16th KRRC High Wood MM Research

[jacks4jules]

High Wood July 1915 KRRC information request PLEASE!

I am researching C/194 SGT William Crook MM 16th KRRC (Church Lads). He was awarded the Military Medal I beleive for High Wood July 1916.

I would greatly appreciate any description on the 16TH KRRC at High Wood. Or any information on William Crook who was KIA Ypres 1917.

Best Regards Julian

[ralphjd]

He was born in and enlisted in Bolton. Ralph.

[Chris_Baker]

6th July 1916. At Gorre. Parades under Company arrangements. Battalion received orders for half-hours notice to move until further notice. Brigade orders received that 100 Infantry Brigade would be relieved by 116 Brigade, and proceed to new billeting area at Busnettes. Relief to be completed by 6am on 7th July. Battalion moved off 11:30pm and marched all night arriving at new billets at 5:30am.

7th July 1916. Battalion rested. Parades under Company arrangements in morning. Lieutenant E.M. Gonner rejoined the Battalion for duty from the Brigade.

8th July 1916. Received orders from Brigade for train movement. To entrain at Lillers at 1:50am on the 9th. Battalion paraded at 12 midnight and entrained. Strength 27 officers, 877 other ranks. Total 904.

9th July 1916. Battalion detrained at Saleux at 8:15am. We moved clear of the station and had breakfast on the roadside. Billeting parties went on to St Sauveur. On the road battalion received orders from Brigade to march to Vecquemont. Battalion halted for lunch just west of Amiens. Resumed march and arrived at 6pm very tired after this 17 mile march and were billeted in an old silk mill by the canal.

10th July 1916. Battalion rested during the day.

11th July 1916. Battalion moved off to Morlancourt and bivouacked. All packs were stored in the village. Battalion remained on short notice to move.

12th July 1916. Battalion rested all day. Marched off from camp 9:15pm to Becourt-Becordel and bivouacked in front of a battery of eight-inch howitzers.

13th July 1916. Battalion rested all day. Following men awarded the Military Medal: C1081 Rfn Harley, C062 Rfn Ansell, C1064 Rfn Rhodes. Battalion received orders to stand to from 3:25am and were order under orders to move at 20 minutes notice. Captain Hon Lindsay received orders from Brigade to act as liaison officer and to report at Brigade Headquarters at 3:25am on the 14th. Major Sitwell detailed to remain behind with first line transport.

14th July 1916. Battalion stood to at 3:25am. After breakfast men drew picks and shovels (60% shovels and 40% picks). Extra SAA was issued thus giving each man 220 rounds. Also two sandbags were allotted to each man. Extra Company Orderlies were detailed for action. Battalion marched off prepared for action at 10:30am to Fricourt where tea was obtained and the men rested.

Orders were received from Brigade to move forward into position of assembly in the valley west of Sabot and Flatiron Copses. Transport echelons were left in rear under command of Brigade. Battalion arrived at position of assembly 9:15pm and proceeded to dig themselves in and carry up ammunition, bombs, and water to HLI and 1st Queen’s. All our picks and shovels were handed over to 1st Queen's and 9th HLI.

11:30pm. A Company under command of Major Cooban was sent up to support 9th HLI who were digging in west of High Wood. Battalion had little rest after fatigue parties had returned, enemy's tear shells caused some trouble during the night.

15th July 1916. Battalion received Brigade order for Divisional attack. The 33rd Division is to attack the enemy's Switch Line in front of Martinpuich at 9am today. Frontage of attack is allotted as follows - 100 Infantry Brigade on a frontage of 1000 yards from a line drawn north and south through S.3.b.8.2 with its right resting on this line, 98 Infantry Brigade on left of 100 Infantry Brigade with right in touch with 100 Brigade, and left resting on the Martinpuich - Bazentin Le Petit railway. The artillery bombardment of German line will commence at 8:30am and will lift at 9am, at which time the infantry will assault. They will advance as near to the hostile trench as possible during the bombardment. 19th Infantry Brigade will be in position of assembly at 7am where it will be prepared to advance through 98th and 100th Brigades on Martinpuich after German Switch is captured. Assault of 100 Infantry Brigade will be carried out by 9th HLI on right, 1st Queen’s on left, on frontage of 500 yards each. The left of 1st Queen’s, 200 yards east of where it now rests. 16th KRR will support the advance of 1st Queen’s and 9th HLI. 2nd Worcesters will be in reserve. Units will be in position as follows by 8am. 16th KRR in S.9.d. In the event of Switch Trench being taken with little loss, orders will probably be received later to push on to Martinpuich but objective in first instance is only Switch Trench.

