18th (Service) Battalion, the West Yorkshire Regiment (2nd Bradford)
From the daily war diary 4 June to 2 July 1916 as the British build up and begin the offensive on the Somme. The battalion carries out a probing raid that tells its own story regarding the likely success of the major attack on 1 July.
| 4 June 1916 |
| Battalion
left billets and took over line held by 11th East
Yorks. Relief completed at 1.50pm. Transport, band, QM staff
etc at Bus-les-Artois. Disposition as follows: A Company: Q4.b.3.5 to K.34.d.6.2, Right Section D Company: K.34.d.8.2 to K.34.d.5.9, Left Section B Company: Support, "Ulster Club", K.34.d.0.3 C Company: Reserve, "Sucrerie", K.34.d.9.6 HQ: Bow Street, K.34.d.6.5 Battalions on flanks: Left 15th West Yorks, Right 4th Worcestershire of 29th Division Artillery in support: CLXX Brigade RFA, A and C Batteries Trench mortar battery: 93/2 Light TMB at K.34.d.85.97 Machine guns: 93rd MG Company, K.34.d.25.36 and K.34.d.95.00 Casualty: wounded 1 OR (self inflicted - rifle) Operations: very quiet. |
Extract from British trench map - Beaumont - dated February 1916. Enemy trenches shown in detail in red; British front line only in blue. The 18th West Yorks held the line towards the bottom of this picture, and onto the next map. This position is south of the Serre Road. The Redan ridge, with the mine craters referred to in the diary, is just off this image.
The location of the attack of 1 July 1916 is north of the Serre road (see below). |
| 5 June 1916 |
| Artillery quiet. Patrol left Redan at 9.30pm to reconnoitre front of Old Redan, returned at 12.30am. An enemy patrol was sighted moving in a southerly direction about 10 strong. No evidence of enemy work in or near Old Redan was discovered. |
| 6 June 1916 |
| Artillery normal. About twenty 77mm shells dropped around front line at K.34.b.9.2. Trench mortars and machine guns very quiet. A patrol left our lines at 9.30pm and examined crater SE of Redan. This was found to be unoccupied by the enemy, with no signs of occupation. |
| 7 June 1916 |
| Artillery normal. Enemy machine guns and rifle grenades fairly active. 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, 86th Brigade, took over on right flank from 4th Worcesters. |
| 8 June 1916 |
| B Company took over from A Company, and C from D. Relief completed 10.50am. Enemy sent fairly large number of HE [shells] along front line between 6 and 8am and 9.25 to 9.40am. Very little damage done. Also from 4 to 4.30pm. During the morning a dead body was found in new sap S of Redan. This was identified as 18/252 Pte C.E. Ferrand, who was missing from the previous tour of duty. |
 Private Claude Ferrand is buried in Sucrerie Military Cemetery at Colincamps, not far behind the battalion's front line. Both the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and "Soldiers Died in the Great War" give the date of his death as 22 May 1916. |
| 9 June 1916 |
| Artillery normal. Enemy fired about thirty 77mm [shells] into our lines around K.29.c.6.0. Casualties: 6 OR wounded, 1 slightly, grenade. |
| 10 June 1916 |
| Artillery more active than usual; 8.15am large numbers of 77mm [shells] on front line from K.34.d.8.5 to K.34.b.8.3; 2pm-3.05pm large numbers of 77mm and some HE all along our front and support lines, especially at K.34.d.8.9. Our artillery replied effectively with HE and shrapnel. Casualties: OR - 1 killed, 3 wounded (one slightly, at duty); 3 [from] artillery, 1 rifle. |
| The man who died was 18/1463, 36 year old Harry Eccles. He is also buried in Sucrerie Military Cemetery. |
| 11 June 1916 |
| Artillery below normal. Two patrols left Maxim Street North at 9.45pm and took up positions on right and left of old mine listening posts. They returned at 1.45am, reporting all quiet. Casualties nil. |
| 12 June 1916 |
| Battalion relieved by 13th East Yorks and marched to Bus into billets, under orders to march to Gezaincourt on 13 June. Casualties: 3 OR wounded, by artillery. |
| 13 June 1916 |
