Tewkesbury Historical Society Publications The Book is THS Publication 9, the latest of an occasional series, intended as a means whereby Society publishes results of research on aspects of Tewkesbury’s History. Further details can be found on http://www.ths.freeuk.com/publications/publications.htm. The Author of his book is John Dixon, President of THS, although in Section V he has edited the work of contributor Malcolm Waldron. The maps have been produced by Sam Eedle. Comments upon this book should be sent to the Author, preferably by email to [email protected] Further copies of this issue are available from the Treasurer. THS Members or relatives of those who are commemorated in the Town’s Memorials who wish to buy copies at the special price can only do so through the Treasurer. Our main distributor is Alison’s Bookshop, 138-9 High Street, Tewkesbury, GL20 5JR, which also operates a mail order service. For further information email: [email protected] . Copyright and Responsibility Unless otherwise specified, copyright of the book or illustrations remains with the author or illustrator. Copyright of original material remains with the owner or, in the case of letters, the writer, or with the relevant Record Office or Library. Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. The Society will be happy to acknowledge any omissions in future publications. The Society does not hold itself responsible for statements in papers, but invites additions and corrections which may be printed in future publications or on the website as articles or notes. Copies of all the Society’s publications are held in the British Library in accordance with the Copyright Act. Society Meetings The Society meets once a month, usually on the third Thursday, at 7.45 pm in the Methodist Church at The Cross. At these meetings, which are open to visitors, invited speakers talk on some aspect of history. Information is published on the Society’s website: www.ths.freeuk.com Membership Enquiries about membership and subscriptions should be addressed to the Membership Secretary, at: Bantry, GL20 6AJ; or [email protected] Principal Officers 2014-2015 President & Treasurer: John Dixon, 5 Stokes Court, Oldbury Road, Tewkesbury, GL20 5JL; 01684-294262; [email protected] Secretary: Janet Martin on [email protected] ISSN 1742-6030 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owners. © Tewkesbury Historical Society © The Author, Malcolm Waldron and Sam Eedle © Cover Design & Artwork: Sam Eedle. Editorial Team: Author & Editor: John Dixon War Factual Auditors: Malcolm Waldron and Sam Eedle Proof reading: Anon Printed by: Fleet Graphics Ltd., Tewkesbury Editorial Note: Any spelling or grammatical idiosyncrasies in quotations have been reproduced verbatim. Imperial measurements have been used throughout. Acknowledgements The Editorial Team John Dixon Malcolm Waldron Sam Eedle Author Sections I-IV; Research & Author Section V; Map Design Editor Section V Factual Auditor of Section I Factual Auditor of Section I John was the co-founder of THS in 1991 and has been Chairman/President during the past 25 seasons. Born and educated in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, he read history at the LSE and Warwick University. Until his retirement, he was a teacher of History, culminating at Tewkesbury School from 1983-2001. Upon retirement, he moved his home to Tewkesbury and has been able to concentrate upon researching Tewkesbury’s fascinating History. Our Colleagues The Author is very grateful for the research assistance from Members of T.H.S.; in particular Derek Benson, Wendy Snarey, David Willavoys, Cliff Burd and Gordon Baker. Our Sponsors The Society was indeed fortunate in being awarded a grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund to assist both working with school pupils in researching the history of World War I and also in meeting the production costs of this publication. We were also deeply grateful for the participation of Mrs. Jill Jakeman, History Teacher at Bredon School, Bushley, and her Y9 pupils during 2014-2015. Illustrations The cooperation of named suppliers of illustrations is gratefully acknowledged and especially the Director of the Imperial War Museum for permission to reproduce Hammerton’s photographs Our Community Partners Publication Distribution Publication Printer Photographs A commemoration of those from Tewkesbury who lost their lives during the Great War, 1914-1919 A Noble Band of Heroes The years 2014-2018 have given us the opportunity to focus upon the Centenary of the War which failed to be the ‘War to end all Wars’. It was, nevertheless, a war which scarred not only the valiant generation but it also engulfed, future generations who are still trying to come to terms with its long-term consequences. It is only just, therefore, that