The Hampstead Heavies 138th Heavy Battery RGA

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THE HA MPS TEA D HEA VIES



The Hampstead Heavies 138th Heavy BatteryR.G.A.)

~ narrative of a 6 pounder ¶ 3attery

in rance and Belgium during the

Great War

BY

WALTER WRIGHT.

1926.

Published at 14, M A C K E S O N R O A D H A M P S T E A DN.W.3.



l ’o the undying Memory

of

~aIorbaroLb~3t’abamPari~ R ~ tM and Bar,

~ \Vho founded the138th Heavy Battery, and who was

~ in commandwhen he was killed in action at Estrees,

October 6th, 1918.



Preface.

This brief history of the r3 8th Heavy Battery, Royal

Garrison Artillery, is written mostly from memory, so I must

ask the indulgence of my readers for any omissions or

mistakes. The accuracy of figures and dates cannot be

vouched for, except in the case of the magnificent account,

by the late Major Paris, of the March, 1918, retreat; and

the concise summary of the Battery’s movements in 1918,

written by Bombardier Stockdale.



THE HAMPSTEAD HEA VIES

CHAPTER I.

In July, 1915 the then Mayor of Hampstead AldermanO’Brien), with the consent of the War 0111cc, decided to

raise a Battery of Heavy Artillery in the Borough, in additionto the Brigade of Royal Field Artillery which had alreadybeen recruited. Captain Paris was posted from 131 HeavyBattery to take command, and in effect, create and mouldthe Battery. How well and truly that work was carried out,was proved by the ultimate record of the Battery of his

~ training.He had as valuable assistants 2/Lts. Bailey, Marshall

and Greenhough, all postings from the British ExpeditionaryForce. Recruiting at first was rather slack, and as a result,the fifty or so men, who were to form the nucleus of the full

~ battery, had a fairly easy time. A sudden influx of men atthe height of the recruiting boom brought the Battery up tostrength about the end of September, 1915. The establish -ment of Officers had also been increased by the posting of2/Lt. Flilt and 2/Lt. Johnson.

It was now that the Battery actually began to show

signs of becoming a self-contained unit. A number of horseswere drawn, and, looking back, it is amusing to think ofthe wonderful adventures of the then new recruits, in safelygetting the horses, from various parts of London, to thestables in the Corporation Yard at Lymington Road,Hampstead.

Real guns were out of the question, and so with greatingenuity pieces of piping were mounted on wheels, to assistin instructing the men in gun drill, etc. Sub-sections hadby this time been definitely fixed, drivers allotted to horses,gunners to the various gun numbers, and menibers of theObservation Party to their own particular work. Most ofthe men, being local men, were billeted at their own housesin the vicinity, the remainder being placed in billets in privatehouses in Hampstead.

The training, drill, driving, riding, gun drill, and obser -vation work, at this time took place on Hampstead Heath



THE HAMPSTEAD HEAViES.

an ideal spot for this purpose), the Hampstead CricketGround, and Sparc ground off the Lymington Road. Thesurviving members of the Battery, I am sure, will always

have very pleasant recollections of Hampstead and thesplendid way we were treated by the residents.This comfortable type of soldiering went on for six

months, till March ist, 1916, when orders were received forthe Battery to proceed by road to Charlton Park, Woolwich.It should be added that the equipping of the Battery withlimbers, gun wagons, etc., had been proceeding at Hamp.stead, so that quite a considerable and soldierlike columntook the road on that date. This short move—of one day’sduration—was, to the Battery at that time, quite an excitingexperience. The short stay at Chariton Park—extendingover about 8 days—was mainly devoted to drawing equipmentand horses, and completing establishment in personnel.Orders were then received to proceed by road to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain) for the purpose of passing firing tests.This march, accomplished in five days, was to the men, newto soldiering, a fairly pleasant experience, although, coming

as it did inMarch,

the weather was not too good. The routetaken was Charlton Park to Wimbledon, Wimbledon toGuildford, Guildford to Basingstoke, Basingstoke to Andover,Andover to Larkhill. The first night’s stop at Wimbledon,was conspicuous for the fact that about 30 horses fell illwith colic, meaning many anxious hours for the veterinarystaff. The march from Wimbledon to Guildford, on abeautiful day, and through some lovely Surrey scenery, wasa most enjoyable one to men for the most part new to the

life of the road. The rest of the journey was uneventful,and Larkhill was reached on the fifth day in the early after -noon. To anyone who knows that inhospitable district, thefeelings of disgust and dismay of the men may be readilyimagined. Here the Battery found the fifth element ofwarfare—nlud, and at this time of the year the end ofMarch) the place was a sea of slime. It would be best topass over this period of about eight days with as few wordsas possible.

It was a very bedraggled and crestfallen battery that leftafter this trying period, during which both officersand menwere chased about by Generals and Colonels, who attemptedto instil into the minds of the poor unfortunates, in no verypolite terms, their ideas of gunnery and horsemanship.Sufficient to say that the Battery passed its firing testcreditably; incidently here using and firing live shell for thefirst time. On leaving Larkhill, the Battery moved by road



THE HAMPSTEAD HEAVIES.

to Bordon—a very pleasant camp—via Andover and Basing-stoke, arriving at Bordon on the third day. Here, apartfrom a few route marches, the time was spent in completing to

establishment, personnel and equipment. To those directlyconcerned with the equipment, the G1o98 well known toQuarter Master Sergeants) first presented its wonderfulmysteries. While at this station, Major Arthur Mitchell,D.S.O., was posted as Officer Commanding. Musketrytests, inoculation, and vaccination were among the amuse -ments indulged in here, and it began to dawn on all, whenfour lays’ overseas leave was granted, that it would not bevery long before the Battery would be off “ over there.”Finally, orders were received to entrain at Bordon on themorning of April j3 th, 2916. Tile difficulties of loading abattery on the rails having been solved, the Battery reachedSouthampton Docks about midday. After the horses hadbeen examined by a Veterinary Officer who cast a few, andproduced from somewhere, animals to take their places) theembarkation was begun, and safely accomplished by aboutfour o’clock, the boat having the honour of the load being

the City of Dunkirk. At seven p.m. the Battery leftSouthampton on the great adventure.Looking back now on that night crossing, one can

afford to laugh, but at that time I am sure there were veryfew who felt in a hilarious mood. To many of the men itwas their first sea voyage, and it was a bad one. Alarge number of the men and horses were very seasick. Inaddition to this there was no comfort of any sort to beobtained, and the majority were mostly feeling to someextent the leaving of a life they knew and were accustomedto, for a something and somewhere quite unknown. In spiteof all these troubles we arrived at Le Havre in the earlymorning, which was warm for the time of year, and us -embarked.

CHAPTER II.After all the wonders of the huge cranes which swung

guns, lorries, and wagons down on to the quay as if theyhad been toys, and our more personal experiences with thehorses; which, though at Southampton so very unwilling toembark, were at Le Havre equally obstinate to be dis -embarked; we formed up into a hot and dusty column, andmarched off to one of the numerous camps just outside the

3




town. The strange sights of this very ordinary Frenchtown, were, to the Battery, with no experience of the kind,quite interesting, and I am afraid that very little attention

was paid to orders owing to the wonder of t i m estrange sights,which were in time to become to some extent the everydaylife of us all. It was with thankfulness that, at the camp,after attending to the necessary duties of horse wateringand fatigues peculiar to arrivals, we settled down to somefood and a little rest. One night was spent at this camp,and we marched out the next afternoon the i5 th) for thestation, our ultimate destination “ the firing line.” This,our first train journey in France, and our first experience ofthat wonderful French vehicle, the 40 Hommes-8 chcvaux,from the beginning was a wonderful affair.

At the Station, we, who thought ourselves experienced,after the entrainment at Bordon, found it not at all easy toget a battery on to rails, even with the aid of a number ofvery excited and voluble French railway officials. Sufficientto say that we finally left Le Havre at 7 p.m. I am afraidthere are not many who could say with much certainty which

route we took, but we arrived next morning, about io n.m.,at Bethune. Here, for the first time, we heard the guns,and saw a German ‘plane being strafed by our Anti-Aircraftguns. After a quick detrainmcnt we set off for the wagonlines under t i m eguidance of a N.C.O. from the Battery wewere to relieve. A march of about five miles brought us inthe early evening to the little village of Houchin, practicallyuntouched, and except for the presence of troops and horses,showing no trace of the war. Here the Battery met the

Advance Party, which had left a day or two before, and wereled to a camp in a field—inches deep in mud—the men beingbilleted in two big huts. Just before lights out, a party wasdetailed for the l ine for the following lay, for reconnoitringand instructional purposes. The writer can well rememberhis thoughts that night as to what it was all going to belike. Early next morning, the 27th April, the party set offin two General Service wagons. The implicit instructionswe had all received before setting out, made us wonder whatsort of a reception we were to receive. After travellingabout three miles the wagons separated, one going to theRight Section at Mazingarbe, and the other to Corons d’Aix,just south of Bully Grenay. Our surprise may be imaginedwhen it is stated that the day passed like a picnic. Visitsto the guns, occasional instructional shoots, telephone linespatrolled, and Observation Posts found, and yet no trace ofthe horrors we had been expecting. And, in addition to




this, what amazed us above everything, was to find civiliansliving in these villages apparently unperturbed. I think itwas seeing these French people living in their shattered

houses which made the men determined to give of their best.We arrived back at the wagon lines late at night, afterlosing the road, quite heroes amongst our comrades, whowere, however, somewhat disappointed at our stories of theapparent peacefulness of the firing line, a peacefulness which,we were to find later, was but t i m e forerunner of sonicof the horrors we had been expecting on this first anduneventful trip to the firing l ine.

The following morning, tile iSth, the Battery marchedup into action, the Right Section to Mazingarbe, in theChalk Pit a famous artillery position) on the road betweenMazingarbe and l’hilosophe, and the Left Section to tile eastof the road Bully-Aix Noulette, in the vicinity of Corons.d’Aix, from where the guns were moved to a sunken roadabout 200 yards west, nfew days later. Once in action, t I m emen soon adapted themselves to active service conditions,and it is surprising with what speed they fell into the existingroutine. It says much for the credit of the officersand menwhen it is stated that in a very short time the Battery waseffectively filling the place of the time serving unit they hadrelieved, and this in spite of their short training and verylimited use of the ôo Pr. gun in England.

Shortly after, on the 2pth April, the Battery had its firstreal taste of warfare, the Germans heavily shelling bothpositions, the Right Section coming under a very heavy gascloud, our first experience of this particular method of war -

fare, but luckily, by the prompt use of the P. H. gas-helmets,escaping casualties. Two men were slightly wounded at theRight section, and one a wireless operator of the R.A.F.attached to the Battery) at the Left Section. It was duringthis attack that the 11th Irish) Division were badly gassed.

