2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, Somme 1st July 16

The Somme battle was a result of war co-operation between the allies Britain, France and Russia for the offensive's in 1916.  While Britain and France 'pushed' from the west Russia was to launch an attack in the east on the Austro-Hungarian forces.

The Germans however got in first by attacking at Verdun in such a manner as to 'Bleed France white.'

Such was the weight of the battle that the French began to drift from the Somme attack and left this to General Haig to command.  Haig did not wish to fight at the Somme but the London government were in awe of France and insisted that he follow their lead as they had done the year before when forcing the then Commander in Chief Sir John French to fight at Loos.  That was a disaster and the fighting there continued until 1918.

A huge logistical operation was undertaken and a line sixteen miles long became the battle line.  Over 1500 guns were to spend an entire week firing at the German line in an attempt to break the enemy wire and damage their trench system.  Shortly before the attack mines spread along the lone were to be exploded, damaging the trench system and the shock allowing the allies to penetrate the enemy line.

The majority of battalions participating in this battle were the men who volunteered willingly in 1914.  Over two and a half million men volunteered between August 1914 and December 31st 1915. Some had been in France since Spring 1915 and seen action of some sort, others arrived on the day of battle and few of these had fired a shot in practice let alone in anger.

On 1st July 1916 the mines went off, the barrage lifted to the second line and over 100,000 men left their trench and advanced on the enemy. 

Only then were the failures to be revealed.

The enemy wire in many places was uncut, trenches often undamaged and the early firing of the Hawthorn Ridge mine ensued the Germans were ready and waiting when the attack came.  Many of the million and a half shells had failed to explode or went off early.  The shock element was limited and with both machine gun and artillery, and artillery which had been 'hidden' by the Germans, opening fire the attackers came under a hail of fire and advance bent over as though walking through heavy rain.  In some places the front line and further was reached but in many the British fell within yards of their own trench.  

Two men from this region fell that day. 

Robert Leslie Ratcliff a 19 year old Bocking man was one.  Born Bocking in 1897 a resident of Panfield Lane Robert enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment.  It is most likely he did so with friends from the area at the time.  Also serving in the 2nd Battalion was 19 year old George Leonard Smoothy from Chapel Hill.  George came from a family of ten children, not uncommon for the time.  George had enlisted in the 12th Battalion of the Essex Regiment, a 'Kitchener battalion comprising local volunteers and been rejected because of faulty vision.  However with a brother a 'regular' in the 2nd Battalion he turns up there in time for this battle.  His brother fought through many major battles surviving the war yet died from appendicitis in 1919.

The battalion advanced and came under heavy machine gun and artillery fire the moment they left their trench. Firing from the residue of the towns of Serre and Beaumont Hamel on either flank hindered the advance however some parties advanced 2000 yards into the enemy line reaching to  Pendant Copse until enemy bombers forced a return to the trench system known as the 'Quadrilateral.' Here a stand was made until relieved during the night.

Somewhere during the battle Robert and George fell, their bodies were never recovered and their names are engraved on the Theipval Memorial along with almost 72,000 others from the Somme conflict.

Battalion Casualties were 22 officers and 400 other ranks.

Total casualties that day were around 19,000 British dead and another 40,000 wounded.  By the end of the battle, or series of 'battles' there were almost 400,000 British and similar German casualties.  However in context of the time the 'Brusilov Offensive' where the Russian forces attacked across what is now Ukraine against the Austro-Hungarians some 1,350,000 were casualties.  

By the end of the war Britian lost less men that France, Germany or Russia and their Generals were not hounded as some of the British Generals were by politicians, like Prime Minister LLoyd George trying to avoid responsibility for the deaths. 

Braintree & Bocking Great War Memorial 

It Never Ends

Inevitably after sunshine come mist!  It has taken all morning to disperse.  It was almost like being in Edinburgh once again!  This morning I had intended to return to the cemetery and grab some early morning pictures but the mist hindered this so I did nothing whatsoever, although I was supposed to do several things.  
The problem you see was the pictures on the WW2 memorial they were too big! The wee camera pictures come out at around a 1000k, the fancy new camera bought at a quarter of the original price come out at around 6-7000k each!  This means I ran out of space quickly.  Bah!  I discovered this when I had almost completed upgrading the original photos.  I could not work out why I had used 95% of the space when I had 27 pictures and around 90 men there and the WW1 memorial had 61 photos and over 200 men!  Technology is too much for my dim mind.  
So once again I had to slog it down the road, this time in bright and indeed hot sunshine, with weary knees and a lack of food inside me, I forgot to eat properly last night again.  When the mist cleared off I went seeking out the stones from last week.  They were still there I noted.  It would have annoyed me had they moved during the previous days.  
So now I have to once again go through the site removing and adding for the umpteenth time.  Oh joy! Sometimes I wish I had not started this.  Bah!

