1st Bn Middlesex Regt in May 1915

[delta]

I am researching the death of my mother's great uncle; James Barbour who served as a Private (Regtl Number 8546) in 1st Bn. of the Middlesex Regiment. He died aged 35 on Sunday 20 June 1915 in France and is buried at Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle-D'armentieres, Grave ref VI.L.27.

According to the info I have gathered so far; the Bn was in a quiet area after the battle of Aubers ridge.

Does any one have any mentions (from the war diary of the Bn) as to what was happening in the middle of Jun 1915

[Paul Reed]

Have you had a look at this website? It relates just to 1st Middlesex:

http://freespace.virgin.net/howard.anderson/

It says for the period you are interested in:

28th May to 30 June 1915

On the 28th May, the 19th Infantry Brigade (in which the 1st Middlesex was contained), which from October, 1914, had served with the 6th Division, was transferred to the 27th Division. The change is not referred to in the Battalion Diary, but at this period Brigades, and indeed Battalions of the old Regular Army, were transferred from their original formation to Divisions of the New Armies, which had begun to arrive in France and Flanders. It was thought necessary to "stiffen" the ranks of the New Army Divisions by introducing units from the original Expeditionary Force, which were now looked upon as veteran soldiers, as, indeed, they were. Not only officers, but N.C.Os. and men who had weathered the storm from August, 1914, to the Spring of 1915, were of priceless value in the training of the New Armies. Thus it came about that the 1st Battalion of the Die-Hards, with other units of the 19th Infantry Brigade, was transferred to the 27th Division; the 1st Middlesex, however, still remained in the same sector of the line, either in the Rue du Bois trenches or in billets in Gris Pot throughout June. The remainder of May (from the Battle of Aubers Ridge) and the whole of June were uneventful, and casualties were small. One officer was killed-2nd Lieut. W. W. Hardwick-who was shot and died of wounds on 11th June. On the last day of the latter month, the 2nd Middlesex were in Divisional Reserve, occupying billets one mile west of Sailly on the Estaires Road.

[Howard]

delta

You may like to look at http://freespace.virgin.net/howard.anderson/.

One of these days I hope to get to Kew and copy the War Diary.

I hope it helps

Howard

[delta]

Howard

Many thanks for the prompt reply and also for the link to the Middx website, which is most informative.

Do you have any idea where Gris Pot is; I can't find it through Autoroute - is it near to La Chapelle-D'armentieres where my "great uncle" is buried.

[Howard]

Do you have any idea where Gris Pot is; I can't find it through Autoroute - is it near to La Chapelle-D'armentieres where my "great uncle" is buried.

delta

Gris Pot is just north of Bois Grenier, which can be found using Autoroute.

The image here was from 5 December 1915 so not quite the right date.

Howard

[Gary Samson]

Hi Howard,

Just out of interest, is the Gris Pot image from The Imperial War Museum Trench Map Archive CD-ROM?

Gary

[Howard]

Just out of interest, is the Gris Pot image from The Imperial War Museum Trench Map Archive CD-ROM?

Yes it is.

Although I would like an original trench map, the CD costs about as much as just one of the 1:10000 maps so is very good value. Also, having them on a PC is more versatile than a paper one.

Howard

[delta]

Howard

Many, many thanks for the help

delta

[Max]

It was thought necessary to "stiffen" the ranks of the New Army Divisions by introducing units from the original Expeditionary Force

What I don't understand about the piece from the website is that it insinuates that the 27th Division was New Army when in fact it consisted of regular battalions and had been in action since December 1914.

Andy

[armourersergeant]

Andy.

It is probably refering to the fact that the men were not conversed with the ways of trench warfare etc. Whilst on the whole the men and units were regulars from India they had not seen action yet in France. General Snow the commander of 27th division has written much about this forming and its first months and the records are held in his papers at the IWM. I am not sure if he mentions the above battalion but he does discuss the fact that they were not prepared for the warfare into which they were sent and had little 'wet' protection when they went into the line in early 1915.

Arm.

[Howard]

Whilst on the whole the men and units were regulars from India they had not seen action yet in France.

They had by 1915. The 1st Middlesex was probably the very first unit to land in France in August 1914. As Lines of Communication troops they were soon put into the 19th Ind. Brigade and there after fought as regular troops, certainly in time for Mons, Le Cateau, Nery etc. so were amongst the most experienced available to the BEF. Of course trench warfare was new to everyone at the time.

The whole puzzle to me about the BEF troops and New Army is exactly how many survived 1914. So many accounts say the BEF was "all but wiped out" but clearly their were many regulars that survived. By 1915, was an Battalion a true "regular" one, i.e how many regulars were left?

In addition, all my attempts to find out how many of the regulars survived the war have failed miserably. No one it seems has any real idea.

Howard

[armourersergeant]

Whilst on the whole the men and units were regulars from India they had not seen action yet in France.

They had by 1915. The 1st Middlesex was probably the very first unit to land in France in August 1914.

Howard,

I was refering to the original troops and battalions asigned to the 27th Division before they crossed over to France. These troops did not go into action until early 1915 when they took over some line formerly occupied by the French. General Snow was not complimentary of its state if I remember correctly. I have a Dictophone recording of this but have yet to write it up.

Arm.

[Gary Samson]

Although I would like an original trench map, the CD costs about as much as just one of the 1:10000 maps so is very good value. Also, having them on a PC is more versatile than a paper one.

Thanks, Howard. Think I might dig deep and buy myself a post-Christmas treat.

Gary

[delta]

Great progress along "the trail" in the past 2 nights. Whilst reading "The war the infantry knew", I have learned that the Middx were in the trenches around Gris Pot on the date of his death. The German used artillery fire to destroy the British front line in the area and then sniped at the breaches. That my great uncle is buried in Ration Farm near La Chappelle Armentieres would make sense as it is at the end of the commmunication trench leading to the rear area from Gris Pot.

Many thanks for all who have guided me along the way

[Howard]

Whilst reading "The war the infantry knew"

The 2 RWF were for a long time in the same brigade then in the same division as 1st Middlesex. 19th brigade, then 98th. For much of the later part of the war, 33rd Div.

There is a lot known about 2RWF and much can be learned about conditions of battle at specific places from the excellent works that describe them. In addition to "The war the infantry knew" there is Frank Richards book "Old Soldiers Never Die", a really good read.

Quite often when 1Middlesex were in the front line, 2RWF were in reserve and vice-versa. A typical example was 25th September 1915 near Loos. Even when this did not happen, they were not far away as at High Wood in 1916.

Howard