Valiant Men of Suffolk

“VALIANT MEN OF SUFFOLK”

COMMEMORATING THOSE AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS IN THE GREAT WAR FROM SUFFOLK

THE VICTORIA CROSS

The Victoria Cross was introduced as the premier award for gallantry, available for all ranks, to cover actions since the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854; it was allegedly created on the suggestion of Prince Albert, the Prince Consort. The Naval version originally had a navy blue ribbon which continued until the end of the Great War when the same purple ribbon was adopted by all Services.

Of the 1354 awards since 1856, 832 have gone to the Army, 107 to the Navy, 31 to the RAF, 10 to the Royal Marines and 4 to civilians. Second bars have been awarded three times. The facility for posthumous awards, made retrospective to 1856, began in 1902 and was confirmed in 1907, while the early practice of forfeitures (eight between 1863 and 1908) was discontinued after the First World War. Each VC is still made by the same London jewellers, Messrs Hancocks (now of Burlington Gardens, London, W1 from the bronze of Chinese cannons captured from the Russians at the siege of Sebastopol (large ingots of which are stored at the Army's Central Ordnance Depot at Donning ton).

Recommendation for the VC is normally issued by an officer at regimental level, or equivalent, and has to be supported by three witnesses, although this has been waived on occasion.

The recommendation is then passed up the military hierarchy until it reaches the Secretary of State for Defence. The recommendation is then laid before the monarch who approves the award with his or her signature. Victoria Cross awards are always promulgated in the London Gazette with the single exception of the award to the American Unknown Soldier in 1921 In the case of a gallant and daring act being performed by a squadron, ship's company or a detached body of men (such as Royal Marines) in which all men are deemed equally brave and deserving of the Victoria Cross then a ballot is drawn. The officers select one officer, the NCOs select one individual and the private soldiers or seamen select two individuals. In all 46 awards have been awarded by ballot with 29 of the awards during the Indian Mutiny. Four further awards were granted to Q Battery, Royal Horse Artillery at Korn Spruit on 31 March 1900 during the Second Boer War. The final ballot awards for the army were the six awards to the Lancashire Fusiliers at W Beach during the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 although three of the awards were not gazetted until 1917. The final seven ballot awards were the only naval ballot awards with three awards to two Q“The Valiant Men of Suffolk�

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Ships in 1917 and four awards for the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918. The provision for awards by ballot is still included in the Victoria Cross warrant but there have been no further such awards since 1918

PREFACE This book is published in the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War 1914 – 1918.

It is intended as a tribute to all those who endured the horrors of that war and to honour the memory of those awarded the Victor Victoria ia Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

The twelve represented here are associated with Suffolk as encompassed by the county boundaries of that time. Not only included are those born in Suffolk but those living there, attending a Suffolk school or who served in the County’s regiment regiment.

Of the twelve recipients six lost their lives in the conflict. Of those returning more than one had physical and mental scars. They had difficulty finding work and were traumatized by their experiences. Sadly a problem that can still affecting those who put their lives on the line.

So this book concentrates on the events where they displayed extreme courage rather than the aftermath.

AT THE END OF THEIR LIFE THEY SAY OF FIGHTING MEN MEN: THAT OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE THEY JUST FADE AWAY AND THE ROYAL MARINES ARE SAID TO CROSS THE HARBOUR BAR. THEY ONLY DIE IF THEY ARE FORGOTTEN. SO O PLEASE READ THEIR STORIES THAT THEY MAY REMEMB REMEMBERED ERED AND SO LIVE ON IN PEOPLE’S MEMORIES MEMORIES.

Compiled by Ted Sparrow

May 2014

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CONTENTS AGAR, Augustus Willington Shelton VC DSO RN

{Framlingham College}

Initially he joined as a cadet and was a Lieutenant at the time of his award of the VC. Post war he reached the rank of Commodore. Gus held the following commands: HMS Witch (22 Apr 1926 – Jul 1927): HMS Scarborough (30 Sep 1930 – May 1933): HMS Curlew (9 Jan 1936 – Feb 1936): HMS Emerald (15 Jan 1937 – Apr 1939): Royal Naval College, Greenwich eenwich (1939): HMS Emerald (31 Jul 1939 – Apr 1940): HMS Malcolm (25 Jun 1940 – 12 Aug 1940): HMS Dorsetshire (8 Aug 1941 – 5 Apr 1942): Royal Naval College, Greenwich (5 May 1943 – Apr 1946

BENT, Spencer John VC, MM

{Stowmarket}

No. 8581, Drummerr Spencer John Bent, 1st Battalion, served with the East Lancashire Regiment. He later achieved the rank of Regimental Sergeant Sergeant-Major.

BORTON, Arthur VC CMG DSO

{Died Southwold}

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Drummond Borton VC, CMG, DSO served with the 2nd/22nd 2 Battalion The London Regiment (The Queen's)

CASTLETON, Claud Charles VC

{Kirkey, Lowestoft}

Sergeant in the 5th Machine Gun Company, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division of the AIF

CRISP, Thomas VC, DSC, RNR

{Lowestoft}

He was the skipper of the aarmed trawler HMS Nelson.

DAY, Sidney James VC

{Suffolk Regiment}

No 15092 Corporal Sidney James Day, 11th (Service) Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment having previously enlisted in the 9th Sussex Regiment. On recovery from severe wounds, he returned to o duty as a corporal with the 11th Battalion (Cambridge Suffolks), The Suffolk Regiment

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DOUGHTY–WYLIE, Charles Hotham Montagu VC, CB, CMG. {Theberton Hall Suffolk.}

He graduated from Sandhurst 1888 – 1889. He ultimately rose to Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers

FLOWERDEW Gordon VC

{Framlingham College}

When the war broke out in September 1914, he enlisted as a private in Lord Strathcona's Horse. He rose quickly through the ranks and was commissioned as an officer in 1916.

In January 1918 Flowerdew was given command of C Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse

HARVEY, Samuel VC 8273 Private Samuel Harvey joined the army in 1905 serving in the 1st Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. He served 7 years in India. Later he was transferred to the 3rd (HS) G Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers on the 7th of October 1916. His number being 31198

HEWITT, William Henry VC

{born Copdock: Framlingham College}

In 1905, joining the South Africa Constabulary for one year and then transferring to the Natal Police in which he served for three years. After the outbreak of war, Hewitt enlisted into the 2nd South Africa Light Infantry on 24th December 1915. He was later promoted to Major.

SAUNDERS, Arthur Frederick VC JP

{Ipswich}

Arthur joined the Royal Navy aged 15 and rose to the rank of Petty Officer (2nd class) retiring after 15 years. He served in the Great War as a sergeant in the 9th Service Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment.

SEAMAN, Ernest VC MM

“Felixstowe}

Initially he served as a baker in the Army Service Corps of the British Army. Later in the war he was promoted to lance-corporal in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

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AGAR, Augustus Willington Shelton VC Initially he joined as a cadet and was a Lieutenant at the time of his award of the VC. Post war he reached the rank of Commodore. Gus held the following commands: HMS Witch (22 Apr 1926 – Jul 1927): HMS Scarborough (30 Sep 1930 – May 1933): HMS Curlew (9 Jan 1936 – Feb 1936): HMS Emerald (15 Jan 1937 – Apr 1939): Royal Naval College, Greenwich (1939): HMS Emerald (31 Jul 1939 – Apr 1940): HMS Malcolm (25 Jun 1940 – 12 Aug 1940): HMS Dorsetshire (8 Aug 1941 – 5 Apr 1942): Royal Naval College, Greenwich (5 May 1943 – Apr 1946 Augustus Agar was born in Kandy, Ceylon, on 4 January 1890. He was the thirteenth child of John Shelton Agar, an Irishman from County Kerry, who had left his native land in 1860 to become a successful tea planter in Ceylon. His mother, who was Austrian, died shortly after his birth, and at the age of eight he was sent with one of his brothers to school in England... His father died in 1902 of cholera which he had caught during a visit to China.

Augustus ("Gus") Agar attended Framlingham College in Suffolk, England. His oldest brother, Shelton, who was responsible, arranged that he should attend Eastman's Royal Naval Academy in Southsea in preparation for joining the Royal Navy.

From there he went on to the naval cadet school, HMS Britannia, at Dartmouth, England. The Britannia was a wooden man of war, obsolete when launched in 1860, and soon tied up and used as a stationary training ship.

Gus served at sea in a number of ships in the pre-war period, including: the battleships HMS Prince of Wales attached to the Mediterranean Fleet, and HMS Queen. .

During 1911, he served aboard a destroyer, HMS Ruby. He spent the next period on course at Portsmouth and studying at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 June 1912. Following on shore training Gus was assigned to small ships, his first being Torpedo Boat No. 23. In April 1913 he was sent to learn to fly. It was not entirely his metier, though he obtained his licence after enduring three crashes in the very primitive aircraft of the time. He joined the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Hibernia in September 1913, “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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First World War In 1915 it was decided to send Hibernia out to the Dardanelles to provide gunnery support to the Allied landings on the Gallipoli peninsula. She arrived in September 1915 at the Royal Navy base at Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos at the entrance to the straits leading to the Black Sea. The sheltered waters of the Aegean Sea and the straits enabled Hibernia to use all her guns and join the gun line of other old obsolete pre-dreadnoughts employed in firing at Turkish targets on Gallipoli and the nearby Asia Minor shore. She was hit once by a Turkish shell, but not seriously damaged.

Subsequent to the Allies evacuating Gallipoli Hibernia was stationed at Rosyth with others of her class to guard against raids on the British coast by German ships.

To counter attempts to interfere with Merchant shipping taking supplies to Murmansk and Archangel to support our Russian Allies HMS Iphigenia was sent as one of two Depot ships for a flotilla of drifters and trawlers assigned to mine clearance Gus became Executive officer for her.

“OPERATION KRONSTRADT” Gus was detached for special service in Coastal Motor Boats (CMBs) based on Osea Island in Essex.

(c) IWM .

CMB 4 was exhibited at the Motor Boat Exhibition at Olympia in 1920 and subsequently at the IWM/Crystal Palace T he first twelve 40-foot Coastal Motor Boats (CMBs) had been ordered by the Admiralty from J I Thornycroft's in January 1916, and by August were delivered. They were armed with one 18-inch torpedo and Lewis guns, and could make well over 30 knots. CMB 4 was one of this batch. CMB 4 had a most distinguished career. Initially she was based at Dunkirk, operating as part of the Dover Patrol, and taking part in raids on Ostend and Zeebrugge, including the famous Zeebrugge Raid of 23rd April, 1918. In 1919 CMB 4. She was, commanded by Lieutenant Augustus Agar and was used by him on Secret Service operations in the Baltic.

He undertook a mission in 1919 to bring a British Secret Agent, Sir Paul Duke out of Russia.

