9th Bn E Lancs War Diary

[Rockdoc]

I have no idea what PRI stands for. It isn't something I've come across before.

Most of the ground north of Salonika is limestone and, especially from Doiran northwards, it's a bit like the Peak District gone mad - one line of rolling hills after another. The soil is very thin, except in the floors of valleys where it's accumulated, and any construction of significance would have to be blasted out of the rock. It would have made sense for the first- and second-line defences to be completed first as they'd be the first targets for the Entente forces so my guess is that the work was associated with the third line.

When we were at Memesli, on the Kosturino Ridge, Romeo showed us some of the scraped-out positions created by the 10th (Irish) Division in 1915. They didn't have the time or the luxury of explosives to create anything really useful and the best they could manage were shallow scrapes in which they could lie down and present as small a target as possible.

Keith

[Gardenerbill]

I have edited the previous 2 entries re. Capt Rollo, I had the name first as Rolls then Rollo in my notes, I have subsequently seen a reference to Rollo in another post in the Units and formations forum hence the change. Sadly it looks like he was killed at the Battle of Doiran at the end of April 1917.

[Gardenerbill]

1917 JANUARY NR. BAISILI

1^ST

Nothing to report.

2^nd

0530 4 off. & 20 O.R. of D. coy leave to reconnoitre in direction of HODZA REDOUBT

3^rd

Nothing to report.

4^th

1250 Motor lorry moving from DEDELI to DOIRAN

(Dec. 28) 5 O.R. proceed on leave to U.K.

5^th

All quiet. Nothing to report.

[Gardenerbill]

I have found a possible meaning for P.R.I. on the internet; Preliminary Rifle Instruction is one of the 5 stages to becoming a marksmen, unfortunately in the US marine corps.

The Janauary post above shows that another assault on the Hodza Redoubt is imminent.

I was speaking to my mother a few days ago and she remember my grandfather telling her that they could see enemy lorries across the valley, and there it is in the war diary, nice to get these confirmations.

Another story he told me was that on the way to the front at one of the rest stops some of the men drank from a spring, and he laughed when he told me they ended up with the runs as it was mineral water like epsom salts. In the Gardeners of Salonika it says that there were mineral springs at Yanesh which would have been on their route to the front.

[apwright]

_{The "sour water" of Metalliko/Janes is still widely lauded as an excellent "aid to digestion". There's a roadside spring where you can stop and fill your water bottles.}

_{http://en.wikipedia....talliko,_Kilkis}

_Adrian

[Gardenerbill]

NEAR BAISILI (continued)

6^th

0641 Very light sent up from HODZA REDOUBT. No firing.

0645 Bombardment of HODZA REDOUBT, CEMETERY WOOD, HODZA WOOD, AKINDZALI E. etc. begins.

0650 Bombardment of HODZA REDOUBT lifts.

0700 Redoubt captured, 4 Bulgars killed 1 prisoner.

0725 HODZA WOOD captured.

0800 Advance on AKINDZALI W begins. Intense bombardment.

0810 Bombardment lifts. AKINDZALI W. entered. Village deserted.

0852 Retirement begins.

Total casualties 2 O.R. killed 5 O.R. wounded.

7^th

Nothing to report.

8^th

Day misty & damp

[Gardenerbill]

Once again the Hodza Redoubt needs to be taken, the Bulgarians having re-occupied it, but this time its to protect the Battalions own men who have been given the task of taking the nearby village of Akindzali West.

Another difference is that this time there is a barrage of various objectives first.

Sadly 2 other ranks are killed.

[Gardenerbill]

I have just discovered the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site and it has a really good search facility. I wasn't able to find the man who died on the 27th of December in the first assault on the Hodza Redoubt, however the 2 men who lost their lives during the second assault on the 6th of January were:

23634 Pte Tattersall, R, Commemorated on the Doiran Memorial.

9/14427 Sgt Lister, J W, Buried in Doiran Military Cemetery.

[Gardenerbill]

Near Baisili (continued)

9^th

1400 Enemy observation balloon N.W. of L DOIRAN up until 1600 hrs.

1645 Small boat seen on N. end of Lake.

The u/m officers & O.R. were mentioned in Gen Milne’s despatches

Major (T. Lt. Col) S.A. Pearse,

Lieut. (since Capt.) R.A. Brodie-James

2/Lieut. F.C.A.C. Neal,

9/14263 Cpl Lancaster E.

