Cpl Charles Samuel Gill, MM & Bar

[smr1]

I am posting details of one of my great uncles – both for information and to ask a few questions of the 1st/5th Lincs experts!

He has already been mentioned in another thread:

Pte Frank Scarfe 1/5 Lincolnshire Regt, Died 21/4/1917 - Remembered on GWF

The MM was also awarded to Lance-Corporal C.Gill who was in charge of the stretcher bearers during this period [19-23/4/17]; he continually exposed himself to heavy fire, while attending to the wounded.

Name: GILL, Charles Samuel

Born: 1895 at Scartho Top, Grimsby.

Son of Mr George and Mrs Maria GILL. He was the third eldest of 11 children. (My grandmother Mabel was the eighth eldest)

1st/5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment

Number: 3625 -> 240913

Rank: Private -> Corporal

Theatre of War: Flanders & France

Died of wounds, 15/10/18 (Age 23)

Buried in the St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen (grave reference S.II.F.22)

(I assume he was wounded at the front, and then later died in one of the Commonwealth hospitals that were stationed on the southern outskirts of Rouen)

“The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment” (published 1931) lists him in the Roll of Honour, 5th Batallion as:

Gill, Charles S., Cpl. M.M.

and in the list of Honours and Awards as:

Gill, C.S., L/Cpl. M.M.

My mother has his death plaque and the above photo (and that's it, any other documents and medals have disappeared).

There was an article in a local Lincolnshire paper (unfortunately I don’t have the details of the paper or the date, just a photocopy of the article itself). It reads:

Stretchered to the limit

A lady in Weelsby Street, Grimsby wrote to me this week in request of information on Charles Samuel Gill, son of George and Maria, his father the foreman at Scartho Top farm at the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Charles was in the Grimsby Territorials – the 5th Lincolns – when war broke out in 1914 and died of wounds at the end of the war in October 1918.

He was a stretcher bearer and no sort of soldier (other than padres) put his life in the hands of the Almighty like a stretcher bearer.

In May 1917 his gallantry was marked by the award of the Military Medal. Two months later and in the same capacity, he was awarded another – a “bar” as they say – to his MM.

He was one of only eight soldiers in the regiment to receive two MMs.

Whilst this article had useful additional information about the MM & Bar, I was initially doubtful about its accuracy. Firstly, all other sources indicate MM and not MM & Bar, and the “This History…” lists far more than “eight soldiers in the regiment to receive two MMs”.

However, a search of the London Gazette did indeed reveal two entries. The first on 18 June 1917 was for a M.M.:

240913 L./C. C. S. Gill, Linc. R.

The second was on the 17 September 1917 for a Bar to the MM:

240913 L./C. S. Gill, Linc. R. (Bishopthorpe) (M.M. gazetted 18 June, 1917.)

The second entry is interesting – it looks like a mistake was made and his first initial (C.) was dropped, probably as it looks ‘right’ given the last C. of L./C. could be confused with the missing initial. However, this must be C. S. Gill as he as both the correct number and the reference to the first M.M. has the correct ‘gazetted’ date.

Checking the “The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment” again, it lists:

Gill, S., L/Cpl M.M. & Bar

just after Gill, C. S. in the list of Honours and Awards. Checking the all batallion lists for the whole Regiment reveals no S. Gill, so I assume these two entries refer to one man – our Charles!

Some questions:

1) Does anyone know of an S. Gill in the Lincolnshire Regt, or must the “The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment” have it wrong?

2) Does anyone know when/where/how our Charles was wounded? If not, I assume I need to search the war diaries for the 1st/5th Lincs, working back from October 1918?

3) Does anyone know when/where/how he earned his second MM?

4) His Medal Index Card shows a ‘Qualifying date’ of 17/8/15. I assume this is the date he arrived in France? Is this not after the rest of the 1st/5th?

5) When did he enlist?

6) Which company would he have been in?

7) His entry in the “GRO War Deaths Army Other Ranks” is:

Gill, Charles S. Cpl. 240913 Linc. 1918 I.46 237

What does the I.46 and 237 refer to? (headed Vol[ume] and Page, but of what?)

Any other relevant information about Charles would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Mark

[Steve Bramley]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the forum.

