Good to finally see these men remembered. On Friday 9th May 2008 a commemoration service was held at the site of Captain Kennedy's Cross for the men of the 2nd Rifle Brigade who fell during the Battle of Auber's Ridge at Rouges Bancs, Fromelles on the 9th May 1915.
Several family members attended including the niece of Captain Kennnedy, from the forum members who lost family members in this action Mick Salter and friends, Murray Ritchie & Family, Victoria Burridge & Family, other forum members Marc Thompson and yours truly. The British Consul and the chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission also attended with plenty of local representation there including a party of school children.

The meeting place was outside the Museum in Fromelles, which was the first venue visited, followed by the original cross, now in Fromelles church, placed on the battelfield by the Kennedy Family and then on to the commemoration service.
Victoria gave a very moving and poignant talk on some of the men and the action of 93 years ago to the day, which was translated by Martail at appropriate times. Victoria's research into this action spreads over many years and is very very good, the talk she gave made the men and the action come alive for those of us with a little knowledge of what happened there 93 years ago.

The original Kennedy Cross in Fromelles church

Murray (far right) and family.

Kennedy's Cross after the commemoration

Back to the village hall for refreshments, very hot day, a few speeches and boquets to be given out

Lovely pictures Andy,

thank you very much for sharing with us.

Michel

Thanks Michel, I am just glad that these men are remembered. You only seem to hear about another action at Fromelles in 1916, and it is high time that these men were fully and properly commemorated for what was quite an action with very high casualty figures for the day.
I think the German Priest who was serving in the German Army puts it very well

"After two hours fighting, the enemy was beaten back. You can scarcely have an idea of the work this represented. How these Englishmen had in twelve hours dug themselves in ! The hundred fellows who were in our trenches had brought with them an enormous quantity of ammunition, a machine gun and one that they had captured from us.......Almost every single man had to be put out of action with hand-grenades. They were heroes all and true to the end, until death.... men of the 'active English Rifles Brigade'....."

Andy

Delighted to see the wonderful weather for the ceremony. These horribly costly actions around Aubers Ridge, Festubert etc deserve greater recognition. I must admit that I had never heard of these battles until I started serious WW1 research. They must have been truly terrible trials of combat for all involved.

Hi Des,
Could not agree more, these actions were brutal, often ending in hand to hand combat on many occasions.

Michelle, I think, the other day was enquiring about Lambis, as can be seen here he is well. Victoria and Lambis.

Captain Kennedy's niece.

Thanks again - those ghastly, costly little battles of mid-1915 really should be better known of.

Absolutely agree that the Battles of 1915 deserve more recognition than they currnetly get, although I think views are changing as peopel overdose on the Somme and Ypres......

Looked a wonderful ceremony and let's hope it continues in some shape or form.

"You only seem to hear about another action at Fromelles in 1916, and it is high time that these men were fully and properly commemorated for what was quite an action with very high casualty figures for the day. "

Andy,

I am not specifically focused on the Battle of Fromelles (or Battle of Fleurbaix ?) in 1916, as I am very interested in events related to the Battle of Aubers Ridge and especially by the participation of the Irish men of 2nd Battalion of RMF who were deployed at the dawn of May 9, 1915 close to my home and which were cut to pieces in the "Ferme du Bois" sector (Boar's Head).

Having said that I am very pleased that all these heroes of the Riffle Brigade finally be honoured as it should be, thanks to the tremendous work of Victoria.

Michel

Michel,
The very best with your research, living where the action actually took place, I would imagine, make it very fascintaing and peronal.

Finally, A very big thanks must go to Victoria for the tremendous amount of work she put into making this long overdue event happen, thank you Victoria and keep up the good work with your research.

An exhibition put together by Victoria.

Thank you, Andy, but you’ve made me blush!

My granddad’s brother was killed at Rouges-Bancs, Fromelles on 9th May 1915. What began for me as a little bit of family history research (fuelled by a very keen interest in the First World War) has now become an overriding passion (something tells me that I could be preaching to the converted!).

It wasn’t until 2000 that we were finally able to discover where Uncle Charlie had been killed, nothing short of a miracle when you think that all we had to begin with was a photograph of him – no service record, no surviving casualty lists, no letters home; nothing but the belief within the family that he had been killed at Hill 60 on the Ypres Salient. We had even visited Hill 60!

