcastle; he is also officially recorded as 10DWR but had also been attached to 10th KOYLI.

    Air War

    Somme: RFC 4th Brigade helps silence 34 German batteries. 1st Brigade (17 aircraft) hits 2 troop trains, Libercourt station (Douai*-Lille main line) and 2nd Brigade Lille station (night September 25-26).
    Britain: 6 of 9 Zeppelins drop 127 bombs on Lines, Yorks and Lanes (74 casualties night September 24-25). L31 (Mathy) scouts Portsmouth.

    Neutrals
    Greece: *Venizelos and Admiral Koundouri*otis sail for Crete (rebelled September 24) escorted by French torpedo boat; form provisional government (September 29).

    Home Fronts

    Britain: British Army Council requisitions leather.
    Ireland – Easter Rising: *W B Yeats writes ‘Easter 1916’ poem.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  12. #1812

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    Ireland – Easter Rising: *W B Yeats writes ‘Easter 1916’ poem.

    I have met them at close of day
    Coming with vivid faces
    From counter or desk among grey
    Eighteenth-century houses.
    I have passed with a nod of the head
    Or polite meaningless words,
    Or have lingered awhile and said
    Polite meaningless words,
    And thought before I had done
    Of a mocking tale or a gibe
    To please a companion
    Around the fire at the club,
    Being certain that they and I
    But lived where motley is worn:
    All changed, changed utterly:
    A terrible beauty is born.

    That woman's days were spent
    In ignorant good-will,
    Her nights in argument
    Until her voice grew shrill.
    What voice more sweet than hers
    When, young and beautiful,
    She rode to harriers?
    This man had kept a school
    And rode our wingèd horse;
    This other his helper and friend
    Was coming into his force;
    He might have won fame in the end,
    So sensitive his nature seemed,
    So daring and sweet his thought.
    This other man I had dreamed
    A drunken, vainglorious lout.
    He had done most bitter wrong
    To some who are near my heart,
    Yet I number him in the song;
    He, too, has resigned his part
    In the casual comedy;
    He, too, has been changed in his turn,
    Transformed utterly:
    A terrible beauty is born.

    Hearts with one purpose alone
    Through summer and winter seem
    Enchanted to a stone
    To trouble the living stream.
    The horse that comes from the road,
    The rider, the birds that range
    From cloud to tumbling cloud,
    Minute by minute they change;
    A shadow of cloud on the stream
    Changes minute by minute;
    A horse-hoof slides on the brim,
    And a horse plashes within it;
    The long-legged moor-hens dive,
    And hens to moor-cocks call;
    Minute by minute they live:
    The stone's in the midst of all.

    Too long a sacrifice
    Can make a stone of the heart.
    O when may it suffice?
    That is Heaven's part, our part
    To murmur name upon name,
    As a mother names her child
    When sleep at last has come
    On limbs that had run wild.
    What is it but nightfall?
    No, no, not night but death;
    Was it needless death after all?
    For England may keep faith
    For all that is done and said.
    We know their dream; enough
    To know they dreamed and are dead;
    And what if excess of love
    Bewildered them till they died?
    I write it out in a verse—
    MacDonagh and MacBride
    And Connolly and Pearse
    Now and in time to be,
    Wherever green is worn,
    Are changed, changed utterly:
    A terrible beauty is born.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  13. #1813

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    Thanks good work. I enjoyed the read.

  14. #1814

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    Excellent work in the dirigible raid details. Rep gun jammed.

  15. #1815

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    Quote Originally Posted by zenlizard View Post
    Excellent work in the dirigible raid details. Rep gun jammed.
    Thanks Sam - we will finish the tail on today's post

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  16. #1816

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    September 26th 1916

    Lots and lots happening today, two major Somme battles, Zeppelin raids, several RFC losses and two VCs to name but a few. To that end I will be completing today's post in a few shorter sessions (as I have to start the proper job soon) - so please bear with me over the course of the afternoon and I should have everything done by dinner time (thats a few hours after tea time for the non-english). Apologies for one slightly misleading comment in yesterday's post we do not see the destruction of L.21 on this day - we will have to wait a while longer before we can share the story that accompanies the downed airship in yesterday's post fog of war and all that... anyway after today's extended submission I am delighted to say that Neil is back on duty from tomorrow (until the Doncaster weekend to give this editor a break)

    Zeppelin Raid (Continued)

    L.21's raid continued as Frankenburg steered towards a concentration of lights, which he believed marked Derby, but his navigation was way out as his course took him towards Bolton, about 60 miles north-west of Derby. Approaching the town over Astley Bridge, he dropped a bomb close to Eden’s Orphanage on Thorns Road. Two bombs followed rapidly, an HE in Hobart Street, breaking a number of windows, and an incendiary in Darley Street. Then, at Lodge Vale, an HE bomb demolished the end of a terrace of cottages but rescuers managed to pull the three occupants from the rubble. Two incendiaries landed harmlessly, in Waldeck Street and at the junction of Chorley Old Road and Avenue Street, after which L.21 flew over Queen’s Park and passed the gas works before dropping two incendiaries, setting fire a stable at the council’s Wellington Yard Depot and a house in Wellington Street. Moments later though, disaster struck as five HE bombs exploded around Kirk Street. The blast killed 13 people (five men, five women and three children), seriously injured nine other peoples and destroyed five terraced houses (58 – 66 Kirk Street) in this working class area of the city, as well as causing widespread damage in the locality. At the same time a bomb in Back John Street caused more damage and killed a horse in a stable. Passing over Queen’s Park again, completing an anti-clockwise circle, L.21 dropped an HE bomb that failed to explode.

    Continuing on a wider radius circle this time, an HE and incendiary that Frankenburg dropped at Washington Street, set fire to a rope works and caused some damage to the Co-operative Laundry. An incendiary bomb that struck Ormrod & Hardcastle’s Mill in Parrot Street caused a fire that the mill’s sprinkler system extinguished, and an HE bomb exploding in Back Apple Street did considerable damage to a number of houses, but no one was seriously injured. A dud HE bomb followed, smashing through the roof of Trinity Church by the railway station. The last bombs released by L.21 fell near the Town Hall, in Mawdsley Street, Ashburner Street and Mealhouse Lane. The fire brigade quickly dealt with the fires that broke out. Starting back towards the coast, L.21 passed Blackburn, Burnley and Skipton, where she was at 1.30am. At Bolton Abbey, a few miles east of Skipton, she dropped an HE bomb. It landed in a field but failed to explode. Passing Ripon and Thirsk, L.21 then flew over the North Yorkshire moors, eventually reaching the coast at Whitby at 3.05am.

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    L.22, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, came inland at about 10.30pm near Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast and followed a westward course. Once inland she dropped an incendiary at Maltby-le-Marsh and another about a mile south-east of Market Rasen. Neither appears to have caused any damage. At about 12.15am, L.22 dropped seven incendiaries over Tinsley Park Colliery without effect. Dietrich crossed over Sheffield towards Fulwood before circling back to the Burngreave area, north-east of the city. Here he commenced his attack at about 12.25am.

    The first two bombs, both incendiaries, landed in Burngreave Cemetery where they burnt a patch of grass, but seconds later an HE bomb fell in Danville Street, killing a man in bed and injuring three other people. Immediately one followed in Grimesthorpe Road, which killed an elderly woman and her daughter. In Petre Street those exploding bombs attracted Thomas Wilson to his bedroom window just as another exploded outside. A fragment of the bomb killed him where he stood. The AA gun at Shiregreen searched for L.22 through the mist that hung over the city; unable to find her the frustrated crew defiantly fired off two rounds in the direction of the sound. The next HE bomb landed on a house in Writtle Street where it mortally wounded 57-year-old Elizabeth Bellemy. Tragedy next struck in Cossey Road where two HE bombs exploded. The first demolished Nos. 26, 28 and 30. At No. 28 the bomb killed a married couple, Albert and Alice Newman. Next door, at No. 26, the bomb killed eight, including the occupiers of No. 24 who had come to shelter in their neighbour’s cellar. The second struck No. 10, killing a young couple, Levi and Beatrice Hames and their one-year-old son, Horace. George Ineson, age 28, caught outside during the raid, was also killed nearby. L.21 then passed over a large concentration of important industrial works but only dropped one incendiary, causing a small fire at the Atlas Steel and Iron Works. L.21 resumed dropping HE bombs over Corby Street. One demolished No. 136, killing all seven of the Tyler family. It also killed an 11-year-old boy who lived next door and Martha Shakespeare of No. 143, who died of her injuries. A bomb in Princess Street destroyed the Primitive Methodist Chapel before L.21 crossed over the River Don, dropping an HE and an incendiary in Washford Road. The HE bomb caused widespread destruction but incredibly no one was seriously injured. The last death occurred near the railway at Woodbourn Junction. William Guest had gone to tell a neighbour in Woodbourn Road that a light was showing from their window when a bomb exploded and killed him. Other bombs caused a fierce conflagration at the railway sidings. A few more bombs were released at Manor Oaks and The Manor, south of the railway, without causing any damage, before L.21 turned away to the north-east. The final bomb, an incendiary, narrowly missed the Railway Carriage & Wagon Works at Darnall. Instead it set fire to a house in Nightingale Street but the occupants had taken shelter elsewhere and were unharmed. Dietrich left Sheffield behind, passing south of Doncaster at 12.45am and north of Scunthorpe at 1.20am. Around the Humber, L.21 came under fire from a number of AA guns, although some struggled to see the target. She passed over the coast near the village of Garton at 2.05am. In the north of England the RFC had only two aircraft airborne due to the fog but neither saw either L.21 or L.22.

    FOR THOSE OF YOU ATTENDING THE DONCASTER EVENT THIS YEAR - THERE IS NOW A DISPLAY IN THE MUSEUM COMMEMORATING THIS VERY EVENT - The timing couldn't really be more perfect...

    That's it for Zeppelin raids until the weekend, when they are back yet again....

    The Battle of Morval (cont.)

    In XIV Corps the 56th Division probed towards Combles, arriving within 500 yards (460 m) by dawn, as other troops advanced into Bouleaux Wood, after seeing rockets fired at 2:10 a.m. The 167th Brigade linked with the 5th Division south of Morval and met French patrols near the light railway at 4:15 a.m. Troops moved forward and consolidated a new line about 1,500 yards (1,400 m) east of Combles, linking with the French on the right. An attack on Mutton Trench by the 168th Brigade was called off, after five tanks due to operate in support were ditched. XV Corps captured Gird Trench (Gallwitz Riegel) and Gueudecourt when a fresh battalion of the 21st Division and a tank advanced up Pilgrim's Way at 6:30 a.m. and bombed down Gird Trench to the Guards Division. Infantry and cavalry patrols entered Gueudecourt and the high ground to the north. German artillery fire revived during the morning, forcing the Guards Division to consolidate as quickly as possible. A cavalry squadron tried to get forward near Gueudecourt but found the front of advance too narrow to manoeuvre. Infantry probes beyond Lesbœufs, made little progress against a line of German machine-gun posts, on the higher ground west of Le Transloy. More cavalry advanced from Mametz and dismounted under fire at 2:15 a.m., to enter Gueudecourt from the south-west. The 110th Brigade (attached from the 37th Division) moved forward slowly and reached the village late in the afternoon. The 64th Brigade (21st Division) continued the advance with two battalions, to just short of the Gueudecourt–Le Transloy road, where a battalion from the 62nd Brigade passed through to the road and linked with the Guards Division at the junction with the Lesbœufs road. The 1st and 50th divisions of III Corps made a night attack on a new German trench at 11:00 p.m., the 1st Division was stopped by machine-gun fire and the 50th Division captured the west end, then bombed up Crescent Alley to Spence Trench.

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    The German view of the battle...

    Anglo-French attacks had been expected on 23 September, rather than 25 September and the timing of the attack for the afternoon, also wrong-footed some of the defenders. The 51st and 52nd Reserve divisions of the XXVI Reserve Corps were quickly pushed back, part of the 236th Reserve Regiment being "destroyed" at the tram line north of Bouleaux Wood. Parts of the 235th Reserve Regiment west of Combles and the 234th Reserve Regiment in the village, were threatened with encirclement by the British from the north and the French in the south. A battalion of the 239th Reserve Regiment of the 52nd Reserve Division was cut off in Morval and part of the regiment was overwhelmed north of the village near Lesbœufs. The rest of Lesbœufs, held by the 240th Reserve Regiment from the same division fell easily. Parts of the 51st and 52nd Reserve divisions counter-attacked Morval but were only able to advance a short distance and cover the withdrawal of their artillery, eventually forming new a line along the Le Transloy road 1,000 yards (910 m) east of Morval. The 238th Reserve Regiment, on the right of the 52nd Reserve Division and the I Battalion of the neighbouring 6th Bavarian Regiment, on the left flank of the 6th Bavarian Division in the III Bavarian Corps area, were able to hold much of Gallwitz Riegel (Gird Trench) and Gueudecourt, because some of the defending machine-guns had survived the British bombardment, having been withdrawn from the front-line and hidden in shell-holes. The 6th Bavarian Regiment further north, was pushed back from Gallwitz Riegel into the village and southwards into the I Battalion area. North of Gueudecourt, two German battalions were conducting a relief when the British attack began and a battalion headquarters was captured along with engineer stores, in the confusion. The 50th Reserve Division, defending Eaucourt l'Abbaye and Le Sars, was able to hold the southern end of its part of Flers Riegel (Flers Trench), which had not been captured during the attacks of 15 September, against British attempts to bomb up it to the north-west, although forced back towards Flers Riegel further west near Martinpuich, south of the Bapaume–Albert road.

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    Bouchavesnes, Combles and Gueudecourt were lost and rearguards withdrew from Combles to the Gallwitz Riegel (Gird Trench), although some of the 234th and 235th Reserve regiments were cut off, many being killed making for Haie Wood. Troops of the 8th Division, brought from north of the Bapaume–Albert road, to counter-attack from Thilloy towards Gueudecourt, were engaged by sixty British field guns, causing the German infantry to "flee" in the direction of Le Transloy. The British aircraft-artillery-tank-infantry attack on Gallwitz Riegel near Gueudecourt, led to many of the survivors of the 238th Reserve Regiment and a battalion of the 6th Bavarian Regiment being captured. The 50th Reserve Division was pushed further back towards Eaucourt l'Abbaye and Le Sars, as the 6th Bavarian Division took over the defence of the area; next day a Bavarian regiment was attacked, while being relieved by part of the 7th Reserve Division near Gallwitz Riegel and managed to hold its ground despite many casualties on both sides.


    7 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH 1916

    Lieutenant Bernard Tarrant Collar
    9 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 26 September 1916 aged 22 the plane he was flying (a BE2e) was destroyed by a direct hit from an anti aircraft shell - his observer was also killed

    2nd Lieutenant Thomas Edward Gordon Scaife
    9 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 26 September 1916 aged 22 the plane he was flying in (a BE2e) was destroyed by a direct hit from an anti aircrafts shell .

    2nd Lieutenant Alexander Bonn Davidson 8 Reserve Squadron RFC - Killed while flying 26 September 1916 aged 25, crashed.

    Second Lieutenant Alexander Bonn DAVIDSON. 42nd Training Squadron, Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Maurice Farman Shorthorn 7375, 8 RS, Netheravon. Engine failure low over trees, Salisbury Plain. Wye Aerodrome. Died Tidworth Hospital, Wiltshire 26th September 1916 aged 25 years following a flying accident on the Salisbury Plain. Born Ashford 31 August 1891. Son of Alexander Owen and Elsie Davidson (Nee Bonn) of Ashford. Buried in the Ashford Cemetery, Ashford, Kent. Grave reference 3478. There is a private family plot and headstone.

    Air Mechanic 1st Class Frederick Dearing 20 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 26 September 1916

    Air Mechanic 1st Class Arthur Grundy 70 Squadron RFC (Observer) - his Sopwith Strutter was shot down and he was killed in action

    Flight Sub Lieutenant Patrick Sylvester Kennedy RNAS Killed in an Aircraft Accident 26 September 1916. Bristol Scout Type C 3016, RNAS, Cranwell. Crashed after midair collision, Cranwell area

    Air Mechanic 1st Class Horace Hedley Reginald Rolfe RFC 1st Wing, Headquarters Unit - Killed in Action while flying over enemy lines 26 September 1916 aged 25

    There were six aces claiming victories on this day...

    Sous Lieutenant Ernest Joseph Jules Maunoury French Air Service C64 Escadrille - claims his first (of eleven) victories (as an observer) by shooting down a Fokker over Bapaume...

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    Maunoury joined the army on 7 September 1914. Wounded in action while serving with the infantry, he transferred to the French Air Service on 2 June 1916. He scored his first victory as an observer with Escadrille C64. Reassigned to F16 on 27 January 1917, Maunoury was selected for pilot training and received a Pilot's Brevet on 7 June 1917. As a fighting pilot, he joined N152 on 19 September 1917 but did not score any victories until the summer of the following year. During 1918, he downed 8 balloons and 2 German two-seaters.

    Hauptmann Otto Jindra (Austro Hungarian Air Service) claims his 8th victory by shooting down a Nieuport over Solka

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    Also claiming his 8th victory on this day was Rudolf Berthold who shot down a BE12 over Bethancourt. I have contradictory reports here as some would indicate that this is the plane (see above) containing Lieutenants Scaife and Collar.

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    Scoring his 13th Kill and unlucky for the crew of a Caudron we have Wilhelm Frankl of Jasta 4

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    Oberleutnant Hans Schilling
    achieves his 6th victory by shooting down an enemy aircraft over Ervillers

    Major John Ingles Gilmour of 27 Squadron claims his 3rd kill by shooting down (ooc) an Eindecker with his Martinsyde Elephant West of Havrincourt Wood

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    Western Front

    The Battle of Thiepval Ridge which will last for three days begins. At 12:35 the attack on Thiepval by the Middlesex Regiment and the Royal Fusiliers begins. Just as on 1st July it begins with an artillery bombardment but this time there is a difference. Lieutenant Colonel Frank Maxwell’s men rely on a new, artillery tactic known as ‘the creeping barrage’. This entails an artillery barrage which starts in no-man’s land and then creeps gradually over the German trenches, according to a set timetable. The British infantry follow as closely as possible the curtain of shell fire that the barrage creates. This way, they can advance with constant artillery cover making it far harder for the Germans to shoot at them. The creeping barrage tactic is successful. The Middlesex over run the first German trenches with relative ease. However, once Maxwell’s men have cleared the German forward trenches, they have to then move over open ground in order to reach the Thiepval Chateau. It is now that things began to go wrong. The men are unable to keep up with the artillery timetable and, as the barrage moves on the distance between them and the infantry soldiers becomes greater. As the barrage advances the German defenders of the Thiepval Chateau have time to re-man their positions before the British arrive. For the British troops things are beginning to look very similar to the slaughter of 1st July. But then a revolutionary new weapon makes its appearance on the battlefield. Tanks had arrived in France just a few weeks earlier and it is on the Somme that they are used for the first time in history. Although tanks will eventually become a key weapon in breaking the deadlock of trench warfare when first employed, in September 1916, the Army has yet to figure out how best to use them. Yet even one tank could make a huge difference.

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    In addition this time British generals are fully informed about the course of the fighting with reports that were coming through from artillery observers and also aeroplanes. Air observation has greatly improved since 1st July and this enables headquarters to order a re-bombardment of the positions which are still in German hands. But more than anything else, the senior British command left most decisions to the men on the ground. A tactic that had been completely ignored a short time ago on 1st July. Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell follows his troops onto the battlefield and sets up a command post at the Thiepval Chateau thus permitting him to manage the battle in directly.

    The War at Sea

    Three Royal Navy vessels are sunk during a torpedo attack north west of Fair Isle. HM Yacht Conqueror II (Commander Thomas Roland Agassiz killed) is sunk killing her crew of seventeen. The hired trawler/minesweeper Sarah Alice (Acting Lieutenant Hugh McVey Lovett killed) is sunk when one of the torpedoes fired at Conqueror II misses its target and strikes her. Her crew of sixteen is lost. The final ship sunk is the steamer St Gothard whose crew is saved.

    Capt. Tunstill's Men: The good weather continued and there was continued shelling by the British, but very little from the Germans. Orders were received that the Battalion would relieve a Battalion of 70th Brigade, moving forward to support positions in Peake Wood. Prior to departing, four officers, Lt. **** Bolton (see 6th September) and 2Lts. David Evans (see 21st August), Godfrey Isaacs (see 2nd September) and Frederick Millward (see 30th July), were ordered to return to the transport lines. Advance parties moved off around 3pm and ‘A’ Company took the lead in the main relief, moving off at 6 p.m., and maintaining a distance of 200 yards between platoons, followed, at ten minute intervals by ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies. Behind them followed the Battalion’s cookers and water carts which would be established in Peake Wood. The men marched off carrying full packs and wearing their steel helmets.

