Aristocrats Go to War: Uncovering the Zillebeke Cemetery

by Jerry Murland

  So what of the Grenadiers who were fighting for their survival along the Brown Road? Once through the gap created by the French retreat, the advancing German infantry quickly enfiladed Number 1 Company which accounted for most of the seventy-five NCOs and men who were killed and wounded. After the timely arrival of 7 Cavalry Brigade both Harry Parnell and Carleton Tufnell had advanced in support and at some point during the counter-attack Carleton Tufnell was shot through the throat and died of his wounds soon afterwards. Writing on 8 November, Captain Eben Pike, the battalion’s Adjutant, mourned his passing:

  ‘Poor young Tufnell was killed the day before yesterday. He is the second machine gun officer we have had killed and was engaged to a girl in England. Poor chap, he was always so excited about the post coming and getting his letters.’

  The Grenadier Guards’ war diary described the events of 6 November as a ‘trying and critical day’; a view shared by John Lee Steere, in what was his second day of front line action, agreeing ‘we had it hard yesterday.’

  Dawn on 7 November heralded another misty and dull start to the day. Late the previous evening 1/Gloucesters had arrived as part of the reinforcements that had been drafted in to bolster the Zwarteleen frontage. Like 3 Brigade, 22 Infantry Brigade was desperately under strength. Of the 4,000 officers and men that had marched into battle in October 1914 only three officers and a few hundred men remained. As for the Gloucesters, despite being reinforced a few days previously by a further 200 men, 1/Life Guards’ war diary noted they were still unable to muster enough rifles to effectively occupy all of the front line allocated to them. It was only at 2.30 am on 7 November that 1/Lifeguards were finally able to leave the positions they had fought so hard to regain the previous day. The actual frontage allocated to the Gloucesters was at the eastern end of Zwarteleen which included a portion of the woods further to the north. But even when reinforced by a scratch force of Irish Guards, Royal Munster Fusiliers and Royal Sussex, their line had to be divided up into sectors and held by batches of men with the surviving officers placed at strategic points. Robert Rising was now second-in-command of the battalion and must have felt apprehensive at the thought of his very tired troops having to mount a counter-attack the next morning against infantry who were relatively fresh and in strongly held positions.

  At 6.00 am on 7 November orders were received by the Gloucesters from Lord Cavan to assist in the 22 Brigade attack on Zwarteleen. These orders were later countermanded with fresh orders for 3 Brigade to advance and occupy the apparently empty enemy trenches that been abandoned after the 22 Brigade attack. Lieutenant Grazebrook’s account describes Robert Rising’s last battle:2

  ‘The battalion pushed forward in two lines, Captain Rising leading the first and Major Ingram the second about 50 yards behind. On issuing out of the village of Zwarteleen the battalion was met by an intense rifle and machine-gun fire and it was found the enemy were holding some of the outermost houses of the village … Officers and men were much too exhausted to do more than clear a few of the houses. Most of the men had to lie down in the open all day and only a few could get back to the trenches they had dug the night before. Major Ingram and Lieutenant Halford tried to check the tendency to retire to the cover of the houses but there were not enough officers left to lead the men forward. Lieutenant Kershaw with his platoon of A Company on the right had been cut off and nothing more was ever heard of him. Major Ingram was wounded in the knee whilst crossing the road under full view for the fifth time when attempting to point out the line to be held. He was able however to reach Captain Rising and discuss with him the situation before being taken back to the dressing station. Captain Rising himself was carried back to the dressing station a few minutes later, mortally wounded.’

  While this attack was being carried out German artillery kept up their daily bombardment of the British and French positions; the Grenadiers, who were now dug in along a fresh line parallel to the Brown Road, reporting that they had been shelled for most of the day. Casualties in the battalion for 7 November were nineteen killed, forty-six wounded and three missing. One of the dead was 20-year-old Private Walter Siewertsen who, on the day of his death, had completed one year and 214 days in the service of the Crown. He was buried soon after at Zillebeke churchyard with Robert Rising who had died of his wounds at the battalion dressing station. They joined the casualties of the previous day which included Carleton Tufnell, Gordon Wilson, Regy Wyndham, William Petersen, Alexis de Gunzburg and probably Arthur O’Neill.

