100 Years Ago Today

[Mike George]

Thanks for your time and the good read.

[Hedeby]

Always encouraged by an happy reader...

[Hedeby]

So lets try again just lost 40 minutes worth of work as whole bloody system suddenly went off line - seriously not impressed... Then I find that the thread has closed so am having to re-edit having lost all images etc - just not my day

23rd October 1916

We'll begin with the second part of the air raid story from yesterday...

Just after 10:00am a German aircraft approached Margate on the north-east Kent coast. No one noticed it until bombs began to drop in the Cliftonville district. A newspaper reported: ‘Nothing could be heard of aircraft engines, but high in the sky a small speck was eventually discerned.’ The first HE bomb dropped in the sea, followed by one on the shore near Walpole Rocks. The third bomb exploded on the grass in an open area at the north end of Fifth Avenue. The explosion smashed the glass in a shelter on the promenade, but a shocked lady sitting there was unhurt. Fragments of the bomb, however, struck a man as he walked along the promenade, injuring his left hand. The final HE bomb struck the roof of the St. George’s Hotel on Eastern Esplanade. It demolished a chimney stack, shattered the glass in three skylights and penetrated down to the ground floor, damaging the staircase and walls as it passed through the building. On the top floor it smashed glass in the bedroom doors and gouged holes in the walls in several places. A chambermaid working on the top floor received injuries to both feet and had to be taken to hospital.

The raider made off to the south-east where it was engaged by an AA gun at Sackett’s Hill between Margate and Ramsgate.. Although the gun crew found it hard to spot the aircraft in the bright sunlight, they still fired off 16 rounds in its general direction. The aircraft circled briefly as though trying to locate the gun before resuming a south-east course, going out to sea near Ramsgate.An aircraft from RNAS Manston was airborne within a couple of minutes of the first appearance of the raider. Another eight aircraft took off from Dover and Manston by 10.20am, and three more, from Eastchurch and Westgate, a little later. The first aircraft from Manston saw the raider but was unable to close the gap. No one else even made a sighting.

5 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY OCTOBER 23RD 1916

Air Mechanic 2nd Class G.C. Norton 28 Reserve Squadron RFC - died on this day in 1916

Lieutenant Franklin Sharp Rankin 18 Squadron RFC - He is remembered on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

Air Mechanic 1st Class C.E. Tombs 20 Reserve Squadron RFC.

Lieutenant Harold Ernest Whiteman RFC - Killed while flying 23 October 1916 aged 21. Lt H E Whiteman, RFC, was accidentally killed near Parkhouse on October 24 1916. At the inquest Captain Collins said it was his first solo trip. He had successfully come through his duel tests, and was quite a capable pilot. The vol-planed from a great height to within 150 feet of the ground , when it turned and nose-dived to earth. Although death occurred in Wiltshire he is buried in Bexhill Cemetery, presumably arranged by distant family. He has a private headstone rather than a CWGC headstone. It is very informative, giving unit and circumstance of death.


No wonder so many new pilots were killed in training having to learn in one of these.

Air Mechanic 1st Class James William Young H.M. Airship 'SS 18', Anglesey Naval Airship Station. Drowned in wreck of airship off Anglesey 23 October 1916 aged 24. SS.18, airship, trying to land, undercarriage carried away, drifted out to sea and came down off Ireland.

Submarine Scout Airships:

SS (Submarine Scout or Sea Scout) class airships were simple, cheap and easily assembled small non-rigid airships or "blimps" that were developed as a matter of some urgency to counter the German U-boat threat to British shipping during World War I. The class proved to be versatile and effective, with a total of 158 being built in several versions. Soon after the outbreak of World War I, the threat to British shipping from German submarines became increasingly apparent, with numerous losses occurring during October and November 1914. Then, on 4 February 1915, a communiqué issued by the Imperial German Admiralty declared that: "All the waters surrounding Great Britain and Ireland, are hereby declared to be a war zone. From February 18 onwards every enemy merchant vessel found within this war zone will be destroyed."

The situation had become critical and the Admiralty recognised that airships would be effective at spotting submarines and useful for Fleet observations, but at that time Britain's airship fleet consisted of just seven craft – four RNAS airships (HMA 17,18,19, and 20), two continental ships and a small Willows training craft – with only four airfields existing that possessed hangars capable of housing them. Consequently, on 28 February the First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord Fisher called a meeting with Commander E A D Masterman (Officer Commanding the Naval Airship Section) and representatives from Vickers and the London-based firm of Airships Limited to discuss the possibilities of creating a fleet of suitable patrol airships, sometimes referred to as "scouts"



During the entire war there was only one instance of a ship being sunk whilst being escorted by an airship. During the final 15 months of the war SS type airships carried out over 10,000 patrols, flying nearly one-and-a-half million miles in more than 50,000 hours. A total of 49 U-boats were sighted, 27 of which were attacked from the air or by ships.

An SS B.E.2c set the current altitude record for a British airship when it reached 10,300 ft (3,100 m) in the summer of 1916,[17] and the sole Hawk-engined SS Maurice Farman on one occasion carried out an extended patrol of 18 hours 20 minutes. Also in the summer of 1916, an Armstrong Whitworth model coated with black dope carried out night-time operations over France, proving that airships could be of value when operating with military forces over land. The SS type was further developed with purpose-built cars to create the SSP (Pusher), SSZ (Zero), SST (Twin) and SSE (Experimental SST) types. Demand for the versatile "Sea Scouts" was so great that a grand total of 158 of all versions and variants were constructed, some of which were acquired by France, Italy and the United States. Although the SS class types proved invaluable, their use was restricted to coastal patrols in reasonably fair weather owing to their low engine power and comparatively small size. For work farther out at sea and in all weathers, three further classes were developed: the Coastal, the C* and North Sea-class ships.Each had larger engines and envelopes, carried more crew, and had greater patrol duration than the previous class ships.

On this day we lost 1512 men

The minesweeping sloop HMS Genista (Lieutenant Commander John White) strikes a mine off the west coast of Ireland and sinks. There are twelve survivors, while seventy-eight of her crew including her Captain are killed.



At 14:30 two companies of the Hampshire Regiment attack Boritska Trench at Lesboeufs. Immediately they come under very heavy machine gun and rifle fire. The right flank eventually enters the German front line trenches but after holding them for a few hours they are forced to retire. Casualties number 202 officers and men.

Captain Henry Julian Cromie killed at age 20. He has one brother killed in action and a second brother killed as the Naval Attache in Petrograd in August 1918. He is a school master at Down College Alresford Hants and they are sons of Charles Francis Cromie former British Vice Consul at Dar-al-Baida.
Private Charles Earl is killed in action at age 25. He has two brothers who will be killed later in the Great War. Their bodies are never found and they are commemorated on different memorials.
Second Lieutenant Eric Horace Wood is killed in action at age 27. He received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors at London (1908) and Cambridge (1911).

Today's Claims:

Captain Noel Keeble RNAS 1 Wing: claims his second victory and earns himself the DSC whilst doing so, his citation reads Flt.-Lieut. Noel Keeble, R.N.A.S. For conspicuous gallantry on the 23rd October, 1916, when he attacked four German seaplanes and brought one of them down in a vertical nose-dive into the sea.



Capitaine René Doumer of the French Air Service claims his 3rd and 4th victories on this day



Claiming his second kill on what was turning out to be a good day for French pilots we have Capitaine Paul Adrien Gastin of N49 Squadron



Opening his account on this day we have Sous Lieutenant Henri François Languedoc. Having joined the army on 21 October 1903, Languedoc was serving with a cavalry regiment when the war began. Promoted to Sous Lieutenant, he transferred to an infantry regiment on 21 March 1915 but was disqualified from further service when he was badly wounded in combat. On 10 January 1916, he joined the French Air Service and received his Pilot's Brevet on 31 March 1916. Posted to Escadrille N12, he scored his first victory flying a Nieuport 11 on 23 October 1916. The following year, Languedoc downed six more enemy aircraft and became N12's leading ace before he was mortally wounded on 16 July 1917.



and finally also opening his account for the German side we have Leutnant Hermann Karl Ludwig Kunz alas I am unable to find out much more about hi.

Western Front: Verdun

Monday - 23 October Both Creusot-Schneider guns start to fire again at Fort Douamont. Two perfect hits penetrate the core of the fort and cause enormous damage. The lights stop shining and the second hit kills all that are present in the military hospital. Also a fire starts. Unfortunately, grenades make numerous victims. There are many wounded and poisoned with gas and the troops start to panic. The German Commander decides to evacuate the fort. A small occupying force stays behind in the fort, under the command of Captain Soltau. At his request to send reinforcements he receives no response and because he cannot defend the fort with just a few soldiers, he decides to evacuate the fort. Among the first group that left the fort was Captain Prollius who makes the decision to return to the fort because he considers it wrong to hand the fort over to the French without a fight. After close inspection the fort seems to be free of gas and the fires seem to be under control. With no more than twenty hastily assembled men he decides to occupy Fort Douaumont once again.



Western Front
Verdun: Germans evacuate battered Fort Douaumont as untenable (night October 23-24).
Battle of the Somme: British capture 1,000 yards of trenches towards Transloy.

Tunstill's Men : The weather turned milder, but misty. The Battalion left Poperinghe to go into the front line trenches south of the Menin Road, near Hooge. The men assembled outside their billets at 5.15 pm and completed the short march to Poperinghe station, from where they were scheduled to leave at 6pm. 2Lt. David Lewis Evans (see 26th September) was waiting for them at the station and was to supervise the entrainment, before re-joining ‘A’ Company. In the event, there was a short delay and the train did not pull away until 7 pm. On arrival at Ypres the Battalion was met by their guides and proceeded via Hellfire Corner and towards the front line south-west of Hooge. The darkness and the poor condition of the roads and tracks, with rain again falling, slowed progress somewhat and although the relief was underway by 9.30pm it would be 1.30 am on 24th before it was complete.

Eastern Front
Rumania: Battle of Tirgu Jiu (until October 29) south of Vulcan Pass which Falkenhayn storms (October 24) despite snow.

African Fronts
East Africa: Major-General Wahle ambushes British force, breaks through to Lettow between Northey and Iringa in next 3 weeks; captures 50 British soldiers and 2 guns at Ngominji, southwest of Iringa on October 29.

Western Front
Germany: 13 Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutters of No 3 Wing RNAS damage 3 Thyssen blast furnaces at Hagendingen, north of Metz.
Western Front*: Fog and rain restricts flying until October 25 and on October 27.

and finally we see the award of another Victoria Cross



Robert Downie VC, MM (12 January 1894 – 18 April 1968) was a Scottish 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.

Born on 12 January 1894 in Glasgow, Scotland, he was 22 years old, and a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Dublin Fusiliers, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 23 October 1916 east of Lesboeufs, France, when most of the officers had become casualties, Sergeant Downie, utterly regardless of personal danger and under very heavy fire, organised the attack which had been temporarily checked. At the critical moment he rushed forward shouting "Come on the Dubs!" which had an immediate response and the line rushed forward at this call. Sergeant Downie accounted for several of the enemy and in addition captured a machine-gun, killing the team. Although wounded early in the fight, he remained with his company, giving valuable assistance while the position was being consolidated. On his homecoming, he arrived at Glasgow Central Station to be met by hundreds of people who carried him shoulder-high to a taxi. Springburn Road was decorated with flags and bunting and lined with hundreds more people, and his achievement was widely reported in the Glasgow press.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thanks for all your extra effort Chris.
Rob.

[Hedeby]

Weel this is my last post for a short while, after today I leave you in the tender and loving care of Squadron Leader Skafloc and the minions from the print room whilst I slope off to the Forest of Dean for some much needed R&R - it will be tough, stuck in a country pub, with great food, roaring fire, great range of ales and just my good lady wife, my dog and my grand daughter for company. Before I start on today's edition I just wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone who takes the time to read what we put out in this thread and for all the nice comments we get back from you all. Absolutely delighted to see that we have now passed the 90,000 views mark - which is one hell of an achievement. Wonder how long before we hit the 100k mark - rough calculation I think it will be about the turn of the year - we will have to see. So thanks again, I look forward to being able to read the continuing tales (wi-fi permitting) and I will be back soon.

Anyway, on with the war...

24th October 1916

After the carnage of the past few weeks there was just the one airman lost on this day. Although there are differing reports, some of which suggest that the events in question actually happened on the 22nd October, I even have one that says the 26th. All thtree sources seem to agree that Captain Porter was shot down and killed by Oswald Boelcke, one report even stating that it was his final victory - but that one doesn't stack up. Anyway -Captain Porter.

Captain Leslie Vernon Porter 45 Squadron RFC:



Not only was Captain Leslie Vernon Porter a fighter pilot he was also a famous racing driver and was generally acknowledged as Ireland's first ever racing driver. In Ireland's long and varied motoring history few individuals are as fascinating as Leslie Porter, the first Irishman to race an automobile. Leslie Vernon Porter was born at Curryfree, Co Derry in May 1881, the son of a Captain Surgeon in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Sadly, Leslie Porter's father was to die on the expedition to relieve General Gordon at Khartoum just four years later. As a young man Leslie moved to turn-of-the-century Belfast, where he was the co-founder, with George Coombe, of the Northern Motor Company in 1899, almost certainly the first motor company anywhere in Ireland. In the same year Leslie learned to drive on a Leon Bollée Tricar. Before long, he was competing in motorcycle events, forming a firm friendship with another competitor, Willie Nixon, who was a near-neighbour of Leslie's in Belfast.

In March 1903 the Dublin-based Motor News magazine carried a report that the two would compete in the forthcoming Paris to Madrid motor race. Porter's preparations for the race were thorough, and included travelling to the Wolseley factory at Adderley Park, Birmingham, to supervise completion of the car which he was to drive. Allocated Number 243, Porter, with Nixon acting as his mécanicien or riding mechanic, set off on the race at 5.32am on Sunday, May 24th 1903. The 1903 Paris to Madrid Race has passed into the annals of infamy because of the many accidents which occurred, so that by the time the cars arrived at Bordeaux the authorities had stepped in to bring the event to a halt. Research has indicated that 10 people were killed - drivers, mécaniciens and members of the public - who seemed to have no concept of the speed of the cars with often fatal results. Sadly, Willie Nixon dead, a wheel of the Wolseley collapsing and throwing the hapless mécanicien against the wall of a railway hut beside a level crossing. It was a sombre end to the adventure. and several years passed before Leslie Porter ventured into motor sport once more.

However, in 1908 Leslie Porter entered a Calthorpe in the Irish Automobile Club's Reliability Trial. Of the 70 cars which started, only 20 completed the Trial without penalty. One of these was the Calthorpe driven by Leslie Porter who won a gold medal for winning his class. His drive impressed many and as a result the Calthorpe Company invited Leslie to drive a 'factory' production car in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race. Having driven magnificently, Leslie Porter was placed fourth behind three 'racing' cars and some 25 minutes ahead of the fifth placed car - a remarkable achievement in a production car with few modifications. Further success followed in the Coupe des Voiturettes at Boulogne in 1909, and again in 1910, when Porter was part of the Calthorpe team which won the much-prized Regularity Cup. 1910 was the last year Leslie Porter competed in motor sport, instead turning his attention to his rapidly expanding garage business. In 1915, although now 34, he joined the Royal Flying Corps and was sent to France as part of No 45 Squadron flying Sopwith 11/2 Strutters. It was whilst flying his Sopwith Strutter that he encountered the aircraft of Jasta 2 including Oswald Boelcke and it was he that most likely shot him down in the vicinity of Grevillers Wood.



There were no claims of aerial victories by any known aces on this day - possibly adding credence to the reports that place the death of Capt. Porter on the 22nd (when Boelcke has a confirmed Sopwith Strutter) rather than today the 24th - but such are the uncertainties a century after the event.

Today we lost 425 men - I would just like to apologise for the British bias in this section, it is not in any way down to a jingoistic nationalism but rather down to the fact that my command of other european languages is insufficient to allow to to find similar sources in French, German, Italian (in fcat any of the languages of those countries involved in the early years of the war - obviously won't be a problem when the American's decide to join in next year)

The merchant ship North Wales (Master Griffith Owen) is attacked and sunk by a submarine off the Scily Islands. Her entire crew of 30 is killed including her master age 45. Master Owen was in command of a collier ironically named North Wales on 16th November 1914 when it was sunk off Valpariso Chile by the Dresden and was taken prisoner at that time. He was released after the Battle of the Falkland Islands.

The steamer Framfield (Master Sampson Still Clark) strikes a mine three miles northeast of the Sunk Light Vessel and sinks, Six of crew are killed including her master who dies at 29.

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Major Charles Alexander Moss (Central Ontario Regiment) dies of wounds received in action 8th October at age 44. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Charles and Lady Moss of Toronto.



Major Charles A. Moss, son of the late Chief Justice Sir Charles Moss, died in hospital at Rouen from wounds received in action on Oct. 12th, at the age of 41. Major Moss came to Upper Canada College from the Model School in 1885, and while there was noted both as an athlete and a student. He matriculated at Toronto University as head boy of the College in 1889, took first-class honors in all his courses, and went on to Osgoode Hall, where he also took a very high place. He was also a prominent athlete, playing lacrosse for the University and for Toronto, Rugby for Upper Canada and the University, and also distinguishing himself in other sports. In 1897 he was called to the bar and became a partner in the firm of Aylesworth, Moss, Wright and Thompson. As a lawyer he was held in high esteem; Mr. Justice Riddell described him as thoroughly versed in his science and profession, an able counsel, a kindly associate, and an honorable man. A memorial service was held for Major Moss in St. James’ Cathedral, which was largely attended. The following words of one who knew him seem to describe Major Moss’s character well. “Glory had no charms for him nor had he any love of war for its own sake. Enlistment was a duty which he took as quietly and naturally as if his country had been his client.”

Captain James Wilfred Battersby MC (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 26. His father will die on service in April 1919.
Captain Barcroft Joseph Leech Fayle (Royal Army Medical Corps attached West Yorkshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 26. He graduated with honors in natural science from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. His brother was killed in July of this year. He was a Clifton Rugby footballer
Lieutenant Arthur William Campbell Connal (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action at age 21. His younger brother will be killed in April 1918. Both men are killed together while on a recon for their battery.
Second Lieutenant Charles Joseph Pattison (South African Forces) is killed at age 24. His brother was killed last July and they are sons of the Reverend Joseph Pattison Rector of Southwell.
Sergeant Phillip John Gurney (Rifle Brigade) is killed at age 28. His brother was killed in May 1915.
Private Ernest Harry George (Highland Light Infantry) is killed at age 20. His brother is also killed in the Great War.
Private Charles D Mowat (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed at age 22. His brother will be killed in March 1918.

Western Front - Verdun

Tuesday - 24 October at 12:00 a.m. The French attackers come into action, despite the fact that the battlefield is covered in a thick mist. The system of the creeping barrage is working perfectly; the co-ordination between infantry and artillery appears to be flawless and the German front is pushed back. Fleury and the Bois de Chapitre are taken; the Thiaumont-fortification and Fort Douaumont are reached. At some places the Germans stand firm, for example at Haudromont, mainly because of the strategically placed machine-gun nests. The taking of Fort Douaumont is placed in the hands of the Regiment d’Infantery Coloniale du Maroc, under the command of Nicolaï. After a brief encounter Captain Prollius decides to hand the fort over to Major Nicolaï. The Germans loose their most important base at the Verdun front.



(Note: during these days before the French attack 240,000 grenades are fired per day; on an average day this number is 100,000. In the previous seven months the French have used an estimated 23,000,000 grenades.) The German left wing offers a lot of resistance in the line between Fort Vaux and the Bois de Fumin where the French regiments endured many losses. Only late in the evening the resistance is given up. Many Germans surrender and disappear into captivity. Fort Vaux is the next aim of attack for the French.


Memorial to 657 German Soldiers buried behind the wall.

Here is a personal account of this momentous day...

From the slopes of Souville I have seen victory climb and crown Douaumont. Our modern battles afford no spectacle; they are cruel and mysterious. There are big empty spaces clotted with shell holes and cut with long furrows which mark the soil as the veins make marble patterns on the hands. There are columns of smoke from bursting shells, a line of shadows that creeps close to the earth and disappears. Those who are in the battle never know anything more of it than one episode. But the victory of October 24th - I saw it before me like a living being. Souville Hill is the only one of all the heights around Verdun which reaches the altitude of Douaumont. Between these two rival heights rises Fleury Ridge. Beyond, upon the crest, lies the Fort of Douaumont. I so often looked at this landscape of hill and ravine that I had it in my eyes when on the morning of October 24th I took my post at Souville, but my eyes looked for it in vain. A thick fog prevented my seeing anything except the nearest tortured slope and here and there a mutilated tree trunk. The fog, however, was by no means inert. It seemed as though it was being stirred about and laboured by the constant and invisible flight of shells. Their whistling was so continuous that instinctively I looked up as though I had expected them to form a vault of steel above my head.

Our artillery was pounding the enemy's positions, and I recalled the terrible days of the end of February when the shells were rushing upon us. This time it was the opposite impression that I got, an impression of our definite superiority. The guns with their thousand voices gave a prodigious concert in the fog, and I tried to analyze its skilful orchestration, to identify the strident plaint of the "75's," and the big bass of our heavy howitzers. I asked myself if we would attack in spite of the obscurity? Would it not be disastrous and prevent the guns from accompanying our advancing troops with their fire? On the other hand, might not the fog increase the elements of surprise. Knowing the hour fixed for the attack, I looked at my watch, and while waiting I gradually grew more and more anxious with the fear of postponement of our trial and the adjournment of our hopes. I knew that the operation had been minutely arranged and that our troops had been marvellously trained, but I also knew the disproportion of the forces to be engaged and the daring of the undertaking.

I will be back to finish this shortly - parental taxi duties intervene...

[Hedeby]

Weel this is my last post for a short while, after today I leave you in the tender and loving care of Squadron Leader Skafloc and the minions from the print room whilst I slope off to the Forest of Dean for some much needed R&R - it will be tough, stuck in a country pub, with great food, roaring fire, great range of ales and just my good lady wife, my dog and my grand daughter for company. Before I start on today's edition I just wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone who takes the time to read what we put out in this thread and for all the nice comments we get back from you all. Absolutely delighted to see that we have now passed the 90,000 views mark - which is one hell of an achievement. Wonder how long before we hit the 100k mark - rough calculation I think it will be about the turn of the year - we will have to see. So thanks again, I look forward to being able to read the continuing tales (wi-fi permitting) and I will be back soon.

Anyway, on with the war...

24th October 1916

After the carnage of the past few weeks there was just the one airman lost on this day. Although there are differing reports, some of which suggest that the events in question actually happened on the 22nd October, I even have one that says the 26th. All thtree sources seem to agree that Captain Porter was shot down and killed by Oswald Boelcke, one report even stating that it was his final victory - but that one doesn't stack up. Anyway -Captain Porter.

Captain Leslie Vernon Porter 45 Squadron RFC:



Not only was Captain Leslie Vernon Porter a fighter pilot he was also a famous racing driver and was generally acknowledged as Ireland's first ever racing driver. In Ireland's long and varied motoring history few individuals are as fascinating as Leslie Porter, the first Irishman to race an automobile. Leslie Vernon Porter was born at Curryfree, Co Derry in May 1881, the son of a Captain Surgeon in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Sadly, Leslie Porter's father was to die on the expedition to relieve General Gordon at Khartoum just four years later. As a young man Leslie moved to turn-of-the-century Belfast, where he was the co-founder, with George Coombe, of the Northern Motor Company in 1899, almost certainly the first motor company anywhere in Ireland. In the same year Leslie learned to drive on a Leon Bollée Tricar. Before long, he was competing in motorcycle events, forming a firm friendship with another competitor, Willie Nixon, who was a near-neighbour of Leslie's in Belfast.

In March 1903 the Dublin-based Motor News magazine carried a report that the two would compete in the forthcoming Paris to Madrid motor race. Porter's preparations for the race were thorough, and included travelling to the Wolseley factory at Adderley Park, Birmingham, to supervise completion of the car which he was to drive. Allocated Number 243, Porter, with Nixon acting as his mécanicien or riding mechanic, set off on the race at 5.32am on Sunday, May 24th 1903. The 1903 Paris to Madrid Race has passed into the annals of infamy because of the many accidents which occurred, so that by the time the cars arrived at Bordeaux the authorities had stepped in to bring the event to a halt. Research has indicated that 10 people were killed - drivers, mécaniciens and members of the public - who seemed to have no concept of the speed of the cars with often fatal results. Sadly, Willie Nixon dead, a wheel of the Wolseley collapsing and throwing the hapless mécanicien against the wall of a railway hut beside a level crossing. It was a sombre end to the adventure. and several years passed before Leslie Porter ventured into motor sport once more.

However, in 1908 Leslie Porter entered a Calthorpe in the Irish Automobile Club's Reliability Trial. Of the 70 cars which started, only 20 completed the Trial without penalty. One of these was the Calthorpe driven by Leslie Porter who won a gold medal for winning his class. His drive impressed many and as a result the Calthorpe Company invited Leslie to drive a 'factory' production car in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race. Having driven magnificently, Leslie Porter was placed fourth behind three 'racing' cars and some 25 minutes ahead of the fifth placed car - a remarkable achievement in a production car with few modifications. Further success followed in the Coupe des Voiturettes at Boulogne in 1909, and again in 1910, when Porter was part of the Calthorpe team which won the much-prized Regularity Cup. 1910 was the last year Leslie Porter competed in motor sport, instead turning his attention to his rapidly expanding garage business. In 1915, although now 34, he joined the Royal Flying Corps and was sent to France as part of No 45 Squadron flying Sopwith 11/2 Strutters. It was whilst flying his Sopwith Strutter that he encountered the aircraft of Jasta 2 including Oswald Boelcke and it was he that most likely shot him down in the vicinity of Grevillers Wood.



There were no claims of aerial victories by any known aces on this day - possibly adding credence to the reports that place the death of Capt. Porter on the 22nd (when Boelcke has a confirmed Sopwith Strutter) rather than today the 24th - but such are the uncertainties a century after the event.

