A Scottish Poem

I bought this book years ago and found it once again while staring into the bookcase.

Trevor Royle has brought together poetry and prose, including some fictionalised acounts, of the great War.  I was touched by this poem, something that does not usually happen, as it reflected the emotions felt by the couple involved.  It spoke better than most works from the time.

 

Pilgrimage: Being the thoughts of an ex-soldier at Ypres, 8/8/28

Me, an’ Jean, an’ the bairn;
The wee lad spierin’ an’ starin’;
Daunderin’ quiet an’ douce-like doun
The Menin road into Ypres toun.
‘Did ye kill ony Germans here?’
Man, it’s sair what a laddie’ll spier.
An’ Jean whispers ‘Wheest!’ – an’ there comes
The band wi’ its trumpets an’ drums.
There’s a glower i’ the wee laddie’s ee.
Ay, he’s ettlin’ ti sojer like me.
An’ Jean whispers low in her pain:
‘Lord, Ye’ll no lat it happen again!’
Syne the Gate whaur the weary feet trod
Like a white kind o’ promise fae God.
An’ in silence we’re spierin’ an’ starin’
– Me, an’ Jean, an’ the bairn.

Me an’ Jean
Her wi’ a saft warm licht in her een,
Thankfu’ that I am come through,
But trimlin’ a wee at the mou’,
Prood o’ the medals I wear –
The same as the Prince stan’in’ there;
Her hand grippin’ hard in mine here
– Oh Jeannie! Oh Jeannie, my dear! –
An’ I ken a’ the things she wud say
An’ Geordie was fond o’ her tae.
We saw Geordie’s bivvy yestreen,
Me an’ Jean.

Me,
Lookin’ yont ower the years juist tae see
Yon War like the ploy of a loon;
But a queer kind o’ shiver rins doon
My back as the things dribble in
– A hallikit lauch i’ the din,
The sangs, an’ the mud, an’ the claes,
An’ my buits, an’ yon glint through the haze
O’ anither lad’s bayonet, an’ lichts
Makin’ day o’ the darkest o’ nichts,
An’ the drinkin’ our tea fae ae can.
– Oh Geordie! Oh Geordie, my man!
An’ – deil tak’ this dust i’ my ee.
Me!

---

J. B. Salmond

from The Old Stalker and Other Verses (Edinburgh: The Moray Press, 1936)

The poems were often written in an Arbroath dialect.

I found this on the excellent Scottish Poetry Library.

 

Passchendaele, 3rd Ypres

The 10th of November 1917 saw the official end of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, often referred to as 'the Battle of 'Passchendaele.' The difficulties encountered cause this battle to be wrongly identified as typical of the fighting conditions during the war.  It was however a dreadful place to be for both sides.

Admiral Fisher, the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy complained they were losing transport ships to submarines.  This was because the Royal Navy had refused to instigate the convoy system as yet, this was soon remedied by London.  Fisher implied the war could be lost if the submarine pens at Ostend, from which U-Boats emerged, were not taken.  The only way to accomplish this was to remove the Germans from Passchendale Ridge and send the British and Belgian forces up the coast to Ostend.  A clever strategy which took no account of unusual, never ending, rain storms.  

 

The action began on 31st July 1917 with General Gough's 5th Army at the 'Battle of Pilkem Ridge.' All went well at the beginning and a good advance was made.  Each 'ridge' had to be taken one by one and several individual 'battles' comprised '3rd Ypres.'  At first all went well and then the rain came.  This was not a surprise, at that time of year it often rained and 'Flanders' means 'Flooded Land.'  However, this time the rain did not stop, indeed the rain not only continued but it brought downpours unknown in living memory.  

Without the rain it is possible to surmise that the allies may well have taken the village of Passchendaele long before November.  The rain however ended this hope.  The water table is not far from the surface, streams and irrigation channels ran through the area, heavy constant shelling from both sides led to the break up of these and very quickly the land became a morass of shellholes quickly filling with water.  It must be added that this was no ordinary mud, this was a type of 'Blue Clay' which makes walking difficult and moving weaponry almost impossible.  As time passed the army soon became bogged down.  