  The story of the battle from 8 November up until 10 November continued with the German commanders continuing their attacks on every sector of the line with the intention of preventing the Allied forces from consolidating their defences. Having being checked at Zwarteleen there were German successes further south at Le Gheer and in the north where units of the German Fourth Army re-took Kortekeer. The Coldstream Guards at Polygon Wood continued their wet and shell-torn existence and although the Germans had sapped very close to the Coldstream trenches, any demonstration of force was quickly repulsed. It was a different story at Zwarteleen. Tuesday, 10 November was a bad day for the Grenadiers. The line had been reinforced a few days earlier by the London Scottish who, fresh from their fight on the Messines Ridge, were now sharing the daily artillery barrages alongside the Grenadiers. On that Tuesday the shelling began at daybreak and lasted most of the day. The Grenadiers’ trenches on their right flank were thrown back and there were several direct hits on their positions. In the case of a direct hit, those that were not blown to atoms were often buried under tons of soil and debris. One of these was Captain George Powell who was completely buried by a large shell and was only just dug out in time. Casualties in these circumstances were unavoidable and one of the first was Bernard Gordon Lennox who was killed by a high explosive shell near Bodmin Copse:

  ‘For three months he had been in the thick of every engagement, always cheerful and making the best of every hardship. He was one of the most popular officers in the Brigade of Guards, and his death was very keenly felt by everyone.’3

  At around midday the intensity of the barrage increased significantly and Michael Stocks was killed with a number of his platoon by a shell. Harry Parnell, who had fought so brilliantly four days earlier, was shot through the heart by a sniper and young Hervy Tudway, who had joined the battalion with John Lee Steere only a few days before, was badly wounded in the head, later dying of his wounds. In all, the battalion had twenty-one killed, thirty-seven wounded and sixteen missing, the trenches had been reduced to a series of shell holes and the whole line was covered in the shattered remains of trees that had been brought down by the bombardment. Even if the Germans had mounted an infantry attack they would have had great difficulty penetrating the confusion of destroyed woodland that now masked the British line. At 10.00 pm the first of the relieving troops finally came to the Grenadiers’ assistance having themselves had great difficulty in finding their way through the obstacles in the dark. The relief was finally completed at dawn and the Grenadiers, magnanimous with their patience, marched back to their reserve location at Bellewaarde Farm. Contrary to expectation there was to be little rest

  The Allied forces had little in the way of intelligence to warn them of the preparations that were being made by the Germans to conclude the battle for Ypres. A new army group headed by General von Linsingen had been assembled with the sole purpose of ending the stalemate at Ypres by delivering a final decisive blow along a nine-mile front that ran from the Coldstream Guards’ positions at Reutel down to Messines. Von Linsingen’s forces included the XV Army Corps, Linsingen’s own 4th Pomeranian Division and Winckler’s Guard Division which had been brought up from Arras. The new German offensive coincided with a change in the weather; a strong westerly wind brought an icy rain sweeping across the battlefield turning the already soaked ground into a sea of mud. Trenches quickly filled with water and defensive parapets had to be raised above ground level, increasing the risk of death and injury from shell fire.


  At dawn on 11 November the German offensive opened under leaden skies with a bombardment from both the Fourth and Sixth Army’s guns. Those who survived it swear it was the heaviest yet, and far worse than that delivered at Zandvoorde and at Gheluvelt. Between 8.00 and 9.00 am it increased in intensity and as the barrage began to lift from the front line positions any suspicions that were being harboured of an imminent infantry assault were swiftly confirmed when line after line of German infantry appeared out of the morning fog. At Klein Zillebeke the German 30th Division pushed the French back again and captured Hill 60 and for a moment the flank of the London Scottish looked as if it was about to be overrun. Colonel Malcolm had only a few reserves left but managed to strengthen the line with the men of Headquarters Company; the moment passed and the line held. During the fierce close-quarter fighting in the woods, William Gibson, the 29-year-old commercial clerk from Ilford, was killed. The London Scottish war diary does not specifically record the casualties for 11 November but during the five-day period up to 13 November they lost two officers and seventy men.