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    In a letter home to his wife, Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert (see passim) commented on the improved weather and also shared his observations on the current state of affairs:
    “We are moving again but only in a small way. Of course we have been there before several times. It has changed a bit but is now not quite so near the front line as it once was though Boche daily puts some heavy stuff into it still. Col. Walker that I wrote about (see 24th September) was killed there only the other day. It has changed a bit since we last occupied it but is not an uncomfortable spot. Now it is fine again I am hoping the good weather will continue. The push still continues as you will have seen in the papers and we have done well yesterday and today further South, as have the French. I do not think we have much love left for our enemies in this part of the world and the longer we go on the more I hope we shall manage to rid ourselves of.”

    Tuesday 26 September 1916 – We Lost 2,569 - again the highlighted casualty list is too long to condense here...

    The Battle of Thiepval Ridge

    The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive mounted by the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Fourth Army attack in the Battle of Morval, by starting 24 hours afterwards.[a] The battle was fought on a front from Courcelette in the east, near the Albert–Bapaume road to Thiepval and the Schwaben Redoubt (Schwaben-Feste) in the west, which overlooked the German defences further north in the Ancre valley, the rising ground towards Beaumont-Hamel and Serre beyond. Thiepval Ridge was well fortified and the German defenders fought with great determination, while the British co-ordination of infantry and artillery declined after the first day, due to the confused nature of the fighting in the mazes of trenches, dug-outs and shell-craters. The final British objectives were not reached until a reorganisation of the Reserve Army and the Battle of the Ancre Heights (1 October – 11 November).

    Organisational difficulties and deteriorating weather frustrated General Joseph Joffre's intention to proceed with vigorous co-ordinated attacks by the Anglo-French armies, which became disjointed and declined in effectiveness during late September, at the same time as a revival occurred in the German defence. The British experimented with new techniques in gas warfare, machine-gun bombardment and tank–infantry co-operation, as the German defenders on the Somme front struggled to withstand the preponderance of men and material fielded by the Anglo–French, despite reorganisation and substantial reinforcement of troops, artillery and aircraft from Verdun. September became the month most costly in casualties for the German armies on the Somme.

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    The preliminary bombardment began on 23 September in poor visibility and mist rose morning and evening for the next few days. II Corps fired 60,000 field artillery and 45,000 heavy artillery rounds. On the afternoon of 24 September a detachment of the Special Brigade fired 500 lachrymatory (gas) shells into Thiepval, which silenced German trench mortars by 5:00 p.m. A preliminary operation to capture Mouquet Farm began on the evening of 24 September, when a company from the 11th Division reached the farm, before a German bombardment and a bombing attack covered by accurate machine-gun fire, forced the British back. The creeping barrage began prompt at 12:35 p.m. on 26 September and the infantry began their advance. On the right flank, the Canadian Corps attacked with the 6th Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division on the right, as flank guard and the 1st Canadian Division on the left.[b] At 12:35 p.m., the 6th Brigade advanced behind a creeping barrage with three battalions and two attached tanks, though a German counter-barrage kept the right-hand battalion in its trenches. Both tanks were lost early but the 29th Battalion in the centre reached the German front line in ten minutes, while the left battalion was stopped by machine-gun fire from ahead and the left flank, except for a few troops on the right. At 10:50 p.m. the objective was captured from Twenty Road, westwards to the east end of Miraumont Road and held against two counter-attacks during the night.

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    The 1st Canadian Division attacked with two brigades. The right brigade with two battalions advanced 400 yards (370 m) to Sudbury Trench and resumed the advance at 1:00 p.m., reaching Kenora Trench on the right which ran north-west back to Regina/Stuff Trench by 2:40 p.m. The battalion on the left had been delayed and German bombers counter-attacked the flank and were repulsed. The left battalion had formed up in no man's land, to escape the German counter-barrage but had a harder fight to reach their objectives, taking until mid-afternoon to reach the second objective, which was just short of the ridge crest, linking with the left brigade later. The left brigade advanced with two reinforced battalions, which received machine-gun fire from the left flank but reached Zollern Trench, taking the western part after a delay. At 1:00 p.m., the advance resumed towards Hessian Trench, which was taken easily. Touch was gained with the right brigade but troops from the 11th Division on the left were not found. The Canadians bombed down Zollern Trench and built a barricade, as machine-gun fire forced a slight withdrawal from the left part of Hessian Trench, a defensive flank being thrown back from Hessian to Zollern Trench and dug in by 10:30 p.m. West of the Canadian Corps, II Corps attacked with the 11th and 18th divisions. The 11th Division advanced with two brigades. The 34th Brigade on the right attacked with two battalions; a bombing party attacking Mouquet Farm just before zero and then guarding the dug-out exits. Both battalions got to the German support trench (first objective) although one of the supporting battalions was caught by the German counter-barrage at the British front-line. The right-hand battalion became bogged down fighting through Zollern Redoubt and most of the moppers-up were killed. About 50 survivors dug in on the right facing Zollern Trench, while others sheltered to the west of the redoubt. The left battalion was caught by machine-gun fire from Zollern Redoubt and Midway Line, which ran from Mouquet Farm to Schwaben Redoubt, north of Thiepval. A few troops reached Zollern Trench and the remnants of the support battalion advanced to reinforce them.

    The battle for Mouquet Farm continued; two attached tanks ditched nearby but the guns from one were removed and the crew carried on. Reinforcements were sent forward (including a pioneer battalion) and at 5:30 p.m. the last 56 Germans surrendered, after being attacked with smoke bombs. The 33rd Brigade on the left attacked from Nab Valley with two battalions, reached Joseph Trench at 12:45 p.m. and advanced to Schwaben Trench between Mouquet Farm and the east end of Thiepval where they dug in. Zollern Trench was reached by 1:30 p.m. and Hessian Trench by 4:00 p.m. except for the 250 yards (230 m) on the right. Touch was gained on the left with the 18th Division at Zollern Trench and Midway Line was mopped up by a reserve battalion which also reinforced Hessian Trench, repelling a German counter-attack on the right. The 18th Division attacked with two battalions of the 53rd Brigade on the right from Nab Valley with a battalion following-on. The plan to avoid the German counter-barrage worked and the first objective, at Schwaben Trench on the right and the Pozières–St.Pierre Divion road on the left, was reached in 12 minutes. Two tanks advanced in support but quickly ditched as the battalions advanced again, reaching Zollern Trench by 1:15 p.m. against slight resistance. The advance was stopped by German machine-gun fire after another 250 yards (230 m) and the troops fell back to Zollern Trench at dark and then tried to bomb forward. The 54th Brigade attacked on a narrow 300 yd (270 m) front, with one battalion going through the village, a company advancing along the original German front line, with the other two battalions in support and reserve following on. The advanced troops moved forward before zero hour to avoid the German artillery and two tanks advanced from Caterpillar Copse. The advance through Thiepval went slowly, being held up by machine-gun fire from the château ruins, until a tank came up and suppressed the German machine-guns, before ditching a short time later. The infantry lost the barrage but fought on through the village until by 2:30 p.m., all but the north-west corner was captured..

    Air operations


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    4 Squadron and 7 Squadron made a number of low reconnaissance flights to observe the condition of the German wire and trenches before the attack. GHQ Wing and Corps squadron air observers on contact patrol, watched the infantry advance behind the creeping barrage and enter Thiepval with two tanks, which prompted some German soldiers to run away. At 1:10 p.m. British troops were photographed in Hessian Trench and air observers were able to report the capture of Thiepval, save for the north-west corner. Artillery observers in aircraft and observation balloons reported 64 active German batteries in the first 24 hours and identified the positions of 103 more. Ground observers were able to engage six German batteries but air observation allowed another 22 to be bombarded. South of Miraumont a 4 Squadron air observer reported c. 1,000 German troops on the road, who were scattered by British heavy artillery. The squadrons of IV and V Brigades dropped 135 x 20-pound bombs on trenches, artillery and billets as III Brigade bombed Lagnicourt aerodrome despite poor visibility and attacked German kite balloons, 60 Squadron Nieuports shooting down two with Le Prieur rockets and bombing grounded balloons with phosphorus bombs. 19 Squadron attacked a German divisional headquarters at Barastre with 64 x 20-pound bombs. Two German aircraft were shot down and four damaged for the loss of one British aircraft over Bapaume but the faster German machines were able to avoid contact at will.

    Next day British offensive patrols met numerous German formations in the morning, before heavy rain interrupted flying. Six aircraft of 27 Squadron were attacked by five Albatros D.I of Jasta 2 led by Boelcke, which shot down three and damaged one of the Martinsydes. Another British aircraft was lost on an early morning railway reconnaissance by 70 Squadron. On 28 September V Brigade aircraft reported the British advances at Schwaben Redoubt and directed artillery fire on 31 gun pits and blew up nine ammunition stores. Few German aircraft appeared but two were shot down and two damaged, one of the aircraft being shot down by a new Spad S.VII, flown by a pilot of 60 Squadron. Poor weather grounded most aircraft on 29 September but next day was clear, 500 air photographs were obtained and low reconnaissance observed the state of German trenches and wire. With the capture of Stuff Redoubt and most of Schwaben Redoubt, the denial of air observation to the Germans became more important and eleven aircraft raided Lagnicourt aerodrome again, escorted by 11 Squadron and 60 Squadron. Many German aircraft were able to take off and attack the British aircraft as they returned, three German aircraft being shot down and one damaged for a loss of one F.E. 2b

    Any excuse for a picture of a Spad VII...

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    There were two Victoria Crosses awarded on this day - both at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge...

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    Frederick Jeremiah Edwards (3 October 1894 – 9 March 1964) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He could not read or write. Edwards was born in Queenstown (now named Cobh), County Cork, Ireland. He was 21 years old, and a private in the 12th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own), British Army during the First World War, and was awarded the VC for his deeds on 26 September 1916 at Thiepval, France: part of the line was held up by machine-gun fire and all the officers had become casualties. There was confusion and indication of retirement. Private Edwards, grasping the situation and on his own initiative, dashed out towards the gun, which he knocked out with his bombs. This very gallant act, coupled with great presence of mind and disregard of personal danger, made further advance possible and cleared up a dangerous situation. He was later promoted to corporal and after leaving the army he was forced to sell his medal to make ends meet. He died on 9 March 1964 at the Royal Star and Garter Home in Richmond (which was then in Surrey and is now in London) and is buried in Richmond Cemetery. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum, Chelsea, England.

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    Robert Edward Ryder VC (17 December 1895 – 1 December 1978) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Ryder was 20 years old, and a private in the 12th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 26 September 1916 at Thiepval, France, Private Ryder's company was held up by heavy rifle fire and all his officers had become casualties. For want of leadership the attack was flagging when Private Ryder, realising the situation and without a moment's thought for his own safety dashed, absolutely alone, at the enemy trench and by skilful handling of his Lewis gun succeeded in clearing the trench. This very gallant act inspired his comrades, made the subsequent advance possible and turned what could have been failure into success. He later achieved the rank of sergeant.

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    Eastern Front
    Transylvania – Battle of Hermannstadt (until September 29): Falken*hayn’s Ninth Army attacks in fine weather towards Roten*turm Pass (11,555 ft) which German Alpenkorps crosses, Hermannstadt retaken (September 29); 3,000 Rumanian PoWs in First Army defeat.

    Middle East
    Armenia – First snow falls. Turks evacuate Mus, their Second Army losses 30,000 (since August 2) reducing it to 60,000 soldiers. Russian losses 50,000 since June including in Persia. Early winter quarters for both sides.
    Last edited by Hedeby; 09-26-2016 at 15:21.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  17. #1817

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    Well done Chris, now have a well deserved break. R&R over, batteries recharged....now where did I put the typewriter, ah there it is....what Hedeby knicked the last ribbon! Gadzooks and balldercocks is there nothing this man wont stoop to?

    Joking aside Chris, sterling work. Well done.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  18. #1818

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    Wednesday 27th September 1916
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    Lieutenant Colonel Tom Edwin Adlam VC (21 October 1893 – 28 May 1975). Adlam was twenty two years old, and a temporary 2Lt in the 7th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment, when he was awarded the Victoria Cross at Thiepval:

    A portion of a village which had defied capture on the previous day had to be captured at all costs to permit subsequent operations to develop. This minor operation came under very heavy machine gun and rifle fire. Second Lieutenant Adlam realising that time was all important, rushed from shell hole to shell hole under heavy fire collecting men for a sudden rush, and for this purpose also collected many enemy grenades. At this stage he was wounded in the leg, but nevertheless he was able to outthrow the enemy and then seizing his opportunity, and in spite of his wound, he led a rush, captured the position and killed the occupants. Throughout the day he continued to lead his men in bombing attacks. On the following day he again displayed courage of the highest order, and though again wounded and unable to throw bombs, he continued to lead his men. His magnificent example and valour, coupled with the skilful handling of the situation, produced far-reaching results
    .

    Today we lost: 1209

    Today’s losses include:

    • A man who will lose two brothers one in this war and one in the Second World War
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • The son of a Major General
    • The great uncle of Monty Python actor Michael Palin
    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War


    Air Operations:


    British aeroplanes attack sheds near Brussels.

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 4

    A Mech 2 Burger, D.J. (Daniel J.)
    , RFC, Recruits Depot.

    Second Lieutenant Stephen Dendrino
    , 27 Squadron, (Royal Flying Corps), is killed in action at age 27 when shot in flight by Oswald Boelcke. Boelcke wrote in his logbook that his opponent’s machine continued to fly in even circles owing to the controls having been fastened in place by rubber bands. Died of Wounds as a Prisoner of War 27 September 1916 aged 27, shot down by Boelcke, who recorded that the aircraft flew around in circles, with the mortally wounded pilot at the controls. As an officer in the P and O service he twice escaped shipwreck through being transferred from vessels which sank in the Channel. He is also the nephew through marriage of Major General J W G Tulloch

    Lt Echlin, F.S.J.F.N. (Frederick St.John Ford North)
    , 70 Squadron, RFC. Died of Wounds 27 September 1916.

    Captain Taylor, H.A. (Henry Arthur), 27 Squadron, RFC. Killed in aerial combat 27 September 1916 aged 18.

    Claims: 4+1 Unconfirmed

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    2Lt Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman claims his 2nd confirmed kill shooting down an enemy balloon east of Linselles in a DH2 of 29 Squadron RFC. The son of George and Mary Bowman, Geoffrey Hilton Bowman's father was a physician. Flying the D.H.2, Bowman scored his first two victories with 29 Squadron in 1916.

    2Lt Roy Williamson Chappell
    claims his 1st confirmed kill flying a Martinsyde G.100 for 27 Squadron RFC.

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    Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke claims his 29th confirmed kill shooting down a Martinsyde G.100 near Ervillers flying for Jasta 2. (See 2Lt Dendrino above).

    Oberleutnant Hans Schilling
    claims his 7th confirmed kill with FA22, shooting down a FE2b (4839) near Tourmignies.

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    Offizierstellvertreter Leopold Rudolf Reimann claims an unconfirmed kill.

    Western Front


    Verdun:

    French repulse strong German night attack at Thiaumont-Fleury with great loss to German attackers.

    Somme:

    British attack Stuff Redoubt and advance north of Flers to the east of Eaucourt L’Abbaye. Thiepval (ruins) captured by British after hand to hand fighting.

    Tunstills Men Wednesday 27th September 1916:


    Peake Wood


    The weather remained fine until the evening when there was some rain. A total of 150 men were deployed in a working party placed under instruction of the Royal Engineers. There was a good deal of aeroplane activity from both sides, but conditions were generally quiet.


    Cpl. John Stewart (see 23rd August) had his acting appointment to his rank confirmed.

    Pte. Robert Cresswell (see 10th July), formerly of Tunstill’s Company, but who had been temporarily attached to 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment since July, was now formally transferred to his new Battalion.

    Eastern Front:

    In the Jiu Valley (Vulcan Pass) Romanian troops attack and repulse enemy who are retreating towards the north and north west.

    Romanian Army occupies one third of Transylvania as the result of one month’s war.

    African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

    East Africa:


    Belgians occupy Sikonge and Ipoler before retiring to Tabora.

    Ethopia:


    Focus on Turco-German intrigue: Muslim ‘Emperor’ Lij Yasu, (supporters defeated by November 2nd) deposed for Empress Judith: Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) regent and heir to throne.

    Naval Operations:


    Shipping Losses: 5


    Political:


    Athens:
    Greek generals reported in favour of war.

    Neutrals:


    USA:
    Interview with Mr Lloyd George on the war is published in American newspapers.
    Attached Images  
    Last edited by Flying Officer Kyte; 09-28-2016 at 03:21.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  19. #1819

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    Firstly, thanks Chris for your mammoth stint, well mammoth editions at any rate, and secondly welcome back to the helm Neil. A great first edition.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  20. #1820

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    Cheers Rob, my only quandrey, and it only happens with this 1 item, I cannot post a photo of Oswald Boelcke. I can download it, upload it but the actual picture does not appear. Any help from out there? (Would be gratefully appreciated).

    Neil
    See you on the Dark Side......

  21. #1821

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    Will that do?
    The plate needed inking.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  22. #1822

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    We need to source some proper ink then. The stuff from the cookhouse wallah's is not upto speck, something called screech!

    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    Will that do?
    The plate needed inking.
    Rob.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  23. #1823

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    Thank you again for the good read. Why is this file not continues out of date showing early dates in the file?

  24. #1824

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    Sorry Mike you've lost me with file and date reference could you expand please?


    Neil

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike George View Post
    Thank you again for the good read. Why is this file not continues out of date showing early dates in the file?
    See you on the Dark Side......

  25. #1825

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    Thursday 28th September 1916

    Today we lost: 889
    Today’s losses include:

    • The son of a member of the clergy
    • A District Scout Master of the East Surrey Boy Scouts
    • The son of a Justice of the Peace
    • The brother of the composer ‘Sir’ Arthur George Drummond Bliss
    • The son of a General
    • Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
    • A family that will lose five sons in the Great War
    • A man whose fiancé will marry his brother
    • A man whose brother-in-law will be killed


    Air Operations:

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    RE5

    An RE5 of 35 UK Squadron had a pressure release blew out squirting petrol in face and in trying to land hit tree. 2Lt JF Guinan Wounded.

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 2


    A Mech 1 Clancey, H. (Harry)
    Aerial Gunnery School, RFC. Killed while flying in a Vickers FB. aged 21 . The aircraft fell due to a loss of flying speed near Hythe.

    Sergeant Keyte, F.G. (Frederick Gerald), RFC. Killed while flying in a Vickers FB aged 19. The aircraft fell due to a loss of flying speed near Hythe.

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    Vickers FB

    Claims: 5

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    2Lt Daniel Murray Bayne "Nigger" Galbraith claims his 2nd confirmed kill flying a Nieuport for 1 Naval Wing, shooting down an enemy seaplane off Calais. For this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

    Flight Sub-Lieutenant Daniel Murray Boyne Galbraith, R.N.A.S.
    In recognition of his services in attacking a large enemy two-seater seaplane on the 28th September, 1916. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Galbraith's machine was severely damaged by gun-fire from the enemy machine, which finally blew up in the air.


    The son of Robert Alex and Mary Elizabeth (Bayne) Galbraith, Daniel Murray Bayne Galbraith was a student at St Andrews College, Aurora when the war began. In 1915, accompanied by Roy Brown and Stearne Edwards, he enrolled at the Wright School in Dayton, Ohio, receiving his pilot's certificate on a Wright biplane on 3 November 1915. After he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, he was assigned to 1 Naval Wing in France. In October 1916,


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    2ndLt (temp.Lt) Captain Albert Ball claims his 26th, 27th & 28th confirmed kills. Flying a Nieuport 17 for 60 Squadron, RFC he shot down 3 Albatros C types, near Haplincourt, Bapaume and north east of Bapaume respectively. For this action he was awarded a bar to his DSO issued 2 days prior.

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    2nd Lt. (temp. Lt.) Albert Ball, M.C., Notts. & Derby. R. and R.F.C..
    For conspicuous gallantry in action. He attacked three hostile machines and brought one down, displaying great courage and skill. He has brought down eight hostile machines in a short period, and has forced many others to land.
    (The Distinguished Service Order was awarded in London Gazette dated 26th Sept. 1916. First Bar was awarded in London Gazette dated 28th Sept. 1916.)


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    2ndLt William George Sellar "Growler" Curphey claims his 2nd confirmed kill. Flying a DH2 for 32 Squadron RFC he shot down an LVG C near Miraumont.

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    Major Ernest Leslie "Feet" Foot claims his 4th confirmed kill flying a Spad VII for 60 Squadron RFC. He shot down an Albatros C type near Avesnes les Bapaume. Ernest Leslie Foot, Albert Ball’s best friend, scored five victories before he was shot down in flames over Serre by Hans Imelmann of Jasta 2 on 26 October 1916. (He survived).

    Lt Patrick Anthony Langan-Byrne claims his 9th confirmed kill flying a DH2 for 24 Squadron RFC. He shot down a LVG C type near Rocquigny. After serving with the Royal Artillery, Patrick Anthony Langan-Byrne transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.( Having scored 10 victories as a DH2 pilot, he was killed in action when he was shot down by Oswald Boelcke of Jasta 2.)

    Western Front


    Somme:

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    British capture most of the Schwaben Redoubt on crest of Thiepval Plateau; most of it taken.and Canadian Corps advance 1,000yds north and north east of Courcelette and between Martinpuich and Gueudecourt (until September 30th).