What a great post. Fantastic to see a picture of 'our' Charles. It's a little late and I'm at work tomorrow so I'll briefly try to give you all the information that I have. I will make fellow 5th Lincs devotee Chris Bailey aware of your post and hopefully he will be able to add some more information.

I have compiled a database of men who served in the 5th battalion, its by no means full yet but I do have some info' regarding Charles. I'll quickly summarise the info' on the db and get back tomorrow evening when I've had a chance to add some detail (hopefully), so please bear with me.

I have Charles recorded as a Lance Corporal who was at some time in B Company. I Will have to check on this as the majority of Grimsby men were in A Company.

Charles enlisted in January 1915, I think you are quite right to assume that his 'qualifying date' is his date of arrival in France. He may well have arrived in France, probably at (Le) Havre, but would have been part of a draft to replace casualties at Ypres in Belgium. To be specific the 1/5th were engaged at a part of the Ypres front known as Hill 60 in August 1915.

The Battalion left the Hill 60 sector in September 1915, to prepare for the most tragic episode in their history the attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on October 13th 1915. This was the final phase of the battle of Loos. According to the official history, the 1/5th finished this day with only 125 (out of 800) men. Charles, it would seem was one of them.

After this the Battalion (and the Division, the 46th North Midland) were so badly mauled they were sent to Egypt, with the addition of a few more drafts. Their time in Egypt was brief however as they were recalled to the Western Front in late january 1916. After being gradually brought back up to strength, they spent March and April '16 at Vimy Ridge before being moved to Gommecourt on the Somme.

The 46th Division also took part in a diversionary attack at Gommecourt on 1st July 1916, the start of the battle of the Somme, which, as you may know, was a very costly battle in terms of casualties, which lasted until November of that year. The 1/5th were in Divisional reserve that first day but were involved during the night and the next day.

So within 8 months of arriving at the front Charles was involved in two of the most famous battles of the war, and survived both.

I have made a note on my database that Charles is mentioned in the 'Grimsby News' on 29/06/1917. This was no doubt the announcement of one of his MM awards. I will have to serach for the article.

I have him in the database as MM and Bar. I will have taken this information from the 'official history'. Which is written by Lt Colonel Sandall, the O.C. the Battalion (there is a copy in Grimsby Library).

I think that:

“The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment” (published 1931) lists him in the Roll of Honour, 5th Batallion as:

Gill, Charles S., Cpl. M.M.

and in the list of Honours and Awards as:

Gill, C.S., L/Cpl. M.M.'

Is indeed the same man.

Below is a link to the National Archives medal index card register, there are no 'S' Gills recorded in the Lincs Regt..

here

Both awards would have been earned during the Battalions time at Lens, in which they were involved at times in house to house fighting.

As regards his wound in 1918. At the moment I cannot comment (perhaps Chris B can help out here?) But I do have a copy of the war diary and will have a look for you tomorrow.

His entry in Soldiers Died in the Great War, shows Charles as: Born. Scartho, Enlisted. Grimsby. Lived Fotherby/Tetney. This last entry would have been the address of his next of kin?

There were two other 'Gills' (that I know of) in the 1/5th Lincolns:

William John, Pte 2416, next of kin lived at Beekingham. He worked at Watson's shipyard in Gainsborough. His father lived at 63 North St. in Gainsborough. K.I.A. 13.10.1915.

Harry, Pte 3251, A company. Born Cleethorpes, lived at 138 Guildford St Grimsby. Harry was killed along with 10 others in an assembly trench called Midland Trench on 1.07.1916 at Gommecourt. He was 26.

I hope that this has been usefull Mark, and hopefully between us we can answer all of your questions. If you would like to get in touch please do not hesitate.

Best wishes,

Steve.

P.S. I've never seen that newspaper article, but couldn't agree more with the writer re:

'He was a stretcher bearer and no sort of soldier (other than padres) put his life in the hands of the Almighty like a stretcher bearer.'

[smr1]

Hi Steve

Thanks for the quick reply with the additional info.

I checked your link to the National Archives, and spotted him listed again. This is his MM Index Card - I didn't realise he had two cards! (I stopped looking after I found the first!)

This confirms the bar, and gives a gazetted date of 17/9/17 which ties in with the S.Gill listed in the Gazette.