This developed into “Operation Kronstadt” which was so secret that details did not emerge into the public domain for another 90 years. He returned to his base at HMS Osea, a 600-acre island connected by a causeway to the Essex coast. He recruited six other men and they then made their way to Finland by Swedish merchant ship, posing as commercial travellers selling war surplus CMBs as pleasure craft. The machine guns and torpedo-firing gear went as engine spares.

Reaching the Baltic he established a secret base at Terrioki in Finland from which he landed and collected British secret agents operating in Bolshevik Russia using CMBs. Gus and his crews “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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dressed in civilian clothes, they had a uniform on board in case they were in danger of capture.

Without the uniform, they could be shot as spies. .

On 17 June 1919, he took a more aggressive course of action, mounting a torpedo attack on the Bolshevik cruiser Oleg in Kronstadt harbour. The cruiser was sunk and Agar brought his vessel CMB 4 safely back to base. Agar was awarded the VC for his part in this action though at the time it was not publicized but referred to as the “Mystery VC” to protect his identity should he fall into the hands of the Bolshevik Secret Police, the Cheka.

The Bolsheviks had seized much of the Russian fleet at Kronstadt, which was an island fortress with heavy fortifications and a sub-surface barrier just 3 feet below the surface, The CMBs had a draught of 2 feet 9 inches making attacks in the harbour a difficult proposition. Gus considered these vessels a menace to British operations so took it upon himself to attack them.

He set out to launch an attack on the cruiser Oleg in Kronstadt harbour. At 11pm on the night of June 17, 1919, Agar's six men in two CMBs set out to sink the cruiser, along with her crew of 565.

Cruiser Oleg Although there were other trips behind enemy lines the next significant one resulted in two VCs were awarded and Gus receiving the DSO. soon persuaded that a raid of seven CMBs into Kronstadt harbour itself could also succeed. at 1.40am on August 18, Agar and six other Royal Navy CMBs sped into the Soviet naval base and, at the cost of eight killed and nine captured, managed to either sink or damage the Soviet battle cruisers Petropavlovsk and Andrei Pervozvanni and the key submarine supply ship Pamiat Azova.

Two more VCs were awarded for this operation, and Agar got the DSO. Battle Cruiser Petropavlovsk

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Battle Cruiser Andrei Pervozvanni

Submarine Supply ship Pamiat Azova

CITATIONS His VC was gazetted on 22 August 1919.

“For sinking the Bolshevik cruiser Oleg on the night th of the 12 June 1918 in HM Coastal Motor Boat 4” His DSO for “for the attack on Kronstadt Harbour on the night of the 18TH August 1919, when in command of HM Coastal Motor Boat 7” MEDALS

(C) IWM (OMD 2409) VC (22 Aug 1919): DSO (11 Nov 1919): MID (8 Sep 1942): Cl&B (24 Jun 1947) Interestingly the after 1918 the RN version of the VC ceased to have a blue ribbon. Thus his VC has the purple ribbon used by the other Services.

WORLD WAR 2 Promoted captain in 1933, he commanded the cruiser HMS Dorsetshire, surviving its sinking

by Japanese dive bombers in the Indian Ocean in April 1942.

Earlier in the war the ship was involved in a number of actions including the hunt for the German Battleship Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer. Dorsetshire took part in the Bismarck's last battle; after the battleships HMS Rodney and King George V neutralised Bismarck's main battery early in the engagement, Dorsetshire and other warships—including her sister Norfolk—closed in to join the attack. In the final moments of the battle, she was ordered to move closer and torpedo Bismarck; she fired three torpedoes, two of which hit the crippled battleship

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In 1942, Dorsetshire was assigned to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. In March, Dorsetshire was assigned to Force A, under the command of Admiral James Somerville, and centred on the battleship Warspite and the carriers Indomitable and Formidable. Somerville received reports re of an impending Japanese attack in the Indian Ocean Ocean—the Indian Ocean raid—and and so he put his fleet to sea on 31 March. Having not encountered any hostile forces by 4 April, he withdrew to refuel.

Dorsetshire and her sister ship Cornwall were sent to C Colombo olombo to replenish their fuel.[28] The next day, she and Cornwall were spotted by reconnaissance aircraft from the heavy cruiser Tone. The two British cruisers were then attacked by a force of fiftyfifty three Aichi D3A Val dive bombers 320 km (200 mi) southwest st of Ceylon. In the span of about eight minutes, Dorsetshire was hit by ten 250 lb (110 kg) and 550 lb (250 kg) bombs and several near misses; she sank stern first at about 13:50. One of the bombs detonated one of her ammunition magazines and contributed to her rapid sinking. Cornwall was hit eight times and sank bow first about 10 minutes later. Between the two ships, 1,122 men out of a total of 1,546 were picked up by the cruiser Enterprise and the destroyers Paladin and Panther the next day.[ POST WAR On appointment as commodore in 1943, he was president of the RN College, Greenwich from 1943-46.

46. Agar contested Greenwich in the Conservative interest in the 1945 General Election. Agar retired in the rank of captain in 1947. He was a younger brother of Trinity House from 1936 and a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

COMMEMORATION Augustus died at Alton, Hampshire on 30 December 1968. He is buried at Alton Cemetery, Hampshire In Framlingham College Chapel is the wooden cross from Flowerdew's original grave gr in France and citations of the three men from Framlingham who were awarded the Victoria Cross: Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew, Major William Hewitt and Captain Augustus Agar.

He published a number of books including his autobiography 'Footprints in the Se Sea' a' (Evans, London 1959) as well as 'Showing the Flag' and 'Baltic Episode'.. CMB 4, (Ref: MAR 563) commanded by Agar during the action for which he received his VC is on display at IWM Duxford.

His grave and that of and his wife Ina.

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BENT, Spencer John VC, MM No. 8581, Drummer Spencer John Bent, 1st Battalion, served with the East Lancashire Regiment. He later achieved the rank of Regimental Sergeant-Major.

He was born on the 18 March 1891 at the Pickerel Inn, Station Yard, Stowmarket, Suffolk.

By the age of 10, he was an orphan: his father, who had served with the Royal Horse Artillery, was killed during the Boer War and his mother had died, too. He was largely brought up by his uncle and aunt. He was just 14 when he joined the Army in 1905 as a drummer in the 1st Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment. When he boxed at lightweight in Army championships, he was soon christened “Joe” – a corruption of “Chow” Bent, a well-known professional boxer at the time. The nickname stayed with him until his death, with only his closest family continuing to call him by his second Christian name of John WORLD WAR 1 After the outbreak of the Great War, Bent accompanied his regiment to France and saw action at the Battle of Le Cateau. However, it was for gallantry in the first Battle of Ypres, which started on October 19, that he was awarded his VC In an interview with his local paper, the Suffolk Chronicle and Mercury, shortly after the war, Bent recalled the incident: “After we had had breakfast, Private McNulty went out of the trench, and on returning was hit in the pit of the stomach. He fell, and the Germans were trying to hit him again; you could see the earth flying up all around him. I said, ‘Why doesn’t someone go and help him?’ and got the reply, ‘Why not go yourself?’ I went, and to make it difficult for the Germans to hit me, I zigzagged to him. They did not snipe at me whilst I was advancing, but as soon as I got hold of McNulty’s shoulder something seemed to take my feet from under me, and I slipped under McNulty. This took place close to the walls of a ruined convent, and just as I fell, several bullets struck the wall, sending a piece of plaster against my left eye. I thought I was wounded and started to rub the blood away, as I thought, but fortunately the skin was only grazed. I felt it was time to get out of it, and knowing it was impossible to stand up, I hooked my feet under McNulty’s arms, and using my elbows I managed to drag myself and him back to the trenches about 25 yards away. When

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I got him there safely, I went for a doctor and stretcher-bearers. As far as I know he is still alive. At any rate, [he] was the last time I heard of him.”

Days later, Bent was seriously injured, sustaining a gunshot wound to his leg. By then, he also had shrapnel injuries to both arms and hands, on top of his head wound. He was sent back to England, where he received several months of medical care, and only learnt he had been awarded the Victoria Cross when he read about it in a local paper. He was 23 years old, and a when the above deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. Bent was promoted to corporal and helped with the recruitment campaign for six months before being promoted again, to sergeant. On August 25, 1915, the London Gazette announced that Bent had been awarded the Cross of St George by Russia for gallantry and distinguished service Bent returned to France in the summer of 1916 and rejoined his old battalion on the Somme, remaining there until November when he again returned to England to convalesce, this time from rheumatic fever.

Bent had met a young lady on his previous visit to England named Alice Powell. They now took the opportunity to get married in Plymouth on January 16, 1917, when he was 26 and she was 22. But later the same month, Bent was back in France, this time as a volunteer with the 7th Battalion of his regiment. He took part in the assault on Messines Ridge After being promoted to company sergeant major, Bent fought at the third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, and then rejoined the 1st Battalion in time for the German Spring Offensive and the subsequent battles of summer and autumn 1918.

During fighting around the village of Sepmeries, this formidable soldier showed outstanding bravery for which he was awarded the Military Medal (MM), notably for leading two patrols that attacked the enemy on October 29, days before war’s end.

Following the end of hostilities, Bent returned home in May 1919, having served with distinction throughout the war. He remained in the Army until 1926, serving in the West Indies and Malta. Leaving with the rank of regimental sergeant major after 21 years’ service, Bent was still only 35 years old.

POST WAR After the war, they had three children. He worked as a school caretaker and a commissionaire, continuing part-time work until he was 85. He died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 86 in Hackney on May 3, 1977.

CITATION London Gazette citation: Lancashire Regiment.

No. 8581, Drummer Spencer John Bent, 1st Battalion, The East

“For conspicuous gallantry near Le Gheer, on the night of 1-2 Nov. 1914, when, after his officer, platoon sergeant and section commander had been struck down, he took command, and with great presence of mind and coolness succeeded in holding the position. Drummer Bent had previously “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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distinguished himself on two occasions, 22 and 24 Oct., by bringing up ammunition, under a heavy shell and rifle fire, and again on the 3rd Nov., when he brought into cover some wounded men who were lying exposed in the open. On the night of 1/2 November 1914 near Le Gheer, Belgium, when his officer, the platoon sergeant and a number of men had been struck down, Drummer Bent took command of the platoon and with great presence of mind and coolness succeeded in holding the position. He had previously distinguished himself on two occasions, on 22 and 24 October by bringing up ammunition under heavy shell and rifle fire. Again, on 3 November, he brought into cover some wounded men who were lying, exposed to enemy fire, in the open.”

POST WAR

He survived the war and died on 3 May 1977.

