9th RWF and the Second Day of the Somme - Made a Small Discovery Today

[Buffnut453]

Watched a documentary last night about the Battle of the Somme.  It intertwined personal stories of a few participants with the wider description of events and, while interesting, it only focused on the first day.  

However, it got me thinking about a GreatGreat Uncle, William Pountney, who served in the 9th RWF and was wounded (GSW to the chest) on the second day.  I have the War Diary which doesn't say much about the specific area where the 9th RWF was fighting, although it did mention "This Battalion therefore only reached the craters - which had been formed in the German trenches the previous morning - at daybreak on the 2nd" which suggests it was operating near the Glory Hole, Loch Nagar and/or Y Sap craters.

I had a flash of inspiration (others have probably already used this technique...but I'm a slow learner) to look at CWGC burial records for any 9th RWF soldiers killed in the period 1-3 July 1916 to see if they included any concentration reports which would indicate where the body was originally buried.  Unsurprisingly, most of the casualties were never found, and their names appear on the Thiepval Memorial.  However, I did find 3 individuals with specific map reference locations, plus a further 4 or 5 that had map references but without the final pair of coordinates.  

When plotted using T-Mapper, the concentration reports placed all the original burials in between the Glory Hole and Loch Nagar Crater.  Here's a pic of the burial site of Pte A. Green (24188), who was the only 2 July casualty with a concentration report.

 

Given the close proximity of these original burials, plus the War Diary reference to the craters, it seems probable that my Great-Great Uncle was wounded somewhere between Tara Hill and the modern Rue de la Grande Mine.  As luck would have it, I took a photo of that area just near Loch Nagar Crater when I visited the battlefield last year - the road to Albert is just visible coming over the crest, right of centre.  

 

I also took a look at the area on GoogleEarth (see below) and noticed that the light-toned lines in the field just NNW of Loch Nagar Crater look rather similar to the trenches depicted on my T-Mapper screenshot.  

 

Like I said...this is probably obvious stuff to the experts on this forum but it felt like a small victory for me as I try to piece together my family's involvement with the Great War.  

One final stray voltage...are there any personal accounts from 9th RWF soldiers that include the second day of the Somme?  Any recommendations would be gratefully received.

Edited 12 July , 2022 by Buffnut453

[clive_hughes]

Buffnut,

The 9th RWF was part of 58th Brigade, 19th Division.  Aside from the unit war diary, could those of the brigade or Divisional HQs give an indication what was happening?

The RWF Regimental History states that the 1 July attack by 34th and 8th Divs. was to break the enemy line between Acid Drop Copse and Pozieres, leaving 19th Div. to continue the advance towards Bapaume.   This didn't happen, of course, and 9th RWF remained in trenches "about 1000 yards east of Albert" opposite La Boisselle.  It was late in the afternoon of 1 July that a decision was taken to send 19th Div. into action, with 58th Brigade tasked with capturing the village. The Divisional commander ordered 57th and 58th brigades to attack at 10:30pm.

That was at 6pm, and though the troops got going fairly quickly, problems arose.  The CO of 9th Cheshire (the lead assault unit) appeared at 58th Bde. HQ just before the attack time to tell them that he could only find a portion of his unit, the rest having ben stuck, lost, or scattered in the congested communication trenches.  The 9th RWF was its supporting unit, and was solidly stuck behind them somewhere down those same trenches. 

It was 3am on 2 July before 3 companies of the Cheshires managed to cross No Mans Land to "some craters already held by troops of 34th Div."  Nothing subsequently happened, since 9th RWF were apparently not in position, and no attack took place.  The Brigade Major went up and found the communication trenches damaged by shellfire, and also full of wounded and dead men.  The RWF were still largely blocked from moving, though some had reached the former Front line. Most of the Cheshires were "in the craters in the German line".

The attack was postponed till the afternoon, to allow time for clearing the trenches.  It took place at 4pm with 9th RWF crossing former No Mans Land with the 6th Wiltshires then attacking the enemy.  After a confused bombing fight, the southern end of La Boisselle village had been taken by nightfall.  The 3rd July action saw the unit again bombing its way through the village ruins, only to be pushed back to the southern end before the day's end. 

I've stated all this for the benefit of readers who don't have access to the Regimental history/ Battalion War Diary, but who may have knowledge of this sector of the battlefield. 

I don't know of a published 9th RWF account, but a short history of the unit was printed by a newspaper after the war, and I have a xerox version somewhere.  If I can find it, I'll let you know if it says any more.

Clive

 

[Buffnut453]

4 hours ago, clive_hughes said:

Buffnut,

The 9th RWF was part of 58th Brigade, 19th Division.  Aside from the unit war diary, could those of the brigade or Divisional HQs give an indication what was happening?

