pte james curwin royal lancaster regiment

[sooty]

killed in action cambrai 1917 machine gun corps.service history or any informaton eagerly wanted.

[Ken Lees]

Sooty,

What else do you know about Curwin?

If you post anything you have, especially details relating to his service, someone may pick up on you information and be able to provide more.

Good luck,

Ken

[Stebie9173]

Is this our man?

Name: CURWEN, JAMES

Initials: J

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment: Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)

Unit Text: 166th Coy.

Date of Death: 30/11/1917

Service No: 70365

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 12 and 13.

Cemetery: CAMBRAI MEMORIAL, LOUVERVAL

Medal card of Curwen, James

Corps Regiment No Rank

Royal Lancaster Regiment 2468 Private

Machine Gun Corps 70365 Private

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...&resultcount=15

Have you downloaded the Medal Card yet?

The 166th Machine Gun Company was with 55th division:

http://www.1914-1918.net/55div.htm

It's difficult to tell much about his time with the Royal Lancaster Regiment at the moment, but tell us what the MIC says, and someone may well be able to help.

Steve.

[Ken Lees]

my knowledge is patchey.pte james curwin,one of four soldier brothers,kings own royal lancaster regiment later machine gun corps.awarded military medal.killed in action 30.11.1917.no grave.name on cambrai war memorial.no records of brothers.no knowledge of medal whereabouts.he was my great grandfather.thank-you for your interest and assistance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sooty,

If he ended up in the 166th Coy, MGC after serving in the King's Own, he was probably a Territorial who served in either the 1/4th or 1/5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. They were both in the 55th Division as was the 166th Company, MGC.

There is a battalion history of the 1/4th King's Own and another worthwhile read is the Rev J A Coop's '55th Division History'. Both have been reprinted recently and are readily available. You could get them on inter-library loan, too.

Are you anywhere near Lancaster? The Regimental Museum there may be able to provide more information.

Hope that helps,

Ken

[Myrtle]

SDGW also Has his name spelt Curwen.

Born: Queenmore, Lancs

Enlisted: Lancaster

KiA

[Ken Lees]

'Queenmore' is probably a mis-spelling of Quernmore which is a village near Lancaster.

Ken

[Myrtle]

There is a James Curwen born in Quernmore, 11 years old resident: Lancaster in 1901 census. Also Alfred 11 years old, Joseph 17, Ricahrd 14 and Robert 21 years old.

[Northern Soul]

Sooty,

enlisting at Lancaster with a low 4-figure King's Own Service Number means he was almost certainly originally a member of the 1/5th King's Own; I would also guess that he enlisted in mid to late September 1914 - don't think he was a pre-war Terrier with a 24xx number.

He was killed near Epehy when the units of 166 Brigade were overrun. I don't have any info for the 166th Coy. MGC and Coop's history of the 55th Division does not give a vast amount of detail (although there is a good map showing the dispositions of the various brigades and their battalions during the action.

You may never know just which battalion of the brigade the machine gun squad he was in was attached to but here are a couple of narratives from two of them (they were all in the same area).

This is the perspective of the 1/5th South Lancs (part of 166th Brigade):

The Battle of Cambrai.

Extract from a History of the South Lancashire Regiment, 1914-1934.

However, from various sources it has been possible to glean the following account which probably gives a fair picture, from the Battalion point of view, of what happened on that day. Apparently the German bombardment commenced with a box barrage which quickly broke all communications and isolated the Battalion sector and its Headquarters, which were situated in a trench called High Street. Low-flying aeroplanes circled over the various command posts, firing on all movement and dropping bombs. The enemy’s aircraft also succeeded in knocking out a number of the machine guns which were the backbone of the defence of the long front allotted to the Battalion. It is also stated that the Germans brought light artillery mounted on motor vehicles into action on the high ground overlooking part of the defences, which co-operated effectively with the air attacks.

The enemy’s infantry then quickly broke through the troops of another division on the left, and it was not long before the Battalion was practically surrounded and fighting at close quarters in small groups. Fierce hand-to-hand combats took place, but one by one the centres of resistance were swamped by the enemy’s “moppers up.” Meanwhile, the first waves of attack had swept on past Battalion Headquarters and, as all hope of restoring the situation or of extricating the companies had now gone, Colonel James decided to try to join the 5th Loyals, who were on the right in the next sector. Gathering the Headquarters details he set off, but the whole area was swarming with Germans and a running fight at close range ensued. By this time the Boche was sending back prisoners belonging to the artillery and the R.A.M.C., and the small body of the Prince of Wales’s Volunteers shot down the escort and released a number of these men as it fought its way onward. One by one, however, Colonel James’s party was depleted and when he himself fell wounded the last resistance ceased.

After this lapse of time it is unlikely that the full story will ever be known. By 8 a.m. it was clear to observers at the Headquarters of the 166th Brigade in Epéhy that the enemy had broken through in large numbers north of Villers Ghuislain; consequently the Battalion had been taken in rear and cut off. It is equally clear, however, that the Battalion fought to the last man and the last round, and long after it had been surrounded and was seen still to be offering a desperate resistance. In the whole of our Regimental history there is no finer, or more stirring, example of devotion to duty and staunch fighting than this last stand made by the soldiers of the 5th Battalion – an example that will prove and inspiration for all time to those who follow in their footsteps.

The approximate strength of the Battalion in the line on the occasion just narrated was 21 officers and 540 other ranks; only the small percentage of officers and men left behind at the transport lines, either as first reinforcements or on administrative duties, escaped death or capture. In the afternoon all available men were formed into a composite platoon. The situation on the whole front of the 55th Division was now critical, and every soldier was needed to stem the fast-flowing tide of the German advance, which was lapping forward with bewildering rapidity.

