William enlisted into the army after the outbreak of war, serving with the 6th (Service) Battalion of The East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) with service number G/2315. The battalion had been raised at Canterbury in August 1914 as part of Kitchener’s First New Army and joined the 37th Brigade, 12th (Eastern) Division. They trained at Purfleet with a final exercise being undertaken near Aldershot in February 1915, with the cavalry, motor machine gun battery, sanitary and veterinary sections joining the Division. They proceeded to Boulogne, France from Folkstone on The Queen at the end of May and by 6 June were in the Bailleul area on the France-Belgium border. They underwent a short period of training which mainly involved route marches, drills, and inspections. They moved to Armentières on the 20th where they received some guidance from the experienced 48th (South Midland) Division, consisting of lectures on trench warfare and gas, for example, alongside short familiarisation spells in the trenches.
On the 25th they took over a section of the line at Ploegsteert Wood. The front was generally quiet, other than regular exchanges of artillery and machine gun fire which caused a few causalities. The Battalion was withdrawn to billets in Romarin on 4 July. After a week of drills and inspections they returned to the line at Despierre Farm. They were withdrawn again after a week, and this pattern continued until the end of September.
Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was the largest British offensive mounted in 1915 and was part of the attempt to break through the German defences in Artois and Champagne and restore a war of movement. It was notable for the first British use of poison gas in the preliminary bombardment, as well as for the first mass engagement of New Army units. The battle opened on 25 September, and despite heavy casualties there was considerable success on the first day in breaking deep into the enemy positions.
The Battalion was not involved in these early stages, and the war diary notes that on the 26th the Germans put up a sign on which was written ‘Good luck to you, Englishmen’. In response, later that day the British raised an ‘organised cheer’, to which the Germans replied with 20 minutes of machine gun fire.
In the succeeding days the battle bogged down into attrition warfare for minor gains as the reserves had been held too far from the battlefront to be able to exploit the successes. The 6th Battalion was moved by train on the 29th and the next day were in the reserve trenches just outside Vermelles. Over the next few days they undertook working parties, burying the dead, and reconnoitring the land ahead. They moved to Mazingrbe on 3 October and on the 5th took a position on the line.
On the 13th they took part in the action to regain the Hohenzollern Redoubt but were shattered by fire from a previously unseen (and therefore not shelled) trench. They lost over 400 men in a few minutes, barely advancing 100 yards before halting. William was killed in this action, aged just 30.
Units
- 6th (Service) Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) (1914-1915)
Medals
See also
