Lieutenant Peter Clutterbuck, 1st Bn. East Yorkshire Regiment

[LDT006]

Grave 1.B.38 at Houplines Communal Cemetery Extension is for an Unknown Officer of the East Yorkshire Regiment.

He was exhumed from 36.I.30.b.7.9. which is just south of Prémesques (between Lille and Armentieres), his regiment was involved in a battle there on 20 October 1914.

The other officers who are mentioned as casualties in the war diary have a known burial location or "Believed to be"
Captain Hind, Frank https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/327997/hind,-frank/
Lieutenant Pease, Mark Robinson https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/281130/pease,-mark-robinson/

I have found a lot of information which is available through Google, an interesting article: http://www.hertsatwar.co.uk/biographies/930882/peter-clutterbuck 

But I have problems to decypher the last but one line in the war diary, think it reads:

missing ???? Robson or Robsin wounded. Other Ranks.

Can somebody help?

 

Thanks,

Luc.

 

 

 

[museumtom]

On another note;

 It was at Mons; the breathless fight

Ran to a second day

After a storm of shell by night,

A fresh and furious fray;

There in the hot, unpitying sun,

The Germans gathered, four to one;

Said our captain, “Duty must be done!”

 

He summoned up his company,

And keenly scanned each face;

“The foe are there,” said he, “And we

must shift them from the place.

Fix bay’nets. Boys! We’ll let them feel

Just what it’s like to taste cold steel!”

His smile he tried hard to conceal,

Which was just like Clutterbuck.

 

Fiercer the deadly fight became,

But as the mouth of hell;

The air around was a sheet of flame,

And many a comrade fell.

Up stood the Captain as shrapnel burst

Over the men, who at it cursed;

In the charge he meant to be the first—

That was just like Clutterbuck.

 

Just a glance at the foe he threw,

On the hillside looming large,

Another glance at the lads he knew-

Out rapped the one word, “Charge!”

He didn’t look, when he’d said his say,

To see if his men sprang to obey.

But he reached eight co, and led the way!

It was just like Clutterbuck.

 

A ringing cheer in exultant notes

And fine North Country “burrs,”

Swell from the insty(?), dusty throats

Of the King’s Own Lancasters;

Sheer up the hill each man-jack speeds,

Nobody falters save he who bleeds,

Racing hard—but the Captain leads,

And that’s just like Clutterbuck.

 

Never a moment now for talk,

Now is the time to do;

Into the Germans they fairly walk—

Lancashire lads all through!

Four to one! And a shirker might

Think it no shame to take to flight,

But, the Captain thought the odds about right—

Which was just like Clutterbuck.

 

There in the thick of all the din,

Bang in the front was he,

Like a lion loose, and wiring in--]leading to victory!

But, when the fight was just on won,

King Death beckoned his bravest son,

His time had come—but duty was done—

That was just like Clutterbuck.

 

Happy the land with such tales to tell!

It can be conquered never!

Happy the heroes who, like him, fell—

For they shall live forever!

When British heroes, in British ways,

Achieve great deeds in coming days

These be the forms of your proudest praise—

“It was just like Clutterbuck.”

[laughton]

On 05/12/2019 at 14:21, LDT006 said:

He was exhumed from 36.I.30.b.7.9. which is just south of Prémesques (between Lille and Armentieres

 

For sure you have him in the correct area. Mont de Prémesques is marked on [Lille] 36 at 36.I.b.0.3 or thereabouts. That is about 6,000 yards east of Bois Grenier, the marker point for those of us from Canada. Map snip [wo297_0886]

 

Lieutenant Peace, as you have shown, has a Special Memorial B "Believed to be buried in this cemetery". The CWGC would thus say, the grave at 1.B.38, nex to Pugh, could very well be the grave of Peace and not Clutterbuck. David Avery challenged me on one like that a few years ago and said I would have to prove he (in this case Peace) was not in that grave.

 

Are there any other graves of other UBOs of the 1-EYR in that cemetery?

[jay dubaya]

22 hours ago, laughton said:

Lieutenant Peace, as you have shown, has a Special Memorial B "Believed to be buried in this cemetery". The CWGC would thus say, the grave at 1.B.38, nex to Pugh, could very well be the grave of Peace and not Clutterbuck. David Avery challenged me on one like that a few years ago and said I would have to prove he (in this case Peace) was not in that grave.

Are there any other graves of other UBOs of the 1-EYR in that cemetery?

 

The possibility of the grave being that of Pease is a very big issue on moving this forward, there is also a slight anomaly with 1.B.46 and 47

 

 

Having not looked at the battalions war diary we should also rule out Captain Wilson

 

J

 

[LDT006]

There is indeed more work needed for this.

Captain Wilson was killed much closer to Lille and can be excluded with a bit of work.

 

This article has details of the exact location where Lt Clutterbuck was killed.

We need the service files of both officers and some more war diaries to continue with this, I don't have the time right now, maybe later .

A CWGC argument could also be used, something like his: "There must have been evidence or serious doubt at the time that it was not the grave of Lt. Pease, Decisions taken then cannot be challenged"

 

Luc.