100 Years Ago Today

[Flying Officer Kyte]

My word Mike, that is a mammoth edition.
Rob.

[Hedeby]

Wow that's an impressive edition. Might have to stay in Cyprus a little longer... thanks Mike you are a natural. Rep inbound

[flash]

Well done Mike

[mikeemagnus]

that is a mammoth edition

What? I see nothing!
Sorry - Another bad dad joke

[mikeemagnus]

28th July 1917

ON THIS DAY - 28TH JULY 1917, THE TANK CORPS (NOW ROYAL TANK REGIMENT) WAS FORMED

Although the tank first appeared at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15th September 1916, it would not be until over a year later, at the Battle of Cambrai on 20th November 1917, that its value as a war tool was finally recognised. Although there was, at first, huge enthusiasm at the Allied Headquarters for this wonderful new weapon, rough ground and multiple breakdowns in the early days shook the confidence of war leaders and led the Germans to completely underestimate the threat posed by these clunky-looking machines.


This illustration shows the Tank Corps as formed on 27th July 1917. But all other references state the event took place on the 28th by Royal Warrant.


Captain Tunstill's Men
(Editors note: Quite a bit of saber rattling in this report, particularly in the “Chairman’s” speech below – see “Our Wonderful Army”. But it is interesting to note the feelings that are being felt by civilians “back home”. No doubt, civilians in other countries had similar views of their opponents!)

Saturday 28th July 1917
Billets between Zudausques and Boisdinghem.

Another very hot day.

Ptes. Arthur Dyson (see 19th December 1916), George William Foster (see 15th February), Thomas Ward (see 28th June) and Frank Wood (see 20th May) were all promoted (unpaid) Lance Corporal.
Cpl. Harold Best (see 21st May), and Ptes. Fred Riddiough (see 12th May) and Isaac Robinson (see 7th March) departed for England on ten days’ leave.

Pte. Edgar Johnson (see 23rd October 1916), who had suffered severe wounds to his left leg in the actions at Le Sars in October 1916, was discharged from the Lord Derby Hospital in Warrington where he had spent the previous nine months.

Pte. James Wilson (see 16th May), who had been transferred to the ASC as a lorry driver with the Motor Transport Section in October 1915, was discharged from D Division dysentery convalescent hospital, Barton, New Milton, Hants. He had spent three months in England being treated for the disease.

In Skipton a ceremony was held for the presentation of Military Medals to two local men, Sgt. J. Webster, formerly of 6DWR, and Pte. John William Atkinson MM (see 27th July), currently home on leave from 10DWR. The events and speeches would be extensively reported in a subsequent edition of the Craven Herald.

FOR BRAVERY - MILITARY MEDALS PUBLICLY PRESENTED AT SKIPTON

Nearly all Skipton turned out on Saturday afternoon to witness the public presentation to Private J.W. Atkinson, of the 10th Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment and Sergt. J. Webster, late of the 6th Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, of the Military Medals awarded them some time ago by the King for gallant conduct in action in France. The circumstances under which the medals were gained are well known locally, but for the benefit of readers further afield we may recall them. In the case of Private Atkinson the award was made “for good work in attending to the wounded”, while Sergt. Webster earned the distinction for “continued bravery near Ypres between September and December 1915”. The latter, who is a married man with two children, and lives at 29 Hallam’s Yard, Sheep Street, is now back again in civil life, working for Mr. A.J. Shorter, coal merchant, Skipton. His record of service with the local territorials covers fifteen years, and he returned from the front in April 1916, as a time-expired man. Pte. Atkinson, who is still serving, was home from the Front last week on the usual ten days’ leave. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Atkinson, 8 Nelson Street, Skipton, and was, we believe, the second Skipton soldier to be awarded the medal. Before enlisting he was employed at the Skipton Gasworks, and was a member of the local Fire Brigade, and was also associated with the Otley Street Baptist Church. His wife and daughter live in Devonshire Street.

We are not aware of the origin of the idea that the presentation of the Medals should be made a public function, but we understand that Mrs. Atkinson was asked to see the Officer in command of the Skipton Drill Hall, and that Lieut. Walton, the commanding officer of the Skipton Volunteers, kindly offered to assist her and agreed to write to the West Riding Territorial Association to obtain the medal. In reply to his letter the medal was sent to him and in conjunction with his N.C.O.’s Lieut Walton arranged for Mr. Walter Morrison (see 7th October 1916), who is an honorary colonel in the volunteers, to make the presentation on a Sunday afternnon, and invited members of the local authority and other public organisations to be present. Subsequently, in deference to the expressed wish of the Skipton Urban Council and the public generally, it was arranged for Mr. Morrison to make a joint presentation to Pte. Atkinson and Sergeant Webster on Saturday last, the arrangements to be in the hands of the Urban Council and the Volunteers, the latter to carry out the military part.

The popularity of the function was attested by the magnitude of the assembly in front of the Town Hall to witness the ceremonial, the ample space in High Street, in the vicinity of the Hall, being almost filled. For the presentation, a temporary platform, decorated with flags of the allies, had been erected in front of the main entrance to the Hall.

Captain Charlesworth, chairman of the Skipton Urban Council, presided, and with him on the platform were Mr. Morrsion, the Venerable Archdeacon Cook, Mr. J. A. Slingsby, the Rev. F.G. Forder, Captain W.B. Carson, Captain J.D. Horsfall and Lieut. S.H. Walton of the 6th West Riding Volunteer Corps, and the wives and relatives of the two recipients. Several seats in front of the platform were provided for wounded soldiers from the two Skipton Military Hospitals, and there were also present a number of discharged soldiers, principally from the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, who have fought in the present war, the local special constable force, a number of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and members of the Skipton Fire Brigade. An interested spectator was ex-Colour Sergeant T. Rodgers (ex-policeman at Skipton Railway Station), formerly of the 69th South Lincolnshire Regiment, wearing his medal awarded for service in the Red River Expedition (Fenian Raid) in Canada in 1870. Sergeant Webster and Pte. Atkinson were escorted from their respective homes to the Town Hall by a guard of honour provided by the officers and men of the local Volunteers, with the Band, the route taken being along Cowper Street, Sackville Street, Keighley Road and High Street. On arrival they were accorded an enthusiastic reception.

THE CHAIRMAN

The Chairman said he desired,as chairman of the Skipton Urban Council, to express in the name of the town, the great pride which they all, as citizens, felt in the two brave men who were stood before them, and in their achievements in the field. “We are glad”, he continued, “of this opportunity of showing honour publicly, not only to them, but to all those other men who are now fighting for us in this great war, and also to the memories of those brave men who have passed over in this conflict”. He did not consider his duties included the introduction to the audience of Mr. Walter Morrison, because Mr. Morrison needed no introduction to any Craven audience, but he would like to be allowed to say that there was no-one upon whom they would more gladly bestow the honour of conferring those medals that afternoon than Mr. Morrison. As to the order of the proceedings Mr. Charlesworth said they would be more or less under military government, and asked that there should be no cheering until the word for it was given. He was going to ask Mr. Morrison to address them and to present the medals, and afterwards the gathering would have the opportunity of cheering the recipients, which he hoped they would take advantage of to the full (applause).

THE PRESENTATION ADDRESS

Mr. Morrison saide he felt it a great honour to be invited to take part in that ceremony. There was some appropriateness in it because Craven men had always shown themselves ready to do their bit in the way of defending their country. Some of them might have heard of the old Craven Legion. When Napoleon Bonaparte – an abler man than the Kaiser and a man who fought clean, as did his his soldiers, but as the Bosches did not – nearly succeeded in his dream of founding a great European Empire, and England prevented him, and beat him at the last, his predecessor at Malham Tarn, Lord Ribblesdale, was the leader of this Legion of 1,200 men, 200 of whom were cavalry men. Then, when another Napoleon came to the front afterwards and was begged to invade England, this country was just as unprepared in regard to the Army and Navy as it was in 1914, and the Volunteers came forward gladly and formed what in time would have been a formidable body. Neither of these bodies went under fire; they were not called up to do so. Now again the men of Craven who had joined the 33rd Regiment, the Duke of Wellington’s, had carried on the old traditions, and had carried them a great deal further than their predecessors, because they had most distinctly been under fire.

Our Wonderful Army
“Now”,continued Mr. Morrison, “we are proud of our Army (hear, hear). It has been a surprise to us all, and still more so to the Bosches and the Kaiser, that we were able to raise one million men in the first six months of the war, and it was due to two facts. First of all, we had Lord Kitchener, an old friend of mine (hear, hear) available, and his name was worth hundreds of thousands of men to our Empire. Then there were the atrocities which the Boches committed to Belgium, and the tearing up of the solemn treaty signed to protect the territory of Belgium, the Germans calling it “a scrap of paper”. With regard to the German atrocities in Belgium, we had not heard the worst. The newspapers had not told us all, but there was one certain fact which showed that the Germans were lower than any race of savages that he had ever heard of, and this was the fact that they had roped women and children together and driven them in front of the charging columns. No race of savages would have done that. They would have had too much pride and too much self-respect.

Two Brave Skiptonians
“Now you Skipton men”, proceeded Mr. Morrison, “are especially proud of your two comrades here today. They have done and shown what English soldiers can do. First of all there is Pte. J.W. Atkinson. I am told that he has been awarded this medal on account of singular audacity, singular courage and ability. The first time his Regiment went over the top he was recommended for this decoration. Five days after he was again recommended, having been two days and two nights without sleep or food, attending to the wounded. This was on 10th July 1916. He has been in the army since 18th September 1914, and went to France on August 26th 1915. He got a leave six months later and has not had another leave for eighteen months. He was, as you will see, one of those who joined the Army at the commencement of the war, in the Autumn of 1914, before there was any talk or thought of compulsion – all those men were volunteers”. His neighbours would be especially proud of Pte. Atkinson, because he was told that amongst them at the first there was a general opinion that he was likely to distinguish himself. “Recollect”, said Mr. Morrison, “what it means being first over the trenches. How he has managed to come off without a wound is, of course, one of the mysteries of the war. Then there is Sergeant Webster, who was decorated for continual bravery near Ypres between September and Christmas 1915”.
England’s Reawakening

He supposed that they had all been astonished at the good show which England had made in this war. He had to confess that before the war he was rather afraid that we were a failing race – that we were given up too much to the worship of money-making, and to our games, to the exclusion of higher things. But the war called into action all the best that was in the nation, and the belief in Lord Kitchener as a man in whom we could trust had the most marvellous results in the raising of our Army. One million men joined the colours and men had been crowding in ever since, so that at the present time we had something like four millions of men under arms.

The German’s Black Record

Our quarrel was not only with the Kaiser and the military caste in Germany, but also with the German nation, and with the women as well as the men. The whole German people utterly hated us. We must recollect how the women of Germany, after the sinking of the Lusitania, crowded out into the streets, cheering and dancing and singing patriotic songs. We might be sure that if the Germans had succeeded in their plan of crossing, first France and then Russia, and then, by getting together a bigger fleet than ours, invading this country, the outrages which they would have committed here amongst our women and children would have been equally as great as those they had committed in Belgium. Nay, they would have been greater. The Kaiser himself said, in the first year of the war, that he intended levying eight thousand million sterling on England and France. “Whenever I see a man in khaki”, said Mr. Morrison, “and we see them about all over this fortunate island, I always feel I owe a debt of personal gratitude to him. He is there to protect me and all that is dear to me and to you from the outrages which the Germans have shown can be committed in wartime. Nothing of this sort has happened in war for over two centuries. For over two centuries the fighting between men has been comparatively honourable”.

The Old Volunteers

He was invited to that ceremony because it so happened that he was one of the early Volunteers when the movement was started, and he rose to the command of the Skipton Administrative Battalion (hear hear). He had every reason to be proud of such a splendid body of men (hear hear). Of course, they did not go under fire, they were not required to do so. As regards himself he was far past the age when he could do his bit in a physical way. He was eighty-one years of age, and if he were to join the army he would not be much use to go to the Front; he would be sent to the hospital the moment he got there.

A Craven War Record

It might be that some of those present knew that there was a scheme for the collection of the names of all the men that the District had given to the 33rd Regiment, and it was proposed, after the war, to issue a book which, to begin with would contain the names of the officers and men who had given their lives for their country, and then the names of all those who joined the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in the first year of the war. This book would, he had no doubt, continue to be an heirloom in Craven families, and generations would hence point to the names of their ancestors and express their pride that they had done their duty when called up.

What the War has Revealed

This war had revealed to us first of all that we were a brave race. He did not think we needed to be told that; we all knew that before, and also that the English had always been a fighting race. Without desiring war, when we found ourselves with backs to the wall, we showed ourselves worthy of the name of John Bull. The war had also revealed to us, certainly to his astonishment, our singular powers of organisation, and of producing not only capable fighters, but also capable officers. Just before the Battle of Waterloo Napoleon said he reckoned one English soldier or one French soldier was equivalent to two Prussians. Our Army in the retreat from Mons accomplished one of the most splendid military exploits that the history of war had ever shown. We believed that in that retreat the Germans were four or five to one, and yet we fought our way through and helped our gallant French allies to win the Battle of the Marne. We had certainly not deteriorated in our soldierly qualities, and besides that, our men had developed an extraordinary gift of doggedness, perseverance and cheerfulness amongst the horrible miseries that we had read of in the newspapers about the long winter campaigns in the trenches. He had, therefore, very great pleasure in taking the leading part in that ceremony, and he had also very great pleasure in calling upon “our two neighbours” to come forward to receive the decorations which they had so well deserved (applause). Amid cheering Mr. Morrison then pinned the medals on the recipients’ breasts and at the call of Captain Horsfall and Lieut. Walton three hearty good cheers were given first for Sergt. Webster, then for Pte. Atkinson and lastly for Mr. Morrison; and the proceedings, which had occupied half an hour exactly, closed with the National Anthem. Sergt. Webster and Pte. Atkinson were afterwards escorted back to the Drill Hall by the Volunteers and the Band, by way of Newmarket Street and Bunker’s Hill.

The War in the Air - The following aces were claiming victories on this day…
Captain George Goodman Simpson – Australia #8
Captain William Melville “Mel” Alexander – Canada #8
Lieutenant Colonel William “Billy” Avery Bishop – Canada #37
Captain Reginald Theodoe Carlos “Georgie” Hoidge – Canada #16 #17
Lieutenant Archie Nathaniel Jenks – Canada #6
Flight Sub-Lieutenant Ellis Vair Reid – Canada #19


The son of Albert Nelson and Agnes E. Reid, Ellis Vair Reid graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in architecture and was employed by Burke, Horwood & White. He left Toronto in January 1916 and joined the Royal Naval Air Service in England. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Reid received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 3817 on an Avro biplane at Royal Naval Air Station, Redcar on 6 July 1916. After training he was posted to No. 3 Wing near Nancy in July 1916. In early 1917, when the unit was disabanded due to heavy losses, Reid was reassigned to 10 Naval Squadron. With this squadron he scored 19 victories flying the Sopwith Triplane in the summer of 1917. During that time he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and recommended for the Distinguished Service Order. Missing in action on 28 July 1917, Reid was later reported killed in action.

Major Brian Edmund Baker – England #5
Lieutenant George Ai Brooke – England #2
Captain Charles William Cudemore – England #3
Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis = England #5
Captain Philip Fletcher Fullard – England #15
Captain Howard Redmayne Harker – England #4
Captain Thomas Vicars “Sticky” Hunter – England #3
Flight Lieutenant Norman Miers MacGregor – England #1
Captain Reginald Milburn Makepeace – England #6
Captain William Reginald Guy Pearson – England #2
Lieutenant Walbanke Ashby Pritt – England #1
Corporal Valentine Reed – England #5
Captain William Victor Trevor Rooper – England #1
Captain Harold Leslie Satchell – England #8
Captain St. Cyprian Churchill Tayler – England #5
Captain Richard Michael Trevethan – England #9
2nd Lieutenant Desmond Percival Fitzgerald Uniacke – England #4
Flight Commander Rupert Randolph Winter – England #3
Captain Henry Winslow Woollett = England #4
Leutnant Hans Ritter von Adam – Germany #9 #10
Leutnant Hans Auer – Germany #2
Oberleutnant Oskar von Boenigk – Germany #2
Oberleutnant Eduard Ritter von Dostler – Germany #19#20
Leutnant Rudolph Francke – Germany u/c
Oberleutnant Robert Ritter von Greim – Germany #4
Leutnant Ernst Hess – Germany #5 #6
Leutnant Josef Carl Peter Jacobs – Germany u/c u/c
Oberleutnant Karl Menckhoff – Germany #6
Leutnant Georg Meyer – Germany u/c
Leutnant Eberhard Mohnicke – Germany #4
Leutnant Max Ritter von Müller = Germany #19
Vizefeldwebel Emil Schäpe – Germany #2
Leutnant Julius Schmidt - Germany #8 #9
Hauptmann Adolf von Tutschek - Germany #19 #20
Sergeant John Cowell – Ireland #15
Lieutenant Forde Leathley – Ireland #2 #3
Tenente Colonnello Pier Ruggero Piccio – Italy #6
Captain William Lancelot Jordan – South Africa #2
Captain William Charles Campbell – Scotland #22 #23
Captain Matthew Brown “Bunty” Frew – Scotland #4
Captain Ian Henry David Henderson – Scotland #7

Saturday 28 July 1917 We Lost 568



Two seaplanes sink the German submarine UB-20 off North Hinder Light Vessel.
Flight Commander Rupert Randolph Winter achieves his third victory on the way to becoming a five-victory ace.
Flight Commander Arnold Jacques Chadwick (Royal Naval Air Service) is killed when he is forced to ditch his aircraft into the waters off La Panne, Belgium having made a single-handed attack against a formation of nine enemy aircraft. He is an eleven-victory ace and dies at age 23.
Captain Laurence Minot (Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 21. He is a six-victory ace.
Lieutenant Hew Wardrop Brooke Rickards (Royal Field Artillery attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 21. He is the only son of the Reverend Walter Brooke Rickards Rector of St Michael’s.
Lieutenant Arthur James Lewis O’Beirne (Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars attached Royal Flying Corps) dies of wounds at age 29. His brother was killed in the Royal Flying Corps in April.
Second Lieutenant George Barclay Buxton MC (Norfolk Regiment attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend Barclay Fowell Buxton a missionary to Japan.* He was also the former ADC to Major General Hare. His two brothers will be killed during the Blitz in October 1940 and a nephew will be killed in action in September 1943.
Flight Sub Lieutenant Ellis Vair Reid DSC (Royal Naval Air Service) a nineteen victory ace is killed in action at age 27.

Today’s losses include:
Flying Aces
A 19-victory ace
An 11-victory ace
A 6-victory ace
A man who has two brothers who will be killed in the Blitz in October 1940 and a nephew killed on service in September 1943
The Jeppe High School Headmaster
A scout master for the Yorkshire Boy Scout Association
Multiple sons of members of the clergy
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Major George Frederick Watson Powell (Royal West Kent Regiment) is killed at age 26. His brother was killed in August 1916.
Captain James Humphrey Allen Payne (South African Infantry) dies of fever in East Africa at age 44. He is the Headmaster of Jeppe High School for Boys and the son of the late Reverend James Payne.
Captain Humphrey Paul Kenneth Buckley (East Yorkshire Regiment) is killed. He is the son of the Reverend Eric Rede Buckley Vicar of Burley.
2nd Corporal W H Swan (Royal Engineers) is killed at age 21. His brother will be killed in April 1918.
Driver Harold Reginald Billings (Royal Engineers) is killed. His brother will be killed one week before the Armistice goes into effect.
Private Alexander Thomas Allgood (Yorkshire Regiment) is killed at age 20. His brother will be killed next April.
Private Sidney Albert Randall (Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother will be killed in May 1918.
Gunner Cecil Samuel Molyneux (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed at age 27. He is a Scout Master for the York Boy Scout Association.

Many families will suffer the loss of four and five sons in the Great War





Five sons of the Reverend Prince William Thomas Beechey and Amy Beechey of 197 Wragby Rd, Lincoln Rector of Friesthorpe
(A further 65 families were given in this list!)

Lance Corporal Harold Bowler, Royal Irish Rifles
1892-1917 (No picture available)



Harold Bowler was born in 1892 in Sutton in Asfield, Nottinghamshire. He was killed on the front lines at Wytschaete, Belgium (now Wijtschate) on 28th July 1917 during the Battle of Messines. The battle was the precursor to the Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele.

He was one of six sons of William Bowler from Mansfield Woodhouse where the Bowler line can be traced back to the 13th Century. Two brothers, Jesse and Arthur served and survived the war. The other three brothers remained in the mines, exempt from the Conscription Act brought in on Jan 25th 1916. Coal production was vital to the munition industry, subsequently, the area's collieries were required to work at maximum capacity.
In early 1916 Harold was drafted into the Notts & Derby Regiment at Derby where he trained before his transfer and dispatch to Flanders to strengthen the weakened Royal Irish Rifles, 10th Battalion after losing half of its infantry in battle at the Somme. The regiment was a 'new army' unit formed by Belfast volunteers in September 1914. By October 1915 after training on the Sussex coast the regiment was fighting on the Western Front within the 107th Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division.

Royal Naval Deaths
Chadwick, Arnold J, RNAS, 4th Squadron, Act/Ty/Flight Commander. Belgium
Flight Sub-Lieutenant Daly, Denis H, RNAS 12 (N) Sqn. Accidentally Killed while flying 28 July 1917 aged 21. Sopwith Camel B3822 stalled and spun into the ground on a left hand turn .
Denholm,R.M.(Robert Miller), RNAS, Killed while flying 28 July 1917 aged 18. While flying Maurice Farman S7 Longhorn N5733 over Stewardstone, Essex, a wing of the machine suddenly collapsed and it fell 600 feet to the ground.

Royal Flying Corps Casualties
24 RFC Airmen are casualties on 28th July 1917: * Source: Cross & Cockade Journal Vol.9 No.2 1978.

2nd Lt G B Buxton 1 Sqn RFC. Nieuport A6680. Left 8.55am DOP Polygon Wood – Lille – Menin – Perenchies – Ledeghem. Seen to dive down towards Zonnebeke with 4 EA on tail at 9.25am after combat over Hooge – Missing.



Lt F B Best 19 Sqn RFC. SPAD B3565. Patrol, Roulers – Iseghem – Courtrai – Menin. Badly shot about, force landed Bailleul, Pilot OK
Capt H O Wilkins 27 Sqn RFC. Martynsyde A3986. Left 5.10pm. Bombing Lichtervelde. Missing
2nd Lt J K Campbell 29 Sqn RFC. Nieuport 23 B1678. Left 10.30am. Escort. Missing
2nd Lt R G Ottey 32 Sqn RFC. DH5 B353. OP Polygon Wood. Attacked by 2 EA and seen to go down. Missing.
2nd Lt G N Goldie/ Lt G F Dracup 42 Sqn RFC. RE8 A4566. Left 8.45am, Art/Obs Frelinghiem. Hit by AA fire and crashed our side. Obs died of wounds. Pilot wounded.
2nd Lt L A Mc Pherson/2/Am F Webb 43 Sqn RFC. Sopwith 2-Seater A8787. Left 5.35pm. Line patrol Hulluch – River Scarpe. AA Bty reports down by MG fire at Hulluch. Missing



Lt G H Walker/ 2nd Lt B G Beatty 45 Sqn RFC. Sopwith 2-seater A1031. Left 7.45. Missing.
2nd Lt C G Winter / Lt E G Richardson 52 Sqn RFC. RE8 A4274. Art/Obs over front lines. Shot down by AA fire on our side. Crashed near Wulpen Dam. Crew Injured.
2nd Lts H B Rickards/R H Corbishley 75 Sqn RFC. DH4 A7538.
Lts H N Sheffington/A C Malloch 75 Sqn RFC. DH4 A7448.
Capt L Minot/2nd Lt S J Leete 75 Sqn RFC
Above three: All left 4.15pm bombing Inglemunster. All missing

Lt J B Hine 66 Sqn RFC. Sopwith Scout A6216. OP on line N and S through Thielt. Missing

2nd Lt J C Smith 70 Sqn RFC. Sopwith Camel B3874. Left 7pm. Last seen in combat over Roulers. Missing

2nd Lt R C Hume 70 Sqn RFC. Sopwith Camel B3823. Left 7pm. Last seen in combat over Roulers. Missing

A Mech 2 Angus, J.E. (John Edwin) Royal Flying Corps Died 28 July 1917 in Macedonia, aged 26

A Mech 2 Basford, T.J. (Thomas John) Royal Flying Corps Accidentally Killed 28 July 1917 aged 31, when his tent was struck by Martinsyde G102 A6252 at Dover

Cadet Brown, C. E. Royal Flying Corps Died 28 July 1917

Maj Conran, O.M. (Owen Mostyn) Royal Flying Corps Killed in Action 28 July 1917 aged 36

2Lt Hope, H.A. (Herbert Alfred) Royal Flying Corps Died of Wounds 28 July 1917 aged 26

A Mech 3 McCabe, P. (Peter) RFC 42nd Kite Balloon Section Died 28 July 1917

Lt Morgan, R.C.W. (Ronald Charles Wybrow) Royal Flying Corps 55 Squadron Died of Wounds received in aerial combat 28 July 1917 aged 19

2Lt Morrison, L. (Lindsay) Royal Flying Corps Killed 28 July 1917

Lt Munro, D.R. (Donald Rice) Royal Flying Corps 37 Training Squadron Killed 28 July 1917 aged 24



Build up to Third Battle of Ypres (27th/28th July 1917)
27th July 1917 – reconnaiscance had shown a partial withdrawal of German troops from front line trenches along a 3000 yd front, which were then occupied.
“Next day, the 28th, seventeen bridges were thrown across the Yser canal by the Guards Division, and the new positions were consolidated without undue interference from the enemy. A “sham” attack was made in the early morning by the XVIII Corps, and practice barrages were put down



along the fronts of the other Corps of the Fifth Army. The German batteries retaliated and the Royal Flying Corps observers, co-operating in the demonstration, were able to plot the positions of many additional guns. Two observers of No. 9 Squadron alone discovered and reported thirty-five active German batteries in new positions.
(Taken from Volume 4 – “The War in the Air” by H A Jones)

Western Front: Successful British raids. British air raid into Belgium.
Eastern Front:
Battle of East Galicia ends.
The Kerensky Offensive also commonly known as the July Offensive, was the last Russian offensive in World War I, taking place in July 1917. In the offensive, the Russian army was aided by the Kingdom of Romania.



