Unless something unforeseen occurs, his will be my final post for this journal. It’s a post that’s well overdue but one that brings the story full circle. In January of 2020, just ahead of the troubles wrought by Covid, my son, Robert, (named for John Harry’s son) and his childhood friend, Henry, made the pilgrimage to Namps Au Val in France to visit the grave-site of my Great Grandfather.
This was the very first time that any member of our family had ever visited John Harry’s final resting place. I’m proud that it was my boy who was the first, though, hopefully not the last. It’s hard to convey the emotional resonance of a moment like that. So much import accompanies such events, and they bring a kind of closure to all that has gone before.
I wasn’t necessarily expecting to be making any further additions to this journal but, after a simple act of reciprocity, I now have some information worth adding.
A few days ago, I was contacted by another researcher who had seen this site and, as some of the information relates to their own project, reached out to see if I perhaps had a better resolution image of the map of Belton Park Machinegun School which I featured in part 11. As it turned out, I didn’t but I was able to locate one online and send it on to them.
By way of thanks, the happy researcher did some digging too and turned up a digital version of John Harry’s Army pension records. This was a document I had not previously seen. I had assumed it would have been lost in the twin disasters that had engulfed the majority of MGC records and so had not looked for it on pay for use sites like Ancestry.com.
However, I’d forgotten that most of my Great Grandfather’s military service was as a reservist and then regular with the East Lancs Regiment. Those records had not suffered the same fate as the MGC’s had.
The first thrill, upon initial inspection, was seeing John Harry’s handwriting and signature. Though some of it may have been written by a clerk, there are parts that require the soldier himself to sign or make a statement. It was good to see my ancestor was literate despite his short time spent in the education system. This was no surprise to me, His son, Robert, my Grandfather, left school at fourteen and still managed to become an engineer.
And what did I learn? The first thing I picked up on was that I had been mistaken about John Harry’s Reservist status. In conversations on the Great War forum, I had been told that reservists were usually ex regulars but clearly, this was not always true. John joined the East Lancs Reserve Regiment soon after his 19th Birthday in 1908 and, as can be seen in the image above, not surprisingly, had no previous military experience.
Then there are the little personal details. John was not a tall man, just 5’6″ and weighed only 115 lbs. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. He bore scars on his forehead, right knee, and left hip (there is another distinguishing feature on the backs of both forearms I can’t make out). I wonder if these scars came from injuries sustained in his work in the mills? I also wonder if the scars were how John’s body was finally identified or if he thought about that macabre possibility as he was listing them?
The other small detail I noticed was that he put down Church of England for his religious affiliation despite being a life-long Unitarian. I guess it was just expedience as there was no listing for it.
As mentioned, these Pension records deal exclusively with John Harry’s time with the East Lancs. He must have got a separate set of records when he re-upped with the MGC. Those records have almost certainly been lost but there is still valuable information to be gleaned here.
John’s Regular service began at the outbreak of war on the 20th of October 1914 when he was posted to the 2nd East Lancs. On the 14th of March 1915 he was transferred to the 3rd (reserve) and then back to the 2nd on the 18th of May. His times with the 2nd would have been that served in the line. There is nothing here to indicate that John was ever a machine-gunner during this time. He was discharged as a time-expired man on the 25th of August 1915, after a period of 7 years and 2 days in the East Lancashire Regiment.
In December 1914, John was sent first to Paris and then, via hospital ship, back to England with frost-bitten feet. It must have been a bad case for him to be sent home. He returned to active service (at the depot in England) in January (I believe it was during this time of convalescence that he was interviewed for the local paper).
The only decorations John Harry received for his service and sacrifice were the usual campaign medals that all British and Commonwealth troops who served during WWI received.
The last few pages simply repeat information already covered but overall, it is a terrific trove of small details that, taken all together, add quite a lot to the picture of who my Great Grandfather was.
Perhaps none of this matters. Perhaps all of it matters very much. War is a nasty business and it is fought by fragile human beings who must take actions they would generally never even contemplate in their normal lives. It’s important that we honour that humanity and strive to consign these conflicts which are so destructive to it to the pages of history.
If you are curious to know what my helpful fellow researcher is working on, Hereis a linkto their site. I found it most fascinating.
Through all the research and digging, my goal has really been a simple one; to get to know my Great Grandfather. How much of his personality was in my Grandfather, Robert? How much of him is in me, or my own son?
I’m aware that it is impossible to form any true picture of this man who died 100 years ago but I want to get as close as I can. For that reason, I’m finding it hard to stop searching. I keep going back, scouring the web, looking for some small piece of the puzzle I may have missed.
As time passes, the clues are getting fewer and farther between and that has led me to try looking in a slightly different way.
When I first began researching, over thirteen years ago, social media was not really a thing. Forums were the main go to and research sharing could take you a long way in those forums. I discovered so much about the military aspects of John’s life on the Great War Forum, a resource I cannot recommend highly enough.