| Move to Gezaincourt postponed. |
| 13-19 June 1916 |
| Battalion engaged in preparations for attack under Brigade instructions. Lectures to officers and NCOs on scheme, study of enemy trenches etc. Casualties: 4 OR wounded on 15 June. |
| 20 June 1916 |
| Marched to Gezaincourt via Authie, Sarton and Doullens and went into billets. 2/Lts Thornton, Gaunt and Booth with about 160 details left at Bus. |
| 21 June 1916 |
| Officers and NCOs went over training ground on which German trenches had been mapped out, and practiced the attack. |
| 22 June 1916 |
| Battalion paraded at full strength and practiced the attack over training ground. |
| 23 June 1916 |
| Brigade practiced the attack over training ground,and was subsequently addressed by Major-General G. Wanless O'Gowan, GOC Division, on 24 June. |
| 24 June 1916 |
| Orders received to return to billets in Bus-les-Artois. |
| The British artillery bombardment against the enemy position began on this day. |
| 25 June 1916 |
| Returned to Bus via Sarton, arrived 2pm. |
| 26-28 June 1916 |
| Lectures, etc and conferences with reference to the attack, and draining and pumping of assembly trenches which had been made very wet by rain. Patrols sent out each night under 2/Lt Colley to examine German wire. |
| 28 June 1916 |
| Notified that ZERO would be at 7.30am on 29 June. All preparations made for attack and for hot meal before leaving camp and on arrival in trenches. 2pm, message received from Brigade that ZERO had been postponed 48 hours. |
| 29 June 1916 |
Instruction received from Brigade to make a raid on the enemy front line on night of 29/30 June. Lt M. Clough (in charge), Lt F. Watson, 2/Lt J.W. Worsnop, Lt G.B. McTavish and 38 men were conveyed to trenches in motor lorries. Point of exit for raid K.29.2 and K.29.3; point of entry K.29.2 and K.29.1. |
| Lieutenant Clough's report on the raid |
"Party left our front line trenches as scheduled, 12.28am, 30 June 1916. Advance was slow owing to numerous shell holes and flares. Apparently our party was seen almost as soon as we had left our own trenches, for they seemed prepared for us and we were met by bombs between 25 and 30 yards from their trenches. They sent up a single green rocket and formed a barrage of hand grenades in front of us and trench mortars and artillery behind us. The trenches seemed fairly knocked about, and the wire was cut where we were in sufficient quantity to allow of the passage of troops. Their trenches seemed very full of men, and apparently very deep. Finding we could not get forward, I brought my party back as well and as soon as possible as I could. This took some two hours. As far as I can judge my casualties at present are about 10 killed and 12 wounded out of 38 men and 4 officers. At present 2 officers, Lt F. Watson and 2/Lt Worsnop, are missing. I have been slightly wounded myself in two places. Our own HE shells were all dropping a little over halfway between our line and the German line, and quite 20 yards short of their wire, and this was taking place during our scheduled hour for the raid. My watch was synchronised with an artillery officer sent by Col. Craven". |
The
casualties as recorded after the raid were as follows: Our research shows that among those recorded as missing or dead were as follows. Unless specified, the soldier has no known grave and is commemorated on the Somme Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval: 18/625
A/Sgt William Abbott [aged
28, C Company] |
| 30 June 1916 |
| Left Bus at 8.45pm for trenches. Journey to assembly trenches very slow on account of congestion. Captain Duckitt, OC D Company, wounded at Colincamps. Battalion in position in assembly trenches by 4.30am, 1 July 1916. Some casualties en route and whilst in these trenches. |
From the British Official History. The advance of the battalion from the assembly trenches, over open ground, towards the British front and into no man's land can be seen in the centre of the picture. Moving from in front of Basin Wood towards Serre, the Bradford men were cut down in hundreds - many before even reaching the British front. |
