Captain Geoffrey Mervyn Underhill Wilson, KIA 25th Sept 1915

Captain Geoffrey Mervyn Underhill Wilson

Old Brutonian Geoffrey Mervyn Underhill Wilson, a captain with the 3rd Batt. Wiltshire Regiment, was killed in action on the first day of the battle of Loos, France, on 25th Sept 1915. He was 21.

Note: although all records (including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) indicate that Wilson was killed on the 26 September, the War Diary states that he died on the 25 September.

This extract from the battalion war diary provides more detail on his death.

Date: 25/9/1915    Location: France, Verquin 

Battn moved at 12.30am marched via LA BOURSE and SAILLY, arriving at a reserve line of trenches SE of NOYELLES at point L12 o 6.6 at about 3am. Bombardment became intense. At about 6am the attack was launched. Battn ordered to advance through VERMELLES up communication trench (CHAPEL ALLEY) to occupy front line at point G11 o 9.8. Capt King wounded. 2/Lt FH Friend assumed command of 'A' Coy. Following the advance of the 20th Brigade the Battalion occupies the front and support German lines. Lt Col BH Leatham DSO then gave orders for the Battn to advance in open order in direction of CITE ST ELIE keeping to the north of HULLUCH ROAD, our right flank connecting with the 2nd Bedfordshires left. The Battn advanced in the following order, 'B' Coy on the left Capt WM Geddes in command, 'A' Coy on right 2/Lt FH Friend in command, two platoons of each company leading, two platoons immediately behind, 'C' Coy in support, 'D' Coy in reserve, Major RMP Gillson in command of'C' Coy, Capt EC Mudge in command of 'D' Coy, the whole were led by Major CG Forsyth, and experiencing extremely heavy rifle and machine gun fire from the front came to a line held very weakly by a mixture of 8th Devon & 2nd Borders. The trench contained 4 German field guns and ammunition. Our losses were heavy and included the following Officers casualties Capt GMU Wilson, 2/Lts CFB Hodgins JH Clarke WHG Durrant killed. Major RMP Gillson, 2nd Lt FH Friend wounded the latter seriously.
 At dusk the Battn was relieved by the 9/Devonshire Regt and took up a new front at BRESLAU AVENUE our right resting on the latter Regiment.

Read more about the Battle of Loos here: http://thescribblerdotbiz.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/battle-of-loos.html

 

King's Brutonian Captain John Francis Martyr KIA

Captain Martyr, KIA 11 August 1915

Captain John Francis Martyr, 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (attached to 6th Battalion), died of wounds at Gallipoli 100 years ago today (11/8/1915), aged 33. He was buried at sea.

Captain Martyr had served in the South African War in 1901 and 1902, where he was employed with the Mounted Infantry, and obtained for his valuable services the Queen's Medal with five clasps.

His unit was involved in fierce fighting on the day he was wounded. The 6th (Service Battalion) Royal Irish Rifles War Diary records that the Battalion landed on 5th August 1915 at Anzac Cove with 23 officers and 743 other ranks. 

They advanced on the 8th August via Walkers Ridge, Chailak Dere and Aghyl Dere until they reached a lone and isolated position known as The Farm. From there the 6th Royal Irish Rifles, in its first significant battle with the enemy since formation and training on the Curragh, launched attacks against the Turks occupying positions on the ridges above them. 

They suffered terrible casualties in a charge against the Turks and then in the Turks counter-attack.  The 6th Royal Irish Rifles War Diary explains that on 10th August the Turks counter-attacked and after the battle the Battalion's strength was about 270. Poignantly it records that the casualties (dead, wounded or missing) "as far as can be ascertained" in that one battle on 10th/11th August 1915 amounted to 372 men.

The following is an extract from a report by a company commander there at the battle.

