Gardiners at War

War Heroes

Gardiners at War Extracted from The History of the Gardiners Volume 2

By David Favager

1



Contents Introduction Private Geoffrey Gardiner George Arthur Gardiner George Edgar Gardiner Lt Colonel Henry E. Gardiner

page 4 page 10 page 35 page 44 page 49

The Lyceum, Liverpool with a display commemorating the Great War Cover Photo: Lt Col Henry E. Gardiner

 2

The Wallasey War Memorial on the Egremont Promenade

3

Introduction In late summer 1914 Britain went to war against the Kaiser and his Austrian allies.

Many on both sides enthusiastically welcomed the outbreak of hostilities (‘Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour, And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping’ as Rupert Brooke poetically if naively put it) and feared that it would all be over before they had had a chance to take part in the glorious defeat of the Hun. It was, as we all know, expected to be ‘over by Christmas’. Four years later it was still going on and had become the ‘war to end all wars’. That was not to be the case either, though perhaps attitudes to militarism did change radically after it was all over. Experts still argue over the rights and wrongs of Britain’s participation – but at the time many young men saw it as their patriotic duty to fight for king and country in defence of ‘poor little Belgium’, the victim of German aggression and, it was said, the most outrageous atrocities committed by the invading forces. And for those young men not so inclined to join up there was no shortage of young ladies prepared to give them a prod and a white feather if need be. Certainly not every one of military age rushed to serve but so many did that there were long queues at the recruiting offices. We know nothing of how the war affected the majority of Gardiners; we are especially ignorant of the role played by the Canadian branches of the family though we must assume that, as the colonies provided many recruits for the war effort, some of them would have served in some way.

Of the Wallasey Gardiners we know next to nothing about the experiences of Harry and his brother Cecil. Harry served in the South Lancashire Regiment, apparently being promoted to sergeant (though photos only show two stripes), was present during a gas attack (they used to cover their faces with urine-soaked handkerchiefs before gas masks were issued) and suffered the loss of a number of toes as a result of contracting trench foot. This was a particularly unpleasant hazard of trench life, the foot turning red or blue and covered with chilblains which could become gangrenous; well organised battalions had fewer cases, especially once the cause and effective means of prevention were appreciated – frequent changes of socks and the application of grease and whale oil with regular inspection of feet. It seems that he may have served closely with some Indian soldiers since he developed a liking for curry which in later years his wife would make for him as a special treat and he also used the phrase ‘jildy’ to mean ‘hurry up’ – a phrase his daughter still used many years later. An inquiry to the regimental museum drew this response: 4

In the group photograph the soldiers are definitely wearing the cap badge of the South Lancashire Regiment. I cannot identify the cap badge of the single gentleman. Having had a quick look on the medal card index there only seems to be only one Henry Gardiner who served with the South Lancashire Regiment during WW1 (service number 28230) and he also served with the Royal Air Force (service number 187457). Could this be your man?

There is absolutely no family tradition of him ever having served in the RAF. He seems to have told his children virtually nothing about his service – such silence on the part of veterans of the trenches was unfortunately very common.

Harry during the war

5

Left: Henry in WW1 seated far right (the cap badges have been identified as South Lancashire Regiment); Right: Harry (seated) with unidentified colleague Cecil (left) seems to have served in the BEF in 1914 as Pte (?)99953 10 Platoon C Coy., 12th Kings, though his medal card gives 95593 and Liverpool R.. If this is so, he was only 15 and must have lied about his age - the photo of him in uniform could be that of a fifteen year old – but there is no indication that he was awarded the 1914 Star for those who served from the start. In 1918-19 he was listed as an absent military voter in Division II – but he was not yet 21 (in 1920 he was a residential voter in local elections). Some items of embroidery have come down to us, sent home by Cecil to his family; they were made by local ladies and sold commercially to the troops whose female relatives especially treasured such gifts from their loved ones. The address on one of his post cards home is amusingly given as ‘Wallasey, Ches, Blighty’. Cecil’s cousin Cliff Ledder also seems to have served while underage - in the Training Reserve Battalion (Pte 48009) and then the Welsh Regiment (as Private 57579). He was only born in 1900 so again underage. After September 1916, when conscription was introduced, recruitment direct into regiments was replaced by posting to battalions of the Training Reserve before random allocation to regiments with no particular local links; this system changed again in May 1917 which would seem to imply that Cliff joined during late 1916 or early 1917. However the Roll of Individuals entitled to the War Badge gives his date of enlistment as 12th September 1917. He had served overseas – though it does not 6

state where. He was discharged from the Depot on the 19th of August 1919, aged allegedly twenty, under King’s Regulations Paragraph 392 (XVI), in other words he was ‘no longer physically fit for war service’.

Paul Nash, The Menin Road, June 1918 We have a little information about their cousin Alf Holdgate. According to his medal cards Pte 200254 (also 1587) Alfred Ernest Holdgate was enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment on 28th January 1914 at the age of 15, well before there was any imminent expectation of a European war. He appears to have been in the 4th battalion and this was apparently a territorial unit so there is no reason to believe that he was intending to be a professional soldier. We are told on the website The Long, Long Trail: 1/4th Battalion August 1914: in Birkenhead. Part of Cheshire Brigade, Welsh Division.

Moved immediately on mobilisation to Shrewsbury and Church Stretton but by the end of August 1914 had moved to Northampton. In December 1914 moved again to Cambridge and by March 1915 was at Bedford.

13 May 1915: formation became 159th Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division.

Sailed in July 1915 from Devonport, going via Alexandria to Gallipoli where it landed on 9 August 1915.

7

December 1915: withdrawn from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt.

31 May 1918: left the Division and moved to France.

1 July 1918: attached to 102nd Brigade in 34th Division.

His other records have not survived so we know nothing more of his war service apart from the fact that he served in the Balkans from 8th August 1915 and was discharged on 25th September 1918 under King’s Regulation 392 XVI – ‘no longer physically fit for war service’. The Roll of Individuals entitled to the Victory Medal and British War Medal refers three times on his record to ‘Infantry Base Depot’. He was awarded the Victory Medal and 1915 Star and also the Silver War Badge – given to those invalided out to show that they were not shirkers. The medal card shows that his medals were replaced on 3rd July 1957. There is presumably no connection with the Alfred Holdgate who served in the RASC.

War Landscape is A.Y. Jackson's best-known piece of war art

8

Left: Alfred Holdgate in WW1 Alf’s son Don wrote in a note to Hilda: as far as I know Dad and his father Ernest met up during 1914-18 war somewhere in the middle east and again once after the war, when dad was in hospital in England and just before Ernest left for America as he told Dad he was leaving and came to see him.

Wilfred Gardiner Francis Tennant enlisted and served in the Denbighshire Yeomanry and the Royal Welsh Fusiliers according to his medal card (he was awarded the Victory Medal.

For two Gardiners we are lucky to have their military records and these give a fascinating account of their fates. The sacrifice made by Geoffrey and George Gardiner is detailed in the following chapters.

Barely a generation after many had fought and in some cases died in the Great War Britain and her allies in the Commonwealth and Empire again found themselves fighting against the Hun. Many Gardiners had to endure the dark times of the blitz, rationing and anxieties about loved ones serving overseas. As we will see, two Gardiners are known to have enjoyed a particularly ‘good war’ as they said in those days.

9

A scene from the trenches - The Ypres Salient at Night by Paul Nash (1918)

A scene from the trenches - Canadians at Ypres by William Barnes-Wollen (1915) 10

Private Geoffrey Gardiner In 1915 Geoffrey, the son of the late Edgar Albert, was a ‘traveller’ (salesman) but we do not know who for or what in. It appears that he went to join up in late May 1915 (the date given in his obituary) and was given a medical examination for the Territorial Force in Liverpool on the 3rd June (the form was signed in Blackpool on the 14th). Another document gives him enlisting on 3rd July 1915 aged 17 (altered from 19?) but his Military History Sheet lists him as ‘at home’ from 3rd June so that seems to be the correct official date. He enlisted as pte 108, West Lancashire Regiment Cyclists Corps. The official ‘Description on Enlistment’ report gives his age (incorrectly) as 19 (he would of course have had to have lied about it), his height as 5 foot 7 1/2 inches, weight 119 lbs, chest 35 inches (range of expansion 3 inches), his sight as 6/6 (?) and his physical development as ‘fair’. Geoff was transferred to the Durham Light Infantry as a private (52954) of the 13th Service Battalion on November 23rd 1916. The battle honours of the 13th Battalion make impressive reading: 1916: Relieved the French 17th Division in the Carency sector between the Boyau de l'Ersatz and the Souchez River. The German Attack on Vimy Ridge, The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, The Battle of Pozieres, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval, The Battle of Le Transloy, The capture of Le Sars.

