1

Penny Meakin is originally from the East End of London and now
lives and works on the edge of the Peak District in Staffordshire,
where she has a passion for gardening, writing, running, philately and
dabbles in art; making pictures out of English postage stamps
She is married with four children and two grandchildren and currently
teaches a variety of sub!ects at a local "niversity, where she has spent
twenty happy years entertaining and teaching teenagers
2
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the brave young men of the Sheffield
City Battalion
Where so ever they now lie
A Soldiers Cemetery
#ritten by $%&'%' (ohn #illiam Streets who was killed and missing in action on
$
st
(uly $)$* +e was aged ,$
-ehind that long and lonely trenched line
.o which men come and go, where brave men die,
.here is a yet unmarked and unknown shrine,
/ broken plot, a soldier0s cemetery
.here lie the flower of youth, the men who scorn0d
.o live 1so died2 when languished Liberty3
/cross their graves flowerless and unadorned
Still scream the shells of each artillery
#hen war shall cease this lonely unknown spot
4f many a pilgrimage will be the end,
/nd flowers will shine in this now barren plot
/nd fame upon it through the years descend3
-ut many a heart upon each simple cross
#ill hang the grief, the memory of its loss
3
Penny Meaki n
T HE ME AKI N
DI ARI E S
S H E F F I E L D I N T H E
T R E N C H E S
4
5
5opyright 6 Penny Meakin
.he right of Penny Meakin to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the
5opyright, Designs and Patents /ct $)88
/ll rights reserved 9o part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publishers
/ny person who commits any unauthori:ed act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for
damages
/ 5;P catalogue record for this title is available from the -ritish
Library
;S-9 )78 $8<)*, 888 ,
wwwaustinmacauleycom
=irst Published 1%>$<2
/ustin Macauley Publishers Ltd
%' 5anada S?uare
5anary #harf
London
E$< 'L-
Printed and bound in @reat -ritain
6
/cknowledgments
.o =rank, for writing his diary each and every day during the most atrocious
and terrifying conditions
.o my wonderful husband 9ick, for his help, support and patience during the
long hours of typing and research, and for accompanying me on many occasions
when visiting the -attlefields and for proof reading the many versions of this
book and the cooking of wonderful meals when ; was Ain my trench0
.o Dr .ony Price for his help and guidance in the early stages of reading the
diaries, and for lending me his copy of Ma!or and Mrs +olt0s A-attlefield @uide
to the Somme0, which ; managed to get covered in mud and, of course,
replaced
.o Balph @ibson for his help and support in the early stages of development
and allowing me to use his wonderful book A.he Sheffield 5ity -attalion0 as a
source of invaluable reference
.o the Corks and Lancs Museum in Botherham, who put me in touch with
Balph @ibson and who passed my name on to the --5 as an AeDpert0 on the
-attalion in order to feature them in the programme A.ime =lyers0, with
producer Sandy Baffan
.o my dear friend Bo: 5himes at --5 Badio Stoke for allowing me on air on
many occasions to discuss this book
.o --5 Badio Sheffield for featuring this book on air
.o /ustin Macauley Publishers for their invaluable support in the final
publication of the book
=inally and most importantly, to the brave young men of the Sheffield 5ity
-attalion, to whom this book is dedicated
7
.he Diaries of =rank Meakin
/ .ribute to the $%
th
Corks and Lancs Sheffield 5ity
-attalion
8
Pref ac e
=ollowing a career change in $))', ; found myself with the luDury of having
several weeks free in the summer of $))* My husband 9ick had always spoken
of his @randfather0s diaries, which had been passed on to him from his =ather ;
had looked at them on several occasions and as a former diarist myself, they
seemed absolutely fascinating .hey consisted of two rather battered volumes,
one for the $)$' leading up to March $)$* and one for the whole of $)$7 with
Anotes0 for the beginning of $)$8 ; began to read them and found that ; could,
with practice, decipher the beautiful, tiny writing ;t was obvious that the writer
had been in action somewhere in =rance and on one occasion had actually killed
a @erman in selfEdefence EDciting stuffF
