Category Archives: On this day

On these days 23rd to 26th November 1915

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On the 23rd November the Battalion relieved the 8/Sherwood Foresters in the right sub-sector trenches.

The water level in the front line trench had almost risen to ground level and therefore it could not be adequately garrisoned. The majority of the men were placed as support in ruined houses along the Rue-de-Bois and further back near Windy Corner. Windy Corner was constantly swept by machine gun fire and periodically shelled, particularly when trench relief was being undertaken.

It was only possible to visit the detached outposts during the hours of darkness, to do so by day would attract the unwanted attention of German snipers. This fate befell Lt Charles Houfton of the 8/Sherwood Foresters who was making his way along a flooded trench to the Boars Head when he was killed by a single shot to the head[i].

Richebourg

Visiting these outposts at night still required a careful journey across the Rue-de-Bois and the open ground immediately behind the front line being careful not to fall into the flooded support trenches. On many occasions sporadic machine gun fire required the party to lie prone on the ground until it had finished. The garrisons of the three outposts were relieved every 24 hours because of the strain in occupying these posts when completely isolated and subject to the constantly cold and wet conditions

[i] Lt Charles Morley Houghton was killed on 12th November 1915 and is now buried in CABARET-ROUGE BRITISH CEMETERY, SOUCHEZ. He was 28 years old and the Son of John Plowright Houfton and Frances Houfton of Park Hall, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts.

11th November

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On the 25th November men from the Battalion undertook a trench raid on the BOARS HEAD.

The following men were killed during this trench duty and are buried next to each other in ST. VAAST POST MILITARY CEMETERY at RICHEBOURG-L’AVOUE:-

3105 Pte. James Edgar Brocklehurst; aged 34 and a miller from Darley Dale near Matlock. Formerly served in the Volunteers

1598 Sergeant George Henry Morley; aged 22 and a coal miner from Barrow Hill in Chesterfield. A pre-War Territorial (enlisted March 1912).

2343 Pte. Arthur Simpson; aged 24 and a cashier from Chapel-en-le-Frith.

Brocklehurst

MorleySimpson

St Vasst

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In addition 3065 Pte. Joseph Brown; aged 20 and a miner from Grassmoor was reported missing and is now Commemorated on the LOOS MEMORIAL. He had participated in the trench raid.

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On this day 23rd November 1915

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The 6th Battalion relieved the 8th Battalion in the RIGHT SUB SECTOR at Richebourg.

The 8th Battalion had held the front line for 4 days since the 19th November. It had been a particularly nasty time with lots of German shelling and snipers.

During that time the 8th Battalion had one man killed; 752 Arthur Sheppard, a 26 year old lace hand from Southwell.

752 sheppard

Arthur had earlier won the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

dcm

Sheppard

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BUT, it would be much worse for the 6th Battalion over the next 4 days.

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On this day 19th November 1915

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On the 17th November the Battalion relieved the 7/Sherwood Foresters in the left subsection trenches, about 300 yards south of the Estaires-La Bassee Road. During this time the Battalion machine guns were positioned in houses on the Rue-de-Bois reserve trench and were able to fire over the front line trench towards the German positions. The Battalion HQ was placed in a small dug-out behind a ruined farmhouse. Although the dug-out was equipped with beds it was infested with rats and for most of the time it was twelve inches deep in water.

The weather in November was very wet and bitterly cold, which meant that the front line trenches were nearly 3 feet deep in water in many places and the men often found themselves with water up to their knees. The sandbags on the parapets were in a dreadful state, most of them were rotten allowing the earth to fall out. In many places the parapet collapsed and needed constant repairing. As conditions worsened during November the front line trenches were abandoned in many places and the Companies retired to the reserve trenches leaving listening points behind to maintain contact with the Germans. Although the men were issued with thigh-length wellingtons, on many occasions these proved quite inadequate and the water often came over the top. Three days later the Battalion were relieved by the 7/Sherwood Foresters and moved back to billets in La Couture; two men were wounded during the three days the battalion spent in the front line trenches.

During the same trench duty the 5th (Derby) Battalion had two men killed; William Allwood aged 28 and George March aged 21, both from Belper. The are buried next to each other at ST. VAAST POST MILITARY CEMETERY, RICHEBOURG-L’AVOUE.

allwood

A very poignant letter from Mrs Allwood to the War Office thanking them for returning her son’s possessions (WO363).