13 O.R. return to duty from 65^th M.G. coy.

10^th

Nothing to report

11^th

2/Lieut. Addison rejoins from HP

12^th

All quiet. Nothing to report.

13^th

All quiet. Nothing to report.

14^th

All quiet. Nothing to report.

[Gardenerbill]

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to find out the reason for being mentioned in despatches, I suppose if the men in question go on to get a medal there is a citation, this is presumably be based on what was in the despatches?

[Gardenerbill]

Still NEAR BIASILI

15^th

Major Seyd (2^nd-in-c). 4 other officers & 5 O.R. advance party of 2/23 London Regt. Arrive.

16^th

2/Lieut. Lenny 11^th S. Staffs. Regt reports for duty & is taken on strength.

1. off. (Lieut. C.J. Sharp) & 6 O.R. return from 1^st leave party.

3 O.R. reported detained in Preston (smallpox outbreak)

1 O.R. to HP at GRAMATNA

17^th

1000 Patrol of 2 off. & 2 O.R. of A coy. proceed in direction of HODZA SUYU

1030 Patrol of 2 off. & 6 O.R. of D coy. proceed in direction of the MILL

1300 Both patrols returned.

Nothing to report.

Lieut. Sharp & batman & 1 O.R. proceed to SPANCOVO to join Corps observation posts.

18^th

Releif by 2/23 London Regt. Commences.

[Gardenerbill]

INDZELI

19^th

0645 Releif complete. All S.A.A. trench stores, reserve rations etc.

handed over. Roads in awful condition.

Bn orders (appendix C) issued.

1500 Bn leaves for SNEVCE.

1700 Bn arrives SNEVCE

Lieut. MacFarlane & 1 O.R. proceed to SUMMERHILL as Instructors.

SNEVCE

20^th

1400 Bn orders (Appendix D) issued.

Bn leaves for NORAVCA bad roads & later snow.

NORAVCA

21^st Bn orders (Appendix E) issued.

Bn leaves for HIRSOVA arrives 2030 hours

HIRSOVA

22^nd Bn orders (Appendix F) issued

Bn remains at HIRSOVA

23^rd 1000 Bn leaves for SPANCOVO by platoons at 500x intervals last

platoon arrives SPANCOVO 1715 hours.

[Gardenerbill]

SPANCOVO

24^th

Following officers appeared in the New Years Honours list:

Major (T. Lt Col) S.A. Pearse D.S.O.

2/Lieut F.C.A.C. Neal. M.C.

The u/m O.R. was awarded the M.M. for gallantry in action.

3/20923 L. Cpl. Ainsworth. N.

Foot, rifle and kit inspections only.

Bn in Divl. Reserve

25^th

Coy. & unit training commences.

1 Coy. works on main KARASOULI road.

Bathing at Divln baths

Lieut L.W. Croft is attd. To 65^th Bde H.Q. for duty.

26^th

2/Lieut N.L. Gibson appointed assistant adjutant.

2/Lieut N.L. Gibson temporarily assumes duties of P.R.I.

27^th

Capt A.D. Rollo is attached to “A/90” Batty until 6^th prox for instruction in liaison duties.

28^th

1 O.R. candidate for temp. commission in ref. Army proceeds to KARASOULI rest camp.

29^th

Nothing to report

30^th

Capt H.V. Leonard and 9 O.R. proceed on 14 days leave to U.K.

Lieut G. Buckley (ex. Railhead Cmmdt. SNEVCE) rejoins Bn for duty.

31^st

Capt W.A. Heurtley 2^nd-in-c. D. Coy takes command of “B” coy. vice Capt H.V. Leonard on leave.

2/Lieut R.F. Lee takes temp command of “D” Coy.

1 O.R. & 50 O.R. per diem detailed work on Divl. Anti-Gas school trenches etc.

[Gardenerbill]

Above is the last post from the notes I made on my first visit to Fulwood, I have another 17 pages of notes I made on another visit on Saturday, they take me up to the time my Grandfather was transferred to the A.S.C. if forum members would like me to continue posting the diary for February, March and April then I will start a new thread.