My knowledge of the =irst #orld #ar was pretty scant +aving been
brought up in +atfield in +ertfordshire, history lessons at school always
focussed on the Bomans and the Eli:abethans because of the proDimity to
Gerulamium and +atfield +ouse and the =irst #orld #ar was far too recent for
the nuns at my convent to even consider ; always had an interest in both #orld
#ars, mainly because of my maternal @randmother with whom ; stayed each
school holiday in East +am in London ; was very aware of the -attle of the
Somme and like most people, knew that it took place on $
st
(uly $)$* ; was
bitterly disappointed that the diaries did not include that date
During a family visit to 9ick0s parents in September $))*, ; asked about
=rank and was given the standard response, that he was in the -attle of the
Somme but he went to sleep ; had always known that this could not be true, as
he would have been shot if he had slept "pon leaving, 9ick0s father gave me
another small diary, eDplaining that although it was for $)$*, it did not include
the $
st
(uly .hat night ; began to read the new diary Ces it was true that the $
st
(uly was not in there but the $8
th
(uly $)$* certainly was =rank had retrieved
his diary on that day, having put away his personal effects prior to the -attle of
the Somme +e then recounted the events of the previous three weeks
+istory was !umping out of the pages and what ; was reading was ?uite
simply incredible E my ?uest had begun #ho was heH #hich -attalion was he
inH #hyH #hereH 9obody knew My life changed dramatically that night, ; was
Ain my trench0 and my obsession had started
.he neDt few weeks consisted of reading, taking notes, circling places on
Michelin maps of =rance and buying any books that 9ick and ; could find on the
=irst #orld #ar 4ne place kept cropping up E a small town in northern =rance
called Serre
#e purchased a copy of A#ar #alks0 by Bichard +olmes ;ronically we had
watched the accompanying .G series, little knowing the importance of the
episode relating to the Somme Part of that episode had actually featured the
town of Serre and there it was written in black and white I the $%
th
Corks and
Lancs, Sheffield 5ity -attalion My research had begun
9
; concentrated in these early stages on what was written about the $
st
(uly
and we booked our first of many trips to the Somme the following month ;n the
intervening weeks we read as much as we could and then we set off, armed with
a copy of AMa!or and Mrs +olt0s @uide to the Somme -attlefields0
#e visited Sheffield Memorial Park and the trio of 5emeteries that lie in 9o
Man0s Land #e visited the only piece of preserved -ritish =ront Line on the
Somme, which was eDactly where the -attalion had fought from on the $
st
(uly
$)$* #e found many of =rank0s Apals0 that are mentioned in the diary, the
ma!ority of whom lie in Jueen0s Military 5emetery in Serre or are listed on the
.hiepval Memorial ;t was an ama:ing and life changing trip
My ?uest over the last fifteen years has been to get these ama:ing diaries
into print ;t is so important, not only for =rank0s grandchildren and great
grandchildren, but for the relatives of anyone mentioned therein .here has been
a great deal of research involved ; have attempted to eDplain the Alanguage0 that
; did not understand but most importantly, ; wanted to impart as much
information about the individuals that are mentioned in those precious volumes E
the unsung heroes of the Sheffield 5ity -attalion to whom this book is
dedicated
10
I nt roduc t i on
=rank Meakin was born on $*th March $88$ in Duffield, Derbyshire, the son of
#illiam =rancis Meakin, a Bailway /ccountant 5lerk born in 5hellaston
Derbyshire and +enrietta Meakin, born in Salford Lancashire =rank was the
eldest of the family, having a sister, Margaret, who was two years his !unior and
a brother, /rthur, who was seven years his !unior /rthur later served in the
/rmy 5yclists 5orp which was active during the =irst #orld #ar, controlling
the /rmy0s bicycle infantry

=rank was well educated and attended .he Masters School in London where
he studied architecture +is first !ob was working for the Midland Bailway
5ompany in the Engineer0s 4ffice located in 5rewe and then Derby +e then
progressed and was employed as an /rchitect and Surveyor at Sheffield 5ity
5ouncil based in the .own +all ;t was whilst working in Derby that he met
