World War One - Part 1
On 3 August 1914 Aldershot Command ordered mobilisation, two days ahead of the rest of the country.It was not unexpected; all leave had been stopped a week earlier and preliminary preparations had been put in hand.The Queen’s Bays, along with the 5th Dragoon Guards and the 11th Hussars, formed part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General C. J. Briggs, himself a KDG.
The regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H. W. Wilberforce, was stationed at Willems Barracks in Aldershot.The reservists came in quickly, mostly within the first twenty-four hours, making up 36 per cent of the strength of the regiment.Many reservists were old NCOs or men who had fought in South Africa, providing a welcome fund of experience and steadiness for the young troopers who composed the bulk of the rank and file. Mobilisation was completed by 10 August, and the following day King George V and Queen Mary inspected the regiment, wishing all ranks the best of good fortune.The same day Captain H. W. Hall went ahead to France to arrange billeting in the forward concentration area.On the evening of the 14th The Queen’s Bays marched to Farnborough Station and entrained for Southampton, embarking in the 13,000-ton Minneapolis. The transport sailed on the 16th, reaching Le Havre that evening and disembarking the Troops the following morning in a deluge of rain.Fifteen French reservists and territorials were posted to the regiment to act as interpreters.On the evening of Monday, 17 August and during the 18th, the regiment entrained in the famous French box waggons, marked ‘hommes 40, chevaux 8’, for Maubeuge, ninety miles away.The journey was something of a triumphal procession, with much flag waving and cheering along the route, and gifts of flowers, tobacco and chocolate.The horses were fed and watered at Rouen, where the men were supplied with hot coffee. On arrival at Maubeuge, the Bays went into billets at Jeumont, Marpent and Solre-sur-Sambre, where they became the most advanced of all the British troops.
The cavalry was ordered to move forward on the morning of 21 August, the 1st Brigade holding the crossings over the Aisne and Mons-Charleroi canal, with the Bays acting as advance guard. On the 22nd Lieutenant Kingstone recorded that ‘Sergeant Tucker and I went out half a mile in front of the canal. We got off out horses and walked to the top of a little hill, and sat down with a map and field glasses. We had not been there more than ten minutes before we saw a German Squadron move slowly across out front, not more than 400 or 500 yards off.’That evening the infantry took over the outpost line, and the Bays moved twenty miles to the left rear to the village of Audregnies, in order to provide flank cover. The 23 August was spent at Audregnies, resting and cleaning, although the sound of heavy gunfire reverberated throughout the day.On the evening of the 23rd Sir John French, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, learnt that the French on his right were retreating, that the Germans were in much greater strength that previously reported, and were working round his left flank.The British had no option but to conform, but it took time to reverse all the supply and ammunition waggons which had closed up to the forward line. Orders reached the Bays at 10 p.m. on the 23rd, and they were saddled up and on the move for Quievrain, just south of Conde, by 11 p.m., where they were given the task of holding a stretch of the railway line from Mons to Valenciennes. Arriving at midnight the regiment found hundreds of miners and peasants assembled to help them dig a trench line, which was ready by dawn.
Daylight showed a dense mass of Germans, with bands playing and staff riding ahead, advancing about a mile to the right of the regiment’s position. As the pressure increased the Bays were ordered to retire, conforming with the general movement but, so far, with no direct contact with the enemy. All that day the Bays moved hither and thither, coming under some shrapnel fire, but with no casualties, until after a confused and tiring day of marching and countermarching, they settled for the night in a field near St Waast.
Throughout the 25th the Bays acted as rearguard, briefly contacting a patrol of Uhlans, one of whom was wounded and captured.The men eventually bivouacked in a field south of Le Cateau at 1.30 a.m., and were on the move again by 4 a.m. on the 26th, retreating to Reumont, and taking up a position around the village of Escaufort, where they were spectators of the battle of Le Cateau to their right. As the day wore on the men came under shell fire, but few suffered casualties in their shallow trenches. By 3 p.m. the pressure was such that a further retirement was ordered, which continued throughout a wet and dark night, causing the squadrons to become separated. By the morning of the 27th the greater part of the regiment had come together again, and continued the retreat through St Quentin, Serancourt and Berlancourt, while a separated detachment under Major Ing fell back through Ham, collecting stragglers from other cavalry regiments as it went.
