The advent of Mustard Gas at Ypres, 12-13 July 1917

[Simon Jones]

I have posted an extended extract from a paper that I presented to the 'Dead Reckoning Passchendaele 1917' Conference at the In Flanders Fields Museum in 2007 on the German introduction of mustard gas just prior to the opening of 3rd Ypres in July 1917. You can find it on my blog.

regards

Simon

[WhiteStarLine]

Simon, a well written paper, with a very objective analysis. Worth reading.

[Fattyowls]

Simon

An excellent piece of work; thank you for posting it. It's advanced my knowledge of gas warfare which was pretty basic I have to admit. I'm very intrigued by the concept of mustard gas as a defensive agent; it begs lots of questions.

Pete.

[phil andrade]

Not only very informative, Simon, but interesting too.

Astonished to read that the French were prepared to accept casualties in manufacture of gas that rivalled those sustained from enemy gas in the front line....French factories were dangerous places !

You allude to British gas casualties of three to four thousand a week in Sept - Oct 1918 : that implies thirty thousand, or about one eighth of all battle casualties during that period.

There's something almost " Schlieffenesque" about its deployment : use it hard and use it fast, before the others get to do it back to you ..

Phil (PJA)

[Simon Jones]

Thank you all for the feedback. It is much appreciated.

Simon

[petwes]

Simon

Thanks for posting the link to your paper. I found it very interesting in itself and also from a family history perspective. My Grandfather was gassed in Nieuport on either the 24th or 25th July 1917. His service record indicates the symptoms of mustard. At a medical board he is quoted as saying "“that the gas caused violent inflammation of the eyes and a rash on the skin in the perspiring parts of body. I lost my voice but did not suffer with my chest. When I march any distance over 3 miles I get very short of breath”. It was over 6 months before he was passed fully fit to return to active service but never returned to France.

Regards

Peter

[Simon Jones]

Thanks Peter, that's very interesting. Although most men were deemed to have recovered from mustard gas injury the long-term effects were not then understood and it is only through records like your grandfather's that we learn of them. Do you know if he continued to suffer post-war?

regards

Simon

[Cnock]

Simon,

thanks for sharing!

Cnock

[petwes]

Simon

I have just rechecked my GF’s service records; my earlier reply was based on a few notes I had made a while ago.

His recovery was longer than I had recalled, at his penultimate medical board on 5^th March 1918 he was declared Class A fit for general service. Looking through the comments from the regular medical boards the main problem was with his eyes. Initially he suffered from conjunctivitis which had cleared up by December but later the problem was “hyperemia of the upper lid of the right eye”. During the earlier part of his recovery he was also very easily tired and was described as appearing pallid; he was classed C and excused marching. The very last board in April records “Now much better”. He was disembodied 9^th February 1919 Medical category A1. Sometime in the period April 1918 to Feb 1919 he was promoted from 2^nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant. He served in the Home Guard during the second world war. He died in 1956 at the age of 69 from a heart attack following a previous one a year or two prior. I really don’t know if he suffered lasting effects of the gas and whether it could have been a contributing factor in his death. I cannot recall my mother mentioning anything about him being gassed. When my mother was young her parents played tennis at the local club and later I think her father became a keen bowls player. Grandfather was also a good singer (Baritone) and a member of the London Choir. My feeling is that there was no permanent obvious disability as a result of the gassing.

Hope my slightly long winded reply is of interest.

All the best

Peter

[Simon Jones]

Peter

Many thanks. That's definitely interesting. He seems to have lived to a pretty good age for the time.

regards

Simon

[Fattyowls]

Following on from Peter's detailed diagnosis; I remember reading or hearing of men gassed who suffered with bronchial problems years after the war and this often contributed to premature deaths. One example I came across was Joseph Mercer Snr. who served with the 17th Middlesex (the 1st Football Battalion) and was unable to regain his former prowess as a footballer after being gassed. I think he died in 1928; his son Joe Jnr.went on to play for Everton, Arsenal and England and manage Manchester City and England. I'd always assumed that the agent was chlorine but would any of the other gases used cause long term lung damage?

Pete.

[Simon Jones]

Phosgene caused lung damage and was used far more than chlorine. If you were unlucky enough to be in the vicinity of an exploding mustard gas shell you could also suffer serious lung injury.

[Fattyowls]

Thanks Simon. Lots of gas related information is suddenly making sense to me. There's a story I read about a group of men sheltering on ledges in a water filled pill box which suddenly became untenable and caused those sheltering to become casualties when the body heat of the men caused the mustard liquid to evaporate. I think it was in one of Peter Barton's books; the whole subject is grimly fascinating.

Pete.