The other two Gill's could be more distant relations. Charles had four younger brothers. George, Willie [bill] and Thomas were born 1897, 1899 and 1900 respectively, although I'm not sure if they fought in the war, and Ern was born in about 1910. There is some debate in the family about when they moved from Scartho Top to Tetney (some say before, some say after the Great War), but his entry in Soldiers Died in the Great War could support the former (or perhaps they moved during the War?). Apparently a Zeppelin dropped a bomb near the farm!

Is the official history one for the Lincs Regt or is it the "OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR. France and Belgium 1917. Vol I. The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the Battle of Arras"? (Unfortunately I live in Shropshire, so it isn't easy popping into Grimsby library!)

Looking forward to hearing more.

Mark

[saberhagen427]

The official battalion history is Col. T. E. Sandall, A History of 5th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment. I don't think there is a copy in Grimsby library now, but we've got one on loan from Lincoln library, and I'm in the process of digitizing it. Gill is mentioned twice in the index. These are the relevant quotes:

April 1917:

The Military Medal was also awarded to Lance-Corporal C. Gill, who was in charge of the stretcher bearers during this period; he continually exposed himself to heavy fire, while attending to wounded, and showed great coolness and resource in his skilful handling of his section in bringing in wounded from the line to the Aid Post by the best route in the shortest possible time.

Attack on Lens, 30th June 1917:

The stretcher bearers also did very good work under heavy fire in the open, especially Privates F. Norton, E. Conroy, and Lance-Corporal C. S. Gill, while Sergeant E. V. Salmon also showed great courage...

Also see the 1919 Absent Voter List. There's a Thomas William Gill in Glebe Road, several other Gills.

[smr1]

Thanks for that Gavin. I'm keen to get access to the History of 5th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment once you have digitized it!

Mark

[Steve Bramley]

Hi Mark,

Another late one, so will again be brief I'm afraid. I will have some time to myself on Friday morning so will hopefully be able to reply more fully. (i'll also be trying to find a few more things for you Gavin! The football photograph is definately taken in front of the Main Stand at Grimsby Town, i suspect the 5th v the Chums)

I have found the Grimsby News article from June 29 '17 which is transcribed below. I think it's possible that the quotes are taken from his gazette citation, so you may recognise them, any way here goes:

'MILITARY MEDAL FOR LCE-CPL GILL

Mr and Mrs Gill, now at Bishopsthorpe Farm, Tetney, but for many years at Scartho, where their family were born and brought up, have received the pleasant information that their son, Lce-Cpl. Charles Gill of the Lincolns has been awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. The reasons given are:-

(1) The enemy opened up aheavy barrage on the trenches in which Lance-Corporal Gill was a stretcher bearer and inflicted casualties. Lce. Cpl. Gill continually exposed himself to heavy fire while attending to the wounded.

(2) On the evening of --- (censored) at the same place, when the trench was being heavilly shelled, Lce. Cpl. Gill went down the line in search of casualties, attended to a wounded man and himself carried him to shelter.

(3) During the period 19th to 23rd April 1917, Lce Cpl Gill handled his section of stretcher bearers very skilfully, and has shown considerable coolness and resource in getting wounded from the line to the regimental aid post by the best route in the shortest possible time. He has set an excellent example to his men, and his work has been consistantly good.

Recommended for immediate reward, 3rd may 1917.

Lance Corporal Gill joined the Lincolns in January 1915 and and went to France in August 1915.'

That's some tribute.

The 1917 editions of the Grimsby News have recently been re-photographed and 're-done' onto micro-fiche, the quality is very good. If you would like me to get a copy for you then please let me know.

I have had a very brief look at the Batn. WD for the action prior to Charles death from wounds. As a first 'guesstimate' I think that there are several possible dates for him being wounded, starting from the beginning of September 18. Unfortunately none are mentioned by name. I have an initial 'feeling' for three dates in:

Sunday 29th Sept. The actions following the famous crossing of the St.Quentin Canal. The 1/5th suffered 35 wounded casualties during the action and later 20 more due to shellfire at their final position.

Oct 3rd near Magny La Fosse/Ramicourt during relief of the 139th Brigade, 14 wounded.

Oct 11th relieved the 6th S.Staffs and went into Div. reserve for 6 day at Fresnoy le Grand. On the 12th the village was shelled by a haevy gun causing casualties (killed and wounded) The diary entry looks suspiciously like the Adjutant was preparing to 'name' these men but unfortunately there are none named.

I shall scan the WD on Friday.