The Bays, marching early on the 28th, were in touch with patrols from a German cavalry brigade, when near Guiscard the enemy increased the pressure, bringing a battery into action and wounding three troopers and six horses.The bays then broke contact, passing through the Allied outpost line covering Noyon, crossing the Oise and finally halting at Bailly, where they were at last rejoined by Major Ing with his detachment.On the 29th the whole regiment made a short march to the Aisne, and went into billets at Choisy-au-Bac north east of Compiègne.The retreat continued on 31 August, the cavalry covering the flank; the Aisne was crossed, Compiègne passed, and the Oise, and moving onto high ground the Bays halted near the village of Venitte.There the 1st Cavalry Brigade, with the 2nd on its left, extended the British line whilst maintaining contact with the French.That evening Brigadier Briggs decided to concentrate the brigade in the village of Néry, on the left bank of the Oise, where it would be in reserve behind the infantry of 3rd Corps.
The Queen’s Bays and ‘L’ Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, were the last to reach Néry. The 5th Dragoon Guards were billeted in the north end of the village, with their horses in the open; the 11th Hussars were in the centre with all men and horses under cover; and so the Bays of ‘A’ and ‘B’ Squadrons were billeted in some houses along the village street with their horses in the open, while ‘L’ Battery and ‘C’ Squadron Bays were in a field to the south of the village. The brigade spent a quiet night, but awoke at 4.30 a.m. to a dense mist, which delayed any start, so that many of the men stood down and started to cook breakfast. At 5 a.m. a patrol of the 11th Hussars came galloping in to report that they had been chased into Néry by German cavalry. Almost at once shells began to fall in the village, with the German gunners concentrating their fire on the horse lines of the Bays and on ‘L’ Battery, with such deadly effect that the surviving horses stampeded in terror. Brigadier Briggs at once ordered the 11th Hussars to take over the defence of the north end of the village, and gave Colonel Ansell of the 5th Dragoon Guards freedom to act against the right flank of the advancing enemy.
In the meantime the officers and men of the Bays were improvising a firing line, while the Horse Gunners under Captain Bradbury, their second in command struggled to manhandle three of their guns into action. Major Sclater-Booth, the battery commander, had been wounded and blinded by a shell burst as he ran to his guns. Lieutenant Lamb, the machine gun officer of the Queen's Bays, was able to gather together some of his men and, covered by a low brick wall, bring two machine guns into action, aiming at the flashes of the German guns, which could by now be seen only 800 yards away. Under cover of this fire ‘L’ Battery got its three guns into action against what proved to be eight guns of two German batteries, with a third battery shelling the village.
Colonel Ansell with two squadrons of the 5th Dragoon Guards moved out of the north end of Néry in the mist to attack the German flank, only to run straight into the 9th Uhlans and 3rd Cuirassiers. In the following exchange of fire Ansell was mortally wounded, and the 5th Dragoon Guards fell back before this overwhelming force, fighting all the way, but the mist also covered the British weakness, and the German cavalry halted their advance.
The 1st Cavalry Brigade had been caught by surprise, at close quarters, by the whole of the 4th German Cavalry Division who were in greatly superior numbers; but the Germans were not sure what confronted them. This enabled individual officers and men to improvise a firing line, while gunners served their 13-pounders in the open field, bringing up the ammunition from the limber across twenty yards of fire-swept ground. Lamb, smoking a pipe, kept his two machine guns in action, concentrating on the German guns, and filling the belts by hand to keep the guns supplied while the water in the jackets boiled. The Germans now switched the fire of their third battery against ‘L’ Battery and the Bays. Two of the three guns were quickly knocked out, the remaining gun being served by Captain Bradbury, Battery Sergeant Major Dorrell and Sergeant Nelson, who had already been wounded. Bradbury had both his legs blown off, and as he was carried back, dying, he said to Colonel Wilberforce, ‘Hallo, Colonel, they have been giving us a warm time, haven’t they?’ The lone remaining gun of ‘L’ Battery continued to fire until the last round had been expended.
As the mist cleared Wilberforce noticed that ‘by degrees these eight (German) guns ceased firing, and we could see the guns distinctly every time anyone came near them; Vickers and all the rifles we had slated them with fire until the Germans gave up all attempt either to serve them or get them away.’Earlier in the day a small party of the Bays had managed to work forward to the right and occupy the sugar factory, from where they were able to check by rifle fire any German attempt to get around from that side. Eventually the Germans occupied some buildings to the east of the sugar factory, and lieutenants De Crespigny and Misa launched a counter-attack with some fifteen men.They held the objective until De Crespigny was killed, and only three were left unwounded, Lieutenant Misa and two men.