 

The battle continued however and General Haig, Commander-in-Chief of British Forces, attacked in the South and then North continuing the battle in spite of the growing difficulty of the conditions.  It became clear that while his generals began to doubt any advance possible Haig considered not just Admiral Fishers fears but also the news that the French Army had gone on strike!  French General Nivelle's failed offensive broke the back of the French Army not the German and in this position Haig was reluctant to cease fire understanding the Germans may be tempted to attack the French. 

His men did not agree!

Wounded men often sheltered in shell holes, these soon filled with water drowning many casualties.  Movement of guns became impossible, aircraft could rarely fly, men could barely walk.  Falling from the duck board pathways often meant being sucked into the mud, few could pull such men out.  Constant firing from distant big guns, machine guns and rifle fire continued at all times.  The German insistance of constant counter-attacking at all times increased the suffering of both sides.  Captured prisoners were often happy to be out of it.

In the end the Canadians, who had been the first Colonial troops to arrive in 1915, finally took the muddy bricks that represented Passchendaele village.  The picture indicates what remained, the church being the only building recognisable, and that a heap of bricks.

The top picture features Canadian machine gunners the day before they started their next phase of attack.  Several men can be seen in various holes which comprised the 'trench.'  Only the man at the machine gun survived to tell his story.  The cost?  About 200,000 men on each side not counting the wounded or those who possessed a memory they would never forget.

