A great, great uncle of mine died at Ypres in 1916. We found his grave a few years back in one of the many war cemeteries around Ypres. It's immaculately kept and set in the pillar of the gate wall is a box with a brass door containing a book of the names of those in the graves and where they were from. And the address he was from still exists in Walworth.
Right I have re checked his service records and his signature changes middway through the war. Maybe this is where he learnt to write?
He signs his attestation as Waller and this what is engraved on his medals however later in the war it's clearly Walker but by then the Army dont appear to take any notice. As a result Ian won't find anything if he searches online or at Kew for Walker.
My great grandfather was mentioned in a despatch from Haig:
....."dated the 8th November 1918 for gallant and distinguished services in the field. I have it in command from the King to record His Majesty's high appreciation of the services rendered.
Winston S Churchill Secretary of State for War War Office Whitehall SW 1st March 1919"
I have tried without success to locate the London Gazette online to see if that gives more information.
In essence I'd like to know, if possible, what he actually did.
So who's been watching the Paxman series? What do you reckon? Must admit it was quite bizarre for him to refer to the conchies as cranks.
Enjoying it. Very much a social-political history as the title suggests but, as SG3 said to me, his best mate Max Hastings is doing the big military history for the BBC so they have to be careful not to tread on each other's toes.
Thought last night was fascinating looking at the dissenters, the red clyde, rent strikes, The Easter Rebellion/Uprising and the "conchies". He did call them cranks but he had spoken about them and noted that the UK was the only country to allow this option.
Another programme tonight on BBC2 about the Royal Cousins at War (George V, Kaiser WIlhelm II and Tsar Nicholas of Russia), will be a good watch I reckon. Be interesting to see the BBC's take on it compared to Channel 4.
Another programme tonight on BBC2 about the Royal Cousins at War (George V, Kaiser WIlhelm II and Tsar Nicholas of Russia), will be a good watch I reckon. Be interesting to see the BBC's take on it compared to Channel 4.
Yeah looking forward to that, already set it to sky plus.
My great grandfather was mentioned in a despatch from Haig:
....."dated the 8th November 1918 for gallant and distinguished services in the field. I have it in command from the King to record His Majesty's high appreciation of the services rendered.
Winston S Churchill Secretary of State for War War Office Whitehall SW 1st March 1919"
I have tried without success to locate the London Gazette online to see if that gives more information.
In essence I'd like to know, if possible, what he actually did.
I've now found the London Gazette Supplement and that shows his name but no more.
Is that all the information there is (other than his medal card which I am going to buy from National Archives) or are there any other sources (eg Haig's original despatch) that might tell me what he actually did to be mentioned do any of the historians on here know?
Len pm me his details and I will take a look, often an MID is just that and comes without a citation but once we know his unit it is possible to look in the war diary and see if he comes to notice there.. The date would suggest either The Selle River Crossing 18 October 18 or the Sambre Canal Crossing 4 November 18 but I should be able to confirm once I know more.
With regards to the Paxman series, its difficult as I am not sure its aimed at me but I have enjoyed the Social History and not enjoyed the military side, last nights for instance where he mentioned the Luisitania but not the Zimmerman Telegram as reason for US intervention in the war.
And also the pained expression and agonized tone whenever he mentions men in the trenches is a bit tomuch, he talks about the misery whilst all the men in the film are smiling and waving. I do hope he balances it up a bit by mentioning that men spent around 60/65 days a year in a trench, put over a stone of weight on during time in france as they were often fer better and more regularly than when at home with a controlled 4000 calorie diet or that life expectancy as a Welsh Coal Miner was less than as a soldier in France.
It was very tough conditions by todays lifestyle but trenches werent the problem it was leaving the shelter of them to attack that was unpopular with the veterans I knew.