Soon after 8 a.m. help arrived in the form of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, who coming upon the stampeded horses of the Bays feared the worst. As ‘I’ Battery’s guns came into action, however, Lamb’s machine guns prevented the Germans from bringing up their teams to withdraw their guns, and Major Ing took forward some of the Bays to capture the eight abandoned guns, the first to be taken by the BEF. By 9.45 a.m. the Germans had withdrawn.
The Bays lost Lieutenant Champion De Crespigny and four men killed, Majors G. H. A. Ing and A. E. W. Harman, Captians E. S. Chance and W. F. G. Renton, Lieutenants E. Walker and F. D. R. Milne, Second Lieutenants L.W. White and H. D. St G. Cardew, and thirty-five men wounded. About eighty horses were killed, and many of those stampeded were temporarily or permanently lost. Seventy-eight Germans were taken prisoner and their dead lay mainly around the captured guns - all cavalry or artillerymen.
Captain Bradbury, Battery Sergeant Major Dorrell and Sergeant Nelson of ‘L’ Battery were all awarded the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant Lamb of The Queen’s Bays was awarded the DSO and was mentioned in despatches, as were the seven Bays who served the machine guns, Lance Corporal Webb and Troopers Goodchild, Phillips, Fogg, Emmet, Ellicock and Horne. In addition Ellicock was given the DCM.
The action at Néry was over by 10 a.m., and the retreat resumed at 11 a.m. In the meantime the battlefield was cleared, the damaged guns removed, and Lieutenant Lamb replaced his losses in the machine gun and waggon teams with loosed and captured horses. The weary way back continued in hot weather through Senlis, Moussy-le-Vieux and Gournay, until the Bays reached the northern outskirts of Paris on 5 September, spending the night at Aubepierre.
The retreat from Mons was now over, and on 6 September the regiment received orders to advance, first to the east to Jouy-le-Chatel, and then north, to cover the advance of the British centre and left. The Bays were not seriously engaged, but managed to pick up a straggler from a German cuirassier regiment while clearing some farms.On bivouacking that evening the Bays had present 17 officers, 7 having been killed or wounded; 423 NCOs and men, with 114 dead, wounded and missing; but there were only 304 riding horses left of the original 527, and 48 draught horses out of 74.
On 7 September the Bays advanced through Choisy, reaching the line of the Grand Morin river on the 8th, and pushing on to the Petit Morin at Sablonnières, where the crossings were held by the German cavalry and Jaegers of the Guard.The Bays machine guns ‘did a lot of firing across the valley.Later, we galloped on down the road under rifle fire, and came into another position without losing any men.The Germans were eventually turned out of the village and their positions on the heights above it at about 12.30 p.m. after three hours’ fighting; a lot of German wounded and dead lying about.
On 9 September the Bays moved off at 2 a.m. acting as advance guard, reaching the River Marne at Saulchery, where they were to seize the crossings over the river.Captain Springfield, leading with ‘A’ Squadron, found the bridge intact but blocked with barbed wire and barricaded.As soon as the bridge was cleared the Bays crossed, and as they moved up the high ground on the other side they came under shellfire from one of their own side’s batteries.‘Luckily no one was hit, although the shells burst unpleasantly close.’As the Bays moved forward Lieutenant Kingstone’s troop was fired on from a small copse near the village of Le Thiolet.‘C’ Squadron went to his assistance, resulting in a German officer and four men being killed and twenty-one prisoners taken.Lieutenant Barnard of ‘A’ Squadron killed another German and captured his companion.The regiment was billeted at Lucy le Bocage by 6 p.m.
The advance continued on the 10th and 11th thorough Bonnes to Breny on the River Ourcq, and on to Branges. On 12 September the Bays were ordered to clear the village of Braisne on the Vesle, and then to seize the heights above, which overlook the River Aisne.When ‘C’ Squadron under Captain Pickering came in sight of the village it seemed to be deserted, but as Lieutenant F.D.R. Milne’s troop approached the outskirts they saw that the bridge was barricaded.Then fire was opened on them, causing several casualties and killing Milne’s horse.The survivors galloped for cover, dismounted, and went into action.The rest of ‘C’ Squadron came up in support, being reinforced by ‘A’ Squadron, while ‘B’, under Captain Stone, dismounted and attacked from the left.‘Z’ Battery, RHA, unlimbered and fired in support, checking some German reserves which tried to reinforce the village.The Germans fell back slowly as the Bays’ attack enveloped them, and there was some stiff house to house fighting, as numerous snipers were cleared. In this street fighting Captain Springfield was killed leading his men up the street and Sergeant Stairmand was shot. another officer Captain Pinching was wounded. By 3 p.m. the village was cleared, with 200 prisoners taken, and one of the bridges over the river secured intact.The Bays were relieved by an infantry brigade, and they moved on to occupy the heights overlooking the River Aisne at Dhuizel.Sir John French particularly mentioned the good work of the Bays in clearing Braisnes in his third despatch.