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    The area to the right of Schwaben Redoubt was attacked by the 53rd Brigade of the 18th (Eastern) Division during the Battle of Thiepval Ridge (26–28 September). The 8th Suffolks captured Schwabengraben (Schwabian Trench) in a few minutes and after a ten-minute halt, advanced to Zollern Trench by 1:15 p.m., meeting troops of the 54th Brigade north of Thiepval. The advance towards the redoubt was stopped after 250 yards (230 m), by small-arms fire from the front and flanks and the troops retired after dark. Attempts on the left to bomb forward during the evening also failed. The 54th Brigade was to capture the west end of Thiepval and advance about 0.5-mile (0.80 km) to Schwaben Redoubt. The battalion on the right captured the east end of Thiepval and the left hand battalion managed to get half-way through the west end of the village. A third battalion sent forward as a reinforcement, was severely bombarded by German artillery as it moved forward and the survivors dug in with the leading battalions, just ahead of the village on the right; the attack on Schwaben Redoubt was postponed.

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    Aerial Photo of Schwaben Redoubt

    On 28 September, the 53rd Brigade formed up for the attack, on tapes facing north-west from Zollern Trench, the left-hand battalion to capture the redoubt. The advance began at 1:00 p.m. and captured Bulgar Trench easily. The Midway Line held out longer but the area east of redoubt was approached by 2:30 p.m. On the left, the 7th Queens advance on the redoubt, drifted to the left but managed to get into the southern face of the redoubt and take fifty prisoners. The battalion also managed to take the south-west corner, then attempted to attack to the north but was stopped and established a barricade. By 5:00 p.m., all of the south face had been captured and the troops were ordered to dig in. The capture of the south face of Schwaben Redoubt was observed by the crews of RFC contact patrols and artillery observation aircraft directed artillery-fire, which destroyed 16 gun pits, damaged fifteen and destroyed nine ammunition pits. Poor weather restricted flying on 29 September but the next day was bright and low-flying sorties discovered that most of the Schwaben Redoubt had been capture

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    Stretcher bearers at Thiepval

    French advance and make progress between Fregicourt and Morval.

    Tunstills Men Thursday 28th September 1916:


    Peake Wood


    Another fine, though dull, day which passed quietly, disturbed only by the usual aeroplane activity.
    As requested a few days earlier (see 26th September), Lt. Col. Sidney Spencer Hayne (see passim), commanding 10DWR, forwarded the medal ribbon of the DSO due to 2Lt. Bob Perks to his father’s address in England, where Perks was currently recovering from his wounds. Hayne added simply, “the best congratulations of all Officers, 10th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment”.
    (I am greatly indebted to Janet Hudson for her kind permission to quote from Bob Perks’ correspondence).
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    Lt.Col. S.S. Hayne

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    2Lt. Bob Perks, DSO
    Image by kind permission of Janet Hudson


    Ernest Cyril Coke (see 28th August), who had been wounded in the actions around Munster Alley, losing the tip of the middle finger of his left hand, was declared fit for ‘light duty’ and joined 3DWR at North Shields.

    Naval Operations:

    Shipping Losses: 6


    Political:

    Austia-Hungary: German Ambassador describes economic climate as ‘simply wretched’, Bethmann forwards to Kaiser on September 30th.
    Foreign Minister Burian submits peace proposals to Francis Josephs ‘most sympathetic attention’.

    Britain:
    Asquith pledges not to recruit skilled workers. Board of Trade organizes overland delivery of Italian fruit and vegetables.

    Munitions holiday (until October 1st) replaces postponed Whitsuntide and August holidays.

    Churchill appears before Dardenelles Commision.

    Tory Morning Post tells Lloyd George to stick his desk in Whitehall.

    Crete:
    Proclamation by M. Venizelos in Crete.

    Anniversary Events:

    1916: Jasta 9,10,11,12,13,14,15 formed.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-28-2016 at 23:51.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  26. #1826

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    Friday 29th September 1916
    Today we lost: 766
    Today’s losses include:

    • Two battalion commanders
    • A holder of the Bronze Medal of the Humane Society for life saving
    • A member of the Marylebone Cricket Club
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • The grandson of an Admiral


    Air Operations:


    Royal Flying Corps lose 1,195 aircraft and 415 casualties (all causes) since June 12th.
    (Royal Flying Corps receive 1,725 replacement aircraft during same period.)

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 2


    Sergeant Jones, T
    ., 18 Squadron RFC. Died of Wounds 29 September 1916 at Cambrai Hospital as a Prisoner of War. Wounded & Taken Prisoner 22 September 1918, he was Pilot of F.E. 2b 6927, and was accompanied by 2nd Lieut. F A A Hewson on Escorting Patrol near Bapaume-Peronne Road w.

    Captain Shives, R.K. (Robert Kilgour),
    5 Squadron, RFC. Accidentally Killed in Norfolk 29 September 1916

    Claims: 1

    Lt Julien Anatole Guertiau
    claims his 1st confirmed kill. Flying a C43 he shot down an enemy aircraft. Guertiau joined the army in 1907. When war broke out, he was recalled to serve with 7e Regiment de Hussards before transferring to aviation on 4 November 1915. He received his Pilot's Brevet on 20 March 1916 and was assigned to Escadrille C43 on 23 June 1916. Having scored 4 victories as a two-seater pilot, he received additional training on fighters and joined Spa97 on 6 December 1917.

    Western Front


    Somme:


    British capture strongly fortified Destremont Farm, south west of Le Sars (on road to Bapaume).

    Colonel H Elles, aged 36, appointed to command British Tank Force.


    Haig orders offensive for October 12th.


    Tunstills Men Friday 29th September 1916:


    Peake Wood


    The weather turned much colder with heavy showers and mist. Another working party, this time of 100 men, was again employed on road repairs. There was a protracted British artillery bombardment, lasting for much of the day and into the night.


    Sgt. Norman Roberts (see 20th September) was presented with the ribbon of the Military Medal, which he had been awarded for his actions in ten days earlier.

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    Sgt. Norman Roberts

    Pte. Joseph Harry Poole (see 7th February) who had been serving with 11DWR since being sent back to England due to illness in January, was formally discharged from the army.
    Eastern Front:

    Transylvania: Battle of Praid-Sovata (until October 3rd). 2nd Army launches last Romanian offensive.

    Naval Operations:


    German East Africa:
    Portuguese occupy Bay of Menasi.

    Shipping Losses: 6


    Political:


    Turkey:
    Herr von Kuhlmann, German Minister at the Hague, is appointed ambassador to Turkey.

    Greece:
    Provisional Government announced by M. Venizelos and Admiral Condouriotis.

    Anniversary Events:

    1197 Emperor Henry VI dies in Messina, Sicily.
    1399 Richard II of England is deposed. His cousin, Henry of Lancaster, declares himself king under the name Henry IV.
    1493 Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his second voyage to the new world.
    1513 Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean.
    1789 Congress votes to create a U.S. army.
    1833 A civil war breaks out in Spain between Carlists, who believe Don Carlos deserves the throne, and supporters of Queen Isabella.
    1850 Mormon leader Brigham Young is named the first governor of the Utah Territory.
    1864 Union troops capture the Confederate Fort Harrison, outside Petersburg, Virginia.
    1879 Dissatisfied Ute Indians kill Agent Nathan Meeker and nine others in the “Meeker Massacre.”
    See you on the Dark Side......

  27. #1827

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    Saturday 30th September 1916

    Today we lost: 962


    Today’s losses include:


    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War


    Air Operations:


    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 5


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    Clarkson, A. (Albert), 11 Squadron, RFC. Killed in Action 30 September 1916 aged 22. Escorting bombers, in combat south east of Bapaume 10.45am. Shot down in flames by Ltn Manfred von Richthofen , Jasta 2, 10.50am over Fremicount [His third victory].

    Jackson, W.M, Base Depot, RFC aged 20.

    2Lt King, C.H.M. (Cyril Henry Marshall), 60 Squadron, RFC, killed in action aged 23.

    Lt Lansdale, E.C. (Ernest Conway), 11 Squadron RFC. Died was Prisoner of War 30 September 1916 in German hands, aged 21. Escorting bombers, in combat south east of Bapaume 10.45am. Shot down in flames by Ltn Manfred von Richthofen , Jasta 2, 10.50am over Fremicount [His third victory]. (See Clarkson above).

    A Mech 2 Warey, C.S. (Charles Stuart), RFC, aged 30.


    Claims: 11

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    Roderic Stanley "Bréguet" Dallas claims his 6th confirmed kill. Flying a Sopwith Triplane fro 1 Naval Wing he shot down a D type south west of St Pierre Capelle. Dallas joined the Australian army in 1913. When war broke out, he applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps but was rejected. Instead, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915. Flying Nieuport Scouts, Sopwith Triplanes and Sopwith Camels,

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    Alan Duncan Bell-Irving claims his 4th & 5th confimrmed kills. Flying a Nieuport 17 for 60 Squadron, RFC. He shot down 2 Roland C types near Villers au Flos. The third son of Henry Ogle Bell-Irving of Vancouver, British Columbia, Alan Duncan Bell-Irving transferred to the Royal Flying Corps from the Gordon Highlanders. While serving as an observer with 7 Squadron in 1915, he was shot down in September and was wounded in action in December. He recovered and received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2664 on a Maurice Farman biplane at military school, Farnborough on 31 March 1916. Posted to 60 Squadron in May 1916.

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    Albert Ball claims his 29th, 30th & 31st confirmed kills. Flying a NIeuport 17 for 60 Squadron RFC. He shot down 3 Roland C types near Velu, Graincourt and Cambrai.

    Stanley Cockerell
    claims his 2nd confirmed kill. Flying a DH2 for 24 Squadron RFC. He shot down an Albatros DI near Grevillers. Stanley Cockerell received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 3271 on 21 July 1916. While serving with 24 Squadron,

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    William George Sellar "Growler" Curphey claims his 3rd confirmed kill. Flying a DH2 for 32 Squadron RFC. He shot down a C type near Grevillers.

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    Harold Thomas Mellings claims his 1st confirmed kill. Flying a Bristol Scout for 2 Naval Wing he shot down a LVG C type near Chakli, Smyrna.

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    Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen claims his 3rd confirmed kill. Flying an Albatro DII for Jasta 2 he shot down an FE2b near Lagnicourt. The most famous ace of the war, Manfred von Richthofen briefly served in the trenches before transferring to the German Air Force in 1916. Oswald Boelcke’s star pupil was a fast learner and achieved immediate success. A month after receiving his first Albatros, Richthofen had six victories against Allied aircraft. As his reputation grew, the "Red Knight of Germany" painted the fuselage of his Albatros bright red to flaunt his prowess in the air.

    Werner Wagener
    claims his 1st confirmed kill. Flying an Eindecker for Kasta 38 he shot down a Farman F40 near Svogie, north of Sofia.

    Western Front


    Somme:

    Thiepval Ridge (except for part of Scwaben Redoubt) all occupied.
    Advance south of Eaucourt l’Abbaye.

    Tunstills Men Saturday 30th September 1916:


    Peake Wood


    Although the weather remained cold, there was no rain. Orders were received for the Battalion to move forward to Gourlay Trench, east of Pozieres, next morning.
    In another letter home to his wife, Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert (see passim) gave an indication that he clearly expected vigorous action for his Brigade over the coming days:
    “We shall probably shift again to quieter but rather less healthy scenes again soon but of course I do not know and could not say if I did. Anyway I anticipate a very strenuous few days before then in which anything may of course happen”.
    (I am greatly indebted to Juliet Lambert for her generosity in allowing me to reproduce the letters here).
    The weekly edition of the Keighley News carried a report regarding Pte. Arnold Wakeling (see 22nd July) who had been wounded in early July and also about his younger brother who was also in hospital; Clifford had been serving with 2DW:

    Private Arnold Wakeling, of the West Riding Regiment, brother of Lance Corporal Wakeling, was wounded in the thigh in the Somme fighting, and after treatment in a Glasgow hospital was removed to the Broomhills Convalescent Home, Dumfries.

    Lance Corporal Clifford Wakeling, of the West Riding Regiment, son of ex-Police Constable John Wakeling, of Keighley, is in the Queen Mary Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancashire, suffering from shell shock. Lance Corporal Wakeling, who was wounded at the Dardanelles in August 1915, led his section over the top in one of the recent advances.

    69th Brigade War Diary recorded casualties for the Brigade for the month of September:

    Killed 1 officer and 52 other ranks
    Accidentally killed 0
    Died of wounds 1 officer and 1 other rank
    Wounded 8 officers and 185 other ranks
    Accidentally wounded 1 officer and 7 other ranks
    Missing 19 other ranks

    10DWR’s casualties were recorded as:
    Killed 3 other ranks
    Accidentally killed 0
    Died of wounds 1 other rank
    Wounded 23 other ranks
    Accidentally wounded 2 other ranks
    Missing 0
    These official casualty figures do not take account of the deaths of Ptes. Collinson (see 6th September) or Foster (see 21st September), both of whom died after being evacuated from the Battalion having been wounded in action.
    The official cumulative casualty figures for the Battalion since arriving in France were now:
    Killed 100
    Accidentally killed 4
    Died of wounds 7
    Wounded 515
    Accidentally wounded 47
    Missing 74

    Eastern Front:

    Transylvania: Falkenhayn attacks the Roter Turm Pass.

    Romanian 1st Army retreats over Fogaras Mts.

    Galicia:Great battle near Zlota Lipa and Brzezany commences.

    Russians advance in Brody region,

    Southern Front:


    British cross Struma River at Orliak and capture villages along left bank.

    Towards Florina, Serbs capture Mt. Kaymakchlan (25 miles east south east of Monastir).

    Naval Operations:


    Shipping Losses: 7


    Political:


    Crete:
    M. Venizelos, Admiral Condouritis and Generl Danglis form Provisional Government in Crete.

    Anniversary Events:

    1399 Richard II is deposed.
    1568 Eric XIV, king of Sweden, is deposed after showing signs of madness.
    1630 John Billington, one of the original pilgrims who sailed to the New World on the Mayflower, becomes the first man executed in the English colonies. He is hanged for having shot another man during a quarrel
    1703 The French, at Hochstadt in the War of the Spanish Succession, suffer only 1,000 casualties to the 11,000 of their opponents, the Austrians of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.
    1791 Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is performed for the first time in Vienna
    1846 The first anesthetized tooth extraction is performed by Dr. William Morton in Charleston, Massachusetts.
    1864 Confederate troops fail to retake Fort Harrison from the Union forces during the Seige of Petersburg.
    1911 Italy declares war on Turkey over control of Tripoli.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-02-2016 at 15:23.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  28. #1828

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    Thanks again for the Great read.

  29. #1829

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    Nice one neil. Did the pigeon get eaten? I can imagine that pigeon pie would go down very well with some of the lads in the trenches!
    PS Try to steer clear of unstable sofas.

  30. #1830

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    1st October 1916

    Well day one of our Doncaster gathering comes to a close and your editor has had to make his excuses and get back to the office (leaving in such a rush I appear to have left my Bristol's behind)....

    There was just the one RFC loss on this day - 2nd Lieutenant John Hampson Dodgshon from the Central Flying School, Upavon, Wiltshire. he crashed and was killed whilst training. Son of Rose Hooper (formerly Dodgshon), of The Cottage, 99, St. James's Rd., Wandsworth Common, London, and the late Edmund Dodgshon. Instructor at Central Flying School, Upavon. Grave Ref. 7.

    There were three aces claiming kills on this day - chalking up kill number 30 (making him the leading ace of the war at that time) we have Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke

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    At the other end of the scale, claiming his first aerial combat victory we have - Leutnant Alfred Ulmer of Jasta 8 who shot down a balloon on this day. Ulmer joined Jasta 8 on 10 September 1916. On 5 February 1917, he was badly wounded in a fight over Dranoutre when he was shot down by a Nieuport XII belonging to 46 Squadron. Recovering from his wounds, he returned to duty but was killed in a fight with 20 Squadron when his Albatros D.V was shot down in flames by Harold Joslyn and Frank Potter in an F.E.2d.

    Major Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones
    32 Squadron RFC - Flying DH.2 A2533 he shot down a 'C' over Bihaucourt...

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    Before he was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps on 22 July 1916, Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones served with the 4th Battalion of the Welsh Regiment. Captain Jones received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2747 on the Caudron biplane at Beatty School, Hendon on 16 April 1916. He scored 7 victories flying the D.H.2 with 32 Squadron. He was shot down but uninjured whilst flying D.H.2 (A2533) on 1 October 1916. He was wounded in action on 15 February 1917 whilst flying D.H.2 (A2535). Wounded again on 21 March 1917, he was shot down near Roupy whilst flying Nieuport 17 (A305) with 40 Squadron. Jones then served at the Central Flying School until November 1918 when he assumed command of 19 Squadron until December 1919. Jones changed his name to Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones Penderel on 18 October 1928. Group Captain Penderel was killed on active service in May 1943.

    MORE ZEPPELIN RAIDS

    On 1st October eleven navy Zeppelins set out for England but four turned back early.

    Heinrich Mathy, commanding L.31, arrived over the Suffolk coast at Corton, north of Lowestoft at about 8.00pm and followed a south-west course towards his intended target: London. Having passed Chelmsford, at 9.45pm the searchlight at Kelvedon Hatch held L.31 causing Mathy to turn northwards and follow a course that would take him around the northern outskirts of London. At 11.10pm L.31 was over Hertford where Mathy shut off his engines, hoping to drift silently with the wind over London’s outer gun defences, but 20 minutes later he had only reached Ware so restarted the engines. He headed south but at 11.40pm the AA guns at Newmans and Temple House near Waltham Abbey opened a heavy fire to which Mathy replied by dropping 30 HE and 26 incendiaries over Cheshunt. The first 11 bombs landed in gardens along Turners Hill, the second batch of seven fell just north of the junction of College Road and Aldbury Walk, with 20 dropping along the line of Aldbury Walk. Of the final batch, 11 landed on the Recreation Ground (wrecking the pavilion and injuring a pony that had to be slaughtered) and six on large greenhouses at the Walnut Tree Nursery, between there and Cheshunt Hall. Flying glass injured a woman and the bombs seriously damaged four houses, caused slight damage to 343 more, and smashed acres of glass in large horticultural greenhouses. To escape the Waltham Abbey defences Mathy headed west, following a zig-zag course, dropping one more HE bomb at Great Wood near Potters Bar, which smashed some cottage windows and broke ceilings. At the same time four pilots of No.39 Squadron, attracted by the gunfire, were closing in. The first to reach L.31, 2nd Lieut. Wulstan Tempest flying a BE2c, found her at 12,700 feet. Three bursts from his Lewis gun were enough to seal the fate of Heinrich Mathy and the crew of L.31. Flames quickly took hold and the burning raider crashed to the ground at Potters Bar, just a few miles from Cuffley where the first airship had been shot down just a month earlier. There were no survivors; Germany had lost four airships and four experienced crews in just a month since the introduction of explosive and incendiary ammunition.

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    At altitude, it was very cold. In the control gondola, slung beneath the enormous envelope of the ship, silence and darkness were always insisted upon while over enemy territory. Crewmen quietly went about their tasks. Mathy and his officers busied themselves with ground observation or monitored the running of the ship, reading the glow from the radium-coated instruments. Below, and still many miles away, only a slight breeze plucked at the yellowing autumn leaves of the old oak tree in Oakmere Park.

    L31 had crossed the North Sea without difficulty and had passed over the English coast near Lowestoft. Eleven ships had left their bases for the raid, but squally weather had blown some of them off course. Others, their envelopes encrusted with ice, were making very slow progress. Mathy, however, with his usual skill and luck, had brought L31 through these difficulties and set a solitary course for London. At about 8.00 p.m., though, L31 was caught in the beams of searchlights. Normally, Mathy would have simply ploughed on through, relying on the speed of the ship to stay ahead of any threats. But on this occasion he slowed down. Who can say why? Perhaps his extreme self-confidence had begun to desert him. Whatever Mathy may have been thinking, he seems to have taken the decision to abandon his raid on London, for, he dropped most of his bombs to lighten the ship. Thirty high-explosive and twenty-six incendiary bombs thus fell upon Cheshunt. There was only one casualty, a woman who was injured, but not fatally. However, Mathy's bombs damaged more than three hundred houses and shattered the panes in many glass-houses. L31 then made off towards the west, still pinpointed by the beams of several searchlights and now being fired upon by anti-aircraft batteries.

    At about 11.45 p.m. Second Lieutenant Wulstan J. Tempest was approximately two hours into his patrol. A large portion of this time had been spent in climbing to bring his BE2c plane to its patrolling height of about 14,500 feet - over two and a half miles high. From this height he saw several of the searchlights to the North of London - about fifteen miles away - converge upon one distant, silvery, cigar-shaped object. Tempest, of course, knew exactly what he was looking at, and headed towards the Zeppelin at top speed. He was not the only part of London's air-defence to have been jolted into action that night - by the time he got closer to the Zeppelin he found himself flying though large amounts of anti-aircraft fire as more and more batteries began firing at the airship.