7am. Early morning misty. Commanding Officer and Company commanders received orders to go up and reconnoitre ground of attack. The CO proceeded to headquarters of 1st Queen’s at the cemetery at Bazentin le Petit village. Company Commanders reconnoitred road running south west to north east in S.9.d. The three remaining Companies followed later and took up their position in place of assembly along a road running south west to north east in S.9.d and were ready for attack at 8am. Message was received from 1st Queen’s stating that they would not require us to support them owing to danger of crowding in enemy's trench. Following a message from 1st Queen’s stating that they were not in touch with the 9th HLI, Brigade orders were received, to act as circumstances required but attack must be closely supported and any gap between 1st Queen’s and 9th HLI must be filled when assault starts.

While battalion was lined up for the attack, Second Lieutenant Grant was hit in the thigh. At 9am our artillery barrage lifted and B and C Companies were ordered to advance in half companies in line. C Company Commander Captain Donaldson on the left and B Company under Captain Deedes on the right. C Company came under hostile machine-gun fire directly they began to advance and lost heavily. Captain Donaldson was hit but remained with his Company urging them on till he was hit a second time and forced to return to the dressing station. The Company advanced to the old line vacated by the 1st Queen’s along sunken road running from north east corner of Bazentin le Petit village to north-west corner of High Wood. After reaching this position they remained there, awaiting further orders.

However upon seeing the 1st Queen’s retire owing to being held up by the enemy's wire being uncut and hostile enfilade machine gun fire, and take up position at crossroads S.8.b.6.7, C Company joined up with the 1st Queen’s right flank. Here they remained during the whole day under fire from enemy’s machine guns and hostile sniping. Lieutenant Hichens was hit in the leg while leading his platoon and while bandaging his foot was again hit in the head and died immediately. Second Lieutenants Giddens and Howard brought the remains of their Company out when relieved. However Second Lieutenant Howard soon went to the Field Ambulance after discover after that his heel had been hit by a machine gun bullet.

B Company under the command of Captain Deedes advanced in lines of half companies on the right of C Company. The objective of the right flank of this Company was north-west corner of wood. Both lines of advance passed over a line where the enemy had previously dug themselves in and went up hill at the top of which they came in touch with the 9th HLI most of whom were lying wounded or killed. Here they met the enemy’s machine-gun fire and only a small party of 10 reached a position within 25 yards of the sunken roadway. Eventually only two of this party arrived back untouched. While holding this position they were enfiladed by machine gun fire from north-west corner of wood and from isolated trees on the rise on the further side of roadway about S.3.c.9.9.

B Company, Second Lieutenant Howell, lead the first line consisting of No. 5 and 7 Platoons. Captain Deedes and Second Lieutenant Dennis brought over the second line. A section of a Lewis Gunners also went over with this line. Second Lieutenant Dennis is reported to have been hit three times before he was killed. Captain Deedes was hit by machine-gun bullet in the head and died immediately.

11:30am. D Company under Captain Smith, J. R. was sent up to reinforce the 9th HLI. The 2nd Worcesters who were in reserve were also sent up to help the HLI. D Company held a position along south edge of High Wood. Here they remained all day under intermittent shellfire and continual machine gun sniping. At 8pm they withdrew to a line 50 yards back from the edge of the wood and dug in and made a support line in conjunction with the 2nd Worcesters, which ran from south corner of wood to HLI trench. Lieutenant Francis was hit in the arm. At 3am they were relieved by a Battalion from 19th Infantry Brigade and reached back to rest position without very many casualties.

