Grenadier Guards 1st Dec 1917 Sjt J Bosworth MM

[airclark]

Hello to you all on the forum,

This place is a fabulous resource and I have managed to do some very successful searches on here before posting. However, the time has come to pop my head above the parapet, say hi and ask for some extra help.

My great-grandfather Joseph Bosworth initially enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters as a young man many years before the Great War. He was from Nottingham and sometime later he must have transferred to the Grenadier Guards. He was with the 2nd Battalion and he is listed in the London Gazette in Nov 1916 as being award the Military Medal, but there is no citation.

He was killed on 1st Dec 1917 and following some searches on here and elsewhere, I assume that he, along with many other of his comrades fell during the action around Gauche Wood near Gouzeaucourt.

The other topic on this forum that has proved very useful so far is at:

 

I have also found a very useful account from a site dedicated to Pvt Albert Horton who died the same day in the same Battalion.

http://www.jrawl.co.uk/horton.htm

This states:

26.11.1917. The Battalion marched to Ribecort in a snow storm and found the only

accommodation was the old German lines which was not quite as comfortable as

the front line they had just left.

Both blankets and great coats being in store the battalion spent a miserable

night.

The next few days were spent in and around Metz en Coutre ; improving billets

which were anything but comfortable, and left in an extremely dirty state by

the previous occupants.

On the 30th November the diary records that at about 7.00 am the Germans began

to attack neighbouring positions and that at 10.30 the brigade received orders

to advance towards Gouzeaucourt and to clear Metz by 12.30, while about half a

mile from Metz a runner reported that;the enemy had broken the line and was

believed to be through to Gouzeaucourt , the brigade would have to advance

immediately until it had met the enemy and would then attack them.

The front was by this time in total confusion with retreating stragglers and

wounded compounding the problems. There was not the slightest trace of any

defending infantry.

The battalion ‘met’ with the enemy and halted their advance. They were then

ordered to counter attack in the direction of Gauche Wood. The plan of attack

called for the Grenadier Guards to follow 20 advancing tanks at a distance of

400 yards in the event the attack began without the assistance of the tanks.

The battalion reached the edge of the wood by 7.00 am to find it thickly manned

with machine guns the battalion lost most of its Junior Officers to machine gun

and sniper fire in taking their objectives. They captured 3 field guns and a

‘great number of machine guns’. The battalion diary records casualties for the

day of; Killed in Action 25 N.C.O’s and men, Missing 11 N.C.O’s and men,

Wounded 115 N.C.O’s and men. Later the diary goes on to say. Among these

unfortunately were many excellent N.C.O.’s whom it will be hard to replace.

Message from the Corps Commander III Corps

The Corps Commander wishes to express to all ranks of the Guards Division his

highest appreciation of the prompt manner in which they turned out on 30

November counter attacked through a disorganised rabble and re-took

Gouzeaucourt. The very fine attack they subsequently carried out against

Quentin Ridge and Gauche Wood, resulting in the capture of these important

positions was worthy of the highest traditions of the Guards.

************

I presume my great-grandfather 10627 Serjeant J Bosworth was one of those excellent NCOs whom it would be hard to replace. He has no grave and is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial at Louverval.

If anyone has any further information about how Joseph won his Military Medal or details about his service in the Grenadier Guards, I should be most grateful.

All the best

Steve

[andyspiller]

Steve

Welcome to the forum.

I have checked GG in the Great War and unfortunately cannot add anything to your existing research.

Have you got his MIC - it might point you in a certain direction as to when he was transferred to the GG. Maybe he might have even been discharged from the Sherwoods and then re-enlisted into the GG. BTW there should be a seperate MIC for the MM.

Rgds

Andy

[airclark]

Thanks Andy,

Yes, I have downloaded both MICs from the National Archives. One MIC for his campaign medals and the other one for his MM.

Unfortunately neither give much info. Just the London Gazette date on the MM MIC and the qualifying date of 20/9/14 for his campaign medals on the other MIC. I suppose the latter indicates that he had been a regular for a while in the GG, probably prior to the war as well. I have him in the 4th Battalion of the Derbys (Sherwood Forresters) in the 1901 census at 17 years old, so he was 33 years old when he was killed and probably an experienced Sgt and "old man" in comparison to the young lads there.

As an aside, I have noticed his rank was spelled Serjeant in the official docs. Anyone know when we swopped it over Sergeant in the British Army?

