May 11th PC VERDUN (2203 – 29845): Btn HQ moved from ROUCY at 9pm to relieve 4th Btn 221st Reg Inf France as Support Battalion JUVINCOURT Section. Relief complete by 2am on 12th inst. 1st Wors Regt in Front Line, 2nd Northants Regt in Reserve at BOUVANCOURT. A & D Coys. Attached to 25th Inf Bde near BERRY AU BAC.
May 12th Raining almost all day. Quiet. Capt. W WESTON came up at night to take charge of letters A & D Coy.
May 13th Quiet. During the evening there was heavy shelling on our right, South of the River AISNE.
May 14th Very Quiet. C Coy with 2 Platoons moved from CP TULIPE to CP ROSE changing w/ 2 platoons of 1/Worcesters Regt. [Front Line]
May 15th Quiet. Very hot sun. Enemy shelled BOIS DES BOCHES during the evening.
May 16th Quiet. Officers of the 2nd Northamptonshire Regt reconnoitered the line previous to taking over. Maj EDWARDS reported to Battalion.
May 17th GC HENRY (2215-2997): The Battn moved up to relieve the 1st Worcestershire Regt in the Front Line being relieved in Support by 2nd Northamptonshire Regt. Relief not complete till 3:45am on 18th. C Coy on Right, D in Centre, B on Left with A in Support. 25th Bde on our right (2nd E Lancs Regt), 23rd Bde on left (2nd Devons).
May 18th Quiet day. Very hot.
May 19th Divisional Commander visits the lines in the morning.
May 20th Very quiet. Heat continued.
May 21st Very quiet. Patrols have been out from each front Coy all night, every night in this sector.
May 22nd Quiet. Officers of 2nd Northants Regt reconnoitered the line – which they are to take over from us. Enemy artillery rather active during night.
May 23rd Weather thundery. Some rain in afternoon. Order received for relief on 24th
May 24th Much cooler & dull. Battalion relieved in Front Line by 2nd Northants. Arrived VENTELAY early morning May 25th
May 25th VENTELAY. Regiment reached reserve billets in the early morning. Remainder of day spent in cleaning up
May 26th Sunday Services. In the afternoon received warning of likely enemy attack. 9:20pm Btn moved up to ROUCY.
ROUCY May 27th, 1am: Enemy barrage opened, VENTELAY neighbourhood & transport lines gassed. About 4:30am Battalion ordered forward to AISNE line. Retiring fight to MONTAGNE de GUYENCOURT. Casualties heavy & details ordered, under 2nd Lt Greaves, to move up to VENTELAY about 9:30pm. Transport moved to wood S. of MONTIGNY [SUR VESLE] & about later 11:30pm to VANDEUIL.
CO’s Narrative:
At 4:30am [on May 27th] the battalion was ordered forward to the AISNE line and from this time until June the battalion suffered some of the most severest casualties, fighting a rearguard action against troops which overwhelmingly outnumbered them at all points and forced the line back to MONTAGNE de GUYENCOURT, heights near JONCHERY and high ground N. of TRESLON.
Lt. Col. JOHN D. MITCHELL, CMG, DSO
Narrative May 27th, 1918
The Sherwood Forresters left Roucy at 6:15am and marched towards La Pecherie Bridge via the Concevreux-Cormicy Rd and the Bois de Gernicourt.
Platoon marched at 200 distance.
There was very little hostile shelling until the road just into the Bois de Gernicourt but here the enemy were heavily shelling the road running through the wood towards the canal. The Battalion suffered a considerable number of casualties, one platoon being wiped out by two 5-9s* which fell on the road in the middle of them, a certain number of gun limbers** were knocked out on this road.
On reaching the North edge of the wood a man of the 24th Infantry Brigade was met who told us that the enemy were just coming down to the river. The commanding officer and the leading platoon pushed forward out of the wood and started to make their way to the canal. At the same time, the enemy put down a barrage along the line of the canal 300ft South of it consisting of HE and gas shells which caused a thick haze all along the canal.
The platoon was checked by a thick wall of wire and by the shelling and only five men reached the canal with the CO. The enemy, in large number, were advancing towards the river from the direction of Butte aux Vents and reached the edge of the canal on the North side of the river as we reached the canal and offered machine gun fire on our troops as they came down the ridge between the canal and the Bois de Gernicourt.
The enemy appeared to be very thick on the ground and were advancing in groups of about 25 men each with intervals and distances of about 100ft. As they reached the edge of the canal they lined up and moved to either flank looking for crossings.
A sapper was found near the bridge over the river and he demolished the bridge a few moments after we arrived (at about 7am).
A post was then formed on the South bank of the canal covering the demolished bridge over the river and the undamaged bridge over the canal and the CO then went back to take up a position on the ridge just behind (between the canal and the Bois de Gernicourt).
Intermittent rifle and MG fire went on but the enemy made no attempt to cross the canal.
About an hour later, (8am), an officer and 12 men arrived, sent by the OC Sherwoods to strengthen the canal post and I moved off in the direction of Gernicourt. There was no garrison in Ouvrage Ouest, or in the trench between there to send, and Gernicourt (supposed to be manned by a French MG company).
Small parties of our men (25th Infantry Brigade) could be seen along the North bank of the canal immediately North of Gernicourt.
I made my way back to the Bois de Gernicourt and on the way a Machine Gun opened fire from the high ground just S.E. of Pontavert Bridge, South of the Canal.
The enemy must have crossed near Pontavert and by occupying the high ground enfiladed*** the position just taken up by the Sherwoods. I gather that the Sherwoods then fell back to the West edge of the Bois de Gernicourt and held on here till 12 noon. The machine guns of the 8th Btn which came up behind the Sherwoods went into position on this line.
On reaching PC Division I found the place unoccupied and when we got to the West edge of the wood we saw a party of about 20 Germans at the SW corner of the Bois de Gernicourt moving towards the Concevreux-Cormicy Rd. We hurried back to warn a French Machine Gun detachment in the SW corner of the wood but just before we reached them they ran out into the open, were fired on by the party of Germans, and surrendered.
We moved back through the wood to the Concevreux-Cormicy Rd and found a large number of stragglers moving from the wood towards Bouffignereux. A post was formed on the Bouffignereux road 200ft from the Concevreux-Cormicy Rd and fire was opened on the small party of Germans. About 1/2hr later the party retired towards the high ground near Pontavert bridge, probably forced to do this by the Sherwoods who formed a defensive flank facing West at the NW corner of the Bois de Gernicourt.
Two aid posts were doing a lot of work at the South end of the Bois de Gernicourt (one 1/C of the MO Sherwood Foresters) and motor ambulances were leaving from these two posts all the time I was there.
Gunners who we met in the wood stated that all the guns North of the river had been lost and a large number destroyed by enemy shell fire.
As I came back through Roucy parties of the enemy could be seen moving from Pontavert, in the direction of Concevreux across our left flank, and parties of our own troops, 25th Division and 8th Division Lewis gun School**** were moving onto the Boufignereux – Roucy Line.
At about 4 pm I visited Bouffignereux and our line then came along the North edge of the village, thence westwards along the North edge of the wood which lies just South of the railway from Bouffignereux to Roucy. The enemy were advancing in small parties all along the front and were being held up by Lewis guns and rifle fire about 400 ft in front of our line. Large bodies of the enemy could be seen collecting in the woods along the South bank of the canal.
From reports it appears that the Sherwoods in the Bois de Gernicourt and the garrison of Gernicourt defences held out till 12 noon and then fell back onto Hill 180.
Major George Rowland Patrick Roupell, VC, CB
Glossary & Notes:
HE = High Explosive [Shell]
MG = Machine Gun
TM = Trench Mortar
*The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13 (15 cm sFH 13), was a heavy field howitzer used by Germany in World War I. The British referred to these guns and their shells as “Five Point Nines” or “Five-Nines” as the internal diameter of the barrel was 5.9 inches (150 mm).
**A limber is a two-wheeled cart designed to support the trail of an artillery piece, or the stock of a field carriage such as a caisson or traveling forge, allowing it to be towed. The trail is the hinder end of the stock of a gun-carriage, which rests or slides on the ground when the carriage is unlimbered.
*** Enfiladed: Gunfire directed from a flanking position along the length of an enemy battle line.
****There was a Divisional Lewis Gun School going on prior to the attack.
Pte. Henry Kent (29453), 9th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment sent the letter below to the family of 2nd Lt. A.E. Downing reporting what he saw on the 27th May, 1918.
The letter reads:
He was my Platoon officer (D. XIV) but on 27th May he went up in command of the Company just outside a place called MUSCOURT, between there and ROMAIN.
I saw him on that day, lying on the ground, wounded in the chest. I passed right by him. A corporal whose name I do not know, was with him and asked him if he could do anything for him but he said “No” and to carry on. I do not suppose he would live; he seemed too bad. Time, probably between 5 & 6 pm. The Germans were driving us back very fast and came over the ground. I never heard more of him.
Edwin Slater was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire on April 13, 1892. In 1911 he was employed as an Iron Turner at Platt Brothers & Company in Oldham, as was his father. At this time, Platt Brothers had established itself as the world’s largest textile machinery manufacturer.
He is shown below in “early 1915”, (probably May 1915), taken from a group photo with his brother Arthur, of the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment, and his sister Eleanor.
There are no Army service or pension records for Edwin; we only have his Medal Index Card, his 1915 Star Roll and his British War Medal and Victory Medal Roll entry.
His Medal Index Card (MIC) gives us his regimental number (22754) and tells us that he was in the 11th Battalion Royal Scots (Lothian) Regiment and that he was entitled to three medals: 1915 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal. It also tells us that his first date of entry of overseas deployment was August 11, 1915 to France. Finally, it indicates that he was demobilised on March 22, 1919 to the Class Z Reserve.
The Class Z Reserve was a Reserve contingent of the British Army consisting of discharged enlisted soldiers. The first Z Reserve was authorized by an Army Order of December 3, 1918 and was abolished on March 31, 1920 when the expected problems with violations of the Armistice did not materialize.
His 1915 Star Roll matches the information on his Medal Index Card (which is not always the case). The Star Roll is a crucial document because it also records all the other men of the 11th Battalion Royal Scots with the same disembarkation date as Edwin. By researching those men, several of whom have surviving service records we can deduce many things with a very high degree of certainty.
Below is a B.103 form from one of the men Edwin deployed with (Pte. DAVID CRIGHTON, 21179). It is identical to all of the surviving Service Records and it clearly shows their arrival in France and their assignments in the initial few weeks there.
Consequently, we know that Edwin Slater was part of a draft (the third draft) of at least 40 men who arrived at Boulogne on August 12, 1915. Almost all of these men attested and joined the Royal Scots in April/May 1915. Many of them attested at various locations throughout the UK and then traveled to Glencorse Barracks in Scotland joining the Royal Scots one or two days later. They went through basic training and then shipped out to France on August 11, 1918 arriving in Boulogne the next day. From there they were immediately assigned to the 5th Entrenching Battalion of the First Army. Entrenching battalions were temporary units and allocated at a Corps level. They were used as pools of men, from which drafts of replacements could be drawn by conventional infantry battalions.
Note: An analysis of the enlistment dates of the 10 men that joined the 11th Royal Scots with service numbers +/- 10 digits from his shows that he must have joined around May 10, 1915.
The following men were posted to the 11th Battalion Royal Scots, in the field, on September 18, 1915.
Rank
No.
Forename
MI
Surname
Enlisted
Sgt
10168
THOMAS
A
PLIMER
Pte
13334
THOMAS
CLOSE
01-Sep-14
Pte
16199
DAVID
TAYLOR
A/Cpl
20773
JOHN
McMILLAN
Pte
20899
ROBERT
GUNN
12-Mar-15
Sgt
21053
JOHN
NEILSON
L/Cpl
21054
ROBERT
FERGUSON
07-Apr-15
Pte
21056
JOHN
BELL
Pte
21116
SAMUEL
WILLIS
Pte
21117
SAMUEL
TAGGART
Pte
21118
ANDREW
FUARY
Pte
21128
HUGH
O’DONNELL
17-Apr-15
Pte
21134
WILLIAM
MYLES
16-Apr-15
Pte
21158
HENRY
HAMMOND
Pte
21159
ANDREW
MILLER
Pte
21173
WILLIAM
GRANT
22-Apr-15
Pte
21179
DAVID
CRIGHTON
23-Apr-15
Cpl
22691
JOHN
HAWKINS
29-Apr-15
Pte
22721
JOHN
BARLAS
04-May-15
Pte
22726
THOMAS
KIRK
22-Apr-15
Pte
22754
EDWIN
SLATER
Pte
22764
WILLIAM
BLACK
12-May-15
Pte
22776
JAMES
FINNIGAN
14-May-15
Pte
22809
W
GRAHAM
Cpl
22814
JOHN
E
BROOKS
19-May-15
Pte
22826
JOHN
BRADY
17-May-15
Pte
22933
EDWARD
PEARSON
27-May-15
Pte
23023
FRANK
C E
WILSON
31-May-15
Pte
23409
JAMES
CARR
29-Jun-15
Sgt
23656
WILLIAM
H
PASCOE
13-Apr-15
Pte
23664
WILLIAM
E
SOUTH
14-Apr-15
Pte
23685
WILLIAM
R
WOOD
08-Apr-15
Sgt
23698
HENRY
W
DUNHAM
Pte
23708
WILLIAM
J
BRASSETT
Pte
23709
ALBERT
G
EVEREST
15-May-15
Pte
23710
ALBERT
R
GALE
13-Apr-15
Cpl
23711
ARTHUR
JONES
12-May-15
Pte
23715
CRISTOPHER
R
PAUL
17-Apr-15
Pte
23716
SAMUEL
ROSS
L/Cpl
23766
ROBERT
McINTOSH
On this date, the 11th Royal Scots were at Cambrin (near Bethune) and engaged in training, having recently been relieved in the line. They went back into the trenches on the 25th and were involved in a significant action between 25-28th in the opening phase of the Battle of Loos resulting in 381 Officers and Other Ranks killed, missing or wounded.
It is sobering to discover that of the 40 men listed in this draft, fully 17 would be Killed in Action and a further 8 would be discharged due to wounds or sickness and awarded the Silver War Badge. Two men won the Military Medal, one was Mentioned in Despatches and one man deserted.
Edwin Slater’s Service Medal and Award Roll entry also indicate that he at some point was transferred to the 16th Battalion Royal Scots Regiment.
The final piece of surviving information we have is the picture below (Edwin Slater is front row, right):
There is some indistinct writing on the photo but careful examination shows that it reads: “Loos 1915, Somme 1916, Ypres 1917, Arras 1917, Soissons 1918, Blicquy 1918, The Quarries 1918”. Also, at the bottom it says “5 Tanks, December 12, 1918”. This photo is a so called “survivors photo” taken after the Armistice with men about to be demobilised and celebrating their comradeship, service and, more importantly, their survival.