MEDALS VC Presented 13 January 1915 by King George V at Buckingham Palace. Bent's VC, along with his Military Medal and Russian Cross of St. George are on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London

Victoria Cross: Military Medal ( MM ): 1914 Star + clasp: "5th Aug-22nd Nov 1914": British War Medal (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19): Defence Medal ( 1939-45): King George VI Coronation Medal (1937): Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953): Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal: Cross of St George ( Russia ) COMMEMORATED He died at his home, Hackney, London and following cremation his ashes are scattered in rose bed 41

1. 2. Memorial plaque on wall, West Norwood Crematorium, South London Entry in Book of Remembrance, West Norwood Crematorium, Norwood Road, South London

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3.. A Plaque is on his former home, The Pickerel pub, Stowmarket, Suffolk

4. Named on Regimental Victoria Cross plaque, Blackburn Cathedral, Lancashi Lancashire..

5. Where he was cremated at West Norwood Cemetery, London.

4. Bent 5.

In the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross will be remembered with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they w were ere born

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BORTON, Arthur VC CMG DSO Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Drummond B BORTON VC, CMG, DSO served with the 2nd/22nd Battalion The London Regiment (The Queen's) Born at Cheveney, Kent, on 1st July 1883, Arthur Drummond Borton was educated at Eton and The Royal Military College Sandhurst, before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the 60th Rifles with whom he served for the last few months of the Boer War He was involved in operations in the Transvaal receiving the Queen’s medal with 3 clasps. On 9th May 1906 Arthur was promoted to Lieutenant but two yearss later was invalided from the Army unfit for further active service. Arthur hur returned to England in 1910. Arthur migrated to the USA where he tried his hand at fruit farming. .

At the outbreak of war he re-joined joined in 1914 and after service with The King’s Royal Rifles he became an observer with The Royal Flying Corps in France where he broke his neck in three places and was declared unfit.

Despite this Arthur then obtained a commiss commission ion in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve! He was immediately sent to Gallipoli as a Lieutenant Commander where he commanded two squadrons of Motor Machine Gun Armoured Cars (Royal Naval Air Service). Arthur took part in the Suvla Bay landings of 7th August 1915. It was at this stage in his military career that Arthur won his DSO. CITATION FOR DSO Distinguished Service Order (DSO)

London Gazette 31st May 1916

“In recognition of most valu valuable ble services whilst in command of a detachment of Royal Marine Motor Machine chine Guns in difficult and dangerous parts of the line on the Gallipoli Peninsular”.

Penins Arthur remained in Gallipoli until January 1916 - he was one of the last to be evacuated to Egypt (via Mudros) WESTERN FRONT In June 1916 Lieutenant Commander Arthur Drum Drummond mond Borton DSO, RNVR somehow managed to obtain a commission in the army once more . Arthur was promoted Major and was “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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appointed second in command of the 2/22nd London Regiment. In July 1916 1916. Arthur thur was in France with his battalion. In November 1916 his ba battalion ttalion was sent to Salonika (Greece). Arthur served continuously at the front and was eventually given command of the battalion.

SALONIKA and MIDDLE EAST In June 1917 Arthur and his battalion left Salonika for Egypt. Upon arriving in Egypt the 2/22nd London’s don’s were rested for a short while before moving to the Palestine theatre (where Arthur was to win the VC).. At Tel-el-Sheria Sheria on 7th November 1917, he led his attacking companies against a strongly held enemy position.

November 1917 at Tel el Sheria Date of Act of Bravery 7th Novembe CITATION

London Gazette of the 18th December 1917

His Citation reads:- “For For most conspicuous bravery and leadership. Under most difficult circumstances in darkness and in unknown country, he deployed his battalion for attack and at a dawn led his attacking companies against a strongly held position. When leading waves were checked by a withering machine-gun gun fire, Lieutenant Colonel Borton showed utter contempt for danger and moved freely up and down his lines under heavy fire.

Reorganizing nizing his command, he led his men forward and captured the position. At a later stage of the fight, he led a party of volunteers against a battery of field guns in action at point blank range, capturing the guns and the detachments. His fearless leadership leadershi was an inspiring example to the whole brigade”. brigad

Sheria 7th November Oil painting of the Battle at Tel-el-Sheria 1917

Medals He was decorated with his Victoria Cross and DSO by HM King George V at Buckingham Palace on 23rd February 1918 and later served in the North Russian Campaign of 1919. He was one of the pall bearers at the Burial of the Unknown Warrior on 11th November 1920. His death occurred on 5th January 1933 at Southwold, Suffolk.

His Victoria Cross is in the Regimental museum at Clandon.

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Victoria Cross: Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order: Queen’s Medal SA 3 CLASPS for DEFENCE OF LADYSMITH: RELIEF OF LADYSMITH & SOUTH AFRICA 1899 1899-1902:1914-15 15 Star: British War Medal (1914-20): (1914 Victory Medal (1914-19):: 19):: Order of the Nile, Order of St. Vladimir (Russia) POST WAR arried Lorna Lockhart in 1915 and post war they He married settled down in Southwold though at some stage she appears to have moved to Cyprus.

He found it difficult to settle post st war.

This was their cottage at 3 Park Lane Southwold Suffolk and died there 5 January 1933 at Southwold.

COMMEMORATION Mrs Lorna Borton. (Wife of Col Arthur Drummond Borton. VC). She was buried on the 23 23-Mar-53. H. 89 and is buried at Saint Andrew’s in the Old British Cemetery at Kyrenia in Cyprus.

On 9th January 1933 Arthur’s body was returned to Cheveney in Kent for burial in the Hunton parish burial ground. The army provided a guard of honour from 2nd London Regiment who also supplied 2 buglers to sound und Reveille and the Last Post. Arthur’s coffin was draped in the Union flag and then placed in the grave. His headstone read – Arthur Drummond Borton VC, CMG, DSO Lieutenant Colonel 60th Rifles2/22nd London Regiment (The Queen’s) Quee Son of the late Colonel A.D Borton DL, JP of Cheveney, Yalding, Ken

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CASTLETON, Claud Charles VC Sergeant in the 5th Machine Gun Company, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division of the AIF

Claud Charles Castleton (1893-1916), soldier, was born on 12 April 1893 at Kirkley, Suffolk, England, son of Thomas Charles Castleton, bricklayer, and his wife Edith Lucy, née Payne. He was educated at Lowestoft municipal secondary school and worked as a pupil-teacher in the local council school before migrating to Australia at the age of 19. He reached Melbourne in the autumn of 1912, then travelled through the eastern States and on to New Guinea. According to his father, his interest in nature and geography led to his migration and his journeys after arrival.

WORLD WAR1 When World War I broke out Castleton was in Port Moresby and, on offering his services to the Papuan administration, worked with native troops preparing for coastal defence; he also helped to man the Moresby wireless station. On 11 March 1915 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Sydney, stating his occupation as prospector. He was posted to the 18th Battalion and sailed for Egypt in June. His unit, which was to serve with the 2nd Brigade until the evacuation, reached Gallipoli on 6 August and on the 22nd took part in the attack on Hill 60. Castleton was promoted corporal on 7 December and temporary sergeant in February 1916. On 8 March, soon after his arrival in France, he was transferred to the 5th Australian Machine-Gun Company and was confirmed in his rank. He served on the Somme with this unit and on the night of 28 July took part in an attack on enemy trenches at Pozières Heights. The Australian advance was stopped by machine-gun fire and shelling, and for three hours troops lay out in No Man's Land under withering fire. Castleton twice brought back wounded men but, while bringing in a third, was hit in the back and killed instantly Desolation on the crest of the Pozieres Ridge at the eastern end of the village. The picture is taken from the AlbertBapaume road looking north towards a mound which is all that remains of Pozieres windmill, captured by the 2nd Australian Division on 3 August 1916.© IWM (E(AUS) 15)

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Battle of Pozieres Ridge. The site of Pozieres, August 1916. © IWM (Q 4078)

Battle of Pozieres Ridge 23 July - 3 September, 1916: A captured German pill box nicknamed 'Gibraltar' in the ruins of Pozieres.© IWM (Q 1089)

Battle of Pozieres Ridge 23 July - 3 September, 1916: The badly shelled main road to Bapaume through Pozieres, showing a communication trench and broken trees. © IWM (Q 1086 MEDAIS

Victoria Cross: 1914-15 Star: British War Medal (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19):: Castleton's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Australian War Memorial (Canberra, Australia).

CITATION An extract from "The London Gazette", No. 29765, dated, 26th Sept., 1916, records the following:"For most conspicuous bravery. During an attack on the enemy's trenches the infantry was temporarily driven back by the intense machine gun fire opened by the enemy. Many wounded were left in "No Man's Land" lying in shell holes. Serjeant Castleton went out twice in face of this intense fire and each time brought in a wounded man on his back. He went out a third time and was bringing “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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in anotherr wounded man when he was himself hit in the back and killed instantly. He set a splendid example of courage and self-sacrifice sacrifice COMMEMORATION Castleton is buried at Pozieres British Military Cemetery, Somme, France. 3 miles NE of Albert (Plot IV, Row L, Grave ave 43).

Castleton Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Gowrie was named in his honour. There is a brass plaque to him at the former South Cliff Congregational Church, now St Nicholas's Catholic Church, in south Lowestoft

Memorial of the 2nd Australian Division at Pozieres, 27 August 1918. © IWM (Q 8206) In the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross will be remembered with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they were born

His gravestone

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CRISP, Thomas VC, DSC, RNR He was the skipper of the armed trawler HMS Nelson.

EARLY LIFE Thomas Crisp was born into a family of shipwrights and fishermen in Lowestoft, one of ten children to William and Mary Anne Crisp. Although his father was the owner of a successful boatbuilding firm and thus could afford an education for his children, Leaving school, Thomas took to the sea, spending several years as a herring fisherman before joining a fishing trawler out of Lowestoft. He turned out to be a natural sailor and moved on from fishing in the North Sea joining the Atlantic steamship SS Mobile, becoming her quartermaster and making several trans–Atlantic voyages.

In 1895, aged 19, he met and married Harriet Elizabeth Alp and settled with her in Burgh St. Peter near Lowestoft, where they had two sons and a daughter, including Thomas Crisp Jr., who would be with his father on the day he won the Victoria Cross. Establishing himself as a fisherman, Thomas Sr. soon achieved his mate and then skipper qualifications, entitling him to captain a fishing vessel sailing from the port. In 1902 he was taken on

by Chambers, one of the largest boat owning families in Lowestoft, to crew and then captain their ketch George Borrow, in which he remained for thirteen years. In 1907 the family moved to Lowestoft while Crisp continued his work at sea, proving one of the most popular fishing captains in Lowestoft and joined on his ketch by his son in 1913.

OUT BREAK OF WAR 1914 When the First World War was declared in July 1914, Crisp was at sea. Unaware of the outbreak of war, he remained in the North Sea for several days, and was surprised on his return to learn that enemy submarines were expected off the port at any moment. When this threat failed to materialise, Thomas Crisp returned to fishing, considered too old for military service and in an occupation vital to Britain's food supplies. In late September, the George Borrow passed the HMS Aboukir, HMS Hogue and HMS Cressy just hours before they were all sunk with over a thousand lives “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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by German U-boat U-9. Tom Crisp Jr. later wrote of finding bodies in their fishing nets for weeks afterwards.

