Vol. 66, No. 3 (May-June 2015) 35 Figure 3: the 5Th Dragoon Guards at Harbonniéres
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were once again ordered to march back to Chocolate Hill The 5th Dragoon Guards had served continuously in on August 22. This advance was made without incident France and Flanders since August 1914 and were in under the cover of darkness. After this, they alternated reserve at Amiens in May 1918. Their first significant between tours in the trenches and time spent in reserve, action after Gotts’ arrival, indeed the regiment’s greatest incurring a steady stream of losses along the way. contribution to the war, occurred on August 8, 1918, what later would be dubbed the ‘‘Black Day of the German Gotts remained with the Westminster Dragoons at Suvla Army.” Bay for 11 weeks, before being evacuated on October 31. Like nearly every other unit present, the regiment suffered The artillery barrage began promptly at 4:20am and heavy losses. The Westminster Dragoons landed with 18 successfully weakened the German defensives. Led by officers and 346 men yet departed with only nine officers tanks, the Canadian and Australian Corps attacked and and 139 others ranks still active. Enemy action, illness, were able to reach their first objective by 6:30am. The and the weather had taken their toll on the rest. Allies regrouped and began their next advance to the second objective at 8:20am. The 5th Dragoon Guards, Harry was one of the fortunate soldiers and remained as part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, were ordered to pass healthy and unwounded throughout the campaign, even through the 2nd Australian Division to exploit the attack. being promoted Corporal on September 7, 1915. His The Queen’s Bays initially led the advance but they were brother Leslie also was unscathed. One wonders what driven back by heavy fire. Infantry was sent to take the support they afforded each other under these trying French town of Harbonniéres (Figure 3) while the 5th circumstances. Dragoon Guards were ordered to pass north and advance to the third and final objective, the old Amiens defence The Westminster Dragoons spent December 1915 and line. much of 1916 serving as part of the Western Frontier Force along the Mediterranean in western Egypt. At 10am, the 5th Dragoon Guards passed through the Although there were several interesting battles, they did leading infantry and advanced to a point 1000 yards east not see any large-scale action, instead patrolling lines of of the second objective without opposition. Leading communication and providing escort to supply convoys. the way, A Squadron received machine gun fire but continued its advance and soon crossed the old Amiens During this period, Gotts was promoted Sergeant on trench line. The squadron was then fired upon from a January 2, 1916 and was even briefly appointed Acting train loaded with troops and pulling a railway gun. This Squadron Sergeant Major from March 1 to March train had been just hit by a bomb from an airplane, set 13. Gotts and his brother Leslie were shipped home on fire, and as a result, was halted. A Squadron charged to England in early 1917 and were assigned to the the train while the soldiers on board disembarked and Westminster Dragoons Depot, where they arrived on tried to escape, but all were killed or taken prisoner by February 14, 1917. A and B Squadrons. B Squadron continued the advance to a point past the Framerville-Vauvillers road, but again Coming from “the right sort of family” and with a came under machine gun fire, this time from a small wood shortage of junior officers on the Western Front, the near Vauvillers. Since all squadrons were reduced due to Gotts brothers attended No. 1 Cavalry Cadet School at casualties and escorts to prisoners, and since the regiment Netheravon from April 23 to August 24. Upon graduation, had already advanced past its final objective, B Squadron both were commissioned Temporary Second Lieutenants withdrew and rejoined A Squadron. in the Army Reserve with effect from August 25, 1917. It was here that the two brothers finally parted, Leslie C Squadron, which was responsible for the right flank and being sent to the Hertfordshire Yeomanry while Harry headquarters, captured the train’s engine before coming was posted to the 4th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry. under extremely heavy enfilade machine gun and rifle fire. In order to maintain a footing in the old Amiens defence The 4th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry was responsible for line, C Squadron was ordered to return