1914, Lyn Macdonald

This book wore me out!
I was there at Mons, having travelled all the way from Le Harve, fought a battle with a huge German army outnumbering us by 6 or 7 to one.  We shot them down at 6 or 7 to one in response.  The British soldier in 1914 could manage 15 rounds a minute, he needed that talent at Mons.  I then participated in the military withdrawal from Mons to Le Cateau.  Here with the guns, I fought all day once again against overwhelming odds.  All around bodies lay, some dead, some groaning, all the while shells exploded over us and bullets buzzed through the air.  
Again we took to marching, though 'marching' is the wrong word.  
Back we went, mixed in with refugees pushing prams and carts, encouraging sheep or cattle before them, weary soldiers, hungry and desperately thirsty under the blazing sun.  All the while the enemy followed, rest was impossible, an hour here, a two hour stop there, then kicked back to feet and slog on.  The quartermaster had wisely dumped tins of 'Bully Beef' and Biscuits along the road.  The Corned beef, if you could get the 7lb tins open, swam under the hot sun.  The biscuits, hard for dogs to eat had no liquid to aid them.
The withdrawal continued, occasional fights with enemy forces, sometimes shooting at enemy planes dropping coloured markers for the artillery, often just slogging along, too weary to grumble, boots causing blisters, blood seeping through many, some foolishly removing boots and unable to replace them afterwards.  
The British withdrawal, one of the most successful military withdrawals in history, saved the remnant of the British Regular Army.  All the while informed they were drawing the enemy into a trap, all the while more willing to fight than walk, all the while the discipline almost continued.  Rare to find officers receiving back chat, though officers were also in the march and shared the problems, only at St Quentin did a problem arise, and wise leadership took the reluctant tired soldiers, bleeding feet and all, back to their destination at the Marne.
The troops had retreated reluctantly, this was not in their nature, but sheer overwhelming numbers beat them.  I slept soundly after reaching the Marne, 'Bully' never tasted so good.
Soon however, a good feed, but little in the way of new items of clothing, we returned from whence we had come.  Though weary the idea of chasing Germans appeared to increase the troops morale.  As they marched towards the Aisne the supplies and equipment dropped by the men on the retreat was found dumped by the enemy also.  Many foodstuffs were made use of and much encouragement found in watching German equipment dumped by the enemy as they ran.  However they stopped high above the River Aisne and dug in.  With too little in the way of guns or indeed shells for the guns, it was impossible for the weakened tired force to deal with them.  The enemy remained there in that position until 1918.
By now, I am sick of corned beef and dry biscuit, even though occasional locals offer bottles of wine, and the weight of this book is making my arms ache,  it is only a paperback!  Luck then enables us to travel to the north west!
Once fed and watered, equipment mostly replaced, travelling slowly to deceive the enemy, the French relieve us as we move to prevent the enemy taking the channel ports.  The handful of men in the are have careered about in cobbled together machine gun carriers, giving the impression of a large force in the region.  In fact there was only a handful of vehicles and 300 men!  Eventually a Yeomanry Cavalry arrived to join in and the 7th Division, full of well dressed 'spick and span' Territorial's arrived to fill the gap.   
By the time we had made our way to the north the war was in full swing.  Once again the German tactics were to send large numbers of men, fronted by massive bombardment of shrapnel and heavy artillery, to attack the small number of defenders.  Once again they were pushed back, this time stopping at a Flanders town called Ypres.  Unable to pronounce the name the troops quickly referred to this place as 'Wipers' and thus it has remained ever since.  
The 1st Battle of Ypres caused terrific damage to the remnants of the British Army.  Once again they fought doggedly against the enemy, often pushed back but never giving up.  This time retreat meant defeat, the town must be held.
Various things appear here.  The first German army comprised the volunteer students who, full of patriotism, linked arms and sang their patriotic song as they advance.       
The British soldier looked at them aghast, then shot them down.
A whole generation of highly intelligent young men, the intellectual future of Germany, fell foolishly and for nothing at this point.  Few survived, those who did would never forget this ordeal.  Shell and bullet left heaps of dead, so many that occasionally a cry would rise as a sentry mistook the pile of grey clad for an advancing army.  If ever war is called a waste it can be seen here.  This act damaged the future of Germany in so many ways.
No matter how out numbered, no matter the cost, the British tenaciously endured, not just taking the attacks but counter attacking when possible.  Eventually, after the Germans had replaced the students with higher class soldiers, and saw most of them treated with the same disdain by the defenders, the Kaisers Guard were sent in.  The battle drew to a close soon after they entered Non Bossen Wood and were met by a string of soldiers, gunners, the remnants of the Ox & Bucks, stragglers and men from the rear who fought them off with rifle fire and then charged into the woods bayonet first.  Outnumbered again by 5 to one by the 6 foot tall Guards the handful of  determined men sent the Kaisers men home again.  After 23 long days of non stop action the dwindling numbers, regiments of a  thousand men now numbered around 70 or 80 men, officers mostly dead or wounded, even the Divisional Commander had died when a shell landed on his HQ taking several top staff men with him. 
The French had arrived with their guns to the south, ensuring no more attacks would be considered. 
New men arrived from home, the wounded were collected if possible, firing continued all winter, and the British army, with about 120,000 men had suffered 90% losses.  Numbers always vary in the Great War but the Germans possibly lost 300,000 men in 1914, dead, wounded and missing.  
Many, from all sides remain lost to this day.

Men of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry sheltering from shrapnel behind the Headquarters of 20 Brigade, Ypres, 1914. IWM (Q 57205)

This is a great book.
Lyn Macdonald spent time interviewing these men for the BBC many years ago.  Since then she has produced many books on the Great War, each full of the words of the men themselves.  Lyn adds to this a great narrative that combines the facts with the experience of the individual men, their battalions and their guns.  The fast moving action takes you right into the war, I kept ducking as I passed the window, and found it hard to return to the real world as bullets kept flying around my head.  
It is no wonder this books, which first appeared in 1987, still sells today.  Lyn Macdonald's books are all 'must reads' for those studying the war and wanting to know more about the men who served.