  The twelve battalions of Winkler’s Prussian Guard that attacked across the Menin Road looked unstoppable as they took all the 1 Brigade front line trenches between Veldhoek and Hooge. In several places they succeeded in breaking through in large numbers but inexplicably failed to capitalize on their success; perhaps caught in that dangerous state of relaxation that sometimes follows when initial objectives have been reached. Such was the case in Nonne Bosschen Wood, a small copse between Polygon Wood and the Menin Road. Some 900 of the German 1st Foot Guard broke through General FitzClarence’s front and were advancing through the undefended wood threatening the 2nd Division’s flank. A potentially disastrous situation was only averted by a gallantly improvised defence and a vitally important counter-attack in the afternoon which unnerved the German forces and pushed them out of Nonne Bosschen just as the rain, which had been threatening all day, began to pour down. At 5.00 pm the energetic General FitzClarence was in the process of gathering together enough men for a counter-attack to regain the lost positions in Polygon Wood. Major General Landon, who was still in temporary command of the 1st Division, sent him 2/Grenadier Guards and the Irish Guards to support the Gloucesters and the Munsters. Some time after 3.00 am on 12 November the assembled force was approaching Polygon Wood with FitzClarence leading them personally along the track towards the wood. Hearing rifle shots close by FitzClarence moved ahead of the main column to investigate, moments later he was hit by rifle fire and mortally wounded. The attack abandoned, the Grenadiers marched back to the Menin Road and spent the remainder of the night in Herenthage Wood.

  From the relative security of Herenthage, John Lee Steere found the time to write to his father. Number 2 Company was now being commanded by his cousin and he was the only other officer remaining:

  ‘We have been having some very stiff fighting lately which has taken a good toll of officers and men, but I’m glad to say I’m still fit and well … and though the men have been splendid, they are feeling the strain now rather … Had an awful shelling 2 days ago, Bernard Gordon Lennox, who commands my company, was killed. I am sorry, as though I had only seen him for a week, I thought him absolutely splendid and the men all liked him awfully. Simeo [Captain Symes-Thompson] now commands the company. We have a Captain and a subaltern in each company that’s all. Recent casualties among officers are, killed: Bernard Gordon Lennox, Tufnell, Stocks, Congleton. Wounded: Pike, Powell, Tudway (who came up with me) Rose … By the way, I’ve killed a German or two, not with revolver, rifle of course.’4

  On 13 November the Grenadiers were still in reserve and were moved to Sanctuary Wood. Arriving at midnight they dug in just before German artillery began to fire on the wood at dawn. In John Lee Steere’s letter to his mother dated 14 November he comments amongst other things on the accuracy of the German artillery and the dangers of being buried in collapsing dug outs:

  ‘We are still having a well earned rest, but only just behind the firing line and ready to move in at any moment to any part of the line which wants support … The Germanoids, as we call them, have a nasty way of finding out where the reserves are and shelling them, so we’ve been hard at work this morning making dugouts to keep out splinters. I hear it was put in Divisional Orders and even in 1st Army Corps Orders that this battalion was to be given a rest at all costs, but we are so frightfully outnumbered that little rest is possible for any troops. They all say this last 10 days or so (since I’ve been out here) have been the worst of all, as bad as the retreat from Mons for hard fighting and little rest. All the Brigade and divisions are frightfully mixed up … they [the Germans] must be getting short by now, their ammunition supply is marvellous, artillery wonderfully accurate. They had our trenches absolutely to the yard the other day. Their infantry very plucky but fire badly, except snipers. [Their] machine guns vastly outnumber ours … Gilbert Hamilton’s [Major Gilbert Hamilton, OC No. 1 Company] dug out has just fallen in and he is gone back to hospital, having been half buried, so you see we have other dangers to face than bullets and shells. This leaves us with enough officers for two per company (full strength 5ish each). Men [are] proportionally low and yet we are comparatively strong, as battalions go out here.’

  7 Cavalry Brigade had also been summoned to take part in General FitzClarence’s counter-attack on the night of 11 November. Earlier that day the brigade had been reinforced by the three squadrons of the Household Brigade Composite Regiment returning to their parent regiments from 4 Cavalry Brigade. Although the break up of the Composite Regiment was viewed with some sadness by its surviving members, the addition of reinforcements was a much needed boost to the depleted ranks of Kavanagh’s Brigade. As it turned out they were not required at Polygon Wood and were ordered to Zwarteleen to relieve the men of 6 Cavalry Brigade. Dawn on 15 November began with the usual shelling of the British positions, 1/Life Guards’ war diary noting that no damage was done. At about 3.00 pm Howard St George arrived at headquarters from the advanced trenches to report that in response to the British and French bombardment of the German forward trenches, the enemy appeared to have evacuated from the edge of Zwarteleen Wood. He never made it back to his own trench. On crossing the Zwarteleen-Klein Zillebeke road he was shot dead by a sniper who was lodged in one of the houses overlooking the British line.

