Chris short note as I am now back in time so to speak. I can do Monday 4th to Tuesday 12th. We are then taking our first holiday of the year.......seems we've booked ourselves on a kind of bus man's holiday...for me at least......whilst swmbo is off shopping.
I'll be back ready for duty Thursday 21st.
Neil
See you on the Dark Side......
Originally Posted by Hedeby
Looks as if we could hit this landmark as early as tomorrow Chris.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
199,512 views and counting - almost to the landmark 200k lets see will it be today or tomorrow ???
3rd September 1917
Following on from yesterday we have another German air raid on the british mainland....
After a short period of retraining, Kleine (see 7th July raid) felt ready to launch his first night raid on Britain and, having chosen the Chatham naval base as his target, he called for volunteers. Five Gothas, including Kleine’s, prepared to head for England. Gone was the formation flying of the daylight raids, now individual Gothas took off five minutes apart to avoid flying into each other in the darkness. The first Gotha appears to have experienced engine problem. It turned over Westgate and, crossing Thanet, dropped seven bombs along a country lane south of Margate, between East Northdown Farm and the hamlet of Reading Street (along what is now Reading Street Road). The bombs broke windows in eight houses. The rest of the force were heard passing Herne bay, Whitstable and Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey, as they progressed towards Chatham.
The first Gotha appears to have overshot the town with two bombs falling at 11.10pm, one on marshland just over 30 yards from a gasometer at Rochester gas works and one in the garden of the Old Parsonage at Frindsbury Church. Two minutes later, however, four bombs landed close to the Royal Naval Barracks at Chatham, one with devastating effect. It fell on a glass-roofed drill hall where as many as 900 naval ratings were sleeping in hammocks. The explosion sent lethal shards of jagged glass scything through the hall, claiming the lives of 130 men and injuring over 90; the most casualties in Britain caused by a single bomb during the war. Two bombs fell on open ground in the Royal Naval Dockyard followed by three along the Inner Lines, where they caused considerable damage to Trinity School and injured five people near the Sally Port, one of whom later died. Three bombs fell in the garden of Government House where they gouged craters but did not inflict any damage. Three exploded on the Great Lines, two of them between 200 and 300 yards from the Royal Naval Hospital, which broke numerous windows in Marlborough Road. At 2 Church Terrace, Luton, a bomb destroyed the house, seriously damaging those on either side, killed a woman and injured two others. South of the Naval complex, eight bombs fell on the town of Chatham, causing considerable damage to two houses in New Road and New Road Avenue, slight damage to the Town Hall gardens and two properties in High Street. Close to the railway station a bomb smashed windows at a drill hall, injuring a boy, but others that exploded in Webbs’ timber yard and close to the Sailor’s Home failed to cause any damage. Other bombs fell at Sheerness without causing significant damage, at Royal Naval Recreation Ground, the Royal Naval Balloon Ground and close to the shore between Sheerness and West Minster, with one of those missing the Sheppey gas works by 75 yards. Two other bombs fell a distance from the main attack, south of Capston, between Upper Shawstead and Hempstead where they damaged hop poles. Heading back along the north Kent coast, the Gothas came under AA fire from three guns of the 9th AA Mobile Battery and five guns of the Thames and Medway garrison. The Gothas dropped one more bomb at 12.17am, before finally going out to sea. It failed to explode when it hit the ground at Callis Court, between St. Peter’s, Broadstairs, and the North Foreland.
The RFC had 16 aircraft in the air but six of these were airborne on an exercise prior to the raid developing adding to the confusion. Only two took off from an airfield in Kent in response to the attack but none of the defence aircraft saw the Gothas. No RNAS aircraft went up and the searchlights struggled to find any of the raiders in the very bright moonlight.
The report in the Times carried the following:
"It was a moonlit night, with a suspicion of haze in the upper air, which made the visability low. The first indication of the presence of raiders was the sound of a loud humming noise, and the other a steady powerfull beat. With the naked eye it was impossible to detect the machines, but from the noise it was clear that they were of very high power. Their presence, however, did not cause much alarm, as notices had been published at the places of amusement earlier in the evening that anti-aircraft practice would be carried out at night. Then came the unexpected. Without the least warning loud explosions were heard in one part of the district, followed by the dropping of bombs in other centres. Then the sounds ceased, as if the raiders had made off. But after an interval of a few minutes they returned, and the noise of more explosions was continued. Judging by the sounds it appeared as if the raiders had made a complete circle of the town. During this period searchlights were flashing across the sky in several directions, but the absence of gunfire seemed to show that the efforts of the defenders to pick up the enemy had failed. Altogether the raid lasted nearly an hour."
"A tour of the district early in the morning revealed the fact that the majority of the bombs did very little execution, as they fell on vacant land or in gardens. One, however, made a direct hit on one of a small row of cottages, and razed the building to the ground. The tenant and his daughter had gone into the garden to see what was happening, and escaped with slight injuries. Not so for the wife, she had sought the cellar for safety, and was buried in the ruins. Her body was recovered shortly before noon. The concussion from this bomb was so great that a woman in another house was blown clean out of bed."
Memorial to the Naval ratings killed in the raid on Chatham in September 1917
The weather must have been a lot clearer because after several very quiet days in the skies - all hell was let loose today resulting in the loss of nine British airmen...
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Roy Brown (Royal Flying Corps) attacks a two-seater Aviatik while in company with his flight. The enemy machine is seen to dive down vertically, the enemy observer falling over the side of the fuselage after being shot. Flight Commander Stearne Tighe Edwards (Royal Naval Air Service) with his flight attacks a two-seater Aviatik. The enemy machine is observed to go down in a vertical nose dive, and the enemy observer is seen to collapse in the cockpit.
9 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3RD 1917
Lt. Clegg, R.L. (Robert Leslie) 45 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Harding, G.H. (Geoffrey Harold) RFC
Lt. Harding, S.A. (Sydney Aven) No.1 Aircraft Depot, St Omer
Lt. Heywood, A.T. (Aubrey Talley) 45 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Kinkead, T.C. (Thompson Calder) 3 Training Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Pickstone, C. (Charley) 1 Squadron RFC
Flt Sub-Lt Scott, G.B.G. (Gordon Beattie George) 1 (N) Squadron Royal Naval Air Service
Air Mech 2 Smith, W.C. (W. Cecil) attached 61st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery RFC
Flt Sub-Lt. Thomas, J.E. (John E.) RNAS
The following aerial victories were claimed on this day... 37 pilots claiming 41 victories
Clive Brewster-Joske Australia #5
Lloyd Breadner Canada #8 #9
Robert Dodds Canada #3 #4 (48 Squadron RFC)
Joseph Fall Canada #14
Conrad Tolendal Lally Canada #4 #5
Melville Waddington Canada #8
William Chisam England #1
Before he joined the Royal Naval Air Service in January 1916, William Hargrove Chisam learned to fly in the United States, receiving his certificate on a Wright biplane at Augusta, Georgia on 30 December 1915. After serving with the Home Defence at Walmer, he was posted to 10 Naval Squadron at Dunkirk on 2 April 1917 but was reassigned to 3 Naval Squadron five days later. Flying the Sopwith Camel with B Flight, Chisam claimed 7 victories with this squadron before he was wounded in the hand on 26 March 1918.
Edward Denman Clarke England #2
Charles Cudemore England #5
John Hunter England #1
Thomas Vicars Hunter England #4
John Leacroft England #6
Reginald Makepeace England #9
Arthur Percival Foley Rhys Davids England #14
Harold Stackard England #4
Thomas Tuffield England #3 #4 (48 Squadron RFC)
Arthur William Wood England #1
The son of Charles and Gertrude Wood, Arthur William Wood received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 3521 on a Caudron biplane at Beatty School, Hendon on 11 September 1916. He joined the Royal Naval Air Service in October 1916 and scored eleven victories flying the Sopwith Camel with Naval 9 in 1917.
Francois de Rochechouart de Mortemart France #2
Hans von Adam Germany #14
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp Germany #18
Carl Degelow Germany u/c
Kurt-Bertram von Döring Germany #6
Otto Fruhner Germany #1 #2
On 20 September 1918, Fruhner was wounded and forced to parachute from his plane when he collided with a Sopwith Camel from 203 Squadron.
Hans Hoyer Germany #2
Walter Kypke Germany #2
Georg Meyer Germany #4
Eberhard Mohnicke Germany #6
Theodor Quandt Germany #4
Manfred von Richthofen Germany #61
Von Richthofen's 61st kill, his next would not be until late November (23rd) again flying the ne Fokker DR.1 Triplane
07:35hrs South of Bousbecque, this side of the lines. Sopwith 1 (Pup) B1795, motor number 35123 (80 hp Le Rhone Type R)
Occupant : Lieutenant Algernon Frederick Bird (46 Squadron), made prisoner, unwounded
Along with five planes of Staffel 11, while engaged in a fight with a Sopwith single seater, I attacked my enemy at a height of 3500 metres, one of the enemy machines. After a fairly long dogfight, I forced him to land near Bousbecque. I was absolutely convinced I had a very skillful pilot in front of me, who even at an altitude of 50 metres did not give up, but fired again, and opend fire on a column of troops whlist flattening out, then deliberately ran his machine into a tree. The Fokker DR.1 Triplane No. 102/17 was absolutely superior to the British Sopwith.
Carl-August von Schönebeck Germany #3
Karl Thom Germany #2
Oswald Tränkner Germany #4
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #8 #9
Matthew Brown Frew Scotland #6
Richard Maybery Wales #10
A total of 540 British lives were lost on this day;
Captain George Kenneth Thompson Fisher (Norfolk Regiment) is killed at age 38 in Palestine. He is the eldest son of Reverend George Carnac Fisher, successively Bishop of Southampton and Ipswich, and Honorable Canon of Norwich, of Burgh House, Fleggburgh, Norfolk, and of Mary Penelope Gwendoline, daughter of the late T C Thompson, of Ashdown Park, Sussex, late MP for Durham City. He married Janet Katherine Mary, daughter of Mr and Mrs Anson and sister of the late ‘Sir’ Denis Anson Baronet and leaves two sons. Captain Fisher was given a commission on the outbreak of the War in the Norfolk Regiment and sailed with them for Gallipoli in June 1915, taking part in the landing at Suvla Bay. He was mentioned in despatches. He was invalided home suffering from dysentery and then held a Staff Appointment and subsequently a position in the Ministry of Munitions, but returned to his regiment and sailed for Egypt in March 1917. Last night he was out on patrol in Gaza and, being somewhat in advance of the rest, is mortally wounded by a bomb thrown by a Turkish sniper. He is brought back into the lines by the patrol, but dies a few minutes after his return.
Brothers serving in the Royal Flying Corps die within hours of each other one in England the other in France. Captain Geoffrey Harold Harding (Warwickshire Regiment attached Royal Flying Corps) drowns in the Thames at age 23. Lieutenant Sidney Allen Harding (Royal Flying Corps) dies of wounds received during an enemy air raid on his aerodrome at age 25.
Lieutenant Leonard Widlake Dean (New Zealand Field Artillery) is killed at age 26. He is the son of the Reverend Oliver Dean Vicar of St Andrew’s Napier New Zealand.
Second Lieutenant George Christopher Serocold Tennant (Welsh Guards) is killed in action near Langemarck at age 19. He will become the subject of the biography entitled Christopher by ‘Sir’ Oliver Lodge.
Second Lieutenant Sidney Fraser Fraser Smith (Royal Field Artillery) dies of wounds at age 22. He is the son of the Reverend David Fraser Smith.
Nurse Katharine Ferrars Kinnear (St John’s Ambulance) dies of enteric fever in France at age 29. She is the daughter of the Reverend Henry G Kennear and has been awarded a Diploma by the French government in recognition of her services in the War. Her brother will be killed in April 1918.
The Battle of Jugla (Riga)
The Battle of Jugla was a defensive battle of the Russian Republic's 12th Army of the First World War from 1 to 3 September 1917. It was part of the German offensive called the Battle of Riga or Schlacht um Riga. The main objective for the Russian 12th Army was to prevent the German 8th Army from forcing the Daugava river and besieging Russian troops in Riga.
The battle took place at the banks of the river Mazā Jugla. One of the main units involved was a brigade of 6,000 Latvian Riflemen from the 2nd Latvian Rifles under the command of Ansis Lielgalvis.
German generals began to prepare for the battle as early as December 1916. It was decided to force the Daugava River at Ikšķile and quickly advance north and northwest. This had two main intended purposes: to cause the surrender of the Russian 12th Army and to capture Riga. This would also afford the benefit of straightening the German front line, which would allow a number of German divisions to be freed up and sent to France, where ultimately the fate of the war would be determined. On the morning of 1 September 1917, after a three-hour artillery bombardment, the Germans launched the assault and began the construction of three wooden pontoon bridges over the river Daugava near Ikšķile. 1159 German artillery guns fully suppressed 66 opposing Russian guns. Artillery fire forced Russian 186th Division to withdraw from the right bank of the Daugava, thus allowing the Germans to successfully cross the river. The commander of the Russian 12th Army, General Parsky, ordered the XLIII Army corps to counterattack the German bridgehead and deployed for this task four infantry divisions as well as the 2nd Latvian Rifleman Brigade. The Russian force, including the Latvian brigade, received orders in the afternoon of 1 September and started to move from Ropaži against the Germans. The 5th Zemgale Latvian Riflemen Regiment reached fortified German positions along the river Jugla in the late afternoon. After heavy shelling at midday of 2 September by German artillery, the German attack against Latvian Rifleman positions started. Intense fighting started along the entire 14 km front line of the bridgehead. The Germans used aviation, flame throwers and gas attacks but despite this, the Latvian riflemen managed to hold back the German advance for 26 hours. This allowed the 12th Russian Army (including 1st Latvian Rifleman Brigade which still was in the Tīrelis swamp positions near Olaine) to safely withdraw from Riga.
In the morning of 3 September, the Latvian units were ordered to retreat and they took up new defensive positions near Sigulda and Cēsis.
The Battle of Jugla inflicted heavy casualties upon the Latvian rifleman units. The 5th Zemgale and 6th Tukums regiments lost more than half of their order of battle. The 7th Bauskas and 8th Valmiera regiments also suffered heavy casualties. Riga had been lost to the advancing Germans. However, an important objective had been accomplished, as the Russian 12th Army had managed to withdraw intact from Riga and managed to safely retreat to Vidzeme.
and finally Capt. Tunstill's Men were on the move...
At 7.12am the Battalion began its march of a further 15 miles west, via Cassel, Bavinchove and Zuytpeene, to new billets in the Lederzeele area from where they would be prepared for the part to be played in the forthcoming offensive operations
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Today we lost: 466
Tuesday 4th September 1917
ˇ A grandson of a Mayor and AldermanToday’s losses include:
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great Warˇ Lieutenant Arthur Trevor Williams (Welsh Fusiliers attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 21. He is the grandson of Alderman Thomas Hughes Mayor of Beaumaris.
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
ˇ Second Lieutenant Thomas Ernest Wray (General List attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 19. His brother was killed last July.
ˇ Pioneer Arthur James Bowstead (Royal Engineers) dies of wounds received in action at age 58. He is probably the oldest person from Cheltenham to lose his life in the Great War.
ˇ Private Charles Robinson (Cheshire Regiment) is killed at age 42 in an air raid at Calais. His brother was killed in April 1916.
Air Operations:
Verdun: Red Cross stations in rear of, bombed during night.
Aeroplane raid on London and south-east counties, 19 killed, 71 injured.
A German Gotha crew in front of their bomber.
The Germans attempt a second heavier-than-air night raid against the United Kingdom, sending 11 Gotha bombers on a night raid of London. Nine of the planes reach England, but only five reach London. British aircraft fly 18 defensive sorties, but fail to make contact with the German aircraft; the British flights, however, demonstrate the feasibility of using the Sopwith Camel as a night fighter. One Gotha fails to return, probably shot down by antiaircraft guns at Fort Borstal in Rochester.
After the attack on Chatham proved the practicality of raiding after dark, Kleine launched the first night time attack on London. Eleven Gothas set out of which two turned back with engine problems. Five battled through to London while the four others struck targets in Kent, Suffolk and Essex.
The first bombs were dropped in Suffolk at around 10.25pm. The crew remained close to the coast, their bombs falling on fields at Raydon Hall Farm near Orford (two 50kg), and on Sudbourne Marshes (two 50kg, one 12kg,) with the final two bombs falling in the sea about 300 yards off the Martello tower at Slaughden. There were no casualties.
At 10.38pm a Gotha appeared over Margate, dropping seven bombs in the Cliftonville district. Two exploded in Surrey Road, causing extensive damage, with lesser damage extending to other houses in the road and Cornwall Gardens. Two bombs exploded at the rear of Fifth Avenue as did two in the road on Eastern Esplanade, breaking a number of windows, but one that fell nearby in Oval Gardens, failed to detonate. Police recorded injuries to five men and three women.
Bombs also fell in Dover. Both a furniture warehouse on Biggin Street and the Salvation Army headquarters on High Street suffered damage. Two unexploded bombs landed in Priory Hill where falling masonry killed Mr H. Long. A bomb in Widred Road wrecked two houses and killed Edward Little, aged 73, and fatally injured his daughter, Minnie Smith. Four others living in the street were injured. Two bombs in Odo Road caused serious damage to houses as well as a gas main and sewer. Casualties in Dover totalled three dead and seven injured.
A fourth Gotha dropped eleven bombs in Essex, in the rural area surrounding Tiptree. One bomb fell south of the Bridgefoot to Inworth road, one south of Theobald’s Farm, four near Ruffell’s Cottages on Tiptree Road, three at New Park Farm and two on Grove Farm at Messing. Damage amounted to 17 panes of glass smashed at three properties.
The first Gotha to reach London dropped bombs on the eastern approaches. Two fell harmlessly in Barking, then six in Wanstead Park caused slight damage. In Stratford a bomb smashed the glass roof of an unoccupied factory and one in Gibbins Road damaged a number of buildings and injured two men.
The next three bombs landed in West Ham. At the junction of Henniker Road and Leytonstone Road one man died as the blast damaged 60 shopfronts and burst a water main. Another exploded at 15 Gurney Road causing damage to a number of houses and the third damaged the backs of three houses in Ravenstone Road.
In south-east London five bombs fell east of Greenwich Park, between Foyle Road and Coleraine Road, breaking windows in about 60 houses and damaging doors and ceilings. Nine bombs fell in Woolwich. One in Ha-Ha Road failed to explode, but two in Manor Road and one in Jackson Street damaged three houses and injured two children, while another, one of four that fell on Woolwich Common, injured a woman. In Academy Road a bomb damaged the railings of the Royal Military Academy.
Approaching over north London, a Gotha dropped a bomb on a building owned by the department store Bourne and Hollingsworth, just off Oxford Street, causing serious damage, but no injuries. Heading towards the Thames the Gotha released four bombs between the Strand and Victoria Embankment. In Agar Street two Canadian soldiers and a woman died and five people suffered injury, and nearby the Little Theatre, used as a canteen by the Canadian YMCA, was wrecked. Minor damage occurred in Victoria Embankment Gardens before the last of the four bombs exploded on Victoria Embankment by Cleopatra’s Needle just as a tram passed. The explosion killed the driver and two passengers and injured nine others. This Gotha may have also dropped two bombs that fell on Millwall Docks.
The fifth London Gotha approached from the north, dropping a bomb in Montagu Road, Edmonton followed by seven across Hornsey and Upper Holloway. Of these, bombs at a water pumping station failed to have a significant effect although one man was injured, and a bomb injured a soldier in Clarendon Road. An unexploded bomb landed in a garden in Hillfield Avenue, but serious damage did occur when a bomb struck the laundry of the Islington Workhouse. Other bombs fell on Crouch End Hill, at Middle Lane,on West Hill, Highgate, in Lamble Street, Gospel Oak, and in Kentish Town where a bomb damaged walls and windows in Vicars Road. Another, in Wellesley Road, killed three and injured nine. Seven people were injured by a bomb in Primrose Hill, at the corner of Ainger Road and Oppidans Road. Another fell harmlessly in Regent’s Park before three exploded close to the Edgware Road, between Paddington and Marble Arch: two in Tichborne Street and one in Norfolk Crescent. One woman died and there were 16 injuries.
About 40 AA guns opened fire but the searchlights found it hard to hold the raiders. The RNAS sent no aircraft up and although four RFC squadrons had 18 aircraft airborne, only two caught a glimpse of the Gothas. It does appear, however, that one Gotha came down in the North Sea after damage inflicted by AA fire.
Casualties: 19 killed, 71 injured
Damage: Ł46,047
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 20
Barber, B.K.B. (Bradley King Bell)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Capt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 9 Squadron >>
Binns, J.H. (John Houghton)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 29 Squadron >>
Blackstock, C.R. (Christopher R.)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank AC1 Organisation Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President II' >>
Blackstock, C.R. (Christopher R.)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank AC1 Organisation Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President II' Unit Calshot Naval Air Station >>
Blight, R.S. (Reginald Sampson)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 30 Squadron >>
Brown, W. (Walter)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 44 Squadron >>
Coombe, A.S. (Allen Sandby)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Flt Off (Prob) Organisation Royal Naval Air Service Unit Chingford Naval Flying School >>
Downing, G.G.B. (George Guy Barry)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit No.2 (Auxilliary) School of Aerial Gunnery >>
Hayles, A.E. (Albert Ernest)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Australian Flying Corps Unit 2 Squadron >>
Heedy, J. (John)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 11 Squadron >>
Hinchliff, C.S. (Cyril Stanley)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 50 Training Squadron >>
Martin, R. (Robert)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps >>
McDonald, K.W. (Kenneth William)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 46 Squadron >>
Payne, W.S.L. (Wilfred Stuart Lane)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 7 Squadron >>
Pullen, C.J. (Charles Jesse)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 25 Squadron >>
Robinson, E.D.S. (Eustace Dixon Sharper)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 25 Squadron >>
Varden, M.S. (Medwin Seymour)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank Flt Sub-Lt Organisation Royal Naval Air Service >>
Wightman, J.F. (John Francis)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 11 Squadron >>
Williams, A.T. (Arthur Trevor)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 25 Squadron >>
Wray, T.E. (Thomas Ernest)
Collection Library Classification Roll of Honour Series Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 7 Squadron
Claims: 31 confirmed (Entente 19 : Central Powers 12)
Clive Brewster-Joske#6 Franz Wognar#4 Joseph Fall#15 Arthur Lee#1 John Herbert Towne Letts#11 #12 Henry Moody#1 Harry Gosford Reeves#7 Maurice Douglas Guest Scott#6 Harold Stackard#5 William Walker#4 Bernard Artigau#1 Georges Lachmann#4 Rudolf Berthold#14 #15 Hans Bethge#15 #16 Ludwig Hanstein#9 Eberhard Mohnicke#7 Viktor Schobinger#4 Bernhard Ultsch#3 Rudolf Wendelmuth#6 Kurt Wüsthoff#10 #11 Ivan Loiko#3 Grigory Suk#4 Matthew Brown Frew#7 #8 Raoul Lufbery#11 Edwin Parsons#1 Eric Hughes#1
Western Front:
Tunstills Men Tuesday 4th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
A fine, dry day
The Battalion was engaged in training for the forthcoming attack in an area which had been prepared north of the village of Volckerinckhove to replicate the area over which the Battalion was to attack.
Pte. Stanley Roebuck Hutton (see 24th July) was reported by Cpl. Hill (unidentified) for “hesitating to obey an order”; on the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge (see 31st August) he was sentenced to seven days Field Punishment no.2
Pte. Frederick Sharp (see 4th April) was reported by L.Sgt. Fred Light Pashley (see 26th April) as having “dirty small arms’ ammunition whilst mounting guard”; on the orders of Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 22nd August) he was to be confined to barracks for three days. Pte. George Green (22749) (see 24th July) was reported by Sgt. William Alfred Walmsley Gaunt (see 31st August) also as having “dirty small arms’ ammunition on 11am parade”; on the orders of Capt. Adrian O’Donnell Pereira (see 31st August) he was to be confined to barracks for four days.
Ptes. Herbert Crowther Kershaw (see 10th August), who had suffered shrapnel wounds to his right thigh on 7th June; Joseph McDermott (see 9th August), who had suffered serious wounds to his right leg on 7th June; Harold Peel (see 4th August), who had also been wounded on 7th June; and Ellis Sutcliffe (see 27th August), who had been wounded in July, all re-joined the Battalion from 34th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples.
Pte. Sydney Exley (see 30th August), who was currently under sentence of five days Field Punishment no.2 as a result of overstaying his final embarkation leave from 3DWR at North Shields, was reported “absent from defaulters’ parade at 5.30pm”. As a result he was awarded an additional seven days Field Punishment no.2.
A payment of Ł2 10s. 10d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. John William Hardcastle (see 12th June) who had initially been reported missing in action on 7th June and subsequently confirmed as having been killed; the payment would go to his widow, Ellen.
A second payment, additional to one which had been made three months previously, of Ł12 19s. 3d. was authorised, being a further amount due in pay and allowances to the late Sgt. Sam Phillips (see 7th June); the payment in this case would go to his daughter, Dora. It would appear that he had made provision for a division of his estate of two-thirds to one-third, in favour of his daughter.
Eastern Front:
Russians fall back 30 miles along Riga-Petrograd road.
September 3 1917, Riga–The Germans had crossed the Dvina upstream of Riga on September 1, but since then had been prevented from surrounding the city or even cutting off its railroad connections due to the heroic resistance of individual units (primarily the 2nd Latvian Brigade). On September 3rd, hopeful that Riga could continue to hold out, the commander of the Russian Twelfth Army ordered counterattacks against the German bridgehead. However, by this point the Russians had no effective communications, and essentially no troops willing and able to perform such an attack.
In the meantime, the Germans had brought their artillery across the river, and brought their full strength against the Russians between them and Riga. Most of the Russian troops broke; the rest were swiftly overwhelmed. The Twelfth Army began to stream eastward out of Riga, followed by refugees. Later in the afternoon, the first German troops entered the city. They would capture large stores of materiel that could not be evacuated, as well as 15,000 POWs who were cut off by the German advance. The commander of the Northern Front wrote that “the Twelfth Army’s retreat has so disorganized it that it is positively in no state at all to stop an enemy attack without a well-fortified position.” However, the Germans were not interested in being drawn further to the east, and stopped their advance two days later once Riga and its approaches were securely in their hands.
Southern Front:
Heavy fighting north-east of Gorizia and on southern Carso; Italians take positions round Monte S. Gabriele and 1,600 prisoners.
Italians fall back from, but recover, positions between Brestovica valley and sea.
Naval Operations:
Scarborough shelled by submarine; 30 rounds, 3 killed, 6 injured.
Shipping Losses: 4 (All to U-Boat action)
Political:
Anglo-French Conference assembles in London to discuss the question of military assistance to ltaly. (see 25th).
Trades Union Congress declares against Stockholm Conference by overwhelming majority.
Mr Morel sent to prison.
Correspondence between Kaiser and Tsar (anti-British proposals) published.
Anniversary Events:
1260 At the Battle of Montaperto in Italy, the Tuscan Ghibellines, who support the emperor, defeat the Florentine Guelfs, who support papal power. 1479 After four years of war, Spain agrees to allow a Portuguese monopoly of trade along Africa's west coast and Portugal acknowledges Spain's rights in the Canary Islands. 1781 Los Angeles, first an Indian village Yangma, is founded by Spanish decree. 1787 Louis XVI of France recalls parliament. 1790 Jacques Necker is forced to resign as finance minister in France. 1804 USS Intrepid explodes while entering Tripoli harbor on a mission to destroy the enemy fleet there during the First Barbary War. 1820 Czar Alexander declares that Russian influence in North America extends as far south as Oregon and closes Alaskan waters to foreigners. 1862 Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invades Maryland, starting the Antietam Campaign. 1870 A republic is proclaimed in Paris and a government of national defense is formed. 1881 The Edison electric lighting system goes into operation as a generator serving 85 paying customers is switched on. 1886 Elusive Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Ariz. 1893 Beatrix Potter sends a note to her governess' son with the first drawing of Peter Rabbit, Cottontail and others. The Tale of Petter Rabbit is published eight years later. 1915 The U.S. military places Haiti under martial law to quell a rebellion in its capital Port-au-Prince.
Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-04-2017 at 06:10.
See you on the Dark Side......
My apologies as the next few days reports will be a trifle bitty as above, it would seem (Hush Hush nudge nudge etc) that the Squadron is relocating to Doncaster for a special roll soon and everything is in a state of flux, a new word I've picked up off some American flyers.
See you on the Dark Side......
Only 246 sales to go Neil.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Blimey is it Trafalgar or the Glorious 1st of?
See you on the Dark Side......
Thanks for your time and effort nice read.
Today we lost: 385
Wednesday 5th September 1917
ˇ A father and son killed togetherToday’s losses include:
ˇ A man killed on his wife’s birthday and the day after his second wedding anniversary
ˇ Multiple sons of members of the clergy
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
ˇ A man whose wife will die on service 12 November 1918ˇ Lieutenant William Edwyn Sandys (Royal Flying Corps) is killed on his wife’s birthday at age 26. Is a fine all-around sportsman, horseman, very musical and had travelled extensively. It is also the day after his second wedding anniversary.
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
ˇ Lieutenant Hugh MacDiarmid Turnbull (Royal Scots) is killed in action at age 24. He is the son of Reverend A Turnbull, Minister of Darjeeling, India.
ˇ Lieutenant James Hywel Parry (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) is killed at age 26. His brother was killed in October of last year and they are sons of the Reverend J Hywell Parry.
ˇ Second Lieutenant Arthur Armer (Border Regiment) is killed at age 23. His wife will die on service the day after the Armistice is signed serving in the Women’s Royal Air Force.
ˇ Private Ernest Bywaters (Northamptonshire Regiment) dies at home at age 18. He has two brothers who will be killed during the Great War.
ˇ Gunner W L Cairns (Canadian Royal Artillery) is killed at age 25. His brother will be killed in April 1918.
Air Operations:
In company with formation, Flight Lieutenant Arthur Roy Brown (Royal Flying Corps) attacks an Albatross scout and two-seater, driving them away from our lines. One machine is observed to go down apparently out of control.
Flight Sub Lieutenant Robert Leckie (Royal Naval Air Service) rescues the crew of a DH4.
The Royal Naval Air Service Airco (de Havilland) DH4 is forced to ditch in the North Sea following an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down Zeppelin LZ 93 (L44).
A Felixstowe F.2A in flight, being flown by Captain Robert Leckie.
The airship is eventually brought down by anti-aircraft fire over France on 20 October.
Air raids over British lines kill 37 and wound 43 German prisoners. They bomb 3 British hospitals and kill 19 and wound 26 patients in French hospital at Vadelaincourt, Meuse.
September 4 1917, Camiers–While American troops were still far from the front lines, US Army medical personnel were working with their British counterparts in hospitals well within range of German planes and shells. On September 4, the first Americans were killed by enemy fire when the hospital at Camiers was attacked in a German air raid. Lt. William Fitzsimons was killed when a bomb exploded at the foot of his tent; Pvts. Oscar Tugo, Rudolph Rubino, and Leslie Woods were also killed in the same raid, and nine others were wounded. All were had been associated with Harvard-affiliated hospitals in the Boston area before coming to France.
The hospital at Camiers which was attacked in the German air raid.
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 8
Dunville, G. (George)
Rank Sgt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 158 Squadron
Holman, C.G. (Cecil Graham)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 8 Squadron
MacNiven, A.O. (Alister Orr)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 45 Squadron
O'Giollagain, J.G. (John Gabriel)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps
Payne, J.W. (John William)
Rank A Mech 1 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 8 Squadron
Sandys, W.E. (William Edwin)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 32 Squadron
Shields, W. (William)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 45 Squadron
Studholme, W. (William)
Rank Sgt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 4 Squadron
Claims: 34 confirmed (Entente 27 : Central Powers 7)
Western Front:
Tunstills Men Wednesday 5th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
The Battalion was engaged in training for a forthcoming attack.
Pte. Thomas Caton (see 31st August), who had previously been charged with a range of previous offences, was again reported for “irregular conduct: ie having a dirty rifle and having a comrade’s rifle”; he was reported by Sgts. Joseph Bona (see 9th August) and William Alfred Walmsley Gaunt (see 4th September) and, on the orders of Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge (see 4th September), was sentenced to 14 days’ Field Punishment no.1.
Acting L.Cpl. Alfred Spencer (see 15th August), who had been on attachment at the permanent base of IV Corps at Albert, having suffered from shellshock two months previously, re-joined the Battalion; he reverted to the rank of Private.
Pte. John Thomas Mason (see 7th June) left the Battalion and was transferred to 878th Area Employment Company of the Labour Corps.
Lt. Sydney Charles Ernest Farrance (see 4th August), who had left 10 DWR a month previously to join 8DWR, completed an application for a permanent commission in the Indian Army.
Pte. Ernest William Evans (see 25th August), who had been evacuated to England after being wounded on 8th June, reported for duty at Northern Command Depot at Ripon.
A payment of Ł2 1s.10d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Henry Downs (see 8th June) who had died of wounds on 8th June; the payment would go to his father, Thomas. A package of his personal effects was also despatched to the family; this comprised of, “disc, photos, letters, pocket book, cross, red book, nail clippers, metal spoon, pencil case, metal pen holder, cap badge, clip, wallet, purse”.
A payment of Ł7 7s. 8d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Reuben Smith (see 13th June), who had died of wounds on 11th June; the payment would go to his mother, Emily.
A payment of 7s. 11d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Jacob Sweeting (see 7th June) who had originally been reported wounded, but later confirmed killed in action on 7th June; the payment would go to his widow, Edith.
Eastern Front:
Germans capture line of River Dvina to Friedrichstadt.
Battle of Riga ends (see 1st and 3rd).
Southern Front:
Struggle continues north-east of Gorizia.
African Front:
East Africa: Germans lose 500 men altogether from 30 August to 2 September, and particularly severely in retreat to Mahenge.
Naval Operations:
SM U-88, Kaiserliche Marine, a type U87 submarine, struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Terschelling, Friesland, Holland with the loss of all 43 crew.
Shipping Losses:13 (2 to mines & 11 to U-Boat action)
Political:
"Bonnet Rouge" newspaper case being investigated: treasonable intrigue; French government accused of weakness in connection.
Anniversary Events:
1666 The Fire of London is extinguished after two days. 1664 After days of negotiation, the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam surrenders to the British, who will rename it New York. 1792 Maximilien Robespierre is elected to the National Convention in France. 1804 US Navy lieutenant Richard Somers and members of his crew are buried at Tripoli; they died when USS Intrepid exploded while entering Tripoli harbor on a mission to destroy the enemy fleet there during the First Barbary War. 1816 Louis XVIII of France dissolves the chamber of deputies, which has been challenging his authority. 1859 Harriot E. Wilson's Our Nig, is published, the first U.S. novel by an African American woman. 1867 The first shipment of cattle leaves Abilene, Kansas, on a Union Pacific train headed to Chicago. 1870 Author Victor Hugo returns to Paris from the Isle of Guernsey where he had lived in exile for almost 20 years. 1877 The great Sioux warrior Crazy Horse is fatally bayoneted at age 36 by a soldier at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. 1878 Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilghman and Clay Allison, four of the West's most famous gunmen, meet in Dodge City, Kansas. 1905 The Russian-Japanese War ends as representatives of the combating empires, meeting in New Hampshire, sign the Treaty of Portsmouth. Japan achieves virtually all of its original war aims. 1910 Marie Curie demonstrates the transformation of radium ore to metal at the Academy of Sciences in France.
Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-05-2017 at 14:52.
See you on the Dark Side......
Apologies for the delay but some of the pics wouldnt upload. All done now.
See you on the Dark Side......
200,000 views.. What a result. Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read our ramblings.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Another milestone (or is that millstone?) we have surpassed Chris. Well done for starting this thread off.
See you on the Dark Side......
Congrats!
A very hearty WELL DONE to all the Editors and staff of the Sniper's Times. Salute, Salute and Salute again.
Today we lost: 779
Thursday 6th September 1917
ˇ Two men shot at dawnToday’s losses include:
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
ˇ Multiple sons of members of the clergy
ˇ The grandson of a member of the clergyˇ Second Lieutenant Thomas Edward Bartleman (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed at age 20. His brother was killed in May 1915.
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
ˇ Second Lieutenant William Hope Davison (Sikh Pioneers) dies of enteric fever at Murree Punjab. His brother will be killed later this month and they are sons of the Reverend W Hope Davison.
ˇ Second Lieutenant Hugh Kington Llewelyn Statham (Dorsetshire Regiment) is killed at age 31. He is the grandson of the late Archdeacon H S Gill and son of the Reverend P Statham.
ˇ Lance Corporal Duncan Benjamin Stevenson MacLean (New Zealand Rifle Brigade) dies of wounds at age 26. He is the son of the Reverend Alec MacLean.
ˇ Corporal Murdo Campbell (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed at age 25. His brother died of wounds in July 1915.
ˇ Private Sidney Mutimer (Cambridgeshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 23. His brother will die of wounds in April 1918.
Air Operations:
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 9
Aston, L.H. (Leonard Hugh)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit Central Flying School (Hendon Civil School)
Cronhelm, A.G. (Arthur Godfrey)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 23 Training Squadron
Crookes, H. (Harry)
Rank A Mech 1 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 52 Squadron
Edmunds, V.S. (Vivian Spence)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 3 Training Squadron
Hirst, A. (Albert)
Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 63 Squadron
Hunt, G.A. (Geoffrey Albert)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps >>
Johnson, F.L. (Frank L.)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps
Matthews, H.F. (Herbert Frederick)
Rank A Mech 2 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 20 Squadron
Pilkington, J.O. (John Oscar)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 20 Squadron
Claims: 12 confirmed (Entente 11 : Central Powers 1)
Wilfred Curtis #1 Joseph Fall #16 Hazel Wallace #1 Harold Stackard #6 Rothesay Stuart Wortley #1 #2 Russell Winnicott #1 Arthur William Wood #3 Andre Herbelin u/c Hans Auer u/c Dieter Collin #5 Francesco Baracca #19 Guido Nardini u/c Giovanni Sabelli #2 Ivan Loiko #4
Home Front:
Britain: Air raids from the previous two nights provoke the withdrawal of labour at Dunkirk also affect Nos. 73 and 78 companies, Egyptian Labor Company employed at Boulogne. Following the heavy bombing on the previous two days, 1,300 Egyptians go on strike, asserting that they have served out the duration of their six-month contracts. Demanding to be sent back to Egypt, they also declare that had been upset by the air raids and are disenchanted by the cold, wet weather.
The Assistant Director of Labour summons the Egyptian Adviser, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Coutts to negotiate with the strikers. Coutts, formerly the Director of Stores, Prisons and Police in the Sudan, reports that the men adamantly refuse to modify their sole demand. They have included in their calculation the time taken to travel and return to their home villages. Coutts disagrees, asserting that their six-month contracts includes only to the time they spend in France. Colonel E.C. Wace, the Deputy Director of Labour deals brusquely with Coutts, insisting that the dispute is not a matter for negotiation but a disciplinary issue to be settled by force if the strike continues.
Coutts relays the ultimatum to the Egyptians while the camp is surrounded on three sides by a detachment of the Garrison battalion. When the defiant strikers break out of the camp, they are gunned down. The final casualty toll is twenty-three dead and twenty-four wounded. Thereafter, the Egyptians resume work. The use of force at Boulogne and the accompanying death toll produces the bloodiest outcome of any mutiny that occurred in the BEF during the Great War.
Western Front:
British detachments pressed back near Frezenberg (Ypres).
Sergeant John Thomas Wall (Worcestershire Regiment) is executed by firing squad, for desertion, at Poperinghe. He is 22 years of age. Sergeant Wall of Bockleton, near Tenbury, Worcestershire had enlisted in the Worcestershire Regiment in 1912 and served on the Western Front from the beginning of the Great War. When he arrived in France with the 3rd Battalion on the 12th August 1914, his rank was Lance-Corporal. He fought with his battalion in every engagement and was promoted to Sergeant. In August 1917 the 3rd Battalion was in action near the Bellwarde Ridge, when Sergeant Wall went missing during the attack. This was unlike him and it could have been that he was suffering from ‘battle fatigue’ which affected his mental state. Unfortunately, this was not considered at his trial. Private Edward Delargy (Royal Scots) is also shot at dawn at age 19.
Tunstills Men Thursday 6th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
A hot day.