There were also some useful genealogy sites which provided interesting background texture to John’s home and family life. All of this (along with census information and surviving official documents) provided me with the material I have used to create this blog.
By 2018 (the 100th anniversary of John’s death) the well seems to have largely run dry. Many of the men I had originally been in contact with on the Forums have now passed on and with them any chance to ask those vital questions I wish I’d thought to ask then.
I was beginning to think that my journey was coming to an end.
On a whim, I decided to try a different avenue. As I mentioned, the idea of social media was yet to become a reality for most in 2004/5. I’d never heard of My Space or Facebook and would probably have railed against them if I had.
Skip forward to the present and, like most everyone else, I have become Facebook literate. And so, one fine morning it occurred to me that there might actually be a Facebook group based on the Machine Gun Corps.
That was when I discovered the Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades’ Association (MGC/OCA). This is a group of Machine Gun Corpsmen descendants dedicated to the idea of keeping the memories of those men alive.
Within moments of my making myself known to them, members were able to provide me with copies of two documents I’d never seen before.
The first image is of John’s Medal Roll Index Card (MIC) and the second and third are his entry in the Army Registers of Soldiers Effects.
This was quite a start, two documents I hadn’t even known existed. The group is very active and there are people posting images and info about their own relatives all the time. It’s amazing how much you can learn indirectly in this way.
I’ve also, discovered that one of the members had not one but two relatives in John’s unit (8th Bn, MGC). Things are starting to get interesting again.
A few days ago, Judith, the woman who admins the page, posted this:
For those who aren’t aware. We have a Graves Photographic Project which has run for about 18 years. We have all French and Belgian MGC graves and memorials photographed and those in many other countries. If you don’t have a photo of your relative’s grave, we can provide one.
I, of course, leapt at the offer and just a few hours later was presented with this unbelievable image:
They are hard to read but the headstone on the right is John Harry’s and that on the left, Private F Poole. Both men are 8th Battalion and both died on April 1st, 1918.
From the fact that both are from the same unit and died on the same day (their graves placed side by side), I’m going to conclude that they were probably part of the same gun team and were both hit together.
I don’t mind admitting that I cried when I saw this picture. All the horror and sadness of John’s fate came home to me in a rush and, in that moment, he became a real human being to me, perhaps for the first time.
Not everything can be discovered using direct evidence. Sometimes we must use deductive reasoning to determine the most probable likelihoods and outcomes. My desire to discover to which of the four Companies of 8th Battalion my Great Grandfather belonged has led me back to the period before 8th Bn. even existed.
Extract from the 218th War Diary for 20.1.18 confirming the formation of 8thBn.
The Battalion was formed on 20th January 1918 out of four existing MG Companies. ‘A’ Company was formerly the 23rd Company of the 23rd Brigade, ‘B’ Company was 24th Company: 24th Brigade, ‘C’ was 25th Company: 25th Brigade and ‘D’ Company came out of the 218th Company which was the 8th Division Reserve MG Coy.
The 23rd Coy. had been formed on 15.1.15
The 24th Coy. on 17.2.15
The 25th Coy. on 19.1.16
And the 218th Coy. had not formed until 23.3.17
Sleeve patch of 218th Brigade, MGC.
The main engagements they were involved in before becoming 8thBn. were: 31.7 – 1.8.1917 Battle of Pilckem Ridge (II Corps/5 Army), 31.7.1917 Attack on Westhoek, 16 – 18.8.1917 Battle of Langemarck, 2.12.1917 Assault on Southern Redoubt, Passchendaele (VIII Corps/2 Army)
All of the above is fact. Beyond this point, there is only educated speculation on my part.
John Harry had reenlisted on the 23rd of February 1917. When a man had been out for over a year, he was rarely returned to his old unit (in John Harry’s case, the East Lancashires), rather, he was sent where he was most needed.
I believe it was at this time that John (probably not by choice) joined the MGC. And the timing suggests that – having completed his minimum five weeks of training at the MG school at Grantham – he would probably have been placed in the most recently created MG unit.
Of the four Companies that would eventually be formed into 8th Battalion MGC, the only one that fits is 218th Company. As stated, they were formed on the 23.3, exactly a month after John reenlisted. That leads me to the inevitable conclusion that John began his period with the MGC in the reserve MG Company of the 8th Division.
Sleeve patch of 8th Battalion, MGC.
That being the case, I would have to say the most likely candidate for the Coy. that John served with in the 8th Bn. was D Coy (formerly 218th).
Even this is nominal, however. D was the reserve Coy. of the Battalion, which means it was constantly feeding replacements into the other three Coys. as they sustained casualties. And, in the month of March ’18, they sustained a great many casualties. John could well have ended up fighting with any of the other line Coys. but, on paper at least, he was more than likely a member of D Company.