Background
Discipline within the Russian Army had reached a point of crisis since the Tsar’s abdication. The Petrograd Soviet’s Order No. 1 tremendously weakened the power of officers, giving an overriding mandate to "soldier committees".
Riots and mutineering at the front became common and officers were often the victims of soldier harassment and even murder.
However, Kerensky hoped that an important Russian victory would gain popular favour and restore the soldiers' morale, thus strengthening the weak provisional government and proving the effectiveness of "the most democratic army in the world", as he referred to it.
Offensive
Starting on July 1, 1917 the Russian troops attacked the Austro-Hungarian and German forces in Galicia, pushing toward Lviv.
Initial Russian success (against the Austrians) was the result of powerful bombardment, such as the enemy never witnessed before on the Russian front. However, the German forces proved to be much harder to root out, and their stubborn resistance resulted in heavy casualties among the attacking Russians.
As Russian losses mounted, demoralization of infantry soon began to tell, and the further successes were only due to the work of cavalry, artillery and special "shock" battalions, which General Kornilov had formed.
The Russian advance collapsed altogether by July 16. On July 19, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians counterattacked, meeting little resistance and advancing through Galicia and Ukraine as far as the Zbruch River. The Russian lines were broken on July 20 and by July 23, the Russians had retreated about 240 kilometres (150*mi). "The only limit to the German advance was the lack of the logistical means to occupy more territory".
According to present sources the Battle finally ended on 28th July 1917.

Political, etc.
Royal Warrant authorising formation of "Tank Corps".
Imperial and Prussian Cabinets reconstructed.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Ships Hit by U boats on this day: Shown as Boat/Commander/Ship hit/tonnage/Nationality
U 30/Franz Grünet/Atlas/2,068/France
U 61/Victor Dieckmann/Comanchee/5,588/UK
UC 62/Max Schmitz/Glenstrae/4,718/UK
UC 69/Erwin Waßner/Hildur/961/Norway
UC 16/ Georg Reimarus/Neptunus I/80/Netherlands
U 67/Hans Nieland/Rigmor/798/Denmark
UC 65/Otto Steinbrinck/Saint Emilion/1,112/France
U 33/Gustav Seiß/Splendor/6,502/Italy

On 28 July 1917, The USS Wanderer departed New York for a brief shakedown before she joined the rest of her division at St John’s, Newfoundland, where she arrived on 9 August 1917. Later she saw active service during WW1.



(By U.S. Naval Historical Center photo. - http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/s...sh-w/sp132.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9462713)

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thanks for your superb editorials Mike, you must have been keeping those cub reporters up to scratch! I will take over tomorrow again.
You must be a seer. I have been ill for the last two days.
Hoping to be back on my corn tomorrow.
Rob.

[mikeemagnus]

Cheers Rob, but see PM before you go and make yourself even more unwell! Take care,
Mike

[mikeemagnus]

29th July 1917

A relatively quiet day for some. Perhaps because it is Sunday, or maybe because the weather is bad. So to begin with, something a little more peaceful for a change!

Johns, Lawrence Earl Letter: 1917 July 29th
Letter Date: July 29th 1917
Somewhere-in-France To:*Sis
Sunday July 29th/17 From:*Earl
Mrs. N. Coultis
R. R. No 3
Exeter Ont,
Dear Sis :-



Received your very welcome box just before dinner and it came in very handy. Ed. Kellet was just here and had some cake and cherries. The rain has been falling most of the day. It will be very bad for the boys in the trenches Most of the boys we inoculated to day but strange to say I was not, but will likely get it later, but I should worry. I suppose harvest will be in full swing by this time. It was about a year ago that we had our harvest leave. I am sure I would enjoy one this year. but that cannot be. I hope to be able to be there for the next one though. We have fine billetts at present time. Am in an old French Chateau it has been the property of some rich family at one time but is sadly neglected now. Its chalkstone and red bricks which is covered over with plaster. It has 3 floors besides an attic and cellar all full of bunk this building is large enough to hold a Battn. it also has a large courtyard surrounded by buildings and a high wall, two towers at gateway and a high iron gate quite a place don't you think.



Did Lloyd get that box yet ( Don't think the censor did this I did ) Was at a picture show and concert last night it was very good quite as good as lots you see in Canada our band was there with the music. We have lots of good times at the expense of the Y.M.C,A. I don't know what us fellows would do without them. When ever we go to a new place the first thing we look for is a sign like this That is their mark. We did not have any church service yet today, as it rained before we started out. I believe there is one to-night. Well its nearly supper time so I must close now or I'll miss it. Hope this finds you all well as it leaves me feeling great.
From your Brother
Earl.

Captain Tunstill's Men

Sunday 29th July 1917
Billets between Zudausques and Boisdinghem.
There was rain in the morning but the weather cleared in the afternoon.

Pte. Thomas Arthur Bedford (see 3rd April) was promoted (unpaid) Lance Corporal.

Pte. Gilbert Swift Greenwood (see 28th June), who had been reduced to the ranks having fallen out on the line of march a month earlier, was re-appointed to his post as Lance Corporal, although on an unpaid basis.

A number of men who had previously served with 10DWR were among a draft posted from 3DWR to 34th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples, pending a posting back to active service. Pte. Ambrose Birdsall (see 6th July) had been in England since being taken ill in March; Pte. John William Dean (see 19th May) had been in England for the previous eleven months after suffering gas poisoning in August 1916; Ptes. Albert William Knight (see 20th February) and Ernest Taylor (see 9th June) had both been under medical treatment in England since reporting sick with severe cases of ‘trench foot’ in February.

The War in the Air - The following aces were claiming victories on this day…
Lieutenant Colonel William "Billy" Avery Bishop – Canada #38
Captain Arthur Treloar "Art" Whealy – Canada #6 #7
Captain William Reginald Guy Pearson – England #3
Captain St. Cyprian Churchill Tayler – England #6
Leutnant Alois Heldmann – Germany #2
Leutnant Herbert Schröder – Germany #2
Hauptmann Adolf von Tutschek – Germany #21
Offizierstellvertreter Bernhard Ultsch – Germany #2
Leutnant Rudolf Wendelmuth – Germany #2

Sergeant John Cowell – Ireland #16 One of ten children and the son of Michael and Kate Cowell, John Cowell was born at Carey's Road in the city of Limerick. He was married in the same city on 20 December 1916. After serving as a sapper with the 12th Field Company of the Royal Engineers, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. Posted to 20 Squadron, Cowell served as a mechanic before becoming an observer/gunner aboard F.E.2Ds in 1917. He was one of the highest scoring gunners to serve with 20 Squadron. He returned to the Home Establishment for flight training, then rejoined 20 Squadron as a pilot in the summer of 1918. Having scored his first victory as a Bristol Fighter pilot on 29 July 1918, he was killed in action the following day, shot down by Friedrich von Röth of Jasta 16.

Tenente Flavio Torello Baracchini – Italy # 10
Sergente Cosimo Rizzotto – Italy u/c
Captain Oliver Colin "Boots" LeBoutillier – United States #4
Lieutenant Llewelyn Crichton Davies – Wales #5

Great War Lives Lost
Sunday 29 July 1917 We Lost 578
Francis Patrick Hamilton Synge

Today’s losses include:

The son of Field Marshall Allenby
The grandson of a member of the clergy
Multiple sons of Justices of the Peace
The son of a Brigadier General
A West Sussex Constable

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Captain Francis Patrick Hamilton Synge MC (Irish Guards) is killed in action at age 28. He is the grandson of the Reverend Alexander Hamilton Synge and was awarded his Military Cross for actions performed on 21st October 1915.
Captain Cecil Douglas Baker (Grenadier Guards) is killed at Le Bois des Crapouillots at age 49. He is the son of the late Arthur H Baker JP.
Lieutenant Horace Michael Hynman Allenby MC (Royal Horse Artillery) dies of wounds received in action at age 19. He is the son of Field Marshall Allenby.
Lieutenant Maurice Henry Vidal (Central Ontario Regiment) is killed at age 24. He is the son of Brigadier General B H Vidal Inspector General of the Canadian Forces.
Second Lieutenant Ernest Arthur Woodhall Gordon (King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) dies of gas wounds at age 19. His older brother was killed in action in February of this year.
Second Lieutenant Frank Stainton Sandbach (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action. He is the son of Edward Sandbach JP.
Sergeant Major Ernest Richard Cook (Northumberland Fusiliers) dies of wounds at age 21. His brother was killed in May 1915.
Corporal George William Porter (Sussex Regiment) dies of wounds in Railway Wood at age 25. He is a member of the West Sussex Constabulary and his brother will be killed in March 1918.
Private William Cooper Strong (Wiltshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 29. His brother will be killed in May 1918.
Rifleman William George Cox (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) dies of wounds at age 26. His brother was killed in November 1916.
Private Kenneth Freemantle Stuart (Black Watch) is killed at age 22. His brother was killed at the Battle of Jutland.



Royal Flying Corps Casualties
15 RFC Airmen are casualties on 29th July 1917: Source includes: Cross & Cockade Journal Vol.9 No.2 1978.

2nd Lt F B Best 19 Sqn RFC. SPAD B3531. Left 8am OP, Roulers – Menin. Last seen 9.30am, E of Ypres – Missing. (That’s two days running for the young sir!)



Sgt A E Parry 23 Sqn RFC. SPAD B1696. Left 6am, OP Zonnebeke – Gheluveldt. Last seen 7.5am E of Ypres. Missing.
Lts W M Roskelly/H O Nickalls 52 Sqn RFC. RE8 A4607. Left 5.25am Art/Obs. Shot down in flames by HA. Missing
2nd Lt W H Gunner, MC 60 Sqn RFC. SE5 A8937. Left 6.15am OP, last seen Douai. Missing


OK so these are 209 Sqn – I like them!

Lt H O McDonald 70 Sqn RFC. Sopwith Camel B3870. Left 8.15am OP, Roulers – Courtrai – Menin. Missing
Lt Airth, R.A. (Rennie Alexander) Royal Flying Corps 7 Squadron Wounded by anti-aircraft - Died of Wounds 29 July 1917 aged 23

Dvr Fellows, W. (William) Royal Flying Corps 45 Squadron Died of Wounds 29 July 1917. He had been wounded 28 July 1917

A Mech 2 Humby, A. (Ambrose) Royal Flying Corps 20 Squadron Died 29 July 1917 aged 34

A Mech 1 Lyons, A.F. (Albert Frederick) Royal Flying Corps 47 Squadron Died 29 July 1917 aged 36

Lt Mitton, H. (Harold) Royal Flying Corps 10 Squadron Killed while flying 29 July 1917 aged 23

A Mech 2 Webb, F.A. (Frederick A.) Royal Flying Corps 43 Squadron Died 29 July 1917 aged 18

Build up to Third Battle of Ypres (27th/28th July 1917)
Special instructions issued to the squadrons of the V Brigade on the 27th July stated that on the 29th and 30th (July 1917) there would be large concentrations of British troops in the forward areas which the enemy airmen must not be permitted to reconnoitre. The outer offensive patrols, maintained by the fighter squadrons of the Brigade, would, therefore, be drawn in closer to the lines, and there would be a special continuous patrol, on both days, by pairs of fighters flying at 2,000 feet immediately behind the Fifth Army front-line trenches.



The outer offensive patrols, it was stated, would be supplied by the French Army aviation service and by Ninth Wing formations. As it happened, the weather on the 29th was stormy and the visibility poor, and few enemy aeroplanes were encountered. On the 30th the conditions were still worse and there were no air combats. The air position is summarised in the diary of the Fifth Army at the end of July as follows: “Enemy has shown less individual activity and does not cross our line as often as he used to. He works now in large formations which we have successfully encountered on many occassions, and nearly all encounters have taken place on the enemy side of the lines.”
(Taken from Volume 4 – “The War in the Air” by H A Jones)

Just before Passchendaele.
29th July 1917 Moved off at 5 a.m. and got to A.30 Central at 7.20, where we went into huts. For some reason was very tired. Did what work there was to do and then lay down till lunch time.
In the afternoon got into touch with C.O.’s of bns on my right. Coke in the R.Bde is one of them. He seems alright I think.
The noise of the guns in the morning surpassed anything I’ve ever heard, and to make it even more so, there was a thunder storm and torrents of rain. That is the worse thing that could happen, because it means mud. Turned in early.

Taken from “In Good Company” - Ed. David Fraser. Diary of The Hon. William Fraser, Gordon Highlanders

Western Front
Furious artillery battle in progress in Flanders and in region of Lens. (Possibly the artillery bombardment that was conducted as part of diversionary attacks prior to the assault by Canadian troops on Hill 70. Originally this assault was planned for late July but bad weather interfered and it was postponed until early August. The assault on Hill 70 was itself intended to draw enemy troops away from the third Battle of Ypres.)



Eastern Front
Russians offer resistance in the region south of the Dniester, but retirement in Bukovina continues.
Romanian advance continues in Moldavia; all objectives and many prisoners taken.

Naval and Overseas Operations
On 29 July 1917, Halcyon spotted a periscope near the Smiths Knoll buoy east of Yarmouth, and carried out a ramming attack, followed by dropping two depth charges. Halcyon was credited with sinking the submarine, UB-27.



The third HMS Halcyon was a Dryad-class torpedo gunboat of the Royal Navy. Once described as "perhaps the smallest and least formidable vessel that ever crept into the 'Navy List,' ", she was launched in 1894 and was put up for sale before World War I. She was recommissioned in 1913, was converted to a minesweeper and served under the orders of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves. She was sold for breaking in 1919.

Ships Hit by U boats on this day: Shown as Boat/Commander/Ship hit/tonnage/Nationality
U 96/Heinrich Jeß/Anitra/2593/Norway
U 60/Karlgeorg Schluster/Cesarevitch Alexei/2,387/Russia
UC 69/Erwin Waßner/Gyldenpris/2,667/Norway
U 94/ Alfred Saalwächter/Ingeborg/1,207/Denmark
U 39/Walter Forstmann/Manchester Commerce/4,144/UK
UC 75/Johannes Lohs/Saint Marcouf/1,117/France
U 95/Athalwin Prinz/Whitehall/3,158/UK

UB8: Interned at Coruna, 29th July, 1917 and surrendered to the French after Armistice.
This latter from source: USS Dorado (SS-248): On Eternal Patrol by Douglas E. Campbell, Ph.D.

Additional shipping lost on this day:
Adalia/UK/shelled and sunk in the North Sea/ U 94 responsible (a crew member is lost)
Bestwood/UK/Sank in the Irish Sea following a collision with Leander.
Okhla/UK/Struck a mine and sank in the Indian Ocean – nine crew are lost.

[mikeemagnus]

Monday 30th July 1917

The quiet before the storm – tomorrow is the big day! With the weather so bad, there is little or no flying and no air combats. The troop build up before Ypres continues. Nerves are taught!

Meanwhile: A report from the Worcestershire World War 100
30th July 1917 - Airmen flying over Worcester



Rolling casualty count: 6846

War Front:

1st Batt: Batt formed up at night near Kingsway as support for the attack. Batt HQ moved to Bin cross-roads dug-outs at 3 pm. C and D Coys to attack and capture Ignorance and Menorance Reserve. A and B Coys to pass through to James Trench and form a Blue line on Bellewaarde Ridge.
2nd Batt: There was a sniping demonstration. The Medical Officer lectured officers and NCOs in First Aid in the evening.
2/8th Batt: Seventy other ranks went for a course at 5th Army Musketry School. A bombing course started at Brigade HQ.


A few months before – in April 1917. Men of the 3rd Worcestershire Regiment wearing captured helmets.

Home Front:

To the Editor: Worcesters at Gheluvelt: Sir, - Referring to your issue of the 28th inst. re “The Worcesters at Gheluvelt,” I have no desire to decry the credit due to anyone, but in justice to one who has made the supreme sacrifice, I feel bound to express at once that, if the evidence of men of the Worcestershire Regiment is to be relied upon, the officer who, acting on his own initiative, gave the order on which the Worcesters advanced and thus by their indomitable courage saved Calais, was Captain Phillip G. Wainman, of the Worcestershire Regiment. Yours faithfully, Spencer A. Snatt, Battenhall.
Gifts for Wounded Soldiers: The Matron of the Infirmary (Miss Watson) has received a number of towels, dusters and pillow cases from Mr. Bridgman, Secretary of Malvern Girls’ Club. The articles were made by the girls and were sent for the soldiers’ wards.
Airmen and Pitchcroft: During the last month or two an increasing number of airmen have been passing over Worcester going north; apparently they follow the line of the Severn until they reach Worcester and then they turned sharply eastwards for an aerodrome some miles away. Many machines have descended on Pitchcroft, which being long and wide and flat, is peculiarly suitable. One machine on Saturday morning, while trying to avoid some sheep as it descended, ran into part of the railing which marks out the racecourse and broke its propeller. Another propeller was furnished by night time and the aviator flew away at about 8 o’clock.
Absentee: Frank Comley (22), 1, Elm Row, Hylton Road, who admitted being an absentee from the Army Veterinary Corps, was remanded to await an escort.
Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team



Mention is made above of Bellewaarde ridge:


This image taken of the Bellewaarde Ridge in July 1917 – just prior to the Third Battle of Ypres – shows the level of destruction in the Ypres Salient by this time.

Captain Tunstill's Men
Monday 30th July 1917

Billets between Zudausques and Boisdinghem.

There was heavy rain overnight 29th/30th and the rain continued through much of the day, causing some disruption to the planned training programme, as noted by Brig. Genl. Lambert (see 27th July), “It has been raining most of the night and is still wet so it is not a good day for manoeuvring troops about or even for sitting about and marching to and from the range, which is several miles away from each Battalion. I hope it means to clear up again but I fear the best of the weather has broken at last. Still, we have had such good weather for two months or more that we have no cause to complain.” He also reflected on the impact of the weather on plans for a Brigade sports day, “This rain has made the fields too slippery for jumping and I am afraid our sports day may not be a great success. I have put them off for a few days as owing to our move we cannot get things ready.”
Pte. Arthur Sutcliffe (see 24th June), who had been in England since leaving 10DWR in January, returned to France; rather than re-joining 10DWR, he would be posted to 2/6th DWR.
Pte. Harold Wider (see 16th June), who had been in England since being wounded in January, was also posted back to France, and arrived at 34th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples. He had been absent off his final pass for five days immediately before departure and had been ordered to undergo five days’ Field Punishment no.2 as a result.
Cpl. Henry Markham (see 20th July), who had been discharged from Lochee Red Cross Hospital in Dundee ten days’ earlier, was posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.
Lt. John Charles Brison Redfearn (see 6th July), who had been under medical treatment in England for trench fever for the previous nine months, appeared before a Medical Board. The Board found that, “On July 6th he was seized with pain in the stomach, vomiting followed by violent retching and slight looseness of the bowels. On July 7th he was admitted to 1st Northern General Hospital on recommendation of MO Backworth Detachment. On admission temperature normal, bowels regular, poor general condition, tongue clean. Abdomen shows nothing abnormal. He has been instructed to remain in hospital for 14 days longer for further investigation and final recommendation as to disposal”. In due course he would be transferred to Pinewood Sanatorium, Wokingham.
A number of new Second Lieutenants were commissioned who would subsequently serve with 10DWR. Sgt. Albert Joseph Acarnley (see 7th April), L.Cpl. Fred Dyson (see 7th April), L.Cpl. Sam Benjamin Farrant (see 7th April) and L.Cpl. Lawrence Tindill MM (see 7th April) had all trained together at no. 9 Officer Cadet Battalion at Gailes, Ayrshire. CQMS Cyril Edward Agar (see 8th April), had trained at no.19 Officer Cadet Battalion at Pirbright. *Cpl. Stephen Brown Airey (see 1st October 1916) had trained at no.15 Officer Cadet Battalion at Romford; Cpl. William Johnson Simpson (see 7th April) had trained at no.20 Officer Cadet Battalion at Cookham; and Pte. Percival Victor Thomas (see 7th April) had trained at no.7 Officer Cadet Battalion at Cambridge. It has not been established where Pte. Keith Sagar Bain (see 13th February), L.Cpl. Edwin Everingham Ison (see 24th January), Sgt. George Clifford Sugden (see 8th April), Cpl. Edward Kent Waite (see 28th December 1915) or L.Sgt. Mark Allan Stanley Wood (see 17th April) had trained. Aidan Nicholson (see 10th February), who had originally been rejected as an officer cadet because of his physical condition, but had subsequently served with the Royal Flying Corps, was also commissioned Second Lieutenant.


2Lt. Cyril Edward Agar


2Lt. Edwin Everingham Ison


2Lt. Aidan Nicholson

Former members of 10DWR, CSM Billy Oldfield MM (see 7th April) and Pte. Harley Bentham (see 5th January) were also commissioned. Oldfield had trained at no.5 Officer Cadet Battalion in Cambridge and Bentham with Acarnley, Dyson, Farrant and Tindill at Gailes. However, both Oldfield and Bentham, having served in the ranks with 10DWR, would, in due course, be posted to other ‘Dukes’ Battalions.


2Lt. Billy Oldfield MM


2Lt. Harley Bentham

Gnr. John George Waggitt (see 17th November 1916), who had been serving in France with 2nd Canadian Division, arrived in Addingham on leave. He was the brother of L.Cpl. Willie Waggitt (see 17th November 1916), who had been killed at Le Sars in October 1916.

The War in the Air - The following aces were claiming victories on this day…
Major Arthur “Mary” Coningham – Australia #9 #10



Though born in Australia, Arthur Coningham, the son of Arthur and Alice Stanford (Dowling) Coningham, was raised and educated in New Zealand. He enlisted in the 5th Wellington Regiment on 10 August 1914 and served in Samoa and Egypt at the beginning of the war. After contracting typhoid fever, he was deemed unfit for service and discharged from the army on 1 April 1916. Later that month, at his own expense, he sailed for England and was accepted as a cadet in the Royal Flying Corps. He received a commission as a Second Lieutenant (on probation) on 8 August 1916 and learned to fly at Netheravon and Upavon, graduating from the Central Flying School in November 1916. He was then assigned to 32 Squadron, arriving at Lealvillers, northwest of Albert, on 19 December 1916. Flying the D.H.2, Coningham scored his first victory on 23 January 1917. In July 1917, he scored nine more victories flying the D.H.5 but was wounded in action and spent several months in hospital. On 26 March 1918, he assumed command of 92 Squadron at Tangmere in Sussex. With this unit he scored four more victories flying the S.E.5a. Coningham remained in the Royal Air Force and was granted a permanent commission to Flight Lieutenant on 1 August 1919.