I did speak to JP whilst he was making the series in HAC Burial Ground Cemetery, Ecoust st Mein. It was for a burial of some British soldiers that had been filmed, as we spoke what came across was how he was completely unprepared for the scale and enormity of the war, not just the casualties but the amount of men,equipment and logistics it involved. He said he was overwhelmed by it all and struggling to come to terms with how little he knew about the subject.
As this was halfway through filming the series this may explain his almost apologetic manner when referring to the soldiers, it was obvious he was going through a steep learning curve himself making the program so I am not going to be over critical.
We are going to be swamped with Great War related media over the next four years, I have been tentively speaking to the BBC this week about a program on Sportsman in the Great War, if it goes ahead I will do my utmost to include the story of "our club" between 1914/18 as it is so typicle of those up and down the country who flocked to the colours in the late summer of 1914 for a cause that they felt was just and right.
Our grandfather, Albert Edwin Holmes, was born in 1899 and signed up in 1916, so two/three years underage. He was initially in the Royal North West Kents and later the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (he always said he was in the Black Watch, probably because he remembers having a kilt, but my brother found out the correct unit).
He suffered a gas attack and was buried alive by a shell exploding. At one point he put soap and a copper coin on a wound in his leg to make it go septic so he would be invalided out but, contrary to what he'd been told would happen, the wound healed. After the war, he spent seven years in a mental hospital recovering from the trauma he'd suffered and his health was compromised for the rest of his life.
Two of his brothers died on the Western Front.
Our uncle, his son and fourth child, sold his medals, some time in the '40s, I think. (Edited for spelling)
I don't know the exact details and there's no-one left alive who can but my Dad told me that my Great Grandfather was gassed during WW1 and had an emergency field op to repair the damage. Years later, he had to undergo another (unrelated I think) op and afterwards the surgeon told him that he'd noticed the previous work and remarked what a highly skilled and professional job had been made of it. By all accounts, he couldn't believe it when told the conditions it had been performed under.
Found out some bits on your relative Len, another interesting character;
Acting Battery Sgt Major Robert John Miller
Born in Norwich he served in the Prince of Wales Own Norfolk Artillery, buying himself out on 30 December 1900 to move to London and join the Metropolitan Police.
14 October 1914 - He was recalled to the colours as a special reservist, at that stage he recorded as being 37 years old, 5”9 and in good physical condition.
19 October 1914 - Posted to Great Yarmouth (coastal defence)
January 1916 - A medical report of a left Inguinal Hernia (brought on by strain of pulling heavy guns)
9 March 1916 - Posted to France on the and joins the 62nd Siege Battery. The 62nd Siege Battery were part of 45th Army Artillery Brigade, they were equipped with 9.2inch Howtizers, a real war winning weapon from an allied perspective. Its the one immortalised in Portland Stone on the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner.
Siege Batteries Royal Garrison Artillery were equipped with heavy howitzers, sending large calibre high explosive shells in high trajectory, plunging fire. The usual armaments were 6 inch, 8 inch and 9.2 inch howitzers, although some had huge railway- or road-mounted 12 inch howitzers. As British artillery tactics developed, the Siege Batteries were most often employed in destroying or neutralising the enemy artillery, as well as putting destructive fire down on strongpoints, dumps, store, roads and railways behind enemy lines.
2 October 1916 - Temporary deafness right ear (attributable to shell explosions)
11 November 1916 – Posted to Boulogne Base Depot as an instructor
18 January 1917 – Joined 62 Siege Battery in the field
9 February 1917 – UK Leave
9 March 1917 – To hospital with L Hernia
6 April 1917 – Re-joined unit in the field
2 June 1917 - To hospital with influenza
30 June – Re- joined unit in the field
31 August – Granted proficiency pay back dated to Feb 1915
21 September 1917 – Promoted to Battery Quarter Master Sergeant
19 January 1918 – Granted UK Leave
21 April 1918 – Temporary RSM (RSM Flood was hospitalised)
4 May 1918 – Reverted to BQMS (RSM Flood rejoined)
5 October 1918 – 7 days leave in France
9 November 1918 – Promoted to RSM and posted to 479 Siege Battery
23 December 1918 - London Gazette shows him Mentioned in Despatches - I believe this to be for a his service as acting RSM during a critical period during the German Spring Offensive as opposed to an individual act of gallantry it was for a period of time where he showed leadership and set an example to those around him.
