/qj^o. R. H. S. SPAIGHT Military Bookseller, 18, The Vineyard. WAR HISTORY OF THE 18TH (S.) BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY THE KING'S COLOUR OF 1 8th BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY. Laid up in the Chapter House of Durham Cathedral. WAR HISTORY OF THE 18TH (S.) BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY BY LiEUT.-CoL. W. D. LOWE, D.S.O., M.C. // WITH A FOREWORD BY LiEUT.-CoL. H. BOWES, T.D. HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPE TOWN BOMBAY CALCUTTA 1920 DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE GALLANT COMRADES OF THE 18TH (S.) BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY PREFACE For the general supervision of this record I am very much indebted to Lieutenant-Colonel H. Bowes, T.D., who organised and commanded the Battalion for nearly two years, and to whose energy and powers o administration we all owe a debt of gratitude. Without the assistance of Major D. E. Ince, M.C I could hardly have contemplated this task : his unfailing memory and ready help is registered on every page. To the few who responded to the appeal for diaries and letters, and especially to the Company Commanders and to Lieutenant W. Allbeury, M.C, I am most grateful, and trust that they have, in all cases where desired, received their papers again. All proceeds from the sale of the History, less the immediate cost of printing, binding, distribution, etc., will be handed to the Battalion fund for the relief of those who have suffered for us all. It is difficult in this type of record to hit the happy mean between writing for the public and for the Battalion. I have not attempted to do so, and have therefore described, very probably to the weariness vii THE 18TH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY of the general reader, every move of the BattaUon, and for this I do not apologise. To the Battalion every place-name will recall some memories, some in hopes and too many cases some griefs. The History of the Battalion is written for the Battalion. Lastly, no one is more aware than myself of the difficulty of compiling a record of the gallant deeds done. Very many names, as I know, are unrecorded. Turn to the long list of honours won and to the names enrolled on the record of decorations, and they are merely an insignificant minority in comparison with the numbers of those whose gallantry, singleness of heart and devotion to duty engraven in the memories of their comrades remain unrewarded, but were none the less known and honoured by their fellow- fighters. In case a later edition should appear I should be very glad of any corrections or additions that may occur to the reader. My sister. Miss L. A. Lowe, has helped me much by reading through the proofs. W. D. L. The Castle, Durham. viu FOREWORD " Little is required as introduction to The History of the 1 8th (S.) Battalion (ist County) The Durham L<ight Infantry." The circumstances under which the Bat- taUon was raised, the vicissitudes through which it passed, and its final disbandment are all so graphically, concisely, and so humanly related that no special atten- tion requires to be drawn to any specific incident or to the arrangement of the volume as a whole. Typical of the men of Durham as the county regiment may be, it is safe to say that no unit of it was more thoroughly representative of the Palatinate than that dealt with herein. Drawn almost exclu- sively from the entire county, raised under the aegis of a County Committee, it was the first of several units similarly raised within the confines of Durham during the war. That its inception was sound is evidenced by the fact that its personnel, in the first instance, strange to training and to comradeship, the essentials to fighting, and in the absence of a single officer of the Regular Army, later supplied a very considerable proportion of its strength as commissioned officers to ix THE 18TH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY fill the gaps arising from lengthened hostilities and the attendant wastage of war. So far as can be ascertained of all units raised locally throughout the country during the war, the 1 8th (S.) Battalion stands out as having alone been enlisted, clothed, equipped, administered, and handed over as a free gift to the State. Perusal of the book, an authoritative treatise and primarily compiled for those who served with the Battalion, cannot fail to interest generally those who may in any way have had a prior knowledge of the wonderful personnel from which it was enlisted, or the conditions under which the unit was raised, whilst to those who actually served with the Battalion almost every page will recall some incident, however trivial, grave or