Military Medal
Edwin is wearing a medal ribbon:
The ribbon is for the Military Medal (MM) and Edwin Slater’s Military Medal (MM) was announced in the London Gazette on the 19th November, 1917 (and in the Edinburgh Gazette on 21st November 1917). The action for which it was awarded would have been some time prior to this publication date. The gazette, simply says “22754 Pte E. Slater, R. Scots (Ashton-under-Lyne)”.
Additionally, we have a short article in his local newspaper, the Ashton Reporter, regarding his award but unfortunately it provides no additional details except that it was published on October 20, 1917 a month before the official listing in the London Gazette.
Edwin’s Military Medal award was promulgated in the London Gazette of November 19, 1917. His was one of 5 MMs awarded to men of the 13th Royal Scots so it would appear that at some point he was transferred, or attached, to the 13th Battalion even though there is no mention of this on his medal roll.
At this time, the 13th Royal Scots were part of the 45th Brigade of the 15th Scottish Division. Edwin’s Registered Paper (No RP/68/121/327) indicates an award for 3rd Ypres. His schedule number (No 111419) indicates it was one of five 15th Division Military Medals awarded to the 13th Royal Scots.
The five MM awards, all from the 13/Battalion Royal Scots, were to:
16152 JAMES STEEL Schedule No 111417
20635 WILLIAM CARR Schedule No 111418 22754 EDWIN SLATER Schedule No 111419
37371 WILLIAM MULHOLLAND Schedule No 111420
15296 HENRY CHARLESON Schedule No 111422
The London Gazette of November 19, 1917 covers awards from July 27, 1917 to September 26, 1917. But we know that these awards were for gallantry on Wednesday August 22, 1917 in the 15th Division’s attack that day. The 15th Division’s 45th Brigade attacked Potsdam, Vampir and Borry Farms at 4:45am. Under the light of flares, the 13th Royal Scots’ and the 11th Argyll and Southern Highlanders’ attacking infantry was mostly wiped out by machine gun fire. Survivors fell back to establish a line from Railway Dump to Beck House. The 13th Royal Scots tried to get forward repeatedly throughout the day but were unsuccessful. Two German counter-attacks were beaten off with rifle fire and artillery. The 11th Argyll and Southern Highlanders were themselves awarded 4 Military Medals for the same action.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves …
11th Royal Scots
The 11th were attached to the 27th (Lowland) Infantry Brigade, of the 9th (Scottish) Division and moved to Bramshott in the Bordon area of Hampshire. In late April, 1915 whilst located at Bramshott, the Battalion received orders to move to the front and on the 11 May, 1915 the main body of men boarded the S.S. Invicta and crossed the English Channel landing at Boulogne, France later that same day.
The Battle of Loos (Sep 25 – Oct 15, 1915)
As already noted, the 11th Royal Scots, as part of the 9th Division of the First Army, fought in the front line during the opening phases of the Battle of Loos between September 25th to the 28th. Edwin Slater had been in France for just a few weeks and had arrived there after just a few short months of basic training. All of these newly arrived men were ill equipped to be thrust into the front line of a major offensive. From this draft of 40 men, Pte. WILLIAM BLACK (22764) was killed in action on the last day of the battle; less than a month after joining the Battalion in France. By the time it was over, the 9th (Scottish) Division had lost a staggering 6,058 casualties including 190 Officers.
Wounded in Action
After approximately 4 months of treatment and rest in the UK, Edwin returned to the front lines in France on February 1, 1916.
Two more men from this draft of 40 lost their lives in November and December 1915. Pte JOHN BARLAS (22721) was severely wounded in the face on November 11, 1915 and a week later was repatriated to the UK on the HM HS ANGLIA. Unfortunately, on November 17, 1915 the ANGLIA struck a mine and sank 1 mile off the coast of England, going down in just 15 minutes. 134 people drowned; Pte. BARLAS was one of them. Later, Private DAVID CRIGHTON (21179) was killed in action on December 12, 1915 while the 11th Royal Scots were once again in the front line.
The Battles of the Somme (Jul 1 – Nov 18, 1916)
The Somme was an Allied offensive that changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses were inflicted by the Germans on the first day followed by a series of fiercely-contested phases that became attritional in nature. September 15, 1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the phase known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France was now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but was still developing in terms of tactics, technology, and command and control.
The British Fourth Army faced three separate very formidable German defensive systems of trenches, dugouts, underground shelters and deep barbed wire defences.
At this time, the 11th Royal Scots were in the 27th Brigade of the 9th (Scottish) Division attached to the XIII Corps of the British Fourth Army.
Somme: Battle of Albert, (1 – 13 Jul, 1916)
In this opening phase, the French and British assault broke into and gradually moved beyond the first of the German defensive systems. For the British, the attack on 1 July proved to be the worst day in the nation’s military history in terms of casualties sustained.
The 11th Royal Scots were in the reserve line moving up at 8pm on the 2nd to relieve the front line troops which was achieved by 3am on the 3rd. They remained in the front line suffering casualties every day from intense enemy shelling. Trenches were consolidated and patrols sent out until July 8th when they moved to Bivouac in the rear to rest and refit.
Somme: Battle of Bazentin, (14 – 17 Jul, 1916)
The 11th Royal Scots were in the front line and attacked the German line in the early hours of July 14th. They quickly achieved their first objective, capturing 63 German prisoners in the process, but their success came with a high cost of casualties. Three men from the draft of 40 lost their lives that day:
Rank
No.
Forename
MI
Surname
Died
L/Cpl
21054
ROBERT
FERGUSON
14-Jul-16
Pte
22826
JOHN
BRADY
14-Jul-16
Pte
23685
WILLIAM
R
WOOD
14-Jul-16
More frontal attacks of the German lines were undertaken by the 11th Royal Scots on the following days, as the 9th Division attempted to secure all their objectives of the initial attack. The Battalion was relieved from their front line duties at 8pm on the 17th July.
Wounded in Action Again
Pte. Edwin Slater (22754) Royal Scots was listed in the Daily Casualty List published in The Scotsman newspaper on August 24, 1916.
Generally speaking, it would take approximately one month from a soldier being wounded for them to appear in the casualty list. This was in part to allow the next of kin to be officially notified before finding it in the newspaper.
An analysis of the other men appearing in this Casualty List from the 11th Royal Scots shows that they were all wounded on July 14, 1916; the first day the 11th were in the line at the Battle of the Somme. As noted above, it could have been much worse.
In the November 11, 1916 edition of the Ashton Reporter Edwin is reported as having just been home on a 10-day furlough.
It was standard practice for soldiers wounded in action and repatriated to the UK to be awarded 10-days leave upon being fully discharged from hospital. So, this tells us that he was indeed repatriated to the UK and spent a little over 3 months in hospital before being discharged. Upon completing his leave he would then return to the regimental depot for a short period of light duty and this is borne out by the phrase in the newspaper “and has returned to Edinburgh” as the regimental depot was at Glencorse Barracks just south of Edinburgh. After some time at the depot he would then have been assigned to one of the regimental reserve battalions based somewhere in the UK. And finally, once he was deemed to be physically fit enough to return to active duty he would have been sent back to the front as and when needed.
Somme: High Wood
On the 18th October, when Edwin was finally being discharged from hospital in the UK, the 11th were back in the Somme front lines again, involved in actions to secure the feature known as The Butte de Warlencourt. The attack was undertaken under extremely difficult conditions of heavy rain, mud and intense cold, leading to large numbers suffering from exposure and trench foot in addition to considerable losses in action. Pte. JAMES FINNIGAN (22776) of the draft of 40 was wounded on the 20th, dying of those wounds on October 24, 1916.
For Edwin, 3 months in hospital being treated for gunshot wounds is not something anyone recovers from overnight so it’s likely he went through a 1-3 months recovery period in the UK after discharge before he had become fit enough for active duty and returned to France. So by March 1917 it’s likely that he was back in the thick of things.
Arras Daylight Reconnaissance (March 21, 1917)
By February 1917 the Allied Forces were planning and rehearsing the Arras Offensive which was scheduled to commence on April 9th. In March, intelligence was received that the Germans were withdrawing from certain positions and so Sir Charles Fergusson, (VXII Corps Commander), resolved to test the enemy’s strength in front of Arras by means of a daylight raid. The 11th Battalion Royal Scots were selected. The “raid” was a frontal assault on the German trenches carried out by approximately 200 men and resulted in a loss of 7 Officers and almost 70 Other Ranks killed, missing or wounded. Nevertheless, they had fulfilled their mission by proving that the Germans had in fact held themselves in full strength in their line opposite XVII Corps. Reports from the raid estimated that perhaps as many as 100 Germans had been killed or taken prisoner.
The efforts of the 11th Royal Scots that day elicited a letter of praise from the Third Army Commanding Officer.
Pte. WILLIAM SOUTH (23664) of the Draft of 40 also lost his life that day.
Now confident that the Germans had not withdrawn and were still at full strength, the Arras Offensive was put back into motion.
The Arras Offensive (9 Apr – 16 Jun, 1917)
The British were called upon to launch an attack in support of a larger French offensive: the battles of the Chemin des Dames and the hills of Champagne. The opening Battle of Vimy and the First Battle of the Scarpe were very encouraging, but once again the Offensive bogged down into an attritional slog.
The 11th Battalion moved into the trenches on April 4th and endured heavy shelling from the enemy resulting in 4 men killed and 7 wounded. One of the men killed that day was Pte. HUGH O’DONNELL (21128) from the Draft of 40.
The 13th Battalion Royal Scots
Frustratingly, we do not know exactly how or when Edwin returned to action after his wounds but his award of the Military Medal confirms that by August 1917 he joined, or was temporarily attached to, the 13th Royal Scots.
The 13th Royal Scots had a difficult time in April 1917. The war diary reports that when they were in the line from April 9-11 they lost 207 men killed, wounded or missing. They were back in the line from April 21-30 and lost another 261 men. That is close to half a Battalion. Consequently, they spent the next few months receiving replacements made up of men rejoining the Battalion, men who had served in France but with other Battalions and new recruits fresh from basic training with no prior fighting experience.
On August 7, 1917 fifty-six other ranks arrived, chiefly of men from the 11th Battalion and 5th and 6th Battalions. We have no way to be certain but it’s possible that Edwin was temporarily attached to the 13th Royal Scots via this draft. 458 men joined the Battalion in August and they were about to be tested under the most difficult of circumstances.
August 22, 1917
The action of August 22, 1917, took place in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front as part of the Third Battle of Ypres. The attack on 22 August, although unsuccessful, advanced the British front line up to 600 yards in places, on a two-mile front but failed to reach the more distant objectives it had been set.
On 17 August, the fresh and rested 15th (Scottish) Division relieved the 16th (Irish) Division in the XIX Corps area. In the 15th Division area, supported by patrols from the 47th (1/2nd London) Division south of the Ypres–Roulers railway, the 45th Brigade on the right was to attack behind four tanks, a creeping barrage and overhead fire from 32 machine-guns but the tanks ditched short of the front line on the Frezenberg–Zonnebeke road. As soon as the infantry advance began, German artillery-fire fell along a line from Frezenberg to Square Farm, followed by machine-gun fire on the attacking troops and on the support and reserve troops even before they left their trenches. The 13th Battalion, Royal Scots and the 11th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were supported by the 6th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders. As soon as the advance began, German small-arms fire became so dense that runners could not go back or reinforcements move forward. Recognition flares were seen later at Potsdam, Borry Farm and Vampir Farm but nothing else was known of the progress of the infantry. Survivors retreated to join the 6th Camerons along the track running north-west from the Railway Dump to Beck House.
Machine-gun fire from the German fortified posts had devastated the infantry of the 15th (Scottish) Division as they struggled through the mud. A report from the 8th Seaforth described how the creeping barrage had failed to damage many pillboxes; the German defences had been underestimated and were insufficiently bombarded by the heavy artillery. The swiftness of the Germans in inflicting casualties left the survivors incapable of capturing strong points, even where the garrisons seemed willing to surrender.
The Official History of the Great War records that the 15th (Scottish) Division suffered 2,071 casualties; 1,052 casualties in the 44th Brigade and 1,019 in the 45th Brigade.
The following account, from the perspective of the 13th Royal Scots, is excerpted from The Royal Scots 1914-1919, by Major John Ewing, M.C. :
Owing to the bad weather, operations of any magnitude had to be postponed, but whenever there were any signs of improvement, attacks were launched. On August 16 our position was strengthened when we secured a hold on Langermark but after this operation rain set in again. The 13th Royal Scots, after their ordeal of July 31, 1917, were given a rest until August 20th when they took over the front line near Frezenberg, with their right flank on the Ypres-Roulers Railway. “D” and “B” were the two front companies with “C” in support and “A” in reserve. An attack, in which the 15th and 61st Divisions were to co-operate was arranged for 4:45am on August 22nd. The 13th Royal Scots, who went into action with Major Mitchell in command, formed the right Battalion of the Division, and their objective was a line extending from South of the railway to Bremen Redoubt, a fortified pill-box, exclusive. In view of the number of formidable pill-boxes to be encountered, special parties furnished by the Royal Scots Fusiliers and “A” and “C” companies of the Royal Scots were detailed to “mop up” particular points.
Most of the hostile shelling fortunately dropped behind the line of the assembled troops, but the attack, though carried out with the utmost gallantry, made little progress. Numerous Boche aeroplanes audaciously buzzed over our lines and inflicted several casualties on our men, who were met, moreover, by a terrific machine gun fire, particularly from the large pill-box known as Potsdam. The Royal Scots formed a line in front of Vampir and Potsdam and beat off several counter-attacks, but were unable to make any impression on the enemy’s defences. Ultimately, Major Mitchell established a new line from the railway, slightly in front of our original position, which the Royal Scots, in spite of a galling shell fire, including “shorts” from our own artillery, maintained without serious difficulty. Heavy losses were inflicted on the Boches by our rifle and Lewis Gun fire, on one occasion a party of sixty of the enemy being almost annihilated. Their exertions however, told heavily on the men, and they were very exhausted when on the night of the 22nd they were relieved and marched to a camp near Ypres.
The number of 13/Royal Scots casualties was again alarmingly high, (276 killed, wounded and missing including two officers killed), and as a result of the two actions in the salient practically a new Battalion had to be formed.
1918
We do not know what happened to Edwin between his winning the Military Medal in August 1917 to the end of the war but if we are to believe his Medal Roll at some point he transferred to the 16th Battalion Royal Scots from where he was demobilised. However, that does not seem to add up. The 16th Royal Scots were reduced to a cadre strength and attached to the 39th Division in May 1918 after suffering heavy casualties. They were finally disbanded in France on August 14, 1918 but we know that Edwin was not demobilised until early 1919.