After this action the sector settled down to a fairly quietexistence, and the men were able, as far as was possible, tomake themselves comfortable in their lug-outs and impro -vised billets. These conditions continued for some weeks,till about the middle of May, when the Right section movedto a position in another sunken road just outside the villageof Bully. On May 2 9th, while t i m eSections were in thesetwo positions, they experienced a heavy bombardment, eachsection in turn being shelled, at the Right Section three menbeing killed. These were the first fatal casualties, and werecaused by a direct hit on the dug-out they were occupying.

After this, at the time, rather terrible experience, the




Battery settled down again, being occasionally shelled, butno great damage being lone. At the beginning of July theBattery was ordered to move to Laventic, on the Ncuve

Chapelle front, to take part in the attack on Aubers Ridge.A position was taken up in an orchard, and some mosteffective firing was done, the gun being continually in actionfor 36 hours. In spite of this, not one shell in retaliationfell into the battery position. It was certainly a novelexperience to be able to pick up fruit shaken off the treesby the vibration from the gulls. The weather while on thismove was glorious, and after the comparative inactivity ofthe preceding months, the change was very welcome. Thispleasant state of affairs, however, only lasted a few days,t i m e Battery being ordered to return to the old position onthe Lens front. Strange to say, and luckily for the Battery,just as the last wagon pulled out of the orchard the Germansstarted shelling, and it was reported by the Rear I’arty thenext day that the position where time guns had been was verybadly knocked about. The old positions were reached aboutthe middle of July, and it was quite like returning home to

see the familiar slag heaps and ruined mine buildings ofBully.A further misfortune befell the Battery on July 2gth, the

post orderly being killed on the N~ux les Mines-Arras Roadwhile fetching mail.

CHAI~TER III.Turning to t i m e lighter side of the life, one is boutld to

recall the intimate friendships formed between men whohad previously but barely known each other. Very occasionaloutings to Bethune for tile day, with its accompanying andunaccustomed luxuries, such as real French pastries, eggsand chips, th~ baths, and last but not least t i m ewalk back iii

t i m eevening. In the village of Bully itself, which the men

had by now got to regard almost as home; tile estanunets which usually carried on as a side line tile business of eggsand chips), the morning scramble for the. long loaves ofbread which seemed to be sold rather by length than weight,and tile little curio shops where one could buy wonderfulsouvenirs made by the French civilians from enemy animuni -tion. But to the majority of the men of the Battery, theirtrue home in Bully was the little house of Madame Lavogiez

6




in the Grand Rue. This little woman whose husband wasfighting at Verdun) with her three children, personified thevery soul of France. For any of our boys who liked to look

in, there was always a welcome, with the inevitable cup ofcoffee from tile coffee pot, which was everlastingly beingreplenished for the dozens of visitors who called. I thinkshe would be well named tile mother of the 238 HeavyBattery, and the writer recalls many happy hours spent inthat house, and in particular one feast night, when, incompany with two other favoured comrades, he partook ofa wonderful dinner of baked rabbit and other mysteries,which were, in spite of their niystery, very appetising.

To resume, about the end of August, 1916, the Batterywas made into a Six Gun Battery, by tile addition of asection of the m 6 6Heavy Battery fresh from England. Aftera few days, luring winch the new men were getting what onemight term acclimatized to active service conditions, this newsection, now the Left Section, took up position in the originalLeft Section gun pits, east of the Bully-Aix Noulette road.The Centre Section previously the Left Section) were

ordered to proceed to Fossc 6at les Brebis, where a positionwas occupied at the foot of the slag heap, on t i m eedge ofLoos Plain, the Right Section not moving. The front atthis time was fairly quiet, though we were not by any meansallowed to forget our friend, tile enemy. The Right Section,about the end of September, also vacated the, by now, wellknown sunken road, for a position in a lane some xoo yardsto the left f lank. In this ease tile fliove was, as far as thepersonnel was concerned, entirely satisfactory, as the billetoccupied adjoined an estaminet, where many a merry eveningwas spent. It must be confessed that, on certain occasions,had the Military Police paid a visit to this little haven ofrest after hours, they would have captured quite a goodnumber for the orderly room next morning. This comfort -able state of affairs for the Right Section was too good tolast, B . Sub. being ordered to take position in the Minebuildings of Fosse 7, east of the Lens-Bethune Road, which

was not by any means a healthy neighbourhood at that time.Shortly after, A. Sub also left their peaceful retreat to jointhe Centre Section at Fosse 6.

The guns were thus distributed as follows, viz., “ BSub at Fosse 7, Centre Section and “ A “ Sub at Fosse 6,and the Left Section at Corons d’Aix. The men were bynow quite expert campaigners, and it was remarkable theingenuity they displayed in the art of making themselves com -fortable as far as the situation would permit. At Fosse 7,



THE I-IAMPSTEAI) HEAVIES.

for instance, the men were in quite primitive lug outs, butwhen stoves had been fixed—from where the stoves camematters not—and various over establishment blankets

artistically draped, these dug outs became quite cosy andhabitable. At both the Centre Section and Left Section them en were billeted in houses not greatly damaged by shellfire. It was a remarkable coincidence that invariably theseempty houses were minus anythimlguI the way of windowframes, and, in a large number of cases, loors. No loUbtthe shortage of fuel accounted for this apparent defect inthe construction of houses in this part of Northern France.The Battery was, at this time, remarkably fortunate iiicasualties, though this front was at that period generallyquiet, except for occasional outbursts of hate, as when thevicinity of the Centre Section and time mine buildings wereseverely shelled with 5.9’s and 8 ins. The only damage, asfar as the battery was concerned, was the cutting off of theelectric light, which had been laboriously fixed tip from themine by the Battery fitters and Observation Party. T i m eRight Section also were now an l again favoured, but in no

case wasany serious lamage done.

AboutChristmas

time,1916, however, things began to liven up, especially for theLeft Section. On Christmas night the Left Section inparticular, and t i m ewhole village generally, W~S very severelybombarded with gas shells of about ins, calibre, it beingcomputed that about 6ooo shells were used. The wholevicinity was plentifully peppered, t i m eonly damage being anO.K. on the Telephone hut.

For days after, the whole district reeked of gas. Tile

civilian population of Bully suffered badly from this attack,several dying from tile effects of gas poisoning, and manybeing removed seriously ill to hospital. As a result of thesecasualties, t i m eauthorities decided that the civilian populationshould be moved to the back areas. This order, however,seemed to have little effect, as practically all tile populationremained in their poor shell stricken village, rather riskingtheir lives by shell fire and gas, than leave, what was to them,their homes. In spite of their apparent disregard of theprecautions taken for their safety, one could not but admirethe tenacious spirit which held them to their shatteredcottages.

The weather at this time was very bad, heavy snowfallswith hard frosts following. The chief difliculty, as alreadystated, was tile shortage of fuel. “ B “ Sub., the CentreSection and “ A “ Sub. being in action close to coal mines Fosse 6, where the Centre Section were, actually being

8




worked), they managed, by ways mysterious, to get sufficientfuel to carry on. It would be interesting to know tile CX -ploits of those mysterious silent figures, equipped with sand -

bags, that used to flit round the coal t r tmcksat Fosse 6 luringthis hard winter.

Tile Left Section were in a much worse plight. They1 1 8 1to confine their attentions to securing timber from did loors and win low frames; it being considered by this Sectionthat such things as doors and window frames ~vcre an un -necessary luxury in ruined buildings. From 110W on, as ifin anticipation of the busy times to conic, the front graduallygot livelier, there being greater artillery activity, andoccasional raids by both sides.

Shortly after Christmas, Major Mitchell left the Battery ~ ake command of a Heavy Artillery group. Captain Paristhen assumed command for a short time, but being postedas Officer Commanding of the 244 Heavy Battery, CaptainPearce took command in his place.

About the middle of February, and as it turned out, inpreparation for the Vimy Battle, the Centre Section moved

to a new position just north of tile Left Section at Corons l’Aix. For sonic time conditions were fairly quiet, the timebeing spent ill improving gun pits, and making ammunitionrecesses, and also in laying in a good store of ammunition.

On March 27 Left Section position was heavily shelled,both guns being put out of action, WitilOUt army casualties topersonnel. About this time, to the great satisfaction of theOfficers and men, Captain Paris was reposted to the Batteryto take command, as Major.

CHAPTER IV.

On the 2 9 th March, tile Left Section and “ A “ Sub.moved to a new position south of the Aix Noulette Cemetery,

about moo yards west of time Bully-Aix Noulette Road, onthe edge of a stream, where they were joined a day or twolater by” B “ Sub. from Fosse 7, the Centre Section movingto the village of Bully, just on tile ridge east of the crossroads. In both positions registering was carried out inpreparation for the battle which everyone seemed to knowwas coming. Tile gunners’ information was based on thatvery solid fact, tile apparently unlimited supply of ammuni -tion which had to be “ humped.” The weather was

9




atrocious, heavy rain and snow falling eontinuously. Thelabour of carrying shells weighing 6o lbs. each, and cartridgeboxes considerably more, over ground churned to a morass,

was a great strain on the gunners.The Right and Left Sections were heavily shelled, bythe aid of aerial observation, on the morning of 2nd April,with 8 in . Armour Piercing shells, and “ A “ Sub. gunwas completely smashed by a direct hit, once again, however,no casualties occurring. This was one of~ the very fewoccasions on which hostile shells were actually seen to drop.After this episode, a week passed uneventfully until EasterMonday, April

9th, the morning of the commencement of

the Battle of Vimy. At hay-break everyone was turned outfor duty, all men not actually on time guns or telephonesbeing detailed to carry ammunition, and what a job it WaS.

At the Right and Left Sections it was stored in a cellarbeneath the old Soap Works. Froni here it had to be carriedacross the road, and then across a good moo yards of slipperyfield with the blast of the guns to face), across the brookon two very slippery, muddy and insecure planks, and so tothe guns, which seemed to eat it up as fast as it was brought.Added to this a bitter cold morning with sleet driving in one’sface, and the enemy occasionally sprinkling the road withm7 7 m m . and 4.2’S.

It is really therefore not surprising that most of thetroops were sorry for the day they ever saw gun or ammuni -tion. The guns fired without ceasing all day, and it isestimated that on this one day alone these two sections firedover xooo rounds. Apparently our counter battery work

was effective, as very little retaliation was observed on thisfront. At the Centre Section, the troops had almost as bada job with the ammunition, having to carry it from emptyhouses about xoo yards, over mud, to the guns. At thissection more attention was received from the Germans,though not enough to seriously hamper the firing which was,as af the other position, continuous. Here one man wasapparently slightly wounded by a splinter, which wound,however, proved fatal on the following day.