1917: The Battle of Messines, The Battle of the Menin Road, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The First Battle of Passchendaele, The Second Battle of Passchendaele. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/248/durham-light-infantry/ A summary of their activity in the Somme and the Ypres Salient during late 1916 and 1917 reads: 11

On 7 October [1916], 13 DLI joined an attack on Le Sars. Whilst 12 DLI, assisted by a tank, captured the Tangle, 13 DLI bombed its way into the ruined village. Over 150 Germans were taken prisoner, whilst the battalion suffered some 60 casualties. After this fighting, 13 DLI left the Somme for the Ypres Salient. On 7 July 1917, after the successful attack in June by the 23rd Division on Messines Ridge, 13 DLI was in the trenches at Klein Zillebeke when Second Lieutenant Frederick Youens was mortally wounded by a bomb. For his selfless bravery, he was later awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the second awarded to the battalion. The 13th Battalion DLI was again in action in September, during the Third Battle of Ypres, in the fighting on the Menin Road. http://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/story/12861/

The Hospice of the Sacre-Coer Geoff was drafted to the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in France in December 1916, disembarking on the 18th and joining the 13th Battalion on the 22nd. At that time they were located in the Hospice, Ypres. This may have been the mental hospital (the Hospice du Sacre Coeur) a little West of the railway station, between the Poperinghe road and the railway. That day the enemy began shelling at 4.30 in 12

the afternoon and in the action that evening three other ranks were killed and four injured. A baptism of fire for young Geoffrey, one might say and he did not have a very happy time there judging by his records. One historian of the DLI, David Thompson, has described life in the trenches: The degree of discomfort endured in the frontline varied greatly, depending on the season, the weather and the extent to which enemy artillery had damaged the trenches. Trenches were often waterlogged, sometimes waistdeep in mud, and they, along with the rest of the battlefields, were infested with vermin, notably rats, which contaminated food and spread disease.

Trench warfare was so different to any that had been experienced before that several months passed before regular supplies of water could be properly organised. 2/Lt Gamble recorded the circumstances in which he wrote a letter: 'I am writing by the flicker of a weak French candle in a wee dug-out, which is anything but palatial. A couple of monstrous rats seem to object to my presence: so does one Fritz or Frederic or Hans ... This show is over-ridden by vermin, rats, mice, and Germans. The two smaller specimens are most irrepressible ... They'll soon be off to fetch their pals, for their nightly meal of my rations, equipment, and – if they had their way – the tender parts of my body' Gamble also provided an insight into other aspects of trench life. In the same letter: 'We never get more than 3 hours sleep ... and never undress – fairly good food, although I shall never want to eat anything that resembles red plum jam after this. I say resembles – because I can't swear that the stuff we get so much of is made of plums – but it tastes as much like plums as gooseberries – and more than most other fruits. It is extremely cold here, and I am not properly warm even now ... I'm as fit as I have ever been ... and quite contented with life; but can you suggest how to get rid of six hundred thousand million rats: It beats me' German trenches could be as close as fifteen yards away, although a more typical distance was two to three hundred yards. In any event, patrolling and wiring were precarious duties. 'No Man's Land' contained considerable quantities of barbed wire, in some places up to ten belts of it just before the frontline trenches. The area could be full of broken and abandoned material, 13

and large numbers of bodies were often left for days before an attempt could be made to recover them. Advances across 'No Man's Land' were difficult, with soldiers having to contend with the barbed wire and waterfilled shell holes, as well as running the risk of being shot or blown-up.

British policy was to dominate 'No Man's Land', by re-digging trenches closer to the enemy's and staging frequent trench raids. www.westernfrontassociation.com/education/universities/dissertationspost-graduate/the-durham-light-infantry-in-the-first-world-war-19141918.html#places

House of Ypres by A.Y. Jackson (1917)

14

Rations generally consisted of tins of corned beef and Maconachie (meat and vegetable stew) with bread or army biscuits, cheese and jam washed down with a mug of tea brewed on ‘Tommy Cookers’, made by putting the tea leaves in the water before it boiled and adding condensed milk and sugar. The only alcohol officially permitted was a daily tot of rum, usually taken in the tea.

The War Diary of the 13th DLI allows us to follow Geoff’s battalion through 1917.

The weather was very changeable, often wet and cold or foggy and with snow in the New Year; on the 24th they moved to Winnipeg Camp where they spent Christmas.

Regarding the location of this (and other) camps one web site tells us: Quite a few large camps grew up around Ouderdom, although this small village was better known as a railhead, and it had an extensive network of railway lines: Ottawa Camp, Downshire Lines, Downshire Camp were all here (to the east and north-east of the village). Micmac Camp was quite near although that is more normally referred to as being at St Hubertushoek. A number of camps in various locations with Canadian names existed by 1917: spread out along the Vlamertinge-Ouderdom road were Moose Jaw Fort, Vancouver Camp, Halifax Camp, Montreal Camp, Winnipeg Camp and Ottawa Camp (mentioned above). I believe this was the expansion of what had formerly been Canada Huts, but I am not 100% sure about that.

This means that they were located south of the Ypres to Poperinghe road, a few miles south west of the city. After a period at the barracks they moved to the Bund where they were located in and near the front line, giving and receiving artillery bombardments with occasional casualties. Regarding the location of the Bund: Zillebeke Lake was man-made, with an earth embankment on the Western end to retain the water. This embankment was Zillebeke Bund. Shellfire emptied the lake during the war, and the embankment (which is quite a substantial one) was an ideal spot for dugouts as it faced away from the German lines.

In February Geoffrey was suffering from scabies (2nd-3rd) but was back on duty after a few days (5th). They returned to Winnipeg Camp soon after this – on the 15th they went to Poperinghe to bathe – then back to barracks in Ypres. Poperinghe 15

(‘Pop’) was a small town far enough away from the action to be relatively safe and it offered a refuge for troops with some leave. Its most famous facility was ‘Toc House’ – Talbot House organised by Rev Tubby Clayton where the men could relax in the lounge or garden, get a nice cup of tea, read a book, find information about missing comrades and perhaps attend some form of light entertainment. The house still stands – and still offers visitors a cup of tea – as do the rather less welcoming ‘Death Cells’ behind the Town Hall where men awaiting execution at the adjacent firing post were kept (along with other lesser offenders) pending the carrying out of the sentence.

Trenches at Hill 60 On the 22nd they relieved the 12th DLI in A position near Zillebeke – one of the platoons was stationed in the romantically named ‘Lover’s Walk’. This appears to have been in the vicinity of the present day Sanctuary Wood preserved trenches: In the wood itself are the trenches; a main second-line trench, part of a communication trench and a communication tunnel. These all formed part of the Lover's Walk, Artillery Place and Warrington Avenue sector. Major R.T.Rees of 8th Loyal North Lancs called Lover's Walk a "filthy ditch" in 1915 - little has changed! While minus their sandbags, duckboards, and wooden supports, the trenches here do convey a good impression of a trench system from WW1.

On the 27th they moved to D camp then on the 28th to Y camp before marching on the 1st March to Bollezeele across the border in France and they spent the next day cleaning the place up. During the next eight months the battalion was constantly on the move but within a fairly restricted area mostly on a narrow corridor between Moulle and Wizernes in the west and Ypres and south east to Zillebeke where the front lines were to be found.

They spent the following days training and doing route marches (there was snow at this time) but there was also time for inter-platoon football and an occasional bath.