12:30pm. Report was received at Battalion Headquarters that Major Cooban had been killed and all his officers wounded. Lieutenant Gonner was sent up to find the remainder of A Company and take command. Upon reaching south-west corner of High Wood he was unable to find any of A Company except a wounded corporal, who stated that a small remnant of A Company had joined D Company and were under his command. A Company upon arriving at High Wood took up positions along south east edge of wood. Here they received orders to advance through wood to further edge under cover of our artillery barrage. At 9am when barrage lifted they were to rush through wood and capture far trench at north corner of wood. The Company advanced in one line and after crossing first glade in wood were fired upon by machine guns. Major Cooban is reported to have been killed a little to the right of the German machine gun blockhouse at S.4.c.5.9. This blockhouse was reported to contain two or three machine guns which held up A Company line of advance, causing many casualties. Captain Harrison was wounded in the arm. Lieutenant Lewer had his leg broken and remained in a shell hole. He died of wounds. Second Lieutenant Atkinson was reported wounded and missing at the end of the day.

2:30pm Our Medical Officer and Second Lieutenant Spero were both hit by pieces from the same shell. Message received stating that enemy were storming High Wood trenches with bombs. All wires cut.

3pm Situation report sent in. Remains of A and D Companies hold south-west edge of wood. These were reinforced by Brigade on our right. General line - joining west of Bazentin le Petit with north-west corner of High Wood being held by groups. No information from 1st Queen’s.

5:40pm. Casualty report. Number passed through Battalion dressing station – 4 officers, 149 other ranks. A report in that 2 officers killed, 6 wounded, and not yet brought in.

7:45pm. Colonel Wyld hit in the wrist by one of our own shrapnel shells falling short. Captain Wenham, the Adjutant, took over command of Battalion. Lieutenant Watts sent up with spare Lewis gun to try and put out of action machine gun in north-west corner of High Wood. He was hit while going up into action. Shortly afterwards message received to send up two Platoons to reinforce 2nd Worcesters. Our last two Lewis guns under charge of Machine Gun Sergeant and 30 men sent up to Captain Smith.

10:20pm. Message received stating that Colonel Darling of the 9th HLI had taken over command of our defences. Situation: remainder of B and C Companies were spread out in small groups between 1st Queen's and 9th HLI. Remainder of A and D in trenches round High Wood under command of Captain Smith.

10:30pm. German prisoner brought down from High Wood and sent on to Brigade Headquarters.

10:45pm. Six Germans found on edge of road by a Battalion Headquarters. Two killed, four wounded. From appearances it seemed as if they had broken through our line and had been hit by one of their own shells.

16th July 1916. 2:10am. Orders sent out from Brigade that we should be relieved by the 19th Brigade. The 20th Royal Fusiliers came up and took up the line of support previously held by us on previous morning. Battalion march back to S.19.c.7.7. Some small holes dug by previous Battalion. Men very tired.

Rested all morning. Parties sent out in the afternoon and collected all their missing articles. Rain came on in the evening. Enemy sent gas shells round the outskirts of our camp. Men were obliged to put on gas helmets. No casualties.

17th July 1916. Rested all day. In the afternoon the Battalion had orders to move to Wood Trench behind Mametz Wood. Battalion marched off at 9:15pm and after a slow journey reached our destination. Battalion headquarters in old German dugout.

18th July 1916. Men improved trenches and rested as much as possible. Large party away all morning filling 80 petrol tins with water for a Brigade dump.

6:15. Second Lieutenant Cork went up to reconnoitre position held by 19th Infantry Brigade which we should support if necessary. A new draft of 79 other ranks joined the Battalion.

19th July 1916. Battalion rested during the day. Very hot weather. Draft of three new officers arrived at Battalion Headquarters at 2:30pm. They were put in the following companies. Second Lieutenant Whately A Company, Second Lieutenant Bevan B Company, Second Lieutenant Reed C Company. Very quiet all day, no shelling near our lines.