Dorothy (ane Smith, affectionately known as Doll
Dorothy was the daughter of Sophia (ane Smith and +erbert Dagley Smith
and lived with her three sisters, Maud Ethel, Lucy and Sophia @ladys in a large
Gictorian house called the Poplars in Elvaston Lane in /lvaston, Derbyshire
11
Poplars, the =amily home in /lvaston Doll can be see standing behind her sister
4n the ,
rd
/pril $)$', only seven months after !oining the Sheffield 5ity
-attalion, =rank and Doll were married in /lvaston .hey had been married for
only siD short months when =rank left for active service in Egypt and =rance
Sadly, for the duration of those siD months =rank was stationed at the Bedmires
.raining 5amp situated on the moors above Sheffield ;t for that reason that
when he eventually returned to Sheffield in $)$8, he was so eDcited as their
married life together Awas about to begin0
$%&7%) Lance 5orporal =rancis Meakin was a member of the Sheffield 5ity
-attalion for almost the whole duration of its eDistence, !oining up with his
colleagues from the .own +all on the first day +e was discharged on the
grounds of ill health twenty two days before the -attalion was disbanded
forever =rank kept his diaries throughout his entire campaign 4rders were
given that banned the keeping of diaries during Aactive0 service ;t is perhaps no
coincidence that =rank, who was somewhat of a rebel, began his diaries on his
first day of Aactive0 service and kept them until the day that he was discharged
.he AMeakin Diaries0 are virtually uni?ue .here were many diarists from
the -attalion who kept diaries prior to the -attle of the Somme but very few
survived to recount the activities from (uly $
st
onwards =rank0s diaries are well
written and include vivid descriptions of the -attle of the Somme and
conse?uent aftermath, the -attle of /rras and %
nd
-attle of Gimy Bidge .here
are also a variety of accounts including3 a member of the -attalion who was shot
for desertion; members of the -attalion being gassed; their s?ualid living
conditions; being covered in lice and rats; aeroplane activity; accounts of one to
one combats with the @erman /rmy and the shooting of @ermans in selfE
defence .he diaries also depict that what began as a wonderful Aadventure0 for
King and 5ountry, but ?uickly fell into despair and disillusionment .he diaries
12
also include entries every day about food and what became, because of his nonE
declared diabetic condition, =rank0s obsession
=rank0s story, which begins in December $)$' as he departs on his
Aadventure0 to Egypt, is an inevitably sad one, with a tragic and uneDpected
ending
.he war record of $%&7%) =rancis Meakin
13

The ! Cof f e e and Bun Boys " A Bat t al i on i s

Bor n
;t is the $>
th
September $)$< and there is an air of great eDcitement in the Main
Beception Boom of the .own +all in Sheffield =rank Meakin, an architect
working for Sheffield 5ouncil at the .own +all, has arrived, with some of his
friends and colleagues, to enrol as a volunteer for a new -attalion that would be
for the men of Sheffield Standing with him in the ?ueue are Percy #ichards$
$
%dward #ogers$
%
&ilbert 'nwin$
,
(arry Todd$
<
(orace )owty$
'
Alf Thorne,
(arry (ale, &eorge Saddler
*
and *r +, %, Pearce %dwards$
7
the 5ity
/rchitect who has come along for morale support
.he room is packed with over a thousand men from Sheffield Men of all
ages and shapes and si:es E professional men3 teachers, bank managers, business
men, clerks and of course architects .hey all had one common aim, to help their
country in its hour of need
SiD weeks earlier, Europe had been plunged into war
.he APals0 -attalions were formed following a recruiting drive by the #ar
4ffice in $)$< /cross the country tens of thousands of men rushed to recruiting
offices to !oin up as enthusiastic volunteers to help with the war effort Men
from similar working trades, professions, and sports or social clubs were
encouraged to enlist together .he tragic conse?uences of this idea would be
only too apparent when they all fought together Golunteers for the Sheffield
5ity -attalion were sought from the professional classes and specifically from
Sheffield "niversity, eD public school men, lawyers, clerks, !ournalists and
architects .hey became known by the -arnsley Pals, who were predominantly
