A.J.Frost, 1/8th R.Warwicks Regt., 1 July 1916

[clive_hughes]

Arthur James Frost was born at Marylebone, Middlesex and enlisted in the 1/8th Royal Warwickshire Regiment at Birmingham as Private 2370 (later 305045). His next of kin were resident at Berkhamsted, Herts.

He landed in France on 22 March 1915 and was killed on the Somme on 1 July 1916, aged 34, his unit being part of the 48th Division, and is buried in Serre Road Number 2 Cemetery.

The 48th Division don't seem to have been engaged much that day, placed as they were in reserve, between the fighting at Gommecourt and Serre, and apparently being brought forward late on that day. I would be interested to know more about their activities then.

I would also be pleased to know more about Pte. Frost, especially if a photo exists.

Thank you,

Clive

[trenchtrotter]

The 1/8 were attached to the Fourth Diivision to assist intheir attack on the Redan Ridge and they stormed the Heidenkopf position (Quadrilateral) and toiok it and the support trench beyond. However due to lack of progress on the flanks they were subject to enfilade fire and forced to retire and sufered heavy casualties including their CO.

Hope this is a started.

TT

[bmac]

The 1/8th along with the 1/6th were attached to the 4th Division for the attack on Redan Ridge. Both lost heavily.

War Diary

1^st July

2.0 a.m. Battalion reported present in forming up trenches.

4.3 a.m.-7.0 a.m. Reported that everyone had a good breakfast. Artillery bombardment was intense and not a lot of retaliation from Bosch. Artillery increased in intensity. Enemy replying with field guns and 15 cm.

7.0 a.m. Very intense artillery on both sides.

7.25 a.m. Enemy machine guns opened all along line. Three minutes later our troops are lying on parapet ready to advance.

7.30 a.m. Advance begins. Enemy first line reached and passed very quickly also was the second. Only in one or two cases were any enemy seen in these two lines. Having plenty of casualties from machine gun fire in enemy third and fourth lines. At the third line we were temporarily held up my machine gun fire but took it by rushes. From this point the fighting was all with bombs along trenches. We reached our objective probably 35-40 minutes from zero hour (7.30 a.m.) and at once commenced consolidating and cleaning rifles under the direction of Capt Martin and 2^nd Lt Turner. By this time the next battalion was arriving but had had so many casualties that they could not go through us so helped consolidating. This happened with all battalions following us. Many times we were bombed from this position and regained it until bombs ran out. We had to retired to their 3^rd line parapet and hold on with machine and rifle fire. Parties were detailed to collect as many bombs as could be found (both English and German) and when we had a good store we again reached our objective. No supply of bombs coming from rear so could not hold on and returned again. Enemy machine guns and snipers were doing a great amount of damage all the while. Enemy artillery opened but fortunately their range was over. Held on to this position until relieved by a battalion from the rear. All through the action no troops were seen on our right or left. This had a great deal to do with the inability to push past our objective.

11 p.m. Arrived at Mailly Maillet and were put into billets.

2^nd July

Resting except Roll Call. Casualties arrived at from Roll Call.

Officer casualties

Killed:

Lt Col E A Innes

Maj. A A Caddick

Capt S W Ludlow

Lt R Adams

Lt J G Fussell

Lt C Hoskins

Lt & Adjutant A Procter

Lt F W Wareham

2^nd Lt E R Shuttleworth

2^nd Lt F B Key

Wounded:

Lt D R Adams

Maj. J N Townsend

Lt L W Auster

Lt H M Jones

2^nd Lt J Teague

2^nd Lt S W Pepper

2^nd Lt F H Heath

2^nd Lt R H Fish

2^nd Lt L Griffiths

Lt H V Nash, RAMC

Wounded and missing:

2^nd Lt F B Freeman

Wounded and Prisoner of War

2^nd Lt G A Brettell

Other Ranks

Killed 57

Wounded 255

Missing 251

[bmac]