The Battalion continued their training for a forthcoming attack.
A payment of Ł2 18s. 7d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Joe Dyson (see 23rd May), who had been killed in action on 23rd May; the payment would go to his widow, Maud.
Eastern Front:
12th Russian Army falls back clear of enemy.
Kaiser reviews troops in Riga.
Southern Front:
Stubborn fighting north-east of Gorizia.
African Front:
German force surrenders to British coloured troops at Kakera (N.N.E. of Kilossa).
Naval Operations:
Sir Eric Geddes appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, Great Britain (see July 19th).
September 5 1917, Terschelling–Walther Schwieger continued to command the U-20 after the sinking of the Lusitania. He even continued to do so after sinking another passenger liner, the Hesperian, despite strict orders not to do so (and widespread condemnation afterwards, even within the German Navy). The U-20 was grounded and scuttled on the Danish coast in late 1916, and Schwieger would not return to the submarine war until after American entry into the war, this time in the new submarine U-88.
On September 5, Schweiger ran across the British Q-ship HMS Stonecrop in the Heligoland Bight. The encounter did not proceed as planned for either vessel, and resulted in the Stonecrop giving chase. The chase abruptly ended when the U-88 ran into and detonated a British mine. The submarine sank almost instantly; all 43 on board, including Schwieger, were killed.
Schwieger’s reputation in Germany had been improving before his death (he was awarded a Pour le Mérite in July), and was cemented by it. His death was not publicized in Allied nations until August 1918. At that point, The New York Times, in full war fever as victory approached, editorialized:
There is a certain plausibility of poetic justice in his end, but if he had been human and not a German machine, he should have lived until he made away with himself; or, his mind broken with intolerable remembrances, he should have passed long years in a madhouse. But he was only a German. He only obeyed orders. To do the arch-deed of pitiless savagery was to win promotion. With what a delirium of rejoicing, shoehorn to what endless bumpers, was that exploit celebrated by the German tribes!
Shipping Losses: 9 (2 to mines & 11 to U-Boat action)
H M Trawler Helgian (Skipper James Harkness Bird age 25) is sunk by a mine in the Gulf of Ruphani Aegean Sea killing ten including her Skipper.
Political:
Petrograd and Moscow closed to strangers.
Mr. Henderson on Stockholm.
Australian �80,000,000 War Loan Bill.
Anniversary Events:
394 Theodosius becomes sole ruler of Italy after defeating Eugenius at the Battle of the River Frigidus. 1422 Sultan Murat II ends a vain siege of Constantinople. 1522 One of the five ships that set out in Ferdinand Magellan's trip around the world makes it back to Spain. Only 15 of the original 265 men that set out survived. Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines. 1688 Imperial troops defeat the Turks and take Belgrade, Serbia. 1793 French General Jean Houchard and his 40,000 men begin a three-day battle against an Anglo-Hanoveraian army at Hondschoote, southwest Belgium, in the wars of the French Revolution. 1847 Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and moves back into town, to Concord, Massachusetts. 1861 Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces capture Paducah, Kentucky from Confederate forces. 1870 The last British troops to serve in Austria are withdrawn. 1901 President William McKinley is shot while attending a reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, by 28-year-old anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley dies eight days later, the third American president assassinated. 1907 The luxury liner Lusitania leaves London for New York on her maiden voyage.
See you on the Dark Side......
Today we lost: 396
Friday 7th September 1917
ˇ A famous cricket playerToday’s losses include:
ˇ Multiple families that will two and three sons in the Great War
ˇ A battalion commander
ˇ A Military Chaplainˇ Lieutenant Colonel Richard Percy Lewis (Devonshire Regiment commanding 1st/9th Manchester Regiment) dies of wounds from a shell splinter at age 44.He is a famous wicket keeper as a member of Marylebone Cricket Club.
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
ˇ Chaplain 4th Class the Reverend J Ash (attached Royal Field Artillery) is killed in his billet through an airplane bombing attack at age 37. He is a Methodist minister.
ˇ Major Andrew Graham Conran Smythe (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed at age 34. His brother died of wounds in November 1914.
ˇ Private Louis Edgar West (Quebec Regiment) is killed on Vimy Ridge at age 23. His brothers were killed together in April of this year.
ˇ Private John Catto (Seaforth Highlanders) dies of wounds at age 24. He is the middle of three brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War.
Air Operations:
Austrians bomb Venice.
Captain Reginald Morse Charley (Royal Flying Corps) opens fire on a German scout attacking a Sopwith scout and shoots it down into the sea.
American hospitals near coast bombed, 3 killed, 10 wounded.
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 3
Brittain-Smith, S.F. (Sydney Francis)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Naval Air Service Unit Mudros Airship Station
Crosbie, J.C. (John Colin)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 70 Squadron
Dawson, J.M. (John Marshall)
Rank Flt Off (Prob) Organisation Royal Naval Air Service Unit Redcar Naval Air Station
Claims: 4confirmed (Entente 2 : Central Powers 2)
Raoul Stojsavljevic#9 Emil Thuy#10 Pier Piccio#10 Ivan Loikou/c Mikhail Safonov#3
Western Front:
On the Lens front the British line of advanced posts in Avion and east of Eleu-dit-Leauvette push forward.
Tunstills Men Friday 7th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
The Battalion was again engaged in training for a forthcoming attack.
Lt. Charles Frederick Wolfe (see 15th June), Transport Officer to 10DWR, left the Battalion to take up an appointment with the Army Service Corps; he had for some time been acting as Brigade Transport Officer for 69th Brigade.
Pte. Arthur William Drane (see 5th July) was reported by the Military Police as having been, “improperly dressed when walking out in Lederzeele”; on the orders of Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 4th September) he would be confined to barracks for four days.
Pte. Stanley Sykes (see 13th November 1916) departed on ten days’ leave to England.
Pte. Harry Briggs (19286) (see 10th November 1916), serving with 5th Army School of Mortars, was reported as “failing to comply with standing orders”; he would forfeit three days’ pay.
Pte. Thomas Lloyd (see 24th May), serving in France with 2/6DWR, was appointed Lance Corporal.
Ptes. Selwyn Stansfield (see 24th May) , who had been in England since being wounded in May, and Milton Wood (see 15th July), who had been in England since being taken ill in July, were both posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon, en route to a return to active service.
Pte. Robert Cresswell (see 27th September 1916), who had been one of Tunstill’s original recruits but had been transferred to 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment in September 1916, returned to England on ten days’ leave.
The weekly edition of the Craven Herald published news of the commission granted to 2Lt. Harley Bentham (see 30th July)
COMMISSION FOR HELLIFIELD SOLDIER
Mr. Harley Bentham, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Bentham, Thorndale Street, Hellifield, has been gazetted Sec.- Lieut. in the Duke of Wellington's. Mr. Bentham enlisted in the Duke of Wellington's in January, 1916, and went out to France the following May. Since coming home to study for his commission, he has spent some months in training at Gailes, Scotland. Formerly he was employed as a bank clerk in the Bank of Liverpool at Settle. He joins his regiment on Monday next.
Southern Front:
British activity on Struma front (eastern Macedonia).
Italians attack Monte S. Gabriele.
Asiatic, African, Egyptian front:
Health of troops in Mesopotamia reported greatly improved.
The aftermath of the explosion at Haydarpaşa station.
September 6 1917, Haydarpaşa–The new joint German-Turkish Yildirim Army Group had originally been tasked with retaking Baghdad by Enver Pasha, despite strenuous objections from Djemal Pasha, commanding the Fourth Army in Syria, who felt the force would be better used as a strategic reserve to respond to an Allied offensive from any direction. Djemal continued to protest over the course of the summer, and in mid-August, with Falkenhayn’s backing, finally got Enver to call off the attack on Baghdad.
Djemal soon came to regret this, however, realizing that Falkenhayn could now challenge his military authority in Syria and Palestine. On September 5, Falkenhayn decided that he would use Yildirim to attack in Palestine. The British were performing a worrying buildup there, and the Russians were no longer a threat in the Caucasus. He hoped to push the British back across the Sinai, and that his German divisions could finally force the Suez Canal. Mustafa Kemal, whose Seventh Army would be responsible for this offensive, protested fervently to Enver. His army was in no condition to conduct an offensive, and no reserves to back them up; one of his divisions had lost more than half of its strength just in the journey from Constantinople to Aleppo. Politically, he also chafed at being under the command of the German Falkenhayn.
Furthermore, the large quantities of materiel sent by the Germans for Yildirim were much diminished on September 6, when a massive explosion at Haydarpaşa station (the Asian terminus of the planned railway to Baghdad, across the Bosporus from Constantinople) destroyed much of them. Yildirim, short on men and supplies, would not begin its march south from Aleppo until the end of the month. Mustafa Kemal would not be with them, as he resigned in protest before they began to move out.
Naval Operations:
Shipping Losses: 12 (1 to a mine & 11 to U-Boat action)
The steamer SS Minnehaha is sunk by a torpedo fired by U-48 twelve miles southeast of Fastnet in four minutes. Forty-three are killed including second mate Percival John Lewis who is killed at age 28. His brother died of wounds in July 1916. East of Gibraltar the steamer Brodmead (Master Duncan McQueen) is torpedoed but is able to reach port. Twelve are killed including her 40-year old master.
Political:
U.S.A. contemplate seizing 400,000 tons of neutral shipping in American ports.
M. Ribot's ministry resigns.
M. Pashich in Rome.
Anniversary Events:
1571 At the Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean Sea, the Christian galley fleet destroys the Turkish galley fleet. 1630 The town of Trimountaine in Massachusetts is renamed Boston. It became the state capital. 1701 England, Austria, and the Netherlands form an Alliance against France. 1778 Shawnee Indians attack and lay siege to Boonesborough, Kentucky. 1812 On the road to Moscow, Napoleon wins a costly victory over the Russians at Borodino. 1813 The earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname "Uncle Sam" occurs in the Troy Post. 1864 Union General Phil Sheridan's troops skirmish with the Confederates under Jubal Early outside Winchester, Virginia. 1876 The James-Younger gang botches an attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. 1888 An incubator is used for the first time on a premature infant. 1892 The first heavyweight-title boxing match fought with gloves under Marquis of Queensbury rules ends when James J. Corbett knocks out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round. 1912 French aviator Roland Garros sets an altitude record of 13,200 feet. 1916 The U.S. Congress passes the Workman's Compensation Act.
Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-07-2017 at 00:51.
See you on the Dark Side......
John Carmichael VC, MM (1 April 1893 – 20 December 1977) was 24 years old, and a sergeant in the 9th Battalion, The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales), when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 8 September 1917, when excavating a trench near Hill 60, Zwarteleen, Belgium, Sergeant Carmichael saw that a grenade had been unearthed and had started to burn. Rather than simply throwing the bomb out of the trench and endangering the lives of the men working on top, he immediately rushed to the spot shouting for his men to get clear, put his steel helmet over the grenade and then stood on the helmet. The grenade exploded, blowing him out of the trench causing him serious injuries, but no one else was hurt.
Today we lost: 402
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great WarToday’s losses include:
ˇ The son of a member of the clergyˇ Corporal C Copland (Royal Engineers) dies of wounds at age 22. His two brothers will be killed next year.Today’s highlighted casualties include:
ˇ Private John Thomas Thompson (York and Lancaster Regiment) dies of wounds received in action at age 20. His brother will be killed next March.
ˇ Private Albert Ellis Legate (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed at age 30. His brother was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
ˇ Private John Harris (Welsh Regiment) dies of wounds at age 32. His brother died of wounds in May 1915.
ˇ Private Hugo Valentine Fleury (Central Ontario Regiment) is killed becoming the third son of the Reverend Louis Richard Fleury Rector of Kilworth Cork to lose his life in the Great War.
Air Operations:
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 4
Abbatt, E.L. (Edward Leslie)
Rank A Mech 1 Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit No.4 Aircraft Park
Anderson, F.B.H. (Francis Brian Hallam)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 64 Squadron
Gardiner, H.G. (Henry George)
Rank Sgt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit No.8 Aircraft Acceptance Park
Hilton, H. (Harry)
Rank A Mech 1 Organisation Royal Naval Air Service Unit British Adriatic Squadron, 6th Wing
Claims: 2 confirmed (Entente 2 : Central Powers 0)
Roman Schmidt #2 Ivan Loiko u/c Ivan Smirnov #5 Grigory Suk u/c
Western Front:
Verdun: French attack on Meuse front and sieze Fosses, Caurieres and Chaume Woods and 800 prisoners.
Tunstills Men Wednesday 5th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
The Battalion was engaged in training for a forthcoming attack.
Lt. Paul James Sainsbury (see 2nd August), after spending more than a year in England having been wounded while serving with 2DWR on the Somme on 1st July 1916, returned to France, en route to joining 10DWR.
It was around this time, although the exact date is uncertain that a large draft of men reported for duty. They were mostly conscripted men, many of them from the London area, who were being posted to active service for the first time. In the absence of surviving service records for most of them it has not yet been possible to make positive identifications of many of these men. Among those posted to 10DWR are known to have been CSM Ernest James Odell; CSM Fred Pattison; Col. Sgt. Thomas Winder; Sgt. Albert Blackburn; Sgt. Edward Robert Butler; Sgt. Joseph Patrick Melvin; Cpl. Arthur Boorman was a 36 year-old former police officer from Surrey; Cpl. William George Broom; Cpl. George Arthur Chitticks was a 22 year-old former farm labourer from Essex; Cpl. Albert Leech; Cpl. George Herbert Moody was a 36 year-old married man from Anglesey; Cpl. Reuben Serrell was 19 years old and from Leek, Staffs.; Pte. James Adams; Pte. James George Aires; Pte. Stanley Ellis Barth was 19 years old and from Islington; Pte. Albert Edward Beasley; Pte. Ernest Bellamy; Pte. Thomas Henry Bennett; Pte. David Boas; Pte. John William Bonner; Pte. Arthur Briscoe; Pte. George Edmund Childs, he was 29 years old and from Lambeth; Pte. William Edward Chase, he was 19 years old and from Deptford; Pte. Ernest George Coxall was a 37 year-old married man from Islington; Pte. James Crane; Pte. William Demee was from London; Pte. Robert James Dugdale was 28 years old and from Hackney; Pte. Thomas Farrow; Pte. Frederick James Farthing; Pte. Frederick Jesse Foster was 40 years old and from Camberwell; Pte. Robert Hines French was a 37 year-old married man from Deptford; Pte. George William Gamblin was 30 years old and originally from Sheffield but had been living in London. Pte. William George Golding; Pte. John William Hebb was a 36 year-old self-employed draper; he was a married man, originally from Lincolnshire but had been living in Bolsover, Derbyshire; Pte. Louis Heren was 19 years old and from London; Pte. Robert Bernard Higgins; Pte. Lewis Hollingworth; Pte. Frederick Thomas Hollis; Pte. William James Horne was a 35 year-old married man from Glasgow; Pte. John Johnstone; Pte. Henry Harry Jolly was 38 years old; although born in Burma (now Myanmar), he had returned to England by the time he was two years old. He was a married man with one daughter (image); Pte. Archibald Kean; Pte. Henry Thomas Lackey was 35 years old, from London and was married with two children; Pte. William Kendall Lamb was a 22 year-old clerk from Bradford; Pte. David Levey; Pte. Alfred Samuel Long; Pte. Stanley Arthur Lucas was 22 years old and from Needham Market, Suffolk; Pte. William Arthur Birch Machin was 19 years old and from Leek, Staffs.; Pte. Donald McColl; Pte. Victor Munnery was 21 years old and from London; Pte. Herbert Noble; Pte. Hugh Stacey Norris was a 32 year-old married man from Hackney; Pte. Horace James Nurse; Pte. John Oldfield; Pte. Clifford Orchard; Pte. Robert Page; Pte. Edward Percival; Pte. Henry Powell; Pte. Kingsley James Reeve was 25 years old and from Lowestoft; Pte. Albert Rowe; Pte. James Scott; Pte. William Skilton Scott was from Camberwell; Pte. John George Sleight was a 31 year-old gamekeeper from Belford, Northumberland. Pte. Herbert Smith (31449) was a 27 year-old labourer from Huddersfield. Pte. Robert Smith (235260); Pte. Walter Smith (235414); Pte. Harry Stillwell was a 32 year-old married man from London; Pte. Augustus Edgar Stone was 35 years old and from London; Pte. Frank Suckling was from London; Pte. Reuben Thomas Thompson was 29 years old and from London; Pte. Thomas Frederick William Tink was 19 years old and from London; Pte. Alexander Moir Walker was 35 years old and originally from Montrose; Pte. John Joseph Walker was a 26 year-old labourer from Doncaster; Pte. Ernest Frederick Warner was 22 years old and from Colchester; Pte. Cuthbert Wrightson was a 30 year-old dentist from Leeds; he was a married man.
A number of other men also joined the Battalion, having been transferred from the Norfolk Regiment after arriving in France on 23rd August. They had been formally transferred to 10DWR on 6th September whilst at 17th Infantry Base Depot at Calais. Pte. Ernest Frederick Authers was 37 years old and from Tonbridge, Kent; he was a married man with three children. Pte. Edwin Charles Church was a 39 year-old married man with two children and had been living in Clapham, where he had worked as a petrol store keeper. Pte. Walter Gibson was a 37 year-old policeman from Gravesend, Kent. Pte. David Lindsay was a 40 year-old travelling salesman from Wandsworth; he was married with one son.
Five officers arrived in France who would be posted to serve with 10DWR, although they had originally been commissioned to serve with the East Yorkshire Regiment.
2Lt. John Robert Cass was 37 years old and from Hull, where he had worked before the war as a cabinet maker; he was a married man with two sons. Following the outbreak of war he had joined the East Yorkshire Regiment and had gone out to France in April 1915. He had been commissioned on 26th April 1917 and had been formally transferred to the West Ridings on 27th June. The other four officers were all posted on temporary attachment to 10DWR. Lt. Erik Frost Helmsing was just 19 years old, the son of a coal merchant from Hull. He had been commissioned Second Lieutenant on 18th July 1915 and promoted Lieutenant on 1st July 1917. 2Lt. George Thomas Lotherington was 26 years old (born 8th September 1890) and from Hull where he had worked as an ironmonger’s assistant. He had served in the ranks with the East Yorkshires and had served abroad from December 1915. He had been commissioned on 27th June 1917. 2Lt. William Taylor was 30 years old (born 5th April 1887) and from Liverpool where he had worked as a salesman for a firm of fruit importers. He had joined the East Yorkshire Regiment in September 1914 and had served in France with 8th Battalion from April 1916 until being wounded in early July 1916. He had been posted back to England and had married Annie Neale on 5th September 1916 in a service at the Wesleyan Chapel in West Derby. He had applied for a commission in January 1917 and been commissioned on 26th June. 2Lt. John Henry Walker was 26 years old (born 28th May 1891), married, and, before the war, had been working as an assistant schoolmaster at Hartlepool Henry Smith Secondary School. He had served in England with 3rd East Yorks., being promoted Corporal, and had applied for a commission in December 1916. He had been commissioned on 26th June.
2Lt. Leopold Henry Burrow (see 20th August) was transferred to Permanent Base Duties and posted for duty at no.14 Convalescent Depot at Trouville.
Pte. Albert John Start (see 1st June), serving with a Base Details Battalion at Abbeville, was transferred to 791st Area Employment Company, Labour Corps.
Pte. George Edward Chapman (see 11th August 1916), who was back in England after serving just one week with 10DWR in June 1916 before suffering shellshock, was attached to 517th (Home Service) Labour Company, Labour Corps.
Eastern Front:
General Kornilov dismissed; General Kemborski appointed Commander-in-Chief.
Owing to misunderstanding with M. Kerenski, General Kornilov marches on Petrograd.
Southern Front:
Essad Pasha meeting with the French in Salonika.
September 7 1917, Pogradec–The Allied forces around Salonika were weaker than they had been for quite a while; the British had withdrawn forces, and a new, generous leave policy for the French soldiers there (an indirect consequences of the mutinies in France) meant most French divisions were understrength at any given time. Nevertheless, Sarrail wanted a victory. A breakthrough in the Struma valley or north of Monastir would be impossible with the troops he had available, but, further west, there were still possibilities in Albania. The French had largely neglected the area, worried about stepping on Italy’s toes and because it had little strategic importance. Nevertheless, only lightly defended by an extremely-distracted Austria, it proved a tempting target.
On September 7, the French launched an attack toward the town of Pogradec, on the southwestern shore of Lake Ohrid. Within three days they had taken the town, at a cost of under 200 casualties. Although it had little strategic importance, it was hailed as a great victory in France, thanks to Sarrail’s contacts in the socialist press.
Assisting the French in the battle was a contingent of 500 Albanians under Essad Pasha, the self-styled President of Albania. No longer backed by the Italians, Essad wanted to prove his value and hopefully gain recognition from his government. Essad’s Albanians acquitted themselves well on the familiar terrain, successfully raiding Austrian positions in the coming weeks. However, Essad’s increasing prominence only served to anger the Italians, Greeks, and Serbians, who all had their own interests in Albania.
Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:
Enemy H.Q. at Mahenge threatened by Belgian troops from north.
Enemy retreats towards Liwale, 120 miles south-west of Kilwa.
German positions occupied by British at Mponda's, south of Mahenge.
Naval Operations:
Shipping Losses: 13 (All to U-Boat action)
S S Newholm (Captain N H Blake) a defensively-armed merchant ship is sunk by a mine one mile south from Start Point.Twenty of the twenty-nine on board are killed though the skipper survives.
Political:
Russian Government re-imposes death penalty everywhere for treason, desertion and cowardice.
British Food Controller fixes price of milk for three months after October at 8d. per quart.
Anniversary Events:
1504 Michelangelo's 13-foot marble statue of David is unveiled in Florence, Italy. 1529 The Ottoman Sultan Suleiman re-enters Budapest and establishes John Zapolya as the puppet king of Hungary. 1565 Spanish explorers found St. Augustine, Florida, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States. 1628 John Endecott arrives with colonists at Salem, Massachusetts, where he will become the governor. 1644 The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam surrenders to the British fleet that sails into its harbor. Five years later, the British change the name to New York. 1755 British forces under William Johnson defeat the French and the Indians at the Battle of Lake George. 1760 The French surrender the city of Montreal to the British. 1845 A French column surrenders at Sidi Brahim in the Algerian War. 1863 Confederate Lieutenant **** Dowling thwarts a Union naval landing at Sabine Pass, northeast of Galveston, Texas. 1903 Between 30,000 and 50,000 Bulgarian men, women and children are massacred in Monastir by Turkish troops seeking to check a threatened Macedonian uprising. 1906 Robert Turner invents the automatic typewriter return carriage. 1915 Germany begins a new offensive in Argonne on the Western Front.
Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-08-2017 at 03:02.
See you on the Dark Side......
Sunday 9th September 1917
Today we lost: 433
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great WarToday’s losses include:
ˇ The son of a Major General
ˇ The son of a member of the clergy
ˇ A Baptist student pastor from the United Statesˇ Major William Robert Beauchamp Gillespie (Berkshire Regiment) is killed in Greece at age 42. He is the son of Major General W J Gillespie and a veteran of the South Africa War.
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
ˇ Second Lieutenant Edward Dudley Skinner (Manchester Regiment) is killed at age 25. He is the son of the Reverend Ernest Edward Becher Skinner Vicar of Chacombe.
ˇ Officers Steward 2nd Class Arthur Richmond Sylvester Fox (HMS Myosotis) dies at sea at age 47. He was an Old Dulwich and Westminster Boy and Gold Medalist for the Geographical Society.
ˇ Civilian Theodore Harvey L Clark (YMCA) dies of sunstroke at age 25 in Mesopotamia. He is a Baptist student pastor from Chicago, IL.
Air Operations:
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 9
Adlam, L.E. (Leslie Edwin)
Rank Flt Sub-Lt Organisation Royal Naval Air Service Unit 1 (N) Squadron
Bishop, B.B. (Bernard Bennett)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 52 Squadron
Davidson, A.G. (Arthur Gerrard)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 52 Squadron
Freadman, Z.E. (Zaval Ephraim)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Australian Flying Corps Unit 4 Squadron attached 60 Training Squadron
Hamer, J.H. (John Harold)
Rank Sgt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 22 Squadron
Lambeth, G.E. (George Edward)
Rank Sgt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 22 Squadron
Peacock, A.W. (Alfred Walter)
Rank 2Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 24 Squadron
Sayers, K.R. (Keith Raymond)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 23 Squadron
Treadwell, R.N. (Robert Naylor)
Rank Lt Organisation Royal Flying Corps Unit 22 Squadron
Claims: 20 confirmed (Entente 12 : Central Powers 7)
Joseph Fall #17 Emerson Smith #2 #3 George Trapp #4 Lovell Baker #2 Richard Hill #2 John Milne #8 Harry Gosford Reeves #8 Arthur Percival Foley Rhys Davids #18 Harold Stackard #7 Friedrich Altemeier #6 Paul Bäumer #4 Ernst Hess #12 Fritz Kosmahl #7 Erich Löwenhardt #4 Ludwig Luer #2 Julius Schmidt #14 Rudolf Wendelmuth #7 Keith Park #14 Edward Williams #1
Home Fronts:
Russia: Kerensky Assumes Dictatorial Powers in Response to Putative Kornilov Coup Threat
September 8 1917, Petrograd–Tensions between Kornilov and Kerensky had been mounting since the former’s appointment as commander-in-chief at the beginning of August. Kornilov wanted to reform the military and roll back many of the revolutionary changes in the army: a restoration of the death penalty, the disbanding of soldiers’ councils, an end to the use of political commissars. While Kerensky did agree to many of these, even restoring the death penalty behind the front lines on September 6, Kornilov may have chafed at the slow pace of changes and the utter opposition from Kerensky’s erstwhile allies in the Petrograd Soviet. Meanwhile, Kerensky grew worried that opposition on the right was rallying around Kornilov; at a national conference in Moscow in mid-August, Kornilov was fęted by troops and the more right-wing politicians, and Kerensky began to worry about a counterrevolutionary coup by Kornilov.
One Vladimir Lvov (no relation to the former PM) apparently took it on himself to try to repair relations between the two men, perhaps hoping that he could negotiate some arrangement that would give the military full confidence in the government and vice-versa. He met with Kornilov in early September, and discussed various possibilities for the future direction of government; Kornilov looked favorably on a possibility Lvov raised, that Kornilov might serve as dictator while Kerensky served in his cabinet. Whether Kornilov thought Lvov was asking on behalf of Kerensky himself, was idly speculating, or seriously asking whether Kornilov wanted dictatorial powers, is unclear. He also told Lvov that he feared an imminent Bolshevik revolution in Petrograd, and that Kerensky should meet him at Stavka to discuss these matters in person (and to be safe from the Bolsheviks).
On September 8, Lvov met with Kerensky, and told him that “General Kornilov proposes…that all military and civil authority be placed in the hands of the Commander in Chief.” Kerensky took this to mean that Kornilov was demanding this, and that this was the beginning of a military coup–the invitation to Stavka was a trap. To confirm this, he exchanged a series of telegrams with Kornilov that evening, at some points even impersonating Lvov. Kerensky asked the wrong questions, and got answers that, while extremely nonspecific, confirmed his fears. Kerensky heard that Kornilov reaffirmed what he conveyed to Lvov (although Kornilov did not say what that was), and that Kornilov wanted him to come to Stavka–which Kerensky again interpreted as the start of a coup.
Kerensky then arrested Lvov as a plotter, and called the Cabinet together and asked for full dictatorial powers in response to the coup. They acquiesced, and from 4AM on sole authority in the Provisional Government was held by Kerensky.
Meanwhile that night, Kornilov ordered a cavalry corps to move towards Petrograd and prepare for a declaration of martial law in the city. This was, of course, taken by Kerensky as prime evidence of the coup, though this was apparently done in accordance with previously-issued orders by Kerensky (to deal with the putative Bolshevik threat). Kornilov may have gone to bed that night still thinking that nothing untoward was happening.
Western Front:
Étaples is a notorious base camp for those on their way to the Western front. Under atrocious conditions both raw recruits from England and battle-weary veterans are subjected to intensive training in gas warfare, bayonet drill, and long sessions of marching at the double time across the sand dunes. Conditions in the hospital are considered punitive rather than therapeutic and there have been incidents at the hospital between military police and patients. The Étaples Mutiny is a mutiny of British and British Empire troops. Matters come to a head this Sunday afternoon after the arrest of Gunner A.J. Healy, a New Zealander from No.27 Infantry Base Depot. He and a few others had by-passed the police picquets that patrolled the bridges that gave access to a small fishing village, which was out of bounds to troops. A large crowd of angry men gathers and does not disperse even when told the gunner has been released. It is clear that the protest over the arrest is only the tip of the iceberg and that the atmosphere is tense. The arrival of military police only makes matters worse and scuffles break out. Suddenly the sound of shooting is heard. Private H. Reeve, a military police officer, has fired into the crowd killing Corporal W B Wood (Gordon Highlanders) age 21 while a second bullet injures a French woman standing in the Rue de Huguet, Etaples. Immediately the military police flee. News of the shooting spreads quickly. By 19:30 over a thousand angry men are pursuing the military police that continue to flee in the direction of the town. The Camp Adjutant describes how the men ‘swarmed into the town, raided the office of the Base Commandant, pulled him out of his chair and carried him on their shoulders through the town.’ British take 600 yards of German trenches at Villeret (N.N.W. of St. Quentin).
The Northumberland Fusiliers capture 600 yards of German trenches southeast of Hargicourt. ˇ Private Richard Sharp (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed at age 22. His brother was killed in July 1916. ˇ Private Arthur Middleton (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed at age 20. His brother was killed exactly five months ago.
Meuse, right bank: heavy fighting, Germans repulsed.
End of Third French offensive at Verdun.
Tunstills Men Sunday 9th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
The Battalion was engaged in training for the forthcoming attack.
Brig. Genl. Lambert (see 2nd September) resumed command of 69th Brigade having been in command of 23rd Division for the previous week.
Southern Front:
Austrians claim 6,000 prisoners near Hermada (Carso).
French advance near Lake Ochrida (south-west Macedonia).
Naval Operations:
Cadiz: German submarine, U 293, short of oil, enters, and is interned.
Shipping Losses: 4 (1 to a mine, 1 to enemy aircraft and 2 to U-Boat action)
Political:
U.S.A. publishes disclosures re: Swedish Legation at Buenos Aires.
King's special decoration for 1914 campaign announced.
M. Ribot, French Premier and Foreign Minister, resigns (see 12th and March 20th).
Anniversary Events:
337 Constantine’s three sons, already Caesars, each take the title of Augustus. Constantine II and Constans share the west while Constantius II takes control of the east. 1087 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England, dies in Rouen while conducting a war which began when the French king made fun of him for being fat. 1513 King James IV of Scotland is defeated and killed by English troops at the Battle of Flodden. 1585 Pope Sixtus V deprives Henry of Navarre of his rights to the French crown. 1776 The term “United States” is adopted by the Continental Congress to be used instead of the “United Colonies.” 1786 George Washington calls for the abolition of slavery. 1791 French Royalists take control of Arles and barricade themselves inside the town. 1834 Parliament passes the Municipal Corporations Act, reforming city and town governments in England. 1850 California, in the midst of a gold rush, enters the Union as the 31st state. 1863 The Union Army of the Cumberland passes through Chattanooga as they chase after the retreating Confederates. The Union troops will soon be repulsed at the Battle of Chickamauga. 1886 The Berne International Copyright Convention takes effect. 1911 An airmail route opens between London and Windsor. 1915 A German zeppelin bombs London for the first time, causing little damage.
See you on the Dark Side......
Today we lost: 329
Monday 10th September 1917
ˇ Two victims of German Ace Werner VossToday’s losses include:
ˇ The son of a member of the clergy
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War
ˇ A survivor of the sinking of the Royal Edward in August 1915
ˇ A man whose three brothers will be killed in the Great Warˇ Lieutenant Harold Reid Wilkinson (Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend Frederick Wilkinson.
Today’s highlighted casualties include
ˇ Lance Corporal Edwin George Pipe (Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry) is killed at age 21. He is the second of four sons of William Dalby Pipe to be killed in the Great War.
ˇ Private James Mallinson (Saskatchewan Regiment) is killed at age 23. His brother was killed last year.
ˇ Private Harry Hodkinson (Royal Army Medical Corps) is killed in action at age 20. He survived the sinking of the Royal Edward while being transported to Gallipoli in August 1915.
ˇ Private William White (Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry) is killed at age 29. His brother will die of wounds next April.
Air Operations:
Werner Voss achieves three victories on this day including two over Sopwith Camel’s of 70 Royal Flying Corps. Both pilots are killed. His third victim was a French pilot.
ˇ Second Lieutenant Arthur Jackson Smith Sisley is a Canadian who dies at age 23. Sisley’s brother will be killed in March 1918 while also serving in the Royal Flying Corps.
ˇ Second Lieutenant Oliver Charles Pearson
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 4
2Lt Jarvie, T.R. (Thomas Russell), Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Pearson, O.C. (Oliver Charles), 70 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Sisley, A.J.S. (Arthur Jackson Smith), 82 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Lt Wilkinson, H.R. (Harold Reid), 20 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Claims: 15 confirmed (Entente 8 : Central Powers 7)
Raymond Brownell #1 Reginald Hoidge #20 Emerson Smith #4 Cyril Burfield Ridley #4 Ernst Hess #13 Josef Jacobs #7 Max von Müller #27
Werner Voss #43 #44 #45Franz Ray #2 Harold Beamish #4 Edwin Hayne #2 Richard Maybery #12 #13
Home Fronts:
September 9 1917, London – Although their relationship had become highly strained over the course of the Dardanelles campaign, Churchill and Lord Fisher remained close friends afterwards. Churchill even subjected himself to some political humiliation by making an appeal in Parliament to return Fisher to the Admiralty. The two maintained a regular correspondence, and on September 9, Fisher sent Churchill a short letter. Most of it discussed German naval preparations in the Baltic. With the fall of Riga, the Germans wanted to push north, putting further pressure towards Petrograd. To do so by land seemed relatively infeasible at the time, and Riga’s usefulness as a port was limited by Russian control of the large islands in the Gulf of Riga.
The Germans planned landings on these islands, with major assistance from large portions of the High Seas Fleet (brought through the Kiel Canal for the purpose). Although their exact plans were unknown, the movement of German ships and their intention to carry out amphibious operations north of Riga were well-known enough to appear in British papers. Fisher lamented that the Germans were poised to do with a small force what the British had not been able to do the entire war (despite Churchill’s plans):
We are five times stronger at Sea than our enemies and here is a small Fleet that we could gobble up in a few minutes playing the great vital Sea part of landing an Army in the enemies’ rear and possibly capturing the Russian Capital by Sea!…Are we really incapable of a big Enterprise?
Fisher concluded his short note with this line:
I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis–O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)–Shower it on the Admiralty!!
This is the first documented use of OMG as an abbreviation for “Oh My God” in the English language.
Western Front:
At Etaples measures are taken to prevent further outbreaks and police pickets are stationed on the bridges leading into the town. Nevertheless, by 16:00 men have broken through the pickets and are holding meetings in the town, followed by sporadic demonstrations around the camp.
Tunstills Men Monday 10th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
A very hot day.
The Battalion was again engaged in training for the forthcoming attack, with the Brigade War Diary recording that, “The day was devoted by units to learning their objectives on the practice ground”.
Cpl. George William Keeling (see 12th August) was promoted Acting Sergeant.
L.Cpl. Thomas Riding (see 25th July) began to be paid according to his rank, having previously held the rank unpaid.
Capt. **** Bolton (see 22nd August), commanding A Company, and Pte. Thomas Charles Jaques (see 5th July) were both admitted via 69th Field Ambulance hospital at St. Omer; both were suffering from “pyrexia NYD” (high temperature, not yet diagnosed).
Pte. Sidney Powdrill (see 5th July) was also admitted to 69th Field Ambulance; he was diagnosed as suffering from influenza and would be transferred to 23rd Division Rest Station for further treatment.
Cpl. Albert George Ashton (see 3rd July) was posted back to England to join 3DWR at North Shields; he had been found to have defective eyesight which made him unfit for active service.
Ptes. Herbert Butterworth (see 24th July), Harold Walker Bray (see 1st August), Ernest Fozard (see 9th August), and Herbert Farrand Hogley (see 12th August), all of whom had been wounded on 7th June; and Menhell Hudson (see 1st August), who had been in England since being taken ill in March, returned to France; they would not re-join 10DWR but were instead posted to 2/6thDWR.
Pte. Robert Cresswell (see 7th September), who had been one of Tunstill’s original recruits but had been transferred to 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment in September 1916, was married, whilst on leave, to Lydia Alice Fell; the wedding was held at Giggleswick Parish Church.
A payment of Ł2 19s. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Harold Clarkson (see 30th May) who had been killed in action on 30th May; the payment would go to his father, George. A parcel of Clarkson’s personal effects (details unknown) was also despatched to the family.
Eastern Front:
Russian progress south of Lake Babit.
Enemy carry two heights in Oitoz valley (Moldavia), but are thrown back across the Putna north of Focsani.
Asiatic, African, Egyptian Fronts:
British progress continued north-east of Kut.
Naval Operations:
SM UC-42 (Kaiserliche Marine) a type UC II submarine, was sunk by the explosion of one of her own mines, near Cork, Ireland, with the loss of all 26 crew.
Shipping Losses: 10 (3 to mines & 7 to U-Boat action)
Political:
Allies' reply to President Wilson's "Peace Note", accompanied by special Note from Belgium.
Evasive reply by Greek Government to Allies' ultimatum.
M. Kerenski assumes Dictatorship of Russia (see August 6th and November 8th) and issues proclamation declaring General Kornilov a traitor (see 8th and 13th).
Anniversary Events:
1419 John the Fearless is murdered at Montereau, France, by supporters of the dauphin. 1547 The Duke of Somerset leads the English to a resounding victory over the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh. 1588 Thomas Cavendish returns to England, becoming the third man to circumnavigate the globe. 1623 Lumber and furs are the first cargo to leave New Plymouth in North America for England. 1813 The nine-ship American flotilla under Oliver Hazard Perry wrests naval supremacy from the British on Lake Erie by capturing or destroying a force of six English vessels. 1846 Elias Howe patents the first practical sewing machine in the United States. 1855 Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, capitulates to the Allies during the Crimean War. 1861 Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, Virginia, fall back after being attacked by Union troops. The action is instrumental in helping preserve western Virginia for the Union. 1912 Jules Vedrines becomes the first pilot to break the 100 m.p.h. barrier. 1914 The six-day Battle of the Marne ends, halting the German advance into France.
Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-10-2017 at 07:14.
See you on the Dark Side......
Today we lost: 441
Tuesday 11th September 1917
A son of the 7th Duke of Rutland KG and ˝ brother of the 8th Duke
Today’s losses include:
Royal Flying Corps Aces ˇ 22 victories ˇ 7 victories ˇ 6 victories
A South Africa and International cricket wicket keeper Multiple families that will two and three sons in the Great War The son of a Justice of the Peace
A Rosslyn Park Rugby footballer
The son of a member of the clergyˇ Captain Louis Fleeming Jenkin MC (North Lancashire Regiment attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed in action at age 22. He is a 22 victory ace.
Today’s highlighted casualties include
ˇ Lieutenant Oscar Lennox McMaking (Lincolnshire Yeomanry attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed when he is shot down over Langemarck by Werner Voss. He is a 6-victory ace.
ˇ Lieutenant Eric John Halliwell (Royal Field Artillery attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed over the Western Front. He is a well-known South Africa and International wicket keeper.
ˇ Second Lieutenant Ronald William Adam MC (Royal Field Artillery) dies on enteritis at Baghdad. His brother will be killed in July 1918. They are sons of the late William Adam JP.
ˇ Second Lieutenant Arthur Davies Lang Browne (Connaught Randers) is killed at Ramadi, Mesopotamia at age 26. His brother was killed in May 1915.
ˇ Surgeon John Douglas Rutherford (HMS Theseus) dies of tuberculosis at Lemnos at age 28. He is a Rosslyn Park Rugby footballer.
ˇ Sergeant Frank Potter (Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 26. He is a seven-victory ace.
ˇ Corporal Guy Robert Hurst Addison (Machine Gun Corps) is killed in action at age 33. He has two brothers who have already lost their lives in the Great War.
ˇ Private James Dennison How (Manitoba Regiment) is killed at age 27. He is the son of the Reverend Henry How Rector of St Luke’s Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia.