Stringbag over Somerset

W5856 awaits her new paint job

It’s a cold day when I visit the Royal Navy Historic Flight (RNHF) at Yeovilton and I am glad to get into the enormous hangar and out of the bitter wind that drives across the airfield. The Flight’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Chris Götke AFC RN, shows me the collection, which includes two Fairey Swordfish, a Hawker Sea Hawk and a Hawker Sea Fury.

The RNHF’s second Sea Fury survived a forced landing following complete engine failure last year during an air display at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. The pilot, Lt Cdr Götke, was awarded the Air Force Cross for his bravery and his cool handling of his aircraft.

It is one of the Swordfish I have come to see. There are thought to be only four airworthy Swordfish worldwide, and W5856 is the oldest surviving example. Following a re-spray into 820 Naval Air Squadron colours that take her back in time to 1941, she is at the end of a complete restoration that will see her enter the Flight’s display program this summer.

Nicknamed the Stringbag by their crews because of their ability to carry almost anything, these tough aircraft served from both land and sea in every theatre of war during the Second World War and, perhaps more than any other type, they represent the spirit of naval aviation in the FAA.

Swordfish had a number of significant successes, notably the attack at Taranto in which the Italian navy lost half of its capital ships. They also played a part in crippling the German battleship Bismarck. But perhaps their defining role was the contribution they made during the Battle of the Atlantic in which they shone as anti-submarine aircraft.

W5856 first flew in 1941 and served with the Mediterranean Fleet. Shipped to Canada at the end of the war, she fell into disrepair. In 1990, British Aerospace bought her from the Strathallan Collection in Scotland and, having restored her to pristine flying condition, presented her to the RNHF in 1993.
As we stand next to the enormous biplane, with its 45 foot wingspan, Lt Cdr Götke admits he has yet to fly one. Looking up at it, I ask him whether he intends to remedy this. He just smiles, and it’s clear to me that the pilots who fly for the RNHF do so for the love of the aircraft; for the pure joy of a kind of flying which is fast disappearing: flying by the seat of your pants and with the wind in your hair; quite literally, in the case of the Swordfish.

The Royal Navy has a long history with aviation. In 1909, it ordered its first airship, and just 3 years later, in 1912, the Royal Flying Corps Naval Wing was formed. This went on to become the Royal Naval Air Service in 1914 under which name it served throughout the Great War with distinction. In 1924, this became the Fleet Air Arm (FAA).

I ask Lt Cdr Götke how he finds pilots to fly these old warbirds. He assures me there is no shortage of volunteers, and so the Flight can afford to be choosy. Pilots selected to display the aircraft hone their skills on less valuable planes with similar handling characteristics. These include the de Havilland Chipmunk, a North American Texan, a BAC Jet Provost and the BAE Hawk.

The powerful radial engine after its rebuild

He leads me over to an enormous radial engine which stands on its own to one side of the hangar. It is about to be refitted to W5856 following a total rebuild. How, I wonder, does the Flight find the necessary skills to maintain what is, after all, an antique piece of engineering?
“We have our own engineers and fitters, and there are also volunteers, but for something as significant as this, we look outside the Navy. This was just rebuilt by specialist aero engine contractor Deltair Airmotive at a cost of around £120,000.”

I must have made a face because he continues:
“We had to make new pistons and cylinders because obviously they can’t be ordered off the shelf. And because we want them as close to the original as we can get them, they’re not cheap. £9,000 for the pistons and over £60,000 for the cylinders. It soon adds up.”
And who pays for this?

A Sea Fury in a crowded RNHF hangar

“Funding is the big headache. The Fly Navy Heritage Trust (FNHT) raises most of the money; they provide around £500,000 a year. Because the RNHF is an operational Naval Air Unit, there’s also a contribution from the MoD. Other funds come from personal donations and bequests from supporters. But major overhauls like this are often funded through the generosity of industry.”

The large biplane dominates the hangar

He pats the lower wing of W5856. “She flew for ten years until the wing spars needed to be replaced and that requires special tooling. BAE very kindly came to the rescue and undertook the work at no cost to the Navy or the FNHT. Otherwise, it would have been a million pounds.”

