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The Bulletin of the Birmingham Branch of the WFA Compiled by Bob Butcher |
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December 2008 |
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BRUM RATION SPECIAL
BRANCH TRIP – ‘1915’; - OCTOBER 13-16, 2008
The third in the sequence of branch trips to the front was highly successful. Once we had managed to leave the Sutton Coldfield traffic jam behind, our Group Travel coach, ably driven by Ann, made its way to Novotel, Ypres, via the Tunnel and a diversion away from the road works at the A25 junction at Abele. Chris John’s promised tour of Ypres did not materialise but was only postponed! An early start on the second day, the Tuesday, took us south through Shrapnel Corner, Wijtschate and Messines to Ploegsteert Wood where we were in the capable hands of Alison Hine, one of our three guides. It was not an uneventful journey as Ann fell out with an inconsiderate Flemish harvester driver and at Messines the fog had not lifted. The group was dropped at Prowse Point cemetery, named after a Somerset Light Infantry officer, from where we followed the track through to Rifle House cemetery. There were stops along the way where Alison gave us the context to help understand what had happened there in 1915. Particular attention was given to the Rifle Brigade (Territorial) and the Somerset Light Infantry attack on the Birdcage at the end of 1914, that eastern part of the wood occupied by a German salient. We crossed the ‘Strand’, a supply line into the wood, and spotted a British bunker in the trees. Alison referred to Roland Leighton’s letters home to Vera Brittain from this area and his poem which contained violets from the wood itself – ‘Villanelle’. The origins of Ploegsteert Wood cemetery were explained and the gravestone of Rifleman Barnett, the 15 old Jewish boy was located at Rifle House Cemetery nearby. Alison also drew attention of two ‘personalities’ from the PlugStreet area namely Bruce Bairnsfather (1st Royal Warwicks) of ‘Old Bill’ fame and Winston Churchill, battalion commander of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers after Gallipoli. It was now time for coffee and the café opposite Ploegsteert Wood Memorial opened early to
refresh us. We toured the memorial and the adjacent Berkshire Extension and Hyde Park cemeteries. Alison now took us on to Hill 60 (pointing out Larch Wood) where she expertly unravelled the complexities of what had happened in such a small area in 1915, with particular focus on the four VCs won in and around the craters blown at the top of the hill. These were Geary, Wooley, Roupell and Dwyer. The mist had cleared to reveal the importance of command of the hill, actually railway cutting spoil, over the salient south of Ypres in the distance. We looked at the 14th Division, Australian Tunnellers’ and Queen Victoria’s Rifles memorials and climbed down into the shallow 1917 crater behind the ‘German’ bunker. Everyone was more than happy to take up the offer to also take in Caterpillar crater on the opposite side of the railway line. There was now a lunch break back in Ypres and time for members of the group to do their own thing. Then off to Hooge wih Vern Littley now in the box seat. Vern explained the 1915 background at Hooge and also stressed the importance of the higher ground there. He talked to us in Hooge Crater cemetery which, although we were safely off the road, meant competition from a CWGC man riding a fallen leaves hoover. Vern explained dog tags and passed around an early war example and how own modern ones. He gave particular attention to the German use of flamethrowers for the first time at this spot and their impact as a new shock weapon as well as the blowing of the Hooge crater. Vern then took the group on to Vancouver Corner and the memorial to the Brooding Soldier. His focus was on the first use of gas by the Germans on April 22nd and 24th 1915 and the Canadian response. He set the lie of the land in terms of the neighbouring French colonial and territorial forces as well as British units. Vern had also gone on ahead after we parked to organise his props which turned out to be dressing up in a greatcoat with a grey gas helmet which was also passed around. Vern also dealt with the Canadian action at Kitcheners’ Wood not far away near St Julien. Back in Ypres there was some free time to recover from an action-packed day before walking up to the Menin Gate for the Last Post ceremony. It was well-attended with about 300 people, including young Belgian soldiers and school parties. Rod was nominated to lay our Branch poppy wreath in honour of his retirement from work at the start of our tour. When his turn came during the ceremony he carried out the honour with dignity. Afterwards we all adjourned to the Old Tom restaurant in the square for a group meal as we could not get a booking for the final night. Chicken or fish meals were liberally washed down! Chris