VCs of the First World War 1915 The Western Front

by Peter F Batchelor

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  We would like to thank the staff at the following institutions for their help and patience during the research for this book: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead; the Imperial War Museum, London; the National Army Museum, London; the Public Record Office, Kew; and the Royal Artillery Institution, London.

  We have used Gallahers cigarette cards for the majority of the men’s portraits. The artist’s impressions of the actions are drawn mostly from Deeds That Thrilled The Empire (Hutchinson, n.d.). Other illustrations have been obtained from the following: Bravest of the Brave; Pearse and Sloman, History of the East Surrey Regiment (Medici Society, 1923); Illustrated London News; Merewether and Smith, Indian Corps in France (John Murray, 1929); Hammerton, I Was There (Waverley, 1938); Lincolnshire Echo; Sentinel; G.H. Woolley, Sometimes a Soldier (Benn, 1963); Creagh/Humphries, The VC and DSO Standard Art Co., 1924); J. Smyth, The Story of the Victoria Cross (1963); The War Budget (The Daily Chronicle, 1914–18); Hammerton, The War Illustrated (Amalgamated Press, 1914–19); other photographs are provided by the Maple Leaf Legacy Project, Jim McGinlay at The Scottish Memorials Project, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Victora Cross Committee, Dr. Judy Landau and Dave Stowe. Our thanks are due to Eric Gee for producing the scaled maps from various sources that we supplied. We have also received considerable assistance from the following individuals who have all helped in various ways: the late Edward Campbell, David Empson, Derek Hunt, Maurice Johnson and Steve Snelling. Our special thanks to Gerald Gliddon for his invaluable guidance and encouragement. We should also like to thank Brenda Gullett for word-processing the manuscript and to Pauline and Tim who helped her. Our wives Jean and Gill deserve special mention for their unfailing support.

