Moray in March 1915 - as reported in The Northern Scot 6 March 1915 The attempted forcing of the Dardanelles by the British and French navies was the main subject of the war news in the 6 March 1915 edition of The Northern Scot and a statement from the Secretary of the Admiralty was published. It said: ‘The attack upon the fortresses of the Dardanelles was continued on Thursday. The Admiral has not yet reported the results within the Straights. Outside HMS Dublin demolished an observation station on the Gallipoli peninsular, and HMS Sapphire bombarded guns and troops at various points in the Gulf of Abramytl. Six modern field guns near Fort B have been destroyed bringing the total number of guns demolished up to 40. French battleships have bombarded the Bulair forts and wrecked the Kanak bridge.’ In reality the ship’s guns were not best suited to the task given to them and the Turks were able to move many of their guns around and re-site them. With Turkish guns on both sides of the Narrows the passage through the Dardanelles was never going to be easy and it was becoming apparent that land forces would be needed to decide the battle; plans to transport an army to the Middle East were therefore put in place. In the same edition the youngsters of Elgin came in for further criticism as reported under the headline ‘Elgin’s Lazy Girls: Strictures by the Relief Committee’. The report stated: ‘Are the unemployed girls of Elgin unwilling to work? The serious charge was levelled against them at a meeting of the Relief Fund Committee held on Thursday evening – Mr Wm. Lipp presiding. Mr A.G. Cockburn, town clerk, read a letter which he had received from the secretary of the Scottish Committee on Women’s Employment, stating that she noted the women and girls who were getting relief had never received training in mending and darning. She was sure the ladies of the local committee would agree that, as far at least as the younger women were concerned, some instruction in sewing would be very valuable to them. It would, of course, be necessary to engage the services of a competent forewoman to instruct the women, and, if there was no suitable person in the city for this post, her committee would be very glad to help them to get one elsewhere. If the local committee could obtain the use of a hall where women might be gathered together under a forewoman and learn to mend their own garments and make children’s clothing, her committee would be very glad to consider recommending a grant to pay the expenses of the scheme. These expenses would include wages to the forewoman, materials etc. and wages to the women employed at the rate of 3d [1 pence] per hour up to a maximum of 10s [50 pence] per week.’ The report then continued with comments about how ‘A lot of the girls were going about doing nothing and simply getting relief’ and that ‘the girls had made no effort to secure work or fall in with the arrangements made for them by the School Board to form a class for domestic service.’ A new committee was then formed to put the suggestion into action. In the pre-Welfare State days the poor were looked after by the local relief committees and at times there was little sympathy shown over the plight of the unemployed. The outbreak of meningitis was continuing and in the previous week ‘four positive cases of cerebro-spinal fever have occurred in the burgh of Elgin, making a total of eight positive cases since the outbreak. Last week one death was reported. It is very regrettable that three other deaths, all young people, have taken place this week, bringing the total number of deaths to four.’ The report concludes: ‘The public health authorities are doing all in their power to prevent the further spread of the fever. Handbills have been posted up all over the town warning the inhabitants not to spit on the streets or pavements, and cigarette smokers are particularly cautioned when they throw cigarettes away, to put their foot on them. Many children make a practice of picking up their “ends” and smoking them, and it is believed this abominable practice may be responsible for some of the cases.’ If this was the case the authorities were right to give a salutary warning of the hazards associated with poor standards of hygiene. In early 1915 a number of cartoon sketches were published by The Northern Scot illustrating life at Bedford for the men of the Highland Division undergoing training. The original caption is below: - ‘We have pleasure in reproducing a realistic picture of Morayshire Seaforths banqueting in their Bedford billet. The sketch is by Private Stewart Knock, 6th Seaforths’. The Battle of Neuve Chapelle 10 - 13 March 1915 Under the heading ‘Labyrinth of Trenches Captured’ the 13 March 1915 edition of The Northern Scot gave the first tentative reports of fighting at Neuve Chapelle, about eight miles south of Armentièries. The Battle of Neuve Chapelle is significant as the first offensive by the British Expeditionary Force in 1915, with the aim of pinching out a bulge in the German front line and opening the way to Aubers Ridge to the east. The battle began on 10 March 1915 and involved the British 8th Division north of the village and the Meerut Division of the Indian Army to the south. Attacking towards the south-east and north-east respectively they were to encircle Neuve Chapelle, meet up and, once a new line east of the village was consolidated, advance towards the higher ground of the Aubers Ridge. An unprecedented number of artillery pieces had been assembled and 350 guns fired an intense 35-minute bombardment before the infantry advanced at 8:05 a.m. In the south the Garhwal Brigade attacked over a front of 600 yards but one battalion, the 1/39th Garwhal Rifles, lost direction and veered to their right and, although fighting their way into the German trenches, were separated from the others by about 300 yards. This mistake would cost them, and those who tried to support them, a heavy toll in casualties. On the other side of the village the attack by the 25th Brigade went well and by 8:50 a.m. the men of the 2nd Rifle Brigade had linked up with Indian troops east of the village and clearing the village had begun. The northernmost part of the attack by the 23rd Brigade did not go well, largely due to the failure of part of its artillery plan when two six-inch howitzer batteries, having been delayed and only arriving hours before the battle, didn’t have sufficient time to register their guns and failed to destroy the German trenches north of the village. The 2nd Scottish Rifles and 2nd Middlesex paid the price and suffered heavy casualties as they tried to fight their way forward. In the afternoon the battalions of the Dehra Dun Brigade, including the 1st and 4th Seaforth Highlanders, with whom a number of local men were serving, were sent forward to advance on a wood, the Bois du Biez. They reached a stream, the Layes Brook, unopposed and crossed it with some difficulty, but in the failing light were met with machine-gun fire as they crossed the final 400 yards to the wood. German reinforcements had arrived in sufficient strength to halt the advance and without further support the British battalions had to withdraw back to the Layes Brook. During the battle the 4th Seaforth had nearly 50 officers and men killed. The first day had been largely successful in that Neuve Chapelle had been captured, but the Germans had quickly sent reinforcements forward and thereafter every piece of ground was fiercely contested. The 11 March was marked by a further attempt by the British to capture the objectives not reached the previous day, but little progress was made against stiffening German resistance. By 12 March the Germans had assembled 16,000 troops for a counter-attack launched at 5:00 a.m. following a half-hour artillery bombardment. This was to be a day of great bravery in which eight Victoria Crosses were awarded; one to Morayshire-born Corporal William Anderson of the 2nd Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards). William Anderson had already distinguished himself the previous day when: ‘A very brilliant attack was made on the enemy by the Battalion bombers under No. 8191 Corporal W. Anderson, who, with only nine other men, succeeded in bombing out and capturing sixty-two Germans in a trench opposite the left of the Green Howards.’ When the German counter-attack captured some trenches held by the 2nd Wiltshires, William Anderson was instrumental in retaking the lost positions and the citation for the award of the VC said: ‘For most conspicuous bravery at Neuve Chapelle on 12th March, 1915, when he led three men with bombs against a large party of the enemy who had entered our trenches, and by his prompt and determined action saved, what might have otherwise have become, a serious situation. Corporal Anderson first threw his own bombs, then those in possession of his three men (who had been wounded) amongst the Germans, after which he opened up rapid rifle fire upon them with great effect, notwithstanding that he was quite alone.’ In this action he was also reported as capturing another 60 prisoners, talking his total to more than 120 in two days, a remarkable feat.