I don't think that CB has seen this thread yet, but II'm sure he can add a few ideas. Chris and myself visited the St.Queintin canal area last year, very intersting and very different to the more familiar battle areas i thought.

Regards,

Steve.

P.S.

I think the beginning of the article will at least settle part of the family debate . Bishopthorpe Farm still exists, I'm planning to write to the current occupiers on the off-chance. A Zeppelin did raid Cleethorpes on (if memory serves) 1st July 1916. I also have a (vague at the mo') recollection of the same Zep. dropping bombs in the 'country'. But that's another story. There is now a modern estate in Gy called Scartho Top.

[saberhagen427]

I have a vague childhood memory of being told that a Zeppelin dropped bombs on Scartho, destroying a chip shop! There might even be a memorial plaque on the site, but then again I could have imagined the whole thing.

Gill is also in the list of awards at the back of Sandall's book (I forgot to look there before) and he was one of only 8 men in the battalion to be awarded the MM and bar (the newspaper must have confused battalion and regiment, but it's still a very special achievement).

[Terence Munson]

Gavin Robinson said:

I have a vague childhood memory of being told that a Zeppelin dropped bombs on Scartho, destroying a chip shop! There might even be a memorial plaque on the site, but then again I could have imagined the whole thing.

Hi, The Zeppelin dropping bombs on Scartho was the subject of This topic on the 90th Anniversary in September

Charles S. Gill is remembered on this Stone Slab Memorial in North Aisle of St Giles Church, Scartho.

 

Cheers Terry

Edited 27 October , 2018 by Terence Munson
to remove attachments

[smr1]

Thanks for all the additional info.

Steve - thats great. Many thanks again for all your help.

Terry and Gavin - thanks for the additional info re: the Zeppelin. This confirms my Grandmother's recollection that "a German Zeppelin dropped a bomb nearby" when they were at Scartho Top, suggesting they were still there in September 1916. And the Grimbsy News article inicates they were in Bishopthorpe Farm by June 1917, so that, as Steve says, helps solve that debate

Gavin - also nice to see our Charles is remembered in St Giles Church, Scartho.

Mark

[Terence Munson]

Mark (smr1) - Could you please contact me via one of the email links in either of my websites at the bottom of my signature?

Cheers Terry

[smr1]

It seems appropriate on this, the 90th anniversary of Charles’s death, to update this thread.

I would like to thank Steve Bramley for his help researching Charles, and much of the information presented below originates from Steve.

Charles’s obituary was in the Grimsby News on Friday 1st November 1918. It reads as follows:

Quote

CPL. CHARLES GILL. who was seriously wounded on September 22nd, passed away in a base hospital in France on October 15th. Charles Samuel Gill was born and brought up at Scartho, where he worked on a farm till joining the local Territorials in January of 1915. He went to France in the August, and was steadily carrying on for three years and one month. In our issue of June 29th last year we recorded with pleasure that he had been awarded the Military Medal “for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.” The reasons given were:-

(1) “The enemy opened a heavy barrage on the trenches in which Lce.-Cpl. Gill was a stretcher bearer and inflicted casualties. Lce.-Cpl. Gill continuously exposed himself to heavy fire while attending to the wounded.”

(2) “On the evening of - at the same place, when a trench was being heavily shelled, Lce.-Cpl. Gill went down into the line in search of casualties, attending to a wounded man and himself carried him to shelter.”

(3) “During the period 19th to 23rd April, 1917, Lce.-Cpl. Gill handled his section of stretcher bearers very skillfully and has shown considerable coolness and resource is getting wounded from the line to the regimental aid post by the best route in the shortest possible time. He has set an excellent example to his men and his work has been constantly good.”

He was recommended for immediate reward on 3rd May, 1917. On July 1st 1917, Cpl. Gill was awarded a bar to his medal, the services gaining this award being set out as follows:-

“Awarded bar to Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the 1st July, 1917, when the battalion attacked the enemy positions at Cité de Moulins, south-west of Lens.” “This N.C.O. is a stretcher bearer, and owing to casualties, practically the whole work of two companies fell to him. He displayed great personal courage and disregard of danger going through very heavy fire from artillery, machine guns and snipers to attend to the wounded. He showed great resource in getting the wounded away, especially in the case of an officer whom he attended and succeeded in getting away under very heavy fire, many shells bursting quite close to him. He has, on many occasions, done good work and shown great gallantry under fire. Recommended for immediate reward, 11th July, 1917.”