On the 19th of March they paraded and set off for Houtkerque (west of Poperinghe) 16

where on the 20th they paraded in front of the church then moved on to L Camp and thence on the 21st to E Camp. The following days saw exchanges of shell fire but very few if any casualties. Geoffrey’s obituary states that he was gassed in March 1917 but his medical records do not support this and the War Diary makes no mention of either gas or casualties at that time. On the 5th of April they entrained at Brandhoek for Esquelbeck where they arrived at 3pm and then marched to their final destination, Millam (west of Bollezeele), which they reached at 6.40pm. While they were there a private drowned trying to swim the canal. On the 14th they marched back to Esquelbeck and boarded a train to Poperinghe from where they marched to camp at Brandhoek. The next day they moved on to Ypres and HQ was established at Zillebeke. That day the diary recorded a self-inflicted wound, perhaps desperate attempt to get sent home before they had to return to front line duty.

Ypres in ruins On the 20th they transferred to barracks in Ypres (Battalion HQ was located on the ramparts of the city) but on the 23rd were back in Zillebeke. The frequent relocations are a reminder that units did not spend long periods of time in the front lines – they had periods in reserve as well as periods of training and relaxation. They were subjected to enemy shelling and aircraft attack and practiced clearing the ‘Crab Crawl’ dugouts – which they could do in four minutes. (Crab Crawl seems to have been located between Zillebeke and Hill 62.) On the 27th they were relieved by the 12th DLI and returned to barracks. On the 30th they took the train from Poperinghe to Steenwoorde in France where they spent their time training – there were also sporting events such as tug o’ war rugby and boxing. It was while they were here that the scabies returned (on 5th May) but he was able to return to his battalion on the 14th. He was presumably therefore not involved in the relief of the 17

South Lancashires in the Scottish Lines on the 9th or of the 8th Staffords near Rudkin House the following day (there was heavy shelling in their sector over the next few days) and he would have missed the German attack on the 13th. On the 14th they were relieved and transferred to Railway Dugouts: The British referred to the place as either Railway Dugouts or Transport Farm (there was a small farm) and it was the final stopping point for supplies being transported up to the front lines around Hill 60. There is a cemetery there now in which 2029 individuals are buried. (Information supplied by the DLI Museum)

Zonnebeke by William Orpen (1918) On the 18th they moved to Halifax Camp and the Bund where on the 19th two hundred men were involved in burying a cable. The weather was at times very hot 18

and there was some shelling. On the 28th they moved again – to St McAdam Cappell camp – and again on the 1st June – to Mt Sorrell where there were more shellings and raids. This was about 1,000 yards southwest from Hill 62, south east of Zillebeke near Armagh Wood - the HQ was in Rudkin House near Observatory Ridge.

On the 5th they moved to O Camp then on the 6th to the south side of Zillebeke Lake where they arrived at 11.30 pm and spent a quiet night. On the 7th a mine was exploded at Hill 60 and ‘all the guns in the salient’ opened fire. There was considerable activity at this time and a significant number of casualties. It was in fact at this time that the British began an offensive south of Ypres to capture the high ground of the Messines Ridge. This was of a worthwhile objective in its own right but another reason for the attacks in Flanders was that the French army had been seriously weakened by a series of mutinies and it was essential to prevent a German attack in the French sector. On the morning of the 7th at 3.10am nineteen huge mines were blown and nine divisions with seventy two tanks moved forward behind a creeping barrage. The attack had been a success and the British advanced some three miles over a five mile front, capturing the ridge, and gaining a further mile when the enemy withdrew on the 11th but it does not look as if the 13th DLI were part of the initial wave and it is hard to tell from the diary what exactly they were doing but it is clear that they were very much in the line of German fire. It was not possible to follow up this success straight away and a six week delay followed.

View from Hill 60 They were relieved on the 13th and moved to Mont des Cats, a small hill (altitude 164 metres) near Godewaersvelde in French Flanders south west of Poperinghe.

They rested on the 14th and the following days, some of which were very hot, were spent training and route marching with some light relief in the form of cricket, bathing, a horse show and a medal presentation. On the 30th they moved to Mic 19

Mac Camp (more shells and bombs); of the camp we are told by Sgt Leonard McLeod Gould in The Story of the 102nd Canadian Infantry Battalion From BC to Baisieux: Micmac Camp was a hutted camp lying between Dickiebusch [sic] and Ouderdom and boasted no special features except the presence of a small cafe where eggs and coffee were procurable. Of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood there is little that is pleasant to say; they were peasants of the least intelligent type, Flemish with pronounced German sympathies; espionage was rampant and more than one suffered the extreme penalty when caught red-handed as a spy or a sniper. There was nothing in the personality of these people to appeal to the sympathetic imagination of troops who had come over fired with the tale of Belgian wrongs.

Map showing the location of Mic Mac Camp On the 5th July they returned to the front lines near Hill 60. On the 7th 2nd Lt Youens was wounded leading a patrol but later was able to rally a machine gun team to beat off an enemy assault – he picked up a bomb which went off in his hand. He was awarded the VC but sadly was to die of his wounds not long after this.

20

On the 10th they returned to Mic Mac where enemy planes frequently bombed the area and as a result of the bombing on the 18th the camp was moved the next day.

On the 21st they paraded at 7.15 and marched to Mont des Cats. According to Geoff’s records this was the day on which he was wounded by a gas shell; the diary does not refer to a gas attack but only says that ‘3 men fell out’. Next day was church parade and cleaning up followed by more training. Geoff is recorded as returning to duty on the 29th (water patrol).

On the 30th they set off at noon for St Omer by train, arriving at 11.15 and moving to their billets at Wizernes at 1am the next day. Here they were able to enjoy some relaxation – a concert, football, boxing and cricket. On that day the weather broke which was not good news for those soldiers taking part in the renewed assault on the German lines the following day in the Third Battle of Ypres. They advanced in mist and driving rain and as conditions worsened it became more difficult to move equipment, guns and tanks and the ground became waterlogged – it was to be the wettest summer for seventy five years. A halt was called to the offensive and for three weeks the troops trained and the ground was left to dry out. The 13th DLI were not involved in the fighting going on east of Ypres - they were still at Wizernes.

On the 9th of August they moved to Moulle for an extended period of training but there was also a church parade, sports and a water gala. On the 24th they relocated to Palace Camp via Reninghelst (south of Poperiinghe) and on the 29th went on to Dickebusch south west of Ypres where they found the camp in a very bad condition.

On the 30th they marched to a ‘model of trenches’ and the following day a great deal of damage was done by enemy bombing. On the 2nd September they left for Steenvoorde and on the 5th moved on to scattered billets at Noordpeene in France west of Cassel where in the hot early autumn they underwent further training. On the 10th three haystacks somehow caught fire and a court of inquiry was held (its findings are not recorded). On the 13th they marched back to Steenvoorde and from there the next day to Chippawa Camp (near La Clytte, about five miles west of Ypres) and on the 16th back to Dickebusch. On the 17th the General Officer Commanding paid a visit to the battalion – he may not have been impressed to know that the following day a soldier was wounded during a gas demonstration.

21

Map showing locations where Geoff was stationed On the 19th they moved to Railway Dugouts where they rested till 7.45pm before moving into the assembly trench at Torr Top which was near Hill 62. Hill 62 remained almost in a state of limbo from June 1916 in terms of who controlled it as it was between Allied and German front lines as they stood after the Battle of Mount Sorrel – effectively Hill 62 was ‘No-Man’s Land’. The action that followed was the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, the third general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres (known as the Battle of Passchendaele). At 5.40am on the 20th, zero hour, they moved forward to the Jam area trenches. (Some confusion seems to have arisen regarding the location of these trenches; in the guide to the Salient Before Endeavours Fade the trenches in the Sanctuary Wood museum were said to be part of the Vince Street / Jam Row system but according to one contributor to a WW1 forum this is ‘way off the mark’ and Vince Street was a communication trench to the west and Jam Row was a German trench (summer 1915- summer 1917) about half a mile to the north east of the 'trench museum' area.) From here at 7.30am they moved forward to the Blue Line which they reached at 8.50 and from where at 9.53 they attacked the Green Line which they succeeded in capturing by 11.05. At 3.00 that afternoon an attack by one hundred of the enemy was dispersed. The 13th DLI had suffered significant casualties – Captain Bucknell and forty four other ranks were killed, four officers and one hundred and seventy seven other ranks wounded and sixteen missing. If Geoff was involved he appears to come out of it unscathed.

