2nd Lt. Donald Grant - 1/6th Seaforths 20 Nov 1917

[tomdhu]

It's 106 years ago today that my uncle 2nd Lt. Donald Grant of 6th Seaforths was killed on the first day of the battle of Cambrai. This was the first battle that featured tanks in great numbers.

He was the eldest of 7 siblings. My father was the youngest being born in 1908 and didnt feature in this photo. Donald volunteered on 14th August 1914.

My research revealed that Donald was mentioned in the regimental records and this confirms where and how he was killed. He gets gets a mention in “History of the Fifty First (Highland) Divn. 1914-1918 (pages 246-247) as follows:-

""“The second wave of the 6th Seaforth Highlanders, in spite of the heavy fire directed against them from Flesqieres Trench, made repeated attempts to enter it, in which all officers except one per company became casualties.

One officer in particular, 2nd Lieutenant Donald Grant, displayed great courage and initiative in his efforts to gain his objective. Leading his platoon along a communication trench, east of Flesquieres Wood, he drove the enemy before him, bayoneting many himself. When all his men but one were casualties, he climbed out of his communication trench and attempted to rush Flesquieres trench from above ground. He and his companion were immediately shot dead.”""

I have the letter he wrote to his sister on the eve of the battle saying that he was to lead his platoon on the second wave due to set out at 08.00am and that their objective was ‘near the beet root factory”. On the way, his battalion was to pass through the 8th Argyll & Southern Highlanders who had set out at 06.20 and whose objective (the Grand Ravine ) was secured by 09.40 am.

I was able to visit there in 2005 and the actual spot is about 50 meters form the location of where the memorial to the tank regiment is located.

My research was aided by local historian and hotelier Philip Gorzisnky who has a war museum in Flesquieres and who organised the unearthing of "Deborah" a Mark IV tank tank that was used in the battle.

See http://www.tank-cambrai.com/en/the-story-of-deborah/

and

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/.../cambrai-tank-museum.../

For those of you who have the time and are interested in WW1 history, here is a fascinating thread about the contents of a German soldiers trunk.

[seaJane]

On 20/11/2023 at 21:17, tomdhu said:

8th Argyll & Southern Highlanders who had set out at 06.20 and whose objective (the Grand Ravine ) was secured by 09.40 am.

I think you must mean the 8th Argyll & Sutherland (Territorials)? 2/Lt Archibald H.D. Richmond, whom @rolt968 and I have been researching, may well have been with them at this point.

[tomdhu]

No. He was in the 1/6th Seaforths -  a Territorial Btn which he joined on 14th August 1914.

He was in the second wave that passed through the first wave which was the Argyll & Southerns.   The A&S set out at 06.20 and crossed the Grand Ravine about 08:30.

The Grand Ravine is not the same as Ravine Trench which was a switch  that ended in the main Flesquieres trench. Just before he got to the North end, there was a trench block and that's why he climbed out and was immediately shot - about 11am.
I have researched him thoroughly with several visits to Kew and the British Library. Also, I have been assisted in this by Philip Gorzinsky the local historian who uncovered D51 Deborah but if you can add to the record, please assist.

[seaJane]

7 hours ago, tomdhu said:

Argyll & Southerns

The point I was making is that Argyll and Southerns is incorrect - should be Argyll and Sutherland, unless I am badly adrift in my knowledge.

[FROGSMILE]

38 minutes ago, seaJane said:

The point I was making is that Argyll and Southerns is incorrect - should be Argyll and Sutherland, unless I am badly adrift in my knowledge.

You’re absolutely correct SeaJane and your knowledge is well known to be excellent.

Edited 25 November , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[PRC]

Courtesy http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/51st-highland-division/

Cheers,
Peter

[seaJane]

53 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

your knowledge is well known to be excellent

Phew. I am never quite so sure when I come ashore.

[johntaylor]

Dear Tomdhu,

Thanks for your message and photo, and I'm sure you have seen the piece about your uncle in Campaign Reminiscences, the history of 6th Bn Seaforth Highlanders by Capt Macdonald (see below). 