During World War II, Coningham distinguished himself as Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery's air boss in the Desert War campaign, advocating an airpower doctrine that was later adopted by General Dwight D. Eisenhower and became the tactical air doctrine of the United States Air Force. The basic principles of this doctrine were:
The strength of airpower lies in its flexibility and capacity for rapid concentration.
It follows that control must be concentrated under command of an airman.
Air forces must be concentrated in use and not dispersed in penny packets.
Assuming command of the British Second Tactical Air Force in January 1944, Coningham played a key role in the Normandy invasion. By the end of the war, he attained the rank of Air Marshal and was later knighted by the King of England. In 1948, Coningham was a passenger aboard a British South American Airways flight that disappeared en route to Bermuda. The passengers and crew of the ill-fated Star Tiger, an Avro Tudor IV, were never found.

Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
2nd Lt. (T./Capt.) Arthur Coningham, M.C., R.F.C., Spec. Res.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. With three other pilots he attacked an enemy machine which was protected by ten others, shot it down, and destroyed another one the same evening. Shortly afterwards he and two others attacked five of the enemy, and although wounded and rendered unconscious for the moment, he succeeded in driving down two of the enemy. In spite of being much exhausted by loss of blood he continued his patrol until he was sure that no more enemy machines were in the vicinity} setting a splendid example of pluck and determination.
Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 January 1918 (30466/561)

Military Cross (MC)
2nd Lt. (T./Capt.) Arthur Coningham, R.F.C., Spec. Res.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in attacking enemy aircraft. On numerous occasions he has displayed great dash and a fine offensive spirit in engaging the enemy at close range, and driving them down completely out of control.

Great War Lives Lost
Monday 30 July 1917 We Lost 517


Cap badge of *the Canadian Field Artillery

Today’s losses include:
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
A man whose father will die on service next May
The son of a member of the clergy

Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Corporal George William Biggs (Machine Gun Corps) is killed at age 22. His brother will be killed in March 1918.
Lance Corporal Thomas Arthur Wheatley (Sherwood Foresters) is killed at age 28. His brother will die of gassing at home in September 1918.
Driver John George Waggitt (Canadian Field Artillery) drowns at age 23. His brother was killed in action in October 1916.
Private Albert Smith (Sussex Regiment) is killed at St Julian at age 19. His brother was killed on HMS Bulwark and their father will die while serving in the Royal Defence Corps in May 1918 at home.
Private Gilbert Smedley Golding (Liverpool Regiment) is killed. He is the son of the Reverend Harry Golding a Congregational Minister.

Royal Flying Corps Casualties
One airman has fallen on Monday July 30th 1917
2nd Lt Chatterton, A.M. (Arthur Measures) Royal Flying Corps 13 Training Squadron Killed whilst flying 30 July 1917 aged 23.

Build up to Third Battle of Ypres (27th/28th July 1917)
“From now (12th July 1917) on to the end of the month, air activity continued to be intense. Reconnaissances, artillery co-operation, air photography, and day and night bombing, were maintained. Gradually, the fighting aircraft wore down the resistance of the enemy and it was noticeable that the German pilots showed decreasing inclination to cross the British lines. The enemy tendency towards concentration of fighting strength in the air continued. (For example) The reports of an air battle , which took place on the evening of the 26th July near Polygon Wood, show



the enemy forces disposed as follows: at 5,000 feet were a few two-seaters; at 8,000 feet, or under, were thirty Albatros Scouts in combat with seven D.H.5’s; at 12,000 – 14,000 feet were ten Albatros Scouts being fought by various British formations totalling thirty single-seater fighters; and higher still, at about 17,000 feet, were ten Albatros Scouts in action with seven naval Sopwith triplanes.



This gives a total of ninety-four single-seaters in combat. The fighting by the various formations, which partly intermixed, was long drawn out and none of it was decisive. While the fight was in progress four of the german two-seater aeroplanes took the opportunity to slip away over the british lines where they made a reconnaissance of the Ypres area.”
(Taken from Volume 4 – “The War in the Air” by H A Jones)

As reported already, the weather on this day, 30th July, was so bad that there was very little flying and no air combats in the area.

Western Front
Heavy artillery fire on the Aisne front

Eastern Front
Fall of Zaleszczyki and Sniatyn. Zaleszezyki (Galicia) recaptured by Austro-German forces.

Romania: First phase of Battle of Mărășești continues. On July 22, 1917, the Romanians launched a joint offensive with Russia against the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army, around Mărăști and the lower part of the Siret river, which resulted in the Battle of Mărăști. Although there was some initial success, a counter-offensive by the Central Powers in Galicia stopped the Romanian-Russian offensive.


Romanian troops at Mărășești in 1917


Romanian Model 1912 105 mm howitzers firing during the Battle of Mărăști

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa:
Sharp fighting reported; enemy driven from River Lugungu (half-way between Lake Nyassa and sea).
Operations, 1917–18


Lettow surrendering his forces at Abercorn, as seen by an African artist

Major-General Arthur Hoskins (KAR) took over command of the (East Africa) campaign and was then replaced by Major-General Jacob van Deventer of South Africa. Deventer began an offensive in July 1917, which by early autumn had pushed the Germans 100*mi (160*km) to the south. From 15–19 October 1917, Lettow-Vorbeck fought a mutually costly battle at Mahiwa, with 519 German casualties and 2,700 British losses in the Nigerian brigade. After the news of the battle reached Germany, Lettow-Vorbeck was promoted to Generalmajor. British units forced the Schutztruppe south and on 23 November, Lettow-Vorbeck crossed into Portuguese Mozambique to plunder supplies from Portuguese garrisons.


The Battle of Ngomano in November 1917

The Germans fought the Battle of Ngomano in which the Portuguese garrison was routed and then marched through Mozambique in caravans of troops, carriers, wives and children for nine months but was unable to gain much strength. Lettow-Vorbeck divided the force into three groups on the march, a detachment of 1,000 men under Hauptmann Theodor Tafel, was forced to surrender before reaching Mozambique, after running out of food and ammunition; Lettow and Tafel were unaware they were only one day's march apart. Germans returned to German East Africa and crossed into Northern Rhodesia in August 1918. On 13 November two days after the Armistice was signed in France, the German Army took Kasama, which had been evacuated by the British. The next day at the Chambezi River, Lettow-Vorbeck was handed a telegram announcing the signing of the armistice and he agreed to a cease-fire. Lettow-Vorbeck marched his army to Abercorn and formally surrendered on 25 November 1918. For the British, the campaign cost approximately c. £12 billion at 2007 prices.

Ships Hit by U boats on this day: Shown as Boat/Commander/Ship hit/tonnage/Nationality
UC40/Gustav Deuerlich/Amor/196 Denmark
U60/Karlgeorg Schuster/Canis/526/Norway
U39/Walter Forstmann/Carlo/5,572/Italy
U95/Athalwin Prinz/Eolo/1,679/Italy
U39/Walter Forstmann/Ganges/4,177/UK
U94/Alfred Saalwächter/Kildin/1,640/Russia
U94/Alfred Saalwächter/Manchester Inventor/4,112/UK
U94/Alfred Saalwächter/Souma/2,200/Russia

Announcement of H.M.S. "Ariadne" torpedoed and sunk, 38 lost. (She was actually torpedoed and sunk on 26th July)

Merchant Shipping
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 270 ships of 568,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses)

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Another sterling piece of Journalism Mike.
At this rate you will be getting nominated for the "Howitzer" Prize!
Rob.

[mikeemagnus]

the "Howitzer" Prize!

Does that come with a "Barrel" of beer?

[Flying Helmut]

Does that come with a "Barrel" of beer?

Only if enough folks are prepared to "shell" out to pay for it!

[mikeemagnus]

Only if enough folks are prepared to "shell" out to pay for it!

Now you "pull it sir", you pull my leg!!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Only if enough folks are prepared to "shell" out to pay for it!

I had better get another Round then.
Rob.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

SPECIAL EDITION.




July 31st.1917.

We Lost 6,527




Western Front.



The official name of the battle is the 3^rd Ypres, but it is universally known as the Battle of Passchendaele because it is really a series of engagements with the one objective of taking Passchendaele Village and its Ridge. It commences with an attack on the Northern Flats at Pilckem to the left and the Gheluvelt Ridge to the right. The troops at Pilckem are supported by massed tanks and this attack is initially successful but the right flank is held up and fails to reach its objective of the Gheluvelt Ridge. Then at 16:00 the rain starts and will last for days and the flooding will make it impossible for the tanks to operate.





Although Haig has originally only proposed a short battle to break through the German Lines and this is now impossible, he insists on continuing the battle at Langemarck to the North. General Gough, whom Haig has chosen because he was the most aggressive of his Generals, actually advises Haig to cease the battle but Haig continues the battle despite horrific losses for another three weeks until 26^th August before he closes it down.




He then decides to change the axis of attack from the North to the East and, when finer weather comes, to order the assault on the ridge itself. He also changes Generals and General Plumer is put in charge of the next assault.




Plumer, one of the most astute of the Generals, is an advocate of a small scale limited advance under cover of a creeping barrage which will also prevent German counterattacks. This will lead to a concentration of force on a narrow front, it will be easier to relieve the tired men and food and ammunition can readily be brought up to them. The men are to advance behind the shelter of the exploding shells and be hidden from the enemy by the smoke and dust of the barrage, however this will be impossible if it rains and the ground turns into mud.

The 1^st and 2^nd Coldstream Guards, forming part of the Guards Division, attack to the east of the Yser Canal. The attack is very successful as the line advances, 3,000 yards to Pilckem.



Private Thomas Whitham will be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Pilkem during the attack when an enemy machine-gun is seen to be enfilading the battalion on the right. Private Whitham on his own initiative immediately works his way from shell-hole to shell-hole through our own barrage, reaches the machine-gun and, although under very heavy fire captures it, together with an officer and two other ranks. When leading waves are temporarily held up by fire from a blockhouse.
Second Lieutenant Reginald Rees Jones (Welsh Guards) pushes up to the obstacle and fires his rifle through the slits disregarding the danger which confronts him. He then enters the blockhouse and deals with the occupants and enables the advance to be continued. He is later badly wounded in the head from which he will die on 25^th August. For his actions this day he will be awarded the DSO.






The 10^th Welsh Regiment advances at 03:50 and gets lost in the darkness. They are able to secure two German trenches but the rain makes the going extremely difficult.





At Wieltje, Belgium the leading waves of an attack become disorganized by enemy rifle and machine-gun fire at very close range from positions which were believed to be in friendly hands.

Temporary Lieutenant Colonel Bertram Best-Dunkley dashes forward, rallies his men and personally leads them in an assault of these positions, which in spite of heavy losses, are carried. He continues to lead his battalion until all of their objectives are gained. Later in the day when the British positions are threatened he gathers his men and leads them in an attack that beats off the advancing German forces. He is wounded and will die of those wounds in five days. For his actions on this day Lieutenant Colonel Best-Dunkley will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.






The Peasant Poet of Meath, Lance Corporal Francis Edward Ledwidge (Inniskilling Fusiliers), is killed in action at age 29. He is killed during a violent rainstorm, laying wooden planks over the muddy quagmire of the battlefield to enable guns and equipment to be moved forward. Drenched to the skin he pauses for a mug of tea and a shell from the continuous heavy bombardment explodes nearby killing him instantly. The majority of his work is about Ireland and the fairies. His war poems include A Soliloquy, A Soldier’s Grave, The Irish In Gallipoli, Home, and Ascension Thursday: 1917.
The Irish In Gallipoli
Where Aegean Cliffs with bristling menace front
The treacherous splendor of that isley sea,
Lighted by Troy’s last shadow; where the first
Hero kept watch and the last Mystery
Shook with dark thunder, Hark! The battle brunt!
A nation speaks, old Solences are burst.
‘Tis not for lust of glory, no new throne
This thunder and this lightning of our power
Wakens up frantic echoes, not for these
Our Cross with England’s mingle, to be blown
At Mammon’s threshold. We but war when war
Serves Liberty and Keeps a world at peace.
Who said that such an emprise could be vain?
Were they not one with Christ, who fought and died?
Let Ireland weep: but not for sorrow, weep
That by her sons a land is sanctified,
Let Christ arisen and angels one again
Come back, like exile birds, and watch their sleep





Another poet Private Ellis Humphrey Evans (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) becomes the second Great War poet to be killed in action today when he is killed at age 30. He wrote poetry under the name ‘Hedd Wyn’ Welsh for “Blessed Peace” (literal translation: white peace). Evans spent most of his life on a hill farm, Yr Ysgwrn, near Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire (Gwynedd). By the age of 28, he had won four Eisteddfod chairs for his poetry. Evans will be awarded the Bardic Chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod, Birkenhead, for his poem “Yr Arwr” (“The Hero”), written in the verse form known as an awdl. The award will be posthumous, with the Eisteddfod Chair draped in black cloth during the award ceremony.
Captain Thomas Riversdale Colyer-Fergusson (Northamptonshire Regiment) is shot and killed by a sniper at age 21. Earlier today the tactical situation having developed contrary to expectation, it is not possible for his company to adhere to the original plan of deployments, and owing to the difficulties of the ground and to enemy wire, Captain Colyer Fergusson finds himself with a Sergeant and five men only. He carries out the attack nevertheless, and succeeds in capturing the enemy trench and disposing of the garrison. His party is then threatened by a heavy counter-attack from the left front, but this attack he successfully resists. During this operation, assisted by his orderly only, he attacks and captures an enemy machine gun and turns it on the assailants, many of whom are killed and a large number driven into the hands of an adjoining British unit. Later, assisted only by his Serjeant, he again attacks and captures a second enemy machine gun, by which time he has been joined by other portions of his company, and he is able to consolidate his position. For his actions he will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. His brother will die on service in 1940.

Second Lieutenant Denis George Wyldbore Hewitt (Hampshire Regiment) is in command of a company in attack. When his first objective has been captured he reorganizes the company and moves forward towards his objective. While waiting for the barrage to lift, he is hit by a piece of shell, which explodes the signal lights in his haversack and set fire to his equipment and clothes. Having extinguished the flames, in spite of his wound and the severe pain he is suffering, he leads forward the remains of the company under very heavy machine gun fire, and captures and consolidated his objective. The 19 year old is subsequently killed by a sniper while inspecting the consolidation and encouraging his men. For his efforts he will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. He is the son of the late Honorable George Hewitt.



Corporal James Llewellyn Davies (Welsh Fusiliers) pushes through our own barrage and single-handed attacks a machine gun emplacement, after several men had been killed in attempting to take it. He bayonets one of the machine gun crew and brings in another man, together with the captured gun. Corporal Davies, although wounded, then leads a bombing party to the assault of a defended house, and kills a sniper who is harassing his platoon. This gallant non-commissioned officer dies of wounds received during the attack for which he will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.




The cargo ship Belgian Prince (Master Henry Hasson) when about 175 miles from Tory Island, Ireland is struck by a torpedo at about 19:50 on the port side between the engine room and the #5 hold. The engines soon are disabled along with the dynamo which keeps the ship from sending a distress signal. The ship takes on a list and the crew abandons her in three lifeboats. During this time U-55 surfaces and begins to shell the ship with the intention of disabling the wireless. Then U-55 moves around to the starboard side and fires her machine gun at the ship. The submarine then approaches the three lifeboats which hold the entire forty-two man crew. They are all ordered to get out of the boats and taken on board the deck of the U-55. The Master, Harry Hassan is taken below while the men on deck are searched. The crew of the U-55 takes the lifebelts from most of the survivors and throws them overboard. The U-55 crew then goes below and close the hatch and the boat gets underway on the surface, sailing about two miles then submerges the U-55 with the forty-one survivors still on the deck of the boat. Without lifejackets the men in the water have little chance of survival and all but three die, but the three who survived were able to tell the tale of what happened to their fellow crewmen after they were picked up by a British patrol boat later in the day. Master Hasson though taken below is never heard from again.




Today’s losses include:

• Two Great War Poets
• A member of Tolkien’s Tea Club and Barrovian Society
• Three posthumous Victoria Cross winners
• A Brigadier General’s Brigade Major (the General will die in two days)
• The son of a Major General
• The son of a Brigadier General
• Captain of the 1909 England Rugby team that toured Australian and for whom the Mobbs Trophy is named
• Multiple battalion commanders
• A son of the 8^th Earl of Albermarle
• The son of a Baronet
• The son-in-law of a Baronet
• A member of the New Zealand Parliament
• The son of the first native born Prime Minister of New Zealand
• The son of a Member of Parliament
• An Irish Rugby International
• A Scottish Rugby International
• A Rosslyn Park Rugby footballer
• The Captain of the Dulwich College football team 1914-15
• The brother of a multiple Wimbledon Doubles and Olympic Gold medal winner
• A well known footballer
• An Australian Rules footballer
• Multiple sons of members of the clergy
• The grandson of a member of the clergy
• Multiple sons of Justices of the Peace
• An Australian diarist
• A journalist
• A military Chaplain
• A schoolmaster
• A man for whom three lakes in British Columbia will be named
• The son of a city councilor
• Multiple men who will have daughters born after they are killed
• Multiple families that will lose two, three and four sons in the Great War
• Brothers killed together
• Multiple men who will have sons lose their lives in the Second World War.

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

• Brigadier General Alister Fraser Gordon CMG DSO General Officer Commanding 153^rd Infantry Brigade will die of wounds received in action today at age 45. The General and his Brigade Major, Captain Hugh Henry Lean, (Highland Light Infantry), while walking around the trenches, are struck by a shell. Captain Lean is killed instantly at age 29, while the Brigadier General dies two days later. He is the son of Major General K E Lean CB.
• Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Roberts Mobbs DSO (commanding 7^th Northamptonshire Regiment) an International rugby player at age 37. He captain the 1909 England team that toured Australia. The Mobbs Memorial Match is named for him. He is killed charging an enemy machine gun post. He raised and commanded the 7^th
• Lieutenant Colonel James Cosmo Russell DSO (Hodsons Horse commanding 6^th Cameron Highlanders) is killed at age 38. He is the son of the Reverend Henry Charles Russell Rector of Wollaton.
• Lieutenant Colonel Frank Page DSO (commanding 1^st/1^st Hertfordshire Regiment) is killed at age 39.
• Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Daniel Reid DSO (Inniskilling Fusiliers commanding 1^st Irish Rifles) is killed at age 35.
• Lieutenant Colonel Courtenay Talbot Saint Paul DSO (commanding 36^th Battery 45 Brigade Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 35.
• Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Elton Sunderland (commanding 2^nd Devonshire Regiment) is killed at age 42. He is the son of the Reverend James Sunderland Vicar of Eggington.
• Major (Acting Lieutenant Colonel) Eric Beresford Greer MC (commanding 2^nd Irish Guards) is killed in action while standing outside the advanced battalion headquarters by shrapnel at Boesinghe at age 25. His daughter will be born in December while his brother was killed last February and they are sons of ‘Sir’ John Henry Greer.
• Major Thomas Geoffrey Rawstorne (Lancashire Hussars) dies of wounds. He is the son-in-law of ‘Sir’ William Wyndham Portal 2^nd
• Major Henry Leech (Acting Commander 8^th Liverpool Regiment) is killed at age 40.
• Lieutenant Colonel Henry Murray Tollemache Hope-Johnstone MC (commanding 12^th Royal Fusiliers) is killed in action at age 31. His brother was killed in October 1914.
• Captain William Henry Dillon Bell (King Edward’s Horse) is killed. He is a Member of the New Zealand Parliament and son of the Honorable ‘Sir’ Francis Bell GCMG the first native born Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• Captain John Swinnerton Dyer (Scots Guards) the 12^th Baronet is also killed in action this day. His daughter will be born 28^th January 1918.
• Captain Hubert Alfred Harris (Royal Army Medical Corps attached Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 37. His brother died of wounds in April of this year and they are sons of the Reverend Frederic William Harris.
• Captain Arthur Lea Harris (North Lancashire Regiment) is killed. He is the son of the Reverend S F Harris.
• Captain and Adjutant Ronald Newton Caws MC (Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed in action at age 27. He is the son of Captain Silas Newston Caws JP.
• Captain Alfred Squire Taylor (Royal Army Medical Corps attached Highland Light Infantry) is killed in action at age 29. He is the son of the Reverend David Alexander Taylor DD and an Irish Rugby International.
• Captain Basil William Head (Hertfordshire Regiment) is killed at age 26. He is the son of the Reverend William Head Rector of Brilley.
• Captain Arthur Hensley Hudson (Royal Berkshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 25. He was the son of the Reverend Thomas Hudson and had been an undergraduate at Keble College, Oxford.
• Captain Eric George Brock MC (Liverpool Regiment) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend George Albert Brock Congregational Minister.
• Captain Frederic Ernest Bodel MC (Liverpool Regiment) is killed in action. He is a barrister-at-law and the son of the Reverend James Bodel.
• Captain David Arthur MC (Indian Medical Service) dies as a prisoner of war in Baghdad at age 32. He is the son of George Arthur JP.
• Captain Charles Vernon Martyn Simpson (King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment) is killed in action at age 26. He is the son of Isaac Simpson JP.
• Captain Thomas Kenneth Barnsley (Coldstream Guards) is killed at age 25. As a member of Tolkien’s Tea Club and Barrovian Society he was known as the wise cracking ‘Tea Cake’ and he is the son of Brigadier General John Barnsley.
• Captain Cameron Roy Carruthers (Cameron Highlanders) is killed at age 28. His brother was killed in April of this year and they are sons of ‘Sir’ William Carruthers.
• Lieutenant Clifford Stanton (Welsh Regiment) is killed at age 23. He is the son of C B Stanton CBE JP a Member of Parliament.
• Lieutenant Thomas Pillans Ward (Northamptonshire Regiment) is killed at age 20. He is the son of the Reverend Thomas Ward Rector of Alwalton.
• Lieutenant Luther James Swallow (North Staffordshire Regiment) is killed at age 33. He is the son of the Reverend Doctor Robert Swallow.
• Lieutenant James Young Milne-Henderson (Highland Light Infantry) is killed in action at age 26. He is a Scottish International Rugby Football player, member of the Madras Rugby team and the Junior East of Scotland Swimming Champion. His younger brother will be killed next January and they are sons of J Milne-Henderson JP.
• Lieutenant Walter Leverton Jessopp (Machine Gun Corps) is killed at age 20. His older brother was killed in May of this year.
• Lieutenant Harold Madoc Jones (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) is killed at age 38. He is the son of the late John Roberts JP.
• Lieutenant Henry Paul Mainwaring Jones (Machine Gun Corps) is killed. He was the captain of the football team at Dulwich College 1914-15.
• Lieutenant ‘the Honorable’ Albert Edward George Arnold Keppel (Rifle Brigade) is killed in action at age 19. He is the son of the 8^th Earl and Countess of Albemarle.
• Lieutenant Andrew Buckland Hodge (Leinster Regiment) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend John Mackey Hodge Vicar of St Luke’s Plymouth.
• Lieutenant Thomas Cyril Nicholls-Jones (Welsh Fusiliers) is killed at Pilkem at age 30. He is the grandson of the Reverend Evan Lewis.
• Lieutenant Charles Isaacs Coburn (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed at Hollebeke at age 32. He is a Rosslyn Park Rugby footballer.
• Lieutenant Neville Ernest Baker (Royal Engineers attached Tank Corps) is killed at age 21. His brother was killed in March 1916.
• Lieutenant Sydney Harold Osbrone Wilshire (Australian Field Artillery) is killed at age 27. His brother was killed in May and both are Australian Diarists.
• Second Lieutenant Louis James Penard Laycock (Northamptonshire Regiment) is killed at age 25. He is the son of the Reverend James Marshall.
• Second Lieutenant Vincent Connel Byrne (Irish Rifles) is killed at age 21. He is the son of George Byrne JP.
• Second Lieutenant John Stewart Gellatly (Royal Scots) is killed at age 24. His brother was killed last April.
• Second Lieutenant John Ambrose Barratt (Rifle Brigade) is killed at age 36. He was a signalling officer and well liked by his fellow officers; the young officer’s called him ‘Father Barrett’. He is the brother of the Wimbledon Doubles Tennis Champion of 1909, 1912 and 1913 who also won the 1908 Indoor Olympic Doubles Gold Medal Champion.
• Second Lieutenant Frederick Charles Westmacott (Royal West Kent Regiment) is killed in action at age 19 over two years after his older brother has been killed. They are the sons of Canon Westmacott.
• Second Lieutenant William Sewell Calderwood (Cameronians) is killed in action at age 20. He is the son of the Reverend R S Calderwood.
• Second Lieutenant Jack Douglas Wheeler (Suffolk Regiment) is killed in action at age 28. His brother was killed in November 1916.
• Second Lieutenant Herbert Edward Boag (Machine Gun Corps attached Tank Corps) is killed at age 25. He is a journalist.
• Second Lieutenant Hugh Brown (Royal Irish Rifles) is killed. His brother was killed in January last year.
• Second Lieutenant George McMillan (East Lancashire Regiment) is killed at age 31. He is the last of three brothers who are killed in the Great War.
• Second Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Francis Joseph O’Brien (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed in action at age 31. His brother was killed last February.
• Second Lieutenant Francis Alan Wray (Liverpool Regiment) is killed at age 27. His brother will be killed next September.
• Second Lieutenant Scott Gladstone Morton (Manchester Regiment) is killed at age 25. He is the son of the Reverend William Henry Morton.
• Second Lieutenant William Folds Cooper (Royal Fusiliers) is killed at age 26. His brother was killed in September 1916.
• Second Lieutenant Eric Abley Claxton (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed at age 21. He is the son of the Reverend Arthur E Claxton.
• Second Lieutenant Richard Willett (Lancashire Fusiliers) is killed. He is the son of the Reverend Richard Knight Willett Vicar of Norden.
• Second Lieutenant Rodney Francis Richardson (Manchester Regiment) is killed at age 18. He is the son of the Reverend Mark Richardson Vicar of St John’s Hudderfield.
• Chaplain 4^th Class William Duncan Geare MC (attached 165^th Infantry Brigade) is killed in action at Passchendaele at age 26. He was the Chaplain of Westminster School and Queen’s College Cambridge.
• Sergeant Thomas Henry Worle (Australian Field Artillery) is killed at age 32. He is an Australian Rules Footballer who played in 3 games for Collingwood in 1907.
• Corporal Henry Fraser (Gordon Highlanders) is killed. He is the last of four brothers who are killed in the Great War.
• Corporal Roderick Angus McKinnon (Otago Regiment) a schoolmaster is killed at age 32. His brother will be killed tomorrow.
• Lance Corporal Robert William Stocker (Machine Gun Corps) is killed at age 21. His brother was killed in November 1914.
• Lance Corporal Major Phillips (South Wales Borderers) is killed at age 32. His brother was killed last July.
• Lance Corporal Alexander W Lawrie (Black Watch) is killed in action at age 20. His two older brothers were killed last year.
• Lance Corporal Thomas William James Churchhouse (Manchester Regiment) is killed at age 20. His brother will be killed in the loss of HMS Stephen Furness in December.
• Rifleman Arthur Adams (Liverpool Regiment) is killed in action. His brother was killed in July 1916.
• Private Riley Whitehead (Lancashire Fusiliers) is killed in action on the first day of the battle at Pilkem Ridge Ypres at age 31. He is a well-known football player.
• Private Edward West (West Surrey Regiment) is killed in action at age 20. He is the third and youngest of three brothers who lose their lives in the Great War.
• Private Sydney Wilbraham (Liverpool Regiment) is killed in action at age 19. His brother was killed in August 1916.
• Private Ruper Edwin Penfold Grimley (London Regiment attached Gordon Highlanders) dies of wounds at age 18. He is the son of the Reverend Arthur Lee Grimley.
• Privates Samuel, age 22 and William, age 19 Spilsbury are killed together while serving with the Cheshire Regiment.
• Private Albert Edwin Severn (Cheshire Regiment) is killed at age 30. His elder brother was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
• Private William Hazelby (Grenadier Guards) is killed in action at age 23. His brother was killed last March.
• Private **** Goodger (Lincolnshire Regiment) is killed at age 22. His brother was killed in April of this year.
• Private John McIntosh (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) is killed at age 29. His brother will be killed in August of next year, while another brother will be killed in a mine accident at the Auchengeich Pit on 17^th September 1959. Their brother in law will be killed one week after the brother that dies next year.
• Private James Matheston (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed. His brother will be killed in three weeks.
• Sapper Thomas Charlie Poole (Royal Engineers) is killed at age 23. His brother will be killed in October 1918.
• Private Albert Harrowell (Hertfordshire Regiment) is killed at Ypres at age 31. His brother will be killed in May 1918.
• Private Reginald Walter Ambrose (Hertfordshire Regiment) is killed in action at Ypres at age 23. His brother will be killed in November.
• Private Albert E Mills (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) is killed at age 25. His brother was killed in May 1915.
• Private John Stone (Sussex Regiment) is killed at St Julian at age 20. His brother was killed in January 1915.
• Private Ernest Hampton Turner (Sherwood Foresters) is killed at age 23. His brother was killed last September.
• Private George L Eusden (East Lancashire Regiment) is killed leading a bombing party at age 28. His half-brother will be killed next month.
• Private Harold Ison (Cambridgeshire Regiment) is killed at age 22. His brother will die of wounds next April.
• Private John Duxbury (Machine Gun Corps) is killed in home waters at age 34. He is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial and his brother was killed last July.
• Private Bruce R Moore (Middlesex Regiment) is killed. His brother was killed in September 1916.
• Private Robert A Griffin (Black Watch) is killed in action. His two brothers have already been killed, the first in May 1915, the second in May of this year.
• Private David Ross (Black Watch) is killed at age 20. His brother will be killed in July of next year.
• Private Jonathan Towns (Black Watch) is killed at age 36. His brother died on service at home in June 1915.
• Private Thomas Archer (Liverpool Regiment) is killed at age 25. He brother was killed last month.
• Private Frederick Smith (Durham Light Infantry) is killed at age 21. He is the last of three brothers who are killed in the Great War.
• Private William McDoanld (Gordon Highlanders) is killed at age 25. He is the middle of three brothers who are killed in the war.
• Private Richard Goodman Carder (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) is killed in action becoming the third of three brothers who are killed in the Great War.
• Private Thomas William Verrall (Sussex Regiment) is killed at age 26 one month after his older brother was killed serving in the same regiment.
• Private Leonard West MM (Sussex Regiment) is killed in ation at age 22. His brother was killed in October 1916.
• Private Edward John Herbert (Sussex Regiment) is killed at age 26. His brother will be killed in April next year.
• Private Arthur Ewen (Welsh Regiment) is killed in action at age 20. His brother will be killed in March next year.
• Private David Reith (Gordon Highlanders) is killed at age 20. Three lakes in Granby Provincial Partk British Columbia will be named for him on 11^th November 1997.
• Private William Donald Quirie (Scots Guards) is killed at age 22. His brother will be killed next August.
• Private George William Dobson (Sussex Regiment) dies of wounds at age 22. His brother will be killed next March.
• Private Thomas Richard Bird (Northamptonshire Regiment) is killed. His brother was killed last August.
• Private Leonard Blease (Cheshire Regiment) is killed at age 21. His brother was killed last July.
• Private Fred Hopwood (West Surrey Regiment) is killed at age 23. His brother will die of illness on service in next April.
• Private Alfred Walter Wayman (Cambridge Regiment) is killed at age 21. His brother will be killed in April 1918.
• Private Thomas William Bates (Cambridge Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother will die of wounds in March 1918.
• Private Fred Docker (Royal Fusiliers) is killed at age 23. He is the son of Councillor Robert Fell Docker.
• Private Percy Coleman (Royal Fusiliers) is killed in action at Ypres at age 32. His brother will be killed next April.
• Private Frank Howe (Royal Fusiliers) is killed. His brother was killed last month.