On the 21st between 4.30 and 5.15 in the morning there was a heavy British artillery barrage; an enemy attack at 8am was dispersed by Lewis gun and rifle fire and after an hour’s barrage (presumably by the enemy) another German attack, this time up the valley from Gheluvelt, was also dispersed. There was two hour’s more shelling that evening and at 7pm the Boche were seen massing to the right of the Ypres-Menin road preparatory to an attack. This attack was prevented by an artillery barrage. On that day fourteen other ranks had been killed, thirty seven 22

wounded and one was missing. Again Geoff was not among the casualties. On the 22nd they withdrew to Torr Top dugouts and on the 23rd were in camp at Dickebusch before another move the following day to York Camp at Westoutre, south of Poperinghe, and a further relocation on the 28th to Ascot Camp (losing one other rank to enemy aircraft). In their absence on the 26 Polygon Wood was finally captured.

The Abbey at Mont des Cats On the 1st October they left Ascot Camp for Berthen a few miles to the south west and on the 2nd were again at Mont des Cats. They spent the 3rd training (the weather was cold and wet) and on the 4th were put on 24 hour notice. That day, a very rainy one, began the Battle of Broodseinde to the north – a ‘black day’ for the German army who lost Poelkapelle, Zonnebeke and Broodseinde to the advancing British who were able to beat off the enemy counter attacks. For the 13th DLI nothing much happened till the 8th when they returned to Ascot Camp then on the 9th embussed at Westoutre for Scottish Wood where they arrived at 23

9.30 in the evening. Scottish Wood was given that name by the Liverpool Scottish in 1915; it was used as a rest area between Dickebusch and the front line area at Vormezeele. In order that the two companies out of the line might be within easier distance of the trenches, if required in an emergency, dugouts were constructed there but Scottish Wood was immediately in front of British 18 pounder positions and the terrific din when these guns were firing - with an occasional ‘premature’ for luck - added to the daily ration of shrapnel from the enemy, made the wood anything but a haven of rest.

Map showing the location of Scottish Wood On the 10th they marched to the front line and in the process an officer and thirty three other ranks were wounded and three missing. A further two dozen were wounded the next day by the enemy shelling with five dead and fifteen wounded on the 12th. On the 13th some of the battalion withdrew to the Bund (another death and further injuries) and the rest followed on the 16th – the General Officer Commanding the Division turned up to present medals to some of the battalion, including a bar to the Military Medal of Pte Constantine.

24

Zillebeke Bund from the air – then and now It was important to keep up the pressure on the Germans to give the French the extra time they needed to restore their army to a position where it could function effectively again. On the 17th A and C companies moved to Railway Dugouts. On the 18th the battalion (presumably all of it) moved to the front line near Reutel. There was heavy shelling and gas was used resulting in six deaths and eleven wounded.

The next day shelling, gas and sniper fire accounted for three dead and three injured. On the 20th there was intermittent shelling and planes active over head at dawn and again at dusk with the Lewis guns in action to engage them and drive them off. On that day five were killed and twelve wounded. The 21st was quiet during the day but at 5pm a plane on their left put up an SOS as the enemy had been spotted massing near Judge Copse. They were dispersed by the Lewis gun but there was heavy shelling that evening with thirteen killed and thirteen wounded. It was probably in these circumstances that Geoff was wounded by shrapnel (gunshot on another document) in the head and left hand. His records give both 21st and 22nd – the uncertainty probably arising because the battalion was relieved during that night - and had only finally evacuated the position by 8am on 22nd October.

25

Map showing the location of Reutel

Map showing the location of Railway Dugouts Following his injury Geoff would probably have received immediate attention at a Regimental Aid Post nearby. The record cards are hard to decipher but it seems that he received some treatment at 41 ‘CCS’ (Casualty Clearing Station) Godewaersvelde about 16 kilometres south-west of Ieper. The next entries are particularly difficult to interpret; for the second entry for the 22nd the letters AT are legible and one guess is that it stands for ‘ambulance train’ which at least make sense.

26

Left: Regimental aid post and horse ambulance of the Royal Army Medical Corps in front of Zillebeke. Battle of the Menin Road Ridge; Right: Stretcher cases awaiting transport to a Casualty Clearing Station lie on the ground outside a dressing post

Godewaersvelde

27

A British ambulance train has arrived at Treport. Royal Army Medical Corps personnel are off-loading a casualty into an ambulance provided by the Canadian Red Cross. The card was locally produced and would have been on sale to British and Allied soldiers at the large camp and the many hospitals in the locality.

The entry for the 23rd may read ‘Adm BGHP Le Treport’ which again would make sense if we take it to mean that he was admitted to the British General Hospital at Le Treport – a major medical centre. He was transferred back to England, perhaps sailing on the 27th November, arriving in England apparently on the 28th / 29th November (his Military History Sheet gives him ‘home’ from 29th November and the hospital records have him admitted on the same day). Had he not been wounded he would have been deployed to Italy in November to strengthen the Italian resistance after a recent disaster at the Battle of Caporetto. The 13th DLI was engaged in various actions there including fighting on the Asiago Plateau and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. After that they returned to France.

28

British General Hospital at Le Treport

British General Hospital at Le Treport tented accommodation for the wounded

29

We can follow the course of Geoffrey’s care in hospital in Nottingham from the day he was admitted to his death the following spring. Shrapnel had penetrated the left frontal sinus and there was discharge over the left eye but no cerebral symptoms.

For the next couple of weeks he was suffering headaches, the wound was discharging freely and several sequestra, some large, had come away.

Nottingham General Hospital

Temporary wards at Nottingham

By January the headaches had eased but the wound was discharging and in February he had lost his appetite and was displaying general inertia. There was no sign of any real improvement and he was sent to ‘the Cedars’ (probably a hospital near Nottingham, either in Beeston or on Mansfield Road) but when he returned on the 3rd March he had a severe headache lasting two days.

30

The Cedars at Beeston The wound had healed and the headache had gone by the 6th after some time in bed but on the 12th it was back. It was tender over the left frontal region and he was vomiting and drowsy. A cerebral abscess in the frontal region was diagnosed and an operation performed. A flap of skin was turned down and they explored the hole in his skull. Some depressed edges of bone were removed but no pus was found and the wound was closed. The next day he vomited but was otherwise comfortable but on the 17th he was drowsy and complaining of headaches and as he was no better on the 22nd and cerebration was getting slower they performed a lumber puncture under anaesthetic and found about 30cc of liquid under pressure.

After a temporary relief the severe headaches and vomiting were back on the 25th (?) and the back of his neck was stiff. Another lumber puncture released more fluid which contained streptococcal pus and an anti-streptococcal serum was inserted into the deltoids. Cerebration was slow and the patient was almost comatose all night. The operations to remove the abscess had failed and the next day (26th) he was comatose. Geoffrey died at 7.20am of streptococcal meningitis. He was aged only 19 (though the official form says 21). His last weeks may not have been entirely unhappy since a Miss E. Odling attended the funeral and sent a wreath; according to the paper she was a ‘friend’ in Nottingham – might one suggest she was a sweetheart?

31

A temporary ward at Nottingham Hospital (housing 150 casualties) The Regimental HQ in York were unaware of his death until they received a request for funeral expenses from the O/C at the General Military Hospital in Nottingham.

His mother, who must have been expecting the worst, had requested that his body be sent home and that he be given a military funeral.

He was buried in Rake Lane (8CE 383) on the following Saturday with full military honours. The coffin, draped in a Union Jack, was carried on a gun carriage and was carried by comrades and members of the Border Regiment and there were three volleys and the sounding of the last post. Mourners included his mother, brother, sisters, uncles and aunts, grandfather (given as T. Threlfall) and other close relatives.

A wreath was sent by the sister, nurses and chums of his ward at Nottingham General. His will was proved in 1920, with administration granted to his widowed mother. Surprisingly, he left effects to the value of £1,393, presumably having inherited it from his grandfather. That it was his legacy from Henry Gardiner seems the best explanation of how the teenage son of a bricklayer was able to leave such a sum. A stone with his regimental badge, number, name, date of death and the words ‘FOR HIS COUNTRY’S SAKE’ marks the grave. On November 26th 1921 his mother signed for receipt of his War Medal and Victory Medal – no doubt a very 32

poignant moment. Regrettably his name is misspelt ‘Gardner’ on the memorial in Victoria Central Hospital. The family were said to have spoken highly of him in later years.