Many are the stories that the men of his company tell of his courage and devotion. “He would fetch his men from anywhere if they were hit and think nothing of himself,” said one. His superior officer, the regimental doctor, wrote to the parents on September 24th:- “I am very sorry to say that your son, Cpl. Gill, was wounded two days ago. It was a small wound to the back of the head. I do not think it serious as it was apparently only skin deep. I am extremely sorry to loose him as he was always cheery and willing and one could always rely on his doing his job.” The sister of the casualty clearing station wrote that he was badly wounded and his brain injured, but he was having every care and attention and all that he needed. He was moved to the base where they sent word he was conscious and had no pain, and later came the news:- “He had a very peaceful, happy death and did not suffer in the very least. Was unconscious for some time and left no message. He did not suffer and was most patient and good whilst with us, and such a very nice boy.” A friend has written who looked after him when wounded and said it did not seem serious, he was quite cheerful and said he should soon be in England. Great sympathy is felt for the family (who have recently moved from Scartho to Tetney) in their loss. One other brother is serving and two more have since been called up.

At the time that Charles was wounded, the 5th Lincolns had just moved up to positions in front of the German Hindenburg Line, occupying trenches recently captured by the 12th Australian Infantry Brigade. The 5th Lincolns would be involved in the 46th North Midland Division’s attack on the Hindenburg Line, including crossing the St Quentin Canal, on the 29th September, which has been described as one of the greatest achievements of the Great War. However, it appears that Charles was wounded before this momentous day.

The obituary implies the date that Charles received his wound was the 22nd September. The Battalion War Diary for this date states “Fine day. Enemy shelled whole of the Battalion area with H.E and Gas. Casualties NIL.” My assumption at this stage is that the War Diary is correct, and that the discrepancy is associated with the letter from the regimental doctor. I would guess that the letter could have been written at any time of day, and that ‘two days earlier’ could be an approximation, with it being equally as likely that the actual date was either the day before or after the 22nd. The 5th Lincolns War Diary indicates that there were 2 killed and 7 wounded on the 23rd September, so this is clearly a possibility. The War Diary entry for the 21st September is as follows:

"Rained a little. Battalion carried out training. Coy in the attack at night the Battalion moved up to the line and relieved the 46th and 48th Batt, Australian Battalions in the right sub-sector and held the line from M.3.a.8.8 to Road at G.27.d.4.7. Relief was complete at 11pm after relief dispositions were as follows: A Right front Coy. B left front. D support Coy. C Reserve. Casualties: "

It appears that whoever wrote up the dairy left space for the casualties to be entered later, but this never happened. Sandall’s ‘History of the 5th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment’ for the period 21-23 September simply regurgitates the War Dairy, and does not tell us anything more. However, the War Dairies of the Australians are more revealing:

46th Battalion Australian Infantry Force War Diary entry for 21 September 1918.

The day was fine with a cold westerly wind blowing. During the morning the enemy shelled forward area frequently. About 12 o’clock a dozen enemy planes flew low over our lines, but were successfully driven off by Anti-Aircraft machine gun fire.

The afternoon was quiet except for intermittent shelling of Battalion Headquarters. At dusk we were relieved by the Lincoln’s. The relief was carried out in record time, and apart from one casualty caused by a bomb from an enemy plane, which were very active during the whole night, everything went exceptionally well. At 11.19 p.m. the Battalion was clear of the trenched and en route for TINCOURT at a distance of 16 kilos.

48th Battalion Australian Infantry Force War Diary entry for 21 September 1918.

The following day was spent mainly in completing arrangements for guides, checking stores and showing the advance parties from the Lincolns over the Battalion Area in readiness for the relief that night. The enemy became very quiet throughout the day in fact the only spot that seemed to worry him at all was the Battalion Headquarters which he concentrated with shell fire three times during the day,probably due to the increased movements. His efforts however brought him no results. Shortly after dark the Hun completely changed his tactics and appeared to get very jump until about 10p.m. He very heavily shelled and Bombed all the Gulleys and front line approaches everybody fully expected a very sticky relief, but strange to say at 10 P.M. just about the time the first company of Lincolns arrived he seemed to quieten down. The relief went ahead well except that one Company of Lincolns were very much delayed owing to them losing their Lewis Guns. It took them One and a half hours to rectify the trouble. The relief complete without casualties came through from C company at 2-15 a;m who were unfortunately the delayed Company.