The next day~ the roth, tile enemy made a determinedcounter attack, and the Right and Left Sections’ position wasvery heavily bombarded. Lt. Hill was mortally wounded,succumbing to his wounds in the afternoon. One man wasalso killed while returning to his billet, and a teiephonistbadly wounded, several more being slightly wounded. Bythis time the attack had developed into a big battle, ourtroops hi~ving driven the Bosche back some considerable

i0




distance, and taken all t i m ecommanding position on ‘VimyRidge. Against this he was, desperately fighting, and froman artillery point of view, retaliation was continuous. Onthe I2thl, four men were killed while fetching their tea attheir billet at the Soap Works. A curious point about thisdisaster was that a fifth man of t i m eparty escaped untouched,while, of the four killed, three were blown to pieces, and thefourth lied of shock, no trace of a wound being found.From the m3til onwards, tile general activity graduallyslackened, the result of the battle being that the position onVimy was reversed, our troops now holding high commandingpositions, a m i dalso a number of small villages west of Lens.The Observation Post at this position was the famous NotreDame de Lorette.

About the 27th April, it being apparcntthat the Germanshad located the Right a m i d Left Sections’ position, these

~ sections Were moved to Vermeiles, about ~ miles north of~ the Aix Noulette position, the guns being placed west of the~ road, and the billets being in the large cellars of the Chateau

made famous in the severe fighting of 2924—1925) and also

in adjacent cellars. This village, more than any other yet~ visited b y the Battery, showed the results of modern war,~ hardly a building having a ~va1l standing. In every corner

there were graves of French, English and German soldiers.~ The whole aspect of this position was sinister, and certainly not calculated to quieten the nerves of the men who had had

such a bad time so recently. The first few days at thisposition were fairly quiet, the main annoyance being thatthe enemy had a high velocity gun trained on tile road, whichsent over a few rounds at irregular intervals. On the 26th,the billets at the Right and Left Sections were heavily shelledwith 5.9’S, and a direct hit was made on the cellar wherethe Left Section were billeted, tile shell penetrating the cellar,where it burst. Six m en were wounded, two badly. Con -sidering tIle confined space and the number of men there attime time, it is wonderful the casualties were not heavier.One of the men died of wounds t i m efollowing day.

On the 2 7 th, about 8 a.m., t i m eenemy started to try toshell these two sections out of existence. Using 8 in . armourpiercing shells, he persistently shelled the position and billetsall day till about 7 p.m., the rate of firing for the type ofshell used being very quick, which made it possible that morethan one battery was taking part in the bombardment.Owing to the foresight of Major Paris, who ordered the mento clear, in spite of this heavy shelling, only one casualtywas sustained, one of the telephonists being buried in

II




the debris when t i m e cellar was blown in, his bodynot being recovered until tile following day. Most of theofficers and men lost their kits, which were buried. Late

that night, these sections were shifted to Noyeiies a village1000 yards in t i m erear of Vermelles), wiiich bore very littletrace of warfare. The guns took up position in t i m emiddleof a field 500 yards north of t i m evillage, and just west of theroa 1 Noyehies-Annequin, the inca being billeted in tile

school in the village. At this position t i m eBattery did a gooddeal of firing, without any retaliation, which, after t i m eexperi -ence of the previous weeks, came as a great relief. Anotheradvantage of this position was that in the school yard wasa bath house. It can be well imagined how everyoneappreciated this luxury, and above all else, an unlimitedsupply of clean underclothing seemed obtainable. It wouldbe safe to say after a week or so at this position, that nounit in France or Flanders was better clad or cieaner.During this time, the Centre Section, which had by no meanshad a quiet time, removed to the grounds of a big Chateau onthe road between Mazingarbe-ics Brebis, about a quarter-

mile north-west of les Brebis. Timis section also benefittedby the change, doing a good deal of firing without retaliation.Here the men l ived quite a rural life, bivouacs being erectedunder the trees, and as the weather had by now greatlyimproved, all were much more inclined to look at the warin a more optimistic spirit. This quiet state of affairs lastedtill 14th May, when orders were received for all sections tomove to wagon lines on the following day. Although thismeant quitting the firing line, t i m etroops, having got into

quiet and comfortable quarters, were naturally loath to leave.T I m e25th saw the guns a m i d all the personnel back at

the wagon lines. Here, as WaS usually the case, plenty ofImard work, in t i m eway of cleaning guns, harness, wagons,etc., was indtmlgedin for the next few days, the men havingvery little liberty. Of course, a general inspection had to beundergone, and t i m eBattery was congratulated on its smartturn out.




CHAPTER V.On the i8th, the Battery Commander and the Left

Section, with a few tclephonists, marched out, its destination,flS it afterwards turned out, being tilat slough of despond,tile ill fated town of Ypres. This section arrived at thewagon lines at a farm off the Poperinghe-Ypres road,just south of Viamertinghe, on zist May, 2917.

The section moved into action on tile 22nd, the position

being in an open space between the Cloth Hail and the Prisonat Ypres. Billets, such as they were, being in an old cottonfactory close by. Right from tile beginning it was evidentthat this position would prove a dangerous one, enemyshelling seldom ceasing, and this section had only been inaction a couple of days when one man was killed and threewounded, the party being caught in the open near the prison.

The two other sections arrived a few days later, and thenews of the casualties did not tend to make t i m emen at allhopeful as to t i m eposition, especially when it was found thatthe whole battery would shortly be in action where the LcfCSection had hInd such a bad time in the few lays they had beenin ~the vicinity. To make things more disquieting, thenumerous wagon lines round about Vlamertinghe wereseverely bombed by enemy aircraft on the night of the arrivalof t i m enewcomers, and many men and horses were killed andwounded, our Battery fortunately escaping. This was a

form of warfare new to us, the enemy, while we were on theLoos sector, confining his attentions in this direction to ourballoons. The Right Section and Centre Section moved outof the wagon lines to take up position with tile Left Sectiontowards the end of May, the Right Section and Left Sectionguns being together, the Centre Section guns about 200yards away, on the edge of the canal, and the main ammuni -tion lump about 100 yards away. It soon became obviousthat an action of some importance was shortly to take place.by the vast amount of ammunition which was stored in the l ump . Incidentally, it might be added that this dump,comprising some thousands of rounds, was biown up byenemy sheilfire, the men’s most vivid recollection of thisevent being that it had to be replaced, thus, as one man aptlyput it, “ proving the truth of the saying, Love’s labourlost.’

While in this position the opportunity was taken by a 3



THE HAMPSTEAD’ HEAVIES.

number of t i m emen to explore this most notorious and ruinedtow,n,. but I am afraid that not a great deal of explorationwas done, owing to the ceaseless activity of the enemy. It

was soon realised that he had located t i m e Battery, and wasdetermined to make Yprcs for us as uncomfortable as hecould. The main and most important drawback to t h m i sposition was that there was no safe cover where time mencould withdraw when t i m e enemy started his very frequentoutbursts of hate. Time only shelter the majority had was ~tsheet of corrugated iron. Timis unpleasant state of affairscontinued for about a fortnight, the Battery losing severalmen badly wounded. Finally, t i m e battle of Messineswhich had been expected opened about 3 a.m. on the morningof t i m e7th June w i t h ma wonderful pyrotechnic display. Mineswhich had been worked on for months were exploded, theresult of tile explosion being that three huge craters wereblown in t I m etop of Wytschaete or Mcssines Ridge. Thisvital blow was followed by an intense bombardment in whichthe battery endeavoured to make up for t i m ebad time it hadrecently experienced) and infantry advance. Tue striking

point so far as we were able to gather) of this undoubtedsuccess, being that t i m epressure on Ypres was considerabiylessened, and, as at Viny, numerous commanding positionschanged hands. A few lays after, to t i m erelief of all, orderswere received to vacate tile position. The actual shift fromthis dangerous spot was, to those who participated in it, oneof the most nerve trying ordeals of this period. The gunswere moved on to the track heading from the position to themain road in the early evening. Shortly before the arrival

of the gun teams and ammunition wagons, t i m eenemy beganto shell the position very severely with both high explosiveand gas shells, and before all tile guns could be got clear,the track had been so badly hit as to m a k e it impossible fortwo guns to be got away. Finally these two guns had to beleft, and the Officer Commanding ordered that tue remainingguns, and all t i m epersonnel, should return to the wagon lines.The most surprising thing about Ihe removal wasthat only one man was killed and a few gassed.It should be here related that the general coolness and braveryof Major Paris helped the men greatly, he being ever to the~fore to give a hand—no matter what the job—his resourceand skill without doubt saving the Battery from heaviercasualties. It should be also noted that excepting theguard) he was the last to leave the position after seeingthat all was clear), and, to encourage t i m emen, walked backto the wagon lines, and this in spite of the fact that he

i4




himself was rather badly gassed. The writer went next dayto pick up the guard, and remembers that the enemy, tocelebrate the Battery’s departure, was having a thoroughstrafe on the empty position. The relief of the men atleaving this unsavoury spot was very vividly expressed whenthe coitmmn marched out of the wagon lines the followingday. After a very lengtlmytrek, the Battery encamped in afield some miles behind the Ypres front about two milesfrom Cassel), where two or three days were spent in takinga rest, which was badly needed.

CHAPTER VI.

The next orders were to move towards the BelgianCoast. This march, with the fine weather then prevailing,was mucimenjoyed by the troops, and timeirdelight when a dayor two later the coast was reached and a camp pitched on

the seashore at the small holiday resort, Malo hes Bains,about four miles east of Dunkirk, may well be imagined.Here the whole of the m en indulged in the novel luxury while on active service) of sea bathing, tile horses also beingexercised in tile sea. After two days of relaxation, instruc -tions were received to relieve a French heavy battery on thesand dunes, about one mile west of Nieuport Bains, andabout 400 yards from t i m e shore. The guns were disposedin four positions, the two Left Section guns together, CentreSection guns together, the Rigimt Section guns beingseparated, with the wagon lines in the vicinity of Coxyde,some miles to the rear. The dug-outs and enclosed gun pits which had been constructed by the vacating French battery)were wonderful, and, built as they were, by tunnelling intothe dunes, proved splendid cover, which in the light ofafter events) was instrumental in the saving of many lives.Time appearance of the country was wonderful, there being

no sign of war or shattered houses, and actually gardensfilled witlm fruit and vegetables The first few days in thisposition were very peaceful, and the men were inclined tothink that they were almost removed from the battle zone.