Cheers

Steve

[andyspiller]

With the old 12 year rule, he would probably have left the army around 1908/9 (various threads on the forum) and then been on the reserve for 4 years after that. Maybe he re-enlisted before August 1914.

Bear in mind that unlike most regts, the Guards retained all their records - so we do not have the problem of Kew and the burnt records etc.

Write to the archive at Birdcage Walk - you may be in for a surprise.

Rgds

Andy

[airclark]

Once again, many thanks Andy!

I have just walked back from the postbox, so the GG Regimental Archives will have my letter tomorrow.

Hopefully, you are right and there will be a nice surprise awaiting our family sometime soon if they have some information on his service history and his MM.

I have the round brass(?) commemoration plaque with Britannia and his name on it, which was sent to my great-grandmother after his death. Apparently my cousin also has letters from him posted home just before he died and the letter from his officer to the family after he was killed. I will get her to dig them out for me and if anyone on here is interested I will post any good details if they arise.

Regards

Steve

[Max (UK)]

Would be very interested to see anything that you have

Take a tip from me though - if his Service Records arrive and they are just the few basic pages, go to the National Archives and look in WO364 (unburnt records). You might get lucky like I did.

The Grenadier Guards Archivist kindly sent me 4 pages of service records, which was good.

But one day at the NA I decided to look in WO364 out of curiosity and there found his service records of about 20 pages - everything from pension, medical, conduct, correspondence, etc.

I would say well worth a look if you get a chance.

[airclark]

Thanks for the tip Max,

I have just had a look at the NA site about WO 364 and it specifically says that references for Guards servicemen should be sought through the RHQ. However, under the spirit of nothing ventured nothing gained, I will use this as an excuse to visit Kew as it must be an experience in itself just accessing the archives. I know the wife has been pestering me to visit Kew Gardens, so I can kill two birds with one stone.

Cheers

Steve

P.S. Also read there all about the loss of the burnt records in the archive bombing raid, what a terrible loss to anyone researching a military relative, it said that two thirds of the records were destroyed.

[Max (UK)]

Thanks for the tip Max,

it specifically says that references for Guards servicemen should be sought through the RHQ.

I know - which is why I was pretty suprised to find what I found. You might not get the same luck though, I don't know if they are all there or just a percentage.

[airclark]

If I am allowed to bring you up to date with the information so far, I can only say that I have felt a complete contrast of both excitement at finding out new facts or leads and great sadness at learning the tragedies behind the real events.

Within only a week of starting this journey, with the help from the "old salts" on this forum, I have learned that my great-grandfather initially enlisted in the Grenadier Guards in 1902. After 8 years under the colours (rank of corporal) he went onto the reserve but was called back at the outbreak of the Great War. He became Serjeant and also acting CQMS just before he was killed.

I have downloaded the 2nd Bn GG War Diary from the National Archives and was completely rivetted to my chair as I read the harrowing details of their experiences which included the listing of his MM. It appears that he won the MM around the time of the GG action at Les Boeufs, which was just awesome and then died at the Gauche Wood battle a year later.

I am so delighted with the response from the Grenadier Guards Regimental Archive, which sent me his service records almost by return! I shall certainly be sending them a charitable donation as thanks.

Following suggestions from members here, my next port of call will be the National Archives themselves, as I now have the bit firmly betwen my teeth and feel compelled to find out any any further information.

What is really pleasing is that after his unfortunate death, his widow married again and her next daughter is still alive, in her late eighties and can well remember the family stories and details about him. The facts that I have discovered here are of great interest to her and she tells me that his brother Christopher Bosworth was also in the Great War, but survived and told her that he met Joseph by chance at the front just before he was killed. The stories that she has told me, has brought Joseph to life in my mind and I now feel I owe it to his bravery to ensure the future generations of our family have his story.

Thanks again to all on the forum, who have helped so far. It is much appreciated,

Regards

Steve

[Max (UK)]

Well done mate. Rrrrresult !

Let us know what else you dig up. Sounds like you should learn some great anecdotes and who knows maybe some old photos and things too eh?

Did you not know about his brother Christopher? If not, you can do it all over again with him and bring another man to life. Kudos !

[airclark]

As you will all understand I am sure, it can take longer than anticipated to come up with any results from digging into the family history. However, as I bring you up to date, I was very moved when I finally read a letter written by my great-grandfather to his wife Geraldine just before he was killed on 1st Dec 1917.

