| Home > War Diaries > 1st Battalion, the Notts & Derbyshire Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Covering two weeks in appalling conditions in the latter part of the Battle of the Somme 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In common with most war diaries, casualties are hardly mentioned and never named unless they were officers. The Long, Long Trail has researched the casualties and the details where traced are shown inserted into the diary narrative. Most of the men who died have no known grave. They are commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sandpits
Camp. Map reference
E24a (Albert Combined Sheet) Company inspections during the morning. COs ceremonial parade in afternoon. Orders received in the morning for moving up to the trenches next day. |
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| 19 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The
battalion marched out of camp by companies at 7.50am and proceeded
via Fricourt, Mametz, Montauban, Bernafay
Crossroads to Trones
Wood, arriving there about 12.30
midday. It had poured with rain
during the previous night and continued to rain all the day.
Owing to traffic on the road troops had to march as much as possible
on side tracks which were usually four inches deep in mud. The
road itself was little better --- with mud, rain and traffic
causing continual halts, the fatigue of the men was great. After
leaving the road at Trones Wood the remainder of the march to
the trench rendezvous was made through a veritable sea of mud
intermingled with shell holes. The Transport Officer continued
to get the cookers to within a few hundred yards of whence the
battalion halted. At 4pm the march was continued. Conditions
became steadily worse and progress was very slow, men continually
falling into shell holes, in some cases spraining their ankles.
Soon after dark Brigade headquarters were reached where guides for each platoon were picked up and the march continued to the front line. The first party to arrive reached the line about 8.30pm but the relief was not complete until 3am. Even then there were men missing who had fallen into shell holes and had been forced to stay there on account of sheer exhaustion. When the battalion arrived and had taken over from the 9th Suffolks, there was hardly a rifle which was in working order owing to the conditions and men were practically compelled to sit down where they stood to recover from the exhaustion of the march. 1st Worcesters on our left and 2nd Lincolns on our right. C Company were --- in Support, B and D Companies were in the front line, A Company held an advanced position in the Gunpit Line. Battalion HQs were in an old piece of trench which was subjected to continual barrage fire. |
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| 20 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map
57c SW M.28.a.1.5 Weather fine. Enemy quiet except for shelling around Battalion HQ. GOC and Brigade Major visited the trenches. |
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| 21 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Situation normal. Our heavy guns shelled the enemy trenches causing much damage, also making the Germans evacuate positions of their trenches and take to the open. Our snipers inflicted many casualties. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 22 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bombardment of enemy trenches continued. Most of the battalion spent the early morning lying on the parapet shooting at and sniping the enemy as he tried to evade the shelling. The battalion was relieved by the 2nd Northamptons at 2am and marched back to Tatler Trench situated at T.8.a. Fine night, marching much easier, but great difficulty was experienced in finding the way – guides were completely baffled by the darkness. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 23 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battalion
arrived Tatler Trench about 5.30am but small parties continued
to come in during the morning. 2.30pm Attack commenced by French, 4th and 8th Divisions. Battalion was in Divisional Reserve. 7pm B and C Companies were sent to reinforce the 25th Brigade and were held in reserve by them in Rose Trench (N.27.c) in case of counter attack. A and D Companies sent out on carrying party to Lesboeufs. |
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| 24 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battalion still in Divisional Reserve. 4th Division were relieved. Information came in the evening to the effect that we had been temporarily transferred to the 25th Brigade. B and C Companies recalled from Rose Trench and battalion was concentrated in Tatler Trench. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 25 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B and C Companies came back from Rose Trench in the early morning. Enemey shelled out trenches (T.8.a) between 8 and 10am with heavy guns. 23rd Brigade HQ badly damaged. Battalion ordered to move up to front line to relieve 25th Brigade. Permission was asked for B and C Companies to rest overnight. The remainder of battalion moved forward at 5pm; B and C at 3am the following morning. A, C and D Companies in front line, B Company held in support. Trenches were taken over from Rifle Brigade and Royal Irish Rifles. On our right 2nd Middlesex. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 26 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map
