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L'écho Des Tranchées Issue 64 - Q2 2020 ASSOCIATION « LOOS,SUR LES TRACE S DE LA GRANDE GUERRE » L’Écho des tranchées From our President The health emergency in recent months has forced us to postpone a In this edition: number of long awaited events and ceremonies. One such case is the re - naming of the headstone for Private James 1 From our President, 2 Two English villages ’ McLean who was killed at Loos and buried at Mazingarbe, but un- losses at Loos der a different name. After much research, his family had obtained 4 Did you know …? agreement to a service of re - dedication of his grave which was due to be held on 24th March, but which we now hope can just be post- poned until the autumn. Another event had been planned for 9th May at the site of the com- memorative plaque, to be complemented by a visit to the Museum and/or a guided walk organised by Jean Louis Delattre. Other visits to the museum and various memorial sites in Loos have also been postponed or cancelled. In the circumstances, we are still working on holding the next Loos Sunday on 10 th tand 11 th October 2020. Exhibitions and talks are planned for Saturday 10 th October in the Foyer O. Caron. The following morning will see a public ceremony at Loos British Cemetery as well as a concert at the Canadian Hill 70 memorial. In the afternoon there will be a programme of music and marching by groups in the Place de le République. More about all of that in due course. Till we meet again, stay safe and stay well! Gilles Payen To receive our magazine automatically, you can register on our website ASSOCIATION Contact us : «LOOS, SUR LES Place de la République TRACES DE LA GRANDE [email protected] 62750 Loos en Gohelle GUERRE » https://www.loos1915.fr Écho des tranchées Page 2 LOOS 1915: TRAGEDY FOR TWO ENGLISH VILLAGES Situated between London and Dover, in the county of Kent, is a rural parish comprising the neighbouring villages of Goudhurst and Kilndown. In the autumn of 1915 the parish experi- enced its most shocking event of the Great War when six of our soldiers were killed on the fields and slagheaps of Loos, 180km from their home (it ’ s only the same distance from Loos to Paris). For more than a century up to 1914, Great Britain had maintained a prominent position in world affairs thanks to its powerful Royal Navy. Its army, although of a very high quality, was small; the nation did not expect, and was not prepared for, a major war on land. As a result, the British contribution in the first year of the Great War was inevita- bly small compared to that of the French. A million volun- teers joined the British Army during the early months of the war, but it took a year to train them even to a basic level, and in fact the Battle of Loos in September 1915 was the first major offensive in which volunteers were involved on a large scale. Our parish was typical of this slow beginning: in the 12 months before the Battle of Loos eight of our soldiers had died, and that included three by accidents or illness who had not even left England. Suddenly at Loos, two of our soldiers died on 28 th September 1915, and then four more on 13 th Octo- ber. They belonged to two different battalions of The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) which traditionally took its recruits from the east and south of Kent. Like most British regiments in August 1914, The Buffs consisted of three Regular (professional) battalions and two Territorial (part - time) battalions, but by September 1915 it had added ten more battalions. Although this article concentrates on Goudhurst and Kilndown, it is important to state that the 1915 Battle of Loos was particularly tragic for the whole of the county of Kent: on 26 th September the 8 th Battalion of The Buffs (volunteers who had only arrived in France on 1 st September) and the 8 th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment (also volunteers) each lost about 600 dead, wounded or missing at Loos – a casualty rate of 70%! The First Attack On the afternoon of 27 th September, the 2 nd Buffs were ordered into the front line at a strong- point recently captured from the Germans, the Hohenzollern Redoubt. They were heavily shelled on the way there, but “ On arrival, a platoon of ‘ D ’ Company charged the enemy vigorous- ly ” (Regimental History). The next morning, they charged across open ground and up on to a 10 - metre high mound known as The Dump. They “ were greeted with the fire from machine - guns massed on either flank, also shell and rifle fire … The Dump was then plastered with shells of all descriptions both from our own guns and those of the enemy. The companies crossed the large expanse of The Dump summit and attempted to reach the enemy in the trenches at the foot. It was a hopeless task … over one hundred men killed or wounded on The Dump. ”. The Germans, much better equipped with grenades for fighting at close quarters, counter - attacked during the evening and night. Relief troops arrived at 8.30am on the 29 th September, enabling the 2 nd Buffs to withdraw; but by then they had lost 64 men killed, 174 wounded, and 135 missing, most of them on The Dump. Bertie Blackmore Bertie Blackmore (32) and George Vinall (26) did not return from the battle, but there could be little doubt about their fate. Écho des tranchées Page 3 The Second Attack A new British attack was launched on 13 th October 1915, partly to try to regain ground won by the Germans two days earlier. This involved many battalions, including the 6 th Buffs , a mixture of volunteers and veterans who had reached the back area of the Loos battlefield on 30 th September fol- lowing a quiet introduction to front - line duties at Ploegsteert Wood south of Ypres. Their target now was the German front trench at The Quarries, about 1.5km south - east of The Dump. Despite seeming- ly precise instructions, and a smoke - screen intended to cover their advance, the 6 th Buffs ’ attack at 2pm was one of the futile sort for which the Great War was to become infamous. The Regimental History ’ s narrative is heart - breaking in its simplicity: “ The account of the actual fighting is neces- sarily meagre, for it was all over in a very short time, and during the struggle it was very difficult to get any information at headquarters as all the wires were soon broken … The smoke, so carefully ar- ranged, soon blew off and by 2 o ’ clock the air was clear again. Exactly at the hour, however, the bat- talion dashed forward, A, C and D Companies leading, with B a little way in rear in support. The keenness to attack, and the precision and order with which the companies went over the top, were wonderful to see. But, alas! The enemy ’ s protecting wire was found to be uncut, and a withering fire was opened from front and both flanks as our men tried to hack their way through with the wire - cutters carried by the leading troops. The greatest gallantry was shown and the attack was renewed again and again by ever - diminishing numbers, but it was of no avail, and from the three leading com- panies, very few men returned. ” The 6 th Buffs suffered 409 casualties in this attack, which was more than half of their fighting strength. Stewart Clarke (34) , Herbert Penfold (24) , Frederick Robbins (27) and Francis Wenban (29) were never seen again. The Battle of Loos was called off a few days later. After 14 months of a war during which only five local men had died in battle, the parish of Goudhurst and Kilndown was shocked to learn that, in the space of a fortnight, six more had been recorded as “ missing ”, a word which expresses so much tragic uncertainty. Their names are carved at the Loos Memo- rial at Dud Corner Cemetery and also, with 63 others from the Great War, on the village war memorials. Herbert Penfold Stewart Clarke We remember them with pride and gratitude. Kilndown Monument Goudhurst Monument The names of these six soldiers appear on panels 15, 16, 17 and 18 Dud Corner Memorial Loos en Gohelle We are very grateful to Roger Joye, translator of our newspaper, for bringing this article to us. Since 2019, Roger Joye Lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, after having lived 20 years in Goudhurst. Écho des tranchées Page 4 Did you know ….? Several months ago our Association gained a new member, one of whose interests is writing poems inspired by the subject of the First World War. We reproduce below two poems written by Jacky Dumetz and dedicated to British and French sol- diers. We offer him our grateful thanks for his contribution to our Association ’ s work of commemo- ration. To our « Poilus » of France They came with flowers on their guns, The soldiers of glorious France. Determined to fight off the foe, They wouldn ’ t give him a chance. Our valiant men came along Like cornflowers spread through the land. The sons of dear France were keen to attack Or could dig themselves in to defend. They came with flowers on their guns, To the hills and the valleys around. Many would never get home: Now they rest in the war - torn ground.
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