To obtain a sufficient amount of water was the para -mount difficulty. Wells had been sunk in the sand-hollows,and fresh water percolated into barrels. A s long as theenemy was quiet these acted excellently, but it seemedinvariably the case that, when there was intermittent shelling,

‘5




he always managed to get several O.Ks. on the wells. Herealso the gunners first met that ubiquitous insect, the” Chat,”and the Battery, wimich so short a time before had arrived

so free from the minor horrors of war, soon found that t i m edug outs in the dunes were evidently a favourite breedingplace for that close friend of the soldier.

This false calm, however, only lasted for a week or so,as the enemy, who had soon notice 1 timat Britisim troops hadbeen brought to this sector, proceeded to warmi thing Ui

generally. In this part of the line, prior to the advent~ fthe British troops, it was apparent very little fighting hadtaken place for some time, and, in consequence, the villagesimmediately behind t i m efront were fully occupied by civilians,as were t i m escattered houses and farnis, almost up to thetrenches. To the population, therefore, the increased signsof warfare were very disturbing, and a general exodus com -menced, especially when it became evident that it was theintention of t i m eenemy to devastate t i m e countryside com -pletely, as he had done m mother parts of the line.

We soon learned, by the methodical manner in which

buildings, roads, and gun positions were systematically andheavily shelled, that lie was very strong on this front,especially in artillery. He had evidently got, in addition tothe land pieces, a number of naval guns on land mountings,and these were used very extensively to shell the gunpositions, being well suited to this purpose, aS practicallyall the projectiles were armour piercing. Our own artillerywas also doing a lot of shooting, and the climax of thisartillery duel was reacimeci on July moth, wimen the enemy

launched a very heavy attack early in the morning, coveredby intense simelifire. Tile whole countryside for miles backwas subject to this extremely heavy bombardment, even asfar back as the wagon lines, which had to be evacuated.At the battery position, five of t i m esix guns were put outof action, “ A “ Sub. being t i m eonly gun to remain effective.T i m einfantry, badly outnumbered, were very imeavilyattacked,and driven back to t i m ewest bank of t i m eYser Canal, threebattalions being practically wiped out. T i m eBattery con -sidering the intensity of t i m e action) was very fortunate,imavingonly six men wounded, thougim about twenty mciiwere gassed. T i m e m m m mj im this affair having their firstexperience of the terrible mustard gas. The writer, witim twotelephonists, spent most of the twenty-four imours,from 6 n.m.on the roth to 6 n.m. on the Iltil July, at the forwardObservation Post at Nieuport Bains. The barrage put downon this village was intense, and very little observation work

16




could be carried out, owing to t i m esmoke afl l clouds of sandproduced by the shell-bursts. A ll communication with thebattery position was cut off after about three hours, the wires

being blown to pieces. Cover had to be taken in a cellartill the late evening, and it took from about 9 p.m. to 6 n.m.the next morning to cover the one mile back to time Battery.owing to time continued intensity of t i m eenemy shell fire.After t im i sdisastrous day, t i m efront settled down to a periodof heavy artillery activity by both sides. The position, frombeing a pleasant spot when t i m eBattery arrived, became de -cidedly unhealthy, and it was dangerous to be out in the openat any time of the day or night,owing to the very sudden

bursts of enemy fire at irregular intervals, which swept theposition.

It slmouid be noted that t i m e guns of the Right andLeft Sections were shifted several times, finishing with theCentre Section about m o oyards to t i m e left front of t I m eLeftSection, and t i m eRight Section about 40 0 yards in the rearof time Left Section. Following t i m e July moth attack, t i m ewagon lines were moved right back to Braye Dunes, aboutfourteen miles behind t i m e lines, on the sand dunes by thesea. From that time a r m most o time ammunition andrations were brought up by diecauvilie railway or lorry, itbeing decided that the horses were unsuitable for transportwork in this area, owing to their inability to travel over thesand; the congested and bad state of t i m e roads; and thecontinued shell fire to which the roads and tracks were sub -jected. In addition to the heavy artillery activity, aerialbombing was indulged in by both sides witlm much vigour,

both day and night, but the battery position was fortunateenougim to escape. in this respect, however, t i m ewagonlines had some most unpleasant experiences, as, unlike thegun positions, they had no cover. They were, however,lucky enough to escape serious damage. While on thesubject of air raids it might be noted that, in spite of beingfrequently bombed from May i8tlm, m9’7, till t i m eArmistice,it was remarkable how few casualties were suffered. Duringt i m ewhole of the period, only two men were killed and aboutsix wounded. To revert to t i m eNieuport position; from theattack on July moth heavy bombardments were frequent, andtile guns were very frequently put out of action, though tilecasualties to personnel were extremely slight, owing to thewonderful cover available. This comparative immunityhelped to keep up the spirits of the men during this time,and the opening of leave in August the first since arrivingin France in April, 1916) created great excitement in the

‘7




Battery. This wonderful event, after sixteen months, nearlyall the time in action, was the only thing thought of ortalked about. During the latter part of September the

whole of the gunners with t i m eexception of a guard) werewithdrawn for four days, and taken to a camp near Dunkirkfor a rest. This rest unfortunately cost the unit one of itsoriginal men, Gunner Griffiths being killed while leaving t i m eposition.

CHAPTER VII.

By the time leave was completed, October had passed,and with it the fine weather which had prevailed forpractically all t i m e time the Battery occupied the position.November and the beginning of December brought the badweather along, and with sandstorms and high winds con -stantly prevailing, some of our dugouts, which we hadthought impregnable, became in one night untenable the windvery often exposing the framework of the dugout on theflank exposed to the enemy. At length, after about sixmonths in this spot, the order was received that we shouldmove out and rejoin the wagon lines at Braye Dunes.Naturally, the fact that we were moving out of action wasmuch appreciated, but remembering the evacuation of theYpres position, and the fact that we were painfully aware ofthe enemy’s proclivity for drenching the roads at irregular

intervals with bursts of shelifire, t i m eactual move was notthought of with much pleasure. In addition to this, theguns we knew would have to be withdrawn by tractors,whose noise and glare might easily have caused the observantGermans to favour us more particularly with their attentions.At any rate, the night of the move c’ ime. From dusk tomidnight the position was alive with men at their variousduties of shifting ammunition which had all to be taken),stores, kits, and getting the guns into place for the tractorsto hook on. But by a stroke of fortune the night was dark,with a heavy wind, and all these jobs were accomplished andeveryone and everything got safely away. Remarkable asit may seem, after the hostile strafing night after night, onthis one particular night not a shell was directed anywherein the vicinity of the road where all the loading up tookplace, until the last lorry was on the main road. Then the for once too late) gentleman on the other side of the l ine

Is




started his usual nightly programme, only in this instanceseveral hours behind time. This ended the Nieuport episode.That night, the wagon lines housed a very tired, but relieved

and happy crowd of gunners. Tile Battery remained atBraye Dunes for a few clays, replenishing stores and ammuni -tion. Of course, the future destination was the subject ofendless discussion and rumours. Italy and Egypt were onlytwo of the places where it was actually known we werebound for. Finally, Braye Dunes and t i m e Nieuport frontwere left behind on November

3oth. •A matter of two or

three days’ march brougimt the column to Buyscherre, avillage in a new rest area, about five miles from St. Omer.

The personnel were bilietted in the village and most of t i m eimorses in a field on the outskirts. Here all enjoyed a wellearned rest. Sports and football matcimes were arranged,and passes readily granted into St. Omer. In this pleasantmanner t i m e time drew on to Christmas, for which greatpreparations were.made. A ll sorts of good timingsappeared,and after much arranging it was found possible to providethe troops witim a good dinner, including Christmas puddingand beer. Negotiations were concluded witim an estaminetproprietor, and his café used as the mess room for theoccasion, t i m e men sitting down in two parties. Needlessto say, there were many happy souls in Buyscherre thatChristmas night. The occasion was, however, overshadowedby the news that the Battery was to move off on BoxingDay morning. It can safely be presunmed that quite a numberhad no sleep Christmas night, between keeping up t i m efestivaland preparing for the early morning move. To the conster -

nation of the powers that he, and the secret delight of themen, a heavy snowstorm developed during the night, andthe roads were in an extremely bad condition when moving-off time arrived. In accordance with instructions from HeadQuarters, the move was attempted. After about three mileshad been covered it became impossible to continue, and thepart of the column which had moved off had to halt, theguns and wagons being left by t i m e roadside under guard,and the rest of the men and the horses returning toBuyscherre. This weather continued till January 9 th, theBattery thus benefitting by the inclement weather to theextent of an additional two weeks’ rest. The very to us)comfortable village of Buyscherre was vacated on Januaryiith and after two days’ march passing one night atCaestre), Morbecque, a large village on the main road,about one and a half miles west of Hazebrouck, was reached.Here billets were arranged, with orders from Head Quarters

19




to await further instructions. Owing to some delay indeciding to which Corps the Battery was to be attached,a stay of eight days was enjoyed at this place. Here, onceagain, the troops found themselves in comfortable billets.For the men, the most entertaining part of this unlooked -for rest was to be found in the fact that there were severalestaminets in the village which boasted large clean rooms,some with a piano. Many happy hours were spent in theseplaces, impromptu concerts being arranged, at which muchtalent was revealed. After the drab monotony of the sixmonths spent on the sand dunes, these very pleasant evenings

were thoroughly enjoyed. A ll good things, however, come toan end, and finally definite orders to move were received.On January 21st, the Battery left Morbecque, passing throughHazebrouck the gateway to the salient) and Baillcui toarrive at La Clytte close to Kemmel) t i m esame night. Thefollowing day the gunners were marched up to dig new gunpositions on \‘VytsclmacteRidge, sonic lmaif-milein front ofthe famous craters made during t i m e battle of Messines inJune, 1917. The guns and the remainder of the personnel

remaining at La Clytte, where the wagon lines were situated.Time men were billetted in huts some distance behind

where the gun pits were being prepared) on what had beenNo Man’s Land in 1917. The condition of the country inthis sector was appalling. Miles and miles of ground com -pletely devastated. T i m ewhole area a network of waterloggedtrencimesand dug outs. Everything was smashed by shellfIre, with hardly a yard between the shell holes. A few tree-stumps, torn to splinters by rifle, machine-gun, and artilleryfire. In front the Ridge, and in the rear the imuge craters,t i m ewhole place littered with smasimed rifles, helmets, andall t i m e debris usually to be found on an old battle-field.Work continued at this position till February z 4 th, whensudden orders from Brigade caused the withdrawal of t i m em ento t i m ewagon lines, with orders to move off the following day.To our delight, next clay we found we were trekking onceagain towards Buyscllerre, which was reached that same

afternoon. A week was spent here, mostly in re-equipping.

20



THE .HAMPSTEAD HEAVIES.

CHAPTER VIII.