miners, as the A5offee and -uns -oys0, as they were middle class and the
Acream0 of Sheffield
$
-./0/ Private Percy Charles #ichards I was killed in action on ,
rd
May $)$* +e is buried in the
Sucrerie Military 5emetery, Serre
%
-./1/ Private %dward &ordon #ogers I was killed in action on ,
rd
May $)$* +e is buried in the
Sucrerie Military 5emetery, Serre
,
-.23/ Private &ilbert 'nwin E was killed in action on ,
rd
May $)$* +e is buried in the Sucrerie
Military 5emetery, Serre
<
-.23- Private (arold Todd E was killed in action on ,
rd
May $)$* +e is buried in the Sucrerie
Military 5emetery, Serre
'
-.142 Private (orace Bradley )owty " was killed in action on $'
th
May $)$* +e is buried in the
Sucrerie Military 5emetery, Serre
*
-.114 Private (arry Thomas (ale$ -./55 Private Alfred 6ames 7Alf8 Thorne$ -.// Private
&eorge (enry Saddler I were all killed in action on $
st
(uly $)$* /ll three are buried in Jueens
Military 5emetery, within a few feet of each other
7
*r +, %, Pearce %dwards was the 5ity /rchitect at Sheffield .own +all +e became a lifelong friend
of =ranks and also assisted in the design of the 5ity -attalion 5amp at Bedmires
14
#ithin the first few days $,<>> forms had been completed and handed in to
the Lord Mayor and his helpers Enrolment included a cross eDamination and the
completion of documentation by over forty volunteer clerks, followed by a
medical eDamination by a small army of volunteer Doctors Be!ections were
15
numerous and over the course of the first few days only $,>>> men were actually
recruited =rank knew that he was diabetic and did not declare the fact when
enlisting +ad he done so, he would not have been passed fit for the service of
his 5ountry and this ama:ing story would not be told
.he Sheffield 5ity -attalion was one of twelve -attalions in the ,$st
Division /ll but two of the APals0 -attalions were recruited from Corkshire, the
others being from Durham and Lancashire ;n the county of Corkshire alone,
within a matter of days, several -attalions had been formed at their maDimum
strength of 8>>E)>> men each .hese -attalions were attached to eDisting
regiments and given a new -attalion number followed by the word LServiceL, so
the $%th Service -attalion, Cork M Lancaster Begiment became known as the
Sheffield 5ity -attalion
.here was some criticism that Sheffield had only produced one -attalion
when smaller towns such as -arnsley had produced two, but this was put down
to the fact that Sheffield had already produced men for the +allamshire
Begiment
16
.he -attalion was made up of four 5ompanies3
/ 5ompany consisted of men from the "niversity, some teachers, bankers
and local business men, some of whom were earning N'>> a year
- 5ompany consisted of men from the districts outside of Sheffield
including Penistone and 5hesterfield who were bankers, teachers, students,
railway men and tradesmen
5 5ompany was a contingent of teachers, bankers, students, teachers,
accountants and employees from the .own +all =rank belonged to this
5ompany
D 5ompany comprised of mainly teachers, bankers, students and reporters
from the Sheffield Daily .elegraph
.he first home of the -attalion was the 9orfolk -arracks in Edmund Boad,
Sheffield .raining began on $'
th
September and men were marched to -ramall
Lane =ootball @round which the Directors of the football ground had kindly
offered as a parade ground, an offer that they would later regret when the turf
17
did not wear well 4ther grounds were also used at 9orfolk Boad, Jueens Boad
and 9orfolk Park
.his strange miD of men who ranged in age from $) to ,' 1=rank was ,<2,
dressed in their own clothes, some in bow ties, were described by their
5ommanding 4fficer, 5olonel + +ughes, as Aa crowd, a good looking crowd
but a 5B4#D0 .he first performance of the recruits was ?uite a shambles but
they were a highly intelligent Acrowd0 and learned very ?uickly
Photograph of the men parading at -ramall Lane =ootball @round 1please note the
bow tiesF2
=or nearly three months the men lived in their own homes and those that
lived outside of the area were provided with lodgings within the 5ity .hey
received their first uniform but the sudden demand for khaki on the teDtile
industry meant that the -attalion was issued with a temporary uniform which
was blue&grey in colour Some of the men were concerned that they would be