As noted earlier, the writing on the above photo says “Loos 1915, Somme 1916, Ypres 1917, Arras 1917, Soissons 1918, Blicquy 1918, The Quarries 1918”.
Loos 1915, Somme 1916, Ypres 1917 and Arras 1917 all fit well with the battles fought by the 11th Royal Scots. Whereas, Soissons 1918 [23 July – 2 August 1918], The Quarries 1918 [12-16 Sept 1918] and Blicquy 1918 [Nov 11, 1918] fit well with the 13th Royal Scots.
It’s my belief that Edwin’s Medal Roll is wrong and instead of the 16th it should actually say 13th – but this is pure conjecture on my part.
Class Z Reserve
Pte. Edwin Slater was demobilised to Class Z reserve on March 22, 1919.
The Class Z Reserve was authorised by an Army Order of December 3, 1918. There were fears that Germany would not accept the terms of any peace treaty, and therefore the British Government decided it would be wise to be able to quickly recall trained men in the eventuality of a resumption of hostilities. Soldiers who were being demobilised, particularly those who had agreed to serve “for the duration of the War”, were at first posted to Class Z. They returned to civilian life but with an obligation to return to military service if called upon. The Z Reserve was abolished on March 31, 1920.
Edwin was presented to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth when they visited Ashton on May 20, 1938 at the very end of their 4 day tour of Lancashire.
Not only was he presented to the King and Queen, he also had the honour of accompanying them when they briefly met with some of the disabled ex-servicemen of Ashton, as can be seen in the photo below.
LAST POST
Edwin Slater died in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire on November 23, 1945. He was 53 years old.
Alfred Edward Downing (“Eddie”) was born in Warrington, Lancashire on September 17, 1888. He attended Wycliff School Warrington & Commercial Institute and eventually became a “wire drawer” at Whitecross Wire Co, Ltd., Warrington, the local wire works.
He attested on August 11, 1914 in Warrington and joined the 7th Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Regiment (KRRR) as a Rifleman (Private). He was 25 years old. They were sent to Winchester for training and within 2 months he had been promoted to Lance Corporal. 5 months later he was promoted to full Corporal and a month later promoted again to Lance Sergeant. He was promoted to full Sergeant on May 11, 1915 one week before the Battalion shipped out to France.
FRANCE 1915
The Battalion shipped to France, arriving in Boulogne on May 19, 1915.
On July 30 1915 the Battalion fought in the Actions of Hooge being the first British division to be attacked with liquid flamethrowers.
On September 25, 1915 they were in action again in the the Second Attack on Bellewaarde, at Ypres.
Wounded in Action (1916)
Wounded in action on May 3, 1916 with a Gunshot wound to the right forearm. He was evacuated from France and admitted to 2nd Western General Hospital, in Manchester, on May 7, 1916. He remained there for approximately 2 months (67 days) being discharged on July 8, 1916. While he was there he also had 5 Dental Extractions (ouch!). On leaving hospital he remained in the UK.
5th Kings Royal Rifle Regiment
On October 4, 1916 Sgt. Downing was transferred to the 5th Kings Royal Rifle Regiment.
Commissioned
On May 5, 1917 he was awarded a commission and sent to the No 18 Officer Cadet Battalion, at Prior Park, Bath.
9th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
3 1/2 months later, on August 28, 1917, he was discharged to the Special Reserve Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (LNLR) on a temporary commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.
This photograph, taken in Warrington with his sisters and brother was to be the last time they would see him alive.
And, as was customary, his temporary commission was published in the London Gazette along with all the other men receiving commissions and officers changing rank.
FRANCE (1917)
2nd Lt. Downing joined the 9th LNLR in France on August 29, 1917.
German Spring Offensive
On March 21, 1918 the German Spring Offensive (Kaiserschlacht) started with Operation Michael. This was the last attempt by the German Armies to break though the allies Western Front, before the arrival of masses of fresh American troops would have made the war unwinnable for them.
On April 9, 1918 Operation Georgette: the Battle of Lys kicked off. The British had been drawn away to the south to protect Amiens. The Germans switched their attack to the area South of Ypres threatening the key railway supply line at Hazebrouck, eventually the channel ports of Calais, Dunkirk would be threatened, raising the British fear of being choked to death.
On 11th April, 1918 Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (Commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front) issued the following Special Order of the Day which summarizes the critical situation of the Allied forces then on the Western Front:
“Three weeks ago today the enemy began his terrific attacks against us on a fifty-mile front. His objects are to separate us from the French, to take the Channel Ports, and destroy the British Army.
In spite of throwing already one hundred and six divisions into the battle, and enduring the most reckless sacrifice of human life, he has, as yet, made little progress towards his goals. We owe this to the determined fighting and self-sacrifice of our troops.
Many amongst us now are tired. To those I would say that victory will belong to the side which holds out the longest.
The French Army is moving rapidly, and in great force to our support.
There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end.
The safety of our homes, and the freedom of mankind depend alike upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.”
At this time, the 9th Loyal North Lancashires were part of the 74th Infantry Brigade, 25th Division, British IX Corps. The 74th Inf. Brigade under the command of Brigadier-General H. M. Craigie Halkett, comprised the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers, 3rd Worcesters and the 9th Loyal North Lancashires.
April 12, 1918
“Early on the morning of the 12th April, 1918 the enemy attacked heavily all along the front, as well as to the right and left of the divisional sector, and a retirement became necessary after continuous hard fighting. By the night of the 13th the 74th Brigade, retiring in touch with the 101st and 88th Brigades on right and left respectively, was established on the high ground east of Bailleul. The Germans again followed up and the outpost line of the Bailleul-Armentieres road was driven in: late in the afternoon of the 13th, parties of the enemy succeeded in reaching the high ground, but they were immediately counter-attacked by some of the Battalion led by 2nd Lieutenant A. E. Downing, together with a few men of other corps, and many Germans were killed the rest put to flight and several machine-guns were captured.”
On May 27, 1918 the third major German Offensive against the French on the Aisne (“Blucher-Yorck”) began, overwhelming Hamilton-Gordon’s IX British Corps which had been sent there to rest and refit after being involved in “Michael” and “Georgette”.
The battalion war diary shows that the 9th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment were in Divisional reserve arriving at Vandeuil in the early hours of May 24. The Commanding Officer inspected the Battalion the next day and the following day (Sunday) they had a church parade. At 7:15pm Sunday evening they received orders to prepare to move at once and by 11pm they were marching to Muscourt, (12.5 km NW) having to wear Box Respirators during the later part of the journey owing to gas shelling by the Germans which started at 1am. They arrived at camp at Muscourt at 4am.
[At this point, 2nd Lt. Downing was approximately 6 km west of the 1/Sherwoods where Pte. Arthur Slater was supposed to be.]
At 9am one Platoon per Company were ordered to proceed to a line along the Aisne Canal bank, N.E. of Maizy, to form a nucleus of defense (2 km NW of Muscourt). By noon, the remainder of the Battalion were ordered to immediately reinforce the defensive line already taken up. The total going into action was 12 Officers and 496 other ranks.
Earlier in the day, about 9.30 A.M., Germans (of the 28th Division) had reached the Aisne north of Maizy, but were there held up by artillery fire on the river bridge; later some of them managed to cross by an undefended bridge lower down in the French area. The canal bridge was, however, defended by part of the 9/Loyal North Lancashire, which had just arrived on the scene, and it was not until about 11.30 a.m., after the German artillery had been brought into action on the hill above Beaurieux, to the north, that resistance was overcome. The L.N. Lancashire, with the 74th Light Trench Mortar Battery, 105th Field Company R.E. and a section of machine guns, then swung back and formed a left defensive flank through Muscourt and westward, and the 50th Division Lewis Gun School, coming up with 24 guns to reinforce, extended this flank as far as the hill east of Revillon, on the boundary of the British sector.
In the centre and right of Jackson’s sector, the enemy (6th Guard Division) having been checked between Maizy and Concevreux by the destruction of the canal bridges and the good defence of the 11 /Lancashire Fusiliers and 3/ Worcestershire, had begun to work round by the west. As a result, the defenders were driven from Revillon hill, and then, about 1 p.m., from the Muscourt position, when the left flank of the 74th Brigade fell back a mile to the line Meurival — Beauregard Farm. There, in spite of the appearance of German reinforcements, a further stand was made until between 4 and 5 p.m., when the 9/L.N. Lancashire and the troops with it fell back to the long ridge which lies 1 1/4 miles south of Meurival and runs north-eastward towards Roucy.
There is much more about the 3rd Battle of the Aisne, here.
We do not know the full details of exactly what happened to him but we do have the following letter that was sent to the Downings by Pte. Kent:
The letter reads:
He was my Platoon officer (D. XIV) but on 27th May he went up in command of the Company just outside a place called MUSCOURT, between there and ROMAIN.
I saw him on that day, lying on the ground, wounded in the chest. I passed right by him. A corporal whose name I do not know, was with him and asked him if he could do anything for him but he said “No” and to carry on. I do not suppose he would live; he seemed too bad. Time, probably between 5 & 6 pm. The Germans were driving us back very fast and came over the ground. I never heard more of him.
Pte. H. Kent, 29453, now in camp in France.
PRESUMPTION OF DEATH
2nd Lt. A.E. Downing was reported Wounded and Missing on May 27, 1918. Nothing more was heard of him and his body was never found or identified. Eventually, the War Office needed to remove him from the Weekly Casualty Lists and classify him as officially dead. The following letters and documents chart the course of that task.
Private George Cooper was interviewed by the International Red Cross and provided the above statement which read:
“Lt Downing was wounded the same day as myself May 27th. We were at Massay on the Aisne. We were taken prisoner and were treated at our CCS which was in German hands. From the CCS we were sent to Germany but I did not see him again.”
“Pte Warrel, [463055, who ended up at] Geissen Camp, Germany was in the next bed to Lt. Downing [at the CCS]. Col Wilkin A.D.M.S. for the 50th Division operated on our men, having been a prisoner himself.”
One of the problems with this statement is that the Assistant Deputy Medical Services (ADMS) for the 50th Division was actually Colonel Alexander Milne-Thompson, RAMC. The War Office also had a “list of admissions and evacuations” for the Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) at Beaurieux which they had obtained from a “English Nurse” working there called Louisa Constance Colt-Williams (and the “CCS” was actually a Field Ambulance not a CCS).
Beaurieux is North of Maizy and North of the Aisne. On the morning of May 27, 1918 the Field Ambulance (FA) at Beaurieux was overrun by the Germans early in the day (around 9:30am) capturing Col. Milne-Thompson, Nurse Colt-Williams and all of the staff and patients there. The Field Ambulance continued to operate and fresh casualties were brought in throughout the day.
However, as the only thread of information received by the War Office regarding 2nd Lt. Downing they resolved to seek clarification.
So the War Office sent Col. Milne-Thompson, RAMC the following letter asking for any information he may have about 2nd Lt. Downing, prefixing their request with their assumption that the officer in question was most probably Capt. R.J.P. Hewetson of the 9th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.
And Col. Milne-Thompson duly replied, repeating the theory put forward by the War Office.
At the same time, the War Office also sent a rather curt letter to Pte. Cooper asking him for clarification of his statement.
And Pte. Cooper duly replied:
In this letter he states:
“With reference to letter enclosed I gave you what particulars I could concerning LT Downing. I told you that a Officer of the LNL was at this Hospital but I cannot say what became of him as we all got shifted, but I am sending you a card as my wife got sent to her from the English nurse that was taken prisoner also from the Hospital that the Major and Colonel was encharged of, hoping you can get to know some particulars through this card.”
On March 11, 1919 without any additional information or evidence that 2nd Lt. Downing was a Prisoner of War, the War Office moved to declare a presumption of death.
But before they did so they sent his widow one last letter to ask if she had received any word of her husband.
And so, on May 28, 1919, one year and a day after he was killed in action somewhere near Meurival, the War Office officially declared him dead.
DEATH GRATUITY AND WIDOW’S PENSION
How does a country put a monetary value on the life of a fallen soldier? A young man who volunteered to fight for his country one week after the outbreak of war, wounded in the field, promoted through the ranks on merit to a temporary commission, mentioned for bravery in the official regimental history and subsequently killed in action after serving at home and abroad for almost 4 years. The Ministry of Pensions, referring to Royal Warrants and Army Orders, had an answer.
Second Lieutenant Downing was receiving 10 shillings and 6 pence pay per day Army pay which was paid into his account at Messrs. Cox & Co., of Charring Cross, Army Agents and Bankers. Additionally, he received a daily allowance for lodging, fuel, lighting, field ration and groom, and also a separate mess allowance. All of which was credited to his bank account at Messrs. Cox & Co. Any cash required in the field was drawn locally and recorded as a debt against the officer’s account, similarly with any unpaid mess bills.
Upon his official declaration of death on May 27, 1918 a detailed reckoning of the death gratuity owed, minus the excess credits already issued, began by the Ministry of Pensions. His service reckoned from August 28, 1917 when he left officer training and consequently his first year of service would have ended on August 27, 1918, 92 days after his death.
An officer’s death gratuity, payable to his widow, was defined under article 497 of the Royal Warrant for Pay, 1914. This entitled his dependents to 124 days of field pay for his partial year of service. Had he served for more than one year his dependents would have been entitled to an additional 62 days of pay for each subsequent year and partial year served. For 2/Lt. Downing, this 124 days of field pay resulted in a gratuity amount of £65 and 2 shillings. Additionally, Army Order 85 of November 2, 1919 granted him a minimum £8 death gratuity for service in the ranks prior to his commission plus a gratuity of 25 months of service, (counted from first deployment overseas until discharged to commission), at 10 shillings per month, equal to £12 and 10 shillings. This provided a total of £20 and 10 shillings gratuity for his service in the ranks making a total combined death gratuity of £85 and 12 shillings.
From this amount, all credits paid by the Army for times after his death had to be subtracted. 92 days pay in the amount of £48 and 6 shillings, lodging and other field allowances of £10, 15 shillings and 8d, and a mess allowance of £1 and 10 shillings were all deducted, making a total deduction of £60, 11 shillings and 8d.
Consequently, the net payment made to his widow on April 10, 1920 was £25 and 4d. Additionally, a war pension of £100 per year would have been paid to her commencing May 28, 1918 and terminating on her re-marriage on June 18, 1921.
LAST POST
2/Lt. Alfred Edward Downing was 29 years old when he was killed in action. He is commemorated at the Soissons Memorial located in the town of Soissons, in the Aisne département of France.