Unfortunately, the full story of the magnificent fight put up by the West Lancashire Division is outside the scope of this chronicle, but it must suffice to record that there is no finer day in the history of this fine Division of Territorial troops than 30th November, 1917. They held their positions intact.

and this from the viewpoint of the 1/5th King's Own, also part of 166th Brigade:

Extract from “The King’s Own, The Story of a Royal Regiment, Volume III, 1914-1950,” by Colonel J. M. Cowper, pp. 191-193.

The counter-attack [to the gains during the Battle of Cambrai] took place on November 30-. Several fresh divisions were concentrated for the purposes and the enemy delivered two heavy lows with the object of driving in both flanks of the large salient now formed by the British line. His principal effort in the north against the troops in Bourlon Wood was repulsed. The attack against the eastern face was quite another matter. Here 55th Division was now holding thirteen thousand yards of front, having taken over some trenches on its left from 20th Division, which had been heavily engaged and suffered many casualties.

On the morning of the 30th 1/5 King’s Own was in support and 1/5 King’s Own in divisional reserve. It was the thirty-ninth day in the trenches, and to help men endure so long a period they were allowed to take their boots off at night unless actually on sentry duty. The officers had ordered up their valises and all but those on duty slept in pyjamas. Shortly before 7 a.m. the enemy opened a heavy bombardment; a cloud of low-flying aeroplanes came swooping over, machine-gunning the troops as they dived; the enemy advanced in long waves one after another in quick succession. Immediately in front of 1/5 King’s Own were three post manned by the King’s (Liverpool Scottish), Kildare, Limerick and Meath. Captain H. B. Bennett, commanding ‘A’ Company in the centre of the King’s Own position, sent forward for news as he hurriedly dressed, but no one knew anything except that the front line had been attacked. Half ‘B’ Company and two platoons of the King’s were moved to protect the left bank in a post known as Fourteen Willows Lane. ‘A’ Company was the first to sight the enemy. From a slight rising called Parr’s Bank Bennett saw through his glasses some men advancing over the ridge. The smoke was so thick that it was impossible to be certain who they were, but they were assumed to be the enemy because of the direction in which they were moving. A report was sent back to battalion headquarters, where another message was received at almost the same time about the approach of Germans from quite another quarter. All available headquarter details and the remaining two platoons of ‘B’ Company were pushed up the valley to form a defensive flank to the right. ‘D’ Company, under Second-Lieutenant W. H. Metcalfe, was ordered to take up a similar defensive position on the left flank, on the right of Fourteen Willows Lane. At the same time all available transport details were ordered forward. The alarm had reached the rear and 1/4 King’s Own moved off by companies to concentrate with the rest of 164th Brigade near St. Emilie.

Limerick was in the centre of the position and its garrison was reinforced by the King’s Own. At 8.20 a.m. battalion headquarters of the King’s, followed by some King’s Own men, moved forward to a cutting in a lane known as the Adelphi, but this extra outpost was soon offset by the loss of Kildare, the garrison of which ran across the open to a trench leading into Limerick. This was made possible by Second-Lieutenant J. Henderson and a few men of the King’s Own who bombed the pursuing Germans back out of the trench and established a block. Then, at about 9.45 a.m., both flanks of the Adelphi were threatened and those who were there also withdrew, the Adelphi being occupied by the enemy within half an hour. Bennett, slightly wounded in the head and left hand, made his way back to battalion headquarters and reported the situation, after which he returned to his company in Limerick. Then Colonel MacDonald, commanding the King’s, came back with the hundred men with whom he had fought his way out of Kildare.

At 10.30 1/4 King’s Own moved forward and at midday it was sent to reinforce the 1/5th. Both battalions set to work to dig in on a line some three hundred yards from the garrisons at Limerick and Meath, with whom all communication was now cut. Fresh formations of German troops were coming up, most of which swept past Limerick and Meath to launch their attacks upon this line. In one forward sap where the officer was killed Lance-Sergeant G. Johnson conducted the defence against repeated counter-attacks. It was five times taken by the enemy and retaken by the King’s Own bombers led personally by Sergeant Johnson. When Meath was attacked at 1.45 p.m. twenty King’s Own men went from Limerick to reinforce it, but without avail, for the attackers were too strong. A few men under Captain J. H. Kean were able to escape and rejoin Limerick, now the only post holding out in advance of the main position. Germans advanced down the trench from Meath but were held off by a bombing block; others tried to come up from Parr’s Bank but they also found the way barred; the block in the Kildare trench still held out, and after trying to force a way along each of these trenches some of the enemy attempted to attack across the open from the Adelphi. The King’s Own fire was so intense that they did not get five yards. At about 10 p.m. two runners succeeded in getting through to report to battalion headquarters, but on their way back with orders for the men to fight their way out they ran into the enemy and the message was never delivered.

Shortly afterwards the battalion received orders to reinforce Limerick and Metcalfe set off with ‘D’ Company, but he met such strong machine-gun fire from Parr’s Bank that he was forced to withdraw. There was now a trench mortar in Meath playing on Limerick and a machine gun in Kildare. All three bombing blocks in the trenches leading into the post were repeatedly attacked, and in one case the Germans were only stopped by Sergeant Phillips and one or two others who drove them out with the bayonet. The moon was full and the sky cloudless. Much annoyance was caused by the enemy mortars; on the other hand, the moonlight gave the King’s Own men opportunities for sniping. But their ammunition was nearly exhausted. The enemy trench mortars weighted the chances against them and Bennett, in consultation with Captain Roddick of the King’s, decided that the post must be evacuated if there was a sporting chance of getting the men away. This decision was taken just as the enemy opened a heavy trench mortar bombardment and attacked one of the main line trenches, but all was quiet again when preparations were complete for the evacuation of Limerick. There were no stretchers and six badly wounded men could not be moved; two stretcher-bearers insisted on remaining with them. Every sound man except these two was included in the party which covered three-quarters of a mile without seeing any but a small band of the enemy who fled at the sight of them. Suddenly they heard British voices and knew that they were safely back in British lines.