Geoff Gardiner’s Obituary in the local paper

33

Geoff’s grave at Rake Lane

His name, misspelt, on the War Memorial

34

Wire by Paul Nash (1918)

35

George Arthur Gardiner The military records for George (including his pension records) also tell a rather tragic story – indeed they clearly show that George too was actually a fatality of World War 1 though his sacrifice is not officially recorded on any war memorial. At the age of forty one he might have been excused for not joining up (conscription was not introduced till 1916 by when he would have been too old) but clearly he felt that he ought to do his duty for king and country with the war entering its second year. His papers show that he was medically examined in Wallasey on the 19th October 1915. He had been vaccinated in infancy, his physical development was described as ‘fair’ and he was accepted ‘subject to dental treatment’. His attestation paper dated 21st October in London shows that he enlisted for the Army Service Corps, giving his age as 41 years 270 days, his occupation as painter and his religion as C of E. He was only a rather slight gentleman – his height was 5’5” and his chest measurement 35” (his weight is illegible). It is not known why the attestation was in London. The records show that 20975 Pte Gardiner was in Britain between 21st October and 13th December 1915, on which date he embarked at Southampton on the SS Lydia to join the BEF, disembarking the next day at Le Havre where he joined 6 Lab Coy Section 3 Gang B. Of these ASC Labour Companies we are told on the web site The Long, Long Trail: The unsung heroes of the British army in the Great War - the ASC, Ally Sloper's Cavalry. Soldiers can not fight without food, equipment and ammunition. In the Great War, the vast majority of this tonnage, supplying a vast army on many fronts, was supplied from Britain. Using horsed and motor vehicles, railways and waterways, the ASC performed prodigious 36

feats of logistics and were one of the great strengths of organisation by which the war was won …

The ASC was organised into Companies, each fulfilling a specific role. Some were under orders of or attached to the Divisions of the army; the rest were under direct orders of the higher formations of Corps, Army or the GHQ of the army in each theatre of war.   

 

Base Depots Horse Transport Companies (including Companies in Divisional Trains, Reserve Parks and Small Arms Ammunition (SAA) Trains) Mechanical Transport Companies (including Companies in Divisional Supply Columns and Ammunition Parks, Companies attached to the heavy artillery, Omnibus Companies, Motor Ambulance Convoys, Bridging and Pontoon units and Workshops) The Army Remounts Service (Companies involved in the provision of horses) The ASC Labour Companies …

In France and Flanders it was soon discovered in 1914 that the local authorities could not supply civilian men for labouring duties such as helping the BEF disembark its stores and equipment from ships. The War Office arranged to send 300 labourers for these duties. More followed, and by the end of December 1914 they had been formed into 5 Labour Companies of the ASC. They were numbered 1 to 5. Many more Companies were formed in 1914 and 1915, but none are well documented.

Each Company consisted of 6 officers and 530 other ranks. Numbers 1 and 2 Labour Companies were officially formed at Aldershot on 24-25 August 1914. A number of Foremen and Gangers were recruited in the early weeks, to act as NCOs. Approximately 21,000 skilled labourers and dock workers had joined by the end of 1915. However, the Companies were not destined to remain for long: 28 were absorbed into the newly-created Labour Corps between February and June 1917; 8 other Companies were disbanded between January 1915 and June 1917, with personnel from 3 of these Companies being transferred to the Royal Marines.’

On 3rd June 1916 George went off duty complaining of weakness, [palp]itation and shortness of breath and had a bad cough but seems to have returned to service and was granted leave between 16th and 25th September 1916, the date he is recorded 37

as arriving ‘from Havre’. His condition must have returned and on 13th January 1917 he was transferred to hospital and then back to Britain in the HS Glenart Castle suffering from arteriosclerosis, hardening of the arteries (the ship was later sunk by a U-boat).

HM Hospital Ship Glenart Castle The records show that between 14th January and 16th March 1917 he was in Queen Mary Military Hospital, Whalley, in Lancashire suffering from ‘a bronchitis acute catarrhal’ (inflammation and irritation of the mucous membranes that line the bronchial tubes which carry the air to and from the lungs). He was in ‘[mu]ch the same condition’ [as he had been the previous June] on the 14th January with weak breath, a normal heart, [goo]d appetite, problems sleeping and a cough that was not too troublesome. It is telling that the doctor noted that he was forty three but ‘looks more’. Treatment seems to have involved injections in the veins about his cheeks and nose and once again he recovered sufficiently to return to duty. A record dated 1st March 1917 reads ‘Classified by the Medical Board in Coligny (?) C[*] H[ospital]’.

This location has not been identified.

Queen Mary Military Hospital, Whalley

38

Queen Mary Military Hospital, Whalley On April 25th he embarked at Southampton to return to his unit, arriving at Havre and proceeding to the ASC Base Depot the next day. It seems that it was on the 27th that he was posted to 1 Lab Coy D[1] though a document also gives the date as 5th May 1917; the date for his transfer to 712 Labour Corps as Private 297019 is given as 1st August. An account of the Labour Corps by Iain Kerr and Ivor Lee on Rootsweb explains its origins and duties: During World War I an initially non-combatant organisation was formed in 1917 called the Labour Corps. The initial need for labour units during WWI had been achieved with some 38 Labour Battalions established in 18 different infantry regiments, and a large number of Labour Companies from other infantry regiments. In addition there were a good number of Labour Companies in the Royal Engineers and the Army Service Corps. All these became Labour Corps companies in the spring and summer of 1917.

The Labour Battalions and later the Labour Companies of the Labour Corps carried out a whole range of defence works duties in the UK and in overseas theatres, especially in France and Flanders. These included road and railway building/repair, moving ammunition and stores, load and unloading ships and trains, burial duties and at home agriculture and forestry.

When the Labour Corps was formed in mid-1917 it was decided that the 39

men assigned to it from other regiments, often because of their reduced medical category, should change from their regimental badges to that of the General Service Corps. Many of the men disliked having to wear this badge and preferred to retain their regimental identity. Towards the end of 1918 the Labour Corps was granted their own badge - the piled pick, rifle and shovel emblem that was to become the badge of the Pioneer Corps (later Royal Pioneer Corps) of World War II. Although initially considered non-combatants, the British companies of the Labour Corps often performed their duties in forward areas, often under heavy fire.

Life for the men working near the Front Line was equally as bad as for the combat soldier, in some ways worse. One of the biggest problems was that they could be working under constant shellfire for several weeks at a time with only one day’s rest in seven. These units, made up of older or less fit (often men who had been injured at the front), did not serve for a few weeks under shell fire and then be pulled back for a week or two rest. Casualties were often caused by shell fire or gas attacks.’

On 9th August 1917 George returned ‘from Havre’ but again his health deteriorated and on 19th August he was admitted to hospital in the field apparently suffering from myalgia (muscle pain). While it is not easy to interpret the records it seems that on 20th September he was discharged from the hospital at Abbeville with ‘debility’ and was shipped back to Dover on the SS Princess Elizabeth where he arrived on the 21st. A document from Belmont Road AM (Auxiliary Military) Hospital refers to ‘a bronchitis’. This hospital seems to have been located on the site of Belmont Road Workhouse in the outskirts of Liverpool – so it may have been possible for his wife to have visited him while he was there. The following account of the Belmont Road Hospital appeared in the Liverpool Courier on 28 Oct 1919 Part XLI (41).

It may interest our readers to learn the procedure followed in this the greatest of all Liverpool's military hospitals - a procedure probably not peculiar to Belmont-road, but followed in most if not all of the others.

Immediately on arrival each patient was supplied with cigarettes and postcards, the latter to enable them to communicate the fact of their arrival to their families. A pint of hot Bovril and bread was then supplied to each patient whilst particulars of his case were being recorded. If the patient was sufficiently well he was then given a hot bath in the bathroom or, if this were impossible, a blanket bath in bed. In cases where patients had had their wounds dressed in the

40

ambulance again after leaving Southampton, a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and tea followed upon the bath. If, however, his wounds had not been dressed, he received the speediest possible attention. It will be seen from this brief account that the arrival of a convoy of wounded patients plunged the hospital into great activity, in which all departments were concerned, and when we add that there were few weeks in which several convoys did not arrive, it will be realised that the strain upon all concerned has been continuous and severe. In one of the worst weeks Mr. W.H. Taylor, who has acted as administrator throughout the whole period, was continuously engaged for five consecutive days and nights. He was not alone in his devotion to the cause of suffering humanity. It frequently happened that the day nurses who had already been on duty for twelve hours returned to duty on the arrival of a convoy and spent the precious hours that ought to have been devoted to sleep and rest in sharing the labours of the night staff, even though it extended their duty from a twelve to a sixteen or an eighteen hour day. It is only when we remember that this happened repeatedly that one appreciates the enormous debt of gratitude that the community owes to all who have been concerned in the work of our military hospitals.