We travelled out to France for the 90th anniversary on 9th May 2005, having been told that the communities of Aubers and Fromelles were intending to arrange a memorial service. It was something of a shock to discover, just the day before, that there would be no service. For me, 9th May this year was as it should have been three years ago.

This year’s service was the first ever to take place on 9th May and it was, for my family at least, a great success. I must offer my thanks to the Commune de Fromelles, the Mayor of Fromelles (Mon. Hubert Huchette) and the Association Fromelles-Weppes-Terre de Mémoire 14-18 and, in particular, Martial Delebarre, the President of the Association.

Andy has been able to supply me with, amongst other things, some lovely photographs and he also brought along some wonderful pieces from his own collection which we were able to display. Marc Thompson was an absolute star in printing off (from SDGW) the lists of those killed from other units involved in the action and a whole stack of photos. Thank you, boys. The men of the 7th and 8th Divisions are extremely grateful, as am I.

Finally, a big thank you to my Australian colleague Lambis Englezos who has worked tirelessly to locate the missing of the Battle of Fromelles 1916. Lambis was able to be there with us on 9th May and, by doing so, was able to help form the first “bridge” between the battles of 1915 and 1916.

V.

I had prepared a leaflet, which had been translated into French, and this was handed out prior to the service commencing. The Address was also translated into French and as I finished reading each paragraph, Martial followed with the French version.

With a gathering of something in the region of one hundred people present (and having been told some time ago that the people of Fromelles had no idea of what had happened around their village in May 1915) it was important that whatever was said during the service emphasised what these men had gone through.

I’ve posted below the contents of my Address and you will see that it is about the men, not just lists of names or numbers of casualties. It isn’t particularly well-worded, but I think that it got the message across.

V.


“By May 1915, the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade had been in France for six months. They had already suffered heavy casualties in the March during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, but nothing would have prepared them for what they were about to experience here at Rouges Bancs.

Unlike the pre-war regular soldiers who formed the backbone of this battalion, many of these men had enlisted at the outbreak of war and had travelled out from England, joining the Battalion in mid-March as reinforcements for the losses suffered at Neuve Chapelle. For these men, such as Tom Ritchie, Murray’s uncle, this would be their first taste of action.

Whilst the officers knew their exact whereabouts, the majority of the men believed themselves to be elsewhere. When my great-grandparents received a letter from one of my uncle’s comrades telling them of the fighting and where it had taken place, they had no reason to question the facts. So, for eighty-five years my grandfather’s brother did not die here, at Rouges-Bancs; he died at Hill 60 on the Ypres Salient.

The Battalion’s casualties that day were the worst that it was to experience for any single action throughout the whole of the Great War.

Fifteen officers and two hundred and forty-eight were men killed. Of this number, only two officers and fourteen men have known graves, the rest being listed on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing. Of the hundreds of wounded men, many would die from their wounds over the days and weeks to come.

Most of these men will appear to you as names inscribed on a memorial. To me, they have become old friends and I would like to take this opportunity to describe to you what some of them experienced that day.

Captain Paul Kennedy, Clare’s uncle. Despite being attacked from all directions, he, and what was left of his company of men, succeeded in getting as far as the field across the road, but no further. They were being picked-off one-by-one until Paul himself was shot by a sniper. He was badly wounded and his men carried him back across the road, but when they reached this spot, he told them to put him down and make their way back to the captured trench. His name would join the long list of “missing” on the Ploegsteert Memorial.

Captain John Isaac, who was wounded in October 1914 whilst serving with another battalion of the Rifle Brigade. Given a desk job until fit enough to serve again, he did everything he could to return to active service, finally joining the 2nd Battalion on 7th May, just two days before it went into action. He was last seen on 9th May, wounded but leading his men on to their objective. His body was found in April 1921, just yards from what had been the British line.

Sgt. Kenneth Bastiani, whose body, along with twenty-one others, was recovered in March 1924 from the field across the road. His brother Norman also fought with the Battalion that day. He survived, but suffered severe shrapnel wounds to the legs and one arm, the arm eventually being amputated.

There were many pairs of brothers fighting with the Battalion. Wilfred and Noel Davey - both brothers wounded. Neville and Frederick Matthews - Frederick survived, wounded, but Neville was killed. Alexander and Walter Fuller - both killed. Christopher and James Phillips – both killed. Herbert and George Wimble – both killed. Pity their parents who received not one dreaded telegram, but two.