Today we lost 425 men - I would just like to apologise for the British bias in this section, it is not in any way down to a jingoistic nationalism but rather down to the fact that my command of other european languages is insufficient to allow to to find similar sources in French, German, Italian (in fcat any of the languages of those countries involved in the early years of the war - obviously won't be a problem when the American's decide to join in next year)

The merchant ship North Wales (Master Griffith Owen) is attacked and sunk by a submarine off the Scily Islands. Her entire crew of 30 is killed including her master age 45. Master Owen was in command of a collier ironically named North Wales on 16th November 1914 when it was sunk off Valpariso Chile by the Dresden and was taken prisoner at that time. He was released after the Battle of the Falkland Islands.

The steamer Framfield (Master Sampson Still Clark) strikes a mine three miles northeast of the Sunk Light Vessel and sinks, Six of crew are killed including her master who dies at 29.

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Major Charles Alexander Moss (Central Ontario Regiment) dies of wounds received in action 8th October at age 44. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Charles and Lady Moss of Toronto.



Major Charles A. Moss, son of the late Chief Justice Sir Charles Moss, died in hospital at Rouen from wounds received in action on Oct. 12th, at the age of 41. Major Moss came to Upper Canada College from the Model School in 1885, and while there was noted both as an athlete and a student. He matriculated at Toronto University as head boy of the College in 1889, took first-class honors in all his courses, and went on to Osgoode Hall, where he also took a very high place. He was also a prominent athlete, playing lacrosse for the University and for Toronto, Rugby for Upper Canada and the University, and also distinguishing himself in other sports. In 1897 he was called to the bar and became a partner in the firm of Aylesworth, Moss, Wright and Thompson. As a lawyer he was held in high esteem; Mr. Justice Riddell described him as thoroughly versed in his science and profession, an able counsel, a kindly associate, and an honorable man. A memorial service was held for Major Moss in St. James’ Cathedral, which was largely attended. The following words of one who knew him seem to describe Major Moss’s character well. “Glory had no charms for him nor had he any love of war for its own sake. Enlistment was a duty which he took as quietly and naturally as if his country had been his client.”

Captain James Wilfred Battersby MC (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 26. His father will die on service in April 1919.
Captain Barcroft Joseph Leech Fayle (Royal Army Medical Corps attached West Yorkshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 26. He graduated with honors in natural science from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. His brother was killed in July of this year. He was a Clifton Rugby footballer
Lieutenant Arthur William Campbell Connal (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action at age 21. His younger brother will be killed in April 1918. Both men are killed together while on a recon for their battery.
Second Lieutenant Charles Joseph Pattison (South African Forces) is killed at age 24. His brother was killed last July and they are sons of the Reverend Joseph Pattison Rector of Southwell.
Sergeant Phillip John Gurney (Rifle Brigade) is killed at age 28. His brother was killed in May 1915.
Private Ernest Harry George (Highland Light Infantry) is killed at age 20. His brother is also killed in the Great War.
Private Charles D Mowat (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed at age 22. His brother will be killed in March 1918.

Western Front - Verdun

Tuesday - 24 October at 12:00 a.m. The French attackers come into action, despite the fact that the battlefield is covered in a thick mist. The system of the creeping barrage is working perfectly; the co-ordination between infantry and artillery appears to be flawless and the German front is pushed back. Fleury and the Bois de Chapitre are taken; the Thiaumont-fortification and Fort Douaumont are reached. At some places the Germans stand firm, for example at Haudromont, mainly because of the strategically placed machine-gun nests. The taking of Fort Douaumont is placed in the hands of the Regiment d’Infantery Coloniale du Maroc, under the command of Nicolaï. After a brief encounter Captain Prollius decides to hand the fort over to Major Nicolaï. The Germans loose their most important base at the Verdun front.



(Note: during these days before the French attack 240,000 grenades are fired per day; on an average day this number is 100,000. In the previous seven months the French have used an estimated 23,000,000 grenades.) The German left wing offers a lot of resistance in the line between Fort Vaux and the Bois de Fumin where the French regiments endured many losses. Only late in the evening the resistance is given up. Many Germans surrender and disappear into captivity. Fort Vaux is the next aim of attack for the French.


Memorial to 657 German Soldiers buried behind the wall.

Here is a personal account of this momentous day...

From the slopes of Souville I have seen victory climb and crown Douaumont. Our modern battles afford no spectacle; they are cruel and mysterious. There are big empty spaces clotted with shell holes and cut with long furrows which mark the soil as the veins make marble patterns on the hands. There are columns of smoke from bursting shells, a line of shadows that creeps close to the earth and disappears. Those who are in the battle never know anything more of it than one episode. But the victory of October 24th - I saw it before me like a living being. Souville Hill is the only one of all the heights around Verdun which reaches the altitude of Douaumont. Between these two rival heights rises Fleury Ridge. Beyond, upon the crest, lies the Fort of Douaumont. I so often looked at this landscape of hill and ravine that I had it in my eyes when on the morning of October 24th I took my post at Souville, but my eyes looked for it in vain. A thick fog prevented my seeing anything except the nearest tortured slope and here and there a mutilated tree trunk. The fog, however, was by no means inert. It seemed as though it was being stirred about and laboured by the constant and invisible flight of shells. Their whistling was so continuous that instinctively I looked up as though I had expected them to form a vault of steel above my head.

Our artillery was pounding the enemy's positions, and I recalled the terrible days of the end of February when the shells were rushing upon us. This time it was the opposite impression that I got, an impression of our definite superiority. The guns with their thousand voices gave a prodigious concert in the fog, and I tried to analyze its skilful orchestration, to identify the strident plaint of the "75's," and the big bass of our heavy howitzers. I asked myself if we would attack in spite of the obscurity? Would it not be disastrous and prevent the guns from accompanying our advancing troops with their fire? On the other hand, might not the fog increase the elements of surprise. Knowing the hour fixed for the attack, I looked at my watch, and while waiting I gradually grew more and more anxious with the fear of postponement of our trial and the adjournment of our hopes. I knew that the operation had been minutely arranged and that our troops had been marvellously trained, but I also knew the disproportion of the forces to be engaged and the daring of the undertaking.



Three divisions entrusted with the duty of dislodging seven divisions from formidably organized positions! It was a daring undertaking, but one conceived in the proportions of a masterpiece, and one which was to be carried out so precisely that once it had been executed it seemed quite simple. I had upon me the Order of the Day of General de Passaga, in which he stimulated his men by recalling the prowess of the neighbouring division. I took it out of my pocket and I chewed it over and over again as a horse does his oats. During the long wait it was to me a song accompanied by the orchestra of guns. On the positions which I knew so well I reviewed the divisions ready for attack. From Haudromont quarries on my left to Douaumont Fort in front of me lay Guyot de Salins' division with its Zouaves, its Tirailleurs, and the famous colonial regiments from Morocco which retook Fleury on August 17th.

To the right lay the Chasseurs of Passaga's division, and still further to the right, towards Vaux and Hardaumont, the fantassins of Lardemelle.I imagined them for I could not see more than fifty yards in front of myself. I also imagined and not without anxiety, the German order of battle, the number of battalions in first and second line, the trenches, the supplementary defences, the redoubt, Thiaumont work, Haudromont quarries, and at last, and above all, Douaumont Fort. How could our men get the better of such human and material obstacles? Every now and again I pulled out my watch. Eleven o'clock! Eleven-twenty! Eleven-forty! The time fixed! Had the attack, which I ought to have seen rise up and roll down the ravine and then sweep over the opposing slope, had it been launched? Had the artillery lengthened its fire?

It was impossible to know. At eleven-fifty on the right I heard the tick-tick of machine guns. If machine guns were in action the attack must have been launched. If machine guns are firing our men have been seen and are meeting with resistance. Then I heard them no more. The roar of the guns drowned everything and again I go through uncertainty and anxiety. At the command post where I went from time to time news was at last coming through. The start was magnificent. The first objective is reported to have been reached already. The men are organizing their positions. They are going to get on the move again. They are off.

An aeroplane-motor hums over my head. The pilot is flying so low that it looks as though he is going to touch me. I see the enormous bulk of his machine loom grey through fog. He comes down still lower. I was told later on that the pilot had been able to shout out "En avant" to our men and that a conversation had thus been exchanged between heaven and earth. Towards two o'clock a strengthening wind begins to worry the clouds, following them, chasing them away, turning on those which take their place, and finally rending them and putting them to flight just as a storm drives clouds off a mountain pass.In the intervals of their flight first a slope, then a crest, appears. At last I begin to see. I recognize Fleury crest, the ravine of Chambitoux, the slopes of Douaumont, and then Douaumont itself. The clouds are now flying so fast that in a second their ranks are broken and the landscape stands out with the astonishing clearness which precedes or follows bad weather.

Through my artillery glasses I could count the shell holes. They are all full of water. What a time our men must have had if they went through there! The landscape is not dead. Over there on the slopes of Douaumont earth-coloured men are moving about. To the left and to the right they are marching in Indian file. They are advancing, climbing, and gradually getting nearer their objective. At last there is one whose silhouette stands out upon the sky as clearly as if a shadow show. Others are going down a gorge. They are going to be seen. They will be mown down. Don't show yourselves like that. It is crazy. They are moving, and turn, describing a vast circle around conquered Douaumont as though they were dancing a "farandole" of victory. I want to shout. I must have shouted, but I did not hear the sound of my own voice in the noise of bursting shells, for the German riposte had not been long in coming and shells are bursting. I must have shouted, for my teeth shut upon some earth splashed up into my open mouth by a shell, which had fallen close to me. Douaumont is ours. The formidable Douaumont, which dominates with its mass, its observation points, the two shores of the Meuse, is again French.

Captain Tunstill's Men:

A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Companies went into the front line south-west of Hooge, from I.18.c.4.2 to I.17.b.7.3 and then on north-east to ‘The Culvert’, and patrolling toward Bellewarde Bek. ‘D’ Company were in close reserve, with one platoon at Leinster Farm and three in front of Halfway House, with Battalion HQ. Once established in their new positions, impressions of the sector were relatively positive, as reported in the War Diary, “The men made themselves comfortable in the shelters & dugouts in the trenches. These are very good shelters, but generally not too well protected in the event of any heavy shelling. The Sector is, however, remarkably quiet with only an occasional shell passing over & an exchange of a few machine gun & rifle bullets each night”.



Western Front
Verdun – First French Offensive Battle of Verdun (until December 18): Nivelle and Mangin send 3 picked and compass-guided divisions (29 battalions) to assault 7 tired and depleted German divisions (only 16 battalions in front line) through mist, reoccupy Fort Douaumont and capture 6,000 PoWs. May positions regained.



Eastern Front
Rumania: Falkenhayn south of Torzburg Pass and fighting near Kimpulung.
Dobruja: *Mackensen reaches Mejidia on Danube-Black Sea railway, occupies Cernavoda on Danube after Rumanians blow bridge on October 25.

Middle East
Arabia: T.E.Lawrence (of Arabia) first meets Feisal at Hamra, decides he is the potential leader. On 16 October 1916, Lawrence was sent to the Hejaz on an intelligence-gathering mission led by Ronald Storrs. He visited and interviewed three of Sharif Hussein's sons: Ali, Abdullah, and (on the 24th) Faisal. He concluded that Faisal was the best candidate to lead the Arab Revolt. Lawrence became an intelligence officer in Cairo. In June 1916, the Arab Revolt began against Turkey, an ally of Germany, a revolt the British had worked hard to encourage. Lawrence became liaison officer and adviser to Feisal (also Faisal), son of the revolt's leader Sherif Hussein of Mecca. Lawrence was a superb tactician and a highly influential theoretician of guerrilla warfare. His small but effective irregular forces attacked Turkish communications and supply routes, tying down thousands of Turkish troops and preventing them from fighting against regular allied forces under the command of General Edward Allenby. Lawrence's overriding aim was to help the Arabs achieve military success that would lead to post-war self-government.





HMS Hardinge arrives at Rabegh with Egyptian mountain guns from Jeddah.

and finally - A Zeppelin causes indignation in the Netherlands by dropping an incendiary bomb and giving all the appearances of spying on Dutch military positions.

So that's all from me for a while - thank you for taking the time to read and its over to Neil (Skafloc) and the chaps from the print room.

[Rebel]

Have a good R & R Chris, you deserve it.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

What a lucky blighter Squadron Leader Hedeby is.....dust all around and an old ammo crate as a seat, I nestle the trusty typewriter on knee and tap away 1 fingered to get tomorrow, nay lad; nay; tis tomorrow already! Shiver me prop shaft and oil up me pistons....now where was that bunch of latest sitreps from the front?

[mikeemagnus]

Thanks Chris. Have a good break. And thanks for all of your hard work and excellent reporting. Cheers, Mike

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Wednesday 25th October 1916

Today we lost: 575

Today’s losses include:

• A man whose son will be killed in the Second World War
• The son of a member of the clergy
• A Military Chaplain
• Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
• The 6^th victim of the Red Baron

Air Operations:

Western Front:
Allied (British naval and French) air raid on steel works (Hagendingen) north of Metz.

Five BE12s of 21 Squadron Royal Flying Corps take off at 07:45 lead by Captain E F Norris (who will be accidentally killed in March 1918) flying an offensive patrol. They are engaged by eight enemy aircraft and Second Lieutenant Arthur James Fisher age 21 is shot down and killed just sixteen days after joining his squadron by the Red Baron becoming his 6^th victim.

Boelcke’s Jasta 2 shoot down 3 RFC artillery observation aircraft.

Balkans:
5 RNAS aircraft leave Imbros to fly to help Rumania. 4 reach Bucharest, 4 more sent on Nov 21^st.

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 9

2Lt Bolitho, G.R. (Geoffrey Richard), 4 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action over Gommecourt aged 23. Bolitho was an observer in a BE2c.

2Lt Williams, S.N. (Stanley Norman), 4 Squadron, RFC. Piloting a BE2c over Gommecourt.

AMech1 Thake, H.T.J. (Henry Thomas James) 4 Squadron, RFC. aged 18. Wireless operator killed in action.

2Lt Collen, J. (John), 7 Squadron, RFC. An observer, shot down in a BE2d over Puisieux.

2Lt Fraser, W. (William), 7 Squadron, RFC, aged 27. Pilot, shot down in a BE2d over Puisieux.

2Lt Fisher, A.J. (Arthur James), 21 Squadron, RFC, aged 21, flying a BE12 was shot down by Manfred von Richthofen, near Bapaume, during an aerial combat and buried by the enemy.

Lt Glorney, E.E. (Ernest Edward), RFC. Killed whilst flying aged 29.

2lt Irvine, W.H. (William Henry), RFC. Accidentally Killed while flying a Bristol Scout went into a spinning nose dive near Sidbury Hill, aged 19.

Capt Leigh, H.C. (Henry Clifford), RFC.

Claims: 6

Lt Raymond "Collie" Collishaw clains his 1^st & 2^nd confirmed kills flying a Sopwith 1 ½ strutter for 3 Wing Naval Air Service he shoots down 2 scouts near Luneville. ("While in the air you constantly turned your head, first to one side and then to the other, making sure that nothing was on your tail. This, by the way, was the reason for the traditional silk scarves worn by the fighter pilots.") Fifteen year old Raymond Collishaw joined the Canadian Fisheries Protection Services in 1908. Over the next seven years he worked his way from cabin boy to first officer. In January 1916, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a probationary Flight Sub-Lieutenant. Eventually commanding the famous "Black Flight," he was the first pilot to claim 6 victories in one day and the highest scoring ace to fly the Sopwith Triplane.


Offizierstellvertreter Paul Aue claims his 1^st confirmed kill flying for KG5 he shot down a BE2c. After scoring one victory with KG 5, Aue joined Jasta 10 in October 1916.


Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke claims his 39^th confirmed kill, flying for Jasta 2 he shot down a BE2c near Puissieux-au-Mont.


Lt Otto Hohne claims his 3rd^t confirmed kill flying for Jasta 2 he shot down a BE12 near Combles.

Lt Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen clains his 6^th confirmed kill, flying an Albtros DII fro JAsta 2 he shot down a BE12 near Bapaume.

Western Front

Verdun:
On October 25, 1916, French troops rejoice after recapturing Fort Douaumont, the preeminent fortress guarding the city of Verdun, under siege by the German army since the previous February.

German attacks repulsed.

Lt Louis Franchet d’Esperey (son of general) of 401^st Infantry Regiment is killed before Fort Vaux, aged 18.

Somme:

Rain 2mm. 52° - 45° rain in the morning which had made the area of Montauban impassable. Many supply trucks stuck in the deep mud. The shortage of supplies reduced the effectiveness of the artillery.


Tunstills Men Wednesday 25th October 1916:
Front line trenches south-west of Hooge


With the prevailing wind blowing in from the German lines, the need for the practice in the use of the new box respirators became clear, although, in fact, there was to be no threat from gas. The entry in the War Diary gives a clear statement of the quiet conditions, “Nothing of a serious nature has transpired. Since we arrived here the weather has been generally dull & wet. Wind generally S.S.W. to S.S.E. Our men have done very useful work in strengthening parapets, draining trenches & strengthening the wire in front line trenches. Several times portions of the parapet & trench sides have fallen in, but all have been repaired”.

A memorial service was held at at St. Andrew's Church, Sedbergh for Sg.t Harry Lyddington Mason (see 20^th October) and Pte. Harry Clemmett of King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. It was later reported that, “There was a large congregation ... The Vicar (Rev. A. H. Walker) took the major portion of the service, and the lesson was read by Rev. H. F. Donaldson Selby. The special hymns were 'The Son of God goes forth to war', 'Lead Kindly Light', and 'Peace, prefect peace'. At the conclusion of the service the organist, Mr. A.E. Thorne, played the 'Dead March'.

The War Office wrote to request that Cox & Co. report on the finances of the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 20^th October) who had been killed at Le Sars. They were now seeking to settle Harris’ account.

Eastern Front:

Transylvania: Enemy storm Vulkan Pass.

Romanians make stand in northern passes,

Dobruja: Romanians blow up bridge and abandon Cerna Voda, falling back towards north of Dobruja.

Moldavia: Russian victory at Dorna Vatra.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Sir Reginald Wingate’s despatch of 8 August published describing revolt and conquest of Darfur (jan 1915 to 22^nd May 1916).

General Gil with Portuguese crosses River Rovuma.

Germans cut communications between General Northey and Iringa and break through extended British line in following three weeks.

Naval Operations:

Mediterranean: 26 U-Boats assigned (including 4 Black Sea and 8 en route or preparing to leave).

Shipping Losses: 3

Political:

Greece: Greek government issue decree disbanding class 1913 and the men called up on 10 September, agree to transfer two corps to Peloponnesus.

Protecting powers (reported in Athens) had sanctioned loan to Salonika Provisional Government.

Anniversary Events:
1415 An English Army under Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt. The French outnumber Henry, 60,000 to 12,000 but English longbows turn the tide of the battle.

1757 A British fleet of 14 ships under Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hawke defeats the French at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The battle puts an end.


1760 George III of England is crowned.

1854 During the Crimean War, a brigade of British light cavalry is destroyed by Russian artillery as they charge down a narrow corridor in full view of the Russians.
1881 Pablo Picasso is born.

1915 French institute the Croix de Guerre.

1916 German pilot Rudolf von Eschwege shoots down his first enemy plane, a Nieuport 12 of the Royal Naval Air Service over Bulgaria. (Unconfirmed).

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Our losses are starting to stack up already Neil. heaven help us next Spring.
Rob.

[zenlizard]

I would like to reiterate my thank for maintaining this thread to both Chris (Hedeby) and Nei (Skafloc). Incredible amount of work you both put in.

[Mike George]

Thanks for the good read and your time.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Thursday 26th October 1916

Today we lost: 553

Today’s losses include:

• The grandson of a General
• The son of a Baronet
• The grandson of the late Postmaster-General
• Multiple sons of members of the clergy
• The last victim of Oswald Boelcke
• Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
• The late Assistant Master at Cockfield Council School

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Lawrence Hope King-Harman (Royal Horse Artillery attached Royal Flying Corps) is accidentally killed at age 27 in Mesopotamia. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Charles Anthony King-Harman KCMG and grandson of General ‘Sir’ Robert Biddulph GCB GCMG. He served in the Mohmand Campaign of 1908.
• Lieutenant John Henry Harford (South Wales Borderers) is killed during a night patrol while lying in a shell-hole close to the German trench attempting to locate the wire. The enemy sends up Very lights and, in trying to confirm his work, he shows himself and is shot dead by a German sniper. He is the son of the 1^st Baronet and grandson of the Right Honorable St. John Raikes, late Postmaster-General.
• Second Lieutenant Robert Donald Neil (Royal Scots Fusiliers) is killed in action at age 22. He is the son of the Reverend James Raikes.
• Lieutenant John Cedric Jervis (Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 26 when he is shot down becoming the last victim of Oswald Boelcke. He is the son of the Reverend John Jervis Vicar of Snitterield and has a brother who will be killed in July 1918 in Mozambique.
• Sergeant Henry Gray (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) is killed. His brother will be killed next April.
• Lance Corporal George William Andrews (West Surrey Regiment) is killed at age 20. His brother will die of wounds in March 1918.
• Private Norman Wilson Chambers (Durham Light Infantry) is killed at age 30. He is the late Assistant Master at Cockfield Council School.
• Private Fred Dimbleby (Warwickshire Regiment) is killed at age 19. His brother was killed last July.

Air Operations:




Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 8

2Lt Carlyle, W.M. (William Mackay), 60 Squadron (Special Reserve), RFC. Killed in Action 26 October 1916 aged 27,flying Nieuport 16 A133 on an offensive patrol over Grevillers-Serre area, involved in an aerial combat 2.40pm. Aerial victory claimed by Ltn Hans von Keudell, Jasta 1over Grevillers.

2Lt Fawkner (Focken), L.C. (Leslie Charles), 15 Squadron RFC. Killed in Action 26 October 1916 aged 21, during an aerial combat on Somme.

Lt Haywood, S. (Sydney), 30 Squadron, RFC, Killed in action aged 25.

Capt King-Harman, L.H. (Lawrence Hope), 30 Squadron, RFC. Killed whilst flying aged 27.

2Lt Palfreyman, G.A. (George Alexander), 7 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 23.

2Lt Parsons, F.G. (Forrest Gale), 7 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action flying B. E. 2d 6235 with 2nd Lieutenant G A Palfreyman.

2Lt Stuart, D.A. (David Aymery), RFC. Killed aged 20.

Lt Jervis, J.C. (John Cedric), 5 Squadron RFC. Killed in action aged 26.

Claims: 9

Capt Kelvin Crawford claims his 1^st confirmed victory flying a DH2 for 24 Squadron, RFC, by shooting down a Halberstadt DII near Bapaume.



Oberleutnant Hans Berr claims his 7^th & 8^th victories flying for Jasta 5 when he shot down an FE2b near Le Transloy & a balloon south of Maurepas. 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.

Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke claims his 40^th victory for Jasta 2, flying an Albatros DII shooting down a BE2c south west of Serre.



Lt Hans Imelman claims his 3^rd victory flying for Jasta 2, shotting down a Nieuport 17 near Serre.


Lt Hans von Keudell claims his 3^rd victory for Jasta 1 shooting down a Nieuport 17 near Brevillers. Hans von Keudell began his military career as a cadet in 1904 and joined the Kaiser Alexander II von Russland Uhlan Regiment #3 in 1911. After serving in combat in Poland and France, he transferred to the German Air Force on 7 June 1915 and received preliminary training as a two-seater pilot at Adlershof. Posted to Breiftauben Abteilung Ostende at Ghistelle on 13 December 1915, von Keudell took part in the Verdun offensive and flew missions over Dunkirk and Toul. After training on single-seat fighters in the summer of 1916, he was posted to KEK B on 4 August but was reassigned to Jasta 1 when it was formed on 22 August. Credited with 11 victories, von Keudell left Jasta 1 to form Jagdstaffel 27 on 5 February 1917.


Oberleutnant Stefan Kirmaier claims his 6^th & 7^th victories for Jasta 2 shooting down a BE2c near Grandcourt & a DH2 near Le Transloy. After transferring from the infantry to the German Air Service, Kirmaier served with FA(A) 203 before joining KEK J in 1916. Here he scored three victories, including one balloon, during the month of July. On 5 October 1916, he was reassigned to Jasta 2 under Oswald Boelcke.


Podporuchik Ivan Alexandrovich Loiko claims his 1^st victory flying a Nieuport 11 for 9^th Corps Air Detachment shooting down an enemy aircraft near Mamalyga Station.

Western Front

Somme:

Rain 1mm. 55° - 39° a showery day particularly in the morning.
Rawlinson postpones the operations due to take place today until the 30th. He then goes away for a short break to Versailles. He says that the weather is as bad as it can be.

Tunstills Men Thursday 26th October 1916:

Front line trenches south-west of Hooge
The wind veered round to a more northerly direction which meant a reduced threat from German gas and the "wind dangerous" warning was taken off. British artillery fired sporadically through the day. Otherwise the day was again quiet. The War Diary reported that, “Our patrols have been out each night & have found the ground very marshy & in places impassable. These patrols have only occasionally been fired at & have sustained no casualties”.

The relative quiet allowed for a more gentle introduction for five new subalterns who arrived to replace the losses suffered at Le Sars. All five had arrived in France on 22^nd or 23^rd September but only now joined the Battalion. They were Lt. Herbert Sparling and 2Lts. Joseph Crocker, Eric Dixon, Harold Sykes Holroyd (see 23^rd September) and Charles Archibald Milford (see 22^nd September).

A further statement was taken regarding the death in action of 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford (see 24^th October); the informant was Pte. John Roebuck of ‘D’ Company, who was then being treated at no.13 General Hospital at Boulogne. Roebuck reported that, “We went over first on Oct. 6^th (sic.), at Le Sars, and this officer got killed on the German parapet. At this time we failed to take the trench and had to go back to our own line again. On the 7^th, Saturday, we went again, and succeeded, and found his body, and the body of Mr. Graham (see 12^th October) both dead. I saw their bodies and they would certainly have been buried by now. We held the trench that we took after the attack of 7^th October. Mr. Stafford was a very nice officer indeed and liked by all the men”.
John Roebuck had attested under the Derby Scheme in November 1915 and arrived in France on 11^th May 1916, serving for two months with 2DWR before being transferred to 10DWR on 16^th July. He had recently been taken ill and was awaiting evacuation to England.