You may be interested to know that Philippe Gorczynski has just held his annual commemoration of the battle in Flesquieres, and I have attached a photo taken in the British cemetery, which stands near the site of the factory which was Lieutenant Grant's objective in the attack. The ceremony opened with a lament on the bagpipes recalling the courage of the 51st Highland Division who fought there.

I see your name Tomdhu is taken from the name of his family home in Invernessshire, and I would be fascinated to see the letter he wrote on the eve of the battle.

Best regards,

John

[tomdhu]

On 25/11/2023 at 22:37, seaJane said:

The point I was making is that Argyll and Southerns is incorrect - should be Argyll and Sutherland, unless I am badly adrift in my knowledge.

I've grasped it now. My apologies for the mis-spelling

[tomdhu]

@JohnTaylor

Many thanks for your input.
Yes, I visited there in 2014 and attended the ceremony and stayed in Philippe's hotel. He was very helpful with my research.
I have ordered your book and look forward to reading it.


 

Edited 28 November , 2023 by tomdhu

[seaJane]

1 hour ago, tomdhu said:

I've grasped it now. My apologies for the mis-spelling

Thank you!

[johntaylor]

Hi Tomdhu, I'm delighted that you had a chance to visit the battlefield and cemetery, and that you made contact with Philippe.

I hope you enjoy the book, which has just been released in a new paperback edition.

If you get a chance to send your uncle's last letter, I would be fascinated to see this - it sounds like a moving tribute to a very brave man.

With best regards,

John

[tomdhu]

@JohnTaylor

It sure was a poignant letter letter that he wrote to his sister Clementine on the night before. "Tina" as he called her, was the rock of the family and to me she was my  Auntie Clem" - seated front right in the photo, My auntie Jesse, who emigrated to the USA, is seated next to her. Auntie Maggie is standing eft rear. Next to Donald is his lady friend Muriel McIntyre. 
The remaining person is uncle George - another tragic figure, who was drowned in the surf off Malindi beach in 1931. He was a teacher at Jeanes School in Kabete Kenya and had gone  down to Mombasa for a long weekend holiday.

Back to Lt. Donald, this is the full text of his letter.............

"You will have had my letter, I mean the one I wrote to you yesterday. You will likely know before now that one of the biggest battles in the war is in progress. It has been kept very secret and it all depends on secrecy.

Tomorrow morning we go over at 8 o'clock and my platoon goes and by 10 o'clock I hope to have gained my objective which is near a beetroot factory.

I am writing this but not going to post it but I am leaving it with one of our officers who will post it if anything happens to me.

If anything does happen to me please don't lose heart you will know that I died fighting for you all at home and that I died happy. 
Now I have not written to Muriel but will you tell her that I am sorry to leave her but some day we will meet in a far better land say goodbye to her for me and kiss hrr.

I will now say goodbye to you all, give a kiss to every one for me.I feel happy now and will go into battle with great confidence and put my trust in God'

Your loving brother
Don

I also attach another letter he wrote in April 1917. This expresses similar feelings of longing expressed by the poet Ewart A. Macintosh ( 4th Seaforths) who was killed the following day at Cambrai.

 

[johntaylor]

Dear Tomdhu,

Many thanks for sharing these letters - I would love to have included the first one in my book about Deborah if only I had known about it (and obviously with your permission). I wonder if it would be possible to post the second page of his handwritten letter please? It's wonderful to see the actual letter, and I always like to see the original document if at all possible.

With many thanks, John

[tomdhu]

I will have a look for it. Failing that, I'll see if my brother can give me a copy. I'm guessing that such letters are increasingly scarce but what would you do with it?

Isn't interesting just how the quality of his writing on his last night is compared to a few months earlier. The deterioration is pronounced and  he obviously had a premonition. The stress must have been overpowering - even considering he had been on the front since 1914.

Where do you reckon he was in April 1917 when he wrote the earlier letter?

Out of interest which other books on WW1 have you written?

Edited 29 November , 2023 by tomdhu

[tomdhu]

I found this today

Battle of Cambrai, 20th Nov 1917 | 51st Highland Division (51hd.co.uk)

[johntaylor]

I agree there is an enormous difference between the two letters, and the one written before battle conveys the intense stress he was under, and shows he was well aware that he might not come through. For this reason, I think it brings history to life in a very immediate way. I have only written one book (so far!) but the book on Deborah also includes a good deal about the infantry (both British and German). When researching the book I was constantly searching for human documents of this kind, which is why I would love to have included it.