But many of the men who were lost here were only children – no brothers, no sisters. When their parents lost them, they lost everything. And when those parents died, there was no one left to remember their child.

Some wonderful acts of bravery were also seen that day, including that of 2nd Lt. Gray, the machine-gun officer. He led approximately fifty reinforcements towards the captured trench through heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, but only the officer and about fifteen men reached their destination, the remainder being killed or wounded.

He used the captured machine-gun to great effect and was the last to retire from the trench, keeping up a continuous machine-gun fire until the enemy was within a few yards of the position. 2nd Lt. Gray had been promoted from the ranks and was not what would normally be considered “officer material”, but he proved his mettle that day and, by doing so, was awarded the Military Cross.

Captain Maclean, the battalion’s medical officer, saved the lives of a very large number of men that day. He repeatedly risked his own life to locate and bring in the wounded and for this he was awarded the Military Cross.

Sergeant Starr and Riflemen Denton, Jones, Watkinson and Windebank were all awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Their supply of bombs almost exhausted, Rifleman Denton supplemented the supply by collecting bombs in the open from the wounded, dead and dying.

Rifleman Windebank took the first message back from the captured trench under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire. He returned later and was of great assistance with the captured machine-gun and in collecting German bombs in the trench for use against the enemy.

Rifleman Jones carried a message from the enemy trench back to the British lines, crossing bullet-swept ground. He succeeded in delivering his message, despite being wounded not once, but three times.

Sergeant Starr manned his machine-gun gallantly for several hours until the rest of his detachment were either wounded or dead. He was finally captured by the enemy, but managed to escape, being wounded in his desperate dash for the British lines.

Rifleman Watkinson caught three German bombs in the air and threw them back at the enemy; the fourth exploded, taking with it his hand.

I thank you for coming here today and for allowing me to tell you a little something of these wonderful men and of the horrors they experienced here ninety-three years ago.

I would ask you now to join me in prayer for these men, for those who went before and those who came after.”

Well done Victoria for getting this organised. I was in the area on Monday afternoon doing a battlefield walk and we stopped by the memorial on our way from Rue Petillon to Fromelles. Perhaps luckily the weather was nothing like as hot as it looked on 9th May.

Neil

Neil,

Lovely to hear from you. What a pity you couldn’t have been there for the 9th, although we had a pretty good turnout of Brits (and one Aussie!). Can you PM your e-mail address through to me? I had a slight mishap with my Inbox whilst in a severe state of jet-lag ………………………

V.

Michel,

I was sorry that you were unable to be there on the 9th as you had originally intended, but I understand that sometimes one really needs a holiday. I said a quiet prayer for your Irishmen in your absence.

V.

Victoria,

2nd Lt William Edmund Gray MC was my Great Grand Uncle (My Grandmother's Father's Brother). I have only just managed to scratch the surface of this strongly military side of the family (the majority of them being Grenadiers).

It may be of interest for you to know that little more than a year later, his younger brother, Lance Corporal Victory Gray (of 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment) was awarded the DCM for his action at Kemmel.

If anyone can furnish me with any more details about 2nd Lt Gray I would love to know.

I would have loved to attend the memorial day and represent my Great Grand Uncle.

Kindest Regards

Mark.

Mark,
Welcome to the forum. As you can read above your relative was mentioned in Victoria's address at the commemoration and I know 'V' would like to have a chat with you regarding 2nd Lt Gray.

Andy

Mark,

You have no idea how delighted I am to make your acquaintance! I also wish you could have been at the Service on 9th May, but perhaps next year.

I have the most incredible respect for William Gray, as you may have gathered. I was aware of his brother having won the D.C.M. and have a wonderful account of it, if you’re interested. I also have a fair bit of information relating to William which I’ll put together for you. Can I just ask - is there any chance that you might have a photo of him which you’d be willing to share? I have both my fingers and toes crossed ………..

V.

Thank you stiletto_33853 and Victoria for your warm welcome,

I did manage to dig up an account of Victor's DCM action, but would always welcome more information (one never can get enough information when exploring the family tree). I am planning a trip to Kew to research the family's military side a bit more, it starts with James (Williams father), his six sons, and as far as I can ascertain eight grandsons. I have recently retrieved my great grandfathers service record from the Grenadiers Regimental Archivist and will be embarking on asking for the same information on his brothers from their respective regiments.