    Tempest closed with the airship and dived at it, firing a burst from his machine-gun as he approached, and another burst into the underside of the L31 as he passed below. His gun was loaded with a mixture of tracer, incendiary and ordinary ammunition, so he could see that he was hitting his target, but nothing happened. Tempest got unto position under the tail of the ship and fired a long burst as he flew along its length. He saw the envelope begin to glow from the inside like "a giant chinese-lantern" and then flames began to spurt out of the forward end and almost at once, it seemed, the Zeppelin began to fall. The spectacle of the Zeppelin caught so dramatically in the searchlight beams had attracted tens of thousands of people over a wide area. Because of the height involved, the people were able to see it from many miles away. As the tiny jet of flame spread to engulf the ship, an enormous, exultant roar burst forth from the throats of the watchers. At least one photograph was taken. Of course, no-one could see Tempest's tiny black-painted plane, which was diving as fast as he could make it, trying to get out of the way of the flaming Zeppelin, which roared down directly above him, threatening to engulf him. Tempest managed to spin out of the ship's line of descent, and flew back to his base where he almost crashed on landing.

    It was time for Mathy and for each member of his crew to come to a personal decision. The awful moment they had dreaded had arrived. They must have spent many sleepless hours formulating their answers to the Last Question - "Burn or jump - what will you do?" Now each man had to decide, and quickly.

    Mathy chose to jump. He wrapped a thick scarf (a present from his wife) around his head and leaped from the gondola, falling to earth a little way from the ship, which crashed with an indescribable roar onto the "Zeppelin Oak." The hissing of burning gas was combined with the wrenching sound of the aluminium framework, the splintering of branches and seconds later, as the burning wreckage settled, the rattling detonations of the Zeppelin's ammunition and the explosions of its fuel tanks. But Mathy heard none of this. He is sometimes said to have lived for a minute or two after the crash, but this must be no more than myth, Mathy's reputation investing him with some kind of legendary super-human strength. No-one could have known the truth of this. The fact is for some time, no-one could come anywhere near the wreck, because of the heat and the explosions. There were other dangers, too. A policeman hurrying across the fields was horrified to see one of the L31's huge propellers cartwheeling madly, coming straight towards him at colossal speed. He dived to one side, watched the propeller demolish a hay-rick and sensibly decided to wait until things had quietened down just a little before going any closer. When Mathy was eventually found, embedded some inches into the soft earth, he was certainly dead. No-one survived the crash.

    It was not long before a degree of organisation came to the chaos of the crash-site. The fire-brigade arrived and began moving the bodies of the crew into a barn for the time being. Next morning, huge numbers of sightseers descended on Potters Bar but the Army had got there first, placing a cordon of soldiers around the whole area so that no-one could get too close. The owner of the field in which the wreckage lay got permission from the local army commander to charge a shilling a head to allow visitors to enter his land for the best view, the proceeds being promised to the Red Cross after deductions to put right the damage to his land. One of his customers that morning was Wulstan Tempest, who would certainly have been allowed in gratis if he had revelaled his identity, but who quietly paid his shilling to see the results of his efforts of the previous night.

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    The bodies of Mathy and his comrades were buried in the local churchyard, the second airship crew to be buried there, for an Army airship, the SL11 - the first airship to be shot down - had crashed not far away in September. There were many visitors to the grave immediately afterwards, of course, as Mathy and the manner in which he died made this little part of Potters Bar a magnet for the curious, but after the war, few people came. Mathy's wife, however, visited the grave on at least two occasions. Her first visit took place in 1926 when she was dismayed to find the graves rather neglected. The original wooden crosses had decayed considerably and Frau Mathy was upset to see that a kind of wooden screen had been erected, separating the Zeppelin graves from the rest of the civilian graves in the churchyard. She complained to the German Embassy who reacted quickly, erecting individual headstones and planting shrubs. She then left, not to return again for more than 50 years.

    Meanwhile...

    L.24, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Robert Koch, crossed the Norfolk coast at 10.15pm near Weybourne, west of Sherringham. Koch took a course towards Cambridge, evidently intent on attacking London, but at midnight as he reached Waterbeach, just north of Cambridge, he saw the flames of L.31 illuminating the sky. Koch flew westwards for 25 minutes then resumed his original south-west course until he reached Shefford, Hertfordshire, at 1.05am. From there Koch saw lights to the south-east and steered towards them. The lights were flares burning at a night landing airfield at the village of Willian, east of Hitchin. At 1.14am L.24 arrived over Willian and dropped ten HE bombs of which nine detonated on the landing field and one fell in a boundary hedge. The bombs killed Private Hawkes of No.56 Company, Royal Defence Corps, who was in charge of the flares. Koch continued dropping bombs (another 18 HE and 26 incendiary) along a line about two and a half miles long in open country, ending near Tilekiln Farm, just south of the village of Weston. Koch reported that he dropped his bombs across Stoke Newington and Hackney in London. L.24 now turned for home, eventually crossing the coast at Kessingland, south of Lowestoft, at 2.35am

    Tunstill's Men : On a fine, sunny morning XV Corps, III Corps and the Canadian Corps began attacking along a four mile front line from north of Flers in the East to north of Courcellette in the West, in what became known as the Battle of Transloy Ridge. At the heart of the attack was the heavily-defended village of Le Sars, which would become the site of fierce fighting for Tunstill’s Men.

    On the first day of the attack New Zealand troops of XV Corps on the right flank advanced, taking the German positions north of Flers. To their left was the front entrusted to III Corps. In fierce fighting troops of 47th Division failed to occupy Eaucourt l’Abbaye but further left elements of 50th Division did make progress, occupying the old German frontline (known to the British as the Flers Line). The extreme left of III Corps’ front, opposite Le Sars itself, was the responsibility of 23rd Division; here too there was progress. To the east of the main Albert-Bapaume road 70th Brigade occupied both the old German front- and second lines (Flers and Flers Support), but west of the road they gained only the frontline. Some patrols did enter Le Sars itself but were soon driven back by the Germans. West of III Corps’ front the Canadian Corps attacked on the afternoon of 1st October and advanced the front line by some 400 yards to straighten the line, joining up with 23rd Division by doing so. Further west the Canadians encountered stiff German resistance and their progress was more limited.

    Meanwhile, on a fine morning, the Battalion had left their billets in Peake Wood to move forward to the support positions in Gourlay Trench, east of Pozieres. An advance party of one NCO from HQ and 21 NCO's per Company, led by 2nd Lieutenant John Payne (see 10th September) departed from Peake Wood at 7.30am. At 9 am the remainder of the Battalion set off, headed by ‘A’ Company, with a distance of 200 yards between platoons and a 20 minute gap between Companies. The men wore their steel helmets and carried full packs. It seems to have around this date that Sgt. Norman Roberts (see 29th September), in anticipation of a return to the front line, wrote home to his father. He gave him news of his recent award of the Military Medal, and added his general thoughts on current conditions and future prospects:

    “I have been awarded the Military Medal, the ribbon of which the General pinned on my tunic on Friday afternoon. A day or two ago, I, along with a comrade, had a very remarkable escape. A huge shell came over and made a crater on the other side of us. Of course, we were partly buried and what a feeling we had! By the time you receive this I expect we shall have been through ‘the mill’ again, for the ‘heads’ don’t mean to let Fritz rest. I haven’t seen a ‘tank’ yet, but I am sure to do so before long. I have seen plenty of air duels, but most of them were when we came out here at first. On one occasion our men forced one of their machines to descend behind our lines. A few of our chaps made a rush for him (the machine) but Fritz turned on his machine gun and then some more Tommies turned up with rifles and the game of life was over for those two (the two Germans). Now of course they (the Germans) are licked in the air. I reckon most of the pictures you saw were ‘made up’, but a few days ago I saw a camera man out here in the trenches. He ‘took’ some of our Battalion whilst they were carrying bombs up to the line. I am really writing under difficulties as I cannot stand up or sit down in my present abode, and my supply of candles has run out. The weather has been variable of late; one day it rains like …… and the next perhaps the grateful sun comes out and smiles and dries out clothes. A Jack knife is the chief implement used to get the mud off one’s clothes and of course Tommy spends many an hour examining his shirt – probably to find the maker’s name. Fritz is a lazy …. And they look it, most of them. It would never do for parents to see their boys after a day or two in the front line trenches, especially after it has been wet and they have been bumped about a bit. I am glad you are still an optimist, for I think this war will not be won by an assault of arms. We are no doubt licking them, but at what a price! I think the war will go on for another winter”.

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    On this day we lost 1460 Men...

    The steamship Vanellus strikes a mine in Havre Roads, and the vessel, which is laden with petrol, immediately bursts into flames. Owing to the rapid spread of flames it is impossible to clear away the boats, and most of the crew jump overboard. Three lives are lost. Although the engine-room telegraph is broken by the explosion Third Engineer Joseph Conolly remains at his post in the engine-room until everyone else had left the ship. He keeps the engines working astern, and thus makes it possible for a lifeboat to be lowered on the port side, and by this means a number of lives are saved. Before finally leaving the ship he again goes below and stops the engines. Mr. Conolly is badly burned in rendering the services. For his actions on this day he will be awarded the Albert Medal.

    CQMS Frank Stanley Bonathan (Middlesex Regiment) renders valuable assistance in organizing a minor operation and controlling ‘Grid’ Trench near Flers when under intense fire. For his efforts Sergeant Bonathan will be awarded the Military Cross. He will be killed in action on 28th April 1917.

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    Sergeant Donald Forrester Brown VC (Otago Regiment) is killed at age 26. He was awarded his Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery and determination in an attack south-east of High Wood, France on 15th September of this year when the company to which he belonged had suffered very heavy casualties in officers and men from machine gun fire. At great personal risk this NCO advanced with a comrade and succeeded in reaching a point within 30 yards of the enemy guns. Four of the gun crew are killed and the gun captured. The advance of the company was continued until it was again held up by machine gun fire. Again Sergeant Brown and his comrade, with great gallantry, rushed the gun and killed the crew. After this second position had been won, the company came under very heavy shell fire, and the utter contempt for danger and coolness under fire of this NCO did much to keep up the spirit of his men. On a subsequent attack Sergeant Brown showed most conspicuous gallantry. He attacked, single handed, a machine gun which was holding up the attack, killed the gun crew, and captured the gun.

    Western Front
    Germany: In October German Army now has 205 divisions (198 in September), 128 in the West.
    Battle of the Somme – Battle of the Transloy Ridges (until October 18): British Fourth Army advance with 5 Tank Mk I between Eaucourt and Le Sars (on Albert-Bapaume road) on 3000-yards front.
    Battle of the Ancre Heights (until November 11) begun by Fifth Army with 4 Tank Mk Is.

    Eastern Front
    Transylvania – Battle of Petrosani (until October 3): Rumanians retreat to frontier. Falkenhayn put in command of Austrian first Army (Arz) as well.

    Middle East
    Armenia: In October Turk Third Army (reformed into 6 divisions of I and II Caucasian Corps) has 50,000 deserters till heavy snow forces many back for food. Kemal takes over Second Army which loses 2 divisions to Mesopotamia and 3 more dissolved. Turks muster only c. 94,000 yet Russians estimate 344,000 so Yudenich overmans winter lines.

    African Fronts
    East Africa: British begin to evacuate 12,000-15,000 malaria cases (until October 31). Over 12,000 South African soldiers sent home.

    Sea War
    Mediterranean: Kaiser telegram con*gratulates U-boats on sinking over 1 mt.
    Germany: In October 119 U-boats in service, 96 available for operations. Flanders new longer-ranged coastal submarines UBII-type sink 298 ships (104 neutral) worth 289,558t (until January 31, 1917) esp British colliers supplying French industry (39% reduction of delivery). UCII minelayers lay 128 new minefields (953 mines) that sink 60 (13 neutral) ships worth 82,379t between Flamborough Head (British East Coast) and Gironde estuary (Southwest France).

    Secret War
    Western Mediterranean: U35 fetches German agent Lt Canaris from sailing boat off Cartagena for return to Germany from Spain; she sinks new British-built French sloop Rigel off Algiers (October 2).

    Air War
    Britain: 7 of 11 Zeppelins drop 201 bombs (57 on London), 2 civilian casualties. Second Lieutenant WJ Tempest in BE2 of No 39 Squadron RFC shoots down Navy airship L31 (Mathy) at Potters Bar, north of London, 19 dead, no survivors (night October 1-2).

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  31. #1831

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  32. #1832

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    Nice read thanks for your time and effort.

  33. #1833

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    Post 1827...pigeon arrived at last; post amended accordingly.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  34. #1834

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    Monday 2nd October 1916
    Today we lost: 861
    Today’s losses include:

    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • The son of a member of the clergy
    • The son-in-law of a member of the clergy
    • A former Chaplain
    • A man whose brother was killed in the South Africa War
    • A man shot at dawn


    Air Operations:


    Zeppelin Raid continues:

    Zeppelin L.34, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Max Dietrich, was on her first raid over England and came inland near Cromer on the Norfolk coast at 9.42pm. Dietrich steered to the south-west until, at 11.20pm, south of Peterborough he took a westerly line. At midnight, as he approached Corby, a searchlight caught L.34 and two 6-pdr AA guns fired off eight rounds. Presuming the guns must be guarding a worthwhile target, Dietrich began dropping a line of 17 HE bombs as he passed over Kirby Hall, between there and the mouth of the Corby railway tunnel. The only damage caused by these bombs was a broken railway telegraph wire. It seemed certain that L.34’s next bombs would land close to the AA guns, but at that crucial moment Dietrich turned away onto a north-east course, dropping 13 incendiaries in fields either side of the Rockingham to Gretton road where they caused no damage. Dietrich then took L.34 on a direct route back across eastern England, reaching the sea at 1.40am between Sea Palling and Horsey on the north-east Norfolk coast.

    Oberleurnant-zur-See Kurt Frankenburg brought L.21 inland at Weybourne, near Sherringham on the north Norfolk coast, at 9.20pm. The weather was bad, limiting visibility for much of the time. Frankenburg flew westwards at first, dropping two incendiaries harmlessly at
    Heacham (one failed to ignite) before reaching the coastline of The Wash. He followed the coast around to Lincolnshire, reaching Kirton, south of Boston, at 10.45pm. From there L.21 followed a south-westerly course and, at 11.20pm, dropped an incendiary at the village of Kirkby Underwood. At midnight she was at Oakham from where the crew saw L.31 burst into flames in the distance. Frankenburg turned for home. At 12.30am an HE bomb released over the fenland village of South Kyme killed a sheep after which L.21 followed a direct line across Lincolnshire to the coast, reaching it at Donna Nook at 1.10am.

    L.16, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Erich Sommerfeldt, reached the Lincolnshire coast at
    Theddlethorpe, north of Mablethorpe, at about midnight where she dropped a single HE bomb. Sommerfeldt headed south and at 12.45am dropped an incendiary at Huttoft followed, five minutes later, by an HE at Willoughby. Neither caused any damage. L.16 continued heading south until she reached Wainfleet at 1.10am, at which point she steered west as far as the hamlet of Westville where she changed her heading again, to the north-east, dropping three HE bombs between there and Stickford. Five minutes later two incendiary bombs fell at East Kirkby, followed at 1.20am by four HE and two incendiaries at Hameringham. The only damage caused was at the latter place where the bombs killed a cow and injured two horses. Sommerfeldt’s penultimate bomb, an HE, fell at Scrafield, with the final bomb, an incendiary, landing at Fulletby at 1.30am, neither causing any damage. L.21 then returned to the coast, which she reached at 2.00am near Wainfleet.

    Hauptmann Kuno Manger brought L.14 in over the Lincolnshire coast at Friskney, north of Boston, at 12.45am, however she remained in the proximity of Boston for some time, only passing Coningsby at 2.20am, just 15 miles inland. Ten minutes later L.14 dropped five HE bombs and seven incendiaries over
    Blankney Dales followed a few minutes later by an HE bomb that fell at Kirkstead. The only damage caused by these 13 bombs was a broken window at the latter place. Just over two miles to the north, Manger then released 11 HE bombs over the village of Stixwould. Five of these failed to detonate and although the others caused no structural damage, they did kill a horse and three sheep. Another couple of miles on and an HE bomb landed harmlessly at Bucknall where L.14 changed on to a north-east course and, at 2.55am, dropped an incendiary at Horsington without effect. A broken window was the only result of four HE and two incendiaries bombs dropped five minutes later over Hemingby. Over the next few minutes L.21 continued to bombard this remote rural area; four HE bombs fell at Goulceby and another at Stenigot. At 3.10am Manger discharged his final bomb, an HE, which landed without harm in Burwell Woods south of Louth. Now just nine miles from the coast, L.14 went out to sea at Mablethorpe at 3.20am.

    Zeppelin L.17, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kraushaar, crossed the north Norfolk coast at Weybourne at 1.45am but appears to have experienced navigation problems. Following a course southwards, he reached Guestwick at 2.10am and Reepham ten minutes later. A change of course took L.17 to the east of East Dereham and Shipdham, reaching Hingham at 2.46am where she turned to the north-east and at 3.10am dropped an HE bomb at
    Marlingford and another moments later at Easton; neither caused any damage. Passing to the north of Norwich, L.17 was now heading back to the coast, which she reached at Caister at 3.35am. Records show that she jettisoned a number of bombs when back out over the sea.

    Rudolf Windisch
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    1 May 1916 brought a front line flying assignment with FA 62 on the Russian Front. On the night of 2/3 October 1916, he set out on what is arguably the first case of air-supported espionage. He landed behind Russian lines and dropped off Oberleutnant Maximilian von Cossel (1893-1967) near the Rowno to Brody rail line. Cossel destroyed a railroad bridge that was of strategic importance to the Russians. Windisch swooped in on the 3rd to pick Cossel up and carry him back to safety. This feat earned him the Prussian Order of the Crown (4th class with swords); the Kaiser himself presented it on 18 October 1916. Windisch would be the only pilot so honored.



    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 2


    Lt Jenkins, C.D.T. (Cyril Donald Thomas)
    , RFC, killed, while flying an Avro whcih lost speed on a banked turn casuing a nose dive, aged 20.

    Lt Miller, W.D. (Walter Douglas), 15 Squadron, RFC, missing - killed in action aged 24.

    Claims: There are no claims today.


    Western Front


    German 1st Army report recommends that Germany produce her own tanks.


    Haig tells President Poincare that Germans must not be given a moments peace.


    Somme:
    Rain 3mm. 57° - 45° a wet and misty day. The airmen could not fly in the conditions. The Germans counter-attacked in Eaucourt and the British failed to hold le Sars.

    Now that Thiepval had fallen, the Germans no longer had dominating positions over looking the valley of the River Ancre. The British attack, long since dormant in this area, was now renewed.

    A period of fighting in terrible weather in which the heavy, clinging, chalky Somme mud and the freezing, flooded battlefield became as formidable an enemy as the Germans. The British gradually pressed forward towards Le Transloy, still fighting against numerous counter-attacks, in an effort to have the front line on higher ground from which the offensive could be renewed in 1917.

    During the night of 1/2 October, the Germans were forced out of Flers Support on the 50th Division front, where the 1/6th and 1/9th DLI formed a flank guard on the right next to the 47th Division and defeated several German counter-attacks, with hand grenades and Stokes mortar fire. It began to rain at 11:00 a.m. and continued for the next two days.

    Weather breaks: ‘rain fell in torrents and the battle area became a sea of mud….men died from the effort of carrying verbal messages’ (official historian General Edmunds). Preparations for another great British attack are soon abandoned.


    Tunstills Men Monday 2nd October 1916:


    Support trenches east of Pozieres at Gourlay Trench


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    The day dawned wet and misty and fierce fighting continued around Eaucourt l’Abbaye but this objective would not be taken by 47th Division until early afternoon on 3rd. In front of Le Sars, 69th Brigade was ordered into the line to relieve 70th. Consequently, at 3.45 pm the Battalion moved off from Gourlay Trench to proceed to the front line to relieve 8th KOYLI. ‘A’ and ‘C’ Companies were to take up positions in the old German front line (OG1) (the Flers Line), astride the main road south of Le Sars; ‘B’ Company was positioned at Destremont Farm and Trench, just in rear, and ‘D’ Company and HQ in 26th Avenue, to the South-East.

    Handcarts for the Lewis Guns were to be left at the Chateau in Contalmaison before guides were met just east of Martinpuich. Each man carried two sandbags and 170 rounds of ammunition, wore his waterproof sheet and carried his greatcoat rolled on his back. ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ also took with them 200 bombs per Company. However conditions were very difficult for movement and the trenches very congested; so much so that the relief was not completed until just before daybreak on 3rd. The frontline and communication trenches were found to be in very poor condition, being mired in mud. To the right of the Battalion, 8th Yorks. relieved 11th Sherwood Foresters who had occupied Flers Line and Flers Support. Left of the Battalion the front was held by the Canadian Corps.

    Lt. **** Bolton (see 26th September) departed for England on seven days’ leave to England; it is unclear whether the other three officers who had retired to the transport lines with Bolton a week earlier also went on leave, but there is no sign that any of them participated in the actions of the following days.