The London Gazette announced the appointment of Herbert Middleton Hands (see 26th September) to a commission as Second Lieutenant with the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment; he would later serve with 10DWR

Eastern Front:

Rumania – Tirgu Jiu: Rumanian First Army routs lone 11th Bavarian Division (2,000 Pow and 4 guns captured), pursues until November 2).

Enemy checked in northern passes.

Enemy gain ground in southern passes; through Vulkan Pass now 20 miles within Romania.

In Dobruja, Romanians now 24 miles north of railway.

British and French aircraft reach Bucharest.

Naval Operations:

Channel: 11 German destroyers (Captain Michelsen) from Zeebrugge raid in Dover Straits (night October 26-27). 24 German ships transferred from High Seas Fleet (October 23) to aid U*-boat passage of the Straits. 7 net barrage drifters and 2 destroyers sunk for no loss despite Dover Patrol ‘s 18 alerted destroyers (6 ‘Tribals’ from Dover briefly engage). British destroyer Zulu mined, sister ship Nubian torpedoed (Nubian undamaged bow section and Zulu stern section salvaged and mated to create unique HMS Zubian; she sinks UC-50 (February 4, 1918). Bethmann informs German High command question of unrestrictedU-Boat warfare exclusively Kaiser’s concern as C-in-C.


German Destroyers in the North Sea.

The torpedo boat HMS Flirt (Lieutenant Richard Pinder Kellett, killed) is serving as duty destroyer in the Dover Patrol supporting drifters in the Center of the English Channel. Two German torpedo boat flotillas attempt to disrupt cross channel supply routes and Flirt sights a group of enemy vessels, but Lieutenant Kellett does not report them as he believes they are British destroyers returning from Dunkirk. At about 22:00 the Germans open fire on a group of the drifters sinking Spotless Prince (Skipper Henry Collins, killed), Datum (Skipper James Frederick Howlett, killed) and Gleaner of the Sea (Skipper Robert George Hurren DSC, killed) and damaging Waveney II. Flirt hears the gunfire and proceeds to investigate and finds the Waveney II in a sinking condition. As she stops to pick up survivors she is illuminated by searchlights and raked by gunfire from the Germans sinking very quickly. There are only four survivors of her crew of eighty-four. The trawlers lose a total of thirty-four crew members in the action.




Shipping Losses: 15

Political:

Germany: Bethmann visits Pless and opposes military age extension to 60; Groener promoted Lieutenant General to head new War Munitions Office (created November 1).

Britain: £60m New York loan announced. Rumania Flag Day.

Neutrals:

USA: Wilson tells Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce ‘I believe that the business of neutrality is over. The nature of modern war leaves no state untouched’.

Anniversary Events:

1774		The first Continental Congress, which protested British measures and called for civil disobedience, concludes in Philadelphia.
1795		General Paul Barras resigns his commission as head of France’s Army of the Interior to become head of the Directory; his second-in-command becomes the army’s commander—Napoleon Bonaparte..
1825		The first boat on the Erie Canal leaves Buffalo, N.Y.
1881		Three Earp brothers and Doc Holliday have a shootout with the Clantons and McLaurys at the O.K. Coral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory.
1905		Norway signs a treaty of separation with Sweden. Norway chooses Prince Charles of Denmark as the new king; he becomes King Haakon VII.

[Mike George]

Thanks for the good read.

[mikeemagnus]

Many thanks for the last two posts Neil. Great reporting. Love the cartoons ! Cheers Mike

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Friday 27th October 1916

Today we lost: 460

Today’s losses include:

• A father and his two sons killed together
• Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
• A family that will lose three sons in the Great War
• A School Master at Rossall and University College School
• The father of a 1936 Rhodes Scholar
• An Artist
• The son of a member of the clergy
• A 16-year old

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Hefferman James Considine MC (Irish Regiment) is killed at age 33. His brother was killed in May 1915 and they are sons of ‘Sir’ Heffernan James Fitz Joseph John Considine CB MVO DL.
• Captain Alec Tait-Knight (Durham Light Infantry) dies of wounds at age 34. He is a school master at Rossall and University College School but had his voice trained and became a professional singer. His son will be awarded a 1936 Rhodes Scholar from St Andrew’s College Grahamstown South Africa.
• The artist Lieutenant Sydney Noel Simmons (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) dies at home at age 35.
• Second Lieutenant Francis Roberts (Royal Fusiliers) is killed. He is the son of Canon Roberts Rector of Longsight.
• Private Henry Ernest Crane (Royal Fusiliers) dies of wounds at Lincoln Military Hospital after receiving a severe leg wound at the front. He taught modern languages for a year at Bedford Modern School before volunteering in April 1916, one of the last to do so before conscription is introduced.
• Gunner William Rayner (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed in action. He is one of three brothers who lose their lives in the Great War.
• Private Elder Thomas Reece (Nova Scotia Regiment) dies on service in England at age 22. His brother will be killed in November 1917.
• Private Arthur Oliver Basketfield (Coldstream Guards) is killed at age 21. His brother will be killed next October.
• Gunner W A Rayner (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed. His two brothers will be killed in October over the next two years.
• Private Arthur Hill (Australian Infantry) is killed at age 16.

Air Operations:

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: No deaths are recorded for today.

Claims: There are no claims today.

Western Front

Somme:

Rain 1mm. 55° - 43° showery and cold day.



The conditions are so bad that Rawlinson considers that it would be a physical impossibility for the infantry to advance. Even moving across a short distance would wear the troops out.



Tunstills Men Friday 27th October 1916:
Front line trenches south-west of Hooge
Conditions were again quiet; the only event of note was the sighting of a German observation balloon in the morning, but this soon flew back deeper behind the German lines.

Capt. James Christopher Bull (see 11^th October) appeared before a Medical Board convened at Reading War Hospital. The Board found that:
“He was admitted into hospital in France 22.9.16; the disease proved to be paratyphoid B. Admitted here 13.10.16, convalescent.
Two negative bacteriological examinations of faeces and urine have been made.
Condition good, but patient feels weak.
We recommend this officer for six weeks’ leave.”

Lt. Cecil Edward Merryweather (see 3^rd October), serving with 11DWR, was formally transferred to 1^st Reserve Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, for home service, on order of a medical board; he had applied for such transfer on 12^th September.

Pte. Patrick Sweeney (see 22^nd October), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was yet again in trouble, as he had been on many previous occasions; he was found to be “drunk and creating a disturbance at 9.20pm”. Three days later he would be formally charged and sentenced to two day’s detention.

There was extensive coverage in the weekly editions of the local press of the men killed and wounded in the recent actions at Le Sars

From the Craven Herald:
EARBY - TWO LADS AMONG THE KILLED
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Oates, 46, Victoria Road, Earby, received the sad news last week of the death of their son, Pte. Wilfred Lawson Oates (see 4^th October), West Riding Regiment, who was killed in action in France on the 4th inst., the day following his 22nd birthday. Deceased had been at the Front about six months and prior to joining the Army was employed as a warehouseman at Messrs. A. J. Birley's Victoria Mill. Several letters of condolence have been received by the bereaved parents from Earby Comrades in the same Battalion, including Ptes. Jas. Walker (see 4^th October), H. Snell (I am currently unable to identify this man), Edgar Shuttleworth (see 3^rd September), and L. Hill (possibly Pte. Leslie Norman Hill, 17821). The last-mentioned wrote:- "Your son was in the act of bombing the enemy out of a sap, and did his duty until the last. I am sure he has the praise of all by his devotion to his work. We all liked him and all miss him. The parcel you sent him was divided amongst his comrades, which, I feel sure, would be in accordance with your wish, rather than that it should be sent back. Please accept my own and my comrades' greatest sympathy in your loss." Pte. Oates was a young man of exemplary conduct, and took a deep interest in the Temperance movement both before and since he joined the Army.

HELLIFIELD - PRIVATE JOSEPH PRESTON KILLED
Official news has been received of the death in action of Pte. Joseph Preston (see 22^nd October), of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. Pte. Preston was 23 years old, and before joining the Forces, shortly after the outbreak of the war, he was engaged as a porter at Hellifield Station. He resided with Mr. C. Walkington, of Midland Terrace, Hellifield, and his parents live at Caton.

CROSSHILLS - PRIVATE F. G. CARLTON REPORTED MISSING
Mrs. Carlton, of Mill Street, Junction, has received information that her son, Private Frederick G. Carlton (see 24^th October), of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, has been missing since the 5th October. A letter received from the Records Office, York, on Tuesday of this week, states:- "I regret to inform you that a report has this day been received from the War Office to the effect that Private Frederick G. Carlton, of the West Riding Regiment, was posted as missing after the engagement in France on the 5th October. Should he subsequently rejoin, or any other information be received concerning him, such information will be at once communicated to you."

Mrs. Carlton has also received the following letter from one of the chums of her son:- "Dear Mrs. Carlton, - I am very sorry that it falls to my lot to be the bearer of evil tidings. I am in the same platoon as your son Fred was in. We have been in plenty of scrapping lately. 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. We, his mates, send you all our deepest sympathy, and we hope that you, like we are doing, will hope for the best and hope that he is safe. We are all sorry to lose him for he was a good lad, and wherever he may be we must trust in God and hope for the best, and may God's will be done. I have a Bible which Fred picked up out here, and he used to read it very often. I will look after it and if ever I am spared to get home on leave I will let you have it. I live in Keighley and am drummer in the West Riding Regiment. I remain, with deepest sympathy, yours sincerely, (signed) Drummer George W. Fletcher (see 24^th October)."

Private Carlton joined the Duke of Wellington's on the 29th of February last and was trained at Brockton Camp, Staffs. He went out to France with his Battalion about three months ago. He was thirty years of age, his birthday having occurred whilst he was out in France. Previous to enlistment he was employed as a grease extractor for Messrs. Wm. Davy and Co., Sutton Mills. He was very actively connected with the Eastburn Primitive Methodist Church and Sunday School and had been a Sunday School teacher for many years. He was a lad of sterling character and was held in high by all who knew him.

COWLING - MEMORIAL SERVICE
At the United Methodist Church on Sunday morning a memorial service was conducted by the Rev. C. E. Penrose (pastor) for the late Sergeant John Hartley (see 22^nd October), who was killed in action as reported in our issue last week. The spacious church was nearly filled by a sympathetic congregation. Mrs. Rennie Fort contributed Mendelssohn's 'O rest in the Lord', the choir gave Dr. Parry's anthem 'The Lord is my Shepherd', and Miss Whitaker played the Dead March in 'Saul' on the organ. Mr. Jas. Bradley was the conductor.

ANOTHER SETTLE SOLDIER DIES FOR HIS COUNTRY
Official information has been received by Mr. Joseph Bell of Settle, that his son, Private Robert William Bell (see 4^th October), had been killed in action on 5th October last. The deceased joined what is locally termed 'Tunstill's men' in September 1914, crossing to France in August 1915, since when he never had leave. He was aged 30, and prior to the war worked as a joiner and cabinetmaker with his father.

ADDINGHAM - THE LATE LANCE-CORPORAL WAGGITT
Mr. and Mrs. Waggitt have received the following letter from E. Merrall (see 4^th October), respecting their son, Lance-Corpl. W. Waggitt (see 20^th October):- "It is with deepest regret that I have to tell you of the death of your valiant son, Will, who has been my greatest chum since he joined this Battalion. We always went about together and both got stripes together after the July turn on this front. He was a magnificent soldier and well above the usual standard, smart and hardworking and fearless, also a leader whom the biggest coward could have followed. The morning of the fourth we were informed that our Platoon had to take a Boche position by going up a trench and bombing our way forward. Straight from our lines, Will leading, we came to the first barricade. Taking a shovel he cut through, the second one likewise and the third. 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 Corp. R. Harrison (see 4^th October), 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 "Cheer oh, lads, the best of luck, I am going." With these words of encouragement he passed into the arms of his Maker with a clear conscience. The remainder of the Platoon are lost without him, and I wish you to please accept our deepest sympathy in your loss."

HELLIFIELD - PRIVATE C. RALPH KILLED IN ACTION

Information was received on Friday morning by Miss Ralph, of Haw Grove, Hellifield, that her brother, Private Chris. Ralph (see 22^nd October), had been killed in action on the Western Front on October 6th. The sad news was conveyed in letters from two Hellifield comrades in the same Company.

Pte. T. Bownass (see 20^th October) wrote:- "It is with the deepest regret that I have to tell you of the death of your brother, Kit, which occurred whilst we were in action on the 6th inst. He was at the time acting as guide to the party who relieved us in the front line on that date, and was killed instantly by a shell bursting in the trench they were proceeding along. He was well liked by all the lads of the platoon, as he always had a cheery word and looked on the bright side of things, and we all miss him badly. The lads wish me to tender you their deepest sympathy in your great loss, and trust that God will sustain and comfort you in your dark and lonely hours."

Pte. Harley Bentham (see 20^th October), in a letter says:- "I have been asked by some of the lads to write and tell you how sorry we are and how we sympathise with you in your great loss. Kit was a fine chap and a good soldier, and I am sure we all liked him. Our Battalion had been in the line four days and were being relieved that night. Kit had volunteered to act as guide to the men who were to relieve us, and he was leading them up the communication trench when a shell burst right on the parapet close to your brother and hit him. Death would be instantaneous; he would not suffer any pain. He has been buried close to the place where he fell. He often used to talk of you, and look forward to your letters coming. I ask you to accept the sympathy of myself and his pals from Long Preston and district."
Pte. Ralph, who was 30 years old, was the eldest son of the late Mr. John Ralph, of Main Road, Hellifield. He enlisted with Captain Tunstill's men in the Duke of Wellington's in September 1914 and went to the Front the following August. Before joining the Forces he was in the employ of the Midland Railway as a goods shunter. He was of a bright disposition, and was formerly a member of the Church choir and Sunday School.

The Clitheroe Times
THE SECOND BLOW
Mrs Isherwood, Foulscales Farm, Newton, has, as reported last week, received official intimation that her son, Pte. Edwin Isherwood (see 20^th October), of Capt. Tunstill’s Company of the Duke of Wellington’s W.R. Regt. Has been killed in action. Another brother, Walter, died from fever early in the war, and a third, licensee of the Moorcock Inn, is with the forces.

FORMERLY OF SABDEN
As reported last week Private Joseph Bell (see 20^th October) of the Australian Expeditionary Force, eldest son of Mr. Sam Bell, Sabden, has made the great sacrifice. Private Bell, who was 26 years of age, formerly resided in the village and was a scholar at the Council School. He left Sabden to go to Grindleton, but five years ago emigrated to Australia, and when he heard his country’s call joined the Australians. News of his death has been received by his uncle, Mr. John Maudsley of Grindleton. His youngest brother, Driver George Bell, of the RFA, enlisted two years ago at the age of 15, and has been in Mespotamia for 18 months.

Ilkley Gazette

The Late Corporal Leslie Seymour Perks
Mr. and Mrs. James Perks of Bolton Bridge Road, Ilkley, have received a communication from the War Office this week stating that their elder son, Corporal Leslie Seymour Perks (see 20^th October), West Riding Regiment, was killed in action on October 8^th. In our last issue we mentioned that news had been received of Corporal Perks’ death, though no particulars as to howor when it had occurred were then given.

Eastern Front:

Western Russia: Russians forced to river Schchara east bank.

Romanian 1st Army in Jiu Valley (Wallachia) assume offensive, Romanians holding positions in Passes.

Southern Front:

Serbs make progress in Cherna region.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

Ethiopia – Battle of Chem*bebit (Sagalle, or Shano): Ras Tafari’s (Haile Aelassie) 95,000 royal troops defeat Lij Yasu’s father Negus Ras Mikael of Wollo; he is led in chains to Addis Abeba but Lij Yasu escapes till January 1921.

Naval Operations:

Battle of Dover Strait 26^th-27^th October:


Map dover straits

The German torpedo boats split into five groups, with each attacking a different section of the shipping in the channel. The German 5th Half-Flotilla sailed into the Dover Barrage and soon came into contact with five drifters of the 10th Drifter Division tending the anti-submarine nets and attacked. After hearing gunfire, Flirt—the drifters′ escort—approached the unidentified vessels and challenged them. The boats responded to the British signal with a similar signal. Confused, Flirt's commander decided that the approaching vessels were Allied destroyers and that drifters had been attacked by a submarine. An open boat was also launched from Flirt to rescue survivors from the sinking drifters. The German boats attacked the destroyer, surprising the crew and outnumbered, Flirt tried to ram one of the German boats; after a brief engagement it was sunk by gunfire and torpedoes. After sinking Flirt, the Germans continued the attack on the barrage, sinking two drifters each from the 8th and 16th Drifter Divisions. Six drifters were sunk and three others damaged, as well as the trawler H. E. Straud, before the Fifth Half-Flotilla withdrew.

When Bacon heard about the raid, he sent six Tribal-class destroyers—HMS Amazon, Mohawk, Viking, Tartar, Cossack and Nubian—to engage the Germans. Due to a misinterpretation of his orders, the British commander of the destroyer division—Commander Henry Oliphant of the Viking—deployed his destroyers in two loose groups, one consisting of Viking, Mohawk, and Tartar and the other Nubian, Amazon and Cossack. Nubian soon steamed far ahead of her group and was the first vessel to reach the scene of Flirt's sinking. Another half-flotilla of German boats had caught the empty British transport Queen off Goodwin Sands as it returned from the French coast, boarded it and removed her crew before sinking her.

Upon Nubian's contact with the German 17^th Half Flotilla, she made the same error as Flirt and mistook the German boats for Allied vessels. Surprised with a hail of gunfire, Nubian attempted to ram the last boat in the German line of battle but was struck by a torpedo that blew off her bow and reduced her to a drifting hulk. Amazon and Cossack soon arrived to aid Nubian and engaged the German boats. The Germans scored several hits on Amazon, knocking out two of her boilers before withdrawing. Viking's division of boats also clashed with Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats. The German 18^th Half Flotilla was heading back to Zeebrugge when it sailed into Oliphant′s group of destroyers, engaging them as they passed. Although Viking escaped unscathed, Mohawk suffered several hits, before the Germans were able to break away to the safety of the coast. Near the end of the action, Reginald Bacon—the commander of the Dover Patrol—dispatched the Dunkirk Division to intercept the German torpedo boats before they could return to Flanders but the Germans were able to successfully withdraw before being caught by these further reinforcements.

The British had failed to stop the raiders from destroying the drifters and 45 men were killed, four wounded and 10 taken prisoner. Six ships were sunk in addition to Flirt, the transport Queen and three destroyers, three drifters and a naval trawler were damaged. Of the German torpedo boats, only SMS G91 suffered any damage and no German vessel suffered any casualties. The success of the raid encouraged the Germans to plan more sorties into the English Channel and the raids continued until the 3rd and 9th Torpedo Boat Flotillas were redeployed to the High Seas Fleet in November 1916.


The destroyer HMS Nubian (Commander M R Bernard) is struck by a torpedo fired by a German destroyer while serving as part of the 6^th Destroyer Flotilla that is at the time chasing some German destroyers. The German ships open fire and as Commander Bernard turns to ram the last ship in the German line the Nubian is struck by a torpedo which destroys the fore part of the ship. Nubian is taken in tow by HMS Lark but this parts and she drifts aground at the South Foreland in St Margaret’s Bay. Fifteen crew members are killed.

Other news:

At the South Devon port of Salcombe the lifeboat (the William and Emma) is called out about 06:0 to render assistance to the schooner Western Lass, which is reported to be wrecked on Meg Rock, near Prawle Point. In spite of the furious gale that is raging and the tempestuous breakers on Salcombe Bar, the gallant crew of fifteen succeeds in getting out to sea, and in reaching the vessel that is in distress; then, finding that the schooner’s crew has been rescued by the rocket apparatus of Prawle, and that no further help is needed, they start on their return voyage, but in crossing the bar their little craft capsizes, and all but two of their number drown. Most of them are married men, who leave not only their widows, but also twelve very young children to mourn their loss.

Shipping Losses: 12

Political:

Australia: Three Cabinet Ministers resign because of conscription, referendum on October 28 defeats it by 72,476 votes.

Anniversary Events:

97		To placate the Praetorians of Germany, Nerva of Rome adopts Trajan, the Spanish-born governor of lower Germany.
1553		Michael Servetus, who discovered the pulmonary circulation of the blood, is burned for heresy in Switzerland.
1612		A Polish army that invaded Russia capitulates to Prince Dimitri Pojarski and his Cossacks.
1791		President George Washington transmits to Congress the results of the first US census, exclusive of South Carolina which had not yet submitted its findings.
1806		Emperor Napoleon enters Berlin.
1809		President James Madison orders the annexation of the western part of West Florida. Settlers there had rebelled against Spanish authority.
1862		A Confederate force is routed at the Battle of Georgia Landing, near Bayou Lafourche in Louisiana.
1870		The French fortress of Metz surrenders to the Prussian Army.
1873		Farmer Joseph F. Glidden applies for a patent on barbed wire. Glidden eventually received five patents and is generally considered the inventor of barbed wire.
1891		D. B. Downing, inventor, is awarded a patent for the street letter (mail) box.
1904		The New York subway officially opens running from the Brooklyn Bridge uptown to Broadway at 145th Street.
1907		The first trial in the Eulenberg Affair ends in Germany.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Saturday 28th October 1916

Today we lost: 542

Today’s losses include:

• A father and son killed together
• Two examples of brothers killed together
• Multiple sons of members of the clergy
• Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
• A Rugby player for the Vale of Lune

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Emile Horace George Duncan (Royal Army Medical Corps attached West Surrey Regiment) dies at home at age 40. He is the son of the Reverend John Tait Duncan.
• Second Lieutenant Eric Appleby (Royal Field Artillery) dies of wounds received at Morval at age 23. His letters to Phyllis during the war are featured in the book “Love Letters from the Front”.
• Second Lieutenant Maurice Sharpe (General List attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Alfred Sharpe KCMG, CB and a Rugby forward for the Vale of Lune Club in addition to being an excellent rower and hockey player.
• Bothers David, 25, and Henry Bell, 23, are killed serving in the 57^th Australian Infantry.
• Private Albert Austin Coldicott (Worcestershire Regiment) dies of wounds at age 19. His brother died of wounds in March 1915.
• Gunner Daniel Patrick O’Brien (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 20. His brother was killed in December of last year.
• Sapper Alfonso Simmons (Royal Engineers) dies at age 30. His brother will die of wounds in December.
• Private John Everest (Middlesex Regiment) is killed at age 28. His brother was killed in the Royal Navy in June 1915.

Gunner Percy Williams (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 32. His brother will die of wounds as a prisoner of war in June 1917.

Air Operations:

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 3

Flt Lt Hardstaff, L.H. (Leslie Hewitt), RNAS, Felixstowe Naval Air Station attached Design Flight, Admiralty Testing Staff, Eastchurch. Accidentally Killed while flying at Eastchurch, Tail twisted up and down about four times before one side of it buckled and broke away from Sopwith Triplane during a high speed test and machine crashed nose first from a height of 100 feet.

2Lt Niven, W.A.M. (William Adam Mackie), 29 Squadron, RFC. Killed whilst flying aged 22.

2Lt Sharpe, M. (Maurice), 21 Squadron, RFC. Killed in Action when his aeroplane was downed over German lines.

Claims: 3


Lt Hans von Keudell claims his 4^th confirmed victory for Jasta 1 shooting down a BE12 near Courcelette. Hans von Keudell began his military career as a cadet in 1904 and joined the Kaiser Alexander II von Russland Uhlan Regiment #3 in 1911. After serving in combat in Poland and France, he transferred to the German Air Force on 7 June 1915 and received preliminary training as a two-seater pilot at Adlershof. Posted to Breiftauben Abteilung Ostende at Ghistelle on 13 December 1915, von Keudell took part in the Verdun offensive and flew missions over Dunkirk and Toul. After training on single-seat fighters in the summer of 1916, he was posted to KEK B on 4 August but was reassigned to Jasta 1 when it was formed on 22 August.

Lt Friedrich Mallinckrodt claims his 1^st confirmed victory for Jasta 6 shooting down a Caudron near Villaselve.

Capt Konstantin Konstantinovich Vakulovsky claims his 2^nd confirmed victory shooting down an Albatros near Lake Vishnevsky.

Western Front

Somme:

Rain 8mm. 55° - 41° very wet and cold day.

An attack on Rainy Wood and Dewdrop trenches by the Middlesex Regiment results in the successful capture of the trenches.

• Killed in the assault is Second Lieutenant George Agar Trevor Benson MC (Middlesex Regiment) the son of the Reverend Arthur Hall Trebor Benson.

Tunstills Men Saturday 28th October 1916:
Front line trenches south-west of Hooge

Another quiet day, with further repairs and improvements to the trenches being carried out. The usual patrolling continued, but with nothing of note to report.

Acting CQMS, ‘A’ Company, Maurice Harcourt Denham (see 18^th October) was now confirmed in his post.

Pte. John Roebuck (see 26^th October) was transferred to England, having been recently taken ill suffering from ICT (inflammation of connective tissue) in buttocks and thighs. On arrival in England he would be admitted to Edmonton War Hospital.

Pte. Reginald Hancock (see 7^th October), who had been severely wounded in the chest during the advance on Contalmaison, was posted, on the expiry of three weeks’ leave, to 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion DWR at North Shields.

Ernest Cyril Coke (see 28^th September), who had been wounded in the actions around Munster Alley, losing the tip of the middle finger of his left hand, and was now serving with 3DWR (83^rd Training Reserve) at North Shields, wrote to the Adjutant of his Battalion, requesting that his application for a wound gratuity be forwarded to the War Office. He confirmed the details of his case, “On July 29^th 1916, whilst in action near Pozieres I received a gun shot wound in the left hand, which shattered the top half of the centre finger. I was in Osborne Hospital from August 2^nd until 28^th and was on sick leave until Sept. 11^th when a board awarded me one month’s light duty”.

Eastern Front:

Romanians successful actions in north Transylvania Passes.

In Jiu Valley, enemy retires leaving 2,000 prisoners.

