2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment
Did Private Ernest White take part in the fighting described in Part 1? As is the case with many of my profiles I am not able to say for the war diaries of units rarely record the names of non-commissioned ranks. There are passing references throughout the time that the Battalion was heavily engaged to officers and an unspecified number of men rejoining either from leave or courses, or being drafted in from Brigade reserve.
The 2nd Battalion, now commanded by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) G F E Rapson, remained at Pende for most of the first week of April, during which time companies were reformed and preparations were made to return to the forward areas, initially into the sector around Ypres (Belgium). Towards the end of April, and now back in northern France, the War Diary makes reference to casualties incurred in fighting around Hollebeke on the 26th, these losses, seemingly, coming from a composite battalion made up from the 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment and it was this composite battalion that was in action again early in May, again sustaining losses that left seven other ranks killed, eighteen wounded and thirty seven missing.
But it is now time to move forward to late May with the Battalion under the command of the 58th Brigade and taking up positions on high ground north-west of Bligny. An examination of my maps of the area show that the Wiltshires were well to the south-east of the area where they had fought so bravely in that first turbulent week of The Kaiser’s Battle. To reach their present position a main party consisting of twenty officers and 500 other ranks had travelled all night in a fleet of buses from Vesigneul-sur-Marne (the Battalion arrived here on the 18th) leaving behind a rear party of 163 other ranks and a handful of officers under the command of Major W S Shepherd, MC.
Stiff and tired from their journey, the troups, which probably included Private Ernest White (he may have been left with the rear party, but I believe this to be unlikely), discovered they were at a crossroads between the villages of Bligny and Chambrecy west-south-west of the city of Reims and what is now the D380 which links with the N3 north-east of Dormans. As indicated at the beginning of the last paragraph, orders were forthcoming instructing Lieutenant Colonel Rapson to establish his post north-west of Bligny and this was accomplished in good order but within hours of settling in a message was received ordering him to rejoin the main line at Bligny, but while in the process of complying, he was informed that his Battalion was to move into the eastern suburbs of Sarcy, a village a few kilometres directly north of Chambrecy where it was placed in Brigade Reserve.
However, at 1400 hours he was ordered to move out of Sarcy and march his men by way of the nearby village of Poilly and establish a fighting line on the high ground above Bouleuse. The Wiltshires were now more or less directly west of Reims and within earshot of the heavy fighting presently taking place north of their position around the villages of Treslon and Germigny (the ground immediately in front of the line now occupied by the 2nd Battalion and their adversaries fighting just a kilometre or so away is now bisected by a superb motorway).
On reaching their new position, the men were ordered to commence digging in and making their position as secure as possible. By nightfall of what must have been a quite exhausting day for all concerned, a broad front of close on a mile had been established with three companies in the line and D Company in reserve. As dusk fell, elements of the 7th and 25th Divisions filtered in alongside the Wiltshires and the position was declared to be the front line. No one could be in any doubt that the enemy would be upon them within the next twenty four hours.
The Battalion diarist now takes up the story, writing on the 30th, “The enemy attacked early in the morning but gained no ground on our front, but our flanks who were heavily engaged were forced to give ground. About midday, our flanks had been forced back and shortly afterwards enemy machine guns were in action near the aerodrome at GERMIGNY, harassing our rear and enfilading our front line.
“At 2.5o pm the Battalion was ordered to withdraw to the ridge running E of Sarcy. This withdrawal was effected in good order under some difficulties owing to hostile M G fire, and it is believed 1 Officer and 16 ORs were cut off. The Battalion now commenced to organise a position of defence on the ground E of SARCY with its left at the bridgehead E of SARCY. The CHESHIRES were on our left and the SHROPSHIRES and STAFFS on our right. The enemy quickly followed up, using smoke screens and pushing forward his MGs and forcing those on our right flank to withdraw to a position in the rear.
Our right flank then became dangerous and we suffered heavy casualties, eventually withdrawing to a position SW of BLIGNY with our Left on the River ARDRE which was fortified by us.”
The river referred to is midway between Chambrecy and Bligny and it appears that the 2nd Battalion had been obliged to retreat over a distance of about two to three kilometres.
The diarist now continues: “2/Lieuts A THOMAS and W GRINDLEY were killed. Lieut L G DUDLEY, 2/Lieuts D W DAVIS, W BIDWELL and W T BAKER wounded and Lieut R G BENHAM missing.
“At about 9.30 pm the Brigade Major, 56th Infantry Brigade ordered the Battalion to return to its former position E of SARCY.”
This move was carried out with a screen of scouts, the west bank of the River Ardre separating the Wiltshires from the forward elements of the Germans. Much to their relief, the Sarcy position was still intact and was being held by French troops.
Considering the ground covered and not knowing if the enemy had managed to cross the river, the three hours or so of rest that followed must have been extremely welcome, but in the early hours of the 31st a message came through ordering the men back towards Bligny, which was reached at around sunrise.