At 1 p.m. the next day 1/5 King’s Own, 10/King’s and 1/5 Loyals, together with two squadrons of Indian cavalry, launched a counter-attack with the intention of retaking Kildare, Limerick and Meath posts. The barrage was feeble and the attack broke down everywhere on account of the heavy machine-gun fire. The survivors returned to their former positions, leaving the enemy in possession of his posts, having reduced the attacking parties by fifty per cent. Darkness fell on December 1 without further action and the division was relieved that night, both battalions of the King’s Own going into billets. 1/5 King’s Own lost sixteen officers and two hundred and forty-seven other ranks, but the defence of Limerick post was one of the epic actions of the war.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

[peteg]

Sooty,

Try Peter Donnelly at the Kings Own Museum in Lancaster. Very helpful chap. I was there last Monday and had the pleasure of meeting him. He gave me a good bit of his valuable time regarding some Kings Own queries.

Peter is at, kingsownmuseum@iname.com

Pete.

[sooty]

There is a James Curwen born in Quernmore, 11 years old resident: Lancaster in 1901 census. Also Alfred 11 years old, Joseph 17, Ricahrd 14 and Robert 21 years old.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[sooty]

Sooty,

enlisting at Lancaster with a low 4-figure King's Own Service Number means he was almost certainly originally a member of the 1/5th King's Own; I would also guess that he enlisted in mid to late September 1914 - don't think he was a pre-war Terrier with a 24xx number.

He was killed near Epehy when the units of 166 Brigade were overrun. I don't have any info for the 166th Coy. MGC and Coop's history of the 55th Division does not give a vast amount of detail (although there is a good map showing the dispositions of the various brigades and their battalions during the action.

You may never know just which battalion of the brigade the machine gun squad he was in was attached to but here are a couple of narratives from two of them (they were all in the same area).

This is the perspective of the 1/5th South Lancs (part of 166th Brigade):

The Battle of Cambrai.

Extract from a History of the South Lancashire Regiment, 1914-1934.

However, from various sources it has been possible to glean the following account which probably gives a fair picture, from the Battalion point of view, of what happened on that day. Apparently the German bombardment commenced with a box barrage which quickly broke all communications and isolated the Battalion sector and its Headquarters, which were situated in a trench called High Street. Low-flying aeroplanes circled over the various command posts, firing on all movement and dropping bombs. The enemy’s aircraft also succeeded in knocking out a number of the machine guns which were the backbone of the defence of the long front allotted to the Battalion. It is also stated that the Germans brought light artillery mounted on motor vehicles into action on the high ground overlooking part of the defences, which co-operated effectively with the air attacks.

The enemy’s infantry then quickly broke through the troops of another division on the left, and it was not long before the Battalion was practically surrounded and fighting at close quarters in small groups. Fierce hand-to-hand combats took place, but one by one the centres of resistance were swamped by the enemy’s “moppers up.” Meanwhile, the first waves of attack had swept on past Battalion Headquarters and, as all hope of restoring the situation or of extricating the companies had now gone, Colonel James decided to try to join the 5th Loyals, who were on the right in the next sector. Gathering the Headquarters details he set off, but the whole area was swarming with Germans and a running fight at close range ensued. By this time the Boche was sending back prisoners belonging to the artillery and the R.A.M.C., and the small body of the Prince of Wales’s Volunteers shot down the escort and released a number of these men as it fought its way onward. One by one, however, Colonel James’s party was depleted and when he himself fell wounded the last resistance ceased.

After this lapse of time it is unlikely that the full story will ever be known. By 8 a.m. it was clear to observers at the Headquarters of the 166th Brigade in Epéhy that the enemy had broken through in large numbers north of Villers Ghuislain; consequently the Battalion had been taken in rear and cut off. It is equally clear, however, that the Battalion fought to the last man and the last round, and long after it had been surrounded and was seen still to be offering a desperate resistance. In the whole of our Regimental history there is no finer, or more stirring, example of devotion to duty and staunch fighting than this last stand made by the soldiers of the 5th Battalion – an example that will prove and inspiration for all time to those who follow in their footsteps.

The approximate strength of the Battalion in the line on the occasion just narrated was 21 officers and 540 other ranks; only the small percentage of officers and men left behind at the transport lines, either as first reinforcements or on administrative duties, escaped death or capture. In the afternoon all available men were formed into a composite platoon. The situation on the whole front of the 55th Division was now critical, and every soldier was needed to stem the fast-flowing tide of the German advance, which was lapping forward with bewildering rapidity.

Unfortunately, the full story of the magnificent fight put up by the West Lancashire Division is outside the scope of this chronicle, but it must suffice to record that there is no finer day in the history of this fine Division of Territorial troops than 30th November, 1917. They held their positions intact.

and this from the viewpoint of the 1/5th King's Own, also part of 166th Brigade:

Extract from “The King’s Own, The Story of a Royal Regiment, Volume III, 1914-1950,” by Colonel J. M. Cowper, pp. 191-193.

