Sgt Stripes Posted 11 January , 2022 Share Posted 11 January , 2022 A tough ask this but does anyone have information regarding a bomb explosion that took place on 25 March 1918. According to the diary of Capt T D Cumberland RAMC on that date the 9th Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment were near Doldzeli Ravine when a bomb exploded in Elbow ravine killing a number of men and severely wounding three others. A captain of the 12th Lancashire Fusiliers arrived with an order to hold the wounded until he had held a board of inquiry. Capt Cumberland informed the officer that every wounded man would be evacuated as soon as possible and that he was not taking orders from combatant officers as to the disposal of the sick and wounded. This sounds to me like it was an accident involving a grenade . a court of inquiry was held the next day. I would like to know if it was an accident involving a grenade and also is it possible the name the men who were sadly Killed . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 16 January , 2022 Share Posted 16 January , 2022 I suspect that you are quoting from the booklet by Peter Donnelly which have just turned to in case it held more information, but it is pretty much exactly what you have posted. I see that the regimental museum do have a digitised offer of the war diary of the battalion, as well as of the relevant volume of the regimental history, but I have not as yet acquired either. if you track the names of the three killed from CWGC, there is a faint chance that there might be something about one of them in Lives. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 16 January , 2022 Share Posted 16 January , 2022 On 11/01/2022 at 18:45, Sgt Stripes said: A tough ask this but does anyone have information regarding a bomb explosion that took place on 25 March 1918. According to the diary of Capt T D Cumberland RAMC on that date the 9th Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment were near Doldzeli Ravine when a bomb exploded in Elbow ravine killing a number of men and severely wounding three others. A captain of the 12th Lancashire Fusiliers arrived with an order to hold the wounded until he had held a board of inquiry. Capt Cumberland informed the officer that every wounded man would be evacuated as soon as possible and that he was not taking orders from combatant officers as to the disposal of the sick and wounded. This sounds to me like it was an accident involving a grenade . a court of inquiry was held the next day. I would like to know if it was an accident involving a grenade and also is it possible the name the men who were sadly Killed . CWGC have no 9th Bn casualties for that day, but they do have 4 from 8th Bn. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Stripes Posted 16 January , 2022 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2022 Many thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 16 January , 2022 Share Posted 16 January , 2022 Thanks Craig The 8th according to the LLT were in 3 Div, so would not have been anywhere near the salonioka campaign. The query remains unresolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 16 January , 2022 Share Posted 16 January , 2022 3 minutes ago, keithmroberts said: Thanks Craig The 8th according to the LLT were in 3 Div, so would not have been anywhere near the salonioka campaign. The query remains unresolved. Odd. I've looked a day on either side as well without anything obvious on CWGC for the 9th. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Stripes Posted 16 January , 2022 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2022 Cheers craig. Thanks for taking the time out for looking. A mystery indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Stripes Posted 18 January , 2022 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2022 Just wondering if Captain Cumberland could possibly be talking about the 2nd Battalion KORL Regiment who were in Salonika at the same time as the 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 18 January , 2022 Share Posted 18 January , 2022 (edited) I have deleted my original comment that was here. Looking at the exact wording, Cumberland does not state that the three men who died were in his battalion, or even regiment. The 9th King's Own were in 65 Brigade, 22 Division, in the sector west of the southern tip of Lake Doiran. Doldzeli is the ruined village marked on some maps as Doljeli and the ravine of that name is nearby, but I have been unable to trace Elbow Ravine. Attached part of a September 1917 map of the area from the Official History, courtesy of the Salonika campaign Society I have conducted various searches on possible casualties, (CWGC and SDGW) based just on commemoration in Greece, and the only three who died on 25 March 1918 really don't fit the story. SGDW has at least 2 of the 3 as "died" and buried in Lembet Road Thessaloniki, which devinitely fits for men who died of various diseases. I give up. Edited 18 January , 2022 by keithmroberts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Stripes Posted 18 January , 2022 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2022 Thank you Keath. It's been a mystery for over 100 years and I think we will leave it there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Ravine Posted 18 January , 2022 Share Posted 18 January , 2022 Elbow Ravine is shown on several of the maps in the SCS Trench Map collection. One example, Map Name: Dojran_09-07-1917_Trenches, Easting / Northing: 1244 / 1823. For those who don't have the maps, this is approx 1km South West of La Tortue (shown on the map above, SW of Dojran)). Hope this helps. Keith (the other one!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 18 January , 2022 Share Posted 18 January , 2022 Thanks keith (the other one), I was lazy and just checked the Official History maps. I can see it now. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now