mistaken for postmen ;t was not until $)$' that they received their khaki
uniforms, the delay being put down to the lack of khaki dye that was obtained
from, of all countries, @ermany
4n $>
th
4ctober $)$< a new 5ommanding 4fficer, 9ieutenant C, :,
*ainwaring
8
took over from 5olonel +ughes +e had vast military eDperience
and was an ideal candidate to train the -attalion
4nce the men had reached a basic level of fitness they began a series of
route marches one of which took them to Bedmires, where the construction of
their future camp was taking place on the site of an old racecourse =rank0s
colleague and superior at the .own +all; Mr = E Pearce Edwards had helped
with the design of camp and local traders supplied furniture and other fittings
8
Commanding ;fficer$ 9ieutenant C, :, *ainwaring I was 5ommander of the battalion for a short
time but was forced to stand down in September $)$' due to ill health as a result of his previous action in
the =ar East +e kept an interest in the -attalion throughout their campaign and later became President of
the A$%
th
5lub0 the survivors association
18
Bedmires was $>>> feet above sea level and was situated in a rather bleak
location +uts were raised off of the ground and were constructed of wood and
measured *> feet long by %> feet wide, with a single door at one end Lighting
was by gas and there was a coal burning stove in the centre of each hut
/ photo of one of the interior of one of the wooden huts at Bedmires
=rank can be seen standing second on the left ;n the centre is 5SM Ellis
/ photo of A50 5ompany outside of their hut at Bedmires
=rank can be seen standing in the centre behind 5apt 5olley
.he -attalion moved out to Bedmires on $'
th
December $)$' and were
!oined by $,
th
and $<
th
Corks and Lancaster Begiments, -arnsley Pals and the
19
$>
th
Lincolnshire Begiment and were formed into $$'
th
;nfantry -rigade ;n
addition to the huts, a CM5/ was built, which was successfully used as a
5oncert +all, canteen and Post 4ffice and there were also ?uiet areas where the
men could write letters 4ver the 5hristmas period, the men were allowed to
return home for a short period of leave but the rota was staggered so that routine
duties could continue
.he following months saw the men taking part in musket training and
simulated attacks, digging trenches and a variety of physical training, which
included ?uarrying and road making ;t was not for the faint hearted .he
weather conditions were atrocious and some of the men fell ill with pneumonia
and as a result two members of the -attalion died,
)
.raining on the moors and in
such dreadful conditions stood the men in good stead and as a result they could
outmarch other regiments and could triumph over them in athletic events
4n )
th
May $)$' the men were given orders to move to 5annock 5hase and
were also told that due to a reEorganisation, they were now part of the )<
th
-rigade .he -arnsley Pals were to remain with them but the $>
th
Lincolnshire
Begiment was to be replaced by $$
th
-attalion East Lancashire Begiment,
otherwise known as the /ccrington Pals .he A5offee and -un -oys0 regarded
the -arnsley Pals as a rough and ready lot and the -arnsleys were e?ually
unimpressed by this Awhite collar bunch from Sheffield0 but over the coming
months a mutual respect developed between them and they soon had a
reputation as the best brigade in the Division .hat mutual respect would
become increasingly important when they were in action together on $
st
(uly
$)$*
Leaving Bedmires was a big event both for the men and for the 5ity of
Sheffield ;t was unfortunate that the timing of the train leaving for Stafford was
eDtremely early, so they paraded at 'am and as a result of this and lack of notice,
some people missed the departure of ASheffield0s 4wn0 Many did turn out to see
them off and the +allamshires and #,%
$>
-ands played them through the 5ity
.he Lord Mayor addressed them outside the .own +all and they then marched
off to the station, through crowds of relatives and friends .here were emotional
scenes at the station, as relatives thought that this would be the last time that
they would see them I and it many cases it was =or miles after leaving the 5ity
they were cheered by people who were standing by the railway line
+ome was now Penkridge -ank 5amp, on a high part of 5annock 5hase,
