At Ypres with Best-Dunkley Part 13

"I had my wound dressed here and also had an anti-tetanous inoculation put into me. I did not like it!

"Then Francis and I got into a motor-ambulance and were motored away, through Poperinghe, to Watou. We pa.s.sed what I a.s.sumed to be Nugent's 36th Division coming up in motor-lorries to relieve the 55th Division.

At Watou we were taken to the 10th C.C.S. We had our wounds dressed again there and then had tea. Then we got on to a hospital train which was standing in the siding. Who should join us in the saloon on this train but Gaulter, of the King's Own! He, too, had got one in the leg!

The question which interested us most on the way back was whether we would get to 'Blighty.' The train went very slowly. We were held up because the Germans were sh.e.l.ling Hazebrouck of all places. They must have some long-range guns!

"We arrived in Boulogne at 5.30 on Wednesday morning, August 1, and were immediately motored to Wimereux, where we entered the 14th General Hospital. We went to bed at once and remained in bed all day and night.

"The next morning I was awakened by the greeting: 'You're for England; you leave at 8.15.' So I got up and had breakfast. Then we were motored down to Boulogne again where we all embarked on the _St. David_, and sailed for the sh.o.r.es of old England. It was a happy voyage. We landed at Dover at midday....

"The train left Dover at 4.30 p.m. We reached Manchester at midnight and I and seven others were immediately motored to Worsley. So here I am in a nice cosy bed in the s.p.a.cious mansion of the Egertons of Ellesmere--Worsley Hall. What vicissitudes one does go through!" ...

So, as far as the writer of this book was concerned, Ypres and all that its name implies was now but a memory: I was safely back on the right side of the water once again. My feelings on leaving "Wipers" behind me can best be expressed in the words which a poet of the 55th Division dedicated to the British Soldier in the second number of _Sub Rosa_:

"Good-bye, Wipers! though I 'opes it is for good, It 'urts me for to leave yer--I little thought it would.

When I gets back to Blighty, and all the fightin's done, Mebbe the picters of the past will rise up, one by one.

Like movies at the Cinema, they'll bob up in my brain, The places that I knew so well--I'll see them all again.

The battered-in Asylum; the Prison scorched and scarred; And 'ole Salvation Corner with the guns a bellowin' 'ard.

The muddy, ruddy, Ramparts; the mist upon the Moat; The grey Ca.n.a.l between whose banks no barges ever float.

An' them Cathedral ruins--O Gawd, the fearsome sight!

Like mutilated fingers they points up through the night.

The blighters what relieves us--we'll treat 'em fair an' kind, They're welcome to the soveneers what we 'ave left be'ind.

Good-bye, Wipers! though I 'opes it is for good, It 'urts me for to leave yer--I little thought it would."

It was with a thrill of pride that I read in the newspapers during the following days of the magnificent achievement of the 55th Division--of the "Lancashire Men's Great Fight:" "Stubborn in attack and withdrawal."

I read of heroic fights round Pommern Castle, of Wurst Farm being captured by a gallant young officer, and, particularly, the case of: "An officer who was left last out of his battalion to hold out in an advanced position (who) said to the padre who has just visited him in hospital, 'I hope the General was not disappointed with us.'" The General, I am sure, was not disappointed with these Lancashire men. No one could think of them without enthusiasm and tenderness, marvelling at their spirit and at the fight they made in the tragic hours--because it was a tragedy to them that, after gaining all the ground they had been asked to take, and not easily nor without losses, they should have to fall back and fight severe rear-guard actions to cover a necessary withdrawal.[15]

It was, naturally, a matter of great interest to me to determine to what particular officers these remarks referred, as no names were given and no battalions mentioned by name. Now, of course, we all know. The officer who reached Wurst Farm was John Redner Bodington, and the gallant young officer who fought like a hound at bay, while wounded over and over again, and hoped that "the General was not disappointed," was none other than the hero whose name is upon the t.i.tle-page of this book--Bertram Best-Dunkley. And, as the days rolled by, one familiar name after another was recorded in the casualty lists. It was the bloodiest battle in History; the casualty list which contained my name was the longest I have ever seen in the _Times_.

I wrote to Sergeant Baldwin for information as to the fate of my platoon, and, some time afterwards, received the following reply:

"Ward 24, "Ontario Military Hospital, "Orpington, Kent.

"August 15th, 1917.

"Dear Sir,

"I have much pleasure in replying to your letter dated August 5th, 1917.