1915 In the spring of 1915, Tom Crisp Jr. left the vessel to join the Royal Navy. A few weeks later the U– boat threat expected so many months before arrived, as submarines surfaced amongst the undefended fishing fleets and used dynamite to destroy dozens of them after releasing the crews in small boats. This offensive was part of a wider German strategy to denude Britain of food supplies and took a heavy toll on the fishing fleets of the North Sea. George Borrow was among the victims, sunk in August, although it is not known if Crisp was aboard at the time. While temporarily working in a net factory following the loss of his vessel, he was scouted by a Navy officer recruiting experienced local fishing captains to command a flotilla of tiny fishing vessels, which were to be secretly armed. The boats were intended to be working fishing vessels fitted with a small artillery piece with which to sink enemy submarines as they surfaced alongside. In this manner it was hoped they would protect the fishing fleets without the diversion of major resources from the regular fleet, in the same manner as Q-ships deployed in the commercial sea lanes.

A postcard picture of the Scottish Herring Drifter HMS “I’LL TRY” 1916-17 Crisp joined the Royal Navy progressed by the summer of 1916 to being a Skipper in the Royal Naval Reserve the HM Armed Smack “I'll Try”, armed with a 3–pounder gun. His son, Tom Junior joined her as well.

On 1 February 1917 in the North Sea, “I'll Try“ had its first encounter with the enemy when two submarines surfaced close to the smack and her companion the larger “Boy Alfred.” Despite near misses from enemy torpedoes, both smacks scored hits on their larger opponents. Post–war German records show that no submarines were lost on that date. Both skippers were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and a present of £200 for this action, and Crisp was offered a promotion and transfer to an ocean–going Q–ship. He was forced to turn down this offer due to his wife's sudden and terminal illness. She died in June 1917.

In July, “I'll Try” was renamed “Nelson” and “Boy Alfred “became Ethel & Millie”, in an effort to maintain their cover. The boats continued to operate together and Crisp's crew was augmented with two regular seamen and a Royal Marine rifleman, providing the Nelson with a crew of ten, “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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including Crisp and his son. The smacks set out as usual on 15 August and pulled in a catch during the morning before making a sweep near the Jim Howe Bank in search of cruising enemies. At 2.30 pm, Crisp spotted a German U-boat on the surface 6,000 yards (5,500 m) away. The U-boat also sighted the smack and both vessels began firing at once, the U-boat's weapon scoring several hits before Nelson's could be brought to bear. By this stage in the war, German submarine captains were aware of the decoy ship tactics and no longer stopped British merchant shipping, preferring to sink them from a distance with gunfire.

With such a heavy disparity in armament between the smack's 3 pounder and the submarine's 88 mm deck gun the engagement was short lived, the submarine firing eight shots before the Nelson could get within range of her opponent. The fourth shot fired by the U-boat holed the smack, and the seventh tore off both of Crisp's legs from underneath him. Calling for the confidential papers to be thrown overboard, Crisp dictated a message to be sent by the boat's four carrier pigeons: like many small ships of the era, the Nelson did not possess a radio set.

"Nelson being attacked by submarine. Skipper killed. Jim Howe Bank. Send assistance at once."

The sinking smack was abandoned by the nine unwounded crew, who attempted to remove their captain, who ordered that he should be thrown overboard rather than slow them down. The crew refused to do so, but found they were unable to move him and left him where he lay. He died in his son's arms a few minutes later. It is said that he was smiling as he died and remained so as the ship sank underneath him. The Ethel & Millie had just arrived on the scene as the Nelson sank, and her captain Skipper Charles Manning called for Nelson's lifeboat to come alongside. Realising that this would greatly overcrowd the second boat, the survivors refused and Manning sailed onwards towards the submarine, coming under lethal fire as he did so. His vessel was soon badly damaged and began to sink.

The crew of the “Ethel & Millie” then abandoned their battered boat and were hauled aboard the German submarine, where the “Nelson” survivors last saw them standing in line being addressed by a German officer. The seven British sailors of the “Ethel & Millie” were never seen again.

The survivors of the “Nelson” drifted for nearly two days until they arrived at the Jim Howe Buoy, where they were rescued by the fishery protection vessel Dryad. A pigeon named "Red Cock" had reached the authorities in Lowestoft with news of the fate of the boats and caused the Dryad to be despatched to search for survivors. Following their rescue, the whole of Nelson's crew were extensively debriefed following medical treatment for exposure and minor injuries.

A court of enquiry praised the surviving crew and their dead captain and authorised the award of the Victoria Cross posthumously to Thomas Crisp and Distinguished Service Medals to his son and another member of the crew. On 29 October 1917, David Lloyd “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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George made an emotional speech in the House of Commons citing Crisp's sacrifice as representative of the Royal Navy's commitment "from the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean to the stormy floods of Magellan", which promoted Crisp into an overnight celebrity whose story ran in all the major London papers for nearly a week, containing as it did a story of personal sacrifice, filial devotion and perceived German barbarity. The medal presentation was made to Tom Crisp Jr. at Buckingham Palace on 19 December 1917, shortly before he was promoted to Skipper in his own rig MEDALS

Victoria Cross: Distinguished Service Cross: British War Medal (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19): CITATION The posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Skipper Thomas Crisp, D.S.C., R.N.R., 10055 D.A., was announced in London Gazette No. 30363, dated the 2nd November, 1917. The citation was given in:- The London Gazette 20 November 1918 with a fuller account following after the Armistice.

“From the Admiralty With reference to announcements of the award of the Victoria Cross to naval officers and men for services in action with enemy submarines, the following (is the account of the action for which this award was made).

Action of H.M. Armed Smack Nelson on the 15th August, 1917. “On the 15th August, 1917, the Smack Nelson was engaged in fishing when she was attacked by gunfire from an enemy submarine. The gear was let go and the submarine's fire was returned. The submarine's fourth shot went through the port bow just below the waterline, and the seventh shell struck the skipper, Thomas Crisp, partially disembowelling him, and passed through the deck and out through the side of the ship. In spite of the terrible nature of his wound Skipper Crisp retained consciousness, and his first thought was to send off a message that he was being attacked and giving his position. He continued to command his ship until the ammunition was almost exhausted and the smack was sinking. He refused to be moved into the small boat when the rest of the crew were obliged to abandon the vessel as she sank, his last request being that he might be thrown overboard. “ COMMEMORATED He is commemorated on CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL, Kent. Panel 26.

Lowestoft War Memorial to the 716 Lowestoft men (out of a population of about 40,000) who died during World War One is on the Royal Plain between the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club, the East Point Pavilion and the South Pier. It was dedicated 'To the Glorious Memory of our Honoured Dead' and was unveiled by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester Wemyss on 11th August 1921.

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In the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross will be remembered with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they were born

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DAY, Sidney James VC No 15092 Corporal Sidney James Day, 11th (Service) Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment having previously enlisted in the 9th Sussex Regiment. On recovery from severe wounds, he returned to duty as a corporal with the 11th Battalion (Cambridge Suffolks), The Suffolk Regiment Sidney James Day VC (3 July 1891 – 17 July 1959) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

He was born on the 3rd July 1891 at St. Anne’s Lane, King Street, in the Conesford District of Norwich on 3 July 1891, youngest of nine boys and one girl: the family

WORLD WAR 1 At the outbreak of war Day originally enlisted in the 9th Sussex Regiment. 9th (Service) Battalion The 9th were a Kitchener Battalion formed at Chichester in September 1914 as part of K3 and came under command of 73rd Brigade in 24th Division. The Battalion moved to South Downs and went into billets in Portslade in December 1914. It moved to Shoreham in April 1915 and on to Woking in June.

It landed at Boulogne 1 September 1915. However, after being seriously wounded in four places during the Battle of the Somme, he was invalided back to England, spending several months in hospital near his home. Upon discharge, he returned to duty as a corporal with the 11th Battalion (Cambridge Suffolks), The Suffolk Regiment.

The action for which he received the VC was at Malakhoff Farm, Hargicourt on the 24th August 1917.

CITATION London Gazette 17 October 1917

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He was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery, on 26 August 1917.

“Corporal Day successfully commanded a bombing section detailed to clear enemy trenches, killing two and taking four prisoners. Where the trench was levelled, he went on alone to contact flanking troops. On his return, a stick-bomb fell into the trench where there were five wounded. He seized the bomb and threw it out, where it exploded harmlessly, saving the lives of the wounded. He completed the clearing of the trench and remained in an advanced position for sixty-four hours under constant fire. His conduct throughout was an inspiration to all” MEDALS

Victoria Cross: 1914-15 Star: British War Medal (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19)

Day being presented with his VC

POST WAR Although employed as a butcher in pre-war civilian life, from 1932 Sidney Day is known to have run his own Tea Rooms called the "Sidney James VC Tea Rooms" at 12 The Arcade, Landport which was off Edinburgh Road. The tearooms were opposite the Arcade Picture House. The building was lost to the bombing on January 10th, 1941. After that Day became a messenger in Portsmouth Dockyard but had to retire in 1948 because he developed TB. He was living at 182 Kirby Road, North End at the time but by 1956 he was living in a prefab at 37 Penhale Road, Landport. A year later records show him living at 18 Fraser Road, Bedhampton and from there he was taken to Queen Alexandra's Hospital where he died on 17th July 1959. His wife, Doris, survived him, living until 1982 when on 18th June she died, also in Queen Alexandra Hospital, aged 76. At the time of her death she was living at 43 Thrush Walk, Wecock Farm. She was buried in the same grave as her husband in Milton Cemetery.

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He died in Queen Alexandra's Hospital on 17 Jul July 1959 and is buried in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth. Location of Grave: Plot R. Row 11: Grave 6. His head stone is shown above.

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DOUGHTY – WYLIE, Charles Hotham Montagu VC, CB, CMG Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hotham Montagu Doughty-Wylie VC CB CMG (23 July 1868 – 26 April 1915) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Doughty-Wylie was also posthumously awarded the Order of the Medjidie from the very Ottoman Government he fought against.

He was born the elder son of Henry Montagu Doughty-JP of Theberton Hall Suffolk. Doughty was educated at Winchester and was an 1889 graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

HIS PREWAR MILITARY CAREER He graduated from Sandhurst 1888 – 1889. He was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers on the 21 September 1889 and promoted Lieutenant 23 September 1891.He was promoted to Captain 9th September 1896.

1891 BLACK MOUNTAIN EXPEDITION The Black Mountain Expedition referred to a campaign in an area on the banks of the Indus River in the Hindu Kush Mountains. The combatants were the British and Indian troops against the Hassanzai and Akazai tribes of Pathans.

He was severely wounded. He received the India General Service Medal with the clasp HAZARA

No.2 Dejarat Mountain Battery shelling Diliari village on 23rd March 1891 in support of 4th Sikh Infantry, Black Mountain Expedition 1891

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1895 CHITRAL RELIEF FORCE - 3rd March to 20th April 1895.