And so, what becomes clear, among all these fragments, is the sequence of random events that led up to John Harry’s death; forced back into the service by an untenable economic situation, being considered of a high enough calibre by the military Bureaucratic machine to be fed into the Machine Gun Corps, sent to the Somme to cover a general retreat, and finally, fatally wounded in an unspecified action.
Even the location of his death and subsequent burial (more than likely at a French rather than British Dressing Station) meant he was not able to be officially identified until some months later; placing undue stress and suffering upon his family.
I doubt his story is unique and many soldiers had it much worse, so may remain unidentified or unlocated, but it still reads like a Kafka novel where the protagonist’s fate is decided by a series of random accidents completely beyond their control.
So, what was it to be a member of the Machine Gun Corps? Was there something special about the men who crewed the lethal death machine known as the Vickers Machine Gun?
In a word, yes.
To Join that elite Corps, a soldier (officer or enlisted) needed to be a cut above the average Infantryman of the time. Beyond his original training, any candidate for the MGC needed a minimum of five weeks intensive training at the Machine Gun Training Center at Belton House in Grantham.
Even soldiers who had already seen action as Infantry Brigade level machine gunners were required (often to their chagrin) to take the five-week course. There they discovered that there was a lot more to the science of machine gunnery than they had hitherto experienced.
The entire point of the formation of the Corps was to develop new tactics and techniques beyond simple Brigade level fire-support. By putting the MG in the hands of highly trained specialists, it was hoped (and eventually proven) that the MG could be used more like artillery, creating screens and barrages to hamper the enemies offensive opportunities.
This is why all members were required to attend the camp at Grantham. Only men with the correct physical requirements and mental aptitude were accepted.
Army Council Instructions No. 1589. 14th August1916
General Physique:
The all-round standard required for a machine gunner is far higher than that necessary for an Infantry soldier. To be well developed and sufficiently strongly built to enable him to work with, and carry, a machine gun / similar weight under adverse conditions, and if necessary, to double or crawl with it. He must have no physical defects that would interfere with this work.
Age:
Not less than 19 years, not over 35 years, but the actual age is not so important as the general physical condition of the individual.
Height:
Not less than 5 ft 3 ins unless in exceptional cases.
Chest Measurement:
Range of expansion not to be less than 3 ins, but 3 ins is sufficient for untrained recruits.
Eyesight:
Without glasses, V=6/9 in at least one eye.
Teeth, inoculations and vaccinations attended to before arrival at the Machine Gun Corps training center.
If these standards don’t seem particularly high to you, you are probably unaware of just how lax the standards for general Infantry were. In his memoir, Goodbye to all that, the Author (and former WWI line Infantry Officer) Robert Graves recounts how his Battalion had not one but two privates serving in the trenches who he estimated were each around 70 years old.
The Machine Gun Training Center at Belton Park and Harrowby Camps had several schools including the Officer School, the NCO School, the Drill School, the Machine Gun School, and Artificers School.
Each soldier, whether officer or enlisted man was required to attend several of the schools. Every member of the 6 man MG team had to be trained in how to fire the gun should it be necessary.
As the Belton Park information package states:
A machine gunner had to learn a lot at the schools over a short period of time. They needed to be able to fire the Vickers Machine Gun accurately and keep it in good condition in the Artificers’ and Machine Gun Schools. Learning Range Finding and recognising enemy aircraft were essential as was soldering, welding and rough carpentry skills as you never knew where you might need to make repairs.
Being able to get to a position in the field quickly and following orders were equally important so map reading and signalling with large and small flags, lamps, heliograph, buzzer and telephone had to be learnt, as well as physical training.
This War brought a new enemy to the battlefield – Gas – so soldiers were drilled for Tear and Poison Gas attacks.
This emphasis on Machine Gunnery as a science surely elevated the feeling, amongst the Corps members, of being part of an elite, specialist force. I had not considered, before embarking on this research, that John Harry might have been anything more than an average man in extraordinary times. I may have done him a disservice in that regard. It appears that in training, courage, and ability, he may well have been far more than average.
For decades, Private John Harry Pate of the 8th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps lay in his final resting place at Namps-Au-Val British Military Cemetery; unvisited and remembered only as a name by his descendants.
By the time I began my research in 2004, nobody living even remembered what he’d looked like; let alone what Unit he’d served with. As his brothers and sisters passed in the years following the wars, his memory receded further and further into the mists of time.
Even the Corps to which he had belonged were largely forgotten. The fire at the MGC HQ in 1920 that destroyed so many vital documents reduced the Corps to a half-remembered ghost. The bombing of London during the blitz leading to the destruction of most of what remained was nearly its coup de grâce.
However, some things refuse to stay dead; some people too. Due to the interest of Military enthusiasts, descendants, and amateur genealogists small crumbs of information have come to the surface and slowly the darkness surrounding those terrible days is being pushed back.