close to Bugeley 5annock 5hase looked very different in $)$' to the /rea of
4utstanding 9atural -eauty that it is today; it was treeless, bleak moorland
covered in deer .he men were now completing Aadvanced training0 which
included attacks, tactical movements and night attacks Boute marches became
more fre?uent and longer and those hard months at Bedmires began to pay off
4n $,
th
(uly $)$', there was a full parade of the Sheffield 5ity -attalion and
they were formally taken over by the #ar 4ffice
)
-.44 Private Charles (aydn (andforth died on 8
th
=ebruary $)$' in the ,
rd
9orthern @eneral
+ospital and -./< Private 6ohn Charles ;rtton died on %>
th
=ebruary $)$' +e was buried with full
military honours on %,
rd
=ebruary at the 5ity Boad 5emetery
$>
#,%, I Boyal Engineers
20
.he -attalion was turning into a wellEe?uipped and well trained force
During the hot summer of $)$', the men were often called upon to deal with the
many fires that broke out on the 5hase .his resulted in a specific fire pi?uet of
over $>> men being established .here were many route marches and on one
occasion in (uly, the men, in full kit, embarked on a siDteen mile route march
across 5annock 5hase in bla:ing sunshine ;t took over siD hours and over 8>
fell out with heat eDhaustion
.he 5ity -attalion on a route march 5aptain # / 5olley and Lieutenant 5olonel
Mainwaring are the officers who are mounted
=rank can be seen as the third man on the right in the group of marching men
4rders had been given to move to Bipon and on the ,$
st
(uly they caught the
train from Bugeley to Bipon where they were based in the =ourth /rmy .raining
5entre .he camp was a large compleD of camps located to the south of Bipon
.he main emphasis of training here was !musketry
$$
which included all aspects
of weapon training, handling and shooting /t this point the new 5ommander of
,$
st
Division, *a=or &eneral #, Wanless ;&owan
$%
made his first visit to the
-attalion +e was very impressed with the -attalion0s turnout, physi?ue and
their handling of weapons
/side from their training, there was little else for the men to do at Bipon
Many spent their time in the town and many made visits to Bipon 5athedral and
nearby =ountains /bbey /ll members of the -attalion were allocated leave and
on $>
th
September $)$' they celebrated the first year of their formation /
celebration concert was arranged by the Padre
$,
and many members of the
$$
*usketry I a term which had survived from the days when the infantry had been armed with muskets
$%
*a=or &eneral #, Wanless ;&owan I commanded, apart from a few short absences, the Division
throughout the whole of their campaign until they were disbanded in =ebruary $)$8
$,
Ca>tain 6, +, Col?uhoun I became the Divisional Padre and won a Military 5ross in $)$8
21
-attalion took part Sergeant #oberts
$<
was the pianist and he was
accompanied by Ca>tain Woolhouse
$'
and Sergeant Cro@ier
$*
as the singers
.he -attalion left Bipon on the night of %'
th
September and began the
!ourney to Sailsbury Plain, which was to be their base to complete their training
prior to going abroad +ere they were based at +urdcott 5amp which was built
in the grounds of +urdcott +ouse, close to the town of #ilton During this time
Lieutenant 5olonel Mainwaring left because of ill health and was replaced by
9ieutenant 6, A, Crossthwaite,
$7
/t this time there was a AMunitions Scandal0 which began to have an impact
on the -attalion Since the beginning of the war there had been a shortage of
shells which manifested itself at the -attle of Loos, when attacks by the -ritish
infantry had failed because of a shortage of high eDplosive shells .he shortage
was due mainly to the lack of a trained labour force in the munitions industry as
many of the skilled workers re?uired to run the factories had volunteered in
$)$< to !oin the war effort Many articles about the situation were written in
A.he .imes0 but Lord Kitchener refused to accept that there was a problem,
demonstrating how out of touch he was with the situation
/ Ministry of Munitions was set up under Lloyd @eorge and one of their
first tasks was to reEengage the workforce where they were needed .his meant
that all men were interviewed by members of the Ministry and if they were
considered to be essential to industry, they were forced to return to their !obs and