The memorial lists 3,887 names of British soldiers with no known grave who were killed in the area from May to August 1918. It also contains this inscription (in French and English):
“When the French Armies held and drove back the enemy from the Aisne and the Marne between May and July 1918 the 8th, 15th, 19th, 21st, 25th, 34th, 50th, 51st and 62nd divisions of the British Armies served in the line with them and shared the common sacrifice. Here are recorded the names of 3,987 officers and men of those divisions to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”
He is also listed on the WW1 Memorial in Warrington:
SHORT SERVICE RECORD
11 Aug, 1914 – 18 May, 1915 Home
19 May, 1915 – 16 May, 1916 BEF, France
7 May, 1916 – 28 Aug, 1917 Home
29 Aug, 1917 – 27 May, 1918 BEF, France
DETAILED SERVICE RECORD:
11 Aug, 1914 Enlisted, Warrington
13 Aug, 1914 Attested Rfn, to 7th KRRC Winchester
21 Aug, 1914 Posted as Rfn (Rfn = Rifleman)
05 Sep, 1914 Appointed w/ pay (L/Corp)
2 Feb, 1915 Promoted Corp
15 Mar, 1915 Appointed w/ pay (L/Sgt)
11 May, 1915 Promoted Sgt, BEF France
07 May, 1916 Posted D (Evacuated to 2nd Western General Hospital, Manchester)
04 Oct, 1916 Posted 5th KRRC
11 Aug, 1916 Granted C Class I P.P. Sgt
05 May, 1917 Posted to No 18 OCB (Prior Park, Bath)
28 Aug, 1917 Discharged to Special Reserve Battalion, LNLR
Arthur Slater was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire on May 10th, 1896.
By age 14 he had left school and was employed as a piecer at the Atlas Cotton Mill.
The youngest children in textile factories were usually employed as scavengers and piecers. Piecers had to lean over the spinning-machine to repair the broken threads during spinning.
By 1914 he had become a “Spinner”. As a spinner he would have operated one or more spinning machines, often two machines facing each other, and he would have supervised or directly paid the scavengers and piecers working on his machines. Spinners were generally paid according to the amount of thread they produced and each machine had hundreds of spindles from end to end. Consequently, it took much effort to keep the machine running and the threads unbroken.
He attested at the Armoury in Ashton on October 17, 1914 with a group of friends and joined the 2/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment which, at that time, was a “feeder” Battalion supplying much needed reinforcements for the 1st/9th. The 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was a “Pals” regiment from Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. His regimental number was 2672 and he was assigned to A Company. He joined for 4 years.
For the first month of his service he slept at home but was required to report to the barracks each day for a full day of drills, route marching and instruction. On November 13, 1914 the 2/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment moved from Ashton-under-Lyne to Southport where they remained in billets for the next 6 months. On May 25, 1915 they moved again, this time to Haywards Heath in Sussex and then a month later, on June 26, they made a short move to Pease Pottage. This was the first time that they had been “under canvas”. A week later those men who were being shipped out to Gallipoli moved to Devonport.
Seen above (right, standing) with Pte. Arthur Staley (2383) and Pte. James Horrocks (2608) of the 2/9th Manchesters at Southport, Easter 1915.
He underwent basic training with the 2/9th until he left for Gallipoli on July 3, 1915 sailing from Devonport on H.M.T. IONIAN as part of a draft of 220 Other Ranks and 5 Officers sent to reinforce the 1/9th who were already at Cape Helles.
IONIAN
Built by Workman Clark & Co Ltd, Belfast in 1901 for the Allan Line of Liverpool. Her details were – 8,268 gross tons, length 470 ft x beam 57.5 ft, one funnel, four masts, twin screw and a speed of 14 knots. There was accommodation for 132-1st, 160-2nd and 800-3rd class passengers. Launched on 12-9-1901, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Halifax and St. John, New Brunswick on 21-11-1901. In 1909 she was converted to carry 325-2nd and 800-3rd class passengers. In August 1914 she went onto trooping duties on UK to Bombay via Suez. On 21-10-1917 she was sunk by a mine laid off Milford Haven by the German submarine UC.51 with the loss of 7 lives.
GALLIPOLI (1915)
The 1/9th Manchesters were part of the 126th (East Lancashire) Infantry Brigade which was under the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. The transcribed war diary for the 1/9th Manchesters for their time in Gallipoli is here.
3rd Battle of Krithia
A few weeks before Arthur Slater arrived, in early June, the 42nd Division was involved in the 3rd Battle of Krithia. The battle plan called for simultaneous attacks, supported by artillery, on three sub-sectors; the 42nd Division being in the centre.
The advance of the 42nd Division during the battle was initially very successful, more so than those of the 29th Division on their left and the Royal Naval Division on their right. Advancing approximately 1,000 yards the 42nd Division’s 127th Brigade took the Turkish trenches and quickly advanced beyond them. However, due to lack of support on the flanks during the Turkish counter-attack, the final position of the front line was only around 200 – 250 yards in front of their starting position by the end of the battle. This new front line now passed through the Southern edge of a small patch of vines that earned the area the name of “The Vineyard” and was to be the site of renewed heavy fighting for the 1/9th Manchesters, in August.
Arrival
Arthur sailed for the Dardanelles on July 3, 1915 from Devonport on the 8,268 ton Allan Line vessel H.M.T. IONIAN, arriving in Alexandria, Egypt around July 17th. On July 23, 1915, almost three weeks after leaving the UK, he officially joined the 1/9th Battalion at Cape Helles, while they were at bivouac. According to the 1/9th Manchesters’ war diary he was part of a draft of reinforcements that arrived that day consisting of 5 Officers and 222 Other Ranks.
Battle of Krithia Vineyard
Just two weeks later, on August 7th to 13th the 1/9th Manchesters fought in the battle of Krithia Vinyard where Lt. Forshaw, (commanding A Company) won the Victoria Cross and Corporal Samuel Bayley won the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Pte. Arthur Slater was in A Company and, by his own words, “spent time in the Vineyard trench”.
Lt Forshaw VC
[London Gazette, 9 September 1915] During the period 7 / 9 August 1915 at Gallipoli, when holding the north-west corner of the “Vineyard” against heavy attacks by the Turks, Lieutenant Forshaw not only directed his men but personally threw bombs continuously for over 40 hours. When his detachment was relieved, he volunteered to continue directing the defence. Later, when the Turks captured a portion of the trench, he shot three of them and recaptured it. It was due to his fine example and magnificent courage that this very important position was held.
His Victoria Cross and other campaign medals are held by the Museum of the Manchester Regiment, at the Ashton-under-Lyne Town Hall.
Lance-Corporal SAMUEL BAYLEY, No1 Platoon, “A” Company
[London Gazette, 16 November, 1915] For conspicuous bravery on the 7th and 9th August, 1915, at Cape Helles (Dardanelles). Corporal Bayley remained with Lieutenant Forshaw, V.C., holding a barricade for forty-one hours continuously. On the evening of the 8th August his party was relieved by another unit, but he volunteered to remain on. He displayed the greatest gallantry and endurance under the most trying circumstances in repelling many severe attacks, and when the barricade was at last broken through he was the foremost in the successful counter-attack led by Lieutenant Forshaw, which regained it, and finally retained it. On being ultimately relieved he was utterly exhausted by his arduous and gallant work of bomb-throwing.
On August 22nd a new draft of fresh reinforcements from England arrived. Among them was Pte. James Horrocks who Arthur had spent his Easter weekend at Southport with.
Wounded in Action (1915)
After the exertions of the Battle of Krithia Vineyard the 1/9th Manchesters spent time at GULLY BEACH bivouac returning to the trenches on August 25th.
On their last full day in the trenches before moving back to bivouac, on September 9th, Arthur Slater suffered a bullet wound to the face (passing through his left cheek and nose). It’s not clear whether he was deliberately shot by a sniper or simply hit by a stray bullet or piece of shrapnel.
Since it is not recorded on Arthur Slater’s B.103 form we do not know the exact chain of evacuation he followed from firing trench to Stationary Hospital. We do know that it took two weeks from wound to admission at the No 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital in Cairo, (at the Cavalry Barracks at Abbassia), which is much longer than the sailing time (including embarking and disembarking) of approximately 5 days.
The following excerpt from SURGERY ON THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA, the British Medical Journal, September 25, 1915 by Capt. John Morley, RAMC provides some context. The full article is here.
From the clearing station the wounded are embarked on lighters at a landing stage that is perforce used also for the unloading of ammunition and supplies for the army. These lighters are towed by steam pinnaces to the hospital ship that lies a mile or two off the shore, and, without changing stretchers, are slung on to the ship by cranes. Except during and shortly after an action, the wounded are sent off to the hospital ship twice in the twenty-four hours. The hospital ships fill up in “peace times”, as the weeks of siege warfare by artillery and sniping in the intervals between assault are called, in a week or ten days (after an action much more rapidly), and then leave for Egypt or Malta, taking three or four days respectively to reach the base. Minor cases are not taken to the hospital ships at all, but are either detained in the field ambulances or sent in small boats to be treated in stationary hospitals.
The chain of evacuation that he followed then was likely as follows:
Walking wounded made their way to an Advanced Dressing Station at EAST ANGLIA GULLY. The Main Dressing Stations were set up by the 1/3rd Field Ambulance at GULLY BEACH and the 1/1st Field Ambulance 200 yards north.
The Divisional Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) was No 11 CCS at Lancashire landing on “W” Beach. The CCS was there to receive the sick and wounded from the Main Dressing Stations, and stabilize the patients and prioritize the men that needed to leave for hospital ships from the less serious cases who would be conveyanced to Mudros.
The ADMS war diary for the 42nd Division notes that on September 10th and 11th no trawlers were dispatched to load men onto hospital ships because the weather was too rough. On September 12th ADMS, HELLES issued orders that trawlers would only be dispatched in calm weather and that signals would be issued to indicate that trawlers had put to sea. A signal was received on September 13th that a trawler would be sent but by this time at least 4-days of sick and wounded had accumulated at 11th Casualty Clearing Station at Lancashire Landing on W Beach and it was overflowing with sick and wounded.
We can only assume that Arthur Slater did not make the cut for embarking on the trawler that day since his wound was non-life threatening and by this time, many other sick and wounded had accumulated for evacuation. The next available trawler was on September 19th and this is likely the one he was transported on. He was then embarked from trawler to hospital ship and promptly sailed for Alexandria. After arriving by Hospital Transport at Alexandria he would have then traveled by Hospital Train to Cairo, taking about 4 hours.
With the surge in casualties in August there were more patients arriving than leaving the Hospitals in Mudros and Alexandria. However, Arthur Slater was somewhat fortunate to be wounded in September (rather than August) and that the No 5. Canadian Stationary Hospital had just arrived in Cairo in August providing much needed extra capacity.
Context from Despatches:
The following is taken directly from the selected despatches of Sir IAN HAMILTON, General, Commanding Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
“The Royal Army Medical Service have had to face unusual and very trying conditions. There are no roads, and the wounded who are unable to walk must be carried from the firing line to the shore. They and their attendants may be shelled on their way to the beaches, at the beaches, on the jetties, and again, though I believe by inadvertence, on their way out in lighters to the hospital ships. Under shell fire it is not as easy as some of the critically disposed seem to imagine to keep all arrangements in apple-pie order. Here I can only express my own opinion that efficiency, method and even a certain quiet heroism have characterised the evacuations of the many thousands of our wounded.”
Back in Action
A few weeks later, on 26th October, he rejoined the 1/9th Manchesters in the Dardanelles, sailing from Alexandria along with a batch of 11 freshly trained Officers from England (and another 109 Other Ranks returning from Hospital treatment in Egypt) but not before he managed to send a letter home which was excerpted in the local newspaper, the Ashton Reporter.
On his arrival at Gallipoli, the 1/9th Manchesters were in the trenches, being relieved 3 days later on October 29th.
They went back into the trenches on November 12th. The conditions were difficult with heavy rains, strong winds with little cover and no drainage in the trenches. They were relieved on the 29th and went to bivouac at GULLY RAVINE. Since it was now Winter and the weather had turned, everyone was put to work constructing Winter Quarters.
On December 10th the 1/9th Manchesters again went back up to the trenches. The Turks heavily shelled MULE TRENCH and inflicted several casualties during the move.
On December 19th a planned action against the Turks was executed in the early afternoon. The plan was to explode a large mine at the North East corner of FUSILIER BLUFF, quickly followed by 5 smaller mines; the intent being to create a small crater. A party of 42 men plus an Officer would then go over the top intending to take cover in the crater, bomb the Turks in their trenches and take it. However, the mine failed to create a crater. Lacking the authority to make a field decision the men had no choice but to go over the top into an area with no cover. Needless to say, the Turks shot them mercilessly from the safety of their trenches and the battalion suffered 3 killed, 1 missing and 11 wounded. Fortunately for Arthur Slater, this poorly planned but bravely executed action was inflicted on the men of B Company, (not A Company).
To further underline the futility of the actions of December 19th, just ten days later, on December 29th, the Gallipoli Campaign was over for the 1/9th Manchesters and they “evacuated the peninsular” embarking on the HM Transport Arcadian for Alexandria (via Mudros). HM Transport Arcadian, Sir Ian Hamilton’s old ship, once the most luxurious of steam yachts but destined to be sunk by torpedo on April 15, 1917.
One final indignity awaited them as they were preparing to leave. On December 27th as they were were packing up their equipment and making ready to take their departure from the Dardanelles, a Turkish shell, fired with deadly accuracy, caused a number of casualties.
A ‘Jack Johnson’ was the British nickname used to describe the impact of a heavy, black German 15-cm artillery shell. Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was the name of the popular U.S. (born in Texas) world heavyweight boxing champion who held the title from 1908-15 – and whose punch was legendary. Johnson’s nickname was ‘The Big Smoke’.
There are a couple of obvious inaccuracies with the article, the letter was from Arthur Slater (not Edwin) and the shell hit on December 27th not December 31st). Six men of the 1/9th were killed in action that day but it is consistently reported through letters from other men that 4 deaths occurred from this single Turkish shell.
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte
2310
HEZEKIAH
HARRISON*
Pte
1805
JOHN
FREDERICK
JENKINSON*
Pte
3418
RALPH
SCHOFIELD*
Pte
3312
HAROLD
GREEN
L/Cpl.
2601
GEORGE
HEROD
Pte
2365
GEORGE
HENRY
WALKER
*Killed by the Shell, as reported through letters published in the Ashton Reporter newspaper.
Arthur Slater later wrote briefly about his experiences in Gallipoli and his notes are provided here.
I was one of a draft of reinforcements sent to Gallipoli in June 1915. I recall our arrival at Lemnos and our transfer there from troopship to lighters, our journey thence under cover of darkness, packed as we were, shoulder to shoulder, and as we eased into the shore, seeing the hull of SS River Clyde in the light of Very Lights and exploding gunfire, what an awesome welcome.