In other news the election continues....yaaaawn..... 

Remembrance Sunday Centenary

The Great War began on August 4th 1914, the armistice coming four long years later on November 11th 1918.  To remember the fallen of this and other conflicts we met before the war memorial this afternoon.  A very large crowd attended, possibly slightly larger than last years, and correct observation was performed.  The procedure followed routine, a loud voice, hidden by the crowds, called the uniformed ones to attention. Standards were raised, the 'last post' blown then a 'stand at ease' ordered.  The vicar said a few prayers, a few words were said, then wreaths were laid, first by the dignitaries then by others in order.  All in all the usual short gathering.  However I was feeling a bit let down as I realised that this type of meeting misses one thing only - the names of the fallen! Possibly because I have lived with them for a while I find a gap, an emptiness where each individual ought to be.  No need for all names just one or two and a word on their deeds to enlighten the people. This brings the individual home to us not just a name.

    

The gathering of men in uniform used to be common when I were a lad today it is something unusual. Unless you live in a 'Barrack' town you rarely see uniformed men.  National service and of course war itself meant such sights were part of daily life not any more.  Terrorist threats have meant some units are not allowed to wear their uniform in the the streets in some areas!  I am quite surprised some of the uniformed organisations still manage to enroll so many as the costs must be high however the Air Training Corps members seen here have always been popular, possibly because they might get into an airplane occasionally.  

The police (well PCSO's) were in attendance to control the traffic for the march past, much smaller crowd than last year when several full police officers were in control.  However the local football team were playing a major cup tie at the same time, and losing 0-3 last time I heard, so that is where the constabulary would have operated.  Rarely do remembrance crowds get out of hand.  

From the rear you do not get much of a view of the dignitaries but at least the sound system is good. However I wonder about the names on the memorial and their connection to the people in the gardens.  Many will be there because their child is in the scouts/guides or whatever, others because a relative, whom they may have just discovered is named thereon.  I just wish I could have spoken to some but I recognised only two people in the throng.  

So we have remembered, poppies have been worn, memorials attended, research begun, bands have played, men have marched, and life will return to normal now.  For those in 1926 who attended the unveiling of the memorial the thoughts may have been different.  The names were of sons, husbands, friends, and family.  They left a gap, sometimes a huge gap that was never to be filled again.  Many women struggled to raise the family afterwards, many a heart mourned until their dying day, many a child had their life dented by loss, but the individual just had to 'get on with it,' there was no other choice.  The s'stiff upper lip' and many others being in similar troubles gave no opening for self pity or depression, life had to go on.  

At least here was a place to remember, many knew only the name of the memorial somewhere in France or Belgium where their loved one was commemorated, usually they could not afford to visit. At least if he lay in a cemetery the relative  felt he was taken care off but just a name among the thousands on a memorial is so cold and somewhat inhuman, a soldiers relatives require more.  Some on the memorial lie far off in Gallipoli or Jerusalem, during the second war some fell further away in Asia, others fell from the skies lost for ever.  

For us today who did not know them personally we can move on easily, only the old remember them, they cannot forget. However they too have had their life, they too have seen younger folks suffer in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, let alone the many 'small' and 'forgotten' wars since 1945. Do you realise that so many people today do not know what the 'Cold Was' was like?  To them it is a History lesson, to us it was always in the background.  Life moves on indeed!

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A Criticism.

Daily Telegraph

The Tower of London has become the scene of what is described as an 'artwork' commemorating the First World War.  This was as you will recall involved the United Kingdom from the 4th of August 1914 right up to the armistice at 11 am on the 11th day of November 1918.  Around 10 million died, possibly many more.  The UK lost 750,000 soldiers plus men at sea and in the air. Between the armistice and the beginning of the Second World War on the 3rd of September 1939 thousands more died of the effects of war through gas inhalation or wounds that never truly healed.  Guilt at actions taken, guilt at surviving while others died, stress, unbalanced minds and the difficulty of relating to those around them also caused death and suffering to the survivors.  Those who remained at home also changed, and change was in the air before the war, they too suffered even though for many life improved.  The twenties did not see a better life for the returning'heroes,' often unemployment and despair were their lot.  They had returned victorious having won the the war and found despair all too often.