I am sad to say that I don't have any photographs of my great grandfather or his brothers, as I understand it a great deal of family photos were lost in the second world war.

I will keep researching and if anything comes to light I will of course let you know

Kindest Regards

Mark.

Mark,

Shame about the photo, but not surprising. I’ll start putting together the information which I have on William Gray. In the meantime this is the piece to which I referred regarding Victor Gray’s actions on 28th April 1915 at Kemmel which won him the DCM. I suspect that you already have this information, but if not ……

Between two and three o’clock in the afternoon of that day it was found necessary to put a charge of dynamite into a German sap, which was working its way into a British sap head. About two hours after the explosion the sergeant in charge of the working party and three officers went down the mine gallery to ascertain the result, leaving Lance Corporal Gray in charge of the men at the top of the shaft. They had been gassed! Gray immediately called the working party to the mouth of the shaft, and ordering four of them to go down into the mine and get the men up, hurried off to summon medical aid, and in default of finding a surgeon, returned in about three minutes with two R.A.M.C. orderlies. When he got back, he found that one of the three officers had already been rescued, and that another was just being brought up the shaft. Having helped to raise him to the surface and seen the orderlies set to work to revive him, he himself went down, to assist in recovering the third officer and the sergeant. When however, he reached the bottom of the shaft, he found that the two men who had saved the officers were already so overcome themselves by the gas that the must be got out without delay. He therefore ordered their two comrades, who had remained at the bottom of the shaft, to send them up; while he himself went down the gallery to where the third officer lay and partly carried and partly dragged him to the bottom of the shaft, and, with the assistance of the others, sent him up also. By this time however Gray and his brave comrades were so overcome by the poisonous fumes that they recognized that it would be impossible for them to get the sergeant out. Gray therefore ascended to the surface, and sent down four men to the assistance of the sergeant, he himself, though feeling desperately ill, pluckily descending again and rendering them what little assistance he could at the bottom of the shaft. Unhappily, when the sergeant was brought up he was beyond the reach of human aid, and all efforts to revive him proved fruitless.

Hello

I've been reading thru this thread and it inspired me to join up.

My grandmother's brother was also in 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade and killed on May 9 1915 at 6:30 (not sure am or pm)
in front of Fromelles at a place called Crue Blanc, according to a letter, which I now think might be Rouges-Bancs.

I started a thread in his name on the "soldiers" forum that I believe will interest a few of the people here.

Rifleman Frederick George Peters #3955
Machine Gun Det.
2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade

Dennis, I've posted a reply there.

V.

Mark,

As promised, this is the information I currently have to hand regarding William Gray:

He was born on the 17th March 1882, the son of James Gray and James’ second wife Frances. He enlisted into the Rifle Brigade in April 1900, aged eighteen years and was in the ranks for fourteen years, 208 days. The 2nd Battalion returned from India in October 1914 and arrived in France on 7th November. Quartermaster-Sergeant Gray received his commission on 11th November 1914 and was posted to “D” Company.

In early March 1915, and just prior to the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 2nd Lt. Gray took over the battalion’s Machine Gun Section.

William Gray was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Rouges-Bancs, Fromelles on 9th May 1915:

“For leading reinforcements forward to the captured trench on 9th May, 1915, near Rouges-Bancs under heavy flanking rifle and machine-gun fire. Only about 25 per cent of his party reached their destination, the remainder being killed or wounded. He was of the greatest assistance to his Commanding Officer in making good the captured position, using a captured German machine-gun with great effect. This officer was the last to retire when the enemy’s trench had to be abandoned and he kept a continuous machine-gun fire until the enemy were within a few yards from the position.”

The fact that he “repaired” the captured machine gun is not mentioned. Shortly after this William became Brigade Machine Gun Officer. From hereon, information is a little sketchy.