7 January 1919 - He arrived back in the UK 1919 so served 2 years 305 days overseas.
26 July 1919 - Medical disability reports finds his hearing was good and hernia repaired, he was however granted a 20% in case his hearing trouble returned in later life. He had five children at the time Mo (1902), Norman (1903), Margaret(1904), Constance (1908) & Roderick (1912) a further child Ronald (1902) died in infancy? The pension awarded was £63, 15 shillings a year.
Home address post war - 32 Commercial Road East Greenwich SE10
*as to his movements in France, I know that his unit were engaged in the Passchendaele offensive between July/November 1917, given their range of 5/10 miles he would have been located out of the devistation zone and in the green fields of Flanders, the danger was ever present however from return longe range artillery fire and air raids almost on a daily basis.
In March 1918, given the speed of the initial German advance and that it takes 48 hours to remove a 9.2" Howitzer many such units were literally over run and we know his promotion to April was due to the hospitalisation of RSM Flood so I believe his unit was involved in such capers. I have located the war diary movement sheet for 62 Battery and should get it passed onto me this weekend after which you will know the exact villages that Robert served in.
I am fascinated by this subject. However it is the repercussions of the Great War that are most poignant to me and to my family. My grandfather who died 19 years ago now aged 83 (he was the youngest of four) was only three or four years old when his dad was killed in the trenches. Fred was a hard bastard but when you think of what he had to contend with growing up, on reflection now it was understandable. It could not have been good for his widowed mother bringing up four kids in Well Hall in the 1920's on whatever pension she had been entitled to. I have little background to my great-grandfather but from what I can gather he was 25 when he died on June 26th 1915, I believe around Mons. He must of been a professional soldier as records say he was a reservist when he joined the West Kents early at the outbreak of the war. I believe he went across with them in the first or secound wave. Records show he was one of three men killed on the same day in a forward trench, the Germans had chucked over a shell and bang that was it for Charlie. I had some research done for my Dads 65th birthday so will have to reacquaint myself with it.
I will just eat up anything broadcast this year to commemorate this anniversary.
Found out some bits on your relative Len, another interesting character;
Acting Battery Sgt Major Robert John Miller
Born in Norwich he served in the Prince of Wales Own Norfolk Artillery, buying himself out on 30 December 1900 to move to London and join the Metropolitan Police.
14 October 1914 - He was recalled to the colours as a special reservist, at that stage he recorded as being 37 years old, 5”9 and in good physical condition.
19 October 1914 - Posted to Great Yarmouth (coastal defence)
January 1916 - A medical report of a left Inguinal Hernia (brought on by strain of pulling heavy guns)
9 March 1916 - Posted to France on the and joins the 62nd Siege Battery. The 62nd Siege Battery were part of 45th Army Artillery Brigade, they were equipped with 9.2inch Howtizers, a real war winning weapon from an allied perspective. Its the one immortalised in Portland Stone on the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner.
Siege Batteries Royal Garrison Artillery were equipped with heavy howitzers, sending large calibre high explosive shells in high trajectory, plunging fire. The usual armaments were 6 inch, 8 inch and 9.2 inch howitzers, although some had huge railway- or road-mounted 12 inch howitzers. As British artillery tactics developed, the Siege Batteries were most often employed in destroying or neutralising the enemy artillery, as well as putting destructive fire down on strongpoints, dumps, store, roads and railways behind enemy lines.