were released from the /rmy .here were fifty men from the -attalion that
returned to their preEwar !obs and a total of <>,>>> throughout the /rmy as a
whole
4n $*
th
9ovember the -attalion, along with the rest of the ,$
st
Division,
moved to Larkhill 5amp, which was located about ten miles north of Sailsbury
and one mile from Stonehenge +ere they stayed in very basic accommodation
.he reason for the move was to complete the musketry course which re?uired
the men to complete training of a more practical nature, which also re?uired
them to fire from trenches .here were good facilities for the machine gunners to
practice at the Larkhill ranges +ere the men were finally issued with their
S*9%
$8
rifles
;t was while the -attalion was training at Larkhill, that orders were received
for the ,$
st
Division to go to =rance, which caused great eDcitement and
apprehension Ca>tain A, A, Cousins
$)
was selected as the -attalion0s
$<
-./1 Sergeant A, W, #oberts I took part in the attack on $
st
(uly and was wounded in action
$'
Ca>tain %, &, &, Woolhouse I commanded the -attalion temporarily and resigned +e was left out of
the attack on $
st
(uly and at the end of the attack was the only senior officer left standing +e was
commissioned on $8
th
September $)$<
$*
-.1-2 Sergeant (enry Cecil Cro@ier E won a Military Medal 1MM2 on the night of $'
th
& $*
th
May
$)$*, a few weeks before being killed on $
st
(uly $)$* +e died helping eight men who had been
wounded by the same shell and he had won the MM in similar circumstances +is body was never found
and he is commemorated on the .hiepval Memorial
$7
Colonel 6, A, Crossthwaite I Begular 4fficer previously with the Durham Light ;nfantry +e fell ill on
,>
th
(une $)$* as a result of wounds that he received in Cpres in $)$'
$8
S*9% E Short Maga:ine Lee Enfield, sometimes referred to as a Asmelly0 rather than SMLE
$)
Ca>tain A, A, Cousins I a Sheffield "niversity student +e was killed in action on 7
th
December $)$7
and is buried in Bolincourt Military 5emetery
22
representative on the Divisional /dvance Party and became the Ad=utant
%>
in
$)$7
.he -attalion marched back to +urdcott, having completed their musketry
training and in the intervening days all members of the -attalion were able to
take a few days precious leave
.he final orders came through and there was some disappointment when the
destination was announced as Egypt =inal preparations were made and all the
men were issued with sola topees 1sun helmets2 in preparation
=rank at +urdcott 5amp having been issued with his new sola topee or sun helmet,
in preparation for Egypt
Kit bags were packed and the canteen stayed open all night as the men were
due to leave early the neDt morning 4n their final day they received many
farewell messages, most notably from the King who wrote3
Officers, NCOs and men of the 31
st
Division, on the eve of your departure
for active service I send you my heartfelt good wishes. It is a itter
disappointment to me that owing to an unfortunate accident I am unale to see
the Division on parade efore it leaves !ngland, ut I can assure you that my
thoughts are with you all. "our period of training has een long and arduous ut
the time has now come for you to prove on the field of attle the results of your
instruction. #rom the good accounts that I have received of the Division I am
%>
Ad=utant I is a military rank or appointment, usually an officer assists a more senior officer, and an
954 1nonEcommissioned officer2, normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or #arrant 4fficer
23
confident that the high tradition of the $ritish %rmy is safe in your hands and
that with your comrades now in the field you will maintain the unceasing efforts
necessary to ring this war to a victorious end. &oodye and &od 'peed.
&eorge (.)
4n %>
th
December the -attalion then travelled by train to Keyham Dockyard
at Devonport to board the SS Aestor,
%$
.his is where =rank0s story begins, as
they embark on their Aadventure0 to Egypt
.he SS 9estor owned by -lue =unnel Lines
%$
SS Aestor . (olt 9ine I .he SS 9estor was owned by (ohn +olt 1-lue =unnel Lines2 based in ;ndia
-uildings, Liverpool Prior to the war she had carried passengers and cargo to /ustralia .he cargo decks
had been converted into a series of troop messes -lue =unnel Lines lost ,> ships during the =irst #orld
#ar
24