9:30pm. Orders received from Brigade Headquarters to stand to at 4am in the morning since the 100th Infantry Brigade less one battalion had been detailed for Divisional Reserve during an attack on High Wood and German entrenchment to its north. The 7th Division on our right would also be carrying out an attack at same time. Quiet night; no shelling.

20th July 1916. 4am. Stand to and ready to move at short notice.

11am. Had orders from Brigade to push up and hold trench along road S.9.c.9.0 – S.16.a.3.9 and cover the withdrawal of the Brigade from High Wood. Captain Wenham received orders to report at 19th Infantry Brigade Headquarters for instructions. Battalion was met by Captain Wenham at 19th Brigade Headquarters and proceeded to position as ordered above. A and C Companies moved into position untouched, but B and D were hampered by enemy’s shells causing a few casualties.

Second Lieutenant Cooper received shell shock in a dugout on the way up and also injuries which caused him to go to Field Ambulance. Lieutenant Paravicini and Second Lieutenant Oxley and a class of five other ranks joined the Battalion. The former being attached to A Company, the latter to D Company. 19th Brigade orders were received here that one company would keep up supply of SAA, trench mortar bombs and water for dump at south corner of High Wood. Each company was detailed in turn for this work accompanied with an officer. Few casualties occurred although they kept passing through a heavily shelled area. Battalion Headquarters was shelled heavily with 4.2 and 5.9 guns. After shelling had stopped, one of our aeroplanes drove down a German machine so low that Battalion Headquarters Company opened rapid fire on it and at once caused it to drop rapidly into the village of Bazentin le Petit.

10:30pm. Orders received from 19th Infantry Brigade to move up at once and relieve force holding High Wood. Battalion moved up by Companies and in spite of heavy barrage on road, had very few casualties and by dawn we completed the relief of a vacated line.

This is an extract from the Battalion war diary which is held at the Public Record Office, in document WO95/2430.

Notes:

Named casualties:

Second Lieutenant Richard Atkinson, 24, was reported wounded and missing on 15 July 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Major Adrian Cooban, 34, was killed in High Wood, July 1916. A native of Liverpool, he is buried in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery.

Captain Herbert Deedes, 34, a native of St Albans who was officer commanding B Company in the attack on High Wood. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Second Lieutenant Kenneth Denniss, 22, a Londoner in B Company who had been recently commissioned from the Honourable Artillery Company. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Second Lieutenant Edmund Grant, 27, died of wounds he received at the very beginning of the attack on 15 July, on 2 August 1916. A native of Winchester, he is buried in St Sever Cemetery, Rouen.

Lieutenant James Hichens, 43. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Lieutenant Richard Lewer, 26, died of wounds received in High Wood, on 21 July 1916. He was a native of Essex, and is buried in Heilly Station Cemetery.

C1064 Rifleman Ernest Rhodes, recent recipient of the Miliary Medal, was killed in or near High Wood on 15 July 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Named officers and men who became casualties later in the war:

Captain Edward Gonner MC was killed in action on 23 April 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial to the Missing.

Captain James Smith MC, 34, a native of Manchester was killed in action on 20 May 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial to the Missing.

Will that do?

[jacks4jules]

[Will that do?

Chris a Very Very Big thank you!!!!!

Have read through but I shall re -read several times yet.

Really brings home a glimse what these men had to go through .

I hope one day I may return the favour to you.

I am going to go to Bolton next week to see if I can find anything in the archives.

Thank you very much I really Appreciate you posting that for me.

Best Regards and Thanks Julian

[robertsim]

This is a description of the battle on 14/15 July at High Wood from the 9th HLI (Glasgow Highlanders) perspective and might help fill in a bit more detail, it's from Shoulder to Shoulder by Colonel A K Reid of the GH. The KRRC get a few mentions and they seem to tie in with war diary extract Chris has provided.