Chitral now lies in Northern Pakistan. Contestants in the he Siege and Relief of Chitral were the British Army, Indian Army, Kashmir Imperial Service Troops and levies from Hunza and Nagar against Chitralis, lis, Jandolis, Afghans and Pathan tribes from the area to the North of the Kabul River He served as Transport Officer on the Staff of General Gatacre. He received a clasp to his Indian General Service medal “RELIEF RELIEF OF CHITRAL 1895” the Chitral Fort NILE EXPEDITION 1898- 1899 He served with the Egyptian Army 22nd May 1898 to 1st March 1898. He was the Brigade Major of the INFANTRY Brigade Flying Column. He took part in the Battle of Khartoum and the operations resulting in the defeat of the Khalifah. He e was twice mentioned in despatches (LONDON Gazette 30 September 1898 & 30 January 1900). He received the Sudan Medal, the Egyptian Medal with 3 clasps and the Order er of the Med Medidjie.

Battle of Omdurman - Kitchener's Victory: Concerned about the Kitchener' Kitchener'ss advance, the leader of the Mahdist army, Abdullah alal Taashi sent 14,000 men to attack the British near Atara. On April 7, 1898, they were badly defeated and suffered 3,000 dead. As Kitchener prepared for the push to Khartoum, Abdullah raised a force of 52,000 to block the Anglo-Egyptian Egyptian advance. Armed with a mix of spears and antique firearms they mustered near the Mahdist capital of Omdurman. On September 1, British gunboats appeared in the river off Omdurman and shelled the city. This was followed by th the e arrival of Kitchener's army in the nearby village of Egeiga.

Forming a perimeter around the village, with the river at their back, Kitchener's men waited for the arrival of the Mahdist army. Around dawn on September 2, Abdullah attacked the AngloAnglo Egyptian n position with 15,000 men while a second Mahdist force continued moving north. Equipped with the latest European rifles, Maxim machine guns, and artillery, Kitchener's men mowed down the attacking Mahdist dervishes (infantry). With the attack defeated, th the e 21st Lancers were ordered to reconnoitre in force towards Omdurman. Moving out, they met a group of 700 Hadenoa tribesmen.

Switching to the attack, they were soon cconfronted by 2,500 dervishes who had been hiding in a dry streambed. Charging through the enemy, they fought a bitter battle before

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rejoining the main army.

Around 9:15, believing the battle won, Kitchener ordered his men to begin advancing on Omdurman. This movement exposed his right flank to a Mahdist force that was lurking to west. Shortly after beginning their march, three Sudanese and one Egyptian battalion came under fire from this force. Compounding the situation was the arrival of 20,000 men under Osman Shiekh El Din which had moved north earlier in the battle. Shiekh El Din's men soon began attacking the Sudanese brigade of Colonel Hector MacDonald.

While the threatened units made a stand and poured disciplined fire into the approaching enemy, Kitchener began wheeling the rest of the army around to join the fight. As at Egeiga, modern weaponry triumphed and the dervishes were shot down in alarming numbers. By 11:30, Abdullah gave up the battle as lost and fled the field. With the Mahdist army destroyed, the march to Omdurman and Khartoum was resumed.

BOER WAR 1899 – 1900 The Boer War was fought between Great Britain and the two Afrikaner (Boer) republics: Transvaal and Orange Free State. The war began on Oct. 11, 1899, following a Boer ultimatum directed against the reinforcement of the British garrison in South Africa. The crisis was caused by the refusal of the Transvaal, under President Paul Kruger, to grant political rights to the primarily English population of the mining areas of the Witwatersrand, and the aggressive attitudes of Alfred Milner (the British high commissioner) and Joseph Chamberlain (the British Colonial Secretary).

Doughty - Wylie commanded a battalion of Mounted Infantry taking part in operations in the Orange Free State May till 29th November 1900 including Wittebergen between 1st and 29th July. He was severely wounded at Fredefort. He received the Queen’s Medal with 3 clasps.

The Wittebergen Range is horse shoe shaped, the 'shoe' having a circumference of about 70 miles with a 40-mile base, formed by the Caledon River, separating the Free State from Basutoland.

The British tried to confine the Boers in this area. Facing the Boers in this encircling movement, General Sir Archibald Hunter and General Sir Hector Macdonald joined forces after the former had crossed the Vaal with 7 728 men, 3 942 horses and 32 guns (including Bruce Hamilton's 21st Brigade, the 76th, 81st and 82nd Field Batteries, 'P', 'Q', and 'R' Batteries R.H.A., half-a-dozen pom-poms and two of Massie's 5-inch guns). On uniting, the two forces totalled 11 736 men, 5 743 horses, and 38 guns, eventually increasing to about 19 battalions totalling 14 000 men The surrounded Boers, with 18 guns totalled about 6 000.

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Preliminary moves included threatening sallies by the Boers from the various neks or passes through the horseshoe of the Wittebergen, while the British tried to anticipate through which nek the Boer forces would concentrate their attempts to break out. Due to Paget's failure to seal Slabbert's Nek, a Boer commando under De Wet escaped during the night of July 15th. The nek was then sealed, but too late, and De Wet continued to harass the British whenever he could.

General Sir Bruce Hamilton, with the Camerons, Mounted Infantry and the 82nd Battery, was detailed to take Spitzkranz, a strongly-defended hill about 12 miles from Bethlehem en route to the main objective, Naauwpoort Nek. The square mile of hill, with its main peaks to east and west, was attacked from the latter direction, the western summit falling on the first day. The Boers had prepared a better position at the eastern end, and artillery hammering was required before the position fell to the Camerons on the 21st, the defending Boers falling back to the south for about five miles and occupying Little Spitzkop Hill.

The following day orders were issued for a four-point attack on Retief's Nek, Slabbert's Nek, Commando Nek and Witnek, the first two falling within a couple of days. On the 26th, Macdonald organised a three-pronged attack, to close and capture Naauwpoort Nek. Bainbridge was to come in on the left of Bruce Hamilton with the 7th M.I. Corps and Lovat's Scouts, while Hamilton was to move with the Black Watch, Highland Light Infantry and the 5th Battery over to Little Spitzkop. Macdonald himself was to take the Naude' Koppie with a half company of Lovat's Scouts, Camerons, Seaforths, Burma Mounted Infantry, two 5-inch guns and the 82nd Battery. The koppie was taken by noon and further progress sealed the Nek, the only exit now remaining being the Golden Gate.

Bruce Hamilton's force of the Camerons, 7th Mounted Infantry, one 5-inch gun, four guns of the 82nd Battery (two guns remained to guard Naude's Koppie), proceeded to seal the remaining exit, Golden Gate through which the Boers from Naauwpoort Nek were attempting to escape. The Boer position was now almost hopeless and, coupled with some disorganisation of their command structure within the Basin, resulted in the surrender of some Boers Although a further escape from the Golden Gate was made on the 30th, hostilities at Wittebergen ceased on the 31st with the surrender of Boer Commandants Joubert, Potgieter and Du Plooy.

BOXER REBELLION 1900 The Boxer Movement, or Boxer Rebellion, was a Chinese uprising from November 1899 to September 7, 1901, against foreign influence in areas such as trade, politics, religion and technology that occurred in China during the final years of the Manchu rule (Qing Dynasty).

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Parade following the relief of Peking

The members of the Chinese Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists were simply called boxers by the Westerners due to the martial arts and calisthenics they practiced. It began as an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, peasantbased movement that attacked foreigners who were building railroads and violating Feng shui.

Christians who they felt were responsible for foreign domination of China were also targeted. In June 1900, the Boxers invaded Beijing and killed 230 non-Chinese. Before it ended, tens of thousands of Chinese Christians, Catholic and Protestants were killed, mostly in the Shandong and Shanxi provinces.

The government of Empress Dowager Cixi gave her support to the boxers causing foreign diplomats, civilians, soldiers and even some Chinese Christians to retreat to the legation quarter.

They held out against the boxers for 55 days until a multinational coalition rushed 20,000 troops to their rescue. The Chinese government was forced to indemnify the victims and make many additional concessions.

SOMALIA He served as a Special Service Officer between 14th January 1903 and June 1904 with the Somalia Field Force. The Somaliland Campaign was a series of military expeditions that took place between 1900 and 1920 in the Horn of Africa, between the Dervishes led by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan against the British.

Postcard of the SOMALIA Camel Corps.

In 1901, the British joined with the Ethiopians and attacked the Dervishes with a force 17,000 strong. Hassan was driven across the border into the Majeerteen Sultanate, which had been incorporated into the Italian protectorate. The Ethiopians failed to get a hold on the western Ogaden and the British were eventually forced to retreat, having accomplished none of their goals. In this campaign, "borders were ignored by both British and Somali

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Between February and June 1903 a British expedition ended in failure soon after. Hassan defeated a British detachment near Gumburru and then another near Daratoleh. With 1,200–1,500 rifles, 4,000 ponies and some spearmen, he occupied the Nugal Valley from Halin in the British protectorate to Ilig (or Illig) on the Italian-held coast. The main British force near Galad (Galadi) under General William Manning retreated north along the line Bohotleh–Burao–Sheekh. This "oldestablished line" had already been breached by Hassan when he invaded the Nugal.[17] By the end of June, the withdrawal was complete.

After the failure of General Manning's offensive, General Charles Egerton was entrusted with a response. Following extensive preparations, he united his field force at Bacaadweeyn (Badwein) on 9 January 1904 and defeated Hassan at Jibdalli the next day. The British and their allies from Hobyo harassed Hassan along his retreat, and he lost many of his camels and livestock throughout February.

In early March, the second phase of operations began. The Ethiopians advanced as far as Gerlogubi, but turned back in early April. The action then involved naval bombardments by the Italian and some ships from the British East Indian Station and the landing of troops and the advance overland of other troops. This resulted in the capture of Ilig was effected on 21 April, the British losing 3 men killed and 11 wounded, and the Dervishes 58 killed and 14 wounded.

The naval detachment which had fought the battle remained ashore for four days, assisted by an Italian naval detachment that arrived on 22 April. Control of Ilig was finally relinquished to Ali Yusuf of Hobyo..

He received the African General Service Medal with the clasp “Somalia 1902” MARRIAGE

1ST June 1904 Lilian Oimara the widow of Charles Henry Adams – Wylie a Lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service. He changed his surname by deed – poll to Doughty – Wylie.

