1st Battalion Rifles on 1 November 1918.

[Lesley Harris]

First time using this site........I'm interested in the 1st Battalion Rifles on 1 Nov 1918.  My late husband's family relation was killed and is buried in Preseau cemetery.  His name was Harold Thomas Pettitt no 49402.  I believe that his name also appears incorrectly as H J Pettitt.

 

On the war graves site i see that another solider C Pettitt  (but may also be G Pettitt) B/200971  also 1st Bn Rifle Brigade is two graves along, but I cannot find any family link as yet.

I am grateful for any info on the battalion on a day so close to the end of this war.  I am a complete novice at this but following on from my husband's interest.

thanks 

[PRC]

Hi @Lesley Harris and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately the service records for Private 49402 Harold Thomas Pettitt, 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, were among the majority that went up in flames in WW2 when German bombs hit the London Warehouse where they were being stored.

Soldiers Died in the Great War, an HMSO publication from the 1920's records that he was born, resident, and enlisted in Northampton. He was killed in action on the 1st November 1918.

As you're no doubt aware his webpage on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, (CWGC), website shows that he was aged 18 when he died, and was the son of Thomas Scott Pettitt and Harriet Pettitt, of 44, Gordon St., Northampton. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/579283/harold-thomas-pettitt/

The same page shows him buried at Preseau Communal Cemetery Extension. The CWGC webpage for the cemetery under the heading Location shows "Preseau is a village on the road D73, Valenciennes - Villers-Pol, approximately 6 kilometres south-east of Valenciennes and 10 kilometres north-west of Le Quesnoy. The Communal Cemetery is on the south side of the village, adjoining the churchyard, and the extension is beside the Communal Cemetery, 50 metres from the church".

And under History "The Extension was made by the 4th Division in November 1918, after the capture of the place. There are now over 100, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, a small number are unidentified and a special memorial is erected to one soldier known to be buried among them. The dead are mainly of the 4th and 49th (West Riding) Division". https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/64003/preseau-communal-cemetery-extension/

The 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade had been in France since August 1914. Throughout the war it remained part of the 11th Brigade in the 4th Division. https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/the-rifle-brigade-1914-1918/

At the time of Harolds' death the 4th Division were involved in the Battle of Valenciennes (1-2 November). https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/4th-division/

The other Pettitt you've mention, Charles, was from Woodditon, near Newmarket in Suffolk. There may be some familial relationship but I suspect it's not an immediate one. A forum member @stiletto_33853 provided some information a little while back about the 1st Battalion involvement on this day, which can be read here http://undyingmemory.net/Woodditton/pettitt claude.html

Going back to the civil records, it looks like the birth of a Harold Thomas Pettitt was registered with the civil authorities in the Northampton District in the January to March quarter, (Q1), of 1900. Then as now you had 42 days after the event to register the birth, and what appears in the quarterly index for England & Wales is the quarter registered, which is not necessarily the same as quarter born. So in theory he could have been born as early as mid-November of the previous year and registered in the opening days of Q1 without his parents facing a fine for late registration. It looks like he was baptised at St Katherine, Nothampton on the 1st April 1900, but my source for that doesn't show a date of birth.

The significance of when he ws born is that in the spring of 1916 conscription and national service were introduced. It is most likely that Harold was called up in the weeks after his 18th birthday - so either very late 1917 or the opening third of 1918. He would most likely have reported to a Training Reserve Battalion, (if you look at the webpage linked to for Charles Pettitt you will see he had joined the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, from the 17th Training Reserve Battalion). The intention of the system was these young men shouldn't see combat until they were 19, although they could be sent to a theatre of war in the three months before that. However in the first half of 1918 in the face of large casualties suffered as a result of the German Spring Offensive, the age for combat was temporaily reduced to 18 and a half, By late summer, with the arrival of the Americans in large numbers, the age returned to 19.

His Medal Index Card, (literally that, an index card raised by the clerks at the relevant records office in late 1918 \ early 1919 to keep track of the documentation and correspondence to do with the issue of service medals), shows that he received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. That combination of medals means that he did not serve in a Theatre of War until some point on or after the 1st January 1916 - and given the information about his age that would be consistant with him having gone out in the summer of 1918.

Having most likely done his training in the UK with a Training Reserve Battalion, he would most likely have gone out as part of a general draft. He and the draft would have reported to an Infantry Base Depot in the British Base area of France, (centered around Rouen). As well as receiving some up to date training for life in the frontline, they would have been marked down for specific drafts based on the requests coming from units like the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade. Sometimes whole drafts would go to just one unit, others woud be split up into multiple penny packets. However this was the point that they were formally transferred into their new units and a new service mumber assigned.

So very likely that men with nearby service numbers in the 1st Battalion arrived together. If one or more of those has surviving service records then it may be possible to draw some inferences about at least a part of the army career of Harold.

