In the Battle of Poelcapelle on the 9th October the Allied front was carried forward till it extended from the western outskirts of Houthulst Wood past the eastern end of Poelcapelle to the western slopes of Passchendaele Ridge, near the village of that name.
At 3 a.m. on the 10th a warning order was received saying that the 55th Brigade would relieve the 32nd Brigade that night in the front line near Poelcapelle, which lies about six miles north-east of Ypres, and would carry out an attack from that position on the 12th October. Commanding officers met the Brigadier at 8 a.m. and went up with him to the new Brigade Headquarters at Varna Farm (Langemarck), two and a half miles south-west of Poekapelle. The duty of bringing up the battalions was left to officers second-in-command. Company commanders were conveyed forward by motor-bus to give them an opportunity of looking at the ground. Those of the 8th Battn. East Surrey met the Commanding Officer at Varna Farm (Langemarck) at about 10.30 a.m., but no definite orders were issued nor objectives stated to him until about 1.30 p.m. By this time Lieut.-Colonel Irwin was furnished with maps for each of the company commanders, marked with boundaries and objectives in coloured chalks. He had been informed that his new Battalion Headquarters were in a shell hole, and that not more than two or three people could get to them by daylight on account of sniping, so after a short conference with the company commanders he sent back two of them to meet the Battalion and then set off for his new headquarters with the other two, Major Place and Lieut. Shrapnel, commanding B and C Companies respectively. The new Battalion Headquarters consisted of a large shell hole, against the side of which a rough lean-to shelter had been constructed out of a few sandbags and two sheets of corrugated iron.
The necessary arrangements were made for guides to meet the platoons at the Steenbeek, near Varna Farm (Langemarck), the 32nd Brigade having undertaken to guide them thus far, and the first platoon was due to arrive at Battalion Headquarters at about 9.30 p.m. Actually it did not arrive before 4 a.m. on October 11th, the men being then absolutely exhausted. The 32nd Brigade had only supplied one guide, who had lost his way, so that the whole Battalion had been wandering about in unknown ground all night, and it was solely owing to the skill and perseverance of Major Wightman that it eventually reached its destination. By this time dawn was approaching, and though the relief was carried on with all speed it was never properly completed. Company commanders had only a general idea as to the whereabouts of their platoons, it being impossible to move about near the front line by daylight.
The position now taken up by the Battalion faced north-east and extended from its junction with the left of "" The Buffs " near Gloster Farm, which lies 500 yards south-east of Poelcapelle, to the Lekkerboterbeek, a small stream normally a couple of yards only in width. At this time, however, its banks were so pitted with shell holes full of water that the actual course of the stream was indistinguishable, and the valley in which it ran had become an impassable marsh. This marsh formed the boundary line between the 18th and 9th Divisions and Terrier Farm, on the south side of it, was used as the " liaison " post between the two divisions. Both Gloster Farm and Terrier Farm had been converted into concreted emplacements, and the former was used as C Company's headquarters
About three-quarters of a mile in front of the Battalion lay a ridge with a command of some 20 feet above the valley, and on its summit two homesteads, Papa Farm and Hinton Farm. Half-way between the ridge and Poelcapelle, that is, on the left front of the Battalion, stood a knoll, of the same elevation as the ridge, surmounted by a fortified farm known as Meunier House. Except for these two features the ground, which like the marsh was pitted with shell craters containing water, sloped gently upwards for a mile and a half to Spriet, and thence more steeply up to Westroosebeek, on the summit of Passchendaele Ridge.
During the morning of the 11th October, Lieut.-Colonel Irwin received a fresh set of operation orders, which allotted new objectives to the Battalion, but was unable to communicate them to his company commanders during day light after dark he called them together and explained the new orders. It then commenced to rain and became intensely dark, with the result that the company commanders had great difficulty in finding their platoons and were then unable to point out to them on the map the new objectives, as they could not show a light. In these circumstances officers and section commanders had little chance of ascertaining what their objectives were, and no opportunity of looking at them in daylight, Lieut.-Colonel Irwin considcted the situation so serious that he sent a formal protest to the Brigade Commander before instructing Captain K. Bell-Irving to lay out the forming-up tape from Gloster Farm to Terrier Farm. This was no easy task and took several hours to carry out, but it was completed at last, in spite of the tape being broken several times by shell fire.