The counter-attack [to the gains during the Battle of Cambrai] took place on November 30-. Several fresh divisions were concentrated for the purposes and the enemy delivered two heavy lows with the object of driving in both flanks of the large salient now formed by the British line. His principal effort in the north against the troops in Bourlon Wood was repulsed. The attack against the eastern face was quite another matter. Here 55th Division was now holding thirteen thousand yards of front, having taken over some trenches on its left from 20th Division, which had been heavily engaged and suffered many casualties.

On the morning of the 30th 1/5 King’s Own was in support and 1/5 King’s Own in divisional reserve. It was the thirty-ninth day in the trenches, and to help men endure so long a period they were allowed to take their boots off at night unless actually on sentry duty. The officers had ordered up their valises and all but those on duty slept in pyjamas. Shortly before 7 a.m. the enemy opened a heavy bombardment; a cloud of low-flying aeroplanes came swooping over, machine-gunning the troops as they dived; the enemy advanced in long waves one after another in quick succession. Immediately in front of 1/5 King’s Own were three post manned by the King’s (Liverpool Scottish), Kildare, Limerick and Meath. Captain H. B. Bennett, commanding ‘A’ Company in the centre of the King’s Own position, sent forward for news as he hurriedly dressed, but no one knew anything except that the front line had been attacked. Half ‘B’ Company and two platoons of the King’s were moved to protect  the left bank in a post known as Fourteen Willows Lane. ‘A’ Company was the first to sight the enemy. From a slight rising called Parr’s Bank Bennett saw through his glasses some men advancing over the ridge. The smoke was so thick that it was impossible to be certain who they were, but they were assumed to be the enemy because of the direction in which they were moving. A report was sent back to battalion headquarters, where another message was received at almost the same time about the approach of Germans from quite another quarter. All available headquarter details and the remaining two platoons of ‘B’ Company were pushed up the valley to form a defensive flank to the right. ‘D’ Company, under Second-Lieutenant W. H. Metcalfe, was ordered to take up a similar defensive position on the left flank, on the right of Fourteen Willows Lane. At the same time all available transport details were ordered forward. The alarm had reached the rear and 1/4 King’s Own moved off by companies to concentrate with the rest of 164th Brigade near St. Emilie.

Limerick was in the centre of the position and its garrison was reinforced by the King’s Own. At 8.20 a.m. battalion headquarters of the King’s, followed by some King’s Own men, moved forward to a cutting in a lane known as the Adelphi, but this extra outpost was soon offset by the loss of Kildare, the garrison of which ran across the open to a trench leading into Limerick. This was made possible by Second-Lieutenant J. Henderson and a few men of the King’s Own who bombed the pursuing Germans back out of the trench and established a block. Then, at about 9.45 a.m., both flanks of the Adelphi were threatened and those who were there also withdrew, the Adelphi being occupied by the enemy within half an hour. Bennett, slightly wounded in the head and left hand, made his way back to battalion headquarters and reported the situation, after which he returned to his company in Limerick. Then Colonel MacDonald, commanding the King’s, came back with the hundred men with whom he had fought his way out of Kildare.

At 10.30 1/4 King’s Own moved forward and at midday it was sent to reinforce the 1/5th. Both battalions set to work to dig in on a line some three hundred yards from the garrisons at Limerick and Meath, with whom all communication was now cut. Fresh formations of German troops were coming up, most of which swept past Limerick and Meath to launch their attacks upon this line. In one forward sap where the officer was killed Lance-Sergeant G. Johnson conducted the defence against repeated counter-attacks. It was five times taken by the enemy and retaken by the King’s Own bombers led personally by Sergeant Johnson. When Meath was attacked at 1.45 p.m. twenty King’s Own men went from Limerick to reinforce it, but without avail, for the attackers were too strong. A few men under Captain J. H. Kean were able to escape and rejoin Limerick, now the only post holding out in advance of the main position. Germans advanced down the trench from Meath but were held off by a bombing block; others tried to come up from Parr’s Bank but they also found the way barred; the block in the Kildare trench still held out, and after trying to force a way along each of these trenches some of the enemy attempted to attack across the open from the Adelphi. The King’s Own fire was so intense that they did not get five yards. At about 10 p.m. two runners succeeded in getting through to report to battalion headquarters, but on their way back with orders for the men to fight their way out they ran into the enemy and the message was never delivered.

  Shortly afterwards the battalion received orders to reinforce Limerick and Metcalfe set off with ‘D’ Company, but he met such strong machine-gun fire from Parr’s Bank that he was forced to withdraw. There was now a trench mortar in Meath playing on Limerick and a machine gun in Kildare. All three bombing blocks in the trenches leading into the post were repeatedly attacked, and in one case the Germans were only stopped by Sergeant Phillips and one or two others who drove them out with the bayonet. The moon was full and the sky cloudless. Much annoyance was caused by the enemy mortars; on the other hand, the moonlight gave the King’s Own men opportunities for sniping. But their ammunition was nearly exhausted. The enemy trench mortars weighted the chances against them and Bennett, in consultation with Captain Roddick of the King’s, decided that the post must be evacuated if there was a sporting chance of getting the men away. This decision was taken just as the enemy opened a heavy trench mortar bombardment and attacked one of the main line trenches, but all was quiet again when preparations were complete for the evacuation of Limerick. There were no stretchers and six badly wounded men could not be moved; two stretcher-bearers insisted on remaining with them. Every sound man except these two was included in the party which covered three-quarters of a mile without seeing any but a small band of the enemy who fled at the sight of them. Suddenly they heard British voices and knew that they were safely back in British lines.