John Harry too is coming back to us slowly. We’ll never know who he was really. Never know what his interests were, the sound of his voice, or even the colour of his eyes. Did he smoke a pipe like his son Robert? Did he love football? Was he a reader? There’s just no way of knowing but we can see some of what he did, what he endured and sacrificed in the service of what he believed to be right. That at least is something.
Padiham remembers him as a name on the Honour Roll housed in his beloved Nazareth Chaple and upon the town’s Memorial to the Fallen.
This episode of Time Team has also done its part in bringing the MGC back from oblivion. It features a good deal of very valuable information about the Machine Gun Training School at Belton Park in Grantham.
All MGC members were required to do an intensive six-week course at the school before qualifying as MG crew, so it is very likely that John Harry spent time there in February/March of 1917 after he reenlisted in the Army.
The section on the YMCA hut is particularly interesting as I’m sure all the soldiers (John Harry included) spent time in that small building. It is also a good introduction to the weapon that was so much a part of his military life; the Vickers MG.
I wrote, in the fourth post, that John Harry shares the tiny cemetery at Namps-Au-Val with a VC recipient. However, their final resting place is not the only commonality between the two men. They died just one day apart and while fighting over the same patch of that vast battlefield.
Lieutenant Gordon Muriel Flowerdew was a Canadian Cavalry officer commanding ‘C’ Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse who, on the 30th of March led one of the last significant cavalry charges in military history against the German forces defending Moreuil Wood.
This wood, which still stands today, is overlooked by the village of Castel. On the 30th, John Harry’s much-reduced Battalion was still en route to Castel but upon their arrival in the afternoon of the following day, were immediately in action supporting the second phase of the battle.
By that time, however, Lieutenant Flowerdew had probably succumbed to his wounds. His squadron’s charge against heavy machine gun fire is recorded in this painting by Alfred Munnings;
Here is how events played out according to, The Battle of Moreuil Wood By Captain J.R. Grodzinski, LdSH(RC);
When Flowerdew met Harvey at the northeast corner of the wood, he halted his three troops in a draw. After conferring with Harvey, he returned to the squadron and led them to higher ground.
Just as they reached the high ground, they found a large group of the Germans, perhaps 300 strong, retiring from the wood. They were from the 101st Grenadier Battalion that were withdrawing and other troops that were approaching.
There was one howitzer and several heavy machine guns with them. In a split second, Flowerdew gave the order: “It’s a charge, boys, it’s a charge!”. The Trumpeter, Reg Longley riding behind Flowerdew raised his trumpet to blow the call, it never sounded. Longley was the first casualty of the charge.
In the excitement, many of the horses simply bolted. Private Dale of 4th Troop, riding behind Longley, had to jump over the trumpeter. He recalled that everything seemed unreal, “the shouting of men, the moans of the wounded, the pitiful crying of the wounded and dying horses….” It was difficult to recall what happened and when.
‘C’ Squadron approached the Germans with sabres raised; sabres against rifles and machine guns. They rode into two lines of Germans. Steel cut into flesh; bayonets and bullets answered. Casualties were high on both sides.
Once the two lines were passed, the surviving horsemen turned back toward the wood. There, through the smoke and enemy was Harvey and his men. The survivors fought furiously to get back to them.
Sergeant Tom MacKay, MM, the Troop Sergeant of 1st Troop was acting troop leader since Lieutenant Harrower was on patrol. The flesh was practically stripped between the knees and thighs of both his legs. The doctors later counted some 59 wounds in one leg alone.
Sergeant Wooster also of 1st Troop, survived charging through both lines of Germans but at the second line forgot his sabre drill, and tried to club a German soldier to death. After bypassing another group of Germans, he moved back to the woods. While doing so, he found a wounded member of 4th Troop, Private Harry Hooker and tried unsuccessfully to assist him. He then made his way to where Seely had spoken to Flowerdew and reported to the General that the squadron had been destroyed in a charge. Seely told him to get some rest and Wooster eventually rejoined the squadron. Other survivors also returned to the wood and joined Harvey and ‘A’ Squadron. After Seely watched them return, he galloped back to his headquarters.
Flowerdew had fallen. Dale saw him go down. He was shot in the chest and legs, but he continued to cheer his men on. Harvey and Harrower tried to drag him into the wood; in the process Harrower was wounded in the foot.
One report states that there were only fourteen survivors of the charge. This figure probably does not include wounded. Men and horses lay strewn about the field. Many were dead, most wounded.
The survivors felt themselves lucky; their squadron was under strength to begin with and had engaged and defeated a superior enemy force.
He goes on to write;
’C’ Squadron likely had 100 men available on 30 March. It provided an Officer Patrol of one subaltern and an unknown number of other ranks, and 2nd Troop under Harvey, remained in the wood during the charge. Assuming that this troop had a strength of 25 all ranks, no more than 75 soldiers could have charged. Seventy-five against 300 Germans. With 24 killed, this leaves 51 survivors including wounded.
