H' UCiiB LIBRARY THE WAR HISTORY OF THE IST/4TH BATTALION THE LOYAL NORTH LANCASHIRE REGIMENT THE COLOURS THE WAR HISTORY iJl- Tllli ist/4th Battalion The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, uoiv The Loyal Regiment (North hancashire). I 9 I 4- I 9 I S " The Lancashire ftwl were as itotil men «5 were in Ihc wr/d and as brave firemen. I have often told them they were as good fighters and as great plunderers as ever ucnt to a field .... " It was to admiration tn see what a sfjirit of courage and resolution there was amongst us, and how God hid us from the fsars and dangers we were exposed to." CaPTAI.N HoDCSO.V, writing I.N' 1648, ON THE I3ATTLE OF TrESTON. [copyright] mil Prinlcd Ijy Geo. Toii.MIN & Sons, Ltd.. ( 'uardiaii Work-., rrL-ston. Published l)v the liATTALluN lllsroRV CoMMIIlKK. Photo : .1. IVinter, I'tiston, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL RALPH HINDLE, D S 0. He commanded the Battalion from I'cbruary, 1915, till wounded in action at Fcstubert, and afjain from August, 1915, till killed in action at Vaucellette l-"arm, on 30th November, 1917. " What do these fellows mean by saying, ' I've done »iy bit' ? What is titeir ' bit' ? I don't consider I've done mine yf/."—Lieutenant-Colonel Hindlc in 1917. l^ebicatioiL Co Cfje JftDaiii 2^obp of our Comrabeg, U3t)o ijabe gone fortoarb in tnuuiplj to tfje ilnknolun Haitb, Clje aear Partp, left befjinb to clean up anb Ijanb ober, ©ebicate tfjis^ book. PREFACE The purpose of this book is to supply to the people of Preston and district, for the first time, a complete and authentic record of the adventures of their original local Territorial Infantry Battalion during the Great War, such a record being a chapter of local history which must sooner or later be written ; to put into the hands of the relatives and friends of those who have gloriously fallen the story of the unit with which they served faithful \into death, with its accompanying tribute from their surviving comrades ; to supply to the latter- maimed or whole a book which they may hand down to posterity to speak of their service ; and last, but not least, to speak to those who shall succeed to our traditions, of Comradeship, Cheerfulness, Endurance, Devotion to Duly, and all the virtues which go to make up " the Spirit of the Regiment." The delay in publication has been unavoidable, and even now the book IS not as complete as its ccmpilers would wish ; in particular, it is not possible to give the names of casualties as they occurred, except in the case of Officers ; both Company and Battalion records have had to be destroyed again and again, and there is little material left to work on except the War Diary and individual diaries. The book is a live product. Every line of it is either written by those who were actually with the Battalion during the period of which they write, or is condensed from the War Diary. It would have been far easier, and, from a literary point of view, more satisfactory, to have handed over the documents to a professional Historian to write up, but it was felt that the vivid descrip- tions of eye-witnesses, even though lacking in style, were preferable to any such compilation. CONTENTS Dedication Preface Page Chapter I. —Early History and Training in England I II. —Early Days and the Battle of Festubert 5 III. —Trench Warfare 22 IV. —The Somme Battles 31 V. —^Trench Warfare in the Salient 40 VI.—The Third Battle of Ypres 61 VII. —Reorganisation and the Battle of the Menin Road 79 VIII.—Cambrai 95 IX. —Givenchy Period 106 X.—The Advance . 126 XI. —After the Armistice 131 Appendix A. —The Honours List 1.37 B. —The Casualty List 141 ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece : The Colours Portrait of Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Hindle, D.S.O. Facing Dedication Reduced Facsimile of the Roll of Volunteers for Service Abroad ...... Facing Chapter 1. Group of Officers -Bedford, 1915 . Facing Page 4 Photograph -Meteren, 1915 .... 7 Battalion about to Parade for Trenches, 1916 31 Christmas Card, 1916 ..... 50 Aeroplane Photograph of Trench Lines in Salient 57 Aeroplane Oblique Photograph of Trenches in Salient 58 Aeroplane Oblique Photograph, showing Objectives for Third Battle of Ypres 61 Panorama Photograph from Pond Farm 81 Aeroplane Photograph of D.13.C. ..... 82 Aeroplane Oblique Photograph of Objectives -Menin Road Battle 85 Group of W.O.'s and N.C.O.'s —Delettes, 191S 106 Remnant of Givenchy Keep, 1920 Page 116 The Colours Marching Past —Brussels Facing Page 131 Site of the Battalion Memorial Page 132 Divisional Cocarde ..... 