    Major Lewis Ernest Buchanan (see 18th August) former 2IC of the Battalion, who had previously been declared unfit for general service and instructed to resign his commission, having lodged an appeal against that decision, appeared beore a medical board assembled in Londonderry (Buchanan had been back at his family home in nearby Omagh). Having considered his case the board found him fit for light duties and he was ordered to report to 15th Training Reserve Battalion, based at Brocton Camp. He would remain in England on light duties for the remainder of the war.

    Pte. Edwin Everingham Ison (see 6th August), 1st Battalion, West Yorkshires, was promoted (unpaid) Lance Corporal. He would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.

    Eastern Front:

    Carpathians: Brusilov offensive, 2 regiment of Siberian Corps twice refuse to attack (until Oct 3rd); 3 soldiers shot and 6 imprisoned. This is the first of 1 mutinies until January 13, 1917.

    Transylvania:
    Rumanian 1st army breaks through Rotenturm Pass taking 3,000 Bavarian prisoners and 13 guns.

    Rumania:
    Manoeuvre of Falmandra: Averescu crosses Danube against Mackensen’s rear, takes 13 guns but poor bridges, Austrian monitors and sudden flood force withdrawal until October 3rd.

    Southern Front:

    Italian Front:
    Alpini seize crests of Mt’s Colbricon & Costabella (over 6,000ft).

    Albania:
    Italians occupy Santa Quaranta on coast (until Oct 4th) and Premeti on October 9th.

    Salonika:
    Bulgar poet Dimcho Debelyanov killed, aged 29, in action with British between Dolno & Gorno villages.

    Naval Operations:

    Arctic:
    U43,U46 &U48 carry out 8 day operation against Allied shipping off North Cape and Murmansk coast, 14 ships sunk, 9 captured. (In summer 600 steamers – mainly British – have delivered 1 mt of coals and 1.5 mt of supplies to Russia). In response 3 RN submarines operate from Archangel/

    Shipping Losses: 17 (see above)


    Political:


    Greece:
    Further migration of Greek officers to Venizelos Provisional Government in Crete.


    Anniversary Events:

    1263 At Largs, King Alexander III of Scotland repels an amphibious invasion by King Haakon IV of Norway.
    1535 Having landed in Quebec a month ago, Jacques Cartier reaches a town, which he names Montreal.
    1862 An Army under Union General Joseph Hooker arrives in Bridgeport, Alabama to support the Union forces at Chattanooga. Chattanooga's Lookout Mountain provides a dramatic setting for the Civil War's battle above the clouds.
    1870 The papal states vote in favor of union with Italy. The capital is moved from Florence to Rome.
    1871 Morman leader Brigham Young, 70, is arrested for polygamy. He was later convicted, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction.
    1879 A dual alliance is formed between Austria and Germany, in which the two countries agree to come to the other's aid in the event of aggression.
    1909 Orville Wright sets an altitude record, flying at 1,600 feet. This exceeded Hubert Latham's previous record of 508 feet.
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    See you on the Dark Side......

  35. #1835

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    Tuesday 3rd October 1916
    Today we lost: 643

    Today’s losses include:
    • A Chaplain
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • The brother of a member of the team that will discover Tutankhamen’s tomb
    • An England Hockey International
    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • A man killed two days after his mother died
    • A man whose grandfather fought in the 1st Maori War
    • A man whose brother-in-law will be killed
    • The brother of a Baronet


    Air Operations:


    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: No losses today.



    Claims: No claims today.



    Western Front



    Occupied Territories:
    Governor-General Bissing decrees forced labour in Germany for Belgian unemployed; 15,000 deported by 24th; 50,000 by November 19th.


    Somme:


    Rain-trace. 70° - 50° rainy and misty day. The British recover Eaucourt L'Abbaye. In the afternoon Rawlinson made the first of two visits to local RFC Fighter Squadrons.

    Tunstills Men Tuesday 3rd October 1916:


    Front line trenches south of Le Sars
    The original plan had been for the attack on Le Sars to be pressed home immediately, in conjunction with an attack by 47th Division on the right on the Butte de Warlencourt. However, once established in the line it became clear that an immediate major operation would be impossible as “the trenches were very wet and heavy and practically no shelter or dugouts are available for troops”. The further deterioration in the weather, with steady rain making the ground impossible for any major operations, meant that the major attack was postponed until October 7th at the earliest.

    However, in preparation for the planned further advance, 10th Battalion was to make an attempt, at dawn on 4th October, to occupy the old German second line (known as OG2 or Flers Support) west of the main road in front of Le Sars as far as point M.15.d.0.6. This section was “thought to be only lightly or periodically held” by the Germans. The attack was to be conducted by three platoons from ‘A’ Company. Two bombing parties were to advance up saps from the front line and, at the same time, a platoon was to attack across the fifty yards or so of open ground between the two trench lines.

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    Pte. Albert Saville (see 24th September) who had been injured a few days earlier was evacuated to England from 1st General Hospital at Etaples and admitted to Chichester General Hospital. He had suffered a back injury when buried by a fall of earth following a shell explosion and it was reported that he, “complains of pain and tenderness in back, inability to stand erect or march and of general weakness”.

    Lt. Cecil Edward Merryweather (see 14th September) who was serving with 11DWR but was still being treated for injuries he had sustained on 5th July, appeared before a medical board at Brocton Camp. The board found that, “he complains of weakness in right thigh and inability for prolonged exertion. He has been sleeping badly and says he is very nervous”. They found unfit for general service for a further three months but fit to continue his home service with 11DWR.

    Enquiries continued regarding 2Lt Roland Herbert Wyndham Brinsley-Richards (see 26th September) who was officially reported ‘missing in action’ following the attack on Munster Alley. A statement was taken, at no.8 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne, from L.Cpl. T. Garbutt. Garbutt gave a very accurate physical description of Brinsley-Richards, “Very small, rather dark, clean-shaven, about 27”, and went on to describe what he understood had happened;

    “On Saturday night, July 29th, the Regiment on the right (sic.) of Contalmaison. 6, 7, 8 and 9 Platoons of B Company went over on a bombing raid with Lt. Brinsley-Richards and Lt. Hart. Enemy trenches about 100 yards off. Last seen of Lt. Brinsley-Richards was right up by enemy trench. He was seen to jump in and was fighting hand-to-hand with the enemy. Party had to leave him and retire. The other Lt., Lt. Hart, was wounded but got in all right”.

    Garbutt’s account, based it seems on reports from others, is slightly at odds with those given by some of the eye-witnesses from Brinsley-Richards’ own platoon. Garbutt was later transferred to the Durham Light Infantry


    Eastern Front:



    Transylvania: Battle of Kronstadt and the Geisterwald (until Oct 9th): Falkenhayn attacks Rumanian 2nd Army who are attacking near Fogaras and in the region of Roter Turm Pass.

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    Romanian 4th Army (left wing) are 12 miles south east of Mars Vasarhely and continue to advance.


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    Rumanian dead Kronstadt.



    Pripet: Brusilov Offensive continues, Russian 8th army gains ground west of Lutsk.


    Southern Front:


    Macedonia: Bulgars retreat to River Crna line, Nidje Planina to Krushograd (night Oct 2nd) after general Allied attack. British capture Yenikoi village east of Struma and hold against Bulgar attacks (Until Oct 4th), casualties 1,248 since September 30th; 1,375 Bulgars killed; 342 Prisoners taken.


    Naval Operations:



    Shipping Losses: 5




    Neutrals:


    Greece:
    Kalogeropoulos resigns, more officers leave to join Venizelos in Crete.


    Anniversary Events:


    1739 Russia signs a treaty with the Turks, ending a three-year conflict between the two countries.
    1776 Congress borrows five million dollars to halt the rapid depreciation of paper money in the colonies.
    1862 At the Battle of Corinth, in Mississippi, a Union army defeats the Confederates.
    1873 Captain Jack and three other Modoc Indians are hanged in Oregon for the murder of General Edward Canby.
    1876 John L. Routt, the Colorado Territory governor, is elected the first state governor of Colorado in the Centennial year of the U.S.
    1906 The first conference on wireless telegraphy in Berlin adopts SOS as warning signal.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  36. #1836

    Default

    Thanks for the good read. You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Skafloc again. You must wait until some one else posts some thing good.

  37. #1837

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    Wednesday 4th October 1916
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    Major Henry Kelly VC, MC & Bar (10 July 1887 – 18 July 1960). Kelly was born on 10 July 1887 in Collyhurst, Manchester. He was a temporarysecond lieutenant in the 10th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment. Henry Kelly was born to Charles Kelly of Dublin and Jane (née McGarry) of Manchester. He was left the oldest of 10 children after his father died in 1904. He was educated at St Patrick's School and Xaverian College, both in Manchester. After moving to King Street in Moston he was employed as a sorting clerk at the Newton Street sorting office and trained with the 'Manchester Royal Engineers territorial Regiment'. On 5 September 1914, aged 27, he enlisted into the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders as a Private. He transferred to the Manchester Regiment and became a Lance Corporal and two weeks later a Sergeant Major. He was commissioned as a second Lieutenant on 12 May 1915 into the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment (West Riding Regiment). On 29 October 1918 he was awarded the Victoria Cross and after being presented with his VC ribbon, by the corps commander on 11 September he was made a Temporary Lieutenant.
    Citation

    On 4 October 1916, when he was 29 years old, he performed an act of bravery at Le Sars, France for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Later he was also awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre and the French Mdaille Militaire.


    For most conspicuous bravery in an attack. He twice rallied his company under the heaviest fire, and finally led the only three available men into the enemy trench, and there remained bombing until two of them had become casualties and enemy reinforcements had arrived. He then carried his Company Sergeant Major, who had been wounded, back to our trenches, a distance of 70 yards, and subsequently three other soldiers. He set a fine example of gallantry and endurance.

    Today we lost: 727


    Today’s losses include:
    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • The son of a General
    • A cricket international


    Air Operations:



    Albert Ball posted back to the United Kingdom.


    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: No losses recorded for today.



    Claims: 2



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    Podporuchik Ivan Alexandrovich Orlov claims his 3rd confirmed kill flying a Nieuport 11 for 7th Fighter Detachment (IRAS). He shot down a 2 seater near Zlota-Lipca. . (Shared with Vasili Yanchenko).

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    Praporshik Vasili Ivanovich Yanchenko claims his 2nd confirmed kill flying a Nieuport 11 for 7th Fighter Detachment (IRAS). He shot down a 2 seater near Zlota-Lipca. (Shared with Ivan Orlov).

    Western Front



    Somme:



    Germans driven out of Eaucourt.



    German forces attack the British trenches near the Schwaben Redoubt, close to Thiepval. Grenades and flame-throwers are heavily involved. After the Germans are driven off the area suffers very heavy German artillery shelling and during that shelling


    French carry German line between Morval and St Perre Vaast wood.



    Rain 4mm. 66° - 52° overcast with a very wet morning, finer in the afternoon. The next operations are postponed for 48 hours by Rawlinson because of the poor weather. The roads and tracks are getting into a worse state each day because of the amount of recent rainfall.


    Tunstills Men Wednesday 4th October 1916:



    Front line trenches south of Le Sars


    At dawn, three platoons from ‘A’ Company began their advance against positions in the old German second line (OG2), also known to the British as Flers Support. The two bombing parties advanced up saps close to M.21.b.2.9, just west of the Bapaume road and initially the bombing parties made good progress up the saps which were little more than three feet deep. L. Cpl. Willie Waggitt (see 22nd September) led one of the bombing parties, accompanied by a number of his pals, including Sgt. Bob Harrison (see 11th September), Cpl. Edwin Merrall (see 30th July) and Pte. Reuben Smith (see 22nd September). Waggitt used a shovel to break through three blocks in the sap and the platoon got close to the German line before they were spotted by the enemy. In a subsequent letter home, Edwin Merrall described what followed,

    “Will spotted the Germans and in his jolly way passed it down to us, ‘They are waiting for us’. Bombs were thrown and the Germans let us have it, bombing us from the sides. One of the bombs dropped in the trench and killed the second man and badly wounded Will. He was assisted back nearly to our lines by Cpl (sic). R. Harrison, another of Will's class of British blood. Bob was wounded along with many more. The Company stretcher-bearers went to Will to look to his wounds, but he refused them saying, "I will not last long, look to the others, they need it more than me." His last words with a smile on his face were "Cheerio, lads, the best of luck, I am going." Reuben Smith was among the wounded and he also later wrote to his family, "A few lines to let you know I am in hospital with a few wounds in my back and both my thighs and just a little in my hand. They are bits of shrapnel. I am very lucky to be wounded, for poor Willie Waggitt has gone under and the two behind him; then I came next but luck would have it I was not to be killed. I thought my time had come - I can tell you." Another of the men killed was Pte. Wilfred Lawson Oates; he was not an original member of Tunstill’s Company, but had been with them for the previous six months. In the face of such resistance the remainder of the bombing parties were forced to retire to their own lines.


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    The third platoon, which had attacked over the top, fared even worse. Immediately before the attack Cpl. Joseph Edward Preston (see 21st September 1914) had told his cousin, Pte. Hugh Robinson (see 21st August 1915), that Preston’s platoon were going “over the parapet to have a ‘do’ at the Germans”; Robinson never saw his cousin again and would be told two days later that he (Preston) had been struck by a shell and killed instantly. In fact the platoon only advanced about 10 yards before all but three privates were rendered casualties.
    Among those wounded in this first abortive assault was 2Lt. Fred Baume (see 7th September) According to his own later account, “I was hit by the disc from a shell weighing 8ozs. After passing through four thicknesses of clothing this inflicted a wound about two inches long and one inch deep midway between the thigh and the knee and severely injuring the muscles. The condition of the wound was further aggravated by the fact that I was compelled to hobble and be dragged for six miles to Bazentin-le-Petit”.

    The failure of this first assault led to a reassessment of the German defences. A report by Battalion Adjutant, Capt. Hugh Lester (see 14th July), timed at 12 noon, reported that a very careful inspection of OG2 (Flers Support) made “with the aid of periscope and glasses” confirmed that it was very strongly held. The trench had been considerably deepened and sentries could be seen in reinforced "niches" in the parapet every eight or ten yards. It also confirmed that there remained a good deal of uncut wire in front of the trenches, especially close to the road. The observation also confirmed that there was a machine gun positioned close to the road in the ruined buildings of the village and that German snipers occupied a number of positions among the buildings. Artillery support was called for ahead of any renewed attempt to advance and the German positions were shelled on the afternoon and early evening. A second attempt to gain a foothold in OG2 would be made at dusk. The section to be attacked ran from the Bapaume Road at M.21.b.5.8. north-west to M.15.d.2.3.

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    In preparation for the artillery barrage, and in acknowledgement of the proximity of OG1 and OG2, it was ordered that all the men of 10DWR, except for the attacking parties, who were to remain in dugouts, were to be withdrawn from OG1 and “temporarily sheltered in 2nd Flers Line, south of Bapaume Road”, currently held by 8th Yorks. It was further ordered that, with men remaining in the underground dugouts, “one sentry will watch at the entrance of each occupied dugout in the vacated line to prevent entry of the enemy into 1st Flers Trench from the north”. Heavy artillery bombarded Le Sars periodically throughout the day, but from 6pm until 7pm the shelling would be restricted to the northern part of the village to protect the attacking troops from ‘friendly fire’. From 5.30 there was to be a concentrated bombardment of the section of OG2 to be attacked with the shelling to be “intense” from 6pm to 6.08pm, at which point the barrage was to lift forward by 200 yards to allow the attack to go in. The assault by 10DWR was to be “pushed home boldly and as quickly as possible. Parties are to be pushed rapidly up to M.15.d.4½.5 and that point occupied if possible”. OG1 was to be re-occupied by the other companies of 10DWR as soon as possible after the assault commenced.

    At 6.03 pm ‘A’ and ‘D’ Companies went over the top and crept up under the continuing British artillery barrage until it was lifted at 6.08 pm. ‘A’ Company was commanded by Lt. Harry Harris (see 21st August) and ‘D’ Company by Lt. Henry Kelly (see 12th September). The distance between the trenches was only about 100 yards but the ground consisted of ‘mud and mire of the most appalling description’ and there was still some strong wire in a hollow which was very difficult to cut except by hand. The two Companies advanced in three waves, with 80 yards distance between waves. The first waves went forward right under the British barrage but when the barrage lifted it became clear that owing to the state of the ground the progress was exceedingly slow. They then attempted to advance under intense rifle fire and traversing fire from at least three machine guns. The ground was so heavy that it took them ten minutes to cover 50 yards. Some got to the German wire, which was found to be practically intact; others as far as the German parapet which was fully manned and where “the enemy had no difficulty in dealing with them in their exhausted condition”.

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    Men from ‘A’ Company were among those who had made it as far as the German parapet, where Lt. Harris and Sgt. John Hartley (see 11th July) were among those killed. The surviving men of the Company had no option but to attempt to make their way back to their own lines; an operation which was, in itself, exceedingly slow and hazardous, despite the cover of darkness. CSM Billy Oldfield (see 30th July) described how, “I was one of the few who got through the German wire, along with Sgt. Davis (see below). I helped to bandage some wounded men, and then we started to make our way back. All the time they were firing on us, we dare not get up to walk back, but had to crawl out of one shell hole into another, helping the wounded along as best we could. Altogether, it took me about two hours to get about fifty yards”. Oldfield and Davis would both be awarded the Military Medal for their actions, as would Sgt. William Eley (see 4th May).

    A party of four from ‘D’ Company, led by Lt. Kelly did make it into the German trenches and he, along with CSM O’Shea, Sgt. Scott and Pte. Thompson succeeded in maintaining their position for several hours until all their ammunition, their own and a quantity of German bombs were exhausted. Remarkably the party then succeeded in getting back to the British lines. CSM O’Shea was hit in the head and blinded and Lt. Kelly carried him back. For his gallantry in this operation Kelly would be awarded the Victoria Cross and both Scott and Thompson would receive the Military Medal; Thompson was also later awarded the French Medaille Militaire. A vivid account of Kelly’s actions were later reported by an (unidentified) eye-witness,

    “Capt. Kelly was popular with all ranks, because of his fine, soldierly qualities, his thoughtfulness for his men and his utter contempt for danger. The day he won the Cross we were in a devil of a hole. The enemy pounded us unmercifully with their big guns and the strain put on our men was so great that they began to waver. Capt. Kelly sprang forward and urged his men to the attack under a blistering hot fire. They responded with cheers, and, under his direction, they held a very exposed position for hours. Later, things looked black once more, Capt. Kelly had been working like a nigger (sic.), getting things ship-shape, and had certainly done as much work as any three men, besides directing operations. If ever man had earned a rest, he was that man but he never thought of resting while there was duty to be done. So he up again and called on his lads to hold fast for all they were worth. To show his contempt for the danger to which we were exposed, he rose up and led the way towards another position. The men followed. Later on he decided to have a cut at the enemy’s trench. He got hold of a non-com and two privates belonging to the bombing section. With these he entered the enemy trench and started to bomb the Boches out. They got a good way along, driving before them an enemy more than big enough to eat up the whole company. Then Fritz was reinforced and under the direction of a very brave officer the enemy began to push back. The two privates were knocked out, and Capt. Kelly had to make for home. Before going he picked up the sergeant-major of our Company and carried him out of the German trench. He was a first-rate target for the enemy when he showed up on the parapet, with the wounded man on his back, and the enemy had many a pot shot at him. The shell fire continued as well, and it is a miracle how he escaped. The Boches were close on his heels, and could have rushed him at any minute. They must have been in a blue funk all the time. Once they did come too close to be comfortable. The captain just laid down his burden for a few minutes, and threw a bomb or two at the pursuing Huns. They skulked back. Then he picked up his burden and came marching back to us. All the way he was under heavy fire. Every minute we expected to see him go under, but he came through all right. After taking a look round to see how things were shaping, he found that three of our chaps who had been fighting with great bravery were out in the open wounded. Immediately he set off to find them. One by one he carried them into safety, in spite of the furious fire kept up by the enemy. He’s a rare sport”.


    Sgt. James Davis was not one of Tunstill’s original Company, but had, at some point, transferred to ‘A’ Company. He was originally from Chatham but had enlisted in Bradford. He had married Charlotte Housley in 1914 and their daughter, Mary, had been born in the Autumn of 1915.

    Having resisted the British assault, the Germans then launched an immediate counter-attack which was repulsed by the remnants of ‘A’ and ‘D’ Companies, under the command of Kelly, supported by ‘C’ Company “with heavy loss to the enemy”.


    It seems likely to have been during this action, although it cannot be said with absolute certainty, that 2Lt. Frank Redington (see 21st August) showed the courage and initiative which would earn him the award of the Military Cross. The official citation records that, “When the enemy attacked down a communication trench he went forward down the trench by himself with a bag of bombs and held up the attack for ten minutes, until assistance arrived, when he drove the enemy back and established a block”. In summarising the events of the day, the War Diary recorded that, “The two Coys which took part in the attack behaved with the utmost gallantry, but owing to the state of the ground and the enemy's wire being uncut in several places, their task being an impossible one, they failed to take the trench and were decimated”. It was acknowledged that, “The attack failed in spite of very gallant efforts, partly owing to the ineffective artillery bombardment and the very bad weather and state of the ground and partly owing to the fact that by that time the enemy had strongly reoccupied the trench, which was in places well wired, and was able to cover the approaches to it by machine gun fire”.