The extract from the Army List reads:

2-Lt. 11/11/14 (temp. Capt. 25/5/15 to 31/12/16).
Lt. 15/6/15 (temp. Capt. MGC 19/1/16 to 30/11/16; temp Maj. MGC 1/12/16 to 30/3/22).
Capt. 1/1/17 (actg. Lt.-Col. MGC 21/4/18 to 24/3/19).
Tank Corps 1/4/22 to 21/8/23; temp. Maj. Tank Corps 26/8/22 to 21/8/23.
Royal Tank Corps, Capt. 22/8/23 (temp. Maj. 22/8/23 to 31/12/23).
Maj. 21/1/28.

William was four times mentioned in despatches, was awarded the Order of the Nile (4th Class) (Egypt) (9/11/1918) and the D.S.O. in the New Year Honours List 1919.

He retired from the Army in March 1932, but was employed as the Chief Recruiting Officer for the London Division during World War II.

With regard to personal details, William married Amy Alice Louisa Sumner in 1908. They had one son, Cecil Donald. Major Cecil Gray was awarded the Military Cross in 1944 whilst serving with the Highland Light Infantry.

William died on 17 December 1949, aged sixty-five years.

I also have William’s family details extracted from the 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 Census returns (which you probably already have). They give a good picture of the family background, siblings etc., so please let me know if you’d like me to post this information or if you’d rather I e-mailed it to you.

Hope this helps with your research.

V.

Well, I'm not too sure on etiquette in terms of bringing up this old thread, but as with the previous poster, Dennis N, I stumbled upon this thread and it made me want to join up!

I am fascinated, and also very pleased, to find that there are still people dedicated to keeping the memory of these young men and boys alive.

My own family relation is my Great Uncle on my father's side, and thanks to this site I was able to confirm that he died in action (I'm not sure who recommended the "Soldiers Died" site, but it gave me that little bit more information that I didn't have previously). I have also since downloaded the 2/ Rifle Brigade war diary which is available through the National Archives website for the relevant period. Not a huge amount of detail, but it does give me some idea of what these people were going through.

So, my relative is as follows:


Frank Worthy

Regiment, Corps etc
Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)

Battalion/etc
2nd Battalion.

Surname
Worthy

Christian Name
Frank

Initials
F

Born
Rotherhithe, Kent

Enlisted
Watford, Herts

Residence
Watford

Rank
RIFLEMAN

Number
5484

Died Date
09/05/1915

Died How
Killed in action

Theatre of War
France & Flanders

Just to add to this, as much as I know - he was born in 1897, so he would have been barely 18, possibly still even 17, when he died.

What I would be hugely interested in further to this, is any photographs of the era, and also any further information regarding this battalion and obviously this battle in particular. I intend next year to visit the area, and also Ploegsteert memorial where he is commemorated, so all information would be gladly received.

[font="Arial"]I have just stumbled across this site and am amazed that I have hit upon the information that has eluded me , hitherto . Thanks to Victoria , I actually now know what happened , regarding the battle in which my grandfather-in-law was killed . For the record , the soldier's details are as follows :
Rifleman Francis John Cook
2nd Bt. Rifle Brigade
Service No. G/7360
[/ Date of Death : 9 May 1915
Is there any info' out there pertaining to Francis ? Thanks .
Peter .

Pals,
Another wonderful thread!

I have posted a map of the area of this battle in another Topic about a 2/KRRC rifleman who fell in the southern attack: Battle of Aubers Ridge, May 1915 - general features. It might be useful to help people understand the geography of the battle.

The northern attack Start Line is the area in purple. Apologies that the edge of the base map I used is not slightly further north to show 2/RB's trenches a little more generously
Cheers,
Mark

Regarding 2RB:

I found the discussion on the Battle of Aubers Ridge, 9th May 1915 particlarly interesting as two of the brothers KIA there, George and Herbert Wimble Z2963 and Z2964, were extended family relatives. I am currently attempting to discover more about their lives. Other than being mentioned on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing, I know very little of them.

However, coincidentally, My wife's Grandfather, Frederick Martin, was also in 2RB. D.O.W. 21st October 1915 at 26th Field ambulance and buried at the Canadian cemetary Sailly sur La Lys. I have been attempting to find more on his history also, particularly where the battalion was located when he recieved wounds. I have a note which says 26th Field ambulance was approximately five miles behind the lines in October 1915 (which seems a considerable distance), and had a unit dealing paticularly with chest and stomach wounds, although I doubt this was unusual all things considered.
We visit them every so often when in the area, and can't help but be overwhelmed every single time by the site of the graves of all these lads in all of the beautifully tended British cemetaries. My hat's off to the WGC and volunteers for all their work in keeping them up to scratch, I think they all deserve a medal for their work.