Account by Brig Gen W R Ludlow father of Capt S W Ludlow

In support were the 12^th Brigade, with the 48^th Division in rear. It will thus be seen that the two Birmingham battalions were allotted the place of danger and of honour, there being eight Regular battalions of the Old Contemptibles in the two brigades. On the right of the position to be attacked was the village of Beaumont Hamel, and on the left the hamlet of Serre. The ground rose gradually for about 2,000 yards to these villages, and was honeycombed with a series of deep chalk pits, giving every advantage, both of grazing and overhead fire, while an acute salient, known as the quadrilateral, gave a flanking fire along the whole position, which bristled with machine guns. A previous air recon­naissance provided a most accurate map of the position, showing every detail, and every officer and a proportion of the N.C.O.s had a map served out to them. The enemy’s trenches were everywhere protected by wire, and the nearest trench was about 800 yards distant. At that stage of the war the artillery had not been brought to such a pitch of perfection as it is to-day, and the preliminary bombardment only partially destroyed the enemy’s wire or cut broad lanes through it. The 1/8^th Battalion, as were each of those engaged, was about 800 strong, while 200 were in reserve manning the original trenches in case of a counter-attack. The total storming infantry in the 10^th and 12^th Brigades were nearly 8,000 men, and the frontage of the objective near the quadrilateral was 400 yards. There was not a vestige of cover between the German trenches and our own, but there was a slight rise in their direction. The objective was Pendant Copse. On the previous night all front battalions were moved back to the fourth line of trenches, the first three being lightly held. The reserve division was in the vicinity of Mailly Maillet.

On looking at the position to be attacked from our first line of trenches marked with a board ‘Old British Line’, it seemed an impossibility for any troops to attack it successfully, and well might the officers say as they strung over the top, “We are in for it this time, by Jove!” The Germans opened with a terrific bombardment of the three front-line trenches. The battalion moved off to the assault at 7.30 a.m. on July 1^st in eight successive waves of skirmishers at three paces apart, rifles being carried at the port and bayonets fixed. All the officers were in line with the men, and each carried three bombs, as well as 170 rounds of ammunition, entrenching tools, and spade or pick. In addition, between each of the four double companies in the rear were ten men carrying bombs. No other equipment was carried by the men, except a haversack with two days’ rations and water bottle. The first, second, third and fourth lines of German trenches were carried by 7.50 a.m., and at that hour two or three officers found themselves in possession of the position with about 20 unwounded men, which number was subsequently increased by various regiments of the Regular brigade to between 150 and 200. Other parties of men and officers had penetrated into the village of Serre and to the outskirts of Beaumont Hamel. The position was held tenaciously until half-past one, but the 29^th and 31^st Divisions, having failed to reach their objectives, Beaumont Hamel and Serre, the 4^th Division was ordered to retire. Our aeroplanes did magnificent work, and drove off the Germans, and messages were constantly sent back for reinforcements, more ammunition and bombs, but such was the intensity of the artillery fire kept up by the enemy on No Man's Land that the 6^th Battalion, which fol­lowed, suffered heavily, arriving in the wake of the 8^th with only about 25 men, and was unable to render any effective aid beyond helping to consolidate the ground already won.

The object of this assault was to occupy the German our- and the attention of the enemy while the French and ourselves were taking a position at Pozieres, but the real value was that this great attack served to keep the German forces busy and prevented the French from being crushed at Verdun. In the opinion of officers I have seen and talked with, it was this offensive which saved Verdun and probably Paris. It was a gain of the utmost value. The 10^th and 12^th Brigades were unable to relieve the 11^th in consequence of the intensity of the fire. The brigadier was killed early in the action when in the act of crossing No Man's Land by moving his Brigade Headquarters front the Old British Line trenches to the German trenches taken by the 8^th Warwicks and while leading and cheering on the 1/8^th Battalion in the assault; prior to this he christened the 11^th Brigade the ‘stone wall brigade’ on account of its gallantry, courage, and determination. The distance between the successive waves of the advance was 100 yards, and eye-witnesses have described it as being just like an advance on an Aldershot field day, the distance kept and the dressing of the men being remarkable. As there was no prospect of the supporting troops coming up in sufficient numbers to hold the position, and the advance of 29^th and 31^st Division being stopped, the Germans in the afternoon organised a strong counter-offensive, and large numbers of wounded and dead officers and men of the 1/8^th Battalion had to be left behind in the German lines. Several officers were killed and wounded when they had taken the position at the final stage of the objective by Germans who came out of dugouts behind and threw bombs among them.