One source that may be of interest is the Battalion War Diary. Although it's unlikely to mention him by name it will give some idea of where they were and what they were up to during the likely period Harold was serving with them. You may find references to the arrival of drafts. The Diary can currently be downloaded for free from the National Archive. You do need to sign in with your account, but if you don't have one even that can be set up as part of placing your first order. Just click on "sign in" and follow the instructions - no financial details are requested. The 1st Battalion War Diary covering January 1918 to March 1919 can be found in the National Archive catalogue here https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7352160

Additionally the Government Probate Service holds a copy of the soldiers will for him, although they have indexed his death as the 1st January 1918. These wills were taken from a mans paybook and frequently say nothing more that "I leave everything to my mother \ father" but there is a 50/50 chance that at least it will be in his handwriting. I believe they can still be sourced from the probate service as a (low quality) pdf for £1.50.https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#soldiers

One last source to mention, (for now!), is the Army Register of Soldiers Effects, available on Ancestry and Fold3. This is a financial inventory rather tha a list of the soldiers possessions. One of the bits of information it contains is the War Gratuity amount awarded. For a Private the award of £3 means they had served less than 12 months. Anything more can be used by whizzy people on the forum to calculate the four week period in which the soldier enlisted.

Hope that gets you started,
Peter

Edited 8 July , 2022 by PRC
Typos

[Lesley Harris]

Wow!

thank you Peter for such detailed information covering many topics and providing links to sites that I can find further info.

I am very pleased I decided to log onto this forum. My husband may have used it. He would have been pleased that I am attempting to follow his interest in WW1 soldiers and their family history.

thanks again 

Lesley

[alf mcm]

There are also some pension records on Ancestry/Fold 3 which mention Harrold Pettitt and Harriett Pettitt. Harold Pettitt - UK, World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 - Ancestry.co.uk

I am at work just now, so perhaps another member could look at them.

Regards,

Alf McM

 

[Lesley Harris]

Thanks Alf

I know how to use Ancestry and have found the Pension records.

Thanks to Peter I have downloaded The war dairy  which I found very interesting and I managed to navigate down through the pages to 1 Nov 1918.  

I note that only Officers wounded or kia are registered, so of course Harold is not listed being a rifleman.  I have noted the honours and awards.

I am asking his great niece to see if here are any photos in the family archives, but as she is the niece, her grandfather may not have had any of his brother.

Thank you again for responding to my enquiry.

Lesley

[stiletto_33853]

Hi Lesley,

Harolds number of 49402 indicates transfers from other units and the training reserve later in the war as followed by Peters excellent post.

The other Pettit B/200971 is another story, the B 6 figure prefixes was a sort of half measure and 1st started appearing in September 1916 and were usually base grabs of fresh recruits from all sorts of Regiments when they arrived in France. They usually came in batches of 30 to 50, i.e. B/200001 to B/200033 originally were recruits for 1st Leicestershire Regiment, B/200034 to B/200070 1st North Staffs Regiment next batch Norfolk Regiment and so on. However later on it was used as a prefix number for some recruited in the UK.

Andy 

Edited 8 July , 2022 by stiletto_33853

[jay dubaya]

Soldiers Died in the Great War (SDGW) records Harold being born, a resident and enlisting in Northampton, his headstone is correctly named.

 

Further along the row as you have mentioned is Claude Pettitt of the same battalion who also died on the same day. SDGW records him as being born and a resident of Wood Ditton, Cambridgeshire and enlisted at Newmarket, he is also recorded as previously 13/5775 17th Training Reserve.

[Lesley Harris]

Thanks Jay & Andy.  I’m glad I joined this forum and have more info on Harold.

thank you to all who have responded.

lesley

[PhilB]

Just in case you haven’t realised it, Lesley, your man didn’t serve with the 1st Rifles but the 1st Bn Rifle Brigade. The modern Rifles were formed in 2007. Despite its name, the Rifle Brigade wasn’t a Brigade but a regiment of numerous battalions.

[sassenach]

"The History of the Rifle Brigade in the War of 1914-18 (Volume 2)" records that "On the night of 2 November the First Battalion was, for the last time, relieved and marched back to billets in Haspres. After the heavy fighting of the previous day, which was to prove its final action in the War, and the three days holding the line before the attack, all ranks were by now completely exhausted." It also records that fifty-one other ranks were killed on 1 November. eight officers and two hundred other ranks were wounded and thirteen other ranks missing.

[PRC]

At the time of Harolds' death the Infantry Battalion components of the 11th Brigade of the 4th Division was the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade, the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion Somerset Light Infantry.

There is a book from 1921, A history of the 1st Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) : July 1st, 1916, to the end of the war by V.H.B. Majendie which can be read or downloaded from archive.org. https://archive.org/details/somersettinfantry00majeuoft

The relevant pages are 116-118, with a brief few lines on page 119. The attacking units were the Rifle Brigade and the Hampshires to which company's of the Somerset Light Infantry were attached.

In reading through remember to read it from the perpective of the Somerset Light Infantry - it's their Company's being referred to. To try and assist I've colour coded the text - blue when it relates to the Rifle Brigade, and red for the Hampshires.

Since Oct. 24th Artres had been captured, and the line ran along the River Rhonelle.

A further attack had been planned for Oct. 30th, but it was eventually postponed until the morning of Nov.1st.