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ASIA MINOR Colonel Doughty-Wylie was the Acting British Vice-Consul in Mersina and Konia IN Asia in Minor from 26th September 1906 to 3rd December 1909. During his tenure the massacre of the Armenians at Adana by the Turks. Of his services at this time a correspondent wrote: “ On his own responsibility he assumed practical command of the city of Ardana and by his courage and capacity saved the lives of hundreds- indeed it was believed by those best able to judge thousands of many Nationalities (there were 22,000 Armenians). Wearing his Military uniform through the town with a half company of Turkish troops compelling the raging mobs to stop the killing, and posting guards over particular houses. His right arm was broken by a bullet but this did not prevent him riding out again during the 2nd and worst outbreak of massacre to save more hundreds of lives” The then British at the Porte, Sir Gerrard Lowther afforded him a generous need of support and encouragement. Major Doughty-Wylie’s services were recognized by the award of the C.M.G. He also received the warm thanks of many foreign Governments and public bodies. He afterwards organized a system of relief of the destitute (some 22,000 persons exclusive of refugees in his own house plus 3 hospitals managed by his wife Mrs Doughty –Wylie.

1907 He was promoted to Major o the 21st August 1907. This was followed by his appointment on the 4 December 1909 to be Consul at Adis Ababa in Ethiopia where he rendered important services acting as Charge d’Affaires for considerable periods. th

Whilst on leave in England in 1912 he was appointed Director-in- Chief of the Red Cross Units operating with the Turkish Forces in the Balkans War. From 20th August to 21st December he was the British Representative and subsequently President on the International Commission for the definition of the border of the Southern Frontier of Albania. For his services he was made a Companion of the Bath and the 2nd class of the Medjidie from the Sultan. While he was the Commission he was promoted to temporary Lieutenant Colonel in 1913.

Gallipoli In 1915 Doughty-Wylie was 46 years old, and a lieutenant colonel in The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, British Army when, "owing to his great knowledge of things Turkish" according to BellDavies, he was attached to General Sir Ian Hamilton's headquarters staff of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Battle of Gallipoli. Whilst he should have been on HMS Queen he asked special permission to land with River Clyde.

The following is a description of conditions on V beach at the South of the peninsular when he landed at Gallipoli:At dawn, on 25 April 1915, the invading force landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The main forces to land at V Beach were conveyed in the River Clyde, a converted steam collier, and a fleet sweeper. The River Clyde transported 1 Munster Fusiliers; 2 Hampshire Regiment (less two companies); 1 Coy, 1 Royal Dublin Fusiliers; GHQ Signals Section; Field Coy Royal Engineers; and one platoon of the Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division. It was planned to bridge the intervening water space with a motor hopper, the Argyle, supported if “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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necessary by dumb lighters. With regard to the disembarkation of the troops, four sally ports had been cut in the River Clyde, two on each side at lower deck level, where the men would be waiting.

The sally ports opened onto a gangway, three planks wide, which led forward to the bows where there was a hinged extension onto the Argyle which, in turn, had a brow, or gangway, of her own to connect with the shore. The Argyle was to be towed from a gantry on the port side of the River Clyde with a lighter inboard of the latter. A second lighter was to be towed from the starboard side of the River Clyde and others, plus some boats, from aft.

A covering force was to be landed ahead of the River Clyde contingent from two fast sweepers, the Clacton and Newmarket (railway packets, ex-Great Eastern Railway).

This covering force consisted of approximately 500 men, comprising: 1 Royal Dublin Fusiliers, commanded by Lt Col R.A. Rooth; one platoon of the Anson Battalion, RND; and a second platoon of the RND serving as a naval beach party. The covering force was to be disembarked in six tows of boats and were scheduled to land at 05h30, after half-an-hour’s bombardment from Albion. The men from the River Clyde were to follow at 06h30. Along the 274 m of beach were well sited entrenchments and dense entanglements of barbed wire. The appreciation of the General Staffs stated that these defences could be demolished by the same bombardment from Albion that was to cope with the defences of W Beach The covering force did not precede the main contingent, as was intended, but landed almost simultaneously, due to the problems attached to navigating the River Clyde whilst towing the motor hopper Argyle, in addition to the various lighters and boats. From the outset, before the first troops could disembark, the plan seriously miscarried. The Argyle sheered to port and grounded broadside onto the beach. Thus, the distance between ship and shore was left un-bridged. At 06h00, after the cessation of the hour’s barrage that was assumed would silence the Turkish defences of V and W Beaches, the River Clyde, her 2 000 men ready to run down the gangways and across the bridge of boats, was ordered forward. An officer aboard wrote confidently: ‘0622 hours. Ran smoothly ashore, no opposition. We shall land unopposed.’ Indeed, the shelling had been followed by an uncanny silence. It was assumed that all the Turks were dead, according to plan. The assumption was mistaken. As was the case at W Beach, the Turks had retired during the barrage, and crept back to their trenches when it had ceased. These trenches contained three platoons (64 men) and one 37mm (pom pom) battery (the pom poms were “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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to be mistaken for the four machine guns, which only arrived later). As the River Clyde’s causeway of boats was linked to the shore they held their fire and waited for the troops to descend the gangway. As the first men descended from the ramp, the frightful enfilading fire from 274 m distance commenced. Alan Wykes provides the following graphic account: ‘It was not only on the gangway that the men were mown down in dozens as they emerged, until the narrow descent was piled with the wounded and dead; those arriving in the cutters and row boats [i.e. those disembarked from the fleet sweepers] were simply killed en masse, helplessly, as they stood there.

Their bodies tipped grotesquely over the sides, like mechanical acrobats, their boats, un-steered and powerless, drifted away from the shore and sank as they became pierced with bullet holes.

The few who got away found shelter beneath a ridge of ground below the castle walls; and in the madness of desperation the dead were flung from the gangway of the River Clyde so that more men could be poured out to wade ashore and be killed in their turn. It was if the men themselves had found the whole situation unbelievable, as if by storming ashore hour after hour they could change it, vanquish the defenders by sheer weight of numbers if nothing else ... But the defences were apparently impregnable. The machine guns mounted behind sandbags in the bows of the River Clyde found no mark.

The entrenched Turks spat out their bullets at the faintest sign of movement. By 0930 hours, of 1 500 men who had attempted to land only 200 had reached cover. No spirit of conquest could overcome the fact that no more could be done.’

A large proportion of the casualties were sustained whilst endeavouring to position the River Clyde’s lighters together to form a causeway onto the beach. (This objective was attained at 07h07.) Brig Gen H.E. Napier, commanding the main force, had waited in the Clacton whilst the covering force tried to land. He approached the River Clyde in a watertight boat together with his staff and a number of soldiers. He leapt into the grounded Argyle to lead the men ashore whom he observed choking the lighters, boats and gangways, not realizing that they were all dead. He and his Brigade Major (J.H.D. Costeker) were soon killed (as was Lt Col Rooth of the covering force). On 26 April the survivors of the force from the River Clyde stormed the village. The Turkish contingent defending V Beach, under Sgt Yahja of Ezine, was annihilated.

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reference: - Military History Journal - Volume 6 No 4 Gallipoli: The Landings of 25 April 1915 by S. Monick On 26 April 1915, following the landing at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula, during which the brigadier general and the brigade major had been killed, Lieutenant Colonel DoughtyWylie and another officer (Garth Neville Walford) organized and made an attack through and on both sides of the village of Sedd-el-Bahr on the Old Fort at the top of the hill. The enemy's position was very strongly entrenched and defended, but mainly due to the initiative, skill and great gallantry of the two officers the attack was a complete success .Doughty Wylie of his own initiative and collecting the gallant survivors of the Munster and the Dublin Fusiliers with the Hampshires along with Captain Walford organized an attack on the castle and the village and finally led his handful of troops in a bayonet charge up Hill 141, since known as Colonel Doughty – Wylie’s Hill.

Both were killed in the moment of victory. Doughty-Wylie was shot in the face by sniper and died instantly. Doughty-Wylie is buried close to where he was killed. His grave is the only solitary British or Commonwealth war grave on the Gallipoli peninsula: The Turkish authorities moved the graves of all other foreign soldiers to the "V Beach" graves except for his.

TRIBUTES An eye-witness wrote” All he carried was a small cane and from a band he wore around his arm, the men knew he was a Staff Officer. He walked about in the open under a continuous fire, cheering them on and rallying them together. Then when all were ready for the bayonet charge, he placed himself in front of them all. Armed simply with a small cane he led them in a great charge up the hill .No braver man ever lived. He had no business to be there as a Staff Officer but the loss of officers in landing had been great and the necessity of making headway quickly was so essential that he felt his duty lay in leading the men. So he went forth fearlessly to his death and the hill will be a lasting monument to his self sacrifice and great valour. The magic of his personality and example infused the men with resolve and they pressed the attack home.”

In a tribute to Doughty-Wylie, Sir Ian Hamilton wrote: “The death of a hero strips victory of her wings. Alas, for DoughtyWylie! Alas, for that faithful disciple of Charles Gordon; protector of the poor and of the helpless; noblest of those knights ever ready to lay down their lives to uphold the fair fame of England. Braver soldier never drew sword. He had no hatred of the enemy. His spirit did not need that ugly stimulant. Tenderness and pity filled his heart “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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and yet he had the overflowing enthusiasm and contempt of death which alone can give troops the volition to attack when they have been crouching so long under a pitiless fire. Doughty-Wylie was no flash-in-the-pan VC winner. He was a steadfast hero. Now as he would have wished to die, so he has died” His wife, who was the only woman to land at Gallipoli visited the site on the 17th November 1915 wrote:- “My husband, who had spent a number of years in Turkey as a soldier-diplomat and loved the Turkish people, could not bring himself to bear arms against them and led the attack armed only with his cane, cheering and encouraging the men forward with no regard to his own safety. The troops swept on to the summit of Hill 141, where Doughty-Wylie was killed. He was buried where he fell; after the war, the Turks insisted that their honoured friend should remain alone at the scene of his final victory.

I came up shortly after he had fallen; the men were full of admiration and sorrow. They told me he was first the whole way up the slope and it was only in the last few yards that some four or five men got up to and passed him actually over the castle walls; personally, I noticed him on two or three occasions always in front and cheering his men on.”

I t was recorded that on the day of her visit she was given a reception by the French and on that day the enemy fired neither bullet nor shell Citation: An extract from "The London Gazette", No 29202, dated 23rd June 1915, records the following: - "On 26th April 1915 subsequent to a landing having been effected on the beach at a point on the Gallipoli Peninsula, during which both Brigadier- General and Brigade Major had been killed, Lieutenant- Colonel Doughty-Wylie and Captain Walford organised and led an attack through and on both sides of the village of Sedd el Bahr on the Old Castle at the top of the hill inland. The enemy`s position was very strongly held and entrenched, and defended with concealed machine-guns and pom-poms. It was mainly due to the initiative, skill and great gallantry of these two officers that the attack was a complete success. Both were killed in the moment of victory."

MEDALS

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Victoria Cross Order of the Bath Order of St Michael and St George :Indian Indian General Service Medal: Queens SUDAN 1896: Kedive’s Egypt 1897: Queen’s South African Medal: Boxer Rebellion 1900: Africa General Servicee Medal with clasp Somalia 1902:1914-15 Star: : British War Medal (1914-20): (1914 Victory Medal (1914-19): Order of the Medjidie (Turkey) (Turkey).