Whilst most of us have enjoyed the ordinary routine of work by day and sleep by night, they, serving as the deputies of the community, have undertaken labours far in excess of the obligations into which they had entered. Inspired by the love of their fellow-men, and upheld by determination to discharge Britain's duty to her stricken sons, the nobility of their deeds entitled them to something more than the consciousness that they have played a glorious part. They deserve to know that the community holds their service and their sacrifice in the highest honour.

Belmont Road Workhoese / Military Hospital

41

At some point he was in Whitworth Street Hospital in Manchester and it was from there that he was discharged as unfit for service due to pulmonary tuberculosis resulting from ‘a.s.’ (active service) on 11th March 1918. The documents authorising this were sent to Chelsea on 18th February from 2nd Westn Gen Hosp, Manchester of which Whitworth Street was the main part (located, we are told, in 'Ducie Avenue Central School, Whitworth Street, Moss Side... the red brick double storey building is still there, but now provides accommodation for the homeless’.)

Whitworth Street Hospital His character, although not his health, was described on these forms as ‘good’. His condition was so poor he was said to have permanent total disability due to infection by tubercle bacillus on a[ctive] s[ervice]. He was not well enough a few weeks later to attend the funeral of his nephew Geoffrey. On 29th March 1918 he received his war badge and certificate. He died back in Wallasey on 3rd January 1919 aged 45. The small headstone reads: In Loving Memory of My Dear Husband George Arthur Gardiner Died 3rd January 1919 Aged 45 Years “And with the morn those angel faces smile which I have loved long since and lost awhile”.

42

Grave of George A. Gardiner at Rake Lane The quotation is from the hymn Lead Kindly Light by John Henry Newman. They are not thought to have had any children – certainly none were surviving in 1918. At least he knew that the war had been won but he had made the ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice that has not gone entirely unrecognised as his photo, provided by the author, formed part of a commemorative display placed on the outside of the Lyceum in Liverpool’s Bold Street during 2016.

Summary of his service

The doctor’s description of his condition in January 1917 43

George Gardiner appeared on a commemorative display on the Lyceum

George Gardiner – as he appeared on the Lyceum Display 44

George Edgar Gardiner Nothing else is known to the author about the life of the Wallasey Gardiners during the war but we do know that Alfred’s son George served with particular distinction. He appears to have been a very interesting character. He sailed from Liverpool for Rio de Janeiro in 1929 aged 19, aboard the Desna and became a bank clerk. He did return to Britain several times; we have records of him arriving in London on 19th July 1935 and again on 1st November 1938. In 1941 he and his 30 year-old wife Winifred arrived in Belfast – he was a bank official and was intending to stay at 11 Monkwell Court, Pembroke Road, London N10. It appears that he was returning with the intention of ‘doing his bit’ for his country as we read in the London Gazette (25.9.1942) that cadet George Edgar Gardiner (205406) was to be a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps, part of the North Irish Horse (perhaps he had enlisted in Belfast).

Supplement to the London Gazette 25.9.1942 He obviously had a ‘good war’ as the same publication on the 15th June the following year recorded that he had won the Military Cross, an award granted in recognition of gallantry or meritorious service, at that time for officers with the rank 45

of Captain and below. His residence was given as Edgeware. The action in which he displayed such conspicuous gallantry took place on 11th April in Tunisia. It was part of the battle for Tunisia that began in November 1942 following the allied victory at Alamein. We can get some idea of the immediate context from the official war diary of his regiment, the North Irish Horse: 10.4.1943: All available tanks sent for from BEJA. By first light A & B Sqns in position East of White House on Pt.667.

Plan – 38th Irish Bde, supported by one troop of C Sqn, to seize DJEBEL OUM GUERINAT; NIH less C Sqn, to engage tanks in the valley. Small force including tanks, A/Tk 17pdrs and REs left under command Major the Lord O'Neill to form a base on Northern side of defile crossing OUED EL DJEB. 0700 – CO and Major Strickland made recce on foot; enemy tpt seen moving NE in DOCTOR BED valley. A Sqn ordered to advance to Pt.361 – feature reported clear. B Sqn moved NW to occupy Pt.391. then decided to try and reach DJEBEL RMEL and thus help 38 Bde. A Sqn held up by mines but B Sqn made quick progress to high ground West of DJEBEL RMEL. RHQ followed B Sqn centre line and B Sqn occupied RMEL after engaging retreating enemy infantry with Besa fire. Meantime A Sqn had negotiated minefield and moved to position SE of farm DER RMEL. Enemy were seen to leave EL GUERINAT and nearby features when tanks occupied RMEL, the task of 38th Irish Bde thereby being much simplified.

Unable to get 17pdrs up to engage two enemy tanks in farm East of RMEL. Persistent air attacks by enemy; one Me 110 shot down by Besa fire from tanks.

1700 – Enemy brought forward 50mm A/Tk gun when enemy position attacked; knocked out one B Sqn tank. This gun was then knocked out and several POW taken. A Sqn worked forward to try and engage the two enemy tanks but could not do so. Tanks ordered to hold positions until relieved by infantry. Were eventually relieved by Black Watch at approx midnight.

11.4.43:

46

A & B Sqns remained in area DJEBEL RMEL until mid-day. All tanks, except one troop each of A & B Sqns, withdrawn; these two troops subsequently returned to harbour at last light.

Enemy air attacks throughout the day. Lt Gardiner wounded, one OR killed and two wounded.

Lt Gardiner’s heroic action is briefly described in the citation signed by his commanding officer, Lt Colonel D Dawnay and endorsed by Major-General V. Evelegh, Commander 78th Infantry Division: On the 11th April, 1943, Lieutenant Gardiner’s tank shed a track while attempting to cross the wadi (471468). His tank was at the time under heavy enemy shell and mortar fire.

Lieutenant Gardiner, without hesitation, left the safety of his tank and proceeded to repair his tank. He was immediately wounded in the thigh by a shell fragment but refused to disclose the seriousness of the wound and went on with the operation. He continued to command his troop for some 14 hours until completely exhausted.

His devotion to duty was an inspiration to the men of his troop. He is now in hospital and his wound is more serious than at first thought.

He was not the only outstandingly brave soldier that day. The Military Medal was awarded to Trooper George Edward Martin: On the morning of the 11th April, 1943, “A” Squadron North Irish Horse were ordered to move down from the northern slopes of Pt. 667 feature to engage and destroy a force of enemy tanks that had been discovered in the valley (4646) the previous day. On reaching the low ground the squadron was held up by a deep wadi, the crossings of which had been extensively mined. The tanks came under enemy artillery and mortar fire at the crossing (471468). Trooper Martin’s tank commander got out of his tank to examine a track of his tank which had broken and was immediately wounded by a shell fragment. Trooper Martin then, without any orders and entirely on his own initiative, left his tank and cleared 12 Teller mines, showing complete disregard of the enemy’s shell and mortar fire. Trooper Martin’s action 47

allowed the remaining tanks of the squadron to proceed. He displayed great courage and inspired his comrades.

Left: Supplement to the London Gazette 15.6.1943; Right: The Military Cross granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members, of any rank in Our Armed Forces…"

Serious his wound may have been but it was not life-threatening. After the war he returned to Rio to resume his work with the bank. On 27th March 1950 he sailed into Southampton but it was only a temporary stay. It seems he was still in Brazil in 1960 – when his passport was issued by the British Consul General in Sao Paulo – but appears to have moved to Spain by 1963 as we have an image of his ‘Ficha Consular de Qualificacao’ which (apart from confirming his parentage and date and place of birth) gives his profession as ‘diretor de banco’ and his marital status as ‘casada’ (there is no sign of his wife’s card) and indicates that his right to enter the country was ‘temporario-turista’. This card had been authorised by the Brazilian embassy in Madrid on 1st July 1963.