There are two more from the Wimble family, inscribed on the Menin Gate Memorial to the missing:

Herbert Wimble, London Rgt/London RB. Corporal. Died: 03 05 1915.
Arthur Wimble, Pvt. No.24960. E Surrey Rgt. Died: 13 06 1917.

But I'll research them after I have dertails for the above members of 2RB finalized.


Would anybody be able to help with further information ?

Greatful thanks.

Ed Wimble

I have just found this Forum and thread whilst looking for Les rouges bancs and references to my Grandfather, Rifleman John Watkinson.
I knew of his exploits of throwing back grenades from my father, but all I knew was that it had been featured in a paper or weekly journal and that it was also featured in a book called "Deeds that thrilled an Empire" I knew very little about where or when it occurred, save it was at a place called rouges bancs.

I never knew him as he died 25 years or so before I was born I know he was a regular soldier and continued in the army after the war despite losing part of his hand, he had four children, the eldest son John was my father and he also went into the army in 1939 in the Royal Norfolk's and fought in Burma where he mentioned in dispatches during the battle of Kohima. I now live in France but a long way from the Pas de calais, however my twin brother is visiting the area again next week and with the help of this thread we now know where to go to see the location of this tragic loss of life.

Welcome Brian,
Very glad that you joined the thread and pleased to hear about your relative and that he is not forgotten. It is intended that we hold another ceremony this year to commemorate the men of the 2nd RB and their actions, I am sure Victoria will be along shortly to welcome you also.

Andy

The number of people attracted to the Forum but this short(ish) thread is fantastic - welcome all!

Neil

lovely to see. great photos andy, thanks for sharing to us all.

james

Neil,
It is fantastic the amount of people that have joined the forum due to this thread and a pleasure to see.

James, you are welcome, it is high time that these men were commemorated.

Andy

i agree andy. its great to see days like this. if only it happend more.

james

Brian,

Welcome to the Forum and, in particular, to this thread. Your grandfather, as you can tell from my speech of last May, was one of my “special” men. It is impossible to imagine the courage which it must have taken to catch those bombs. Something tells me that if I trawl through enough copies of the pre-war Rifle Brigade Chronicles, I may find his name mentioned as a pretty decent fielder!

I currently have little information on John Watkinson, but my research is growing all the time. I have already been in contact with Marianna, Peter and Ed regarding their respective relatives and have been able to pull together some information which I shall be posting here in a short while. I have also written an account of the 2/RB action which I will send to all of you, plus some maps. They should help your brother to pinpoint where it all happened.

Andy has stolen my thunder somewhat by announcing this year’s 9th May commemoration. The service will go ahead, despite some details which still remain to be “ironed out”. Over the course of the last eight months or so, I have been very heavily involved in another Fromelles-related project which has taken up almost all of my time, but I have just completed the most recent phase and must now concentrate on our men from 1915.

I think that it’s fair to say that Fromelles has not been the most welcoming of places to the British. It would sometimes seem that our men have been almost erased from memory, but they continue to live on in the hearts of their families. It has been something of an uphill battle to see these wonderful men properly commemorated in the place where it all happened, but thanks to all the relatives who have made contact through the Forum, we are now in a position to claim a place in history (and Fromelles) for our men.

Something in the region of 2,000 men were killed outright on 9th May 1915 during the northern attack of the battle; most within the space of the first few hours. Of this number, a minimum of 1,285 men have no known grave. When you see the small area in which this occurred, you begin to realise the full scale of the losses incurred.

The service on 9th May is open to all, not just those with connections to the 2/RB. I would love to see relatives of men who fought there with other units (and also those who took part in the southern attack). The more pressure we place on the French, the more chance there is of them sitting up and taking notice. I sincerely hope to meet you all there.

More details to follow shortly, plus some information on Riflemen Frank Worthy, Francis Cook, George and Herbert Wimble, Frederick Martin and John Watkinson.

V.

I came across this account of the action via Falls history of the R Ir Rifles. Appreciating that the thread has its main point of focus on the RBs (and rightly so!), I thought the account and the strong sentiments in bold at the end of the account would prove useful and reinforce the overall context.

