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Remembered Today:

1st Bn East Yorkshire Regiment.


Doug Lewis

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Could anyone please tell me where the 1st Bn East Yorks were between the 2 and 17 April 1918? (More specificly A Coy)

Regards Doug.

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Between the Battles of St Quentin and Bapaume (Somme 1918) and joining in at the Battles of the Lys you will need to see the digital war diary here:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7353174

Some of the 1 Battalion casualties for the period you mention are remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial,so likely to have been in the vicinity of the Ypres sector and/or the Lys.

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Thanks Sotonmate

Doug.

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Loker and Kemmel sectors around those dates.

Dave.

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War Diary

LOCRE (28.N.23)

2nd April 1918

Capt FL Ball MC joined and took over B Coy. Lt FC Booth rejoined. Reinforcement 191 OR.

3rd April 1918

Coys reorganised

KEMMEL (28.N.21)

4th April 1918

Marched to PARRET CAMP as reserve Battalion on the left Brigade. Had not been in camp an hour when orders received to move to ROSIGNOL CAMP nearer KEMMEL which was shared with 14th NF. During the night PARRET CAMP was shelled.

5th April 1918

Coys continued reorganising, bathing and paying out. Most Officers reconnoitred line of and approaches to left Brigade Sector and approaches.

6th April 1918

Coys continued reorganising, and bathing. Remaining Officers reconnoitred line of approaches to left Brigade Sector. Fine day. Very wet in the evening and throughout the night.

7th April 1918

Fine day, though cold. Battalion moved from KEMMEL to DONCASTER HUTS LOCRE. Move completed at 3.15pm. 2nd Lt R Yates proceeded on a Signalling course to X Corps school.

LOCRE

8th April 1918

Lt Col Trimble having handed over Command of the Battalion to Major JN Coles departed for MG School Grantham. Draft of 250 OR arrived.

9th April 1918

CO and Coy Commanders proceeded by bus to SHRAPNEL CORNER and Reconnoitred line astride the MENIN Road held by 6th W York R while the Battalion moved by light rail and march route to OTAGA Camp YPRES. Capt A/Adjt AH Ewing to FA. 2nd Lt SS Howard took over duties of Adjutant.

YPRES

10th April 1918

1st Lincoln R came into OTAGA Camp about 4pm and the Battalion moved off about 7pm from HOOGE CRATER where guides from 6th WYR were to have been met but it was discovered that the relief was cancelled and the Battalion returned to OTAGA Camp about midnight finding that the Lincoln Regt had departed.

11th April 1918

Moved in the afternoon to NOTTINGHAM CAMP, RIDGE WOOD (28.N.5) East of DICKERSBUSCH

NOTTINGHAM CAMP

12th April 1918

Rested during the day and as soon as it was dark proceeded to take over line North of WYTSHAETE (28.O.19) from elements of 8th Black Watch and 9th Seaforth Highlanders(Pioneers). The line held was very complicated, the guides did not know the way and the night very dark with the result that B Coy did not get into position until the following night. Major FL Du Moulin and 13 other officers, some already on the strength, joined the Battalion. Officers in the line:- Major JH Coles (CO) Major FL DU Moulin (2nd in C) 2nd Lt SW Howard (A/Adjt) 2nd Lt GR Ware (Inst Off).

A Coy Capt EB Robinson, Capt JA Oughtred, Lts JC Booth, S Coverdale, Norton

B Coy Capt FL Ball, Lts GW Wisbey, HT Stephens, Johnston-Stewart

C Coy Capt WF Sleath, Lts FA Toogood, WAH Smith and P Wallis.

D Coy Capt MB Stephenson, Lts AD Robinson, N Foster, Russell.

The following remained with nucleus Lt GW Bolton, A Woodhead, A Tatlow, R Yates at Transport Lines Lt & QM Billinghurst, 2nd Lts Keech and Nicholls. The line was held A Coy right front B Coy left front C support D Reserve. Battalion HQ was in GRAND BOIS. The 62nd Brigade was on our right holding the line round WYTSHAETE and the 15th DLI on our left.

