War Diary 1/1 North Somerset Yeomanry 10/11/14

[BillyH]

To any of you still interested in the North Somerset Yeomanry war diary.

It has now been digitised and is available from the NA for £3.36 :

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/s/res?discoveryCustomSearch=true&_q=1+north+somerset+yeomanry&_ser=WO+95&_col=online&image1.x=62&image1.y=9&image1=GO

BillyH.

[BottsGreys]

Hello BillyH.

Thanks for the link--appreciated!

Chris

[AndrewThornton]

I have just come across this thread. I posted about him yesterday on my Facebook page - The British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front - 1914-1918. Here is the post:

“Alf, my best pal, was shot through the neck. He and I were shooting down the Germans for all we were worth. It was for us either to shoot them down or have the cold steel. Alf and I fired round after round. I gave my brave young brother an...d Trooper Gay orders to hand us up the rounds as we wanted them and they could not clear the sand off them quickly enough for us, so you can tell how we were firing. When we saw the Germans coming up on our right, I have four bullets through my cap and the fifth grazed my head, and Alf said, “Mind Charlie, let me have a go at them on the right,” and no sooner had he turned round than he went down like a log. A German on our front had shot him through the neck. He bled freely and I bandaged him up as best I could. Personally I never thought I should get through it. I was waiting for my time to come, for it seemed most certain. I dragged him out on one side because he was getting trodden on and the shells were knocking down the trenches. As the Germans came running through so they were shot dead. My troop suffered very badly. We were with B Squadron. I saw my officer (Mr Bailward) shot down. I never had to time to see to him as we had to keep shooting them down or they would have been on top of us.”

An extract from a letter written by 888 Sergeant Charles Gibbs, of the 1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry, describing his experiences of the action fought on 17 November when “B” Squadron, together with the 3rd Dragoon Guards, defended their trenches on the Zillebeke-Klein Zillebeke Road against a determined German infantry assault.

“Alf” was 942 Sergeant Alfred Cleall. Charles’s younger brother, 536 Private Fred Gibbs, is also referred to in the account. His troop officer, Second-Lieutenant Alexander Noel Bailward, is also mentioned.

The letter appeared in an article published in The Western Gazette on 18 December 1914.

[gregsamways]

Hello All,

I am trying to create a number of collaborative pages for the NSY. Please take a look and sign up to the face page or email me if you want to help with any of the other projects:

Facebook Page

Website

Interactive Timeline

Lives of the First World War

Many thanks

Greg

[Sparks3846]

Hello, I am new to the forum and have read this series of posts with great interest having only recently discovered the previous existence of my uncles Charles Henry Gibbs and Frederick William Gibbs.  My son, just a week ago researched into my fathers family as far back as my Grandfather.  I am now 76 but I confess to have never met with my fathers siblings and he was the thirteen of 16.