To commemorate this event the museums, churches, military organisations, football clubs and others have organised a variety of events.  Most are heartfelt and represent individuals and organisations who commemorate the fallen annually.  Some however worry me. This display at the Tower has brought thousands to walk around admiring the poppies.   People travel from across the nation to see the event, and that is for me the worry, 'the event.'  For many this commemoration will be just another event, like the queens jubilee or some royals wedding.  An event in which those who participate enjoy the spectacular more than the commemoration.  

The UK has in recent years began to remember fallen troops in a manner that had passed away in the 60's.  Northern Ireland, the Falklands and the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have brought home the men who serve and the cost they pay.  However for far too many exhibitions such as that at the Tower do not commemorate, indeed they celebrate and offer something interesting to see and enjoy but takes away from what the Great War actually meant to those who were there.  

Armistice Day will dawn, the events will cease, many exhibitions close, plays run their course and then the nation will return to the daily grind and forget once again.  The 'event' has ended. 

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The Men Who Marched Away.

This is the draft of the item I wrote for the museum.  The boss has edited the entire piece but I cannot find it on the laptop.  I suppose there are not that many changes bar of course the grammar!  It was intended as a brief introduction to the Great War which as you must know by now began on the 4th of August 1914 as far as this nation was concerned.
 

Gavrilo Princip’s action in assassinating the Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, meant little to most Essex people that June day.  With summer at hand the people’s thoughts probably centered on day trips to the coast, Southend by rail a mere three shillings and sixpence ‘Third Class,’ or possibly a day at a local fair or fete.  However by the August Bank Holiday as they returned cheerful to town news of the long awaited European war being at hand dampened their enjoyment somewhat.

The towns and district around the small towns of Braintree and Bocking shared the same patriotic fervour as the rest of the nation that day war was declared on the 4^th of August 1914.  The Band marched through the streets playing patriotic tunes and enthusiastic volunteers made their way to the Drill Hall in Victoria Street eager to ‘do one’s duty,’ either for the sake of the Empire or to protect ‘gallant little Belgium.’  Many ex-servicemen, some with experience of the Boer War, also re-joined the colours; their experience a boon to the fledgling troops who took a militaristic pride in their uniform once that is they received one.  It is unlikely any among them had any comprehension of what full scale industrial war between mighty powers would entail. 

The Territorials were already on exercise when war was declared and took up positions throughout the county in defence of the much dreaded invasion.  Business was hit badly, Crittalls alone watched well over a hundred reservists and Territorials leave for the fight.  The long hard struggles over wage rates became struggles to create munitions with the common belief, even at very high levels, that the war would be, as the Kaiser himself claimed, ‘over by Christmas,’ a belief that was soon proven false. 

Over the next four years the district shared the traumas and despair of war.  The majority supported the war effort and those who did not suffered badly from all around.  Pacifists and conscientious objectors were widely despised, the more so as the death count mounted.   While many continued to offer themselves as the war progressed and a short war faded into distant memory the need for men increased.  Some favoured conscription, others, usually unable to serve themselves, demanded all young men should enlist.  Insistent women stood at factory gates seeking young men for the colours, others offered white feathers to men in the street and young women refused to ‘walk out’ with a man who would not enlist.  Harassment from such as they and noticing the treatment of soldiers by their officers or army doctors also inclined many to rush into the munitions factories for ‘war work’ in the factories rather than ‘in the field.’  Employers not involved in ‘war work’ ‘did their bit’ by sacking men of army age, whether single or married, who did not enlist, and the pressure of middle class women attempting to enrol farm hands had the opposite effect in Essex as the men were annoyed and tore down recruitment notices.  The most vociferous patriot is usually the one staying at home.

The absence of reliable news coverage plus a strict censorship enabled rumour to become something of an art form.  The best example being the small company of the Russian Military Representatives who landed near Aberdeen and were transported south by train, soon this had become 80,000 Russian troops heading for the front.  There were claims that through the blinds, always lowered on troop trains travelling at night, lit cigarettes illuminated Russian beards!  The much feared invasion offered constant rumours of enemy landings, something that worried Essex people who were in the forefront of any invasion.  For this reason a million men were stationed in East Anglia partly to defend against invasion but also preparing for transport ‘to the front.’  Troops from many parts were billeted on the district; even small houses with families had up to six men with them.  This could be an advantage to the householder if she gave lodging to cooks who enabled the family to eat better than usual!  The great disadvantage being that many became family friends and their loss felt almost as grievously as they families itself. 