the Government, through the auspices of the Heritage Lottery Fund, encourages local people to undertake research about the war as it affected their communities. In the post-wear years the people of Tewkesbury commemorated the loss of so many of its young people on various memorials in the Town, sponsored by different community groups. Usually for the most innocent of reasons, not all those who lost their lives in the conflict were officially remembered. The Society has set out to commemorate in this book not only those whose sacrifice has been officially recognised but also those who were omitted. The Society, therefore, has identified the deaths of 192 men and one woman who lost their lives as a result of this conflict. At least two remain unidentified. The primary aim of this book is to write a biography of all those – now largely forgotten – names that appear on the several war memorials in the Town. These biographies will appear in Section V but, on page 107, we have endeavoured to fill these gaps in commemoration by providing an Extended Roll of Honour. The secondary aim is to place those deaths in the context of the Great War, 1914-1919. The focus for Sections I-IV is to provide an analytical narrative for relatives and the general reader. In doing so we have also remembered as many as possible of those who did not lose their lives but were badly wounded, rendered prisoners of war, widowed and orphaned; in addition, we salute the conscripts as well as the volunteers, all of whom constitute this Noble Band of Heroes Photographs TEWKESBURY HISTORICAL SOCIETY “Noble Band of Heroes” CONTENTS Foreword and Author’s Note 2 I. Introduction: The “Great War” 3 II. Tewkesbury’s Memorials 5 III. The War through the eyes of Combatants 8 A. 1914: Over by Christmas? The Period of Optimism 9 The BEF; Naval Warfare; The “Recruitment Storm”; Trench Warfare B. 1915: A Year of Futile Campaigns on Land and at Sea? 16 Trench Warfare; The Gallipoli Campaign; Naval and Aerial Warfare; “Recruitment Storm” abates C. 1916: A Year of Paradox? 24 Imperial Wars in Egypt and Mesopotamia; Entente Solidarity? - The Salonika Campaign; Naval and Aerial Warfare; Conscription; Winter Warfare; Battles of the Somme. D. 1917: A Year without Hope? 41 The Western Front: inc. Retreat to Hindenburg Line, Third Ypres Middle Eastern Front; Naval and Aerial Warfare E. 1918: The Astonishing Campaigns! 61 Naval and Aerial Warfare; The Middle Eastern Campaigns; The Territorials’ Italian Adventure; Western Front: The Stalemate is broken – Eventually: Manpower Crisis and Battles; Armistice; Postscript F. The Unintended – but Inevitable – Consequences of War? 86 Spanish Influenza; Accidents; Commemoration; Demobbed! – and Unemployed?; The Wounded and their Care; Prisoners of War (POWs); Tewkesbury’s Extended Roll of Honour; Gallantry Medals; Those who Prospered…. G. Conclusion – Reflections on the Impact of a World War I: 113 “A Noble Band of Heroes”? IV. APPENDICES Glossary of Terms: Military; People; Army Ranks; Military Units 115 Sources 128 Index to Sections I-IV 131 V. Biographies of our “Noble Band of Heroes” 135 1 “Noble Band of Heroes” Foreword Foreword by Charlie Stayt of BBC Breakfast I was delighted to be asked to write this foreword – and I know many hours, weeks, months, even years have gone into the writing of this book. The actions of those from Tewkesbury who served in the First World War are wonderfully documented in the pages that follow: the research and attention to detail is extraordinary. For my own part reading about the contributions of members of my own family is both fascinating and humbling. As I write this, in mid July 2015, a number of thoughts come to mind about just how important it is to remember and learn from what happened in conflicts all over the world. Recently in Srebrenica (in Bosnia, as is Sarajevo) there have been ceremonies to mark the massacre carried out twenty years ago, and we live in a world where new kinds of conflict have emerged, linked to terrorism and ideology. In my industry, television journalism, the speed of communications means contemporary reporting is far more immediate and the risks taken to recount what happens in distant places are very real. This week I was particularly moved by the words of a young RAF pilot involved in the Battle of Britain commemoration, including a flypast over Buckingham Palace. He had the honour of meeting the pilots who flew the fighter planes in wartime. He concluded how much he could still learn from what they had seen and done. That principle seems to be so important in this book too, where individual stories of sacrifice from one town, are told against the backdrop of the First World War. It is a chance to hear detailed accounts, from so many sources, about a bravery that should not be forgotten.