  CONTENTS

  Title

  Acknowledgements

  Abbreviations

  Introduction

  M.J. O’Leary

  The Battle of Neuve Chapelle

  Gobar Sing Negi

  W. Buckingham

  J. Rivers

  W. Anderson

  C.C. Foss

  E. Barber and W.D. Fuller

  H. Daniels and C.R. Noble

  C.G. Martin

  R. Morrow

  Hill 60, Belgium

  G.R.P. Roupell

  B.H. Geary

  G.H. Woolley

  E. Dwyer

  The Battles of Ypres

  F. Fisher

  F.W. Hall

  E.D. Bellew

  F.A.C. Scrimger

  Mir Dast

  I. Smith

  J. Lynn

  E. Warner

  The Battle of Aubers Ridge

  J. Upton

  C.R. Sharpe

  J. Ripley

  D. Finlay

  D.W. Belcher

  The Battle of Festubert

  F. Barter

  J.H. Tombs

  J.G. Smyth

  L.J. Keyworth

  W. Mariner

  W. Angus

  F.W. Campbell

  S.C. Woodroffe

  G.A. Boyd-Rochfort

  The Battle of Loos

  D. Laidlaw

  G.S. Peachment

  A.M. Read

  A. Vickers

  H. Wells

  H.E. Kenny

  F.H. Johnson

  A.F. Douglas-Hamilton

  R. Dunsire

  A.F. Saunders

  J.D. Pollock

  A.B. Turner

  A.J.T. Fleming-Sandes

  S. Harvey

  O. Brooks

  J.C. Raynes

  J.L. Dawson

  C.G. Vickers

  Kulbir Thapa

  G.A. Maling

  A.F.G. Kilby

  R.P. Hallowes

  A.A. Burt

  H. Christian

  T. Kenny

  J. Caffrey

  S. Meekosha

  A.G. Drake

  W. Young

  Sources

  Bibliography

  Plates

  Copyright

  ABBREVIATIONS

  ADS

  Advanced Dressing Station

  ASC

  Army Service Corps

  BEF

  British Expeditionary Force

  BVM

  British Victory Medal

  BWM

  British War Medal

  CAMC

  Canadian Army Medical Corps

  CEF

  Canadian Expeditionary Force

  CFA

  Canadian Field Artillery

  CG

  Coldstream Guards

  CIB

  Canadian Infantry Brigade

  CO

  Commanding Officer

  CRE

  Commander Royal Engineers

  CSM

  Company Sergeant Major

  DCM

  Distinguished Conduct Medal

  DFC

  Distinguished Flying Cross

  DLI

  Durham Light Infantry

  DSO

  Distinguished Service Order

  EEF

  Egyptian Expeditionary Force

  GC

  George Cross

  GG

  Grenadier Guards

  GSO

  General Staff Officer

  HLI

  Highland Light Infantry

  IG

  Irish Guards

  IOM

  Indian Order of Merit

  KOSB

  King’s Own Scottish Borderers

  KOYLI

  King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

  KRRC

  King’s Royal Rifle Corps

  MC

  Military Cross

  MG

  Machine-gun

  MID

  Mentioned in Despatches

  MM

  Military Medal

  MO

  Medical Officer

  OCA

  Old Comrades Association

  OCTU

  Officer Commanding Territorial Units

  OTC

  Officer Training Corps

  QVR

  Queen Victoria’s Rifles

  RAMC

  Royal Army Medical Corps

  RB

  Rifle Brigade

  RE

  Royal Engineers

  RGA

  Royal Garrison Artillery

  RIF

  Royal Irish Fusiliers

  RNWMP

  Royal North-West Mounted Police

  RSF

  Royal Scots Fusiliers

  RWF

  Royal Welsh Fusiliers

  SAA

  Small Arms Ammunition

  VAD

  Voluntary Aid Detachment

  VC

  Victoria Cross

  INTRODUCTION

  The war was not ‘over by Christmas’ as the 1914 slogan had proclaimed and by the end of that year the BEF were in the stalemate of trench warfare and fairly disillusioned about the prospect of a swift victory. The British troops had suffered badly in the early campaigns and by January 1915 were holding about 30 miles of actual trenches, a small fraction of that held by their French allies. Reinforcements were needed and General Sir John French, C-in-C of the BEF, felt under pressure to carry out some sort of offensive operation. This was prompted first by the withdrawal of German divisions from the Western to the Eastern Front and the fear of a decisive German victory over Russia, and secondly by the need to boost morale among his own troops.

  Joffre, French’s counterpart in the French Army, also wanted the British to take a greater part in the drive to oust Germany from conquered areas. Ini
tially, to facilitate French Army plans for action in the New Year, Joffre demanded the relief of French units north of Ypres by British troops so that French troops belonging to the same Army group were not separated by British units.

  Sir John French had an initial meeting in January 1915 with Joffre to air his proposals for offensive action. His idea of a swift knock-out blow using overwhelming numerical superiority and a short, heavy artillery barrage to precede the attack at Neuve Chapelle fitted in well with Joffre’s plans and showed a willingness on the part of the British to take some of the burden of the war. The battle was to be a British ‘show’ with limited French artillery in support. Forty-eight battalions on a narrow frontage were to be launched against a mere nine German battalions opposite. Morale among the attackers was high; the promise of victory, given the favourable odds and the elation created by the heavy barrage on the enemy positions, gave the troops confidence. Initially, despite setbacks on each flank, the main thrust of the attack was successful and broke through the lines. All the ground won in this battle was taken in the first three hours. The tragedy was that there was no swift follow-up of the advantages achieved. The ‘rolling-up’ of the line from behind was not realised. Neuve Chapelle was to be the first of a number of British actions that year in which the Germans seemed to learn lessons more quickly than the British Command.

  The same principle as employed at Neuve Chapelle was used again with minor modifications in the later offensives of Aubers Ridge and Festubert but without the success realised on the first day of Neuve Chapelle. Prior to these two battles the British attacked successfully at Hill 60 on 17 April. German determination to protect the gas cylinders secretly laid in readiness for a general attack against Ypres and the need to retain the vantage point of the hill for artillery spotting in bombarding the Ypres area, led to savage fighting and outstanding bravery on both sides, resulting in the awarding of several VCs including Woolley, the first Territorial VC, before the British were finally driven off the hill.

  During the fighting on Hill 60 the Germans launched a general offensive against Ypres on 22 April using poison gas to open the way forward. The brunt of the attack was borne by the Canadians whose steadfastness and courage in the face of this new weapon is commemorated by the monument at Vancouver Corner near St Julien. Canada’s first VC of the war was won on the opening day of the Second Battle of Ypres.

  Operations quietened down after the battle for Ypres and the British prepared a retaliatory attack at Loos, using chlorine gas for the first time. Loos was a bloody failure but the high rate of casualties sustained in the battle confirmed for Joffre, finally, as the earlier efforts had promised, a real British commitment to drive the Germans from French soil. General Sir John French’s handling of the Battle of Loos culminated in his ignominious removal from command, just as General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien was ousted from command by French during the Second Battle of Ypres. General Sir Douglas Haig took command of the BEF at the end of the year.

  An important contributory factor to the lack of British operational success in 1915 was a shortage of artillery shells. Always a problem, the situation became critical during the Battle of Aubers Ridge, after which French ‘leaked’ information to the press regarding the lack of artillery support owing to the shell crisis.

  The second year of the war gave many opportunities for men to show courage ‘beyond the call of duty’. Sixty-seven VCs were awarded on the Western Front in 1915, of which twenty were posthumous. Just under a third of the recipients were officers. There were a number of ‘firsts’ in this year, some of which were used usefully for propaganda at home. The first Irish VC of the war, Michael O’Leary, was made much of, being lauded, paraded and used in recruiting drives to inspire others to the Colours.

  Territorial units, originally intended purely for home defence, were now given the opportunity to volunteer for overseas service. This enabled Geoffrey Woolley, who had volunteered on the day war broke out, to transfer to a unit with better prospects of going to France. His ambition was realised and within months of arriving he had earned the first Territorial VC of the war.

  As one might expect, the VCs came from all walks of life and those who came home found equally varied fortunes in their post-war lives. John Smyth recognised the exclusiveness of the award and helped found the VC and GC Association in 1956; they held their first reunion at the Café Royal, London on 24 July 1958.