Air Operations:
British bomb south of Lille and Roulers region heavily.
British seaplanes bomb Zeebrugge mole and air sheds.
French ace Capitaine Georges Guynemer goes missing in action while flying a SPAD XIII during combat with German aircraft near Poelkapelle, Belgium. Kurt Wisserman of Jasta 3 is credited with shooting him down, but Guynemer 's body is never found. Guynemer has 54 kills at the time of his death.
Georges Marie Ludovic Jules Guynemer was born in Compičgne to a wealthy and aristocratic family. His father was Paul Guynemer. His mother was Julie, Countess of Saint-Quentin. He experienced an often sickly childhood. Nevertheless, he succeeded as an aviator through his enormous drive and self-confidence.
He was originally rejected 5 times for military service due to frailty, but was accepted for training as a mechanic in late 1914. With determination, he gained acceptance to pilot training, joining Escadrille MS.3 on 8 June 1915. He remained in the same unit for his entire service. The first plane allocated to him was a Morane-Saulnier L monoplane previously flown by Charles Bonnard, and accordingly named Vieux Charles (Old Charles). Guynemer kept the name and continued to use it for most of his later aircraft. On 19 July 1915, he shot down his first plane, a German Aviatik.
On 5 December 1915, the Escadrille MS.3 was renamed the Escadrille N.3, after being re-equipped with new Nieuport 10 fighters. Flying the more effective plane, Guynemer quickly established himself as one of France's premier fighter pilots. He became an ace, with his fifth victory coming in February 1916, and was promoted to lieutenant in March. At the end of the year, his score had risen to 25. Capitaine Brocard, commander of Escadrille N.3 (Storks), described Guynemer at that time as "...my most brilliant Stork." Less than a year later, Guynemer was promoted to captain and commander of the Storks squadron.
Georges Guynemer's original SPAD S.VII, nicknamed "Vieux Charles", preserved at Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace.
Georges Guynemer in 1917
Guynemer became influential enough to affect French fighter aircraft design. In December 1916, he wrote a letter to the chief designer at Spad, criticizing the Spad VII as inferior to the German Halberstadt that was its contemporary. As a consequence, Spad developed two new but very similar models, the SPAD XII and SPAD XIII. The new models were promising, but had teething problems with the reduction gear between engine and propeller.
On January 26, 1917 Guynemer forced down an Albatros C.VII of Fl.Abt {A} 226 {crew captured} for his "30th" credit. On 8 February 1917, flying a SPAD VII, Guynemer became the first Allied pilot to shoot down a German heavy bomber (Gotha G.III) his 31st "Credit". On March 16, 1917 he brought down his 32nd "Credit" a Roland D.II of Jasta 32 {Pilot POW/DOW}. On April 14, 1917 he downed his thirty-sixth "Credit"-killing the crew of Fl.Abt {A} 254. His greatest month was May 1917, when he downed seven German aircraft including a quadruple on May 25. By July, he began to fly the Spad XII; his avion magique was, at his behest, armed with a 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon whose barrel fired through the propeller shaft. It was also armed with a .30 in (7.62 mm) air-cooled Vickers machine gun. Although the cannon promised devastating firepower, the new plane was a handful because of it, as the cannon's rearwards-protruding breech mandated separate aileron and elevator controls, split from each other on opposing sides of the cockpit. The single shot cannon had to be manually reloaded in flight; it had a heavy recoil when fired, and filled the canopy with fumes from every shot. The Spad XII was not a plane for a novice pilot. However, Guynemer used it to down an Albatros fighter on 27 July, and a DFW the next day. The latter triumph made him the first French ace to attain 50 victories.
"Commandant Brocard chief of Guynemer in front of the aircraft shot down" {Guynemer 27th air victory 23 January 1917}
"The body of the German pilot"
"The front is his plane scratched by a bullet during the fight"
Death
statue in commemoration of Georges Guynemer in the heart of Poelkapelle
Guynemer failed to return from a combat mission on 11 September 1917. The previous week had been one of mechanical ills, in both his assigned aircraft and the ones he borrowed. At 08:30, with rookie pilot Jean Bozon-Verduraz, Guynemer took off in his Spad XIII S.504 n°2. His mission was to patrol the Langemark area. At 09:25, near Poelkapelle, Guynemer sighted a lone Rumpler, a German observation plane, and dove toward it. Bozon-Verduraz saw several Fokkers above him, and by the time he had shaken them off, his leader was nowhere in sight, so he returned alone. Guynemer never came back.
Captain Georges Guynemer was confirmed missing in action by his squadron commander Major Brocard; it was officially announced in Paris by the French War Department on 25 September 1917. Unofficial confirmation came from a captured German pilot who was shot down behind Canadian lines the evening of 29 September. A German sergeant from the 413th Regiment swore he had witnessed the crash and identified Guynemer's corpse; he also certified that the French hero had died from a bullet through the head, with other injuries including a broken leg and a finger shot away. The German party retrieving the body was driven away by Allied artillery fire before they could bury or remove the body. The 25 September details released by the French War Department were unclassified and became public knowledge as described by one of his flying comrades (name withheld due to security reasons):
Guynemer sighted five machines of the Albatros type D-3. Without hesitation, he bore down on them. At that moment enemy patrolling machines, soaring at a great height, appeared suddenly and fell upon Guynemer. There were forty enemy machines in the air at this time, including Baron von Richthofen and his circus division of machines, painted in diagonal blue and white stripes. Toward Guynemer's right some Belgian machines hove in sight, but it was too late. Guynemer must have been hit. His machine dropped gently toward the earth, and I lost track of it. All that I can say is that the machine was not on fire.
Additional details were furnished by Major Brocard, as listed in an article from the Paris Le Matin:
The last fight of the French aviator occurred four or five miles inside the German lines northeast of Ypres and opposite the British lines. Captain Guynemer was accompanied by Lieutenant Bozon Verduraz, who says that they were flying at a height of 15,000 feet when Guynemer sighted an enemy two-seater, which he attacked. Almost at the same moment Verduraz saw four German monoplanes approaching and turned toward them instantly so as to draw them off. They circled around for a while and then disappeared. Verduraz then returned to the place where he had left Guynemer engaged with the German biplane, but Guynemer had vanished.
The two-seater, identified as a Rumpler type by Bozon-Verduraz, has never been identified, but recent research shows that could have been a machine flown by the Lt. d. R. Max Psaar (observer) Fl. Georg Seibert (pilot) from FA(A)224.
According to an American Red Cross communique from the French front, the death of Captain Georges Guynemer was determined to be "definitely confirmed". This Red Cross report provided these details:
Information received by the Red Cross says Guynemer was shot through the head north of Poelcapelle, on the Ypres front. His body was identified by a photograph on his pilot's license found in his pocket. The burial took place at Brussels in the presence of a guard of honor, composed of the 5th Prussian Division. Such is the story told by a Belgian, who has just escaped from the Germans. The burial was about to take place at Poelcapelle, when the bombardment preceding the British attack at Ypres started. The burying party hastily withdrew, taking the body with them. The German General chanced to be an aviation enthusiast with a great admiration for Captain Guynemer's achievements. At his direction the body was taken to Brussels in a special funeral car. Thither the captain was carried by non-commissioned officers and was covered with floral tributes from German aviators. The Prussian Guards stood at salute upon its arrival and during the burial, which was given all possible military honors. The French Government has been invited to place in the Pantheon, where many great Frenchmen are buried, an inscription to perpetuate the memory of Captain Guynemer as ′a symbol of the aspirations and enthusiasm of the Army.′ A resolution to this effect has been introduced in the Chamber of Deputies by Deputy Lasies.
Guynemer had 54 victories at the time of his death.
Legacy
Guynemer was lionized by the French press and became a national hero. The French government encouraged the publicity to boost morale and take the people's minds off the terrible losses in the trenches. Guynemer was embarrassed by the attention, but his shyness only increased the public's appetite to know everything about him. This was quite different later in 1918 with the French top ace René Fonck, who despite having 75 confirmed victories, had bad publicity for his arrogance and shameless self-promotion. Guynemer's death was a profound shock to France; nevertheless, he remained an icon for the duration of the war. Only 22 at his death, he continued to inspire the nation with his advice, "Until one has given all, one has given nothing."
The Paris street rue Guynemer is named after him as is a school in Compičgne, the Institution Guynemer. A statue is erected in Poelcapelle in commemoration of Georges Guynemer.
The episode The Last Flight from season one of the American television series The Twilight Zone, which first aired on 5 February 1960, was loosely based on the disappearance of Guynemer put to fictional speculation as to what happened to him.
Aircraft Opponent Location Aviatik C 1 Septmonts Aviatik C Bois de Carre LVG C Beauvraignes Fokker E 2 SE of Noyon LVG C Roye LVG C Carreouisw-E of Roye LVG C Herbecourt LVG C Ribécourt LVG C 3 Rosičres-en-Santere LVG C Barleux LVG C Gandau EA 4 Barleux Aviatik Grancourt Rumpler C Bouchavesnes SPAD VII (S115) Aviatik C.II Hyencourt Rumpler C St. Christ Fokker E Erches Fokker E Laucourt Albatros D Nesles Albatros C Morcourt Fokker E Omiecourt-Pertain Halberstadt C.L E of St. Christ Halberstadt NE of Amiens Halberstadt C.L E of Miséry Albatros W of Péronne Albatros C Maurepas Rumpler C Chaulnes Rumpler C Goyencourt Rumpler C Lignieres Albatros C Montdidier Gotha G Bouconville Albatros C 5 Serres Rumpler C Hoeville Albatros C Regneville-en-Haye EA Atilloncourt Albatros La Neuville Albatros Courtemont Albatros C Courtecon-Braye LVG C NW of Corbeny Two-seater Juvincourt DFW C Courlandon Fokker Gugnicourt Albatros Conde-sur-Suippes Albatros C Berry-au-Bac DFW C Foret de Berru DFW C Brimont Albatros Villers Francheux DFW C Moussy-sur-Aisne Albatros Westroosebeke DFW C Merkem Albatros C Vladsloo DFW C Foret d'Houthulst SPAD XIII (S504) DFW C Poperinghe
Shared with Soldat Guerder Shared with Adj Bucquet Shared with Sgt Andre Chainat Shared with Lt Alfred Heurtaux Shared with Lt Raymond
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 20
2Lt Angood, P.G. (Percival George), 7th Aircraft Acceptance Park, Royal Flying Corps.
Maj Bannatyne, E.J. (Edgar James), 38 Training Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Batson, H.T. (Henry Thomas), 48 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Lt Budd, E.F.C. (Eric Frank Corydon), 52 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Burton, S.R. (Sidney Rex), 78 (Home Defence) Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Busby, H.E. (Harry Eldred), Hendon Civilian Flying School, Royal Flying Corps.
A Mech 1 Cady, C.G. (Clement George), 31 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Sgt Edgington, S.F. (Stanley Francis), 57 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Greenwood, J.E. (John Exley), Royal Flying Corps.
Lt Halliwell, E.J. (Eric John), 57 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps (Special Reserve).
Lt Hearn, E.T.H. (Edward Thomas Hills), 57 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Lt Hofmeyr, R. (Richard), 22nd Kite Balloon Company, Royal Flying Corps.
Capt Jenkin, L.F. (Louis Fleeming), 1 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Lt Leger, A.A. (Aime Antoine), 3 Training Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Mackay, J.A. (John Alexander), 57 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Macmaking, O.L. (Oscar Lennox), 45 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
2Lt Mansell, W.S. (William Stanley), 1 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Sgt Potter, F.A. (Frank A.), 20 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
A Mech 2 Roberts, W.H. (William Henry), 20 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Sgt Roebuck, W.H. (William Harold), 48 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Claims: 50 confirmed (Entente 39 : Central Powers 11)
Geoffrey Hooper #3 Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley Pentland #7 Patrick Gordon Taylor #5 Josef Kiss #7 Lloyd Breadner #10 Joseph Fall #18 #19 Reginald Hoidge #21 Melville Waddington #10 Frank Ford Babbage #3 George Brooke #5 Reginald Charley #4 u/c James E. Child #1 William Chisam #2 Christopher Draper #7 Richard Hill #3 Robert Kirkman #1 Thomas Le Mesurier #5 Arthur Lee #2 Reginald Makepeace #11 Henry Moody #2 Gordon Olley #6 Harry Gosford Reeves #9 Leonard Henry Rochford #5 William Victor Trevor Rooper #4 Maurice Douglas Guest Scott #7 Frederick Sowrey #8 Harold Stackard #8 #9 Arthur Taylor #3 Thomas Tuffield #5 Mortimer West #5 Arthur William Wood #4 #5 William Wright #6 Hans Böhning #2 Bertram Heinrich #7 Josef Jacobs #8 Karl Menckhoff #9 Julius Schmidt #15 Otto Schmidt #8 Karl Thom #3 Emil Thuy #11 Kurt Wissemann #5 Kurt Wüsthoff #13 Aleksandr Kozakov #18 Matthew Brown Frew #9 Gerald Maxwell #15 Eric Hughes #2 Edward Williams #2
Western Front:
At Etaples fearing further outbreaks the Base Commandant requests reinforcements as the demonstrations gain momentum.
The Northumberland Fusiliers take 400 yards of German trenches near Villeret south of the Bapaume-Cambrai road. ˇ Lieutenant Colonel ‘Lord’ Robert William Orlando Manners (King’s Royal Rifle Corps commanding 10th Northumberland Fusiliers) CMG DSO the joint Master of the Belvoir Hounds is killed in action at age 47. He is the 4th son of the 7th Duke of Rutland KG and ˝ brother of the 8th
The Regiment was first formed by Lord Clare in 1674 as part of a force of 5 British Regiments in the Dutch Army serving William of Orange in his campaigns against the French. In 1685 King James II recalled his troops from Holland during the Monmouth Rebellion, when James Scott the 1st Duke of Monmouth (and the King’s nephew) unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the unpopular King. The returning Regiments were given seniority based on their landing on English soil; therefore the Regiment became the 5th Regiment of Foot. The Monmouth Rebellion was swiftly put down at the Battle of Sedgemoor and the 5th returned to Holland until 1689, when it accompanied the Prince of Orange on his landing in England to claim the throne as King William III, as James the II abdicated.
During The Rising of 1689–92 James II attempted to regain the throne by raising a Jacobite Army from the Scottish clans. The 5th were part of a force which crushed the rebellion at the Battle of the Boyne (1690). In 1692 the Regiment went on to serve during the Nine Years War (1688–97) against the French fighting to recapture Namur, Belgium. It also served during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) fighting at Campo Maior (1709) and in action on the River Caia. During the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727 the Regiment withheld a siege by the Spanish for four months at Gibraltar and during the Seven Years’ War (1754–1763) fought at the Battle of Warburg (1760), the Battle of Kirch Denkern (1761) and the Battle of Wilhelmsthal (1762).
In 1774 the Regiment went on to serve during the American War of Independence (1775–1783) initially arriving in Boston to control the civil unrest in the area. It went on to fight the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of White Plans and the capture of Fort Washington, Fort Lee and New Jersey, and the Battle of Brandywine Creek.
In 1778 The Regiment moved to the West Indies engaging French troops at Saint Lucia. 400 French soldiers were killed and 1,100 wounded with only 10 British killed and 130 wounded. The French abandoned the Island and the Regiment took the white plumes worn by French soldiers in their caps, which is the basis for the current red and white hackle worn. The 5th remained in the West Indies for 2 years and then moved to Ireland were it remained until 1783.
In 1782 all British Regiments without a Royal title were given county designations in order to improve recruitment from that area. The 5th became the 5th (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot due to the Regiment’s colonel Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland and then went on to fight in the Peninsular War. In 1836 the 5th became a Fusilier Regiment redesignated as the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot and went on to serve in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
In 1881 the Regiment was one of the few that avoided amalgamation as part of the Childers Reforms, the number of line was dropped and the Regiment became the Northumberland Fusiliers and went on to serve during the Second Boer War and two World Wars. In 1935 as part of George V’s silver jubilee celebrations the Regiment was granted a Royal title along with three other Regiments and became the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.
In 1968 the Regiment was amalgamated with The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and The Lancashire Fusiliers to become the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers during WW1
The Regiment raised 52 battalions with 29 of them serving overseas. It was awarded 67 Battle Honours and 5 Victoria Crosses, losing 16,000 men during the course of the war.
The Hackle
The distinctive red and white Hackle, worn by all ranks in the Regiment, was handed down from the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. The Hackle was awarded in recognition for the defeat of the French at the Battle of St Lucia in 1778.
The white hackles were removed from the French dead by the Fusiliers. In 1829 King William IV ordered the white plume to be worn by all line infantry regiments, and in order not to take away from the Fifth (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot's battle honour, their plume was distinguished with a red tip making the plume red over white.
Tunstills Men Tuesday 11th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
Another hot day.
The Battalion was engaged in training for the forthcoming attack.
Cpls. William Foulds (see 9th August) and George Alfred Giles (see 6th January) departed to England on ten days’ leave.
Pte. Charley Culley (see 5th July) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance to 23rd Division Rest Station, suffering from “pyrexia NYD” (high temperature, not yet diagnosed). Pte. Victor Hillam (see 5th July)was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance to 58th General Hospital at St. Omer suffering from pleurisy. Pte. Clarence Smith (see 16th January) was admitted to 71st Field Ambulance, suffering from inflammation of his right knee; he would be discharged to duty five days’ later.
Pte. Thomas Manuell (see 1st September) re-joined the Battalion from 34th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples; he had been away undergoing medical treatment since reporting sick with a severe case of trench foot on 22nd May.
L.Cpl. Joseph Dunn (see 30th July) and Pte. Harry Exley (see 30th August), both of whom had been in England since being wounded on 7th June and were currently serving with 3DWR at North Shields, returned to France. However, they would not re-join 10DWR but would instead be posted to 2nd/6th DWR.
Pte. John Edward Atkinson (see 11th August), who, a month previously, had been re-classified as fit only for Base Duties, due to “age and debility”, was transferred to 17th Labour Company, Labour Corps.
Pte. William Postill Taylor (see 22nd July), who had been in England since having been wounded in May, was posted from Northern Command Depot at Ripon to 3DWR at North Shields, en route to a return to active service.
Sgt. Bob Maunders (see 10th March) married Mary Elizabeth Ellis in Settle Parish Church. Bob Maunders had been wounded in October 1915 but the absence of a surviving service record makes it difficult to be clear on what had happened to him in the intervening months. It is not clear whether he had been evacuated to England or had been treated exclusively in France. However at some point prior to March 1917 he had returned to the Battalion. He had been promoted Corporal by March 1917 and subsequently Sergeant. He had also, at some point, been wounded for a second time; the date of this second incident has not been established but it seems that this certainly was sufficient to have Bob invalided back to England. It seems likely that it was whilst being cared for at a hospital in England that Bob met his future wife; she had worked as a supervisor at a munitions factory and also did voluntary work in war hospitals.
Pte. Arthur Lumb (see 21st August), who had had his right leg amputated following an accidental gunshot wound suffered in April, was formally discharged from the Army. He was granted the Silver War Badge and an army pension (amount unknown).
In Rotherham, Ellen Draper, wife of Pte. Harold Draper (see 11th August), gave birth to the couple’s first child (Ellen had been pregnant when Harold had been posted to France in July); the baby girl would be named Doris.
Oldfield Hodgson, father of Pte. Louis Hodgson (see 28th June), wrote from his home in Bradford requesting that his son be allowed home on leave as “his sister is very ill”; it is not clear what was the response to the request and whether Hodgson was allowed leave.
Capt. Gilbert Tunstill (see 10th August), currently a patient at Hammerton VAD Hospital in Sunderland while serving with 83rd Training Reserve Battalion, based at Brighton Road Schools, Gateshead, appeared before a further Army Medical Board. The Board found that, “Pain in foot almost gone; no limp; cannot rise on to his toes while standing on right foot. It is steadily improving”. He was declared fit for light duty at home and instructed to re-join his Battalion; he would re-examined in a further month.
Capt. James Christopher Bull (see 31st July), who had been wounded on 7th June, appeared before a further Army Medical Board. The Board found that he was now fit for active service. He would have a period of leave before returning to 10DWR.
A payment was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Jacob Carradice Green (see 8th June), who had died of wounds on 29th May; in accordance with the terms of his will, Ł4 14s. 4d. would go to his mother, Elizabeth, with the balance being distributed in equal shares of 11s. 11d. to each of his five brothers, Albert, Fred, James, John and William. However, James, John and William all requested that their individual shares be paid instead to their mother. A package containing his personal effects was also sent to his mother; this consisted of, “photos, religious book, cards, cigarette case, badge, reference, mirror, 2 buttons, 3 pencils, cigarette cards, watch key, silver lever watch no. 94263 and case, watch chain, silver medallion, fork and spoon combined, pencil, bag, protector, bullet, unopened letter”.
Eastern Front:
September 10 1917, London–Lloyd George was always looking for ways to win the war beyond the heavily-entrenched Western Front. The failure of the Kerensky Offensive, the fall of Riga, and the apparently-imminent German push up the Baltic coast meant that their one staunch ally in the east, Russia, seemed on the brink of collapse. On September 10, Lloyd George and his War Cabinet discussed whether Japanese troops might help hold off the Germans in the east.
CIGS Robertson eventually was able to persuade Lloyd George not to pursue the idea and bring the idea up with the Japanese. The Trans-Siberian railroad could not possibly a Japanese force large enough to make a difference in enough time, let alone the obvious political issues; Japan and Russia had fought a war only twelve years prior. There was also the more pressing issue that the Russian commander-in-chief was now in open rebellion against his own government, though it is unclear whether the War Cabinet was aware of this at the hour of their meeting.
Southern Front:
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo ends (see August 17th).
Austrian counter-attacks on Bainsizza Plateau and north-east of Gorizia heavily repulsed
Naval Operations:
After a five hour battle the S S British Transport (Captain A T Pope) while carrying explosives and shells from Brest to Archangel rams and sinks the German submarine U-49 in the west Bay of Biscay. This is the first instance of a merchant ship to sink a German submarine in the Great War.
Shipping Losses: 6 (All to U-Boat action)
Political:
First party of British prisoners from Switzerland arrives.
Russian crisis: M. Kerenski declares General Kornilov a traitor.
M. Painlevé succeeds M. Ribot as French Premier (see 9th and November 14th).
M. Ribot reappointed French Foreign Minister (see 9th, and October 23rd ).
Central Powers proclaim grant of temporary Constitution to Poland, (see April 5th and October 15th, 1917 and January 10th, 1918).
Anniversary Events:
1297 Scots under William Wallace defeat the English at Stirling Bridge. 1695 Imperial troops under Eugene of Savoy defeat the Turks at the Battle of Zenta. 1709 John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, wins the bloodiest battle of the 18th century at great cost, against the French at Malplaquet. 1740 The first mention of an African American doctor or dentist in the colonies is made in the Pennsylvania Gazette. 1777 General George Washington and his troops are defeated by the British under General Sir William Howe at the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania. 1786 The Convention of Annapolis opens with the aim of revising the Articles of Confederation. 1802 Piedmont, Italy, is annexed by France. 1814 U.S. forces led by Thomas Macdonough route the British fleet on Lake Champlain. 1847 Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susanna” is first performed in a saloon in Pittsburgh. 1850 Soprano opera singer Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale,” makes her American debut at New York’s Castle Garden Theater. 1864 A 10-day truce is declared between generals William Sherman and John Hood so civilians may leave Atlanta, Georgia. 1857 Indians incited by Mormon John D. Lee kill 120 California-bound settlers in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. 1904 The battleship Connecticut, launched in New York, introduces a new era in naval construction. 1916 The “Star Spangled Banner” is sung at the beginning of a baseball game for the first time in Cooperstown, New York.
Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 09-11-2017 at 05:03.
See you on the Dark Side......
As tomorrow will be my last edition for awhile I'll try and make it a good'un.
See you on the Dark Side......
John Moyney VC (8 January 1895 – 10 November 1980) was born in Rathdowney, Queens County, Ireland. He was 22 years old, and a lance-sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 12/13 September 1917 north of Broenbeek, Belgium, Lance-Sergeant Moyney was in command of 15 men forming two advanced posts. Surrounded by the enemy he held his post for 96 hours, having no water and very little food. On the fifth day, on the enemy advancing to dislodge him, he attacked them with bombs, while also using his Lewis gun with great effect. Finding himself surrounded, he led his men in a charge through the enemy and reached a stream, where he and a private (Thomas Woodcock) covered his party while they crossed unscathed, before crossing themselves under a shower of bullets
Moyney later achieved the rank of sergeant. He died in Roscrea, County Tipperary on 10 November 1980. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Guards Regimental Headquarters (Irish Guards RHQ), Wellington Barracks, London.
Thomas Woodcock VC (19 March 1888 – 27 March 1918) was 29 years old, and a private in the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 12/13 September 1917 north of Broenbeek, Belgium, when an advanced post had held out for 96 hours and was finally forced to retire, the lance-sergeant (John Moyney) in charge of the party and Private Woodcock covered the retirement. After crossing the stream themselves, Private Woodcock heard cries for help behind him - he returned and waded into the stream amid a shower of bombs and rescued another member of the party whom he carried across open ground in daylight towards our front line, regardless of machine-gun fire
Today we lost: 465
ˇ The son of a member of the clergyToday’s losses include:
ˇ A South African cricketer
ˇ Multiple families that will lose two and three sons in the Great War
ˇ A member of the Margate Postmen Football Clubˇ Flight Commodore Christopher Eric Wood (Royal Naval Air Service) is killed in Greece at age 26. He is the son of the late Reverend Richard Wood.
Today’s highlighted casualties include
ˇ Lieutenant Eric Balfour Lundie (Coldstream Guards) is killed at age 29. He is a South African cricketer who played one Test in 1914.
ˇ Private Richard William de Renzy (Irish Guards) is killed in action at age 20. His older brother will die of wounds in May 1918.
ˇ Private Herbert James Bateup (London Regiment) is killed while acting as a runner at age 27. He is a Margate postman and member of the Margate Postmen Football Club. His brother was killed in July 1916.
ˇ Gunner Walter Charles Taylor (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 29 becoming the second of three brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War.
ˇ Gunner Arthur Leslie Earl (Royal Field Artillery) dies of gassing at age 28. His brother died of wounds last year.
Air Operations:
Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 9
Sqdn Cdr Bettington, A.F. (Aymer Fitzwarrine), Eastbourne Naval Flying School, Royal Naval Air Service.
Flt Sub-Lt Cripps, J.W.D. (John Walter Davies), H.M. Airship 'SS 42a', Pembroke Airship Station, Royal Naval Air Service.
2Lt Miles, G.H. (George Henry), 6 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Capt Muir, S.K. (Stanley Keith), 68 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Lt Pettigrew, G.T.R. (Gilbert Thomas Richardson), Royal Flying Corps.
A Mech 1 Rigby, F.F. (Frank F.), attached Royal Garrison Artillery, Royal Flying Corps.
LM Simpson, J.C. (Joseph Chorley), H.M. Airship 'SS 42a', Pembroke Airship Station, Royal Naval Air Service. 2Lt Whittall, N.C. (Noel Charles), 6 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Flt Cdr Wood, C.E. (Christopher Eric), Royal Naval Air Service.
Claims: 4confirmed (Entente 3: Central Powers 1)
Harry Scandrett #5 Kurt Wüsthoff #14 Ivan Loiko #5 Grigory Suk #5
Western Front:
French headquarters estimate German losses to end of July at four millions.
At Etaples in spite of orders confining them to camp, over a thousand men break out, march through the town and then on to Paris Plage. Later in the day reinforcements of 400 officers and men of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) arrive armed with wooden staves. The HAC detachment is composed mainly of officers amd officer candidates, contains no working-class men, and is the one unit on which complete reliance can be placed. The HAC are supported by members of the 15th Hussars and a section of the Machine Gun Squadron. The threat works and only 300 men break camp and are arrested at Etaples. The mutiny is now over and the reinforcements are dispersed.
Tunstills Men Wednesday 5th September 1917:
Billets in the Lederzeele area.
A Brigade practice attack was conducted, observed by Genl. Sir Herbert Plumer, commanding 2nd Army.
Pte. Nicholson Braddock (see 5th July) was awarded seven days’ Field Punishment no.1 for stealing fruit from an orchard.
Pte. Leonard Watling joined the Battalion. He was a 19 year-old farm labourer from Diss, Suffolk; he had joined the Suffolk Regiment in August 1916 and had been posted to France on 27th August 1917 before being formally transferred to 10DWR on 8th September.
Pte. George Smith (20340) (see 5th June), who had been in England since reporting sick five months’ previously, was posted from Northern Command Depot at Ripon to 3DWR at North Shields, en route to a return to active service.
A payment of Ł1 15s. 5d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Arthur Gill (see 1st June), who had been killed in action on 22nd May; the payment would go to his mother, Helen.
The office of the Director of Graves Registration and Enquiries at the War Office wrote to the father of the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 16th January) informing him that his son’s remains had been interred at “a point about 1,000 yards south-west of Le Sars, south-west of Bapaume”. At some later point (details unknown), his remains would be exhumed and re-buried at Adanac Military Cemetery, north-west of Le Sars; however, the precise location of his grave was lost and he is now commemorated on one of the special memorials in the cemetery.
Southern Front:
Italians hold on stubbornly north-east of Gorizia.
French and Russian troops cross River Devoli (Albanian frontier), driving back enemy twenty miles.
Mt San Gabriele, pictured after the Italian retreat from the area next month.
Austrians Maintain Hold on Mt. San Gabriele: September 11 1917, Mt. San Gabriele–The Italian successes on the Bainsizza plateau in August soon became bogged down in attempts to take Mt. San Gabriele, which guarded the Vipacco valley above Gorizia. If it were taken, Cadorna was convinced that the Italians could push on towards Ljubljana to the east, and outflank the Austrian defenses guarding Trieste. On September 4, Cadorna renewed attacks on the mountaintop, taking it briefly. Boroevic was equally convinced as to the mountain’s importance, and devoted his last reserves to the battle, retaking the mountain that afternoon. However, he thought he could not hold onto it for long.
Over the next week, the fight for the mountain continued, in incredibly close quarters. During a brief pause in the battle one night, an Austrian mail carrier got lost and delivered his mail to the Italians instead. On September 8, Cadorna simply began trying to destroy the mountain, bombarding it with such intensity that its peak was reduced by more than thirty feet over the next three days. A defending Austrian recalled: “Who could full describe this San Gabriele, this sort of Moloch which swallows up a regiment every three or four days…”
On the night of September 11, Boroevic was able to scrounge up two elite companies of shock troops and backed them up with a whole artillery brigade. They pushed the Italians clear from the mountaintop, reversing the gains the Italians had paid for with over 10,000 casualties over the previous week. This was to be the furthest the Italians would push until the final days of the war.
Naval Operations:
Submarine D7 (Lieutenant Oswald E Hallifax) torpedoes and sinks the German submarine U-45 west of the Shetlands. The trawler Asia (Skipper John Duxfield Benjamin age 31) is sunk by a mine off Bressay Island. Seven are killed including her skipper.
Gulf of Riga still controlled by Russian warships; bombard German batteries on Courland shores
Shipping Losses:10 (1 to a mine 9 to U-Boat action)
Political:
Russia on point of civil war.
Argentina hands passports to Count Luxburg.
M. Painlevé succeeds M. Ribot as French Premier (see 9th and November 14th).
M. Ribot reappointed French Foreign Minister (see 9th, and October 23rd ).
Central Powers proclaim grant of temporary Constitution to Poland, (see April 5th and October 15th, 1917 and January 10th, 1918). Polish Regency Council created.
Anniversary Events:
490 BC Athenian and Plataean Hoplites commanded by General Miltiades drive back a Persian invasion force under General Datis at Marathon. 1213 Simon de Montfort defeats Raymond of Toulouse and Peter II of Aragon at Muret, France. 1609 Henry Hudson sails into what is now New York Harbor aboard his sloop Half Moon. 1662 Governor Berkley of Virginia is denied his attempts to repeal the Navigation Acts. 1683 A combined Austrian and Polish army defeats the Turks at Kahlenberg and lifts the siege on Vienna, Austria. 1722 The Treaty of St. Petersburg puts an end to the Russo-Persian War. 1786 Despite his failed efforts to suppress the American Revolution, Lord Cornwallis is appointed governor general of India. 1836 Mexican authorities crush the revolt which broke out on August 25.
See you on the Dark Side......
A short one to finish my stint at the press as I hand over to Chris for tomorrows edition.
Be well and if any of you are on R&R in Doncaster I might see you there.
S
See you on the Dark Side......
Right so slight mix up in the communications what with Doncaster Prep and the day job and lack of wi-fi and any number of other excuses. So its a double post today first of which is...
13th September 1917
Well doesn't look like we have missed much on the war front... first up aerial victoires for the 13th
Fred Everest Banbury Canada #5
Harold Stackard England #10
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp Germany #19
Karl Menckhoff Germany #10
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #1
After scoring 27 victories, Wüsthoff was captured on 17 June 1918. Overwhelmed by three S.E.5As and a Sopwith Dolphin, his Fokker D.VII was forced down near Cachy by members of 23 and 24 Squadrons. Sharing credit for the victory were Canadian ace George Johnson, English ace Ian McDonald, South African ace Horace Barton and C.E. Walton.
Germans attack British positions at Langemarack after a heavy bombardment but are repulsed with severe loss.
Lieutenant Douglas Crow Brown (Royal Scots attached Machine Gun Corps) is killed in action at age 25. He is one of four brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War, two this year and two next.
On this day there were 344 British Lives lost
Today’s losses include:
Lieutenant Colonel Noel Houghton (commanding 16th Sherwood Foresters) is killed at age 34. He played Rugby football for Rosslyn Park and Upper Clapton.
Able Seaman Charles John Dunster (HMS Victory) dies on service at home at age 34. He is the last of three brothers who lose their lives in the Great War this year.
Private Samuel Edward Proudfoot (West Yorkshire Regiment) is killed at age 23. His brother will be killed next April.
Colonel Houghton's Obituary Notice
The War at Sea
German submarine SM UC-21 left port from Zeebrugge, Belgium for the Bay of Biscay but disappeared after that date, with all 26 crew presumed lost
SM UC-21 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 26 August 1915 and was launched on 1 April 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 12 September 1916 as SM UC-21.In eleven patrols UC-21 was credited with sinking 100 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. They included the British hospital ship Donegal, which UC-21 torpedoed in the English Channel on 17 April 1917, killing 29 already wounded soldiers and 12 crew. UC-21 disappeared after departing Zeebrugge for the Bay of Biscay on 13 September 1917.
Like all pre-UC-25 German Type UC II submarines, UC-21 had a displacement of 417 tonnes (410 long tons) when at the surface and 493 tonnes (485 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 49.35 m (161 ft 11 in), a beam of 5.22 m (17 ft 2 in), and a draught of 3.65 m (12 ft). The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing 250 metric horsepower (180 kW; 250 shp) (a total of 500 metric horsepower (370 kW; 490 shp)), two electric motors producing 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp), and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 35 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of 50 metres (160 ft). The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph) and a submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 55 nautical miles (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 9,430 nautical miles (17,460 km; 10,850 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). UC-21 was fitted with six 100 centimetres (39 in) mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.
Western Front
German attack near Langemarck repulsed.
German raids west of Craonne.
Germans penetrate French advanced line north of Caurieres Wood (Meuse).
Eastern Front
Odessa and Black Sea tranquil; population sympathise with Provisional Government.
Political, etc.
General Alexeiev treats with General Kornilov. Latter's revolt fails; his commander, General Krimov, kills himself. General Kaledin and Cossacks revolt. Soviets ban Cadets.
New French Cabinet announced.
Meanwhile in Russia
The Kornilov affair, or the Kornilov putsch, was an attempted military coup d'état by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov, in September 1917 against the Russian Provisional Government headed by Aleksander Kerensky and the Petrograd Soviet of Soldiers and Workers Deputies. The affair began with Kerensky requesting that Kornilov move forces loyal to the Provisional Government into Petrograd to counter the threat of the radical (and Soviet-controlled) Petrograd army garrison. Kornilov then marched on Petrograd intent on 'purging' the Provisional Government of revolutionary elements, possibly with the intention of establishing a military dictatorship. Kerensky countered Kornilov by arming the Bolshevik-influenced Soviets (including arming Leon Trotsky's Red Guards). Bolshevik agents infiltrated Kornilov's army and soldiers began to desert. Railway strikes hindered Kornilov's supplies and communications. The result was that Kornilov and his closest advisers were imprisoned, and the Bolsheviks permanently armed and empowered.
Following the revolution of February 1917, the Russian monarchy fell from power, replaced by a Provisional Government whose members came from various liberal and left-wing political parties, some previously represented in the Duma, and others in the Petrograd Soviet. The Government passed legislation that led even Lenin, one of its harshest critics, to declare Russia "the freest of all the belligerent countries".However, the initial wave of support for the Provisional Government amongst the Russian people soon subsided and unrest grew, a result mainly of Russia's continued participation in the First World War and the economic ramifications of the fighting on Russian society. The demonstrations during the "July Days" sparked calls for more discipline and for a stronger government, and a resurgence in right-wing feeling amongst sections of Russian society. Officers of the Russian Army, Kornilov amongst them, led these calls. The officers feared that ill-discipline amongst their troops accounted for the continued poor performance of the Russian army in the ongoing First World War. They demanded the reintroduction of the death penalty at the front lines as well as the abolition of the various soldiers committees that had sprung up in the months following the February revolution. Unease also escalated amongst Russia's businessmen and industrialists, whilst even amongst the politicians who formed the Provisional Government support for the restoration of order was strong.
Several schools of thought surrounding the Kornilov Affair offer contrasting interpretations and have provoked debate among historians. One take on the Kornilov Affair was put forward by Aleksandr Kerensky himself, the main target of the coup. In the years after the event, Kerensky described the affair as a right wing conspiracy that "...developed slowly, systematically, with cool calculation of all the factors involved affecting its possible success or failure." Kornilov, argued Kerensky, was drawn into this conspiracy long after the preparatory work had been completed. In a 1966 interview with Soviet journalist Genrikh Borovik, Kerensky expressed the view that Winston Churchill had played a central role in the conspiracy.Harvey Asher suggested in 1970 that Kerensky and Kornilov had an agreement to use the military to restore order within Russia. Asher then goes on to argue that, upon learning that Kornilov favoured the idea of a military dictatorship from Lvov, Kerensky reneged on their agreement for fear that he might be removed from power.Another interpretation of the Kornilov affair is that it was the result of a misunderstanding between Kerensky and Kornilov, caused by the interference of Vladimir Lvov.
The American historian Richard Pipes put forward another interpretation of the event in his work The Russian Revolution: 1899-1919. Pipes argued that far from there being a Kornilov plot there was in fact a "'Kerensky plot' engineered to discredit the general as the ringleader of an imaginary but widely anticipated counter revolution, the suppression of which would elevate the Prime Minister to a position of unrivalled popularity and power, enabling him to meet the growing threat from the Bolsheviks.
and finally away from the war altogether and into a totally different mystical/spiritual field...
The 5th Apparition of The Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima
On September 13 very large crowds began to converge on Fatima from all directions. Around noon the children then arrived, and after the customary flash of light, they saw Mary on the holmoak tree. She spoke to Lucia: "Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only to wear it during the daytime."
Lucia then began to put forward the petitions for cures, to be told: "Yes, I will cure some, but not others. In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe." With that she rose, moved to the east, and disappeared.
Last edited by Hedeby; 09-14-2017 at 13:50.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Duplicated - obviously in my eagerness to make up for lost time...
Last edited by Hedeby; 09-14-2017 at 13:49.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
14th September 1917
It is a foggy morning in the Solent and Flight Commander Edward Albert de Lossy de Ville is convinced the fog will lift as he reaches Southampton Water. But when he arrives the fog has not cleared. Horsea Island is littered with wooden aerial masts including three which at 446 feet dominate the Portsmouth skyline. On the ground men at the wireless telegraphy station hear the sound of the plane circling above until the engine noise suddenly ends with the sound of a crash. In spite of the danger of the plane crashing to the ground Able Seaman Nicholas Rath (Royal Naval Reserve) begins to climb as the mist clears. The Sopwith Baby has smashed into the wood frame and is held in position by its propeller. Ordinary Seaman Richard Knowlton and Deckhand George Faucett Pitts Abbott begin to scale the tower behind Rath while men on the ground start to haul up a bosun’s chair towards the stricken plane.