Over the next few years the people of the district spent many anxious moments awaiting news of their men.  Official reports clashed with tales from returning wounded from the same regiment, months could go by with no news whatsoever.  Knowledge of a soldiers regiment participating in a ‘Great Push,’ with no acknowledgement of his whereabouts caused great suffering for months on end in many homes while the distant rumble of guns in Flanders a constant worrying reminder of what their men endured.  Many women as well as men however benefited from the high wages found in munitions work.  Crittalls, paid their women employees the same as the men and provided medical care which lessened absence and gave a degree of security to the workers.  Lake & Elliott were among those leading the munitions drive along with other East Anglian companies creating a factory making fuses entirely staffed by female labour.  Women from all social strata and backgrounds took up routine factory work, mixing somewhat uneasily, while others became voluntary nurses at local war hospitals.  The social classes in service at home and abroad mixed together in ways unknown for some time.

The people of the Braintree and Bocking, Finchingfield and Coggeshall, Wethersfield and Bardfield in town and village faced the fear caused by a new kind of war, one fought in the air.  The experiments of Jack Humphreys at Wivenhoe alongside the other air pioneers had by 1914 produced the early machines that were to change war forever.  This change was noticed in Essex by the dark slender shapes of Zeppelins whirring by high above dropping bombs from the dark heights.  Zeppelins flying higher than aircraft crossed the North Sea to attack the Britain with a degree of impunity as defences were inadequate to deal with the threat.  The citizen was now in the front line and the citizen did not like it!  In spite of the ‘Blackout’ incendiary devices were dropped on Braintree with a bomb damaging windows in London Road while others fell harmlessly nearby.  On the night of March 31^st 1916 Braintree suffered heavily. That night Kapitanleutnant Alois Bocker brought his airship, ‘Zeppelin L 14’ to Braintree arriving around eleven in the evening.  He dropped a bomb which landed on Number 19 Coronation Avenue.  Inside Ann Herbert was killed while asleep in the back bedroom while her daughter and two children survived even though they crashed down from the first floor to the ground.  Next door the chimney collapsed into the house killing the sleeping Dennington’s and their three year old niece Ella, while the entire street suffered concussion damage from the explosion.  Kapitanleutnant Bockers ‘L. 14’ continued to drop bombs causing little damage but now the townsfolk knew what modern war offered.        

High wages were available and women spent much on cigarettes and lipstick earned through long working.  Many men were saddened however as beer increased in price and decreased in strength!  Panic buying was reduced as some degree of price control was installed.  However shortages arose and most folks took to an early ‘grow your own’ policy.  Bread being in short supply by 1918 and lack of coal supplies hurt many during the later winters.  Shortages became more important as German submarines began to take a toll of British shipping during 1917.  The greatest dread however was the knock on the door.  The inoffensive telegram boy saw many sad sights as wife or mother received news of her husband, brother or son, wounded, missing or killed.  The telegram Boy must have been a dreaded sight during those long hard years.  It is no surprise some telegraph boys were overcome with the distress that faced them at the doors and quite unable to deliver the telegrams.  Nine men from South Street, three from Bradford Street, five from Coggeshall Road, three from Notley Road and three from Rayne Road fell.  No part of town was untouched

The four long years of war left around ten million dead.  Nations were damaged physically and politically.  Men returned changed and often found the promised jobs gone, wives and families unable to cope with their hardened attitudes and disturbed physical or mental disabilities.  Shell shock, guilt, both of actions taken and the guilt of surviving, the loss of a steady wage and for some a regular meal also hurt many.  For years after the war many returning soldiers, lived among the ‘down and outs’ of society, many of them officers!   Single women, often widows with children could find few men to replace the ones lost.  The high rates of pay in a munitions factory ended in 1918 and the women returned home with few jobs to replace the war work.  Cultural attitudes, changing before 1914, exploded after the war.  Hair was bobbed; skirt hems raised and for those with money a time of jollity prevailed as an effort to live life took over from death.  The majority suffered bankrupt Britain’s ‘austerity’ however, the poorest suffering most.  The men hailed as heroes found no homes built for them, jobs rare, and the rewards of victory, and they believed they had indeed won a victory, taken from them. 