I am afraid that it does not contain much military relevance, but it does give a picture of the strain on an NCO who had been in France since Sept 1914. Also, as someone who had been a Guardsman since 1902, I find it very poignant that a tough regular Sergeant could write such a touching letter and not least that he was killed a couple of weeks later. I also found his handwriting remarkedly fine and beautifully neat.

Finally, to help those of you who are not from the Nottingham area, "my duck" is like saying "my dear". And his little birds were my grandfather Joseph (who later fought at El Alamein with the Sherwood Foresters in WWII) and daughter Geraldine.

Friday Morning 16 Nov 1917

No 3 Company

2nd Bn Grenadier Guards

B Exp Force

My Dear Gerry

Just a line to let you know that I am going on alright and in the best of health. Well Gerry my Love, how are you and my little birds going on ? It is Friday Morning, I have not received a letter from you up to the time of writing this since I came back, but I am anxiously looking forward to one today when the mail comes in. I hope you have received my letters alright and I hope you won't keep me without a letter too long, if it's only two or three lines my duck I don't mind so long as I hear from you. Gerry my Love I am miserable and I can't help it, after being home on leave and having the best of everything, then, to come back to this bloody life. There is no pleasure either day or night, it's one continual worry, its enough to make a man commit suicide, although I know I am not the only one by thousands who is fed up and wants to get back. But still Gerry, it makes me feel bloody wild to think of those people at home who have never seen anything of the war and are getting 3 and 4 pounds week and you have got to pay the same price for stuff as they have, never mind my duck, there is a time coming and I hope to God it won't be long. Excuse this paper Gerry but I am writing this letter by the road side, one of our Officers has just asked me what service I have got in, how long I had been married and how many children I had and when I told him he was quite surprised he would hardly believe me and I told him it was quite right. So he said well they ought to send you home. Gerry I have not drawn any money since I have been back and I have had very little to drink, I did not care much for it after having a drop of good bitter at home. I have not got a copper in my pocket so I decided to go without until such times as I get out of debt and as soon as I do my duck, I shall send your money just the same. Well Gerry my duck you must let me know how you are going on in yourself and everything at home. I will answer your letter as soon as I get it. Trusting you and my little birds are in the very best of health as it leaves me the same. I remain your ever loving and most affectionate Husband xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

P.S. Remember me to Mrs Wright, Old Jack and those who inquire. Goodnight my duck and may God bless and keep you and my little birds safe until I come home. Kiss my Joey and Geraldine for me xxxxxx from their Daddy.

For you Gerry my Love xxxxxx Ever Yours Joe. Bye Bye Duck.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am so glad that the letter has survived the years between the generations of our family moving home and clearing out etc. I am now trying to track down a letter I believe was written to his wife by his Officer after he was killed and will share anything further of interest that I can find.

All the best,

Steve

[airclark]

I would be grateful for help from any Guards or uniform specialists on the forum. I have uploaded a photo passed down the family which I believe is my great-grandfather Joseph.

My question concerns the white jacket which may perhaps confirm the photo as a Guardsman. Is the jacket "undress" which is worn by Guardsmen doing fatigues when not on parade? Presumably only the Guards would wear a spotless white jacket to do their chores.

Also his service record shows Joe initially in the 2nd Bn Grenadiers between 1902 and 1909 and was then a on reserve until 1913 when he re-enlisted in the Reserve and was mobilised on 5 Aug 1914. Does anyone have a reference as to where the 2nd Bn was serving or what they did between 1902 and 1909? Perhaps the photo above was taken somewhere hot like Egypt and he was in an overseas dress tunic?

Many thanks

Steve

[Owen D]

Yes,Guards wore white tunic, there is a photo on page 19 of the Ospery Men-at-Arms book on the Grenadier Guards of a group of NCOs wearing them in 1870.

I'd say photo taken in UK .

http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/guards/f1gg-2.htm

1902 London: Chelsea

1903 England: Aldershot

1904 England: Windsor

1906 England: Aldershot

1908 London: Chelsea

1910 England: Aldershot

[airclark]

Many thanks Owen D for the info above.

I will have to get a copy of the Osprey book to go with my growing bookcase which already has the 3 Vols of the GG in the Great War and just arrived the British Grenadiers by Henry Hanning.

Reading the accounts of 1st Ypres and the subsequent Guards battles, I am just amazed that Joseph managed to survive all the way to the Cambrai counter-attack in Dec 17. He must have lost all his old comrades in the Battalion from the pre-War days and after 3 years in the firing line he must have seen a huge turnover in personnel around him.