When Rath reaches the plane he discovers de Ville unconscious over the lower wing where he has been thrown in the collision. Rath ties the rope around the pilot and the three drag de Ville from the plane and place him the the chair and slowly lower him to the ground. All three men receive the Albert Medal for their bravery.
Private George Everill (North Staffordshire Regiment) is shot at dawn at age 30 for going absent without leave. He landed in France in May 1915 and served without confrontation until 16th March 1916, when he faced his first court martial for using insubordinate language to a superior officer. His sentence of one years’ imprisonment with hard labor was suspended. It is supposed that is wife never learned of his fate, because the information volunteered to the War Graves Commission indicated that her husband had been killed in action. His epitaph reads “Thy will be done from his loving wife and children”.
It is a much busier day in the skies over the Western Front
and just in time for their appearance at our annual Doncaster gathering we have another good day for 48 Squadron RFC
Rudolf Weber Austro-Hungarian Empire #5
Joseph Fall Canada #20
Geoffrey Bowman England #16
Edward Denman Clarke England #3
Ralph Curtis England #14 48 Squadron RFC
James Thomas Byford McCudden England u/c
Desmond Uniacke England #12 48 Squadron RFC
René Fonck France #12
Karl Menckhoff Germany #11
Julius Schmidt Germany u/c
Otto Schmidt Germany u/c
Gustav Schneidewind Germany #2
Attilio Imolesi Italy #2
Pier Piccio Italy #11
Keith Park New Zealand #15 #16 48 Squadron RFC
Robert Leslie Chidlaw-Roberts Wales #1
Robert Leslie Chidlaw-Roberts joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1915 and received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2527 on 23 Jan 1916. For several months, he flew combat missions over the Western Front as an observer. After flight training, he was assigned to 60 Squadron and began flying the S.E.5a. In an historic dogfight on 23 September 1917, he was almost shot down by Werner Voss shortly before Voss was shot down by Arthur Rhys Davids. On 9 January 1918, Chidlaw-Roberts and two other pilots shot down an Albatros D.V flown by Max von Müller.
There were however 11 British Airmen lost on this day
2nd Lt. Billings, D.K. (David Kitto) 81 (Canadian) Training Squadron RFC
Flt Sub-Lt Bishop, A.A. (Arthur Anderson) Dover Naval Air Station RNAS
PO Mech Byford, D.A. (David Arthur) Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President II' Armoured Car Division, Russia, Squadron 3
2nd Lt. Crow, N.H. (Norman Howard) 56 Squadron RFC
Cadet Downer, H.A. (Harry Albert) 86 Reserve Squadron, 42 Wing, Canada
Air Mech 2 Fay, J. (John) Wireless and Observers School
2nd Lt. Hawes, F.M. (Frederick Maxwell) 56 Training Squadron
2nd Lt. Hodkinson, L. (Leonard) 53 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Lennard, E.S.R. (Edward Stuart Russell) 9 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Mann, L.G. (Leonard George) 20 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Wood, A.H. (Albert H.) 11th Balloon Company RFC
The D-class submarine USS D-2 sank at New London Naval Base, Connecticut. Her crew survived. She was subsequently refloated, repaired and returned to service.
USS D-2 (SS-18) was a D-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, as Grayling, making her the first ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for the Arctic grayling, a fresh-water game fish closely related to the trout. Grayling was launched on 16 June 1909, sponsored by Miss C. H. Bowles, and commissioned on 23 November 1909 with Lieutenant Owen Hill in command. She was renamed D-2 on 17 November 1911.
D-2 joined the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet as Flagboat for Submarine Division 3 (SubDiv 3). Along the United States East Coast, D-2 joined in diving, torpedo, and experimental exercises. She participated in the Presidential Review of the Fleet in the North River at New York City from 5 to 18 May 1915.
While patrolling outside Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, just three nautical miles east of Point Judith shortly before 14:00 on 7 October 1916, D-2 discovered the Imperial German Navy submarine SM U-53 under the command of Hans Rose heading towards Newport, Rhode Island, as part of her hitherto unprecedented two-way traversal of the Atlantic Ocean without refueling or resupply. The United States was still neutral in World War I, but there was an initial flurry of activity when U-53 suddenly steamed away to port believing the submerged D-2 to be a British submarine, but when D-2 surfaced so that a crewman could run aft to raise the United States flag, U-53 slowed. Lieutenant G. C. Fulker, USN, commanding officer of D-2, brought his submarine up close to U-53 on a parallel course to escort U-53 while in sight of land. As the submarines reached the Brenton Reef Lightship, Rose requested permission from D-2 to enter port at Newport. Fulker granted it, and Rose called back by megaphone, "I salute our American comrades and follow in your wake."After the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allies on 6 April 1917, D-2 served in training and experimental work at New London, Connecticut. On 14 September 1917 she sank at pierside with all hands aboard, although her entire crew was rescued. She was refloated, repaired, and returned to service. D-2 was placed in commission, in reserve, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 9 September 1919 and placed in ordinary on 15 July 1921. She was decommissioned on 18 January 1922 and sold as a hulk on 25 September 1922.
Western Front
Successful British raids in the Ypres sector.
French regain positions north-west of Verdun lost during last 18 days.
Eastern Front
Russians hold their positions in Galicia against German counter-thrust.
Political, etc.
Continued disorder in Petrograd.
Royal Proclamation changing name of Royal House and family to Windsor.
Changes in the Government announced.
Resolution in favour of extension of Canadian Parliament passed.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Well fresh from Day 1 of the Doncaster gathering (although realised half our readship are still in the bar) here is today's edition.
15th September 1917
Lets start with the aerial combat action before it hits midnight and y source pages tick over into tomorrow.
Lets start with the loss of the following aces...and the first recorded shooting down of the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane
2nd Lt. Arthur Rex Hurden Noss MC
The son of Arthur and Laura Noss, Arthur Rex Hurden Noss was a Brisfit observer with 48 Squadron in 1917. Having scored nine victories, he was injured in a crash on 15 September 1917 and died later the same day. Incorrectly listed as Arthur Rex Hurden Moss in the London Gazette. Birth registered 1st quarter 1897 at Edmonton, Essex.
His Military Cross Citation:
Military Cross (MC)
T./2nd Lt. Arthur Rex Hurden Moss, Gen. List & R.F.C.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During an engagement with several large hostile formations the two machines with which he was patrolling were put out of action. In spite, however, of being left alone he continued to attack, and engaged the enemy in so determined a manner that he and his pilot between them destroyed one and drove three others down completely out of control. He has performed several other fine feats and has at all times set a most inspiring example by his dash and tenacity.
Oberleutnant Kurt Robert Wilhelm Wolff
A former railway transportation officer, Wolff entered the military in 1912 and transferred to the German Air Force in July 1915. On his very first flight, Wolff survived a crash that dislocated his shoulder and killed the plane's pilot. On 5 November 1916, Wolff was posted to Jasta 11 but failed to score any victories until Manfred von Richthofen assumed command of the unit in January 1917. Scoring his 9th victory on 11 April 1917, Wolff downed a Bristol Fighter flown by Irish ace David Tidmarsh. On 6 May, having achieved 28 victories, Wolff was given command of Jasta 29. With this unit, he scored two more victories before returning to command Jasta 11 on 2 July 1917. Wounded nine days later, his left hand was injured in a dogfight with 10 Naval Squadron. When he returned to duty on 11 September 1917, he began flying one of the new Fokker Triplanes. Four days later, in another encounter with 10 Naval Squadron, Wolff was shot down by a Sopwith Camel flown by Norman McGregor. His Dreidecker, the first of its kind to be lost in aerial combat, went into a spin and crashed.
13 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH 1917
2nd Lt. Albury, N.H. (Norman Howard) 24 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Brotherhood, F.R. (Frank Ridgway) 55 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Dann, H.N.G. (Henry Norman Groves) 55 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Hoadley, C.J. (Claude John) (Durham) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery RFC
Lt. Le gallais, R.W. (Reginald Walter) RFC
2nd Lt. Noss, A.R.H. (Arthur Rex Hurden) 48 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Nutter, A.C. (Alan Charles) 40 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Palmer, W.S.H. (William Samuel Hudson) RFC
2nd Lt. Powney, A.J. (Arthur John) 9 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Stewart, G. (Gordon) Armour Heights, Canada RFC
2nd Lt. Tyzack, E.D. (Eric Delaney) 1 Squadron RFC
Sqdn. Cdr Vernon, T.C. (Theophilus C.) Royal Naval Air Service
Cadet Wheadrick, W.G. (Winfield George) 44th Wing, Canada RFC
In addition L'Escadrille Lafayette loses pilot near Rodern. S/Lt Kiffin Rockwell KIA.
The following air combat claims were made on this day...
William Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick Scotland #3
Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley Pentland Australia #8
Julius Arigi Austro-Hungarian Empire #13
Arthur Roy Brown Canada #3
While on patrol, Flight Lieutenant Arthur Roy Brown (Royal Flying Corps) dives on two Aviatiks and three Albatross scouts, followed by his flight. He dives several times and picks out one enemy scout, firing about two hundred rounds, when the enemy machine goes down out of control spinning on its back. Flight Lieutenant Norman Ashley Magor (Royal Naval Air Service) is attacked by two enemy seaplanes while one anti-submarine patrol. He shoots one down in flames after having been fired by the enemy aircraft.
John Herbert Towne Letts England #13 48 Squadron RFC (Bristol F2b)
The only child of Walter John and Charlotte Helen (Robertson) Letts, John Herbert Towne Letts was educated at Aldeburgh Lodge, Suffolk, Roydon Hall, Norfolk and at Lancing College where he reached the Sixth Form and was a house captain and a member of school's football, track and swimming teams. After training at Sandhurst, Letts was gazetted to the Lincolnshire Regiment and commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on 26 January 1916. The same day, he was sent to pilot training with No. 1 Reserve Squadron at Gosport. 2nd Lieutenant Letts received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2618 on a Maurice Farman biplane at Military School, Farnborough on 24 March 1916. Promoted to Flying Officer and seconded to the Royal Flying Corps on 4 May 1916, he joined 27 Squadron in France on the 15 June 1916 where he gained experience flying the Martinsyde Elephant. Invalided home with knee trouble on 11 August, he was posted to 47 Reserve Squadron as an instructor at Waddington on 19 October 1916. He was found fit for active service on 17 January 1917 and joined 48 Squadron before it deployed to France in March 1917. With this unit he was promoted to Captain and Flight Commander after his second victory. In total, Captain Letts downed thirteen enemy machines flying the Bristol Fighter. Four days after scoring his final victory, he returned to England and was appointed Testing Instructor at the Aeroplane Experimental Station at Martlesham Heath. On 20 October 1917, he was posted to the School of Air Fighting as Group Commanding Instructor. Returning to France on 10 October 1918, Captain Letts was killed the following day when his plane crashed moments after take-off from the Belle Vue aerodrome.
Norman Miles MacGregor England #5
In September 1917, having scored 4 victories with 6 Naval Squadron, Norman Miers MacGregor was posted to 10 Naval Squadron. Flying the Sopwith Camel, he scored his 5th victory on 15 September, downing the first Fokker DR.1 of the war. The Triplane exploded when it crashed, killing the pilot, Kurt Wolff of Jasta 11. MacGregor later scored two more victories and accrued 325 hours of operational flight time during the war.
James Payne England #2
Francis Williams England #3
René Fonck France #13
Hans von Adam Germany #15
Rudolf Berthold Germany #17
Friedrich Gille Germany #5
Heinrich Gontermann Germany #36
Bruno Loerzer Germany #7
Hans-Georg von der Osten Germany #3
Keith Caldwell New Zealand #9
Leonard Slatter South Africa #2
Ronald Graham Scotland #3
Herbert Hartley Scotland #1 48 Squadron RFC
The son of James Henry and Agnes Jane Hartley, Herbert Henry Hartley was a Brisfit observer with 48 Squadron. Credited with his seventh victory over a Fokker DR.I on 11 March 1918, Hartley was killed in action three days later
William MacLanachan Scotland #5
Edward Williams Wales #3 48 Squadron RFC
433 British lives were lost on this day
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Lieutenant James Hope-Wallace (Northumberland Fusiliers) dies of wounds at age 45. He is the son-in-law of the 4th Viscount Sidmouth.
Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Hurden Noss MC (General List attached Royal Flying Corps) is accidentally killed at age 20. He is a nine-victory gunner ace.
Second Lieutenant John McClure Northam (London Regiment) is killed. His brother was killed in May 1915.
Gunner Hubert Winchester (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed in action at age 21. His brother was killed on the day before the battle of the Somme began.
The Battle of the Menin Road
Early actions
During a lull in early September, both sides tried to improve their positions; on 1 September, a determined German attack at Inverness Copse was repulsed. Further north in the XIX Corps area, a battalion of the 61st Division rushed Hill 35 but only took a small area; another attempt on 3 September failed. Next day, the division attacked Aisne Farm and was repulsed but the neighbouring 58th Division took Spot Farm. On 5 September, the 61st Division tried again at night, took a German outpost on Hill 35 and then lost it to a counter-attack. An attack from south of Hill 35 by the 42nd Division with the 125th Brigade and part of the 127th Brigade, took place on 6 September. For several days, practice barrages were conducted and a daylight reconnaissance by a small party probed to within 25 yd (23 m) of Beck House. During the night, the Germans sent up many flares and rockets, disclosing their barrage line and many undetected posts. The British barrage schedule required four rounds per-gun-per-minute but the gunners fired up to ten. The 125th Brigade attacked Iberian, Borry and Beck House farms and captured Beck House but small-arms fire from Hill 35 stopped the rest of the attack, which was a costly failure. The Germans retook Beck House at 10.45 a.m. and enfiladed the rest of the attackers, who were withdrawn, except on the extreme right. Another German counter-attack at 7.30 p.m. by fresh storm-troops forced the battalion to retire, except from a small area 150 yd (140 m) forward, which was abandoned next day; the division had c. 800 casualties. Another night attack by the 61st Division on Hill 35 failed and in the XVIII Corps area, a company of the 51st Division made an abortive raid on Pheasant Trench.
Two battalions of the 58th Division conducted raids on 8 September and next day the 24th Division in II Corps, withstood another determined German attack at Inverness Copse. On 11 September, a night attack by a battalion of the 42nd Division failed to capture The Hut. A covering party for a group of soldiers working in no man's land discovered an Inniskilling Fusilier who had lain out wounded since 11 August, subsisting on rations recovered from dead soldiers.[21] On 13 September, the Guards Division was pushed back from the far side of the Broembeek and the Wijdendreft road. Next day a battalion of the 42nd Division edged forward 100 yd (91 m) and a battalion of the 58th Division attacked the Winnipeg pillbox; in the evening a German counter-attack took ground towards Springfield. On 15 September, covered by a hurricane bombardment, a battalion of the 47th Division attacked and captured a strong point near Inverness Copse, fire from which had devastated earlier attacks and took 36 prisoners.[23] A battalion of the 42nd Division captured Sans Souci and the 51st Division launched a "Chinese" attack using dummies. A day later, a German attack on the strong point renamed Cryer Farm, captured by the 47th Division was defeated with many German losses and in the XIV Corps area, another attack was stopped by small-arms fire by the 20th Division. A party of the Guards Division was cut off near Ney Copse and fought its way out; a lull followed until 20 September.
Captain Tunstill's Men: Lt. Paul James Sainsbury, who had returned to France a week previously, reported for duty with 10DWR; he was promoted Temporary Captain.
Nine men joined the Battalion on transfer from the Bedfordshire Regiment. They had arrived in France on 3rd September, since when they had been at 17th Infantry Base Depot at Calais. Pte. Joseph William Carter was a 19 year-old farm labourer from Radlett, Herts.; Pte. Harold Drury (I am unable to make a positive identification of this man); Pte. Charles Leslie Gooch was a 40 year-old coal merchant from Dagenham; he was married with four children; Pte. Lewis Larkins was a 20 year-old market gardener from Everton Heath, Beds.; Pte. William Stephen Nobbs was 19 years old and from Suffolk; Pte. Walter Norman was a 19 year-old nursery gardener from Willington, Beds.; Pte. William George Ruddock was a 28 year-old farmworker from Diss, Suffolk; Pte. Ernest Thorn was a 26 year-old paper mill worker from Hemel Hempstead. Pte. Frank Ernest Walton was 19 years old and from Luton.
L.Cpl. Herbert Horatio Millican also joined the Battalion; he was a 19 year-old clerk from Great Yarmouth. He had joined the Northamptonshire Regiment in February 1915 and had been promoted Lance Corporal in November 1916. He had been posted to France on 20th August 1917 and had been formally transferred to 10DWR on 11th September.
Orders were issued to 69th Brigade for the forthcoming attack (these have been edited so as to focus on the part played by 10DWR)
1. The 23rd Division will attack and capture the line J.15.d.40.90 to J.21.c.95.75 on a date and at a Zero Hour to be notified later. The attack will be in conjunction with simultaneous attacks on the whole Second and Fifth Army fronts, the 23rd Division being on the left of the Fifth Army.
2. The enemy opposite the Divisional Front consists at present of the 32nd (Saxon) Division.Each Regiment appears to have one Battalion in front line with one in close support, ready to counter-attack. The third Battalions of Regiments may be expected to arrive in about nine hours.
3. The objectives, Divisional boundaries and dividing lines are shown on the attached map A (see below). The 69th Infantry Brigade will attack on the left, the 68th Infantry Brigade on the right. The 70th Infantry Brigade will be in Divisional Reserve. The forming up places of units are shown on the attached map B (see below). The 1st Australian Division will attack on the left of the 69th Infantry Brigade.
5. The 11th West Yorkshire Regiment will capture and consolidate the whole German area up to the Red Line on the 69th Brigade Front from Herenthage Chateau (inclusive) to FitzClarence Farm (inclusive) and will be responsible for clearing the German Aid Post at J.20.b.6.9. Touch with the 68th Brigade and Australian 1st Division is to be ensured at Herethage Chateau and FitzClarence Farm respectively.
There will be a pause of 45 minutes on the Red Line during which the 9th Yorkshire Regiment will move into positions to pass through the Red Line. Movements should be by platoons in “Artillery Formation”, each party direct towards its own objective.
The 9th Yorkshire Regiment will capture and consolidate the whole area in front of the Red Line up to the Blue Line, obtaining touch with 68th Brigade at Kantintje Cabaret and with 1st Australian Division north of the crossroads at J.15.c.4.7.
There will be 1 ˝ hours pause on the Blue Line to enable 10th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment to move forward preparatory to the assault of the Green Line.
The 10th Duke of Wellington’s will capture and consolidate the area in front of the Blue Line up to the Green Line, ensuring touch with 68th Brigade at J.21.b.40.65 and with the 1st Australian Division at Strong Point Q (J.15.d.35.80).
The 8th Yorkshire Regiment will be in Brigade Reserve but will be moved up successively to replace the 10th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in front of the line Striling Castle – Clapham Junction. One Company will be at call of OC 10th Duke of Wellington’s, the remainder only after reference to Brigade HQ.
8. The above strong points are mostly represented by strong dug-outs known to be recently occupied by the enemy. In addition to these the following approximate positions will require special attention by OC units concerned:
Special parties are to be detailed to clear out and occupy, if suitable, all the above positions. In addition it will be necessary for the whole area captured by each Battalion to be well searched in definite sections so that in no part may an enemy escape detection.
14. All three objectives will require the utmost efforts in intensive digging immediately after capture, especially on the Blue Line. This applies equally to all defence posts.
Every man must understand what his own objective is on the ground, how to get there, what to do on arrival and that, at whatever cost, he must reach, consolidate and hold his allotted post. It must be a point of honour that all ranks of each Battalion are to be found only in their own allotted areas or reinforcing others in front of them. This will simplify the re-organization of Companies. During the attack the rifle and bayonet will be relied on. Bombs are only to be used in case the Germans offer resistance in a captured dug-out or strong point. Rifle grenades are to be freely used by detailed sections against enemy strong points that give trouble.
7. The following strong points are ordered to be established; OC units will arrange for necessary material to be carried up.
Amendment to Brigade orders
1. For the attack on the Green Line Area one Company will be detailed by OC 8th Yorkshire Regiment to advance with 10th Duke of Wellington’s Regt. Under the orders of the OC the latter Regt. This Company will cross the Blue Line in the vicinity of strong point J and will be responsible for the capture, consolidation and defence of strong points P and Q and of that part of the Green Line lying north of the road (inclusive) running from strong point J towards strong point O (inclusive). This Company will be also responsible for providing a standing patrol to move out from strong point Q after its capture to watch the valley of the Reutelbeek.
2. One Company 8th Yorkshire Regiment will be detailed by OC 8th Yorkshire Regiment as a reserve to OC 10th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and will move immediately in rear of the latter Battalion to the line of dug-outs north of strong point I which it will take over from 9th Yorkshire Regiment. This Company will carry with it to form a dump for use by OC 10th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, 25 shovels and 10 picks; 20 coils of barbed wire; 50 long screw pickets; 25 short screw pickets.
6. The moves of the 10th Duke of Wellington’s to the trenches in front of the line Clapham Junction – Stirling Castle, and of the 8th Yorkshire Regiment to Jam Support etc., and thence forward, will commence at Zero by small parties.
7. In the event of tanks being available four will pass at Zero, north of Clapham Junction, two being directed along the north edge of Inverness Copse to Strong Point J and two down the Menin Road.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
16th September 1917
Well as day one of the Annual Doncaster event draws to a close, I have high tailed from the mess back to the production offices...
Lets start with the war in the air... the following aerial victory claims were made on this day
Fulco Ruffo di Calabria Italy #2
Clive Brewster-Joske Australia #7
Harold Hamersley Australia #1
A veteran of Gallipoli, Harold Alan Hamersley transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and was posted to 60 Squadron in September 1917. One of several pilots attacked by Werner Voss in an historic dogfight on 23 September 1917, Hamersley's S.E.5a was severely damaged by the German's machine gun fire. Surviving the encounter, Hamersley scored thirteen victories and remained in the Royal Air Force when the war ended.
Lt. (T./Capt.) Harold Alan Hamersley, R.F.C., Spec. Res.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On one occasion whilst leading his patrol he attacked a formation of six enemy planes. In the ensuing fight he destroyed two of these machines, one falling in flames and the second crashing to earth, and during the same engagement assisted another officer in destroying a third. In addition to these he has destroyed five hostile machines and driven down three out of control. He is a magnificent pilot, displaying at all times an utter disregard of fear.
Richard Minifie Australia #10
Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley Pentland Australia #9
Franz Wognar Austro-Hungarian Empire #5
Frederick Carr Armstrong Canada #6 #7
Joseph Fall Canada #21
Hazel Wallace Canada #2
Leonard Barlow England #13
Henry Maddocks England #2
Arthur William Wood England #6
Maurice Boyau France #8
Hans Auer Germany #5
Harald Auffarth Germany #1
Rudolf Berthold Germany #18 #19
Kurt-Bertram von Döring Germany #7
Rudolf Francke Germany #6
Ernst Hess Germany #14
Rudolf Klimke Germany u/c
Walter Kypke Germany #3
Franz Ray Germany #3
Otto Schmidt Germany #9
Viktor Schobinger Germany #5
Joseph Veltjens Germany #6
Hans Weiss Germany #1
Having scored sixteen victories, Weiss' white Fokker DR.I was shot down over Méricourt by Canadian ace Merrill Taylor.
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #16
Sydney Pope Ireland #3
Robert Leslie Chidlaw-Roberts Wales #2
10 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH 1917
Air Mech 3 Cox, U. (Uriah) 11 Squadrin RFC
Air Mech 2 Fairclough, W.W. (William Whittaker) 9 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 1 Gledstone, A. (Albert) 45 Training Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Goodwin, N.W. (Norman William) 27 Squadron RFC
Lt. Graham, R.L. (Robert Lynedoch) 19 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Haslam, H. (Herbert) 6 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Hellier, F. (Frederick) 7th Balloon Section RFC
2nd Lt. Humphries, L.G. (Leslie Glendower) 4 Squadron RFC
L Cpl Linay, A.J. RFC
2nd Lt. Rowat, R. (Robin) 8 Squadron RFC
The submarine G9 (Lieutenant Commander the Honorable Byron Plantagenet Cary DSO) is on patrol between 60 degrees 30 minutes north and 61 degrees 30 minutes north off the coast of Norway. It is a very dark night and G9 is aware that an enemy submarine is in the vicinity. There is heavy rain with heavy seas and wind force 4-5. While on the surface, G9 fires a torpedo at the destroyer HMS Paisley after mistaking her for the German U-boat. The torpedo fails to explode and the destroyer rams the submarine. A stoker named Drake is the only survivor while thirty-three are killed. The commanding officer of Paisley has received no instructions regarding probable presence of British submarines in this area. The subsequent Court of Enquiry will attribute no blame to Paisley.
HMS G9 was a British G class submarine, one of eight Royal Navy submarines known to have been lost to friendly fire in World War I.
The second of her class built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness, G9 was laid down on 8 December 1914. She was launched on 15 June 1916, and commissioned on 22 August that year. The G-class submarines were designed by the Admiralty in response to a rumour that the Germans were building double-hulled submarines for overseas duties. The submarines had a length of 187 feet 1 inch (57.0 m) overall, a beam of 22 feet 8 inches (6.9 m) and a mean draft of 13 feet 4 inches (4.1 m). They displaced 703 long tons (714 t) on the surface and 837 long tons (850 t) submerged. The G-class submarines had a crew of 30 officers and other ranks. They had a partial double hull. For surface running, the boats were powered by two 800-brake-horsepower (597 kW) Vickers two-stroke diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 420-horsepower (313 kW) electric motor. They could reach 14.25 knots (26.39 km/h; 16.40 mph) on the surface and 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) underwater. On the surface, the G class had a range of 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The boats were intended to be armed with one 21-inch (53.3 cm) torpedo tube in the bow and two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes on the beam. This was revised, however, while they were under construction, the 21-inch tube was moved to the stern and two additional 18-inch tubes were added in the bow. They carried two 21-inch and eight 18-inch torpedoes. The G-class submarines were also armed with a single 3-inch (7.6 cm) deck gun.
G9 was sunk by the destroyer HMS Pasley in foul weather on the night of 16 September 1917. G9 had mistaken Pasley for a U-boat and fired two torpedoes at her. The first struck Pasley on her starboard quarter, but too acutely to detonate; the second passed astern. On seeing the submarine's wash, Pasley's officer of the watch, Midshipman Frank Wallis, RNR, turned the boat hard to starboard and rammed G9 just aft of amidships all but cutting her in two, and she sank less than one minute later with the loss of all but one of her crew, Stoker William Drake.
Commanded by Lieutenant Commander The Hon. Byron Plantagenet Cary, Bt.G9 had sailed Scapa Flow on 9 September to patrol an area between Shetland and Norway. On 15 September, she was ordered north to between latitudes 60.30 N and 61.30 N to keep her clear of the fleet on exercises en route from Rosyth to Scapa. Meanwhile, Pasley was attempting to locate merchantmen detached from the convoy she was escorting in appalling weather from Aspö Fjord, 100 km north of Bergen, to Lerwick, and had resorted to displaying a white light halfway up the mast by night for guidance. Weathering the heavy seas and blinding rain squalls, Cary sighted Pasley's light. Forewarned a U-boat was in the area, he gave the order to attack. Presumably realising the error soon afterwards, Cary ordered the connection of the cruiser arc lamp to signal the destroyer. The signal was recognised aboard Pasley; her captain, Commander Charles Ramsey, ordered 'Full Astern', but it was too late to prevent his ship ramming the submarine.
After the collision, the crew on G9 were ordered to assemble beneath the conning tower. Stoker William Drake saw one man climb the ladder above him, and followed. Although caught in the stomach by the lower conning tower door, which had probably been ordered shut in the hope of keeping the boat buoyant, Drake managed to struggle free and reach the bridge, only to be swept off as the boat sank beneath him. Of the five men in the water, Drake was the only one to reach Pasley, which had stopped to rescue survivors. Weakened by the effort and numbed by the cold water, Drake was unable to pull himself up on the lifeline lowered, and was only rescued after Able Seaman Henry Old clambered over the side of the destroyer to secure a running bowline around him; he was then hauled aboard and taken below. Still unconvinced of his attacker's identity, Commander Ramsey went to question the survivor. Finding Drake laid on his stomach to help rid his lungs of seawater, Ramsey kicked the soles of his feet and demanded to know his nationality
A Court of Inquiry was held aboard HMS Indomitable at Scapa, four days after the sinking. The court decided no blame could be attached to Pasley, concluding "that the process of reasoning which led the captain of HM Submarine G9 to mistake HMS Pasley for a U-boat is, and must remain, unexplained". The findings were forwarded to the Commander in Chief, Grand Fleet, Admiral David Beatty, who remarked that the incident was "...one of those that are inseparable from war", but deplored the delay in introducing improved signalling facilities on submarines, particularly the substitution of the slow, unreliable and cumbersome cruiser arc lamp with Aldis lamps. Their Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty later directed Commander Ramsey to inform Midshipman Wallis that in the opinion of the Court of Inquiry the action taken by him "was the right action to take under the circumstances, and that its result, so deeply to be regretted, is evidence that it was taken with commendable promptness and precision....".
The Western Front
Enemy counter attacks north of Inverness Copse are repulsed while they also attempt to advance north of Langemarck after a heavy bombardment. Successful raids are carried out by the British on the Arras front between Cambrai and St Quentin.
Lieutenant Robert Lynedoch Graham (Royal Field Artillery attached Royal Flying Corps) is killed at age 21 when his Spad is shot down southwest of Passchendaele. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Thomas Lynedoch and Lady Graham Judge President of the Eastern District Courts Grahamstown South Africa. *******************He was educated at St. Andrew’s College, Grahamstown, and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was an undergraduate when war was declared. Volunteering in January 1915, he received a commission in the Royal Field Artillery and went to France in the following May. In 1916 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and was severely wounded in April. He was reported missing until a message dropped by German airmen on Christmas Day stated that he had been killed today.
Western Front
German attack on Apremont Forest (St. Mihiel) fails.
Stuttgart, Colmar, Thionville and Saarburg bombed by French.
Naval and Overseas Operations
German position at Kalimoto (north of Mahenge) captured.
Belgian troops (Colonel Huyghe) pursue.
Political, etc.
General Kaledin, Hetman of Don Cossacks, declares loyalty to Governmen
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Well thats' the Doncaster evet over for another year, but fear not we have already booked next yeras gathering. Now lets see what has been happenign whilst we have been enjoying ourselves...
Lets start with the air war and the following pilots (and observers) made claims on this day...
Frank Soden Canada #3
Ralph Curtis England #15 (48 Squadron RFC - Bristol F2b)
Desmond Uniacke England #13 (48 Squadron RFC - Bristol F2b)
William Walker England #5 (48 Squadron RFC - Bristol F2b)
Karl Thom Germany #4
Ernst Udet Germany #10
Giovanni Sabelli Italy #3
Samuel Kinkead South Africa #4
9 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH 1917
WO 2 Dodd, R. (Reginald) H.M.S. 'Pegasus' RNAS
Air Mech 2 Farmer, F. (Frank) 4 Squadron RFC
Lt. Grosvenor, T. (Thomas) 57 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Hawtrey, J.J.A. (John James Alexander) 60 Squadron RFC
Lt. Hobart-Hampden, G.M.A. (George Miles Awdry) Central Flying School, Upavon, Wiltshire
Lt. Holman, G.C. (Gerald Chaplin) 41 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Muscutt, H.G. 8 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Pritchard, C.F. (Charles Frederick) 57 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Taylor, R.E. (Robert Edward) 41 Squadron RFC
Major Miles Barne DSO (Suffolk Yeomanry attached Scots Guards) dies of wounds when a damaged British aircraft accidentally releases a bomb on British lines at age 43. He is the son of Lieutenant Colonel John and Lady Constance Barne. He was one of two officer court martialed for the Christmas Truce of 1914 but was acquitted. His brother was killed last April in the Royal Flying Corps and they are grandsons of ‘Sir’ Francis George Hugh Seymour 5th Baronet and he is the son in law of Archibald Ernest Orr Ewing 3rd Baronet.
SM UC-45 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 November 1915 and was launched on 20 October 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 18 November 1916 as SM UC-45. In five patrols UC-45 was credited with sinking 12 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-45 sank in a diving accident on 17 September 1917 in the North Sea. The German salvage vessel Vulkan raised the wreck and UC-45 re-entered service on 24 October 1918. She was surrendered on 24 November 1918 and broken up at Preston in 1919–20.
A German Type UC II submarine, UC-45 had a displacement of 400 tonnes (390 long tons) when at the surface and 480 tonnes (470 long tons) while submerged. She had a length overall of 49.45 m (162 ft 3 in), a beam of 5.22 m (17 ft 2 in), and a draught of 3.68 m (12 ft 1 in). The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing 260 metric horsepower (190 kW; 260 shp) (a total of 520 metric horsepower (380 kW; 510 shp)), two electric motors producing 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp), and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of 50 metres (160 ft).
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph) and a submerged speed of 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h; 7.7 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 9,410 nautical miles (17,430 km; 10,830 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). UC-45 was fitted with six 100 centimetres (39 in) mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.
Eastern Front
Riga front: fighting between advanced posts continues.
Political, etc.
Central Powers decree appointing Polish Regency Council.
Germany apologises to Argentina over Count Luxburg affair.
9d loaf order in operation.
"Summer Time" ends at 2 am.
Sponsored Links
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
18th September 1917
Last couple have been a little on the short side, there is a real lack of info around at the moment, I guess everything was being held back in preparation for the next 'Big Push', laso in Russia trouble is brewing, more than a few column inches coming from that direction in the not too distant future...
The destroyer HMSContest is torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Western approaches of the English Channel while assisting the torpedoed steam ship City of London. Thirty-five members of her crew are killed. The City of Lincoln suffers 9 casualties but does not sink. The British destroyer HMS Contest was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-106 (Hans Hufnagel), in the Western Approaches of the Channel, while assisting the torpedoed steamer City of Lincoln. 35 persons were killed. 60 survivors from HMS Contest were then picked up by the damaged City of Lincoln. Fortunately, U-106 didn't continue her attack on the freigther and she reached port later.
528 British lives were lost
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Lieutenant Colonel Roger Orme Kerrison (Cavalry attached Australian Field Artillery) dies of dysentery at age 44.
Major Arnold Dargie (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed at age 26. He is an international football goalkeeper who also played for the Bangor Football Club.
Gunner Jarvis Humpston MM (Royal Field Artillery) is killed in action at age 20.
Major Arnold Dargie
8 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH 1917
Air Mech 1 Bailey, L.K.H. (Lionel Keith H) 1st Brigade Headquarters RFC
2nd Lt. Chapman, A.J. (Alfred John) 41 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 1 Hogg, C.H.K. (Charles Holmes Kingston) 6 Squadron attached 353rd Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery RFC
Cadet Ludford, J.E. (John E.) RFC
Capt. Manley, J. (John) 19 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McArdle, H.F. (Hugh Francis) 41 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Williams, A.C. (Arthur Courtenay) 44th Wing, Borden Camp, Canada RFC
Flt. Sub Lt. Wright, N.S. (Noel Stafford) 1 (N) Squadron RNAS
Captain Richard Michael Trevethan MC 20 Squadron RFC: From St. Kew in Cornwall, Richard Michael Trevethan, the son of Michael and Clara (Pearce) Trevethan, was born in Utah in the United States but gave his nationality as English. He attended Falmouth Grammar School, Portsmouth Grammar School, and the Imperial College of Science, London. He enlisted in 1914 and was commissioned a temporary second lieutenant on 22 September. In 1917 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. As an F.E.2d pilot, he scored twelve victories before being wounded in action on 18 September 1917. He was granted a permanent commission in the rank of Flying Officer on 1 August 1919.
The following aerial victory claims were made
Russell Winnicott England #2
Hans Bethge Germany #17
Walter Ewers Germany #1
Walter Ewers served with the Bavarian Field Artillery before becoming a pilot. Having scored eight victories, he was killed in action over Villers-Bretonneux on the morning of 15 May 1918.
Viktor Schobinger Germany #6
Karl Thom Germany #5 #6 #7
Emil Thuy Germany #12 #13
Rudolf Windisch Germany #2
Southern Front
Italians capture 200 prisoners, etc., in Carzano (Val Sugana, Trentino).
Political, etc.
M. Painleve re-defines French War Aims: Alsace-Lorraine and reparation.
Captain Tunstills Men: Overnight, 18th-19th, two advance parties were sent out overnight to establish the routes into the front line which were to be taken by the Battalion on the following evening. However, they were subjected to heavy artillery fire and, in the words of the Battalion War Diary, both were “knocked out by shell fire”. Three officers and four men were killed and a number of others wounded.
The officers killed were Lt. Joseph Crocker (see 22nd June) and 2Lts. William Taylor and John Henry Walker (see 17th September), both of whom had only joined the Battalion the previous day on attachment from the East Yorkshire Regiment. The men killed were L.Cpl. Arthur Charles Elkington MM (see 16th August; it is not known when he had been promoted); he had taken shelter in a dugout which was hit by a shell. In a letter to his family, an (unnamed) officer said that he had been “well-respected by his platoon and company”; L.Cpls. Robert Arthur Watkinson (see 5th May) and James Lister Petty (see 24th July) and L.Cpl. Norman Wright (see 23rd July), who was initially reported wounded and missing, but later confirmed killed. It is likely that all those killed were initially buried close to the front line but their graves were lost in subsequent fighting. After the war the remains of L.Cpl. Watkinson would be exhumed from an unmarked grave near Jasper Avenue trench, just south of Stirling Castle, and re-buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery. The other six officers and men are commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing.
L.Cpl. Martin Reddington (see 9th July) suffered minor shrapnel wounds to his back and right knee and was admitted to 71st Field Ambulance. Pte. Abraham Sunderland (see 13th April) suffered shrapnel wounds to his right hand and knee; he would be admitted via 71st Field Ambulance and 53rd Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul to 7th Canadian General Hospital at Etaples. Pte. Willie Cowgill (see 23rd March) suffered shrapnel wounds to his left hand; he would be admitted via 6th Australian Field Ambulance and 10th Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings to 56th General Hospital at Etaples.
Pte. William Hewitt (25172) (see 5th July) reported sick, suffering from an abcess; he would be admitted via 71st Field Ambulance and 41st Casualty Clearing Station to 7th Canadian General Hospital at Etaples.
Pte. Ellis Sutcliffe (see 4th September), who had only re-joined the Battalion two weeks previously having been wounded in July, was admitted to hospital suffering from inflammation of his right knee.
Pte. Harry Hartley (see 3rd August), who had been posted back to England six weeks previously, was posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
19th September 1917
The quiet before the storm with the start of The Battle of Menin Bridge Road from tomorrow, with a glut of Victoria CRosses and more large scle Western Front action... but before all that today we have
Two brothers from Australia Corporal Frederick Furnell age 30 (Australian Light Railway Operating Company) and Lieutenant Gilbert James Furnell age 25 (Australian Pioneers) meet for a visit not far behind the line on the Western front. They are killed by a random shell.
596 British lives are lost on this day - tomorrow it will be closer to 5000
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Captain Cyril Linton Verso (Australian Infantry) is killed at age 27. He is the son of the Reverend Canon Jacob Verso Vicar of Berrigan New South Wales.
Second Lieutenant Michael Hole (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed at age 39. His brother will be killed in December in the sinking of the Aragon.
Chaplain Elijah Cobham MC (attached King’s Africa Rifles) dies of wounds received at Mihambia in German West Africa at age 37. He was the Vicar of All Saint’s, Bristol.
Private Horace James Stokes (Western Ontario Regiment) is killed at age 39. His son was killed in April of this year at age 16 serving in the same regiment.
Bombardier John Williamson (Royal Field Artillery attached Trench Mortar Battery) is killed at age 28. His brother was killed in February.