This home from home was finally vacated on February22nd. Arcques, the railhead just outside St. Omer, wasquickly reached, and after some hours strenuous labour,the. Battery was entrained, departing for an unknowndestination in the afternoon. Travelling all night, Flavy leMartel was reached about 6 n.m. on t i m e 23rd February.

This raiihead, we soon found, was on t i m enew front justtaken over from the French, being between St. Quentin andLa Fere, about ten miles north-west of the latter place.

~j From Flavy Ic Martel the Battery nmarclmedvia Faillouel~ wimere a forward wagon line was established) to Villequier

Aumont, about three nmilesin t i m erear, where time main wagoimlines were pitched. In passing, it migimt be of interest to

~ state what a wonderful contrast t i m ecountry presented, coin -~? pared with the region the Battery had just shifted from.

Though the Germans had retreated over timis country in 1917,L i an l had, in flight, ruined rind blown up all the houses,~ poisoned wells, and cut down all fruit trees, the actual land ~ howed very little trace of war. Being spring, the fields

were luxurious with corn, grass, and wild flowers, and the~ whole countryside made a lovely picture, which was not

surprising seeing that it belonged to one of the most fertileagricultural districts of France. On this front a new methodof Battery distribution was experienced. T i m eBattery wasplaced in rouglm echelon formation as follows. Forwardposition of two gumis at Remigny. Reserve position threeguns) at Bois Hailot, forward wagon lines at Faihlouei, andmain wagon lines at Villequier Aunmont, respectively about3ooo, 8ooo, rooo, and r~ooo yards from the trenches.

Here we experienced a peaceful time. Rumours con -tinually flew about that the Gernmanswere preparing a bigattack, and among them was actually given the date uponwhich t i m eattack would and did) begin.

The followirmg is a copy of telegram received at Batteryposition 19/3/18.

Following wire, from Third Corps, Heavy Artilery, begins:——FoJIow-11 m gfrom Fifth Army. Statements by prisoners taken ,8th/ z

9th March.

German offensive expected in two or three dayc from March msth. Willbe preceded by ten hours intense bombardment. Last two hours gasshell. After two imours’ interval infantry and artillery advance. Largeair force opposite army front. Two Alsatian deserters from T.M. Com~pany state raid south of St. Quciitin, March m

9thf~oth, and attack

21




2oth/2mst. Over a hundred T.Ms. in position on Divisional front sout imof St. Qucntin. For infornmation of all concerned. 51st BrigadeHeavy Artillery, dated 19/3/18.

But t i m eHigher Conmm~indseemed to fear nothing, HeadQuarters were established, Casualty Clearing Stations laidout, and from all appearances it was we who were to attack.Hostile bombing was continuai, but otherwise the sectorwas very quiet. Timese positions were maintained until 21st

March, up to that date the forward position being the onlyone at which any firing was done. This section fired a gooddeal, and at times was rather badly simelied,fortunately withvery few casualties. During t i m e few days prior to 21St

March, the feeling got abroad that something big was comingoff, and precise orders were received to see that each manwas properly equipped witim a rifle and small arms ammuni -tion, and t i m eBattery being favoured by having two machine-guns added to its equipment, men began to wonder whatwas in store for timem.

At daybreak on March 2 1st, in a heavy mist, the Germansbegan their great attack, and this period 21st March to

Apri l 3 rd) is covered by time magnificent narrative of MajorParis. Tlmis most ably gives a very vivid account of theoperations during this time. The writer would like to add tothis that, in his opinion and that of t i m e rest of the Battery,the initiative and resource of Major Paris were wonderful,and to him belongs the credit for the Battery being able,during this very difficulttime, to keep continuously in action.

March 21st to April 3rd, 1918.m38th Heavy Battery, R.G.A.

Third Corps Heavy Artillery.

BATTERY COMMANDER’S NARRATIVE.

March 21st to March 2 9 th, 1918.

March 2 rst. The Battery was in position as follows.Forward section, two guns, at t i m ecross roads on the soutimof Remigny, remainder of Battery in reserve position in BoisHaliot, east of Faiiloueh Both sections commenced firingat about five n.m. on S.O.S. lines. The fog was so thicktimat laying was difilcult, even with t i m eparaileloscopes closeup to t i m eguns. Taking t i m eforward section first. Theseguns were in action pretty well continuously all day till ~ p.m.From ~ a.mn. to 9 a .nm. simeilswere continually dropping allround the guns, but were apparently intended for the crossroads. About 9 a.m. t i m esection was effectively neutralized

22




for nearly one hour with a rapid burst of 4.2 howitzer.Direct hits were obtained on entrance to B.C. postand round both gun pits, but no damage was done, and only

one casualty was caused. All telephone lines, however.were cut, no definite news could be obtained of the situation,and though touclm was kept with the Observation Post tillnearly 9 a.m., the fog was too thick for the forward obser -vation officer to actually see anything, and could merelyreport information gleaned from wounded, etc. About ten-thirty a.nm. Sergeant Goodwin, who had been one of theForward Observation Officer ’s party, came into the Batteryand reported having left t i m eObservation Post Fort Ven -deuil) about an hour previously, and Imavingcome througha fairly heavy barrage on the road down. He brought anote from Lieut. Annesicy, the Forward Observation Officer,asking for more wire to renew communication with. Thiswas the last heard of the Forward Observation Officer ’spartytill 3 p.m., when Lt. Annesley arrived at the position in asomewhat dishevelled condition arid witimoutany equipmentor even puttees. He reported as follows; about 10 a.m.,

finding all communications gone beyond hope of repair, andthat t i m eenemy were reported to be in the village of Vendeuii,he determined to get out of the post and find out what hecould, and rejoin the Battery. No sooner had he got outsidethe Fort with the two telephonists than he found a party of20 0 to 30 0 Germans all round him, and was forced to betaken prisoner. His captors appeared to belong to a Bran -denburg regiment. Tlmey at once removed all his equipment,and took him along with them as they advanced towards

Fort Liez. They were eventually held up by machine-gunfire, and a firing l ine was formed for attack. The prisoners—about sixteen in number—were left behind in a dug outof a captured battery position with a guard, of a Sergeantand two men. The Sergeant was eventually shot, and aftertwo other Germans had joined the guard, the whole partystarted moving to the rear by means of one of our comniuni -cation trenches. Three Germans and twelve prisoners were

hit by rifle fire,leaving

oneHun

andfour

prisoners. Whatwas the exact fate of the Hun is not known, but the fourprisoners, it is believed, all got back to our own linesLieut. Annesley, who was one of the four, had a particularlyunpleasant time running back towards our lines, being snipedat by both sides. However, by crawling along trenches andmaking dashes from point to point he managed to get backto a field battery, and from there back to his own Battery.The two teiephonists, Gunner Crossley and Gunner Hem -

23



THE HAMPSTEAD HEAViES.

bling, were botlm wounded, and unable to escape, but Lieut.Annesley speaks highly of t i m eway they were treated by t i m eGerman N.C.Os. and men. Gunner Hembling has since

been heard of from a hospital in Bavaria. Gunner Crossleydied of wounds.)About midday time fog had lifted sufficiently for t i m e ridge

of Fort Vendeuil to be seen, and the Battery Commanderwent to a temporary observation post in the ruins of Remignyvillage, and was able to turn t i m eguns on to bodies of t i m eenemy as t lmcy came over t i m e ridge. This observation postwas eventually destroyed by a burst of 4.2 fire, and one oft i m e telepimonists severely wounded. Communications were

kept, however, by runners, and t i m e telephone line was gotthrougim again, but about t i m esanme time orders were receivedfor the two guns to pull out and retire to join the remainderof t i m e Battery at Bois Hallot. The section eventuallymoved off at 6.30 p.m. Considering t i m e de tac lmnmentshadbeen firimmg ainmost continually from 5 a.m., and t lmat manyof t i m eswitches were over 8o degrees, time way in which theguns were pulled out, and ammunition loaded up, was ex -

ceedingly creditable. While moving out hostile aeroplanesfrequently fired bursts of machine-gun fire round t i m eposition.Time remainder of time Battery had been active all day,

l)ut had not had i m m u c l mretaliation. Time two guns fromRemigny reached there about ten p.m., and pulled intoposition. They had no sooner got t i m e trails down thanorders were received to move timis section off to a position tobe reconnoitred at once near Villequier Aunmont. Time rccon~naissance was diflicult owing to a fog and a pitch dark night,

and the fact t lmat everybody else was trying to occu~y all theside roads.

By 6 a.m., the 22nd, the two guns were in positionready to fire, and t i m egunners were able to get something toeat and a few hours’ sleep after a very strenuous 4 lmours.

March 22nd. The t imree guns in Bois Hallot were inaction all the morning, and the enemy soon began to dropsimell all around t i m e wood. About two p.m. orders weregiven for timesethree guns to draw out, owing to t i m eprogressof the enemy. The gun teams and wagons were assembledat Frieres Faillouei, near Brigade Head Quarters, and t i m eteams were sent up as required, time guns being pulled outits far as possible by imand to save the horses being exposedto fire longer than necessary. The pulling out of the gunswas done under time supervision of Lieut. Coomber, who hassince been awarded time M.C., and the Senior No. i SergeantAustin, has been awarded the M.M. Time first gun was got

24




away successfully, but by the t inme time second gun was beingpulled out, time situation had been spotted by the Hun aero -planes, wlmo continued to circle over at a low height, and

fire heavily with timeir nmachinc guns. Time shelling was alsoheavy at times, but the nmen were extremely lucky, and keptfree of casualties. Time second gun was got away from t i m eactual position witlm some difficulty, t i m e horses beingfrightened and refusing to work, and horses from wagonteanms,baving to be used to assist. This gun got about 200

yards from t I m e position, a m m d then stuck in a shell hole,effectively blocking t i m eway out for t i m e timird gun. A freslmteam was sent up to try to move it. Meanwhile all thewagons had come up and loaded up witim as much amnmunit ionand stores as possible, timese wagommsbeing able to get awayby a track unfit for t i m eguns. The fresh teani were unableto move t i m egun, and a heavy burst of shrapmmelwas put over,wounding one of the drivers and horses, and forcing timeremainder to take cover. This Imappened every time m

attempt was nmade to get near the gull, t i m eelmenmybeing ableby this time to see direct m mto t i m e position. Under 6rders

of the Battery Commander, all the remaining personnel werewithdraw fronm the position with as much kit as they couldcarry. A heavy burst of high explosive was put right intot i m eposition, and the last wagon was upset, the drivers andImorseswounded, and wagon broken. By this time the actualsituation as regards the position of the enemy was obscure,and the Battery Commander thought it advisable to disablethe guns in case they could not be got away by night.Having sent time remainder of the Battery back to ViilequierAumont, he himself went back to t i m eposition with SergeantKing during a lull in t i m e firing, and removed the breechmechanism from both guns, and hid them by throwing timeminto a deep muddy pool in a stream close by. Each mechan -ism’ having •a cord attached to it which was buried in thebank of the stream, so that they could he pulled outagain if possible. All dial sights were removed before bylimber gunners. About midnight, Sergeant Austin, with a

fresim team or imorses, went back to try and draw the gunsout. He was successful in removing the one that was stuckin the roadway, an I brought jt back, buf was unable toapproach the gun in position owing to heavy fire. Heshowed considerable pluck and resource in t i m e whole of hiswork, and the drivers with him are deserving of all creditfor work done under difficult and anxious conditions.