Certainly looking forward to driving down to France soon to visit all the places that I am reading about. I still need to get to Kew first just to check on the surviving burnt records (WO 363), as I have checked the Bosworth entries in WO 364 (as Max UK suggested earlier in this thread) on Ancestry.co.uk and there is no entry for him.

All the best

Steve

[airclark]

For any of those interested in the story of my great-grandfather Sgt Joseph Bosworth MM from the 2nd Battalion GG. I have just received and typed below the condolence letter sent to his wife Geraldine after he was killed at Gauche Wood. From reading the accounts in the GG histories it appears that it was a case of blind Guards' determination and discipline as they stormed up open ground towards machine guns in the woods and then drove out the Germans with bitter hand to hand fighting. It appears that the letter below was written by a returning Officer on leave because all of Joe's Officers had been killed or wounded. His Company Commander Lt Arthur Acland MC appears to have recovered and gone on to become a Lt Colonel and only died in 1992. I would love to know if he had any written memoirs that I could get my hands on to read. Interestingly, the only GG Officer left to take charge in the wood was a young Lt "Boy" Browning, who later went on to be famous, both for his marriage to Daphne du Maurier and for his running of the Arnhem Operation in 1944, as depicted in the film a Bridge Too Far by Dirk Bogarde (playing the archetypal Guards Officer.)

The letter's author, Lt Hugh White appears from CWGC to have been killed the following August and is buried at Cabaret-Rouge Cemetery.

As always, I am amazingly proud and sad at the same time:

2nd Grenadier Guards,

7th December 1917

My Dear Madam,

I most deeply regret to inform you that your husband Sgt Bosworth of No 12 Platoon was killed in action on 1 December during the great action. The Battalion fought on that day and he was badly wounded just as the objective was reached; so badly that I am certain he did not suffer and died very shortly afterwards. The fighting was so intense, it did not permit medical aid reaching your poor husband, but the nature of his wound was such that no human skill could have saved his life. His Platoon Commander Mr Acland was wounded earlier and all the other Officers of the Coy present were subsequently hit, but I, No 11 Commander have just returned from leave and learned from his companions that your husband had been doing splendid work, in an action which was one of the finest that the Guards have fought in the whole of the war. I know what an awful blow this news will be to you and I hope that you may be granted courage and strength to bear up against your crushing sorrow. You may gather some small comfort and pride from the knowledge that your husband died a brave man's death playing his part right well and courageously and splendidly sustaining that wonderful reputation earned by the Non Commissioned Officers of his Division. I knew Sgt Bosworth for many months and have learned a great admiration for him and therefore feel his loss as a personal one and can therefore the more deeply feel and sympathise with you in your sad and awful bereavement. Please write me if you want any further information and we shall most willingly do all we can to answer you. Whatever personal belongings your husband may have had will be collected with great care and will reach you in due course through the Guardroom at Wellington Barracks. If you want any guidance as to applying for allowance and pension etc. please apply: The Clerk in Charge, Grenadier Guards Orderly Room, Wellington Barracks London SW. I am sure you will get it with renewed heartfelt sympathy, believe me.

Yours Sincerely

Hugh White

2nd Battalion.

I am very much looking forward to visiting his battlefields in France very shortly and expect to be very moved by the experience.

All the best

Steve

[airclark]

Well, here we are on the eve of the ninetieth anniversary of Joseph's death on 1st Dec 1917. I was hoping to drive down to the scene of the Guard's action at Gauche Wood tomorrow, but circumstances have prevented me. Instead, I would like to commemorate the day on here for him and all the other soldiers who died that day by mentioning a story that might rekindle the events nearer to the present.

During the action which saw many of the 2nd Battalion Officers and NCO's either killed or wounded during the initial assault on the wood, the surviving Guardsmen found themselves fighting alongside the 18th Bengal Lancers who had been tasked with dismounting and fighting as infantry on the Guards' right flank. The grim nature of the day appears to have left a lasting impression on both regiments, because after the war, the Lancers presented the Grenadiers with a silver statuette of a mounted Lancer and in return were presented with a silver bugle which has been handed down over the years to the current successors who are the 19th Lancers of the Pakistani Army. Further it appears until recently both the 19th Lancers and the 2nd Battalion GG marked each anniversary as Gauche Wood Day by an exchange of telegrams on 1st Dec.