9 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH 1917
Air Mech 2 Blatherwick, C.A. (Charles Albert) 43 Squadron RFC
Lt. Devlin, H.L. (Henry Little) 9 Squadron RFC
Lt. Golding, E. (Edgar) 3 Squadron RFC
Cpl. Goss, L.S. (Leonard Sidney) 3 Squadron RFC
Flt. SUb Lt. Grace, E.V.J. (Edmund Victor Joseph) 10 (N) Squadron Royal Naval Air Service
Lt. Hartnett, M.C. (Michael Charles) 4 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Oxley, M.G.M. (Malcolm Guy MacDonald) 43 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Walthew, J.S. (John Syers) 4 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Wright, F.A. (Frederick Adam) 9 Squadron RFC
There was one VC awarded for actions on this day (and the days following)
Reginald Roy Inwood, VC (14 July 1890 – 23 October 1971) was an Australian 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. He was 27 years old, and a private in the 10th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force during the First World War when he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Born 14 July 1890 at North Adelaide, South Australia, the eldest son of Edward Henry Inwood and his wife Mary Anne (Minney). The family later moved to Broken Hill where, after leaving school, he began work in the local mines. Inwood enlisted in the 1st AIF, 10th Infantry Battalion on 24 August 1914 and on 20 October he embarked for Egypt where he took part in the Gallipoli Campaign landings. His battalion was in the first wave of the landing at Anzac Cove.
Inwood was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions during the period 19–22 September 1917 in an attack at Polygon Wood, near Ypres, Belgium during the Battle of Menin Road:
“ For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the advance to the second objective. He moved forward through our barrage alone to an enemy strong post and captured it, together with nine prisoners, killing several of the enemy. During the evening he volunteered for a special all night patrol, which went out 600 yards in front of our line, and there – by his coolness and sound judgment – obtained and sent back very valuable information as to the enemy's movements. In the early morning of the 21 September, Private Inwood located a machine gun which was causing several casualties. He went out alone and bombed the gun and team, killing all but one, whom he brought in as a prisoner with the gun ”
— Commonwealth Gazette No. 31 17 March 1918
He later achieved the rank of sergeant. Inwood's two younger brothers also served and saw action on the Western Front. Pte Harold Ray Inwood, 43rd Battalion, returned to Australia in 1917; while Sergeant Robert Minney Inwood, also of the 10th Battalion, fought at Gallipoli and was killed in action on the second day of the Battle of Pozičres on 24 July 1916 at the age of twenty
Inwood returned to a hero's welcome in Broken Hill in October 1918 but at an event organised in his honour gave a controversial public speech. He claimed he had "been stoned by mongrels at the train" when he had departed to fight and with his return "those mongrels were the first to shake me by the hand". He told the crowd "I would like to be at one end of the street with a machine-gun and have them at the other end". In the House of Representatives Rep Michael Considine accused Inwood of trying "to incite trouble between returned soldiers and the working classes". No longer welcome in Broken Hill Inwood moved to Adelaide where he found difficulty finding work. Inwood married a 23-year-old widow, Mabel Alice Collins Weber on 31 December 1918 but they divorced in 1921, whereupon he moved to Queenstown, Tasmania to work in the mines. He later moved to Kangaroo Island where he worked in a Eucalyptus distillery. Inwood married Evelyn Owens in 1927 and following her death married Louise Elizabeth Gates in 1942. Returning to Adelaide in 1928 he was employed as a labourer by the Adelaide City Council until 1955 when he retired. During the Second World War, Inwood served as a warrant officer with the Citizens Military Force. Inwood died on 23 October 1971, given a military funeral he was buried at the West Terrace AIF Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia.
In his will Roy Inwood bequeathed all his war medals to the 10th Battalion Club who, when informed, indicated they would donate the Victoria Cross itself to the Australian War Memorial. Inwood objected and stated he wanted the medal to remain in Adelaide. In June 1971, with Inwood's consent, the VC was presented to the City of Adelaide. The VC was stored in the high security vault in the Council’s Archives while a replica was put on display.
In 2005 Inwood's VC became the centre of considerable media and community debate with calls for it to be displayed in the Australian War Memorial's national Victoria Cross Collection. After consulting with the Inwood family and other interested parties, it was decided to honour Inwood’s dying wishes. In December 2005 funds were allocated to provide security so the original Victoria Cross could be displayed in the Adelaide Town Hall instead of the replica. In 2007 the debate briefly reignited and the matter remains a "touchy" subject. The Other Ranks Mess at the Torrens Parade Ground, Adelaide, is called the Roy Inwood Club. In 2008 it was debated whether to call the new tunnel under Anzac Highway either "Inwood Underpass" or "Blackburn Underpass" after another South Australian who won a VC in 1916, Brigadier Arthur Blackburn. The Returned and Services League of Australia objected to naming the tunnel after a specific veteran as inappropriate saying it should be named after a major First World War battle ground in line with the highway's First World War memorial theme. On completion, the tunnel was named the Gallipoli Underpass.
Prelude to the Battle of Menin Road Bridge
The Kerensky Offensive by Russia in July had accelerated the disintegration of the Russian Army, increasing the prospect of substantial German reinforcements for the Western Front. The French attack at Verdun in August had inflicted a defeat on the German 5th Army similar in extent to the defeat of the 4th Army in the Battle of Messines in June but morale in the French army was still poor. In reports to the War Cabinet on 21 August and 2 September, Sir Douglas Haig repeated his view that the British campaign at Ypres was necessary to shield the other armies of the alliance, regardless of the slow geographical progress being made in the unusually wet weather of August. The German 4th Army had defeated British attempts to advance to the black and green (second and third) lines set for 31 July in the centre of the battlefield and on the Gheluvelt Plateau on the southern flank, during the frequent weather interruptions in August. These defensive successes had been costly and by mid-August, German satisfaction at their defensive achievements was accompanied by concern at the extent of casualties. The rain, constant bombardments and British air attacks had also put great strain on the German defence between British attacks. After 31 July, Gough had ceased attempts to exploit opportunities created by the Fifth Army's attacks and began a process of tactical revision, which with the better weather in September inflicted several costly defeats on the Germans.
II Corps had been ordered to capture the rest of the black line on 2 August. The three northern corps of the Fifth Army were then to complete the capture of their part of the green line on 4 August, while XIV Corps and the French First Army crossed the Steenbeek on the left flank. The unusually wet weather had caused the attacks to be postponed until 10 August and the Battle of Langemarck (16–18 August); some of these objectives were still occupied by the Germans after operations later in the month.[10] Principal responsibility for the offensive was transferred to General Herbert Plumer on 25 August. The Second Army boundary was shifted north into the area vacated by II Corps on the Gheluvelt plateau. Haig put more emphasis on the southern fringe of the plateau, by giving to the Second Army the bulk of the heavy artillery reinforcements moved from Artois.
Plumer planned to capture Gheluvelt Plateau in four steps at six day intervals, for time to bring forward artillery and supplies, a faster tempo of operations than that envisaged by Gough before 31 July. Each step was to have even more limited geographical objectives, with infantry units attacking on narrower fronts in greater depth. The practice of attacking the first objective with two battalions and the following objectives with a battalion each was reversed, in view of the greater density of German defences the further the attack penetrated; double the medium and heavy artillery was available than for on 31 July. Reorganisation in this manner had been recommended in a report of 25 August, by the Fifth Army General Officer Commanding RA (GOCRA) Major-General H. Uniacke. The evolution in organisation and method was to ensure that more infantry were on tactically advantageous ground, having had time to consolidate and regain contact with their artillery before German counter-attacks.
The British began a "desultory bombardment" on 31 August and also sought to neutralise the German artillery with gas before the attack, including gas bombardments on the three evenings before the assault. Aircraft were reserved for systematic counter-attack reconnaissance, to avoid the failures of previous battles, where too few aircraft had been burdened with too many duties, in bad weather. The three-week pause originated from lieutenant-generals T. Morland and W. Birdwood, the X and I Anzac corps commanders, at a conference of 27 August. The attacking corps made their plans within the framework of the Second Army plan, using General Principles on Which the Artillery Plan Will be Drawn of 29 August, which described the multi-layered creeping barrage and the use of Fuze 106, to avoid adding more craters to the ground. The Second Army and both corps did visibility tests to decide when zero hour should be set; the use of wireless and gun-carrying tanks, were discussed with Plumer on 15 September. X Corps issued its first Instruction on 1 September, giving times and boundaries to its divisions. A pattern for British attacks was established and Second Army orders and artillery instructions became routine, with an Attack Map showing stages of attack and timetable for the corps involved; corps moves and the time of attack were briefly noted. Nine divisions were to attack on a 10,000 yd (9,100 m) front; the Second Army had three times and the Fifth Army twice the ammunition than for Pilckem Ridge. In late August, destructive fire by super-heavy artillery began and counter-battery fire commenced in early September, in poor visibility. The RFC plan incorporated standardised methods used by battery commanders and artillery observation crews, as informal liaison methods had been found to be insufficient with the increase in the amount of artillery and aircraft in the BEF since 1915. Wireless codes were harmonised and better training introduced for air–ground liaison. Attacks were to be made on German billets, railways, aerodromes and infantry counter-attacks. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) contributed 26 squadrons, including the two night-bombing squadrons and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Handley-Pages from Coudekerque, beginning the night before the attack. After dawn, aerodromes were periodically to be attacked by small formations of low-flying fighters and by day bombers from high-altitude.
The following aerial victory claims were made
Richard Minifie Australia #11
Stanley Rosevear Canada #4
John Leacroft England #7 #8
James Thomas Byford McCudden England #12
William Victor Trevor Rooper England #5
Arthur Taylor England #4 #5 #6 - 20 Squadron RFC (Bristol Fighter - shot down 3 x Albatrosses)
Georges Lachmann France #5
Hans von Adam Germany #15 #17
Harald Auffarth Germany #2
Rudolf Berthold Germany #20
Erwin Böhme Germany #14
Friedrich Gille Germany #6
Fritz Kosmahl Germany #8
Josef Schwendemann Germany #1
Karl Thom Germany #8 #9
Johannes Werner Germany #2
Major David McKelvey Peterson USA #1
Soon after graduating from Lafayette College, David McKelvey Peterson went to France to drive ambulances. On 9 October 1916 he joined the French air service and after completing pilot training he joined the Lafayette Escadrille on 16 June 1917. He transferred to the United States air service on 18 February 1918 and was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron on 1 April. On 25 May 1918 he assumed command of the 95th Aero Squadron. Having bagged six enemy aircraft, Peterson was transferred to Dorr Field at Daytona Beach, Florida on 8 October 1918. Here he served as an instructor until he was killed in a flying accident in March 1919. He fell with his plane from a height of 100 feet.
Eastern Front
German infantry attack Lemburg (east of Riga) repulsed with loss by Letts.
Southern Front
Fighting dying down on Italian front.
Political, etc.
M. Kerenski tries to limit powers of Extremists.
Vote of Confidence in French Government.
343,500 U.S.A. conscripts joined to date.
and finally ...
Captain Tunstill's men: The Battalion fighting strength prior to the move the front line was reported as being 19 officers and 650 other ranks; a further two officers and 91 other ranks would, in accordance with usual practice, be left out of the line.
In the afternoon, the Battalion, together with A and D Companies 8th Yorks. which were attached to the Battalion for the coming attack, left Middle East Camp and marched to Railway Dugouts. From there, at 9.30pm they began their move to their assembly trenches and dugouts in the Sanctuary Wood area. According to the War Diary, “This was effected without loss but the move into Sanctuary Wood was carried out under most trying conditions in pitch darkness and heavy rain which made the ground very muddy and slippery and with the area not thoroughly reconnoitred owing to both parties that had been sent out to reconnoitre the previous day having been knocked out by shell fire. The way in which the Companies were handled by their Commanders and the behaviour of the men under the circumstances was most admirable”. Three Companies were located in and around Sanctuary Wood, whilst the fourth, along with the two attached Companies of 8Yorks were in “rough assembly trenches east of Yeomanry Ridge”.
At some point prior to the final move into the front line trenches, Ptes. Reginald Dayson (see 23rd July) and Patrick Sweeney (see 14th August) were formally reported as having deserted ; Sweeney several times previously been reported absent without leave.
Four officers arrived in France en route to joining 10DWR. Lt. Stephen Moss Mather (see 21st August 1915) was 24 years old (born 6th March 1893). He had enlisted in the Notts and Derbys Regiment in October 1914 at which point he had been working as a shop assistant in Nottingham, though he was originally from Manchester. On 27th November 1914 he had been commissioned Second Lieutenant and posted to 10DWR. He had remained with the Battalion whilst in training in 1914-15, but had not, for reasons unknown, been posted to France with them in August 1915. On 31st July 1916, whilst apparently still in England, he had been transferred to a Trench Mortar Battery. At some point (details unknown) he had been posted to France and had served on attachment to 325th Light Trench Mortar Battery. He had been wounded in action on 2nd May 1917, suffering a shell wound to his right thigh. He had spent five weeks in Millbank Hospital in London, followed by a period of convalescence before being declared fit for general service on 8th July. He had been promoted Lieutenant on 1st July. The other three officers, 2Lts. Cyril Edward Agar (see 30th July), William Johnson Simpson (see 30th July) and Edward Kent Waite (see 30th July), had all been commissioned from the ranks.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
20th September 1917
Well there's finally ots of news today including no fewer than SEVEN Victoria CRosses
While leading his flight, Flight Lieutenant Arthur Roy Brown (Royal Flying Corps) dives on five Albatross scouts. He picks out one of the enemy machines and opens fire. One of his guns jams, but he carries on with the other. The enemy machine goes down out of control and over on its back and remains in that position for about twenty seconds, while Lieutenant Brown continues firing until his other gun jams. The enemy machine then disappears in the clouds, still on its back. Flight Sub Lieutenant Frederick Ross Johnson (Royal Naval Air Service) while on a bombing raid to Thourout Railway Station comes down to about 3,000 feet and makes particularly good drops.
The Battle of Menin Road
The Battle of Menin Road is the first of three famous victories using new tactics. At dawn today, after a 5 day bombardment, the Anzacs make a successful attack with two Australian Divisions side by side and supported by a Scottish Division on their left. The British attack on a eight-mile front, among the objectives that are carried are Inverness Copse, Glencorse Wood, Potsdam, Vampire, Iberian and Borry Farms and the strong point known as Gallipoli. German positions are penetrated to a depth of over a mile and Veldhock and the western portion of Polygon Wood along with Zevenkok are captured.
It is here that Second Lieutenant. Frederick Birks (Australian Infantry) VC MM wins his posthumous Victoria Cross at age 23. Birks’ platoon is advancing in Glencourse Wood, Ypres, Belgium when, accompanied by Corporal W Johnston, he rushes forward to attack a pillbox. They are attacked with bombs, and the corporal is seriously wounded in the confrontation. Birks continues alone to reach the rear of the pillbox, forcing the garrison to surrender. Not long afterwards, Birks attacks another strongpoint as a part of a small party, capturing up to sixteen men and wounding nine others. Following the battle, Birks assists in the reorganization and consolidation of the units involved. Tomorrow the enemy begins shelling in response to the movement of artillery burying some men in Birks’ platoon. Birks attempts to dig out these men, “standing exposed”, but is killed by another shell before he can save them. (See below)
The Australians reached the lower part of Polygon Wood and Black Watch corner at a cost of 5,000 casualties. They are then relieved and the captured ground is consolidated and a supporting Railway line and plank roads are quickly laid down so that supplies can reach the new front line.
Major Frederick Harold Tubb VC (Australian Infantry) dies of wounds in battle at Polygon Wood, Third Battle of Ypres. In this action Major Tubb serving with 7th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Australian Division when he is shot by a German sniper. While being carried to the rear he is struck by British artillery shells. He dies at the dressing station at Lijssenthoek at age 35 and will be buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions performed at Lone Pine, Gallipoli on 9th August 1915.
Lance Corporal John Thomas ‘Jack’ Cooper (Australian Infantry) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League. He is killed today at age 28. In his youth he was a fine cricketer as well as a highly talented footballer, and went on to be a regular player with the Fitzroy Footballers Cricket Club. He is a champion half-back. Recruited from the local team North Fitzroy Juniors, he played his first senior VFL game for the Fitzroy Football Club against Collingwood on 27th April 1907 at Victoria Park. In his first season he played 11 matches and scored 1 goal. In 1912 he was appointed captain of the Fitzroy senior team. He played in the Fitzroy team that won the 1913 premiership by defeating St Kilda in the 1913 Grand Final Match he was one of Fitzroy’s best players in that match. He was the Fitzroy club’s best and considered fairest player in both the 1911 and 1914 seasons and he was the Fitzroy team captain in 1912, and its vice-captain from 1913 to 1915. He also played eight games for Victoria including the match against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 10th August 1912, when he captained the Victorian team that lost to South Australia. In his career with Fitzroy he played 136 senior games and scored 8 goals. He played his last senior VFL game for Fitzroy on Saturday 11th September 1915, in the 1915 Preliminary Final. He enlisted in the Australian Infantry on 8th November 1915 and left for France on the troopship Wiltshire on 7th March 1916. In France, Cooper saw action in the Battle of the Somme. He was only in the trenches for a short time when he was badly gassed and repatriated to England to recuperate. Having recuperate he played for the (losing) Australian Training Units team in the famous October 1916 Exhibition match that was held in London, just before returning to active service in France. Most likely through the effects of the gas, Cooper’s throat continued to give him a lot of trouble (he almost lost his voice) and again, he was repatriated to England.
William Francis Burman (30 August 1897 – 23 October 1974) 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. Burman was 20 years old, and a sergeant in the 16th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
During the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge on 20 September 1917 south-east of Ypres, Belgium, when the advance of his company was held up by a machine-gun at point-blank range, Sergeant Burman shouted to the men next to him to wait a few minutes and going forward to what seemed certain death killed the enemy gunner and carried the gun to the company's objective where he used it with great effect. Fifteen minutes later it was seen that about 40 of the enemy were enfilading the battalion on the right. Sergeant Burman and two others ran and got behind them, killing six and capturing two officers and 29 other ranks.
Hugh Colvin VC (1 February 1887 – 16 September 1962) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
He was 30 years old, and a second Lieutenant in the 9th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 20 September 1917 east of Ypres, Belgium, when all the other officers of his company and all but one in the leading company had become casualties, Second Lieutenant Colvin took command of both companies and led them forward under heavy fire with great success. He went with only two men to a dug-out, when he left the men on top, entered it alone and brought out 14 prisoners. He then proceeded to clear other dug-outs, alone or with only one man, capturing machine-guns, killing some of the enemy and taking a large number of prisoners. After he retired from the Cheshire Regiment, he was appointed in 1938 as a recruitment officer in Dewsbury with the rank of major. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Cheshire Regiment Museum, Chester, England.
Ernest Albert Egerton VC (10 November 1897 – 14 February 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Egerton was born on 10 November 1897. When he was 19 years old, and a Corporal in the 16th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), British Army during the First World War, he was awarded the VC for his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele. On 20 September 1917 southeast of Ypres, Belgium: ...during an attack, visibility was bad owing to fog and smoke. As a result, the two leading waves of the attack passed over certain hostile dugouts without clearing them and enemy rifles and machine-guns from these dugouts were inflicting severe casualties. Corporal Egerton at once responded to a call for volunteers to help in clearing up the situation and he dashed for the dugouts under heavy fire at short range. He shot a rifleman, a bomber and a gunner, by which time support had arrived and 29 of the enemy surrendered. He later achieved the rank of sergeant. He served in the Home Guard in World War II and died on 14 February 1966. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Sherwood Foresters Museum in Nottingham Castle.
William Henry Hewitt VC (19 June 1884 – 7 December 1966) was a South African soldier, and recipient of the Victoria Cross.
He was 33 years old, and a lance-corporal in the 2nd South African Light Infantry, South African Forces during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 20 September 1917 east of Ypres, Belgium, Lance-Corporal Hewitt attacked a pill-box with his section and tried to rush the doorway. The garrison, however, proved very stubborn and in the attempt the lance-corporal received a severe wound. Nevertheless, he proceeded to the loophole of the pill-box where, in his attempts to put a bomb in it, he was again wounded in the arm. Undeterred, he finally managed to get the bomb inside where it dislodged the occupants and they were successfully dealt with by the rest of the section.
Alfred Joseph Knight, VC, MBE (24 August 1888 – 4 December 1960) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Born at Ladywood in Birmingham on 24 August 1888, he attended St. Philip's School (more correctly St Philip's Grammar School}, Edgbaston. He married Mabel Saunderson in May 1915. He joined the Post Office and worked as a Clerical Assistant in the North Midland Engineering District. Knight was 29 years old, and a sergeant in the 2/8th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 20 September 1917 at Alberta Section, Ypres, Belgium, when his platoon came under very heavy fire from an enemy machine-gun, Sergeant Knight rushed through our own barrage and captured it single-handed. He performed several other acts of conspicuous bravery single-handed, all under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and without regard to personal safety. All the platoon officers of the company had become casualties before the first objective was reached, and this NCO took command not only of all the men of his own platoon but of the platoons without officers and his energy in consolidating and reorganising was untiring. He later achieved the rank of second lieutenant.
After the war he was transferred to the Ministry of Labour and was Manager of the Employment Exchange at. When he retired in 1951 he was Senior Wages Inspector in the Midlands section of the Ministry of Labour. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1951. Alfred Knight was a member of the Catholic organisation The Catenian Association holding a number of senior offices. In 2005, Birmingham City Council named a street in his honour on the Park Central development in Ladywood, where Alfred Knight grew up. Alfred Knight died at home at the age of 72. He is buried in Oscott Catholic Cemetery, New Oscott, Birmingham.
Montague Shadworth Seymour Moore VC (9 October 1896 – 12 September 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
He was 20 years old, and a Second Lieutenant in the 15th Bn., The Hampshire Regiment (later the Royal Hampshire Regiment), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 20 September 1917 near Tower Hamlets, east of Ypres, Belgium, Second Lieutenant Moore volunteered to make a fresh attack on a final objective and went forward with some 70 men, but they met such heavy opposition that when he arrived at his objective he had only one sergeant and four men. Nothing daunted he at once bombed a large dug-out, taking 28 prisoners, two machine-guns and a light field-gun. Gradually more officers and men arrived, numbering about 60 and he held the post for 36 hours beating off counter-attacks, until his force was reduced to 10 men. He eventually got away his wounded and withdrew under cover of thick mist.
Henry Reynolds VC MC (16 August 1883 – 26 March 1948) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Reynolds was 38 years old, and a temporary captain in the 12th Battalion, The Royal Scots (The Lothian Regiment), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 20 September 1917 near Frezenberg, Belgium, Captain Reynolds' company were suffering heavy casualties from enemy machine-guns and a pill-box. Captain Reynolds reorganised his men and then proceeded alone, rushing from shell-hole to shell-hole under heavy fire. When near the pill-box, he threw a grenade which should have fallen inside, but the entrance was blocked, so crawling to the entrance he forced a phosphorus grenade in. This set the place on fire, killing three, and the remainder surrendered with two machine-guns. Afterwards, although wounded, Captain Reynolds captured another objective, with 70 prisoners and two more machine-guns.
Wounded men at the side of a road after the Battle of Menin Road Ridge.
The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called "Battle of the Menin Road", was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 20–25 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient in Flanders on the Western Front. During the pause in British and French general attacks between late August and 20 September, the British changed some infantry tactics, adopting the leap-frog method of advance, where waves of infantry stopped once they reached their objective and consolidated the ground, while other waves passed through the objective to attack the next one and the earlier waves became the tactical reserve. General adoption of the method was made possible when more artillery was brought into the salient, by increasing the number of aircraft involved in close air support and by specialising the tasks of air defence, contact-patrol, counter-attack patrol, artillery observation and ground-attack.
In early September, optimism increased among German commanders that the Flanders offensive had been defeated and several divisions and air units were transferred elsewhere. Drier weather and extensive road repairs made it much easier for the British to move vast amounts of supplies forward from the original front line. Visibility increased except for frequent ground fog around dawn, which helped conceal British infantry during the attack, before clearing to expose German troop movements to British observation and attack. The British infantry succeeded in capturing most of their objectives and then holding them against German counter-attacks, inflicting many casualties on the local German defenders and Eingreifdivisionen sent to reinforce them by massed artillery and small-arms fire. German defences on the Gheluvelt Plateau, which had been retained or quickly recaptured in July and August were lost and the British began a run of success which lasted into early October.
Air Operations
Observing and reporting on German counter-attack movements was made a duty for all aircraft and patrol areas were given to II and V Brigades and the Ninth Wing to observe. "Hostile Tactical Maps" were issued, showing German assembly points and the likely routes to them and towards the front line. The II Brigade covered the Second Army front east to the Roulers–Menin railway. The area was divided into three sectors, each with a counter-attack patrol of two fighters, maintained for eight hours after "zero-hour", flying below 500 ft (150 m) and using the special maps, to attack any German units they caught on the move and to drive off German low-flying aircraft. On return they were to telephone a report direct to the Second Army Report Centre at Locre, similar arrangements being made for the Fifth Army. Ninth Wing aircraft were to patrol at low altitude east of Zarren–Oostnieukerke–Menin, beginning two hours after the start of the attack, to harass German reinforcements. Corps squadrons were to maintain counter-attack patrols on their Corps fronts, calling for immediate artillery fire and warning British infantry by smoke signal. Not all of these measures were possible on the day due to the weather, because it had rained on 19 September and was misty next morning but air operations commenced as soon as the mist cleared at 8.00 a.m. German aircraft attempting to intervene during the battle suffered from the presence of anti-aircraft guns near the front line and a Lewis gunner of a pioneer battalion in the 19th Division, shot down a German aircraft in flames at 1:30 p.m.; the feat was repeated next day and several German formations were broken up by ground fire.
In 1948, J. E. Edmonds, the British official historian, wrote that with the exception of the failure to capture Tower Hamlets, at the top of the Bassevillebeek Spur the objectives of the attack had been achieved and the changed tactics of the Germans confounded. The French and British public knew little of the success but the contending armies in Flanders were well aware of its significance. The British relieved many of the attacking divisions, whose troops reported, that if all attacks could be so well prepared, the troops would be content. On 20 September and the next few days of local fighting the German had been driven from the positions on the Gheluvelt Plateau that had been the site of the main defensive effort (Schwerpunkt) since July. On 21 September, Haig ordered the next attack of Plumer's scheme, to complete the capture of Polygon Wood and part of Zonnebeke. In 1996, Prior and Wilson wrote that the battle had been more costly relative to the ground gained on 31 July even with the artillery reinforcements and better weather that made British artillery-fire more accurate. The German artillery was still able to inflict casualties at a higher rate and the success on the Gheluvelt Plateau took less ground than on 31 July. Prior and Wilson wrote that the success of the Second Army was exaggerated because of the lower expectations created by the partial repulses inflicted by the Germans on 31 July, the failures in the rains during August and the British success against the German counter-attacks on 20 September, especially on the Gheluvelt Plateau.
In his 2008 biography of Haig, J. P. Harris wrote that the British had frontally attacked exceptionally strong defences with an apparently unfavourable number of troops but that they had been given much more fire support, the British artillery enjoying a 3:1 superiority in numbers, creating an "unprecedented" concentration of fire. The Second Army had three times the artillery of 31 July and the Fifth Army double the guns. The British gunners produced a "wall of fire" 1,000 yd (910 m) deep, that swept the ground and then continued as a standing barrage for several hours after the end of the infantry advance. The attack had not been uniformly successful but the average advance was 1,250 yd (1,140 m) and German casualties were about the same, most of their counter-attacks being deluged with artillery-fire and becoming costly failures. Harris wrote that Haig got over-enthusiastic and wanted the next attack to begin on 26 September, followed by two more in quick succession. Moving guns forward reduced the British rate of fire that gave the Germans a respite and they managed an organised counter-attack (Gegenangriff) on 25 September, south of Polygon Wood and although the attackers had "massive" casualties, the British attack the next day was disorganised and captured less ground.
Casualties
British casualties from 20–25 September are given by the British Official Historian as 20,255; 3,148 being killed, the 19th Division lost 1,933 casualties. 3,243 prisoners were taken with "very heavy" losses of killed or wounded inflicted on the German defenders. The Official Historian's calculations of German losses have been severely criticised ever since. In 1942 Volume XIII of Der Weltkrieg recorded 25,000 casualties from 11–20 September, including 6,500 missing
It was a busy day in the air with the following claims being made
Raymond Brownell Australia #2
Rudolf Szepessy-Sokoll Austro-Hungarian Empire #2
Edward Booth Canada #1
Edward Booth joined the Royal Flying Corps in the spring of 1917. A Sopwith Camel pilot with 70 Squadron, he scored his second victory on 12 October 1917 but was then shot down by Hans Klein of Jasta 10. Surviving the incident, Booth scored three more victories before he was injured in a crash on 11 November 1917. He later served as an instructor but was killed in a crash while performing stunts
Arthur Roy Brown Canada #4
John Crompton Canada #2
Lumsden Cummings Canada #1
The son of Charles and Katharine (Lumsden) Cummings, Lumsden Cummings entered the Royal Flying Corps in October 1915. After completing flight training in the summer of 1917, he was posted to 1 Squadron in August. By the end of November, he scored five victories flying the Nieuport 27. On 9 February 1918, Cummings was in hospital. On leave at home in Canada, he was married on 16 October 1918 before returning to the U.K. a month later. With the war over, he left the Royal Air Force and returned to Canada on 5 March 1919. He became a civil engineer and lived in Toronto until his death in 1955.
John Manuel Canada #3
Emerson Smith Canada #5
Frank Soden Canada #4
Edward Denman Clarke England #4
Philip De Fontenay England #1
Philip August De Fontenay served with the French Foreign Legion before he joined the Royal Flying Corps. Posted to 29 Squadron, he scored five victories flying Nieuport Scouts
William Jenkins England #6
Alwyne Loyd England #5 #6
Henry Moody England #3
James Payne England #3
Frederick Sowrey England #9
Ronald Sykes England #1
Ronald Sykes joined the Royal Naval Air Service in April 1917. In September 1917, he was assigned to Roy Brown's flight in 9 Naval Squadron. On 20 September 1917, he scored his first victory but was wounded when his Sopwith Camel was shot down near St. Pierre Capelle by Paul Bäumer of Jasta Boelcke. Sykes escaped capture by swimming the Yser River. Reassigned to 3 Naval Squadron in March 1918, he scored his second victory while serving under Raymond Collishaw. Joining 201 Squadron in August 1918, he scored four more victories by the end of the war. In 1919, while serving with the Royal Air Force in Russia, Sykes was captured when his Camel crashed in a lake near Archangel. He regained his freedom the following year in an exchange of prisoners.
William Wright England #7
Hans von Adam Germany #18 #19
Friedrich Altemeier Germany #7
Paul Bäumer Germany #5
Rudolf Berthold Germany #21
Fritz Kosmahl Germany #9
Bruno Loerzer Germany #8
Franz Ray Germany #4
Richard Runge Germany #4
Joseph Veltjens Germany u/c
Rudolf Wendelmuth Germany #8
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #17 #18
Gerald Maxwell Scotland #16
Capt. Peter Carpenter DSO, MC and bar Wales #1
The son of Peter and Jane Carpenter, Peter Carpenter attended the National School at Grange Town, Cardiff, where he was a good rugby player. Leaving school at age 14, he played rugby at the local level in Cardiff and Stockport and with his battalion rugby teams subsequent to his enlistment. In 1915 he enlisted in the Public Schools Royal Fusiliers. When he broke a leg during a rugby game, he was posted to Home Establishment. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and, after 84 hours of flight training, was posted to 45 Squadron on 14 September 1917. The squadron was moved to Italy in the middle of December 1917. Carpenter was reassigned to 66 Squadron on 27 February 1918. He finished the war having flown 190 combat patrols and 9 bombing raids. He led 139 patrols and flew a total of 422 hours 30 minutes. On 30 March 1918, near Mansuč, Italy, Carpenter, Harold Eycott-Martin, and Alan Jerrard attacked five Albatros scouts. They then attacked an Austrian aerodrome. In an epic battle with nineteen enemy fighters, Eycott-Martin was attacked by eight of the enemy and Jerrard went to his aid, fighting the enemy alone until Carpenter and Eycott-Martin escaped. His Camel riddled by bullets and his controls shot away, Jerrard was forced to land and surrender. For his actions that day, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.Peter Carpenter started his own company, the Loyal Shipping Co., in 1920 but lost this business in the Great Crash of 1929. Later, he was the London General Manager of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York and its subsequent British incorporation. During World War II Carpenter served with the 13th Company, 20th Battery, Middlesex Home Guard. He died at his home in 1971. He was 79.
Arthur Jones-Williams Wales #7
Eric Lowenhardt shot down and wounded
The son of a doctor, Löwenhardt served with an infantry regiment before he volunteered for the German Air Force. He was wounded in action over Roulers on 20 September 1917. After scoring his 54th victory, he collided with Leutnant Alfred Wenz of Jasta 11. Both men jumped from their planes but Löwenhardt was killed when his parachute failed to open.
13 airmen lost their lives on this day
Lt. Bailey, J.B. (John Bodley) 7 Squadron RFC
Lt. Bullock-Webster, F. (Frank) 23 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Chown, F.J. (Francis Jack) 1 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Cornish, W.O. (William Oliver) 32 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Crowther, S.L. (Stanley Lorne) 29 Squadron RFC
Lt. Davis, B.R. (Basil Raymond) 45 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Garratt-Reed, R.H. (Reginald Horatio) 1 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McKenzie, G.W. (Gordon William) 7 Squadron RFC
Lt. Ryan, B.W. (Bliss Wilberforce) 7 Squadron RFC
Lt. Sharples, N. (Norman) RFC
2nd Lt. Swinfen, P.C. (Percy Courtney) RFC
Cadet Treadwell, E.J.C. (Edward Jabez Cooper) 4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps
Flt. Sub Lt. Winn, J.H. (John Hilton) 1 (N) Squadron RNAS
Western Front
British advance east of Ypres and take Inverness Copse, Glencorse Wood, Veldhoek and part of Polygon Wood and 2,000 prisoners.
Eastern Front
Enemy attack thrice in Susitza Valley (Moldavia), repulsed by Romanians.
Southern Front
French and Albanian troops raid Austrians in Skumbi valley (Albania); 400 prisoners.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres
General Cassini's column defeat Nuri Pasha at Zanzur (west of Tripoli City); enemy losses 1,600 etc.
Trans-Caucasia declares itself a Republic.
Political, etc.
Sir A. Yapp, Food Controller.
Nation War Convention of U.S.A.
Chambers of Commerce meets for better understanding of British war aims; addressed by Lord Northcliffe.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
20th September 1917
Well there's finally ots of news today including no fewer than SEVEN Victoria CRosses
While leading his flight, Flight Lieutenant Arthur Roy Brown (Royal Flying Corps) dives on five Albatross scouts. He picks out one of the enemy machines and opens fire. One of his guns jams, but he carries on with the other. The enemy machine goes down out of control and over on its back and remains in that position for about twenty seconds, while Lieutenant Brown continues firing until his other gun jams. The enemy machine then disappears in the clouds, still on its back. Flight Sub Lieutenant Frederick Ross Johnson (Royal Naval Air Service) while on a bombing raid to Thourout Railway Station comes down to about 3,000 feet and makes particularly good drops.
The Battle of Menin Road
The Battle of Menin Road is the first of three famous victories using new tactics. At dawn today, after a 5 day bombardment, the Anzacs make a successful attack with two Australian Divisions side by side and supported by a Scottish Division on their left. The British attack on a eight-mile front, among the objectives that are carried are Inverness Copse, Glencorse Wood, Potsdam, Vampire, Iberian and Borry Farms and the strong point known as Gallipoli. German positions are penetrated to a depth of over a mile and Veldhock and the western portion of Polygon Wood along with Zevenkok are captured.
It is here that Second Lieutenant. Frederick Birks (Australian Infantry) VC MM wins his posthumous Victoria Cross at age 23. Birks platoon is advancing in Glencourse Wood, Ypres, Belgium when, accompanied by Corporal W Johnston, he rushes forward to attack a pillbox. They are attacked with bombs, and the corporal is seriously wounded in the confrontation. Birks continues alone to reach the rear of the pillbox, forcing the garrison to surrender. Not long afterwards, Birks attacks another strongpoint as a part of a small party, capturing up to sixteen men and wounding nine others. Following the battle, Birks assists in the reorganization and consolidation of the units involved. Tomorrow the enemy begins shelling in response to the movement of artillery burying some men in Birks platoon. Birks attempts to dig out these men, standing exposed, but is killed by another shell before he can save them. (See below)
The Australians reached the lower part of Polygon Wood and Black Watch corner at a cost of 5,000 casualties. They are then relieved and the captured ground is consolidated and a supporting Railway line and plank roads are quickly laid down so that supplies can reach the new front line.
Major Frederick Harold Tubb VC (Australian Infantry) dies of wounds in battle at Polygon Wood, Third Battle of Ypres. In this action Major Tubb serving with 7th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Australian Division when he is shot by a German sniper. While being carried to the rear he is struck by British artillery shells. He dies at the dressing station at Lijssenthoek at age 35 and will be buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions performed at Lone Pine, Gallipoli on 9th August 1915.
Lance Corporal John Thomas Jack Cooper (Australian Infantry) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League. He is killed today at age 28. In his youth he was a fine cricketer as well as a highly talented footballer, and went on to be a regular player with the Fitzroy Footballers Cricket Club. He is a champion half-back. Recruited from the local team North Fitzroy Juniors, he played his first senior VFL game for the Fitzroy Football Club against Collingwood on 27th April 1907 at Victoria Park. In his first season he played 11 matches and scored 1 goal. In 1912 he was appointed captain of the Fitzroy senior team. He played in the Fitzroy team that won the 1913 premiership by defeating St Kilda in the 1913 Grand Final Match he was one of Fitzroys best players in that match. He was the Fitzroy clubs best and considered fairest player in both the 1911 and 1914 seasons and he was the Fitzroy team captain in 1912, and its vice-captain from 1913 to 1915. He also played eight games for Victoria including the match against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 10th August 1912, when he captained the Victorian team that lost to South Australia. In his career with Fitzroy he played 136 senior games and scored 8 goals. He played his last senior VFL game for Fitzroy on Saturday 11th September 1915, in the 1915 Preliminary Final. He enlisted in the Australian Infantry on 8th November 1915 and left for France on the troopship Wiltshire on 7th March 1916. In France, Cooper saw action in the Battle of the Somme. He was only in the trenches for a short time when he was badly gassed and repatriated to England to recuperate. Having recuperate he played for the (losing) Australian Training Units team in the famous October 1916 Exhibition match that was held in London, just before returning to active service in France. Most likely through the effects of the gas, Coopers throat continued to give him a lot of trouble (he almost lost his voice) and again, he was repatriated to England.
William Francis Burman (30 August 1897 23 October 1974) 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. Burman was 20 years old, and a sergeant in the 16th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
During the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge on 20 September 1917 south-east of Ypres, Belgium, when the advance of his company was held up by a machine-gun at point-blank range, Sergeant Burman shouted to the men next to him to wait a few minutes and going forward to what seemed certain death killed the enemy gunner and carried the gun to the company's objective where he used it with great effect. Fifteen minutes later it was seen that about 40 of the enemy were enfilading the battalion on the right. Sergeant Burman and two others ran and got behind them, killing six and capturing two officers and 29 other ranks.
Hugh Colvin VC (1 February 1887 16 September 1962) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
He was 30 years old, and a second Lieutenant in the 9th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 20 September 1917 east of Ypres, Belgium, when all the other officers of his company and all but one in the leading company had become casualties, Second Lieutenant Colvin took command of both companies and led them forward under heavy fire with great success. He went with only two men to a dug-out, when he left the men on top, entered it alone and brought out 14 prisoners. He then proceeded to clear other dug-outs, alone or with only one man, capturing machine-guns, killing some of the enemy and taking a large number of prisoners. After he retired from the Cheshire Regiment, he was appointed in 1938 as a recruitment officer in Dewsbury with the rank of major. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Cheshire Regiment Museum, Chester, England.
Ernest Albert Egerton VC (10 November 1897 14 February 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Egerton was born on 10 November 1897. When he was 19 years old, and a Corporal in the 16th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), British Army during the First World War, he was awarded the VC for his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele. On 20 September 1917 southeast of Ypres, Belgium: ...during an attack, visibility was bad owing to fog and smoke. As a result, the two leading waves of the attack passed over certain hostile dugouts without clearing them and enemy rifles and machine-guns from these dugouts were inflicting severe casualties. Corporal Egerton at once responded to a call for volunteers to help in clearing up the situation and he dashed for the dugouts under heavy fire at short range. He shot a rifleman, a bomber and a gunner, by which time support had arrived and 29 of the enemy surrendered. He later achieved the rank of sergeant. He served in the Home Guard in World War II and died on 14 February 1966. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Sherwood Foresters Museum in Nottingham Castle.