The 4th Leicesters occupied the section to the immediate north of the 5th Lincolns on the same night (21st September). Milne’s ‘Footprints of the 1/4th Leicestershire Regiment’ states that the battalion “arrived in position west of Pike Wood at 9.30p.m. They were badly bombed by hostile aeroplanes on the way up and had ten men hit. They realised that this was not going to be a field day.”

From these accounts it appears that German planes were active over the area around the time of the relief on the 21st, and although the Australians got off lightly, the Leicesters suffered ten casualties. Given this enemy activity, is it possible that the 5th Lincolns suffered casualties. Perhaps a hit on the Regimental Aid Post wounded Charles and possibly others, and the resulting confusion ended up with the War Diary not being completed that night?

In the summer of 2007, I visited the area where Charles was wounded. The site is now dominated by the A26 Autoroute, which comes close to following the front line occupied by the 5th Lincolns on the 21st September. Here are a couple of photos:

The view looking south from the Australian 4th Division Memorial near Bellenglise. This marked the northern most part of the section of trench occupied by the 5th Lincolns on 21st September 1918. From here, the front line trench ran across to the motorway (where the two lorries are), then along this side of it behind the woods to where the modern Aire de repos de la Haute Bruyere is located.

The view to the south-west from the 'Victoria Cross Roads' on 1918 Trench Maps. This prominent cross-roads lay just behind the front line. The Australian 46th and 48th Battalion Regimental Aid Posts were located in the woods beyond the car. It is possible that the 5th Lincolns occupied one of these, and if so this photo could show the location where Charles was wounded.

Which ever day Charles was wounded, he must have been moved down the casualty evacuation chain and ended up in a hospital in Rouen. Charles’s Death Certificate confirms the 15th October 1918 as the date of his death and gives the place of death as “3rd Stat. Hos., Rouen”, with the cause of death being “Wounds received in action”.

I visited Charles’s grave in the St Sever cemetery in Rouen in the summer of 2007.

I plan to write to the Commonwealth War Graves Commision to point out the error on Charles's grave stone - it should of course read MM & Bar and not just MM.

Mark

Edited 16 October , 2018 by smr1
Missing photos reinstated

[Terence Munson]

Mark,

Great photo of Charles' headstone. I'm sure the CWGC will correct their database in time.

You might be interested to know that Tom R Newmarch who worked on the same farm in Scartho and his name is with Charles' and six more on the stone memorial in St Giles Church, Scartho, has been "brought in from the cold" it took almost a year but his CWGC headstone was placed in the church yard a few weeks ago.

See this LINK.

Cheers, Terry

[Steve Bramley]

Information from prisoners indicated that a further retreat to behind Lens was imminent. This gave high command the impression that only slight pressure, applied further south towards Hill 65 and Cite de Riaumont, was all that was needed to establish a line to the East of Lievin. But it soon became obvious that the German army were still holding Hill 65 in some strength and the southern part of the Cite de Riaumont. But Intelligence considered that the Germans were only making a show and small attacks would clear the positions. The task of capturing these positions fell to 139th Brigade of which the 1/6th and 1/8th Battalions Sherwood Foresters would lead.

Preparation took place as soon as the Division entered the front lines on the 19th April; the attack would take place on the 23rd. For the 1/5th Lincolns their first period in the new sector was to last six days starting at 9 p.m. on the same night, the Battalion completed the relief of the West Surreys at 2 a.m. The recent intensive spell of training for open warfare must have seemed like a distant memory as the men were immediately pinned down under intervals of protracted artillery bombardment. D and B Companies were positioned in the front line, which consisted of a series of outposts, each with three platoons in the posts and one in support. Some werein trenches, others in the remains of houses, all of which had lately been vacated by the enemy who had moved approximately 400 yards away. A and C Companies were in reserve in cellars at Cite St.Pierre. Battalion Headquarters was established just behind at Maroc. The outposts together loosely formed Cooper trench, which created an exposed salient in front of Cite St. Pierre.