At 1 p.m. the next day 1/5 King’s Own, 10/King’s and 1/5 Loyals, together with two squadrons of Indian cavalry, launched a counter-attack with the intention of retaking Kildare, Limerick and Meath posts. The barrage was feeble and the attack broke down everywhere on account of the heavy machine-gun fire. The survivors returned to their former positions, leaving the enemy in possession of his posts, having reduced the attacking parties by fifty per cent. Darkness fell on December 1 without further action and the division was relieved that night, both battalions of the King’s Own going into billets. 1/5 King’s Own lost sixteen officers and two hundred and forty-seven other ranks, but the defence of Limerick post was one of the epic actions of the war.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[sooty]

Sooty,

enlisting at Lancaster with a low 4-figure King's Own Service Number means he was almost certainly originally a member of the 1/5th King's Own; I would also guess that he enlisted in mid to late September 1914 - don't think he was a pre-war Terrier with a 24xx number.

He was killed near Epehy when the units of 166 Brigade were overrun. I don't have any info for the 166th Coy. MGC and Coop's history of the 55th Division does not give a vast amount of detail (although there is a good map showing the dispositions of the various brigades and their battalions during the action.

You may never know just which battalion of the brigade the machine gun squad he was in was attached to but here are a couple of narratives from two of them (they were all in the same area).

This is the perspective of the 1/5th South Lancs (part of 166th Brigade):

The Battle of Cambrai.

Extract from a History of the South Lancashire Regiment, 1914-1934.

However, from various sources it has been possible to glean the following account which probably gives a fair picture, from the Battalion point of view, of what happened on that day. Apparently the German bombardment commenced with a box barrage which quickly broke all communications and isolated the Battalion sector and its Headquarters, which were situated in a trench called High Street. Low-flying aeroplanes circled over the various command posts, firing on all movement and dropping bombs. The enemy’s aircraft also succeeded in knocking out a number of the machine guns which were the backbone of the defence of the long front allotted to the Battalion. It is also stated that the Germans brought light artillery mounted on motor vehicles into action on the high ground overlooking part of the defences, which co-operated effectively with the air attacks.

The enemy’s infantry then quickly broke through the troops of another division on the left, and it was not long before the Battalion was practically surrounded and fighting at close quarters in small groups. Fierce hand-to-hand combats took place, but one by one the centres of resistance were swamped by the enemy’s “moppers up.” Meanwhile, the first waves of attack had swept on past Battalion Headquarters and, as all hope of restoring the situation or of extricating the companies had now gone, Colonel James decided to try to join the 5th Loyals, who were on the right in the next sector. Gathering the Headquarters details he set off, but the whole area was swarming with Germans and a running fight at close range ensued. By this time the Boche was sending back prisoners belonging to the artillery and the R.A.M.C., and the small body of the Prince of Wales’s Volunteers shot down the escort and released a number of these men as it fought its way onward. One by one, however, Colonel James’s party was depleted and when he himself fell wounded the last resistance ceased.

After this lapse of time it is unlikely that the full story will ever be known. By 8 a.m. it was clear to observers at the Headquarters of the 166th Brigade in Epéhy that the enemy had broken through in large numbers north of Villers Ghuislain; consequently the Battalion had been taken in rear and cut off. It is equally clear, however, that the Battalion fought to the last man and the last round, and long after it had been surrounded and was seen still to be offering a desperate resistance. In the whole of our Regimental history there is no finer, or more stirring, example of devotion to duty and staunch fighting than this last stand made by the soldiers of the 5th Battalion – an example that will prove and inspiration for all time to those who follow in their footsteps.

The approximate strength of the Battalion in the line on the occasion just narrated was 21 officers and 540 other ranks; only the small percentage of officers and men left behind at the transport lines, either as first reinforcements or on administrative duties, escaped death or capture. In the afternoon all available men were formed into a composite platoon. The situation on the whole front of the 55th Division was now critical, and every soldier was needed to stem the fast-flowing tide of the German advance, which was lapping forward with bewildering rapidity.

Unfortunately, the full story of the magnificent fight put up by the West Lancashire Division is outside the scope of this chronicle, but it must suffice to record that there is no finer day in the history of this fine Division of Territorial troops than 30th November, 1917. They held their positions intact.

and this from the viewpoint of the 1/5th King's Own, also part of 166th Brigade:

Extract from “The King’s Own, The Story of a Royal Regiment, Volume III, 1914-1950,” by Colonel J. M. Cowper, pp. 191-193.

The counter-attack [to the gains during the Battle of Cambrai] took place on November 30-. Several fresh divisions were concentrated for the purposes and the enemy delivered two heavy lows with the object of driving in both flanks of the large salient now formed by the British line. His principal effort in the north against the troops in Bourlon Wood was repulsed. The attack against the eastern face was quite another matter. Here 55th Division was now holding thirteen thousand yards of front, having taken over some trenches on its left from 20th Division, which had been heavily engaged and suffered many casualties.