Overshadowing it all was the fort of Sedd-el-Bahr. Our orders were to proceed on to the beach as quickly as possible and there to line up and be ready to move off with the Battalion Guides who awaited us, all this was done to the accompaniment of shell fire from what we later learned was christened “Asiatic Annie”.
Came the dawn and one could get an idea of one’s surroundings. A collection of primitive dugouts which afforded neither shelter from shellfire or the sun, a short time amongst the older hands soon enabled the conditions to be seen in the right perspective, but we newcomers were at a disadvantage in the blistering heat. Firstly we were not acclimated to it furthermore we had come clad in thick khaki serge suits not at all suitable for the tropical climate.
Life in the trenches at first was tolerable, one soon learned not to be too daring in exposing oneself to the Turk, who by all accounts were good marksmen. Days of activity by either forces punctuated our spells in the line, but neither side ever appeared to gain, the push and thrust was ever present with exchanges of gunfire and raids.
Then came the 6th August, we had been being prepared for a bit of a showdown and an advance on the village of Krithia was staged. This was my first real battle, previously they had been short brushes with the enemy, but this was the real thing; charges, bayonet fighting, and bombing only yards separating us at times. Here I spent some time in the “Vineyard” trench where Lt Forshaw won a V.C., Sergeant Bayley won the DCM. This engagement was all in concert with the Suvla Bay landing.
One had now been on the peninsula sufficiently long enough to be inured to much of the discomfort that was such everywhere evident in the campaign. We were ill fitted to stand up to the blistering heat, which by now had many added troubles, chiefly the plague of flies that increased and multiplied in conditions that were often indescribable; decaying carcasses of men and mules, primitive sanitary conditions, these coupled with fact that most of the men were troubled with some form of dysentery, shortage of water, lack of variety of food all added to the general lassitude and hopelessness that one felt. In the trenches one had no time to think on these things, but when out in reserve or resting, one had more time to feel sorry for oneself. The flies were always bad even on our food when biting it, the bully beef poured out like oil, and the eternal plumb and apple. Then we had our body lice, the blazing sun and always the danger of shellfire.
Red letter days were when we had some mail, especially a parcel, rare occasions, and another was if we could manage to get a swim in the sea, it was dangerous, but no man would forego such a pleasure. Another delight to me was to watch the glorious sunsets over the Aegean Sea.
Humour was not missing amongst us, sometimes of a macabre twist, such as the case where on the parapet of the Mule trench on the left of Gully Ravine a hand and arm was sticking out, some wag placed a hard tack biscuit in the hand.
September and October came and brought cooler and more bearable weather. When not in the line we were now busy filling sand bags and building into more solid dug-outs which would be needed when Wintery conditions came. Rains now had made a quagmire of much of the land and the conditions were most depressing. Conditions later became harder, rations some days were insufficient, one biscuit per day per man, on occasions, trench duties more often, duties 1 hour on firing, then one hour seated but awake, then 1 hours sleep, man power was at a low ebb, the Turks had to be lulled whilst the evacuation started.
Just before Christmas a huge bonfire was lit at Lancashire landing and the impression was given that we were all evacuating, over came the Turks, when they got out into the open we who were in the line opened fire causing great casualties and panic, so much so that several days later we were able to leave the peninsula and sail to Imbros on the 29th December 1915.
Looking back on those days, one thinks of pals who are laid there. Who ever hears of Cape Helles, Krithia, Pink Farm, Achi Baba (the wee hill) as the 52nd Lowland Division called it, not to mention Anzac Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and Suvla, like the old soldiers they have faded away.
The War Diary for the 1/9th Manchesters covering their time in Gallipoli is transcribed here.
EGYPT (1916)
Turkish forces of the Ottoman Empire, integrated with German units and officers, threatened the security of the Suez Canal through which vital supplies of men and materials had to pass. With the release of the units from the Gallipoli Campaign it was decided to establish defense in depth of the Suez Canal by pushing positions out from the east bank of the canal and into the Sinai Desert.
The Turkish forces had three possible routes across the Sinai to threaten the security of the Canal: the northern, the central and the southern. In March 1916 it was decided to destroy any water sources on the central route, thereby denying the Turks this route of advance. As any force pushing the Turks back East towards Palestine would require materials and water, a railway and water pipeline was constructed and by mid-May had reached Romani.
On August 3, 1916 the Turks made a final attempt to attack the Canal by trying to break through at Romani but were defeated in a battle lasting two days. From this point onward the Allied forces were on the offensive, pushing the Turks back East across the Sinai peninsular. Construction of the pipeline and railway pushed on at a rate of 15 miles a month in an effort to reach El Arish. On 17th October it was confirmed that the Turks had withdrawn from El Arish. On 9th January 1917, the remaining Ottoman forces were pushed out of Sinai at the Battle of Rafa.
Protecting the Suez Canal
The 1/9th Manchesters disembarked from the HMT Arcadian on January 18, 1916 in Alexandria, arriving via a short stop at Mudros on the island of Lemnos.
March was spent on outpost duty in the desert at Kabrit where work was carried out preparing defensive positions. The Battalion returned to Suez in early March where they were once again placed on guard duty of the Suez Canal. Training and route marches were the order of the day. The Battalion stayed on or around the Suez Canal through July 1916.
The Desert Column
In early August the Battle of Romani saw the defeat of the Turkish forces and a subsequent Allied push Eastwards along the railway line to El Arish. The 1/9th Manchesters followed this eastward path over the next few months reaching as far east as Mazar.
Shown below are the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment Scouts Section at Bir El Abd (Oct 1916) consisting of: Cpl. May, Pte. T. Littleford, Pte. G. Wilton, Pte. A. Sumner, Pte. F. Beard, Pte. R. Fish, Pte. A. Horton, Pte. P. Bradley, Pte. A. Barrett, Pte. S. Caine and Pte. A. Slater.
November 1916
Things must have been quite unsanitary in the desert column because on November 9, 1916 he was admitted to 1/3rd East Lancs Field Ambulance at Kantara, Egypt suffering from Scabies. He was treated, disinfected and rejoined his unit 9 days later. During the month of November, 500 men from the Battalion were sent to MAZAR for disinfection.
December 1916
On December 20th all available allied troops were mustered (30,000 in all) at El Maadan, where they prepared for a rapid attack upon the Turkish positions at El Arish, but in the early hours of the 21st, before any order had been given to attack, the Turks fled.
The defence of the Suez Canal was finally declared secure by February 1917 and on March 2, 1917 the 1/9th Manchesters embarked on the H.M.T. Arcadian at Alexandria, sailing for France on the 4th with a Royal Naval escort.
The transcribed war diary for the 1/9th Manchester Regiment during their time in Egypt is here.
FRANCE (1917)
The 1/9th Manchesters disembarked from the H.M.T. Arcadian on March 11, 1917 in Marseilles after a brush with two German submarines which their Royal Naval escort capably dealt with. The Arcadian would not be so lucky just over a month later.
In February/March 1917, service numbers were re-issued throughout the Territorial Force of the British Army. This change of numbering of infantrymen was promulgated in Army Council Instruction (ACI) 2414 of 1916, published on 23 December 1916. Prior to this, each man was issued a service number defined by the Battalion with which he was serving. This had worked reasonably well during peacetime but caused great confusion with the dramatic expansion of the armed forces during the early war years. In the old system, when a man transferred from one Battalion to another within the same Regiment or Corps he required re-numbering. Over time, as more and more men were transferred, this led to great confusion. To address this issue, the men were issued with new six digit numbers, each Battalion being issued with a unique allotment of numbers within a Corps. Under this scheme the 9th Manchesters were allocated numbers 350001 to 364999. The longest serving member of the unit was issued 350001 and so on. Arthur Slater was allocated the new service number of 351001.
March 1917
On March 26, 1917 he was admitted to 2nd East Lancs Field Ambulance at Abbeville, France suffering again from Scabies. He was treated, disinfected and subsequently released for duty (with the 30th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples) 13 days later.
An Infantry Base Depot (IBD) was a large holding camp. Situated within easy distance of one the Channel ports, it received men on arrival from England and kept them in training while they awaiting posting to a unit at the front. At the start of the war each infantry division had its own IBD, which was established as it crossed to France but by 1917 each IBD supported several Divisions and the 30 IBD at Etaples was a very large camp with several hospitals. They were not particularly pleasant places and in September 1917 there was a mutiny at the IBD at Etaples.
Arthur spent about six weeks at the Infantry Base Depot and then rejoined the 1/9th Manchesters on May 21st. Fortunately for him, this absence meant that he missed the travails of the Battle of Arras (9th April to 16th May) which saw the 1/9th Manchesters record their first serious numbers of casualties in France.
UK on Leave
Five days after rejoining his unit, on May 26, 1917, he was granted 10 days leave in the UK rejoining his battalion on June 14, 1917. His family must have been very pleased to see him as he had now been fighting overseas for two full years.
Wounded in Action (1917)
Just over a week after returning from leave, on June 23, 1917, Arthur was seriously wounded when he was hit in the right thigh by shrapnel at Havrincourt Wood, near Trescault.
He was one of 23 “Other Ranks” of the 1/9th Manchesters recorded as wounded that month.
The Battalion had just moved from billets at Ytres back into the reserve line on the evening of the 21st, relieving the 1/4th East Lancashire Regiment. The Battalion War Diary says very little; only that the majority of the men were engaged in digging firing trenches, (Bazooza Avenue and Frith Alley), and a communication trench.
The men were engaged in trench digging between 9:30pm and 3:00am to take advantage of the dark. Progress was slow and almost all the Battalion were put to work in order to accomplish as much as possible in the short time available each night.
We don’t know exactly where, or precisely when, Arthur was wounded but the chain of evacuation from the trench would start with him being stretchered or carried to the Regimental Aid Post located at the southern edge of Trescault. From there he would have traveled down the Trescault to Metz road to the Divisional Advanced Dressing Station which was located just north of Metz. It must have been a painful and uncomfortable journey.
From Metz, he would have been quickly evacuated to No 21 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) by ambulance wagon. 21 CCS was located at Ytres, a small village about 10km southwest of where he was shot, where the Battalion had been billeted earlier that month. The CCS camp was actually located at the Ytres – Etricourt railway siding, South of the town of Ytres, and there it joined 48 CCS which had arrived a few days earlier. 21 CCS was relatively comfortable but quite rudimentary, consisting of 4 huts with the rest under canvas.
21 CCS had only arrived at Ytres on June 1st and had spent the following 3 weeks unloading and setting up camp. In fact they did not start admitting patients until June 23rd, the day that Arthur was wounded. By this time, the camp was in its final stages of preparation but had not yet been fully wired for electricity.
He spent four days and nights at 21 CCS and was evacuated from there, along with 4 Officers and 89 Other Ranks, on Ambulance Train No 5. The first ambulance train to take patients from the two Casualty Clearing Stations. On the morning of June 27 they began loading patients from 21 CCS and 48 CCS onto the train at 11:10am and completed their task at 1:20pm. Ambulance Train No 5 then left Ytres at 2:05pm arriving at Rouen at exactly midnight.
21 CCS & Railways Map
The above map definitively positions 21 CCS at the Ytres – Etricourt railway siding and shows its location in relation to the broad gauge railway lines used by the Ambulance Trains. The siding was also an ammunition railhead and located close to Corps Royal Engineer stores and water points for men and horses. Casualty Clearing Stations were often located close to railways, for obvious reasons, and inevitably resulted in cemeteries being formed close by. The Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery is located a few hundred yards west of where the 21 and 48 CCSs were situated.
[This railway map overlay was originally posted on the “Railway Accident at Ruyalcourt Station (Somme) 16 November 1917” blog post, on the excellent Railway Work, Life & Death project website. Thanks to Sandra Gittins for originally finding it and Mike Esbester for helping me get a copy. The map is from the war diary: Fourth Army, Headquarters Branches and Services. Adjutant and Quarter-Master General (WO-95-443-1).]
At Rouen he was admitted to No 5 General Hospital where he spent the next eleven days recovering. By July 9th Arthur was stable enough to be included as one of a convoy of 90 lying patients who left No 5 General Hospital on Ambulance Train No 7, being discharged from the hospital at 8:15am. Ambulance Train No 7 had arrived at Sotteville, in Rouen, at 10:45pm the previous evening and they commenced loading patients at 8:55am the following morning. The train left Rouen at 10:55am arriving at Le Havre at 3:05pm (journey 265 for Ambulance Train No 7).
HM Ambulance Transport Kalyan left Netley (near Southampton) on July 8th under escort and made a calm and uneventful passage to Le Havre, arriving at 4:30am on July 9th. By 5:30pm they had embarked 775 patients (90 of which had come from Ambulance Train No 7) and sailed for Southampton. The Kalyan arrived at Berth 21, Southampton, on the morning of July 10th and began disembarking patients at 10am. The war diary reports that progress was slow that day, additional lift capacity being required.
Late in the day on July 10th he was admitted to 1st Western General Hospital at Mill Rd, Liverpool. It was here that he first met Margaret Karran who was to become his wife after the war.
Currently known as Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, during the war years the hospital was renamed 1st Western General. Injured soldiers were transported via train to the Fazakerley Station. 1st Western General Hospital was approximately 4 miles from where Maggie was born and raised.
On August 17, 1917 he was discharged from 1st Western General and transferred to Llandyrnog Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital, Denbigh where he spent the next 42 days convalescing. The admission sheet states: “Galvanism. Gait improved markedly. Suffering from shell shock.” It seems likely that the shell shock was primarily a consequence of being buried alive at Gallipoli.
Upon being discharged from Hospital he was granted 10 days furlough from 28th Sept – 8th Oct, 1917 by the C.O. 1st Western General Hospital, Fazakerley. He was deemed fit for duty at a Command Depot. Command Depots were military convalescent camps for soldiers sufficiently recovered to be discharged from convalescent hospital (like Llandrynog) but not yet fit enough to return to front line duty.
On October 9th he joined the Command Depot at Heaton Park, a Command Depot for the Western Command, with accommodation for 100 Officers and 5,000 men. Men stationed to Command Depots engaged in physical exercise and activities designed to accelerate their path to full fitness. Discipline was “relaxed” but Arthur still found himself officially cautioned for being absent without permission from 10pm on the night of October 20th to 9:45am the following morning. Under the circumstances who could really deny him and his mates a night on the lash.
The photo below is from his time at Heaton Park. He is on the front row, 2nd from the left, below. Note the two wounded stripes and good conduct chevron (marking two-years Service without censure) on his left sleeve.