Three men who are killed today will have their sons killed in the Second World War.

• Private William Ernest Gerrard (Liverpool Regiment) is killed at age 33. Son will be killed in March 1943.
• Private Arthur Vitler (Hertfordshire Regiment) is killed at age 38. Son will be killed in June 1943.
• Private Edwin James Howell (Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery) is killed at age 29. His son will lose his life serving in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

The rest of the day's news in brief.

July 31st.1917.



10 airmen have fallen on Tuesday July 31st 1917

Allaway, W. (William) Rank Flt Sub-Lt Organisation Royal Naval Air Service Unit Dunkerque Naval Air Station

Bright, C.R. Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 62 Training Squadron

Carson, T.L. (Thomas Long) Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 4 Squadron

Longton, J. (John) Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 4 Squadron

Lovelock, A.A.G. (Albert A.G.) Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit attached 6th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery

Pearson, H.J. (Henry James) Rank Cadet Organisation Royal Flying Corps

Ripley, E.R. (Eric Richard) Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 53 Squadron

Sawer, E. Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps

Smith, G.C. (Geoffrey Cholerton) Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 6 Squadron

Walter, S.R.P. (Stephen Reginald Parke) Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 32 Squadron

CLAIMS.

Harry Gosford Reeves #3

Walter Bertram Wood #11 #12

Eduard von Dostler #21

Walter Göttsch #14

Carl-August von Schönebeck #2

Kurt Wüsthoff #6

Francesco Baracca #15

Alessandro Buzio #2

Clive Wilson Warman #4

Richard Maybery #6

Western Front.
Third Battle of Ypres begins. British and French attack on 15-mile front in Flanders; take 12 villages and claim 5,000 prisoners.
French make successful attack south of La Royere, west of the Chevregny Ridge (Aisne).



Eastern Front.
Enemy extends his hold on Galician front and stands on west bank of Zbrucz on front of over 30 miles.
Russians retiring in Czernovitz region.

Tunstill's Men.

Tuesday 31st July 1917

Billets between Zudausques and Boisdinghem.

The weather was fine in the morning but became very wet in the afternoon and the rain continued through the evening and overnight.



Lt. Arthur Halstead (see 14^th June), who had been posted temporarily to X Corps to undertake a course of instruction in bombing was severely injured during a training exercise: “during instruction in the throwing of live bombs, a bomb was accidentally dropped. Lt. Halstead placed himself between the bomb and the soldier who had dropped it, in order to screen him, and tried to kick the bomb away, but it exploded, fatally wounding him. The soldier was slightly wounded and there can be little doubt that Lt. Halstead’s gallant action saved the soldier’s life.”

Lt. Halstead died at 12.40am the following morning at 7^th General Hospital, St. Omer. He would be buried at Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, and would be posthumously awarded the Albert Medal (Gold).


Pte. Charles William Hird (see 18^th June), who had suffered a relatively minor wound to the arm on 8^th June and had been evacuated to England ten days later, was now fit enough to be posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

Capt. James Christopher Bull (see 8^th June), who had been wounded on 7^th June, appeared before an Army Medical Board in London. The Board found that, “while attacking he sustained a through and through shrapnel bullet wound of right shoulder …fracture of accronoid end of clavicle and splintering of accronoid process”. He was declared unfit for service and was to be re-examined in xix weeks’ time.

At 9.30am the body of Gnr. John George Waggitt (see 30^th July), who had been in Addingham on leave from France, was found in shallow water just below the bridge at Heber's Ghyll, on the edge of Ilkley Moor. He was the brother of L.Cpl. Willie Waggitt (see 30^th July), who had been killed at Le Sars in October 1916. An inquest into his death would be held the following day.


Casualties for the month were officially recorded as being:

Killed – 1 other rank
Accidentally killed 0
Died of wounds 0
Wounded 2 officers and 38 other ranks
Accidentally wounded 0
Missing 0
The official cumulative casualty figures for the Battalion since arriving in France were now:

Killed 210
Accidentally killed 4
Died of wounds 9
Wounded 1,012
Accidentally wounded 51
Missing 129



U Boat Losses today.

Name	Carolvore
Type	Steamer
GRT	1,659 tons
Country	Norwegian
Built	1883
Builder	Armstrong, Mitchell & Co., Ltd., Newcastle
Operator	A/S Carolvore (Lundegaard & Stray), Farsund

U 155	Karl Meusel		Madeleine	2,709		fr
U 155	Karl Meusel		Snowdonian	3,870		br
U 39	Walter Forstmann		Carolvore	1,659		nw
U 39	Walter Forstmann		Ypres	305		br
U 46	Leo Hillebrand		Shimosa	4,221		br
U 54	Kurt Heeseler		Alcides	2,704		nw
U 55	Wilhelm Werner		Belgian Prince	4,765		br
U 82	Hans Adam		Orubian	3,876		br
U 82	Hans Adam		Quernmore	7,302		br
U 95	Athalwin Prinz		Beacon Grange (d.)	4,237		br
UC 22	Erich Wiesenbach		Regina	70		gr
UC 47	Paul Hundius		Fremona	3,028		br
UC 47	Paul Hundius		Motano	2,730		am
UC 63	Karsten von Heydebreck		Empress	2,914		br

Rob.

[mikeemagnus]

Thanks Rob. Big day today - big post!

[Hedeby]

Looks like a joint effort today as everyone appears to be in the office. Thank you very much Rob for minimising the time I have to take out of my wedding anniversay.
Can I also say a huge thanks to Rob and Mike for covering me whilst I was away sunning myself.

Passchendaele

The Battle of Pilckem Ridge
31 July – 2 August 1917, was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army, Second Army and the French First Army on the northern flank, attacked the German 4th Army which defended the Western Front from Lille, to the Ypres Salient in Belgium and on to the North Sea coast. On 31 July, the Anglo-French armies captured Pilckem (Flemish: Pilkem) Ridge and areas either side, the French attack being a great success. After several weeks of changeable weather, heavy rain fell during the afternoon of 31 July. British observers in the XIX Corps area in the centre, lost sight of the troops that had advanced to the main objective at the green line and three reserve brigades pressing on towards the red line. The weather changed just as German regiments from specialist counter-attack Eingreif divisions intervened. The reserve brigades were forced back through the green line to the intermediate black line, which the British artillery-observers could still see and the German counter-attack was stopped by massed artillery and small-arms fire.

The attack had mixed results; a substantial amount of ground was captured by the British and French, except on the Gheluvelt Plateau on the right flank, where only the blue line (first objective) and part of the black line (second objective) were captured. A large number of casualties were inflicted on the German defenders, 5,626 German prisoners were taken and the German Eingreif divisions managed to recapture some ground from the Ypres–Roulers railway, northwards to St Julien. For the next few days, both sides made local attacks to improve their positions, much hampered by the wet weather. The rains had a serious effect on operations in August, causing more problems for the British and French, who were advancing into the area devastated by artillery fire and partly flooded by the unseasonable rain. A local British attack on the Gheluvelt Plateau was postponed because of the weather until 10 August and the second big general attack due on 4 August, could not begin until 16 August. The Third Battle of Ypres became controversial while it was being fought and has remained so, with disputes about the predictability of the August deluges and for its mixed results, which in much of the writing in English, is blamed on misunderstandings between Gough and Haig and on faulty planning, rather than on the resilience of the German defence.



The first of a series of set-piece attacks was to begin with an advance to three objectives, the blue, black and green lines, through the German front line system and then the Albrechtstellung (second line) and Wilhelmstellung (third line), which were approximately 1,000, 2,000 and 3,500 yd (910, 1,830 and 3,200 m) from the British front line, at any of which a halt could be called if necessary.[34][35] Local advances to the red line (fourth objective) 1,000–1,500 yd (910–1,370 m) further forward, by patrols from the reserve brigades into undefended ground, were left to the discretion of divisional commanders. The Fifth Army had 752 heavy guns and 1,442 field guns, with support from 300 heavy guns and 240 field guns belonging to the French First Army in the north and 112 heavy guns and 210 field guns of the Second Army to the south. Gough also intended to use 120 tanks to support the attack, with another 48 held in reserve.[a] Gough had five divisions of cavalry in reserve, a brigade of which was to be deployed if XIV Corps reached its objectives.

The preliminary bombardment was intended to destroy German strongpoints and trenches, cut barbed wire entanglements around German positions and to suppress German artillery with counter-battery fire. The first wave of infantry would advance under a creeping barrage moving at 100 yd (91 m) every four minutes, followed by more infantry advancing in columns or in artillery formation. British intelligence expected the Germans to make the Albrechtstellung their main line of resistance and to hold back counter-attacks until the British advance reached it, except on the Gheluvelt plateau where British intelligence expected the Germans to counter-attack quickly, given the importance of this commanding ground to both sides. II Corps faced the Gheluvelt plateau and was given closer objectives than the other Fifth Army corps, 1,000 yd (910 m) forward at Klein Zillebeke in the south and 2,500 yd (2,300 m) at the junction with XIX Corps, on the Ypres–Roulers railway to the north.

II Corps had five divisions at its disposal, compared to four each in the XIX, XVIII and XIV Corps. Three divisions and a brigade from one of the two divisions in reserve, would attack with support from approximately 43 percent of the Fifth Army artillery and the artillery of X Corps on the left flank of the Second Army.[b] Footnotes and appendices in the History of the Great War, show that far from neglecting Haig's desire to concentrate on the Gheluvelt plateau, Gough put a disproportionate amount of the Fifth Army artillery at the disposal of II Corps for the  3 1⁄3 divisions engaged on 31 July, compared to four divisions with two engaged and two in reserve in the other corps, with an average of 19 percent of the Fifth Army artillery each. The green line for II Corps was the shallowest, from a depth of 1,000 yd (910 m) on the southern flank at Klein Zillibeke, to 2,500 yd (2,300 m) on the northern flank along the Ypres–Roulers railway.[44] The green line from the southern flank of XIX Corps to the northern flank of XIV Corps required an advance of 2,500–3,500 yd (2,300–3,200 m).


British 18 pounder battery, taking up new positions near Boesinghe, 31 July

The French First Army had the 29th Division and 133rd Division of the XXXVI Corps (Lieutenant-General Charles Nollet) and the 1st Division, 2nd Division, 51st Division and 162nd Division of I Corps (Lieutenant-General Paul Lacapelle). The I Corps had suffered many casualties in the Nivelle Offensive but had been recruited mainly from northern France and had been rested from 21 April until 20 June. The XXXVI Corps had garrisoned the North Sea coast since 1915 and had not been involved in the mutinies that took place on the Aisne front. The First Army was given 240 × 75 mm field guns, 277 trench artillery pieces (mostly 58 mm mortars), 176 heavy howitzers and mortars, 136 heavy guns and 64 super-heavy guns and howitzers, 22 being of 305 mm or more, 893 guns and mortars for 4.3 miles (7 km) of front.

The 1re Armée had relieved the Belgian 4th Division and 5th Division from Boesinghe to Nordschoote from 5–10 July.[47] The 1re Armée was to advance with the 1st and 51st divisions of I Corps on the left of the Fifth Army as flank protection against a German counter-attack from the north.[48] The operation involved a substantial advance over difficult country, to capture the peninsula between the floods at the Martjevaart/St Jansbeek stream and the land between there and the Yser Canal south of Noordshoote. The advance was to be by bounds to objective lines behind a creeping barrage moving at 90 m (98 yd) every four minutes, with pauses to make sure that the French barrage kept pace with the British barrage. The first objective was the two German lines east of the Yser Canal and the second objective was the German third line.

A total advance of 5,000 yd (4,600 m) to the red line was not fundamental to the plan, being an attempt to provide enough discretion to the divisional commanders to make local advances without the need to request permission, based on the extent of local German resistance, in accordance with the manual SS 135. This was intended to avoid situations that had occurred in previous offensives, when vacant ground had not been promptly occupied and had then to be fought for in later attacks. Had the German defence collapsed and the red line been reached, the German Flandern I, II and III Stellungen would have been intact, except for Flandern I Stellung for a mile south of Broodseinde.[50] On 10 August, II Corps was required to reach the black line of 31 July, an advance of 400–900 yd (370–820 m) and at the Battle of Langemarck on 16 August, the Fifth Army was to advance 1,500 yd (1,400 m)

The Battle (2nd Army)

Due to the excellent observation possessed by the Germans, zero hour had been chosen for dawn at 3:50 a.m. but with mist and unbroken cloud at 500–800 ft (150–240 m), it was still dark when the British bombardment began. The shelling was maintained for six minutes, while the British infantry crossed the 200–300 yd (180–270 m) of no man's land, then the barrage began to creep forward at a rate of 100 yd (91 m) in four minutes. The attack extended from opposite Deûlémont in the Second Army area, to the boundary with the Fifth Army, to convince the Germans that a serious effort was being made to capture the Warneton–Zandvoorde line. The II Anzac Corps took the German outpost line west of the Lys river. The New Zealand Division captured La Basseville, south-west of Warneton, in street fighting with the German garrison, who eventually withdrew towards Warneton and the 3rd Australian Division captured outposts and strong points of the Warneton line near Gapaard.

To the north, IX Corps with the 39th and 19th divisions, advanced 500 yd (460 m) astride the Wambeke and Roosebeke streams and down the Oosttaverne spur between them, to the blue line (first objective) 1,000–1,500 yd (910–1,370 m) forward. The 19th Division attacked from Bee Farm in the south to Forret in the north. Two battalions of the 37th Division were attached to the right flank of the 19th Division to capture the blue line, from July to Bee Farms and revert to the command of the 37th Division for the next phase, for an attack south of July Farm. The 19th Division attack was conducted by the 56th Brigade, with three attacking battalions and one in reserve. Each battalion assembled in the front line and the support battalions took post in the old British front line, which had been made redundant by the Battle of Messines in June, then advanced to occupy the vacated front-line positions, when the attack began. Artillery support came from the 19th divisional artillery, the left group of the 37th divisional artillery and two 6-inch batteries of the IX Corps heavy artillery; a machine-gun barrage was to be fired by about 30 machine-guns. The right battalion reached the objective very quickly, capturing Junction Buildings, Tiny and Spider farms, as the 63rd Brigade battalions of the 37th Division formed a defensive flank by 4:10 a.m. One of the 37th Division battalions had gained touch with the rest of their division on the right but a gap of 300 yd (270 m) had opened between Wasp Farm and Fly Buildings. Further to the left a 19th Division battalion had reached the blue line but further on the left, companies of the next attacking battalion has been pushed back south and south-west of Forret Farm. Prisoners claimed that the attack was expected later in the day and that a measure of surprise was obtained. Mopping up and consolidation began, although the unexpected darkness made this difficult.

At about 5:30 a.m. German artillery fire increased and German soldiers were seen dribbling forward near Pillegrem's Farm, east of the junction with the 37th Division. Engineers and pioneers had begun work on strong points and communication trenches, despite the interference of the German barrage and by 11:00 a.m. had turned Tiny Farm into a strong point and completed communication trenches back to the old front line. More Germans were seen dribbling forward and small-arms fire became intense, when at 6:40 a.m. a smoke screen rose at the junction of the 19th and 37th divisions; the Germans attacked at 7:40 a.m. and overran some of the 63rd Brigade troops on the far right, only a small number getting back to Tiny Farm. Reinforcements from the 19th Division were prevented from reaching the old front line by German machine-gun fire. More reinforcements arrived and defensive flanks were formed, until a counter-attack on Rifle Farm was organised at 8:00 p.m., which succeeded until a fresh German attack moments later forced it back again. A second attack in the north on Forret Farm was repulsed late in the day and the division was ordered to consolidate.

X Corps attacked with the 41st Division on either side of the Comines canal, captured Hollebeke village and dug in 500–1,000 yd (460–910 m) east of Battle Wood. Much of the X Corps artillery was used to help the Fifth Army by counter-battery fire on the German artillery concentration behind Zandvoorde. The 41st Division attack was hampered by frequent German artillery bombardments, in the days before the attack and the officers laying out markings for the assembly tapes during the night of 30 July, exchanged fire with a German patrol. High explosive and gas shelling never stopped and one battalion lost 100 casualties in the last few days before the attack. At zero hour the attack began and the division advanced down the hill to the first German outposts. At one part of the battlefield German pillboxes had been built in lines from the front-line to the rear, from which machine-gunners kept up a steady fire. The strong points on the left were quickly suppressed but those on the right held out for longer and caused many casualties, before German infantry sallied from shelters, between the front and support lines on the right, to be repulsed by British small arms fire and that of a Vickers machine-gun, fired by the Colonel in command of the battalion. Mopping-up the remaining pillboxes failed, due to the number of casualties and a shortage of ammunition. It began to rain and at 4:00 a.m. many Germans were seen massing for a counter-attack. Reinforcements were called for and rapid fire opened on the German infantry but the attack succeeded in reaching the pillboxes still holding out on the right. The British artillery began firing as reinforcements arrived, the Germans were forced back and the last pillboxes captured. The front line had been advanced about 600–650 yd (550–590 m) on a front of 2,500 yd (2,300 m), from south of Hollebeke north to the area east of Klein Zillebeke.

The Battle (5th Army)

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The attack began at 3:50 a.m., which was intended to coincide with dawn but low cloud meant that it was still dark. The main British effort was made by II Corps across the Ghelveult Plateau, on the southern flank of the Fifth Army. II Corps had the most difficult task, advancing against the principal German defensive concentration of artillery, ground-holding and Eingreif divisions. The 17th Brigade on the right of 24th Division reached its objective 1,000 yd (910 m) east of Klein Zillebeke. The 73rd Brigade in the centre was stopped by German pillboxes at Lower Star Post and 72nd Brigade on the left reached the Bassevillebeek but then had to withdraw to a line south from Bodmin Copse, a few hundred yards short of the blue line (first objective).