For the next twelve hours the 2nd Battalion was held in reserve but in the evening the order to counter-attack came through and Lt. Colonel Rapson was told his objective was to drive the enemy off the high ground north-west of Chambrecy (this suggests to me that not only had the river been crossed in some strength, but the Germans had also succeeded in driving a wedge between the Wiltshires and the French holding the Bridgehead east of Sarcy) and from a farm, close to the river, north of the village.
Along with his adjutant, Rapson carried out a reconnaissance of the ground that would have to be crossed and soon after 1900 hours he briefed the Battalion on what had to be done.
“The attack was launched at 7.20 pm. Very considerable MG fire was met with from each flank, combined with heavy artillery fire, but the Battalion, personally led by the Commanding Officer, pressed on to its objective, which it reached in due course, joining up with the French on the left flank.
“The position was rapidly consolidated under heavy fire and the remnants of the Battalion reorganised.”
“Remnants” aptly describe the incredible bravery of the 2nd Battalion in this counter-attack action. Not only had they advanced through heavy artillery shelling, which had caused many casualties, but every so often amongst the conventional detonations came the noxious stink given off from exploding gas shells which, it is noted, left 2/Lt S W H Dann incapacitated.
Such close quarter fighting left the participants exceedingly weary and as darkness began to cloak the battlefield relief appeared in the shape of French infantry moving in on the Battalion’s right flank, a position that was further strengthened by the arrival of a contingent of Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Of the Wiltshires, only five officers and about 120 men were left in any condition deemed fit for action, but despite near continuous marching and fighting since their arrival at the crossroads forty eight hours earlier, the overall situation was so grave that instead of rest the last night of May was spent hard at work strengthening the position now held.
Early the next morning, Lt Colonel Rapson liaised with his French counterpart and it was agreed that each would keep the other informed if word came through ordering a retirement. Then, with the morning sun came a heavy German attack on French positions and at 1400 hours a message was relayed to the Battalion to say they, the French, were pulling back. However, nothing was forthcoming from brigade and with their left flank badly exposed the Wiltshires held on throughout the afternoon. By 1630 hours German machine gun fire was being directed into the Battalion’s rear areas and it was not long before Rapson’s headquarters came under heavy fire. The situation was rapidly becoming untenable and it was with much relief that orders arrived from brigade at 1930 hours instructing the Battalion to pull back to a position in front of the Bois d’Eclisse. However, the enemy had other ideas and the entire exercise turned into a fighting withdrawal with at least thirty men becoming casualties.
Eventually, the new position was reached; to their right were the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, while the left flank was guarded by the 8th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment.
Throughout the night the survivors dug in along the Chambrecy to Bligny road with only the occasional shell coming over to hinder proceedings.
Sadly, amongst those who had died in the previous day’s fighting was Ernest White and even more upsetting for his parents was the news that his body was never found, or could not be identified. Thus, like so many of his brothers-in-arms who died he is commemorated on a battlefield memorial, in his case the Soissons Memorial where nearly 4,000 names are recorded, a grim tally of just a portion of the estimated 15,000 who died as the Germans advanced from the Aisne to the Marne in the late spring and early summer of 1918.
Postscript: The 2nd Battalion remained in the Chambrecy area for the first week of June 1918 and it is noted that on the 3rd, Lieutenant Colonel Rapson was appointed to command the 58th Composite Battalion which was made up from the survivors of the Wiltshires, the 9th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the 9th Battalion Welsh Regiment. On the 6th, their last day in the line, the Wiltshires again covered themselves in glory as they repulsed further heavy enemy attacks, Lieutenants S Collier and H W Marsh being singled out for particular praise.
It was during one of my management periods when I was wandering around the garden deciding what needed to be done, when I found Meg digging out a root from an area which she wishes to turn into a shrubbery. Like all good managers I quickly identified the problem; the root was of a wild clematis, Clematis vitalba, or what I have known from an early age as ‘old man’s beard’. In case anyone is wondering, I did help to remove it and a similar one a few inches away.
Now ‘old man’s beard’ has numerous other common names depending where in the country you come from. The ‘old man’s beard’ comes from the mass of white anthers that remain after flowering. This also gives it its local name of ‘snow in harvest’, mainly because of the white flower remains in the hedgerows at the end of the summer. Also it is known as ‘traveller’s joy’: indeed, it is really something to lift the spirits of any countryside wanderer. Other names come from other physical aspects, such as the twisting climbing stems which, when cut out, has the look of a piece of rope. This has given it the names of ‘bellywind’, ‘bethwind’, ‘bullbine’, ‘skipping rope’ and ‘monkey rope; skipping rope because it can be used as a primitive skipping rope and ‘monkey rope’ because it can be used by young boys to assist in climbing the trees in which it grows. It is also known as ‘honesty’ in some parts of the country, for which I can find no explanation.
Names, for which there are obvious explanations include ‘boy’s bacca’, ‘gipsy’s bacca’ and ‘shepherd’s delight’. These all refer to the use of the stem in place of tobacco by the people mentioned. Obviously the product is far cheaper than tobacco and the only preparation required for smoking was to find a length of dead stem, cut from between two knots with a pen knife some four to five inches of cigar size. Once lit this could be drawn on for ages without bursting into flame, and of course did not have the disadvantage of having a high, nicotine content. What it actually did contain is anybody’s guess.