    At the end of the day the Battalion officially reported losses of 3 officers and 25 other ranks confirmed killed in action, with a further 29 men reported missing; 4 officers and 80 other ranks were reported wounded. All the officers of both ‘A’ and ‘D’ Companies, with the exception of Lt. Kelly had been either killed or wounded. The records of the CWGC now indicate 3 officers and 39 men as having been killed in these actions, which would suggest that around 15 of the men initially reported as missing were subsequently accounted for as having been wounded or having been absent under other circumstances.

    The officers killed, in addition to Harris, had been 2Lt. Robert Main Graham (see 2nd September) and 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford (see 21st August). It was reported by a fellow officer (unidentified) that Harris “was killed while most gallantly leading his Company in the attack … I can assure you the death of your son is a great blow to the Battalion. He was beloved by us all … He died as he lived; a gallant and true gentleman”. Graham had been with the Battalion for only a month. One of Graham’s fellow officers (unidentified) later wrote to his family with news of their son’s death, “We were hung up on the Boche wire, and machine guns were turned on us and bombs were thrown as we were getting through. Your son was a splendid officer, steady, cool and brave. He was given charge of our left flank and he brought it forward splendidly. I regret exceedingly the loss of so valuable an officer, which not only we, but the men feel so keenly. He is missed and mourned by all”. Stafford was initially reported missing in action, but it was clear from reports that he had been killed, although the details were, not surprisingly, sketchy. All however were agreed that he was killed close to the German parapet.

    The officers wounded, other than Baume (see above), were 2Lt. Maurice Tribe (see 20th September), 2Lt. John Keighley Snowden (see 10th September) and 2Lt. S. Carrington (see 30th July). Tribe’s injuries were very severe; he had suffered significant head wounds which resulted in the loss of an eye and a significant disfigurement to his forehead. It was said that he had been “picked up as dead”. Snowden had been wounded by a shell explosion, which left him deaf in his right ear, and with a series of relatively minor injuries to his right ear and jaw and to his right calf. The extent and nature of Carrington’s injuries are unknown as I have, as yet, been unable to make a positive identification of this officer.

    These abortive attacks on the German lines had taken a heavy toll amongst ‘A’ Company, who had been heavily involved throughout the day. Eight members of the original Company were killed and at least fifteen others wounded. In addition to Sgt. John Hartley and Pte. Joseph Preston (see above), the men who had been killed were Sgt. Arthur Bearpark (see 30th July) and Privates Robert William Bell (see 31st August); Albert Edward Dury (see 25th December 1915); Edwin Isherwood (see 24th May 1915); Frederick William Jesson (see 24th June 1915); Anthony Lofthouse (see 29th July) and Herbert Rooke (see 29th July). Little is known about the circumstances in which most of these men died. Bearpark was reported to have been “killed instantaneously and suffered no pain” (as was so often the message conveyed to relatives). The circumstances of Edwin Isherwood’s death were briefly related by his pal Pte. George Whitfield (see 17th September 1914): “We made a bombing raid on the Germans one morning. (I cannot tell you the real date, but it was somewhere about the seventh of this month). The Germans sent us back, and we lost a lot of men. Edwin and I got through all right. But when night came we made another charge, but the enemy sent us back a second time. When morning came, I found that poor Edwin had been struck with shrapnel and killed”.

    The condition of the original members of Tunstill’s Company who are known to have been wounded varied considerably. The three men named as having been wounded in the dawn bombing raid each suffered only relatively minor wounds. Pte. Reuben Smith (see above) was treated at first at the 9th General Hospital, Rouen. In a letter home to his parents he told them, “I am in hospital with a few wounds in my back and both my thighs and just a little in my hand. They are bits of shrapnel. I am very lucky to be wounded, for poor Willie Waggitt has gone under and the two behind him; then I came next but luck would have it I was not to be killed. I thought my time had come - I can tell you.” He was soon fit enough to re-join the Battalion. Sgt. Bob Harrison (see above) and Cpl. Edwin Merrall (see above) were also soon back at duty.

    Pte. Percy Hodgson (see 12th September 1914) was severely wounded and evacuated to one of the many hospitals in the Le Havre area. Signaller Arthur Herbert Proctor (see 3rd March) was wounded by shrapnel in the chest and side. He was evacuated to England and eventually on to Aberdeen for further treatment. His injuries were such that he would not return to active service and would eventually be discharged from the army. The details of the injuries sustained by L.Cpl. Maurice Bannister (see 23rd August) are not known, but he too would be declared unfit for further service and would be discharged from the army. The same was true of Pte. George Moore, (see below). Pte. Arthur Lindsay (see 16th September 1914) had been shot through the right shoulder. He was evacuated to England and would be treated at first at Eastleigh before being sent on to Leeds. He did recover sufficiently from his injuries to return to active service but joined 2DWR. Pte. George Green (see below) appears to have been evacuated to England for treatment, as he was subsequently transferred first to 2DWR and then to 9DWR. Pte. Frank Shuttleworth (see 16th September 1914) was shot through the left arm; the bullet passed through his forearm and out at his elbow, causing a compound fracture. He was evacuated for treatment to one of the base hospitals. Stretcher bearer, Pte. Mark Beaumont (see 12th February) was struck in the face by shell splinters; his injury was relatively minor and he soon returned to duty, although he would later claim that his vision had been permanently affected. Sgt. Frank Shelah Gilleard (see below), suffered a minor wound and soon returned to duty, as also did Pte. John Dinsdale (see 7th January). Pte. William Hoyle (see 21st May 1915) suffered only minor facial wounds and, after being treated locally, would soon return to duty. L.Cpl. James Walker (see 30th July) was recorded as suffering from shellshock; he had again distinguished himself by his conduct as he had in July and would be awarded the Military Medal. He was soon able to return to duty.

    Frank Shelah Gilleard had been one of the Keighley volunteers added to Tunstill’s original recruits in September 1914. He had enlisted, aged 32 and before the war had been working as a ‘motor car trimmer’. He was Keighley born and bred and his father had been for many years licensee of the Shoulder of Mutton Inn.

    George Green appears to have been one of the men who volunteered in Menston and were then added to Tunstill’s Company in September 1914. I am, as yet, unable to make a positive identification of him.

    George Moore had, like Gilleard, been one of the Keighley volunteers. He had been living at 26 West Lane, Keighley, but beyond this I am, as yet, unable to identify him.

    In addition to the original members of Tunstill’s Company, several other local Craven men, who had enlisted later but had served with their neighbours and friends, were also killed. One of them was Pte. Wilfred Oates (see above) who had been killed during the morning bombing raids. Another man killed, Pte. Edgar Whitaker, was, like a number of Tunstill’s original recruits, from Grassington; he had been called up in January and had been in France since May. Pte. Frederick George Carlton, from Crosshills, had enlisted in February and had been in France for three months; he was one of the men posted as missing and his fate was described by Pte. George Fletcher (see below) in a letter to Fred’s mother, “The other day we made a raid on a German trench. We had several casualties, killed, wounded and missing. Your son, Fred, I am sorry to say, was among those missing. None of the lads saw him after we went over, so we cannot say whether he was taken prisoner of war, or whether he was killed or not”.
    George Fletcher had enlisted in September 1914 and had been among the Keighley contingent added to Tunstill’s original volunteers to form ‘A’ Company. He had signed up under age (he was then only 17) and had previously been working as a mill hand in Keighley where he lived with his parents and younger sister.

    Amongst the other men killed there were almost certainly others who had joined ‘A’ Company since their arrival in France, but this cannot be confirmed. However, amongst those killed was Pte. Herbert Sutcliffe, who had been subject to a FGCM in November 1915 after accidentally wounding himself (see 6th November 1915).

    To the east of the Albert-Bapaume road 8th Yorks. had had more success. There, a platoon of ‘C’ Company and the battalion bombers attacked Flers Support and succeeded in occupying the line, which was then consolidated and blocked. Three German counter-attacks were driven off during the course of the evening.


    Pte. Frank Watson of 10DWR, though not from Tunstill’s Company, died of wounds at one of the Cassualty Clearing Stations based at Dernancourt, south of Albert; it is not clear when he had been wounded. He is buried at Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension.


    Pte. Sam Tinkler (see 22nd September), who had spent the previous two weeks in hospital having been kicked on the left knee by a horse, was evacuated to England for further treatment. He would be admitted to Bradford War Hospital to be treated for a fractured left femur.

    Capt. Leo Frederick Reincke arrived in France, en route to join 10DWR; he was to be the replacement for Capt. James Christopher Bull, who had recently left the Battalion, suffering from paratyphoid (see 22nd September). Reincke was born in 1887, in Camberwell, the son of German civil engineer Hans Roderich Leopold Reincke and Annie Sophia Reincke (née Wattenbach), of London. He was educated at Dulwich College Preparatory School and Dulwich College itself. He was in Egypt on the outbreak of war in 1914, but immediately returned to Britain, being commissioned into the Dukes. Reincke was then employed with 11th Battalion in the instruction and training of troops in Britain until he was posted to 10th Battalion.


    Eastern Front:



    Romanian 2nd Army retreating, Fogaras evacuated.


    Romanians progress through Dubruja.

    Troops who crossed the Danube at Rjahovo are withdrawn.
    Battle west of Lutsk still in progress, enemy obstinately hold positions on Zlota Lipa.


    Southern Front:


    Allied forces reach Kenali (10 miles from Monastir).

    East of Monastir, Serbs cross Cherna.

    British make progress (Struma) towards Seres.

    Italian success in the Travignolo Valley (Aviso region, Trentino).

    Naval Operations:



    Shipping Losses: 10 (including)



    Eastern Mediterranean:
    U35 (Arnauld) sinks the French auxiliary cruiser Gallia (14,900t) off Cape Matapan, carrying 2,000 French and Srbian troops. Panic ensues, 600 dead.

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    U35 rendezvous with another submarine.


    Coastal submarine UB47 (Steinbauer) sinks empty British (ex Cunard) troopship Franconia 918,150t) 195 miles south east of Malta, 12 lives lost.


    Neutrals:



    Greece:
    Greek cabinet (M. Kalogeropoulos) resigns.


    Anniversary Events:


    1777 At Germantown, Pa., British General Sir William Howe repels George Washington's last attempt to retake Philadelphia, compelling Washington to spend the winter at Valley Forge.
    1795 General Napoleon Bonaparte leads the rout of counterrevolutionaries in the streets of Paris, beginning his rise to power.
    1861 The Union ship USS South Carolina captures two Confederate blockade runners outside of New Orleans, La.
    1874 Kiowa leader Satanta, known as "the Orator of the Plains," surrenders in Darlington, Texas. He is later sent to the state penitentiary, where he commits suicide October 11, 1878.
    1905 Orville Wright pilots the first flight longer than 30 minutes. The flight lasted 33 minutes, 17 seconds and covered 21 miles.
    1914 The first German Zeppelin raids London.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  38. #1838

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    Cracking issue Neil.
    I think that is the longest piece on Tunstill's men so far.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  39. #1839

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    should have titled the piece - Tunstill's men - special report, lol

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  40. #1840

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    Thursday 5th October 1916
    Today we lost: 584

    Today’s losses include:

    • A Master at Epson College
    • The son of a Justice of the Peace
    • Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
    • A member of the Junior 15s of the Gordonwon Football Club


    Air Operations:

    French bombard aviation ground at Colmar (Alsace)

    Night raid by French aircraft on searchlights and buildings at Zeebrugge.

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 4


    Captain Keith Lucas (Hampshire Aircraft Park, Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 37 when his aircraft collides with another in mid-air over Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. He was a scientist who worked at Trinity College, Cambridge doing pioneering work in Neuroscience and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1913. During the war he was engaged in experimental research work into aerial navigation and early aeroplane compasses at the Hampshire Aircraft Park in Farnborough (later called the Royal Aircraft Establishment).

    A Mech 2 Herriott, J.R. (John Robert), RFC, aged 32.

    2Lt Jacques, G.P.L (Geoffry Plateras Lawson), RFC, accidentally Killed while flying at Upavon (collided) aged 18.

    2Lt Mitchell, J.S. (Joseph Spencer), 70 Squadron, RFC. Died of accidental injuries received in crash, whilst flying aged 20.

    Claims: There are no claims today.

    Western Front


    Somme:
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    A French 370-mm howitzer Mortier de 370 Filloux in position in the Ravin de la Baraquette west of Foucaucourt at the Somme.

    Rain 6mm. 66° - 54° overcast, windy with showers.

    The British advance north-west of Eaucourt and the French make progress east of Morval.

    The ground dried a little but in the evening it was raining. Ground conditions are increasingly difficult for the collection of casualties and the bringing up of stores and munitions.

    Verdun:


    OHL letter to German Crown Prince decrees that ‘every unnecessary saphead and length of trench must be evacuated’ to spare troops for the Somme.


    Tunstills Men Thursday 5th October 1916:

    Front line trenches south of Le Sars

    The weather was again stormy and very wet and conditions desperate, as described in the Brigade War Diary: “Trenches in a very bad state and men in front lines much exhausted from want of sleep. Even the Battalions in reserve were not much better off, no cover from shellfire or weather being possible, and large carrying parties being constantly required day and night to maintain supply of food, water, bombs, ammunition and other stores over long distances”. The War Diary of 8th Yorks. described conditions: “During this period in the trenches the weather was abominable and communication, telephonic and otherwise, was very difficult”.

    Despite the difficulties they faced, attempts were clearly made to provide a decent burial for some of those who had been killed. Cpl. Leslie Seymour Perks (see below) saw his pal Pte. Herbert Rooke (see 4th October) buried “on the following day (ie 5th October) by his comrades, who put a cross to mark the spot.” Pte. George Whitfield (see 4th October) recalled burying his pal Pte. Edwin Isherwood (see 4th October),” A pal and myself put him to rest in a nice little grave close to where he fell. I took a ring off his finger which I will give you when I come home. I also got his pay book and a few other things”. Pte. Ben Butler (see 20th September) oversaw the burial of Pte. Anthony Lofthouse (see 4th October), later telling his family that, “I saw him buried and got some of his belongings”. However, these graves were lost in subsequent fighting and all of these men and the majority of the others of 10DWR killed around Le Sars are now commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

    Leslie Seymour Perks
    had been one of the Ilkley volunteers who had been added to Tunstill’s Company in September 1914. He had enlisted underage (he was only 17 when volunteering); though born in Worksop the family had moved to Ilkley and he had worked since leaving school as an apprentice at Taylor’s Drug Stores in the town. The family lived in the household of Mrs. Clara Bayne of Ben Rhydding, for whom his father and mother were coachman and servant respectively.

    Early in the morning orders had been received that the Battalion was to be relieved by 11th West Yorks. They continued to hold their present position until the relief began around dusk and the men had to leave the trenches “over the top as far as possible” as the communication trenches which would normally have been used were packed with incoming troops who were moving forward in preparation for a renewal of the assault on the German lines. Tunstill’s Company suffered another loss during the relief. Pte. Kit Ralph (see 12th May) had volunteered to guide the relieving troops into position and was leading a contingent along a communication trench when a shell burst alongside, killing him instantly. The remainder of the relief, though largely uneventful, was very slow and it was 4am the following morning before all had reached their new positions in support trenches north-west of Martinpuich.

    Two men, neither of them original members of Tunstill’s Company, died of wounds; Ptes. Walter Lingwood and Albert Senior are both buried at Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension.

    Lt. **** Bolton (see 2nd October), currently on leave in England, was examined by Major J. Hall-Edwards, RAMC, at the Command Depot at Sutton Coldfield (Bolton was then staying with Mrs. Essex at Manor Hill, Sutton Coldfield). He was found to be, “considerably run down and is suffering from boils. I suggest that his leave be extended for another week”.

    Two officers reported sick and left the Battalion for treatment. 2Lt. Howard Thurston Hodgkinson (see 21st August) was reported to be suffering from phlebitis (inflammation) of the right leg, while 2Lt. George Henry Roberts (see 2nd September) was diagnosed as having, “trench fever and slight debility”.

    Eastern Front:

    After 3 days fighting Romanian Norhern Army achieve success in Parajd region.

    Austrians retire west.

    In Dobruja, Romanian offensive continues.

    Lutsk battle in progress.

    Southern Front:

    Italian success in the San Pellegrino Valley (Avisio, Trentino).

    Naval Operations:


    Shipping Losses: 9

    Political:

    France: 2nd War loan (until October 29th) earns Fr10 billion.

    Central Powers:
    Germany and Austria announce ‘Independent’ Kingdom of Poland.

    Anniversary Events:


    1762 The British fleet bombards and captures Spanish-held Manila in the Philippines.
    1795 The day after he routed counterrevolutionaries in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte accepts their formal surrender.
    1813 U.S. victory at the Battle of the Thames, in Ontario, broke Britain's Indian allies with the death of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, and made the Detroit frontier safe.
    1821 Greek rebels capture Tripolitza, the main Turkish fort in the Peloponnese area of Greece.
    1864 At the Battle of Allatoona, a small Union post is saved from Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's army.
    1877 Nez Perce Chief Joseph surrenders to Colonel Nelson Miles in Montana Territory, after a 1,700-mile trek to reach Canada falls 40 miles short.
    1880 The first ball-point pen is patented on this day by Alonzo T. Cross.
    1882
    1914
    Outlaw Frank James surrenders in Missouri six months after brother Jesse's assassination.
    Voisin biplane bomber downs a German Aviatik reconaissance plane with a Hotchkiss machine gun in first conventional air combat.
    1915 Germany issues an apology and promises for payment for the 128 American passengers killed in the sinking of the British ship Lusitania.
    1915 Bulgaria enters World War I on the side of the Central Powers.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-05-2016 at 14:04.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  41. #1841

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    Friday 6th October 1916
    Today we lost: 447


    • A Battalion Commander
    • Two Military Chaplains
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • The son of a Justice of the Peace
    • Two families that will two sons in the Great War
    • A family that will lose four sons in the Great War
    • A man whose son will be killed in the Second World War


    Air Operations:



    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: No deaths are reported today.



    Claims: 1



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    Adjutant Pierre Augustin François Violet-Marty claims his 1st confirmed kill flying a Nieuport for N57, shooting down a Fokker.

    Western Front



    Somme:



    Rain 2mm. 70° - 57° sunny day that turns to rain at night.


    Rawlinson decides that the operations should go ahead on the 7th. The ground dried out a little owing to sun and wind. Pack horses have been used in carrying ammunition and food for the infantry. Haig visits Rawlinson after lunch. Haig expresses the view that he wants the battle to go on until the winter unless the weather makes it impossible.


    Tunstills Men Friday 6th October 1916:



    Support trenches north-west of Martinpuich.

    The weather was much improved and on a bright, warm, sunny day the men were rested as much as possible, although some carrying parties had still to be found to supply the front line with water, rations and other trench stores. The current difficulty in delivering vital supplies to the front line was noted by the Divisional Trench Mortar Battery: “Strenuous attempts made to collect parties to carry ammunition to guns, but without avail”. Rain came on in the evening and orders were received that the Battalion would, next day, again move forward to provide support to 11th West Yorks. in a further attack they were to launch against the German lines near Le Sars.

    There was also a need for a round of promotions following the recent losses in action. 2Lt. Frank Redington (see 4th October) was given a temporary promotion to Captain, and apparently given command of ‘D’ Company. Sgt. William Jones, MM, (see 21st September) was promoted Company Sergeant Major, initially in an acting capacity, but with his appointment confirmed a few days later; he went with Redington to ‘D’ Company. Cpl. John Stewart (see 27th September) was promoted Acting Sergeant and Cpl. Thomas Walsh (see 21st June) (unpaid) Lance Sergeant. Cpl. Fred Swale (see 3rd September) began to be paid for his rank (his promotion had previously been unpaid), while LCpl. George Mitchell (see 19th September) was promoted Corporal. Pte. Christopher Longstaff (see 6th May) regained the rank of Lance Corporal which he had lost following a breach of discipline five months earlier.


    It seems likely also to have been on this day that men began to write letters home to the families of their pals who had been killed over the last few days. Cpl. Leslie Seymour Perks (see 5th October) wrote to the wife of Pte. Herbert Rooke (see 5th October), telling her, “It is with much regret that I write to inform you of your husband’s death. He was killed on the night of October 4, during an advance on the German trenches. Death was instantaneous. He was buried on the following day by his comrades, who put a cross to mark the spot. Please accept my sincerest sympathies.”

    2Lt. Cecil Crowther Hart (see 8th September) who had been suffered gunshot wounds to the right leg in the fighting around Munster Alley, appeared before another Medical Board. He was now declared fit for home service and instructed to join 3DWR at North Shields.


    Eastern Front:



    Falkenhayn’s Offensive extending east against Kronstadt, Romanian retreat continues.