57C SW N.28.a.9.9 Details left out of trenches proceeded to “D Camp” situated near Trones Wood. According to Corps orders, 25% of officers were left out as it seemed probable that the battalion was going into action. B and C Companies arrived in the front line just before dawn and took over from the Royal Irish Rifles in Cloudy and Misty Trenches. Our heavy guns shelled Zenith Trench all day. We had to evacuate the new Rifle Brigade Sap on account of our shelling, and part of Cloudy Trench. Germans again seen running from shell hole to shell hole and gave our rifles and Lewis Guns good targets of which they took full advantage. A B Company ration party was caught by enemy retaliation suffering 10 casualties. The CO decided to attempt a raid on Zenith Trench at 10pm and applied for permission to carry this out. Permission however did not reach the battalion until after the chosen zero time and consequently the raid was put off. |
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| 27 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(NB:
different map position given: N.22.a.9.9) About 8pm operations orders were received, ordering the battalion (in conjunction with the 2nd Devonshire Regiment) to attack the junction of Zenith and Sunshine Trenches. Zero day probably 48 hours later. The CO wrote a protest to the 25th Brigade, pointing out the exhaustion of the men who had been living on short rations and in perfectly impossible conditions for the past 6 days in the front line. Owing to these facts and also the fact that two officers had so recently found the mud impassable, the COs protest was strong, feeling the hopelessness of the task under the special conditions prevailing. About 9pm a party of the enemy were seen approaching our trench to the right of Y Strong Point. When about 40 yards away they were challenged and told to come in to our lines. However they lay down and opened fire. We immediately opened fire from rifles and Lewis Guns which wounded several of the enemy. They could be heard calling for assistance. Parties were sent out from our lines and brought in two wounded and reported two dead. Later another wounded prisoner was captured by D Company. Soon after 10.30pm two of the enemy came across and gave themselves up to us, one to D Company and one to the left of Y Point. Prisoners belonged to 15th, 72nd and 392nd Regiments. |
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| 28 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A satisfactory reply to the COs protest and a warning order received during the afternoon that the battalion was to be relieved by the 2nd Devons in the evening instead of ………. Zenith Trench was again subjected to heavy fire from our big guns. Enemy retaliated and caused several casualties. During the evening – about 9pm – an officer and a man approached the end of the Rifle Brigade Sap. They were called upon to surrender but refused and showed signs of fighting. However, Lewis Guns, rifles and bombs caused them to change their minds and they surrendered to a party sent out to bring them in. Both belonged to the 15th Infantry Regiment. Half an hour later a man approached the HQ sentry. When challenged a told to surrender he ran away. He was at once fired on and wounded and brought in. On examination he proved to be a Russian prisoner of war belonging to the 270th Regiment (Kazan). At first he imagined he had been captured by the Germans as he was interrogated in German. Finally he used the word “Russki” which gave us the clue to his identity. His delight on falling into English hands knew no bounds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29 October 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The relief arrived at various hours throughout the night, not being complete until 9am. On completion of relief the battalion withdrew to “H Camp”, a new camp not previously occupied by troops. Huts were of the semicircular type, lined with wood inside promising to be very comfortable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At the end of tthe month, the diary recorded: Casualties for the month of October 1916: Officers: killed nil, wounded 3, missing nil. Total battalion casualties to date: Officers: killed 20, wounded 53, missing nil, prisoners nil.. |
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| Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captain Harold Mason Gleave, officer commanding A Company who went with one other officer to reconnoitre enemy positions on the Le Transloy slopes, was killed at the age of 22 on 6 March 1917. Son of William Richard and Lois Gleave, of "Hillcrest", The Park, Thurgarton, Notts, he lies in Hem Farm Military Cemetery at Hem-Monacu. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This diary is held at the National Archives as document WO95/1721. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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