Approximately 15 more would die from wounds in the next few weeks. ‘C’ Squadron had suffered grievously.”
The following day, the Germans counter-attacked and recaptured the wood and nearby Rifle Wood a mile to the northeast. Command of the Allied counter-attack was again given to Canadian General Seely. His Brigade attacked in three waves and engaging the enemy in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Once the German forces were again driven out, they (the German’s) began a heavy artillery bombardment and launched multiple counterattacks; but they could not dislodge the Allied troops.
Sometime in the afternoon of the 31st, the 8th Bn. MGC (John Harry’s Battalion) were in action around Castel and their MGs would almost certainly have been involved in attempting to keep German troops from entering nearby Moreuil Wood.
The following morning, that fateful April 1st, Allied troops entered Rifle wood.
Here is an account from the Fort Gary Horse Regimental website:
On the Morning of April 1st , the Brigade was ordered to carry out a dismounted attack on Rifle Wood just North-East of Moreuil. The Fort Garry Horse detachment of 176 men led the Canadian Cavalry Brigade into the heavily defended wood. Losses were again heavy but the attack was successful. 121 prisoners and 13 machine guns were captured and turned against the enemy. The successful attacks on Moreuil and Rifle woods were credited with stopping the German advance on Amiens and saving the city.
And here is the account of the three days of fighting as told in Nicholson’s official history (note that he mentions several times that the French were in Moreuil at this time. This may explain how John Harry came to be buried in a French cemetery):
As German pressure in the direction of Amiens continued, the 2nd Cavalry Division again came under British command on 29 March in the sector adjoining the French left. When early next morning battalions of the 243rd German Division began occupying Moreuil Wood, a commanding position on the right bank of the River Avre only twelve miles south-east of Amiens, the 3rd Cavalry Division and the Canadian Cavalry Brigades were at once sent to recapture it.
French troops had already fallen back across the Avre. A mile and a quarter long from south to north and flaring to a width of nearly a mile at the northern end, the wood consisted mainly of ash trees. These were not yet in leaf, but close-growing saplings and heavy undergrowth made riding exceedingly difficult.
The Canadian brigade was first on the scene, and the assault was carried out in converging thrusts by three mounted squadrons of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, followed up by attacks-mounted and dismounted – by Lord Strathcona’s Horse. The German infantry resisted stoutly, but by 11:00 a.m., after a considerable amount of hand-to-hand fighting, the northern part of the wood was in Canadian hands. While one squadron of the Fort Garry Horse rode back across the Avre to bring the enemy under enfilade fire, a second joined in a dismounted advance through the remainder of the wood. By midday the wood was clear of Germans.
The enemy soon counter-attacked. Reinforced by dismounted units of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade and a company of British infantry, the Canadians strove to maintain their position; though portions of the wood changed ownership more than once, and some lost ground was not recovered. That night the cavalry, having suffered many casualties, were relieved by three improvised battalions of the British 8th Division.
On the 31st the enemy resumed his attacks, recapturing most of Moreuil Wood and occupying the smaller Rifle Wood, which lay a mile to the north beside the Amiens-Roye road. During the afternoon this was retaken, but only temporarily. A further attack that evening, the artillery support for which included two batteries of the R.C.H.A., partially restored the situation, but left Rifle Wood and all but the north-west corner of Moreuil Wood still in German hands.
On the morning of 1 April dismounted units of the 2nd Cavalry Division attacked Rifle Wood in three waves. It was the third wave, consisting of 488 all ranks of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, which entered and cleared the wood.
John Harry may well have been dead or badly wounded by this point but it is likely that his Battalion was lending fire support to this attack as they had on the previous day’s attack on Moreuil Wood.
Flowerdew received the Victoria Cross posthumously for his action of the 30th. He died of his wounds on March 31st (the day before John Harry) at Number 41 Casualty Clearing Station. Flowerdew would have been interred at Namps-Au-Val soon after his death, whereas, as we have learned, Private Pate was not to find his way there until after the Armistice.
I have transcribed the handwritten 8th Bn. War Diary for the entire month of March and including the 1st of April because it gives such a vivid account of the last month of John Harry’s life (without ever once mentioning him).
I think it ably describes just how hectic and chaotic those first weeks of the German attack were for the troops on the ground. I’ve also done my best to create some maps to convey the sheer amount of digging in and repositioning the Battalion was forced to endure in those frantic days.
The spellings for some of the French place names have been butchered pretty badly by the officer who wrote up the entries but I’ve kept them in, as written, for authenticity’s sake (and, where I could work them out, I added the correct spelling in parentheses).
My apologies, there were two words from the text that I could not decipher.
PASSCHENDAELE
March 1st
The Battalion were in the line at PASSCHENDAELE. A Coy. in the forward positions, B Coy. in support at GRAVENSTAFEL and C Coy. in reserve at DEAD END.