I am very pleased indeed to know that you are safe in 'Blighty.' Well, sir, you ask me where I got to when we went over the top. I think you will remember halting and lying down in no man's land. Well, as I lay there the time seemed to be long; then I got up and went to the front of the platoon to see what had gone wrong. When I got there I found you had gone on and the remainder of the men had not the sense to follow you. So I led on with the remainder, taking my direction from the compa.s.s. I reached the hill and pa.s.sed Schuler Farm on the right. We started to climb the hill and then a funny thing happened: those already at the top came running back again shouting 'Get back and dig in; they are outflanking us.' I took the warning and retired to a suitable position and got the men digging themselves in. We could see the Boches coming over the ridge like a swarm of bees. When they got nearer we opened machine gun and rifle fire. All the time this was going on the artillery had ceased firing, and I began to feel a bit downhearted. Then things quietened down a bit; so I told the lads to make a drink of tea for themselves, which they did gladly enough. All the time we could see Fritz preparing for a counter-attack and we knew it had to come. I waited patiently keeping a look-out for them coming. The men were getting knocked out one by one, until I had only five; and the Lewis Gun had got a bullet through its pinion which rendered it useless. Nothing happened until the evening, and then the bombardment started and we knew we had something to put up with. I sent up an S.O.S. rocket and our artillery opened out, but the sh.e.l.ls were dropping short and hitting our men. Then we retired for about fifty yards and took up some sh.e.l.l-holes.

I looked round and found all my men had vanished. I was amongst some of the Cams. and Herts. I really did not know what to do. The artillery became more intense and still our sh.e.l.ls were dropping short. There was another sergeant out of the Cams. in this sh.e.l.l-hole with a few men; so I told him I would go back and try and get in touch with the artillery.

On my way back I got wounded in the leg, so I rolled into a sh.e.l.l-hole.

It began to rain and rained heavily all the night. When day broke I found myself covered with clay and mud, and wet through to the skin. I crawled out and looked about me. It was a quiet morning except for a sh.e.l.l bursting now and again, and I could see some men through my gla.s.ses, about a mile away, working on a road. I made my way towards them. How I got there I do not know, for I was more dead than alive. I inquired for the dressing-station, which I found after a long walk. I was sent down to the Base to hospital and was sent to England on August 6.

"I am pleased to say that I am feeling much better and my wound is getting on nicely. I hope my letter will find you feeling much better for the rest you have worked so hard for. I saw in the casualty list that the Colonel had died of wounds, the Adjutant killed, Sec.-Lt.

Gratton missing, Captain Andrews wounded, and Lt. Telfer missing. I think I have told you all the news you require, and hope you enjoy reading it.

"With best wishes, "Yours sincerely, "ROBERT CHARLES BALDWIN, Sgt."

Sergeant Baldwin was awarded the Military Medal for his services on July 31--August 1, 1917.

Having reproduced the personal narratives of our experiences at Ypres, first by myself and then by my platoon sergeant, it is now desirable to see what happened to the Battalion as a whole. For this it will be necessary to quote the official account in the _Lancashire Fusiliers'

Annual_. After mentioning the machine-gun fire which caused me to extend my platoon the account goes on to say:

"This fire was so heavy that it not only inflicted severe casualties, but caused confusion in the shaking out into extended order, and it is to be believed that from this moment the correct formation was never absolutely regained. Machine-gun fire was active chiefly from Wine House, Spree Farm, parts of Capricorn Support and Capricorn Keep, Pond Farm, Hindu Cot and other points. Seeing that they could not advance till these points were dealt with, the commanders of the leading waves took steps to take the first points, such as Wine House, Spree Farm, Capricorn Support. These were dealt with at considerable loss, some enemy being captured, some killed and some running away. It was difficult to obtain a definite account of all the incidents that happened before the Black Line was reached, but great gallantry was shown by the officers and N.C.O.'s in rallying and leading the men in face of heavy fire. The Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Colonel B.

Best-Dunkley, put himself at the head of all men in his immediate vicinity, and led them on through intense machine-gun fire. Ultimately the Black Line was reached. The casualties up to this point may be estimated at anything up to 50 per cent of the total strength of the Battalion. However, the advance had to continue and that quickly, as it was impossible to wait to reorganize under the heavy fire; moreover, the advance was timed to a programme of artillery. The advance to the Green Line, the Gravenstafel Switch, 6,000 yards from our original front line, therefore continued. Few details necessarily are obtainable owing to the heavy casualties. The creeping barrage, not a heavy one, certainly not sufficient to deal with the country up to the Green Line, had run away from us. Many more casualties were suffered, but the Battalion eventually reached its objective. Digging in and consolidation at once commenced. Captain J. R. Bodington, commanding left Company, reached Wurst Farm with ten men, this number being shortly reduced by casualties to two. The Green Line had only been in our possession for about twenty minutes when the first enemy counter-attack, consisting of two companies, commenced. This came from a north-easterly direction, sweeping across the front of the division on our left. It was very determined, as the division on our left had not been able to get up; our left flank was quite unprotected.

"An attempt was therefore made to form a defensive flank. The counter-attack halted on a road running north-west and south-east.