    Galicia: Brusilov Offensive – Third battle of the Naarajowka and Zlotas Lipa. Russian 7th Army attacks Turk XV Corps, 3,015 casualties.


    Southern Front:


    Gradual withdrawal of Bulgarians from Struma Valley to mountains beyond Demirhissar and Seres.

    Lively actions within 7 miles of Monastir.

    Macedonia: Allied attacks on Sarrail’s orders, only Serbs gain shallow Crna bridgehead at Brod for heavy losses (until Oct 7th) but Germans move 3 battalions from Vardar (until Oct 10th) after Bulgar battalion opposite Serbs mutinies.


    Trentino: ItalianAlpini Battalion repulse counter attacks on Busa Alta (until Oct 10th).


    African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:


    East Africa:
    Deventers patrols reach Malongwe and Lake Force troops, whole Central Railway in Allied hands. First trolley vehicle reaches Dodoma.


    Naval Operations:



    Germany:
    High Seas Fleet U-Boats ordered tor esume merchant shipping targeting, but no torpedoeing without warning (until Jan 31st, 1917) also send 4 more U-Boats to Mediterranean.


    Shipping Losses: 3



    Anniversary Events:


    1014 The Byzantine Emperor Basil earns the title "Slayer of Bulgers" after he orders the blinding of 15,000 Bulgerian troops.
    1536 William Tyndale, the English translator of the New Testament, is strangled and burned at the stake for heresy at Vilvorde, France.
    1696 Savoy Germany withdraws from the Grand Alliance.
    1788 The Polish Diet decides to hold a four year session.
    1801 Napoleon Bonaparte imposes a new constitution on Holland.
    1847 Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre is published in London.
    1866 The Reno brothers--Frank, John, Simeon and William--commit the country's first train robbery near Seymore, Indiana netting $10,000.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  42. #1842

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    103 years ago yesterday: Happy Birthday to Admiral Eugene Fluckey, Medal of Honor-awardee captain of submarine USS Barb and commander of the only WWII land action fought on Japanese home soil. (Eight of Barb's men went ashore to demolish a railroad bridge.)
    Historical Consultant/Researcher, Wings and Sails lines - Unless stated otherwise, all comments are personal opinion only and NOT official Ares policy.
    Wings Checklists: WWI (down Navarre Nieuport, Ares Drachens) | WWII (complete)

  43. #1843

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    Saturday 7th October 1916
    Today we lost: 2,226

    Air Operations:


    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 1


    2Lt Fenwick, W.C. (William Cecil),
    21 Squadron, RFC, aged 19, shot down by Manfred von Richthofen.

    Claims: 4

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    Oberleutnant Hans Berr claims his 3rd and 4th confirmed kills. Flying for Jasta 5 he shot down a Caudron and a BE12 near Combles. A Leutnant in the infantry when the war began, Berr was wounded in action on 6 September 1914. When he recovered, he was promoted to Oberleutnant and requested a transfer to the Fliegertruppe. After serving most of 1915 as an observer, Berr completed flight training and was posted to KEK Avillers. In March 1916, he scored his first two victories flying a Fokker Eindecker. By autumn, he was given command of Jasta 5 and was posted to the Somme front.
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    Haupmann Oswald Boelcke claims his 31st confirmed kill. Flying for Jasta 2 he shot down a Nieuport 12 near Morval.
    "I fly close to my man, aim well and then of course he falls down." Oswald Boelcke 1

    "Whatever Boelcke told us was taken as Gospel!" Manfred von Richthofen.

    "I will be like Boelcke." German pilots' motto


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    Lt Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen
    claims his 4th confirmed kill. Flying an albatross DII for Jasta 2 he shot down a BE12 near Equancourt.

    Western Front

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    French infantry on the march to the front at the Somme

    Somme:


    Rain-trace 66° - 52° fine day, windy and rain at night. The wind and low clouds interfered with flying, but the attack began nevertheless, at 1.45 p.m.

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    Franco-British attack at 1345 hours on the Albert-Bapaume road. British advance 1,000 yards and 23rd Divisiion recaptures Le Sars.

    After a delay of two days the Battle of Transloy Ridges (which will last until 20th October) begins with attacks directed toward the German held positions near Beaulencourt, northwest of the British held town of Guardecourt. The German trenches to be attacked are given the names of Bayonet, Scabbard, Rainbow and Stormy trenches. The opening British artillery barrage is met with heavy and accurate counter fire from German artillery which greatly reduces the effectiveness of the British bombardment and leaves a significant portion of the German machine gun positions undamaged. By the end of the day’s attack 2,022 British officer and men will be killed.


    The Royal Fusiliers come under heavy machine gun fire during the assault on Bayonet trench. They make gains and hold the land until relieved in two days. 254 Men and officers are lost in the attack which will be the final action the regiments makes on the Somme.

    The XIV Corps objective was a trench line from 100–500 yards (91–457 m) away and on the right flank the 56th Division (Major-General C. P. A. Hull) attacked with two brigades. On the right, in the 168th Brigade area, the 1/14th Battalion London Scottish found it difficult to maintain contact with the French on the right, who advanced eastwards rather than north-east. The Scottish captured a southern group of gun pits and pushed on to the south end of Hazy Trench 200 yards (180 m) beyond. The 1/4th London was stopped by machine-gun fire from the northern gun pits and tried to outflank them on the right. On the left, the 1/12th London advance was stopped short of Dewdrop Trench to the north-east of Lesbœufs, which had only been bombarded by Stokes mortars as it was too close to the British front line. In the 167th Brigade area, the 1/1st London was repulsed in front of Spectrum Trench except on the left flank where bombers joined with the 1/7th Middlesex, after it captured Rainbow Trench, the south end of Spectrum Trench against determined resistance. The 1/14th London Scottish and the 1/4th London defeated a counter-attack but after dark the battalions were forced back, as were the French on the right.


    In the 20th Division area two battalions of the 60th Brigade captured Rainbow Trench, shot at German troops who ran away and pressed on 150 yards (140 m) to Misty Trench to gain touch with the 1/7th Middlesex on the right and the61st Brigade on the left, which had reached its objective east of Gueudecourt, after the 7th KOYLI and the 12th Kings Liverpool encountered a line of Germans advancing from Rainbow Trench to surrender. The battalions occupied Rainbow Trench and kept going to 300 yards (270 m) to the south-east corner of Cloudy Trench. The 12th Division (Major-General A. B. Scott) on the right of XV Corps had not moved forward, so a defensive flank was formed on the left and a new trench (Shine Trench) dug from Cloudy Trench to the Beaulencourt road. About 350 yards (320 m) of Rainbow Trench south-east of the road was still held by the Germans, who counter-attacked from Beaulencourt at about 5:00 p.m. and were repulsed by small-arms fire.


    In the XV Corps area, the objective was set 300 yards (270 m) forward along the north-west end of Rainbow Trench and Bayonet Trench (the west end of which, beyond the Flers–Thilloy road, had just been discovered), up to the Gird trenches. Just before zero hour a German machine-gun barrage began on the front trenches of the 12th Division and began an artillery bombardment, particularly on Gueudecourt, which held back the 37th Brigade on the right flank. The 6th Buffs next to the 20th Division got into Rainbow Trench with too few survivors to consolidate and retired. The 6th Royal West Kent on the left was stopped by the machine-gun barrage as were the 9th and 8th Royal Fusiliers of the 36th Brigade on the left, the parties of the 8th Royal Fusiliers which got into Bayonet Trench being overwhelmed. In the41st Division (Major-General S.T.B. Lawford) area on the left of XV Corps, the German machine-gun barrage stopped the 32nd and 26th Royal Fusiliers of the124th Brigade half-way to Bayonet Trench. Parties reached the trench and were reinforced by the 21st KRRC and 10th Queen's, although by nightfall the brigade had been reduced to a battalion of survivors. On the left, the 122nd Brigade used all four battalions and was also shot down. A Livens Projector bombardment of burning oil on the Gird lines failed but bombers from the 11th West Kent advanced a short way up both trenches. On the left flank, the divisional and corps boundary, the brigade got forward and linked with the 47th Division on the right of III Corps.


    In the III Corps area, the 47th and 23rd division objective required an advance of 500 yards (460 m), half-way into Le Sars and then capture the rest of the village when the offensive began on the Butte de Warlencourt and the Gird trenches up to the Flers trenches. The 47th Division attacked with the 140th Brigade to capture Snag Trench along the east slope of a dip towards Warlencourt, about 500 yards (460 m) forward and half-way to the ‘Butte’. The 1/8th London on the right was stopped by a huge volume of machine-gun fire, as were the 1/15th and 1/7th London who were to pass through the 1/8th London and could only establish outposts near the Le Barque road, in touch with the 41st Division. The 23rd Division attacked on the right with the 12th DLI of the 68th Briga,e supported by a tank which attacked the German garrison in the Tangle and then turned left up the sunken road from Eaucourt to Le Sars, until hit by a shell. The 12th DLI was checked by machine-gun fire down the road from the village but the 9th Grren Howards of the 69th Brigade got into the south-west end. In the centre, the 13th DLI was to capture the rest of the village and attacked at 2:30 p.m.


    The battalion met the Green Howards at the village crossroads and after a determined resistance, the German defence collapsed. The 12th DLI had dug in along the sunken road beyond the Tangle and pushed posts forward on the right flank. The 13th DLI and Green Howards dug posts around the village and prepared to advance on the Butte de Warlencourt but no reinforcements were available. Twenty minutes after zero hour, the 11th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment made a frontal attack on Flers Support Trench north of Le Sars but was stopped by artillery-fire and small-arms fire from the left flank. A second attempt succeeded, with bombers attacking along the trench from Le Sars, retreating Germans being shot down by the British infantry and the divisional artillery. The 10th Duke of Wellington's arrived later and by dark, the 69th Brigade had occupied the Flers trenches to a point 300 yards (270 m) inside the Fourth Army boundary.

    5 Divisions in attacks on Butte de Warlencourt (until Nov 5th).

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    French advance north east of Morval and within 200 yards to threaten Sailly (gains here on Oct 8th, fighting in village until 16-17th)



    A LETTER

    Dear Meg, Now I’m a simple Tommy
    I thought you’d like a letter from me,
    Living a silent celibate
    With 20 others in a hut.
    My bed of wooden boards and trestles
    And blankets thick with which one wrestles,
    While the cold night wind through the door
    Keeps time to rats that scour the floor.
    A Sergeant stern with language rude
    Who tell me that my drilling’s crude,
    And boots two inches thick, which they
    make me to clean three times a day.
    But even hear where bugles ring
    The Southern lark goes up to sing;
    And nobly stretch the long white downs
    O’er looking Hampshire’s famous towns,
    Where years ago through woods of fir
    King Alfred rode to Winchester;
    And hear is haunted, wholly ground
    Where Arthur held his Table Round,
    And Ethelbert and Athelstane
    Drove back the foray of the Dane.
    And so farewell – if when May comes,
    And snow-white gleam the garden plums,
    You run across the yard to school
    Hair-braided, with your reticule,
    Then think of me, my little maid,
    Forming for nine o’ clock parade,
    And making an egregious hash
    Of drill and growing a moustache !

    Today’s losses include:


    • A Welsh International football goalkeeper
    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • A family that will lose five sons in the Great War and another in the service of King and Country
    • A Poet
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • A Brigadier General
    • The grandson of a General
    • A man whose son will be born next February
    • A Buckingham County cricketer
    • The son of a Justice of Peace
    • A Master at Bishop Cotton School in Bangalore India
    • The son of an Irish Member of Parliament who died on service in 1915
    • A man whose brother will be killed in 1942 performing acts for which he will be awarded the Victoria Cross
    • A Southampton amateur footballer
    • A man whose widow will marry another man who will later be killed in the Great War
    • A man whose brother was killed in South Africa in December 1900
    • A man whose son will be killed in May 1942
    • The fourth victim of the Red Baron
    • A man who has five cousins killed in the Great War
    • A Victoria Cross winner


    Tunstills Men Saturday 7th October 1916:


    Support trenches north-west of Martinpuich.

    Fine day, windy and wet at night; temp 66F

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    In accordance with the orders received the previous evening, the Battalion returned to positions at Destremont Farm, 26th Avenue and 70th Avenue, ready to support 11th West Yorks. in their attack, which was to be made in conjunction with troops to the right. The move was made under heavy shelling, but by 12 noon the Battalion was in position. Under Brigade orders, ‘B’ Company was then detached and sent forward to be placed under the command of 11th West Yorks, and held in reserve by them. The initial attacks went in at 1.45pm. East of the Bapaume Road 9th Yorks. achieved their objectives and occupied large parts of the village. However, for West Yorks., attacking twenty minutes later, west of the road, there was much greater resistance. “2nd Flers Line was again found to be strongly held. The supporting lines advancing from Destremont Farm suffered as severely as the leading troops both being enfiladed by machine gun fire from left flank. The first attack failed”. 11th West Yorks. suffered heavy losses with 8 officers and 217 other ranks reported as casualties, with more than 60 killed or missing.

    ‘B’ Company 10DWR was then ordered up to be in position to make a second assault. However, as this advance was being prepared, the Germans, finding themselves outflanked by other units, surrendered to parties of 11th West Yorks. and the Company from 10DWR was able to occupy the trenches largely unopposed. The CO 11th West Yorks. then requested further reinforcements and ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies of 10DWR were sent up to hold the front line. At 7.15pm ‘A’ Company and Battalion HQ of 10DWR were moved forward to Destremont Trench and Lt. Col. Hayne (see passim) then took over command of the front line from OC 11th West Yorks. It soon became clear that the line was not held in sufficient numbers and Hayne found that his Companies were supported by only 61 remaining men from 11th West Yorks. As a result he sent forward two further platoons from ‘A’ Company and requested that two platoons from 8th Battalion Yorks. and Lancs. be sent up to supplement the two weak platoons from ‘A’ Company which now constituted his only reserve. Major Robert Harwar Gill (see 6th September) was then ordered “to proceed to the front line to clear up the situation and inform me as soon as possible of the position”.

    Having occupied OG2 and with the situation, at least temporarily, somewhat quieter, it became possible to recover and to bury the remains of some of those who had been killed in and around the German-held trenches on 4th October. The bodies of 2Lt. Robert Main Graham (see 4th October) and 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford (see 4th October) were both identified and their bodies recovered. According to a later report Stafford’s body, “was brought in by some of another Company. His servant Harold Bray said everything was found in his pockets as it should be”. However, as with so many of the other burials, the graves of Graham and Stafford were lost in subsequent fighting and both are now commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Other bodies were also recovered from the area around the former German-held parapet, including those of Lt. Harry Harris (see 4th October) and Sgt. John Hartley (see 4th October). It was reported that Harris’ body, and most likely those of Hartley and the others, had been buried, “at a point about 1,000 yards south-west of Le Sars”. After the Armistice these burials were among more than 3,000 which were exhumed and re-interred at Adanac Military Cemetery, Miraumont.


    Prior to the return to the front line Capt. Adrian O’Donnell Pereira (see21st August) reported sick, “complaining of exhaustion and loss of nerve”; he was evacuated for treatment locally in the first instance.

    2Lt. Fred Baume (see 4th October), who had been wounded during the initial advance at Le Sars, was evacuated to England onboard the hospital ship Carisbroke Castle, travelling from Le Havre to Southampton. Having arrived the following day, he would be admitted to 3rd Southern General Hospital, Oxford.

    Pte. Reginald Hancock (see 19th July), who had been severely wounded in the chest during the advance on Contalmaison was released from 2nd Western General Hospital in Manchester, following three months in hospital.

    A ceremony was held in Settle for the formal presentation of a German machine gun on loan from the War Office. Chief guest was Walter Morrison (see 25th July), who had been instrumental in the raising and equipping of Tunstill’s Company, accompanied by Capt. Gilbert Tunstill himself and his wife Geraldine; Capt. Tunstill was currently recuperating from an accidental injury suffered in September (see 19th September). A detailed account of the event subsequently appeared in the local press:

    'CAPTURED MACHINE GUN HANDED OVER TO THE CARE OF LIEUT-COL. MORRISON'


    A German machine gun or automatic rifle, which has been captured from the Germans and kindly lent as a war trophy to the locality by the War Office, was handed over to the care of Lt. Col. Walter Morrison n Saturday last. It had been decided to have the presentation in the Market Place but owing to the torrential rain the proceedings had to take place in the Victoria Hall and commenced with an inspection of the members of the Giggleswick School Officers’ Training Corps under the command of Capt. E.D. Clark, by Lt. Col. Walter Morrison.

    Mr. G. K. Charlesworth, who occupied the chair, was accompanied on the platform by Lt. Col. Walter Morrison, Capt. Tunstill and Mrs. Tunstill, Mr. R.N. Douglas, Mr. T. Brayshaw, Mr. T. Harger, Mr. T.E. Pearson, Lt. T. Brayshaw, Coy. Sgt-Major W.J. Robinson DCM and Sgt. R. Rawdin.

    Mr. G.K. Charlesworth, in opening the ceremony, thanked Mr. R.N. Douglas (headmaster of Giggleswick School) on behalf of the town and district for the compliment he had paid the town by allowing the members of the School Officers’ Training Corps to be present. It had no doubt been done partly on behalf of the town of Settle and partly as a compliment to the Chairman of the Governors of the School, Mr. Walter Morrison. He understood Mr. Brayshaw (secretary of the Local Relief Fund) had got the machine gun from the War Office, and also that few of these guns had been given out in England, but that some large guns had been given to big towns. He thought he was right in saying that no towns as small as Settle had received an automatic gun and it was due to Mr. Brayshaw that Settle had. Those who stayed at home were inclined to grumble at the taxes, but they could never do too much for the men who were fighting the battles, and the more there was to pay the more pleased they should all be. There were some very good Relief and other committees, especially in Settle, and he did not think there was another district where the War Relief work had been better organised than at Settle. They were just about to make an effort for the Christmas parcels for the soldiers, because as the war went on more and more men went to the front and the Relief Committee relied on everyone to help them. They were proud to have with them their County Council Representative, Captain Tunstill. He was not a County Councillor who went to Wakefield only, but he went round the district to gather men to go to the war with him. He went as a private and by merit was raised to be a Captain. (Cheers). He then introduced Captain Tunstill.

    Captain Tunstill thanked the Chairman for the kind words which he had said about him. Had it not been for the good work of the people of this country they could not, he said, have carried on in France. In speaking of the war he said that the men from the Settle district were in the thick of the fighting on 11th July and helped to make one of the best captures by taking the village of Contalmaison. There were some 2,000 casualties that day, and the things that held them up were the machine guns. Practically 80% of the casualties were caused by the machine guns. The Boches had retired to their dugouts – 30 or 40 feet deep in the ground. The machine gunners, who were very brave fellows, stood the bombardment and afterwards got their guns into action, and played on the advancing infantry, and nearly all the casualties were caused by this means. They captured 300 prisoners and got nine machine guns. Two of the guns were allotted to his Regiment and the others to other regiments which also took part. He had written to see if one of these guns could be procured for Settle and he thought there was a chance of Settle getting one. He had been with the Company which left Settle two years ago, but the Company had changed. He thought he knew every man who went out with him, but he certainly did not know them now. They had been made up half a dozen times since then. He would remember the men he went out with as long as he lived. They did their work well under great difficulties. None of the men knew what a bed was out there, the only one they got being probably a barn floor (the building most likely not having a roof on) when they were having a rest. It was much easier holding the ordinary line as they did last year than being in a “show” like the Somme. The men were many times wading up to the middle in water. They were very thankful for the things which had been sent out to them from this district. Over and over again men had been kept alive by them, and they appreciated them very much, although perhaps they did not write much about it. He hoped to get back to his Regiment but he was prepared to go anywhere. He had hoped to see some of the men who had been with him at Settle that day but he had not then seen any. There was one man he would like specially to mention and that was Sgt. Edmondson (see 1st September). He had done some particularly fine work and had both legs badly knocked. He had done his share of soldiering if he did no more. He had done more than his real share. There never was a harder worker or a finer man alive (applause). In closing he referred to the OTC and said what a fine body they were, and if there was another war he would not mind going out with them (applause).

