History
OBJECT
DESCRIPTION On April 22 1915, the Germans overwhelmed French troops on the front line at Ypres with chlorine gas, this was the first time gas was used in war. Between 800 and 1,400 men were killed and a further 3,000 injured. Chlorine gas kills by irritating the lungs so much that they are flooded, the victim drowning in his own body’s fluids. At the start of the war, soldiers would soak cotton pads in urine or sodium hyposulphate. But with the help of chemists, the gas mask was invented. From January 1916, all ‘P’ helmets were dipped in hexamine, which absorbs phosgene gas. The chemical wore off though and the helmets became ineffective. This had become the British army’s standard automatic weapon from 1912. The barrel contained water to keep the gun cool and stop it from jamming. It could fire 450-600 rounds (bullets) per minute but was rarely fired continuously. This type of machine gun was still used by the British army as late as 1968. Arthur Harden (Douglas’ owner) claims Douglas saved his life. Harden was mobilised at the age of 26 in 1916. He was a ventriloquist and brought Douglas with him. Harden’s Colonel realised the value of Harden and Douglas for raising men’s morale therefore he promoted Harden to Sergeant and moved him to a safer location in the orderly room. Douglas was not totally safe though as his case was torn by shrapnel. Harden outlived the war, dying in 1983. Maces were some of the earliest weapons made by man. They were useful in the war because rifles with fixed bayonets could not be wielded effectively in the trenches as they were too long. Clubs were fashioned from whatever was to hand. Other versions, using nails instead of cleats, were probably made in the trenches, or even at home, and sent to the front line. Billie Neville thought that throwing a football into no-man’s land for his men to chase across to the German trenches would give them something familiar to think about as they ran towards the enemy under heavy fire. Neville’s men succeeded in their objective but Billie was killed within the first few yards. The Germans published the details of the use of the football as an example of English madness. This football was retrieved from German barbed wire and is still held by Billie’s regiment as a symbol of inspiration. Hassell had become officer of a Tank known as Harrier. During the battle of Cambrai in 1917, tanks played an important part. At times, Hassell’s tank was successful in driving the British forward. On one occasion his tank was hit 3 times and its tracks were ripped off. A week later, Hassell was in the thick of a German attack when his machine gun became stuck. It was hit by German fire and the tank was hit causing ‘Slivers of red hot steel began to fly in the tank’. British tanks were made of cheap metal which meant that when they were hit, shards of metal would fly around the inside of the tank. Tank operators were given these masks to protect their faces from this. This type of single wire twist with a square cross-section and a particularly fearsome set of barbs was used by the Germans. This twisted, rusty sample came from Gommecourt, on the Somme. It was the scene of an ill-fated attack by the British on 1st July 1916, a mistake that left more than 2,000 men dead – five times the number of casualties suffered by the German defenders.
Y O U R S U M M E R B O O K LE T
Delta Academies Trust
5