Some things come to mind.  The first is the soldier I met in 1974 in the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh.  He had been to the X-ray department and I had to escort him back.  He had been found living rather rough in a caravan in a field at the edge of the city and we were giving him a check over.  He must have been around 80 years of age and his memory of the retreat from Mons was clear even 60 years on!  He began talking about the war I have no idea why old men do this and claimed "We said we'll make the Germans run" as we marched up to Mons "And we did - after us!"  The he mentioned the retreat he groaned a long heartfelt groan, that remains with me still, and then spoke of the heat and weariness the details I can no longer remember.  However 60 years on he remembered that retreat well!   
Another point is the way men were so keen to participate in the army and happy to kill people.  No moral doubt as to whether this was right or wrong though army propaganda obviously told you the army fought for the 'right!'  When we were kids we played soldiers games and we killed one another day after day noisily and with no rebuke from politically correct mothers.  Watching me die on TV films or programmes it was always 'us and them' with little appreciation of the cost.  Now it is clear 1914 soldiers had been reared in a climate of military passion, jingoism had arisen long before and was to continue for some time, though abated after the Great War.  That said there was little revulsion at killing Germans.  Of course once the battle began and your men suffered revenge and many other emotions and reactions take over.  At one point at Ypres it was seen the Germans were killing wounded men, it was not recorded if 'our boys' did similar.  On occasion mercy is seen, water given to the wounded enemy and always stretcher bearers would collect wounded, ours first then theirs, both sides usually doing this, and acts of mercy were seen often throughout the war, just as often as barbarism occurred.  
Many criticise the British Generals for the losses to their men, few contemplate losses elsewhere.  Throughout 1914 it was clear German strategy included launching vast numbers of soldiers at the enemy.  After 1914 similar attacks abounded, usually counter attacks wasting lives retaking positions lost.  The French inept attack in the east cost more lives than the British lost in the second world war, yet no-one challenges their handling of the war.  The grumbles re Haig and his generals all come from Lloyd George, Haig's enemy, and Haig's greatest mistake, Passchendaele.  1914 reveals how the generals did well, some dying and others coming close to death, General Munro for one.  The quality of the British Army in 1914 was great, much improved since the Boer War, it was that dogged determination, that musketry ability, the leadership and the discipline of the Regular army that saved the war from being lost in 1914.  They paid a heavy price for their courage.

Passchendaele

Passchendaele

‘The Battle of Passchendaele’ was the last battle of the 
1917 battle knownmore correctly as 
‘The Third Battle of Ypres.’

To stem the German advance during 1914 the British army held a salient around the Belgian town of Ypres with dogged determination in the knowledge that losing the town would allow the German army to capture the ports of Dunkirk and Calais and possibly put Britain out of the war.  Such British determination during the ‘First Battle of Ypres’ cost the Germans dear with over a hundred and fifty thousand casualties.  The ‘Second Battle of Ypres’ during April and May 1915 in which the Germans advanced making the first use of Chlorine Gas also failed costing the Germans also large numbers of casualties.  The British however were left defending a salient in which the ridges of higher ground to the south and east were held by the German army allowing the enemy to observe all movements in the salient and pour artillery and machine gun fire into the occupied area thus making movement during the day impossible and life hazardous.

During 1915 the then Commander in Chief of the British forces Sir John French had wished to mount an operation in the Ypres area but was dissuaded by the war cabinet in London who were in admiration of the French generals and ordered instead to follow the French lead and attack at Loos.  This London order led to the loss of many casualties yet led to Sir John French being replaced by General Sir Douglas Haig.  Haig also wished to fight at Ypres during the 1916 offensive but was again instructed by London to follow the French lead and fight at the unsuitable Somme area.  By 1917, with Admiral John Fisher despairing due to the success of the German ‘U-boat’ fleet in sinking merchant vessels Haig reintroduced the idea of fighting at Ypres to free the Belgian coast and reach the submarine pens at Ostend.  This required victory over the higher ground around Ypres, reaching the railway at Roulers and disrupting the German supply system, so the ‘Third Battle of Ypres’ was launched.    