The 30th Division with an attached brigade of the 18th Division, had to advance across the Gheluvelt plateau to Glencorse Wood. The 21st Brigade on the right lost the barrage as it crossed the wreckage of Sanctuary Wood and took until 6:00 a.m. to capture Stirling Castle Ridge. Attempts to advance further were stopped by German machine-gun fire. The 90th Brigade to the left was stopped on the first objective. German artillery fire fell on Sanctuary Wood and Chateau Wood from 5:00 a.m. and succeeded in stopping the advance, except for a short move forward of about 300 yd (270 m) south of Westhoek.[66] In the dark an 8th Division battalion had veered left into Château Wood and reported mistakenly that it had captured Glencorse Wood. The attached 53rd Brigade of 18th Division moved forward into ground that both divisions believed to be clear of German defenders. It was not until 9:00 a.m. that the mistake became known to the divisional commanders and the 53rd Brigade spent the rest of the day attacking an area that 30th Division had been intended to clear. The 30th Division and 24th Division failed to advance far due to the boggy ground, loss of direction in the dark and because much of the German machine-gun defence on this section of the front remained intact.

The 8th Division advanced towards Westhoek and took the Blue and Black lines relatively easily. The southern flank then became exposed to the concentrated fire of German machine-guns from Nonne Boschen and Glencorse Wood in the area to be taken by the 30th Division. The difficulties of the 30th Division further south were unknown to the 8th Division until just before the 25th Brigade was due to advance over Westhoek Ridge. Brigadier-General Coffin decided that it was too late to stop the attack and sent a company of the reserve battalion to fill the gap to the south, which was not enough to stop German enfilade fire, so the Brigade consolidated on the reverse slope and held the crest with Lewis-gun posts. Pockets of ground lost to German counter-attacks were regained by British counter-attacks. British artillery barrages made it impossible for German infantry advance further in this area.



XIX Corps attacked with 15th Division on the right, next to the II Corps boundary along the Ypres–Roulers railway and 55th Division north to just short of St Julien. Their objective was the black line up the bare slope of Frezenberg Ridge, then across the valley of the Steenbeek to the green line on the far side. If German resistance collapsed, reserve brigades were to advance to the red line beyond Gravenstafel. The advance went well but then increasing resistance from fortified farms caused delays. Several tanks managed to follow the British infantry and attack strong-points like Bank Farm and Border House, allowing the advance to continue. After a pause for consolidation on the black line, the reserve brigades of the XIX Corps divisions began their advance to the green line a mile beyond, as the sun came out and a mist formed. On the right the advance encountered enfilade fire, from the area not occupied by 8th Division beyond the Ypres–Roulers railway. The 164th Brigade of 55th Division had a hard fight through many German strong-points but took Hill 35 and crossed the Wilhelm (second) line, an eventual advance of about 4,000 yd (3,700 m). Patrols pressed beyond the Zonnebeek–Langemarck road, one platoon taking fifty prisoners at Aviatik Farm on Gravenstafel spur.

XVIII Corps reached the first objective and after an hour moved down to the Steenbeek, one of the muddiest parts of the battlefield, behind a smoke and shrapnel barrage. The 39th and 51st Divisions then established themselves on the stream for 3,000 yd (2,700 m), from St Julien to the Pilckem–Langemarck road. Several tanks were able to help capture strong-points delaying the advance and outposts were established across the stream.

The attack had most success in the north, in the area of XIV Corps, with the Guards Division and 38th Division and I Corps of the French First Army. A lack of German activity east of the Yser canal, had led to the Guards Division crossing it without artillery preparation in the afternoon of 27 July. The German front line was found to be empty so the Guards lurked forward 500–700 yd (460–640 m) beyond the canal, as did the French 1st Division on the left. The 38th Division front line was on the east side and it moved forward slightly, against German small-arms and artillery-fire.[75] On this section of the front, the Entente forces advanced 3,000–3,500 yd (2,700–3,200 m) to the line of the Steenbeek river. The preliminary bombardment had destroyed the front line of the German position and the creeping barrage supported the infantry attack at least as far as the first objective.[77] The infantry and some tanks dealt with German strong points, which were encountered after the first line and forward battle zone had been penetrated, pushing on towards the further objectives. A number of field batteries moved forward once the black line had been captured, to join those established there before the attack, which had remained silent to avoid detection. Small cavalry probes were also carried out but German fire stopped them before they reached the green line.


Guards Division, Pilckem Ridge, 31 July 1917

Première Armée

Two divisions of I Corps advanced at 3:50 a.m. on 31 July in a thick overcast, on a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) front, using 39 bridges thrown over the Yser canal since its occupation on 27 July. The German first line north to Steenstraat was taken easily and then the advance began on the second position.[80] The French kept pace with the Guards Division to the south, after a delay until 2:30 p.m. on the right at Colonel's Wood, caused by fire from German pillboxes, reached the final objectives then pressed on to take Bixschoote and Kortekeer Kabaret. In the early afternoon a German counter-attack at the junction of the Entente armies on the Steenbeek was repulsed. The position gained by the French was not easily defensible, consisting of craters half-full of water, which dissolved into rivulets when connected. Contact with the rear was difficult to maintain over the moonscape of shell-holes, many of them wide and of great depth but the French infantry had been issued supplies for four days to minimise the difficulty. The German 2nd Guard Reserve Division advanced through Houthoulst Forest towards the junction of the Fifth and French First armies but the attack bogged down in deep mud.[81] A prisoner said that in his company of about 150 men, barely fifty reached attacking distance and most of those took cover in shell-holes.[82] The first four days of August were exceptionally rainy, which added to the difficulty of maintaining troops in the ground captured on 31 July.[83] On 4 August despite the mud, the First Army advanced east of Kortekeer Kabaret and took two farms west of the road from Woumen to Steenstraat.


Inundations at Drei Grachten, Flanders, 1917

Air operations

On 26 July, 37 British fighters engaged fifty Albatros scouts near Polygon Wood. During the mêlée, four German reconnaissance aircraft were able to slip over the line and reconnoitre. Next evening eight British aircraft over Menin lured about twenty Albatros scouts to Polygon Wood, where 59 British fighters were waiting. Allied and German aircraft in the vicinity joined in the dogfight and after an hour the surviving German aircraft withdrew. The British decoys shot down six German aircraft and the ambushers another three while the British lost two aircraft. On 27 July a British reconnaissance aircraft detected an apparent German tactical withdrawal, which enabled XIV Corps to occupy 3,000 yd (2,700 m) of the German front line. Next day the fine weather allowed the British to conduct a large amount of air observation for counter-battery fire and to detect numerous German batteries which had been moved. By 31 July, the Allied air concentration from the Lys River to the sea consisted of 840 aircraft, 330 being fighter aircraft.The French contribution comprised three Groupes de Chasse (fighter groups) including Groupe de Combat 12 (Les Cigognes) of four escadrilles, two bomber squadrons, three artillery observation squadrons and seven observation balloons. Operations to deprive the Germans of air observation over the attack front were curtailed by poor weather on 29 and 30 July. On 31 July, low cloud returned and stopped the air operation in support of the ground offensive. Small numbers of aircraft were sent out to seek targets of opportunity and a small amount of contact patrolling was managed at very low level, giving some information about the progress of the ground battle and leaving thirty British aircraft damaged by bullets and shells.


23 Squadron Spad VII as flown by Capt. Clive Wilson Warman who claimed his 4th victory on this day.

[zenlizard]

Certainly a marathon effort on everyone's part. Well done.

[Flying Helmut]

Huge amount of work by every editor - many thanks!

[Hedeby]

August 1st 1917

Lets start with the weather and the rain that turned the land around Ypres into the sea of clinging life sucking mud that has become all to infamous over the past 100 yers whenever we think os Passchendaele.

In August 1917, 127 mm (5.0 in) of rain fell, 84 mm (3.3 in) on 1, 8, 14, 26 and 27 August; the weather was also overcast and windless, which much reduced evaporation. Divided into two ten-day and an eleven-day period, there were 53.6, 32.4 and 41.3 mm (2.11, 1.28 and 1.63 in) of rain that August In the 61 hours before 6:00 p.m. on 31 July, 12.5 mm (0.49 in) of rain fell and from 6:00 p.m. on 31 July to 6:00 p.m. on 4 August, there was 63 mm (2.5 in) of rain. There were three dry days and 14 days with less than 1 mm (0.039 in) of rain during the month. Three days were sunless and one had six minutes of sun; over 27 days there were 178.1 hours of sunshine, an average of 6.6 hours per day. Hussey wrote that the weather in August 1917 was exceptionally bad and Haig had been justified in expecting little rain, which would be dried by sunshine and breezes. Careful investigation of records of more than eighty years showed that in Flanders the weather broke early each August with the regularity of the Indian monsoon: once the Autumn rains set in difficulties would be greatly enhanced....Unfortunately, there now set in the wettest August for thirty years.



Temporary Captain Harold Ackroyd MC (Royal Army Medical Corps attached Royal Berkshire Regiment) works continuously disregarding danger tending wounded and saving the lives of officers and men in the front line at Ypres. In so doing he has to move across open ground under heavy machine gun, rifle and shell fire. On one occasion he carries a wounded officer to a place of safety under heavy fire and on another goes some way in front of the advanced line and brings in a wounded man under continuous sniper. For his actions Ackroyd will be awarded the Victoria Cross. He will be killed in ten days at Glencorse Wood, Ypres.



Harold Ackroyd was born on 18 July 1877 in Southport Lancashire the youngest son of Edward Ackroyd who ran a textile and tailoring business. Edward inherited a sizable fortune from his mother`s family in 1878 and became Chairman of the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway, a change in fortune which made a private education possible. Harold went to Mintholme College, Southport, a preparatory school and then on to a place at Shrewsbury School where he did well, participating in school sporting activities and as a member of the school Officers Training Corps. Harold then achieved entry to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge matriculating in October 1896 to follow his elder brother Edward, who had matriculated in 1893.[1] Harold was present at the vote to admit women to the title of degree in May 1897 which was defeated by 1707 to 661 votes. Harold completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1899 and continued his medical studies at Guy's Hospital, London.

Harold was appointed a House Officer at Guy's Hospital. He then went on to hospital appointments at the Birmingham General Hospital and the David Lewis Northern Hospital, Liverpool. Harold was of the generation and class where a doctor’s salary was not essential for a comfortable life. During the next few years, between medical jobs, he travelled to Europe on a number of occasions favouring river cruises. In 1908 he secured a British Medical Association scholarship and became a Research Scholar at Downing College, in the Pharmacological Laboratory and then in the Institute for the study of Animal Nutrition, Department of Agriculture, Cambridge. Harold worked with Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, Professor of Biochemistry and published three papers on Purine metabolism. The last paper was published in 1916 and was introduced by this generous tribute to Harold by his co-author:

"Several of the experiments described in this paper were made in 1914, the rest in 1915. My colleague has been long at the front, and in writing this paper I have been unable to consult him. He has had moreover no opportunity of reviewing the experimental results as a whole. If therefore it be held that the conclusions are not warranted by the facts I am alone responsible."



Britain entered the First World War on 4 August 1914. Initially the British Expeditionary Force (World War I) bore the brunt of the fighting but it soon became clear that general mobilisation was required and Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener was tasked with the job of forming his "New Army". In spite of being deeply involved in scientific research at Cambridge it appears Harold decided to join up in early 1915 and was commissioned Temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps on 15 February 1915. He was attached as Medical Officer to the 6th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment which formed part of the 53rd Infantry Brigade in the 18th Division. He went to training camps in Colchester and at Codford St Mary on the edge of the Salisbury Plain. The division sailed for France on 25 July 1915 and was posted to the Somme front taking over a portion of the front line held by the 5th Division on 22 August. By the end of 1915 the 18th Division had suffered 1247 casualties, the quietest four months in its history.

The Somme: On 15 February 1916 Harold was promoted to temporary Captain. The first half of 1916 saw a stalemate between the Allies and the German forces and the time was spent by the British preparing for the battle of the Somme that began on 1 July. The 18th Division was now part of the Fourth Army (United Kingdom) under Sir Henry Rawlinson. By the end of the first advance, the division had covered 3000 yards on a 2500-yard front and had seized Montauban Ridge on the west end of Montauban village. Six hundred and ninety five prisoners had been taken but the division suffered 3307 casualties.

Delville Wood might with every justification be regarded as the grave of the 53rd Brigade as it was constituted when it landed in France. It was here during fierce fighting for the possession of the wood on 19 July 1916 that Harold Ackroyd acted with such bravery that he was recommended eleven times for the award of the Victoria Cross. He was in the event awarded the Military Cross for this action.

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during operations. He attended the wounded under heavy fire, and finally, when he had seen that all our wounded from behind the line had been got in, he went out beyond the front line and brought in both our own and enemy wounded, although continually sniped at."

The following account of the action is based upon "The 18th Division in the Great War" by Captain G H F Nicholls (1922).

Captain Ackroyd, the Medical Officer of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, was described as a heroic figure during those two days of July. "The fighting was so confused and the wood so hard to search that the difficulties in evacuating the wounded seemed insuperable but Ackroyd, bespectacled and stooping, was so cool and purposeful and methodical that he cleared the whole wood of wounded British and Bosh as well."

Harold rescued many of the wounded from the 1st Infantry Brigade (South Africa) and there is a memorial to him in the room commemorating Delville Wood at Fort Beaufort Historical Museum, South Africa. He left the battalion on 11 August 1916 to return to England on sick leave. He was given six weeks' leave by the Army Medical Board and convalesced with his family in Cornwall and Royston. The nature of his injury is uncertain although a letter from Alfred J Clark dated 13 August 1917 to his widow Mabel suggested:

"We were all half sorry when he returned after getting blown up last July, we knew that if he came back he would go on taking appalling risks and that the end was almost a certainty. He of course knew this equally well."

This confirms that Harold was indeed injured in some way: when he returned to the front in the middle of November he took to wearing goggles to protect his eyes. However, he seems to have recovered quickly because in a letter to his brother Edward, dated 4 September after one week, he stated that "I am now quite well and fit to return to duty". He could not understand why he had been given so much sick leave and called the Army Medical Board "a bunch of old fossils." He also said ″I would hate the Battalion to go into action without me″. He was passed fit for service on 3 October and on 20 October was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in Delville Wood. He rejoined the regiment in November 1916.

The month of July 1917 was spent in preparation for the Ypres offensive: the third battle of Ypres, known as The Battle of Passchendaele. The battle commenced on 31 July 1917. The role of the 18th Division was to leapfrog the 30th Division (United Kingdom) after they had taken what became known as "the Black Line" through Glencorse Wood. Disaster struck and by a tragic mistake the 30th Division infantry wheeled to their left and assaulted Chateau Wood instead of Glencorse Wood. The misleading information that Glencorse Wood was in British hands caused the 53rd Brigade to plunge into a fatal gap. During 31 July and 1 August the 53rd Brigade fought against a fully prepared enemy for ground which the 30th Division should have taken. This fateful error caused the offensive in Glencorse Wood to be held up for several days with fierce fighting throughout this period.

Captain Nicholls in his history of the 18th Division records ″in all that hellish turmoil, there had been one quiet figure, most heroic, most wonderful of all. Dr Ackroyd, the 6th Berks Medical Officer, a stooping, grey haired, bespectacled man rose to the supreme heights that day. He seemed to be everywhere; he tended and bandaged scores of men for to him fell the rush of cases around Clapham Junction and towards Hooge. But no wounded man was treated hurriedly or unskilfully. Ackroyd worked as stoically as if he were in the quiet of an operating theatre. Complete absorption in his work was probably his secret. When it was all over there were 23 separate recommendations of his name for the Victoria Cross.″ Harold came through 31 July unscathed but died eleven days later on 11 August in Jargon Trench on the western edge of Glencorse Wood, shot in the head by a sniper. Harold Ackroyd was a temporary captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army attached to the 6th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, (Princess Charlotte of Wales`s) during the First World War: he was 40 years old when the following deed took place which was gazetted on 6 September 1917 and for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

For most conspicuous bravery. During recent operations Capt. Ackroyd displayed the greatest gallantry and devotion to duty. Utterly regardless of danger, he worked continuously for many hours up and down and in front of the line tending the wounded and saving the lives of officers and men. In so doing he had to move across the open under heavy machine-gun, rifle and shell fire. He carried a wounded officer to a place of safety under very heavy fire. On another occasion he went some way in front of our advanced line and brought in a wounded man under continuous sniping and machine-gun fire. His heroism was the means of saving many lives, and provided a magnificent example of courage, cheerfulness, and determination to the fighting men in whose midst he was carrying out his splendid work. This gallant officer has since been killed in action.

I think all our eaders will agree - a truly remarkable man.

Lieutenant Arthur Halstead AM MC (Duke of Wellington’s Regiment) dies of injuries he received the previous day when during instruction in bomb throwing a live bomb was accidentally dropped. Lieutenant Halstead placed himself between the bomb and the soldier who had dropped, in order to screen him, and tried to kick the bomb away, but it exploded, fatally wounding him. For his actions Lieutenant Halstead was awarded the Albert Medal posthumously.

Away from the Western Front for a bit....

The Battle of Mărășești (end of the 1st Phase)



On July 22, 1917, the Romanians launched a joint offensive with Russia against the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army, around Mărăști and the lower part of the Siret river, which resulted in the Battle of Mărăști. Although there was some initial success, a counter-offensive by the Central Powers in Galicia stopped the Romanian-Russian offensive. The offensive of the German Ninth Army, from the Army Group Mackensen, started on August 6, 1917, when the units of the Russian Fourth Army on the Siret River were expected to leave their positions to reinforce the front in the north of Moldavia and be replaced by the divisions of the Romanian First Army (commanded by General Constantin Cristescu until August 12, then by General Eremia Grigorescu).

For 29 days, until September 3, this sector was the scene of the most important battle delivered by the Romanian army during the 1917 campaign. The Battle of Mărășești had three distinct stages. During the first stage (August 6–12), successively committed to battle, the troops of the Romanian First Army, together with Russian forces, managed to arrest the enemy advance and forced the Germans, through their resistance, to gradually change the direction of their attack north-westward. In the second stage (August 13–19), the Romanian Command completely took over the command of the battle from the Russians and the confrontation reached its climax on August 19, ending in a complete thwarting of the enemy's attempts to advance. The third stage (August 20 – September 3) saw the last German attempt at least to improve their positions in view of a new offensive, this one too baffled by the Romanian response.

Starting with August 8, 1917, the fighting on the Mărășești front combined with an Austro-Hungarian-German offensive at Oituz. Holding out against superior enemy forces, by August 30 the Romanian troops stemmed the advance of the Gerok Group, successively reinforced with numerous forces and means, which only managed to achieve 2–6 km-deep and 18–20 km-wide breakthrough in the defensive disposition of the Romanian Second Army. The definitive discontinuing of the Central Powers' general offensive on the Romanian front on September 3, 1917 therefore marked their strategic defeat and a considerable weakening of their forces on the South-Eastern front, the response given by the Romanian army being the strongest blow they were dealt in East Europe in 1917.

Romania lost over 27,000 men, including 610 officers, while Germany and Austria-Hungary lost over 47,000. The Romanian heroine Ecaterina Teodoroiu was killed by machine gun fire on September 3.[2] Five days later, Karl von Wenninger (de), a Major General in the German Army, was killed by artillery fire near the village of Muncelu.



The War in the Air

The less than favourable weather kept flying to a minimum, however there was one confirmed aerial victory on this day...

Captain Lovell ****ens Baker 23 Squadron RFC


Any excuse to show my 2nd favourite plane...

The elder son of John Ridley Baker, of San Francisco, California, Lovell ****ens Baker flew SPADs with 23 Squadron and scored six victories. He was injured in a crash on 20 January 1919.

2 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1ST 1917

Default icon for roll of honour entries
Midshipman Barry, J.R. (James R.) 'F' Squadron, No.2 (N) Wing, Thermi RNAS
Flt. Lt. Richardson, W.H. (William H.) RNAS

Western Front

Germans counter-attack, retake St. Julien and regain some positions in Ypres-Roulers railway district.

French gains on west bank of Yser Canal.

Eastern Front

Enemy advance on Czernowitz; occupy positions near Bessarabian frontier. Russians retiring east; south of Dniester to Romanian frontier, Russians retiring rapidly. Enemy now holds 50 miles on west bank Zbrucz.

Political, etc.

The Pope sends out Peace Note.

and finally Captain Tunstill's Men: Again it is the weather that dominates...

The recent heavy rain continued. The Battalion would be engaged in musketry and field training for the next week.

In a letter home to his wife Brig. Genl. Lambert remarked, very presciently, on the heavy rain of the previous day and on the difficulties it would create in the renewed British attacks around Ypres (the Third Battle of Ypres, or Passchendaele); “It has been pouring steadily for the last 24 hours or so and puts our outdoor work at a difficulty. Still worse it will make the British attack which started yesterday much harder to carry on. The Hun has been lucky on these occasions and as a result of this weather he may still be able to hang on better than he would otherwise do. The country must be a quagmire to advance over and guns etc. are very difficult to move”. The restrictions imposed by the weather were also commented on in the Brigade War Diary, “hardly any work is possible owing to the continued rain during the first few days of the month”.

[Hedeby]

For those frustrated by the nanny state word censorship the pilot in question was Captain Lovell D I C K E N S Baker

[mikeemagnus]

Many thanks Chris. Good to have you back again Happy Aniversary too!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Just realized that we share Wedding anniversaries Chris.
Rob.

[johnbiggles]

An outstanding job by you all these last few days, my admiration for you all is beyond measure.
I have difficulty reading these lately, the scale of it all brings me to tears. How you manage to research and then publish it all; I am not surprised that you need to take turns, the emotional strain must be very great.

[mikeemagnus]

the scale of it all brings me to tears.

Me and thee both John.

Happy anniversary to you too Rob

[SeaJaySee]

An outstanding job by you all these last few days, my admiration for you all is beyond measure.
I have difficulty reading these lately, the scale of it all brings me to tears. How you manage to research and then publish it all; I am not surprised that you need to take turns, the emotional strain must be very great.

I guess I am not the only one who finds the little flag notification 'Go to last post' particularly pertinent on this thread. Especially on these notable events.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

As I do my research,what really gets to me is the useless waste of life of all these young men, who would have no real life to look back upon.
Yes it is heart rending, and I hope that we never get hardened to this aspect of our pastime. Those little plastic planes represent real lives sacrificed for whatever country the pilot flew. We can only play the game to honour them.
Rob.

[Hedeby]

Just realized that we share Wedding anniversaries Chris.
Rob.

31st July - mine was on a Thursday and I was only 22

[Hedeby]

I guess I am not the only one who finds the little flag notification 'Go to last post' particularly pertinent on this thread. Especially on these notable events.

I hadn't hought of that before Cam - excellent spot and indeed very poignant

[Hedeby]

Thanks for all the nice comments over the past days, it is a struggle some days, there is either too much to include or else you are scraping around trying to find an interesting story. I find myself wondering about the lives we report and the stories we tell. Everyone we have mentioned has by now become part of our history as no one survives from any side of this great conflict. I hope our endeavours make people think and help us to remember the sacrifces great and small that happened every day for four and half long years. If we can help preserve the memory of those valiant men from so many countries and so many walks of life then all the hours spent creating this will have been worthwhile. All this would be wasted if nobody read it, so a massive thank you to those who do.

2nd August 1917

Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning DSC (Royal Naval Air Service) becomes the first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship when he lands his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow. He will be killed in less than a week attempting the same manoeuver.

HMS Furious was a modified Courageous-class battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy (RN) during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and designed to be armed with only two heavy guns (18-inch), one forward and one aft, plus a number of lesser guns. Furious was modified and became an aircraft carrier while under construction. Her forward turret was removed and a flight deck was added in its place, such that aircraft had to manoeuvre around the superstructure to land. Later in the war, the ship had her rear turret removed and a second flight deck installed aft of the superstructure, but this was less than satisfactory due to air turbulence. Furious was briefly laid up after the war before she was reconstructed with a full-length flight deck in the early 1920s.

After her conversion, Furious was used extensively for trials of naval aircraft and later as a training carrier once the new armoured carriers like Ark Royal entered service in the late 1930s. During the early months of the Second World War the carrier spent her time hunting for German raiders in the North Atlantic and escorting convoys. This changed dramatically during the Norwegian Campaign in early 1940 when her aircraft provided air support to British troops ashore in addition to attacking German shipping. The first of what would be a large number of aircraft ferry missions was made by the carrier during the campaign. After the withdrawal of British troops in May, Furious made several anti-shipping strikes in Norway with little result before beginning a steady routine of ferrying aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

At first Furious made several trips to West Africa, but she began to ferry aircraft to Gibraltar in 1941. An unsuccessful attack on German-occupied ports on the Arctic Ocean interrupted the ferry missions in mid-1941. Furious was given a lengthy refit in the United States and spent a few months training after her return in April 1942. She made several more ferry trips in mid-1942 before her aircraft attacked airfields in Vichy French Algeria as part of the opening stages of Operation Torch in November 1942. The ship remained in the Mediterranean until February 1943 when she was transferred to the Home Fleet.