We do not know how George helped his compatriots in Spain but whatever he did for them it was worthy of the OBE and CBE – the London Gazette records the award of his CBE ‘For services to the British community in Spain’ in June 1973.

48

Supplement to the London Gazette 2.6.1973 announcing his CBE A notice appeared in The Times on April 16th 1987 announcing the death of George Edgar ‘Gary’ Gardiner CBE, MC on April 6th in Madrid aged 77. He was described as ‘retired Manager, Bank of London and South America’. He does not appear to have been survived by his wife or to have left any children. The achievements of this obviously remarkable Gardiner had been forgotten by his cousins back in Wallasey if they were ever aware of them at all.

An entry in The Times announcing ‘Gary’ Gardiner’s death in Madrid in 1987 49

Lt Colonel Henry E. Gardiner ‘Gary’s’ distant cousin Henry E., the son of Henry Cook Gardiner, also had a rather distinguished military record. He was born on 30th of June 1905. On 21st July 1926 we find him arriving in New York from Southampton aboard the SS Republic. The purpose of his visit is not stated but he seems to have been still a student. Henry E. Gardiner was educated at Montana State College (graduating in 1928) and Cornell Law School (LLB 1931) and became a lawyer by profession, a member of the Chicago Bar Association. From 25th November 1935 he served as sergeant in National Guard - the Chicago Black Horse Troop. He became a 2nd lieutenant on 11th June 1940 and 1st lieutenant on 23rd August. From 25th November he transferred to the Army of the United States and became a captain on 13th December 1941 having graduated from Cavalry School in the ‘Basic Horse & Mec[ani]z[ed] Cav[alry] Course’. On the outbreak of war he was assigned to Fifth Corps Headquarters then in May 1942 he was transferred overseas with 13 Armored Division. He became a major on 21st October 1942 and lieutenant colonel on 27th January 1943. He was a tank battalion commander and regimental executive officer till his discharge in October 1945.

Henry’s military career summarised He kept a diary which described his experiences during the war but it has not been possible to track down a copy. However a number of his own writings and other documents allows us to get a very good idea of his service record as a tank commander. He may not have been an especially humble man – as he named several of his tanks after himself.

50

His battalion was involved in the Race for Tunis in December 1942. On one occasion in Tunisia his M3 Grant tank (presumably named Henry) was surprised by a Tiger tank: Just at that point we were hit hard by what late proved to be 88mm fire from a Tiger tank that I had not seen. The M3 had a crew of seven. The driver and gunner were killed, the assistant driver badly wounded and I got some shrapnel in my left arm. The other three men escaped without injury …

I was evacuated to a British tent field hospital near Bone where most of the shrapnel was removed from my arm and after a week I rejoined my battalion. (quoted in Tiger I and Tiger II by Anthony Tucker-Jones pp162f) Henry regarded the Lee as ‘much inferior’ to the Sherman – he particularly disliked the fact that the gun could only fire in the direction the tank was going and was so low that the whole of the tank was exposed. Furthermore, the anti-aircraft gun was ‘worse than useless’ (Weapons of the Tankers by Harry Yeide).

Lt Colonel Gardiner with a captured German flag 51

He and his experienced 2/13th Armoured battalion, now equipped with Sherman Tanks, took part in a critical episode in the defence of Sbeitla and the counter attacks in Kasserine Pass by Combat Command B. The performance of his ‘understrength’ battalion was described by one author as ‘superb’, ‘a clear reminder of the value of combat experience in tank warfare’ (Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II by Steve Zaloga p54). Lt Colonel Gardiner later wrote two accounts of the battle – ‘We Fought at Kasserine’ (Armored Cavalry Journal MarchApril 1954) and ‘Kasserine Pass as Seen from Both Sides’ which used material from Rommel’s accounts to create a two-dimensional narrative. It seems that the action came to be seen as an allied victory in which raw troops were initially given a licking but then returned as ‘seasoned veterans’ and forced Rommel’s demoralised men to retreat through the desert. Henry makes it clear that in reality Rommel had decided to withdraw once the benefits were outweighed by the losses as the pass was no longer important.

Location map showingthe theatre of war in which Henry operated On Christmas Eve 1942 he was ordered to report to Combat Command B (CCB)’s rear echelon some thirty miles in the rear over a tortuous road churned up in rain and snow. They met in a cow shed and their commander introduced General Eisenhower who told them that the attack on Tunis had been called off because of the weather and that it was their responsibility to keep up morale during the period of inactivity. Henry noted that his morale had hardly been improved by his round 52

trip. On the night of 2nd January he was told they were to move towards Tebessa and spent the night of 5th / 6th on the road. At dawn they passed through Thala and spent the day hidden in a wood. US C-47s flew overhead. That night they wound through a defile – the Kasserine Pass. The night of the 9th they passed through the village of Kasserine, five miles south of the pass. It was flat country broken by mountainous masses.

Aerial view of the road linking Kasserine and Sbeitla They stayed ten days in an olive grove in Sbeitla and spent some of the time camouflaging the tanks with wet clay then on the night of the first of February they moved off having just been told they were in reserve. They covered ninety miles and laid up in a cactus patch – German dive bombers attacked but did minimal damage – and stayed there two weeks in miserable conditions as despite the snow and the cold they were restricted in their ability to light fires for fear of giving their position away. The Germans were now attacking and the Americans falling back; on the 9th they were alerted to move but nothing happened till just before midnight on the 15th when they set off for Sbeitla - slowly and rather strung out.

On the afternoon of February 16th unit commanders were summoned and told that CCB was to defend south of Sbeitla and to be prepared to counterattack. Henry had understood the German tactics and was able to use this knowledge to gain enough of an advantage to blunt the German attack. In the middle of the night before the crucial battle he had received fifty raw reinforcements; the truck dropped them off and departed before Henry could refuse to accept them! Their morale was not helped by the fact that their own men were destroying ammunition dumps in anticipation of a German breakthrough. He met the Combat Commander on the 53

morning of the 17th and was told to hold Sbeitla till 11.00 and be ready to counter attack. They also agreed a scheme of withdrawal. Taking advantage of a hesitation on the part of Rommel, he hid his force of M3 and M4 medium tanks in hull-down positions in a wadi offering perfect defilade positions from which they could oppose the heavier German armour trying to break through. They then waited through the morning for the Germans to attack.

Terrain in the area around Kasserine A frontal attack against their position about 13.15 hours by Stenkhoff's much superior tank group gave them the opportunity for which they had hoped. Waiting until 21 Panzer Division was close enough he radioed to his crews ‘Boys, let them have it’ and was able to take out between five and fifteen enemy tanks and completely disrupted the enemy formation. Stenkhoff's force, recognizing that it had entered a trap, pulled back under fire from the supporting 27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. The battle had gone on for four hours and Henry had so far not lost one tank. Rommel described the US forces there as fighting ‘cleverly and hard’.

An hour after the frontal attack on Henry Gardiner's tanks, the enemy had reorganized and was threatening Robinett's south flank. At this point his troops received orders to begin a gradual withdrawal. They were the last to leave and the 2/13th covered the retreat through Kasserine Pass. Between 17.30 and darkness, which came about 19.00, they disengaged with a loss of nine tanks, among them Colonel Gardiner's. Their route brought them to the Sbeïtlañ Kasserine road about five miles east of Kasserine. They swung into a divisional gasoline dump north of the highway and in blackout gassed up their vehicles and piled on all possible five-gallon containers before continuing through Kasserine pass to a bivouac on the road between it and Thala.