Before I leave, I am permitted to clamber up the side of the aircraft which I waste no time in doing. Having just spent a morning in the nearby FAA Museum looking at a Sopwith Pup, a wood and linen First World War fighter, I am struck by the similarities: open cockpits, uncomfortable seats, cables and dated dials and controls.

The rear cockpit of the Swordfish

The thought of a long patrol over the dark waters of a freezing Atlantic Ocean in this single-engine aircraft is horrifying. Even more so when you consider that safety lay on the heaving deck of an aircraft carrier somewhere in the murky grey distance. And yet for many young men, this was their office; their day-to-day existence.

Perhaps Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown, CBE DSC AFC FRAeS RN puts it best when he says: “It would be an absolute travesty if the Navy’s historic aircraft, and the men who flew them, and those who laid down their lives in them, were forgotten.”

This, then, is the point of the RNHF. It seeks to preserve a century long naval aviation heritage and aims to serve as a memorial to those who flew, and died, for the FAA in Britain’s darkest hour. I look forward to seeing W5856 when she returns to the flight line on 11 July at Yeovilton Air Day.

On the flight line with the RNHF and the Sea Fury

KIA: King's Bruton Old Boy Lt. Denys Brinckman, Royal Irish Fusilier

KIA 10 June 1915, Aged 19

Denys entered the School in September, 1906, and left in March, 1913. At School he was a boy of excellent ability which was shown afterwards by his gaining a Prize Cadetship at Sandhurst, where he was made a sergeant and passed out 14th on the list.

On leaving Sandhurst, Denys joined his father’s old regiment, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and it was not long before he received his second star. Though not conspicuous at games, he was very keen and quite promising; he represented the School at hockey, and if he had remained at Bruton, he would certainly have a place in the football XI.

He was of a reserved and retiring disposition, but was much liked by all who knew him well. Owing to the excellent reports of him we had from time to time, his career in the Army was followed with interest by us all at the School, and it was with great regret that we heard of his death in action near Ypres on June 10th.

He was killed by a bullet through the head while in charge of the machine-gun section. He is buried in Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery.

Hazlegrove WW1 Bulletin, number 6 April 1915

 

Two King's Bruton Old Boys killed on the same day, serving with the Canadians at Ypres

Private Hugh Glynn Baker was killed in action serving with the 1st British Columbia Regiment on 24th April, 1915. He was 34.

Captain Evelyn Claude Culling of the Eastern Ontario Regiment was killed in action on the same day, aged 29.

The 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia) was part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. The 2nd Battalion (1st Eastern Ontario) was part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade. Both brigades were part of the 1st Canadian Division, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and fought in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The action at St Julien was their first real taste of fighting on the Western front.

Map of action at St Julien with both Canadian brigades highlighted

 

Both Hugh and Evelyn were killed fighting in what became known as the Battle of St. Julien, itself part of the Second Battle of Ypres which opened on the 22nd April, 1915, with the Germans using chlorine gas against the French in the line around Ypres.

Private Hugh Glynn Baker 

Sadly, I do not have a picture of Private Baker.

Although the war diary for the 1st British Columbia Regiment does not record details of Hugh's death (generally, only the death of officers are recorded by name in unit war diaries), his company officer wrote details about the engagements in which Hugh was killed. It gives a flavour of the wider campaign.

 

Hugh's body was never recovered.

Captain Evelyn Claude Culling 

Captain Culling

Again, the battalion war diary does not record the particulars of the death of this company commander, however I have reproduced it here anyway. The 2nd Battalion were fighting to the south west of Hugh's battalion, and casualties on the 24th were heavy.

Evelyn's body was never recovered and he, like Hugh, is remembered on the Menin Gate in Ypres.