At two p.m. the 23

rd, the section that had withdrawn toVihlequier Aumont the night before, were in action again.

25




March 23rd. By t i m eearly nmorningt i m efour guns onewas out of action at the wagon lines before t i m e tst) heft tothe Battery were all in action at Villequier Aumont.

Two wagons bringing up ammunition were shelled inthe village, and casualties caused to horses and drivers.At midday orders were received for t i m ewhole Battery com -plete with wagon lines) to withdraw to take up a positionnear Guivry. By two p.m. t i m ewhole Battery had passedclear of Guivry village, and t i m eguns came into action in aposition just behind t i m e village, and t i m e wagon linesbivouacked about one mile further on. Moving warfareconditions now started, t i m eguns coming into action withanmmunit ionwagons alongside them. The guns were firingall night, making use of what long range anmnmunitionwasavailable.

March 2 4th. At ten-thirty a.m., an urgent message wasreceived from 51st Brigade for Battery to clear out, as t i m eHun cavalry was reported in Commenchon. T i m eBatterymarched vk I Beaugies and Maucourt to Grandru, t I m ehorseshaving a very steep and lmeavy pull up througlm the Bois de

Ia Cave. Six wagons had been sent off early in t i m emorningto try and obtain some amimmunitionfrom Guiscard, and con -sequently there were extra heavy loads for the remainingwagons, the weather I m a dalso turned much warmer, and thehorses began to feel the heat considerably.

At two p.m. t i m eguns came into action just off t i m eroadbetween Grandru and Baixeuf. Ammunition was dumpedbeside the guns, arid only gun teams were left beimind, therest of the Battery moving on to find lines further back.The guns were quickly registered by means of air burstsover a wood which was visible from the battery position.An observation post was established about 400 yards in frontof the guns, and a telephone l ine laid, and communicationestablished with the Brigade. Harassing fire was directedon the villages of Bethancourt and Neufijeux.

A sixty pounder gun was found in a workshop at Babceufready for firing, except for a sigimt,and t i m eI.O.M. was onlytoo pleased to find somebody with a team to take it off hishands. A sight was taken off one of the other guns whichI m a dgone out of action through a cracked cradle.

The remainder of the Battery had meanwhile movedfirst to near Salency, and timen had moved on again to passthrough Noyon. This order was again cancelled about ninep.m., and a despatch rider sent to bring ‘them back toSalency, where they arrived about eleven p.m. Meanwhile,at six p.m. the guns had been withdrawn from their position,

26



THE HAMPSTEI~D HEAVIES.

and after much difficulty, owing to the congestion of trafficon the roads, had succeeded in getting back to Salency, andtook up a position on t i m eeast side o~f t i m evillage at ten-

thirty p.m.March 25th. At one a.nm. orders were received for theBattery to move back througimNoyon to Suzoy, and reachedthere at 6 n.m. Horses and men were showing considerablesigns of fatigue. The distances had not been very great,but t i m ehorses had been on t i m eroad except for two shortImalts of an hour owing to change of orders) since ten a.nm.the previous morning, and the latter part of t i m emarch hadbeen in congested traffic with t i m efrequent sudden halts and

starts which are so trying witlm heavy loads. The men weregetting footsore. Here, however, during t i m emorning wewere all able to get a good wash and a few hours’ sleep, andwlmat was more, a good meal.

At 2 p.m. three guns were ordered to take up a positionwest of Suzoy, and by five p.m. t i m eguns were ready to openfire. At seven p.m. an urgent order to move was sentto the Battery, and the guns were pulled out again, and anexceedingly trying and unpleasant march ensued. The roadswere blocked and a general atmosphere of anxiety as to the’close proxinmityof the Huns seemed to be prevalent.

The colunmngot split up and mixed with siege batteries,and it was not till two a.nm. that the last of the Battery hadpassed througim Timesicourt ,towards Mareuil. The nightturned cold and wet, and the long hill up from Thesicourtseemed unending. T i m eBattery was just settling into horselines at four-thirty n.m., at Mareuil, when orders were re -ceived for everyone to stand to at five a.ni. and all availablerifles were to be ready. At Thesicourt during the early partof the night there seenmedto be an idea among the officers,whoever they were, at t i m ecross-roads, that the Runs mightbe on the roads at any time, and about eleven-thirty p.m.,when there was a break in t i m e traffic coming on from Divesand Cuy, t i m eopinion was openly expressed that t im eremainderof t i m ecolumn i m a dbeen cut off, and this news was apparentiycarried through to Mareuil.

The Battery Commander waited in Timesicourt to seethe whole of im i scolunmngo tlmrougim,and at 12 midnight therestill being a few wagons and an officer not arrived, hedetermined to miike certain, if possible, that even if thestory of their being cut off was true, he would like to havedefinite first-hand news. He accordingly walked back onthe Dives road, and after going about one mile, met themissing wagons coming along with a French Battery, and

27




they gave no reason to suspect that t i m eenenmyhad yet gotanywhere near Dives. It was t imercforesurprising, on get -ting to Mareuil at five a.nm., to find everybody on t i m eexpec~

tancy of t i m eHun cavairy arriving.March 26th. At six a.mn. t i m ec o l u m m m nmoved off on t i m e

road to Margny, and halted on the side of the road. BatteryCommanders were summoned to receive orders fronm G.O.C.Royal Artillery Third Corps, near Elincourt. At noon theBattery i m a d reached Marqueghisc, a i m d wagon lines wereformed there. T i m egun teanms and wagons, however, werenot yet to have any rest. At four p.m. they pulled the gunsto Vandelicourt, and no sooner had timey got into positionthan orders were received to move at once to a ffesh positionat the top of t i m ehilt at L’Ecouvilton. At one a.m., after avery hard struggle up the steepest of i m i il s on w i m i c i mtwoteaimlsand all t i m emen i m a d to get on to each gun in turn toget it up the hill, t i m ethree guns and wagons arrive~i, onlyto be net by orders to return again to VatmJei icour t . Vaim-delicourt was readied again at five-thirty a. ni., and men a i m dhorses fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, practically where

they halted,Since t lm e yhad left Suzoy, where they had had at t i m emost five hours’ rest, t i m e men and horses of timese threeguns and wagons had been on t I m ego except for two imoursat Marqueglise) for nearly thirty hours, luring which timethey had pulled in to three different positions and out again,and marched some twenty-four n - m i l e s .Meals had necessarilybeen very scratch affairs, and the horses had had to do withshort water rations.

Althotmglmnot under shell fire, I look on t lm i smarch ast i m emost trying part of the whole retirement, coming as itdid on the top of three unusually strenuous lays of activefighting, and it is only known to those who had the honour todirectly command and be in close touclm with the men, withwhat a splendid spirit they worked through it all. TheBattery Conmmanderwas nof t i m e least tired of the wimoiclot—in t i m efew short halts there had been, his time had beenspent in reconnoitring the new positions, or riding off toreceive orders—there were scarcely any maps available,whicim meant that t i m eBattery Comnmandercould not delegatemuch of the reconnaissance to anyone else. Except for themorning at Suzoy, the Battery Comnmanderhad hardly sleptfor more timan an hour at a time, since five a.m. on the 21Stand it was therefore not surprisimigto find that on arrivingin a billet at midnight, after riding a motor~bicycle to makesure of t i m eBattery returimingf r o i m mL’Ecouvillon, he fell asleep

28




at the table almost in t i m emiddle of a sentence, and withouttouching the meal timat had just been put before him.

As regards the men. I should like to put in a word onbehalf of t i m esixty pounder gunner, in case that this account,being read in conjunction witim timose of siege batteries, itmight be overlooked. Whereas in action the work done ont i m eguns is not much imarderthan 6 in. lmowitzers,t imoughthe

hows “ lmavc on paper) double detac lmments , yet t i m emarch to t i m e6o pr. gunners does not only mean mere footslogging a’ong t i m eroad in t i m çthick of the dust of t i m ecolumn,but also a good deal of Imeavingon drag ropes, helping gunsand wagons out of ditches, etc.—wimerceven t i m e best ofdrivers ~vill sometimes put themselves and their vehicles whendead-tired on dead-tired horses—and more than likely thegunners lmave to turn-to on t i m e buckets to help water thehorses when they do get in.

On this occasion t i m e pimysical fatigue was, of course,added to by the mental strain, and depression of continuallygoing back and back, and doing so witimoutany knowledgeat all of the situation. One thing always clmeercdt i m emen

up, however tired they were, a m i dthat was whenever we didstop and conme into action. T i m espirit in which the officersand men got their guns up time hill at L’Ecouvillon was atrue test of their endurance, and they came t lmroughit witim-out a single complaining word.

Marclm 27th—28tl1 . By ten a.m. t i m eguns were againin action at Vandelicourt, but as no firing was done from thisposition, men and horses were able to get rest on this dayand the 28th.

March 2 9 th. Orders were received to join the i4 thDivisional Artillery, and move under their orders to the re -fitting area at Poix, and for this I merely show the placesfronmand to of each day’s march. At hardly any of the placeswas good water obtainable for t i m ehorses, and this combinedwith continual marching every lay told considerably on them.

29

th. Vandelicourt to Arsy—12 miles.3oth Arsy to Erquinviilers—io miles.31st. Erquinvillers to Reuii.—mmmiles.1st April. Reuii to Cormeiiles—.-13miles,2nd. Cormeilles to Famechon—12 miles.3rd. Famechon to Brocourt Poix Area)—.-.m6miles.

signed) H G PARIS, Major138 H.B., R.G.A.

29




The undermentioned itinerary and statistics, which willbe of interest, were supplied by Bombardier Stockdale.

Jan. Mayx Buyscherre St. Omer). i Marieul-Caubert Abbevihie .i Caestre. 17 Hangest.