Southern Front:

Bulgar attack in force on Ormali (Struma front), repulsed with heavy losses.

Naval Operations:

Irish Sea: British Defensively armed merchant steamer (Donaldson liner) Marina (18 lost, including six Americans), is torpedoed without warning by U-Boat and sunk thirty miles west of Fastnet

Atlantic:U-Boat sinks US SS Lanao off Portugal.

Margaret Jane Geddes of Buckie, Banffshire loses both her husband and son when H M Drifter Speedwell V is driven aground and becomes stranded on Splaugh Rock near Greenmore Point in St George’s Channel.

• Skipper George Geddes age 45 and his son trimmer George age 18 are both killed.
• Also lost in the sinking are brothers Engineman Alexander Blackhall age 26 and Deck Hand George Blackhall age 20.

The hired trawler Bradford (Skipper William Bruce DSC RNR) founders in a gale near the Old Head of Kinsale. The captain dies at age 33 along with 11of his crew. William Bruce was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his services in the Auxiliary Patrol areas at home and abroad during the period 1^st January 1915 to 31^st January 1916.

Shipping Losses: 14

Home Front:
The high point of Australian Rules football overseas during the war is the match held at the Queen’s Club, London, before a crowd of 3,000 and in the presence of the Prince of Wales and King Manuel of Portugal today. The match is played between sides representing the 3^rd Division and the Combined Training Units and is notable for the numerous top players on both sides. The Reverend C Julius Perry, vice-captain of Norwood (South Australia), leads the Combined Training Units, and Bruce Sloss, the former South Melbourne star and 1911 Champion of the Colony, captains the 3^rd Division team.

Political:
Anglo-German Agreement to exchange interned civilians over 45 years.

Greece:Venizelos' Provisional Government installed at Salonika.

Australia: In Australia a national vote produces 1,087,557 votes in favor of conscription while 1,160,033 are against. The troops in Europe vote by secret ballot with 72,399 for conscription and 58,894 against.

Anniversary Events:

312		Constantine the Great defeats Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius at the Mulvian Bridge.
969		After a prolonged siege, the Byzantines end 300 years of Arab rule in Antioch.
1216		Henry III of England is crowned.
1628		After a fifteen-month siege, the Huguenot town of La Rochelle surrenders to royal forces.
1636		Harvard College, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, is founded in Cambridge, Mass.
1768		Germans and Acadians join French Creoles in their armed revolt against the Spanish governor of New Orleans.
1793		Eli Whitney applies for a patent on the cotton gin, a machine which cleans the tight-clinging seeds from short-staple cotton easily and effectively–a job which was previously done by hand.
1863		In a rare night attack, Confederates under Gen. James Longstreet attack a Federal force near Chattanooga, Tennessee, hoping to cut their supply line, the “cracker line.” They fail.
1886		The Statue of Liberty, originally named Liberty Enlightening the World, is dedicated at Liberty Island, N. Y., formerly Bedloe’s Island, by President Grover Cleveland
1901		Race riots sparked by Booker T. Washington’s visit to the White House kill 34.
1904		The St. Louis police try a new investigation method: fingerprints.
1914		The German cruiser Emden, disguised as a British ship, steams into Penang Harbor near Malaya and sinks the Russian light cruiser Zhemchug.
1914		George Eastman announces the invention of the color photographic process.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

28^TH OCTOBER 2016


SPECIAL OBITUARY EDITION

Oswald Boelcke

Oswald Boelcke (19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics" He was the first to formalize rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke. While he promulgated rules for the individual pilot, his main concern was the use of formation fighting rather than single effort.

Germany's premier ace, Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron), had been taught by Boelcke and continued to idolize his late mentor long after he had surpassed Boelcke's tally of victories.

Oswald Boelcke was born on 19 May 1891, in Giebichentstein, the son of a schoolmaster. His father's first teaching job had been in Argentina from where the family had recently returned. Boelcke's three elder siblings were born in Buenos Aires. His family name was originally spelt Bölcke, but Oswald and his elder brother Wilhelm dispensed with the umlaut and adopted the latin spelling in place of the German. The pronunciation is the same for both spellings.

Boelcke's family moved to Dessau, the capital of the Duchy of Anhalt when he was young. As a youth he caught whooping cough; in order to build up his stamina, he became increasingly involved in playing sports but retained a tendency towards asthma throughout his life. Among his athletic pursuits were swimming, tennis, rowing, and gymnastics. However, he never did become very large; in later life, he was described as being about 5 feet 7 inches tall.

Oswald Boelcke was studious as well as athletic, excelling at mathematics and physics. His father was a nationalist and a militarist. Under his influence, the 13-year-old Boelcke had the audacity to write a personal letter to the Kaiser requesting an appointment to military school. His wish was granted, but his parents objected and he did not attend Cadet School. Instead he attended Herzog Friedrichs-Gymnasium, graduating Easter 1911.

After leaving school he joined Telegraphen-Bataillon Nr. 3 in Koblenz as a Fahnenjunker (cadet officer) on 15 March 1911. After attending Kriegsschule in Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, where he took his lieutenant's exam, he received an officer commission in the Prussian Army a year later. Since Boelcke had Abitur, his commission was pre-dated 23 August 1910, making him senior to the other new lieutenants in his battalion.

1914
In mid-1914, Boelcke transferred to what was then known as the Fliegertruppe. His flight training took place from May to August at the Halberstädter Fliegerschule. He passed his final pilot's exam on 15 August 1914. He was then immediately posted to active duty. Due to the influence of his elder brother, Hauptmann Wilhelm Boelcke, Oswald was initially posted to Feld-Fliegerabteilung 13 (FFA 13, Aviation Section 13), of which Wilhelm was a member. Boelcke won an Iron Cross Second Class for flying 50 missions with this unit, in company with his brother. They were such a successful team they aroused antipathy in other members of the section. As a result, Wilhelm was transferred away from his brother.

1915
At his own instigation, Boelcke transferred to FFA 62 in April 1915 which was based at Douai. This was a reconnaissance unit using LVG C.II two-seater aircraft to observe and adjust artillery fire.

In July 1915, Boelcke, Max Immelmann, Otto Parschau and Kurt Wintgens, were allowed to fly three of the five prototypes of the Fokker E.I aircraft, the Fokker M.5K/MG. These types were fitted with a synchronized forward-firing air-cooled Parabellum machine gun slaved to a gun synchronizer that prevented accidentally shooting the Fokker's propeller. Leutnant Parschau had been the first person of this group to work with Fokker in developing the Eindecker as a prototype fighter, and received the first example of the M.5K/MG, with military serial "E.1/15", with Boelcke getting the third example, "E.3/15", which he first flew on 7 July. Use of the type by operational units was restricted; the provision being that they were to be flown when pilots were not flying reconnaissance missions in their two seaters. They were considered so revolutionary that orders had been given that they wouldn't be risked over enemy lines for fear of capture.



Wintgens, flying the final M.5K/MG "E.5/15", made the first victory claim with the new aircraft, on 1 July 1915, but it went unconfirmed because it fell behind French lines. Historians have since identified the aircraft and crew as being a two-seater Morane-Saulnier Type L "parasol" monoplane crewed by Capitaine Paul de Peuty and Sous-Lieutenant de Boutiny, who were both wounded.

In the meantime, while flying a two-seater, Boelcke's observer (Leutnant Heinz von Wǘhlisch) shot down their first enemy aircraft on 4 July 1915, in a protracted running fight between reconnaissance craft. Boelcke landed near the French aircraft's wreckage and verified the death of the crew. On that same day, Wintgens had another unconfirmed win over a Morane Type L, and with a July 15 victory over yet another Type L "Parasol", finally got official credit for the third aircraft he had downed in his military career as his first observed, "confirmed" victory.

Boelcke won his first individual aerial combat while flying in E.3/15 on 19 August 1915. Just nine days later, he was a hero on the ground. He dived into a canal near his aerodrome, fully clothed, and rescued a drowning French boy, Albert DePlace. The child's parents wanted Boelcke to be awarded the French Legion d’Honneur; instead, he received the Prussian Lifesaving Medal.

On 22 September, Boelcke was moved to Metz, joining the Brieftauben-Abteilung-Metz unit but was moved back to FA 62 in December. He downed four more enemy aircraft before the end of the year. Max Immelmann had scored his first victory just before Boelcke's first, on 1 August with an early production E.I, E.13/15. He and Boelcke had a "horse race" of victories, with first one rival leading, then the other, as they left Wintgens behind. The deadly effect of the new aircraft on aerial combat was beginning to be referred to as the Fokker Scourge. On 1 November, the day after his sixth victory, Boelcke became the first German pilot to win the Royal House of Hohenzollern. Immelmann duplicated the feat six days later.

By the end of 1915, Immelmann had seven victories, Boelcke had six, and Wintgens and Hans-Joachim Buddecke had three.

1916
Boelcke wins the "ace race"


From left: Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Buddecke, General Otto Liman von Sanders, Hptm Oswald Boelcke in Turkey, 1916

Boelcke had three more victories in January 1916; Immelman had two, in the same month, Boelcke and Immelmann also were the first German fliers to be awarded the Pour le Merite, Germany's highest military medal, as each pilot achieved the required eight aerial victories to earn it on the same day, 12 January.

In March 1916, Boelcke emerged from a stay in hospital for intestinal problems, and upon complaining he was stationed too far from the front at Jametz, was given permission to use the forward airfield at Sivry near the Verdun offensive. Boelcke then connected a front line observation post to the airfield, and thus established the first tactical air direction center. He was made leader of the newly formed Fliegerabteilung Sivry and led them in action over Verdun. This unit of six fighter pilots was the precursor of the Jasta German fighter squadron units. The new fighter unit was stationed near Stenay, which was the headquarters of Crown Prince Wilhelm. A friendship developed between the Crown Prince and the ace.

The ace race was still on; Boelcke became the first Uberkanone with his 10th victory on 12 March; the following day, even as he scored, Immelmann scored one of the first double victories of the war to tie it up at 11 all. The dead heat lasted for a week; on 19 March, Boelcke used his usual tactics of pointblank fire to kill the enemy pilot and saw off his Farman's wing with machine gun fire, for win number 12. Immelmann telephoned to congratulate him and ask him for an opportunity to catch up; Boelcke jokingly offered him a week's grace. Boelcke's victory two days later may be seen as symptomatic of his disregard for Immelmann.

By this time, the increasingly-obsolescent Fokker EIII was being replaced by newer Halberstadt single-gun biplane fighters, and twin-gun armed Albatros biplane aircraft, both types fitted with synchronized guns. The French had countered the "Fokker Scourge" with fast new Nieuports; the British also countered, with pusher aircraft that could fire in their direction of flight without need of synchronizing gear. Boelcke focused on developing his own counter methods: flying in tight formations, accurate gunnery in combat and remaining within his own German lines.

By 18 May, Boelcke established his lead over Immelmann for good, 16 victories to 15, to become the highest scoring ace in the war up to that time.

After Immelmann was killed on 18 June 1916 after his 17th victory, Boelcke, who then had 18 victories, was left the preeminent ace of the war. Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered Boelcke grounded for a month to avoid losing him in combat soon after Immelmann. He had become such an important hero to the German public, as well as such an authority on aerial warfare, that he could not be risked. Given a choice between a desk job and a tour of the Middle East, Boelcke downed a Nieuport over Douaumont on 27 June and reported to headquarters. Boelcke was detailed to share his expertise with the head of German military aviation. The German air force was being reorganized from the Fliegertruppe into the Luftstreitkrafte in mid-1916; this reorganization was inspired by Boelcke. At this time, Boelcke codified his Dicta, which was a distillation of his successful tactics. He also shared his views on creation of a fighter arm, and the organization of fighter squadrons.

Boelcke was sent on a tour of the Balkans. He transited Austria to visit Turkey. On the return trip he visited Bulgaria and the Russian Front. Along the way, he interviewed pilots. Boelcke was visiting Wilhelm in Kovel when he received a telegram from Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen appointing him to raise, organize and command Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 2.

The "Gentleman Pilot" letter delivery
On 5 January 1916, Boelcke shot down a British B.E.2c biplane of No. 2 Squadron crewed by Lt William Somervill and Lt Geoffrey Formilli. He maintained contact with the two men when they were hospitalized and went to great lengths to deliver a letter Formilli wrote, informing people he was still alive. Formilli wrote, " PS. It was Boelcke who brought us down,” and Boelcke's kindness led to the newspaper comment that he was a "Gentleman Pilot". The letter was auctioned by Formilli's family in 2012.

Creation of Jasta Boelcke
He was given permission by the head of German aviation, Feldflugchef (Aviation Chief of Staff) Oberstleutnant Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen, to choose his own pilots to form a fighter squadron. Along the way, he interviewed pilots. Among his first selections upon his return were Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin Bohme.

Boelcke was appointed commander of his hand-picked group of pilots on 30 August 1916. Three squadrons were the first ones founded, on 10 August 1916, but among them, Jagdstaffel 2became the premier German unit. It ended the war with 20 aces among its members, a total of 336 victories, and a casualty list of only 44. In the beginning, however, Boelcke started with only the empty buildings vacated by FFA 32 in the Velu Woods. As of 27 August, the fledgling jasta had three officers and 64 other ranks on strength, but no aircraft. But as of 8 September, there were eight pilots on board, including Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin Bohme. Three days later, Böhme noted he was pushing for permission to use his castoff Halberstadt, since Boelcke had a Fokker; there seemed to be four aircraft in the squadron by then. On 16 September, Boelcke's new squadron received five new Albatros DI’s for the pilots, and an improved Albatros DII for the Staffelfuhrer. Boelcke promptly put the new fighters in the air on the first-ever fighter unit effort to gain local air superiority. At 1300 hours 16 September, Boelcke and five of his pilots took off; they intercepted a British bombing raid on Marcoing Railway Station. While Boelcke held aside, his five tyros bounced a British formation of 14 planes, broke it up, and shot down two. The master himself added another.

Boelcke shot down 10 Royal Flying Corps aircraft in his first month with Jasta 2, September 1916. He would fly a solo mission in the morning and return to his "cubs", who would ask if he had scored again. He would ask them if his chin was black with burnt cordite from his machine guns' breech. If it was, he had fired his gun and scored. However, in contrast to his freebooting style, his pilots always flew in disciplined formations in practice, and he repeatedly drilled them in his tactics. Among them were his famed combat rules, called “Boelcke’s Dicta”, which were the first systematic analysis of air combat and continued to be applicable through WW2. Despite his run of personal successes, Boelcke's attitude is best expressed thus, in his own words: "Everything depends on sticking together when the Staffel goes into battle. It does not matter who actually scores the victory as long as the Staffel wins”. He not only preached this doctrine to his own "cubs"; he proselytized throughout the Lufstreitkrafte. He wrote upon his ideas, sketched them out and delivered them in person to other aerodromes.

Death

Boelcke & Bohme

Boelcke set out on 28 October 1916 for his sixth sortie of the day with his two best pilots, Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin Bohme, and three others. Before they had set out on their attack, Boelcke, rushing to get ready, failed to strap on his safety belt properly. The patrol eventually led them into a dogfight with single-seater DH2 scouts from No 24 Squadron RFC.

In the ensuing dogfight, Boelcke and Böhme, unaware of each other's presence, closed in on the same aircraft, flown by Captain Arthur Knight. Von Richthofen dived in on the flight path of that very same aircraft; he was chasing the other DH.2, piloted by Lieutenant Alfred Edwin McKay. Boelcke swerved to avoid a collision with the interceding aircraft. Böhme's landing gear brushed Boelcke's upper wing. As the fabric peeled off the upper wing of his aircraft, Boelcke struggled for control. He and his aircraft fell out of sight into a cloud. When it emerged, the top wing was gone. However, Boelcke made a relatively soft crash-landing. The impact seemed survivable. However, his lap belt did not restrain him, and he never wore a helmet when he flew.
Minutes later, the pilot's lifeless body was pulled from his smashed Albatros DII The great Oswald Boelcke, victor of 40 aerial engagements, was dead at age 25.

Both Böhme and Richthofen left descriptions of the catastrophe. Richthofen's account, from his memoirs:

One day we were flying, once more guided by Boelcke against the enemy. We always had a wonderful feeling of security when he was with us. After all he was the one and only. The weather was very gusty and there were many clouds. There were no aeroplanes about except fighting ones.

From a long distance we saw two impertinent Englishmen in the air who actually seemed to enjoy the terrible weather. We were six and they were two. If they had been twenty and if Boelcke had given us the signal to attack we should not have been at all surprised.

The struggle began in the usual way. Boelcke tackled the one and I the other. I had to let go because one of the German machines got in my way. I looked around and noticed Boelcke settling his victim about two hundred yards away from me. It was the usual thing. Boelcke would shoot down his opponent and I had to look on. Close to Boelcke flew a good friend of his. It was an interesting struggle. Both men were shooting. It was probable that the Englishman would fall at any moment. Suddenly I noticed an unnatural movement of the two German flying machines. Immediately I thought: Collision. I had not yet seen a collision in the air. I had imagined that it would look quite different. In reality, what happened was not a collision. The two machines merely touched one another. However, if two machines go at the tremendous pace of flying machines, the slightest contact has the effect of a violent concussion.

Boelcke drew away from his victim and descended in large curves. He did not seem to be falling, but when I saw him descending below me I noticed that part of his planes had broken off. I could not see what happened afterward, but in the clouds he lost an entire plane. Now his machine was no longer steerable. It fell accompanied all the time by Boelcke's faithful friend.

When we reached home we found the report "Boelcke is dead!" had already arrived. We could scarcely realize it.

The greatest pain was, of course, felt by the man who had the misfortune to be involved in the accident.
It is a strange thing that everybody who met Boelcke imagined that he alone was his true friend. I have made the acquaintance of about forty men, each of whom imagined that he alone was Boelcke's intimate. Each imagined that he had the monopoly of Boelcke's affections. Men whose names were unknown to Boelcke believed that he was particularly fond of them. This is a curious phenomenon which I have never noticed in anyone else. Boelcke had not a personal enemy. He was equally polite to everybody, making no differences.

The only one who was perhaps more intimate with him than the others was the very man who had the misfortune to be in the accident which caused his death.

Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Battle Flyer

"Boelcke is no longer among us now. It could not have hit us pilots any harder."

On Saturday afternoon we were sitting on stand-by alert in our aerodrome blockhouse. I had just begun a chess match with Boelcke—it was then, shortly after 4 o'clock during an infantry attack at the front, that we were called. As usual, Boelcke led us. It wasn't long before we were flying over Flers and started an attack on several English aeroplanes, fast single-seaters, which resisted efficiently.

In the following wild turning-flight combat, which allowed us to take shots only in short bursts, we sought to force down our opponent by alternately cutting him off, as we had already done so often with success. Boelcke and I had the one Englishman evenly between us, when another opponent, hunted by our friend Richthofen, cut directly in our path. As fast as lightning, Boelcke and I took evasive action simultaneously, and for one instant our wings obstructed our view of each other—it was then it occurred.

How I am to describe my feelings to you from that instant on, when Boelcke suddenly emerged a few meters on the right from me, his machine ducked, I pulled up hard, however nevertheless we still touched and we both fell towards the earth! It was only a slight touching, but at the enormous speed this still also meant it was an impact. Fate is usually so senseless in its selection: me, only one side of the undercarriage had torn away, him, the outermost piece of the left wing.

After a few hundred meters I got my machine under control again and could now follow Boelcke's, which I could see was only somewhat downwardly inclined in a gentle glide, heading towards our lines. It was only in a cloud layer at lower regions that violent gusts caused his machine to gradually descended more steeply, and I had to watch as he could no longer set it down evenly, and saw it impact beside a battery position. People immediately hurried to his assistance. My attempts to land beside my friend were made impossible because of the shell craters and trenches. Thus I flew rapidly to our field.

The fact that I had missed the landing, they told me of only the other day—I have no recollection of this at all. I was completely distressed, however I still had hope. But as we arrived in the car, they brought the body to us. He died in the blink of an eye at the moment of the crash. Boelcke never wore a crash helmet and did not strap himself in the Albatros either—otherwise he would have even survived the not at all too powerful of an impact.

Now everything is so empty to us. Only little by little does it come fully to our consciousness, that within the gap which our Boelcke leaves, the soul of the total is missing. He was nevertheless in each relationship our leader and master. He had an irresistible influence on all, even on superiors, which had to do purely with his personality, the all naturalness of his being. He could take us everywhere. We never had the feeling that anything could fail if he were there, and almost everything succeeded as well. In these one and a half months he has been with us we have put over 60 hostile aeroplanes out-of-action and made the dominance of the Englishmen shrink from day to day. Now we all must see that his triumphant spirit does not sink in the Staffel.

This afternoon the funeral service was in Cambrai, from where the parents and brothers escorted their hero for burying at the cemetery of honour in Dessau. His parents are magnificent people—courageously accepting the unalterable with all the pain they feel. This gives me some solace as well, but nothing can be taken away from the sorrow over the loss of this extraordinary human being.

—Erwin Böhme, letter to fiancée

Böhme also remarked, "Why did he, the irreplaceable, have to be the victim of this blind fate, and why not I?" Böhme, blaming himself for Boelcke's death, had to be talked out of committing suicide. As the Fatherland mourned, Boelcke was buried with full honors at his aerodrome in Cambrai. The Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath a day later over Jasta 2 which read, "To the memory of Captain Boelcke, a brave and chivalrous foe”.

“I am after all only a combat pilot, but Boelcke, he was a hero”.

—Manfred von Richthofen, September 1917

In honor of their great leader, Jasta 2 was officially named "Jasta Boelcke" on 17 December 1916, a name the squadron still bears to this very day. Erwin Böhme was killed exactly one year, one month, and one day after his collision with Boelcke.
In the end, Boelcke had died because of a violation of one of his own dicta, which mandated never to close in on a single combatant when others are also pursuing it.

Oswald Boelcke was 25 years old.

Boelcke's tomb in the memorial cemetery of Dessau

Orders and medals
Prussian / Imperial German

• Pour le Merite, 12 January 1916, after his eighth victory
• Iron Cross
  
  • First Class, January 27, 1915
  • Second Class, December 10, 1914
  
  
• Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight’s Cross with Swords, 1 November 1915, after his sixth victory
• Lifesaving Medal, (12 December 1915), for saving Albert DePlace from drowning in the canal, 29 August 1915
• Naming of Boelcke Barracks in Koblenz.
• Honour cup for the winner in a dogfight (24 December 1915)

Duchy of Anhalt

• House Order of Albert the Bear, Knight’s Cross, 1st and 2nd class
• Friedrich Cross, 2nd class (31 January 1915)

Kingdom of Bavaria

• Military Merit Order, 4th class with Swords (13 November 1915)

Other

• Order of Bravery, 3rd class (Kingdom of Bulgaria, 9 August 1916)
• Turkish War Medal of 1915 (Ottoman Empire), awarded personally by Enver Pasha, 15 July 1916 Imitayaz Medal (Ottoman Empire)
• Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire) ("Iron Crescent", 23 July 1916)
• Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knights Cross 1st class with Swords (31 July 1916)
• Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class with war decoration (Austria, 29 October 1916)
• Knight of the Military Merit Order (Wurttemberg).

Dicta Boelcke

1. Always try to secure an advantageous position before attacking. Climb before and during the approach in order to surprise the enemy from above, and dive on him swiftly from the rear when the moment to attack is at hand.

2. Try to place yourself between the sun and the enemy. This puts the glare of the sun in the enemy's eyes and makes it difficult to see you and impossible for him to shoot with any accuracy.

3. Do not fire the machine guns until the enemy is within range and you have him squarely within your sights.

4. Attack when the enemy least expects it or when he is preoccupied with other duties such as observation, photography or bombing.

5. Never turn your back and try to run away from an enemy fighter. If you are surprised by an attack on your tail, turn and face the enemy with your guns.

6. Keep your eye on the enemy and do not let him deceive you with tricks. If your opponent appears damaged, follow him down until he crashes to be sure he is not faking.

7. Foolish acts of bravery only bring death. The Jasta must fight as a unit with close teamwork between all pilots. The signal of its leaders must be obeyed.

Oswald Boelckes 40 Victories:

1	04 Jul 1915		FA 62		Morane Parasol	Valenciennes
2	19 Aug 1915	p.m.	FA 62		Bristol Biplane	Front lines
3	09 Sep 1915	p.m.	FA 62		Morane two-seater	French lines
4	25 Sep 1915		FA 62		Voisin -or- Farman	Pont-a-Mousson
5	16 Oct 1915	a.m.	FA 62		Voisin B.I	St. Souplet
6	30 Oct 1915	a.m.	FA 62		Two-seater	Tahure
7	05 Jan 1916		FA 62		B.E.2c (1734)	Harnes
8	12 Jan 1916	a.m.	FA 62		R.E.7 (2287)	NE of Tourcoing
9	14 Jan 1916	abt 1015	FA 62		B.E.2c (4087)	Near Flers
10	12 Mar 1916	1130	FA 62		Farman	E of Mare
11	13 Mar 1916	1300	FA 62		Voisin	Malincourt
12	19 Mar 1916	1300	FA 62		Farman	Cuissy
13	21 Mar 1916	1115	FA 62		Farman	Fossers Wood
14	28 Apr 1916	a.m.	FA 62		Caudron	Near Vaux
15	01 May 1916	p.m.	FA 62		Biplane	French lines
16	18 May 1916	p.m.	FA 62		Caudron two-engine	Near Ripont
17	21 May 1916	a.m.	FA 62		Nieuport	Morte Homme
18	21 May 1916	p.m.	FA 62		Nieuport	Boisse-de-Hesse
19	27 Jun 1916	p.m.	FA 62		Nieuport	Douaumont
20	02 Sep 1916	1915	Jasta 2		D.H.2 (7895)	NE of Thiepval
21	08 Sep 1916	1825	Jasta 2		F.E.2b (4921)	Flers
22	09 Sep 1916	1840	Jasta 2		D.H.2 (7842)	Thiepval, SW of Bapaume
23	14 Sep 1916	0915	Jasta 2		Sopwith 1½ Strutter (A987)	Morval
24	14 Sep 1916	1010	Jasta 2		D.H.2 (7873)	Driencourt
25	15 Sep 1916	0800	Jasta 2		Sopwith 1½ Strutter (A895)	Hesbecourt
26	15 Sep 1916	0815	Jasta 2		Sopwith 1½ Strutter (A1903)	Eterpigny
27	17 Sep 1916	1135	Jasta 2		F.E.2b (7019)	Equancourt
28	19 Sep 1916	1930	Jasta 2		Morane 1 (A204)	Grevillerswald
29	27 Sep 1916	abt 1000	Jasta 2		Martinsyde G.100 (A1568)	Ervillers
30	01 Oct 1916		Jasta 2		Scout	NW of Flers
31	07 Oct 1916		Jasta 2		Nieuport 12	Morval
32	10 Oct 1916	p.m.	Jasta 2		F.E.2b	Morval
33	16 Oct 1916	1420	Jasta 2		B.E.2d (6745)	Hébuterne
34	16 Oct 1916	1745	Jasta 2		D.H.2 (A2542)	N of Beaulencourt
35	17 Oct 1916	1210	Jasta 2		F.E.2b	W of Bullecourt
36	20 Oct 1916	1030	Jasta 2		F.E.2b (7674)	W of Agny
37	22 Oct 1916	1150	Jasta 2		Sopwith 1½ Strutter	Grevillers Wood
38	22 Oct 1916	1540	Jasta 2		B.E.12 (6654)	SW of Bapaume
39	25 Oct 1916	1210	Jasta 2		B.E.2c (5831)	Puisieux-au-Mont
40	26 Oct 1916	1645	Jasta 2	Albatros D.II (386/16)	B.E.2c	SW of Serre

[Flying Officer Kyte]

A superb article Neil.
Rob.

