Halifax Herald July 2019 Delville Wood A personal account Phonetic Alphabet Do you know your Alpha from your Bravo? Reserve Force Seniority What’s in this month’s issue? Delville Wood Another three articles this month. A personal account From the First up is a rather interesting take on Delville Wood. A South African soldier’s diary captures the horror of the battle. editor’s It’s taken from the diary of Wal- By Servaas van Breda. ter Giddy, a soldier that actually was ost of us are familiar with Extracts from Walter’s dairy desk at Delville Wood. It looks at things the history of the Battle of through a very personal perspective. Delville Wood,. Every year 4th July 1916 ell here we are again. An- Good job on finding this article Ser- M we hold a parade to remember those, Still lying low in Suzanne Valley. other issue of Halifax Her- vaas. especially those of the 1st South Af- The artillery are quietly moving up. ald is done and dusted. W The second story is on the phonetic rican Infantry Brigade, that paid the We shifted up behind our old firing It’s 1.00 am and I’m sitting in front alphabet that most of us should be fa- ultimate sacrifice. line, where the advance started 2 or 3 of my computer and finishing off this miliar with. The current international But what better way to understand days ago. The dead are lying about. issue so I can e-mail it off to everyone. phonetic alphabet has been in use the carnage witnessed than by read- Germans and our men as well, ha- I’ve been up working since 6.00 am, since 1956. Before that nearly every- ing the writings of the young South ven’t had time to bury them. The making it another 19 hour day. What one had their own version of the pho- African’s tasked to “hold the wood trenches were nailed to the ground, fun. netic alphabet. at all costs”. Walter Giddy was one and dead-mans-land looked like a I wish I could say that now that Hal- The last article looks at the South such man - and he kept a diary. ploughed field, heaps must be buried ifax Herald is done I can take a bit of African National Defence Force Re- Walter Giddy was born at Barkly underneath… a break. Not much chance of that. I’ve serve Force. These units, although East, Cape Province, South Africa, in still got Military Despatches to work many of them remain the same, have 1985. He was the third son of Henry 5th July 1916 on, plus a few other projects. taken over from the old Citizen Force. Richard Giddy and Catherine Octavia …it rained all night and we only For those of you that don’t know, I It’s sad to think that no fewer than 18 Dicks/Giddy. have overcoats and waterproof sheets, have taken over from Brian Porter as of these units are more than 100 years Walter was schooled at Dale Col- but I cuddled up to old Fatty Rose, the Old Bill of the Cyber Shellhole. So old. Most of them have long and proud lege in King Williams Town. and slept quite warmly. There are no I’ve got some pretty large shoes to fill. histories. Yet I believe that they now He volunteered, together with dug-outs where we were at present, Hopefully I can keep up the high stan- want to change the names of many of friends, for overseas service in 1915. and the shells are exploding uncom- dards of those that ran this project so these units. He served in the in the in the 2nd SA fortably near. Had a man wounded well for so long. Infantry Regiment. last night for a kick off. The Huns are Sunday 21 July is the Delville Wood Having survived the Battle of Dell- lying in heaps, one I noticed had both Parade. Please guys, make an effort to FRONT COVER ville Wood, he was killed by shrapnel legs blown off, and his head bashed attend. We have more than 500 Moths The Delville Wood Cross which is on 12 April 1917 near Fampoux. in. Some have turned black from in Cape Western. Wouldn’t it be great on display at the Castle of Good Hope. Walter Giddy is commemorated by exposure. They are burying them as to see at least 100 of them on parade. To the best of my knowledge this cross a special Memorial in Point du Jour fast as possible. Brought an old fash- was carved from one of the actual tress Military Cemetery, Athies. ion powder horn, Hun bullets nose- Until next month. YUTTH. that stood at Delville Wood. His dairy was copied by his young- caps of a shell ect., back with me, but er sister Kate Muriel