Morbecque. iS Alencons.21 Wytschaete. 20 *La Nieuvihle Amiens).Feb. July 3 Strazeele. 13 *Bonnay. .sur. .Ancre.15 Buyscherre. Aug. ‘ -

‘Areques. 4 *Vauxsur~.Somme23 Flavy-le-Martel. 8 Allied offensive commenced.24 Faillouel. 8 *saiiiy Laurette.25 *Remigny and *Bois Haliot. 12 *Chipilly.Mar. 23 *Gressâire Wood.21 German oilensive 24 *Bray..surSomme

commenced. 28 *Suzanne N.22 *villequier Aumont. 29 *Suzanne E.23 *Guivry. 30 *Hem24 *Bab~uf, Sept.

*Salency. a ~C1ery.25 Noyon. 6 Courcelles.26 *Suzoy m~ *Hamelet27 *Marquegljse. t8 *Hesbecourt.

*Vende]icourt. 25 *F argicourt.

28 I’Ecouvillon. Oct.29 Arsy. I ~Bel1icourt.30 Erquinvillers. 6 *Estrees. x).~z Reuil. 7 *Estrees 2 .

April 8 *Montbrehain.m Cormeihles . io *premont Famechon. m x*BUsjgfly,3 Brocourt. 17 *St. Souplet.

~ Guemicourt. 20 *Mazinheim9 Nesselette. Nov.13 Vers. ~‘ St. Souplet.April~4 ~ Amiens).30 Pont-de-Metz. m m Armistice signed.

Places of Action marked *

30




RETREAT O F M A R C H 1918

First 7 Days :—~ positions in Action.Marched 65 miles.

First 14 Days :—Marcimed125 miles.

OFFENSIVE Aug 8th to Nov 4th 1918Days in Action 72

Number of Positions 20

Distance as crow flies, Vaux toMazinheim 48 miles.

Average duration of stay ineach position . 4.4 days.

Number of Rounds Fired:A Sub. 4299

B S u b . 3860C Sub. 3806

D Sub. 5468E Sub. 4042

F Sub. 3995

Total 25470

Weight of Shells fired 682 tons

Distance covered if shellsplaced end to end 7.57 miles.

Average rounds fired per day 353.

Maximum expenditure day, 27th September,

1918, at Hargicourt Hindenburg Line),897 rounds—24 tons.

3’



THE I-IAMPSTEAD HEAVIES.

CHAPTER IX.

Naturally, at this ‘ t ime, with the continual movement,it was very difficultto Iraw rations even though the BatteryQuarter Master Sergeant did wonders), and it must be con -fessed that chickens, eggs, and other foodstuffs which werefound in the deserted villages through which we passed not to mention barrels of wine and cider) paid heavy tollto the needs of the troops. Incidentally a cow was acquired,whicim proved a valuable asset to the Commissariat Dept.Another addition to the Battery personnel was a small Frencimlad who was found wandering, I believe, at Noyon. Thislad was adopted by the Battery., and remained unofficial lyont i m estrength till just before the great offensive opened inAugust, when he was, to his great indignation, removed bythe Civil Autimorities.

To resume. On April 5th, after refitting, the Batterymarched from Brocourt, and proceeding via Guemicourt,Nesselette, Vers, and the outskirts of Amiens, a position

was taken u p — b y the Centre Section only—in GentelicsWood, some 3000 yards south-west of Viliers Brettoneaux,whiclm was at that time changing imands daily. This woodwas full of artillery of all descriptions, including a numberof French guns, especially 7 5 m.ni. A forward wagon l inewas established near Boves, about one and a half miles tot i m e rear. On this sector t i m eartillery activity was intense,and the conditions in the wood were appalling. The gunslay under a crest at the forward edge of the wood, and firedincessantly night and day. No cover could be obtainedbeyond splinter-proof shelters, and the enemy artillery rainedshells of all calibres into the wood continually. It was alsoa most difficult task getting ammunition to the position,owing to t i m e road coming under heavy high explosive andgas shell fire very frequently. In this respect, the ammuni -tion convoys of our Battery were extremely fortunate toescape serious damage, but the casualties to personnel andimorses of otimer artillery units were very heavy. The menon the guns were not so lucky, and a number of the menwere wounded, and Lt. Coomber died of wounds receivedat this spot. After a very trying time this position wasvacated towards the end of April, and a new position takenup at a spot about 4000 yards north-west of Villers Bret -toneaux, of which the name escapes me. Here the threeother guns of the Battery came into action, the section fromGentelles Wood returning to the main wagon lines for a

3




mucim needed rest. At t i m e new position the guns werecontinually active. Here the enenmy were not so deadly inretaliation, thougim a few men were wounded, one of w h o m m msubsequently l ied. After

afew days

inthis spot, orders were

received to leave and join t i m erest of the Battery at the mainwagon lines, preparatory to going out for a rest. Afternearly six weeks of very heavy fighting, resulting in con -siderable loss to personnel, horses, and equipment, we feltthis rest had been merited. Leaving on April 3 oth, MariculCaubert, a pretty little village about two miles from Abbevilie,was reached on May 1st. Here t i m e m en were placed inbillets, and over a fortnight’s rest was enjoyed. Reinforce -

ments, horses, guns, and stores were forthcoming, to bringthe Battery up ‘to fighting strength again. The contrast inthis peaceful spot, after t i m eprevious period of continual periland activity, may welibc imagined. Sports, trips to Abbe -yule and Trèport, helped to make this t i m e happiest timewe I m a denjoyed since landing in France. Still, all goodtimings must eventually end, and t lm i s delectable spot wasregretfully left on May i6tim. Travelling slowly, and fol -lowing the River S o m m m m epractically all the way from Abbe -yule, positiommswere taken up on May 2 o t i min the rear of t i m evillage of La Nieuville, time forward o i m eof two sections to t i m eleft of t i m e road about 300 yards west of the village, and theremaining section in a field some iooo yards to the rear oft im eforward section, these positions being respectively about3500 and 4500 yards fronm t i m efiring line. Time wagon lineswere in a wood half a mile west of of t i m evillage of Qucrrieu,about three miles from t i m e rear section. The Batteryremained in these positions for some weeks. A steadyartillery duel was maintained, timough on t i m ewimoiethe sectorwas fairly quiet. There was, however, increased aerialactivity by both sides, and we unfortunately lost two teie -phonists, Gunners Mead an l Norman, killed by a bombwhile mending lines. These were actually t i m efirst men, andin fact the only men, in the Battery who were killed bybombing. Apart from this sad loss, t i m ecasualties were atthis time very light. On July i3 th, the Battery was moved

forward to the left of t i m evillage of Bonnay, under the coverof a railway embankment, the guns being on the edge ofthe Somme lakes. Whiie here it became evident that somebig event was being prepared for, a great deal of ammunitionwas brought forward, and all stores and equipment wereoverhauled. On August 4 th, the guns moved forward toVaux sur Somme, and the wagon lines were advanced justto the rear of the vacated position.

33




CHAPTER X.

On t i m emorning of August 8th Ludendorif’s “ Black

Day “ the great offensive conmmenccd . There was a fairlyheavy mist at first, but later the weather became fine andsunny. Beginning at lawn, the guns rained a hail of shellinto the hostile batteries and trencimes, and made the enemyback areas almost impassable. Ammunition was sent to theBattery as fast as it could be procured from the dumps ,andrailheads, and yet there was always the call for more. Duringt i m emorning rumours began to spread of what was happen -ing, and it became evident as t i m e lay wore on that t i m eattack was meeting with’ considerable success. Here, forthe first time, the Battery saw imundredsof German prisoners.That same night we once again moved forward to positionsoff the main road east of Sailly Laurette. The guns werecontinually in action, and casualties were few consideringt i m eheavy fighting, thougim at the Sailly Laurette positiontwo men were wounded by hostile bombing. No advancewas made till August itim, wimen the Battery nmovedforward

to Chipiily, where our infantry had encountered stern opposi -tion. Nature had made this village a strong defensive point.It commanded the river crossing, and also I m a d a crestguarding it north and south. As miglmt be expected theGermans had made every use of these advantages and heavilyfortified it witlm machine-gun posts and artillery. It waseventually cleared by a combined intense artillery conceit -tration and infantry attack. T i m eBattery moved forwardimmediately the village was captured. Though it had cost

us many lives to capture, it had cost the Germans a largenumber to defend it, as we knew when we entered t i m evillageand saw the terrible effects of our assault. Here t i m eBatterysettled down on the outskirts of the village till the 2 3 rd.During this time, although no further advance was made ont im i sfront, activity was intense, it most evidently being oniya lull in the fighting. The Battery came in for a fair shareof attention from the enemy, particularly from high velocityguns. Once again our luck persevered, and we had but fewcasualties. On t i m enight of the 23rd we took the road toGressaire Wood, still keeping the River Sonmmeon our right.So far luring this advance the roads had not been subjectedto so muclm searching by the German artillery as might havebeen expected. Certainly the roads were bombed prettybadly, but our anti-aircraft guns did good work in combatingthis activity. While on the subject of aircraft work it isworthy of mention that our own aeroplanes at this time did

34




simply wonderful work, being active day and night. In factthere always seemed to be numerous ‘planes in the air. Oneday was all that was spent at Gressaire, where a steady

bombardment was maintained, and on the night of the2 4 t 1 m

the Battery moved forward to Bray sur Somme, taking up aposition under t i m ecrest north-east of t i m etown. This movewas a most diff icultone, being made on a pitch black rainynight, and on very uncertain tracks across t i m e field to thegun position, all t i m e time the enenmy shelling in bursts ofIm ig imexplosive and simrapnel in all directions. We stayedhere for four days, still doing much firing ourselves, anrlalso receiving our fair share of attention from the enemy.