Was the war worth 750,000 British men dying?  Society changes would have come anyway, slower perhaps but inevitably.  Could the United Kingdom have avoided war by allowing an aggressive Germany to dominate Europe in 1914?  Could Britain have morally stood back when Belgium’s neutrality was ignored?  Surely this war would have had to be fought one day?  These men did indeed give themselves in a great cause, they did save the nation and the people back home could indeed be proud of their efforts.  Can we be proud of how they were treated afterwards?  

Braintree & Bocking Great War Memorial

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Braintree & Bocking Remembrance Sunday 2013

It was under a bright blue sky, sunshine filling the chilly air as Braintree and Bocking gathered to remember their war dead.  The memorial contains the names of 202 from the Great War, 85 from the second, and we know that there are others who's names were omitted from the memorial for one reason or another.  Maybe one day we will add those who have fallen in the 'End of Empire' wars and other conflicts since 1945. The British Legion members led the parade, the Air Training Corps followed, and several youth groups of various types brought a huge turnout for the commemoration.  The police, the firemen, the Salvation Army joined many others left their wreaths as individuals left small wooden crosses remembering family and friends also. 

I was impressed by the number of others who attended, whatever their reason.  Two hundred or more people felt sufficiently interested to appear, because of personal interest or a family member on duty in the parade.  Whatever it was a good turnout. As is usual in such situations a short service, led by an Anglican vicar, was held.  A prayer hoping for an end to war and friendship between enemies, a reading from John's Gospel, possibly the only time many will hear this in today's world, and all accompanied by the commands to "Attention," or "Stand at ease," offered as you may expect by a chap who had no use for the microphones on offer!  Was he a corporal once I wondered...?  

 
I found the discipline of the march, the commands, the obedience, quite strange.  We live in such an indisciplined society that anything that veers away from the 'me first' attitude is indeed strange.  Yet discipline, for ourselves and others is so needful.  Without it anarchy does indeed reign, both within and without us.  Formations of troops, as here, could not take positions without proper leadership and acceptance of their orders.  Sometimes this can be somewhat funny, usually it gives at least an organised parade where each knows what is expected of them.  Today's society lacks both discipline and an understanding of where they are in the world.

The High Heid yins turn out as they ought, to lay a wreath, to remember, to represent the electorate.  This is not wrong, indeed it is their duty.  Last night during the commemoration at the Albert Hall we saw a ten year old lass burst in to tears as her father, who she thought far away on service, enter the arena.  Who was not touched as she ran to him in front of the  assembly?  What I wondered did David Cameron, Prime Minister and the man most responsible for men's lives, think then?  The camera caught him as the war widows entered, did he flinch, or was that just my interpretation?  Some say such men have no thought for servicemen when an order is given to advance, others are aware of the pressure that command can leave.  The responsibility to send a man to what may mean his death is an awesome one, generals usually can take it in a professional manner, most having been at the front line themselves at some time, politicians do not always appear to comprehend the enormity of it all.  Of course many have been at the front.  Harold MacMillan spent two nights and three days in a shell hole at the Somme with a broken pelvis, Churchill had been a soldier, of sorts, Jim Callaghan served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and Ted Heath in the army, these men understood the nature of war and strove to avoid it.  What can a man like Cameron, who was young during the 'Punk' era, really know about war?  

The Lady Mayor lays a wreath at the separate memorial to the Braintree supported sloop HMS Kite that was sunk by enemy action with the loss of 241 souls.  Only 17 were picked up as the ship went down in a ball of flame within ninety seconds!  Of these only nine survived.   I understand the last remaining survivor passed away a short time ago.

Amongst those responsible for crowd control was this personable, friendly and efficient young WPC.  Luckily for her she was given a position where the sun shone upon her while the cold breeze was deflected by the trees and shrubs around.  The rest of us noticed the weather I must say.  While such work is a requirement on such occasions it must be boring for the officers who can do little but stand around being mostly ignored by the crowds and enduring the weather often with no chance of escape.  This attractive young lass was doing her job very well, as indeed what her companion further up the road.

As always, even in England, a piper is called to play 'Soldier Laddie' as they march past the dignitaries, he being led by the big base drum, which may have been playing a differing tune, I am not sure!  A sight seen throughout the land today, a sight seen since the years following the Great War when memorial large and small began to appear in town and village, factory and office.  

 

Once the streets round here were flooded with uniforms of one sort or another, we ought to be glad that those days have gone and the minority are required to serve.  Still it is somewhat strange to see military uniforms pass by on parade.  Hopefully the young, eager members of the cadets never see the action their forefathers endured.

 Braintree & Bocking Great War Memorial

Braintree & Bocking WW2 Memorial

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