On the morning of the 30th 1/5 King’s Own was in support and 1/5 King’s Own in divisional reserve. It was the thirty-ninth day in the trenches, and to help men endure so long a period they were allowed to take their boots off at night unless actually on sentry duty. The officers had ordered up their valises and all but those on duty slept in pyjamas. Shortly before 7 a.m. the enemy opened a heavy bombardment; a cloud of low-flying aeroplanes came swooping over, machine-gunning the troops as they dived; the enemy advanced in long waves one after another in quick succession. Immediately in front of 1/5 King’s Own were three post manned by the King’s (Liverpool Scottish), Kildare, Limerick and Meath. Captain H. B. Bennett, commanding ‘A’ Company in the centre of the King’s Own position, sent forward for news as he hurriedly dressed, but no one knew anything except that the front line had been attacked. Half ‘B’ Company and two platoons of the King’s were moved to protect  the left bank in a post known as Fourteen Willows Lane. ‘A’ Company was the first to sight the enemy. From a slight rising called Parr’s Bank Bennett saw through his glasses some men advancing over the ridge. The smoke was so thick that it was impossible to be certain who they were, but they were assumed to be the enemy because of the direction in which they were moving. A report was sent back to battalion headquarters, where another message was received at almost the same time about the approach of Germans from quite another quarter. All available headquarter details and the remaining two platoons of ‘B’ Company were pushed up the valley to form a defensive flank to the right. ‘D’ Company, under Second-Lieutenant W. H. Metcalfe, was ordered to take up a similar defensive position on the left flank, on the right of Fourteen Willows Lane. At the same time all available transport details were ordered forward. The alarm had reached the rear and 1/4 King’s Own moved off by companies to concentrate with the rest of 164th Brigade near St. Emilie.

Limerick was in the centre of the position and its garrison was reinforced by the King’s Own. At 8.20 a.m. battalion headquarters of the King’s, followed by some King’s Own men, moved forward to a cutting in a lane known as the Adelphi, but this extra outpost was soon offset by the loss of Kildare, the garrison of which ran across the open to a trench leading into Limerick. This was made possible by Second-Lieutenant J. Henderson and a few men of the King’s Own who bombed the pursuing Germans back out of the trench and established a block. Then, at about 9.45 a.m., both flanks of the Adelphi were threatened and those who were there also withdrew, the Adelphi being occupied by the enemy within half an hour. Bennett, slightly wounded in the head and left hand, made his way back to battalion headquarters and reported the situation, after which he returned to his company in Limerick. Then Colonel MacDonald, commanding the King’s, came back with the hundred men with whom he had fought his way out of Kildare.

At 10.30 1/4 King’s Own moved forward and at midday it was sent to reinforce the 1/5th. Both battalions set to work to dig in on a line some three hundred yards from the garrisons at Limerick and Meath, with whom all communication was now cut. Fresh formations of German troops were coming up, most of which swept past Limerick and Meath to launch their attacks upon this line. In one forward sap where the officer was killed Lance-Sergeant G. Johnson conducted the defence against repeated counter-attacks. It was five times taken by the enemy and retaken by the King’s Own bombers led personally by Sergeant Johnson. When Meath was attacked at 1.45 p.m. twenty King’s Own men went from Limerick to reinforce it, but without avail, for the attackers were too strong. A few men under Captain J. H. Kean were able to escape and rejoin Limerick, now the only post holding out in advance of the main position. Germans advanced down the trench from Meath but were held off by a bombing block; others tried to come up from Parr’s Bank but they also found the way barred; the block in the Kildare trench still held out, and after trying to force a way along each of these trenches some of the enemy attempted to attack across the open from the Adelphi. The King’s Own fire was so intense that they did not get five yards. At about 10 p.m. two runners succeeded in getting through to report to battalion headquarters, but on their way back with orders for the men to fight their way out they ran into the enemy and the message was never delivered.

  Shortly afterwards the battalion received orders to reinforce Limerick and Metcalfe set off with ‘D’ Company, but he met such strong machine-gun fire from Parr’s Bank that he was forced to withdraw. There was now a trench mortar in Meath playing on Limerick and a machine gun in Kildare. All three bombing blocks in the trenches leading into the post were repeatedly attacked, and in one case the Germans were only stopped by Sergeant Phillips and one or two others who drove them out with the bayonet. The moon was full and the sky cloudless. Much annoyance was caused by the enemy mortars; on the other hand, the moonlight gave the King’s Own men opportunities for sniping. But their ammunition was nearly exhausted. The enemy trench mortars weighted the chances against them and Bennett, in consultation with Captain Roddick of the King’s, decided that the post must be evacuated if there was a sporting chance of getting the men away. This decision was taken just as the enemy opened a heavy trench mortar bombardment and attacked one of the main line trenches, but all was quiet again when preparations were complete for the evacuation of Limerick. There were no stretchers and six badly wounded men could not be moved; two stretcher-bearers insisted on remaining with them. Every sound man except these two was included in the party which covered three-quarters of a mile without seeing any but a small band of the enemy who fled at the sight of them. Suddenly they heard British voices and knew that they were safely back in British lines.

At 1 p.m. the next day 1/5 King’s Own, 10/King’s and 1/5 Loyals, together with two squadrons of Indian cavalry, launched a counter-attack with the intention of retaking Kildare, Limerick and Meath posts. The barrage was feeble and the attack broke down everywhere on account of the heavy machine-gun fire. The survivors returned to their former positions, leaving the enemy in possession of his posts, having reduced the attacking parties by fifty per cent. Darkness fell on December 1 without further action and the division was relieved that night, both battalions of the King’s Own going into billets. 1/5 King’s Own lost sixteen officers and two hundred and forty-seven other ranks, but the defence of Limerick post was one of the epic actions of the war.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[sooty]

Sooty,

enlisting at Lancaster with a low 4-figure King's Own Service Number means he was almost certainly originally a member of the 1/5th King's Own; I would also guess that he enlisted in mid to late September 1914 - don't think he was a pre-war Terrier with a 24xx number.

He was killed near Epehy when the units of 166 Brigade were overrun. I don't have any info for the 166th Coy. MGC and Coop's history of the 55th Division does not give a vast amount of detail (although there is a good map showing the dispositions of the various brigades and their battalions during the action.