A point timat should be brougimtto notice is t i m emagnificentway in which the n m e ncarried out their duties. Althoughfor nmontimstimey had hardly known what it was to sleep underanything but a gun or wagon cover and very little sleep,at timat), their spirit was splendid, heartened as timey wereby the kimowledgethat all the time they were advancing.It should be pointed out also that the wagon lines were moreoften than not within a few hundred yards of t i m eguns, a m m lthe drivers were continualiy to and fro witim anmmuni t ion ,thusmucim more than usual coming under enemy shell fire, and,in some cases, on returning to the wagon lines fitmding themsimeil,ecl out too. Still following tile S o n m m e , a move wasnmade on the 28th to Suzanne at a point north of t ime village,and once again on the 2gth to a new position east of thesame village. Here we carried on what was now our routineof continual action. On the 3oth we advanced to Hem, inwlmich village two days were spent, moving forward again

on September 2nd to Clery. It was obvious, at this stagein the operations, that the Germans felt that their positionwas weakening, as timey were fighting most desperately.Naturally this meant heavier work, if possible, for theartillery. Not only were we doing more firing, but enemyretaliation was more intense. The unfortunate result of thiswas the increase in the number of casualties sustained by theBattery, many men being wounded. On the 6th, the Batterymoved to Courcelles, where a few days’ rest was enjoyed andvery much appreciated after a month’s heavy fighting. Whilehere an amusing incident took place which is worth re -counting, and the writer is better able to appreciate it as hewas one who had the laugh of t i m evictims. Here some verycomfortable billets were found, and one was commandeeredfor a Sergeants’ billet and mess. This was a Nissen hut,very cosy, with beds and fireplace complete. Of course,while on the advance strict orders had been received regard -

35




ing booby-traps, bombs, infernal nmacimines, and the like.Naturally, the mess being so extremely cosy and comfortable,the majority of the senior N.C.Os. immediately made timcir

quarters tlmere, thinking theimmseivesfortunate. On the firstnight the lucky members of this billet went to bed, and, aswas usually the custom, lay awake talking. Presently, wlmcnthere was a lull in t i m echatter, one of t i m eparty renmarkedon a ticking noise in t i m ehut. In view of the recent orderson the subject of time-bombs, etc., t im i sremark caused animmedia te ’sensation. An instant silence was observed toverify the speaker’s statement—only too true, there certainlywas a distinct and regular ticking noise behind the woodeninterior of the hut. The alacrity with w i m i c i mt i m e inmatesgatimeredup their belongings and vanished was amazing.The refugees took shelter in odd corners, on the floor ofother huts, and the writer had the delight of accommodatingtwo in his hut. Of course, the news soon spread, and thecamp waited for the hut to go up in the air. Only to wait,however, for it must be said that nothing happened, an ifronm that day to this no one has been able to explain what

the ticking noise was, even thougim the next lay the“

tiffySergeant pulled the side of tile hut out to try and locate it.To continue, this much needed rest ended on September

12th, wlmen we proceeded into action again at Hamelet.Here the Battery was rather badly shelled and bombed, huthad the good fortune to avoid casualties. It was very noticc -able that, as the famous Hindenburg l ine was approached,the enemy resistance became more determined, and it wasevident that he would take a great deal of dislodging fronm

this wonderful defensive position. T i m eBattery remainedhere till Septmher ~8tlm, luring this spell putting in a great ieal of work. Early in the morning of the m8th, a move wasmade to’ Hesbecourt. At about this period in t i m eadvancewe experienced a—to us—new method of artillery concentra -tion. The method adopted was timat a number of batteries the night before an attack was to be made) sent a singlegun right forward to within five hundred yards of t i m etrenches, so that the most effective use could be made ofthese guns when the attack opened in t i m esmall hours of themorning. This was a most hazardous operation, and en -tailed a great deai of imard work and risk for t i m egunners:manc~uvring a seven-ton gun at night being no light job.Apparently, however, it was found to be successful, as thismethod was adopted several times. It migimtbe added tlmatthe gunners remarks regarding this “ stunt “ were veryilluminating, but, I am afraid, unprintable. At Hesbecourt

36




ted against the Battery, and on t i m e afternoon of the 6thOctober, a very heavy loss befell the Battery,’ the O.C.,Major Paris, and Sergeant Taylor being killed, and a number

of men wounded. T i m eMajor was killed by an almost directhit, whilst attending a wounded nman. After the long and jim-timate association witim the Major, who was greatly loved,this terrible loss was tragically felt by all, and for a time un -nerved t i m e men. The next day he and Sergeant Taylorwere buried in the Cemetery at Hargicourt.

T i m efollowing account of the death of Major Paris wasextracted from a letter written inmmediateiyafter it occurred.

About twenty to four the first shell came on to the battery. SeveralHun planes flew overhead a i m ddirected the fire by dropping red lights,all the time machine-gunning. We did not move from the bivouacsas the shelling was direct on the battery which was some 300 yardsaway. After about ten minutes the ‘planes evidently spotted ourbivouacs and, I should imagine, took them for ammunition dumps.There was a sudden burst of fire round the bivvies, and for about liveminutes hell raged. The shells ~‘ire chiefly “ 77’s “ and 4.2 gas. Welaid flat and only hoped. A shell burst just outside our home and afragment wounded Gunner Ward Mr. Greenimough’s man) in the heel.He screamed out, and I got him into a chair and ripped off his hoot.He shouted for the Major, who was half asleep in his bivvy, for thefiercest bombardment was a matter of indifference to him. He came inand pacified Ward, whose heel I had dressed. The Major was in frontof Ward, when Billingham Lt. Anne.sley’s man), who was watchingme replace Ward’s boot, was hit in the head. He r a m m e dover screaming,and the Major immediately tore his own field dressing out and beganto dress the wound. To make space I took Vard into the officersbivouac and laid him on his back, so that he was comparatively safe,being below the ground level. Time shelling was continuous. A 4.2gas shell~ burst behind the kitchen and again wounded Billingham inthe leg. The Major came to the door of the kitchen, and I rose to goto him. He said, “ A field dressing, Edgcumhe,” and came towardsme. As I was handing it to him a shell burst behind or sideways, Idon’t know which. H e was struck by a piece, staggered towards me,and I caught him in m y arms. His own weight carried both myselfand him to the entrance of the Mess, I staggered backwards under bigweight, and he collapsed in a sitting position on the ground, I supportinghim. I tore open his collar, and saw the wound just below the rightcollar bone, the piece having passed through both lungs and out athis left side. He uttered no word, for his lungs were full. As Iplaced the pad upon the wound the blood stopped welling, and he hadpassed away. The whole affair took no longer titan two minutes frombeginning to end. When I saw he had gone the whole world wentdark to me, and I shouted out for help. Gunner Butcher shouted forhelp, and CorporalNorton and BonmbardierElliottrushed up, after themcame Lt. Greenhough, he looked at the Major, gave one hopelessgesture, and said, “ He has gone, we can do nothing.” ilillinghamwas wounded for the third time, and Lt. Greenhoughand the others,with Dawkins,who couldnot leave Billingham, took him and Wardto the dressing station. There was a slight lull in the shelling forabout ten minutes, I composed the Major, and covered him as best I

38




could. The shelling recommenced,and I was alon e there, I took achance and ran to the cookhouse for company. Sergeant Taylor waskilled about the same time. Lts. Greenhough and Annesley camearound and cleared us all into the cellars of a ruined farm about 200

yards on the flank . Therewe took shelter for the night. The nextday I took the Major’s possessions frotn his pocket, and we wrappedhim in two blankets, a soldier’s shroud. In the afternoon again wewere shelled) we carried his body to a motor lorry, which conveyed allthat remained of the two bravest and nmost gallant men in France tothe Hargicourt Quarry Military Cemetery. A grave had been preparedby his own men, and there we buried them, side by side, two bravesouls, the while a great 9.2 Railway gun, a few yards off, fired, as itseemed, a parting salute. A trumpeter sounded the Last Post, and welookedour last upon him we admired and loved beyond all men. TheColoneland Staff anti several brot imer Majors paid their last respects atthe grave, and so we left them n a soldier’s grave, laying as theywouldhave wished to lay, buried by the loving hands of men who lovedthem as truly as a man can love. We shall never forget him.

On the nigimt of t i m e 6/7th a move was madeto another position, whicim was still on the out -skirts of Estrees, t im i s Imaving been ren iered necessaryin view of the fatal happenings of that clay, and also thatthe frequent heavy bursts of enemy shells on the Batteryeffectively neutralized it. Capt. afterwards Major) Lunm-Icy of t i m e ~ H.B. took conmmand ,and the stay at Estreessvas of short duration, as i imt i m eearly morning of t i m e8th a shift was made to Monthrelmain. While in this villageit began to dawn on all that the Germans’ resistance wasweakening fast. They were still doing a fair amount of ar -tillery work, but nearly all with long range guns of high ve -locity, firing at extreme ratmges. For clays past in fact sinceour capture of the Hindenburg line, we continually passed

vast numbers of their dead, t i m ebodies lying as they fell.Great dumps of ammunition and stores i m a dbeen burnt. Byso doing, and thus being able to travel light, it became in -creasingly difficultfor our infantry to keep in close contactwith them. In addition to this civilians were beginning toreturn from t i m eterritory occupied by the enemy and they gavegraphic descriptions of the evident despair amongst l m i stroopsand of the preparations for flight. Montbrehain was left onthe moth, and the next place of action was Premont. Thiswas really more in the nature of a halt, as on iith we furt imeradvanced to Busigny, a rather large village to which by thistime a good number of civilians I m a dreturned. As far as wasable, owing to the fluctuating nature of the warfare at thistime, the guns were kept fairly busy, the Germans still beingfairly active with their H.V. long range pieces. On the17th October the Battery further advanced to St. Souplet,about ~ miles S.W. of Le Cateau. Here the Battery was at

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intervals rather badly slmelled, while at the same time doinga fair amount of firing. On the 20th the final advance wasmade to Mazinheim, about ~ miles East of St. Souplet. Herethe same state of affairs persisted for some days. By thistime it became obvious that the Germans were really breakingup, and preparations were made to follow tip rapidly. Orderswere received and countermanded almost in the same hour)that t i m e guns and ammunition limbers, travelling lightshould take part in what was felt would be t i m efinal pursuit.Eventually, owing to t i m ehad state of the roads and scarcityof the brk lges—nmos tof which i m a dbeen of course blown up—

it was decided that light artillery only should follow up.After the Battery had taken part in this final phase of thewar from its beginning, it was regretted by t i m emen tlmatt i m e ywere utmabic to participate in t i m e culminating push.However, on November 7th the guns returned to St. Sou.plet, to where t i m ewagon lines i m a dpreviously moved, andas far as was possible the men placed in billets. Wimiie herethe Armistice was signed and duly celebrated. By the ironyof fate an influenza epidemic broke out about this time, antiabout forty n m e nwere sent to hospital, several of w i m o t m i lied,including t imree wlmo had been with time Battery from its in -ception. Speculation now became rife as to whether the Bat -tery would be called upon to proceed forward into the occu -pied areas, but orders were eventually received dispelling thisidea, as it was decided that we should remain in this area toundertake t i m eonerous anti prosaic job of clearing up. Dc -rnobil.isationcommenced about the middle of January, andso t i m eBattery to whicimwe l m a dbeen so proud to belotmgbeganto melt away, a i m dfinally only a few men were left to handover the guns, horses, and equipment.

This ends t i m estory of the part played by one Battery inthe World War. Of t I m e200 officersand men who iandedin France witlm the original Battery, only one officerand about30 other ranks were left when the last round was fired. Oft i m efriendships formed, many of which remain, of the mem -ory of those comrades who passed over, I shall not write.

But there is not one of that gallant company who duringthree years fought in the 138 Heavy Battery but wili lookback with pride to his association witim the Royal Regimentof Artillery.

The Hampstead Heavies 138th Heavy Battery RGA

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