and occupy the supplying replacements to several Dragoon and Yeomanry trench. The defense of the trench was organized and regiments, including the Westminster Dragoons and the several German soldiers in and around the trench were 5th Dragoon Guards. Thus, Gotts was ordered to proceed captured. At 11am, the Australian infantry joined the 5th to France to join the 5th Dragoon Guards, arriving at their Dragoon Guards and took over the trench, after which headquarters on May 12, 1918. the regiment reformed and withdrew. Vol. 66, No. 3 (May-June 2015) 35 Figure 3: The 5th Dragoon Guards at Harbonniéres. In addition to the train, the 5th Dragoon Guards captured both times to older women. His divorce papers from his two field guns, one 5.9” howitzer, two anti-aircraft guns, first marriage indicate that he had an annual income in 20 officers, 740 other ranks, 50 horses, and five transport 1931 of £4000, equivalent to £1,000,000 today. Gotts wagons. The regiment suffered casualties of one officer died in 1954. killed, one wounded, six other ranks killed, 42 wounded, and eight missing. Hopefully, this article demonstrates that medal collecting is an appealing hobby because it possible to assemble a The war diary confirms that Gotts was one of 34 officers detailed account for even the common medals. It only serving with the 5th Dragoon Guards on August 8. After takes luck that the records have survived and a bit of the frustrations of Gallipoli and the tedium of frequently research can put together the story. being held in reserve, Gotts must have found the charge exhilarating. Several accounts were written and even Bibliography: today, the Royal Dragoon Guards hold the charge in Pomeroy, Major Ralph. The Story of a Regiment of Horse. William high esteem. Blackwood and Sons, 1922. Rowe, Major Edward, 2nd County of London (Westminster Gotts continued to serve with the 5th Dragoon Guards on Dragoons) Yeomanry. William Clowes and Sons, 1962. the Western Front for the rest of the war but none of the Record held by The National Archives. regiment’s subsequent exploits matched the excitement of that day. Gotts was promoted Temporary Lieutenant on February 25, 1919 before being demobilized on April 4, 1919. MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS Gotts returned to private life where he did quite well for FOR OMSA 2015 himself, becoming Chairman and Managing Director of Barrett, Tagant and Gotts, which later became Maxima NOW! Lubricants Ltd. He married twice, in 1925 and 1931, 36 JOMSA EGYPT’S WOUND AWARDS CHRISTOPHER WEEKS Many nations award medals or badges to soldiers who are wounded in combat. Over the past half-century Egypt has fought four major wars with Israel (1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973) and several smaller conflicts (including the 1962-1967 intervention in Yemen, the 1967-1970 War of Attrition with Israel, a 1977 border war with Libya, and the 1991 Gulf war), suffering tens of thousands of casualties.1 To honor its wounded in action, Egypt awards both a wound medal and a wound badge; a confusing situation which is compounded by the limited references available on Egyptian awards. The Wound Badge Following the 1948 war with Israel, a red diamond-shaped badge was awarded to wounded soldiers, probably made from a piece of metal or cardboard covered in fabric. By the time of the 1973 war, the cloth badge was replaced with one that was enameled metal with a safety-pin style fastener. One metal example (Figure 1) measures 30mm long, 20mm high, and 19mm on each side. A gold or brass Arabic numeral is worn on the diamond indicating subsequent wounds; the highest number seen is 3. Figure 2: Brigadier Mohsen Taha wears an enameled wound badge in the 1980s amidst his many other badges and medals. (Akher Sa’a, June 3, 1998). class medal awarded to military personnel wounded in action. The recipient’s immediate superiors and a medical Figure 1: Example of an enameled wound badge. No information is available regarding the history or award criteria of this badge and its actual name is unknown.2 It has been issued to Army and Air Force officers (Figure 2), and probably Navy as well. No enlisted men have been seen wearing it, but few enlisted men wear medals so no conclusions should be drawn from this. The Medal of War Wounded The Medal of War Wounded (midaliiya jarha al-harb) was probably created in 1959, judging from the date on the medal’s reverse. On Egyptian medals this usually refers to the date the award was created. It is a single- Figure 3: Obverse of the Medal of War Wounded. Vol. 66, No. 3 (May-June 2015) 37.