He stayed at Heaton Park Command Depot until November 30, 1917 when he was transferred to the 8th (Reserve) Battalion Manchester Regiment at Filey in Yorkshire.
3/8th Manchesters
The 3/8th, 3/9th and 3/10th Battalions of the Manchester Regiment were formed at home bases (Ardwick, Ashton under Lyne & Oldham) in March 1915. They moved in early 1916 to Witley, Surrey and on April 8, 1916 became the 8th, 9th and 10th Reserve Battalions. On September 1, 1916 the 9th and 10th Reserve Battalions were absorbed into the 3/8th (Reserve) Battalion, moving to Southport in October 1916 and then going on to Ripon in January 1917. They moved to Filey, in June 1917 at first in tents and then later in more permanent living quarters that they constructed.
The 3/8th Manchesters maintained a presence at Filey from June 1917 until the end of the war and their primary purpose was to train reserve troops prior to their re-deployment on the Western Front. As such, it was a logical progression for recuperating men in their transition from hospital, to Command Depot, to re-deployment. Arthur remained at Filey with the 3/8th until March 1918 when he shipped out with a number of others back to France.
FRANCE (1918)
Arthur arrived back in France on March 31, 1918.
In early 1918 the structure and composition of Army Brigades was undergoing significant change. Specifically, there was a reduction from 4 to 3 infantry battalions and the removal of Machine Gun Companies within Battalions and separate Machine Gun Battalions were formed within the Divisional structure. During this time, some Infantry Battalions that had been depleted were effectively disbanded; many of the remaining men being moved to strengthen other Battalions.
Within four days of his arrival he had been transferred to the 1st Battalion, Notts & Derby Regiment (aka 1/Sherwood Foresters) as the 1/9th Manchesters had been reduced to a training cadre due to the loss of so many men. He was assigned to A Company and his new regimental number with the 1/Sherwoods was 205455. The 1/Sherwoods had themselves been severely depleted of men at the First Battle of the Somme 1918 in late March where 379 Officers and men were killed, wounded or reported missing.
Along with him, a number of other men from the 1/9th Manchesters also returned to France on March 31, 1918 and were transferred to the 1st Sherwoods on April 4, 1918. This group of men all appear to have been shipped back to the UK in 1917 due to wounds or sickness, recuperated and were now deemed fit enough for front line service once again.
Pte. Edward Spragg (205456) born in Dukinfield, he originally joined the 1/9th Manchesters (Service Number 1755 / 350392) on Valentine’s Day 1914. He served with them for their entire period of overseas service, shipping out to Egypt in September 1914 and subsequently landing in Gallipoli in May 1915. Wounded in Gallipoli he recovered and served with the 1/9th through their deployment back to Egypt guarding the Suez Canal and then landed with them in France in March 1917. In December 1917 he was wounded in the right knee by shrapnel and repatriated to the UK. Joining the 1/Sherwoods on April 4, 1918 Pte. Spragg was taken Prisoner by the Germans on May 27, 1918.
Pte. Samuel Bennett (205420) originally joined the 1/9th Manchesters (Service Number 3132 / 351343) on November 18, 1914. He shipped out to Gallipoli with the draft of reinforcements who arrived August 22, 1915. He served through their deployment back to Egypt guarding the Suez Canal and then landed with them in France in March 1917. In April 1917 he was repatriated to the UK due to an infected right leg. Joining the 1/Sherwoods on April 4, 1918 Pte. Bennett was taken Prisoner by the Germans on May 27, 1918.
Pte. George Davies (204425) originally joined the 1/9th Manchesters (Service Number 2394 / 350786) on October 1, 1914. He shipped out to Gallipoli with the draft of reinforcements who arrived August 22, 1915. He served through their deployment back to Egypt guarding the Suez Canal and then landed with them in France in March 1917. In July 1917 he was granted 10 days leave in the UK and at the end of it was admitted to Hospital for infected sores from Scabies and impetigo. It must have been severe because he was not discharged from Hospital until February 1918. Joining the 1/Sherwoods on April 4, 1918 Pte. Davies was listed as “Missing” on May 27, 1918. He rejoined the Battalion 3 weeks later but was subsequently killed in action on September 29, 1918.
Pte. Arthur Redfern (205542) originally joined the 1/9th Manchesters (Service Number 2699 / 351021) on October 19, 1914. He shipped out to Gallipoli with the same draft of reinforcements as Arthur Slater who arrived July 23, 1915. He served through their deployment back to Egypt guarding the Suez Canal and then landed with them in France in March 1917. It is not clear why he was back in the UK but like the others he shipped back to France on March 31, 1918 and joined the 1/Sherwoods on April 4, 1918. On May 20, he was wounded in the arm, while the Battalion was in the front line trenches of the Aisne, and shipped back to the UK. His arm was later amputated and he was discharged from military service with a 70 percent disability.
Additionally, two men originally from the 3/9th Manchesters, James Bowker (205419) and Harry Carter (205423), who first deployed with the 1/9th in Egypt in January and February of 1916 respectively, also joined the 1/Sherwoods that day. For some reason both of these men were shipped back to the UK within the month.
BACK IN ACTION
On April 19, 1918 the 1/Sherwoods went into the front line after moving to VILLERS-BRETONNEUX with the 8th Division. Here they were involved in the Second Battle of VILLERS-BRETONNEUX, which took another great toll on them, losing another 234 Officers and men who were either killed, wounded or reported missing. On April 27th they were relieved from the fighting and two weeks later, on May 10th (Arthur’s 22nd birthday), they had moved to the Aisne region and were preparing to go into the front lines once again the following day.
PRISONER OF WAR (1918)
Arthur was taken prisoner by the Germans in the early hours of May 27th, 1918 at Bois de la Miette (between Berry au Bac and Pontavert in the Aisne region of France) during the 3rd Battle of the Aisne.
The International Red Cross records show that he was taken prisoner “unwounded” but based on where he was and when he was captured he was incredibly lucky not to have been killed.
The 1/Sherwoods were decimated that day with 700 men of all ranks killed, wounded or missing by the end of the battle. Also captured with Arthur Slater that day at “Miety Wood” (Bois de la Miette) were Pte. Percy Wheldon (307460) and Pte. Christopher George Zabel (108909) of the 1/Sherwoods. They were not supposed to be so far forward; the 1/Sherwoods having moved from the front line to the reserve billets at Ventelay on the night of the 24th, arriving at Ventelay in the early morning of the 25th, (per the 1/Sherwoods war diary).
The map above shows the 8th Division troop positions at 1 am on the 27th May, 1918. The 1/Sherwoods being part of the 24th Brigade. Ventelay is bottom left, the Aisne river (and canal) run through the middle and the German positions run from right to left along the top. The map is from the War Diary 8th Division, Headquarters Branches and Services: General Staff. Crown Copyright.
Below is the same map with annotations of the rapid German progress through the front line and reserve positions that morning. The rough timeline of events shown are taken from various Battalion and 8th Division HQ war diaries. The German Aisne Offensive began at 1:00 am, all possible targets had a ten minute bombardment of gas followed with heavy shelling of gas and explosives for an hour on artillery positions. The shelling lasted several hours and was very effective, the centre of the line was broken, Germans poured across the Chemin des Dames down to the River Aisne, first crossing it around 9 am. These initial storm troops bypassed any strong pockets of resistance and moved on, secondary troops coming behind them en-masse and mopping up. Heavily outnumbered, pummeled by hours of the heaviest and most effective artillery barrage of the war so far, the survivors of the gas and high explosive shells stood no chance and they were quickly overrun.
One of the best accounts of what happened to the 8th Division that day is Sydney Rogerson’s account, an excerpt of which is provided here. And there is a lot more about the 3rd Battle of the Aisne here.
By 26 June, 1918 Arthur had arrived at Giessen camp from the front. Below is a view of Giessen POW Camp, taken from the Hospital window.
There is, unfortunately, no record of how he was captured and how he got from the Bois de la Miette to Giessen PoW camp but we are very fortunate that Sergeant Thomas William Chisholm of the 1/5th Northumberland Fusiliers kept a personal diary that graphically records his experiences from capture on the morning of May 27, 1918 to his arrival at Giessen Camp. His diary entries covering this period are excerpted here.
Neuhammer Camp
By September 15, 1918 Arthur had been moved to Neuhammer but he was able to write a short postcard and send it home.
September 15, 1918
KR GEF No 2002, Stammlager, Neuhammer
My Dear Mother & Father,
Just a few lines to let you know how I am going on. I am very pleased to say I am in the best of health & spirits, & we are going on fine. We got our first parcels last Sunday. One parcel for two men. It had in it biscuits, rice, oats, tea and one tin of milk, tobacco, cigarettes & soup, and it was very good, & we are expecting more every day & also one of the boys has had a letter, & of course we are looking forward for one. I want to see how you are all getting on at home, if you wish to send me anything you will be able to see what you can send by seeing the Red Cross Committee, but don’t go to a lot of expense.
Love to all at home & Maggie. From your ever loving son Arthur
Neuhammer was a Mannschaftslager (“Enlisted Men’s Camp” for private soldiers and NCOs) clearing camp for Upper Silesia. 100,000 men were registered there, but were mostly in work camps under its administration. In World War I, Neuhammer was the site of a large prisoner-of-war camp for Russian soldiers which explains the Cyrillic printing on the postcard.
S.A.G. Lipine
By December 1918 he had been moved again, now to a work camp. S.A.G. Is the abbreviation for Schlesische Aktiengesellschaft, a mining company in Lipine (now Lipiny, a town in what was Upper Silesia). The building, which was owned by the SAG, may be what was known as the „alte Lazarett“ (old hospital) and was used to accommodate PoWs. Apart from the mine, there were Zinc, Acid and Iron Works in the town which were also owned by SAG.
REPATRIATION
Arthur arrived back in the UK on January 6, 1919, at Dover. After three days of processing, on January 9th, he was given a two pounds advance, a facsimile letter from the King, a two month Prisoner of War furlough pass with Railway Warrant, and finally started making his way back home to Ashton-under-Lyne.
His return was noted in the February 4, 1919 Times Weekly Casualty List.
The map below shows the locations he had spent in captivity and their relationship to where he was taken prisoner.
His letter from the King welcoming him back from captivity is below.
A month later, on the 12th February, 1919 he had the unpleasant task of identifying the body of his sister Eleanor (previously listed as his next of kin in some of his Army records) who had drowned in a canal in Ashton-under-Lyne.
On March 17, 1919 he was medically examined, at Manchester, for the application of a disability pension and the doctor noted that he had pain when walking over any distance due to his gunshot wound from France and that he suffered from digestive problems due to the poor food he was given when he was a PoW. The doctor assessed that both were due to his war service but that he had less than twenty percent disability, which seems a little harsh after everything he had just done for his country.
A few days later, on March 21, 1919 he was granted 28 days furlough from No 1 Dispersal Unit, Heaton Park, and not required to wear uniform for the duration. Before the furlough was up, he was discharged from the Army (disembodied, since he was a Territorial) on April 17, 1919 after serving for 4 1/2 years.
He received a small disability pension, starting from the day after his discharge until May 30, 1921, the month after he married Margaret Annie Karran. His record also shows that he was treated for “Bronchilosis” in October 1920, presumably as a result of inhaling gas on May 27, 1918.
SHORT SERVICE RECORD
Home: Oct 17, 1914 – June 30, 1915
MEF: July 1, 1915 – March 2, 1917
BEF: March 3, 1917 – July 9, 1917
Home: July 10, 1917 – March 29, 1918
BEF: March 30, 1918 – May 26, 1918
PoW: May 27, 1918 – Jan 8, 1919
Home: Jan 9, 1919 – April 17, 1919
DETAILED SERVICE RECORD
July 5, 1915 Taken on strength of Battalion. Dadanelles.
July 23, 1915 Joined Battalion Nominal Roll. Dardanelles.
Sept 9, 1915 Wounded. Dardanelles.
Sept 24, 1915 Admitted to No 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital. BW Face. Cairo.
Oct 26, 1915 Rejoined Battalion. Dardanelles.
Dec 29, 1915 Evacuated Peninsula. HMT ARCADIAN.
Jan 18, 1916 Disembarked at Alexandria.
Nov 10, 1916 Sick. Sent to Hospital. Kantara.
Nov 9, 1916 Admitted to 1/3rd East Lancs Field Ambulance. Scabies. Kantara.
Nov 19, 1916. Rejoined unit. Kantara.
Mar 2, 1917 Embarked HMT ARCADIAN. Alexandria.
Mar 11, 1917 Disembarked HMT ARCADIAN. Marseilles.
Mar 26, 1917 Admitted Sick to 1/2nd East Lancs Field Ambulance. Scabies. In the Field.
Mar 26, 1917 Admitted to No 2 Stationary Hospital. Abbeville.
April 8, 1917 Joined 30 IBD. ETAPLES.
May 21, 1917 Rejoined Unit. In the Field.
May 26, 1917 Granted 10 days leave to UK.
June 14, 1917 Rejoined Battalion. In the Field.
June 23, 1917 To Hospital. Wounded. In the Field.
June 23, 1917 Admitted to 21 CCS with GSW R. Thigh. In the Field.
June 27, 1917 To 5 Ambulance Train. In the Fied
June 28, 1917 Admitted to No 5 General Hospital. GW IX(i). R Sev. Rouen.
July 9, 1917 Transferred from Rouen to Southampton. AT KALYAN.
July 10, 1917 Admitted to Mill Road Infirmary, Liverpool. GW R Thigh.
Aug 17, 1917 Admitted to Llandyrnog Red Cross Aux Hospital, Denbigh. “Galvanism. Gait improved markedly. Suffering from shell shock.”
Sept 28, 1917 Discharged from Hospital.
OFFICIAL WAR RECORDS
Arthur Slater’s Medal Index Card and Medal Roll documents are shown below.
His Medal Index Card shows that he served in the Manchester Regiment and the Notts & Derby Regiment, that he was entitled to the Victory, British and 15 Star medals, and that he first deployed to the Balkan Theatre of Operations at Gallipoli (2b). There is no date of entry or listing of his Manchester Regiment renumbering of March 1917.
His Medal Roll indicates eligibility for the Victory Medal and British War Medals. Notice also that Pte. Edward Spragg (1755) also transferred from the 1/9th Manchesters to the 1/Sherwoods at the same time he did, Pte. Spragg being assigned the next sequential regimental number. Pte. Spragg was also taken Prisoner by the Germans on May 27, 1918.
Arthur Slater’s full Army discharge papers are here.
LAST POST
Arthur Slater died in Dukinfield, Cheshire on January 6, 1968. He was 71 years old.
Copyright Notice. Maps and Casualty Reports from Battalion War Diaries are Crown Copyright.