You may never know just which battalion of the brigade the machine gun squad he was in was attached to but here are a couple of narratives from two of them (they were all in the same area).

This is the perspective of the 1/5th South Lancs (part of 166th Brigade):

The Battle of Cambrai.

Extract from a History of the South Lancashire Regiment, 1914-1934.

However, from various sources it has been possible to glean the following account which probably gives a fair picture, from the Battalion point of view, of what happened on that day. Apparently the German bombardment commenced with a box barrage which quickly broke all communications and isolated the Battalion sector and its Headquarters, which were situated in a trench called High Street. Low-flying aeroplanes circled over the various command posts, firing on all movement and dropping bombs. The enemy’s aircraft also succeeded in knocking out a number of the machine guns which were the backbone of the defence of the long front allotted to the Battalion. It is also stated that the Germans brought light artillery mounted on motor vehicles into action on the high ground overlooking part of the defences, which co-operated effectively with the air attacks.

The enemy’s infantry then quickly broke through the troops of another division on the left, and it was not long before the Battalion was practically surrounded and fighting at close quarters in small groups. Fierce hand-to-hand combats took place, but one by one the centres of resistance were swamped by the enemy’s “moppers up.” Meanwhile, the first waves of attack had swept on past Battalion Headquarters and, as all hope of restoring the situation or of extricating the companies had now gone, Colonel James decided to try to join the 5th Loyals, who were on the right in the next sector. Gathering the Headquarters details he set off, but the whole area was swarming with Germans and a running fight at close range ensued. By this time the Boche was sending back prisoners belonging to the artillery and the R.A.M.C., and the small body of the Prince of Wales’s Volunteers shot down the escort and released a number of these men as it fought its way onward. One by one, however, Colonel James’s party was depleted and when he himself fell wounded the last resistance ceased.

After this lapse of time it is unlikely that the full story will ever be known. By 8 a.m. it was clear to observers at the Headquarters of the 166th Brigade in Epéhy that the enemy had broken through in large numbers north of Villers Ghuislain; consequently the Battalion had been taken in rear and cut off. It is equally clear, however, that the Battalion fought to the last man and the last round, and long after it had been surrounded and was seen still to be offering a desperate resistance. In the whole of our Regimental history there is no finer, or more stirring, example of devotion to duty and staunch fighting than this last stand made by the soldiers of the 5th Battalion – an example that will prove and inspiration for all time to those who follow in their footsteps.

The approximate strength of the Battalion in the line on the occasion just narrated was 21 officers and 540 other ranks; only the small percentage of officers and men left behind at the transport lines, either as first reinforcements or on administrative duties, escaped death or capture. In the afternoon all available men were formed into a composite platoon. The situation on the whole front of the 55th Division was now critical, and every soldier was needed to stem the fast-flowing tide of the German advance, which was lapping forward with bewildering rapidity.

Unfortunately, the full story of the magnificent fight put up by the West Lancashire Division is outside the scope of this chronicle, but it must suffice to record that there is no finer day in the history of this fine Division of Territorial troops than 30th November, 1917. They held their positions intact.

and this from the viewpoint of the 1/5th King's Own, also part of 166th Brigade:

Extract from “The King’s Own, The Story of a Royal Regiment, Volume III, 1914-1950,” by Colonel J. M. Cowper, pp. 191-193.

The counter-attack [to the gains during the Battle of Cambrai] took place on November 30-. Several fresh divisions were concentrated for the purposes and the enemy delivered two heavy lows with the object of driving in both flanks of the large salient now formed by the British line. His principal effort in the north against the troops in Bourlon Wood was repulsed. The attack against the eastern face was quite another matter. Here 55th Division was now holding thirteen thousand yards of front, having taken over some trenches on its left from 20th Division, which had been heavily engaged and suffered many casualties.

On the morning of the 30th 1/5 King’s Own was in support and 1/5 King’s Own in divisional reserve. It was the thirty-ninth day in the trenches, and to help men endure so long a period they were allowed to take their boots off at night unless actually on sentry duty. The officers had ordered up their valises and all but those on duty slept in pyjamas. Shortly before 7 a.m. the enemy opened a heavy bombardment; a cloud of low-flying aeroplanes came swooping over, machine-gunning the troops as they dived; the enemy advanced in long waves one after another in quick succession. Immediately in front of 1/5 King’s Own were three post manned by the King’s (Liverpool Scottish), Kildare, Limerick and Meath. Captain H. B. Bennett, commanding ‘A’ Company in the centre of the King’s Own position, sent forward for news as he hurriedly dressed, but no one knew anything except that the front line had been attacked. Half ‘B’ Company and two platoons of the King’s were moved to protect  the left bank in a post known as Fourteen Willows Lane. ‘A’ Company was the first to sight the enemy. From a slight rising called Parr’s Bank Bennett saw through his glasses some men advancing over the ridge. The smoke was so thick that it was impossible to be certain who they were, but they were assumed to be the enemy because of the direction in which they were moving. A report was sent back to battalion headquarters, where another message was received at almost the same time about the approach of Germans from quite another quarter. All available headquarter details and the remaining two platoons of ‘B’ Company were pushed up the valley to form a defensive flank to the right. ‘D’ Company, under Second-Lieutenant W. H. Metcalfe, was ordered to take up a similar defensive position on the left flank, on the right of Fourteen Willows Lane. At the same time all available transport details were ordered forward. The alarm had reached the rear and 1/4 King’s Own moved off by companies to concentrate with the rest of 164th Brigade near St. Emilie.