[Nightbomber]

Thank you Neil for this very interesting insight. I knew the story, but you recalled it to life.

[zenlizard]

The Boelcke special edition is well-done. Rep gun jammed, though.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Sunday 29th October 1916

Today we lost: 476

Today’s losses include:

• The son of an Admiral
• A Blackburn Police Officer
• A man shot at dawn
• A man who has two brothers also killed in the Great War
• The son of a member of the clergy

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Major Charles Pelham Rowley (Royal Garrison Artillery) is accidentally killed at Botley whilst home on leave. An elm tree had been damaged in a gale, and some of its branches broken. Rowley, watched by his sister, was cutting the damaged boughs away when one fell on him and fractured his skull, killing him instantly at home at age 39. He is the son of Admiral Charles Rowley.
• Sergeant Thomas Gregory MM (Royal Field Artillery) dies of wounds received in action at age 40. He is a member of the Blackburn Borough Police Force.
• Private Elsworth Young (Nova Scotia Regiment) is executed by firing squad for desertion at age 21.
• Private Lawrence Frederick Jefferey (East Yorkshire Regiment) is killed. His two brothers will also be killed in the Great War.

Private Henry Ireland (Manitoba Regiment) is killed in action. He is the son of Reverend Ireland.

Air Operations:

North Sea: 2 RNAS seaplanes reconnaissance Schillig Roads from carrier Vindex but fail to find boom; no CMB attack carried out.

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 2

AMech 2 Heatley, C.F. (Charles Frederick), 5 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 19.

A Mech1 Taylor, W.E. (William Edmund), 9 Squadron, RFC. Died of pleurisy aged 20.

Claims: 1
Lt Renatus Theiller claims his 4^th confirmed victory for Jasta 5. He shot down an FE south of Combles. Aged 18, Theiller received flying license #511 on 12 September 1913. In 1916, as a two-seater pilot with FFA 25, Otto Schmidt flew as his observer. He then transferred to Jasta 5 flying single seat scouts.

Western Front

Somme:
Rain 7mm. 53° - 45° another very wet day.



Allies capture Dewdrop and Hazy trenches.

Tunstills Men Sunday 29th October 1916:
Front line trenches south-west of Hooge

During the afternoon British artillery again shelled German positions, with the Battalion observing and reporting on the accuracy and impact of the shelling. In the evening the Battalion was relieved by 11^th West Yorks., with relief completed just before midnight, and returned to the barracks in Ypres.

Cpl. John Stewart (see 23^rd October) who had spent the previous six days in the care of 69^th Field Ambulance with a diagnosis of ‘PYO’ (meaning pyrexia, or raised temperature, of unknown origin) was now diagnosed as suffering from suspected dysentery and evacuated to no.10 Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings, Lijssenthoek.

Capt. John Atkinson (see 17^th September), who had left the Battalion in September, suffering from trench fever, contacted the War Office. Writing from his home at Skea Hall, Enniskillen, he asked them to supply him with confirmation of his being on sick leave, “as I cannot receive any allowances until I receive same”.
A memorial service was held at Mount Zion Chapel, Tosside, in remembrance of Pte. Percy Hodgson (see 16^th October), who had attended the Sunday School. At the close of the service a collection was taken in aid of the soldiers' comforts fund.
Eastern Front:

In Jiu Valley, enemy in retreat.

In Dobruja, Romanians still retiring.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

Sherif of Mecca proclaimed King of the Arabs.

Naval Operations:

Aegean: U-Boat torpedoes Greek volunteer transport Angeliki.

Britain: Jellicoe warns of ‘…serious danger that our losses in merchant ships … may by the early summer of 1917 have such a serious effect … as to force us into accepting peace terms’.

Shipping Losses: 9

Political:

Austria: Dr. Ernst von Korber appointed Premier in Austria.



Anniversary Events:

1618		Sir Walter Raleigh is executed. After the death of Queen Elizabeth, Raleigh's enemies spread rumors that he was opposed the accession of King James.
1787		Mozart's opera Don Giovanni opens in Prague.
1814		The Demologos, the first steam-powered warship, launched in New York City.
1901		Leon Czolgosz is electrocuted for the assassination of US President William McKinley. Czolgosz, an anarchist, shot McKinley on September 6 during a public reception at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, N.Y. Despite early hopes of recovery, McKinley died September 14, in Buffalo, NY.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Monday 30th October 1916

Today we lost: 318

Today’s losses include:

• The son of a member of the clergy
• A man whose brother will be killed in December

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Henry Bardell Adamson (West Yorkshire Regiment) dies of wounds received in action at age 34. He is the son of the Reverend J B Adamson.
• Second Lieutenant Guy Cheseldon Reuell Atkinson (East Lancashire Regiment) dies of wounds at age 26. His brother will be killed in December.
• Private George William Ives (Hertfordshire Regiment) dies of disease at age 19. He was wounded at Festubert and has been on active service in France since January 1915.

Air Operations:

Jasta 18 is formed.


When flying low beware of low wire entanglements!

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

Claims: No claims today.

Western Front

Somme:

Rain 7mm. 61° - 48° wet and dull cold day. There were deluges of rain which made the condition of the roads worse than ever.

British Reserve Army redesignated Fifth Army and reinforced with guns from Third Army and all available 52 Tank Mk I’s ‘s for limited ops astride Ancre Valley.



French take trenches north-west of Sailly-Saillisel.

South of Somme: Germans retake northern part of La Maisonnette.

Tunstills Men Monday 30th October 1916:

Barracks in Ypres

The day was spent largely in cleaning weapons, uniform and equipment. Meanwhile, a number of men were sent away to undertake a variety of courses, in, for example, “signalling, sniping, repairing of gumboots and gas”. This latter occupation was considered particularly pressing and the whole Battalion was given further instruction in the use of the new box respirators which had been issued to the men before their last tour in the trenches. In the evening, four working and carrying parties, comprising 200 men in total, were provided for the Royal Engineers.

In the afternoon Lt. Col. Sydney Hayne (see passim) had relinquished command and left the Battalion to return to England. He was replaced as CO by Lt. Col Robert Richmond Raymer, DSO.
Raymer had been born on 1st November, 1870 and was educated at Farnham Grammar School before going on to gain a science degree at London University and later a Master of Arts degree at Trinity College in Dublin. He became an assistant master at Tollington Park School in North London from 1890 before then being appointed master in Mathematics and Science at Kibworth School, Market Harborough in 1894.
He first experienced active service in the army during the South African War, where he served with the 1st Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment and would receive the Queen’s South Africa Medal with five clasps. Colonel Raymer later transferred to the Royal Militia, Island of Jersey as a Captain with the 2nd (or East Battalion) in 1904, on becoming a master at Victoria College in Jersey, later being promoted to Major in 1910. He commanded the College’s Cadet Corps where he made major improvements, and which at that time, and until 1908 when it became a Junior Officers’ Training Corps (JOTC), was affiliated to the Militia’s 2nd Battalion.
He married Ethel Annie Raymer on 2nd August, 1905 and they had one son, Charles Robert Peyton Raymer who was born on 3rd October, 1914.
At the outbreak of the Great War, Raymer was a master at the Clifton College (Douglas Haig’s old school), having left Victoria College and Jersey in December, 1912, all the while retaining his commission with the Jersey Militia, and transferred to the 5th Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment on the 12th October, 1914 with the rank of Major. He was appointed Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel in February, 1915, and became the CO of the 1/5th Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment in February, 1915, taking over from Lieutenant-Colonel AR Crawley shortly before that Battalion’s departure for France. Colonel Raymer remained in command of the Battalion until he was wounded during the assault on Gommecourt on 1st July, 1916. He had arrived back in France, en route to join 10DWR, on 25^th October.

The monthly meeting of Bowland Rural Council passed a vote of condolence following the death of Pte. Anthony Lofthouse (see 20^th October). His father, Mr. J. T. Lofthouse, being a member of the Council. It was later reported that, “In moving the resolution, the Chairman said that if there was any consolation for Mr. Lofthouse, it was the knowledge that his son died in the service of his King and Country. The resolution was seconded by Mr. Gill, and the members signified their approval by standing”.

Eastern Front:

Enemy retiring in Jiu Valley and in Vulkan Pass.

South-east of Roter Turm Pass, enemy capture heights.

Germans and Turks force back Russians near River Narajowka (Galicia).

Latter advance towards Lutsk.

Southern Front:

Violent fighting along whole line in Cherna region.

Bulgar attack on Kalendia (Struma) repulsed.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

Arabia: Sherif Hussein proclaims himself ‘King of the Arab Lands’; Anglo-French protest.

East Africa: British drive enemy over Ruhuje River, and repel them in Iringa district and at Lupembe (East Africa). Main body of enemy south of Central Railway and about Rufiji river, Tabora force being near Iringa.

Naval Operations:

British vessels at anchor in the southern Italian port of Taranto. They are part of the Ontranto barrage across the Adriatic.

Adriatic: Allied Taranto conference on Otranto Barrage ducks single commander question but Italians will transfer 22 trawlers from Tyrrhenian, plus add 18 small torpedo boats and 38 aircraft (30 French aircrafts at Corfu).

Britain: Royal Navy has 47 a-ships, from drifters to medium-size steamers.



Shipping Losses: 5

Political:

Britain: Increased wages demanded by Cardiff miners.

Anniversary Events:

1270		The Seventh Crusade ends by the Treaty of Barbary.
1485		Henry VII of England crowned.
1697		The Treaty of Ryswick ends the war between France and the Grand Alliance.
1838		Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Lorain County, Ohio becomes the first college in the U.S. to admit female students.
1899		Two battalions of British troops are cut off, surrounded and forced to surrender to General Petrus Joubert’s Boers at Nicholson’s Nek.
1905		The czar of Russia issues the October Manifesto, granting civil liberties and elections in an attempt to avert the burgeoning support for revolution.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Tuesday 31st October 1916

Today we lost: 484

Today’s losses include:

• The 2^nd Baron Llangattock
• Viscount Clive
• A former Mayor and High Sheriff of Monmouthshire
• The older brother of the co-founder of Rolls-Royce
• A battalion commander
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
• The son of an Earl and Baroness
• A man whose brother will be killed in the Second World War
• The grandson of a General
• The son of a member of the clergy

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Lieutenant Colonel Arthur C Vincent Clutterbuck (commanding 3^rd Essex Regiment) dies at home at age 40.
• Major John MacLean Rolls (Royal Field Artillery) the 2^nd Baron Llangattock dies of wounds at age 46. In 1900 he was High Sheriff of Monmouthshire and Mayor in 1906-07. He was also a JP and Deputy Lieutenant and county councillor for Monmouthshire. He is the older brother of Charles Stewart Rolls the co-founder of Rolls-Royce, the first airman to cross and re-cross the Channel and Britain’s first aircraft fatality.
• Captain Cyril Noel Cory (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 28. He was commissioned to the Royal Field Artillery in 1907. In 1911, when he was Whip to the Regimental Harriers at Bulford Camp, he won the Harriers Steeplechase Cup, though in the course of the race he had fallen and broken his collar-bone. He went to the front with the 72^nd Battery as part of the 6^th Division in September 1914. At the First Battle of Ypres this Battery formed part of the 3^rd Corps, which Lord French specially commended for its great gallantry and devotion to duty. He served continuously in France with this Battery until his death, with the exception of a few weeks when he was in command of a Trench Mortar Battery. He was then given command of his original Battery and was in his dug-out at Morval when a shell fell on it and killed or wounded all the officers of the Battery.
• Captain Christopher Mellor Ridley (Essex Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother will be killed next July.
• Captain Percy Robert Herbert, Viscount Clive (Welsh Guards) dies of wounds at home at age 23. He is the son of George Charles Herbert the 4^th Earl of Powis and 18^th Baroness Darcy de Knayth. His brother Mervyn Horatio Herbert will be killed in March 1943.
• Lieutenant Murray Turley Smith (Central Ontario Regiment) is killed in action at age 25 exactly two months to the day after his younger brother was killed in action.
• Lieutenant Kendal Coghill Glendower Ottley (West India Regiment) is killed in East Africa. He is the middle of three brothers and grandsons of Major General C G Ottley who are killed in the war.
• Second Lieutenant William Douglas Bradshaw (Royal Field Artillery) is killed. His brother was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
• Second Lieutenant Arnold Langley MacKay (Scots Fusiliers) dies of wounds at age 25. He is the son of the Reverend Angus MacKay Rector of Holy Trinity Edinburgh.
• Sergeant Don B Sutherland (Canadian Infantry) is killed in action at Ancre. His brother will die of wounds in November 1917.

Air Operations:

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 2

A Mech 1 Foot, E.H.C. (Edwin Harold Charles), No.1 Aircraft Depot, St Omer attached Royal Garrison Artillery, RFC. Died of wounds aged 20.

A Mech 2 Josling, E.C. (Edward Charles), 9 Squadron, RFC, aged 21.

Western Front: Allied October losses 88 aircraft plus over 99 RFC personnel. RFC help engage 169 German batteries.

Claims: 2
Lt Luigi Olivari claims his 3^rd victoryflying for 70 shooting down a 2 seater near Monte Nero. With his first victory, Luigi Olivari scored Italy's second air combat victory. Although he claimed 19 enemy aircraft, most of them were unconfirmed and 1919 he was officially credited with eight victories. Olivari was killed in a crash when his Spad VII stalled during take-off on the morning of 13 October 1917.

Sgt Mario Stoppani claims his 5^th victory with 76 Sq flying a Nieuport 11, shooting down a 2 seater near Nad Logem.

Western Front

Somme:
63° - 46°. The road and trench conditions are very bad indeed and the area around Guedecourt is waterlogged. Rawlinson despairs of a further advance.



Tunstills Men Tuesday 31st October 1916:
Barracks in Ypres
Working parties were again provided as on the previous day and instruction and training continued.

Capt. Hugh William Lester (see 22^nd October), returned from leave and resumed his post as Adjutant, which had been held in his absence by Lt. Leonard Norman Phillips (see 22^nd October).

Lt. Dobson from 69^th Field Ambulance who had been temporarily attached to the Battalion for the previous two weeks re-joined his unit; most likely this followed the return from leave of Battalion Medical Officer Capt. Cecil Berry (see 17^th October).

CSM Alfred Lodge (see 19^th July), who had been in England since July, having been severely wounded in the actions around Horseshoe Trench, was posted to 83^rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Gateshead, where he would join several other former members of 10DWR.

A payment of £7 9s. 2d. was authorised to be made to Mrs. Ann Benson, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to her late son Pte. Fred Benson (see 20^th October).

The solicitors Messrs. Martineau and Reid, of Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London wrote to the War Office regarding the estate of the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 25^th October) who had been killed at Le Sars. They requested that the War Office issue a death certificate; inform them of the amount in pay and allowances due; notify the Inland Revenue that the estate would be exempt from death duties; and also confirm whether they were aware of any extant will. All of these were required to allow them to assist Harris’ father, Samuel, in settling his son’s affairs.

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

Killed 4 officers and 148 other ranks

Accidentally killed 0

Died of wounds 2 officers and 3 other ranks

Wounded 21 officers and 591 other ranks

Accidentally wounded 2 other ranks

Missing 1 officer and 77 other ranks


10DWR’s casualties were recorded as:

Killed 2 officers (Harris and Graham) and 40 other ranks

Accidentally killed 0

Died of wounds 0

Wounded 4 (Baume, Carrington, Snowden and Tribe) officers and 183 other ranks

Accidentally wounded 0

Missing 1 officer (Stafford) and 41 other ranks

These official casualty figures do not take account of the deaths of Ptes. Collinson (see 6^th September) or Foster (see 21^st 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 142

Accidentally killed 4

Died of wounds 7

Wounded 702

Accidentally wounded 47

Missing 116
Eastern Front:

Austrians checked at Torzburg, but successful in Predeal Pass.

Russians repulse Germans in Narajowka Valley (Galicia), but fall back at Mieczysczow

Russia: Russian Sixth Army censor reports soldiers saying ‘after the war we’ll have to settle accounts with the internal enemy’. Russian losses so far 4,670,000 killed and wounded; 2,078,000 PoW and over 1 million missing.

Rumania: German Ninth Army losses since September 11: 9,072 men.

Southern Front:

Struma front, British take Barakli Juma (in front of Rupel Pass), also Kumli.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

British reorganised into two divisions (Hoskins and van Deventer), former about Kilwa, latter on Ruaha and Central Railway, Northey about Iringa.

Naval Operations:

Shipping Losses: 5

In October 353,600t Allied and neutral shipping (49 British worth 176,248t with 197 lives, a record so far; including 44 ships or 125,152t to Mediterranean U*-boats.

Anniversary Events:

1517		Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg in Germany. Luther's theories and writings inaugurate Protestantism, shattering the external structure of the medieval church and at the same time reviving the religious consciousness of Europe.
1803		Congress ratifies the purchase of the entire Louisiana area in North America, adding territory to the U.S. which will eventually become 13 more states.
1838		A mob of about 200 attacks a Mormon camp in Missouri, killing 20 men, women and children.
1864		Nevada becomes the 36th state.

[Rebel]

When flying low beware of low wire entanglements!

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

Claims: No claims today.
[B][U]

Surely, assuming this pilot survived, he would have claimed Divine Intervention at the very least!

[Mike George]

Thanks for the nice read. Sorry I must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Skafloc again.

[Hedeby]

Loving the addition of the cartoons Neil. It's a great touch.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Wednesday 1^st November 1916

Today we lost: 447

Today’s losses include:

• An Oxford Assistant Master
• The son of a member of the clergy
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
• A man shot at dawn
• A police constable

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain and Adjutant Carroll Herbert Marston Whiteside (Border Regiment) dies of wounds at age 24. He is an Oxford Assistant Master and the son of the Reverend Joseph Whiteside Rector of Plumstead.
• Private Frederick Moody Greenshields (Highland Light Infantry) is killed at age 22. His brother will be killed in May 1918.
• Private William Darts (Suffolk Regiment) is killed in action at age 32. His brother was killed less than one month ago.
• Private Alfred Leonard Jefferies (Somerset Light Infantry) is executed for desertion. His brother was killed in September, one month after Alfred deserted from the same regiment.
• Private Amos Paxton (Grenadier Guards) a police constable is killed at age 23. He is the last of three brothers who are all killed in the second half of this year.

Air Operations:

Britain: In November Air Board orders 8,000 Hispano-Suiza engines.

Rumania:Air ship LZ97 raids Bucharest (German 1st Squadron raids on November 14, 20, 22 and December 12-15).

Western Front: High winds and poor weather hampers operations until November 8 and from November 12-15.

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 3

2Lt Kane, F.P. (Frederick Paul), 29 Squadron, RFC, killed in action aged 29.

2Lt Mann, S.W. (Stanley Walter), 9 Squadron, RFC, missing-killed in action during an aerial combat over Le Transloy, aged 21.

2Lt Wynn, A.E. (Arthur Ernest), 9 Squadron, RFC, died of Wounds as a Prisoner of War aged 20.

Claims: 13

Lt Honore Marie Joseph Leon Guillaume de Bonald claims his 1^st confirmed victory with N69 shooting down an enemy aircraft east of Ablaincourt.


Capt Paul Adrien Gastin claims his 3^rd confirmed victory with N49, shooting down an enemy aircraft near Altkirch.

Lt Marie Charles Maurice Lecoq De Kerland claims his 1^st confirmed victory with N68, shooting down an Aviatic C type near Foret de Gremessey.


Lt Jean Augustin Paul Joseph Loste claims his 3^rd & 4^th confirmed victory with C46, shooting down an enemy aircraft near Metz-en-Couture & Mont St. Quentin, respectively. ( Both victories shared with Soldat Louis Martin).

"A remarkably adroit and courageous pilot; has completed numerous artillery spotting, photographic, and bombing missions during the course of which he successively downed four enemy planes. In particular, on 1 November 1916, he descended to within 150 meters of the ground to shoot down his adversary in flames in its own lines. By virtue of his coolness, he was able to recross the lines and save his plane, one motor of which had been badly damaged. Cited twice in orders." Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation, 24 November 1916.
Soldat Louis Honore Martin claims his 3^rd & 4^th confirmed victory with C46, shooting down an enemy aircraft near Metz-en-Couture & Mont St. Quentin, respectively ( Both victories shared with Lt Jean Augustin Paul Joseph Loste).

"Machine-gunner of exceptional skill and courage. He has had multiple aerial combats during the course of which he succeeded in downing four enemy planes. In the last one, on 1 November 1916, he descended to within 150 meters of the ground to down a German plane in flames, in its own territory; having had one motor damaged, he had to recross the lines at low altitude, returning with his plane riddled by bullets." Médaille Militaire citation, 24 November 1916.


Capt Armand Pinsard clains his 1^st confirmed victory with N26, flying a Spad VII he shot down an enemy aircraft near Lechelle. Pinsard joined the army in 1906 and was decorated twice for service in Africa. In 1912, he transferred to the French Air Service and was serving with MS23 when the war began. On 8 February 1915, he was captured when his aircraft was forced down behind enemy lines. More than a year later, after several unsuccessful attempts, Pinsard and a fellow prisoner succeeded in tunneling through a 12 foot wall and escaped from a German prison. Promoted to Lieutenant and retrained on aircraft developed during his incarceration, he returned to combat duty with N26. Pinsard is believed to be the first frontline pilot to fly the Spad VII in combat.

"Has shown, under particularly difficult circumstances, exceptional energy and tenacity. Posted to an escadrille de chasse, at his request, he has had numerous combats during the course of which his plane was riddled by bullets. On 7 August 1916, during an infantry attack, he made six strafing runs from a height of 200 meters as German reserves massed for a counter attack. Already cited twice." Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation.

Adjutant Chef Victor Louis Georges Sayaret claims his 6^th confirmed victory with N57 in a Nieuport 17 he shot down an enemy aircraft near Mogeville.


Lt Paul Albert Pierre Tarascon claims his 7^th confirmed victory with N62, shooting down a LVG C type near Moislains. While learning to fly in 1911, Tarascon was seriously injured in a crash, losing his right leg. Despite his handicap, he volunteered for the French Air Service in August 1914. He was accepted and received a Pilot's Brevet in December. During World War I, he became known as "l'as la jambe de bois" (the ace with the wooden leg).

"Adjudant pilot of Escadrille N62. Remarkable pilot by his devotion, skill, coolness and initiative. He has distinguished himself for over a year during the course of numerous reconnaissances, protections and pursuits. On 9 August 1916, his plane was hit over 100 times by enemy bullets. Since the first of July, he has had 35 combats, downing five enemy planes and has forced two others to land in a damaged condition." Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation, 15 November 1916.


Oberleutnant Hans Berr claims his 9^th confirmed victory with Jasta 5, shooting down a Caudron south east of Courcelette. 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.


Oberleutnant Stefan Kirmaier claims his 8^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2, shooting down a BE2d near Le Sars. After transferring from the infantry to the German Air Service, Kirmaier served with FA(A) 203 before joining KEK J in 1916. Here he scored three victories, including one balloon, during the month of July. On 5 October 1916, he was reassigned to Jasta 2 under Oswad Boelcke. Toward the end of the month, Boelcke was killed and Kirmaier assumed command of Jasta 2.

Lt Renatus Theiller claims his 5^th confirmed victory with Jasta 5 shooting down a Nieuport south of Le Transloy. At age 18, Theiller received flying license #511 on 12 September 1913. In 1916, as a two-seater pilot with FFA 25, Otto Schmidt flew as his observer.

Western Front

Allies: Joffre letter to Haig specifies broad lines of combined action in 1917 (Haig agrees by letter on November 6).

Verdun:
Germans evacuate Fort Vaux (Verdun).

Somme:

Rain 2mm. 59° - 46°. German counter-attack against Sailly-Saillisel repulsed.

French repulse counter-attack at Sailly-Saillisel and advance northeast of Lesboeufs.



Allies announce 72,901 PoW; 303 guns; 215 mortars and 981 MGs captured since July 1, 1916.

Tunstills Men Wednesday 1^st November 1916:
Barracks in Ypres

Working parties of 200 men each night, and smaller parties during the day, were provided each day for the next three days. There was also further training in the use of the new box respirators and “All Officers and men had them tested with lacrymosal gas”.

Cpl. Albert Joseph Acarnley (see 14^th August), who would later serve as a commissioned officer with 10DWR, was promoted Sergeant while serving with 2^nd Royal Berkshires.

A payment of £69 7s. 6d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late 2Lt. Geoffrey Raymond Palmer (see 29^th July), who had been killed in the actions around Munster Alley in July.