  Tuesday 17 November 1914 was the last attempt of the German High Command to break the resolve of the Allied defence and end the battle. The Grenadiers were once again back in familiar territory along the Brown Road and despite the shelling that lasted most of the morning, John Lee Steere managed to write what was to be his last letter home:

  ‘Yesterday was a red letter day for me, 4 letters and a parcel in all … it rains here most days and the trenches are not very comfortable. My feet have not been dry for a week, washed my face once in the last fortnight and have not shaved since I left St Nazaire. Quite a nice beard I can assure you. I looted this pencil off a German dead man, it writes better than my own!

  Today we’ve been in some very exposed trenches, can’t show a finger above ground till it gets dark … I fear this will be a long business, the Germans have so many fresh troops they keep flinging in while we only just have enough to keep them off. All [the] battalions I’ve seen or heard of are at very low strengths. No more now as its lunchtime and I must help Simeo along the trench.’

  It was at lunchtime that the German infantry assault began with the brunt of the attack falling on Number 1 and 2 Companies. Colonel Wilfred Smith’s letter to John’s parents described the events that led to their son’s death:

  ‘Poor boy! He was killed during a strong infantry attack by the Germans which his company repulsed with considerable slaughter. You will be glad to hear that owing to the steadiness of No. 2 Coy and of No. 1 on the right, the Germans failed to break our line, though at least one German got through and had to be shot behind the trenches. The ground in front of the Grenadier trenches was covered with fallen German
s. No. 1 Coy could count 80 in the first 50 yards. They could not see further owing to the wood. No. 2 must have killed at least as many: and we think the two companies (about 180 rifles) must have killed about 300 Germans.’

  A little more detail was provided by Maurice Arbuthnot, a Grenadier officer and friend of the family who was ADC to General Gough in 1914:

  ‘I was talking to Beaumont Nesbit the other day and he told me Symes-Thompson was killed by a sniper and word was passed down the trench for John to take command of the company. He came straight up the trench to where Symes-Thompson was lying to make certain he was dead. He then himself tried to do in the sniper who had killed Symes-Thompson, but was shot through the head himself attempting it.’5

  In his letter to the Lee Steere family Wilfred Smith concluded by saying that John had done:

  ‘Outstandingly well during the short time he had been with us, and was rapidly making a valuable officer. He was always happy and cheerful under the most trying conditions … He was buried last night in the small village churchyard of Zillebeke where I am sorry to say six Grenadier officers lie side by side. I hope it may help you to bear your loss to know that your boy was hit doing his duty and doing it well in the presence of a dangerous and heavy German infantry attack.’

  His promotion to lieutenant was published in the London Gazette on 9 December 1914.

  Tuesday 17 November was also the day that the Coldstream Guards finally left Polygon Wood with orders to move to Zillebeke. Arriving under shellfire all thoughts of a rest were quickly dispelled when the main German attack began and Coldstream companies from both the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were sent up in support. But as to the circumstances of Lance Corporal James Whitfield’s death there is no mention in the war diary of any of the battalion being killed in action on that day. We can only assume that he was part of Number 4 Company that was sent to reinforce the Grenadier and Irish Guards in the firing line and was killed sometime during the afternoon or evening. Strangely, Richard Dawson’s death is another that went unrecorded in 3/Coldstream Guards’ war diary. The rumours that the French were about to relieve 4 (Guards) Brigade became reality on 19 November when the brigade received orders to hand over their trenches the next day. Leave passes were issued to the first batch of officers and NCOs and it looked very much as if the long suffering Coldstream battalions were finally going to have a rest. But the heavy hand of fate had not finished. German shell fire continued throughout the day on 20 November and the regimental history records four men killed and ten wounded, one of dead was Richard Dawson who was struck by a ‘high explosive shell that burst some fifty yards away from him.’ It was incredibly bad luck; he had been at the front for thirty-four days and was only hours away from being relieved. At 8.00 pm on 20 November 3/Coldstream Guards were relieved by the 122nd French Infantry Regiment and as they marched out through Zillebeke and past the churchyard there would have been many in the battalion who bowed their heads as they passed the wooden cross that marked Richard Dawson’s grave.