P.R.I. is mentioned again above still not certain what this means.

The entry about the other rank being a candidate for a temporry commission is interesting but what does 'ref. Army' mean?

Ithink the final line should be 1 Off & 50 O.R. per diem etc.

Finally it would be interesting to find out what actions resulted in the 3 medals mentioned in the new years honours list, something I may return to.

[Rockdoc]

I've enjoyed these posts, Mark, and would welcome their continuation.

Keith

[GraemeClarke]

Seconded

[Gardenerbill]

I have enjoyed posting these diary entries and the process and helpful comments, have helped me to interpret them.

I have completed transcribing the next couple of months and will start a new thread shortly.

In the mean time I have studied the leave entries and found the following:

From December '16 to March '17 five parties totalling 2 officers and 34 O.R. went on leave to England and three leave parties totalling 1 officer and 16 O.R returned, 4 remained in Preston due to ill health 1 went absent.

Assuming a Battalion strength of approx 1,000 men, at this rate, if my maths is correct, it would have taken 8 years for everyone to go on leave. Something of a token gesture I think, I wonder how they decided who would go?

[Rockdoc]

I believe it was pretty much down to length of service/absence from home. The earlier you arrived the sooner you were given leave, all things being equal.

Keith

[MartinWills]

I have no idea what PRI stands for. It isn't something I've come across before.

Most of the ground north of Salonika is limestone and, especially from Doiran northwards, it's a bit like the Peak District gone mad - one line of rolling hills after another. The soil is very thin, except in the floors of valleys where it's accumulated, and any construction of significance would have to be blasted out of the rock. It would have made sense for the first- and second-line defences to be completed first as they'd be the first targets for the Entente forces so my guess is that the work was associated with the third line.

When we were at Memesli, on the Kosturino Ridge, Romeo showed us some of the scraped-out positions created by the 10th (Irish) Division in 1915. They didn't have the time or the luxury of explosives to create anything really useful and the best they could manage were shallow scrapes in which they could lie down and present as small a target as possible.

Keith

A number of the defensive scrapes in the area - especially those on the retreat route (eg Crete Simonet and Crete Rivet) were created by the French and proved to be a disappointment from the perspective of the Irish Division offering little depth or protection.

[MartinWills]

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to find out the reason for being mentioned in despatches, I suppose if the men in question go on to get a medal there is a citation, this is presumably be based on what was in the despatches?

You can, on occasion, find out the details, but generally the sheer volume of MIDs mean that the details cannot be found.

[MartinWills]

I have just discovered the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site and it has a really good search facility. I wasn't able to find the man who died on the 27th of December in the first assault on the Hodza Redoubt, however the 2 men who lost their lives during the second assault on the 6th of January were:

23634 Pte Tattersall, R, Commemorated on the Doiran Memorial.

9/14427 Sgt Lister, J W, Buried in Doiran Military Cemetery.

The missing man is 14959 Pte Wellington Pilkington buried II.F.34 at Doiran Military Cemetery died between 26/12/16 and 27/12/16 and whom CWGC list as 26/12/17 because they need one date on the neadline page and headstone for the man.

Whilst the memorial is at the top of Colonial Hill, the cemetery is at the base of the hill.

Sgt Lister is in II.E.34 and is listed in soldiers died as Cpl. (I wonder if the promotion was "in process" when he was killed?)

[Gardenerbill]

Thank you Martin, I will widen my search dates next time, I suppose in the confusion of larger actions with greater numbers of casualties this sort of thing is probably quite common.

[MartinWills]

Bill,

I guess particularly in a night attack recording the exact time of death is not really a priority. Studying several actions in Salonika I know tii is not unusual for a death to be noted as being over two succesive days - looking at this one, however, did make me realise that the CWGC effectively chooses a single date. I guess the actual date does matter in terms of when pay is stopped. Does anyone know how this worked when there are 2 days listed?

That aside, I did think "what a splendid name" - Wellington Pilkington!

[Gardenerbill]

To continue following the exploits of the 9th E Lancs from February to April 1917 click the link below:

 

 

[Gardenerbill]

Resurrected for forum pal @Peach