William Henry Hewitt VC (19 June 1884 7 December 1966) was a South African soldier, and recipient of the Victoria Cross.
He was 33 years old, and a lance-corporal in the 2nd South African Light Infantry, South African Forces during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 20 September 1917 east of Ypres, Belgium, Lance-Corporal Hewitt attacked a pill-box with his section and tried to rush the doorway. The garrison, however, proved very stubborn and in the attempt the lance-corporal received a severe wound. Nevertheless, he proceeded to the loophole of the pill-box where, in his attempts to put a bomb in it, he was again wounded in the arm. Undeterred, he finally managed to get the bomb inside where it dislodged the occupants and they were successfully dealt with by the rest of the section.
Alfred Joseph Knight, VC, MBE (24 August 1888 4 December 1960) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Born at Ladywood in Birmingham on 24 August 1888, he attended St. Philip's School (more correctly St Philip's Grammar School}, Edgbaston. He married Mabel Saunderson in May 1915. He joined the Post Office and worked as a Clerical Assistant in the North Midland Engineering District. Knight was 29 years old, and a sergeant in the 2/8th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 20 September 1917 at Alberta Section, Ypres, Belgium, when his platoon came under very heavy fire from an enemy machine-gun, Sergeant Knight rushed through our own barrage and captured it single-handed. He performed several other acts of conspicuous bravery single-handed, all under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and without regard to personal safety. All the platoon officers of the company had become casualties before the first objective was reached, and this NCO took command not only of all the men of his own platoon but of the platoons without officers and his energy in consolidating and reorganising was untiring. He later achieved the rank of second lieutenant.
After the war he was transferred to the Ministry of Labour and was Manager of the Employment Exchange at. When he retired in 1951 he was Senior Wages Inspector in the Midlands section of the Ministry of Labour. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1951. Alfred Knight was a member of the Catholic organisation The Catenian Association holding a number of senior offices. In 2005, Birmingham City Council named a street in his honour on the Park Central development in Ladywood, where Alfred Knight grew up. Alfred Knight died at home at the age of 72. He is buried in Oscott Catholic Cemetery, New Oscott, Birmingham.
Montague Shadworth Seymour Moore VC (9 October 1896 12 September 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
He was 20 years old, and a Second Lieutenant in the 15th Bn., The Hampshire Regiment (later the Royal Hampshire Regiment), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 20 September 1917 near Tower Hamlets, east of Ypres, Belgium, Second Lieutenant Moore volunteered to make a fresh attack on a final objective and went forward with some 70 men, but they met such heavy opposition that when he arrived at his objective he had only one sergeant and four men. Nothing daunted he at once bombed a large dug-out, taking 28 prisoners, two machine-guns and a light field-gun. Gradually more officers and men arrived, numbering about 60 and he held the post for 36 hours beating off counter-attacks, until his force was reduced to 10 men. He eventually got away his wounded and withdrew under cover of thick mist.
Henry Reynolds VC MC (16 August 1883 26 March 1948) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Reynolds was 38 years old, and a temporary captain in the 12th Battalion, The Royal Scots (The Lothian Regiment), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 20 September 1917 near Frezenberg, Belgium, Captain Reynolds' company were suffering heavy casualties from enemy machine-guns and a pill-box. Captain Reynolds reorganised his men and then proceeded alone, rushing from shell-hole to shell-hole under heavy fire. When near the pill-box, he threw a grenade which should have fallen inside, but the entrance was blocked, so crawling to the entrance he forced a phosphorus grenade in. This set the place on fire, killing three, and the remainder surrendered with two machine-guns. Afterwards, although wounded, Captain Reynolds captured another objective, with 70 prisoners and two more machine-guns.
Wounded men at the side of a road after the Battle of Menin Road Ridge.
The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called "Battle of the Menin Road", was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 2025 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient in Flanders on the Western Front. During the pause in British and French general attacks between late August and 20 September, the British changed some infantry tactics, adopting the leap-frog method of advance, where waves of infantry stopped once they reached their objective and consolidated the ground, while other waves passed through the objective to attack the next one and the earlier waves became the tactical reserve. General adoption of the method was made possible when more artillery was brought into the salient, by increasing the number of aircraft involved in close air support and by specialising the tasks of air defence, contact-patrol, counter-attack patrol, artillery observation and ground-attack.
In early September, optimism increased among German commanders that the Flanders offensive had been defeated and several divisions and air units were transferred elsewhere. Drier weather and extensive road repairs made it much easier for the British to move vast amounts of supplies forward from the original front line. Visibility increased except for frequent ground fog around dawn, which helped conceal British infantry during the attack, before clearing to expose German troop movements to British observation and attack. The British infantry succeeded in capturing most of their objectives and then holding them against German counter-attacks, inflicting many casualties on the local German defenders and Eingreifdivisionen sent to reinforce them by massed artillery and small-arms fire. German defences on the Gheluvelt Plateau, which had been retained or quickly recaptured in July and August were lost and the British began a run of success which lasted into early October.
Air Operations
Observing and reporting on German counter-attack movements was made a duty for all aircraft and patrol areas were given to II and V Brigades and the Ninth Wing to observe. "Hostile Tactical Maps" were issued, showing German assembly points and the likely routes to them and towards the front line. The II Brigade covered the Second Army front east to the RoulersMenin railway. The area was divided into three sectors, each with a counter-attack patrol of two fighters, maintained for eight hours after "zero-hour", flying below 500 ft (150 m) and using the special maps, to attack any German units they caught on the move and to drive off German low-flying aircraft. On return they were to telephone a report direct to the Second Army Report Centre at Locre, similar arrangements being made for the Fifth Army. Ninth Wing aircraft were to patrol at low altitude east of ZarrenOostnieukerkeMenin, beginning two hours after the start of the attack, to harass German reinforcements. Corps squadrons were to maintain counter-attack patrols on their Corps fronts, calling for immediate artillery fire and warning British infantry by smoke signal. Not all of these measures were possible on the day due to the weather, because it had rained on 19 September and was misty next morning but air operations commenced as soon as the mist cleared at 8.00 a.m. German aircraft attempting to intervene during the battle suffered from the presence of anti-aircraft guns near the front line and a Lewis gunner of a pioneer battalion in the 19th Division, shot down a German aircraft in flames at 1:30 p.m.; the feat was repeated next day and several German formations were broken up by ground fire.
In 1948, J. E. Edmonds, the British official historian, wrote that with the exception of the failure to capture Tower Hamlets, at the top of the Bassevillebeek Spur the objectives of the attack had been achieved and the changed tactics of the Germans confounded. The French and British public knew little of the success but the contending armies in Flanders were well aware of its significance. The British relieved many of the attacking divisions, whose troops reported, that if all attacks could be so well prepared, the troops would be content. On 20 September and the next few days of local fighting the German had been driven from the positions on the Gheluvelt Plateau that had been the site of the main defensive effort (Schwerpunkt) since July. On 21 September, Haig ordered the next attack of Plumer's scheme, to complete the capture of Polygon Wood and part of Zonnebeke. In 1996, Prior and Wilson wrote that the battle had been more costly relative to the ground gained on 31 July even with the artillery reinforcements and better weather that made British artillery-fire more accurate. The German artillery was still able to inflict casualties at a higher rate and the success on the Gheluvelt Plateau took less ground than on 31 July. Prior and Wilson wrote that the success of the Second Army was exaggerated because of the lower expectations created by the partial repulses inflicted by the Germans on 31 July, the failures in the rains during August and the British success against the German counter-attacks on 20 September, especially on the Gheluvelt Plateau.
In his 2008 biography of Haig, J. P. Harris wrote that the British had frontally attacked exceptionally strong defences with an apparently unfavourable number of troops but that they had been given much more fire support, the British artillery enjoying a 3:1 superiority in numbers, creating an "unprecedented" concentration of fire. The Second Army had three times the artillery of 31 July and the Fifth Army double the guns. The British gunners produced a "wall of fire" 1,000 yd (910 m) deep, that swept the ground and then continued as a standing barrage for several hours after the end of the infantry advance. The attack had not been uniformly successful but the average advance was 1,250 yd (1,140 m) and German casualties were about the same, most of their counter-attacks being deluged with artillery-fire and becoming costly failures. Harris wrote that Haig got over-enthusiastic and wanted the next attack to begin on 26 September, followed by two more in quick succession. Moving guns forward reduced the British rate of fire that gave the Germans a respite and they managed an organised counter-attack (Gegenangriff) on 25 September, south of Polygon Wood and although the attackers had "massive" casualties, the British attack the next day was disorganised and captured less ground.
Casualties
British casualties from 2025 September are given by the British Official Historian as 20,255; 3,148 being killed, the 19th Division lost 1,933 casualties. 3,243 prisoners were taken with "very heavy" losses of killed or wounded inflicted on the German defenders. The Official Historian's calculations of German losses have been severely criticised ever since. In 1942 Volume XIII of Der Weltkrieg recorded 25,000 casualties from 1120 September, including 6,500 missing
It was a busy day in the air with the following claims being made
Raymond Brownell Australia #2
Rudolf Szepessy-Sokoll Austro-Hungarian Empire #2
Edward Booth Canada #1
Edward Booth joined the Royal Flying Corps in the spring of 1917. A Sopwith Camel pilot with 70 Squadron, he scored his second victory on 12 October 1917 but was then shot down by Hans Klein of Jasta 10. Surviving the incident, Booth scored three more victories before he was injured in a crash on 11 November 1917. He later served as an instructor but was killed in a crash while performing stunts
Arthur Roy Brown Canada #4
John Crompton Canada #2
Lumsden Cummings Canada #1
The son of Charles and Katharine (Lumsden) Cummings, Lumsden Cummings entered the Royal Flying Corps in October 1915. After completing flight training in the summer of 1917, he was posted to 1 Squadron in August. By the end of November, he scored five victories flying the Nieuport 27. On 9 February 1918, Cummings was in hospital. On leave at home in Canada, he was married on 16 October 1918 before returning to the U.K. a month later. With the war over, he left the Royal Air Force and returned to Canada on 5 March 1919. He became a civil engineer and lived in Toronto until his death in 1955.
John Manuel Canada #3
Emerson Smith Canada #5
Frank Soden Canada #4
Edward Denman Clarke England #4
Philip De Fontenay England #1
Philip August De Fontenay served with the French Foreign Legion before he joined the Royal Flying Corps. Posted to 29 Squadron, he scored five victories flying Nieuport Scouts
William Jenkins England #6
Alwyne Loyd England #5 #6
Henry Moody England #3
James Payne England #3
Frederick Sowrey England #9
Ronald Sykes England #1
Ronald Sykes joined the Royal Naval Air Service in April 1917. In September 1917, he was assigned to Roy Brown's flight in 9 Naval Squadron. On 20 September 1917, he scored his first victory but was wounded when his Sopwith Camel was shot down near St. Pierre Capelle by Paul Bäumer of Jasta Boelcke. Sykes escaped capture by swimming the Yser River. Reassigned to 3 Naval Squadron in March 1918, he scored his second victory while serving under Raymond Collishaw. Joining 201 Squadron in August 1918, he scored four more victories by the end of the war. In 1919, while serving with the Royal Air Force in Russia, Sykes was captured when his Camel crashed in a lake near Archangel. He regained his freedom the following year in an exchange of prisoners.
William Wright England #7
Hans von Adam Germany #18 #19
Friedrich Altemeier Germany #7
Paul Bäumer Germany #5
Rudolf Berthold Germany #21
Fritz Kosmahl Germany #9
Bruno Loerzer Germany #8
Franz Ray Germany #4
Richard Runge Germany #4
Joseph Veltjens Germany u/c
Rudolf Wendelmuth Germany #8
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #17 #18
Gerald Maxwell Scotland #16
Capt. Peter Carpenter DSO, MC and bar Wales #1
The son of Peter and Jane Carpenter, Peter Carpenter attended the National School at Grange Town, Cardiff, where he was a good rugby player. Leaving school at age 14, he played rugby at the local level in Cardiff and Stockport and with his battalion rugby teams subsequent to his enlistment. In 1915 he enlisted in the Public Schools Royal Fusiliers. When he broke a leg during a rugby game, he was posted to Home Establishment. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and, after 84 hours of flight training, was posted to 45 Squadron on 14 September 1917. The squadron was moved to Italy in the middle of December 1917. Carpenter was reassigned to 66 Squadron on 27 February 1918. He finished the war having flown 190 combat patrols and 9 bombing raids. He led 139 patrols and flew a total of 422 hours 30 minutes. On 30 March 1918, near Mansuč, Italy, Carpenter, Harold Eycott-Martin, and Alan Jerrard attacked five Albatros scouts. They then attacked an Austrian aerodrome. In an epic battle with nineteen enemy fighters, Eycott-Martin was attacked by eight of the enemy and Jerrard went to his aid, fighting the enemy alone until Carpenter and Eycott-Martin escaped. His Camel riddled by bullets and his controls shot away, Jerrard was forced to land and surrender. For his actions that day, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.Peter Carpenter started his own company, the Loyal Shipping Co., in 1920 but lost this business in the Great Crash of 1929. Later, he was the London General Manager of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York and its subsequent British incorporation. During World War II Carpenter served with the 13th Company, 20th Battery, Middlesex Home Guard. He died at his home in 1971. He was 79.
Arthur Jones-Williams Wales #7
Eric Lowenhardt shot down and wounded
The son of a doctor, Löwenhardt served with an infantry regiment before he volunteered for the German Air Force. He was wounded in action over Roulers on 20 September 1917. After scoring his 54th victory, he collided with Leutnant Alfred Wenz of Jasta 11. Both men jumped from their planes but Löwenhardt was killed when his parachute failed to open.
13 airmen lost their lives on this day
Lt. Bailey, J.B. (John Bodley) 7 Squadron RFC
Lt. Bullock-Webster, F. (Frank) 23 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Chown, F.J. (Francis Jack) 1 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Cornish, W.O. (William Oliver) 32 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Crowther, S.L. (Stanley Lorne) 29 Squadron RFC
Lt. Davis, B.R. (Basil Raymond) 45 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Garratt-Reed, R.H. (Reginald Horatio) 1 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McKenzie, G.W. (Gordon William) 7 Squadron RFC
Lt. Ryan, B.W. (Bliss Wilberforce) 7 Squadron RFC
Lt. Sharples, N. (Norman) RFC
2nd Lt. Swinfen, P.C. (Percy Courtney) RFC
Cadet Treadwell, E.J.C. (Edward Jabez Cooper) 4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps
Flt. Sub Lt. Winn, J.H. (John Hilton) 1 (N) Squadron RNAS
Western Front
British advance east of Ypres and take Inverness Copse, Glencorse Wood, Veldhoek and part of Polygon Wood and 2,000 prisoners.
Eastern Front
Enemy attack thrice in Susitza Valley (Moldavia), repulsed by Romanians.
Southern Front
French and Albanian troops raid Austrians in Skumbi valley (Albania); 400 prisoners.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres
General Cassini's column defeat Nuri Pasha at Zanzur (west of Tripoli City); enemy losses 1,600 etc.
Trans-Caucasia declares itself a Republic.
Political, etc.
Sir A. Yapp, Food Controller.
Nation War Convention of U.S.A.
Chambers of Commerce meets for better understanding of British war aims; addressed by Lord Northcliffe.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
September 21st 1917
Following on from yesterday, lets begin today with yet another Victoria Coss being awarded...
Frederick Birks, VC, MM (16 August 1894 – 21 September 1917) was a Welsh-born Australian First World War soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth forces. Born in Buckley, Flintshire, Birks served in the Royal Artillery for three years before emigrating to Australia in 1913. After serving as a non-commissioned officer during the landing at Gallipoli and the Battle of the Somme, Birks was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 4 May 1917. On 20 September, while advancing in Glencorse Wood, Ypres, Birks, alongside a corporal, forced a garrison to surrender and captured sixteen men in another attack. His actions were later recognised with the Victoria Cross. The following day, Birks was killed by a shell while attempting to save some of his men.
Birks was born in Buckley, Flintshire, Wales, on 16 August 1894 to Samuel Birks, a groom, and his wife Mary, née Williams. The family lived at Garden Cottage, Lane End. The youngest of six siblings, Birks was five years old when his father died in a coal-mining accident. He attended the local Anglican school (St. Matthews) in Buckley and was awarded a medal there for 11 years "without ever being absent or late." He was known to be adventurous, being active in boxing and association football as well as the local Church Lads' Brigade. Birks left school at fourteen, before entering the workforce as a labourer and steel rollerman in nearby Shotton. During 1910, Birks is thought to have enlisted in the Royal Artillery, staying in the service for three years. On 29 August 1913, Birks migrated to Australia with two friends Emrys Edward Jones and William Gray (both from Buckley). They sailed from London on the SS Otway disembarking in Melbourne. He went on to work in Tasmania where he stayed with a Herbert Jones (a friend of his brother), South Australia and Victoria as a labourer and later, a waiter. In late March 1914, at the age of nineteen he started a relationship with sixteen-year-old Susan Gelven who lived in Largs Bay. Susan kept in contact with Birks throughout his service, although she apparently lost contact with him for some time in mid-1917. He is known to have lived in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide where he lodged with a Mrs E. Cornelius, and in Hobart.
Birks enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on 18 August 1914, a few weeks after the war started.He trained at a camp in Broadmedows, and was assigned to the 2nd Field Ambulance of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. The 2nd Field Ambulance boarded the HMAT A18 Wiltshire in Melbourne on 19 October 1914, and set sail for Egypt. After stopping in Albany, the unit arrived in Egypt on 10 December. Birks' unit was incorporated into the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and was sent into action at the landing at Anzac Cove, providing medical support for the 2nd Infantry Brigade. The 2nd Brigade were also sent to Cape Helles, where they assisted in the attack on Krithia. During the battle, Birks was carrying wounded under heavy shell and rifle fire, in areas where stretchers were unable to reach. His "devotion to duty and good work" earned him his first Military Medal recommendation. On 26 June 1915, Birks was wounded by shrapnel but returned to service the next day, remaining on Gallipoli until 9 September.
Birks unit was sent to Marseilles, France, as a part of the British Expeditionary Force. He was promoted to lance corporal on 21 April 1916, and served as a stretcher bearer during the Battle of the Somme. On 26 July, Birks was engaged in duties at Pozičres, as the Australian and British forces fought for supremacy of the village. Throughout the day, Birks "continually led his squad of stretcher bearers" through the village and Pozičres Wood to the frontline, all the while being "exposed to heavy shell fire". Commended for his "constant good services", Birks was recommended for the Military Medal. The announcement of the decoration was promulgated in a supplement to the London Gazette on 14 November 1916, and he was later presented with his Military Medal by Lieutenant General Sir William Birdwood. Birks was promoted as a temporary wagon orderly corporal on 5 August 1916, and the rank was made substantive five days later. After his unit moved away from the front line, Birks had an opportunity to return to Buckley. There, he visited his old school and gave them a Turkish flag that he has attained while in Gallipoli. Following his return to France, Birks was hospitalised for five days with pyrexia. He rejoined his unit on 14 February 1917. Birks took classes at the Australian 1st Division school in France, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th Battalion on 4 May 1917. He had served with the battalion earlier while a stretcher bearer, and began serving as an infantryman at Passchendaele. Passchendaele was characterised by the mud of the battlefield, and has been widely used as an example of attrition warfare—both the Commonwealth and German forces were suffering heavy casualties. When the Fifth Army was failing to make any appreciable headway, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig put General Herbert Plumer in command of the offensive.
The officers of the 6th Battalion, 23 July 1917. Birks is in front row, last on right.
Birks' battalion were ordered to attack and capture the German line parallel to them, and the men moved towards their positions from Zillebeke on the night of 18 September, coming under some fire from gas shells. 19 September was incident-free, with the battalion preparing to attack the next day, in what would become known as the Battle of Menin Road. Early in the morning of the 20th, a "light drizzle" fell over the battlefield and at 4am the Germans sent barrages in front of and behind the battalion's position. At 5:40am, the battalion advanced. The first resistance was met by Birks and a corporal, taking two machine-gun positions as another group of officers rushed a strong post. They were attacked with bombs, and the corporal was seriously wounded. Birks continued on alone. Reaching the rear of the pillbox, he forced the occupants to surrender.Birks then led an attack a series of dugouts and pillboxes on the edge of Glencorse Wood, and fought against machine gun and bombs. He also assisted in the reorganisation and consolidation of Australian men who had drifted away from their unit.The next day, 21 September, enemy shelling in response to the movement of Allied artillery had buried some men in Birks' platoon. Birks attempted to dig out these men, "standing exposed", but another shell aimed at the C Coy post killed Birks, and four others, before he could save them.
Birks' grave is in the Perth (China Wall) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery near Ypres. A memorial was constructed at his old school in Wales in 1921,funded largely by contributions from local people. When the school was demolished the Memorial was moved to outside St. Matthews Church where it stands now. On Remembrance Sunday the local branch of the British Legion continues to place a wreath of poppies on the Memorial. A portrait of Fred is on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, alongside his Victoria Cross. He is also remembered in the Museum in Ypres, Belgium (Cloth Hall). His service during the war earned him the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Today saw the loss of an RFC ace - additionally poignant to the editor as it was an ace from 48 Squadron and one that featured in our game on Saturday... (in fact I was flying him)
Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis 48 Squadron RFC (Bristol F2b)
2nd Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 4289 on the L. & P. biplane at London & Provincial School, Hendon on 17 February 1917. He and his observer, Desmond Uniacke, scored 13 victories flying the Bristol F.2b. Uniacke was captured and Curtis died from wounds when they were shot down over Roulers by Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27.
Ralph Curtis received his aviator's certificate on 17 February 1917 at the London and Provincial School in Hendon, Greater London, England. However, he did so by falsifying his date of birth, claiming to have been born on 19 March 1896 and, therefore, two years older than his actual age of eighteen. He served with No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps as a second lieutenant. Ralph Luxmore Curtis is credited with fifteen aerial victories. All of them occurred while he piloted a Bristol F.2b (also known as a Bristol Fighter). In addition, most of them (thirteen) were in conjunction with one observer, Second Lieutenant Desmond Percival Fitzgerald Uniacke.Curtis experienced his first aerial triumph on 16 June 1917, with Second Lieutenant Laurence W. Allen as observer. It was the tenth and final victory for Allen. They destroyed an Albatros D.III from Bristol F.2b with serial number A7107. Curtis scored his second aerial victory from his Bristol F.2b (A7149). He and his observer Uniacke sent a two-seater out of control over Quéant, Pas-de-Calais, France on 3 Jul 1917. Two days later, from Bristol F.2b (A7153), Curtis and Uniacke sent an Albatros D.V out of control over Bapaume, Pas-de-Calais. Curtis scored his fourth aerial victory from his Bristol F.2b (A7107) when he and his observer Uniacke destroyed an Albatros D.V over Vitry, France on 7 July 1917.[6] That same month, on 28 July 1917, the team of Curtis and Uniacke in Bristol F.2b (A7121) sent an Albatros D.III out of control over Ghistelles. Second Lieutenants Curtis and Uniacke scored a double victory (sixth and seventh for Curtis) on 16 August 1917 from their Bristol F.2b (A7151). During aerial combat with two Albatros D.V aircraft, one was destroyed in flames and the other sent out of control, both over St. Pierre and Capelle, Nord, France.
The next four victories (8 through 11) for Curtis were all from Bristol F.2b (A7224). On 20 August 1917, Curtis scored his eighth aerial victory when he and observer Uniacke sent an Albatros D.V out of control over Ghistelles. Two days later, Curtis had a double victory when he, with Uniacke as observer, destroyed one Albatros D.V and sent another out of control, both over Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. His eleventh kill occurred on 2 September 1917, when he and observer Uniacke sent an Albatros D.V out of control east of Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium. It was shared with the crew of Bristol F.2b (A7170), pilot Lieutenant Keith Rodney Park from New Zealand and observer Second Lieutenant Alan Douglas Light from England, both flying aces as well.
On 5 September 1917, it appears that Curtis had two victories, with two different observers. One was with his usual teammate Uniacke, from Bristol F.2b (A7170). They sent a DFW C out of control over Middelkerke, West Flanders. For the other, Curtis paired with observer Second Lieutenant H Munro later that day. They shot an Albatros D.V down in flames off Westende, West Flanders. Their victim is believed by some to have been Leutnant Franz Pernet of Jasta Boelcke. Pernet was the stepson of General Erich Ludendorff.[6] Curtis had his fourteenth aerial victory on 14 September 1917 when his Bristol F.2b (A7224), with Uniacke as observer, defeated an Albatros D.V, destroying it over Ghistelles. His final triumph took place on 17 Sep 1917 when, with Uniacke in their Bristol F.2b (A7224), he sent a two-seater out of control over Leke, West Flanders. It was shared with the crew of Bristol F.2b (A7222), pilot Sergeant J Oldham and observer Second Air Mechanic William Walker.
On 21 September 1917, pilot Second Lieutenant Ralph Curtis and his observer Second Lieutenant Desmond Uniacke engaged in aerial combat with pilot Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27, over Sleyhage, near Roeselare, West Flanders, also known as Roulers. Curtis was piloting Bristol F.2b (A7224). At 09:05, their Bristol Fighter was shot down by Göring. Uniacke was captured and became a prisoner of war, and Curtis died that day in a German dressing station from the wounds that he had sustained in the combat. Curtis was initially interred at Hooglede Ost German Military Cemetery in Hooglede, West Flanders. In 1924, his remains were transferred to Harlebeke New British Cemetery in Harelbeke, West Flanders, Belgium. The inscription on his headstone reads:
"Second Lieutenant R.L. Curtis Royal Flying Corps 21 September 1917 Age 19 Sans Peur Et Sans Reproche (Without Fear And Beyond Reproach)." He is also represented on the Rainham War Memorial, a clock tower monument in the center of the town of Rainham, which commemorates the fallen of World War I.
Ralph Curtis was one of 21 airmen that were lost on this day...
2nd Lt. Asher, R.S. (Ronald Stuart) 46 Squadron RFC
Lt. Browne, W.A. (William Angus) 53 Squadron RFC
Lt. Campbell, W.A. (William Archibald) 10 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Curtis, R.L. (Ralph Luxmore) 48 Squadron RFC (See above)
Air Mech. 1 Friend, H. (Herbert) 22 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Gilbert, A.H. (Archibald Holmes) 22 Squadron RFC
Lt. Inglis, R.A. (Robert Anderson) 19 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 James, H.E. (Henry Edward) RFC
2nd Lt. Kirby, F.W. (Frederick William) 19 Squadron RFC
Capt. Law, J.K. (James Kidson) 60 Squadron RFC
Air Mech. 2 Loveland, C. (Charles) 22 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Machaffie, J. (John) 29 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McKergow, R.D.W. (Robert Dudley Wilson) 29 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McLean, T.W. (Thomas William) 20 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. McRae, W.G. (William Gordon) 19 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Payne, C.M.K. (Cecil McKenzie) 16 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 3 Peggs, W.J. Balloon Training Depot RFC
Lt. Potts, W.J. (William Janson) 56 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Spurway, S.M. (Sidney MacDonald) 22 Squadron RFC
Major Ward, G.B. (George Bernard) 10 Squadron RFC
There were a high number (36) of aerial victory claims on this very busy day
Arthur Drinkwater Australia #3 #4
Gottfried von Banfield Austro-Hungarian Empire u/c
Stearne Edwards Canada #3
Reginald Hoidge Canada #22
Archie Jenks Canada #7
Emerson Smith Canada #6
Frank Soden Canada #5
Alfred Brown England #1
Robert Kirkman England #2
John Leacroft England #9
Arthur Lee England #3
James Thomas Byford McCudden England u/c
Gordon Olley England #7
Oliver William Redgate England #3
Maurice Douglas Guest Scott England #8
Jean Casale France #9
Francois de Rochechouart de Mortemart France #3
René Montrion France #4
Harald Auffarth Germany #3
Paul Bäumer Germany #6
Rudolf Berthold Germany #22
Erwin Böhme Germany #15
Karl Bohnenkamp Germany #1
Hermann Göring Germany #14
Fritz Kieckhafer Germany #2
Erich Löwenhardt Germany #5
Ulrich Neckel Germany #1
After serving with an artillery regiment on the Eastern Front, Neckel transferred to the German Air Force. On 28 February 1918, he shot down an S.E.5a piloted by English ace John McCudden. On 13 August 1918, Neckel achieved his 22nd victory by shooting down the Sopwith Camel of English ace Charles Booker. Three months later, Neckel was awarded the second to last Blue Max of the war.
Willi Rosenstein Germany #1
A fascinating story - a Jewish fighter pilot - Hermann Goering's wingman, whose son flew for the RAF in WW2
Wounded at Verdun on 28 April 1916, Rosenstein was posted to Jasta 27 on 15 February 1917 where he often flew as Hermann Göring's wingman. Recommended for the Order of the House of Hohenzollern in 1918, Rosenstein failed to receive it before the war ended. Rosenstein emigrated to South Africa in the 1930s. Rosenstein's son, an RAF fighter pilot during World War II, was killed in action over Italy in 1945.
Richard Runge Germany #5
Gustav Schneidewind Germany #3
Matthew Brown Frew Scotland #10
Gerald Maxwell Scotland #17
Graham Young Scotland #2
Robert Leslie Chidlaw-Roberts Wales #3 #4
Eric Hughes Wales #3
Howard John Thomas Saint Wales #5
Flight Commander Stearne Tighe Edwards (Royal Naval Air Service) drives down a two-seater enemy machine down out of control.
Brigadier General Francis Aylmer Maxwell VC CSI, DSO, General Officer Commanding 27th Brigade, 9th Division is killed in action at age 46. A rifle bullet when visiting a front line post kills him.
Second Lieutenant William Keith Seabrook (Australian Infantry) dies of wounds received yesterday in the battle in which his two older brothers were killed. He dies at age 21. Found in his pocket is a photograph of his mother with the bullet hole through it that will cause his death.
Western Front
Enemy's attacks on Tower Hamlets' ridge (Ypres) repulsed. Prisoners now exceed 3,000
Eastern Front
After holding enemy here for 18 months, Russians retire north from Jakobstadt (River Dvina).
Southern Front
Second phase of Isonzo battle closed; neither side can hold Mte. S. Gabriele.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres
British bomb and cause surrender of Diwaniya (Euphrates).
Naval and Overseas Operations
German groups broken up west of Kilwa and Lindi; flee south to River Mbemkuru.
Political, etc.
Central Powers' reply to Papal Note.
General Alexeiev resigns.
Publication of Count Bernstorff's correspondence with Berlin re: bribing Congress.
Captain Tunstill's Men:
The day of the 21st September was fairly quiet with the exception of some shelling of my HQ and the Tower about 1pm and again during our trial barrage - when the various dugouts in the Green Line were also shelled. A faint-hearted attempt to form up for a small local attack on our front was made at about 1pm which was nipped in the bud by our rifle and machine gun fire, in which we used a Bosche Gun with great effect in the neighbourhood of the Chateau.
At 6.30pm I noticed from the Observation Post a fairly heavy mixed shrapnel and H.E. enemy barrage in the neighbourhood of our front lines and at 6.40pm I received a message from Maj. Grellet that the enemy could be seen massing for attack at J.16.a.7.6. I also noticed at this time the enemy barrage beginning to advance. I at once let Brigade and Artillery and my Companies in front know, and at 6.47pm our barrage came down, actually three minutes before our S.O.S. went up from the front line where about 150 of the enemy appeared in front of my A and C Companies and were promptly wiped out by rifle and Lewis Gun fire. There is little doubt this was meant to be a strong counter-attack and the enemy must have lost very heavily in our barrage. Large numbers of enemy wounded and dead were seen being still taken away early next morning under cover of the red flag.
The remainder of our time in the line was perfectly quiet with the exception of bursts of shelling on all dugouts and intermittent searching shell fire. Snipers from the direction of Tower Hamlets or thereabouts and also from the Chateau in front and from the Red House to the left front of it were always more or less active. A machine gun was located in the latter and movement in the open daylight in front of my HQ was always a risky proceeding.
Our relief by the 11th Sherwood Foresters and 9th Yorks were carried out with the utmost smoothness and practically without casualties”. (On relief by the Sherwood Foresters A and C Companies were withdrawn only as far as the Blue Line, where they were in support of 9Yorks.)
Whilst holding the line the two Vickers guns on my left were very well handled by the officer in charge of them and did several executions on several occasions. During the operations we captured three Trench Howitzers, four machine guns and a very large amount of trench materials of every description including many Flammenwerfers, many thousands of rounds of M.G. ammunition etc. We captured about 190 prisoners, of whom the first 47 were sent back in one batch under an escort, but the rest could not be escorted owing to the thinness of our line, and went back to rear units by themselves covered by a Lewis Gun until they were seen to be taken over. We buried 146 Germans, including several officers, and sent back about 70 badly wounded Germans. A necessarily very rough estimate of casualties inflicted by our Machine Guns, Lewis Guns and rifles on the enemy in front of the line places the number of his casualties at about 450 for the 36 hours we were in the line. In addition to this our artillery barrage must have accounted for large numbers of the enemy during the attack and each of his counter attacks.
Our own casualties during the course of the fight were 3 officers, 40 other ranks killed; 6 officers, 244 other ranks wounded; and 50 missing, of whom a majority will I fear be found to be killed or wounded and certainly none are prisoners”.
Four men were killed in action. They were: Cpl. George Herbert Moody (see 8th September); Pte. Ernest Hardcastle (see 13th September), who had only re-joined the Battalion eight days previously after receiving treatment for accidental, minor, burns to his hands; Pte. James Jackson (see 5th July) and Pte. Harold Jefferson; he was 19 years old and from York.
A number of other men were wounded. Pte. William Stanley Davies (see 5th July) suffered shrapnel wounds to his head; he was admitted to 17th Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings. Pte. William George Ruddock (see 15th September) also suffered shrapnel wounds to his head; he was evacuated to 1st South African General Hospital at Abbeville.
Pte. Meggison Bonass (see 20th September) died of wounds at 10th Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Pte. Henry Thomas Lackey (see 20th September) died of wounds at one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Pte. William Llewellyn (see 20th September) died of wounds at one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Remy Sidings.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Duplication
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Its late and its been a long week so will try and keep tonights posting concise...
The Battle of Menin Bridge - the German viewpoint
During the British infantry advances, German artillery managed a considerable amount of counter-battery fire, particularly from Zillebeke to Verbrandenmolen but this was not enough to stop the British artillery heavily bombarding German reserve battalions of the Stellungsdivisionen (ground-holding divisions), as they made futile attempts to counter-attack from 10:00 a.m. – 1.30 p.m. At 1:48 p.m. the British standing barrage in front of the new line ended. British air reconnaissance from zero hour was conducted by a contact aeroplane over each corps area, to observe the progress of the British infantry and one counter-attack observation machine watching for German counter-attacks, from which German Eingreif units were seen advancing from the Flandern III Stellung at Menin, Moorslede and Westroosebeek. During the day 394 wireless messages were received from British observation aircraft and about 1⁄3 of the reports resulting in immediate artillery fire.
After 3.00 p.m., approximately three German infantry battalions were reported north of the Menin Road, moving up the Reutelbeek valley towards Polderhoek and a similar force with field artillery was seen moving west towards I Anzac Corps at Polygon Wood and Anzac spur. Another force was observed descending from the Poelcappelle spur at Westroosebeek, towards positions held by the Fifth Army. The troops were the leading regiments of three Eingreifdivisionen, 16th Bavarian from Gheluwe, 236th Division from Moorslede and 234th Division from Oostniewkirke. The 16th Bavarian Division counter-attack plan "Get Closer" (Näher heran) had been ordered at 5:15 a.m. and by 9:00 a.m., the division had advanced towards the area between Polygon Wood and Inverness Copse.[61] British medium and heavy artillery fired on the German units, which were forced to deploy and advance from cover. After a considerable delay, the survivors reached British machine-gun range, as their artillery support overshot the British positions. Visibility was still exceptionally good, with the sun behind the British and Australians, who were easily able to see movement in front of them on the Gheluvelt plateau. The German force moving up the Reutelbeek valley into the area of the 23rd and 1st Australian divisions, was watched by the infantry for an hour, when at 7:02 p.m. a field artillery and machine-gun barrage fell on the Germans for an hour, stopping all movement towards the British positions,
German trench map
The 16th Bavarian Division was a high quality formation, but all the skill and dash in the world stood no chance in the face of the torrent of fire the British artillery could bring to bear at the critical points.
a similar barrage for forty minutes in front of the 2nd Australian Division, on a regiment of the 236th Division advancing from Molenaarelsthoek and downhill from Broodseinde, stopped the counter-attack long before it came within range of the Australian infantry. On the southern edge of the plateau, German troops dribbling forward in the 39th Division area, managed to reinforce the garrison at Tower Hamlets, then tried twice to advance to the Bassevillebeek and were "smashed" by artillery and machine-gun fire.
In the Fifth Army area, from 800 yd (730 m) south of the Ypres–Roulers railway, north to the Ypres–Staden railway, many Germans were seen moving west down Passchendaele ridge around 5:30 p.m., into the area held by the 55th, 58th and 51st divisions. In the 58th Division area, fire was opened on the Germans after half an hour, which forced the Germans to deploy into open order. When the Germans were 150 yd (140 m) from the first British strong point, the British defensive barrage arrived with such force that the German infantry "stampeded". No Germans were seen in the area until night, when patrols occupied an outpost. On the 55th Division front, "an extraordinarily gallant" German counter-attack by Reserve Infantry Regiment 459 (236th Division) from Gravenstafel, on Hill 37, through the positions of Reserve Infantry Regiment 91, was stopped by artillery and enfilade fire by machine-guns at Keir Farm and Schuler Galleries.[64] A German attack down Poelcappelle spur at 5:30 p.m. towards the 51st Division, had much better artillery support and although stopped in the area of the Lekkerboterbeek by 7:00 p.m., pushed the British left back to Pheasant trench in the Wilhemstellung, before the British counter-attacked and pushed the Germans back to the line of the first objective, 600 yd (550 m) short of the final objective. Gough wrote later "On the V Corps front they launched no less than six counter-attacks.... Their losses were very heavy and we captured over 1,300 prisoners."
The official historians of the Reichsarchiv wrote,
The German Eingreifdivisionen, 16th Bavarian Division at Gheluwe, 236th Division at Moorslede and 234th Division at Oostniewkerke in the Flandern III Stellung were assembled at their stations at 8:00 a.m. in readiness to move.... In spite of this the counter-attacks did not take effect until the late afternoon; for the tremendous British barrage fire caused most serious loss of time and crippled the thrust power of the reserves. By nightfall the Eingreifdivisionen had been defeated.
915 British lives were lost
Flight Lieutenant Norman Ashley Magor (Royal Naval Air Service) drops two 230-pound bombs on the German submarine UB-32, eight and a half miles northeast of East Hinder Bank, (twenty-nine miles north by west of Ostend). They explode just behind the conning tower, and the vessel submerges leaving a quantity of wreckage on the water.
Today’s losses include:
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Second Lieutenant William George Symons Forder (South African Infantry) is killed in action at age 38. His younger brother was killed in action one year previously.
Private James M Swanson (Seaforth Highlanders) dies of wounds received in action at age 38. His brother will be killed in March 1918.
Private William Davidson (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed at Menin Road. His brother was killed in May 1915.
Private Thomas Ernest Wilbraham (North Lancashire Regiment) is killed in action at age 19. His brother was killed in August 1916.
The following aerial victory claims were made on this day
Harold Hamersley Australia #2
Adolphe duBois d'Aische Belgium #5 #6
William Rutherford Canada #2
John Tudhope Canada #1
Educated in South Africa and England, John Henry Tudhope served with the army in German Southwest Africa. He was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps in April 1917. Posted to 40 Squadron, his Nieuport 17 was badly shot about by Adolf von Tutschek on 28 July 1917. After the war, he emigrated to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1920. As operations manager for Trans-Canada Air Lines at Winnipeg, Squadron Leader Tudhope's survey of available routes through the Rocky Mountains resulted in the Trans-Canada air mail route that connected the prairies with the Pacific coast. He received the McKee tropy for meritorious service in Canadian aviation in 1930 and flew the first dawn to dusk flight across Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, in 1937. Tudhope retired from the RCAF with the rank of Squadron Commander in June 1938. Later, he became president and manager of the first Aviation Insurance Group in Canada. While serving as telecommunications attache at Canada House in London, England, Tudhope died in hospital after an illness of about a month. He was 65.