Cheers,

Rob

When the Highlanders reached Flatiron Copse at eight o’clock in the evening, Colonel Darling received orders to move forward and dig in on a line from the western corner of High Wood along the road towards Bazentin-le-Petit, joining with the 1st Queens who were to prolong the left as far as the cross-roads immediately north of that village. High Wood. was reported to be in our hands. On receipt of these orders the Colonel, who was given general charge of the whole operation, went forward to reconnoitre the ground, leaving Major A.H. Menzies in command of the battalion. The work in hand was consolidation to dig in in front of the enemy’s position on the high ground in front of Martinpuich.

The battalion, carrying picks and shovels, silently marched off in the fading light up the valley. A road led from Bazentin-le-Grand to the southern corner of the wood. The upper part of the valley was ‘T’- shaped, the right branch stretching towards Longueval, the left along the south-western face of High Wood. As the Highlanders marched up in file they met some stragglers of Indian Horse coming down. When the head of the column reached the corner of the wood, A Company - Captain T.H.H. Warren - and B Company - Captain Wilfred Whitson - deployed to the left, and moved on their objective with A on the right finding direction from the lie of the ground and the guidance of the south-west edge of the wood.

So far all had gone well. The orders had been clear and they had been quickly and quietly carried out, in spite of a few casualties from shell-fire and the difficulty of moving over unknown ground in the dark. Suddenly when they were almost half-way to their objective there was an intense burst of rifle and machine gun fire from the wood itself — which according to our information was entirely held by the 7th Division. At the same time heavy fire was opened from the front.

The shock was tremendous, and the deadly hail from front and flank took a heavy toll of both companies. One of the first casualties was Captain Warren, who fell badly wounded, To advance further with the right flank thus exposed was out of the question, and Captain Whitson ordered the men to lie down. The configuration of the ground gave a certain amount of cover, but already the losses in killed and wounded had been very heavy, particularly in A Company.

As most of the fire was coming from the wood it was necessary before anything else could be done, to clear at least the edge of it. Accordingly, the bombers on the right of A Company were ordered to attack it. This they did with great gallantry, throwing bombs and dashing in with the bayonet in an endeavour to get to close quarters with the enemy. Privates Flint and Milligan were prominent in this attack, but the wood was too strongly held, and the enemy’s fire frustrated all efforts to clear the flank. Some German trenches along the edge were occupied by part of A Company, and this made the position a little more secure for the time being.

Meanwhile, the two companies were returning the enemy’s fire from the front, and digging-in. This was done not without further loss — Lieut. Raeburn, A Company, a most promising young officer, being among the killed. About the same time 2nd Lieut. C.D. Reid of B Company lost his life in, a gallant attempt to lead his platoon forward.

It was now only too clear that the information that had come from the Division, that the whole of High Wood was held, was false. And when some men were observed to be dribbling out of the south corner of it, it was obvious that immediate action would have to be taken to secure our right flank and prevent the precarious position of the leading companies from becoming much worse. Capt. Menzies ordered Capt. Cowie with three platoons of C Company to advance through the wood, which be it understood was out of the 33rd Division’s area altogether. Capt. Cowie entered the wood and moved up a ridge some distance without meeting anyone till he bumped into the Germans. Driving these before him. he managed to get into a position in line with A Company’s right. He was unable to get any further for the enemy’s resistance increased and his small force was quite insufficient to clear the whole wood. This successful little operation was not achieved without considerable loss, among the killed being two more excellent platoon commanders, Lieuts. Cranston and Woodside. The position of the small party of Highlanders in the wood was not an enviable one, but they grimly held on throughout the remainder of the night. The right flank being now comparatively secure and the left in touch with the Queens, it was decided to consolidate the ground won at such terrible cost. This work had to be done under a galling fire. All through the night the numbers of killed and wounded continued to mount up. The stretcher-bearers, as always, worked indefatigably without regard for their own safety.