allowed us a lie in for the next day, the Wednesday, when we set off for the relatively unknown battlefields south-west of Lille across the border in northern France. We started at the Indian memorial near Neuve Chapelle village. Here Chris set the scene with the demands of coalition warfare and the context for the Indian Army and its entry into the Western Front. He also explained the geography of the terrain and the importance of Aubers Ridge nearby. We were then lulled into a false sense of security with a short coach hop into the village before it was walking boots time. We set off north of Neuve Chapelle past some more recent housing before taking a gap between houses to find Neuve Chapelle Farm Cemetery ahead of us in the fields. A CWGC gang were busy with autumn planting and tidying up and were pleased to see us. We then followed the line of 8th Division’s attack attack across a clayey field of stubble to a second CWGC cemetery, Neuve Chapelle British Cemetery. 8th Division had attacked on March 10th 1915 with 7th Division on their left and the Indian Corps to their right. Chris had already pointed out the small number of burials in each cemetery as the date of the battle – March 1915 – was before Fabian Ware began to organise cemeteries and many casualties were missing in action and commemorated at the Le Touret memorial where we finished the day. Back in the village we now headed south passing near the site of the village brewery. On the edge of the village we came to the site of the bridge over the River des Mayes which suggests a significant water course, which it was tactically but was really only a stream. It was here where a battalion commander wanted to extend the early success of taking the village by attacking German positions in the Bois du Biez. He was told to consolidate and yet another Great War opportunity was lost because of communication failures. We ‘marched’ on and came to Lorgies before turning back to meet the coach at the Indian memorial. A café opposite was open and refreshments were very welcome at this stage.
We now took a short coach trip to Festubert with the disastrous Battle of Aubers Ridge explained as we travelled. We turned at Chocolat Menier corner onto Prince’s Road, the direction of the British advance at Festubert on May 16 1915. We now walked through the hamlet of L’Epinette in the direction of the German lines and the village of Festubert. Chris found a stand where the houses ended and explained the background to the battle. Robert Graves had been here with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Chris read ‘Corporal Stare’ who ‘killed last month at Festubert’ appears as a ghost to his officers having dinner at Bethune. If we had kept going we would have reached the famous Quinque Rue alias Kinky Roo. From Festubert we ended the day at the Le Touret Memorial to the Missing of the sector of the front we had visited. By late afternoon we were back at base. For those who sufficient energy left Chris led them on an early evening Ypres town tour. Thursday had now arrived – our final day. To avoid the ‘booze cruise syndrome’ we left Ypres for Poperinghe and the Talbot House associated with the army chaplain, Tubby Clayton, and the beginning of the TOC H Christian movement. We were greeted in an auditorium by Dries Chaerle who gave a brilliant summary of the role of Poperhinghe as a huge base behind the lines before developing the history of Talbot House itself. Towards the end he revealed that the timbered room we were sitting in was in fact Tubby Clayton’s acquisition of a nearby hop store where larger numbers of guest soldiers could be accommodated for entertainments. He then played a film of ‘The Happy Hoppers’ – recreation of a Great War entertainment which included the moving ‘Follow me home’ song by Kipling. We were now free to go out into the garden and then into the main house where we were greeted by a couple doing a three week stint as volunteers. A bench with an interesting plaque was spotted in the garden; it commemorated John Giles, the founder of the WFA. In the house we wandered from room to room and floor to floor looking at the amusing signs which Tubby had placed around the building. Most of the group took up the challenge of climbing the steep, narrow stairs to the chapel in the attic. Before leaving ‘Pops’ some of us went to look at the military execution post in a courtyard on the other side of the main square from Talbot House and then we were away on the back roads through Watou to join the A25, the tunnel and delivered safely back to Sutton Coldfield by Ann for mid-evening. I am sure it was a memorable trip for everyone. Many thanks to all those who made a contribution to its success whether ‘front of house’ or ‘behind the scenes’.
Alan Tucker Chairman’s note – The branch is most fortunate in having enthusiastic professionals to organise and conduct our trips. My thanks to Chris and all those involved in the planning and execution. JD |