2nd
The arrangements for a raid in which we were cooperating were cancelled.
3rd
Sunday – the Coy. in reserve attended services. At 6pm the 2nd Bn Middlesex Regiment carried out a very successful raid on TEAL COTTAGE. They were supported by four MGs firing directly from the front line and by neutralizing MG barrages on the NORTHERN REDOUBT and the points from which the enemy might have interfered with the raid.
4th – 6th
Situation normal on our front.
7th – 8th
The Battalion was relieved in the line by the 29th Battalion MG Corps.
STEENVOORDE
The Battalion proceeded to STEENVOORDE being a Corps reserve.
9th
Lieutenant Colonel SHERBROOKE rejoined from a course at GRANTHAM.
10th – 11th
Refitting, training, etc. – The three company basics was cancelled and ‘D’ Coy. was reformed.
LONGUENESSE
12th
The Battalion was moved to LONGUENESSE into GHQ reserve.
13th – 20th
A full course of training embarked upon.
21st
At 10am the G.O.C. (General Officer Commanding) Division inspected the Battalion. During this parade, we received warning to be ready to move at five hours notice. In the afternoon we heard by phone that a move was probable and by evening this was confirmed and preparations were being made.
22nd
The Battalion left LONGUENESSE by Companies starting at 3am – A B and C Companies were ordered to move with 23rd, 24th, and 25th Inf. Battalions respectively. A Coy. entrained at WIZERENES, B at SAINT OMER- the remainder of the Battalion entrained at ARQUES. D Company did not leave LONGUENESSE until the afternoon.
The total entraining strength of the Battalion was Officers 37, Other Ranks 777, Horses and Mules 258, Axles 130, Bicycles 15.
6pm Battalion HQ detrained at ROSIERES and marched to HARBONNIERES. A. B. C. Coys. detrained with their respective Brigades.
23rd
Battalion HQ move to LIHONS.
A Coy. took up positions along the SOMME CANAL in front of VILLERS – CARBONNEL. Four guns were in action near BRIE on the far bank with the 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment and after covering the retirement of the Infantry withdrew to positions on our bank.
B Coy. detrained at NESLE and were placed at the disposal of the 18th Corps. They took up positions covering the Bridge heads BETHEUCOURT (Béthencourt), VOYENNES, COURTMELLE (Courtemanche), and OFFY (Offoy). All guns were in position by 2am. At 9am they were ordered to withdraw and report to the 24th Brigade at LECOURT (I’m going to guess Liancourt-Fosse). In the meanwhile, D Coy. which had detrained at 11am at ROSIERES had been put at the disposal of the 24th Brigade and had been rushed up in motor lorries.
C Coy. spent the night 22/23 near HALLU and moved up at 8am with orders to take up positions between ROUY-LE-GRAND and PARGNY. The guns placed near the RIVER D’INGON were moved towards BETHENCOURT as this appears on reconnaissance to be the danger point.
24th
The enemy attacked the line of the CANAL DE LA SOMME.
At dawn, he commenced to cross the river in earnest at FONTAINE-LES-PARGNY and BETHENCOURT. Heavy fighting on the slopes west of BETHENCOURT gave the machine guns many opportunities. By dusk, our line had fallen back to a line west of MORCHAIN and POTTS to MESNIL ST NICAISE.
On the left, the enemy attacked at 8.30am. During the early part of the fight A Company’s guns had few opportunities but after a short retirement, they got into action with great effect.
6pm Battalion HQ moved to FOUCAUCOURT.
25th
The enemy again attacked at dawn. Our line fell back to W(est) of OMIECOURT. At the end of the day, C Company had only three guns and no belts and the remnants of the Company were fighting as an Infantry Platoon.
The Division was ordered to fall back onto a line Hallu – in front of CHAULNE (Chaulnes) – ABLAINCOURT – ESTREES – The retirement took place during the night.
26th
Dawn found the Division on their new line but by 9am the enemy had broken through the Division on our left and it was clear that an immediate retirement would be necessary. The C.O. (Commanding Officer) was sent by G.O.C. (General Officer Commanding) 25th Infantry Brigade to LIHONS to organize a defensive flank to cover the retirement.
Battalion HQ left FOUCAVCOURT and retired via RAINCOURT, FRAMERVILLE, HARBONNIERS (Harbonnières) to MARCELCAVE.
In the afternoon, the Division had withdrawn to a shortened line, VRELY – ROSIERES.
Sixty new belt boxes and a lot of SAA (Small Arms Ammunition) was taken up in a lorry from MARCELCAVE and delivered to the companies at ROSIERES.
27th
The Division held the VRELY – ROSIERS line. The enemy attacked the left but were driven off.
28th
During the night and the early hours of the morning, the enemy made several attacks. At 8am the Division began to fall back onto a line VRELY – CAIX. By midday, the enemy were attacking the new line. The line gave way badly on the right but was re-established.