Dawn found the Highlanders clinging to the slopes of the valley, more or less dug into shell holes in an irregular line, with the right near the wood somewhat held back. A slight ridge running south-west from the wood gave some protection to the second line, but in front the position was very exposed. Behind was the open valley swept by the enemy’s fire from two directions. Colonel Darling’s conduct did much to steady the battalion during this tragic night and morning. His presence in the front line while the work was going on, the cool way he proceeded from post to post long after there was sufficient light for him to be seen by the enemy snipers, and above all his confidence and ready smile for everyone, acted as a tonic to sorely-tried nerves.

At 5.50 a.m. an order by General Baird timed 4.13 a.m. was received. The 33rd Division was to attack the enemy’s switch line in front of Martinpuich at 1a.m. with the l00th Brigade on the right on a frontage of 1000 yards from High Wood westwards, and the 98th on the left with its outer flank on the Martinpuich-Bazentin-le-Petit railway. The 19th Brigade was in reserve.

The Highlanders and Queens were to carry out the attack, which was to be preceded by a half-hour bombardment, during which the attacking battalions were to push forward as near the enemy’s positions as possible. The 16th Bn. K.R.R. was to be in support and the 2nd Worcesters in reserve.

The difficulties in carrying out this order were tremendous. The assaulting battalions had both been hard hit during the night, both were holding lines of shell holes with no communications. Behind them the valley was open and under direct enemy observation. Worst of all, the enemy held the northern half of High Wood including the western corner, which was full of machine guns enfilading the line of advance. Col. Darling was fully alive to this danger and pointed out that the attack could not succeed till the wood was cleared.

Superior authority did little or nothing to help — apparently it was not believed even yet that there were any Germans there — and at about half-past seven Col. Darling got a message from General Baird stating that it had been represented that the 7th Division should be asked to clear the wood preparatory to our attack, and enquiring if anything was being done about it. Nothing was being done. The local commanding-officer had received no direct order to clear the wood, although “it had been suggested” that he should do so. It was too big a job for him, however, so Col. Darling was left to tackle the problem himself.

The force at his disposal was inadequate. Three companies were already engaged with the enemy, one in the wood and two in the open. All had lost heavily, particularly A Company. Col. Darling decided to attack up the valley with B and D Companies, B on the right and each on a frontage of about 500 yards, while C Company (less one platoon) was given the task of clearing the wood. The 4th Platoon of C Company was in support of B and D. One of the companies of the 16th K.R.R. was detailed to support this attack in the wood, leaving only three behind the main assault of the Brigade.

At 8.30 the bombardment commenced and the companies began to feel their way forward. The enemy guns replied, and heavy machine gun fire from the corner of the wood made movement almost impossible.

Capt. Frame commanding D Company was wounded. Very little ground had been gained when the barrage lifted at nine o’clock.

At once the three companies dashed forward, Capt. Cowie in the wood and B and D up the open slope. C Company and the Rifles made some progress, but were soon held up, Capt. Cowie being, wounded. The non-success of this forlorn hope doomed the main attack to failure. As they advanced, the Highlanders were simply mown down like grass. From the front and right flank a deadly fire was poured in on them. Among the first casualties were Lieut. Ogg leading the first wave of B Company and 2nd Lieut. Terry Todd, who fell wounded while gallantly leading No.3 Platoon in support. Sergt. Wood carried on, but soon he too was wounded.

C Company’s support platoon now came on, led by Lieut. Duvoisin. As it advanced up the slope it came under a withering fire and lost heavily, Duvoisin being killed. The attack had simply melted away, the remnants of the two companies taking precarious refuge in shell holes, from which they continued to fire at the enemy.

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps lost heavily before reaching the position held by the Highlanders. The Worcesters then came forward, penetrated the wood for some distance, but by noon it was evident that the attack of the 100th Brigade had been a terrible and costly failure. About 150 yards had been won and held, but the new position was hopelessly exposed.

The 7th Division made two attempts to clear the wood in the afternoon and failed, and at nightfall the situation was unchanged. Under cover of darkness the line was adjusted, some of the more advanced posts, which had been held all day, being abandoned.