The RWF Regimental History states that the 1 July attack by 34th and 8th Divs. was to break the enemy line between Acid Drop Copse and Pozieres, leaving 19th Div. to continue the advance towards Bapaume.   This didn't happen, of course, and 9th RWF remained in trenches "about 1000 yards east of Albert" opposite La Boisselle.  It was late in the afternoon of 1 July that a decision was taken to send 19th Div. into action, with 58th Brigade tasked with capturing the village. The Divisional commander ordered 57th and 58th brigades to attack at 10:30pm.

That was at 6pm, and though the troops got going fairly quickly, problems arose.  The CO of 9th Cheshire (the lead assault unit) appeared at 58th Bde. HQ just before the attack time to tell them that he could only find a portion of his unit, the rest having ben stuck, lost, or scattered in the congested communication trenches.  The 9th RWF was its supporting unit, and was solidly stuck behind them somewhere down those same trenches. 

It was 3am on 2 July before 3 companies of the Cheshires managed to cross No Mans Land to "some craters already held by troops of 34th Div."  Nothing subsequently happened, since 9th RWF were apparently not in position, and no attack took place.  The Brigade Major went up and found the communication trenches damaged by shellfire, and also full of wounded and dead men.  The RWF were still largely blocked from moving, though some had reached the former Front line. Most of the Cheshires were "in the craters in the German line".

The attack was postponed till the afternoon, to allow time for clearing the trenches.  It took place at 4pm with 9th RWF crossing former No Mans Land with the 6th Wiltshires then attacking the enemy.  After a confused bombing fight, the southern end of La Boisselle village had been taken by nightfall.  The 3rd July action saw the unit again bombing its way through the village ruins, only to be pushed back to the southern end before the day's end. 

I've stated all this for the benefit of readers who don't have access to the Regimental history/ Battalion War Diary, but who may have knowledge of this sector of the battlefield. 

I don't know of a published 9th RWF account, but a short history of the unit was printed by a newspaper after the war, and I have a xerox version somewhere.  If I can find it, I'll let you know if it says any more.

Clive

 

Hi Clive,

Many thanks.  The 9th RWF War Diary provides some solid details but it's clearly written for people who understood what was happening at the time.  For modern readers, the rather vague reference to craters and the lack of other location descriptors makes it hard to pin down exactly where the 9th RWF were operating.  That's why I explored the individual Concentration of Graves forms to see if they offered any clues...and it seems that the main axis of attack was between Loch Nagar Crater to the Glory Hole pushing northeast through the village.  At least that's my estimation based on the burial sites of those killed on 2-3 July which, presumably, were slightly behind the British front line.

The Musée Somme 1916 in Albert has a contemporary photographic panorama of the view into La Boisselle from somewhere east of the Tara-Usna ridge line.  The images below aren't great (best I could do given the limitations of my cell phone and lighting in the museum) but they provide a good general view of the area as it appeared in 1916.  The reference to the crater field and Glory Hole are noteworthy:

Kind regards,
Mark  

Edited 13 July , 2022 by Buffnut453

[Hywyn]

7 hours ago, clive_hughes said:

 

I don't know of a published 9th RWF account, but a short history of the unit was printed by a newspaper after the war, and I have a xerox version somewhere.  If I can find it, I'll let you know if it says any more.

Clive

 

 

[Hywyn]

According to the last page the Short History of which the above is a page was reprinted from the Cheshire Observer October 11th and 18th 1930.

FindMyPast newspaper link

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0000157%2f19301011%2f058&stringtohighlight=9th

and

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0000157%2f19301018%2f204&stringtohighlight=9th

 

[Buffnut453]

3 hours ago, Hywyn said:

 

 

Many thanks for posting that page, @Hywyn.  It includes some useful additional details.  I annotated the trench map below based on details from the brief history, locations of known 9th RWF burial plots, and the panorama photos.  The yellow dots mark the locations of the Y Sap and Loch Nagar craters.  The yellow 'X' is my best guess at the location where the panorama photos were taken.  Finally, the yellow oval is the general area of 9th RWF operations from the late afternoon of 2 July thru the end of 3 July.  

I have one question going back to the 9th RWF's role as part of the Corps Reserve on 1 July.  Clearly, they weren't in the front lines but where might they have been located?  My first guess would be in the valley west of the Tara-Usna ridge line because the location was free from German observation and so (relatively) safe.  However, is that location close enough to the fighting for the reserves to be committed as needed?  Any thoughts on this topic would be very much appreciated. 

Edited 13 July , 2022 by Buffnut453

[clive_hughes]

Thanks Hywyn : as regards the location of Corps reserve, I don't think the regt. history or unit War Diary make any mention.  Failing other sources (the 9th Bn. didn't generate a lot of published personal accounts) perhaps the Corps War Diary might include the pre-operational orders laying down where the reserves were to be placed?