Front Line

13th April 1918

Foggy morning, all efforts to organise the line had to be made by night owing to sniping activity.

14th April 1918

Quiet day

15th April 1918

C Coy relieved B and D relieved A

16th April 1918

Trench map Wytschaete 28 SW2

5am very heavy enemy bombardment opened on our front line and on various barrage lines, chiefly in the valleys behind and at 5.30am the enemy opened a heavy attack against the line on our right and against D Coy the right front company. The 62nd Brigade were almost at once driven out of their positions and the right platoon of D Coy under 2nd/Lt were all killed or captured but the rest of D Coy held fast all day although the enemy three times penetrated into their trenches. The disappearance of 62nd Brigade made the formation of a defensive flank necessary from D Coys right 0.14.d.2.5 approximately on line North Ho - Black Cot. This was formed by B Coy and 2 platoons of A Coy afterwards thickened by 1 Coy of 15th DLI. During the afternoon the platoon holding North Ho (2nd Lt Wisbey) was heavily shelled by our own guns and had to be evacuated. This point afterwards held up the left of the counter attack. At 7.30am a counter attack was launched by various troops of the 9th Division. The left consisting of 2 Coy's Notts and Derby were held up by North Ho but the centre 7th Seaforth Highlanders penetrated in small party's through Wytschaete but eventually concentrated on NW slopes of hill.

17th April 1918

B Coy was ordered to retake NORTH HO and this was done at dawn 17th by one platoon under 2nd Lt Stephens who captured 3 German MG's and made good their position. The Counter attack was renewed in morning but very little gained except by left who were unable to get up into line SW of NORTH HO. All this time D Coy held out although isolated and practically surrounded. After dark the following Officers came up to replace casualties, 2nd Lt WE Whitley A Coy TG Mayhew B Coy SA Palmer D Coy.

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Cheers Whalebone

Information very much appreciated, these 15 days were sadly the total amount of service a man I'm researching had. He joined the Bn on the second as part of the 191 reinforcement and died of wounds on the seventeenth aged 18. He had only landed in France at the end of March.

Regards Doug

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  • 3 years later...

Could anyone please tell me where the 1st Bn East Yorks were on 18 April 1918. And thanks for the information already shared about where they were up to this date. Any help in intrepreting the place of casualty or other abbreviations would be hugely appreciated too. The soldier was Charles Henry Brearley. Thanks.

BritishArmyWWIServiceRecords1914-1920 11 extra cas.jpg

Edited by simondigs
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  • Admin
46 minutes ago, simondigs said:

Could anyone please tell me where the 1st Bn East Yorks were on 18 April 1918. And thanks for the information already shared about where they were up to this date. Any help in intrepreting the place of casualty or other abbreviations would be hugely appreciated too. The soldier was Charles Henry Brearley. Thanks.

BritishArmyWWIServiceRecords1914-1920 11 extra cas.jpg

 

You can download the war diary from TNA using the link at post 2 

This weekend Ancestry is free and the diary can be read there If you subscribe the relevant page is  here

( link may not work for the free access).

The map referred to in the diary can be viewed at the NLS where you can overlay a Google map ( with practice)

http://maps.nls.uk/view/101465197

 

It appears he was in the same draft as discussed above ( this thread is 3 years old) and it appears was posted to C Company.

He was apparently wounded in the attack on the 18th a shrapnel wound (SW) arm and buttock and a fractured back.  He was admitted to 27 Field Ambulance where he died of his wounds.

 

The diary for 27 Field Ambulance for this period is at TNA 

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14017366

or again on Ancestry

 

 

 

 

Suggest you look at the diary(ies) and then go to the parent site the Long Long Trail for more information on how to research a soldier and how to read a trench map. Link top right.

 

Ken

Edited by kenf48
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