COMMEMORATION His gravestone at Gallipoli

In the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross will be remembered ed with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they were born WINCHESTER SCHOOL MEMORIAL

The War Cloister was the vision of Headmaster Montague Rendall and was originally designed as a memorial to the 500 Wykehamists killed during the First World War. The total number of boys in the school, in any given year between 1914 and 1918, was 500. Effectively, Winchester lost a generation of young men to the Great War. Their names are engraved on the outer walls. Those Wykehamists who died in World War II are listed on the inner columns

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FLOWERDEW Gordon VC When the war broke out in September 1914, he enlisted as a private in Lord Strathcona's Horse. He rose quickly through the ranks and was commissioned as an officer in 1916. In January 1918 Flowerdew was given command of C Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse He was born in Billingford, Norfolk, England and educated at Framlingham College in Suffolk. .

He migrated to British Columbia, where he took up ranching. He was homesteaded briefly in Queens Bay. MILITARY EXPERIENCE For most of the war, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade was not involved in much direct fighting, because of the static nature of the warfare. However, when the Germans launched Operation Michael and began a rapid advance in the spring of 1918, cavalry again became an important factor. In late March, as the Germans approached Moreuil and threatened to cross the L'Avre River, the last natural barrier before Amiens, the Canadian Cavalry Corps was assigned the task of stopping them.

As the Germans began to enter Moreuil Wood from the east, Lieutenant Flowerdew's squadron rode around the wood and approached the Germans' flank from the north. Flowerdew ordered a cavalry charge.

Riding into the fire of five infantry companies and an artillery battery, the squadron suffered atrocious casualties (more than half of the men in C Squadron were killed), and Flowerdew himself was fatally wounded. However, the cavalry charge so unnerved the Germans that they were never able to capture Moreuil Wood, and their advance turned into a retreat in early April. His actions in "The Last Great Cavalry Charge" led to the award of the Victoria Cross.

MEDALS His posthumously awarded Victoria Cross was donated by his mother to Framlingham College in England. It had been on loan to, and displayed by, the Strathcona Museum from 1990 to 2002.

The medal was returned to the college in 2002.

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Victoria Cross: 1914-15 15 Star: Bri British War Medal (1914-20): 20): Victory Medal (1914-19) (1914 COMMEMORATION

Charge of Flowerdew's Squadron, 1918 by Alfred Munnings It is now in the collection of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa

Bois de Mureuil, France, 30 March 1918, , Lord Strathcona's Hors Horse, e, Canadian Expeditionary Force.

CITATION

London Gazette, 24 April 1918 Lieutenant Gordon Muriel Flowerdew

“For most conspicuous bravery and dash when in command of a squadron detailed for special services of a very important nature. On reaching his first objective, Lieutenant Flowerdew saw two lines of enemy, each about sixty strong, with machine guns in the centre and flanks; one line being about two hundred yards behind the other. Realizing the critical nature of the operation and how much depended on it,, Lieut. Flowerdew ordered a troop under Lieut. Harvey, VC, to dismount and carry out a special movement, while he led the remaining three troops to the charge. The squadron (less one troop) passed over both lines, killing many of the enemy with the sword; and wheeling about galloping on them again. Although the squadron had then lost about 70 per cent of its members, killed and wounded from rifle and machine gun fire directed on it from the front and both flanks, the enemy broke and retired. The survivors of the squadron then established themselves in a position where they were joined, after much hand hand-to-hand hand fighting, by Lieut. Harvey's part. Lieut.

Flowerdew was dangerously wounded through both thighs during the operation, but continued to cheer his men. There can be no doubt that this officer's great valour was the prime factor in the capture of the position.”

Grave He is buried at Namps-au au-Val Cemetery in France located 11 miles south--east of Amiens (plot I, row H. grave 1).

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In Framlingham College Chapel is the wooden cross from Flowerdew's original grave in France and citations of the three men from Framlingham who were awarded the Victoria Cross: Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew, Major William Hewitt and Captain Augustus Agar.

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HARVEY, Samuel VC 8273 Private Samuel Harvey joined the army in 1905 serving in the 1st Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. He served 7 years in India. Later he was transferred to the 3rd (HS) G Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers on the 7th of October 1916. His number being 31198 Samuel was born on: 17th September 1881at Basford, Bulwell, Nottingham. He was the son of William & Mary Harvey. He had 8 siblings:= Emily, Rose, William, Halyn, Frederick, George, Hennery and Ellen. The family moved to Ipswich in 1884 when he was aged 3. The family settled in Vernon Street.

WORLD WAR 1 The battalion in August 1914 was in Jubbulpore in India. The battalion returned to England 23 December 1914. It moved to Hursley Park and joined 83rd Brigade in 28th Division on the 17 January 1915 the Division: landed at Le Havre. The battalion fought in many of the battles in 1915.

They suffered heavy casualties during the Battles of Ypres and Loos.

Taking place on ground not of their choosing and before stocks of ammunition and heavy artillery were sufficient, the opening of the battle was noteworthy for the first use of poison gas by the British Army. Despite heavy casualties, there was considerable success on the first day in breaking into the deep enemy positions near Loos and Hulluch. But the reserves had been held too far from the battle front to be able to exploit the successes and succeeding days bogged down into attrition warfare for minor gains Many men had not drank or eaten for days being trapped on the front line with poor communications and supplies the men fought to recapture old trenches and hold onto new ground .Sam’s unit was ahead of the “Big Willie trench” overlooking the German line using “Mills bombs” to hold back the advancing Germans. It became clear that his unit would run out of bombs so just after midnight Sam’s commanding officers asked for a volunteer to go and fetch more bombs. Sam volunteered and set off back through the muddy trenches choked with the dead and dying, this took some time and distance to get to the supply dump and the heavy boxes of bombs. It became clear that it would take too long to follow the path of trenches back to his position. His unit were running “The Valiant Men of Suffolk”

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low of bombs so he decided it would be far quicker to take a short cut carry the boxes across open ground saving time but exposing him to extreme danger. In total he carried over 30 boxes (12 bombs per box. total =360 bombs) before being shot in the head at 13.40hrs. The Mills bombs enabled the units to hold back the enemy all of this time. At 17.00hrs 50+ enemy rushed out from their position into the British held trench the order was given to fix bayonets.

17.30hrs Capt. Lucas gave the order to charge repelling the last of the enemy.

If Sam had not taken this risk his unit would have been cut off and overrun resulting in a large section of ground being retaken by the enemy changing the course of the battle.

Despite the enemy attempting to take the position the Mills bombs had weaken them sufficiently.

Samuel, suffered a gunshot wound to the head during the battle.

The British hold out at Loos 1915 Sam continued seeing active service, being wounded 3 mores times, walking with a slight limp. Private Harvey was transferred to the 3rd (HS) G Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers on the 7th of October 1916. His Service number was 31198.

He was honourably discharged from the army on May 15th1918.

CITATION:

November, 1915. VC

“On the 29th September, 1915, in the big Willie Trench near the Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, during a heavy bombing attack, more bombs were urgently needed. Private Harvey volunteered to run across open ground under intense fire backwards and forwards, and succeeded in bringing up 30 boxes of bombs over a 13 hour period before he fell with a head wound. It was largely due to his cool bravery in supplying the bombs, that the enemy was eventually driven back.”

1916 In October 1915 the 28th Division was shipped to Egypt and thence to Salonika as part of the new British Salonika Army that was created to stop Bulgarian expansion in the Balkans. The battalion spent the rest of the war there suffering one killed in action to every three killed from Malaria and Dysentery.

Medals

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He was entitled to the following medals but they were lost post war

Victoria Cross: 1914-15 Star: British War Medal (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19): King George VI Coronation Medal (1937): Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953). Knight, Legion of Honour ( 5th Class ) ( France ): Cross of St George ( 4th Class ) ( Russia )

Private Samuel Harvey (Left) is at Buckingham Palace Garden Party 1919. Pictured with George V and Queen Mary POST WAR Samuel fell on hard times taking on odd jobs just to get by and had few possessions –

1918+ - Sam Harvey scratched a living as an odd-job man, digging people's gardens, and worked as an ostler (Great White Horse Hotel in Ipswich.)

In 1944 He was married aged 64 in St. Peters church Ipswich to Georgina Brown (widow aged 69) and lived at 10 Adelphi Place Ipswich. Unfortunately in 1949 his wife died.

1956 - 26TH June attended VC centenary Parade in front of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park (in a wheel chair) 1960, - He died penniless on 23rd September, aged 79, in the former workhouse at Stow Lodge Hospital, Stowmarket, Suffolk, where he had been a patient for 16 months.

COMMEMORATED When he died at Stowmarket in 1960 he was given only a pauper’s funeral at Ipswich Old Cemetery. However this was subsequently rectified with a full Military funeral.

The ceremony in 2000 was carried out in the presence of The Worshipful the Mayor of Ipswich and the Mayoress relatives of Samuel Harvey; representatives of his former regiment, The York & Lancaster Regiment; and members of the Western Front Association, who raised funds for

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the memorial. The Honour Guard comprised The Association for Military Remembrance "The Khaki Chums", music by The Community Wind Band, and bugler Bramwell Scott of the Salvation Army.

The reburial was organized by a Campaign Group in Ipswich.. The group from the Park View Care Home wanted nted to properly highlight and do justice to the courage of Private Harvey.

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HEWITT, William Henry VC In 1905, joining the South Africa Constabulary for one year and then transferring to the Natal Police in which he served for three years. After the outbreak of war, Hewitt enlisted into the 2nd South Africa Light Infantry on 24th December 1915. He was later promoted to Major.

William Hewitt was born in Copdock, near Ipswich, Suffolk on the 19th June 1884 and was educated at Framlingham College. He decided to migrate to South Africa WORLD WAR 1 His regiment arrived in France for active service in July 1916.

SITUATION 1917 The following are excerpts from Sir Douglas Haig’s "Passchendaele" Despatch relevant to the South African Troops during the period from September 1917 to the end of the year.

“The Ypres Battle Preparations for the Third Attack Completed 149. At the beginning of September the weather gradually improved, and artillery and other preparations for my next attack proceeded steadily. Both the extent of the preparations required, however, and the need to give the ground time to recover from the heavy rains of August rendered a considerable interval unavoidable before a new advance could be undertaken.

The 20th September was therefore chosen for the date of our attack, and before that day our preparations had been completed.

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The front selected extended from the Ypres-Comines Canal north of Hollebeke to the Ypres-Staden Railway north of Langemarck, a distance of just over eight miles along the line held by us. The average depth of our objectives was 1,000 yards, which increased to a depth of a mile in the neighbourhood of the Menin Road. Australian, English, Scottish and South African troops were employed in the attack, and gained a success conspicuous for precision and thoroughness of execution.