Giddy/Morris. I suppose they’ll be thrown away. 2 Matt 3 6th July 1916 much trouble. Two of our companies catch us (no it was just over). Oh ! I ing three wounded men lying in the Told to hold ourselves in readiness, were sent up to the front line, and T. just thought one wound just past us, open. They had been lying there for expecting an attack. Received draft Blake, of our platoon acting as guide, it killed old Fatty Roe, and wound- three days among their own dead, and (5 pounds) from Father. had his jaw bone shattered and anoth- ed Keefe, Sammy who was next to had been buried a couple of times by er man his head blown off. 3 guns me and Sid Phillips, poor beggar, he their own shells, and the one brought 7th July 1916 of the 9th R.F.A. were put out of ac- still lying next to me, the stretcher are in had been wounded again. They Made to sleep in the trench on ac- tion, they say the Huns must “smelt a busy to fetch him away. The Man- asked for four volunteers to bring in count of the Huns shells flying a bit rat”, brought up 12 inch and 9.2 guns chesters had to evacuate the wood the other two, so off we went. It was to near, had a cold rough night, but up, so I guess we shall have a live- below us, and we the one along here. an awful hour, but we were repaid by things have quietened a bit this morn- ly time. I’d love to see the 4 “Jock” I’m wondering if we still will be able the grateful looks on their haggard ing, so we are back to our little shack Regiments go over in the morning. to hold this wood, in case of an at- faces. Poor old Geoghan was hit, his made out of waterproofs. Bloody The Huns hate them like poison, yet I tack, as our number is so diminished, head was split off shrapnel. Four of Fritz, he had stated shelling the road, do not think there hate exceeds their I’ve seen so many cruel sights today. us buried him this morning. about directly 400 yards away direct- fear. For them, 100 and more pris- I was all covered in my little dug out, ly in line with us. A Frenchie was oners have been brought in, past us. when old Sammy was wounded. 11th July1916 standing on the parapet and beck- The Huns were sending shells over We were relieved by our Scottish, oning us to us. He put up his hands our heads, all day, one dropped in the 10th July 1916 and are back at our former camping and point to a communications trench valley, below, killing two and wound- Still hanging on, and the shells fly- ground, but I feel so lonely, out of our ahead. Couldn’t make out what the ing five R.F.A. ing around, three more of our fellows mess of 5, only 2 of us left and my beggar was driving at, so we ran up wounded, out of our platoon. Took half section gone as well. We were to him, ahead were dozens of Hun 9thJuly 2016 Fatty Roe’s valuables off him and right through the Egyptian Campaign prisoners filling out of the trench. It Shall never forget it, as long as I handed them over to Sergeant Re- tog, as half sections. A Yorkshire rained so hard our shack was just a live. Coming up the trench we were stall… We have no dug-outs, just an man brought in a prisoner over this mud pool, busy drying out our kit. shelled the whole time, and to see a open trench. Of course we’ve dug in a morning, while we were still in our string of wounded making their way bit, but it’s no protection against Ger- trenches, and halted to have a chat. 8th July 1916 to a dressing station, those who walk man shells… Harold Alger had been Our Corporal could speak German, 3rd SA’s were relieved by the and hobble along; another chap had badly knocked about. I’m afraid that so gave the prisoner a cig. and he told Yorks who went over this morning half his head taken off, and was sitting he won’t pull through, arm and leg us all we wanted to know. He was 400 strong and returned 150 strong. in a huddled up position, on the side shattered by shrapnel. I had a lucky a Saxon and was hearty sick of war, Then our SA Scottish went over with of the trench, blood streaming from escape while talking to Lieutenant and our artillery was playing up hav- a couple of Regiments and took the his boots, and Jock lay not 5 yards fur- Davis, a piece of shrapnel hit my steel oc with their infantry, since the beg- wood, and I believe lost heavily, but ther with all his stomach burst open, helmet, and glanced past his head.