Leonard John Monks was born in Warrington, Lancashire on May 7th, 1898. He lived at 50 Lovely Lane, Warrington which is less than 1/2 mile from, what is today called Warrington & Halton Hospitals. In 1914 it was simply called Warrington General Hospital. The site used to be a workhouse. In 1898 the workhouse infirmary became Warrington General Hospital. During the 1st World War, the site became home to Whitecross Military Hospital. Perhaps this proximity, and his obviously young age, had some bearing on his joining the RAMC.
Family history says that he lied about his age and joined the Army when he was underage. Since his official army records were burnt during world war two, his service record has to be constructed through other means. The primary source of information is his extensive set of war photographs. Some of these date and locate him during the war years. The start of his service is provided from his Medal Index Card which shows that his RAMC regimental number was 11434 and that he had a disembarkation date of May 30, 1915 in Egypt.
An analysis of RAMC service numbers for the approximately 120 other men with the same disembarkation date to Egypt indicates that Leonard John Monks most likely attested in February 1915 and was trained at Aldershot for about three months.
ALDERSHOT
One of the other men with a Medal Index Card disembarkation date of May 30, 1915 is Pte. Ernie Leppard. Below is a photo of Pte. Ernie Leppard at Aldershot, he is on the front row 2nd from the left.
Sitting next to him on the far left of the front row appears to be a familiar face.
No 21 BRITISH GENERAL HOSPITAL
There is very strong evidence to suggest that the RAMC men arriving in Egypt on 30-5-1915 were mobilised along with the No 21 British General Hospital (BGH) that itself only arrived in Egypt in June 1915. The evidence for this analysis is from Service and Pension records for 14 men out of a total of 119, (plus another 5 who have “Silver War Badge Roll Transcription” entries which give their attestation date).
No 21 BGH was at the Ras-el-Tin barracks in Alexandria and there is some evidence to show that men assigned to No 21 BGH left the UK from Southampton on HS DELTA on May 20, 1915 arriving Alexandria on May 30, 1915.
The following excerpt is taken from Medical Services General History Volume III (Medical Services during the Operations on the Western Front in 1916, 1917 and 1918; in Italy; and in Egypt and Palestine), by Major-General Sir W. G. MACPHERSON:
When it was decided to undertake operations in the Dardanelles, four general hospitals were sent to Egypt from the United Kingdom, to act as base hospitals for the force. Two (Nos. 15 and 17) arrived in March, and the other two (Nos. 19 and 21) at the beginning of June 1915. They were all opened in Alexandria, No. 15 in the ” Abbassia Schools,” No. 17 in the Victoria College, No. 19 in the Deaconesses’ Hospital, a German hospital, and No. 21 in Ras-el-Tin barracks. They were nominally under the administrative control of the D.M.S. of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Surg.-General W. G. Birrell, whose representative in Egypt was Colonel Sexton, the A.D.M.S. of the Base at Alexandria.
At this time, men were typically assigned to their initial deployment (in this case, No 21 BGH) for at least one or two months before being sent on to where they were actually needed. As they rotated between postings they were often temporarily assigned back to the Base Depot at Mustapha, Alexandria. Later on in the campaign, newly arriving RAMC men went to holding camps rather than to base hospitals.
ALEXANDRIA & CAIRO
Pte. Monks arrived in Alexandria in June 1915 and was assigned to the No 21 British General Hospital (BGH). Hospitals In Egypt at this time were being used to treat the overflow of casualties from Gallipoli who could not be treated at Mudros and/or who were not immediately evacuated to Malta or the UK.
It’s more than likely that the 17 year old Pte. Monks bunked in one of the European Pattern Tents shown above.
As a young RAMC Private he would not have had too much opportunity to explore the sights of Alexandria but he obviously did get out on certain special occasions.
We don’t know exactly how long Pte. Monks spent in Egypt but we do know that while he was there he managed to take in some of the obligatory sights that thousands of others like him also did.
At that time, Cairo was a short 4 hour train ride from Alexandria and was the obvious place to make for when leave was granted.
FROM EGYPT TO MESOPOTAMIA
When the fighting in Gallipoli ended abruptly in January 1916, significant medical personnel and infrastructure started to be re-deployed to Mesopotamia to support the war effort there. At this time, the Turkish Siege of Kut al-Amara had already begun and would eventually result in the unconditional British surrender there on April 29, 1916. Casualties and sick men from the fighting “up river” were shipped 200 km down river to Basra in variety of small river craft and in the first half of 1916 the medical facilities at Basra were makeshift and insufficient to meet the needs of the sick and wounded arriving there. Consequently, upon arrival at Basra, men were allocated to hospitals, assessed, stabilized and then quickly evacuated to India for treatment. This policy required an increase in hospital bed capacity, an increase in convalescent hospital bed capacity and in increase in Hospital Ships.
The VITA arrived at Basra in May 1916 freshly converted from a troop transport into a Hospital Ship to meet this need. At this time, a significant number of “surplus” RAMC personnel in Egypt were assigned to Hospital Ship duty and put on ships sailing from Suez to Bombay for subsequent re-assignment.
All we know for certain is that Pte. Monks traveled from Egypt (to Bombay or Mesopotamia) and ended up on the Hospital Ship VITA working as a RAMC medical orderly sometime in 1916 and during this time the VITA mainly sailed between Basra and Bombay.
Since the VITA was a shallow draft ship it was able to cross the Bar of the Shatt al-Arab year round whereas many of the other deeper draft ships used as Hospital Transports were not. Consequently, as well as transporting sick and wounded to India the VITA also made many short trips down the Tigris and transshipped patients at the Bar before returning to Basra to load its own patients that it would carry to Bombay.
The photo above, taken by Pte. Monks probably in 1917, is of the HT Royal George transhipping patients at the bar. Transshipping patients between ships was a necessary but difficult and sometimes dangerous procedure. The VITA was specifically mentioned in the Medical Services; General History, Vol IV, (Page 272).
Complaints had been made to the Home Government regarding the class of case transferred by transport to India, and the shortage of personnel and stores provided for the care and comfort of the sick on the journey. … Comment was also made on occurrences during the transhipping of patients at the bat to the deeper draft ships, which were unable to come up the Shatt-al-Arab.
This was especially emphasized by what happened in the case of H.S. “Vita” in the third week of July [1916] when transhipping patients to the “Dongola” at the bar on a very hot day. A number of cases of heat stroke occurred while the ships lay alongside each other. The transfer of the patients was slow and several of the orderlies engaged in the duty were struck down by heat stroke.
THE JOURNEY UP RIVER
At this point it is useful to get an idea of what the river passage must have been like for those on the VITA who sailed up and down the Tigris many times, and the following extract is taken from the book, With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia, by Anonymous.
Slowly we approach the wide mouth of the river, successfully pass over the bar, and the new campaign for us has begun, and it is the last day of the year — 31st December 1915.
It takes about seven hours from the mouth of the river to Basrah. The journey up is of interest as none have been here before, and everything is new. Both sides of the river the banks are covered with palm trees, stretching inland for distances varying from 500 yards to three miles, and after that all is desert. We pass Abadan on our right where the pipes of the oil fields belonging to the Anglo-Persian Oil Coy. reach the river from Ahwaz. It has been said that the Mesopotamian Campaign was started in the first place to protect these oil-fields. One wonders now if it would have been advisable to protect them and hold Basrah only, and not push forward further inland. But it is easy to be wise after the event, and high politics, tactics and strategy do not form part of an account of the doings of the 2nd Battalion — so I must not be led astray.
The river is very broad and is navigable for hundreds of miles. Mohammerah, the Persian town at the junction of the Shatt-el-Arab and Karun rivers, looked an interesting place. It is; as many months later I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time there. The Sheikh of Mohammerah has proved a good friend to the British, and almost opposite his palace one can see the remains of the three steamers in the river which the Turks sunk in a vain endeavour to block the passage as they retreated; as good fortune or Providence would have it, one boat in sinking swung round and left the passage open.
A PLAUSIBLE TIMELINE
We have some circumstantial photographic evidence that places Pte. Monks in Mesopotamia at various points in 1916. All of these photos were found in a single photo album which appears to be the first of three and so chronologically it is reasonable to assume that they cover the same period.
In May 1916 the VITA was converted from a troop transport ship into a Hospital Ship. The refit was most likely done in Bombay and the HM HS VITA arrived at Basra on its first trip in this role on May 26, 1916 (as recorded in the war diary of the Assistant Director Medical Services, Basra).
33 British General Hospital (BGH) June 1916
The ADMS Basra War Diary entry for June 11, 1916 says: “No 33 BGH [personnel] disembarked from VITA & proceeded to Camp at TANOUMA” and the War Diary for the 33 BGH shows that the personnel sailed from Bombay on the VITA. So, it may be a stretch but since he went to the considerable trouble to photograph (and label) the 33 BGH it seems likely that he had some personal connection with it. Unlike his photos of No. 3 BGH and the Beit Nama Oficers’ Hospital this photo could not be taken from on board the VITA. He had to disembark and then traverse some distance to take it.
If Pte. Monks had joined the VITA in May 1916, when it arrived in Basra as a newly converted Hospital Ship, he would have immediately sailed to Bombay from Basra with sick and wounded and then at Bombay would have loaded and transported the personnel of the 33 BGH and brought them back to Basra. This would have been his first Basra-Bombay-Basra round trip voyage and it seems reasonable to suppose that they would have left a lasting and personal impression on him.
Turkish Officers, Sept 1916
The ADMS Basra War Diary entry for September 28, 1916 says: “We were told VITA from BOMBAY was bringing repatriated Prisoners of War, no indication was given that they were sick men until S.M.O. reported to me.” There is no other record of the VITA repatriating Turkish PoWs.
Angels of Mercy, December 1916
The only chronological evidence is the annotation of “December 1916” in the photo album. He was just 18 years old in December 1916 and this was the month that the VITA first visited East Africa (Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam) and that should have made an impression.
PERSIA 1916
The caption on this photo was “RAMC Personnel, Persia 1916.”
The only chronological evidence is the annotation of “Persia 1916” in the photo album. The most likely possible locations are Mohamerrah, Abadan, Bushire and Bander Abbas. We know from other ships logs that the VITA loaded sick British personnel at Mohammerah and Abadan in July, 1916 and August, 1916 respectively. Additionally, several of the men in the “Persia 1916” photo are clearly identifiable in the group photo of the VITA RAMC personnel and so it is quite possible that the “Persia 1916” photo was simply a group photo of the VITA RAMC taken onshore at a brief stop. Subsequent, un-dated photographs of Bander Abbas and “Foul” (Al-Fawr) clearly show that he was able to disembark more than once, at least briefly, in Persia and along the Tigris to take photos. It should be remembered that at many points along the river the difference between Mesopotamia and Persia was simply which side of the river the ship was on.
The Banks of the Tigris
The photo below is of a very young looking Pte. Leonard Monks and unnamed colleague walking along the banks of the Tigris. There is no date associated with this photo but it is likely to be 1916.
Throughout 1916 the VITA sailed between Basra and Bombay. In December 1916 the VITA sailed to German East Africa, specifically calling at Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
HM HS VITA 1917
The War Diary for the HM HS Vita does not start until June 1917.
February 1917
In February 1917 the German Raider SMS Wolf laid mines in the approaches to Bombay harbour.
However, it was not until June that ships approaching Bombay started to be affected by the mines laid by the SMS Wolf.
In the meantime, the HM HS Vita was mainly sailing between Bombay and Basra and as a precaution would bring all the patients that could be moved onto deck in areas known to be mined.
During February 1917 there was one sighting of the HM HS Vita by other ships:
There were no sightings by other ships in May 1917.
June 1917
Date
Where
Notes
1-Jun-17
At Sea
Left Basra
2-Jun-17
Karachi
Arrived 8:30am
Departed 3pm
4-Jun-17
Bombay
22-Jun-17
Departed 8am for Basra
26-Jun-17
At Sea
Persian Gulf
27-Jun-17
Arrived Shatt-el-Arab
28-Jun-17
Basra
Anchored @ Saraji
On June 6, 1917 the SS City of Exeter struck a mine off Bombay. Number 1 hold filled at once, and the master gave orders for the passengers and crew to leave the ship. Then the master and chief engineer returned and, at grave risk, made a thorough examination of the ship. They decided that, with the exercise of the greatest care, the crippled vessel could reach Bombay under her own steam. The passengers re-embarked and the vessel safely arrived in port.
10 days later, (per Lloyd’s War Losses The first World War), the Japanese freighter Unkai Maru No7 struck a mine on 16 June ’17 at 18° 33′ N, 72° 10′ E. Gross tonnage 2,143 bound For Bombay with rice.
The VITA was in Bombay from June 4-22, 1917 (at Alexandra Dock No2 Shed) and it’s certainly not unreasonable to think that Pte. Monks was able to get out and about around the harbour during this extended stay. From the photos it appears that rather than sinking, the Unkai Maru was able to make it into Bombay harbour (approximately 45 nautical miles). It’s not difficult to imagine that any ship arriving at the harbour after striking a mine would have been of great interest to all sailors currently there, especially coming just 10-days after the SS City of Exeter also suffered the same fate.
8 days later, the SS Mongolia, 9,505 tons, struck a mine and sunk June 24, 1917, off Bombay.
July 1917
Date
Where
Notes
1-Jul-17
Basra
Hospital Pier
7-Jul-17
At Sea
Left Basra for Bombay
14-Jul-17
Bombay
Alexandra Dock No2 Shed
25-Jul-17
Sailed at 1pm
31-Jul-17
Basra
Hospital Pier
Kasba
Shatt-al-Arab Bar
Saraji
SS Croxteth Hall, 5,872 tons, struck a mine July 6, 1917, off Bombay. Sank July 11 while being towed to Bombay.
SS Okhla, 5,288 tons, sunk July 29, 1917, off Bombay.
[In 1917] The increase of hospital patients had necessitated extra measures for evacuation overseas. Two hospital ships, the “Ebani” and the “Vita”, were employed on coastal work. A bi-monthly evacuation to India by hospital ships sent from India was maintained, and when active operations were in progress an extra hospital ship called at Dar-es-Salaam every ten days to ease the congestion. Two hospital ships were employed regularly between Dar-es-Salaam and the Cape for the evacuation of sick to South Africa.
Date
Where
Notes
1-Nov-17
At Sea
Diverted to LINDI, Tanzania
3-Nov-17
Lindi
Arrived LINDI
4-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
5-Nov-17
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in harbour
6-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Zanzibar
Zanzibar
9-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
10-Nov-17
Lindi
11-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
12-Nov-17
Dar es Salaam
13-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
14-Nov-17
Lindi
Anchored in harbour
16-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
17-Nov-17
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in harbour
19-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
20-Nov-17
Lindi
21-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
22-Nov-17
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in harbour
23-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
24-Nov-17
Lindi
25-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
26-Nov-17
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in harbour
27-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for Zanzibar
29-Nov-17
Zanzibar
30-Nov-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
December 1917
On December 3rd, 1914, the German cargo ship KONIG, built in 1896 by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik Ag and owned at the time of her loss by Deutsche Ost, was scuttled in Dar es Salaam harbour (but later sold to a local).