On 13 September The Queen’s Bays crossed the River Aisne, and moved onto high ground near Pargnan on the extreme right of the British line, while an attack was launched to capture the Chemin des Dames.On the 15th the Germans counterattacked but were beaten off, and on the 16th Sir John French, recognising that both sides had reached a position of stalemate, ordered the British to be ‘strongly entrenched’, and thus started the era of trench warfare.For the next few days the Bays were in and around Chavonne, coming at times under shellfire, as Lamb described: ‘We sat about in the wood and off-saddled.The enemy now commenced to ‘coal-box’ the wood we were in.They dropped all over the place, and the detonation when they burst in the wood was terrific.However, they never got amongst us.’On the 20th the Bays moved into the trenches to relieve the 11th Hussars.
Our trench consists of a high bank with steps cut in it to fire from, and holes dug out all along, for the men to shelter in.During the day the Germans attacked the Wiltshire Regiment on our left.I got a fairly good target as they attacked.Whilst advancing the Germans made horrible noises, and seemed to be all talking at once.They were also encouraged by the blowing of cheap tinny-sounding trumpets.
During this attack Major Hall witnessed the German's driving in front of them some 60 to 100 British Prisoners, "In order to mask our fire".
On 24 September the award was announced of the DSO to Lieutenant Lamb, and the DCM to Ellicock for their conduct at Néry.Some months later Trooper Goodchild was also awarded the DCM for his behaviour at Néry.On the 30th five reinforcement officers arrived, Lieutenant Single from Aldershot, and Kemmis (inniskillings), Davidson (2nd Indian Lancers), Sartorius (6th Bengal Cavalry), and Robertson (Jacob’s Horse).On 2 October news came through of French awards for the action at Néry: Colonel Wilberforce received the Légion d’Honneur, Croix d’Officier, and Lieutenants Heydeman and Lamb the Légion d’Honneur, Croix de Chevalier, whilst Corporal Short received the Médaille Militaire.
The Battle of the Aisne had now been fought to a standstill, and both the Germans and the French were extending their flanks in Northern France and Belgium towards the sea, where dangerous gap had opened up between the French left flank and the Belgian right.The British were now relieved on the Aisne, and transferred to cover this gap in the north.The Bays, in billets at Courcelles, were ordered to move on 3 October, their destination being kept a secret; Lamb noted, ‘Nobody knows yet what we are here for.We all believe that shortly we will be moved round to the extreme left flank.’The Bays marched via Violaine, Orrouy, where a short digression was made by some officers to Néry to photograph the graves, then on through Tricot, Montdidier, Amiens, Doullens, St Pol, to Béthune, which was reached on 11 October.On the 10, ’a lot of new horses came to join the Regiment’.
On the 11th ‘One of our patrols, under Lieutenant Sartorius, had a brush with an Uhlan patrol, killing one and wounding another.Two men also of our own wounded.’On the 12th, on leaving Merville, ‘B’ Squadron bumped into some German cavalry and had one man wounded in the back.The same day Lieutenant Kingstone laid an ambush for some German cyclists and killed three of them.On the 13th, as the regiment moved forward, the situation remained very fluid, and as ‘A’, the leading squadron, moved north through Fletre towards Méteren, they came under shell and machine gun fire.Trumpeter Webb was killed and several men wounded.By midday the Bays were on the ridge of Mont des Cats running north from Méteren, and at 3 p.m. a German Jaeger battalion counter-attacked from the direction of St Jans-Cappel, but was driven off with some loss.The next day the regiment crossed the Belgian frontier, being billeted at Dranoutre.
On the evening of the 15th the Bays were ordered to capture Ploegsteert by means of a night march and attack.In the dark and rain, not knowing where the enemy were, ‘after repeated long halts, whilst waiting for our advanced troops, who work dismounted, and creep along the ditches with fixed bayonets, we eventually got to Ploesteert without opposition at 5 a.m.’ Some days were spent in the vicinity, and on the 21st Colonel Wilberforce was invaded with muscular rheumatism, the command devolving upon Major J.A. Browning.