The Menin Road Ridge 50. During the night of the 19th/20th September rain again fell steadily, and when dawn broke thick mist made observation impossible. Despite this disadvantage, the assembling of our troops was carried out in good order, and at 5.40 a.m. on the 20th September the assault was launched........... ......On the Fifth Army front our attack met with equal success. Scottish and South African troops (9th Division) advancing on both sides of the Ypres-Roulers Railway, stormed the line of fortified farms immediately in front of their position, and, pressing on, captured Zonnebeke and Bremen Redoubts and the hamlet of Zevenkote. By 8.45 a.m. our final objectives on this front had been gained.

West Lancashire Territorial battalions (55th Division) found the ground south-east of St. Julien very wet and heavy after the night's rain. None the less, they made steady progress, reaching the line of their final objectives early in the afternoon. North of the Zonnebeke-Langemarck Road London and Highland Territorials (58th and 51st Divisions) gained the whole of their objectives by midday, though stiff fighting took place for a number of farms and strong places.

As the result of this most successful operation the whole of the high ground crossed by the Menin Road, for which such desperate fighting had taken place during our previous attacks, passed into our possession. Important positions were won also on the remainder of our front, by which the right of our attack was rendered more secure, and the widened for the advance of our left.

In the attack, as well as in the repeated counter-attacks which followed, exceedingly heavy casualties were inflicted on the enemy, and 3,243 prisoners, together with a number of guns, were captured by us.”

Bitter fighting continued through to the end of October. The weather deteriorated and the British Army was forced on to the defensive. The review continues:The Defensive Fronts 62.Before passing from the subject of the operations of the past eight months, tribute must be paid to the work accomplished on the defensive portions of our line.

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constant vigilance and heavy and unremitting labour have been required at all times of the troops holding these fronts.

The numerous feint attacks which have been organised from time to time have called for great care, forethought and ingenuity on the part of Commanders and Staffs concerned, and have demanded much courageous, skilful and arduous work from the troops entrusted with the task of carrying them out.

In addition, raids and local operations have continued to form a prominent feature of our general policy on our defensive front, and have been effectively combined with our feint attacks and with gas discharges. In the course of the 270 successful raids carried out by us during the period covered by this Despatch, the greatest enterprise and skill have been displayed by our troops, and many hundreds of prisoners, together with much invaluable information, have been 9btained at comparatively light cost.”

It was during this period of feint attacks that the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 20 September 1917 east of Ypres, Belgium, Lance-Corporal Hewitt attacked a pill-box with his section and tried to rush the doorway for this he was awarded the VC. A pill box similar to the one Hewitt attacked CITATION The Victoria Cross was awarded “For most conspicuous bravery during operations. Lance Corporal Hewitt attacked a pill-box with his section and tried to rush the doorway. The enemy garrison, however, proved very stubborn, and in the attempt this non-commissioned officer received a severe wound. Nevertheless, he proceeded to the loophole of the pill-box where, in his attempts to put a bomb into it, he was again wounded in the arm. Undeterred, however, he eventually managed to get a bomb inside, which caused the occupants to dislodge, and they were successfully and speedily dealt with by the remainder of section”.

Medals

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Victoria Cross: British War Medal (1914 (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19): ): King George VI Coronation Medal (1937): Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953).

Death He died on the 7th December 1966 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was cremated on the 10th December and his ashes scattered at sea off Hermanus Cliffs, forty miles East of Cape Town, Town South Africa.

COMMEMORATED

Framed picture of medal and citation in the Framlingham College Chapel

The South African National Memorial in Delville Wood was unveiled in 1926 and commemorates the 10.000 South African dead of the First World War. It iiss topped by a sculpture of Castor and Polloux holding hands and was designed as a symbol of the unity of the English and Africans of South Africa.. It stands just to the east of the village of Longueval lies Delville Wood, well known to the Allied soldiers who fought here in 1916 as the Devil's Wood. It serves as a monument for him as well.

In the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross will be remembered with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they wer were e born

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SAUNDERS, Arthur Frederick VC JP Arthur joined the Royal Navy aged 15 and rose to the rank of Petty Officer (2nd class) retiring after 15 years. He served in the Great War as a sergeant in the 9th Service Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment.

Arthur Frederick Saunders VC (Ipswich (23 April 1879 – 30 July 1947) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Arthur was born 23 April 1879 at Ipswich, Suffolk. He died on the 30 July 1947 (aged 68) also at Ipswich. Arthur trained for the Merchant Marine and joined the Royal Navy at age 15, serving for 15 years and reaching the rank of Petty Officer (2nd Class). Leaving the navy he worked for Ransomes, Sims & Jeffries. While at Ransomes, he joined the Territorial element of The Suffolk Regiment, the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. At the outbreak of war, he joined the Regular Army as a duration only soldier in a service battalion His award came as a result of the Battle of Loos on the Western Front in September 1915. His battalion were supporting the advance of the Cameron Highlanders. He was 36 years old, and a sergeant in the 9th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, British Army in the on the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 26 September 1915 near Loos, France, CITATION "When his officer had been wounded during the attack, Sergeant Saunders took charge of two machine-guns and a few men and, although severely wounded in the thigh, closely followed the last four charges of another battalion, giving them all possible support. Later, when the remains of the battalion which he had been supporting were forced to retire, he stuck to one of his guns and in spite of his wound, continued to give clear orders and by continuous firing did his best to cover the retirement."

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He was recovered by stretcher bearers from the Scots Guards.. After medical attention and a period of convalescence nvalescence it was found that his leg had become 3 inches shorter. Thereafter he had to wear a medical boot to aid his walking.

WORLD WAR 2

In the Second World War he served in the Home Guard.

MEDALS

Victoria Cross: 1914-15 15 Star: British War Med Medal (1914-20): 20): Victory Medal (1914-19): (1914 The1939 – 45 Star: Defence Medal: ): King George VI Coronation Medal (1937 COMMEMORATED

He died at age 68 in Ipswich, England

He was cremated at Ipswich Crematorium

In the Centenary year of the outbreak of tthe he Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross will be remembered with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they were born A Blue Plaque w mounted on 180 Cauldwell Hall Road, his former home on the 26th September 2010.

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SEAMAN, Ernest VC MM Initially he served as a baker in the Army Service Corps of the British Army. Later in the war he was promoted to lance-corporal in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Ernest was born on the 16th August 1893 at 9 Derby Street, Heigham near Norwich. On the death of his father while he was still a small tot, his mother remarried and became Mrs Palmer and they took up residence at the King’s Inn in Bungay Road Scole.

He attended the Council School at Scole until he was 14. On leaving school. He had a few other jobs moving to Trimley in Suffolk where he lived with an aunt while working as a pageboy at the Grand Hotel in Felixstowe. . He worked there for three years before migrating to Canada in 1912

1907 postcard of the Grand Hotel Felixstowe MILITARY SERVICE He returned to England in 1915 and tried to enlist in the Army, but was initially turned down as medically unfit, however, on 26th December 1915 he finally enlisted at Le Havre as A/367702 in the Army Service Corps (ASC) Canteens, where he was employed as a baker. It was not until late in the war that he was allowed to join a front-line unit By 1917, because of heavy British casualties, more men were needed to fight, and after reexamination Ernie was transferred into the infantry. He joined the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and on 3rd February 1918 the battalion transferred to the 109th Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division.

Ernest Seaman saw considerable action with the 2nd Battalion around Ypres and Passchendaele, being promoted to Lance Corporal in early September just fourteen days before he was killed.

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Ernest Seaman and his colleagues of ‘A’ Company were involved in fierce fighting near the tiny village of Terhand, north of the Menin Road, in the Ypres salient, it was here that he would lay down his life.

MILITARY MEDAL On the 29th September the 109th Brigade held the line that it had won. This enabled the 108th to move through to renew the attack.

Captain V.E.S. Mattocks, Officer Commanding A Company wrote: "He was one of the best soldiers whom I had ever met, an excellent soldier in every sense of the word, and very keen to do his duties. He always volunteered to help in any extra work that had to be done, no matter how dangerous or difficult, and for his constant devotion to duty and gallantry in voluntarily attending his wounded colleagues under heavy fire, I recommended his being awarded the Military Medal".

CITATION for his VC London Gazette15TH November 1918 “On 29 September 1918 at Terhand, Belgium, when the right flank of his company was held up by enemy machine-guns, Lance-Corporal Seaman went forward under heavy fire with his Lewis gun and engaged the position single-handed, capturing two machine-guns and 12 prisoners, and killing one officer and two men. Later in the day he again rushed another enemy machine-gun post, capturing the gun under very heavy fire. He was killed immediately afterwards, but it was due to his gallant conduct that his company was able to push forward to its objective”.

His courage and dash were beyond all praise, and it was entirely due to the very gallant conduct of Lance-Corporal Seaman that his company was able to push forward to its objective and capture many prisoners.”

MEDALS

Victoria Cross: Military Medal: 1914-15 Star: British War Medal (1914-20): Victory Medal (1914-19 A copy of his medal is held in the Officers Mess at The Royal Logistic Corps Museum (Camberley, Surrey, England). The original is kept in a bank vault.

On 13th February 1919 at Buckingham Palace, King George V presented the medal to Ernest Seaman’s Mother Sarah.

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COMMEMORATED

Ernie is commemorated at Tyne Cot Cemetery (Panel No. 70). Also on the memorial to the 36th Division at the Ulster Tower near Thiepval on the Somme stands on what was the German front fro line during the Battle of the Somme, July to November 1916. It is opposite Thiepval Wood

The Felixstowe War Memorial (Suffolk),

The Scole War Memorial (Norfolk).

In the Centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War recipients of the Victoria Cross Cr will be remembered with commemorative paving slabs in the areas where they were born

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SOURCES 1.“THE “THE V.C. AND D.S.O. BOOK: THE VICTORIA CROSS 1856 -1920” 1920” Naval & Military Press 2. The London Gazette 3. Imperial War Museum collection of pictures 4. Commonwealth War Graves Data Bank.

5.1911 1911 Census, 1901 census 6. The War Graves Photographic Project 7. The Victoria Cross Organization 8. Veteran Affairs Canada 9. South African Defence Force Living History Group 10. Australian Dictionary of Biography 11. Framlingham College 12. Find a grave memorials 13. The Scouting Pages web site 14.Royal Royal Naval Museum Library 15. The “HELL FIRE CORNER” website 16. The “Long Long Trail” website 17.The The 13 volumes entitled the “Great War” publisher/ authors not given but b believed possibly issued by the Daily Mail in the 1920s 18. Ipswich Society for pictures of Arthur Saunders’s home and plaque COMPILERS COMMENTS

The book is compiled from items predominately in the public domain often appearing on multiple web sites bu butt in the main deriving from the above sources.

PLEASE NOTE that we obtained special dispensation from a number of agencies including the CWGC and the War Graves photographic project regarding copyright on their material used in this book. The IWM have granted ted a non commercial licence for their material used in this book. This was granted in view of the nature of the book being commemorative rather than published for commercial reasons.

(C) NOTE THE ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT MAY STILL REMAIN ON THIS MATERIAL WHEN USED ELSEWHERE.

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