Rev. Hugh Wilfrid Todd, chaplain, arrived in France, although with which unit has not been established; he would subsequently serve as chaplain with 10DWR. Todd was 28 years old (born 7^th October 1888) and the youngest of three surviving children of Thomas and Emma Todd. Thomas Todd was a schoolmaster and his elder son, Arthur, had worked as a bank clerk but Hugh had qualified as a theology student.

Eastern Front:

Transylvania: Falkenhayn advances beyond Torzburg, Predeal and Rotenturm Passes (*until November 5).

Dobruja: Sakharov replaces Zayonchkovski in command of Danube Army (now 8 divisions) and orders end to ‘shameful flight’. By November 5, 27 Russian divisions in Rumania (Fourth, Eighth and Danube Armies).

Southern Front:

Italian Front – Ninth Battle of the Isonzo (until November 4): Italian Second and Third Armies attack at 1110 hours east of Gorizia and on Carso. In former some ground gained on San Marco slopes despite waist-deep mud, in latter Toscana Brigade (D’Annun*zio a vol) seizes Velike Kribach (1,125 ft), 5 other objectives taken and held or regained after Austrian attacks (night November 1-2).

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

Arabia:Lawrence crosses Red Sea from Jeddah to port Sudan in cruiser HMS Euryalus, goes on to Khartoum for talks.

Armenia: In November Turk getting only 1/3 rations despite German motor columns and efforts. Second Army Kharput hospital has 900 deaths per month. Third Army losses 60,000 men to cold, plague, lice and typhus (July 1916 to spring 1917).

Naval Operations:

Britain: Grand Fleet receives daily Room 40 summaries of all German naval movements and changes.

Italy: In early November Italian Navy discover French reading their codes, but this continues into 1918.

The huge Merchant U-Boats have a displacement of 1,512 tons on surface and a speed of 12.4 knots surfaced.

Atlantic:Mercantile U-Boat Deutschland reaches New London on second transatlantic voyage.

Adriatic: Italian torpedo boats raid Pola.

France: 12 Japanese-built Arabe-class destroyers ordered (completed September-October 1917).

Shipping Losses: 6

Political:
Appointment of Colonel L. Stack as acting Governor-General of Sudan and Sirdar.

Anniversary Events:

79		The city of Pompeii is buried by eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
1512		Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel ceiling is exhibited for the first time.
1582		Maurice of Nassau, the son of William of Orange, becomes the governor of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht.
1755		A great earthquake at Lisbon, Portugal, kills over 50,000 people.
1765		The Stamp Act goes into effect in the British colonies.
1861		Lt Gen Winfield Scott, 50 year-veteran and leader of the U.S. Army at the onset of the Civil War, retires. Gen George McClellan is appointed general-in-chief of the Union armies.
1866		Wild woman of the west Myra Maybelle Shirley (Belle Star)) marries James C. Reed in Collins County, Texas.
1869		Louis Riel seizes Fort Garry, Winnipeg, during the Red River Rebellion.

1911First offensive military use of an aircraft in war: Italy drops small spherical bombs on Turkish troops at Ain Zaia in Turkish controlled Libya.
1914 Naval action off Coronel

[Hedeby]

Really liked the Boelcke special edition - sets the standard moving forward. Alas rep cannons have jammed, but really well done (ps. 21st April 1918 is MINE!!!!!!) lol

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Whilst we are at it may I book May 7th 1917 then please chaps.
Rob.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Thursday 2^nd November 1916

Today we lost: 409

Today’s losses include:

• A Natal Government and Carnegie Scholarship winner
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Second Lieutenant Norman Carey Lucas (Royal Irish Rifles) dies of wounds received in action at Patrol Wood the last day of October in Greece at age 23. He was the winner of both the Natal Government and Carnegie Scholarships.
• Sergeant Ernest Albert Huxtable (Devonshire Regiment) is killed at age 28. His is the middle of three brothers who are killed in the Great War.
• Gunner Joseph Machin (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed. His two brothers have already been killed.
• Private Rodger Pettitt (Middlesex Regiment) is killed at age 28. His brother will die at home next October.
• Private William Hext (Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) is killed at age 22. His brother will die of wounds in May 1917.

Air Operations:

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 1

Sgt Bromley, C.P.J. (Cecil Percy John), 7 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 20.

Claims: 1


Capt John Oliver Andrews claims his 5^th victory with 24 Squadron, RFC, flying a DH2 he shot down a Halberstadt DII north west of Bapaume. 2nd Lieutenant John Oliver Andrews received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 1924 on a Maurice Farman biplane at the British Flying School in Le Crotoy, France on 19 October 1915.

Western Front

Verdun:
Germans continue to evacuate Fort Vaux (night November 2-3).

Somme:
Rain 3mm. 57° - 43°.

British capture trench east of Guedecourt.

Tunstills Men Thursday 2^nd November 1916:

Barracks in Ypres

Working parties continued to be provided; otherwise conditions were quiet.

Ex-Tunstill’s Man, Dvr. Arthur Overend (see 4^th September), now serving with the ASC at Blackdown Camp, was found guilty on a charge of, two days earlier, “leaving barracks improperly dressed and galloping HD horse”. He was sentenced to be confined to barracks for six days.

Samuel H. Harris, father of the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 31^st October) who had been killed at Le Sars completed a form of declaration requesting that any effects of his late son should be sent to him, and confirming that he would settle any outstanding debts due from his son’s estate.

Eastern Front:

Austro-Hungarians attack in Predeal Pass;

Romanians pursue Austrians in Vulkan Pass (northern Wallachia front).

Southern Front:

Italians occupy Faiti Hrib (dominating Kostanjevitsa-Isonzo front).

Naval Operations:
Arctic: U-56 sunk by Russian patrol craft gunfire off Lapland.

Black Sea: Russian Fleet shells Constanza (and on November 4).

North Sea: British destroyers rescue Dutch SS Oldambt, routing 5 German destroyers.

Shipping Losses: 8

Political:
Britain: Asst Chief Commissioner Thomson meets Jewish master spy Alex Aaronsohn by St James’s Park; Aaronsohn arrives at Cairo on December 12.

Russia: Declaration of Labour Group at Petrograd to working classes.

Anniversary Events:

1570		A tidal wave in the North Sea destroys the sea walls from Holland to Jutland. More than 1,000 people are killed.
1772		The first Committees of Correspondence are formed in Massachusetts under Samuel Adams.
1789		The property of the church in France is taken away by the state.
1841		The second Afghan War begins.
1869		Sheriff Wild Bill Hickock loses his re-election bid in Ellis County, Kan.
1880		James A. Garfield is elected the 20th president of the United States.
1882		Newly elected John Poe replaces Pat Garrett as sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory.
1889		North Dakota is made the 39th state.
1889		South Dakota is made the 40th state.
1892		Lawmen surround outlaws Ned Christie and Arch Wolf near Tahlequah, Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). It will take dynamite and a cannon to dislodge the two from their cabin.
1903		London's Daily Mirror newspaper is first published.

1914Russia and Serbia declare war on Turkey

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Great a nice short one for once. Lord knows but you chaps deserve one.
Rob.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Friday 3^rd November 1916

Today we lost: 581

Today’s losses include:

• The 8^th Baron Lucas and 11^th Baron Dingwall
• The son of a General
• Multiple sons of members of the clergy
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
• A victim of the Red Baron
• An Australian Rules footballer

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Auberon Thomas Herbert (Hampshire Yeomanry attached Royal Flying Corps) the 8^th Baron Lucas and 11^th Baron Dingwall dies of wounds at age 40. He is the only son of the ‘late Honorable’ Aubereon Edward Molyneux Herbert. He was shot in the foot while a Times correspondent to the South Africa War and his leg had to be amputated below the knee, though this did not slow him down as he continued to play tennis and spend a great deal of time outdoors. He became a Liberal candidate for Parliament and later Under-Secretary for War and for a short time Under-Secretary for the Colonies. In 1914 he entered the Cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture and held the post until the formation of the Coalition Government in May 1915. When he left the government he joined the Royal Flying Corps. On this day he is shot in the neck and lands his machine and his observer safely and he will die at 18:00 in enemy hands.
• Another pilot in the Royal Flying Corps killed during operations today is 24-year old Captain Alan John MacDonald Pemberton MC (Leinster Regiment attached Royal Flying Corps). He is the son of late Major General W W Pemberton.
• Sergeant Cuthbert Godfrey Baldwin (Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 28 when he and his observer Second Lieutenant George Andrew Bentham are shot down by the Red Baron. He is the son of the Reverend Alan Godfrey Baldwin Vicar of Burnopfield.

Air Operations:
English aviators bomb Bursuk.
Handley Page 0/100 #1459 of #3 Wing Royal Naval Air Service is the first of the new twin-engine heavy bombers to reach France.
RFC help range 120 targets but lose 5 aircraft.
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 10
Sgt Baldwin, C.G. (Cuthbert Godfrey),18 Squadron, RFC. Killed in Action aged 28. F.E. 2b 7010, flown by Sgt C G Baldwin, with 2nd Lieut G A Bentham as observer, was downed by Manfred von Richthofen and was under anti-aircraft fire as it fell, out of control. Crashed east of Englebelmer.

2Lt Bentham, G.A. (George Andrew), 18 Squadron, RFC. (See above).

A Mech 1 Brain, N.L. (Norman L.), 11 Squadron, RFC. On Offensive patrol 22 October 1916 in F.E.2b 7684, in very low combat with hostile aircraft east of Gommecourt. Reported as Died of Wounds 22 October 1916 - Actualy made a Prisoner of War on this date. His pilot, 2nd Lieut A L M Shephard Died of wounds 3 November.

Sgt Daniell, E.E. (Eunice Ewell), 6 (Reserve) Squadron, RFC. Killed whilst flying.

Capt Herbert, A.T.H. (Auberon Thomas Herbert, 8th Baron Lucas of Crudwell and 11th Baron Dingwall), 22 Squadron, RFC. (Awards: Mentioned in Despatches, Serbian Order of KaraGeorge, 4th Class, with Swords). Missing, whilst on a photo reconnaissance mission over the rear of the German Lines. He became separated from two other machines from his Squadron and their escort, and was photographing from below broken cumulus clouds.

Cpl Luck, J.A, 6 Squadron, RFC. (No details recorded).

Capt Pemberton, A.J.M.D. (Alan John MacDonald), 22 Squadron, RFC. (No details recorded).

Lt Shepherd, A.L.M. (Arthur Lindsay Moore), 11 Squadron, RFC. Died as Prisoner of War 3 November 1916 at Vitry aged 25 having been captured on 20 October.

Lt Spencer, J.M.J. (James Michael Jeslyn), 60 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 21.

Lt Turk, H.H. (Herbert Henry), 11 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 27.


Claims: 12
pic
2Lt Eric Clowes Pashley claims his 1^st confirmed victory with 24 Squadron, RFC. Shooting down a HAlberstadt DII near Bapaume. Eric Clowes Pashley received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 139 on a Sommer biplane at Brooklands on 26 September 1911. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916.
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Capt Alfred Marie Joseph Heurtaux claims his 11^th confirmed victory with Spa 3. Shooting down a Aviatik near Rocquigny.
pic
Sgt Paul Joannes Sauvage claims his 6^th confirmed victory with N65 shooting down an enemy aircraft near Mesnil.
"Sergent pilot of Escadrille N65. Young pursuit pilot who has rapidly been classed among the best, thanks to his strength and highly remarkable sense of duty. On 3 November 1916 he downed his sixth German plane which crashed in flames behind enemy lines. Has been cited three times in army orders." Médaille Militaire citation, 18 November 1916
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Oberleutnant Hans Berr claims his 10^th confirmed victory with Jasta 5, shooting down a BE2c north west of Martinpuich.
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Lt Albert Dossenbach claims his 9^th confirmed victory with FA22, shooting down a Fe2b near Mory. A medical student when the war began, Dossenbach abandoned his studies to join the army. Within weeks, he was promoted to Unteroffizier and by the end of his first month of service, he was decorated for saving the life of his commanding officer. In 1916, he transferred to the German Air Force and graduated from Jastaschule in June. Later that year, while serving with FA 22, Dossenbach became the first two-seater pilot to receive the Orden Pour le Merite ( Blue Max). Following single-seat fighter training with Jasta 2, he assumed command of Jasta 36 on 22 February 1917.
Pic
Lt Otto Walter Höhne claims his 4^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a BE2c near Hebuterne.
Pic
Lt Hans Imelmann claims his 4^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a Nieuport 16 near Douchy.
Lt Erich König claims his 1^st confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a FE2b near Baraste.
Pic
Lt Max Ritter von Müller claims his 3^rd confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a FE2b. While chauffeur to the Bavarian War Minister, Müller's constant request for a transfer to the Air Service was eventually approved.
pic
Lt Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen claims his 7^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a FE2b north east of Grevillers Wood. 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.
Oberleutnant Hans Schilling claims his 8^th confirmed victory for FA 22. Shooting down a FE2b near Mory. As an observer, Schilling scored 8 victories flying with Albert Dossenbach. Shot down on 3 November 1916, Dossenbach was wounded whilst Schilling was burnt.
Lt Renatus Theiller claims his 6th confirmed victory with Jasta 5. Shooting down a FE2b west of Le Mesnil. At age 18, Theiller received flying license #511 on 12 September 1913. In 1916, as a two-seater pilot with FFA 25, Otto Schmidt flew as his observer.



Western Front
Rain 1mm. 59° - 48°.
Verdun: Two French patrols reoccupy Fort Vaux.
Somme:
The first phase of the Battle for Ancre begins and will last until the 11^th.
‘A raiding party of thirty men of the 6^th (Hauraki) company of 2^nd Auckland Regiment, under Lieutenant Colin Hally, in the evening kills four Bavarians and captures two prisoners. They stay only 5 minutes in the enemy trenches and suffered no casualties. The party goes straight across, finds a gap in the wire by means of an electric torch, and enters the German line. They bomb the dugouts and take three prisoners, one of whom came to what is put down as a bad end on the return journey, owing to his subordinate behavior. The other two, very mild and inoffensive, are brought back safe and sound. No one is hurt and the only ones to suffer any inconvenience are three Canterbury men, whose bay is blown in on top of them during retaliation by German artillery. For his actions on this day Lieutenant Hally will be awarded the Military Cross. He will be killed in action serving the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps in April 1918 and his brother died of wounds in July 1915.’
The Battle for Ancre:
The battle of the Ancre, 13-19 November 1916, was the final phase of the first battle of the Somme. It involved an attack on the German front line as it crossed the Ancre River, a sector of the front that had first been attacked on the first day of the battle without success. The attack along the Ancre had originally been planned for 15 October, as part of the battle of the Ancre Heights, but had been postponed repeatedly by bad weather. By November the original plan had been reducing in scope from an attempt to push the Germans back up to five miles along the Ancre to one to capture Beaucourt and push the Germans back at most two miles.
This was a strong sector of the German front. The first British objective involved an advance of 800 yards and would require the capture of at least three lines of trenches. The next target was the German second line, from Serre south to the Ancre. Finally it was hoped to capture Beaucourt, on the Ancre.
The attack would be launched by II Corps south of the river and V Corps to the north, with V Corps carrying out the main offensive. The attack immediately north of the river was to be carried out by the 63rd (R.N.) Division, under Major-General C. D. Shute. This was the first time they had taken part in an attack on the Western Front, and so extra care was taken to make sure everybody knew what was expected of them. Amongst their officers was Lieutenant-Colonel B. C. Freyberg, later to hold high command in the Second World War, who commanded the Hood Battalion (the Naval battalions were named after famous sailors – Hood, Drake, Nelson and Hawke). The division captured the German front line despite heavy German resistance.
Further north the attack made less progress, and so despite Freyberg’s optimism the attack on Beaucourt was delayed until the next day. 51st Division captured Beaumont Hamel, and 2nd Division managed to capture parts of Redan Ridge, but further north no progress was made.


Tunstills Men Friday 3rd November 1916:
Barracks in Ypres
Working parties continued to be provided; otherwise conditions were quiet.

2Lt. George Henry Roberts (see 19^th October), who had been in hospital in Southampton for the previous two weeks being treated for “trench fever and slight debility”, appeared before a Medical Board. The Board found him unfit for duty and ordered that he be re-examined in another month.

Capt. Gilbert Tunstill (see 20^th October) who had been granted a month’s sick leave from 16^th October, following the injury he had sustained in September, now wrote to the War Office requesting that his next Medical Board be convened at either York or Leeds. Tunstill was currently staying with Mr. T.B. Ecroyd, at Low House, Armathwaite, Cumberland.

Following her recent application for a pension, the War Office wrote to Mrs. Marian Carpenter, mother of the late Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter (see 20^th October), who had been killed in action on 5^th July. Having considered her application, she was told that, “In reply to your application for pension as the mother of Capt. HMS Carpenter, I am directed to inform you that, in view of the fact that your husband is not incapacitated by age or infirmity, you are not eligible, under the regulations, for a grant of pension from Army funds”.

A payment of £10 17s. 4d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Tommy Cartman (see 12^th October) who had died of wounds following the action at Contalmaison in July; the amount would be paid to his mother, Mrs. Ellen Rishworth, in accordance with the terms of Tommy’s will, even though he had lived almost all of his life with his maternal aunt and her family.

A series of articles appeared in the weekly edition of the Craven Herald with news regarding casualties among members of Tunstill’s Company.
PAYTHORNE FARMER'S SON KILLED
Mrs. J. T. Lofthouse, of Paa Farm, Paythorne, has received information that his son, Pte. Anthony Lofthouse (see 30^th October), of the West Riding Regiment, has been killed in action.
Pte. Lofthouse, who was an only son, and 23 years of age, enlisted in Capt. Tunstill's troop in September, 1914, going out to France a year later. He will be much missed in the neighbourhood, for he was of a happy and genial disposition.
Pte. B. Butler (see 10^th October), writing to Mr. Lofthouse, says:- "I am extremely sorry to have to break the news to you. Anthony got killed by a shell in a bombing expedition on October 5th. I feel very much upset about him. We were good pals, and he was greatly respected by all the lads in the company. I shall miss him very much. I saw him buried and got some of his belongings, so I will see you get them. We have had a rough time of it lately, but are out of the trenches now for a rest."

PAYTHORNE - Cr. J. T. Lofthouse's Loss
At the monthly meeting of Bowland Rural Council on Monday a vote of condolence was passed with Mr. J. T. Lofthouse, Paythorne, in the loss of his only son who was killed in France a few weeks ago. In moving the resolution, the Chairman said that if there was any consolation for Mr. Lofthouse, it was the knowledge that his son died in the service of his King and Country. The resolution was seconded by Mr. Gill, and the members signified their approval by standing.

RALPH - In loving memory of Private Christopher Ralph (see 27^th October) of the 10th Duke of Wellington's (W.R.) Regiment, of Hellifield, who was killed in action in France on October 6th 1916.

No mother's care did him attend,

Nor o'er him did a father bend;

No sister there to shed a tear,

No brother by, his words to hear.

Sick, dying, in a foreign land,

No father there to take his hand,

No mother near to close his eyes

Far from his native land he lies.

From Sisters and Brothers, Haw Grove, Hellifield

EARBY MAN MISSING
Pte. Percy Wharton, Duke of Wellington's (7070), has been officially reported missing since September 3rd. Any news of him will be gratefully received by his parents, 8, George Street, Earby. Mr. and Mrs. Wharton have three other sons in the Army - Sergt. Allan Wharton (see 13^th October), in the 10th Duke of Wellington's, and Lance-Corporal Richard Wharton, in the 9th, and another on home service. The two first mentioned have been in France during the greater part of the conflict. A son-in-law, Gunner Frank Whitehead, is serving in India
SKIPTON'S ROLL OF HONOUR - PTE. CHARLIE BRANSTON KILLED
Another fine young Skipton soldier has made the supreme sacrifice - Pte. Charlie Branston (see 12^th October), of the Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, and son of Mrs. Branston, of 27, Brook Street, Skipton. This is Mrs. Branston's second bereavement, her nephew, Pte. T. B. Cartman (see above), who lived with her for many years, having died from wounds in July last. The sad news respecting her son was received on Saturday morning, an official intimation from the War Office stating that he had been killed in action on October 12th. Deceased, who was only 20 years of age, was a fine specimen of manhood, and was nearly six feet in height. Formerly employed at Messrs. Lipton's Ltd., he enlisted with Captain Tunstill's men in September 1914, and went out to France thirteen months ago. He was wounded in July last, but had never been granted a leave since he went to the Front. Deceased and his cousin, Pte. Cartman, were both employed at Messrs. Lipton's Ltd. They enlisted together, did their training together, and were both wounded on July 10th.
Pte. Branston was a member of the Skipton Branch of the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks, and in a letter to his mother, Mr. George L. Haigh, secretary of the local Branch, writes:- "It is with the regret of myself and all the members of the above Branch that I offer you my deepest sympathy in the loss of your gallant son in action. It seems hard lines that after being so long in France he should meet the same fate as Tom, but I sincerely hope you will bear up in your loss. He was one of the best of men to work with either at business or for the Union. To this I can testify. I can hardly realise it yet, the news coming to me as a great surprise, although I could not understand not hearing from him for over three weeks."

SEDBERGH - MEMORIAL SERVICE
There was a large congregation at St. Andrew's Church on Wednesday week, when a service was held in memory of Sergeant Harry Lyddington Mason (see 25^th October) and Private Harry Clemmett, who have fallen in the war. The Vicar (Rev. A. H. Walker) took the major portion of the service, and the lesson was read by Rev. H. F. Donaldson Selby. The special hymns were 'The Son of God goes forth to war', 'Lead Kindly Light', and 'Peace, prefect peace'. At the conclusion of the service the organist, Mr. A.E. Thorne, played the 'Dead March'.
There was also news of other men of the Company.
AUSTWICK
Home on Leave
Cpl. Fred Swale (see 23^rd October) of the 10^th service battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment reached home on Sunday morning on six days’ leave. Cpl. Swale enlisted in September 1914, being one of Captain Tunstill’s hundred, and was in training in the south of England for eleven months. In August 1915, along with his Battalion, he left for France. He has seen fourteen months hard fighting, and has been in many stiff encounters, but is in the best of health and very bright and cheerful.
ADDINGHAM - NEWS FROM SOLDIERS
Private W. Dixon, writing from No. 2 Convalescent Camp, Rouen, says:- "I was sorry to hear about W. Waggitt's death (see 27^th October) ; R. Smith (see 13^th October) told me about him; they were both together when he got killed and Smith got wounded. I was wounded the day before. I don't think the war will last much longer, and the sooner it is over the better. We go down to Rouen nearly every day to the football matches or the pictures. We have a very good football team."
Southern Front:

Isonzo: 4 Italian brigades get within 220 yards of Kostanjevitsa, take Volkovniak, Dosso Faiti, Hills 123 and 126.

Salonika: French War Minister General Roques visits (until November 12) and largely clears Sarrail from Allied complaints.
African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Major Huddleston occupies Kulme (Darfur).
Naval Operations:
Shipping Losses: 7 (6 sunk by U-Boats, 1 by a mine).
Anniversary Events:

1493	Christopher Columbus arrives at the Caribbee Isles (Dominica) during his second expedition.
1507	Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint Lisa Gherardini (“Mona Lisa”).
1529	The first parliament for five years opens in England and the Commons put forward bills against abuses amongst the clergy and in the church courts.
1794	Thomas Paine is released from a Parisian jail with help from the American ambassador James Monroe. He was arrested for having offended the Robespierre faction.
1813	American troops destroy the Indian village of Tallushatchee in the Mississippi Valley.
1868	Ulysses S. Grant elected the 18th president of the United States.
1883	A poorly trained Egyptian army, led by British General William Hicks, marches toward El Obeid in the Sudan–straight into a Mahdist ambush and massacre.
1883	The U.S. Supreme Court declares American Indians to be “dependent aliens.”
1892	First automatic telephone exchange goes into operation in La Porte, Indiana.
1896	William McKinley is elected 25th president of the United States.
1912	The first all-metal plane flies near Issy, France, piloted by Ponche and Prinard.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Friday 3^rd November 1916

Today we lost: 581

Today’s losses include:

• The 8^th Baron Lucas and 11^th Baron Dingwall
• The son of a General
• Multiple sons of members of the clergy
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
• A victim of the Red Baron
• An Australian Rules footballer

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Auberon Thomas Herbert (Hampshire Yeomanry attached Royal Flying Corps) the 8^th Baron Lucas and 11^th Baron Dingwall dies of wounds at age 40. He is the only son of the ‘late Honorable’ Aubereon Edward Molyneux Herbert. He was shot in the foot while a Times correspondent to the South Africa War and his leg had to be amputated below the knee, though this did not slow him down as he continued to play tennis and spend a great deal of time outdoors. He became a Liberal candidate for Parliament and later Under-Secretary for War and for a short time Under-Secretary for the Colonies. In 1914 he entered the Cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture and held the post until the formation of the Coalition Government in May 1915. When he left the government he joined the Royal Flying Corps. On this day he is shot in the neck and lands his machine and his observer safely and he will die at 18:00 in enemy hands.
• Another pilot in the Royal Flying Corps killed during operations today is 24-year old Captain Alan John MacDonald Pemberton MC (Leinster Regiment attached Royal Flying Corps). He is the son of late Major General W W Pemberton.
• Sergeant Cuthbert Godfrey Baldwin (Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 28 when he and his observer Second Lieutenant George Andrew Bentham are shot down by the Red Baron. He is the son of the Reverend Alan Godfrey Baldwin Vicar of Burnopfield.

Air Operations:

English aviators bomb Bursuk.

Handley Page 0/100 #1459 of #3 Wing Royal Naval Air Service is the first of the new twin-engine heavy bombers to reach France.

RFC help range 120 targets but lose 5 aircraft.

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 10
Sgt Baldwin, C.G. (Cuthbert Godfrey),18 Squadron, RFC. Killed in Action aged 28. F.E. 2b 7010, flown by Sgt C G Baldwin, with 2nd Lieut G A Bentham as observer, was downed by Manfred von Richthofen and was under anti-aircraft fire as it fell, out of control. Crashed east of Englebelmer.

2Lt Bentham, G.A. (George Andrew), 18 Squadron, RFC. (See above).