133 MAPS Map No. 1 —Festubert ... Map of Battle of Festubert (Sketch Map Map of Battle of Festubert (7 p.m Map of Battle of Guillemont Map of Battle of Delville Wood Map of Battle of Guedecourt Map No. 2 —Ypres Salient Map of the Third Battle of Ypres, showing Objectives Map No. ;$ -Menin Road Battle .... Map No. 4--Gillemont Farm Sector Map No. 5 Vaucellette Farm Area Map No. 6 Givenchy ...... Facsimile of German Map, showing Plan of Attack, Captured April 9th, 1918 A Reduced Facsimile of the Roll of \'olunteers tor Service Abroad signed in tlie Public Hall, on Sth August, 1914 A Reduced Facsimile of the Roll of Volunteers for Service Abroad signed in the Public Hall, on 8th August, 19IJ. A Company B C- C Company .t^..i-({.iM:-i^ C D Company E Company F Company ffl Himj^f* ^ iTUf^r^Tf/^ ^j#^ ki»/s rt,f,r*^' i-'l*'j Uit*^.r, \k.t'-j.y!iM<i' S... «_?* -i. '^t"J..,../«- Jt T/'iyJ.^ - . I — 17. &S/eaiX At/ ^^ TJt ft. yf ' (3a9^4^ tit •> limt^Ji f MtuAte -^ ij. irCUjl.-jL^. e.^iy »J ,^*rt6i ^MIOA {ttaifUl. /.A^i.ii*'' ('. ' f >> A» .nvar Ai.., ^ / y - :. f-fi fktuiLTT- 3- H'///,^ \ G Company H Company .<* ;i ^*-^, f-f"^— J-._< __ _ low -'.'a— i-<' />»/ ? >>^^. i-,^ ^ iff / i^^ f/. ...» fvwyt +''n5rtfn '^i Jf A*^-< ^U ^''£.' ]f,.,^t-if'if-t^ .T^ 'lit ?.>' t'^U£4- '*, fit -t tirrrit i>n.-^e~^ /J 4 j-%.^4,^ j'-.*jjy" '*^,i^ 'i*,k.t^ liH nil IK" till -r/'fc-*i**»v »'<» ./.OS" lUIJ, P^ Jrrutk ill,}} UQ-^.^A^u , l/^-^i., ^f/..^ i .;_x7-^^^*>«« ''•. •-• /S7 I /.«,« ^. !{?/ i*>.i^ /3/ JK ib-^^-t 'llr.i !2f <.» //.// »'i y.^ Jlm.i _ / /U,.,.^ ltd {^ 'l,t.H,JL I- yyj<u lUU I. fLrrr^. III \jL-^.u-<,^ iiyy I CHAPTER I. Early History and Training in England. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment has a peculiar history, being descended from the old 47th, the Lanarkshire* Regiment, and the 81st, the Loyal Lincoln Volunteers. In 1881, when these two Regiments were at their Depot at Preston, it was found convenient to amalgamate them, and they became the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the North Lancashire Regiment. The Lincolnshire men were not pleased at having to drop the epithet " Loyal " (conferred on them")" in memory of an occasion during the Peninsular War when, on volunteers being told to step one pace forward, the entire Battalion moved forward one pace), and they placed their views before the War Office, with the result that the new formation was allowed to retain the epithet, and it became the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. This little outline of its history explains why the 1st Battalion's March-past is " My love is like a red. red rose," generally known as the "Red Rose," and the 2nd Battalion's "The Lincolnshire Poacher." A Volunteer Rifle Corps was formed in Preston in 1839 as a consequence of the talked-of possibilities of a French invasion. This Corps continued in existence as a Volunteer Corps until the territorialisation of Regiments about the year 1878, when it became a Volunteer Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment ; later, on the formation of the Territorial Force it became the 4th (T.) Battalion of the same Regiment. This Territorial Battalion succeeded to the traditions of the amalgamated units, and strove as best it might to emulate its Regular Battalions, but the Territorial scheme did not produce the full complement of officers and men, and it should be realised that those who served in it prior to the war did so in the face of a certain amount of ridicule, gave up nearly the whole of their spare time to camps and drills, and in most cases were seriously out of pocket over the whole business. With the exception of a Company which was sent to South Africa to reinforce the Regular Battalion, the unit had not seen active service prior to August, 1914, but those who then belonged to it were keen, and had, in the face of discouragements, done their level best to master their job. The beginning of August, 191(, found the Battalion, under strength in officers and men, in camp at Kirkby Lonsdale. When war was declared on the 4th of August, and the Territorial Force was embodied, the 4th were hurriedly recalled, and took up their quarters in the Public Hall, Preston. Within two or three days they had recruited to strength in all ranks, and had volunteered, practically 'Changed lo " Lancashire in I7.SI when thi-y were sent to thai Countv to recruit. tAccordinc to tradition to a man, for service abroad. Photographs of the original roll signed on that occasion will be found immediately preceding Chapter I. That first fortnight in the Public Hall will never be forgotten by any of those who went through it.