 

Clive

[Buffnut453]

9 hours ago, clive_hughes said:

Thanks Hywyn : as regards the location of Corps reserve, I don't think the regt. history or unit War Diary make any mention.  Failing other sources (the 9th Bn. didn't generate a lot of published personal accounts) perhaps the Corps War Diary might include the pre-operational orders laying down where the reserves were to be placed?

 

Clive

 

The War Diary entry for 1 July states "...at 10.30 a.m. proceeded in its turn to the trenches on the TARA-USNA line some 1,000 yards east of the town."  Sadly, the digitized version of the War Diary only includes the main pages and not any supporting documents (e.g. orders, maps etc).

The article @Hywyn posted states "At 10 a.m. the 19th Division moved forward into new positions of assembly in the British front line and there awaited orders."  However, the 9th RWF War Diary distance of 1,000 yards from Albert isn't far enough to reach the British front line of 30 June.  

Of course, the actual location is hugely dependent on what starting point you use to measure your 1,000 yards.  It's a pretty loose definition.  Wikipedia (yes...I know Wikipedia is far from accurate) has a map for the Day 1 offensive which shows 103rd Brigade on the downslope of Usna Hill, and so within direct sight of the German front-line trenches.  

Being in such an observable position seems illogical to me.  However, given the acknowledged problems getting forces to their jumping-off point, perhaps there was a need to bring reserves in closer.

We may never know where the 9th RWF was held during most of 2 July 1916.  I was just hoping an expert here might have additional insights.  

Edited 14 July , 2022 by Buffnut453

[Buffnut453]

Just one minor nitpick with the account @Hywyn provided.   Regarding the lead-up to the battle, it states that "Finally on the eve of July 1st, 1916, the 19th Division was assembled in Fourth Army Reserve around Albert, with the 9th RWF taking up positions along the railway line cutting running south from the Amiens-Albert road."

This is a minor nitpick but there are no cuttings in that area, except the area near the bridge which carries the Albert-Amiens road over the railway line.  At all other points south of the road, the railway is elevated.  The War Diary states that the 9th RWF bivouacked in a hollow immediately west of the railway line.  It would be tough to have a hollow adjacent to a cutting.

There is a substantial hollow immediately south of the Albert-Amiens road, immediately west of the railway line which likely was the location described in the War Diary.  The following trench map shows the location, followed by a few pics I took when I visited last September.  The electrical pylons for the railway can be seen on the ridge in both of my photos - they were taken roughly where the "B" is written on the trench map.

Edited 14 July , 2022 by Buffnut453

[Robert Dunlop]

Here is a German map of the same area, from the 110th Reserve Infantry Regiment's history published after the war:

Robert

[Buffnut453]

18 minutes ago, Robert Dunlop said:

Here is a German map of the same area, from the 110th Reserve Infantry Regiment's history published after the war:

Robert

Hi Robert,

Wow...many, MANY thanks for that map from the German perspective.  It provides the first indication I've seen for where the British trenches were located (other than the 30 June front line, of course).  

The parallel trench in the lower left corner of the map would seem like a good position for a reserve formation preparing to attack the German positions south of La Boisselle.  The S-curve shown in the line as it heads north suggests that the trench followed the Avoca Valley, although "valley" is far too strong a term for what was little more than a slight undulation in the terrain.

I think your map has helped me answer one of my big questions.  Again, THANK YOU for sharing it.

Kind regards,
Mark

[Poohsticks]

On 13/07/2022 at 12:46, Buffnut453 said:

The Musée Somme 1916 in Albert has a contemporary photographic panorama of the view into La Boisselle from somewhere east of the Tara-Usna ridge line.  The images below aren't great (best I could do given the limitations of my cell phone and lighting in the museum) but they provide a good general view of the area as it appeared in 1916.  The reference to the crater field and Glory Hole are noteworthy:

FYI, I think the same panorama, produced by the Royal engineers, is part of the IWM collection; if so the date it was taken is given as 24th August 1915 

BRITISH OFFICIAL PANORAMAS OF THE WESTERN FRONT 1914 - 1918 | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)

(you need to use the '+' icon to zoom into the image) 

Edited 15 July , 2022 by Poohsticks

[Buffnut453]

1 hour ago, Poohsticks said:

FYI, I think the same panorama, produced by the Royal engineers, is part of the IWM collection; if so the date it was taken is given as 24th August 1915 

BRITISH OFFICIAL PANORAMAS OF THE WESTERN FRONT 1914 - 1918 | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)

(you need to use the '+' icon to zoom into the image) 

Good grief!  The quality of that image is WAYYYY better than my crappy cell phone photos.  Really appreciate the pointer.  That's a huge help.

BTW...love your username.  Playing poohsticks is a family tradition, even now all my kids a fully grown.  We can't cross a bridge over a river without stopping and hunting for suitable bits of wood.