Limerick was in the centre of the position and its garrison was reinforced by the King’s Own. At 8.20 a.m. battalion headquarters of the King’s, followed by some King’s Own men, moved forward to a cutting in a lane known as the Adelphi, but this extra outpost was soon offset by the loss of Kildare, the garrison of which ran across the open to a trench leading into Limerick. This was made possible by Second-Lieutenant J. Henderson and a few men of the King’s Own who bombed the pursuing Germans back out of the trench and established a block. Then, at about 9.45 a.m., both flanks of the Adelphi were threatened and those who were there also withdrew, the Adelphi being occupied by the enemy within half an hour. Bennett, slightly wounded in the head and left hand, made his way back to battalion headquarters and reported the situation, after which he returned to his company in Limerick. Then Colonel MacDonald, commanding the King’s, came back with the hundred men with whom he had fought his way out of Kildare.

At 10.30 1/4 King’s Own moved forward and at midday it was sent to reinforce the 1/5th. Both battalions set to work to dig in on a line some three hundred yards from the garrisons at Limerick and Meath, with whom all communication was now cut. Fresh formations of German troops were coming up, most of which swept past Limerick and Meath to launch their attacks upon this line. In one forward sap where the officer was killed Lance-Sergeant G. Johnson conducted the defence against repeated counter-attacks. It was five times taken by the enemy and retaken by the King’s Own bombers led personally by Sergeant Johnson. When Meath was attacked at 1.45 p.m. twenty King’s Own men went from Limerick to reinforce it, but without avail, for the attackers were too strong. A few men under Captain J. H. Kean were able to escape and rejoin Limerick, now the only post holding out in advance of the main position. Germans advanced down the trench from Meath but were held off by a bombing block; others tried to come up from Parr’s Bank but they also found the way barred; the block in the Kildare trench still held out, and after trying to force a way along each of these trenches some of the enemy attempted to attack across the open from the Adelphi. The King’s Own fire was so intense that they did not get five yards. At about 10 p.m. two runners succeeded in getting through to report to battalion headquarters, but on their way back with orders for the men to fight their way out they ran into the enemy and the message was never delivered.

  Shortly afterwards the battalion received orders to reinforce Limerick and Metcalfe set off with ‘D’ Company, but he met such strong machine-gun fire from Parr’s Bank that he was forced to withdraw. There was now a trench mortar in Meath playing on Limerick and a machine gun in Kildare. All three bombing blocks in the trenches leading into the post were repeatedly attacked, and in one case the Germans were only stopped by Sergeant Phillips and one or two others who drove them out with the bayonet. The moon was full and the sky cloudless. Much annoyance was caused by the enemy mortars; on the other hand, the moonlight gave the King’s Own men opportunities for sniping. But their ammunition was nearly exhausted. The enemy trench mortars weighted the chances against them and Bennett, in consultation with Captain Roddick of the King’s, decided that the post must be evacuated if there was a sporting chance of getting the men away. This decision was taken just as the enemy opened a heavy trench mortar bombardment and attacked one of the main line trenches, but all was quiet again when preparations were complete for the evacuation of Limerick. There were no stretchers and six badly wounded men could not be moved; two stretcher-bearers insisted on remaining with them. Every sound man except these two was included in the party which covered three-quarters of a mile without seeing any but a small band of the enemy who fled at the sight of them. Suddenly they heard British voices and knew that they were safely back in British lines.

At 1 p.m. the next day 1/5 King’s Own, 10/King’s and 1/5 Loyals, together with two squadrons of Indian cavalry, launched a counter-attack with the intention of retaking Kildare, Limerick and Meath posts. The barrage was feeble and the attack broke down everywhere on account of the heavy machine-gun fire. The survivors returned to their former positions, leaving the enemy in possession of his posts, having reduced the attacking parties by fifty per cent. Darkness fell on December 1 without further action and the division was relieved that night, both battalions of the King’s Own going into billets. 1/5 King’s Own lost sixteen officers and two hundred and forty-seven other ranks, but the defence of Limerick post was one of the epic actions of the war.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[sooty]

to Andy northern soul.Many thanks for your comprehensive reply,I found it very interesting and informative.I was not aware of this history and you have helped me greatly.Thank-you again from sooty.

[sooty]

Thank-you to all members whom have helped me with james curwen,fantastic response just great,I am not used to the reply system so I hope all that helped are able to view this.Sooty.

[bernardmcilwaine]

sooty,these are the only curwens i could find in the KORLs,

pte ernest curwen.disembarked 3-5-15,KIA 15-6-15, Not4/2562

pte james curwen disembarked 4-9-15,class z army res 17-4-19,No 13444

pte james curwen.disembarked 5-5-15,disembodied 7-6-19, No 240908

pte john curwen,disembarked 13-6-15,class z army res 26-4-19,No 11749

all entitled to the 1914-15 star

privates w k curwen 2744 and r s curwen 3542,both in D.coy 2/5th batt,disembarked jan 1917.

all these are 1/5th batt and all were entitled to the 1914-15 star

all privates

a.curwen 3221

h.curwen 2744,[also the number of w k curwen,above]

h.curwen 3432

j.curwen 3009

j.curwen 2846 renumbered 240908,lived 7 rine st morecambe

j r curwen 2274

j r curwen 3779

james curwen 2468,renumbered 70365 MGC

r.curwen 2039 discharged medically unfit 30-10-14

r.curwen 3542

[sooty]

thank-you for your help.I have since discovered my gr.greatgrandfather was James Curwen 2468 as shown on your list.Thank-you once again from sooty.