Regarding the earlier letter, the best way of finding out more would be to consult his service file in the National Archives, which should contain a reasonably detailed account of his movements: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C698699 Unfortunately these files haven't been digitised which means you have to go to Kew to see them. I do get there from time to time and could find out more if you are interested, unless you already have a copy.

Thanks for the link to the 51st Highland Division website, which contains a very useful summary of the action.

All the best, John

[tomdhu]

Indeed a huge difference between the letters. On the19th he had rationalised that he was most likely to meet his end.  

 In the earlier letter he would have been away from the front line, whereas on the eve of the Cambrai assault he would have been in a front line dug out with possibly only a candle. The stress must have been enormous. He was a Lieutenant and the attrition rate of that rank was horrendous because they had  to motivate and lead from the front of their platoon. 

If I had been him, I certainly would have declined any promotion up from private.

In the April letter, he was obviously away from the front and obviously felt isolated and hankered back to family and the farm. He felt  alone and possibly forgotten because he hadn't had a letter from them back home for a while.

 , 

[johntaylor]

I agree with your description - you're very fortunate to have these letters which give so much insight into his experiences and state of mind.

All the best, John

[tomdhu]

11 hours ago, johntaylor said:

I agree with your description - you're very fortunate to have these letters which give so much insight into his experiences and state of mind.

All the best, John

I have a very thick file based on my research of Uncle Donald and you are welcome to come and view it if you would like . I'm in Dulwich. You most likely could interpret the documents and create a biographical pathway. My auntie Clem (Tina)  kept many of Donald's letters and these are now held by her grandson. II am sure it will be t will be a real treasure trove of material from that .period.

[johntaylor]

Apologies, I've only just seen this message - I'd love to see the material on Donald and am also in South London so could easily arrange a visit. I'll send a private message via Great War Forum and hope to link up with you.

All the best, John

[A Lancashire Fusilier by Proxy]

On 29/11/2023 at 18:50, tomdhu said:

Isn't interesting just how the quality of his writing on his last night is compared to a few months earlier. The deterioration is pronounced and  he obviously had a premonition. The stress must have been overpowering - even considering he had been on the front since 1914.

Where do you reckon he was in April 1917 when he wrote the earlier letter?

The letter written on the night before battle, with the intention that it should only be passed to his sister if he didn't survive, is indeed poignant.

I see from Donald's MIC that he originally enlisted as a Private, but subsequently obtained a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. You are, of course, aware of this, as you have said in one of your posts that if you had been him you would have declined the promotion. To me it seems quite likely that when he wrote the earlier letter of 12 April 1917 he would have been on his way back to the front having recently completed his training in the UK as a commissioned officer. He refers to being in charge of a company of men, and I think that at the time he wrote the letter they would probably have been at the base in Etaples, the Bull Ring, waiting for orders as to which unit they were to be allocated to,  He had just learned at the time of writing that they were to go to the 152nd Brigade, though it appears that he did not yet know which Battalion. He expected to at least see the 6th Battalion, who were in the 152nd Brigade, and with whom he was obviously familiar (you say that he was with them right from the start of the war), and subsequently he must have been allocated to them, thus returning as an officer to the same unit as he had served with as a private, which I understand was quite unusual.

I am sure that you are aware that you can download copies of the !/6th Seaforth Highlanders War Diaries for the relevant period from the National Archives Discovery website (for free if you register) reference WO-95-2867. I have had a quick look, and the relevant WD confirms that the 1/6th Seaforths were indeed engaged in a front line attack "over the bags"  at about the time when Donald wrote the letter of 12 April 1917, suffering heavy losses of both officers and men. The WD records reinforcements of officers and ORs thereafter, naming a number of officers, but I haven't been able to see Donald's name amongst the officers joining at any time up to the end of April 1917. Perhaps I have missed him, or perhaps he was allocated to the 1/6th later, or for some reason, perhaps mere oversight, was not named in the battalion WD. The Brigade A & Q WD (which can also be downloaded from the NA) may have more detail of his allocation.