| 1 July 1916: morning |
| [The
battalion was not in the first assaulting wave that went over
the top at 7.30am, but in support]. 8.20am: message received from Brigade to the effect that the 16th West Yorks [1st Bradford Pals] were held up [with terrible casualties], and ordering the CO to go to Sap A to investigate. Lt-Col Kennard accordingly went forward, and was killed about 8.30am by artillery. 8.45am: Battalion left assembly trenches. Under heavy machine gun fire from the time of leaving dead ground up to our own front line trenches, and an intense barrage of shrapnel and HE. Casualties very heavy. Brigade advance was held up in front of German wire, but 15th, 16th and 18th West Yorks and one company of 18th DLI advanced as if on parade. One platoon of B Company reported to have reached the German wire under Lt Akam. The rear platoon of the battalion got as far as our front line. The Adjutant (Captain F.F. Williams) and OC A Company (Captain C.H.C. Keevil) were wounded early on, and the casualties among the officers were severe. Owing to the unexpected resistance of the enemy the Brigade was compelled to retire, and a verbal message to this effect was received. For a time the first and second line was vacated, and the battalion was broken up in retiring through our trenches. The majority of our casualties occurred between Leeds Trench and our own wire and were due chiefly to machine gun fire from flank and front. Three very heavy barrages were formed along our line, which hampered the advance and caused other casualties before reaching Leeds Trench. A number of casualties were also caused by indirect frontal machine gun fire. |
| 1 July 1916: afternoon and evening |
| 4pm:
Major H.F.G. Carter,
under instructions from Divisional HQ, reported to Brigade HQ,
LEGEND, and took over
command of the battalion. The battalion was at that time very broken
up and separated, and was being collected under Lt-Col Bowes of
the 18th Durham LI. 4.30pm: About 60 of the battalion in Dunmow and Old Dunmow [trenches]. 4.35pm: Major Carter went round Grey, Bradford, Monk, East Bleneau, numbers 1,2 and 3 Posts and A Sap in search of the remainder of the battalion. Except for a few wounded these trenches were entirely evacuated at this time. 8.45pm: received orders from Brigade to occupy and hold Monk Trench. This was done from Warlet to Bleneau. C Company, 18th DLI and some machine guns holding front line. Battalion HQ established at Bomb Dump, Monk Trench. At this time, the battalion consisted of 6 officers (Major Carter, Lt Cross, Lt Howarth, 2/Lt Whitaker, 2/Lt Stephenson and - at ration dump - 2/Lt Thornton) and about 120 OR. 9pm: guides sent to meet reinforcements bringing rations from Euston Dump under 2/Lt Thornton. 9.30pm: 2/Lt Peace reported and was ordered by CO to return to QM at Bus for the night as he was wounded and looking terribly ill. Midnight: Telephone communications established with Brigade HQ . |
| 2 July 1916 |
| 12.30am: Orders received that 92nd Brigade would attack and that battalion would be relieved by them and retire to Landguard Trench. |
| Among the many casualties of 1 July were |
| Lt-Col Maurice Kennard MC, 6th Dragoon Guards, commanding 18th West Yorks, aged 32 |
| Lt James Akam |
| Those who survived the attack but lost their lives later in the war included |
| Lt Ronald Cross, killed in action as a Captain on 27 July 1916; he is buried in St Vaast Post Military Cemetery at Richebourg l'Avoue |
| Captain Charles Duckitt was killed in action on 3 May 1917 at the age of 40; he is listed on the Arras Memorial. |
| Lt Cecil Keevil, who left the battalion and joined the Royal Flying Corps; he was killed on 13 June 1917 and is buried in Hampstead Cemetery. |
This is an extract from the battalion war diary which is held at the National Archives. More diaries