With the reduction of the Grenadier Guards in current times to a single Battalion, the customs and traditions of the 2nd Battalion have been passed on to the Nijmegan Company of the 1st Battalion. This company is responsible for the ceremonial duties carried out by the Grenadier Guards and I wrote to their current CSM, enquiring whether they have continued the tradition. He replied that he had passed my information on to the company commander. It would be nice for this tradition to be living on in its 90th year, especially as I would imagine that the gleaming silver statuette of the Bengal Lancer will still be set out on the table of the Officers' Mess at their Dining-In nights.

However, may I take this opportunity to mark Gauche Wood Day here on the forum and thank all those who do such a great job to keep the forum and the spirit of those brave soldiers alive.

Kind Regards,

Steve

[airclark]

Kind regards to all on this fantastic forum, it's exactly a year to the day since my last post and I should like to take the opportunity to commemorate my great grandfather and all his fellow soldiers who died on 1st Dec 1917. As way of tribute I made my own little pilgrimage this week to the Guards Museum on Birdcage Walk just up from Buckingham Palace. The museum's collection there is very well laid out and I was completely enthralled by the exhibits and history of all the Guards Foot Regiments. However, the nicest surprise came on finding the silver statue of the Bengal Lancer, which is on display in the First World War Cabinet, although it does not contain any information about it,...... I feel a letter to the curator coming on with the info from the previous post .

All the best to all the experts on here and please keep up the good work,

Steve

[airclark]

I can hardly believe that I started this thread over ten years ago, which means that when we set off  tomorrow in the car to drive down to Ypres and then Cambrai, my wife and I will be commemorating one hundred years to the day,  the Guards' action at Gauche Wood and the death of my Great-grandfather Sgt Joseph Bosworth MM. 

 

The recent edition of the Guards Magazine ran the story of Gauche Wood and the author Major P A J Wright OBE must have found some new references from the Guards archives, because he includes mention of Joseph Bosworth in part of his piece below (see last lines) and so I will have a prouder spring in my step as I walk up the high ground towards the wood on Friday and visit the memorial at Louverval. Be interesting to see if anyone else is visiting Gauche Wood on Friday. 

I will report back.

Regards

Steve 

 

Lieutenant J C Cornforth MC was commanding 1 Company on the left and 3 Company on the right was commanded by Lieutenant F A Acland MC. As they came within 300 yards of the fringe of the wood casualties became heavier from a concealed line of ten machine guns. At 7.00am, Cornforth was shot in the leg and lost both his platoon commanders. 2nd Lieutenant S H Pearson was shot through the head by a sniper leading his platoon into the wood. 2nd Lieutenant P A A Harbord MC, was wounded while rushing a machine gun, and died later in the day. Acland and both his platoon commanders, Lieutenant F A Magnay and Lieutenant R Y T Kendal were also wounded. In the wood the Germans were forced back in hand to hand bayonet fighting. However, casualties began to mount from snipers amongst the trees. Lance Sergeant H Ward MM was shot in the head as he entered the wood. By the time the objective was reached, Browning was in command of the remaining men of the leading two companies as well as his own.

The men had not been trained in close country fighting; however, the discipline in the battalion and skill and resourcefulness of the NCOs meant that each platoon could be relied upon to act intelligently despite the loss of its commander. When his platoon commander was wounded, Sergeant A Spowage, took charge and led the platoon forward under heavy fire, capturing several machine guns and killing their crews. Seeing the flank of the battalion was vulnerable, he led his platoon on his own initiative to fill the gap. He was killed in action three months later. Sergeant J Bosworth MM commanded a platoon when all the officers in 3 Company became casualties. He succeeded in reaching the objective, but died shortly afterwards from his wounds.

 

Above extract from here: http://guardsmagazine.com/features/Winter2017/17Winter_Gauche.html

 

 

Edited 28 November , 2017 by airclark

[airclark]

Another three years has passed since my wife and I visited Gauche Wood on the hundred year anniversary of the action, where 2GG took the wood after bitter hand to hand fighting. Today, 1st Dec 2020, on the 103rd anniversary of Gauche Wood Day, I have posted some pictures from our visit and recall how eerie it was to find that at exactly the same time 100 years later, it was just as it was described from the Battalion diary with snow on the ground and a mist in the air. We walked up the exposed field just as my great grandfather Sjt Joe Bosworth had done with his comrades (but without the machine gun fire) and found the very remote and moving CWGC cemetery from the subsequent retaking of the wood in 1918.  As Joe had no known grave, we visited his name recorded on Cambrai memorial at Louverval not far away. A worthwhile trip and something we will always remember.