The dispositions for attack were as follows: B and C were right and left assaulting companies, with the road running south-east from Meunier House as their objective. A and D Companies were to " leap-frog " B and C and take the Papa Farm-Hinton Farm Ridge. As, however, the operation orders were again altered at the last moment, few if any of the officers and other ranks had a clear idea of what was expected of them.
About midnight, Major Place, who had been visiting the platoons, came to Battalion Headquarters and reported that he had been unable to find No. 5 platoon, under 2nd Lieut. N. L. Riddett. Lieut.-Colonel Irwin went out with him, but could find no trace of them, nor was anything known of them until they were seen next morning getting up and going forward under our barrage. 2nd Lieut Riddett set a very gallant example. He had had no orders and did not even know at what time the attack was to be made, but he did know that tie could not do wrong if he went forward with the barrage.
Shortly after midnight the enemy shelled the sector held by the Battalion with " mustard gas." Respirators were put on, and there were no ill effects except a few blisters. At about 4 a.m. on October 12th, while moving his company up into position, 2nd Lieut. R. S. Franks, commanding D Company, was killed by a shell. He was a very promising officer, full of energy and high spirits, and much liked. His death was a great loss to the Battalion. Shortly afterwards 2nd Lieut. C. A. Heath, of D Company, was wounded, and the command of the company fell on 2nd Lieut. C. Whyntie, who was severely wounded at the moment of advance, so that the company went into action without any officers.
Zero hour was at 5.35 a.m., but the barrage opened in an irregular way, commencing at zero minus four minutes. It was not sufficiently heavy, and, although it only moved at the rate of fifty yards in four minutes, the state of the ground was such that the men with ordinary equipment could not keep up with it, while those carrying the Lewis guns and their ammunition bags could not advance at all, as they sank too deep in the mud. Moreover, the barrage opened too far in front of our line, leaving untouched several enemy machine-gun posts between it and our front line. Heavy machine-gun and rifle fire was opened by the enemy all along our front and continued throughout the action. Shortly after zero, Lieut. G. A. G. Wix and 2nd Lieuts. H. Fearn and N. L. Riddett were killed by machine-gun fire, and Captain C. R. Holms, commanding A Company, was severely wounded. Captain G. A. Birnie (R.A.M.C.) and 2nd Lieut. H. S. Todd, of C Company, were also wounded.
The enemy barrage, which came down at zero plus four minutes, was not heavy, but consisted ol shells of large calibre. At about 8.30 a.m., Major C. G. Place, commanding B Company, returned wounded to Battalion Headquarters and reported that some of our men had advanced 500 yards or more, but that they had passed several machine-gun posts which were still holding out. In particular a post with two machine guns about 100 yards east of Gloucester Farm caused a large number of casualties. All the men who passed these machine-gun posts were eventually killed or taken prisoners.
The situation was very obscure for some time, as all the officers except three and a large number of the N.C.O.'s had become casualties, and also from the fact that no runners could get back over that open ground owing to rifle and machine-gun fire. The mud was so bad that rapid movement from shell hole to shell hole was impossible, and most of the casualties among officers and N.C.O.'s were incurred in attempting to lead advances by short rushes after the barrage had been lost. The rifles and the men's hands were plastered with mud, so that each time that a fresh clip was inserted some mud went into the magazine with it, and the breach had to be cleaned after every few- rounds. By degrees it became evident that, in spite of all its sacrifices, the Battalion had made but little way, and under the existing conditions of weather and ground could make no further advance. The Commanding Officer, therefore, sent a message to Brigade Headquarters, asking permission to reorganize his line in the evening 100 yards in front of the forming-up tape. This he proposed in order to have some definite mark as a guide, for there were no natural features suitable to the purpose. At about 2 p.m. the Brigade Major, Captain C. Rungc, arrived at Battalion Head quarters and told Lieut.-Colonel Irwin that the Battalion might perhaps be relieved at night, but that this was still uncertain. No relief, in fact, took place, and in the evening Lieut.-Colonel Irwin reorganized his posts as he had proposed, and got in touch with " The Buffs " on his left and with a battalion of the 9th Division on his right. The 6th Battn. Royal Berkshire Regt. also had formed up at a short distance in rear and was digging itself in there. The unsatisfactory position of Battalion Headquarters has been mentioned, and search was made for a better place, but none could be found. During the night the headquarters was persistently shelled, and at 2.30 a.m. on October 13th received a direct hit on one end, which killed 5 and wounded 2 of the personnel. Finding at 4 a.m. thai no orders for relief had arrived, Lieut.-Colonel Irwin communicated with Brigade Headquarters, and al 8 a.m. received orders (timed 8.50 p.m. the previous night) authorizing him to withdraw all men not required for his new line of posts to Gournier Farm (Pilkem). As it was now broad daylight, it was impossible to make any movement from the front line. Soon afterwards orders were received that the Battalion would be relieved at night by the 7th Battn. " Queen's," and at 5.30 p.m. the relief was duly commenced, but took very long to complete, it was not, in fact, till 5.30 a.m. on October 14th that the last platoon of the Battalion had reached Canal Bank Baths, near Boesinghe, three and a half miles north of Ypres, where all bathed, changed their underclothing and had a hot breakfast.