Des


At 2 a.m. on May 9th the Brigade was formed up, the (1st R Ir Rifles) Battalion at La Cordonnerie Farm. At 5 a.m. the first bombardment opened. The wire, at any rate of the front line, appeared to be fairly well cut upon the immediate front, and German retaliation was not at first heavy.

At 5.40 a.m., the hour of the assault, "C "and" D " Companies advanced in lines of platoons at thirty paces. Despite considerable fire from the left flank the men went forward with an irresistible rush, broke through the enemy's battered front-line trenches, and at one point reached the Fromelles road, just where it turns sharply southward toward that village.

Unfortunately the 13th London, attached to the brigade, which had the task of covering the Riflemen's left flank, was unable to advance beyond the mine-craters in the German front line. As a result, directly the artillery fire lifted, German machine guns came into action on the left flank in great numbers. "C" and "D" Companies, following the leading mass in similar formation; met with frightful losses, and made practically no headway.

Two platoons, one on the right under the Commanding Officer, one on the left under the Regimental Sergeant-Major, advanced obliquely to check the cross fire, but both were beaten back with heavy casualties.

The men of the leading companies who had reached the Fromelles road were speedily reduced to a handful. There were Germans not only on their left flank, but between them and the 2nd Rifle Brigade, which had got most of its objective. From the double flanking fire men were dropping at every moment. But they had a task to fulfil, to hold their ground till the battalions for the second objective passed through. With magnificent determination, the little remnant clung to its position. The hour came, but no supports appeared.

Though they did not know it, the 2nd Lincolnshire and 2nd Royal Berkshire found themselves unable to get forward through that storm of fire, few even reaching the German front-line trench. They waited half an hour beyond the appointed time; then decided to fall back to the German front line, as no effective reply could be made to the enemy's fire, and another half-hour would have seen the whole party destroyed. At 7 a.m. what was left of them did so, placing themselves under Lieut.-Colonel Stephens, commanding the Rifle Brigade, which had withdrawn to the same line.

And there all day long they held their ground.

Meanwhile their Brigadier had come up to the breastworks, to find the whole attack at a standstill. All forward movement had ceased soon after 6 a.m. The ground between the lines was swept by fire. The front British line was choked with men in great confusion, successive lines of the supporting battalions having come up with the rear lines of those in the lead, which had failed to advance.

He ordered forward two companies of the Lincolnshire to support the Rifle Brigade. Almost immediately afterwards, in checking a retirement (in which he was successful), he was mortally wounded.

At 2 p.m. an attempt to sap out along the dyke bordering the Sailly - Fromelles road proved unsuccessful; nor could any further aid be given to Colonel Stephens, who with 200 men, which included perhaps 50 of the Royal Irish Rifles, fought it out all that afternoon.

At 7.50 p.m. a heavy German counter-attack was repulsed, captured machine guns being used with great effect. It was hoped to cling on all night, as fresh attacks were to be launched in the morning, but it might not be. The final counter-attack came upon the front and both flanks.

The machine guns fought to the last, causing heavy losses to the Germans, but at 3 a.m. on the 10th they were driven out and withdrew to the British breastwork.

Later that morning the remains of the Battalion withdrew to billets at Bac St. Maur.

The party from the German lines had been brought in by the Regimental Sergeant-Major, there being no officers left. In fact, of the 23 who went into action, every officer was hit, over two-thirds being killed or missing.

The following were killed : - Lieut.-Colonel O. C. Baker, Major A. H. Festing, Captain A. M. O'Sullivan, Lieutenants R. A. Finlay and R. L. Neil, 2nd-Lieutenants C. G. Dixon, A. McLoughlin, A. W. Bourke, 0. B. Macausland, D. Hamilton;
Lieutenants La Nauze and J. S. Martin, 2nd-Lieutenant L. A. Dickenson were reported wounded and missing; 2nd-Lieutenant C. E. Windus missing.

Nine were wounded; Captains C. C. Tee and C. J. Newport, Lieutenants G. Gartlan, G. M. New, R. Soulby, G. A. Coey, H. P. Parkes, A. Hellmers, S. E. B. Millar, of whom the two last died subsequently.

Of the other ranks, 44 were reported killed, 207 wounded, and 203 missing; almost all those in the last category being either killed or wounded.