From his MIC I see that he went to France on 1 May 1915, thus earning the 15 Star.

The reason why I am particularly interested in Donald is that my grandfather was also in the 51st Highland Division from May 1915 to January 1916, crossing to France as a Lieutenant with the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers, then in the 154th Brigade, on 3 May 1915. He left a memoir of his experiences which I published in 2020 under the title A Lancashire Fusilier's First World War. This may be of no interest at all to you, but I mention it because, being in the same Division, the 2/5th LF and the 1/6th Seaforths would have had very similar experiences during 1915.

My GF is mostly (but not always!) complimentary about his Scottish comrades. By the time the 2/5th LF left the 51st Division at the end of 1915 to go to the 55th (West Lancashire) Division he says:

The 154th Brigade ... had now left the famous 51st Division (Highland) and proceeded to a concentration area prior to the formation, or re-formation, of the 55th Division – the West Lancashires. We were sorry to leave our friends, the Scotchmen, but, at the same time, very pleased to be brought back to join our Lancashire Comrades.

By the way, I may be wrong, but I don't think that the letter of 12 April 1917 is in Donald's handwriting. I am no handwriting expert, but the handwriting is so very different that I don't think that the difference can be attributed merely to increased stress or to the discomfort of the conditions on the front line. The handwriting of the letter of 12 April 1917 looks more modern to me, and I wonder whether a family member may have transcribed the original. In fact, I wonder whether the initials and date in the bottom left hand corner "C.M.M. 1987" may have been added by the transcriber? Also, I think that the words "(at ? pm)" would be an odd thing to write in an original letter, and would be more likely to indicate that the transcriber is not sure what the original says. 

Just as an aside, I am curious as to what the words  "as you will see" in the first sentence siginify. What could the Tina see? Is it just that Donald had received a letter from her as he was replying to it, or was there some form of official receipt that could be sent back, showing the exact time and date of receipt?

The later letter is clearly in Donald's own handwriting as it matches the writing on the envelope.

[tomdhu]

I guess you are correct about the April letter being transcribed as the handwriting is just too different.

I looked up the War Diary of 1/6th Seaforths and here is the relevant text for the 29th November....
_____________________________________________--

An attempt was made by the second wave to push forward up to the FLESQUIERES TRENCH. Except at one point, this was found to be quite impossible.

 On the Left, touch had been found with the 7th Gordon Hrs but no touch could be found on the Right as the 6th Gordon Hrs could not get through the wire and were held up by Heavy Machine Gun Fire. An attempt was made by the second wave to push forward up to the FLESQUIERES TRENCH. Except at one point, this was found to be quite impossible.

 In spite of determined efforts made by the men led with great gallantry by their Officers, only one man succeeding in reaching the FLESQUIERES TRENCH. This was Lieut Grant who led his men forward along the Communication Trench on the E of FLESQUIERES WOOD. This officer leading his men drove the enemy in front of him until he cleared the Communication Trench. This was done with tremendous dash and gallantry. Lieut Grant bayonetted a good many of the enemy himself with one man left of his platoon; pg. 8 this officer was about to enter FLESQUIERES TRENCH, he having just jumped out of the Communications Trench, where he had done so well; when he and his Orderly were fatally shot.

This attempt cost heavy losses. Only one officer per company of the two leading companies were now left both being Junior Officers. I now pushed forward myself and quickly took in the whole situation. I then proceeded to re-organise both Companies. The enemy Machine Gun fire was very intense coming from the village, the wood and FLESQUIERES TRENCH. The Place seemed to be alive with Machine Guns. Tanks came up on our left, but as they had no petrol they could not go on. They, however, opened fire with 6 pounders and Lewis Guns on the village.

____________________________________________-------

The trenches are clearly identified but the map I posted  above is not too detailed, apart from the Flesquieres trench, so I am wondering if I marked the correct spot ie where Ravine Alley meets the Flesquieres trench. Would there have been several other communication trenches in that immediate area? Bear in mind his objective was the sugar beet factory.