Date
Where
Notes
1-Dec-17
Lindi
3-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
4-Dec-17
Dar es Salaam
5-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for KILINDINI, (Mombasa, Kenya)
6-Dec-17
Kilindini
Arrived KILINDINI
7-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
8-Dec-17
Lindi
10-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
11-Dec-17
Dar es Salaam
12-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
13-Dec-17
Lindi
14-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
15-Dec-17
Dar es Salaam
19-Dec-17
Zanzibar
Sailed for Zanzibar
23-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
24-Dec-17
Lindi
25-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
26-Dec-17
Dar es Salaam
27-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for LINDI
28-Dec-17
Lindi
29-Dec-17
At Sea
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
30-Dec-17
Dar es Salaam
HM HS VITA 1918
January 1918
The War Diary for HM HS VITA is blank for January 1918 but we have the following telegram sent by Pte. Monks to his family from Zanzibar which provides a location, at least in early January.
February 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Feb-18
Zanzibar
Coaling; Sailed for Lindi.
4-Feb-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
5-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
Arrived inner harbour Dar es Salaam
7-Feb-18
Lindi
8-Feb-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
9-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
10-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for LINDI
11-Feb-18
Lindi
12-Feb-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
13-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
14-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for LINDI
15-Feb-18
Lindi
17-Feb-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam
18-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in inner harbour Dar es Salaam
20-Feb-18
Kilindini
Arrived Kilindini; Sailed for Zanzibar.
22-Feb-18
Zanzibar
Arrived Zanzibar
23-Feb-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
24-Feb-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
25-Feb-18
Zanzibar
Sailed for LINDI
26-Feb-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI
28-Feb-18
Dar es Salaam
Arrived Dar es Salaam. Indian Patient Died.
March 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for LINDI
2-Mar-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI; Sailed for Dar es Salaam
3-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Arrived Dar es Salaam.
4-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
At anchor in harbour
5-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for LINDI
6-Mar-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI
7-Mar-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar es Salaam
8-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Arrived Dar es Salaam. Patient death; Buried at Sea.
9-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Patient died. Sailed for Zanzibar
10-Mar-18
Zanzibar
Arrived Zanzibar
11-Mar-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
12-Mar-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
13-Mar-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
14-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for Dar es Salaam. Arrived Dar es Salaam.
16-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for LINDI
17-Mar-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI. Sailed for Port Amelia, Mozambique
18-Mar-18
Port Amelia
Arrived Port Amelia. Patient died; Buried at Sea.
19-Mar-18
Port Amelia
At anchor; Cleaning & Disinfecting wards
20-Mar-18
Port Amelia
Sailed for LINDI
21-Mar-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI
22-Mar-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar es Salaam
23-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Arrived Dar es Salaam. Anchored in harbour.
25-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
At anchor. Staff painted beds in Wards I, II & IV.
26-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
At anchor. Staff painted beds in Wards I, II & IV.
27-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for KILINDINI.
28-Mar-18
Kilindini
Arrived KILINDINI.
29-Mar-18
Kilindini
Sailed for Dar es Salaam
30-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in Dar es Salaam harbour
31-Mar-18
Dar es Salaam
Anchored in Dar es Salaam harbour
April 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Apr-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for KILINDINI
2-Apr-18
Kilindini
Arrived KILINDINI. Sailed for ZANZIBAR.
3-Apr-18
Zanzibar
Arrived ZANZIBAR
4-Apr-18
Zanzibar
Coaling. Sailed for Port Amelia.
7-Apr-18
Port Amelia
Arrived Port Amelia.
10-Apr-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for KILINDINI
12-Apr-18
Kilindini
Arrived KILINDINI. Sailed for ZANZIBAR.
15-Apr-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI. Sailed for ZANZIBAR.
17-Apr-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for KILINDINI
19-Apr-18
Kilindini
Arrived KILINDINI. Patient death. Sailed for ZANZIBAR.
20-Apr-18
Zanzibar
Arrived ZANZIBAR
21-Apr-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
23-Apr-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
24-Apr-18
Zanzibar
Sailed for LINDI
25-Apr-18
Lindi
Arrived LINDI
27-Apr-18
Lindi
Sailed for Dar es Salaam
28-Apr-18
Dar es Salaam
At anchor Dar es Salaam Bay
30-Apr-18
Dar es Salaam
At anchor Dar es Salaam Bay
May 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Heaved anchor and went to inner harbour.
2-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for Kilindini
3-May-18
Kilindini
Arrived Kilindini; Sailed for Dar es Salaam
4-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Dropped anchor in Dar es Salaam Bay
5-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Went into inner harbour.
8-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for Kilindini
9-May-18
Kilindini
Arrived Kilindini; Sailed for Dar es Salaam
10-May-18
Dar es Salaam
11-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for Zanzibar
12-May-18
Zanzibar
13-May-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
14-May-18
Zanzibar
Coaling
15-May-18
Zanzibar
Sailed for Dar Es Salaam; Anchored in Bay
18-May-18
Dar es Salaam
Sailed for Durban, South Africa
25-May-18
Durban
Tied up alongside the Wharf at Durban.
26-May-18
Durban
Sailed for Cape Town
30-May-18
Cape Town
Anchored in Table Bay
31-May-18
Cape Town
Tied up alongside the Wharf.
June 1918
Date
Where
Notes
2-Jun-18
Cape Town
Went into dry dock for repairs
10-Jun-18
Cape Town
Sailed for Durban
14-Jun-18
Durban
Arrived; Took in Coal.
15-Jun-18
Durban
Sailed for Zanzibar
21-Jun-18
Zanzibar
Arrived Zanzibar; Ships stores took onboard
22-Jun-18
Zanzibar
Sailed for Bombay. No patients embarked.
30-Jun-18
Bombay
Dropped anchor in Bombay harbour
July 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Jul-18
Bombay
At anchor in stream
6-Jul-18
Bombay
Went into Alexandra dock to Coal
7-Jul-18
Bombay
Coaling
8-Jul-18
Bombay
Left dock and anchored in stream
9-Jul-18
Bombay
At anchor in stream undergoing repairs
31-Jul-18
Bombay
At anchor in stream undergoing repairs
August 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Aug-18
Bombay
At anchor in stream
14-Aug-18
Bombay
Alexandra Dock
15-Aug-18
Bombay
Coaling
16-Aug-18
Bombay
Coaling
17-Aug-18
Bombay
Sailed for Basra
23-Aug-18
Basra
Tied up to Hospital Pier at Basra
25-Aug-18
Basra
Sailed for Karachi, Pakistan
30-Aug-18
Karachi
Arrived Karachi; Sailed for Bombay
31-Aug-18
At Sea
September 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Sep-18
Bombay
Arrived Bombay; Dropped anchor in stream
2-Sep-18
Bombay
Tied up to No2 Shed
7-Sep-18
Bombay
Sailing for Basra Cancelled.
8-Sep-18
Bombay
In stream
12-Sep-18
Bombay
Came into No7 Alexandra Dock dock to Coal
13-Sep-18
Bombay
Disembarked for Training @ Deolali
No 42 RAMC Embarkation Company
On September 28, 1918 all of the non-commissioned ranks of the RAMC personnel serving onboard the HM HS VITA were taken on the strength of the No 42 RAMC Embarkation Company, Bombay and immediately assigned back to the VITA. The commanding officer at this time was Captain Geoffrey Moulson.
DEOLALI, INDIA 1918
On September 13, 1918 Pte. Monks and Pte. Knight disembarked the HM HS VITA in Bombay for temporary transfer and training with the 1st Battalion, South Stafford Regiment in Deolali, India.
“Under instructions contained in AQMG Bombay Brigade no 10/31/8A dated 9th Sept 1918, the following men disembarked on transfer to Deolali for training with Detachment 1st Btn South Staffs Regt.
68069 Pte. Knight T.
11434 Pte. Monks L. J.”
1st Garrison Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
The regimental history of the South Staffs notes that, in January 1917, a 1st Garrison Battalion was formed at Lichchfield and moved to the 6th Poona Division Area sometime in 1917 “where it remained“. Garrison battalions often contained men who were not considered fit enough for front line “fighting” battalions, or who had recovered from wounds but were not really fit enough to return to the trenches. These men were often assigned to overseas postings in order to release fit men for fighting.
6th Poona Division
At the outbreak of the First World War, the 6th (Poona) Division was mobilised in September 1914 and sailed from Bombay on 16 October for Mesopotamia. The 6th Poona Divisional Area was formed in October 1914 to take over the area responsibilities of the 6th (Poona) Division. It took over the units left behind by the original division and initially only commanded the Bombay Brigade, which was joined by the reformed Poona Brigade in December. The division was commanded by Major-General W.C. Knight. Until 1917 very little of note took place in the area, apart from supervising the transit of troops through the port of Bombay to various theatres of war.
In June 1917, 6th Poona Divisional Area was renamed the Poona Division. However, the Ahmednagar Brigade was not formed until May 1918, followed by the 58th and 59th Indian Brigades in June. The Bombay Brigade became independent in the same month.
In 1918, the division was responsible for posts and stations at Ahmednagar, Anandi, Arangaon, Belgaum, Dhond, Kirkee, Kholapur, Manmad, Poona and Satara. The Bombay Brigade was responsible for Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bombay, Colaba, Dadar, Deolali, Nasik, Rajkot and Santa Cruz.
Below is a photo of Pte. Thomas Knight, RAMC, who accompanied Pte. Monks on his trip to Deolali, taken on-board the Vita.
Deolali was a transit camp and hospital complex. There were two major Hospitals there; the 34th Welsh General Hospital and the 44th British General Hospital. There was also a RAMC depot there.
Below is a photo of the 34th Welsh General Hospital showing the site to be a large sprawling layout of many semi-permanent structures. However, Pte. Monks and Pte. Knight were housed in tents for the duration of their stay at Deolali.
By the end of November 1918 both the War and their temporary assignment at Deolali were over and Privates Monks and Knight returned to the HM HS VITA, embarking at Bombay.
December 1918
Date
Where
Notes
1-Dec-18
Bombay
In Stream
3-Dec-18
Bombay
Came into No 2 Shed, Alexandra Dock
5-Dec-18
At Sea
Sailed for Aden & Suez
10-Dec-18
At Sea
Gulf of Aden
11-Dec-18
Aden
Arrived Aden; Took in Meat. Left Aden
12-Dec-18
At Sea
Red Sea
15-Dec-18
At Sea
Gulf of Suez. Patient Died; Buried at Sea.
16-Dec-18
Suez
Arrived Suez
18-Dec-18
Suez
Suez Docks; Coaling
19-Dec-18
Suez
Suez Docks
21-Dec-18
At Sea
Sailed for Bombay.
22-Dec-18
At Sea
Patient Died
24-Dec-18
At Sea
Patient Died; Buried at Sea
26-Dec-18
Aden
Arrived Aden. Left Aden
31-Dec-18
At Sea
Indian Ocean
REPATRIATION TO UK
January 1919
Date
Where
Notes
1-Jan-19
Bombay
Anchored in Stream
2-Jan-19
Bombay
Alexandra Dock No2 Shed
3-Jan-19
Bombay
Permanently left the Ship
On January 3, 1919 Pte. Monks, Pte. Knight and Pte. Hooley disembarked the VITA for the last time in Bombay on the start of their journey back to the UK.
It is not clear exactly how these three RAMC privates made their way back to the UK or how long it took but they would have done so under the auspices of the No 42 RAMC Embarkation Company, Bombay. Analysis of other men’s service records indicate that they would have most likely been put aboard the next available hospital ship returning to the UK which probably would have taken around 30-days. Pte. Hooley’s Pension Records still exist and show that he joined the VITA on July 12, 1916 (in Bombay) and was demobilised on April 24, 1919 suffering from Malaria, which he contracted while serving on-board the VITA. All of the RAMC men serving on the VITA were discharged from Military Service listing the No 42 Embarkation Company as their last posting.
During his service Pte. Monks visited the following locations:
THE WANDERERS
After a while, life onboard the VITA must have been a monotonous daily grind caring for sick and wounded patients in extreme and oppressive heat and humidity with the possible threat of German raiders or mine fields. The only entertainment onboard was that created by those present and “The Wanderers” must have been a great diversion for all those involved and present at the shows
Pte. Leonard Monks can be seen on the far left back row. Standing next to him is Pte. Lewis Haywood.
And the performances were not just limited to entertaining those onboard as can be seen from the following press cutting from Bombay.
SEAMEN’S INSTITUTE
A very successful Concert was given on Friday evening at the Seamen’s Institute by the “Wanderers”, a talented Concert party from one of his Majesty’s ships. They appeared in attractive pierrot costumes of black and white, and introduced many entertaining innovations to their programme.
A large toy engine named “The VITA Special”, to which was attached a card indicating the item number of the programme, was drawn across the stage in between each item. This was quite a clever idea and afforded much scope for side play to the two corner men who made the most of their opportunities. The felling of a toy Zeppelin in flames was realistically produced.
It is difficult to single out any one item of the varied programme; all were well received by a large and appreciative audience. Perhaps, one calling for special mention was Mr. Finch, who kept the audience in roars of laughter with his amusing anecdotes and character impersonations. A liberal applause was accorded to each turn and encores were the order of the evening.
The Concert was brought to a close with the singing of “Rule Britannia” and “God Save the King” by the whole company.
The Wanderers are to be congratulated on their talent and organisation, and we all look forward to their return to Bombay, when it is hoped, they will again pay a visit to the Institute.
AFTER THE WAR
After the war it appears that the RAMC men of the HM HS Vita got together every few years to reminisce.
But over time their numbers started to dwindle.
SHORT SERVICE RECORD
Feb 1915 to May 1915 UK
May 1915 to ? Egypt (EEF)
? to 1916 Mesopotamia / Persia (MEF)
1916 to Jan 1919 HM HS VITA
OFFICIAL WAR RECORDS
The only official war records for Leonard Monks are his Medal Index Card and Medal Roll.
His Medal Roll Index Card tells us that he was assigned to the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) as a Private and that he first disembarked on overseas service on May 30, 1915 in Egypt. It also shows that he was awarded the British, Victory and 15 Star medals.
His medal roll shows that he was entitled to the British War Medal and the British Victory Medal.
LAST POST
Leonard Monks died in Warrington, Lancashire on September 24, 1974. He was 76 years old.