    Mr.R.N. Douglas, who was received with much applause, said on behalf of the committee who were organising the War Societies in this town he had been appointed to make the presentation to Mr. Morrison, who was recognised as the “Military Father” of this district. It was 57 years since he first started in the district the North Craven Volunteers. The War Office had sent down this gun for the purpose of expressing the gratitude which it felt at the the work which had been done in the district, and he thought that the work might be divided into three portions. The first was the work which had been done by Captain Tunstill. Many of them were present two years ago in that room on the occasion when Captain Tunstill came to get as large a number of men as he could to serve with him in the British Army. He made a speech which was short indeed, but if he had not been present with them there, he would say it was the finest, manliest, most straight forward and sterling speech which it had ever been his lot to hear (applause). A man who could make that speech was bound to get his men. He went out to France and the War Office had given him a certain amount of recognition already for the work he had done. In these days, in the British Army, promotion went by merit, and Pte. Tunstill of two years ago was Captain Tunstill of today, and partly in further recognition of the work he had done the War Office had assigned a gun to Settle. Their second objective, he believed, was to thank the district for what they had contributed to the Forces and to other things connected with the war – the Belgian, Red Cross, YMCA Funds, England’s Day, France’s Day and Russia’s Day. Every ‘dog’ has had his day and the ‘dog’ that had had his day in Settle had been very well done indeed. It was no light matter in these days of expensive living, when one man was doing the work of two, to undertake extra labour, but everything had been generously supported. In recognition of the generosity of Settle the War Office had sent this gun. Their motive was to express their thanks for what Lt. Col. Morrison had been able to do for his country. It was not only in the generous contributions which he had made to all the local and public funds throughout the country but it was also in recognition of the enormous amount of work he had done, and done so successfully, in the matter of recruiting. In the year 1859 Mr. Morrison instituted, organised and himself commanded, a Corps of Settle Volunteers and in so doing he started the military ardour in that part of Yorkshire, which has shewn such splendid fruit. It was right and fitting that this gun should be placed in the safe keeping of Mr. Morrison, and it was right that some sort of recognition of all he had done should be shewn to him in the name of the Committees who had the organisation of the things connected with the war in Settle. He then made the presentation amidst much applause.

    After the Settle Band had played a short piece, Lt. Col. Walter Morrison, in accepting the care of the gun, said that he felt it a great compliment to have this perfectly authentic copy of the war placed in his keeping. About 100 years ago the Craven Legion was disbanded – 1,000 infantry and 200 cavalry – and that was commanded by the then owner of Malham Tarn House, Lord Ribblesdale. They were a very fine body of men. Then as they had been reminded, about 57 years ago a Corps of Volunteers were formed. The Craven Legion was formed to protect our country against the attacks of one who aspired, like the present Kaiser, for world power – Napoleon. The territorials were the strict successors of the volunteers, who reached a considerable amount of proficiency in drill and shooting. He informed his hearers that he was rightly entitled to call himself Lt. Col. Morrison by order of the Council and to keep that rank, but he never used it except on special occasions. The territorials were started with the idea that it was possible to get 30,000 men at least until this war came upon Europe. Then there was the invasion of Belgium, France and Russia. It had been agreed to protect the smaller countries and it was this that made the increase in the territorials. Then there were the atrocities in Belgium etc. We had not heard the worst of these outrages; some of them had been too bad to put into print. There had been times in history when we seemed to be in a very low and dangerous position, but we had always been fortunate enough to have men who filled the position. Lord Kitchener’s name was known not only in this island, but throughout the whole of the British Empire, and the men who flocked into the ranks because they thought that in Lord Kitchener they had a man who would lead them to victory and who had always been successful in everything he undertook. It was his name more than anything else which in a remarkably short time brought four millions of recruits into our Army. All that Lord Kitchener had done on a large scale, their neighbour Captain Tunstill had done on a small scale and had done it equally well (applause). He went round from village to village, made short speeches full of matter, and then asked men to come forward, and all these men, being Craven men, were fine fellows. It was thought quite possible that raw troops might not behave well, but from the very beginning the territorials were real good soldiers. In referring to the Officers Training Corps, he said it was not only in the rank and file that gallantry was shewn, but it had been shewn equally strongly by the officers. If there was another war, there would be a very large number of officers ready to come out. Then there were the women, who had gone out as nurses etc. In his own school at Malham Tarn, where there were 171 children, they had been making sandbags and stockings. Of course there were some slackers among women, those who preferred to look in the glass and buy expensive robes, but there were not many of them. Of course every Englishman was not brave. There was the ‘Conscientious Objector’, but there were not many in that district. We were fighting against a brutal race, led by a singularly brutal man in the person of the Kaiser, and it would be observed that he had never been under fire. If he had, there would have been reports in every newspaper in Germany. The Germans as a nation had sunk to a lower level than any tribe that had ever lived. There was no savage tribe that had ever sunk to roping women together so as to drive them at the point of the bayonet in order to save themselves. He again thanked them for the honour they had done him (applause).

    The Chairman thanked the Settle Band for their help, saying that they had done so much for nothing that they had nearly been forgotten and after a collection had been taken for the benefit of the Christmas parcels for our local soldiers and sailors the ceremony closed with the National Anthem.


    At around the same time, Walter Morrison had also dedicated himself to the production and presentation of what was to be described as, “a humble and sincere expression … of the gallant, heroic and self-sacrificing spirit shown by the sons of Craven in resisting the unscrupulous, malignant and pre-arranged design of Germany and her dupes to crush the British Empire and the civilised countries associated with her”. At a meeting held at his home at Malham Moor, a board of trustees was formed, comprising of Morrison himself, Col. John Birkbeck and Thomas Brayshaw to record the service of all those from Craven.

    The case of Capt. William Norman Town (see 26th July) who would later serve with 10DWR, was considered by a Medical Board convened at St. Andrew’s Hospital, Malta. He had been admitted to the hospital ten weeks previously suffering from malaria. The Board found that, “he is in a very weak condition. He has a very bad appetite and on taking ordinary diet his stomach gets upset causing pain, vomiting and slight jaundice. He has lost a great deal of weight (one and a half stone) and is unfit for exertion. The Board recommends that he be transferred to England”.

    Eastern Front:

    Enemy retake Kronstadt and Szekely.

    Romanian forces withdrawing to frontier on whole line Predeal to Orsova.

    Southern Front:

    British advance towards Seres continues (Struma front).

    Italians capture one of the peaks of the Busa Alta (Aviso, Trentino).

    Naval Operations:


    Shipping Losses: 2


    Political:


    Turkey:
    Provisional Law of Agriculture Service promulgated.

    Anniversary Events:


    1571 In the last great clash of galleys, the Ottoman navy is defeated at Lepanto, Greece, by a Christian naval coalition under the overall command of Spain’s Don Juan de Austria.
    1765 Delegates from nine of the American colonies meet in New York to discuss the Stamp Act Crisis and colonial response to it.
    1849 Edgar Allen Poe, aged 40, dies a tragic death in Baltimore. Never able to overcome his drinking habits, he is found in a delirious condition outside a saloon that was used as a voting place.
    1870 French Minister of the Interior Leon Gambetta escapes besieged Paris by balloon, reaching the French provisional government in Tours.
    1913 In attempting to find ways to lower the cost of the automobile and make it more affordable to ordinary Americans, Henry Ford took note of the work of efficiency experts like Frederick Taylor, the “father of scientific management.” The result was the assembly line that reduced the time it took to manufacture a car, from 12 hours to 93 minutes.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-07-2016 at 11:31.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  44. #1844

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    Ah, excellent, you found the world-war-one.net diary page for today, despite their internal error. That took some tracking.

  45. #1845

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    Post for 7th amended. More info received from pigeon post!
    See you on the Dark Side......

  46. #1846

    Default

    Thanks for the good read. I would give you reputation but I must fine something else good, you must wait. You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Skafloc again.

  47. #1847

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    Sunday 8th October 1916
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    James (Jimmy) Cleland Richardson VC (25 November 1895 – 8/9 October 1916).Richardson was born in Bellshill, Scotland and a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and then Chilliwack, BC. He was a Piper in the 72nd Seaforth Higlanders of Canada and he proceeded overseas as part of the large Seaforth contingent of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, when the following deed took place when he was 20 years old for which he was awarded the VC.

    During the Battle of the Ancre Heights on 8 October 1916 at Regina Trench, the company was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire. Piper Richardson, who had obtained permission to play the company 'over the top' strode up and down outside the wire playing his pipes, which so inspired the company that the wire was rushed and the position captured. Later the piper was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and some prisoners, but after proceeding some distance he insisted on turning back to recover his pipes which he had left behind. He was never seen again.

    Richardson's Bagpipes


    Richardson's bagpipes were believed to have been lost in the mud of the Somme for almost 90 years until 2002, when the Pipe Major of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) responded to an Internet posting. He discovered that Ardvreck preparatory school in Scotland had possession of a set of bagpipes with the unique Lennox tartan on them, the same tartan used by the pipers of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion. A British Army Chaplain, Major Edward Yeld Bate, had found the pipes in 1917 and brought them back home after the war to a school in Scotland where he was a teacher. The pipes were unidentified for several decades, and served as a broken, mud-caked, and blood-stained reminder of an unknown piper from the Great War.

    Andrew Winstanley of The Canadian Club and Pipe Major Roger McGuire were largely responsible for the investigative work into identifying Richardson's pipes. With the support of The Canadian Club and a group of patriotic citizens, Pipe Major McGuire travelled to Scotland in January 2003 to help identify the pipes that had been displayed at Ardvreck School in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, for over seven decades. Tomas Christie, a parent of students there and also a piper, initiated the search for the origin of the pipes.

    Their collective effort led to conclusive evidence that identified the pipes as those played by Piper Richardson on that fateful day in 1916. An anonymous donor facilitated the purchase of the pipes on behalf of the citizens of Canada. In October 2006, a party of dignitaries visited Scotland and received the pipes from the Headmaster of Ardvreck School for repatriation to Canada

    Today we lost: 1,627


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    Leslie Coulson

    Sergeant Leslie Coulson (London Regiment) dies of wounds received in action at age 27. He had been a Reuters correspondent and Fleet Street journalist before the war. He was wounded at Gallipoli. Next year his work From an Outpost and Other Poems” will be published selling over 10,000 copies in less than twelve months.

    THE RAINBOW
    I watch the white dawn gleam,
    To the thunder of hidden guns.
    I hear the hot shells scream
    Through skies as sweet as a dream
    Where the silver dawnbreak runs.
    And stabbing of light
    Scorches the virginal white.
    But I feel in my being the old, high, sanctified thrill,
    And I thank the gods that dawn is beautiful still.
    From death that hurtles by
    I crouch in the trench day-long
    But up to a cloudless sky
    From the ground where our dead men lie
    A brown lark soars in song.
    Through the tortured air,
    Rent by the shrapnel’s flare,
    Over the troubless dead he carols his fill,
    And i thank the gods that the birds are beautiful still.
    Where the parapet is low
    And level with the eye
    Poppies and cornflowers glow
    And the corn sways to and fro
    In a pattern against the sky.
    The gold stalks hide
    Bodies of men who died
    Charging at dawn through the dew to be killed or to kill.
    I thank the gods that the flowers are beautiful still.
    When night falls dark we creep
    In silence to our dead.
    We dig a few feet deep
    And leave them there to sleep –
    But blood at night is red,
    Yea, even at night,
    And a dead man’s face is white.
    And I dry my hands, that are also trained to kill,
    And I look at the stars – for the stars are beautiful still.

    Today’s losses include:


    • A Battalion Commander
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • An Assistant Master at Victoria Boys School
    • Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • A man’s whose daughter will be born in a month
    • A family that will lose four sons in the Great War


    Air Operations:


    Whilst flying an Avro of 63 Squadron UK, 2Lt Markham was injured when the engine failed and the aircraft fell 60ft.

    Whilst flying an Avro of 59 squadron UK Lt MO Greenfield was injured in an undisclosed flying accident.

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 1


    2Lt
    Baker, H.C. (Harold Carl), 49 Squadron, RFC(Special Reserve). Died of accidental injuries, aged 20, received whilst flying.

    Claims: 1

    Tenente Luigi Olivi claims his 1st confirmed kill flying a Nieuport 11 he shot down an enemy aircraft near Aisovizza.

    Western Front


    Somme:


    64° - 54° rain and then fine.

    The French have success at Sailly-Saillisel.

    The Canadians capture and then lose Regina Trench and the Quadrilateral. J. C. R. Richardson gains the VC at Regina.

    The 1st Canadian Division attacked on 8 October at 4:50 a.m. in cold rain. The 1st Brigade on the right with two battalions, took the front trench of the Le Sars line from Dyke Road to 400 yards (370 m) beyond the Quadrilateral, then repulsed a counter-attack with artillery-fire. As the Canadians reorganized before resuming the attack on the Quadrilateral, a heavy German bombardment fell in the area and a counter-attack began from two directions. After hours of costly fighting the Canadians withdrew to their jumping-off trenches, when they ran out of bombs having had 770 casualties out of 1,100 men and taken 240 prisoners. After night fell a trench was dug on the right to link with the 23rd Division. The right-hand battalion of the 3rd Brigade was delayed by uncut wire but forced its way through and took part of Regina Trench on its right flank. The left-hand battalion was stopped in front of the trench with many casualties and the brigade withdrew at nightfall. A few troops of the right-flank battalion of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Canadian Division, got into Regina Trench, through some German sally-ports but were overwhelmed. The left-hand battalion reached Regina Trench where it met Courcelette Trench but was then forced back. Part of the 7th Brigade reached Regina Trench and began to bomb westwards and also worked its way up West Miraumont Road but was eventually forced back by German counter-attacks. The left hand battalion was obstructed by new German barbed wire covered by machine-guns and was not able to advance up Kenora Trench. Relief of the Canadian Corps began on 10 October.

    The British line advanced, north and east of Courcelette.


    Germans attacked the Schwaben redoubt and regained some of the trenches.


    Tunstills Men Sunday 8th October 1916:


    Front line trenches south of Le Sars


    Major Robert Harwar Gill (see 7th October) reported the situation as it stood at 4am, “The Battalion and 11th West Yorks held O.G.2. up (from the Bapaume Road) to M.15.a.8.3., north side of Triangle to apex, and had pushed out patrols right up to 9.2. and had got in touch with 9th Yorks at M.15.d.6.8. all points being blocked and consolidated. The enemy were found to be by our patrols in O.G.1. at M.15.a.4½.4½”.

    Gill now re-organised the defence of the front line. He garrisoned OG1 with ‘D’ Company 10DWR; and OG2 with ‘B’ Company, two platoons of ‘A’ Company and the 61 men from the West Yorks. He gave ‘C’ Coy the task of occupying trenches west of Le Sars. This they did “without difficulty”, getting in touch with the 9th Yorks Regt on the road at M.15.a.7.7, where the Royal Engineers constructed a strong post, along with a position at the apex of the triangle at M.15.d.5.5 Both communications trenches between O.G.1. and O.G.2. had been deepened during the night and put in a defensible state.


    At 4.30am two companies of 8th Yorks. and Lancs. (70th Brigade) passed through the lines in O.G.1. and O.G.2. and bombed down the track in M.15.a. capturing O.G.1. & 2. on the left flank. Gill further reported that, “The trench marked on map as running from the road to point 92 was patrolled and found to be a natural ditch about 2 feet deep, useless to either the enemy or ourselves so I ignored it. Finding that OG 2 was unoccupied for some distance to its left, the West Yorks. Regt extended over the ridge M.15 central, there cutting off Germans who were sending up flares in OG1 in M.15.d. In the meantime the WRR had deepened the trench from OG1 to the apex of triangle and made it defensible and had also improved shallow communication trench from OG1 to OG2 (M15.d.2.0 to 3.2) so that it afforded adequate cover”.


    Major Gill then ordered the Yorks. and Lancs. companies to hold and consolidate the ground from his left flank as far as the track which they had gained. Hayne’s combined force, of 10DWR, 11West Yorks and 8th Yorks. and Lancs. now occupied about 1,300 yards of OG1 and the same of OG2, with a composite force of about 400 men in both lines. The Canadian Division on the left had also attacked at dawn and had taken OG1 and OG2 in continuation of the left flanks of the York and Lancs. companies.

    By 1pm 69th Field Ambulance was able to report, “The battlefield and village of Le Sars completely cleared of wounded. This was accomplished in less than 24 hours in spite of the fact that the ground was over a foot deep in mud and very sticky, and in addition the enemy kept up a heavy barrage on the lower end of the village of Martinpuich, through which the stretcher bearers had to pass”.


    Except for continued heavy shelling, the situation remained normal until about 3pm when the Germans made a heavy counter-attack on the Canadian Division on the left and drove it back to its original lines. Gill reported that, “Communication with my Battalion HQ was difficult and no telephone wire lasted more than a few minutes under the continual shelling and messages by runner took from 1 to 1 ½ hours each way. I gave the Canadians what support I could with oblique machine gun fire and also sent them the bombs they asked for, replenishing my supply from the 9th Yorks. on my right in anticipation of counter-attack on me. I received a message from my CO (Hayne), offering me reinforcements but replied that I hoped to hold my lines without as my left flank was well protected by Stokes guns, bombing parties, Vickers and Lewis guns”. Gill’s confidence was well-placed as he held his line for the remainder of the day.


    Casualties for the Battalion were relatively light; 3 men were reported killed; 1 reported missing and a further 27 wounded. One of those killed was Cpl. Leslie Seymour Perks (see 6th October), who was an original member of Tunstill’s Company; just days earlier he had written to the wife of Pte. Herbert Rooke to give her news of her husband’s death. Also killed was Sgt. Harry Lyddington Mason (see 21st November 1915) who, though not an original member of Tunstill’s Company, had joined them during training in England. The other men killed were Ptes. Robert Emson and John Richard Thornton. All four men have no known grave and all are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Among the wounded was Pte. George Whitfield (see 4th October), who, was subsequently evacuated to England and admitted to hospital in Colchester. According to his own account, he was wounded, “when we were on our way up for the third charge, in which we were successful in driving the Germans out. I was injured in the left thigh and just above the knee, but my wounds are going on remarkably well, though the shrapnel bullet is still in my thigh”. Once recovered from his wounds Whitfield did not re-join 10DWR but was instead posted to 1st/7th Durham Light Infantry, which was the pioneer battalion for 50th Division.

    2Lt. John Keighley Snowden (see 4th October), who had been wounded at Le Sars, embarked for England from Le Havre to Southampton onboard the New Zealand Hospital Ship Mohina.

    2Lt. Ernest George Costello (see 21st August), who had been with the Battalion only since 30th July left to return to England to be transferred to the Army Service Corps.

    Whilst the men of the Battalion were again engaged in action, the effects of their involvement in the fierce fighting on the Somme three months earlier were still being felt, with tragic consequences, back at home. Adelaide Benson, only sister of Pte. Fred Benson (see 29th July), who had been killed in action near Contalmaison on 11th July, had taken the news of her younger brother’s death very hard. Adelaide’s father had died in 1904, aged 43, when she was 17 years old and from then on she and Fred had clearly been very close. They had worked together in the weaving shed of Messrs. John Binns and Sons Ltd., Croft Mills, in Cowling, close to where they lived with their mother, Ann, in Keighley Road, Cowling. Her mother said that Adelaide had “taken this (Fred’s death) very much to heart, and would talk about very little else, and had become very much depressed”.On the morning of Sunday 8th October Adelaide asked her mother to walk with her to see some friends at Farnhill. Ann declined but suggested that her daughter call on another friend to take a walk with her. In the event, Adelaide did not call on anyone else but walked alone in the direction of the Malsis Hall estate. That was to be the last time she would be seen alive.
    Eastern Front:

    Germans occupy an island on the Danube near Ruschuk.

    Southern Front:

    Artillery activity along whole Italian front.

    Italians inflict heavy losses on Busa Alta.

    Serbs occupy the Dobropolye summit (east of Kaymakachlan).

    Naval Operations:

    German submarine U-53, outside Newport, Rhode Island 8 vessels sunk.

    Merchant Marine orders no vessels to sail pending instructions.

    Shipping Losses: 9


    Anniversary Events:


    876 Charles the Bald is defeated at the Battle of Andernach.
    1690 Belgrade is retaken by the Turks.
    1840 King William I of Holland abdicates.
    1855 Arrow, a ship flying the British flag, is boarded by Chinese who arrest the crew, thus beginning the Second Chinese War.
    1862 The Union is victorious at the Battle of Perryville, the largest Civil War combat to take place in Kentucky.
    1871 The Great Chicago Fire begins in southwest Chicago, possibly in a barn owned by Patrick and Katherine O’Leary. Fanned by strong southwesterly winds, the flames rage for more than 24 hours, eventually leveling three and a half square miles and wiping out one-third of the city. Approximately 250 people are killed in the fire; 98,500 people are left homeless; 17,450 buildings are destroyed.
    1897 Journalist Charles Henry Dow, founder of the Wall Street Journal, begins charting trends of stocks and bonds.
    1900 Maximilian Harden is sentenced to six months in prison for publishing an article critical of the German Kaiser.
    1906 Karl Ludwig Nessler first demonstrates a machine in London that puts permanent waves in hair. The client wears a dozen brass curlers, each wearing two pounds, for the six-hour process.
    1912 First Balkan War begins as Montenegro declares war against the Ottoman Empire.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  48. #1848

    Default Addendum 8 October 1916

    Germany – AIR FORCE (LUFTSTREITKRÄFTE) ESTABLISHED: Imperial Order in Council to amalgamate ‘all means of air combat and air defence with the Army, in the field and in the home areas, into one unit’.

  49. #1849

    Default

    Nice one Neil - can't go wrong with a bit of poetry, and loved the bagpipes story

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  50. #1850

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by zenlizard View Post
    Germany – AIR FORCE (LUFTSTREITKRÄFTE) ESTABLISHED: Imperial Order in Council to amalgamate ‘all means of air combat and air defence with the Army, in the field and in the home areas, into one unit’.
    Excellent spot Sam and well deserving of a cub reporters badge...

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    By MoonSylver in forum WGF: Historical Discussions
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 09-27-2012, 06:21

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