John Hunter England #2 #3
Arthur Lee England #4
Maurice Douglas Guest Scott England #9
Rothesay Stuart Wortley England #3 #4
Maurice Boyau France #9
Pierre de Cazenove de Pradines France #3
Francois de Rochechouart de Mortemart France #4
René Montrion France #5
Henri Peronneau France #1
While serving in the engineers in Western Morocco, Péronneau transferred to aviation in 1912. After pilot training in 1915, he was assigned to Escadrille N49 on 30 March 1916. He was reassigned to N65 on 26 May 1916 before joining Escadrille N81 on 26 December 1916. He served the remainder of the war with this unit and scored 9 victories. Péronneau remained in the military until he retired in 1954.
Rudolf Berthold Germany #23
Bruno Loerzer Germany #9
Karl Thom Germany #10 #11
Emil Thuy Germany #14
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #19
Alessandro Buzio Italy #3
Raoul Lufbery USA #12
Robert Leslie Chidlaw-Roberts Wales #5
A slightly better day for the RFC with only six men lost
2nd Lt. Bell, E.A. (Elvis Albert) 22 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Campbell, A.F. (Alexander Findlay) 7 Training Squadron RFC
Lt. Hargrave, E.L. (Ernest Lawton) 79 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Maitland, A.J. (Arthur James) RFC
2nd Lt. Nowell, R.E. (Roger Emmett) 66 Squadron RFC
Lt. Whiting, J.O. (James Oliver) 60 Squadron RFC
Captain Tunstill's Men:
Overnight 22nd/23rd the Battalion was withdrawn to reserve at Railway Dugouts.
Pte. Arthur Prestwood (see 5th July) was severely wounded in action, suffering a fractured left thigh; he was evacuated to one of the casualty clearing stations based near Godewaersvelde, east of Poperinghe, but died of his wounds; he would be buried at Godewaersvelde British Cemetery. Pte. Edward Westle (see 5th July) was also severely wounded, suffering a fractured skull. He was evacuated to 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station but died there and would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.
L.Cpl. Fred Davis (see 20th September) died at one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Pte. Joseph Binns MM (see 20th September) died of wounds at 17th Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Pte. Arthur Hird (see 20th September), who had suffered severe wounds to his back and abdomen, died at 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Sidings; he would be buried at the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Pte. William Axton (see 20th September), who had been severely wounded two days previously, was evacuated to England (details unknown). Pte. George Bernard Hardy (see 25th June), who had been wounded two days previously, was evacuated to England onboard the Hospital Ship St. David; on arriving in England he would be admitted to Kingswood Park Hospital in Tonbridge Wells.
Pte. Patrick Sweeney (see 19th September), who had been reported as a deserter three days previously, was apprehended and placed in confinement awaiting trial.
Among the ‘trophies’ taken by the Battalion in the action around Veldhoek had been an Alsatian dog; according to a memoir apparently compiled by Capt. James Christopher Bull (see 11th September), and Pte. Harold Charnock (see below), “‘Fritz’, a particularly fine specimen of the Alsatian Sheep Dog, which had been trained as a messenger dog by the Germans. He was found in a German dug-out and became the Battalion mascot. He was captured with a message in the tube attached to it’s collar”.
Western Front
Stuttgart, Treves, Coblenz and Frankfurt bombed.
Southern Front
Slight Italian push in Marmolada region (Carnic).
Naval and Overseas Operations
Flight Lieutenant Norman Ashley Magor (Royal Naval Air Service) drops two 230-pound bombs on the German submarine UB-32, eight and a half miles northeast of East Hinder Bank, (twenty-nine miles north by west of Ostend). They explode just behind the conning tower, and the vessel submerges leaving a quantity of wreckage on the water.
Ostend attacked by British coast patrol.
Political, etc.
Relations much strained between Germany and Argentina.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
The duplication faeries are at it again - anyway a chance to trailer tomorrow's edition including one of the greatest EVER dogfights - the last flight (and fight) of Werner Voss
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
So I know how much Neil really wanted to be the one to pen this evening's edition, its a shame he is so under the weather with a bad case of man flu. So Neil I will try and do you proud.
23rd September 1917
There is only one place to start today, the loss of one of the greatest fighter pilots of them all, in what must be one of the most famous dogfights of all time.
Today we remember Leutnant Werner Voss
Werner Voss (German: Werner Voß) (13 April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories.
Voss, a dyer's son from Krefeld, was a patriotic young man even while still in school. He began his military career in November 1914 as a 17‑year‑old Hussar. After turning to aviation, he proved to be a natural pilot. After flight school and six months in a bomber unit, he joined a newly formed fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 2 on 21 November 1916. There he became friends with Manfred von Richthofen. By 6 April 1917, Voss had scored 24 victories and awarded Germany's highest award, the Pour le Mérite. The medal's mandatory month's leave removed Voss from the battlefield during Bloody April; in his absence, Richthofen scored 13 victories. Nevertheless, Richthofen regarded Voss as his only possible rival as top scoring ace of the war. Soon after Voss returned from leave, he was at odds with his squadron commander. He was detailed from his squadron to evaluate new fighter aircraft and became enthusiastic about the Fokker Triplane. After transferring through three temporary squadron commands in two months, Voss was given command of Jagdstaffel 10 on 30 July 1917 at Richthofen's request. By now, his victory total was 34. His last stand came on 23 September 1917, just hours after his 48th victory. After he fell in solo opposition to eight British aces, he was described by his preeminent foe, James McCudden, as "the bravest German airman".
Werner Voss was born in Krefeld, Germany, on 13 April 1897. His mother, Johanna Mathilde Pastor Voss, was a pious homemaker who raised her children in the Evangelical Lutheran faith. His father Maxmilian owned a dye factory. Werner was soon followed by two brothers; Maxmilian Jr. was born in 1898, and Otto on 22 April 1901. An unusual feature of the Voss household was the presence of two first cousins, Margaret and Katherine. The elder Vosses longed for daughters, so they virtually (if not formally) adopted their nieces. The two nieces were commonly referred to within the family as "daughters" and "sisters". The Voss family home at 75 Blumenthalstrasse was a comfortable two-storey house with surrounding grounds. Young Werner was expected to carry on the family trade as he grew into his heritage. However, even before World War I burgeoned, he was already drawn towards patriotic service. When he finished his schooling at Krefeld's Moltke Gymnasium, he joined the Krefeld Militia. In April 1914, disregarding conscription laws, underaged Werner Voss joined Ersatz Eskadron 2. As the war erupted, Voss qualified as a motorcyclist and motorcycle mechanic. He received his "Certificate of Graduation" as a motorcyclist on 2 August 1914;[6] subsequently, his parents would give him a 300 cc (18.3 cid) Vee-twin Wanderer motorcycle for his 18th birthday. After Germany entered World War I, he spent August and September 1914 as a civilian volunteer driver for the German military. The Militia Ersatz Eskadron 2 had been set up to feed recruits to Westphalia's 11th Hussar Regiment. On 16 November 1914, Werner Voss became one of those recruits despite still being only 17 years old. On 30 November, the hussar regiment was ordered to combat duty in the Eastern Front.
Voss was proficient in his military duties on the Eastern Front. He was promoted to Gefreiter on 27 January 1915, and raised to Unteroffizier, when barely 18 years of age, on 18 May 1915. His service earned him the Iron Cross 2nd Class. He reported to begin officer's training at Camp Beckstadt on 3 June 1915. There he was classified as a reservist because of his flat feet and weak ankles. He graduated on 26 July 1915. Voss transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Service) on 1 August 1915, joining Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 7 (Training Detachment 7) in Cologne. On 1 September, he began learning to fly at Egelsberg airfield in his hometown of Krefeld. A gifted natural pilot, Voss flew his first solo flight on 28 September. He was retained as an instructor at the training school after he graduated on 12 February 1916. On 2 March, as part of his progress towards becoming an officer, he was promoted to Vizefeldwebel (a senior noncommissioned officer). He was the youngest flight instructor in German service.
Voss scored his first aerial victory on the morning of 26 November 1916, and added a second in his afternoon flight. The two victories brought him the First Class Iron Cross, awarded 19 December 1916. His first victory of 1917, over Captain Daly, inadvertently taught Voss the knack of deflection shooting. Voss later visited Daly in hospital twice. Voss scored rapidly during February and March 1917; of the 15 victories credited to his jasta (squadron) during March, 11 fell under his guns. For his feats, he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Swords of the House Order of Hohenzollern on 17 March. The following day, Voss downed two British aircraft in ten minutes. The first one burned; the second aircrew downed protested they had been strafed by Voss after crashlanding within German lines. Following his 23rd victory on 1 April, Voss fired upon pilot and plane on the ground after the crash. On 6 April 1917, he staked two victory claims 15 minutes apart, having brought down a two-seater and a Sopwith Pup near one another on either side of the front lines. The two-seater pilot braved both Voss's strafing and incoming German artillery to retrieve aerial photography plates for their military intelligence value. The Sopwith Pup, though later seen with Jasta 2 in German markings after its capture, was an unconfirmed victory despite landing behind German lines. Voss was awarded the Pour le Mérite on 8 April 1917. It was customary to award a month's leave to a Pour le Mérite winner, so Voss immediately left for his vacation, and did not return to combat until 5 May. By the time of this leave, Voss had gained impressive marksmanship and situational awareness.
Upon his return from leave, Voss was dissatisfied with his commanding officer, Franz Walz, whom he considered insufficiently aggressive. Voss shared his sentiments with another Westphalian hussar, Leutnant Rolf Freiherr von Lersner. Walz had assumed command on 29 November 1916, just after Voss joined the jasta. An older man of 31, he was a prewar pilot and professional soldier who had flown over 300 combat missions in reconnaissance two-seaters before being appointed to command this squadron of fighter pilots. Lacking a background in fighter tactics, he compensated by allowing his more experienced pilots to follow their own inclinations, including solo excursions into British territory. The fact that Walz followed two prior brilliant fighter tacticians in his command—Oswald Boelcke and Stefan Kirmaier—only exposed his weaknesses. Voss disregarded military procedure and went outside the chain of command to petition higher headquarters for Walz's removal. Faced with such a case of insubordination, all three men were transferred out of the jagdstaffel. Lersner was packed off to a bomber unit. Discovering the betrayal, Walz requested reassignment on the grounds that his honor had been impugned. On 20 May 1917, Flight Commander Voss was sent to Jagdstaffel 5 to assume temporary command.
By 11 September 1917, Voss had raised his victory total to 47, second only to the Red Baron's 61. In the process, he had his closest call yet in combat. After shooting down six-victory ace Oscar McMaking, he had in turn been attacked by Captain Norman Macmillan. Macmillan dove his Sopwith Camel within six meters (20 feet) of Voss, machine guns spurting tracers that flew near the German's head. The 45 Squadron ace saw Voss turn his head twice to judge the Camel's position before evading. Then a Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 blundered across between them, nearly colliding with the Camel and breaking off the attack as Voss dove away. Macmillan claimed an "out of control" victory when he returned to base. The following day, Voss signed himself out on leave on his authority as Staffelführer. His first stop was Berlin, where he was honored receiving an autographed photograph of Kaiser Wilhelm II from the emperor's own hands. From the 15th to the 17th, he was at the Fokker factory in Schwerin; he was accompanied by his girlfriend Ilse. His leave authorization also cleared him for Düsseldorf and his hometown of Krefeld, but it is unknown if he visited them. In any case, he returned to duty on 22 September 1917.
The Last Dance of Werner Voss
Voss returned from leave on 23 September 1917 not yet fully rested; as fellow pilot Leutnant Alois Heldmann observed: "He had the nervous instability of a cat. I think it would be fair to say he was flying on his nerves." Nevertheless, Voss flew a morning mission and shot down an Airco DH.4 from 57 Squadron at 09:30 hours. Upon his return to his air base with bullet holes in his Fokker, he took advantage of Richthofen's absence at the Voss family hunting lodge to celebrate with a victory loop before landing. In contrast to Voss's usual tidy flying garb, he was wearing striped gray trousers, a dirty gray sweater, and tall lace-up boots. Just before Werner landed, brothers Max and Otto Voss arrived at Jasta 10 for a visit. They were both now in the German military. Otto was a 19-year-old army leutnant bucking for an opportunity to become a flier like his elder brother. Max Jr. was a 16-year-old sergeant.The young ace was fatigued and told his brothers he was eagerly anticipating more time off. He ate lunch with his brothers—soup, black bread, coffee, and cake. His brothers noted his haggard appearance, apparent in his final photographs. After the meal, the three Voss brothers posed before Werner's camera, which was equipped with a timed shutter release. Then Voss was scheduled for another patrol.
Even as the three Voss brothers were in their photo session, on the other side of the lines, 56 Squadron was mustering for its own afternoon patrols. B Flight was led by Captain James McCudden. In Royal Flying Corps fashion, his Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a serial number B4863 was marked with a large initial G painted upon the side of its fuselage. He would be followed by two other aces: Lieutenant Arthur Rhys-Davids in SE5a number B525, lettered I; Captain Keith Muspratt in SE5a A8944, designated H. Three other pilots were also attached to B Flight for this sortie—Lieutenants V. P. Cronyn in SE5a A4563, as well as R. W. Young, and Charles Jeffs. Also mustering for patrol was C Flight. It was led by Captain Geoffrey Hilton Bowman. His SE5a was followed by Lieutenant Reginald Hoidge in SE5a B506, lettered J. A third ace, Lieutenant Richard Maybery in SE5a B1 designated K, was also in C Flight. Lieutenants E. A. Taylor and S. J. Gardiner filled out the flight's roster.
Both flights of 56 Squadron took off from their side of the trench lines at 17:00 hours. They climbed into a sky overhung with a 300 meter (1,000 feet) thick cloud ceiling at 2,700 meters (9,000 feet) altitude, and crossed the lines over Bixschoote at 2,400 meters (8,000 feet). McCudden later noted there were lower scattered layered skeins of clouds, but horizontal visibility was fair. On the other hand, he saw ground visibility was veiled by haze. He also noted friendly aircraft swarming to the north as his flight approached the Battle of Passchendaele. Indeed, there were elements of at least eight Royal Flying Corps squadrons waging its offensive campaign over the battlefield.There was also considerable enemy air activity in the east, where German jastas waited for "the customers to come into the shop". The overcast compressed air activity into lower levels instead of allowing its usual altitude range to about 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). German antiaircraft fire was noted as heavy and accurate, as B and C Flights diverged onto separate patrol routes at Houthoulst Forest. As B Flight continued, McCudden swooped on a German DFW and shot it down at 18:00 hours; Rhys-Davids gave it a parting burst as it fell.
On the German side of the lines, Voss had changed clothing. He wore a colourful civilian silk dress shirt beneath his unbuttoned knee-length brown leather coat. His polished brown boots shone from below the coat's hem. His Pour le Mérite was at his throat. He was to lead one of the two scheduled afternoon patrols. Leutnant Gustav Bellen was his righthand wingman; Leutnant Friedrich Rüdenberg had Voss's other side. After takeoff at 18:05 hours, Voss, with his new Fokker Triplane, advanced its throttle and soon outdistanced his two wingmen flying slower Pfalz D.IIIs. A few minutes later, Oberleutnant Ernst Weigand in Albatros D.V number 1187/17 led a second flight skyward; three Pfalz D.IIIs followed him, piloted by Leutnants Erich Löwenhardt, Alois Heldmann, and Max Kuhn. None of the Jasta 10 aircraft would ever catch their Staffelführer. The dogfight developed over Poelkapelle at about 18:30 hours. The Germans chasing Voss found themselves stalemated by British Sopwith Camels, as well as some SPADs and Bristol F.2 Fighters patrolling under the overcast. Two flights of the elite 56 Squadron formed a lower layer of British patrols at 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) altitude. Below that, Lieutenant Harold A. Hamersley, flying as a rear guard to his squadronmates in 60 Squadron, had a wary eye on a nearby enemy formation of 20 to 25 German aircraft. At about 18:25 hours, he turned to help what he believed to be a Nieuport threatened by a German Albatros, firing a short burst of machine-gun fire to distract the German. The "Nieuport", Voss's misidentified Fokker Triplane, rounded on Hamersley and raked him with Spandau fire. Hamersley flung his Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a into a spin that went inverted, with Voss continuing to fire, holing his wings and engine cowling. Lieutenant Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts, a squadronmate of Hamersley, rushed to his aid. Within seconds, Voss shredded Chidlaw-Roberts's rudder bar, also driving him out of the fray into a forced landing.
While they fell away seriously shot about, and the rest of 60 Squadron exited the scene, Voss was engaged by B Flight, 56 Squadron, in their SE.5as. Captain James McCudden and his wingmen attacked in pairs from 300 meters (1,000 feet) above Voss. In a pincer movement, McCudden hooked into an assault from the right while his wingman, Lieutenant Arthur Rhys Davids, swooped in from the left. Muspratt trailed them down, while Cronyn brought up the rear. Jeffs and Young held high as top cover in case Voss climbed. He was now boxed in from above and below, with assailants pouncing from either side.[54] To further worsen Voss's situation, there was a British fighter patrol beneath him. To the attackers' surprise, Voss did not try to escape the aerial trap. Instead, he flicked his triplane about in a flat spin and fired at his attackers in a headon firing pass, holing McCudden's wings. Voss riddled Cronyn's SE.5 from close range, putting him out of the dogfight. Cronyn had to turn in under his attacker and throw his aircraft into a spin to escape being killed. His wingmates attacked Voss while Cronyn also limped for home.
At this time, C Flight arrived. As it dipped down through the overcast toward the dogfight, Gardiner and Taylor went astray. Maybery was attacked by a green Pfalz D.III. Hoidge's counterattack foiled the German. Bowman and Maybery remained to join the attack on Voss. Hoidge, having broken off his pursuit of the falling Pfalz, changed the drum magazine in his Lewis gun, and climbed to join battle. Voss in his triplane zigzagged, yawed, and bobbed among his enemies, never holding a straight course for more than seconds, evading British fire and spewing bullets at them all. The combat now became so chaotic that the surviving pilots later gave widely varying accounts.However, certain events were commonly related: Muspratt's engine lost its coolant to a Spandau bullet early on; he glided away with his engine beginning to seize. At some point, a rednosed Albatros D.V made a short-lived attempt to help Voss; Rhys-Davids put a bullet through its engine, and it dropped away. At another point, Voss was caught in a crossfire by at least five of his attackers but seemed unhurt. At about this point, Maybery withdrew with his aircraft's upper right-hand longeron holed in several places. Voss and the six remaining British aces swirled down to 600 meters (2,000 feet). At times, Voss had the altitude advantage over his foes, but did not try to escape the fight. Using the triplane's superior rate of climb and its ability to slip turn, Voss managed to evade his opponents and return to battle. He continued to flick turn at high speeds and attack those behind him.[44][52] As Bowman later noted concerning his only shot at Voss: "'To my amazement he kicked on full rudder, without bank, pulled his nose up slightly, gave me a burst while he was skidding sideways and then kicked on opposite rudder before the results of this amazing stunt appeared to have any effect on the controllability of his machine."[59] Bowman's machine was left slowed and ineffectively trailing dark smoke and steam, though he stayed in the fight.
Then, after flying past McCudden in a head-on firing pass, Voss's Fokker was hit with bullets on the starboard side by Hoidge. Meantime, Rhys Davids had pulled aside to change an ammunition drum; he rejoined combat with a 150 meter (500 foot) height advantage over Voss's altitude of 450 meters (1,500 feet), and began a long flat dive onto the tail of Voss' triplane. At point-blank range, he holed the German aircraft end to end with his machine guns before turning. It wandered into his line of flight again, in a gentle westward glide; Rhys Davids again ripped the German plane as its engine quit. The aircraft missed a mid-air collision by inches. The British ace fired again. As the triplane's glide steepened, Rhys Davids overran him at about 300 meters (1,000 feet) altitude and lost sight of his opponent. From above, Bowman saw the Fokker in what could have been a landing glide, right up until it stalled. It then flipped inverted and nose down, dropping directly to earth. The resulting smash left only the rudder intact. McCudden, watching from 900 meters (3,000 feet), recalled: "I saw him go into a fairly steep dive and so I continued to watch, and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments, for it seemed to me that it literally went into powder." There would be debate later whether Voss dropped out of the inverted triplane. Voss had fought the British aces for at least eight minutes, eluding them and achieving hits on nearly every SE.5a. He crashed near Plum Farm north of Frezenberg in Belgium at about 18:40 hours.
The Aftermath
Lieutenant Verschoyle Phillip Cronyn later described his harrowing return flight. Being the rare targeted pilot to escape Voss's gun fire, he now had to coax home a failing machine destined for the scrapheap. He lost control of it banking for the landing pattern, and finally performed a desperate high speed landing at 18:40 hours, approximately coincidental with the triplane's impact. The 56 Squadron commander, Major Blomfield, led the shaky-kneed pilot from his machine to a bench and plied him with medicinal brandy. Cronyn's composure broke. After a fit of weeping, he pulled himself together as McCudden landed, followed by Rhys-Davids. The latter exited his machine hyperventilating and stammering. He got his tot of brandy, and uttered an account jumbled by his excitement. With the exception of Muspratt, who had landed at the 1 Squadron aerodrome with a seized engine, the rest of 56 Squadron landed back at Estrée-Blanche. Combat reports by the pilots were written and submitted; those from McCudden, Rhys-Davids, Bowman, Maybery, Hoidge, and Gardiner still exist. These fragmentary written documents would be supplemented by McCudden's autobiography, written before his death the following year;[70] contradictory written accounts produced by Chidlaw-Roberts and Bowman in 1942; and Cronyn's memoirs of 1976. When corresponding with aviation historian Evan Hadingham in 1967, Cronyn offered, "... movements were purely instinctive, and made on such split second action that no impression was recorded." He offered as example that he was unaware he had spent most of his fight with Voss flying inverted until Muspratt mentioned it in the mess the evening of the fight. The 56 Squadron mess atmosphere that night was muted, with speculation about the identity of their fallen opponent. The names Richthofen, Voss, and Wolff were bruited. Rhys-Davids was besieged with congratulations, which he received modestly with a disclaimer of, "If I only could have brought him down alive." A standing toast was drunk to their gallant fallen foe.
The following day, 24 September 1917, a British patrol reached the crash site. Documents in Voss' pocket identified him. A military doctor cursorily examined the corpse. He noted three bullet wounds. One ranged slightly upward through the chest cavity from right to left, consistent with Hoidge's angle of fire; it would have killed Voss in less than a minute. The other two gunshot wounds pierced Voss's abdomen from rear to front, coinciding with Rhys-Davids's firing angle. Tragically Werner Voss was buried like any other dead soldier near Plum Farm, laid in a shell crater without coffin or honors. His grave's location was recorded as Map Sheet 28, coordinates 24.C.8.3. The field grave would subsequently be lost trace of, through the turmoil of ongoing ground fighting.
That same day, Aide de Camp Maurice Baring was sent by Major General Hugh Trenchard to gather such military intelligence as he could about the dogfight. Baring interviewed McCudden, Maybery, Hoidge, and Rhys-Davids. McCudden laconically reported his observation of the crash location being near Zonnebeke. Maybery insisted he saw two triplanes in the fight, a grey one and a green one, in addition to a green German scout and a rednosed German scout. Hoidge never saw the rednosed Albatros. Rhys-Davids said the dogfight began when a red-nosed Albatros, a green German scout, and a grey and brown Triplane attacked an SE.5. He aso insisted that the triplane mounted four guns, and thought it had a stationary engine instead of a rotary engine. Subsequent accounts of Voss's last stand would partially depend on such "facts" drawn from Baring's inquiries. Rhys-Davids, in a letter home written on 25 September mentioning his victory claim, did not know the name of his victim. However, another letter of the 28th mentioned Voss by name.[78] Also, on 28 September, after five days as a nonflying orderly officer, V. P. Cronyn was shipped off to another noncombat post with combat fatigue, a belated casualty. On 1 October 1917, the British Headquarters in France and Belgium finally posted a press release to the Associated Press announcing "... Lieut. Vosse ... has been found within the British lines, and British airmen have already dropped messages behind the German front, giving notification of his death." In conformity with British Army policy, credit was given only to "... a British airman." By 5 October, Rhys-Davids's letter to his mother boasted of his souvenir rudder and compass salvaged from the triplane wreckage. On 27 October, the same day Rhys-Davids died in action, a British intelligence officer finally gained access to the wreckage after it had lain a month in the open. He verified it was a triplane, and noted that its upper surfaces were camouflage green and its bottom surfaces were blue. Second Lieutenant Barfoot-Saunt removed some small pieces from the wreck to accompany his report, illustrating technical points. The technical information that was reported gave the British their first insight into the new craft, although Voss had swapped in a French Le Rhone engine.
Leutnants Rüdenberg and Bellen had returned to base, as had the rest of the Jasta 10 pilots. The only one with news was Heldmann, who reported Voss headed toward British lines while pursued by a British SE.5. Timm and Rueser waited anxiously for his return as the sun set. The fact that Voss was missing in action was communicated to wing headquarters; telephone queries were made of all friendly airfields within range. Late that night, a German frontline unit reported seeing six British machines shoot down a lone German aircraft that fell within the British trenches.[83] Heldmann refused to believe Voss was killed in aerial combat; he claimed Voss had to have been shot after crawling from the wreckage. On 24 September, Jasta 10 pilots dropped a note inquiring about Voss attached to a black, white, and red streamer over British lines.[85] By 25 September, two days after the fight, the Niederrheinische Volkszeitung ran a notice of Voss's death.[86] That same day, Jasta 10 lost its second commander in three days, when Weigand was killed in action. On 7 October 1917, the Krefelder Zeitung ran a page of tributes to Werner Voss from such luminaries as Crown Prince Wilhelm, Anthony Fokker, and Generalleutnant Ernst von Hoeppner. On 11 October 1917, Bellen was invalided from the ranks of Jasta 10. In November, Rüdenberg was released from active duty to pursue his studies at university. Aviation historians such as Douglas Whetton posited these reassignments were retribution for failure to aid Voss in his dogfight.
When the British aces of 56 Squadron learned their fallen foe's identity, they were quick to pay public tribute to him. The leading British pilot he fought that day, James McCudden VC, expressed sincere regret at Voss's death:
"His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent and in my opinion he was the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight"
"I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single handed, fought seven of us for ten minutes . . . I saw him go into a fairly steep dive and so I continued to watch, and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments, for it seemed to me that it literally went into powder.
There was another ace lost on this day...
Lieutenant John Lancashire Barlow 40 Squadron RFC
Before he joined the Royal Flying Corps, John Lancashire Barlow received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 3311 on a Caudron biplane at Wallisdown School, Bournemouth on 6 August 1916. Flying Nieuport Scouts with 40 Squadron, he scored 6 victories in the summer of 1917. He was killed in a crash while on patrol.
A further nine British pilots lost their lives today
Cadet Austin, E.A. (Ernest Arthur) 88 Reserve Squadron, Canada
2nd Lt. Bracey, V.C.E. (Victor Charles Edelsten) 79 Squadron
2nd Lt. Bramley, S.L.J. (Samuel Leslie John) 57 Squadron RFC
Air Mech 2 Bright, H.H. (Horatio Harle) 60 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. De lacey, J.M. (John Matthew) 57 Squadron RFC
Pte. Grey, J. (John) 17 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Holdsworth, E. (Ernest) 29 Squadron RFC
Capt. Mills, R.N.F. (Robert Nicholas Fenwick) 53 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Thornton, H.J. (Harold James) 36 Squadron RFC
Flight Commander Stearne Tighe Edwards (Royal Naval Air Service) attacks an Albatros scout, which crashes into the sea. Later he attacks three Albatros scouts. One gets on the tail of another officer’s machine at very close range, shooting him up very badly. Commander Edwards attacks him from above, and the enemy machine turns on its back and goes down in a vertical dive. He follows the enemy machine down to 8,000 feet, when its wings come off and it falls to the ground.
The steamer S S St Dunstan is sunk by a mine with the loss of two lives while S S Lena (Master Robert Logan Mitchinson) is killed when his ship is sunk southwest of the Scillies by U-61 killing the entire crew of twenty-five.
Naval and Overseas Operations
British destroyer sunk in Channel, 50 survivors.
Political, etc.
Costa Rica breaks off relations with Germany.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Good show Chris, you have provided a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter.
Well done Chris. Great report. You know how much I wanted this one but it was not to be. I could not have done better. Superb effort.
See you on the Dark Side......
Great stuff Chris.
Many thanks for a special effort.
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Excellent details on the carreer and death of Werner Voss. Repped!
Very impressive Chris. I have read both McCudden's account and Rhys-Davids' biography, but neither could add anyting that you did not pick up on here.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Thanks Boss
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
24th September 1917
GOTHA RAID !!!
After a break of three weeks due to bad weather, the Gothas of Kagohl 3 returned to England on 24 September 1917. During their absence Britain’s AA guns had adopted a new system of barrage fire giving curtains of shell fire extending for 2,500 feet from top to bottom targeted at varying heights. Raiders could find themselves flying into walls of exploding shells. 16 Gothas set out but three turned back early with engine problems. Of the rest, three battled through to London while six contented themselves with bombing the area around Dover and four dropped bombs over south Essex and Kent.
Gothas arrived over Dover around 7.15pm dropping 35 HE bombs and seven incendiaries. In Glenfield Road two houses, Nos. 40 and 42, were demolished killing Annie Keates and her daughter Evelyn. Nearby in Pioneer Road, a bomb destroyed No. 33 and wrecked those on either side, and in Crabble Hill another bomb wrecked two houses, Nos. 75 and 77, killing Edward Kenward and his daughter Ellen. In Folkestone Road a bomb destroyed the roof of a Wesleyan Chapel and another at Buckland Gas Works smashed a shed roof. Many windows throughout the town were shattered. Five people in Dover died and 11 were injured. Other bombs fell in the area around Dover, at Guston, Martin Mill, Ringwould, Oxney and at West Cliffe near the Cornhill Coastguard Station, but none caused any significant damage. The four Gothas that roamed over Essex and Kent failed to cause significant damage. Shortly after 8.00pm an incendiary fell at Mockbegger Farm, south of Cliffe, followed by three more across the Thames close to Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury. About 10 minutes later five explosive bombs dropped harmlessly on the Isle of Sheppey, two near Eastchurch at New Hook Farm and Old Rides Farm, and three near Minster, one at Brambledown Farm and two on fields at Tadwell Farm. At about 8.30pm nine HE and two incendiary bombs dropped at the army camp at Leybourne, about seven miles south west of Chatham, killing two soldiers of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry and destroying a Quartermaster’s Store, a latrine and a bathhouse. Five incendiaries also fell at the neighbouring villages of West and East Malling. At the latter village a bomb damaged the glass roof of the Isolation Hospital.
Back in Essex, after the bombs near East Tilbury, just a few more fell on the county. At about 8.10pm a 50kg bomb exploded near Rook Hall farm, about 500 yards west of No. 37 Squadron’s Goldhanger airfield. Forty five minutes later three bombs fell on the foreshore at Leigh, Southend-on Sea, where one house received some damage.
A secret First World War map showing the routes of German bombing planes over London, Kent and the Thames Estuary
The first Gotha to reach London did so at 8.05pm. Four incendiaries fell in Poplar in East London, in Lodore Street, Vesey Street, Perry’s Close and in East India Dock Road. The only damage of note was to the roof of the United Methodist Church in the latter place. Crossing to the south side of the Thames, an incendiary fell in Lavender Yard at the Surrey Commercial Docks, causing slight damage to a road, and an unexploded bomb came down in Lower Road, Rotherhithe. There was more significant damage in Trundley’s Road, Deptford, where a man suffered injury and houses from 101 to 109 were severely damaged by an HE bomb and many other buildings had their windows smashed. Another HE bomb landed in a neighbouring street, Crooke Road, partially demolishing one house and damaging several others.
The next Gotha to reach London came in from the north, dropping incendiaries in Listria Park and Albion Road in Stoke Newington at about 8.35pm, followed by one in a garden in Green Lanes. The next two bombs, also incendiaries, fell in Croftdown Road, Highgate, and on Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm, with only slight damage. Taking a westward course the next incendiary fell at 41 Portchester Road, Bayswater, damaging the roof, followed by two which landed in the roadway at Queen’s Road (now Queensway). Turning east, the Gotha then headed towards the centre of London. The next bomb proved the deadliest. It landed in Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, outside the Bedford Hotel. A number of people were standing in the doorway when the bomb exploded, killing 13 and injuring 22. The hotel was also damaged and hardly a window remained intact along the street. The next bomb wrecked the back of three houses in Edward Street, Soho, (now Broadwick Street) and damaged others before moments later a bomb struck Burlington House in Piccadilly, home to the Royal Academy of Arts, causing significant damage in the building. The Gotha’s last three bombs quickly followed. One exploded in Green Park close to the Ritz, one close to Westminster Abbey, exploding in Dean’s Yard and the third fell in the Thames, the last two straddling the Houses of Parliament.
The third Gotha to bomb London had already dropped an incendiary in a meadow at Home Farm, Chigwell, before releasing its first bombs on the capital over Islington and Highbury at about 8.40pm. An incendiary in St. Mary’s Road, an unexploded bomb and an incendiary in Canonbury Square, an incendiary in Grosvenor Road, and two in Alwyne Square resulted in only minor damage, but an AA shell that fell in Cloudesley Road injured five people. An HE bomb killed a 13-year-old boy, James Sharpe at 144 King’s Cross Road, and another that fell in Garrett Street, off Old Street, caused damage and smashed windows. In Great Eastern Street a bomb caused damage at Hamilton Buildings, injuring two people and smashed windows over a wide area. A final incendiary fell ineffectively in Foster Street, Bethnal Green.
The new ‘curtain’ barrage proved very effective and it seems that some of the Gothas turned away from London in the face of this new intense AA fire. 30 RFC aircraft took off to oppose the raid but none sighted any of Gothas.
24th September 1917 13 people were killed and 22 injured near this spot on the steps of the Old Bedford Hotel by a 112lb bomb dropped by a Gotha in one of London's first night air raids.
The Bere Ferrers rail accident occurred at Bere Ferrers railway station, Bere Ferrers in Devon on 24 September 1917 when ten soldiers from New Zealand alighted from their troop train on the wrong side of the train, having assumed they should leave by the same side they had entered, and were struck and killed by an oncoming express.
Two troopships of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the Ulimaroa and the Norman had just arrived at Plymouth Sound from New Zealand, and the soldiers were en route to Sling Camp on Salisbury Plain.Their train left Plymouth Friary railway station at 15:00, the soldiers had not eaten since 06:00 that morning and had been told that at the train's first stop, Exeter, two men from each carriage could collect provisions from the brake van.
In response to a signal the train made an unscheduled stop at Bere Ferrers station at 15:52. The length of the train meant that the end carriages were outside the station and those aboard assumed that this must be Exeter station. Eager to break their ten-hour fast and ignoring the 'two from each carriage' rule, many jumped down, some onto the down-line track. The London Waterloo to Plymouth express train had left Exeter on time at 14:12 and had made its previous stop at Tavistock. As it approached Bere Ferrers the driver noticed the stationary train and gave a prolonged blast on his whistle, but there is a sharp turn on the approach to the station and the driver was unable to see the soldiers on the track ahead until it was too late.The express was travelling at 40 mph and nine soldiers were killed instantly before the express managed to come to a halt a quarter of a mile (400m) beyond the station. A tenth died later in Tavistock Hospital. One of the survivors said "We never thought of express travelling at 40 miles per hour. They don't travel at that rate in New Zealand. It was a wonder more of us were not killed." The inquest revealed that the men instinctively exited the train from the same side they had entered, placing them on the railway's other track.
The dead were buried in Efford cemetery in Plymouth, but a brass tablet was unveiled in the local St Andrews Church the year after the accident and a plaque was also erected at the station.A further plaque was unveiled in 2001 in their memory in the village centre following a request by the New Zealand Army Museum.
3 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24TH 1917
AC 1 Donald, J. (James) Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President'
Fg Off (Prob) Lockie, K. (Keith) RNAS
Lt. Paton, D.M. (David Moir) 66 Squadron RFC
The following aerial victory claims were made on this day
Joseph Fall Canada #22 #23
Ronald Keirstead Canada #4 #5
Leonard Barlow England #14
Rowan Heywood Daly England #2
Frank Harold Hobson MC England #1
The son of William Newton and Mary Ellen (Cooper) Hobson, Frank Harold Hobson served with the Royal Engineers before he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. Posted to 70 Squadron, he scored fifteen victories flying the Sopwith Camel. He served as an instructor before he transferred to the Unemployed List in February 1919. He died in Nottinghamshire later that year.
Military Cross (MC)
T./2nd Lt. Frank Hobson, Gen. List and R.F.C.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has destroyed several enemy aeroplanes and driven others down out of control. On one occasion he descended to a height of 100 feet and attacked a party of the enemy with his machine gun, inflicting several casualties on them. He has shown splendid resource and determination on all occasions.
G.A. Hyde England #4
Athur Percival Foley Rhys Davids England #21
Maurice Douglas Guest Scott England #10
Harold Stackard England #11 #12
Arthur William Wood England #7
Bruno Loerzer Germany #10
Franz Ray Germany #6
Emil Thuy Germany #15
Ernst Udet Germany #11
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #20
Antonio Amantea Italy u/c
Cosimo Rennella Italy #1
Lieutenant Colonel Cosimo Rennella Barbatto was an Ecuadorian World War I flying ace of Italian heritage. He was credited with seven confirmed aerial victories flying for Italian aviation during the war; however, his pioneering civil aviation activities both before and immediately following the war were probably even more important than his martial career.
He was born in Italy as Cosimo Rennella on 15 February 1890, but in 1892, the toddler accompanied his family when they emigrated to Guayaquil, Ecuador. While there, his name was Latinized into Cosimo Rennella Barbatto by appending his mother's maiden name, though he was usually called "Cosme". In 1909, he volunteered to serve in the Patria I Battalion in military operations against Peru. In 1911, Rennella persuaded a local sportsman's club, the Club Guayas de Tiro Aviacion (Guayas Shooting and Aviation Club), to sponsor his pilot's training; his aim was to be the first flier in Ecuador. The club underwrote Rennella's journey to Pau, France to learn to fly. There the young tyro became a pilot using French Blériot military aircraft. He finally qualified for his civil pilot's license at Turin's Chiribiri flying school on 24 August 1912. Following that, he accompanied a pair of Nieuportish monoplanes back across the Atlantic to Panama.
By the time Rennella and his two traveling companions returned to Central America with an aircraft, the first flight in Ecuador, which was by Chilean Lieutenant Eduardo Molina Lavín, had taken place in their absence. Rennella's new aircraft was a copy of a French Nieuport, built by Navaro and Valgoi of Torino, Italy. On 15 December 1912, having been forbidden to fly across the Isthmus of Panama by U. S. officials, he flew an unauthorized flight in this aircraft over Panama City, leafletting the town with fliers thanking the populace for their support of his flight, in may have been the first aerial pamphlet drop in history. In the middle of January 1913, he was welcomed home in Ecuador. Once there, he accepted the obligation of returning to Italy for more training while he supervised the manufacture of a Chiribiri monoplane for his Club sponsors. He brought this aircraft, dubbed Patria No. I, back to Ecuador. He used his time in Italy to somehow qualify for an Italian military pilot's license, which was granted at Turin on 25 July 1913. Rennella was back in Ecuador by 29 September 1913. On 8 October 1913, at Guayaquil, Cosimo Rennella became the first Ecuadorian citizen to fly in his own nation. A follow-up exhibition scheduled for the 19th dwindled away amid controversy over potential gate receipts.[2] Rennella may have briefly served in the Ecuadorian military before barnstorming in Peru, Chile, and Mexico; he founded a flying school in the latter. Italy's 24 May 1915 entry into World War I sparked his July return to Italy, where he begged the War Ministry to allow him to volunteer to fly for them.