The sun shining down on these green fields of France
The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance
The trenches have vanished long under the plow
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard that’s still no man’s land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man’s blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation were butchered and damned.

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On this day 30th October 1915

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3124 Private John Hurt of the 1/8th Battalion died of his wounds at the 6th General Hospital in Rouen.

Hurt

He had been wounded on the 14th October with a gun shot wound in the abdomen and had passed through the 1st NMFA and 9 CCS.

Before the War John was a miner from Bolsover and had enlisted in November 1914.

On this day 28th October 1918

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military_medal_obverseThe Corps Commander awarded the Military Medal to the undermentioned for gallantry and devotion to duty during the operations of 3rd October:-

98212 L/Cpl. Benjamin Cyril Wilsea (From Gainsborough; Military Service Act; died 1971)

242478 Cpl. Henry Thomas West (Formerly 7681)

241104 Pte. Joseph Pursglove (From Eyam; e. Nov 1914; Formerly 3505; France 1916 and Battalion runner)

240552 Sgt. George Potter Bagshaw (From Whaley Bridge; e. Sept 1914; Formerly 2381; France 28/2/15 and a stretcher bearer)

240837 Pte. Edwin Large (From Longford; e. Oct 1914; Formerly 2989; France 26/6/15 and a Lewis Gunner)

240805 L/Cpl. James Else Gratton (From Wirksworth; e. Oct 1914; Formerly 2928; France 1916 and a Lewis Gunner)

241130 Pte. Ralph Richardson (e. Nov 1914; Formerly 3560; France 28/6/15)

200057 L/Cpl. John W Cook (pre-War Territorial)

71423 Pte William Grainger (Also served with 15th and 1/8th Battns)

242568 Cpl. Thomas Selby (Formerly S Notts Hussars; Part of 27th Reinforcement and a Lewis Gunner)

240409 Pte. Reginald Smith (e. Jan 1914; Formerly 2092; France 25/6/15)

92039 Cpl. Frederick H Broom (Formerly Dvr 04367 ASC; France 24/9/15)

201505 Cpl. Thomas William Sherwin Badder (From Wirksworth; e. May 1915; Formerly 4352;  France 11/10/17)

240358 Pte. Frank Hollinshead (From Ashbourne; e. June 1913; Formerly 1987; France 28/2/15)

241115 Pte. Charles Redshaw (e. Nov 1914; Formerly 3537; France 1916)

On this day 21st October 1917

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The battalion were holding the front line trenches in the HILL 70 sector.

3752/241204 Pte John William Daws died of his wounds at the 33 Casualty Clearing Station and is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery.

John was 38 years old and a resident of Bulwell in Nottingham. He enlisted in Chesterfield in January 1915 and left a widow.

On this day 15th October 1915

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Orders were received on the night of the 14th-15th informing Colonel Goodman that he was to proceed with his Battalion and relieve the 8/Sherwood Foresters currently holding the Hohenzollern Redoubt. Their place in the British front line was be to be filled by Companies of the Guards Brigade, however this relief did not fully develop and it was shortly before dawn when three platoons of “C” Company under the command of Capt EH Heathcote arrived in the redoubt. At this time Colonel Fowler of the 8/Sherwood Foresters was killed and Colonel Goodman was ordered to return to the British Front line leaving Capt Heathcote in command of the Hohenzollern garrison. During the following night the relief was completed and the 6/Sherwood Foresters moved back Fouquereuil and thereafter to billets in Verquin.

During the fighting of the previous few days the 46th Division had suffered 180 Officers and 3583 men killed, wounded or missing. The 6/Sherwood Foresters had 13 men killed, one man missing believed killed and 2nd Lieutenants Percival and Gardiner and 48 men wounded.

The bodies of all of the men who were killed were not recovered or identified after the War and are commemorated on the Loos Memorial. The fact that so many bodies were not recovered is a testimony to the severity of the fighting and only Bernhard White from Grassmoor who died at a casualty clearing station in the Chateau at Vermelles has a known grave.

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Amongst the men killed were Benjamin Savage from Tideswall who had played in the summer cricket match and 21 year old John Steggles (“C” Company) from Chesterfield who had a number of letters published in the Derbyshire Times over the previous six months.

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