A HEAVY CASUALTY LIST.

90 per cent. in the 1/8^th.

In those days there were no ‘mopping up’ parties regularly told off to clear out these nests of the enemy left behind in the course of our advance, and this accounted for the enormous number of casualties. Very few prisoners indeed were taken on either side, and it was only those who were wounded who fell into the hands of the Germans, and as far as could be ascertained only one officer and four men of the 8^th were taken prisoners, and these were all severely wounded before capture. All the officers were dressed as nearly as possible like the men and took their place in line with them, but did not carry rifles. One officer, however, carried a Winchester Repeater shot gun, with which he did good execution on arriving in the German trenches. It was originally intended that the 1/6^th Warwicks were to have gone through the 8^th, and taken the fifth and sixth lines of German trenches, which were on higher ground in front of the village of Serre, but they were decimated before they got to the position. The consequence was that front the bombing and machine-gun fire front the German trenches in the fifth and sixth lines, and the high ground beyond, the casualties were so heavy that the remnant who got to the fourth line of German trenches were forced with the 8th to retire in the shell holes and craters in No Man's Land, where they lay until it was dark and could retire in comparative safety into their own lines. There are several large craters on the ground to-day, three of them being within 100 yards of each other on the road to the Mailly Maillet Serre Road, and they would be 60ft. to 80ft. in diameter, while there are others in different parts of the lines, and it was due to the existence of these craters made by our mines that the survivors of the two gallant Birming­ham battalions escaped. The other battalions forming the 11^th Brigade suffered almost in the same proportion.

The splendid heroism displayed by these two Territorial Battalions was the admiration of the Regular Brigade to whom they were attached. Well may Warwickshire and the City of Birmingham be proud of their fine discipline and glorious sacrifice, which have added another immortal page in the history of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

ROSTER of Officers of the 1/8^th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment who took part in Attack on German Trench System known as the Quadrilateral, N. of Beaumont-Hamel. July 1^st, 1916.

HEADQUARTERS

Lieut Col E A Innes, CMG Killed

Major J N Townsend DSO Wounded

Lt and Adjutant A Proctor, MC Killed

Signalling Officer Lt H M Jones Wounded

Medical Officer Lt F N Walsh Wounded

A Company

Capt C W Martin DSO Wounded

Lt L W Auster Wounded

Lt J G Fussell Killed

2^nd Lt J Richards (In reserve)

2^nd Lt R H Fish Wounded

B Company

Lieut. C Hoskins Killed

Lt H Block (In reserve)

2^nd Lt E R Shuttleworth Killed

2^nd Lt S H Anstey Wounded

2^nd Lt L Griffiths Wounded

2^nd Lt J Turner MC Wounded

2^nd Lt S W Pepper Wounded. Killed in subsequent Action

C Company

Capt Stratford W Ludlow Killed

Capt D R Adams Wounded

Lt R Adams MC Killed

2^nd Lt F Heath Wounded

2^nd Lt E A Brettell Wounded and Prisoner

2^nd Lt F F Freeman Killed

2^nd Lt Laing

D Company

Major A A Caddick Killed

Capt S N Coxon MC Wounded

2^nd Lt J Teague Wounded

2^nd Lt F W Wareham Killed

2^nd Lt F B Kay Killed

2^nd Lt J Dennison Killed in a subsequent action

Transport Officer

2^nd Lt W Durand

Quartermaster

Lieut C Harding.

The casualties among the rank and file were 573 out of 600 who took part in the assault, exclusive of officers. There were only five prisoners out of the casualties, one of whom was an officer, and all severely wounded.

[clive_hughes]

Gosh, that's excellent folks. I'm most appreciative of your posting that information.

Clive

[Alan Tucker]

There were 230 1/8th deaths that day according to CWGC.

1/6th were also attached that day - 156 deaths.

[David_Blanchard]

Has there been any books published on the 1/8 Warwickshires ?