  The book is arranged in broadly chronological order, though we felt it better to include men within the context of particular battles, and as a result a few men are not in strict date order. Although we have consulted numerous sources we would be grateful for any further information that readers may have. One thing that struck us during the writing of this book is that however much we try to empathise we cannot understand fully the grim conditions these men endured and fought in. The courage, determination and sacrifice of their generation must never be forgotten.

  M.J. O’LEARY

  Cuinchy, France, 1 February

  The year 1915 opened in northern France with the opposing forces facing each other in water-logged trenches and fortifications, separated by a narrow strip of no-man’s-land. At Cuinchy, immediately south of the La Bassée Canal, the British line formed a salient from the canal on the left, running east towards the Railway Triangle (formed by the Béthune–La Bassée railway and the junction of another line towards Vermelles), then south to the La Bassée–Béthune Road, where it joined French positions (see map here).

  There had been a number of German attacks in the Cuinchy sector during January, culminating in a large-scale offensive on 25 January when the enemy penetrated into the above salient, forcing men of the 1st Scots Guards and 1st Coldstream Guards (CG) (1st Bde) back to partially prepared positions 500 yards west of the Railway Triangle. The Germans renewed their attacks on 29 January but were repulsed with heavy losses.

  During the evening of 30 January the 4th (Guards) Bde moved forward to take over the front line, and 2nd CG, 2nd Bde, took over the thousand yards of front line in front of the ruins of Cuinchy with 1st Irish Guards (IG) in support. 1st IG were allocated positions east of the La Bassée–Béthune Road and in the centre of its line was a collection of huge brick stacks, originally 30 feet high. There were nearly thirty of these stacks, five held by the British and the remainder in German hands; converted for defence, they were connected by a complex system of trenches and saps. Apart from these stacks the area was flat and difficult to defend; the only raised areas were the canal and the railway, because it ran on a 16 ft high embankment, separated from the canal by a tow-path.

  The right of the German line rested on the Railway Triangle. A little over 200 yards to the west was the area known as the Hollow: a narrow 20 yard wide strip lying to the south of the railway embankment. At the western end of the Hollow was a canal lock, which was crossed by the railway via a girder bridge, and about 60 yards east was a brick culvert through which the tow-path was reached. No. 4 Coy, 2nd CG, held the left of the line with its flank on this culvert. In the early hours of 1 February, a German attack was directed at the CG which forced No. 4 Coy to retire to a barricade erected in the Hollow.

  A British counter-attack was organized and at 04.00 hours fifty men of CG supported by No. 4 Coy IG attacked along the tow-path, and the Hollow. This attack was halted 30 yards short of the enemy position near the culvert. The Irish Guards lost all the officers from No. 4 Coy. 2/Lt Innes, No. 1 Coy IG, was ordered forward to take command of the survivors of No. 4 Coy and to withdraw them to the railway bridge, leaving a party holding the barricade in the Hollow. Innes himself stayed at this barricade.

  Orders were issued by 1st Bde to retake the lost position at 10.15 hours and after a 15 minute artillery bombardment the counter-attack began. Fifty men of CG led the assault followed by thirty men of No. 1 Coy IG under Lt Graham; the men carried filled sandbags, spades and two boxes of bombs as their task was to consolidate the position once it was captured. No. 2 Coy IG maintained coverin
g fire and 2/Lt Innes, with his small party, was ordered to maintain his position. As the CG advance faltered, 2/Lt Innes was ordered to lead his men forward, which he did ‘in a very bold manner’.

  L/Cpl Michael O’Leary, 2/Lt Innes’s orderly, was with his officer in the Hollow. On the command to advance, O’Leary ran quickly on, outdistancing the men with him, mounted the railway embankment, fired five times at the German machine-gun crew at the barricade, and killed them. At a second enemy barricade, 60 yards further on, another enemy machine-gun was preparing for action. The ground between the two positions was too marshy for a direct approach so O’Leary again climbed the railway embankment and ran towards the Germans. He was seen by them and as they attempted to turn the machine gun towards him he shot three of its crew. The remaining two Germans immediately surrendered, not realizing that O’Leary had now fired all the cartridges in his magazine. He then returned to the original line with his prisoners. According to a witness, ‘O’Leary came back from his killing as cool as if he had been for a walk in the park’.

  The IG Battalion War Diary says, ‘This was a fine piece of work and he [O’Leary] has been recommended for reward.’ O’Leary’s reward was the Victoria Cross which was gazetted on 18 February and he was presented with it by the King at Buckingham Palace on 22 June 1915. His VC, the first won by a member of the Irish Guards, was the first to be won on the Western Front in 1915.

  The third of four children, Michael John O’Leary was born on 29 September 1890 at Kilbarry Lodge, Inchigeela, 10 miles from Macroom in County Cork, Ireland. His parents Daniel and Margaret ran a small farm where Michael worked after attending Kilbarry National School and at the age of 16 he joined the Royal Navy. Attached to HMS Vivid he served for some years before being invalided out with rheumatism in the knees; he returned to work on his father’s farm for a few months before enlisting in the Irish Guards on 2 July 1910.