The Battle of Messines fought by General Plumer’s Second Army between the 7^th and 14^th of June had been an outstanding success but the momentum was lost due to the logistical difficulties in transferring artillery and preparing men before the main attack of the battle at Pilkem Ridge began on July 31^st.

The higher ridges to the east of Ypres had to be taken individually.  Normal weather patterns may well have enabled a success in a battle lasting only a few weeks however the unusually heavy rainfall in August plus determined defending by the German forces made movement for both sides almost impossible.  Fighting had been continuous in the salient since 1914 yet rainfall such as this was unprecedented.

Both General Gough’s Fifth Army and General Plumer’s Second Army participated in the opening day of the battle for ‘Pilkem Ridge’ on the 31^st July, the rain began the same day. The vast array of British artillery, over 3000 guns, now available for the British was unleashed to devastating effect firing over four million shells breaking German defences but also the drainage systems that lay throughout the area leaving water filled shell holes.

A series of difficult battles followed ‘Pilkem’ at ‘Gheluvelt’ plateau and ‘Langemark’ as the British Empire forces slowly struggled forward.  General Plumer’s 2^nd Army used a ‘Bite and Hold’ approach at the ‘Menin Road,’ ‘Polygon Wood’ and ‘Broodseinde’ to slowly make their way towards the final ridge on which the remains of ‘Passchendaele’ itself littered the ground. 

The advance entailed a struggle with conditions more than with the enemy.  Both armies became bogged down in the morass with untended wounded men lying in shell holes filling with dirty rainwater, with no-one able to aid they slipped under the rising tide.  Exhausted men struggled to move artillery in the mud, railway sleepers laid to form roadways through the theatre were constantly under fire from an observant enemy making passage difficult.  Weary men fell from these wooden pathways into the mire and equally weary men had not the strength to retrieve them, walking wounded stumbled for miles over the wet ground to the casualty clearing stations more dead than alive.  Medical teams in muddy conditions carried out operations hour after hour all the time with the danger of loose shells arriving beside them.  Men remained under constant fire from artillery, mustard gas, machine gun and rifle bullets, sometimes from their own side.  When the rain cleared there were few days when the sun was noticed and never enough to affect the ground.  The foolhardy use of tanks, against advice, saw them slither into the mud where they say some might still remain. 

Passchendaele itself was taken by General Plumer’s Canadians on the 6^th of November slithering over the slope and into the ruins of the church atop the ridge.  This over three months after the battle began.  Success had been achieved yet both sides suffered, the British well over 300,000 casualties, the Germans possibly around 250,000, on both sides morale reached a new low, and exhaustion was the order of the day.  This battle rightly or wrongly came to represent how Britain saw the entire war.

It is thought that both General Gough and the well respected General Plumer wished the battle to be brought to an end as both knew well the conditions the troops endured but army generals do not carry the responsibilities of Commander in Chiefs and Field Marshall Haig had wider fears to contend with.  Not only had Admiral Fisher revealed his worries re the German submarine attacks but Haig was well aware the French army had mutinied.  The General Nivelle offensive had failed at great cost and the French army, badly paid, badly fed and once again suffering great loss saw morale break down completely and in many areas whole Brigades refused orders.  In Haig’s mind the weakened French could not be trusted to defend if the Germans attacked, also with the Russians leaving the war this allowed Ludendorff the German army commander the opportunity to transfer a million men to the western front, some of whom arrived at the end of this battle, to Haig this meant capturing the high ground was vital.

Historians will forever debate the rights and wrongs of his decisions, none of these have ever had to make such a decision knowing that the lives of his men depended on his conclusion.  Haig was not an uncaring brute disinterested in his men as some claim, nor was he infused with a sense of sacrifice he was however a soldier who obeyed the order to fight the enemy and accepted his responsibilities whatever the cost.