Furious spent most of 1943 training, but made a number of attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz and other targets in Norway during the first half of 1944. By September 1944, the ship was showing her age and she was placed in reserve. Furious was decommissioned in April 1945, but was not sold for scrap until 1948.



On 2 August 1917, while performing trials, Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup, believed to have been N6453, successfully on board Furious, becoming the first person to land an aircraft on a moving ship. On 7 August, he made one more successful landing in the same manner, but on his third attempt, in Pup N6452, the engine choked and the aircraft crashed off the starboard bow, killing him. The deck arrangement was unsatisfactory because aircraft had to manoeuvre around the superstructure to land.

In the meantime, all three Courageous-class ships were assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron (CS) in October 1917 when the Admiralty received word of German ship movements on 16 October, possibly indicating a raid. Admiral Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, ordered most of his light cruisers and destroyers to sea in an effort to locate the enemy ships. Furious was detached from the 1st CS and ordered to sweep along the 56th parallel as far as 4° East and to return before dark. Her half-sisters Courageous and Glorious were not initially ordered to sea, but were sent to reinforce the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron patrolling the central part of the North Sea later that day. Two German Brummer-class light cruisers managed to slip through the gaps in the British patrols and destroyed the Scandinavia convoy during the morning of 17 October, but no word was received of the engagement until that afternoon. The 1st CS was ordered to attempt to intercept the German ships, but they proved to be faster than expected and the British ships were unsuccessful.

The War in the Air

The following aerial victory claims were made on this day - none of them over the Western front

Antonio Amantea Italy #1



Called up in 1914, Antonio Amantea served with the 13th Field Artillery Regiment before transferring to the Battaglione Aviatori. He was the last surviving Italian ace of World War I. Amantea was working as an electrician when he was conscripted into Italian military in September 1914. He volunteered for aviation. A year later, on 1 September 1915, Sergente Amantea pinned on his wings. His first assignment was to fly artillery spotting missions in a Caudron G-3 on the Isonzo front. He flew 173 combat sorties over the next few months before being picked for fighter training in February 1917. In late March, he returned to action as a member of 71a Squadriglia, flying over the Asiago plateau. On 2 August 1917, he scored his first confirmed victory, although he had to break off his attack because of a bum magneto and sputtering engine and crashland his own plane. He submitted a claim for the 23rd that went unverified. However, he had better luck the next day, sharing a confirmed win over an Albatros D.III with Antonio Riva but not having a solo second victory confirmed.In December 1917, he upgraded to piloting a Spad VII. By the time he ended his triumphant string on 3 May 1918, he had posted nine victory claims to have five confirmed under the stringent rules used by the Italians.

Giorgio Pessi Italy #1



Although born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Giorgio Pessi chose to fight for Italy and in 1917 he adopted a new identity: Giuliano Parvis. On 6 November 1917, Pessi shot down Austro-Hungarian ace Rudolf Szepessy-Sokoll. Flying the SPAD VII, he downed six enemy aircraft during the war. Pessi transferred to aviation service. On 10 October 1916, he received his advanced pilot's license, having qualified on Nieuport 10s at Malpensa. He was retained there as an instructor until May 1917. On 3 May 1917, Pessi adopted the nom de guerre of Guilanio Parvis; he wanted to avoid repercussions from the vengeful Austro-Hungarians who considered him traitorous. Pessi then completed gunnery school at San Giusto. On 25 May 1917, he was posted to command of 82a Squadriglia despite his inexperience. On 13 June, he transferred to the 78a Squadriglia. The following month, he transferred to 91a Squadriglia. He would fly a Spad VII fighter emblazoned with his personal marking of a crescent moon.

Pessi scored his first aerial victory on 2 August 1917. He staked his eighth claim on 23 November 1917. All of his claims were for victories shared with such aces as Ferruccio Ranza, Giovanni Sabelli, and Francesco Baracca. He served with 91a Squadriglia until 16 March 1918. He was then transferred to the General Commissariat of the air force. It seems probable he upgraded his pilot's training in the next several months, as he arrived in the United States on 20 August 1918 as a Caproni Ca.5 pilot and saw out war's end there. The Caproni he brought to the United States was characterized as the world's largest flying machine.

Pier Piccio Italy #8 #9
Ferruccio Ranza Italy #6
Aleksandr Kozakov Russia #15

7 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON THURSDAY AUGUST 2ND 1917

Air Mech. 2 Chapman, J.V. (Joseph Vincent) Farnborough Flying School RFC
Air Mech. 2 Colley, J.F. (John Francis) 21 Training Squadron, Abbassia, Egypt RFC
2nd Lt. Hollamby, D.C. (Douglas Cleland) RFC
AC. 2 Kellett, A.H. (Archibald H) Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President'
Air Mech. 2 Lukehurst, F.L. H.M.S. 'Queen' RNAS
Lt. Michener, L.S.O. (Leo St Orban) 12 Training Depot Station RFC
Major Ross, A.J. (Arthur Justin) RFC

Mutiny breaks out on German battleship

On August 2, 1917, with British forces settling into new positions captured from the Germans in the much-contested Ypres Salient on the Western Front of World War I, Germany faces more trouble closer to home, as a mutiny breaks out aboard the German battleship Prinzregent Luitpold, anchored at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven.



During the August 2 mutiny, some 400 sailors marched into town calling for an end to the war and proclaiming their unwillingness to continue fighting. Although the demonstration was quickly brought under control by army officials and the sailors were persuaded to return to their ships without real violence that day, some 75 of them were arrested and imprisoned and the ringleaders of the mutiny were subsequently tried, convicted and executed. “I die with a curse on the German-militarist state,” one of them, Albin Kobis, wrote his parents before he was shot by an army firing squad at Cologne. As Willy Weber, another convicted sailor, whose death sentence was later commuted to 15 years in prison, put it: “Nobody wanted a revolution, we just wanted to be treated more like human beings.”

Discontent and rebellion within the German Imperial High Seas Fleet continued throughout the following year, as things went abysmally for Germany on the battlefields of the Western Front after the initial success of their spring offensive in 1918. It was rumored that naval commanders were plotting a last-ditch attempt, against the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Reichstag government, to confront the mighty British navy and break the Allied blockade in the North Sea. The force of this rumor, combined with sinking morale, led to an even more significant mutiny at Wilhelmshaven on October 29, 1918, sparked by the arrest of some 300 sailors who had refused to obey orders.

The unrest soon spread to another German port city, Kiel, where on November 3 some 3,000 German sailors and workers rose in revolt, taking over ships and buildings and brandishing the red flag of communism. The following day, November 4, the rebels at Kiel formed the first Workers’ and Soldiers’ Council in Germany, defying the national government and seeking to act in the spirit of the Russian soviets. On the same day, the government of the Austro-Hungarian Empire asked the Allies for an armistice, which they were granted. An isolated and internally divided Germany was forced to sue for its own armistice barely a week later, and the First World War came to an end.


German commerce raider "Seeadler" wrecked on Mopelia Island (Pacific)

SMS Seeadler (Ger: sea eagle) was a three-master windjammer. She was one of the last fighting sailing ships to be used in war when she served as a merchant raider with Imperial Germany in World War I. Built as the US-flagged Pass of Balmaha, she was captured by the German submarine SM U-36, and in 1916 converted to a commerce raider. As Seeadler she had a successful raiding career, capturing and sinking 15 ships in 225 days until she was wrecked, on AUgust 2nd 1917, in French Polynesia.


Look Tim - a SAILING ship !!!

Originally named Pass of Balmaha, she was built by Robert Duncan Company, Port Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888. She was a 1,571 GRT steel-hulled sailing vessel 245 feet (75 m) long owned by the Harris-Irby Cotton Company, Boston.

She was captured by U-36 in the North Sea en route to Kirkwall. The circumstances of her capture are somewhat peculiar. She departed from New York Harbor in June 1915. Originally bound for the Arctic port of Arkhangelsk to deliver a cargo of cotton for the Russian war effort, she was intercepted by the British auxiliary cruiser Victorian off the coast of Norway. A boarding party was sent aboard to inspect the cargo for contraband, headed by the captain of the cruiser. The British captain found reason to find the ship suspect, and ordered the captain of the Pass, Captain Scott, to set sail for Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands for further inspection. A prize crew of one officer and six marines was left aboard to ensure that Scott did not alter his course.

The British officer ordered the neutral American colours struck and replaced with the British flag, against the will of Captain Scott, who realised that this would mark his ship as a belligerent. Soon after, the U-36 intercepted the Pass. Out of a desire to avoid being impounded, Scott ordered the British hidden in the hold and the Union Jack quickly replaced with the Stars and Stripes. The commander of the U-36, Captain Ernst Gräff, was not entirely convinced by this ruse and ordered the Pass to sail for Cuxhaven for inspection. A German ensign was left aboard. The American crewmen, resentful of what they perceived as British meddling, locked the British marines in the hold to make sure that they did not attempt to retake the ship and cause unnecessary bloodshed.

The Pass of Balmaha reached Cuxhaven without major incident, and was boarded by a German inspection party. Captain Scott then revealed the seven British seamen to the Germans, who imprisoned them. For their cooperation, the Americans were allowed free passage to a neutral country, but the Pass became property of the German Navy.

By 1916 the Allies had blockaded German warships in the North Sea, and any commerce raiders that succeeded in breaking out lacked foreign or colonial bases for resupply of coal. This gave rise to the idea of equipping a sailing ship instead, since it would not require coaling.

The Seeadler was equipped with an auxiliary engine, hidden lounges, accommodation for additional crew and prisoners, two hidden 105 mm cannons that could emerge from the deck, two hidden heavy machine guns, and rifles for boarding parties. These weapons were rarely fired, and many of the 15 ships encountered by the Seeadler were sunk with only one single accidental casualty on either side during the entire journey. On 21 December 1916, she sailed under the command of Kapitänleutnant Felix von Luckner. The ship was disguised as a Norwegian wood carrier and succeeded in crossing the British blockading line despite being boarded for an inspection. The crew had been handpicked partly for their ability to speak Norwegian. Over the next 225 days, she captured 15 ships in the Atlantic and Pacific and led the British and US Navies on a merry chase. Her journey ended wrecked on a reef at the island of Mopelia 450 km from Tahiti in the Society Islands, part of French Polynesia. Luckner and some crew sailed for Fiji, where they were captured and imprisoned. A French schooner, the Lutece, of 126 tons was captured by the remaining crew on 5 September 1917. They sailed to Easter Island as Fortuna, arriving on 4 October and running aground there, after which they were interned by the Chilean authorities.



Western Front

Positions Ypres-Roulers retaken by British.

Germans attack Infantry Hill (east of Monchy-Arras) and carry some trenches.

Eastern Front

Generals Brusilov and Dmitriev resign. General Kornilov appointed Commander-in-Chief.


Political, etc.

M. Kerenski resigns.

Admiral Lacaze (Minister of Marine) and M. Denys Cochin (Under Secretary Foreign Affairs) resign from French Cabinet.

[Flying Helmut]

Attachment 229507

Attachment 229512
Look Tim - a SAILING ship !!!

I'm looking, but since this image only appears as an Attachment No. I can confidently state that I see NO SAILS!!!!!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Nor I.
Rob.

[mikeemagnus]

Nor I

[flash]

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

A nods as good as a wink to a blind bat.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

I resemble that remark!
Rob.

[Hedeby]

Oh FFS all the images were there when I uploaded this, I will edit before doing the latest edition

[Hedeby]

Sorted

[Hedeby]

Another day where the weather plays havoc with our attempts to bring you some interesting stories, but we will see what we can do...

RFC - no service flying was possible owing to unfavourable weather conditions.

RNAS - no flying took place owing to bad weather conditions.

Despite the above we still managed to lose seven airmen on this day

2nd Lt. Bailey, C.M. (Clive Maxwell) 59 Training Squadron RFC
Pte. Brook, L.E. (Lowie Ellis) 6 Squadron attached 218th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
2nd Lt. Crerar, M.C. (Malcolm Charlton) 14 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Fullalove, G.Y. (George Young) 55 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. James, R.L. (Ralph Lionel) RFC
Cpl. Lawson, B. (Benjamin) 42 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 1 Moorcroft, F.J. (Frederick John) 42 Squadron RFC

There were only two claims on this day, both by Italian Pilots

Francesco Baracca Italy #16
Flavio Baracchini Italy #11

930 British lives were lost today

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Major Cyril Farmer DSO (Royal Garrison Artillery attached Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action at age 33. He is the son of the late Reverend C H Farmer.
Major John De Havilland Chisholm-Batten (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 28. His brother was killed in September 1915.
Captain William Popkiss Stidston (Leinster Regiment) dies of wounds at age 33. He is the son of the late Reverend Samuel Stidston Vicar of Shaugh Prior.
Captain Charles Cadwaladar Trevor-Roper (Hampshire Regiment) dies of wounds received the previous day at age 33. His son Flight Lieutenant Richard Dacre Trevor-Roper will serve in Guy Gibson’s crew for the “Dambusters Raid” and will be killed on 31st March 1944 at age 28. His brother will be killed next month serving in the Royal Fusiliers
Second Lieutenant Henry St John Saunders-Jones (Punjabis) is killed in Dar es Salaam at age 22. He is the son of the Reverend David Saunders-Jones.
Second Lieutenant Roger Paul Hepburn (Royal Engineers) dies of wounds at age 24. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Thomas Henry and Lady Hepburn.
Second Lieutenant Autini Pitara Kaipara (New Zealand Pioneers) is killed at 30 during the wiring of the posts in from of La Basseville when he is struck by a piece of shell while assisting to carry his wounded batman Nikora Te Tuhi into a sap. Te Tuhi will die wounds tomorrow. Kaipara is Captain of North Island and a New Zealand Maori Rugby player.



Western Front

British retake St. Julien and positions on Infantry Hill.

Eastern Front

Fall of Czernowitz.

Kimpolung (Romanian front) evacuated.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Heavy fighting German East Africa; enemy compelled to withdraw along Lindi-Masasi road (80 miles south-west of Port Lindi).


Capt. Tunstill's Men: The weather remained very wet and the Battalion was again involved in musketry practice on the ranges.

Brig. Genl. Lambert (see 2nd August) again despaired of the impact of the weather, “it was fine for a bit of the night but since then has again been pouring almost more heavily than ever. The trenches must be waterlogged! I suppose we shall be wanted somewhere soon, but meanwhile we are comparatively comfortable, though I wish we could have got on with some training instead of this endless rain”.

The funeral of Gnr. John George Waggitt (see 1st August) was held at Addingham Parish Church. His body had been recovered, on the previous Tuesday, from shallow water just below the bridge at Heber's Ghyll, on the edge of Ilkley Moor. He was the brother of L.Cpl. Willie Waggitt (see 1st August), who had been killed at Le Sars in October 1916. The Craven Herald would subsequently (10th August) report on the funeral;

“The members of the Addingham Platoon of the West Riding Volunteers, in command of Sergt. Baker, met the mourners at the top of the village, and formed an escort to the Church. The service in the Church and at the graveside was conducted by the Rev. J.W. Hall (rector). The firing party fired a military salute and the 'Last Post' was sounded. The chief mourners were Mr. and Mrs. Waggitt, Miss Waggitt, Miss Hannah Waggitt, Miss Lily Waggitt (sisters), Mr. and. Mrs. Lister Ellis, Mr. and Mrs. C. Brown, Mrs. Nixon, Mrs. Gregson (Moorside), Mr. Capstick (Woodhouse, Ilkley), Mr. Watson and Mr. E. Thackray (Netherwood), Mr. S. Whiteoak, Mr. John Rishworth, Mr. H. Todd, Mr. W. Lancaster, Mr. H. Moore, Mr. James Pighills, Mr. Bell, Mr. J. Gill, Mr. J. Rishworth, jun., Mr. A. Kendall, Mr. Charles Dewhurst (Moorside), Mr. L. Steel (Turner Lane), Mr. H. Mason, and Mr. R. Thompson (Gildersber).

Wreaths were sent from Nellie, Hannah, Lily, and Fred (somewhere in France), "In loving memory of our dear brothers John and Willie" (Willie fell in France about nine months ago), Mr. and Mrs. Nixon and Master Everitt and John Nixon. There was a large gathering of the public out of sympathy with the bereaved family”.

The Craven Herald also reported news of an appeal before the Skipton Military Tribunal by Mrs. Judith Carlton, mother of the late Pte. Frederick George Carlton (see 27th October), who had been officially ‘missing in action’ since the engagement at Le Sars on 5th October. According to the report, in appealing on behalf of another son, who was a carter for the Midland Railway Company, Mrs. Carlton told the Tribunal that “two of her sons had already been wounded, another had been missing ten months, while a fourth son was at present on active service in France” and that, “They cannot take any more now unless they take me and my husband. I am willing to go if they will have me”. Her appeal was refused.


Pack mules carrying artillery shells near Pilckem on 3 August 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres.

[Hedeby]

Pretty meagre fare yesterday, hopefully some better stories today, but not much to write about when everyone is knee deep in mud trying to avoid the never ending rain....

4th August 1917

We will start to day with the loss of a remarkable hero THE ONLY MAN TO BE AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS TWICE IN WORLD WAR ONE !!!



Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC & bar MC (Royal Army Medical Corps attached London Regiment) is killed in action at age 32. He is the second of identical twins sons of the Reverend Francis James Chavase Bishop of Liverpool and one of only three double Victoria Cross winners in the history of the award. His younger brother Adrian was killed in action last month. He and his twin brother represented England in the 1908 Olympics where they ran the 400 metres. Noel finished second in his heat while Christopher finished third neither time being fast enough to advance. In early 1913 he applied for and was accepted by the Royal Army Medical Corps and he was attached to the Liverpool Scottish as surgeon-lieutenant. Captain Francis Chavasse (Sikh Pioneers) Noel’s cousin was killed in Aden in June 1915. Another cousin Lieutenant Arthur Chavasse, also a doctor, died of pneumonia in March 1916. In the Battle of the Somme another of his cousins Second Lieutenant Louis Edward Joseph Maude (King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) was killed near Ovilliers.



Chavasse was first awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 9th August 1916, at Guillemont when he attended to the wounded all day under heavy fire. During an attack he tended the wounded in the open all day, under heavy fire, frequently in view of the enemy. During the ensuing night he searched for wounded on the ground in front of the enemy’s lines for four hours. The next day he took one stretcher-bearer to the advanced trenches, and under heavy shell fire carried an urgent case for 500 yards into safety, being wounded in the side by a shell splinter during the journey. The same night he took up a party of twenty volunteers, rescued three wounded men from a shell hole twenty-five yards from the enemy’s trench, buried the bodies of two officers and collected many identity discs although fired on by bombs and machine guns. Altogether he saved the lives of some twenty badly wounded men, besides the ordinary cases which passed through his hands.

Chavasse’s second award was made during the period 31st July to today at Wieltje, Belgium. Though severely wounded early in the action while carrying a wounded soldier to the Dressing Station, he refused to leave his post, and for two days not only continued to perform his duties, but in addition went out repeatedly under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who were lying out. During these searches, although practically without food during this period, worn with fatigue and faint with his wound, he assisted to carry in a number of badly wounded men, over heavy and difficult ground. By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example, he was instrumental in rescuing many wounded who would have otherwise undoubtedly succumbed under the bad weather conditions. At about 03:00 today a shell enters the aid post, he is sitting in a chair trying to get some sleep. Everyone in the aid post is either killed or seriously wounded. Chavasse received four or five wounds, the worst being a gaping abdominal wound from which he bleeds profusely. He manages to crawl up the stairs and out of the dugout and crawls along the flooded, muddy road until he stumbles across a dugout occupied by an officer of the Loyal North Lancs Regiment who sends for help. He is sent to Casualty Clearing Station No. 32 at Brandhoek, which specialises in abdominal wounds. He is operated on immediately and after all the shell splinters have been removed he is patched up and he regains consciousness for a short period of time but dies later today.

Early Life

Noel Godfrey Chavasse was the younger of identical twin boys born to the Rev. Francis Chavasse (later Bishop of Liverpool and founder of St Peter's College, Oxford) and Edith Jane Chavasse (née Maude) on 9 November 1884 at 36 New Inn Hall Street, Oxford.Christopher Maude was born 20 minutes before his brother. In all, there were seven children born to the Chavasse family, in age order: Dorothea, Christopher, Noel, Edith, Mary, Francis and Aidan. The twins were so small and weak at birth that their baptism was delayed until 29 December 1884 and both were very ill with typhoid in their first year of life. Chavasse was educated at Magdalen College School in Cowley Place, Oxford, where a blue plaque was dedicated to him in 2005, Liverpool College and Trinity College, Oxford. The family grew up in Oxford until, on 3 March 1900, Rev. Chavasse was offered the Anglican Bishopric of Liverpool. The move was not without regrets as Liverpool during this time was one of the busiest seaports in the Empire and also had a great deal of religious turmoil in progress. The family moved to the Bishop's Palace at 19 Abercromby Square, Liverpool. Noel and Christopher went to school at Liverpool College where they excelled at sports from the start. Their academic progress was initially rather slower but as they grew older, both did well until in 1904, both were admitted to Trinity College, Oxford.

In 1907, Noel graduated with First-class honours but Christopher failed, leading to a nervous breakdown. Both of them stayed at Oxford, Noel to study medicine and Christopher to retake his exams. During their time at Trinity, both men had not neglected their sports, rugby union being a favourite of theirs. In 1908, both twins represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games in the 400 metres. Noel finished third in his heat while Christopher finished second, but only the heat winners progressed to the semi-finals. In January 1909, Noel joined the Oxford University Officers' Training Corps Medical Unit. By the following May, he was promoted to lance-sergeant. Noel finished his studies at Oxford in July 1909 and returned to Liverpool to continue his studies under such eminent teachers as Sir Robert Jones, who went on to become a leading authority in orthopaedic surgery. On returning to Liverpool, Chavasse resumed his connection with the Grafton Street Industrial School, an institution for homeless boys in Liverpool. In the autumn, he went to London to sit his examination for Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. He failed, apparently because of ill health. When he sat the examination again in May 1910, he passed it with ease. Christopher, in the meantime, was well into his studies for the ministry under his father's guiding hand. Noel progressed through his studies, having studied pathology and bacteriology. As part of his course, he was obliged to undertake a hospital "placement". He found a position at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. Whilst Chavasse liked Dublin, his first experience of living in a Roman Catholic community disturbed him. In January 1912, Chavasse passed his final medical examination, and was awarded the university's premier medical prize, the Derby Exhibition, in March that year. On 22 July 1912, he registered as a doctor with the General Medical Council. His first placement was at the Royal Southern Hospital in Liverpool,initially until 31 March 1913, and then for a further six months. He then became house surgeon to Robert Jones, his former tutor.

Citations

Chavasse was first awarded the VC for his actions on 9 August 1916, at Guillemont, France when he attended to the wounded all day under heavy fire. The full citation was published on 24 October 1916 and read:

Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, M.C., M.B., Royal Army Medical Corps.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty.

During an attack he tended the wounded in the open all day, under heavy fire, frequently in view of the enemy. During the ensuing night he searched for wounded on the ground in front of the enemy's lines for four hours.

Next day he took one stretcher-bearer to the advanced trenches, and under heavy shell fire carried an urgent case for 500 yards into safety, being wounded in the side by a shell splinter during the journey. The same night he took up a party of twenty volunteers, rescued three wounded men from a shell hole twenty-five yards from the enemy's trench, buried the bodies of two officers, and collected many identity discs, although fired on by bombs and machine guns.

Altogether he saved the lives of some twenty badly wounded men, besides the ordinary cases which passed through his hands. His courage and self-sacrifice, were beyond praise.

Bar to the VC

Chavasse's second award was made during the period 31 July to 2 August 1917, at Wieltje, Belgium; the full citation was published on 14 September 1917 and read:[10]

War Office, September, 1917.

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of a Bar to the Victoria Cross to Capt. Noel Godfrey Chavasse, V.C., M.C., late R.A.M.C., attd. L'pool R.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when in action.

Though severely wounded early in the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the Dressing Station, Capt. Chavasse refused to leave his post, and for two days not only continued to perform his duties, but in addition went out repeatedly under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who were lying out.

During these searches, although practically without food during this period, worn with fatigue and faint with his wound, he assisted to carry in a number of badly wounded men, over heavy and difficult ground.

By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example, he was instrumental in rescuing many wounded who would have otherwise undoubtedly succumbed under the bad weather conditions.

This devoted and gallant officer subsequently died of his wounds.