King's Bruton Casualty, Captain John Ramsay Cox of the 1st Battalion, Worcester Regiment

Captain John Ramsay Cox

Captain Cox was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle on 12th March 1915, aged 41.
He was born 29 June, 1873, the son of Captain William Stanley Ramsay Cox and was educated at King's School, Bruton.

Prior to the First World War, he had served with the 6th (Special Reserve) Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, re-joining early in September, 1914.

Having been attached to the 11th Worcestershire, and temporally employed as a Staff Captain at the 78th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, he proceeded to France in early January, 1915 as part of a draft for the 1st Worcestershire.

It is believed he was killed when his battalion attempted to withdraw from an untenable position in the enemies trenches during the assault at Neuve Chapelle on 12th March. His body has not been found.

The following is an account of the battalion’s action that day.

The trenches in front of Neuve Chapelle held by the 1st Battalion Worcester Regiment were subject to much activity in the run up to the attack. Officers from a number of regiments were sent up in order to reconnoitre the ground in preparation for the great attack planned to commence on the 10th. This attack was intended to smash through the salient in the German line formed by the village of Neuve Chapelle, then hopefully on to take the Aubers Ridge. 

Parties of the 1st Worcestershire were in action shortly after the artillery barrage, the heaviest bombardment yet experienced in the war, lifted to the rear of the village around 8 am. In reserve, however, the main body of the Battalion moved forward later and by the afternoon, two companies were heavily engaged.

The following day was a disaster. Heavy casualties were sustained as the Worcesters advanced, some caused by our own artillery falling short of the enemy lines. 

Before the first daylight of 12 March the enemy's guns heavily shelled the Worcestershire trenches. Then through the mist, a dense mass of infantry were seen surging forward. Two battalions of the 21st Bavarian Reserve Regiment in close formation lead by officers waving swords and, noted one eyewitness, followed by "a fat old blighter on a horse." 

On the right of the Worcestershire, the Sherwoods suddenly fell back. The little salient which their line formed had been attacked from both sides and broken in. This left the Worcester's right flank open, but the Battalion remained unshaken.

'A' Company swiftly formed to the right to face the opened flank and the abandoned trenches of the Foresters. With the Bavarians now within seventy yards, one officer of 'A' Company noted:
"A most extra ordinary hush for a few seconds as we held our fire while they closed in on us. From flank to flank the whole line of the Worcestershire broke into the crackling roar of rapid fire. We brought them down in solid chunks. Down went the officers, the sergeant majors and the old blighter on the horse."

At this point the Worcester's broke from their line and charged into the Bavarians,  bayoneting and firing as they went. Much of the enemy now scattered and found its way into an orchard where the Worcesters had a fine scrap with the Germans. The Worcesters had their tails up with a vengeance. They chased the Germans up and down that muddy field like terriers after rats.

Meanwhile to the left of 'A' Company, 'B', 'C' and 'D' were also engaged in a fierce bayonet fight. The end of which saw the pursued beaten enemy into their own lines. Storming a group of building known as "Point 85", the Worcestershire occupied these. But once again through lack of communication, the British guns inflicted casualties among its own troops with bombardment of the captured area. 

Now isolated, the three companies beat off repeated counter-attacks until at about 10 am, when it had became clear that the Battalion's position, now encircled by the enemy on three sides, was no longer tenable. Reluctantly the Commanding Officer, Colonel E.C.F. Wodehouse gave the order to fall back. 

As the three companies withdrew in good order, officers and men fell fast. The Commanding Officer, the Adjutant, and the last surviving Company Commanders went down, and it was a mere remnant of the three stubborn companies which, still in good order and grimly firing, reached the trenches which they had held at dawn.

Still away to the right, the survivors of 'A' Company, now with hardly any officers, continued the fight in the orchard. But here too, lack of support inevitably forced a withdrawal. The four companies now reunited, the roll was taken and casualties counted.

The day's fighting amounting to a total of three hundred and seventy all ranks.

Trenches at Neuve Chapelle