At 1.45 p.m. lorries conveyed the Battalion back to its quarters at Dirty Bucket Camp, near Vlamertinghe, whence it had gone up to the front line on the 10th.
During the intervening four days the following casualties had been sustained :
Officers:
Killed: 4
Wounded: 6
Missing:
Total: 10
Other Ranks:
Killed: 52
Wounded: 137
Missing: 42
Total: 231
The narrative above indicates rather than describes the admirable gallantry and devotion shown by all ranks of the Battalion in these very arduous operations. Many instances of special gallantry were brought to notice, but a far greater number necessarily passed unrecorded. In his narrative, Lieut.-Colonel Irwin drew special attention to the two following officers, the words used being his own. " The gallantry displayed by Major C. G. M. Place and Captain G. A. Birnie, R.A.M.C., both before and during the action, was of a very high order, and was acknowledged by the award to them of the D.S.O. and M.C. respectively. Captain Birnie was wounded early in the action, and continued for eight hours to search for and dress the wounded. He searched the whole ground in front of out position, up to and even among the enemy posts, in spite of shelling and machine-gun fire, and did not give up his task until relieved and ordered to go down by Captain Lister, R.A.M.C."
The Battalion remained at Dirty Bucket Camp, carrying out the usual refitting, resting and training, until the 24th October. During this period, conditions favourable to air operations existing, special instructions were issued. On the evening of Sunday, October 21st, bombs were dropped near the camp by hostile planes, one falling close to the officers tents. Captain K. Bell-Irving and one man were mortally wounded, dying next day, and Captain McRory (the Chaplain), 2nd Lieut. W. Cook and three men were wounded. Captain Bell-Irving, who was an officer of the 2nd Battalion, had served throughout the War and had previously been wounded.
On the 24th October the Battalion moved back to Poperinghe and took over billets in the town. On the 26th it again moved into Parroy Camp outside the town, where it remained in Brigade Reserve till the end of the month, being employed daily on road construction.
On the 1st November the Battalion did its usual day's work, moving in the afternoon by motor transport to Petworth Camp. After one day's rest here a further move was made on the 3rd, the Battalion entraining at Proven and detraining at Elverdinghe, four miles north-west of Ypres, whence it marched to Emile Camp, near Boesinghe, and went into huts. The huts were clean, but the camp was a sea of mud. Here the remainder of the month was spent. On November 6th, Lieut.-Colonel Irwin went home on a month's leave, his health having suffered from long and arduous field service, during which he had been for sixteen months in command and had been wounded. The command during his absence devolved on Major Wightman. On the same day the following rewards granted to N.C.O.'s and men for Poelcapelle operations were published in Battalion Orders:—
-3rd Bar to Military Medal: Lce.-Cpl. J. J. E. Bagg. (The 3rd Bir to the M.M. awarded to this exceptionally gallant young soldier was subse-quently cancelled, and he was in place of it awarded the Distinguishid Conduct Medal by Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig for gallantry and devotion to duty in action.")
-Bar to Military Medal: Cpl. W. H. M. Osborn.
-Military Medal: Lce.-Sergts. G. Brown and E. Greene; Ptes. L. M. Baldwin, P. Cage, F. C. C. Furze, H. Johnson, S. Lynn, E. D. Smith, G. Smith, H. T. Stevens, W. Tween and E. Wood.