Some 750,000 Scots, Welsh and Irishmen died during the Great War and the responsibility for this was laid on Haig and the generals by Lloyd George in his memoirs, memoirs which appeared after Haig and the generals had died and were unable to answer.  This was to avoid blame being laid on   Lloyd George’s shoulders, he after all was merely the Director of Munitions, a member of the war cabinet and from late 1916 Prime Minister!  He also encouraged the Gallipoli campaign which failed spectacularly!  Had the Field Marshall lived to answer his critics and had as many friends in the press as Lloyd George we may well have had a different view of the burden he carried during these years and a clearer understanding of reasons for the ‘Third Battle of Ypres,’ the battle better known as Passchendaele!

Men named on the Braintree and Bocking Great War Memorial 
who died during the Third Battle of Ypres.

July 31^st

The first day of the Battle of Pilkem Ridge, the beginning of the 'Passchendaele' battle.

Amos W.G. Private William George Amos. 269512. 'B' Coy. 1st Bat. Hertfordshire Regiment. 118th Bde, 39th Div. Died 31st July 1917 age 24. Track X Cemetery. Ypres. Son of Charles William & Louisa Amos, 13 Coronation Avenue, Braintree. 

Kellick T. Shoeing Smith Corporal T KELLICK 75909. 8th Div. Ammunition Col., Royal Field Artillery. Died age 22 on 31 July 1917. BRANDHOEK NEW MILITARY CEMETERY. 31st July 17. Brother of Julia Holmes, of Rose Cottages, Coggeshall Rd., Braintree.

Rix A.C. Private Arthur Charles RIX 225291. 1st Bn. London Regt. (Royal Fusiliers) 167th Bgde, (56th Division) Died on 31 July 1917. Reburied in Hooge 2nd May 1919 after being identified by his disc. HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY. Ypres. 1891 father Charles a Baker, mother Anna living New Street. Elder sister Winifred one year older.

AUGUST

Cooper. G. Rifleman George Cooper 41213. 10th Battalion. Royal Irish Rifles. 107th Brigade. 36th (Ulster) Division. Died 5th Aug 1917. YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL. Battle of Langemark. Son of Joseph Cooper, 57 South Street, Braintree.

Benham F.J. Rifleman Frederick James Benham 41282. 10th Batt. Royal Irish Rifles. (formerly 31899 Essex Reg) Died 6th Aug 1917, age 34. Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. Killed by German shell. Father William a butcher in Bradford Street (Benham & Sons).

Beresford. F. Private Frank Beresford. 43515. 10th Batt. Essex Regiment. 53rd Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division. Died 11th August 1917. Brandhoek New Military Cemetery, Ypres.  Died of wounds. Born Bethnal Green, son of a silk weaver and worked at Warners.

Edwards W.H. Private William Henry 60358. 11th Batt. Royal Fusiliers. 54th Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division. Died 10th Aug 1917. Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. Wife Elsie Beatrice (nee Cooper) Edwards. A groom at the White Hart before enlisting, married at Black Notley Church 3rd Oct 1912.

Archer E.C. Driver Edward Charles Archer L/4883. 'C' Battery. 153rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery.  Died 12th August 1917. Age 33. Born Surbiton, son of Thomas & Lucy Archer, of Bocking, Essex. Husband of Rose Ellen Archer, of Staines Road, Sunbury, Middx. Butchers assistant by profession. Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Newman E. L/Corporal Ernest Newman G/29708, 16th Battalion. Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex) Regiment.  Died 19th August 1917, age 35. Tyne Cot Memorial. A boarder at Bradford Street, Bocking. He was single and working as a Miller.

Wise W.W. Lance Corporal WILLIAM WALTER WISE. G/42790. 16th Bn., Middlesex Regiment. (Public Schools) XIV Corps. 86th Bde. 29th Division. ex 8th East Surrey Regiment. Died age 18 on 19 August 1917.

TYNE COT MEMORIAL. Ypres. Son of Walter and Laura Wise, of Green Lane, Bocking, Essex.