Early next morning — 3 a.m. — the Highlanders were relieved by the 1st Cameronians of 19th Brigade and moved back to Mametz Wood. Major A.H. Menzies was wounded while leading up the relief — he had had to do this himself as battalion headquarters was reduced by this time to two men who had to remain at the telephone. In consequence of this the party of C Company in the wood, now under Lieut. T.M. Burton, was not relieved till some hours later, by this time the 7th Division had withdrawn from the wood.

Some fifty men, many of them wounded, belonging to the forward companies in the open, knew nothing about the relief and remained lying out among the killed in the shell holes they had reached during the attack. These men, among whom were Sergeants Ross and Watson, also Corporal Deacon, were subjected during the following day to severe sniping from the wood. They were short of water and knew nothing of the situation. During the afternoon they crawled back through the long grass to the trench the battalion had occupied before the attack. Finding this position unoccupied, they made a dash for it down the valley, and were directed by the Cameronians to Mametz Wood “to join their battalion — or what was left of it.”

At Mametz Wood this amounted to less than half the men who had marched up to High Wood. The casualties had been, killed: 5 officers 87 other ranks, wounded: 15 officers 214 other ranks, missing: 1 officer 99 other ranks. Of the missing it was only too certain that almost all had been killed. Thus the total casualties amounted to 421 all ranks.

The pity of it was that these lives seemed to have been thrown away. In battle the staffs of higher formations cannot of course be in close touch with the situation in the firing line; their information is nearly always belated and very often incorrect. On the evening of July 14th the Highlanders were ordered to dig in as a line with their right resting on High Wood which was reported to be definitely held by the 7th Division. This order was carried out although with some loss, owing to the information about the Wood being false. But no great harm was done for the battalion remained steady and secured its flank.

The attack next morning, however, when the situation was clear is difficult to justify. Although it was well known that the enemy held the Wood and could enfilade any advance that was attempted, an attack was ordered. The attack was made. It failed as it was bound to fail; obviously someone had blundered. But as far as the Glasgow Highlanders were concerned, the fighting at High Wood strengthened their confidence in their Colonel and their Brigadier.

The 19th and 98th Brigades continued the fight for some days, suffering casualties out of all proportion to the small gains of ground made. At and round High Wood the infantry of the 33rd Division lost 4840 all ranks; at Waterloo the total loss of all the British infantry engaged was 4565

[jacks4jules]

Rob thank you very much for the very clear description of the battle at High Wood. I will re-read after work tonight but it does give a very good account making it easier for me to understand the situation.

Thank you very very much indeed it really does give a very detailed description.

Thank you for your knowledge and your time!

Very Best Regards Julian

[conijoni]

Am attaching a picture of Wm Crook. This image appeared in the CLB's magazine 'THE BRIGADE' in October 1916. The medal was awarded for High Wood. Wilfred Crook was killed at High Wood, maybe a brother as he was also from Bolton. Are you a relative? Have other info but you would need to be family to make sense of it. Email me personally.

[J Banning]

There are five or six pages in Lyn Macdonald’s ‘Somme’ book which describe the attack and use quotes from men who served with the 16 KRRC. Well worth a read.

[jacks4jules]

There are five or six pages in Lyn Macdonald's 'Somme' book which describe the attack and use quotes from men who served with the 16 KRRC. Well worth a read.

Thank you very much I shal try and get a copy.

What a fantastic forum this is!

[conijoni]

Before I proceed I need to know if he was related to J Crook of 110 Bennetts Lane, Bolton. Otherwise I cannot help you further. There is also the book 'The Hell they Called High Wood'. You cannot purchase copies of THE BRIGADE.

[Drummy]

The local paper was the Bolton Journal & Guardian, all (well I'm sure most) of the first war biographical articles have been indexed, which should assist you quickly locating an article if one was published. Thanks Neil

[David_Blanchard]

Excellent overview of the failed attack on High Wood 15 July.

Thanks