Rennella entered aviation training in Pisa on 17 September 1915. He qualified as a Farman student on 1 February 1916. On 6 February, he transferred to training at Busto Aristo. In April, he moved to Turin to qualify on the more advanced Maurice Farman 14. Finally, rated as a Caporal, he was posted to duty with a reconnaissance squadron, 31a Squadriglia on 14 April 1916. He flew his first combat sortie the next day. He transferred twice more to other reconnaissance squadrons—48a Squadriglia on 1 May, 45a Squadriglia on 12 July 1916. He survived an enemy attack on his aircraft on 6 August. On 31 August, he was promoted to Sergente. Rennella served as a pilot flying two-seaters until 23 June 1917, when he passed the physical examination to become a fighter pilot. He reported to Malpensa for training, and qualified on a Nieuport 11 on 7 August. On the 9th, he began gunnery training at Pisa. On 14 August 1917, he reported to 78a Squadriglia. Between 24 September 1917 and 31 August 1918, as he flew with 78a Squadriglia of the Corpo Aeronautico Militare, he scored seven confirmed aerial victories, having 11 other claims go unconfirmed. He began his string of victories flying a Nieuport 17, but re-equipped with a Hanriot HD.1. As his victories mounted, he wrote letters home to the Ecuadorian press describing his experiences.
The Bongiovanni military intelligence commission released its report on aerial victories on 1 February 1919; seven of Rennella's victory claims were verified.. By the time Rennella reportedly left the Corpo Aeronautico Militare in March 1919, he had been honored with two awards of the Silver Medal of Military Valor and the War Merit Cross from Italy, the French Croix de guerre, and the Belgian Croix de guerre. Rennella returned to South America in early 1920. In February 1920, Rennella was involved in a local business enterprise at La Guaira, Venezuela. On February 27, he flew a Hanriot HD.1 fighter at Caracas. The next day, Rennella flew from Caracas to Maracay. Continuing his operations through March, he subsequently pioneered inter-urban flights in Venezuela; he also flew at least one airmail flight. He is sometimes mistakenly credited with the first Venezuelan military flight because he used a war surplus fighter for his flights. However, he is credited with establishing a flying school at Maracay.
Rennella returned to his native Ecuador in 1924 to join its fledgling air force as a Capitano. In August 1932, he would fly the Ecuadorian Air Force's first operational missions. In August 1934, he was awarded Ecuador's Order of Abdon Calderón, Second Class. He was subsequently promoted to major. In early 1937, Cosimo Rennella traveled to a convention of World War I aces in Dayton, Ohio. Upon his return, he was admitted to the military hospital in Quito with pneumonia. He died there on 3 May 1937. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Western Front
Aeroplane raid on London and south-east coast, 21 killed, 70 injured.
German attack north of Bezonvaux, Fosses and Chaume Woods, Verdun (north-east), repulsed.
Southern Front
Captain Marchese di Laureati flies from Turin to London, non-stop, 650 miles, 7 hours 22 minutes.
Naval and Overseas Operations
British destroy German food depots west of Kilwa; Belgian column within ten miles of Mahenge.
Political, etc.
Satisfactory Japanese Mission (Viscount Ishii) to U.S.A.
Great Britain apologises to Denmark for Jutland violation on 1 September 1917, and offers indemnity.
Last edited by Flying Officer Kyte; 09-26-2017 at 01:55. Reason: Editing.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
25th September 1917
ZEPPELIN RAIDS !!
This Zeppelin raid, aimed at the Midlands and North of England, came while the south of England was experiencing an intense period of raiding by aeroplanes.
Eleven Zeppelins set out but experiencing various problems en route only six crossed the coast. Of these, L.44 under Kapitänleutnant Franz Stabbert, struggled with navigation due to the low cloud and strong winds and, although she flew over north and north-east Norfolk, no bombs were dropped.
Zeppelin L.35, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Herbert Erhlich, crossed the Lincolnshire coast at Anderby just after midnight. She headed north-west towards the Humber then steered west, but as she neared Goole Erhlich changed direction to the south-west, attracted by distant lights. The main source was the Park Gate Iron and Steel Works, north of Rotherham. Warning of the raid only reached the area at 2.30am with lights extinguished five minutes later. Having lost sight of his target, Ehrlich began dropping bombs 10 minutes later hoping to get lucky. The first HE bomb landed in a field between Clayton and Thurnscoe. Another fell south of Thurnscoe by a railway level crossing causing slight damage to the tracks and telegraph wires, while three more landed in fields at Highgate smashing windows in George Street, and an incendiary caused minor damage to a building. Four HE bombs and an incendiary landed around the village of Bolton upon Dearne, with one smashing 40 or 50 cottage windows. Around Swinton, just north of Rotherham, eight HE and three incendiaries landed but the only damage was to windows and a boundary wall at a school near Rose Hill Park. The final three bombs, all HE, broke windows at Ryecroft, near Rawmarsh. At 2.52am the Ryecroft AA gun opened fire. Ehrlich ended his attack and went out to sea near Aldbrough, east of Hull, at 4.05am having inflicted negligible damage.
Kapitänleutnant Hans Kurt Flemming in L.55 was making his first raid over England. Having come inland at Bridlington at 12.15am, he spent the next 90 minutes laboriously working his way up the north-east coast before making his attack. His bombs fell at Boulby, where there was a quarry, just three miles short of the important Skinningrove Iron Works. Six HE bombs dropped over the cliffs but all fell on the seaward side. At that point a searchlight found L.55 and the AA gun at Skinningrove fired 15 rounds, while gunboats at sea also opened fire. Turning away, Flemming dropped four more HE bombs in the sea off Staithes before setting course for home. He reported that he had bombed Hull.
Kapitänleutnant Eduard Prölss, commanding L.53, approached over The Wash, reaching land near Sutton Bridge at about 12.30am. Prölss headed west into Lincolnshire, dropping an HE bomb harmlessly at Surfleet Seas End at 1.00am. Then, attracted by flares burning five miles away at a RFC Landing Ground at Gosberton Fen, he released eight bombs as he approached (seven HE and 1 incendiary) but only damaged a cottage. Another HE landed moments later at Aslackby Decoy Farm without damage. Now heading north, L.53 dropped an HE at Ewerby and both an HE and incendiary at Anwick, all without damage. Now attracted by the flares at Ruskington Fen RFC Landing Ground, at 2.10am Prölss released five HE bombs, but again they were ineffective. Over Walcot Fen he released six more HE bombs with the same result. From there Prölss headed back towards the coast, going out to sea at 2.50am over Wrangle.
Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Hollender brought L.46 inland over the Lincolnshire coast near Theddlethorpe at 1.20am. He steered towards the Humber but, when south of Grimsby at about 2.20am, his navigation became confused. After ten minutes he struck off towards the south-west, away from the Humber, attracted by lights at the RFC Landing Ground at Cuxwold. At 2.35am Hollender dropped six 100kg HE bombs and three incendiaries west of Beelsby. A few minutes later Hollender threw 16 HE bombs at the airfield but all fell harmlessly south of the target. Having released all his bombs, Hollender headed back to the coast, passing out to sea near Tetney at 3.00am.
The last Zeppelin to come inland, L.41 commanded by Hauptman Kuno Manger, had Hull as its target. Manger came inland at 1.27am over Hornsea but struggled to pinpoint his position and it was not until 2.40am that he finally began his attack. He flew across Hull roughly from north-west to east, dropping seven HE and nine incendiary bombs. The HE bombs landed in Crystal Street (unexploded), Lansdowne Street, South Parade, Lister Street (unexploded), on a railway goods line between Albert Dock and Neptune Street (damaging waggons and telegraph poles) and two in Albert Dock. Of the incendiaries, two fell on the tracks by Paragon railway station, two in Short Street, one at the junction of Hessle Road and St. Jamess Street and three close together in Nile Street and Commercial Road. The HE bomb at the back of Lansdowne Road appears to have caused widespread damage and injured two women. Even so, damage was generally limited to broken roofs and windows. Manger turned over the Humber and approached Marfleet, east of the city, where he dropped four HE bombs harmlessly in a field. L.41 then moved towards Paull from where an AA gun opened fire at 2.43am forcing her to turn away. She dropped four HE bombs in fields at Preston, again without damage, before passing out to sea ten minutes later near Tunstall.
The RNAS sent up four aircraft and the RFC 32, but only one, a BE2e of No.76 Squadron flown by 2nd Lt. W.W. Cook, launched an attack. He initially pursued L.55 without luck and later gave chase to L.41 after the attack on Hull. Although he fired four drums of ammunition he could not get closer than 800 yards and L.41 escaped.
The Western Front
German Army
The Action of 25 September 1917 was a German methodical counter-attack (Gegenangriff) which took place during the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July 10 November) on the Western Front during the First World War. On the British X Corps (Lieutenant-General Thomas Morland) front at the south-east side of the Gheluvelt Plateau, two regiments of the German 50th Reserve Division attacked either side of the Reutelbeek stream, on a 1,800-yard (1,600 m) front. The Gegenangriff was supported by aircraft and 44 field and 20 heavy batteries of artillery, four times the usual amount of artillery for a German division.
The German infantry managed to advance for about 100 yd (91 m) near the Menin road on the southern flank and 600 yd (550 m) on the northern flank beyond the Reutelbeek close to Black Watch Corner. The attack was supported by artillery-observation aircraft, ground-attack aircraft and a box-barrage fired behind the British front-line, which isolated the British defenders from reinforcements and cut off the supply of ammunition. Return-fire from the 33rd Division south of Polygon Wood and the 15th Australian Brigade of the 5th Australian Division along the southern edge of the wood, forced the attackers under cover. The Wilhelmstellung on the plateau had fallen to the British during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge on 20 September and German parties re-captured some of its pillboxes near Black Watch Corner but German attempts to reinforce the attackers failed.
General Herbert Plumer, the commander of the Second Army, ordered the attack scheduled for 26 September to go ahead but modified the objectives of the 33rd Division. The 98th Brigade was to advance and cover the right flank of the 5th Australian Division and the 100th Brigade to the south was to re-capture the lost ground. The depleted 98th Brigade was delayed and only managed to reach Black Watch Corner, 1,000 yd (910 m) short of its objectives. Reinforcements moved forward into the 5th Australian Division area to the north and attacked south-westwards at noon, at the same time as a frontal attack from Black Watch Corner. The attack succeeded by 2:00 p.m. against massed machine-gun fire and later in the afternoon, the 100th Brigade re-took the lost ground north of the Menin road. Casualties in the 33rd Division were so great that it was relieved on 27 September by the 23rd Division.
On 25 September, German troops were to conduct a Gegenangriff on the Fifth Army front opposite the 20th (Light) Division in XIV Corps and a bigger attack against the X Corps front, in the centre of the Second Army, south of the I Anzac Corps in Polygon Wood. The 50th Reserve Division had been the Eingreif division for Gruppe Dixmude from 10 August 19 September and was moved south to the Menin area as a reserve. The division then relieved the Bavarian Ersatz Division on 21 September, Reserve Infantry Regiment 231 (RIR 231) south of the Menin road, RIR 230 south of the Reutelbeek and RIR 229 to the north. The regiments were to attack on battalion fronts in each of the three regimental sectors. The attack was to be on a 1,800-yard (1,600 m) front, from the Menin road north to Polygon Wood on the Gheluvelt plateau. The attack was to begin at 5:15 a.m. to recapture the Wilhelmstellung opposite Group Wytschaete, about 500 yd (460 m) to the west from the Menin road northwards to the Reutel road south of Polygon Wood and a company of the 4th Army storm troop battalion was to hold the Wilhelmstellung once captured. The III Battalion, RIR 229 was to attack north of the Reutelbeek and III Battalion, RIR 230 (Colonel Litzmann), was to attack from the Reutelbeek north to Polygon Wood and troops from the 4th Army Storm Battalion, were to attack in the area of RIR 231, on the Menin road. The German artillery was augmented by 27 field artillery and 17 field howitzer batteries, the guns of the 25th and 207th divisions to the south, the 3rd Reserve Division and the Fernkampfgruppe (long-range artillery) of Gruppe Ypern. The heavy artillery of Gruppe Tenbrielen comprised 15 batteries of heavy howitzers and 5 batteries of heavy guns.
British Army
Battalion Headquarters of the 1st Middlesex Regiment has moved up to the southern edge of Glencorse Wood, where news of relief is awaited. But reports are slow in coming in, many of the guides losing their way in the crater area, while the enemys shell fire is increasing in intensity. D Company is the first to report relief complete, but it is 23:40 before that news reaches Battalion Headquarters. For some hours no further news is received, all telephone wires having been cut by hostile shell fire. A Company, which is in position before 22:00, is the last to report. The Company Commander has sent several orderlies with reports (other communication being impossible), and hours pass before at last one gets through. Eventually, by means of officer patrols, all companies are at 04:30 accounted for as being in position. Once in position, the two forward companies send out patrols and cover their fronts with a series of posts. The right sub-sector of the 33rd Divisional front is held by the 100th Infantry Brigade, whose line extends from the southern bank of the Reutelbeek southwards to the Ypres.-.Menin Road. The 5th Australian Division is on the left of the 98th Brigade.
At approximately 05:30 a.m. the enemy begins a barrage on the front, support and reserve lines of the 33rd and Australian Divisions. Gas and heavy shrapnel are largely used. There is a thick morning mist when the bombardment opens, under cover of which and the fire of their guns, the enemy attack the Australians right, the Middlesex Regiment and the 100th Brigade south-west of Reutelbeek.
Hidden by the thick mist and under cover of the merciless barrage his guns are putting down on the front, support and reserve lines the enemy advances at about 06:00. His troops, in considerable strength, swarm across No Mans Land. The brunt of the first attack seems to have fallen on three platoons in the center and on the right of B Company. Handicapped by the fact that they have never seen their front in daylight, and that the Yorks and Lancs, whom they had relieved, had been unable to give them very much information (that unit only having held the sector for about 24 hours), these platoons nevertheless hold their ground for some time. But, aided by their knowledge of the ground and (to them) the friendly mist, the German troops work their way through and between the posts and take them in rear.
On the right, A Company (and the 100th Brigade on their flank) is attacked from behind a small ridge in front. But with Lewis-gun and rifle fire the enemy is repulsed, and as his troops fall back they are subjected to a severe flanking fire.
About 06:30 the enemy launches another attack. Five waves of Germans with support come on unhindered by a barrage which has been placed along the whole German front that morning by order of Second Army Headquarters. The attack comes from the direction of Jerk House. The first attack has cut a gap between A and B Companies, and through this gap the Germans, gradually closing in, work from shell hole to shell hole. Desperate fighting, much of it hand-to-hand, now takes place. A Company is losing heavily, and eventually the enemy enters Veldhoek Trench from the left, bombing along it in a southerly direction. Finally, the remnants of the Company fall back about 150 yards. In the fighting the Company Commander Captain S. Preston is killed, along with Second Lieutenant T J Young, of B Company, who was acting as liaison officer between the two Companies. All the officers of these two front Companies are either killed or missing. Remnants of both A and B Companies are now making their way back to the support line, where C and D Companies, unable to see owing to the thick mist and kept down in their trenches by the two heavy barrages and hostile machine-gun barrage, are unaware of what has been happening in the front line. But as soon as they learn the situation steps are taken to check the enemys advance. Lewis guns are pushed out to cover the gap in the center, and groups of men dash forward into shell holes. Now the enemy is met by fresh troops and at once they are checked.
D the right support Company, endeavoures to get into touch with the left of the 100th Brigade, but owing to the marshy ground fails to do so. The mist lifts and troops of the 100th Brigade are seen falling back, thus uncovering the flank of the Middlesex. In the distance the enemy in large numbers is observed crossing the ridge in front, and heavy fire is brought to bear on him. Once again his advance is checked. But all the while enemy aeroplanes, flying low over the Middlesex trenches, harass the Die-Hards with machine-gun fire. Battalion Headquarters has now received news that the enemy has penetrated the front line, and Major Hanley prepares his position for defence should the Germans break through the supporting companies. The situation is reported to 98th Brigade Headquarters, and the latter orders the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to place one company at the disposal of the O.C., 1st Middlesex. At about 08:00 this Company is in a trench behind Battalion Headquarters of the Middlesex. Soon a platoon from the Highlanders is sent to fill a gap between the right of the Australians and the left of C Company (the left front company) of the Middlesex. At about this time a corporal staggers into Battalion Headquarters and reports that No. 6 Platoon of B Company, under Sergeant Martin, is still holding on to its original position and is in touch with the Australians on their left. These men are on the extreme left of the Middlesex front line and, although exposed to frontal fire and enfiladed from their right, have refused to surrender and are clinging grimly, with extraordinary tenacity and courage, to their position. As soon as this information reaches the CO he sends a message to Brigade Headquarters asking for a barrage to be put down on that flank. Arrangements are being made to fill the gap between D and C Companies when orders arrive at Battalion Headquarters from Brigade Headquarters with details of an attack to be made in order to regain the original front line. The time is about 12:30. At 13:15 Battalion Orders for the attack are issued. The attack is to be made by the 1st Middlesex and A and C Companies of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, to regain the lost line. C Company of the Middlesex is to attack on the left on a front of 180 yards, A Company of the Highlanders in the center on a frontage of 200 yards, and B Company on the right also on a front of 180 yards. Three platoons of C Company of the Highlanders are to support the attack and dig in 200 yards in rear when the original front line has been reorganised. Zero hour is to be 14:00.
The situation of the 1st Middlesex when these orders are issued is that D Company (right), with remnants of A and B Companies, and C (left), are holding a support line roughly about 200 yards behind the original front line. There is a gap between these two Companies very thinly held by one or two posts some 50 to 80 yards apart. Orders to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders states that their A Company is to advance on a front of 180 yards and endeavour to fill the gap, and when even with the Middlesex both Battalions are to advance to the original front line and consolidate it, afterwards pushing out posts to their front. The barrage starts well in front of the line held by D and C Companies of the Middlesex, the Highlanders having, therefore, to start without its assistance. A Company of the latter Battalion leaves the jumping-off line at 13:55, followed at 200 yards distance by C Company. The whole movement is, visible to the enemy, who puts down a heavy barrage in front of the attack. In spite of the barrage the Highlanders push on and come up even with the Middlesex. By now a hurricane of machine-gun bullets sweep the entire line and neither the Middlesex nor the Highlanders can move. They therefore consolidate their ground, forming again a continuous line across the Brigade front. A message, despatched to Battalion Headquarters, asking for a further barrage, does not reach its destination. In the meantime the consolidation proceeds.
Towards evening the Germans again advance and heavy fire is opened upon them. The enemy, however, occupies some concrete emplacements on the right center of the line and put up Red Cross flags. As they are observed strengthening their position no notice is taken of the flags, and both Middlesex and Highlanders keep the enemy under heavy fire.
Captain George Stephenson Elliott MC (Australian Army Medical Corps) is killed at age 32. The Australian Rules Footballer scored 3 goals in 80 games as a defender. He is the brother of Major General Howard Edward Elliott who will suffer from what is now called post-traumatic stress disorder, which will lead to his suicide in 1931.
Private Winstaley Carlyon-Britton (Leicestershire Regiment) is killed while acting as runner to an advanced post at age 30. He is the eldest son of Major Philip William Poole Carlyon-Britton DL JP. Private Carlyon-Britton was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Special Reserve in 1908 and joined Dublin Fusiliers in 1910, being promoted Lieutenant in 1911. He resigned his Commission in 1912. In September, 1914 he was appointed temporary Second Lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment, but was invalided out early in the War and totally exempted from further service. After many months rest he decided he ought to try and serve again, and not feeling sure how far the improvement in his health was permanent he decided to enlist as a private, and not try for a commission again for a time. He therefore, in November 1916 enlisted in the Leicestershire Regiment and went to France in February. He has just been recommended by his Colonel for a commission.
The War in the Air
7 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25TH 1917
2nd Lt. Dennis, C.C. (Charles Cowley) 11 Squadron RFC
Flt Cdr Kilner, B.D. (Bertram Denison) Royal Naval Air Service
Lt. Menzies, J.A. (James Arthur) 33 Squadron RFC
Lt. Miall-Smith, G.E. (George Eric) 11 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Moore, C.A. (Cuthbert Alex) 36 (Home Defence) Squadron
Lt. Powers, B.A. (Bernard Alexander) 9 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Worstenholm, J. (John) 6 Squadron RFC
The following aerial victories were claimed...
John Crompton Canada #3
Andrew McKeever Canada #15
Leonard Barlow England #15 #16 #17
William Benger England #1
An observer with 20 Squadron in the fall of 1917, William Joseph Benger, the son of J. W. and Eleanor Benger, scored 5 victories flying Bristol Fighters. He and pilot A.G.V Taylor were shot down over Poelcapelle by Theodor Quandt of Jasta 36. Benger and Taylor were captured shortly before they died from their wounds. Birth registered 1st quarter 1895 at Devizes. Home at enlistment: Ewell, Surrey.
This NCO has served as an aerial gunner since 13.05.1917 and has done consistently good work in aerial gunnery, photography and reconnaissance. He has had numerous combats and has shown good marksmanship and coolness in action. On 25.09.1917 he shot down an out of control Albatross Scout near Becelaere. On 29.07.1917 near Moorslede he shot down in flames an Albatross Scout. On 03.10.1917 one Albatross Scout was driven down out of control near Wervicq. On 11.10.1917 near Moorslede he drove an Albatross Scout out of control.
Oliver Campbell Bryson England #2
Leslie Burbidge England #1
In September 1917, Leslie Williams Burbidge was posted to 20 Squadron as an observer. On 23 October 1918 he and pilot Thomas Traill narrowly escaped death when their Bristol Fighter collided with another Bristol F.2b and went into a spin. Burbidge climbed out onto the lower plane allowing Traill to regain partial control of the aircraft before it crashed.
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
Lieut. (Hon. Capt.) Leslie William Burbidge. (FRANCE)
On 23rd October this officer displayed marked gallantry and bravery. After destroying a hostile machine his own machine collided, by mischance, with another of his formation on the return journey, and at once began to fall out of control. Capt. Burbidge, with great presence of mind and considerable personal risk, climbed out on to the damaged plane, and so enabled his pilot to regain partial control, maintaining this position till the machine slowly side-slipped on to the ground. By his courageous action this officer undoubtedly saved the life of his pilot at considerable danger to his own, for, on the machine striking the ground, he was thrown from the plane and received serious injuries to his face.
John Firth England #3
Michael Edward Gonne England #1
Residing at Ringwood, Hampshire when he enlisted. After serving with the 3rd Royal Fusiliers, Michael Edward Gonne was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps in May 1917. Posted to 54 Squadron, he scored 2 victories in 1917 flying the Sopwith Pup. The following year, he scored three more victories flying the Sopwith Camel before being injured in a crash on 28 January 1918. Missing in action on 8 August 1918, Gonne was last seen flying his Camel (D6575) near Brie.
Richard Hill England #4
William Jenkins England #7
John Leacroft England #10
Henry Maddocks England #3
William Victor Trevor Rooper England #6
Russell Winnicott England #3
Henri Hay de Slade France #4
Friedrich Altemeier Germany #8
Rudolf Berthold Germany #24
Ludwig Hanstein Germany #11
Karl Menckhoff Germany #12
Ivan Smirnov Russia #6
Leonard Slatter South Africa #3
Ronald Graham Scotland #4
George Thomson Scotland #1
George Edwin Thomson, the son of James and Ellen Thomson, of Glenfuccan, Helensburgh, Dumbartonshire, transferred from the King's Own Scottish Borderers to the Royal Flying Corps in September 1916. During flight training, he was badly injured in a crash which left him with a permanently scarred face. In the summer of 1917, he joined 46 Squadron in France and scored 1 victory with a Sopwith Pup before the squadron received Sopwith Camels. During March 1918, Thomson scored 15 victories, was awarded the Military Cross and was posted to the Home Establishment. Two months later, he was killed during take-off at Port Meadow when his aircraft burst into flames and crashed.
Graham Young Scotland #3
Captain Tunstill's Men : Given the opportunity to reflect on recent events, a comrade (unnamed) of Pte. William Walker Jackson (see 20th September), who had been killed in action five days previously, wrote to Jacksons family, I am writing to let you know that Willie was rather badly wounded when we were in another roughish corner, and although I have made enquiries I cannot get any definite information respecting him. So far he is reported wounded and missing, as they have not got any word as to his passing through any of the dressing stations. It happened on the morning of the 20th. Although we had a rough time of it we had quite a victory. The night before we went up I had a talk with Willie, who was quite up with it. We realised that some would be sorted out and would not come back. The Colonel made a touching speech yesterday when we got back and congratulated us on the splendid manner in which we did the task allotted to us. Tears of pride came into our eyes as we stood listening to him, mingled with tears of sorrow as we thought of those who had paid the price. It is only in moments such as these that you would think we have any feeling at all. Our Commanding Officer is a rare sort, and I dont think there is a man who would not give his life for him.
Last edited by Flying Officer Kyte; 09-26-2017 at 01:52.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Zeppelins? Did someone mention Zeppelins?
I must thank you for keeping the ball rolling whilst we were all enjoying ourselves at Doncaster Chris.
Over and above the call of duty.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Well it would appear that February crept into a couple of headers, no idea how that happened... I blame to Robin of Locksley Gin (and Tonic), so apologies for any head scratching that may have caused, and thanks to Rob for the corrections...
September 26th 1917
We will start today with the loss of the German Ace Fritz Gustav August Kosmahl
On 10 October 1916, Manfred von Richthofen engaged and badly damaged an F.E.2b. Continuing to fire upon the smoking two-seater, Richthofen was forced to withdraw when he was suddenly attacked from the rear. Kosmahl and his observer, Oberleutnant Neubürger, took this opportunity to move in for the kill and shot down the badly damaged aircraft. What might have been the Red Baron's fifth victory became the third for Kosmahl. One of the earliest recipients of the Knight's Cross with Swords of the Order of the House of Hohenzollern, Kosmahl died from a stomach wound received in combat near Poelcapelle on 22 September 1917.
Offizier Stellvertreter Fritz Gustav August Kosmahl (1892–1917) was one of the first flying aces of Germany's Luftstreitkräfte during World War I. He was one of the few German two-seater aces of the war, being officially credited with nine aerial victories. He was also one of the first ten German aviators to earn the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. Kosmahl started pilot's training very early in World War I, on 12 August 1914, at FEA 2. On 11 January 1915, he joined FFA 22 in France. During 1916, he scored three aerial victories while operating a two-seater reconnaissance plane; details of his first two wins is lost to history, but his third win came on 10 October 1916. As a result, on 9 January 1917, Kosmahl was awarded the Member's Cross with Swords of the House Order of Hohenzollern; he was one of the first ten German fliers to receive this prestigious award, second only to the famed Blue Max. He was also awarded the Saxe-Meiningen Medal for Merit in War while with FFA 22. He also won both classes of the Iron Cross. FFA 22 morphed into FFA 261 in December 1916. On 2 February 1917, Kosmahl shot down a Sopwith Pup piloted by acting Flight Lieutenant W.E.Traynor of 8 squadron RNAS over Hermies. On 11 March, he downed a Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b south of Beugny and became an ace. He then departed for advanced training, to become a fighter pilot. In late July 1917, he was assigned to Jasta 26. On 17 August, he scored his first win as a fighter pilot, downing an RAF FE.2d at Zonnebeke. On 9 September, Kosmahl downed a Sopwith Camel fighter plane. On both 19 and 20 September, he shot down Sopwith Triplane fighters at Passchendaele. Two days later, on 22 September 1917, Fritz Kosmahl suffered a stomach wound in combat, but managed to return to base despite his injury. He lingered four days after landing, succumbing at 0230 hours on 26 September 1917.
The offensive east of Ypres is renewed on a six mile front from south of the Menin Road to east of St Julien. The capture of the Tower Hamlets spur is completed by British troops. The weather is still fine and the ground has dried out; on this day Plumer’s rolling barrage works well and the Anzacs are able to advance concealed by a barrage. The 4th Australian Division now takes the rest of Polygon Wood, or what was left of it, and the Butte (which was the local Rifle club’s Rifle range; on top of the Butte is now the A.I.F. 5th Division memorial). They have thus reached a position where they can strike at the main Broodseinde Ridge.
Lieutenant Colonel Oswald Mosley Croshaw DSO (Glasgow Yeomanry commanding 53rd Australian Infantry) is killed at age 38. He is married to the daughter of Major General Walter Weldon. Lieutenant Colonel Croshaw received his commission in the Hussars in 1899, and served with his regiment through the South African War, being with ‘Sir’ George White in the Defence of Ladysmith, and receiving the Queen’s and King’s Medals with six clasps. He retired and became Remount Officer for Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire. He left England in April 1915, as Second-in-Command of the City of London Yeomanry, with whom he served in Egypt and in Gallipoli. In 1916 he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 53rd Australian Infantry and saw much service in France. He was three times mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO for voluntarily crossing a barrage of fire three times to obtain accurate information of the situation. He was mortally wounded while leading his battalion in the attack on Polygon Wood.
HMS PC-61 (Lieutenant Commander F Worsley) rams and sinks the German submarine UC-33 in St George’s Channel. The Drifter Ocean Star (Skipper James Mitchell RNR) disappears and is presumed sunk by a mine off the Nab Light with a loss of her entire crew of ten. SM UC-33 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 29 August 1915 and was launched on 26 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 25 September 1916 as SM UC-33. In seven patrols UC-33 was credited with sinking 36 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-33 was shelled and then rammed by patrol boat PC61 captained by Frank Worsley at position 51°55′N 6°14′WCoordinates: 51°55′N 6°14′W in St. George's Channel on 26 September 1917.
Captain John Gerald Manuel (Royal Flying Corps) attacks alone the Abeele Aerodrome, dropping his bombs from about 1,500 feet with good results. A machine gun opens fire on him but he dives down low and silences it by firing 50-rounds from his machine gun. For his action this day Captain Manuel will be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but on 10th June 1918 he will be killed in a flying accident at the front.
10 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH 1917
Lt. Bevan, J.W.M. (John William Maurice) 35 Squadron RFC
Flt. Sub Lt. Burnett, W.J. (William Josiah) 1 (N) Squadron RNAS
Air Mech 2 Foers, F.C. (Frank Cecil) 6 Reserve Squadron RFC
Lt. Gould, W.H.R. (Walter Harvey Russell) 70 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. ee, H.M. (Herbert Malachi) 62 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Risteen, C.F. (Clifford Fraser) 45 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Roberts, G.B. (Gavern Brooke) 19 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Rouquette, D.G. (Douglas George) 21 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Taylor, E. (Edmund) 23 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Thompson, H.V. (Harold Victor) 29 Squadron RFC
The Western Front
The Battle of Polygon Wood
The Battle of Polygon Wood took place during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in World War I and was fought near Ypres in Belgium 26 September – 3 October 1917, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood and thence north, to the area beyond St Julien.Much of the woodland had been destroyed by the huge quantity of shellfire from both sides since 16 July and the area had changed hands several times. General Herbert Plumer continued the series of British general attacks with limited objectives. The attacks were led by lines of skirmishers, followed by small infantry columns organised in depth (a formation which had been adopted by the Fifth Army in August) with a vastly increased amount of artillery support, the infantry advancing behind five layers of creeping barrage on the Second Army front.
The advance was planned to cover 1,000–1,500 yd (910–1,370 m) and stop on reverse slopes which were easier to defend, enclosing ground which gave observation of German reinforcement routes and counter-attack assembly areas. Preparations were then made swiftly to defeat German counter-attacks, by mopping-up and consolidating the captured ground with defences in depth. The attack inflicted a severe blow on the German 4th Army, causing many losses, capturing a significant portion of the Flandern I Stellung, which threatened the German hold on Broodseinde ridge. The better weather continued to benefit the British attackers by drying the ground, raising mist which obscured British infantry attacks made around dawn, then clearing to reveal German Eingreif formations to air and ground observation, well in advance of their arrival on the battlefield. German defensive arrangements were changed hastily after the battle to try to counter British offensive superiority.
Dispersed and camouflaged German defences, using shell-hole positions, pillboxes and the holding back of much of the German infantry for counter-attacks, had meant that as British advances became weaker and disorganised by losses, fatigue, poor visibility and the channelling effect of waterlogged ground, they met more and fresher German defenders. To overcome the German defensive system, which had been made more formidable by the unusually rainy weather in August, making movement much more difficult and forcing the British to keep to duck board tracks, easy to identify and bombard, objectives had been chosen which provided British infantry with good positions from which to face German counter-attacks, rather than to advance to the maximum distance before digging-in. The Fifth Army had set objectives much closer than 3,000–3,500 yd (2,700–3,200 m) after 31 July and the Second Army methods of September were based on SS 144 The Normal Formation for the Attack (February 1917), reflecting the experience of the fighting in August and to exploit opportunities made possible by the reinforcement of the Flanders front with another 626 artillery pieces by Sir Douglas Haig, during the operational pause before 20 September. The methods based on the Second Army Note of 31 August, had proved themselves on 20 September and were to be repeated.
The attack of 20 September had used the extra infantry made available by narrowing attack frontages and increasing the number of divisions, to have greater depth than those of August, with several widely spaced lines of infantry in front of section columns, snaking round shell-holes and patches of mud, ready to surround German pillboxes, with increased numbers of support waves ready to leap-frog through and reserves ready to intervene, during delays and German counter-attacks. Intermediate objectives were chosen which required a shorter distance to be covered and the number of infantry attacking the first objective were reduced, since the German garrisons in the forward defended areas were small and dispersed. British troops involved in the first advance were lightly equipped, to allow them to move more quickly, to avoid German counter-barrages and get through the relatively empty area up to the first objective. The number of units leapfrogging through to the next objective was increased and the distance to the final objective further reduced, to match the increasing density of German defences; the creeping barrage was arranged to move more slowly to the final objective.Particular units were allotted to "mop-up" and occupy areas behind the most advanced troops, to make certain that pockets of Germans overrun by the foremost troops were killed or captured, before they could emerge from shelter and re-join the battle. The formation used by the infantry was altered, so that those in the leading waves were further apart and followed by files or small groups, ready to swarm around German defences uncovered by the skirmish lines, each unit keeping a sub-unit in close reserve, brigades a reserve battalion, battalions a reserve company and companies a reserve platoon.Increased emphasis was placed on Lewis-guns, rifle-fire and rifle-grenades. Hand-grenades were given less emphasis in favour of more rifle training. The proportion of smoke ammunition for rifle grenades and Stokes mortars was increased, to blind the occupants of German pillboxes as they were being surrounded. All units were required to plan an active defence against counter-attack, using the repulse of German infantry as an opportunity to follow up and inflict more casualties.
X Corps was to advance to create a defensive flank on the right, attacking with the 33rd and 39th divisions either side of the Menin road. The I Anzac Corps with the 5th and 4th Australian divisions would make the main attack on the remainder of Polygon Wood and the southern part of Zonnebeke village in two stages, 800–900 yd (730–820 m) to the Butte and Tokio pillbox and after a one-hour pause for consolidation, make a final advance beyond the Flandern I Stellung and the Tokio spur. To the north, V Corps of the Fifth Army with the 3rd and 59th divisions was to reach a line from Zonnebeke, to Hill 40 and Kansas Farm crossroads, using the smoke and high explosive barrage (rather than shrapnel) demonstrated by the 9th Division on 20 September.A brigade of the 58th Division, (XVIII Corps) was to attack up Gravenstafel spur towards Aviatik Farm. The relief of V Corps by II Anzac Corps, to bring the ridge as far north as Passchendaele into the Second Army area was delayed, as the 1st and 2nd Australian divisions were still battleworthy.
Each of the three German ground-holding divisions attacked on 26 September had an Eingreif division in support, which was twice the ratio of 20 September. No ground captured by the British had been regained and the counter-attacks had managed only to reach ground held by the remnants of the front-line divisions. Second Army Intelligence estimated that ten divisional artilleries had supported the German troops defending the Gheluvelt Plateau, doubling the Royal Artillery casualties compared to the previous week.
The British had 15,375 casualties; 1,215 being killed. In Der Weltkrieg the German official historians recorded 13,500 casualties from 21–30 September, to which J. E. Edmonds, the British official historian controversially added 30 percent for lightly wounded. The 4th Australian Division suffered 1,717 casualties and the 5th Australian Division had 4014 dead and wounded from 26–28 September.
Private John Hines of the 45th Battalion, with German money and equipment looted during the Battle of Polygon Wood
The War in the Air
The following aerial victory claims were nade on this day...
Richard Minifie Australia #12
Ernst Strohschneider Austro-Hungarian Empire #5
Karl Teichmann Austro-Hungarian Empire #1
An experienced mechanic, Teichmann joined the army in 1915. Assigned to an infantry regiment, his pre-war skills were needed elsewhere and in February 1916 he was posted to Flik 5 on the Russian Front. In May 1917, he completed pilot training and was assigned to Flik 42J. After scoring three victories, he was reassigned to Flik 60J where he scored one more victory while serving under Frank Linke-Crawford. In August 1918, Teichmann scored his final victory after being reassigned to Flik 14J at Feltre.
Ferdinand Udvardy Austro-Hungarian Empire #5
Douglas McGregor Canada #12
Edward Denman Clarke England #5
Rowan Heywood Daly England #3
John Firth England #4
Friedrich Altemeier Germany #9
Rudolf Berthold Germany #25
Hans Böhning Germany #3
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp Germany #21
Rudolf Klimke Germany #3 #4
Bruno Loerzer Germany #11
Theodor Quandt Germany #5
Willi Rosenstein Germany #2
Richard Runge Germany #6
Karl Thom Germany #12
Kurt Wüsthoff Germany #21
Attilio Imolesi Italy #3 #4
Cosimo Rennella Italy u/c
Ernst Leman Russia #5
Capt Tunstill's Men: Orders were received for the Brigade to return to the line next day. The urgency of the situation is made clear in the words of the Brigade War Diary, “On the night of 26th September, although the Brigade had only come out of the line on the previous day after eight days severe fighting, orders were received that it would embus at 9am on the 27th and again take over the front line. It appeared probable that the Division then holding the line would not be in a condition to hand over in the normal way, severe fighting having taken place and the exact front line being at the time doubtful”. 10DWR would not return to the line, but would be in Brigade Reserve.
Western Front
British advance on six-mile front east of Ypres; Polygon Wood cleared, Zonnebeke stormed; advance towards Passchendaele.
Four hostile counter-attacks fail after fierce fighting.
Southern Front
Fighting in Marmolada region.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres
Hejaz railway bridge destroyed near Maan; train derailed, 80 prisoners.
Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: enemy retire from strong post in Lukuledi valley (22 miles south-east of Lindi).
Political, etc.
Australian strike: 50,000 unemployed in Sydney, etc.
M. Venizelos resigns War portfolio.
Reichstag President denounces Mr. Wilson.
Central Georgian Council formed.
M. Kerenski resigns from Soviet.
and finally the US Navy commissioned three new submarines on this day...
The N-class boats designed by Electric Boat (N-1 throughN-3) were built to slightly different specifications from the other N-class submarines, which were designed by Lake Torpedo Boat, and are sometimes considered a separate class. The Electric Boat submarines had a length of 147 feet 3 inches (44.9 m) overall, a beam of 15 feet 9 inches (4.8 m) and a mean draft of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). They displaced 347 long tons (353 t) on the surface and 414 long tons (421 t) submerged. The N-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 feet (61.0 m). For surface running, the Electric Boat submarines were powered by two 240-brake-horsepower (179 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 280-horsepower (209 kW) electric motor. They could reach 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) on the surface and 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) and 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged.
The boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.
N-1 was laid down on 26 July 1915 by Seattle Construction and Drydock Company in Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 30 December 1916 sponsored by Mrs. Guy E. Davis, and commissioned on 26 September 1917 with Lieutenant George A. Trever in command. N-1 was fitted out at Puget Sound Navy Yard and then departed on 21 November 1917 for San Francisco, California, in company with her sisters N-2 (SS-54) and N-3 (SS-55). Reassigned to the East Coast, she departed San Francisco on 13 December for Balboa, Panama Canal Zone, and thence proceeded via Cristobal, Jamaica, Key West, Florida, and Norfolk, Virginia, to New London, Connecticut, arriving on 7 February 1918.
Reporting for duty to Commander, First Naval District, the submarine began her first patrol on 23 June by hunting for a U-boat reported in the vicinity of Cape Cod. After an intensive but fruitless search, N-1 continued her patrol off the New England coast. For the remainder of the war and until early 1922, N-1 continued her operations in the area from New London to Bar Harbor.
Placed in reduced commission on 1 May 1922, N-1 became a training submarine for the Submarine School, New London. She continued this duty until ordered to Philadelphia Navy Yard on 9 December 1925. Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 18 December, she was decommissioned on 30 April 1926. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 December 1930, N-1 was scrapped in early 1931.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Tell me more about Robin of Locksley G&T Chris.
Kyte.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Its delicious Rob !
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
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