Battalion HQ, which passed the night 27/28 at DEMUIN, moved to MEZIERES.
About midday, orders were received to retire to MOREUIL. The retreat became general and orders were received to get back across the river. At first, ROUVEL was chosen as the stopping place but eventually, Battalion HQ went to AILLY-SUR-NOYE and orders were issued to all the Battalion to billet themselves independently and to report to the Battalion HQ at AILLY-SUR-NOYE at 10am on the morrow. The Battalion Transport had in the meanwhile been sent back to ORESMAUX.
29th
At 10am, all Companies reported to AILLY-SUR-NOYE as arranged. C Coy, who had billets in MORIZEL, started on their way to AILLY but were stopped and remained at MORIZEL while the O.C. Coy came in for orders.
The Division had been ordered to take up a line in the reserve to the French astride the MOREUIL – MEZIERES road.
Battalion HQ moved to CASTEL. The Transport to ROUVREL.
At 7pm, the fighting limbers and all the Companies met in a field at the E(ast) end of MORIZEL. Some new gun kit had been brought up and the Companies proceeded with a hasty refitting and reorganizing.
The Companies, which had hitherto been at the disposal of the various Brigades, were now returned to the C.O.’s immediate command. C and D Coys. were detailed for the line and A and B were to be in reserve at Battalion HQ.
Before C and D could get to their allotted positions, the enemy broke through on the right and they received orders to withdraw. They withdrew to ROUVREL where they prepared positions covering the village.
At 10pm, the situation was ………..(?) but apparently quiet and the enemy appeared to be held on the E(ast) of MOREUIL.
30th
At 4am, Battalion HQ moved to ROUVREL and on through COTTENCHY to LE PARACLET. They were followed by the Transport and all the Companies and at 5pm the whole Battalion was assembled at LE PARACLET.
The Battalion was now considerably reduced and in order to form two Companies, the remains of A and B were allotted to C and D respectively.
31st
At 1pm C and D Companies now representing the remains of the Battalion moved to CASTEL and came under the orders of the G.O.C. (General Officer Comanding) 23rd Infantry Brigade. Advanced Battalion HQ moved back to CASTEL leaving the Transport and details at LE PARACLET.
The guns of C and D Coys. were in action on the high ground E(ast) of CASTEL and in the valley towards MOREUIL station.
During these actions, our estimated casualties had amounted to 16 Officers and 300 Other Ranks. A larger number of the casualties are missing and a fair percentage were stragglers who, losing their own unit, joined up temporarily with others and are known to have been in action with Infantry, other machine gun Companies and, in the case of three men, with Cavalry machine guns.
Strength 31.3.18 – 540 all ranks and including on leave, ………..(?) etc.
April 1st
CASTEL
All remaining MGs and effectives of the Battalion in action W(est) of CASTEL. The guns moved their positions several times during the day in accordance with the tactical situation. The situation was more comfortable as there was now more artillery support.
The German advance from the 21st March to 5th April.
As it turns out, the Machine Gun Corps is one of the most mysterious and difficult to research organizations in the British Army. In 1920, all of the unit’s operational records, regimental orders, and establishments were totally destroyed in a fire at the Corps Headquarters at Shorncliffe, near Folkestone.
Then, in September 1940, during the London blitz, a vast number of personal enlistment records were destroyed. It has been estimated that only about 15% of the records pertaining to the MGC still exist.
And so a Corps that at its height was 100,000 men strong has become a virtual phantom. Some researchers have intimated that this was not entirely by accident.
The MGC was never popular with Senior Command. It was a unit whose necessity was only grudgingly and slowly acknowledged. Before the commencement of the war, the Corps didn’t exist. The British Army entered hostilities believing that one MG battery per Infantry Corps would give sufficient fire support. This gave each Battalion of nearly 1,000 men a machine gun section of just two guns.
Trench warfare and the devastation wrought by German MGs upon the Tommies soon put paid to such notions. However, the establishment of a dedicated machine gun Corps in October 1915 led to resentments among Infantry officers and the High Command. The MG officers tended to rule their own fiefs and were not disposed towards taking their orders from the Infantry.
The Corps also sucked up available recruits, taking the fittest and smartest and with its high casualty rate, was eternally hungry for more men. This is hardly surprising, units from the Machine Gun Corps were responsible for both offensive and defensive fire support. This made them a prime target for enemy artillery fire in particular.
In fact, the casualty rate among MGC troops was so high – around 62,049 (12,498 killed) out of 170,500 officers and men – that the corps became known as the ‘suicide club’.