It wasn’t just an Englishman’s relish either. In French it was known as, fumailles, bois`a fumer, in Dutch as smookhout and in German, rauchholz, smoke wood. So you see, we didn’t have to import tobacco from the other side of the world. What this plant did do I believe, was give its name ‘woodbine’ to the tobacco industry, W.D. & H.O. Wills in particular. As a child back in the 1940s, I recall Woodbines as being the poor man’s smoke. They retailed in the cheapest of packaging in 20s, 10s and 5s. The pack of five was simply an open flat pack of paper, designed for the poorest smoker. Today they wouldn’t have stood a chance in this age of multi packaging, trading standards and Health and Safety.
Nobody is, of course, suggesting going back to smoking again, but it is just unbelievable what the countryside could provide for us to support our way of life if only we would take advantage of it. For instance, this year saw a more than bountiful supply of elder flowers and huge quantities of elder flower cordial could have been made. It is a quite up market drink and is available in most supermarkets and large grocery shops. To make it is simple, there is a recipe in the Sixpenny Handley Recipe book, the ingredients are readily available and cheap, so there are no excuses. For those who would prefer something stronger, elder flower wine can be made; but to my mind this is a poor white wine compared with the red, port like, rich red elderberry wine.
It’s a good thing that we don’t all have the same tastes. In many cases though many of the old recipes for country food, home made wines and natural products of our hedgerows are never tried today. O what the modern generation of children miss, simply because of sophistication and the ‘advancement’ of civilisation.
Sorry; my apologies. I omitted to tell you it was half past four and I had to go and make myself a cup of tea. (The idea of being the manager doesn’t have much weight when you are on your own, so you are your own char lady.)
Anyway I am back now, but when I went into the kitchen I saw a large bowl of gooseberries that needed topping and tailing so I am afraid you are going to have to wait awhile. Although I am the manager, I am certainly not the ‘Boss’.
……… back again. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. While I was sitting in the summer house topping and tailing the gooseberries, listening to the rain pelting down on the roof, I was thinking. Why don’t the garden centres and nurseries have a period when they refuse to sell all those hideous conifers which are in no way indigenous to the U.K., and sell a fruit bush or raspberry canes instead. If kept under control with pruning, households could grow their own summer fruits, which would be truly environmentally friendly, fresh and completely contaminant free and give the householder the satisfaction of having grown them themselves as well as having a very cheap meal for many years to come. For bird lovers there is also the treat of watching the birds devouring the fruit as it ripens. For those who love blueberries remember, you can’t grow them in our chalky soils, you have to keep them in tubs or import some acid soils to grow them in, but raspberries, gooseberries, red and white currants and of course strawberries will grow in our alkaline soils.
I haven’t got very far with what I intended to write, you keep side tracking me. Please let me get on and leave the gooseberries behind. It is a very serious situation now as I feel another cup of tea coming on, but at least the rain has abated. (That is if abated means stopped.)
I intended to say a lot more about the bounteous, natural gifts that Mother Nature bestows on us, but the rain has reminded me of other things. Many older people have told me that they cannot remember so wet a summer as we are having this year. I can only concur, as on Wednesday, the ninth of July, it was raining hard when I woke up and did so all day for at least twelve hours. On Thursday I decided I ought to go out to see what damage had been done, so I perambulated off down the lane to see what I could see. At first I was amazed by the amount of long grasses and puddles that blocked the way, but I soon realized that apart from the huge volume of leaves and green material everywhere, there was little amiss, or at least nothing could be seen directly. Green vegetation greatly outnumbers flowering heads of all kinds, as the warm wet weather encourages vegetative growth and plants see little point in producing flowering heads and eventually seeds if they think they are surviving alright. Insect life was quite different - there didn’t appear to be any. Obviously they stand little chance against heavy, prolonged rainfall as they are so small and powerless against huge amounts of water.
We have already seen a huge drop in butterfly numbers this year; brimstones, the first usually to appear in the spring, have still not put in an appearance due to the very wet time last year when the eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises were passing through their life cycles. Other well known garden butterflies, the small tortoiseshell, the red admiral, the peacock, the large white, various blues and fritillaries simply have not been seen. So I was very surprised to see numerous butterflies on my excursion on Thursday. The most numerous were the marbled whites, with fritillaries a close second, meadow browns, ringlets and various browns and one pair of wood whites. I was most surprised, but very delighted, to see so many butterflies after such horrible weather the previous day.
With predictions of even worse, extreme weather in the future, it would seem that Mother Nature simply can’t adapt quickly enough. What is in store for us? It is essential we all take global warming more and more seriously, that we recycle more, grow more of our own food and waste far less. I am sorry to end up moralising but we are the only species capable of helping sort out the world’s problems, but here I will bring it to a close.
So God bless you all, and thank you for reading to the end. I hope I haven’t kept you up, but I did have to stop for my supper.