SEPTEMBER

Shelley T.R. Private Thomas Shelley 26238. 3rd Bn. Grenadier Guards. 2nd Guards Brigade. Guards Division. Died 19th Sept 1917. TYNE COT MEMORIAL. Family living in Coggeshall Road, Bocking.

Pickering F.W. Second Lieutenant Frank W. Pickering, 287th Siege Bty. Royal garrison Artillery. Died 20th Sept 1917. Pojitze Chateau Lawn Cemetery. Ypres. Prior to war worked as chemist at Crittalls Manufacturing Co, and was a patrol leader with the Braintree Boy Scouts.

Sargent H.W. Private HERBERT WALTER SARGENT G-24038. 7th Bn. The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) 55th Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division. 5th Army (Gough). Died age 37 on 30 September 1917. NINE ELMS BRITISH CEMETERY. Third Ypres.  Husband of Mrs. Lily Rosina Sargent (nee Handley), of 66, Coggeshall Road, Braintree.

OCTOBER

Butcher. F. Driver Frederick Butcher 55727.28th Bty. 124th Bde. Royal Field Artillery. Died 9th Oct 1917. Age 25. Born Braintree. Mont Huon Military Cemetery, Le-Treport.  Worked horse pre-war at Straits Mill Farm, Bocking. "He was winner of regimental cup for best team of horses" Cup awarded for driving the gun team he had at Mons through three years of war without accident. Hit by shell and died of wounds.

Fuller. F.H. Rifleman FREDERICK HAROLD FULLER. S/28579, "A" Coy. 7th Bn., Rifle Brigade. (The Prince Consorts Own) 41st Brigade. 14th(Light) Division. XV Corps. (Formerly R/24061, K.R.R.C.) Died age 19 on 15th October 1917.  TYNE COT MEMORIAL. Son of Frederick James and Annie Fuller, of "Alwyne," Coggeshall Rd. Braintree.

Sibley F. Private Frederick Sibley 46615. 11th Bn. Leicestershire Regiment. (Midland Pioneers) Attd. 6th Division as Pioneers. Formerly 213958, Royal Engineers. Died 15th Oct 1917. Braintree. MENIN ROAD SOUTH MILITARY CEMETERY. Ypres. Married Gladys Radley in 1913 and worked at Hope Laundry, Rayne Road.

Turpin F. Private Frank Turpin 10118 (?) 1st Bn. South Staffordshire Regiment. 91st Bde. 7th Division. Died 22nd Oct 1917. Rayne. ST SEVER CEMETERY EXTENSION, ROUEN. Father & Eldest brother were Blacksmiths, and Frank an Iron Fitter.

Andrews, Horace Clive, G/68253. Private Royal Fusiliers posted to 2nd/4th Bn. London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers). 173rd Brigade, (58th Div). (XVIII Corps). Date of Death: 26/10/1917. CEMENT HOUSE CEMETERY. Passchendaele. Killed during advance either by bullet or shrapnel while with two others.  Lance Corporal checked him and then continued forwards.  The three wounded men remained in water filled shell holes.  Mud knee deep and walking difficult. Body recovered September 1919

Butler S.A. L/Corporal Sebastian Alfred Butler 295156. 2/4th London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) Died 26th Oct 1917. Tyne Cot Memorial. Married Maud Elizabeth Rayner of Bocking at St Mary's Church, Bocking.

Townsend E.S. Private Ernest Sydney Townsend 67769. Posted to 2nd/4th Bn. London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers). 173rd Bde. 58th (2/1st London) Div. Died 26 Oct 1917. TYNE COT MEMORIAL. Born White Notley, moved to Braintree where his father, now a widower, was horseman on farm. Attended Old High School.

NOVEMBER

Jings, no-one!

Battle ended when Canadian troops took the Passchendaele Ridge on 

November 6^th and consolidated the ridge by the 10^th.