Chavasse died of his wounds in Brandhoek and is buried at Brandhoek New Military Cemetery, Vlamertinge. His military headstone carries, uniquely, a representation of two Victoria Crosses.Chavasse was the only man to be awarded both a Victoria Cross and Bar in the First World War, and one of only three men ever to have achieved this distinction.



Sometimes when we find these stories we are simply lost for words - now is one of those instances. The bravery of the man was simply breathtaking. R.I.P. Captain Chavasse you have earned it.

Not sure how I can follow that to be honest - but here is what else was happening...

Amongst the ships lost on this day were these (both to U-Boats)

The merchantman S S Cairnstrath (Master F W Thompson) is torpedoed and sunk by UC-71 in the Bay of Biscay 6 miles south southwest from Ile du Pilier with the loss of twenty-two including the master, also killed is Ordinary Seaman Andrew Bell age 17 who has three brothers who will be killed in the Great War.

S S Countess of Mar (Master George MacD Dobbie) is torpedoed and sunk off Bayonne by U-61. Among the twenty lost is the ship’s Master and Deck Hand Charles Thomas Withey (Royal Naval Reserve) who is lost at age 26. His brother was killed last April.

1 AIRMAN HAS FALLEN ON SATURDAY AUGUST 4TH 1917

2nd Lt. Dennett, T.F.P.T. (Thomas Frank Preston Thwaites) 52 Squadron RFC

There was one aerial victory claim on this day (and that was a. on the Italian front and b. unconfirmed)

Linienschiffsleutnant Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield Pola Naval Air Station - he show down a Caproni whilst flying Oeffag H FB (A-11)



Banfield was the Empire's highest scoring naval ace and the only Austro-Hungarian airman to receive the Empire's highest honor: the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. An excellent marksman, he scored all nine victories from flying boats. Participating in more than 400 sorties against the enemy, he was the first Austro-Hungarian airman to score a victory at night. Flying a Lohner two-seater on 27 June 1915, he scored his first victory, downing an Italian balloon near the mouth of the Isonzo River. In February 1916, he assumed command of the naval air station at Trieste for the duration of the war. Following his marriage to Countess Maria Tripcovich of Trieste in 1920, Banfield became head of his father-in-law's shipping company.



Second Lieutenant Ernest Denny (London Regiment attached King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed in action at age 29. He is one of the Great War Poets and author of “Lest I No More Come Back” and “The Last Adventure”.



Ernest Denny was a Yorkshire man by origin, born in West Wisling to parents Robert William and Ellen Hannah Denny. He trained as a teacher and during his attendance at the Reading University College he was a notable presence not only in the sporting sphere but the academic and political as well. Denny was Deputy Tennis Captain for the years 1914-1915 but did not limit himself, as in the same year he was a member of the Student Union Representative Council, on the committee for the Debating Society, Vice President of Shells, Cofferer of the Gild of the Red Rose and Sub-Editor of Tamesis, the student magazine. Denny was also a poet and his book ‘Triumphant laughter: Poems, 1914-1917’ was published after his death. During the war he served with the 15th battalion London Regiment and died of his wounds in Belgium. He is buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery.

Eastern Front

Russians rally and attack enemy on Zbrucz River; elsewhere Russian retreat continues.

Political, etc.

King and Queen attend special service at Westminster Abbey for third anniversary of war.

M. Kerenski withdraws resignation at request of All Parties Conference; new Cabinet constituted.

We will finish today with the one line written in the diary of Captain Tunstill's Men: The weather continued to be very wet, with heavy rain throughout the day.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

What an inspiring story of bravery and dedication to his fellow men.
R.I.P. Captain Chavasse indeed.
Rob.

[Hedeby]

5th August 1917

At about 06:00 four small advanced listening posts near Groenenburg Farm occupied by the East Surrey Regiment repel in a thick mist an attack on their left flank by thirty-five to fifty Germans. About 08:00 another attack from the front is driven off with loss to the enemy, but a third attack, this time on their left right flank, compels the garrisons of the post to fall back through Jordan Trench to the supporting post known as Alarm Weg leaving approximately fifteen behind either dead or wounded. Later in the morning the Commanding Officer, comes up to make a personal reconnaissance. While observing over the parapet, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Victor Mottet de la Fontaine DSO (commanding 5th East Surrey Regiment) age 44 is shot through the head by a German sniper while investigating his battalion’s situation after an enemy counter-attack, dying soon afterwards. He is a South African War veteran. Second Lieutenant L H Webb returns with valuable information and that night leads forward under heavy shell fire a party which re-establishes the front line. For this service he will awarded the Military Cross.



Temporary Lieutenant Colonel Bertram Best-Dunkley (Lancashire Fusiliers) dies of wounds received in action at Wieltje, Belgium performing the acts on the 31st July that will win him the posthumous Victoria Cross. He dies at age 27.



Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Henry Boardman DSO (commanding 8th Inniskilling Fusiliers) dies of wounds.
Major John Charles Temple Gaskell (Punjabis attached Baluchis) is killed in Dar Es Salaam at age 34. He is the son of the Reverend Thomas Kynaston Gaskell Rector of Longthorpe who lost another son in the sinking of HMS Good Hope.
Captain and Adjutant Frank Symons Mills (Somerset Light Infantry) is killed at age 32. He is the son of the Reverend Benjamin Mills Vicar of Christ Church Ploymouth.
Captain E M Cunningham MC (Duke of Wellington’s Regiment) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend Thomas Scudamore Cunningham.

In total 840 British lives were lost on this day.

However there was just the one airman lost on this day.

1 AIRMAN HAS FALLEN ON SUNDAY AUGUST 5TH 1917

Boy Mackey, W.J. (William James) Cranwell Central Depot and Training Establishment. Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'Daedalus'

There was more aerial activity on this day however and the following claims were made...

William Bishop Canada #39 #40
Conrad Tolendal Lally Canada #3

Lt. Colenel Andrew McKeever Canada #9 #10 #11 (11 Squadron RFC - Bristol F2B No.7144



When the war began, Andrew Edward McKeever joined the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and quickly proved to be an expert marksman in the trenches of France. Towards the end of 1916, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and was assigned to 11 Squadron in May 1917. At that time, the squadron was replacing its outdated B.E.2s. Scoring all of his victories with the Bristol Fighter, McKeever was the highest scoring ace to fly this aircraft during World War I. He was also the highest scoring ace to serve with 11 Squadron. His last aerial combat of the war occurred just before noon on 30 November 1917. On that day, he and his observer, L. A. Powell, engaged two enemy two-seaters protected by a flight of seven Albatros D.Vs. During the battle that followed, McKeever and Powell shot down four of the scouts. After the war, McKeever returned to Canada, then took a job in 1919 as the manager of an airfield in the United States. He died in hospital following an operation for injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Stratford, Ontario on 3 September 1919. He was 25 years of age.


McKeever's Brisfit (I know - any excuse....) Although this is his plane from 1918

His citation for the first of his Military Crosses.

2nd Lt Andrew Edward McKeever, R.F.C., Spec. Res.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, particularly when on offensive patrol. He attacked eight enemy aircraft single-handed at close range, and by his splendid dash and determination destroyed one and drove five down completely out of control. He had previously shown exceptional fearlessness in attacking the enemy when in superior numbers, and in the space of three weeks he destroyed eight hostile machines, setting a very fine example to his squadron.

Leonard Barlow England #7
Spencer Horn England #3

Flight Commander Thomas Le Mesurier England #2 #3 DH.4 N5967



The son of Ernest Cecil and Gertrude Le Mesurier, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Frederick Le Mesurier received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2753 on a Maurice Farman biplane at Central Flying School, Upavon on 17 March 1916. Posted to 5 Naval Squadron, he scored seven victories flying the D.H.4 in 1917.



Harry Scandrett England #4
Heinrich Gontermann Germany #26
Kurt Wissemann Germany #2
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #7
William Molesworth Ireland #5
Donat Makeenok Russia #8
Vasili Yanchenko Russia #13
James Fitz Morris Scotland #4

Captain Tunstill's Men: The heavy rain of the last week finally abated, and the day was fine, though with a thick mist in the morning.

Following the departure of Maj. Charles Bathurst (see 4th July) to a senior officers’ course and Capt. Hugh William Lester MC (see 13th July), who had been posted to duty with 23rd Division, and with the Battalion short of senior, experienced officers, Maj. Edward Borrow, of 13DLI, was temporarily attached as second-in-command. Borrow was 37 years old (born 8th November 1879) and originally from London. His father had worked as a grain broker and Edward had followed the same profession, working in the USA from 1906. He had served as a Lance Corporal with 69th (Sussex) Company, 7th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War and following the outbreak of war in 1914 he had volunteered for King Edward’s Horse, taking five years off his true on his attestation to be sure of being accepted. After just a month he had been discharged to a commission as Second Lieutenant with 13DLI. He had been appointed Adjutant on 6th November and promoted Lieutenant on 21st November. He had married Alys Mabel Constance Read on 30th April 1915. He had then been promoted Captain in May 1915 and had gone to France with his Battalion on 25th August 1915, being further promoted Major on 4th March 1917.


Major Edward Borrow

Western Front

Germans regain footing in Hollebeke, but are driven out in course of day.

Eastern Front

Enemy now 10 miles east of Czernowitz.

Vama (Bukovina front) occupied by enemy.

Political, etc.

New German Ministry announced (von Kuhlmann Foreign Minister).

Sponsored Links

[mikeemagnus]

Thanks Chris - very interesting posts

[Hedeby]

Thanks Mike - hard work at the moment - just not that much written eveidence (in English) around at the moment

[Hedeby]

August 6th 1917

The British line advances south-west and west from Lens.

The War in The Air

Major Roy Cecil Phillipps 2 Squadron Austrailian Flying Corps, is shot down but escapes with only minor injuries. The son of William Hargreave and Cecil Raymond Phillips, Roy Cecil Phillips was an accountant from Perth when he enlisted. He served with the 28th Battalion but was wounded and, upon recovering, transferred to the Australian Flying Corps. He scored fifteen victories during World War I and served with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. Squadron Leader Phillips died in 1941 at the age of 45.



MONDAY, 6 AUGUST 1917

Artillery Co-operation — 33 hostile batteries were successfully engaged from aeroplane observation.

Photography — 230 photographs were taken during the day.

Miscellaneous — Owing to a heavy ground mist Lts A W Little & J G Sharpe, 34 Squadron, went a long way over the enemy's lines in order to locate hostile batteries. They were heavily fired at with machine gun fire, but not by anti-aircraft until they turned west, when both "Archie" and machine gun fire was very severe. One machine gun was observed on top of a house, so the pilot dived at it and it was temporarily silenced. He returned to Middelkerke and the RE8 was hit by antiaircraft fire and its engine damaged. The pilot glided in a westerly direction, while heavily fired at the whole time, and landed 300 yards the other side of the canal. The machine turned over and the Observer was thrown clear, but the pilot had to be helped out. They both ran along the beach under heavy fire from rifle and machine guns, then threw off their heavier garments and dived into the canal. Barbed wire greatly retarded their progress, but eventually they reached the opposite side, and after further exciting experiences, were taken in charge by a sentry and finally taken to the HQ of the Manchester Regiment. While running along the opposite bank eight Germans pursued them to the edge of the canal, and then two of the enemy took shelter in a barrel in the remains of an old bridge. This barrel was riddled with bullets from our front. Lt Little got the gunners to open fire on his RE8 and it was soon destroyed.

Enemy Aircraft -

Capt William Avery Bishop, 60 Sqn, SE5 A8936, Albatros Scout crashed Brebières at 15:45/16:45 - Captain W A Bishop, 60 Squadron, saw three EA below him when near Vis-en-Artois, so flew over a cloud using it as a cover, then dived through and opened fire at the EA. As they did not return fire he suspected a trap so zoomed up through the cloud and found that three other EA scouts were diving to attack him. He opened fire at the nearest one which fell out of control and crashed. After this, Captain Bishop was joined by Capt C M Clement & Lt Carter in a Bristol Fighter of 11 Squadron, and the two machines then attacked the EA and dispersed them



Here also are the reports from yesterday - realsed today

General Headquarters, August 6th.

“Yesterday, after several days of inactivity due to unfavourable weather, our aeroplanes were again able to carry out successful bombing raids and other work. In air fighting five German aeroplanes were brought down, one pf which was forced to land behind our lines, and three others were driven down out of control. One of our machines is missing.”

RNAS - No reconnaissances owing to bad weather and low clouds. Usual fighter patrols over the fleet, and one patrol escorting bombing machines up the coast. A bombing raid was carried out by DH4s of No 5 Sqn RNAS; nine 65-lb and fifty-one 16-lb bombs were dropped on Snelleghem aerodrome and two direct hits were observed.

While dropping bombs on Mouveaux aerodrome, DH4s of 25 Squadron engaged five Albatros scouts, and one was shot down in flames by Capt Morris & Lt Burgess and another seen to crash after having been engaged by Lts C T Lally & Blackett. A bombing flight of No 5 Squadron RNAS was attacked by EA whilst approaching their target. Flt Cdr T F Le Messurier and Gunlayer Jackson engaged four, the tail plane of one coming off in the air, which went down completely out of control. Flt Sub-Lt J S Wrightand Gunlayer Lovelock also drove a machine down out of control about the same time. On the way back, the formation was again attacked by six EA. Flt Cdr T F Le Messurier and Gunlayer Jackson and A/Flt Cdr R J Slade and Gunlayer Darby each succeeded in driving down an EA out of control. All machines returned safely. Lt A McKeever & 2nd Lt L A Powell, 11 Squadron, attacked an Albatros scout which they shot down out of control. Immediately after this, another Albatros scout came out of the clouds and was shot down in flames by the same pilot and Observer, who had several indecisive combats but succeeded in shooting down a third Albatros scout which fell out of control



4 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY AUGUST 6TH 1917

2nd Lt. Clark, J. (John) 7 Training Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Green, J.W. (John William) Cranwell Central Depot and Training Establishment Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'Daedalus'
2nd. Lt Rishworth, K. (Keith) RFC
2nd. Lt Wall, A.G.N. (Arthur Geoffrey Nelson) 7 Training Squadron RFC

643 British Lives were lost on this day:

Captain Maurice George Trousdell (Army Service Corps) is killed at age 33. His brother was killed as a passenger on SS Falaba when she was sunk in March 1915.



Lieutenant Andrew Beaconsfield Ross (Royal Army Medical Corps attached Royal Irish Rifles) is killed in action at age 39. His is the son of James Ross JP.
Lieutenant ‘the Honorable’ Gavin William Esmond Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (Scots Guards) dies of wounds received at Steenbeck River, Langemarck at age 22. He is the youngest son of the 4th Earl and Coutess of Minto.
Second Lieutenant John James Fraser Shand (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed on Salonika at age 19. He is the son of Surgeon Rear Admiral J Shand. Lance
Corporal William Fleming (Scots Guards) dies of wounds received in action at age 21. His brother died of wounds in April of this year.
Private Reginald Humphrey Harrington (Australian Infantry) dies of wounds received at Messines at age 23. His older brother died of wounds as a prisoner of war in May of this year.
Private John Fitchett (Black Watch) dies of wounds at age 25. His brother was killed less than one month previously in the explosion of HMS Vanguard.
Private Walter Harold Cox (Wiltshire Regiment) dies of wounds at age 27. He is a former police constable with the Wiltshire Constabulary and his brother died of wounds in September 1915.
Private Henry Hickmott (Royal Fusiliers) is killed at age 30. His brother was killed in September 1914.
Rifleman Charles Daniel James (New Zealand Rifle Brigade) is killed at age 26. He is a New Zealand Rugby league footballer for Nelson who earned 1 cap for his country.

on a positive note my lovely wife has just brought me a glass of port - cheers folks

The Battle of Maraseti (Mărășești)

On July 22, 1917, the Romanians had launched a joint offensive with Russia against the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army, around Mărăști and the lower part of the Siret river, which resulted in the Battle of Mărăști. Although there was some initial success, a counter-offensive by the Central Powers in Galicia stopped the Romanian-Russian offensive. The offensive of the German Ninth Army, from the Army Group Mackensen, started on August 6, 1917, when the units of the Russian Fourth Army on the Siret River were expected to leave their positions to reinforce the front in the north of Moldavia and be replaced by the divisions of the Romanian First Army (commanded by General Constantin Cristescu until August 12, then by General Eremia Grigorescu).

For 29 days, until September 3, this sector was the scene of the most important battle delivered by the Romanian army during the 1917 campaign. The Battle of Mărășești had three distinct stages. During the first stage (August 6–12), successively committed to battle, the troops of the Romanian First Army, together with Russian forces, managed to arrest the enemy advance and forced the Germans, through their resistance, to gradually change the direction of their attack north-westward. In the second stage (August 13–19), the Romanian Command completely took over the command of the battle from the Russians and the confrontation reached its climax on August 19, ending in a complete thwarting of the enemy's attempts to advance. The third stage (August 20 – September 3) saw the last German attempt at least to improve their positions in view of a new offensive, this one too baffled by the Romanian response.

Starting with August 8, 1917, the fighting on the Mărășești front combined with an Austro-Hungarian-German offensive at Oituz. Holding out against superior enemy forces, by August 30 the Romanian troops stemmed the advance of the Gerok Group, successively reinforced with numerous forces and means, which only managed to achieve 2–6 km-deep and 18–20 km-wide breakthrough in the defensive disposition of the Romanian Second Army. The definitive discontinuing of the Central Powers' general offensive on the Romanian front on September 3, 1917 therefore marked their strategic defeat and a considerable weakening of their forces on the South-Eastern front, the response given by the Romanian army being the strongest blow they were dealt in East Europe in 1917.

Romania lost over 27,000 men, including 610 officers, while Germany and Austria-Hungary lost over 47,000. The Romanian heroine Ecaterina Teodoroiu was killed by machine gun fire on September 3.[2] Five days later, Karl von Wenninger (de), a Major General in the German Army, was killed by artillery fire near the village of Muncelu.



Eastern Front

Slight Russian rally in Czernowitz region.

Romanian front von Mackensen storms positions north of Focsani.

Political, etc.

M. Kerenski (Prime Minister, War and Marine), forms National Ministry. M. Tereshchenko, Foreign Minister.

Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ке́ренский, IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ˈkʲerʲɪnskʲɪj]; 4 May 1881 – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and key political figure in the Russian Revolution of 1917. After the February Revolution of 1917 he joined the newly formed Russian Provisional Government, first as Minister of Justice, then as Minister of War, and after July 1917 as the government's second Minister-Chairman. A leader of the moderate-socialist Trudoviks faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, he was also vice-chairman of the powerful Petrograd Soviet. On 7 November, his government was overthrown by the Lenin-led Bolsheviks in the October Revolution. He spent the remainder of his life in exile, in Paris and New York City, and worked for the Hoover Institution.



Captain Tunstill's Men: For the second time in a month Pte. Leonard Hurley (see 9th July) was reported by Cpl. George Heeley (see 23rd July) for having a dirty rifle; on the orders of Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt (see 15th June) he was to be confined to barracks for two days.

Pte. Harry Jessop (I am currently unable to make a positive identification of this man), who had been officer’s servant to the late Lt. Arthur Halstead (see 31st July), submitted a claim to 20 Francs which was owed to him, for wages, at the time of Halstead’s death. As Halstead’s pay account was now suspended following his death, there would be a (protracted) investigation into the validity of Jessop’s claim.

Pte. Fred Addy (see 30th May), who had been posted back to England, suffering from TB, in May, appeared before an Army Medical Board in Sheffield. The Board recommended that he be formally discharged as unfit for further service. Recently-commissioned 2Lt. Fred Dyson (see 30th July) was married to Edith May Wilkinson; he would later serve with 10DWR.

[Hedeby]

August 7th 1917

Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning DSC (Royal Naval Air Service) is killed at age 25 attempting to land his Sopwith Pup on a moving ship, five days after become the first pilot to perform this act. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Edwin Harris Dunning.



Dunning landed his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney on 2 August 1917. He was killed five days later, during his second landing attempt of the day, when an updraft caught his port wing, throwing his plane overboard. Knocked unconscious, he drowned in the cockpit. He is buried at St Lawrence's Church, Bradfield, beside his mother. A plaque in the church states:

The Admiralty wish you to know what great service he performed for the Navy. It was in fact a demonstration of landing an Aeroplane on the deck of a Man-of-War whilst the latter was under way. This had never been done before;and the data obtained was of the utmost value. It will make Aeroplanes indispensable to a fleet;& possibly, revolutionise Naval Warfare. The risk taken by Squadron Commander Dunning needed much courage. He had already made two successful landings;but expressed a wish to land again himself, before other Pilots did so;and in this last run he was killed. My Lords desire to place on record their sense of the loss to the Naval Service of this gallant Officer.

In memory of Dunning, the Dunning Cup or Dunning Memorial Cup is given annually to the officer who is considered to have done most to further aviation in connection with the Fleet for the year in question.[4] In the 1950s and 1960s it was awarded to Royal Air Force squadrons which achieve the highest standard on courses at the Joint Anti-Submarine School.


Dunning being congartulated after his first (and successful) landing attempte a few days previous.

Brigadier General Francis Earl Johnston CB, General Officer Commanding 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade, New Zealand Division is killed in action at age 45. While visiting front line outposts in the early morning he is instantly killed when hit by a sniper’s bullet. His brother was killed on the first day of the Battle of Somme serving in the Middlesex Regiment). They are sons of ‘Sir’ Charles John Johnston Kt Speaker of the New Zealand Legislative Council and have a brother-in-law Major Levin who died of wounds at the end of the Gallipoli campaign.



Brigadier General Francis Earl Johnston, CB (1 October 1871 – 7 August 1917) was a New Zealand-born British Army officer of the First World War, who was seconded to the New Zealand Military Forces, serving at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. He commanded both the 1st Infantry Brigade and New Zealand Rifle Brigade, and was one of three New Zealand brigadier generals killed during the war. Johnston was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 1 October 1871, the eldest son of merchant Charles John Johnston, who later became the Speaker of the Legislative Council. He was educated at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he was awarded the Sword of Honour as the best of his intake. Johnston was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Prince of Wales’s North Staffordshire Regiment on 5 December 1891, and promoted to lieutenant on 30 November 1895. He saw service in the Sudan with the Dongola Expedition in 1896. Promoted to captain on 13 May 1900, he served from 1900 to 1902 in the Transvaal during the Second Boer War, for which he was mentioned in despatches (including one dated 1 June 1902, where he is commended for good service during the Battle of Boschbult 31 March 1902). In 1914, prior to the outbreak of the First World War, Johnston, now with the rank of major, was in New Zealand on leave from his regiment, which was then serving in India. He had been seconded to the New Zealand Military Forces as a temporary lieutenant colonel, and was appointed commander of the Wellington Military District.

When the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was raised in response to the declaration of war by the New Zealand government, Major General Alexander Godley, the commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces, promoted Johnston to the rank of colonel and put him in command of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade (the brigade would subsequently be designated the 1st Infantry Brigade in 1916).Shipped to Egypt in October along with the rest of the NZEF, Johnston's brigade was primarily engaged in training before it deployed along the Suez Canal late in January 1915 to support Indian troops defending from a rumoured Turkish attack. The brigade assisted the Indian defenders in dealing with a Turkish attack during early February, and suffered its first combat casualties. The attack was repulsed with 3,000 Turkish soldiers killed, wounded or captured, and three weeks of sentry duty ensued before the brigade returned to Cairo, where it had been previously based. By this time, the New Zealand and Australian Division, under the command of Godley, was being formed for operations in the Dardanelles, and the brigade formed one of the two infantry brigades (the other was the Australian 4th brigade). In April, the division embarked for Gallipoli. Landed on the beaches on 25 April, the brigade was under the temporary command of Brigadier General Harold Walker, the chief of staff of the division. Johnston had taken ill on 23 April and missed the landing, returning to his command in early May. On 2 May, shortly after his return to the brigade, Johnston led it in operations to capture Baby 700, a hill on the slopes overlooking ANZAC Cove. Johnston did not conduct a reconnaissance of the difficult terrain which needed to be traversed by his men prior to the commencement of the attack. As a result, many units had not reached their assigned starting positions by the designated start time of the offensive. The attack, planned by Godley and with ambitious objectives, was beaten off with heavy losses. In Godley's subsequent report on the battle, Johnston was not criticised for his handling of the brigade.Johnston then led the brigade in the Second Battle of Krithia and the Battle of Chunuk Bair in August. During the latter battle, he displayed poor judgement in coordinating the battalions of the brigade following the initial capture of Chunuk Bair by Colonel William Malone's Wellington Battalion. Chunuk Bair was lost two days later to the Turks. Johnston, still in poor health, had spells in hospital in September, before leaving Gallipoli altogether in November for Cairo to be with his wife, who later died on 15 December. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and mentioned twice in despatches for his conduct during the Gallipoli campaign.