A Mech 1 Brain, N.L. (Norman L.), 11 Squadron, RFC. On Offensive patrol 22 October 1916 in F.E.2b 7684, in very low combat with hostile aircraft east of Gommecourt. Reported as Died of Wounds 22 October 1916 - Actualy made a Prisoner of War on this date. His pilot, 2nd Lieut A L M Shephard Died of wounds 3 November.

Sgt Daniell, E.E. (Eunice Ewell), 6 (Reserve) Squadron, RFC. Killed whilst flying.

Capt Herbert, A.T.H. (Auberon Thomas Herbert, 8th Baron Lucas of Crudwell and 11th Baron Dingwall), 22 Squadron, RFC. (Awards: Mentioned in Despatches, Serbian Order of KaraGeorge, 4th Class, with Swords). Missing, whilst on a photo reconnaissance mission over the rear of the German Lines. He became separated from two other machines from his Squadron and their escort, and was photographing from below broken cumulus clouds.

Cpl Luck, J.A, 6 Squadron, RFC. (No details recorded).

Capt Pemberton, A.J.M.D. (Alan John MacDonald), 22 Squadron, RFC. (No details recorded).

Lt Shepherd, A.L.M. (Arthur Lindsay Moore), 11 Squadron, RFC. Died as Prisoner of War 3 November 1916 at Vitry aged 25 having been captured on 20 October.

Lt Spencer, J.M.J. (James Michael Jeslyn), 60 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 21.

Lt Turk, H.H. (Herbert Henry), 11 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 27.


Claims: 12

2Lt Eric Clowes Pashley claims his 1^st confirmed victory with 24 Squadron, RFC. Shooting down a HAlberstadt DII near Bapaume. Eric Clowes Pashley received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 139 on a Sommer biplane at Brooklands on 26 September 1911. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916.


Capt Alfred Marie Joseph Heurtaux claims his 11^th confirmed victory with Spa 3. Shooting down a Aviatik near Rocquigny.


Sgt Paul Joannes Sauvage claims his 6^th confirmed victory with N65 shooting down an enemy aircraft near Mesnil.

"Sergent pilot of Escadrille N65. Young pursuit pilot who has rapidly been classed among the best, thanks to his strength and highly remarkable sense of duty. On 3 November 1916 he downed his sixth German plane which crashed in flames behind enemy lines. Has been cited three times in army orders." Médaille Militaire citation, 18 November 1916


Oberleutnant Hans Berr claims his 10^th confirmed victory with Jasta 5, shooting down a BE2c north west of Martinpuich.


Lt Albert Dossenbach claims his 9^th confirmed victory with FA22, shooting down a Fe2b near Mory. A medical student when the war began, Dossenbach abandoned his studies to join the army. Within weeks, he was promoted to Unteroffizier and by the end of his first month of service, he was decorated for saving the life of his commanding officer. In 1916, he transferred to the German Air Force and graduated from Jastaschule in June. Later that year, while serving with FA 22, Dossenbach became the first two-seater pilot to receive the Orden Pour le Merite ( Blue Max). Following single-seat fighter training with Jasta 2, he assumed command of Jasta 36 on 22 February 1917.


Lt Otto Walter Höhne claims his 4^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a BE2c near Hebuterne.


Lt Hans Imelmann claims his 4^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a Nieuport 16 near Douchy.

Lt Erich König claims his 1^st confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a FE2b near Baraste.


Lt Max Ritter von Müller claims his 3^rd confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a FE2b. While chauffeur to the Bavarian War Minister, Müller's constant request for a transfer to the Air Service was eventually approved.


Lt Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen claims his 7^th confirmed victory with Jasta 2. Shooting down a FE2b north east of Grevillers Wood. 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.

Oberleutnant Hans Schilling claims his 8^th confirmed victory for FA 22. Shooting down a FE2b near Mory. As an observer, Schilling scored 8 victories flying with Albert Dossenbach. Shot down on 3 November 1916, Dossenbach was wounded whilst Schilling was burnt.

Lt Renatus Theiller claims his 6th confirmed victory with Jasta 5. Shooting down a FE2b west of Le Mesnil. At age 18, Theiller received flying license #511 on 12 September 1913. In 1916, as a two-seater pilot with FFA 25, Otto Schmidt flew as his observer.

Western Front
Rain 1mm. 59° - 48°.

Verdun:Two French patrols reoccupy Fort Vaux.

Somme:

The first phase of the Battle for Ancre begins and will last until the 11^th.
‘A raiding party of thirty men of the 6^th (Hauraki) company of 2^nd Auckland Regiment, under Lieutenant Colin Hally, in the evening kills four Bavarians and captures two prisoners. They stay only 5 minutes in the enemy trenches and suffered no casualties. The party goes straight across, finds a gap in the wire by means of an electric torch, and enters the German line. They bomb the dugouts and take three prisoners, one of whom came to what is put down as a bad end on the return journey, owing to his subordinate behavior. The other two, very mild and inoffensive, are brought back safe and sound. No one is hurt and the only ones to suffer any inconvenience are three Canterbury men, whose bay is blown in on top of them during retaliation by German artillery. For his actions on this day Lieutenant Hally will be awarded the Military Cross. He will be killed in action serving the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps in April 1918 and his brother died of wounds in July 1915.’

The Battle for Ancre:

The battle of the Ancre, 13-19 November 1916, was the final phase of the first battle of the Somme. It involved an attack on the German front line as it crossed the Ancre River, a sector of the front that had first been attacked on the first day of the battle without success. The attack along the Ancre had originally been planned for 15 October, as part of the battle of the Ancre Heights, but had been postponed repeatedly by bad weather. By November the original plan had been reducing in scope from an attempt to push the Germans back up to five miles along the Ancre to one to capture Beaucourt and push the Germans back at most two miles.

This was a strong sector of the German front. The first British objective involved an advance of 800 yards and would require the capture of at least three lines of trenches. The next target was the German second line, from Serre south to the Ancre. Finally it was hoped to capture Beaucourt, on the Ancre.

Hot meals before going over the top.

The attack would be launched by II Corps south of the river and V Corps to the north, with V Corps carrying out the main offensive. The attack immediately north of the river was to be carried out by the 63rd (R.N.) Division, under Major-General C. D. Shute. This was the first time they had taken part in an attack on the Western Front, and so extra care was taken to make sure everybody knew what was expected of them. Amongst their officers was Lieutenant-Colonel B. C. Freyberg, later to hold high command in the Second World War, who commanded the Hood Battalion (the Naval battalions were named after famous sailors – Hood, Drake, Nelson and Hawke). The division captured the German front line despite heavy German resistance.

Conditions in the Ancre Valley

Further north the attack made less progress, and so despite Freyberg’s optimism the attack on Beaucourt was delayed until the next day. 51st Division captured Beaumont Hamel, and 2nd Division managed to capture parts of Redan Ridge, but further north no progress was made.

Artillery make do as winter creep in.


Tunstills Men Friday 3rd November 1916:
Barracks in Ypres
Working parties continued to be provided; otherwise conditions were quiet.

2Lt. George Henry Roberts (see 19^th October), who had been in hospital in Southampton for the previous two weeks being treated for “trench fever and slight debility”, appeared before a Medical Board. The Board found him unfit for duty and ordered that he be re-examined in another month.

Capt. Gilbert Tunstill (see 20^th October) who had been granted a month’s sick leave from 16^th October, following the injury he had sustained in September, now wrote to the War Office requesting that his next Medical Board be convened at either York or Leeds. Tunstill was currently staying with Mr. T.B. Ecroyd, at Low House, Armathwaite, Cumberland.

Following her recent application for a pension, the War Office wrote to Mrs. Marian Carpenter, mother of the late Capt. Herbert Montagu Soames Carpenter (see 20^th October), who had been killed in action on 5^th July. Having considered her application, she was told that, “In reply to your application for pension as the mother of Capt. HMS Carpenter, I am directed to inform you that, in view of the fact that your husband is not incapacitated by age or infirmity, you are not eligible, under the regulations, for a grant of pension from Army funds”.

A payment of £10 17s. 4d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Tommy Cartman (see 12^th October) who had died of wounds following the action at Contalmaison in July; the amount would be paid to his mother, Mrs. Ellen Rishworth, in accordance with the terms of Tommy’s will, even though he had lived almost all of his life with his maternal aunt and her family.

A series of articles appeared in the weekly edition of the Craven Herald with news regarding casualties among members of Tunstill’s Company.
PAYTHORNE FARMER'S SON KILLED
Mrs. J. T. Lofthouse, of Paa Farm, Paythorne, has received information that his son, Pte. Anthony Lofthouse (see 30^th October), of the West Riding Regiment, has been killed in action.
Pte. Lofthouse, who was an only son, and 23 years of age, enlisted in Capt. Tunstill's troop in September, 1914, going out to France a year later. He will be much missed in the neighbourhood, for he was of a happy and genial disposition.
Pte. B. Butler (see 10^th October), writing to Mr. Lofthouse, says:- "I am extremely sorry to have to break the news to you. Anthony got killed by a shell in a bombing expedition on October 5th. I feel very much upset about him. We were good pals, and he was greatly respected by all the lads in the company. I shall miss him very much. I saw him buried and got some of his belongings, so I will see you get them. We have had a rough time of it lately, but are out of the trenches now for a rest."

PAYTHORNE - Cr. J. T. Lofthouse's Loss
At the monthly meeting of Bowland Rural Council on Monday a vote of condolence was passed with Mr. J. T. Lofthouse, Paythorne, in the loss of his only son who was killed in France a few weeks ago. In moving the resolution, the Chairman said that if there was any consolation for Mr. Lofthouse, it was the knowledge that his son died in the service of his King and Country. The resolution was seconded by Mr. Gill, and the members signified their approval by standing.

RALPH - In loving memory of Private Christopher Ralph (see 27^th October) of the 10th Duke of Wellington's (W.R.) Regiment, of Hellifield, who was killed in action in France on October 6th 1916.

No mother's care did him attend,

Nor o'er him did a father bend;

No sister there to shed a tear,

No brother by, his words to hear.

Sick, dying, in a foreign land,

No father there to take his hand,

No mother near to close his eyes

Far from his native land he lies.

From Sisters and Brothers, Haw Grove, Hellifield

EARBY MAN MISSING
Pte. Percy Wharton, Duke of Wellington's (7070), has been officially reported missing since September 3rd. Any news of him will be gratefully received by his parents, 8, George Street, Earby. Mr. and Mrs. Wharton have three other sons in the Army - Sergt. Allan Wharton (see 13^th October), in the 10th Duke of Wellington's, and Lance-Corporal Richard Wharton, in the 9th, and another on home service. The two first mentioned have been in France during the greater part of the conflict. A son-in-law, Gunner Frank Whitehead, is serving in India
SKIPTON'S ROLL OF HONOUR - PTE. CHARLIE BRANSTON KILLED
Another fine young Skipton soldier has made the supreme sacrifice - Pte. Charlie Branston (see 12^th October), of the Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, and son of Mrs. Branston, of 27, Brook Street, Skipton. This is Mrs. Branston's second bereavement, her nephew, Pte. T. B. Cartman (see above), who lived with her for many years, having died from wounds in July last. The sad news respecting her son was received on Saturday morning, an official intimation from the War Office stating that he had been killed in action on October 12th. Deceased, who was only 20 years of age, was a fine specimen of manhood, and was nearly six feet in height. Formerly employed at Messrs. Lipton's Ltd., he enlisted with Captain Tunstill's men in September 1914, and went out to France thirteen months ago. He was wounded in July last, but had never been granted a leave since he went to the Front. Deceased and his cousin, Pte. Cartman, were both employed at Messrs. Lipton's Ltd. They enlisted together, did their training together, and were both wounded on July 10th.
Pte. Branston was a member of the Skipton Branch of the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks, and in a letter to his mother, Mr. George L. Haigh, secretary of the local Branch, writes:- "It is with the regret of myself and all the members of the above Branch that I offer you my deepest sympathy in the loss of your gallant son in action. It seems hard lines that after being so long in France he should meet the same fate as Tom, but I sincerely hope you will bear up in your loss. He was one of the best of men to work with either at business or for the Union. To this I can testify. I can hardly realise it yet, the news coming to me as a great surprise, although I could not understand not hearing from him for over three weeks."

SEDBERGH - MEMORIAL SERVICE
There was a large congregation at St. Andrew's Church on Wednesday week, when a service was held in memory of Sergeant Harry Lyddington Mason (see 25^th October) and Private Harry Clemmett, who have fallen in the war. The Vicar (Rev. A. H. Walker) took the major portion of the service, and the lesson was read by Rev. H. F. Donaldson Selby. The special hymns were 'The Son of God goes forth to war', 'Lead Kindly Light', and 'Peace, prefect peace'. At the conclusion of the service the organist, Mr. A.E. Thorne, played the 'Dead March'.
There was also news of other men of the Company.

AUSTWICK
Home on Leave
Cpl. Fred Swale (see 23^rd October) of the 10^th service battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment reached home on Sunday morning on six days’ leave. Cpl. Swale enlisted in September 1914, being one of Captain Tunstill’s hundred, and was in training in the south of England for eleven months. In August 1915, along with his Battalion, he left for France. He has seen fourteen months hard fighting, and has been in many stiff encounters, but is in the best of health and very bright and cheerful.

ADDINGHAM - NEWS FROM SOLDIERS
Private W. Dixon, writing from No. 2 Convalescent Camp, Rouen, says:- "I was sorry to hear about W. Waggitt's death (see 27^th October) ; R. Smith (see 13^th October) told me about him; they were both together when he got killed and Smith got wounded. I was wounded the day before. I don't think the war will last much longer, and the sooner it is over the better. We go down to Rouen nearly every day to the football matches or the pictures. We have a very good football team."
Southern Front:

Isonzo: 4 Italian brigades get within 220 yards of Kostanjevitsa, take Volkovniak, Dosso Faiti, Hills 123 and 126.

Salonika: French War Minister General Roques visits (until November 12) and largely clears Sarrail from Allied complaints.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Major Huddleston occupies Kulme (Darfur).

Naval Operations:

Shipping Losses: 7 (6 sunk by U-Boats, 1 by a mine).

Anniversary Events:

1493	Christopher Columbus arrives at the Caribbee Isles (Dominica) during his second expedition.
1507	Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint Lisa Gherardini (“Mona Lisa”).
1529	The first parliament for five years opens in England and the Commons put forward bills against abuses amongst the clergy and in the church courts.
1794	Thomas Paine is released from a Parisian jail with help from the American ambassador James Monroe. He was arrested for having offended the Robespierre faction.
1813	American troops destroy the Indian village of Tallushatchee in the Mississippi Valley.
1868	Ulysses S. Grant elected the 18th president of the United States.
1883	A poorly trained Egyptian army, led by British General William Hicks, marches toward El Obeid in the Sudan–straight into a Mahdist ambush and massacre.
1883	The U.S. Supreme Court declares American Indians to be “dependent aliens.”
1892	First automatic telephone exchange goes into operation in La Porte, Indiana.
1896	William McKinley is elected 25th president of the United States.
1912	The first all-metal plane flies near Issy, France, piloted by Ponche and Prinard.

[Hedeby]

Wow - take a bow son - that was some posting, an Immelmann and a Von Richthofen in the mix as well. Great stuff Neil

[Mike George]

Thank you for the good read and the time you take.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Good going again Neil.
Well done that man.
Kyte.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Saturday 4^th November 1916

Today we lost: 350

Today’s losses include:

• The inventor of a Nautical Slide Rule
• A member of the Royal Astronomical Society
• A Battalion Commander
• A Naval Chaplin
• A Military Chaplain
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Lieutenant Colonel Owen Glendower Howell-Price DSO MC (commanding 3^rd Australian Infantry) is the first of three brothers, all winners of the Military Cross to be killed within one year. He dies at age 26. They are sons of the late Reverend John Howell-Price.
• Chaplain John Campbell-MacGregor (Cameron Highlanders) dies on active service in Dieppe at age 46. He has been the Minister of St Oran’s Parish Church Edinburgh.
• Private H Gostling (East Yorkshire Regiment) dies of wounds at age 23. His brother will be killed in March 1918.
• Driver Albert Edward Roberts (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in Baghdad. His brother was killed last July.

· Chaplain and Naval Instructor William Hall (HMS Venerable) dies of illness at age 49. He is the inventor of a Nautical Slide Rule and a member of Royal Astronomical Society.

Air Operations:
Whilst on a training flight with 48 UK Squadron, 2Lt PS Whitmore was wounded as his BE2c was wrecked after crashing during final landing.

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 2

Lt Allan, J. (John), 11 Squadron, RFC. Died from injuries sustained on November 3^rd aged 29.

A Mech 1 Skelton, G.J, RFC, aged 33.

Claims: There are no claims for today.

Western Front

Verdun: French occupy Damloup.

Somme:
Rain 2mm. 64° - 52° a wet and cloudy day.

Haig and Foch have conference with Rawlinson.

Battle for Ancre continues.

British troops in Beaumont trench


3 'Tommies' take tiffins. A time honoured tradition in the British Army.

Tunstills Men Saturday 4th November 1916:

Barracks in Ypres



At 5pm the Battalion left its billets, which were handed over to 8KOYLI, and marched to Ypres station to board a train for Vlamertinghe, leaving at 8 pm. On arrival they completed the short march of a mile south to Winnipeg Camp, where they were to spend the next five days in Corps Reserve.

Following some discussion over what should be accepted as the appropriate date, the War Office concluded that 4^th October should be the date of death recorded on the death certificate the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 2^nd November) who had been killed at Le Sars.

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury, (see 9^th October) who would later serve with 10DWR, appeared before a further Medical Board convened at Caxton Hall Hospital, London. The Board found, “He is considerably better and is now fit for general service at home”. As a consequence he was instructed to join 3DWR at Tynemouth.

L.Sgt. Mark Allan Stanley Wood, (see 4^th July) who had been serving with 16^th West Yorkshires, but had been in England, suffering from nephritis (inflammation of the kidney) since July, was discharged from hospital. The medical discharge note recorded, “Slow recovery, still an occasional trace of albumen”, but he was instructed to report to West Yorks. Regimental Depot in York. He would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR.

Pte. Herbert Edwin James Biggs was posted to begin his officer training course; having completed the course he would be commissioned and posted to join 10DWR. Biggs was 21 years old (born 16^th July 1895) and an imposing figue, standing over six feet tall. He was the eldest of four children of Herbert James and Florence Henrietta Biggs; the family had lived in Enfield where Herbert snr. worked as Chief Clerk for the Great Eastern Railway Company. Herbert jnr. had enlisted on 14^th September 1914 and had joined 7^th Battalion, London Regiment. He had arrived in France on 17^th March 1915 and had suffered wounds to his head and leg in May which had seen him in hospital in Rouen for ten weeks before re-joining his Battalion in August 1915. He had then been invalided back to England on 26^th December 1915, initially suffering from impetigo, and had remained in England ever since.

Southern Front:

The Italian commander-in-chief Cadorna (left), together with Gabriele D’Annunzio.

Isonzo: After turning move on Salone fails,Cadorna halts offensive due to bad weather and heavy losses (28,000 casualties); 9,000 Austrian PoW taken. Italian losses in Seventh to Ninth Isonzo battles (since September 14) 75,500 men; 21,500 Austrian PoW taken in their c.63,000 loss.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

Arabia: Sherif Hussein crowned ‘King of the Arabs’ at Mecca. Allies recognize him as de facto King of Hejaz (November 6) but do not attend coronation.

Naval Operations:

Russian fleet bombards Constanza.


The Type U 19 submarine ran aground at Vrist, Denmark. She was scuttled the next day.

Shipping Losses: 4

Political:

Austria: Emperor’s letter to Prime Minister states plan to give Galicia self-rule within new Poland.

Neutrals:

Greece: Venizelists attack loyal troops at Ekaterini.

Norway: Government forbids coasts to U-boats.

Anniversary Events:

644		Umar of Arabia is assassinated at Medina and is succeeded as caliph by Uthman.
1493		Christopher Columbus discovers Guadeloupe during his second expedition.
1677		William III and Mary of England wed on William's birthday.
1760		Following the Russian capture of Berlin, Frederick II of Prussia defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Torgau.
1791		General Arthur St. Clair, governor of Northwest Territory, is badly defeated by a large Indian army near Fort Wayne.
1798		Congress agrees to pay a yearly tribute to Tripoli, considering it the only way to protect U.S. shipping.
1842		Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd in Springfield, Ill.
1854		Florence Nightingale and her nurses arrive in the Crimea.
1863		From the main Confederate Army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's troops are sent northeast to besiege Knoxville.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Sunday 5th November 1916

Eugene Paul Bennett VC, MC (4 June 1892 – 6 April 1970) was born in Cainscross, Stroud, Gloucestershire, the fourth of five sons of Mr and Mrs Charles Bennett. Bennett was a pupil of Marling School from 1905 to 1908 having gained a scholarship from Uplands School, Stroud. Bennett was 24 years old, and a Temporary Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment. The award citation published in the London Gazette reads:

Temporary Lieutenant Bennett, of the Worcestershire Regiment, when in command of the second wave of the attack, found that the first wave had suffered heavy casualties. Its commander had been killed and the second line was wavering. Lieutenant Bennett advanced at the head of the second wave and by his personal example of valour and resolution reached his objective with but sixty men. Isolated with his small party, he at once took steps to consolidate his position, under heavy rifle and machine gun fire from both flanks, and although wounded, he remained in command, directing and controlling. He set an example of cheerfulness and resolution beyond all praise, and there is little doubt that, but for his personal example of courage,the attack would have been checked at the outset.

Bennett first served in the ranks of the Artists’ Rifles and later achieved the rank of captain.

Today we lost: 1,106

Today’s losses include:

• The son of a member of the clergy
• Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
• A 16-year old

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Lieutenant Edmund James Leith Warlow (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed at age 22. He is the son of the Venerable Edmund John Warlow.
• Lieutenant Ronald Douglas Leslie (Australian Infantry) dies of wounds at age 25. He has two brothers who also lose their lives in the Great War.
• Corporal George Henry Smith (Durham Light Infantry) is killed at age 26. His two brothers will also be killed in the Great War.
• Lance Corporal Wilfred Home Porter (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed at age 24. His brother was killed last February.
• Lance Corporal Harry Francis Bridges (Bermuda Volunteer Rifles attached Lincolnshire Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother will die of wounds at home in February 1918.
• Private Albert Charles Baden Govers (Australian Infantry) is killed in action at Flers. After the war his mother states that he was 16 years old when he was killed.
• Private Sidney Wilce (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother will be killed in November next year.
• Private Archibald Leaman (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed at age 29. His brother will be next month.

Air Operations:

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

Claims: 2

Sous Lt Joseph Denis Bernard Robert De Bonnefoy claims his 5^th confirmed victory with N65. Shooting down an enemy aircraft near Ferme d’Hopital. Joseph Denis Bernard Robert De Bonnefoy was a pre-war cavalryman who volunteered for aviation as soon as the war began. His first flying assignment was with Escadrille 101 as a Voisin pilot. He was removed from the front for a spell as an instructor and then served with two Nieuport squadrons: Escadrille 68 and Escadrille 65. He scored his first aerial victory on 2 July 1916 and scored five more by 5 November 1916.


Lt Rudolf Wendelmuth claims his 1^st confirmed victory with FA5, shooting down a Farman off the coast of Turkey.

Western Front

Verdun:

French troops under fire at Verdun

French 9^th Division occupy whole of Vaux.

Somme:
59° - 48° clear day.

The British make some progress at the Butte de Warlencourt and towards le Transloy. The Butte was held by the Germans and not taken by the British, although on the 5th of November soldiers from the 50th Division did reach it briefly.

Butte de Warlencourt
The 50th Division relieved the 9th Division from 24–25 October, in rain which had begun on 23 October and stopped around 3:00 p.m. the next day. The division took over the line east and south-east of Le Sars, in the angle of the Martinpuich–Warlencourt, Eaucourt l'Abbaye and Martinpuich–Le Barque roads. The front line in Snag Trench was irregular and isolated posts on the left flank, were joined to make a continuous line. The German front line was still in Gird Trench and Gird Support Trench behind the butte. A British attack on 26 October, was postponed for two days and then postponed until 30 October, as preparations continued and trenches were repaired. Swampy conditions in no man's land were so bad, that no attack could take place until the ground dried. On 28 October, the ground had recovered slightly and the attack was scheduled for 1 November but then another downpour began in the night, followed by warmer weather, rain and gales from 30–31 October and the attack was again delayed, eventually being set for 9:10 a.m. on 5 November. The 149^th Brigade and the 150^th Brigade holding the line had become so exhausted that the 151^st Brigade was moved up from reserve for the attack.

The 151st Brigade was to attack Gird Trench and Gird Support Trench, with the 1/8th, 1/6th and 1/9th battalions Durham Light Infantry (DLI); the 1/4th and 1/6th battalions Northumberland Fusiliers were attached from the 149th Brigade in support. The DLI battalions were to assemble in Snag and Snag Support trenches, Maxwell Trench and Tail Trench. As the 1/6th and 1/8th DLI took the Gird trenches, the 1/9th DLI was to capture the butte and the adjacent quarry and the Northumberland battalions were to support the attack from the flanks and the 1/5^th Border Regiment was to stay in reserve in Prue and Starfish trenches; parts of the divisional machine-gun and trench mortar companies were to accompany the attack and a creeping barrage was to begin 200 yards (180 m) in front of the jumping-off line. Rain and high winds began again on night of 4/5 November and the attacking infantry floundered in mud, which was thigh-deep in places, as they advanced to the jumping-off points and several men drowned. The rain abated towards dawn, with the prospect of a fine cold day but the effect of the storm and a German counter-bombardment could be seen.