The total casualties were thus 477 out of about 600 who had gone into the attack; a far heavier proportion than at Neuve Chapelle, when the Battalion had been up to strength, with far less to show for it.

This was, in fact, a far worse action to look back upon than that other. A success such as that gained by the Battalion on the first day at Neuve Chapelle, however heavy the losses, leaves some inspiration of victory to counterbalance the shock which the survivors experience.

But a butchery such as Fromelles, when men are mown down and nothing is won, has no such brighter side. It was a memory entirely evil.

The bravery displayed had been of the very highest standard, and no expressions that can be applied to it would appear other than weak.

To hold the position meant almost certain death, and the position had been held for half an hour after the time fixed for the arrival of the supports. The splendid devotion of the officers is only too apparent.

Neuve Chapelle had not brought the 1st Battalion to the state of the 2nd, when a new one had to be created, with transport and employed as practically the sole basis, but it had not long to wait before it met that fate. It was now no more than a shadow, to be built up anew by new officers. The lessons in the superiority of defence over offence were dearly learned in those early days, for their cost was something which could never be replaced.

Des, thank you for this. It’s an incredible account and it’s good to see another “view” of that terrible day. It’s helped to fill in some gaps.

I said in my speech at last year’s service that the 2/RB had suffered heavy casualties in the March during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, but that nothing would have prepared it for what it was about to experience at Rouges Bancs. I think that this account sums it up perfectly. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I am currently attempting to calculate accurate figures for the losses sustained by the 1/RIR that day. I’m very keen to obtain photos of any of these men as I wish to use them as part of a small exhibition to be held in the village hall at Fromelles on 9th May (more information to follow in a separate post) and would love to hear from anyone who can help supply me with photos and/or information on any of these men.

V.

You're very welcome - as they were part of the same Bde for so long I can also supply similar 'tie-in' accounts which may aid your overall picture. I will consult Jimmy Taylor's book tomorrow for the full list for the relevant period for this thread.

On the case to see if I have any locals there!

Des

Thank you.

I have two “Ballymena Boys”:

Rfn. Thomas McMeekin (4012)
Born: Ballymena. Enlisted: Belfast.

Rfn. James Nixon (8313)
Born: Ballymena. Enlisted: Ballymena.

I’d love to know if you have anything on either of these men.

V.

McMEEKIN, Thomas, 4012, Rifleman, 1st Royal Irish Rifles, was KIA on the 9th May 1915. He was born in Ballymena and enlisted in Belfast. He is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium.


NIXON, James, 8313, Rifleman, 1st Royal Irish Rifles, was KIA on the 9th May 1915. Service. He was born in Ballymena. He had been 13 years in forces and had fought at Mons and Neuve Chapelle. His wife lived at 11, Parkhead, Ballymena. He is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial.

Ballymena Observer, September 1 1916 - OFFICIAL notification has been received by Mrs. Nixon, Parkhead, Ballymena, that her son Rifleman James Nixon, Royal Irish Rifles, was killed in action on 19th May 1915. Rifleman Nixon was 13 years in the army, nine of which he spent on service in India. He was through the memorable retreat from Mons and the battle of Neuve Chapelle.

Note error on paper dates.

Ah Des, you wonderful man. If I PM my e-mail address through to you, would you mind ……… ?

I have posted the details of this year’s service at Fromelles - 9th May 2009.

V.

No bovver

LANCE Cpl. Thomas Reade, Ballycloughan, son of Mr. James Reade who went to the front with the 1st Btn Royal Irish Rifles has been here for a few days leave after treatment in a hospital for wounds. He was wounded twice, with shrapnel and secondly with a bullet wound in the left shoulder at Fromelles on May 9. Lce. Cpl. Reade has gone to Dublin where he joined the 3rd Btn.

Sorry .. no pic (Ballycloughan is townland near Ballymena)

Des,

Many thanks. Where men survived these actions, information concerning them tends to be elusive, so I’m very grateful for anything at all, without or without picture. I'll start to keep a look out for references to Ballycloughan.

Thanks again.

V.

Do you have a McFall KIA with Rifles on that date .. his unit is given as 2nd Btn.

No; not a McFall. There was a James McFall from Ballymena killed on 8th May with the 2nd Bn. He’s commemorated on the Menin Gate. Is this your chap?

V.