Overlooked by the Germans and shelled from every direction, Cooper trench was unapproachable in daylight, except by those who were willing to crawl. To the left could be seen the low slagheap and railway line of the St.Pierre coalmine. Shellfire was described by the 1/5th Leicestershires as, ‘very hot throughout, especially at night. Plenty of MG fire up the streets, making ration carrying a dangerous job’ Both front companies were deluged with shells almost as they entered their new positions, and the shellfire increased during the night. When holding outpost lines like these there was little that the private soldier could do to protect himself from the barrage. He could press himself into the earth, perhaps offer a silent prayer that the next shell did not ‘have his name on it’, and look to his officer or N.C.O.for encouragement. Being pinned down under shellfire was the ultimate test of a man’s nerve.

Lieutenant Mark Robinson was buried and severely shaken by one explosion. After he was extracted he remained at his post and encouraged his men. Sergeant Thomas Huddlestone, in charge of another post, showed complete disregard for danger as he moved up and down outside it also encouraging his men. Some of them had not been under shellfire before, and must have been terrified. Huddlestone, it may be remembered, was the winner of the ‘rumble’ boxing tournament of the previous year on the Somme. Almost inevitably there were casualties. Frank Scarfe from Lincoln, who had been with the Battalion only since late 1916 and Lewis gunner Jack Wilkinson of D company and Gainsborough, a MM recipient at Gommecourt the previous

December, were killed on the 21st. Their bodies were taken back and buried side by side near to headquarters at Maroc.

The relentless shellfire lasted throughout the Lincolns time at Cite St.Pierre. The stretcher-bearers were under intense pressure and great personal risk as they tried to get the wounded back to the dressing stations. Lance Corporal Charles Gill of Tetney was the N.C.O. in charge of the bearers and showed great coolness and resource when organising his men throughout the whole period. On the second evening in the line and in the middle of a barrage, Gill left his trench in search of casualties. He found one badly wounded man, attended to him and carried him back to shelter. Four days later, when fatigue was taking it’s toll, Gill’s own trench came under shellfire. During the bombardment he continually exposed himself to danger as he struggled to attend to the wounded. One of the casualties to be evacuated from the firing line by the stretcher-bearers was Lance Corporal Tom Smith, of Great Carlton near Louth. Smith was taken to Chocques, where he received treatment for his wounds at No1 Casualty Clearing Station but gave way to his injuries before he could be moved towards home. Smith was 26-years-old and now lies in the cemetery at Chocques, next to where the 1st Army C.C.S. was formerly situated.

Sleep peacefully Charles

[sar2jec]

Mark and Steve,

I must say what excellent write-ups you've posted there. It's great to see just how much detail its possible to put together on one mans service. A really terrific tribute to a genuine local hero.

- Jonathan

[temptage]

QUOTE

The stretcher bearers also did very good work under heavy fire in the open, especially Privates F. Norton, E. Conroy, and Lance-Corporal C. S. Gill, while Sergeant E. V. Salmon also showed great courage...

Incidentally, from that gallant band of stretcher bearers Edwin Conroy also received the MM and Bar. He survived the war and is buried in Cleethorpes Cemetery.

[Kitchener's Bugle]

After reading all of that.... you must be very pround of your Great Uncle Smr1......................he was a brave man............

[Guest ChrisR47]

Mark,

I recently stumbled across this fascinating post. Charles's sister Gladys was my Grandmother. Since we are related it would be nice to get in touch. Perhaps you would like to PM me an email address or telephone number.

Best wishes

Chris Roberts

[smr1]

Today (15th October 2018) is the centenary of the death of my great uncle Charles. Earlier today I revisited his grave in St Sever cemetery in Rouen to lay a wreath to remember his sacrifice. A few years ago I contacted the CWGC to request they correct their records as they had originally omitted the Bar to his Military Medal. The online record was quickly corrected, and Charles’ gravestone has also been corrected. It retains the family’s poignant inscription: “In our home he is sadly missed. Rest in peace.”.

Edited 15 October , 2018 by smr1

[AC00]

Hi

I have just come into possession of a MM set of medals belonging Cpl C S Gill the medals are shown in image. You will also see there is a set of WW2 medals belonging to his son. There are also two pictures one of Charles aged 17 and one of his son WW2

There are also several Lincs shoulder titles. The set appears to be missing the 1914-15 Star and the Bar to the MM. Would anybody be able to advise what has happened to them

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

Allan

[AC00]

I have a feeling they may be not correct as another complete set were sold in July and this included the 14-15 Star