That said, the calibre of the men of the MG Corps was very high. They soon built a reputation for courage and tenacity. Here is an example of the capabilities of these highly trained and motivated men:
Perhaps the most incredible was the action by the 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps at High Wood on August 24, 1916. This company had ten Vickers guns, and it was ordered to give sustained covering fire for 12 hours onto a selected area 2000 yards away in order to prevent German troops forming up there for a counter-attack while a British attack was in progress… [a] hundred new barrels were used up, and every drop of water in the neighbourhood, including the men’s drinking water and contents of the latrine buckets, went up in steam to keep the guns cool. And in that 12-hour period the ten guns fired a million rounds…
(Weapons & War Machines – Ian V. Hogg & John Batchelor)*
The water-cooled .303 British machine gun, manufactured by the Vickers Company, was used by the British Army from 1912 until the 1960’s. Famous for its great “solidity and reliability”, it was loved by the troops who operated it and feared by those who had to face it. Capable of a sustained fire of close to 500 rounds per minute, it was a truly terrible machine.
Each gun required a crew of six to eight men. One man fired, one man fed the ammunition belts, and the rest helped carry the heavy gun and keep it supplied with parts and ammunition. They were also tasked with defending the gun during an infantry attack.
This would have been no easy job. The Vickers and its tripod were both very heavy (the gun weighed up to 30 pounds and the tripod closer to 50) and, as I learned while reading the 8th Bn. War Diary for March 1918, they were constantly on the move. Only fit men were suitable for service in the MGC.
In the last weeks of his life, John and his Battalion were swept up in a fighting retreat which involved abandoning one defensive line and establishing a new one almost every day. And all while keeping a relentlessly advancing enemy at bay.
It would not, I believe, be putting too fine a point on things to say that the MGC saved the British Army from defeat on multiple occasions over the course of the war and yet, with unseemly haste, the Corps was summarily disbanded just four years after war’s end, it was claimed, as a cost-cutting measure.
Cap badge of the MGC.
*Though, here is an interesting (and at times heated) forum discussion regarding the incident that throws its authenticity, at least partially, into doubt.
It’s possible my first thought – that John was wounded on March 25th while fighting in support of the French – is correct. However, that would have put him some 50 miles from his burial site at Conty. That isn’t out of the question but the Battalion certainly fought much closer to Conty in the following days. Perhaps, then, the 25th is a bit of a stretch.
It would certainly help to know which Company John actually fought in.
Perhaps this would be a good time to discuss the organisation of a Machine Gun Battalion. A Battalion consisted of 4 Companies; A through D and each Company contained 16 MGs which were broken down into 4 Sections of four guns each. Total fighting strength of 8th Battalion at the beginning of March 1918 was 37 Officers and 777 other ranks.
The Battalion War Diary lists the remaining strength on March 31st as being 540 “all ranks” having lost an estimated 16 Officers and 300 other ranks.
For at least some part of that time, three of the Companies were fighting attached to different Brigades. On the 22nd, A Company was with the 23rd Brigade at Villers-Carbonnel with four of their guns deployed over on the far side of the Somme Canal from the rest of the Company.
B Company was with the 24th Brigade and C Company was with the 25th. By the following day, B Coy. was covering the bridgeheads at Bethencourt, Voyennes, Courtmanche, and Offoy while C Coy. were deployed at Hallu.
With such a wide spread dispersal, and no way of knowing the Company to which John belonged, it’s daunting if not impossible to pin down which actual actions he took part in.
On the 25th, C Company found itself under heavy attack and, by day’s end (according again to the 8th Bn. War Diary), had only 3 of its original 16 MGs left and no Ammunition belts. They were fighting as a rifle Company when night fell.
Again, if indeed John was in C Company, then this action would certainly be a likely candidate for when he received his wound. The trouble is, the fighting was hot right up to the 31st and beyond.
The British were fighting defensively, only grudgingly giving ground to the advancing Germans. In that kind of fighting, the machine gun units are always in the thick of it.
There is one other possible candidate to consider. On the 31st (the day before John’s death) the entire Battalion were fighting between Castel and Moreuil. This placed the Battalion just 15 miles from Conty on the day before John died of his wounds.
The red shaded areas are my estimations of where C and D Companies were probably deployed. The extract at the bottom of the image is the entry in the Battalion War Diary. It reads:
“The guns of C and D Coys. were in action in the high ground East of CASTEL and in the valley towards MOREUIL station.”
Given its close proximity to Conty, this is certainly a possible contender for John’s last fight. If so, I’d make an educated guess and say he was likely a member of C Company.
Because it’s entirely possible that he “died of wounds” the same day he was hit, here is the diary entry for the 1st of April:
It reads:
CASTEL, 1st
“All the remaining MGs and effectives of the Bn in action W(est) of CASTEL. The guns moved their positions several times during the day in accordance with the tactical situation. The situation was made more comfortable as there was now more artillery support.”
Reading back over this post, I’m inclined to think that March 31st/ April 1st are the most likely days for the events which led to John Harry’s demise.
A Padiham Man's Great Sacrifice 