Arras, April-May 1917
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The Shetland Losses at Arras, April-May 1917 (This is part of the epic history written by Jon Sandison about the part Shetlanders played on the Western Front during World War One) War would end if the dead could return. Stanley Baldwin The endless cemeteries on the flat land surrounding the line of the Western Front is a reminder when in France of the loss endured at Arras. It is when we daily walk past the buildings in our Lerwick streets where some of these men stayed, walked and lived that we remember the recurrent local impact of this conflict. These lads deserve to be in our thoughts. It is very easy today to think about The Great War as being all doom and gloom. As revisionist historian Gordon Corrigan has stated: It was true that everyone knew someone who was killed, and in certain parts of the country, this was true due to how we recruited. But there were large swathes of the nation from where no one was killed. Statistically, it is estimated that one family in 14 across the country lost a son, brother or father. Many did make it home, and come out of it physically – if perhaps not mentally – unscathed. But, one family in 14 is a sobering statistic. Then there were also those who were left limbless and scarred for life. Today we concentrate much upon remembrance, the loss of life, the sacrifice and impact the war had. The loss upon our community resonates so strongly even now. In Shetland, like other communities throughout Scotland, the human sacrifice is still unfathomable. Eighteen Shetlanders did not come home from Arras. Ten Gordons, four Seaforths and one Royal Scots Fusilier, and one from the Machine Gun Corps were lost. Also, two Shetlanders serving in the Canadian Divisions to the north of Arras at Vimy Ridge; both, astonishingly, coming from Tingwall. Our journey was focussed on the Gordons, but we could not forget the others. Given the scale of the battle, it was hardly surprising that there would be Shetlanders amongst other regiments who also did not see their home shores again. How many Shetlanders took part in the battle of Arras we will probably never know, Arras became another place name synonymous to the Shetland Territorials, and men in the Scottish Battalions. For the Gordons, some lost had been on the troopship Cambria when it left an emotional Lerwick on a Sunday summer’s evening back in June 1915. Others joined them later. As guns fell silent on the fight in and around Arras with the onset of summer, the brutal reality was that the dust had hardly settled upon the heartache after the Ancre. The names of Shetlanders filtered home in 1917, just as they had done months previously before Christmas 1916. Between the Ancre and Arras, within a matter of months, the Old Rock was to lose almost 40 young men. This time folk at home knew what to expect. Immense foreboding permeated the community. The island now braced itself for the inevitable. The local press could only reflect this sentiment with the journalistic craft available and so muster what remnants of inner strength were remaining. Words, after all, can only go so far. The Shetland News did its very best. The deep anxiety that has been felt in Lerwick since the new British offensive began on April 9th culminated last Wednesday night when official intimation came to hand that a number of local lads had been killed on the battlefield of Arras. Private letters from France shortly after the offensive began indicated that Lerwick soldiers were in that sector and that a number had fallen. In some cases the names of the latter were given, and in the absence of another mail this caused deepening anxiety to their relatives, if indeed they had not accepted as final such news as came to hand We are sure that the sincere and deep sympathy of the whole community will be extended to the sorrowing parents and relatives of those soldiers who have endured so much and who, in the end, have so nobly laid down their lives. In a time of severe fighting like the present, there are sure to be casualties, sometimes heavy casualties, and a time of prolonged anxiety lies ahead for many; but we believe that Shetlanders as a whole will show that fortitude and strength which are characteristics of the race and bear up under the shock of such losses as there may be with the same courage that their sons and brothers are displaying in the battle zones. Within much of the local and national press during World War One there was a desperate need to balance the irreplaceable and unfathomable loss with the positive vibes of patriotism. At the same time, and in equal measure, the continued local hurt that had never abated since the previous November was emotionally displayed by the reporting of the Shetland News and Times. The dedications to some of these young men were powerful and poignant. All doubt and all hope, however, ended when the official news reached the town on Wednesday night last; and we now publish short biographies of those half a dozen lads who have made the supreme sacrifice, although the most eloquent of all obituaries is the simple statement that each fought and died for his country. Lerwick will remember these heroes of the Battle of Arras as it remember those who sleep on the banks of the Ancre. The Gordon assault at Arras on 9 April 1917 was broken into four movements. The 4th, 5th and 6th Gordons were to the North of Arras at Roclincourt whilst the 1st and 8/10th Gordons just east of Arras, and advanced out of the tunnels. The Shetlanders were spread across these battalions. To the far north of Arras were the 4th Gordons. Within them, Andrew Halcrow, was also killed on the 9 April. Andrew is listed in the Roll of Honour as being in the 7th Gordons. His name is on the Arras Memorial. He was from Swinister Sandwick, was 26 years old and was survived by a widow and one child. Many of those who fell took part on the southern flank on 9 April. One who made it home first was Private John Sim of Quendale Lane, Lerwick. His parents had received a postcard saying that he had been wounded on 9 April, the first day of the battle. In his letter from France, John wrote, 'I am in the best of health. I was wounded pretty bad in the left foot, and I have got it taken off below the knee, but I will soon see you all again.' He was in hospital for a considerable time, and having been provided with an artificial limb, was then discharged. He returned to Lerwick, but never quite regained his strength and eventually contracted the illness which resulted in his death. The news of Private Sim’s death was received with deep regret by all those who knew how much he had suffered, and who had hoped that he would have made a good The graveside of John Sim, Lerwick recovery from the wounds received while Cemetery. Taken on Remembrance Sunday. playing his part in the Great War. John saw out the war, but died on 12 January, 1919. The funeral took place in the Parish Church, and was attended by many of his chums, quite a number being home on leave at the time. In addition to relatives, all the pall-bearers were either men on service or discharged soldiers. John did not leave on the troopship Cambria, but was one of the first men of Lerwick to volunteer. He crossed to France on 1 August 1916, and fought at Beaumont Hamel and Arras. He is buried at Lerwick New Cemetery, a poppy placed by his graveside every Remembrance Sunday. Slightly to the north of the 1st Gordons were the 8/10th. Within the 8/10th was Alexander Laurenson, who was also killed on 9 April. Alex was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs William Laurenson, Lunnasting. Alex had already had been wounded in December 1916. He was on the original Imperial List Draft which had departed upon the Cambria on 13 June 1915. Just a few months before Arras, he had written home to his mother. France, 1st February 1917 Dear Mother, Just a few lines to say I am well hoping this will find you all the same. I haven’t had any letters sent on here as yet, but I am expecting one soon. I hope you have got my last letter from here. The weather here is very cold, but it is nice and dry. I suppose it is cold all over just now. I have no strange news to say just now but I will write again soon. I hope I will get a letter from home soon. So as I have no more to say at present, I will close with love to all. Your Loving Son Alex The War Office Telegram which was issued to Alex’s parents was dated 17 July 1917; many months from the 9 April. When the telegram finally arrived in Shetland, it would have taken a little time to arrive back with his parents in Vidlin. How blunt and heartless that telegram sounded, with the all too haunting, but familiar, opening line. It is my painful duty to inform you that a report has this day been received from the War Office notifying the death of S43364, Private Alex Laurenson, 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders which occurred on the 9 April 1917.