[WhiteStarLine]

Scar tissue on the lungs from mustard gas was a big contributor to early deaths of returned servicemen. The colds and flu that everyone suffers from time to time became potentially fatal to them with their reduced lung capacity. In the 25 or so year gap before penicillin was available, adrenaline injections and ampoules were dispensed.

In my grandfather's case, assessed as 25% fit on his return, his family remember him with his head on the kitchen table, unable to walk up stairs. He died in 1938 and the most likely incident was a sustained bombardment of 25,000 shells, mainly mustard, over several days at Villers-Bretonneux. After the initial shelling, as the day warmed, the cloud of gas drifted upwards being retained by the woods. Sugar dissolved and potatoes shrivelled as the water was absorbed out of them.

[Ivor]

One of my great uncles, 28009 Private Thomas Henry Holden 8th battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was at Ypres on the 12th July 1917 and was one of the 13 casualties that the 8th Loyals listed as being a casualty as a result of being gassed. Thomas met his brother Robert of the Cheshire Regiment who were also in Ypres at the time, and told him that he would be going back to a hospital to recieve treatment. This however, necer happened as the casualties were listed in the Brigade war diary as 'All still at duty'. 23 days later he was killed whilst occupying Westhoek Ridge opposit Glencourse Wood.

[Simon Jones]

Thank you Whitestarline and Ivor, fascinating accounts.

[Simon Jones]

As a follow-up I've added another post with some more details and images on measures to protect against mustard gas.

regards

Simon

[MikeyH]

Simon,

Found your paper on Mustard Gas very interesting. My wife's Grandfather a Bombardier in 'B' Battery, 88th Brigade Royal Field Artillery was killed on Sunday 17th September 1917, with another member of his Battery. He is buried at Vormezeele, fascinating to read the the British Batteries at this location were targetted in July by a gas bombardment. Family sources have always maintained that his death was due to gassing. Your paper indicates that the gas attacks continued throughout this period i.e. July to the end of the year and into 1918. Or would the Batteries have been by then relocated. Anything you can add would be most appreciated.

Mike.

[Simon Jones]

Thanks Mike.

The batteries would have been relocated between July and September 1917 owing to the large number of units coming in and out of the area with the different phases of the Third Battle of Ypres. 88th Brigade RFA as part of 19th Division was on the Messines front in July 1917, then moved north and on 20 September was near Klein Zillebeke. The majority of British gas fatalities at this time were from diphosgene, although many did die from mustard. Family sources notwithstanding, you will probably only know for certain if he was killed by gas if his service record survives.

regards

Simon

[MikeyH]

Simon,

Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply, no service record survives, either for him or his fellow Battery member killed on the same day and buried in an adjoining grave. Though I now have a reference no. for the Brigade War Diaries held at Kew, thanks to another GWF member, what a great Forum.

Regards,

Mike.

[Simon Jones]

You are welcome. Hopefully the 88 Brigade RFA war diary will indicate whether it was a gas bombardment.

Regards

Simon

[g6yfb]

Hi Simon,

My grandfather was gassed on 23rd July 1917 in the rue du bois sector close to Erquinghem, he was sent back to eastbourne for convalescence (hastings house) and eventually sent to Dublin Ireland as he was considered no longer fit for France. He went blind for a period and was told by the doctors that he only recovered because he was in such a good state of health (a good diet prior to joining up). on discharge from the army in 1919 he was judged to be 30% incapacitated and was awarded a war pension of 8'6" a week.

he always had problems with his chest/breathing but lived to a good age eventually passing on in his eighties. He worked as a postman all his life so kept himself very fit and regularly cycled to his allotment where he was a superb gardener.

do you happen to know if there was an adequate gas mask issued to the British troops at the time ?

Regards

Graham

[Simon Jones]

Graham

Thanks for sharing your account of your grandfather's experiences. There was a good respirator issued to British troops in July 1917. Mustard vapour however was dangerous a long time after the burst of the shell and men might inhale it or suffer ill effects to the eyes or skin before becoming aware of the danger.

Regards

Simon

[RobertBr]

Based on you paper it seems likely that Mustard Gas caused my Grandfather. a gunner with the RFA, to become a casualty on Maundy Thursday 1918.

He was back in England on Easterr day and hospitalised first at Roose, near Barrow in Furness, then Rippon and returned to his unit on 9th September.

He died in 1954 aged 62 of Lung Cancer.

Bob

[g6yfb]

Simon,

I have just been going through some of my grandfathers medical discharge notes, it states that the war pension was for "inflamation of the stomach" attributed to gas wounds. do you happen to know what this means and was it a common wound following gas attacks ?

He was evacuated to Eastbourne (Hastings house, St Johns, Holmesdale Gardens) which I understand to have been a VAD hospital. Later posted to 208 depot (I have no information on 208 depot) and then posted to Dublin in February 1919 until his final discharge in June 1919.

Regards

Graham