In the evening of Oct. 31st A and C Companies moved up to the railway embankment, which had been heavily shelled and gassed during the day.

PLAN OF OPERATIONS.

The general plan of the attack was that the 11th Brigade should attack on the 4th Division’s front to capture Preseau and the high ground to the North of the village in conjunction with the 61st Division on the South and the 49th Division on the North.

The objective given to the Brigade was L14c91 – L14a45 – L8c00 – L7 central – L7a50 – K6d55. Its boundary on the right was K29a47 – L19b15 – L20a07 – L14c91, and on the left the halt at K21c00 – K16c00 – K12a00 – K6d55.

The following was the method of attack:-

The Hampshire Regt., plus Light and A Companies of the Battalion, attacked on the left, and the Rifle Brigade, plus B Company if the Battalion, on the right.

The Battalion, now reduced to Battalion H.Q. and C Company, with two companies of the 1st King’s Own of the 12th Brigade attached, was in support, and assembled along the railway embankment from the Halt at K21c00 to K27d55.

Light, A and B Companies assembled with the battalions to which they were attached, and came under their orders from the time of assembly.

Four footbridges had already been thrown over the River Rhonelle at Artres, and four more were allotted to the Hampshires. A Company was given the task of carrying forward these bridges, and placing them in position for the leading companies.

Light Company was ordered to follow in close support of the Hampshires as far as the road running through K12c & d, where they were to leap-frog through and capture the final objective.

B Company was ordered to support the Rifle Brigade, and push home the attack if required. After the village had been captured it was to consolidate on a line from the Old Mill to the Church on the South-Western outskirts.

The Battalion was ordered to move forward as soon as the objective had been captured and consolidate the line K17c – K23a, establishing touch on both flanks with the support battalions of the 49th and 61st Division.

THE ATTACK ON PRESEAU, NOVEMBER 1ST AND 2ND, 1918.

The attack started at 5.15 a.m. on November 1st, behind an excellent barrage, and the objective was reported captured at 7.45 a.m.

On the right little opposition was met at the start, but about 1,000 yards from Preseau a strong point was encountered, which for a time delayed the advance.

B Company pushed forward into the front line, and the resistance was overcome by rifle fire, but not before Captain L.A. Osborne, D.S.O., M.C., the Company Commander, had been severely wounded.

The advance then swept on, and B Company was the first to enter the village, where the Germans were holding the houses in strength. B Company dug in on the line from the old mill to the Church, as ordered, while the Rifle Brigade went through the village to the final objective.

At 9.30 a.m. the enemy put down a heavy barrage and counter-attacked our right flank. The 61st Division was forced back, and eventually the Rifle Brigade had to give up the village, and, retiring through B Company, took up a position 300 yards West of Old Mill Spur. B Company later conformed and moved back into position on the right of the Rifle Brigade : touch with the 61st Division was not secured till late in the day.

On the left the advance proceeded successfully, and Light Company leap-frogged through the Hampshires as arranged. A line was consolidated along the road just short of the final objective from L7a00 – L7d00.

At 4 p.m. the enemy carried out another counter-attack in force, this time on the left.

The 49th Division gave ground, and the posts of Light Company were driven back 200 yards.

Captain P.G.K. Harris, M.C., assisted by Coy.-Sergt.-Major R. Johnson, then rallied the men, and ordered them to charge. The whole line sprang forward with a cheer, flung the Germans back, and re-occupied the original position.

A few prisoners and a machine gun were captured, and a considerable number of Germans killed. Our barrage which fell in response to the S.O.S. accounted for a good number more.

The line subsequently was withdrawn to conform with the situation on the right.

In the meantime the Battalion had moved forward and taken up its allotted position in K17c and K23a.

After dark the 1st King’s Own relieved the Hampshires and the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders relieved the Rifle Brigade. On completion of the relief the Hampshires and the Rifle Brigade had orders to move back into Artres, and the Battalion in K17.

Page 119

The objective and the brigade boundaries for Nov. 2nd were exactly the same as on the previous day.

The Battalion’s role was to move close behind the Seaforths and mop up Preseau. The failure to thoroughly clear the village in the first attack was largely responsible for the inability to hold it.

Cheers,
Peter

Edited 9 July , 2022 by PRC
Typo's

[Lesley Harris]

Thank you to all of you who have clearly explained the events of 1/2 Nov.  Also  the question regarding the Rifles which I had noted as only being since 2007, now I understand that.

 Your posts were a great read over breakfast today…. I feel educated !

lesley 

 

[PRC]

I took a look at the 11th Brigade War Diaries for October and November 1918 to see if they contained any usefuls maps. Unfortunately the ones relating to the attacks of the 1st and 2nd November 1918 are Artillery Barrage overlays, intended to be viewed in coniunction with the trench maps, so don't list specific locations.

However I don't know if this map from the 27th October 1918 showing brigade dispositions adds anything to the understanding of the events of the day. Preseau is in the top right corner.

Image courtesy of the National Archive.

And while looking for a helpful map in the November 1918 I came across the "butchers bill".

Image courtesy of the National Archive.

Hope that's of interest,
Peter