54

A shell broke the right track on his tank (Henry II) which was immediately hit again and burst into flames, killing the driver and wounding his assistant. After Henry’s tank was knocked out he was separated from his unit and had to escape on foot, walking back some 30 miles. Using the tank as cover they crawled into the safety of a wadi. Tank fire from advancing Germans, however, forced survivors from destroyed tanks to scatter into tributary wadis. Henry described his experiences for the next few hours with masterly understatement as ‘far from dull and something of a story in themselves’. He lay behind a bush for an hour cussing his own artillery, fearing he might be killed by friendly fire, crushed by a German tank or hit by a grenade or small arms fire. With dusk coming on and spotting a line of enemy infantry he made a run for it into open country. German flares helped him avoid the enemy as he plodded on all night towards Kasserine with barking dogs as the only accompaniment. He waited till light in an impassable wadi but feared being spotted by enemy reconnaissance units and wondered if he was actually behind enemy lines. He headed along the top of a wadi and met two French colonial soldiers who persuaded an Arab family to take them in; they fed them till a small boy came in shouting ‘Allemands’ and they all thought it best for them to leave quickly. As they neared the road they encountered an American reconnaissance unit which took him back to rejoin his unit US soldiers in Kasserine Pass That afternoon his unit was ordered to move to Thala. Morale was low – they had got off lightly and feared their luck might not last and the cold rain did nothing to cheer them up. They were told to turn south; he went to meet his commander who had been told to restore the situation at Kasserine. The unit formed a circle like a wagon train, one man on watch in every other turret. Stragglers from the pass brought bad news and as day broke on the 21st it showed their exposed position on flat land. They moved forward and took up positions in a wadi and set up their mortars in a cactus patch. They opened fire on some enemy trucks and tanks and were the target of ineffective Stuka attacks. The enemy tanks sought cover and Henry’s unit moved forward. There were further exchanges and they managed to 55

take out a number of enemy vehicles. As the light failed they saw an exhilarating sight – three hundred German and Italian prisoners who had surrendered and were being brought in. That night the pass was targeted by artillery and bombers and the next morning they moved forward. In the end they were able to occupy the pass unopposed on the 25th – Henry losing a bet with a colonel that there would be no shots fired that day.

Henry with a less than cheerful-looking colleague

56

No wonder he was later decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross. The effective combination of armour, infantry and artillery marked a significant advance in tactical understanding on the part of the US military and was vital to the defeat of the German forces in Tunisia.

(See: United States Army in World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative In the West by George F. Howe; M3 Lee/Grant Medium Tank 1941-45 by Steven J Zaloga; Defeat at Kasserine: American Armor Doctrine, Training, and Battle Command ... by Major Mark T. Calhoun.)

Citation for the Distinguished Service Cross

57

His third tank – named Henry III – was destroyed by a German anti-tank gun near Mateur in Tunisia.

Lt Colonel Henry Gardiner with his M4A1 Sherman Tank Henry III After defeating the enemy in Africa the Americans proceeded to the invasion of Sicily and mainland Italy. Henry was placed in command of the 13th Tank Battalion in Italy. His fourth tank was named ‘Ballykinler’ (a village in Ireland whose significance is not known). A major landing was undertaken at Anzio in January 1944; Henry landed with reinforcements for the 1st Armored Division and noted in his diary that ‘our first sight as we drove in land was a shockingly large United States cemetery’. From there he seems to have gone on to take part in the battle for Monte Cassino. In his diary for February 7th 1944 Henry catalogued his wardrobe as heavy underwear, ‘windproof slipover’, wool shirt and trousers, sleeveless sweater, turtleneck gaiter, cotton socks, wool socks, one-piece overall, combat jacket, tank boots, overshoes, wool cap, helmet, trench coat and goggles. At the time the weather was particularly cold – weapons were freezing up and soldiers getting frostbite. Food was poor too but Henry enjoyed one pork chop dinner that month, commenting that the quartermaster must have been running for re-election. Henry summed up the Italian campaign in ten words in a letter to his family: ‘he marched

58

up the hill and he marched down again’. (The Day Of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-44 by Rick Atkinson pp407-8, 410)

Henry with a large gun On Monday March 12th 1945 the Chicago Daily Tribune announced the engagement of Henry and society beauty Rita Singstad. The Dixon Evening Telegraph of Illinois, ran the story in basically the same words on the 14th as follows: BETROTHAL TOLD The engagement of Miss Rita Singstad, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Ole Singstad of New York to Lt. Col. Henry E. Gardiner, who has visited in Dixon a number of times as the guest of Mrs. Alice Beede, has been announced. Col. Gardiner's parents are Dr. and Mrs. Henry C. Gardiner of Anaconda, Mont. At the end of his present leave, Col. Gardiner will return to overseas duty. He has been decorated with the distinguished service cross, the silver star with two oak leaf clusters, the croix de guerre with gold star 59

and has been wounded twice. Miss Singstad, whose father is a widely known engineer, was educated at the Schloss Traunsee in Omunden, Austria; Mlle.

Boissier's in Paris, and the Finch school in New York. She was introduced to society a few years ago in New York. Mr. Singstad was chief engineer of the Holland tunnel, Queens Midtown tunnel, and at present of the Battery tunnel, in New York.

Rita in 1939 and press announcements of the wedding Rita, who was born on 5th February 1918 in New York, had previously been photographed at a shooting gallery (June 28th 1939), looking more Bonnie and Clyde than respectable debutante (she hit the bell ten times in ten shots). She was a member of the Ski Club of NY and the Ski Club of Chile and was Chairman of the canteen of Officers at Home of the Citizens’ Committee of the Army and Navy.

On 7th June the New York Times announced that the wedding would take place later that month: RITA SINGSTAD PLANS WEDDING ON JUNE 19 Miss Rita Singstad, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ole Singstad of 1120 Fifth Avenue, has completed plans for her marriage to Lieut. Col. Henry E. Gardiner, AUS, of Chicago, son of Dr. and 60

Mrs. Henry C. Gardiner of Anaconda, Mont., ... New York Times (1857Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jun 7, 1945.

And the day after the ceremony they reported that it had taken place at St Thomas Episcopal Church: RITA SINGSTAD WED TO ARMY OFFICER:PRINCIPALS IN CEREMONY AT ST. THOMAS White flowers formed a garden background yesterday afternoon in St. Thomas Episcopal Church for the marriage of Miss Rita Singstad, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ole Singstad of 1120 Fifth Avenue, to Lieut. Col. Henry E. Gardiner,... New York Times (1857-Current File). New York, N.Y.: Jun 20, 1945.

El Teniente copper mine After the war Henry returned to his pre-war job with the Anaconda mining company but also continued to serve in the military in the 77th Reserve Division of New York City and commanded the 305th Infantry (a rather odd command given his war experience as a tank commander of some note). On the 17th October 1946 he flew into Laguardia Airport (New York) from Ontario. No information is given as to the 61

purpose of the journey. On August 6th 1948 he sailed from New York for Valpariso on the SS Santa Margarita of the Grace Line for a stay of indefinite length. His address in New York was given as 1020 5th Avenue.

A view of 1020 Fifth Avenue at its completion in 1925, left, and the building now. It was the developer Michael Paterno who conceived it, choosing a limestone facade, generous room sizes and three to five servants’ rooms per apartment. He also had his architects, Warren & Wetmore, develop an intricate system of staggered floors to give 6 of the 13 apartments “rooms of truly noble proportions� as the original sales brochure put it. The first four floors have varied layouts but are fairly standard, if you can so describe apartments verging on 5,000 square feet in size, with ceilings 9 to 12 feet high. But beginning at the fifth floor, the architects staggered the layout from front to back, to produce six salons 20 by 40 feet in size, with ceilings 14 to 18 feet high. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/realestate/10scap.html He was transferred by his employer to Chile in 1949 and spent fifteen years there.

On 24th May 1961 a Chile Associated Press Name Card Index made reference to industrial strikes protesting about educational facilities and we learn that Henry was Vice President of the Braden Copper Company, an American company that controlled the El Teniente copper mine in Chile until 1967 when its copper holdings 62

were nationalized. (Since Henry states that he worked for Anaconda before and after the war, in Chile and Washington this is a little surprising as the two companies appear to have been competitors.) Immigration records stamped June 4th 1961 show Henry and Rita flying from Lima on PANAGRA-80. Their address in Chile is given as Ave Lyon 396 Santiago (their New York address was the same as it was in 1948.)

The membership list of the Association of American Women of Chile includes his wife Rita. In 1964 he returned to serve as a Vice President of the Anaconda Company in Washington DC and after seven years in that post retired in 1971. He next took on the role as the Registered Foreign Agent in Washington of the military government of Chile, a role which he quit in 1975, the year his wife died – they do not appear to have had any children. After that he travelled extensively before returning to Bozeman, his home town, in October 1978. He died on 5th April 1994.

63



TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE MEN OF WALLASEY WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919

Formerly in the entrance to Ward 7, of the Victoria Central Hospital on Mill Lane, Wallasey, and now in a corridor in the new Outpatients Department, an engraved brass frame can be seen holding parchments listing those of Wallasey who lost their lives in the First World War.

 64

65

66