Home. Origins of the Battalion.
Page 1. Start of the First World War.
Page 2. To the Ypres Salient.
Page 3. Ypres. The Battle of St Julien.
Page 4. April 1915. Ypres. Gas.
Page 5. Battle of St Julien losses.
Page 6. New Division Name.
Page 7. The Battle of Bellewaarde.
Page 8. Bellewaarde Losses. Sanctuary Wood.
Page 9. Neuve Eglise, Kemmel Sector.
Page 10. August 1915. To Armentieres.
Page 11. Sep/Oct 1915. Armentieres.
Page 12. October 1915. Armentieres.
Page 13. Oct/Nov 1915. Armentieres.
Page 14. Nov/Dec 1915. To Merris.
Page 15. Back to the Ypres Salient.
Page 16. Jan 1916. Armagh Wood.
Page 17. Feb 1916. Hill 60.
Page 18. Mine Explosion.
Page 19. Feb 1916. Ypres. Hill 60.
Page 20. Armagh Wood. CO Killed.
Page 21. Mar/Apr 1916. Kemmel.
Page 22. Apr/May 1916. Fletre. Kemmel.
Page 23. June 1916. Friendly Fire Kemmel.
Page 24. Jun/Jul 1916. Kemmel.
Page 25. July 1916. Kemmel.
Page 26. Aug 1916. To the Somme.
Page 27. Battle of Flers Courcelette.
Page 28. Sep 1916. Flers-Courcelette.
Page 29. The Thiepval Memorial.
Page 30. Flers-Courcelette. Losses.
Page 31. Flers-Courcelette. Attack repelled.
Page 32.Training. Martinpuich.
Page 33. In the Line near Flers.
Page 34. Nov 1916. Martinpuich. Flers.
Page 35. Flers. To Belloy.
Page 36. Feb/Mar 1917. Belloy.
Page 37. April 1917. To Arras.
Page 38. Capt D.P. Hirsch. V.C.
Page 39. The Arras Memorial.
Page 40. The Arras Memorial.
Page 41. Arras Burial Sites.
Page 42. Arras. Famechon.
Page 43. May 1917. Famechon. Bayencourt.
Page 44. June 1917 Back in the Line. Arras.
Page 45. Sep 1917. Arras. Wancourt.
Page 46. Oct 1917. Back to Ypres.
Page 47. Nov 1917. Passchendaele.
Page 48. Jan 1918. Ypres.
Page 49. Feb 1918. Last of Ypres.
Page 50. The Battle of St Quentin.
Page 51. German Offensive. Michael.
Page 52. German Advance. Pozieres Memorial.
Page 53. Losses on both sides.
Page 54. From the Somme to the Lys.
Page 55. April 1918. Battle of Estaires.
Page 56. Ploegsteert Memorial.
Page 57. From the Lys to the Aisne.
Page 58. German Offensive. Blucher-Yorck.
Page 59. May 1918. 150th Brigade decimated.
Page 60. End of the 4th Yorks.
Page 61. Last Weeks of War.
Page 62. Prisoners of War.
Page 63. Prisoners of War.
Page 64. Prisoners of War.
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JUNE/JULY 1915. NEUVE EGLISE, KEMMEL SECTOR.
16 JUNE.
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1878 Pte Turnbull Claude. Home at Grangetown, Middlesbrough, N Yorks. Born Newcastle. Enlisted Eston. Died of wounds. Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension Nord.
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A secret message was received at Divisional HQ informing them that they were being temporarily transferred to II Corps.
For the Private in the 4th Battalion, who got to know nothing of these decisions it would mean relief from the most dangerous area Ypres and a month defending the line further South opposite Messines and Wytschaete.
[Divisional History - "It should be understood that whenever the word "quiet" is used to denote the situation, it is used in the comparative sense. For in those days all men lived by comparison. Therefore, although there may have been no attack on, or by, the enemy in progress, the artillery of both sides was seldom silent; snipers were busy, watching like hungry wolves for the thoughtless exposure of heads or bodies; trench mortar bombs and grenades exploded in the trenches; mining and sapping were going on; mines were blown; working and wiring parties were out each night on their dangerous work in front of the line - in short, that was what "quietude" meant."] |
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Trench construction and warfare were developed over the course of the War.
Those trenches taken over by the 4th Battalion in Sanctuary Wood had been quickly dug during the recent withdrawal of the Line.
Trenches were created in a zig zag line so that a soldier was in a box with protection from shell blast to either side.
if the enemy captured one bay, he could not directly fire on others.
Dugouts at this time were primitive holes and much was learned from taking over German trenches later on.
19 JUNE.
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1319 L/Cpl Elliott John. Home at Carlin How N Yorks. Born and enlisted at Workington. Killed in action. Menin Gate Memorial Ypres.
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23 JUNE.
On this night the Battalion were relieved and retired to huts at Ouderdom.
25 JUNE to 2 JULY.
In billets at Locre [Loker], a village about 14k behind the lines to the South West of Ypres.
1 JULY.
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1383 Pte Upton Sydney. Born and enlisted at Redcar, N Yorks. Died. Buried at Longuenesse St Omer [Hospital] Souvenir Cemetery.
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Lord Cavan.
From June to August 1915 he was GOC of the 50th Division.
Later becoming reputedly the best Corps Commander on the Western Front.
After the War he was made Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
2 to 6 JULY.
The Bn was addressed by the CO of II Corps, Sir Charles Ferguson and at night they went back into trenches at Tea Farm.
The Diary records a "quiet time, but a certain amount of sniping".
Nevertheless it also records the death of Pte Bendelow and the wounding of 13 men.
5 JULY.
The Commanding Officer went into hospital and Major H.G. Scott took over.
The Diary records that "a good lot of digging was done here, which earned us a good chit from Lord Cavan, who had taken over the Division from Sir Walter Lindsay".
6 JULY.
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1353 Pte Bendelow John. Born and enlisted at Northallerton N Yorks. Died of wounds. Trois Arbres Cemetery Steenwerck.
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7 to 10 JULY.
The Battalion returned to billets at Loker.
The Diary records that a "Bombing Platoon under Lt T.H. Fawcett was formed on the 7th."
13 JULY.
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1008 Cpl Lodge Albert Edward. Home at Grangetown Middlesbrough, N Yorks. Born York and enlisted at Eston, N Yorks. Killed in action. Age 25. Menin Gate Memorial Ypres
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The Battalion were moved from the Ypres Salient and from the 22nd June to the end of July were defending the line in the Neuve Eglise/Kemmel sector. By August they were in Armentieres.
15 JULY.
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1500 Pte Wastell Albert. Born and enlisted at Yarm, N Yorks. Killed in action. Age 19. Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres.
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917 Cpl Allen Richard. Enlisted at Guisborough, N Yorks. Died of wounds. Buried at Etaples Military Cemetery.
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26 JULY.
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1541 Pte Dowding George. Born and enlisted at Redcar N Yorks. Killed in action. Buried at Strand Military Cemetery.
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6 AUGUST.
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1689 Sgt Thirkell Edward. Home at 74 Redcar Rd, S Bank, Middlesbrough, N Yorks. Born and enlisted at Normanby. Killed in action. Age 20. Buried at Strand Military Cemetery
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7 AUGUST.
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2807 Pte Baines Robert. Born Stanhope, Co Durham. Enlisted Richmond, N Yorks. Died of wounds. Place of burial not yet found.
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The Diary records - "Lord Cavan left us to take over Command of the Guards Division. We deeply regret his loss. General Wilkinson took over Command of the Division. |
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