Finding we had not sufficient men to form a defensive flank, a further withdrawal was ordered to Jew Hill, east of St. Julien. From this point a large enemy counter-attack was observed commencing. This also came from a north-easterly direction, and was apparently simultaneous with that from the south-east affecting the 1/4th Loyal North Lancs.--the battalion on our right. This counter-attack was overwhelming in its strength. It had been preceded by four enemy aircraft, flying low over our advanced positions and firing Very lights and machine-guns. The lights were apparently the call for artillery cooperation. They were answered by the opening of fire by heavy guns which dealt with individual points. Owing to the general disorganization caused by the very heavy casualties, troops on the whole front of this unit had now to commence a general withdrawal. Isolated points, however, held out most gallantly and held up the advance of the enemy while consolidation on or about the Black Line was completed by troops in rear and whilst the withdrawal of the remainder was safely effected. A small strong point situated west of Schuler Farm was held by one hundred and thirty men of this Battalion, and the 1/8 (Irish) Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment and with them Captain Bodington, one of the few remaining officers of the Battalion. Those were first attacked from the front, which attack they warded off. The enemy counter-attack then developed on their left and right; both these attacks also were held off for some time by machine-gun, Lewis gun, and rifle fire. The few survivors were forced to withdraw and fight their way back, Captain Bodington and ten other ranks reaching the Black Line safely.

"Battalion Headquarters was situated at Spree Farm, and they only received late warning that the enemy were near them. Lieutenant-Colonel B. Best-Dunkley gathered together all men available, and, placing himself at the head, beat off the counter-attack at this point. At this time our own artillery brought down an extremely heavy barrage on the enemy which appeared to catch him, and it was probably due to this that they were unable to gain a footing in the Black Line on our immediate front. During this withdrawal the Adjutant--Lieutenant R. Andrews--was killed. The Commanding Officer was wounded shortly afterwards--about 8 p.m. There was then no officer of this Battalion known to be alive, and the Orderly Room Sergeant--Sergeant F. Howarth--took command, organizing the defence of that part of the line until the Battalion was withdrawn to Bilge Trench, about 9 a.m. the following morning--August 1. Captain Bodington, who was the one surviving officer, came in subsequently from the left of the line."

Let us now follow the movements of Captain Bodington. He afterwards wrote the following report:

"Up to the time of reaching a point a hundred yards in rear of the Black Line, the advance was easy.

"On crossing the small rise behind Wine House we came under very heavy machine-gun and rifle fire from both Wine House and Spree Farm. Two platoons had to be used in driving the enemy from the above-named farms, and the casualties were heavy in this minor operation.

"Both the dug-outs at Wine House and Spree Farm were in fairly good condition, and from here with the remainder of the men we pushed forward towards Border House without much difficulty, and hence to Winnipeg, where we got into touch with the 1/6th Cheshires on our left, and proceeded to the Gravenstafel Ridge. Being left here with only two of my men, I could do no more than reconnoitre Wurst Farm and Aviatik Farm.

"Both the dug-outs and O.P. in these farms were in fairly good condition, but must have been evacuated hurriedly, although no doc.u.ments of any importance could be found.

"We could see at a distance of about six hundred yards more of our troops on the right, but unable to get into touch with them as the enemy held posts between us.

"On returning to the 1/6th Cheshires on our left, a counter-attack had already been launched against their left flank, consequently it was decided to withdraw to the Winnipeg-Kansas Cross Roads. It was found impossible to make a stand here, so the withdrawal continued to a point where the 13th Suss.e.x Regiment had dug themselves in on Jew Hill.

"About two hours elapsed, when it was found that a party of the enemy were getting round their left flank. A party was at once detailed to deal with this, but at this time I became detached from this party and consequently reported back to Battalion Headquarters, then situated at Spree Farm.

"I was at once detailed to take a party up to reinforce a partly organized strong point about the dug-outs at D. 13. a. 8.0. I found here two officers and about one hundred men. The position was strong, but both flanks were unguarded.

"There were two machine-guns and one Lewis gun. After a short time a strong counter-attack was made by the enemy on this position from the front which was easily beaten off, but almost simultaneously we were attacked on either flank.

"By this time, another machine-gun had been brought into position, but the Lewis gun had used up all its magazines. A number of casualties had been caused. We held the enemy for half an hour, and a heavy battery was sh.e.l.ling us considerably. Two direct hits were obtained causing a number of casualties. Meanwhile the enemy was advancing on either flank. It was found that only forty or fifty men remained, and little means of escape was left, but it was decided to withdraw to a line well wired about three hundred yards in rear. On reaching this point it was found to be untenable and the withdrawal continued to the Black Line, where some of the 165 and 166 Brigades had been digging in.

"They were at once warned of the advance of the enemy, and here he was finally beaten off. A number of casualties were sustained in the withdrawal from the dug-outs behind Schuler Farm. At that time we could not get into touch on our left, but the gap was soon filled in by a party of the 6th King's Liverpool Regiment and the Battalion Headquarters from Spree Farm. Later we got into touch with the 1/5th South Lancashire Regiment on our left and the 45 Brigade on our right.

"At that time I could find none of my own Battalion.

"(Signed) J. R. BODINGTON, "Captain, "2/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers."

The 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers, what remained of them, "spent August 1, Minden Day, in the utmost discomfort in Bilge Trench, everybody was soaked through from the pouring rain. However, we all flaunted Minden roses in our helmets. On August 2nd we were relieved and marched back to our transport lines. There all preparations had been made for us and everybody enjoyed a good hot meal. The same evening we were taken back in buses to the Watou area." Thus writes the official chronicler in the _Lancashire Fusiliers' Annual_.