At zero hour the creeping bombardment began and infantry crawled out of their trenches, the first men pulling the following troops over the parapet. The British began to follow the creeping barrage, a moderate German counter-barrage fell short of Snag Trench and massed machine-gun fire began from the flanks, causing many casualties as the British troops struggled through the mud at walking-pace. The remaining men of the 1/8th DLI got close to Butte Trench, where they were also hit by British artillery and Stokes mortar fire and then retired to Snag Trench, leaving wounded and stragglers in shell-holes. On the right flank, a supporting Australian attack failed when the Australian artillery barrage fell behind the front line and a machine-gun barrage was so inaccurate that bullets hit the DLI trenches. In the centre the 1/6th DLI was held up on the right and on the left managed to overrun Gird Trench and form a strong point. The attack of the 1/9th DLI on the left flank, took the quarry, overran the butte and established a machine-gun position, advanced to Gird Trench and dug in on the Albert–Bapaume road. By noon, the 1/6th DLI were held up in Maxwell Trench and the 1/9th DLI had consolidated at the quarry, Gird Trench, Gird Support Trench and Butte Alley.

At 3:00 p.m., German counter-attacks began on the Gird Trenches and fighting in the butte continued for a strong point on the north side. By 3:00 p.m. the British had been forced back from Gird Trench and by 7:15 p.m. the Germans had advanced to Butte Alley and reinforcements were requested to recapture Gird Trench. At 12:20 a.m. (6 November) the 1/9th and 1/6th DLI were driven back to Maxwell Trench by converging attacks from the flanks and a frontal attack, which also overran the butte, where the German garrison emerged and joined in the counter-attack. German troops managed to get behind the quarry and by 1:00 p.m. on 6 November the British were back to their start line in Snag, Maxwell and Tail trenches. Another attack was ordered but cancelled later. The attacking Battalions lost 967 men and other casualties made a total of c. 1,000 losses. RFC aircraft flew in support of the Fourth Army attacks, despite high winds and a contact-patrol crew flew for  3 ³⁄₄ hours to observe the attack on the butte, reporting the capture and then the loss of the Butte to German counter-attacks.

On 5 November, the 1^st Guards Reserve Division had been relieving the 24^th Division and Infantry Regiment 179 recorded that the British "swarmed" over the butte and reached the Warlencourt trenches. During the battle, German artillery also managed to fire on both sides and parts of I Battalion, Infantry Regiment 179, I Battalion, Infantry Regiment 139 and I Battalion, Guard Reserve Regiment 1 conducted the converging attack at 10:50 p.m. On the British right flank, Guard Grenadier Regiment 5 and Guard Reserve Regiment 93 of the 4th Guard Division engaged the British. Early on 6 November, 73 soldiers stranded in no man's land surrendered to Infantry Regiment 179.



In the early morning of November 5th, 1916, in the pouring rain and thick mud, various Australian battalions attacked the Germans along the front line in two main locations - a 'triangle' near Gueudecourt (1st & 3rd Battalions) and 'the Maze' (25th, 26th, 27th and 28th Battalions).



There were other attacks being undertaken at the same time by the British and French armies (the British to the left of 'the Maze' and the French to the right of Gueudecourt).

The first Flers attack was launched on 5 November with the 1st Brigade advancing against trenches north of Gueudecourt, and the 7th against a complex of trenches known as "the Maze". Both attacks managed to capture some of their objectives, but were eventually forced to withdraw.

French capture most of Saillisel and attack St. Pierre Vaast Wood.

Tunstills Men Sunday 5th November 1916:

Winnipeg Camp

The Brigade War Diary described Winnipeg Camp, and the others in the area where the Brigade was based as being, “in very bad condition”. Over the next five days, in the words of the Battalion War Diary, “The Battalion was exercised in Physical training, Arms drill, Bayonet fighting and Box respirator drill”.

Acting CSM Frederick Griggs (see 23^rd October), who had been one of Tunstill’s original Company but was now serving with 2DWR, reverted to the rank of Sergeant.

Cpl. John Stewart (see 29^th October), suffering from suspected dysentery, was transferred from no.10 Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings, Lijssenthoek to no.14 Stationery Hospital at Wimereux.

Eastern Front:

Enemy success south-west of Predeal and south-east of Roter Turm Passes.

Naval Operations:

North Sea: High Seas Fleet destroyers with battlecruiser Moltke and 3rd Battle Squadron rescue submarines U-30 and U-20 (abandoned) gone aground in fog off Borsbjerg, Denmark, but Royal Navy submarine JI (Laurence) torpedoes battleships Grosser Kurfürst and Kronprinz forcing them back to harbour.
German battleship torpedoed by British submarine in North Sea.


Upon returning from the Baltic, Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were ordered to cover the retrieval of a pair of U-Boats that were stranded on the Danish coast. On the return trip, on 5 November 1916, Kronprinz was torpedoed by the British submarine J1 near Horns Reef. The torpedo struck the ship beneath the forward-most gun turret and allowed approximately 250 metric tons (250 long tons; 280 short tons) of water into the ship. Kronprinz maintained her speed and reached port. The following day she was placed in drydock at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven for repairs, which lasted until 4 December.


Along with her three sister ships, Konig, Markgraf, and Kronprinz, Grosser Kurfürst took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The ship was subjected to heavy fire at Jutland, but was not seriously damaged. She shelled Russian positions during Operation Albion in September and October 1917. Grosser Kurfürst was involved in a number of accidents during her service career; she collided with König and Kronprinz, grounded several times, was torpedoed once, and hit a mine.

Shipping Losses: 1

Political:

Poland: Germany and Austria proclaim ‘Independent State of Poland’(but keep a tight hand on her) , Polish recruiting for German Army announced (November 16) gains only 370 volunteers from November 22.

Anniversary Events:

1219		The port of Damietta falls to the Crusaders after a siege.
1556		The Emperor Akbar defeats the Hindus at Panipat and secures control of the Mogul Empire.
1605		Guy Fawkes is betrayed and arrested in an attempt to blow up the British Parliament in the “Gunpowder Plot.” Ever since, England has celebrated Guy Fawkes Day.
1653		The Iroquois League signs a peace treaty with the French, vowing not to wage war with other tribes under French protection.
1757		Frederick II of Prussia defeats the French at Rosbach in the Seven Years War.
1768		William Johnson, the northern Indian Commissioner, signs a treaty with the Iroquois Indians to acquire much of the land between the Tennessee and Ohio rivers for future settlement.
1814		Having decided to abandon the Niagara frontier, the American army blows up Fort Erie.
1840		Afghanistan surrenders to the British army.
1854		British and French defeat the Russians at Inkerman, Crimea.
1862		President Abraham Lincoln relieves General George McClellan of command of the Union armies and names Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside commander of the Army of the Potomac
1872		Susan B. Anthony is arrested for trying to vote.
1911		Calbraith P. Rodgers ends first transcontinental flight–49 days from New York to Pasadena, Calif.
1912		Woodrow Wilson is elected 28th president of the United States.
1914		France and Great Britain declare war on Turkey.

[Mike George]

Nice work and a good read thanks.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Monday 6th November 1916

Today we lost: 494

Today’s losses include:

• The son of a member of the clergy
• Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Clarence Lofton Mason Wilkinson (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action at age 25. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Joseph Wilkinson.
• Second Lieutenant Gilbert Alexander Goody (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed at age 28. He is the son of the Reverend Charles James Goody and has a brother who will be killed in July 1918.
• Corporal Ernest Gray (Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed on Salonika at age 24. His brother was killed less than two months ago.
• Private Charles Fillis (Wiltshire Regiment) is killed at age 42. His brother will be killed in May 1918.

Air Operations:

An Avro of 18 Reserve Squadron, RFC, cut off at 200 feet, stalled and nose dived injuring Lt J Glover.

Royal Flying Corps Losses today: No deaths are recorded for today.

Claims: 1

Lt Otto Hartmann claims his 2^nd confirmed victory with Kasta 15. No other details recorded.

Western Front

Somme:

57° - 45° a cloudy day.

North: French progress in north of St. Pierre Vaast Wood; in Saillisel Germans regain ground.

Battle of Ancre: (Prelims).

During October 1916 the 1^st Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry (1RMLI) rest of the 63^rd (Royal Naval) Division (RND) moved into the front line just North of the Ancre River, in preparation for the attack.

The weather was appalling and many trenches had been destroyed by artillery fire. The front line was no more than a series of joined up shell holes. There was little shelter from either the weather or the enemy and the supply trenches ran across open ground under constant German fire.
But working parties were constantly being sent to the front carrying stores and ammunition being stored for the coming attack.
The severe weather had reduced the RND’s 12 battalions’ numbers from an average of 700 men down to barely 500 each.

The RND’s 63rd Division’s front line was about 1,200m wide running at right angles to the Ancre river (see map).



About 250m ahead of the assembly trenches on higher ground, was the German front consisting of three lines of trenches (marked in blue on the map).

The third German trench, code named the Dotted Green Line was the first objective.

Beyond this was a small valley with Station Road running along it between Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt Station.

On a ridge just beyond Station Road was the 2^nd objective, a strongly fortified German position code named the Green Line (marked green).
Beyond this fortified position was a hill running up to the village of Beaucourt sur Ancre and in front of the village was the 3^rd objective, the Beaucourt Trench code named the Yellow Line (yellow on the map).

The final objective was the red line (marked red) which was the position to be taken up following the successful capture of the village.

The front line unit of RND was the 188^th Infantry Brigade - 1RMLI, Howe, Hawk and Hood Battalion, who were to attack the 1^st objective advancing in four waves, one platoon of each Company in each wave. Having secured their first objective (the Dotted Green Line) they were to pause whilst the next assault group, 189^th Infantry Brigade (2RMLI, Anson, Nelson and Drake) passed through their position to attack the 2^nd objective (Green Line).

Once the 2^nd objective had been taken, the first assault group were to pass through to attack the 3^rd objective (Yellow Line / Beaucourt Trench)

The preliminary British bombardments began on the 6th November 1916 concentrating on the area between Beaumont Hamel and St. Pierre Divion. These barrages were repeated every morning in the hope that the Germans became used to them and would be less prepared for the actual attack.



Tunstills Men Monday 6th November 1916:

Winnipeg Camp

Training continued, although the day was very wet.

Lt. Dobson, of 69^th Field Ambulance, (see 31^st October), was again temporarily attached to the Battalion as he had been three weeks earlier; presumably this was in the absence of Battalion Medical Officer Capt. Cecil Berry (see 31^st October).

Whilst at Winnipeg Camp two new subalterns reported for duty. 2Lt. John Davis (see 28^th August) was twenty years old. Before the war he had worked as an assistant cashier for John Brockhouse & Co in West Bromwich. In 1912 he had joined the territorials, serving with 1^st/7^th Worcestershire Regiment. He had been mobilised on the outbreak of war and served in France from April 1915 until September 1916. During that time he had been promoted through the ranks to Sergeant and had been awarded the Military Medal. He had undertaken his officer training in France and had been formally appointed to his commission with effect from 4^th November. 2Lt. Robert Oswald Milligan, aged thirty, had been a schoolmaster before the war and had worked in South Africa, where he had also served with the Northern Transvaal Rifles. He returned to England and joined the Honourable Artillery Company in August 1915; he served in France from February 1916 and, like Davis, did his officer training in France before being formally commissioned on 5^th November 1916.

A final statement was taken regarding the death in action of 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford (see 26^th October); the informant was Pte. Daniel Callaghan (see below) of 14 Platoon, ‘D’ Company; he was currently in hospital at Boulogne. Callaghan reported that, “2^nd Lt. Stafford was my Platoon Officer (XIV), and was killed at Le Sars on Oct. 4^th. He was on my left at the time and I did not actually see him killed, but some of my mates saw him drop – hit in the chest or stomach. He fell and lay there in front of the German trench. We had to fall back that night into our own trenches, but the objective was taken the next day, and Mr. Stafford was brought in by some of another Company. His servant, Harold Bray, said everything was found in his pockets as it should be. He was a very good man. A good soldier and we were very sorry to lose him.”

Daniel Callaghan was subsequently transferred to the East Yorkshire Regiment and was discharged to the Army Reserve at the end of the war.

Pte. Patrick Sweeney (see 27^th October), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was once more in trouble, as he had been on many previous occasions; he was found to have been absent from tattoo and was sentenced to be confined to barracks for seven days.

Eastern Front:

Fierce fighting south-east of Roter Turm Pass.

Bukovina:Russian general Lechitski success in two passes south of Dorna Watra against Austrian troops, but Central Power reinforcements stall the advance.

Naval Operations:



The RMS Arabia a P&O passenger liner is torpedoed by the German submarine UB-43 112 miles west by south from the Greek peninsula Cape Matapan. She is on a homeward bound journey from Fremantle. Eleven members of the crew are killed. One hundred eighty-seven Australians are on board the Arabia, and the sinking helps surge volunteer enlistment in the Australian armed forces.

Kaiserlich Marine loose SM UB-45. The Type UB II submarine struck a mine and sank in the Black Sea off Varna, Romania with the loss of sixteen of her twenty crew.

Shipping Losses: 2

Political:

Appointment of General Sir F. R. Wingate as High Commissioner of Egypt.

Anniversary Events:

1429		Henry VI is crowned King of England.
1812		The first winter snow falls on the French Army as Napoleon Bonaparte retreats form Moscow.
1860		Abraham Lincoln is elected 16th president of the United States.
1861		Jefferson Davis is elected to a six-year term as president of the Confederacy.
1863		A Union force surrounds and scatters defending Confederates at the Battle of Droop Mountain, in West Virginia.
1891		Comanche, the only 7th Cavalry horse to survive George Armstrong Custer’s “Last Stand” at the Little Bighorn, dies at Fort Riley, Kansas.
1911		Maine becomes a dry state.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Great map of the front Neil, but that cartoon beats it all.
Now I know what happened to Kyte's bike.
Rob.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Tuesday 7th November 1916

Today we lost: 294

Today’s losses include:

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

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Captain Haworth Walter Trefusis (Northamptonshire Regiment) is killed at age 34. He is the son of the Right Reverend Robert Edward Trefusis Bishop of Crediton and his brother was killed in action four months earlier.
• Lieutenant John O’Connell Dodd (Munster Fusiliers) is killed in action at age 35. His younger brothers will die in the service of their King one year to day apart, the first in October 1917 the second in October 1918.
• Second Lieutenant Leonard Harris Cowper (Northumberland Fusiliers) dies of wounds received the previous day at age 19. He is the son of the Reverend Herbert William Cowper.
• Rifleman John Harold Walters (London Regiment) dies of wounds at home at age 22. His brother will be killed in April 1918.

Air Operations:

Franco-Italian aircraft carry out raid on the Istrian coast.

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

Claims: 1


Lt Jean Marie Luc Gilbert Sardier claims his 1^st confirmed victory with SPA77. Shooting down an enemy aircraft near Vieville-en-Haye, shared with S/Lt Georgeot. This highly decorated officer joined the French army in 1914. The following year, Sardier transferred to the French Air Service and was breveted as a pilot and observer by the summer of 1916.

Western Front

Somme:

Rain 12mm. 55° - 45°.

British gain ground east of Butte de Warlencourt and repulse night counter-attack at Beaumont Hamel.

French capture Ablaincourt and Pressoir south of Somme, and advance to outskirts of Gomiecourt.

Tunstills Men Tuesday 7th November 1916:

Winnipeg Camp

Training continued, although the very heavy rain of the previous two days led to some flooding.

A death certificate was issued for the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 4^th November) who had been killed at Le Sars. The certificate was despatched to the Harris’ family solicitors. Messrs. Martineau& Reid, 2 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London.

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury, (see 4^th November) who would later serve with 10DWR, reported for duty with 3DWR at North Shields.

Eastern Front:

Transylvania: Falkenhaynrepulsed in Tolgyes Pass (northern) sector but drives beyond Vulcan and Predeal Passes. His Group Kraftt captures Sardoui 16 miles south of Rotenturm Pass (November 8).

Russian success south of Dorna Vatra (southern Bukovina).
German attack in Prahova valley (Central sector); resume offensive in Vulkan Pass.

African, Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:

German attack at Kibata repulsed.

Naval Operations:

Shipping Losses: 5

Political:

Germany: Bethmann tells Burian German war aims, latter calls them impossible (November 15).

Neutrals:

USA: Wilson re-elected president. Jeanette Rankin (Montana) first Congress-woman.


Female supporters campaign for US President Woodrow Wilson.

Greece:Admiral Fournet seizes Salamis naval arsenal, sees King on November 9.

Anniversary Events:

1665		The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published.
1811		Rebellious Indians in a conspiracy organized in defiance of the United States government by Tecumseh, Shawnee chief, are defeated during his absence in the Battle of the Wabash (or Tippecanoe) by William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory.
1814		Andrew JAckson attacks and captures Pensacola, Florida, defeating the Spanish and driving out a British force.
1846		Zachary Taylor, one of the heroes of the Mexican War, is elected president.
1861		Union General Ulysses S. Grant launches an unsuccessful raid on Belmont, Missouri.
1876		Rutherford B. Hayes is elected 19th president of the United States.
1881		Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, two participants in Tombstone, Arizona’s, famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, are jailed as the hearings on what happened in the fight grow near.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

I now hand over the reins to Chris.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thanks for your latest very informative stint Neil.
Rob.

[clipper1801]

I marvel over this archive, thanks all who are diligently working it up!

[Hedeby]

I marvel over this archive, thanks all who are diligently working it up!

Our pleasure Dave - must be half way through by now now.. wonder if we will hit the quarter of a million views by the time we finish - that would be a nice number..

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Well we're nearly at the big 100 mate.

[Hedeby]

Right good evening one and all and on the day our cousins across the pond are forced to choose between the two most laughably vile political candidates in the history of democracy a quick reminder of the old saying - why vote for a lesser evil...



Anyway as Editor in chief of this fine institution I would like to say a huge thank you to Neil for all his hard work and long hours over the past few weeks, (I was insanely jealous that he got to do the fall of Boelcke issue) and to add it's nice to be back. So on with the war...

November 8th 1916


6 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8TH 1916 - and its a bad day for flight training which accounted for half the losses - a figure that was replicated throughout the entire war - in fact more pilots were killed in training than in aerial combat - Frightening...
Captain Richard Bentham RFC - Central Flying School, Upavon, Wiltshire. Killed whilst flying on this day in 1916. He was flying D.H.2 5982 when his plane was seen entering a spinning nose dive, it crashed and he was killed near Upavon.

Lieutenant John Alfred Davy 19 Reserve Squadron RFC . He was flying D.H.1 4641 out of Hounslow when he stalled and crashed over , he was 18 years old.

Air Mechanic 1st Class Arthur Hull - from the Armoured Car Division at Wembley died on this day

2nd Lieutenant Willie Jordan 45 Squadron RFC .Died on this day (no other details located) Son of C. Jordan (late ironfounder) and Mary Jordan, of 16, Highbury, Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Born Newport, Mon. He is buried at the LONGUENESSE (ST. OMER) SOUVENIR CEMETERY in France.

2nd Lieutenant Henry Griffin Pagan Lowe - also 45 Squadron RFC - Killed while flying 8 November 1916 aged 28, crashed and was killed

Flight Sub Lieutenant William S. Stewart RNAS Killed while flying 8 November 1916 aged 19.

So six lives lost and not a single enemy aircraft in sight - tragic.

On a quiet day in the skies over the Western Front - there were no claimed aerial losses or victories from any side.

On this day we lost 379 men...



The destroyer HMS Zulu (Lieutenant J Brooke) is mined in the English Channel and the forward half is towed into Calais by the French. As a result of the explosion the bottom of the after part of the engine room is blown out, and the whole compartment reduced to a mass of debris and broken steam and water pipes. Immediately after the explosion Engine Room Artificer Michael Joyce and Stoker Petty Officer Walter Kimber proceed to the engine room, the former having just come off watch. The latter had just left the boiler room, after he has seen that the oil-burners are shut off and everything is in order, and has sent his hands on deck. Hearing the sound of moans coming from inside the engine room, they both attempt to enter it by the foremost hatch and ladder. As the heat in the engine room is intense and volumes of steam are coming up forward, they then lift one of the square ventilating hatches further aft on the top of the engine room casing (port side) and climb into the rapidly flooding compartment over the steam pipes, which are extremely hot. Scrambling over the debris, they discover over on the starboard side Stoker Petty Officer Smith, with his head just out of the water. A rope is lowered from the upper deck, and with great difficulty Smith, who is entangled in fractured pipes and other wreckage, is hauled up alive. At the same time Stoker Petty Officer Powell is found floating, in the water on the port side of the engine room. The rope is lowered again and passed around Powell, who, however, is found to be dead on reaching the deck. The water is so high that further efforts to discover the remaining Artificer left in the engine room would have been useless, and the attempt has to be abandoned. Both men are awarded the Albert Medal for their life saving efforts.

A series of explosions and fires occurred at Bakaritsa, Port of Archangel, in merchant ships and on the wharves. The S S Baron Driesen blows up at 13:00 and part of the S S Ear of Forfar 40 minutes later and fresh explosions are expected every instant. It is thought that all their crews have either escaped or been killed or rescued, but after dark cries of distress are heard from the Earl of Forfar. The ship is a mass of flame at the time, and burning embers from the fire which is raging on shore are continually showering over her. She has a cargo of explosives on board and is abreast of the main conflagration. The flames are blown towards her by the wind, and the remaining portion of the ship is expected to be blown up at any moment. Captain George Parker Bevan DSO (Royal Navy) however, on hearing the cries, proceeds on board, accompanied by Lieutenant Commander Maurice McMahon, and hearing moans from under the smoldering debris of the forecastle, clears away the wreckage and extricates the mate, who has an arm and a leg and his collarbone broken, and pass him into a tug. Captain Bevan displayed the utmost gallantry and disregard of his personal safety.



Lieutenant Edward Henry Richardson (Royal Naval Reserve), Second Engineer Christopher Watson and Able seamen James Dixson Henry and Malcolm Thompson, of the tug, Sutherland volunteered to board the Earl of Forfar, and effect the rescue of a considerable number of wounded and helpless men who would otherwise have perished. They display the utmost gallantry and disregard of their own personal safety in saving of others. Captain Bevan, Lieutenant Commander McMahon, Lieutenant Richardson, Engineer Watson and Seamen Henry and Thompson will all be awarded the Albert Medal for their efforts on this day. Lieutenant Commander McMahon will die on service in October 1919.

The trawler Vineyard also strikes a mine on this day thirteen miles southeast of Aberdeen. Though she does not sink eight are killed including

Skipper William Buthly and his son deckhand James Buthlay who is killed at age 20.
Also killed is cook Roderick Finlayson who dies at age 50. His son will die of injuries suffered on his ship while his brother was killed in the sinking of the Aboukir in September 1914.

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Lieutenant Lehmann James Oppenheimer (London Regiment) is killed in action at age 48. He is an artist (Exhibitor at the Royal Academy), Member of the English “Climbers Club” and “Fell and Rock Club of the English Lake District”, and author of “The Heart of Lakeland”. He is said to have died following a gas attack; the cemetery register shows him to have died of bronchitis. As he died in hospital at Boulogne, and the date of admission is not known, it cannot be ascertained for certain where he was when taken ill.



Second Lieutenant Eustie Marchetti (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 29 less than 8 months after his brother was killed.
Private Edward Claude Perkins (Australian Infantry) is killed in action at Flers. He is killed at age 16.
Private James Carmichael (Australian Infantry) is killed at age 45. His brother will be killed in April 1917.

Captain Tunstill's Men: Well they have let me down today as the only entry states 'training continues'

African Fronts
East Africa: Wahle attacks British Malangali post (until November 12) which is relieved by Murray’s 400 British soldiers.

Western Front
Battle of the Somme: German counter*-attack at Saillisel (slight gains), but French capture whole village (November 11-12).

Sea War
Eastern Atlantic: US SS Colum*bian sunk by U-boat near Cape Finisterre (northwest Spain).

Political, etc.
Heavy deportations of Belgians by Germans under decree of 3 October 1916.

Meanwhile on the Somme preparations begin for the last of the great Somme offensives - scheduled to be launched on November 13th...

The Battle of Ancre (preparation phase)



To be ready for the big attack intended for 12 October, Gough began to concentrate more troops in the area north of the Ancre. In early October the north bank was held by the 39th Division of V Corps up to the boundary with the Third Army at Hébuterne. On 1 October, the 2nd Division was moved in on the left of the 39th Division to hold the ground from Redan Ridge to the army boundary. On 4 October the XIII Corps headquarters was brought out of reserve, to control 1,500 yards (1,400 m) of the front line up to the junction with the Third Army and the 2nd Division was relieved on the left by the 51st Division.[5] The 39th Division was transferred to the command of II Corps on 2 October and then took over the area south of the Ancre on 5 October, by extending its right boundary to relieve the 18th Division at Thiepval. By 7 October XIII Corps had the 51st and 19th Divisions in line and on 8 October, V Corps relieved the 2nd Division with the 3rd and 63rd divisions. Gough issued instructions for the attack on the north bank from 4–12 October and arranged for the 1st and 3rd Cavalry divisions to move close to the front line. The artillery of V Corps and XIII Corps steadily bombarded the German defences on the south bank where II Corps operations against Staufen Riegel ("Regina Trench" to the Canadians at the east end and "Stuff Trench" to the British at the western end, north of Thiepval) and conducted a simulated offensive with artillery bombardments, wire-cutting and smoke screens.[6]

The British front line north of the Ancre had been moved forward across no-man's-land, until the average width was less than 250 yards (230 m). It was intended to isolate the battlefield with artillery and bombard Pys, Irles, Miraumont and Puisieux and the main trenches leading to the battlefield. On the II Corps front, artillery fire was to simulate an attack on the ground east of the old German second line ("Grandcourt line") as would XIII Corps artillery on the German approaches to the northern flank.[7][a] Slow progress on the south bank by II Corps, attempting to occupy Regina Trench, caused by a serious deterioration in the weather and determined defence by the Germans of the remainder of their positions on the ridge north of Courcelette and Thiepval, caused numerous postponements of the general attack on both sides of the Ancre. Haig's plans of late September were reduced to achieving as much as could be done in periods of better weather. Conditions on the battlefield by mid-October, were "so bad as to make mere existence a severe trial of body and spirit".[9] On 12 November, Beaumont Hamel was subjected to a gas bombardment, similar to one on 28 October, when "sk" (lacrymatory) mortar bombs were fired into the village at midday, to wear out the German garrison's respirators and then in the evening Phosgene was fired by Livens Projector to kill them.

Well a bit lacking in info today but rest assured we are back to normal tomorrow with another victory for Manfred Von Richthofen