1st Northamptonshire Regt up to Aubers Ridge

[Upton OS]

I'd like to obtain as much detail as possible about the events and actions of my great uncle's regiment 1st Northamptonshire up to Aubers Ridge where he died.

Many helpful posts in GWF forums but am unsure how to obtain war diary and other information about the unit as a whole. Also, other sources which might make mention of my great uncle and build a picture of the men he served with.

Great uncle was Lt. Charles Selwyn Cowley; he joined the Army in 1912.

I don't know which company he served in.

I do have a photo album he started before the war showing him and other subalterns larking around. A picture home on leave Feb 15. Then small snaps of blasted country near Neuve Chapelle. One of his fellow officers pictured was Bacon (- just found an image of him from 1924 via Google/flickr indicating he was one of the two officers unscathed at Aubers).

(The album was continued by his brother, my grandfather with many images of members of his RFA unit up to and including the occupation of Germany. Glad to know how best I might share these images with those potentially interested)

James

[Stebie9173]

The War Diary is not yet online at the National Archives, but is available to view on site at Kew. His officers file should be there as well. I'm afraid I don't have a copy of his officers file yet.

The War Diary records that he was with "C" Company at Aubers when he was killed.

I have him noted as being commissioned from a Cadet of the Royal Military College as a Second Lieutenant on 17th September 1913. He embarked to France on 3rd November 1914. He joined the 1st Battalion just as they came out of the First Battle of Ypres with only two combatant officers left. He was promoted to temporary Lieutenant on 29th October 1914 and then to a Regular Army full Lieutenant with effect from 15th December 1914, the latter announced in the London Gazette of 12th May 1915, three days after his death.

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28756/pages/6561

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28985/supplements/9962

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29160/supplements/4628

It is just gone midnight here, so I will have to stop there. The next three evenings are a bit full at the moment, but I will try and get back to you on some sources of detail for you.

Steve.

[Upton OS]

Many thanks Steve.

I'll head for Kew then.

In your experience, is there likely to be much else I'd be able to glean from the Regt Museum?

James

[Stebie9173]

It is always worth contacting them - especially for pre-war officers.

I have a copy of the war diary, though some of the entries are about as brief as you can get which I can e-mail you a copy of, either for the Nov to May period or wider if you need it. Also there is the Regimental History ("Northamptonshire Regiment 1914 - 1918") which covers the 1st and 2nd Battalions in quite some detail. Also E J Needham's "The First Three Months" covers the period up to October 1914 from his viewpoint, though the officers mentioned in his narrative were all killed or wounded before Charles Cowley joined, and those that rejoined generally did so after he was killed. The book is very rare and expensive, though I can point you in the right direction if you want to look at that period.

Steve.

[Upton OS]

I'd be very grateful for war diary - including from Aug 14; it sounds as if the unit had a particularly tough first year.

Presumably I'd go to museum for regimental history.

I'm interested to know how to find Needham's book.

The names of officers pictured in CC's album include: Bacon, Pickering, Jervois, Warren and Westrope. Unless this was all on leave in Feb 15 I guess they might have been reserve battalion and posted to different units? I mention them in case you are familiar with any. I can email if you are interested.

James

[Stebie9173]

James,

Can you e-mail me on XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(close up the gaps and replace the @)

and I will see what I can sort for you! Time permitting....

All the officers are familiar to me, and yes I am interested in the pictures, etc.

I will delete the e-mail address once you have e-mailed me.

Steve.

[Stebie9173]

James,

E-mail received, thanks, and reply sent with attachment. Let me know if there are any problems.

Steve.

[Upton OS]

As per email, thanks for directing me to Needham’s account - a fascinating and engaging account of the first few weeks of the war. All the more interesting since he was in C Coy just before my great uncle joined it. I see Max Hastings’ new book sets out to disabuse us of the notion that 1914 was a light hors d’oeuvre to the later years and trench warfare.

It's very moving to contemplate that 1st Northants lost most of it's strength twice over in the space of eight months or so.

It’s nice to see that several of CSC’s contemporaries in his photo album survived the war. Were some ‘fortunate’ to be wounded during the Battle of the Aisne and perhaps missed Aubers Ridge? Jervois and Warren appear to have been successful professional soldiers. Bacon also survived judging by photos one can Google. It's sad to find a reference to Pickering dying in 1933 from causes related to the war and I wonder if this was due to what would now be seen as PTSD or other injury. (One of my grandfather's closest comrades from the RFA apparently threw himself under a tube train in the years after the war).

I found the following link to an account by a soldier in the Kings Royal Rifles Regiment, which was in the second wave behind the 1^st Northants at Aubers. Half way through it becomes clear why CSC and many of his comrades have no known grave. The second barrage would only have made matters worse.

A Soldier's Tale: Albert Money Wounded at Battle of Aubers Ridge, May, 1915.

James

[Upton OS]

Regarding original enquiry, is anyone familiar with the following which are held by the Imperial War Museum?

Private Papers of Brigadier W Jervois MC

Interview recorded in July 1982 but concerning his service as a subaltern in France with the 1st Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment (May - October 1915) and the 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (from May 1916)

Private Papers Brigadier W Jervois MC (Documents.8410)

James

[Stebie9173]

I haven't managed to get to the IWM to dive into some of the fascinating papers they have there. Maybe soon!

As far as the battle of Aubers Ridge is concerned, I always point people towards a local newspaper report from Sam Yerrell, a Sergeant in the 1st Battalion (sometimes referred to by it's old designation as the 48th of Foot, as Sam refers to the battalion). I have posted that before a few times so I will direct you there:

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47020&hl=

I have been out tonight but I hope tomorrow will give me some time to catch up with everything (I hope!)

Steve.

[David_Blanchard]

Does the the regimental history of the 1 Northamptonshire have much to say about the actions on 3 November 1914 when a distant relative Private John Arthur Allen was killed?