gay, and bring back to memory, restore and gild some half-forgotten billet, and may, perchance, in memory recall some erstwhile forgotten comrade. Throughout the volume the student may with ease trace the life history of the Battalion, first in its chrysalis state, later, as organisation and training pro- gressed and developed that comradeship and tradition so essential to its well-being, bursting forth into the strong fighting spirit which throughout its career ever characterised the Battalion and added lustre to its good name wherever it went, then during the Armis- tice, still keeping to the forefront by its sportsmanlike qualities, and finally returning to the county of its birth, laying up its King's Colour in the Mother Church of the Diocese, forming its Old Comrades' Association, FOREWORD and thus ensuring that the comradeship and tradition developed under the strain and stress of war should be continued and enjoyed during the days of peace. To the author we of the Battalion owe a deep debt of gratitude. That the unit created a tradition cannot be denied ; such tradition has now been stabilised in this history, and no more authoritative or appropriate compiler could have been selected than its writer. From the inception of the Battalion at Cocken Hall in the early autumn of 19 14 he was the life and soul of the training and administration of the unit almost from the first its with all the ; Adjutant, multifarious duties pertaining to his office and per- mitting him to become conversant with every detail, later as Second in Command, and lastly, and de- its Officer from servedly so, Commanding ; beginning to end the Battalion was his, he saw it grow up and pass from success to success, and as reward for his labour of love in compiling this history all that we can offer to him is the marvellous tradition which he did so much to create, and which still exists, together with the comradeship which continues to this day amongst all those who have served together in the Battalion. I have been asked by Lieut.-Colonel W. D. Lowe, " D.S.O., M.C., to write this Foreword." I have accepted his invitation not because I consider that I am the right and proper member of the Battalion to do so, but because in introducing the History of the 1 8th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry, I find xi THE 18TH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY the opportunity of thanking him for the help and assistance which, often under trying circumstances, he was ever ready to give, whilst I also take a last oppor- tunity of repeating that never did a Commanding Officer proceed overseas with greater feelings of con- fidence, power, and support in his unit than did the Officer Commanding the i8th (S.) Battalion The in late Durham Light Infantry the autumn of 191 5. HUGH BOWES, lAeut. -Colonel. Durham, z~th May 1920. xu CONTENTS PAGE Diary of the War ..... xvii CHAPTER I Formation and Early Days of the Battalion, 1914-15 . i CHAPTER II The Formation and Training of Thirty-first Division, 191 5 . .12 CHAPTER III Service Abroad in Egypt, 191 5-16 . .16 CHAPTER IV France and the Preparations for the Somme Battle, 1916 28 CHAPTER V The Battle of the Somme, 1916 . -37 CHAPTER VI Festubert, Neuve Chapelle, and Givenchy, 1916 . 48 CHAPTER VII Back to the Somme, 1916-17 . .56 CHAPTER VIII The Spring of 19 17 . .70 xiii THE 18TH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY CHAPTER IX FACE The . Summer Offensive of 1917 . .76 CHAPTER X Autumn and Winter of 19 17-18 . .88 CHAPTER XI The Great German Offensive, 19 18 . 100 CHAPTER XII of . The Turn the Tide, 191 8 . .118 CHAPTER XIII Last . The Advance and the End, 1918 . 141 APPENDIXES I. List of Subscribers to the i8th (S.) Battalion Durham Light Infantry (County) . .155 n. Telegrams and Messages of Congratulation . 157 IIL Roll of Officers and Warrant Officers on Head- quarters . .184 IV. Roll of Officers . .187 V. List of Non-Commissioned Officers and Men who left the Battalion after Service in France to proceed to England for a Commission . .197 VI. List of Decorations ..... 199 VII. Casualty Lists ..... 205 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS The King's Colour DIARY OF THE WAR Western Front. Other Fronts. 1914. 1914. Aug. 3. Germany declared war on France. „ 4. Great Britain declared war on Germany. „ 15. Fall of Liege. „ 16. British Army landed in France. Aug. 26. Battle of Tannenbe Sept. 5. Mar. 10. British took Neuve Chapelle. Apr. 22. Second Battle of Ypres began. Gas used for the first time. THE 18TH DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY Western Front. Other Fronts. 1915. Battle of Loos and in Sept. 25. Champagne. Sept. 28 Victory at Kut-el-Amara. Dec. 19 Withdrawal from Galli- poli.