Following the withdrawal of Allied forces from Gallipoli to Egypt, the NZEF, now reinforced, had sufficient men to form a stand-alone divisional size formation, the New Zealand Division. Johnston's brigade would be one of three infantry brigades in the division. The division was sent to France, where it was involved in operations on the Western Front, and Johnston was again mentioned in despatches for his leadership during the Battle of the Somme. Still in poor health, in December 1916, Johnston went to England for medical treatment and was diagnosed with neurasthenia. He later took command of the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Reserve Camp, better known as Sling Camp. He returned to the Western Front in late July 1917, this time as commander of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. Visiting the front lines, he was killed on 7 August 1917 by sniper fire.

Johnston is buried on the edge of Bailleul, in the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension. His grave is close to that of Brigadier General Charles Henry Brown, Johnston's successor as commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade. Brown had been killed just a few weeks previously.


The coffin of Brigadier General Francis Earl Johnston, carried by fellow brigadier-generals, leads the funeral procession.

In total 676 British lives were lost.

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Captain John Morgan Thorburn (Royal Fusiliers) is killed. He is the son of the Reverend William John Thorburn.
Captain Charles Humphrey Bayley (South Lancashire Regiment) is killed at age 37. He is the son of the Reverend C J Bayley.
Second Lieutenant Frank Ashton Lane (Liverpool Regiment) is killed in action during an attack on Hooge. His brother in law will be killed in action in March 1918.
CQMS George Newell (Irish Rifles) is killed at ag e26 becoming the third brother who is killed in the war.
Lance Corporal Andrew Nathaniel Wadham Spens (Essex Regiment) dies at home at age 45. He is the son of the Archdeacon of Lahore.
Corporal Wheeler Alfred Victor Boulton (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 24. He is one of eight brothers who served.
Private Archibald Wright (Norfolk Regiment) is killed at age 24. His brother will die of wounds in October of next year.
Sapper William John Bloxsome (Royal Engineers) dies of illness on Salonika. His brother will be killed in action later this month.
Sergeant Charles Bourner (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed at age 26. He is the last of four brothers who are killed over a four month period. All three men served in the Royal Artillery.

5 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON TUESDAY AUGUST 7TH 1917

Capt. Bedson, E.H. (Eric Hamilton) 9 Squadron RFC
Sqdn. Commander Dunning, E.H. (Edwin Harris) H.M.S. 'Furious' Royal Naval Air Service (see above)
Lt. Leal, G. (George) 9 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Marshall, D.E. (Donald Ewan) 18 Squadron RFC
Maj (Tp Lt. Colonel) Valentine, J. (James) RFC

There were just the two aerial victory claims on this day:

Capt. Douglas Urquhart 'Mac' McGregor Canada #7 23 Squadron RFC - he was flying a Spad VII



The son of Dr. John O. McGregor, Douglas Urquhart McGregor was a student at McGill University and a member of the famous Redmen football squads when he joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. He set sail for England on 25 September 1916 from Halifax aboard the Corsican. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant (on probation) on 6 October 1916. After training he was posted to 23 Squadron at Baisieux, arriving on 20 April 1917. With this unit he scored 12 victories in 1917 flying the SPAD VII. Following in his father's footsteps, Douglas McGregor became a physician after the war. He died suddenly while attending a wrestling match in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 58.

Flavio Baracchini Italy u/c



Flavio Torello Baracchini was wounded in action on 8 August 1917 and again on 25 June 1918. He died from burns received in a chemical lab explosion in 1928.



There was one Victoria Cross awarded 6th/7th August 1917

William Boynton Butler VC (20 November 1894 – 25 March 1972) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Butler was 22 years old, and a private in the 17th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own), British Army, attached to 106th TM. Battery during the First World War when the following deed took place on 6 August 1917 east of Lempire, France for which he was awarded the VC.

For most conspicuous bravery when in charge of a Stokes gun in trenches which were being heavily shelled. Suddenly one of the fly-off levers of a Stokes shell came off and fired the shell in the emplacement. Private Butler picked up the shell and jumped to the entrance of the emplacement, which at that moment a party of infantry were passing. He shouted to them to hurry past as the shell was going off, and turning round, placed himself between the party of men and the live shell and so held it till they were out of danger. He then threw the shell on to the parados, and took cover in the bottom of the trench. The shell exploded almost on leaving his hand, greatly damaging the trench. By extreme good luck Private Butler was contused only. Undoubtedly his great presence of mind and disregard of his own life saved the lives of the officer and men in the emplacement and the party which was passing at the time.



The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE that was issued to the British, Empire and U.S. armies, as well as the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP), during the later half of the First World War. The 3-inch trench mortar is a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading weapon for high angles of fire. Although it is called a 3-inch mortar, its bore is actually 3.2 inches or 81 mm. Frederick Wilfred Scott Stokes – who later became Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE – designed the mortar in January 1915. The British Army was at the time trying to develop a weapon that would be a match for the Imperial German Army's Minenwerfer mortar, which was in use on the Western Front. Stokes's design was initially rejected in June 1915 because it was unable to use existing stocks of British mortar ammunition, and it took the intervention of David Lloyd George (at that time Minister of Munitions) and Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Matheson of the Trench Warfare Supply Department (who reported to Lloyd George) to expedite manufacture of the Stokes mortar. The Stokes mortar was a simple weapon, consisting of a smoothbore metal tube fixed to a base plate (to absorb recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount. When a mortar bomb was dropped into the tube, an impact sensitive primer in the base of the bomb would make contact with a firing pin at the base of the tube, and detonate, firing the bomb towards the target.

The barrel is a seamless drawn-steel tube necked down at the breech or base end. To the breech end is fitted a base cap, within which is secured a firing pin protruding into the barrel. The caps at each end of the bomb cylinder were 81 mm diameter. The bomb was fitted with a modified hand grenade fuze on the front, with a perforated tube containing a propellant charge and an impact-sensitive cap at the rear. Range was determined by the amount of propellant charge used and the angle of the barrel. A basic propellant cartridge was used for all firing, and covered short ranges. Up to four additional "rings" of propellant were used for incrementally greater ranges. The four rings were supplied with the cartridge and gunners discarded the rings that were not needed. One potential problem was the recoil, which was "exceptionally severe, because the barrel is only about 3 times the weight of the projectile, instead of about one hundred times the weight as in artillery. Unless the legs are properly set up they are liable to injury". A modified version of the mortar, which fired a modern fin-stabilised streamlined projectile and had a booster charge for longer range, was developed after World War I; this was in effect a new weapon.

The mortar was in no sense a new weapon, although it had fallen out of general usage since the Napoleonic era. In fact, while the British and French worked on developing new mortars, they resorted to issuing century-old mortars for use in action. The Stokes mortar remained in service into the Second World War, when it was superseded by the Ordnance ML 3 inch mortar, and some remained in use by New Zealand forces until after the Second World War.



As well as receiving a knighthood for inventing the modern mortar, Stokes was given several forms of monetary reward by the Ministry of Munitions for his invention. The French developed an improved version of the Stokes mortar as the Brandt Mle 27, further refined as the Brandt Mle 31; this design was widely copied with and without license. Despite their indigenous production, out of 8,000 81 mm mortars in service with the French in 1939, 2,000 were of the original Mk. I build purchased from Great Britain. About 700 Stokes mortars were acquired by Poland between 1923 and 1926. In 1928, an unlicensed Polish copy was made as the Avia wz.28, but due to French pressure it was abandoned in 1931 because the French Brandt company held the patent for the ammunition. The Polish then produced a licensed copy as the wz.31 model (Polish: Moździerz piechoty 81 mm wz. 31) starting in 1935; 1,050 were made in Pruszków. By 1939, the Polish army was equipped with some 1,200 Stokes-Brandt mortars, most of them the newer 1931 model. Each Polish infantry battalion was intended to be equipped with four such mortars, but there were not enough available to fulfill this disposition.The upgraded 1931 version was used by the Polish Army during, amongst others, the Battle of Westerplatte in 1939.

In World War I, the Stokes mortar could fire as many as 25 bombs per minute and had a maximum range of 800 yards firing the original cylindrical un-stabilised projectile. British Empire units had 1,636 Stokes mortars in service on the Western Front at the Armistice. By World War II, it could fire as many as 30 bombs per minute and had a range of over 2,500 yd (2,300 m) with some shell types. A 4 in (100 mm) version was used to fire smoke, poison gas and thermite (incendiary) rounds but this should be considered a separate weapon to the standard 3 in (76 mm) version firing high explosive rounds described in this article. The Stokes mortar was used in the Banana Wars and helped American forces defeat Sandinista rebels during the Second Battle of Las Cruces on January 1, 1928. The Paraguayan army made extensive use of the Stokes mortar during the Chaco War, especially as a siege weapon in the Battle of Boquerón in September 1932.Stokes mortars were widely used by the Republican Army during the Spanish Civil War. In September 1936, 44,000 Stokes rounds arrived to Spain.



Eastern Front

Von Mackensen crosses the Susitza river, and takes 3,000 prisoners.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Vice-Admiral Sir R. Wemyss succeeds Admiral Sir C. Burney as Second Sea Lord; Mr. A. G. Anderson, Controller.

Political, etc.

Liberian declaration of war on Germany, dated 4 August, published.

[mikeemagnus]

Thanks Chris. Excellent job

[Hedeby]

Well here we are again seeking some more additional support, Neil is still battling his way towards a full recovery and I am (yet again) off on holiday. I am looking for a couple of volunteers to cover Sunday through to Friday (six days), starting this coming Sunday - August 13th. Can anyone help out please? Thank you

[Hedeby]

8th August 1917

Battle Preparations:

The Battle of Langemarck from 16–18 August 1917, was the second Allied general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres, during the First World War. The battle took place near Ypres in Belgian Flanders, on the Western Front against the German 4th Army. The French First Army had a big success on the northern flank and the main British gain of ground occurred near Langemark, adjacent to the French. The Allied attack succeeded from Langemarck to Drie Grachten (Three Canals) but early advances in the south on the Gheluvelt Plateau, were forced back by powerful German counter-attacks. Both sides were hampered by rain, which had a greater effect on the British and French, who occupied lower-lying areas and advanced onto ground which had been frequently and severely bombarded. The effect of the battle, the unseasonable August downpours and the successful but costly German defence of the Gheluvelt Plateau during the rest of August, which the British attacked several times, led the British to stop the offensive for three weeks. The ground dried in early September, as the British rebuilt roads and tracks for supply, transferred more artillery from the armies further south and revised further their tactics. The British shifted the main offensive effort southwards, which led to the three big British successes on the Gheluvelt Plateau on 20, 26 September and 4 October.

Stategic Background

Artillery preparation for the Second Battle of Verdun, in support of the Allied offensive in Flanders, which had been delayed from mid-July, began on an 11 mi (18 km) front on 20 August after an eight-day bombardment.Mort Homme and Hill 304 were recaptured and 10,000 prisoners taken. The German army was not able to counter-attack the French, because the Eingreif divisions had been sent to Flanders. Fighting at Verdun continued into September, adding to the pressure on the German army.The Battle of Hill 70 (15–25 August), on the outskirts of Lens on the British First Army front, was fought by the Canadian Corps. The attack was costly but inflicted great losses on five German divisions and pinned down troops reserved for reliefs of tired divisions on the Flanders front.

The British strategy of forcing the German army to defend the Ypres salient, to protect the Belgian coast and submarine bases at Bruges, had succeeded. The French and Russian armies could make local attacks at Verdun but still needed time to recuperate and were vulnerable to large German attacks. The British offensive at Ypres drew German divisions away from the French and Russian armies and forced the Germans into a costly defence of Flanders. In Belgium, the Fifth Army (General Hubert Gough) had managed to advance little further towards Passchendaele since 31 July, due to the tenacity of the German defence and the unusually wet weather. Gough wanted to avoid delay in resuming the offensive, to prevent the Germans from recovering and to create the conditions for Operation Hush on the coast, which needed the high tides due at the end of Augus


A British 12-inch railway gun at Woesten, with its crew perched on it and the propaganda slogan Not on Strike on the barrel.

Brigadier-General J. H. Davidson, the Director of Operations at BEF HQ, intervened on 1 August, with a memorandum urging caution on Haig and Gough. Davidson recommended that the preliminary operation by II Corps not be hurried, a full artillery preparation and relief of the divisions already engaged, should be completed before the operation, as tired and depleted units had often failed in attacks in the past. Two or three clear days were needed for accurate artillery fire, especially as captured ground on the Gheluvelt plateau, gave better observation and German maps revealed the positions of German machine-gun emplacements, which being small and concealed, would need precise shooting by the artillery to destroy. Capture of the black line from Inverness Copse north to Westhoek, would be insufficient to cover an advance from the Steenbeek further north and large German counter-attacks could be expected on the plateau, given that its retention was fundamental to the German defensive scheme. Two more divisions were sent to II Corps as a reinforcement. Few of the pillboxes captured on 31 July, had been damaged by artillery-fire and before the attack, the 109th Brigade commander Brigadier-General Ricardo, arranged three-minute bombardments on selected pillboxes and blockhouses by the XIX Corps heavy artillery, with pauses so that the artillery observers could make corrections to contradictory maps and photographs. It was discovered that on many of the targets, the shell dispersion covered hundreds of yards, as did wire-cutting bombardments. On 2 August, at the suggestion of Brigadier-General Hugh Elles, commander of the Tank Corps, it was decided that the surviving tanks were to be held back due to the weather, to ensure that they could be used en mass later on, although some were used in late August. The preliminary operation intended for 2 August, was delayed by rain until 10 August and the general offensive was postponed from 4–16 August.

The 20th (Light) Division replaced the 38th (Welsh) Division on 5 August. The 7th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry took over captured German trenches behind the front line on 5 August, which had been turned into the British reserve line and lost three men to shellfire while waiting for dark. On arrival at the support line 500 yd (460 m) forward and the front line another 500 yd (460 m) beyond, the battalion found that the front line was several shell hole posts with muddy bottoms, strung along the Steenbeek from the Langemarck road to the Ypres–Staden railway. British artillery was engaged in destructive bombardments of the German positions opposite and German artillery fire was aimed at the British infantry concentrating for the next attack. After heavy rain all night, the battalion spent 6 August soaked through and had 20 casualties, two men being killed. On 7 August, there were 35 casualties, twelve being killed before the battalion was relieved until 14 August. Training began for the next attack and planning began using trench maps and aerial photographs. Each company formed three platoons, two for the advance, with two rifle sections in the lead and the Lewis-gun sections behind and the third platoon to mop up.

Training now emphasised the need for units not held up by German resistance, to "hug" the creeping barrage and form offensive flanks, to assist troops who had been halted by the German defenders, by providing enfilade fire and enveloping German positions, which were to be left and mopped-up by reserve platoons. Every known German position was allocated to a unit of the approximately 470 men left in the battalion, to reduce the risk of German positions going unnoticed and firing at the leading troops from behind. While the Somersets were out of the line, the 10th and 11th battalions of the Rifle Brigade edged forward about 100 yd (91 m) beyond the Steenbeek, which cost the 10th Battalion 215 casualties. An attempt on 15 August to re-capture the Au Bon Gite blockhouse, 300 yd (270 m) beyond the Steenbeek, which had been lost to a German counter-attack on 31 July, failed. It was decided that the infantry for the general attack due on 16 August, would have to squeeze into the ground beyond the river in front of the blockhouse, for the attack on Langemarck.



The Royal Navy Q-ship HMS Dunraven in combat with the German U-Boat UC-71 after having lured the submarine towards her by being disguised as a merchant ship. Dunraven is ablaze at her stern and two of her lifeboats filled with 'panic parties' of men, also designed to suggest she is merchant ship, are in the water to her starboard side. The German U-Boat is in the water near the surface in the left foreground, with a plume of sea water showing the effects of Dunraven's gunfire. This event occured on 8 August 1917 roughly 130 miles south-west of Ushant in the Bay of Biscay. Dunraven did not manage to damage UC-71 but was significantly damaged herself, to the extent that she sunk early on 10 August after the British destroyer HMS Christopher had begun to tow her towards Plymouth. Two of the crew members - Lieutenant Charles Bonner and Petty Officer Ernest Pitcher - were awarded Victoria Crosses by ballot to represent the efforts of the Dunraven's crew.

On 8 August 1917, 130 miles southwest of Ushant in the Bay of Biscay, disguised as the collier Boverton and commanded by Gordon Campbell, VC, Dunraven spotted UC-71, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Reinhold Saltzwedel. Saltzwedel believed the disguised ship was a merchant vessel. The U-boat submerged and closed with Dunraven before surfacing astern at 11:43 am and opening fire at long range. Dunraven made smoke and sent off a panic party (a small number of men who "abandon ship" during an attack to continue the impersonation of a merchant).

Shells began hitting Dunraven, detonating her depth charges and setting her stern afire. Her crew remained hidden letting the fires burn. Then a 4 inch (102 mm) gun and crew were blown away revealing Dunraven's identity as a warship, and UC-71 submerged. A second "panic party" abandoned ship. Dunraven was hit by a torpedo. A third "panic party" went over the side, leaving only two guns manned. UC-71 surfaced, shelled Dunraven and again submerged. Campbell replied with two torpedoes that missed, and around 3 pm, the undamaged U-boat left that area. Only one of Dunraven's crew was killed, but the Q-Ship was sinking. The British destroyer HMS Christopher picked up Dunraven's survivors and took her in tow for Plymouth, but Dunraven sank at 1:30 am early on 10 August 1917 to the north of Ushant. In recognition, two Victoria Crosses were awarded, one to the ship's First Lieutenant, Lt. Charles George Bonner RNR, and the other, by ballot, to a gunlayer, Petty Officer Ernest Herbert Pitcher.

Captain Campbell later wrote:

"It had been a fair and honest fight, and I lost it. Referring to my crew, words cannot express what I am feeling. No one let me down. No one could have done better."[citation needed]
Captain Campbell had been previously awarded the Victoria Cross, in February 1917, for the sinking of U-83.



Charles George Bonner VC, DSC (29 December 1884 – 7 February 1951) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

On 8 August 1917 in the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic, Lieutenant Bonner, now a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, was with HMS Dunraven (one of the 'Q' or 'mystery' ships playing the part of an unobservant merchantman) when she was shelled by an enemy submarine. The lieutenant was in the thick of the fighting and throughout the whole of the action his pluck and determination had a considerable influence on the crew. For his actions, Bonner was awarded the Victoria Cross.Ernest Herbert Pitcher also received the Victoria Cross for his involvement. He later achieved the rank of captain in the Merchant Navy.



Ernest Herbert Pitcher VC, DSM (31 December 1888 – 10 February 1946) (middle name also recorded as James) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Petty Officer Pitcher was captain of the 4-inch gun crew. When the magazine below them blew up the crew were blown into the air, but Pitcher and another man landed on mock railway trucks made of wood and canvas, which cushioned their falls and saved their lives. His VC was awarded by ballot of the gun crew. Lieutenant Charles George Bonner was also awarded the VC. Pitcher also received the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire



More on the Dunraven: On the 8th August, 1917, H.M.S. "Dunraven," under the command of Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O., R.N., sighted an enemy submarine [UC-71] on the horizon. In her role of armed British merchant ship, the "Dunraven" continued her zig-zag course, whereupon the submarine closed, remaining submerged to within 5,000 yards, and then, rising to the surface, opened fire. The "Dunraven" returned the fire with her merchant ship gun, at the same time reducing speed to enable the enemy to overtake her. Wireless signals were also sent out for the benefit of the submarine: "Help! come quickly – submarine chasing and shelling me." Finally, when the shells began falling close, the "Dunraven" stopped and abandoned ship by the "panic party." [The "panic party" was a small number of men who were to "abandon ship" during an attack to continue the impersonation of a merchant ship.] The ship was then being heavily shelled, and on fire aft. In the meantime the submarine closed to 400 yards distant, partly obscured from view by the dense clouds of smoke issuing1 from the "Dunraven's" stern. Despite the knowledge that the after magazine must inevitably explode if he waited, and further, that a gun and gun's crew lay concealed over the magazine, Captain Campbell decided to reserve his fire until the submarine had passed clear of the smoke. A moment later, however, a heavy explosion occurred aft, blowing the gun and gun's crew into the air, and accidentally starting the fire-gongs at the remaining gun positions; screens were immediately dropped, and the only gun that would bear opened fire, but the submarine, apparently frightened by the explosion, had already commenced to submerge. Realising that a torpedo must inevitably follow, Captain Campbell ordered the surgeon to remove all wounded and conceal them in cabins; hoses were also turned on the poop, which was a mass of flames. A signal was sent out warning men-of-war to divert all traffic below the horizon in order that nothing should interrupt the final phase of the action. Twenty minutes later a torpedo again struck the ship abaft the engine-room. An additional party of men were again sent away as a "panic party," and left the ship to outward appearances completely abandoned, with the White Ensign flying and guns unmasked. For the succeeding fifty minutes the submarine examined the ship through her periscope. During this period boxes of cordite and shells exploded every few minutes, and the fire on the poop still blazed furiously. Captain Campbell and the handful of officers and men who remained on board lay hidden during this ordeal. The submarine then rose to the surface astern, where no guns could bear and shelled the ship closely for twenty minutes. The enemy then submerged and steamed past the ship 150 yards off, examining her through the periscope. Captain Campbell decided then to fire one of his torpedoes, but missed by a few inches. The submarine crossed the bows and came slowly down the other side, whereupon a second torpedo was fired and missed again. The enemy observed it and immediately submerged. Urgent signals for assistance were immediately sent out, but pending arrival of assistance Captain Campbell arranged for a third "panic party" to jump overboard if necessary and leave one gun's crew on board for a final attempt to destroy the enemy, should he again attack. Almost immediately afterwards, however, British and American destroyers arrived on the scene, the wounded were transferred, boats were recalled and the fire extinguished. The "Dunraven" although her stern was awash, was taken in tow, but the weather grew worse, and early the following morning she sank with colours flying

The War in The Air

The following aerial victory claims were made on this day

Richard Minifie Australia #7
Cecil Brock Canada #3
Richard Trevethan England #10 #11

Karl Bolle Germany #1 (Jasta 28)



Karl Bolle read economics at Oxford University in 1912. Returning to Germany, he enlisted as a Leutnant in the 7th von Seydlitz Kürassier Regiment and was sent to fight on the Western Front. In 1915 his regiment was transferred to the Eastern Front and by the end of the year, Bolle was awarded the Iron Cross, second class. He transferred to the air service in February 1916 and received training at Valenciennes before being posted to KG 4 in July 1916. At the end of the year he was reassigned to Kampfstaffel 23, flying with Lothar von Richthofen as his observer, and was awarded the 2nd Class Knight's Cross of the Friedrich Order. Wounded in October 1916, Bolle recovered and was sent to Jastaschule in early 1917. In July 1917 he was posted to Jasta 28 and scored 5 victories before assuming command of Jasta 2 as an Oberleutnant on 20 February 1918. In August, having downed 28 opponents, he was promoted to Rittmeister and received the Military Merit Cross, the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and the Blue Max. Bolle finished the war with 36 victories. Post-war he became a flying instructor and served as Director of the German Transportation School in the 1920s. During World War II he was an advisor to the Luftwaffe.



Hermann Stutz Germany u/c
Flavio Baracchini Italy #12 (Baracchini was shot down and wounded on this day)
Aleksandr Kozakov Russia #16
Grigory Suk Russia #3
Frederich Libby USA #13

11 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8TH 1917

AM 2 Bennetto, H.V. (Hubert Victor) 7 Squdron RFC
AM 1 Brown, W.F. (William Frederick) 7 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Davey, R.A. (Roland Alfred) 14 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Day, H.J. (Herbert James) 11 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Fendall, D.J. (Denis John) 4 Squadron RFC
[B]AM 2 Kitchingman, H.R. (Henry Richard) 101 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McMurray, S. (Stuart) RFC
2nd. Lt. Nicholson, M. (Maurice) 11 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Scott-Pillow, H.M. (Henry Montgomery) 7 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Sheehan, C. (Cornelius) 17 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Walsh, A. (Albert) 4 Squadron RFC


Western Front

Wet weather continues in Flanders.

French make progress north-west of Bixschoote.

Eastern Front

Retirement of Russo-Romanians in Trotus valley south-west of Ocna.

Political, etc.

Mr. Lloyd George and Lord R. Cecil on Serbia.

I will leave it up to Capt Tunstill's Men to provide the weather report and close today's edition: There was a torrential downpour in the evening which Brig. Genl. Lambert described as, “the heaviest downpour I have seen in France”.