Certificates of recognition of gallantry and devotion to duty signed by the Divisional Commander were also awarded to the following: Company Sergt.-Major G. H. Stacey; Sergt. J. Turk; Pres. F. Benstcad, P. G. Johnson and F. Poolton.
During its stay at Emile Camp large working parties for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were found daily, the men remaining in camp being employed in draining and improving local conditions. The instruction of specialists proceeded as usual, this invariably being a marked feature of camp life. On the 14th November, 2nd Lieut. C. J. Whymie, who had been wounded on the l2th October, rejoined for duty.
On the 16th decorations, conferred on officers of the Battalion by Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, were notified in Orders :—
-Distinguished Service Order: Major C. G. M. Place and Captain W. H Lister (R.A.M.C.).
-Bar to Military Cross: Captain C. R. Holms.
-Military Cross: Captain G. A. Birnie (R.A.M.C.); 2nd Lieuts. F. A. Dawson, A. E. Dowley (in charge of Divisional Bomb Store).
At a later date Company Sergt.-Major G. H. Stacey, who commanded his company in action at Poelcapelle after all the officers had become casualties, was also awarded the Military Cross; while Company Sergt.-Major C. Estall received the Belgian Croix de Guerre.
On November 17th, 2nd Lieut. N. Fleming was wounded while on fatigue, but remained at duty. Battalion Orders on November 30th published an interesting return of war material salved by the Battalion during the month. This included 75 rifles, 1 Lewis gun, 111 charged shells, 456 shell cases and a great number of miscellaneous articles.
During the period which the Battalion spent away from the front line at Poperinghe and Boesinghe the Second Battle of Passchendaele had been fought, lasting from the 26th October to the 10th November. This was the last of the Battles of Ypres, 1917, and with it closed for the time being the British offensive.
The Battalion remained at Emile Camp during the first week of December, continually finding large working parties for the Royal Engineers and sustaining no casualties. On the night of December 7th the Battalion relieved the 12th Battn. Middlesex Regt. (54th brigade) in brigade Reserve, taking over the Canal Dugouts near Boesinghe. The relief was completed by 1.30 a.m. on the 8th, on which day Lieut.-Colonel Irwin rejoined from leave and resumed command.
On the night of December the 10th Essex went into the trenches about Tourenne Crossing, a short distance from the south-eastern corner of Houthulst Forest, the relief bring completed without casualty by 11.30 p.m. All the posts were in shell holes, which were found to be comparatively dry and were partially camouflaged. In order to strengthen the position a large amount of wiring was done on the night of December 11th, particularly at Pascal Farm (Langemarck; west of Poelcapelle station), the post of the reserve company; on the main defence lines on the De Pelikaan (Cinq Chemin)- Tourenne Crossing road, at the strong point at Aden Farm, and in front of the outposts. The remainder of the trench tour was not specially eventful. Aircraft activity was intermittent, and only in the afternoon of the 14th was there much artillery fire. At six o'clock that evening the relief of the Battalion began, and was completed without incident by 9.30 p.m. Casualties during the tour had been very light, 1 man being killed, 2nd Lieut. F. W. R. Anderson and 2 men wounded; 8 men had been sent down sick, of whom 6 were suffering from trench feet.
The 18th Division was now under orders to proceed to a " rest " area, and on December 15th an advance party, under 2nd Lieut. A. H. Dowley, proceeded to the new area to take over billets. In accordance with its orders, the Battalion entrained at Boesinghe at 5.30 a.m. on the 16th and detrained at Watten at 3 p.m., whence it marched to billets at Mentque, eight miles west of St.Omer.
From the 17th to the 24th company training continued busily, varied by musketry on the Fifth Army rifle range at Eperlecques on available days. Christmas Day was observed as a holiday, and an excellent dinner provided for the Battalion remained at Mentque until the 28th December, when it moved to the Proosdy area. Entraining at Audruicq and detraining at Proven at 3 p.m., the Battalion reached Privett Camp by 4 p.m., where it remained until, on the last day of the year, it moved to Boesinghe, and soon after midday took up its quarters in H Camp.
The Honours Gazette of the 1st January, 1918, notified that Temporary Lieut.-Colonel A. P. B. Irwin had received a Brevet-Majority, and the award of the Military Cross to Lieut. N. A. Pease and Company Sergt.-Major C. Estall, who had distinguished themselves in action during 1917.
Bron: History of the East Surrey Regiment vol.III 1917-1918; door Pearse H.
