New Photo discovery

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

When I sent my completed manuscript and photos to Helion I knew that it would reflect the photos and information I had at that moment. Almost immediately I came across and purchased photos that could have been used in the book but it was too late.

Here is an example. There are 3 known photos of the men from RIR 119 and their prisoners from the 2nd South Wales Borderers taken in a trench raid at Mary Redan north of the Ancre. I have two that are published, one that was not (Page 401 of The Other Side of the Wire, raid story P. 397-399, photos P. 400-401) and now I have come across a fourth I had never seen before. Fortunately I was able to get this photos and even though it is not going in the book it is another piece of the puzzle, a clue to the events from that period.

I always wondered who these men were, their names, some particulars. I was lucky with Private Gavin from the one photo also in the book and perhaps some day the names of these men will be found. I thought the forum members might like to see it.

Ralph

[DavoT]

Ralph,

what a fantastic photo. Glad you shared.

Cheers,

David

[Steven Broomfield]

The History of the SWB (C T Atkinson, 1931), reports as follows:

"The battalion's first tour in Western Front trenches was, however, to be memorable, for about 9 p.m. on April 6th the enemy suddenly opened a tremendous bombardment, barraging the communication and support trenches and systematically demolishing the fire-trenches and wire with minenwerfer. Great damage was inflicted, especially on the right of the line held by C Company, dug-outs were smashed in and some of their occupants buried, telephone-lines were severed, communications with the guns was interrupted*. Many of those in the front trenches managed to withdraw to the support line, but when the German guns lifted on to the support trenches, it was impossible to prevent the enemy from entering the front line and capturing a dozen men who were trapped in a dug-out. A few Germans pushed on down Bond Street, a communication trench leading to the support line, but were met and driven back by a bombing party headed by two officers. At 10.30 p.m. the bombardment suddenly ceased, and the battalion could reoccupy the front trench and set about investigating and repairing the damage.. This had been considerable. It was a "terrible shambles," one officer writes, "bay after bay being blown in and killed and wounded being buried under the blown-in trenches." Not only the front line but the communication trenches were badly knocked about, the wire had been practically completely demolished, and the Borders and the Inniskillings had to send up working parties to help reconstruct the parapet and clear away the debris. Casualties too had been heavy: 29 men killed and died of wounds, 18 missing, 31 and 5 officers, Captain Blake, Lieutenants Bodley and Llewellyn, Second Lieutenants Dickinson and Powell, wounded. Altogether it was a dismal opening to the battalion's career on the Western Front. It was pure bad luck to have been holding a sector which had evidently been marked down as the victim of a carefully prepared and organised raid; the weight of the bombardment - about 8,000 shells, mainly high-explosive, were calculated to have fallen on the area bombarded - would have tried any defences."

"* Our guns, however, opened a heavy fire in reply, and apparently inflicted some damage on the raiders as they retired with their prisoners."

The battalion had, with the rest of the 29th Division, only recently arrived from Gallipoli.