2 October 1916 - Temporary deafness right ear (attributable to shell explosions)
11 November 1916 – Posted to Boulogne Base Depot as an instructor
18 January 1917 – Joined 62 Siege Battery in the field
9 February 1917 – UK Leave
9 March 1917 – To hospital with L Hernia
6 April 1917 – Re-joined unit in the field
2 June 1917 - To hospital with influenza
30 June – Re- joined unit in the field
31 August – Granted proficiency pay back dated to Feb 1915
21 September 1917 – Promoted to Battery Quarter Master Sergeant
19 January 1918 – Granted UK Leave
21 April 1918 – Temporary RSM (RSM Flood was hospitalised)
4 May 1918 – Reverted to BQMS (RSM Flood rejoined)
5 October 1918 – 7 days leave in France
9 November 1918 – Promoted to RSM and posted to 479 Siege Battery
23 December 1918 - London Gazette shows him Mentioned in Despatches - I believe this to be for a his service as acting RSM during a critical period during the German Spring Offensive as opposed to an individual act of gallantry it was for a period of time where he showed leadership and set an example to those around him.
7 January 1919 - He arrived back in the UK 1919 so served 2 years 305 days overseas.
26 July 1919 - Medical disability reports finds his hearing was good and hernia repaired, he was however granted a 20% in case his hearing trouble returned in later life. He had five children at the time Mo (1902), Norman (1903), Margaret(1904), Constance (1908) & Roderick (1912) a further child Ronald (1902) died in infancy? The pension awarded was £63, 15 shillings a year.
Home address post war - 32 Commercial Road East Greenwich SE10
*as to his movements in France, I know that his unit were engaged in the Passchendaele offensive between July/November 1917, given their range of 5/10 miles he would have been located out of the devistation zone and in the green fields of Flanders, the danger was ever present however from return longe range artillery fire and air raids almost on a daily basis.
In March 1918, given the speed of the initial German advance and that it takes 48 hours to remove a 9.2" Howitzer many such units were literally over run and we know his promotion to April was due to the hospitalisation of RSM Flood so I believe his unit was involved in such capers. I have located the war diary movement sheet for 62 Battery and should get it passed onto me this weekend after which you will know the exact villages that Robert served in.
Clive
Clive,
This is great!
My late father told me that he was renowned for his physical strength in his prime so that probably explains how he got involved in dragging those heavy guns around!
Soapy, PM his details, he wouldnt have been killed around Mons in June 15 we were out of there by August 23 14 and didn't return until November 18. I could probably let you know what really happened as it sounds a very moving story
Thanks for what you've pulled out so far - Ian was delighted with the info. He had tried before but his research hit a wall with the Waller/Walker confusion. Any news on his MM citation?
Seeing as you're not busy at the moment :-), can you dig up some service details of my Grandfather. He died before I was born, so I only got third hand stories about him. I get the feeling he may have had one or two field punishment nr.1s!
17262 Sjt F S Hannam R.A - I was told he was in both the RFA and the RGA and fought in Palestine, Egypt, Iran and was at Third Ypres where he was mustard gassed.
I also have an 1885/87 Burma Medal of his father, 2088 Private H Hannam 2nd Btn, Somerset Light Infantry.
And finally a 1914/19 VSOS medal of his Father in Law, 1263 Private Fairweather, Somerset Light Infantry.
I have my Grand father`s Meritorious Service Medal from WW1. I know he also was the the British Army in Vladivostok fighting the Bolsheviks (or lefties as we know em today ) i have loads on pictures on his time there.I have been told anyone who was awarded that medal also it mentioned in the Times although i couldnt find it.
My other Grandfather was wounded twice --once at Ypres (wipers as he called it) and his brother died there. His name is on the memorial at St Augstines Church Slade Green.
Found out some bits on your relative Len, another interesting character;
Acting Battery Sgt Major Robert John Miller
Born in Norwich he served in the Prince of Wales Own Norfolk Artillery, buying himself out on 30 December 1900 to move to London and join the Metropolitan Police.
14 October 1914 - He was recalled to the colours as a special reservist, at that stage he recorded as being 37 years old, 5”9 and in good physical condition.
19 October 1914 - Posted to Great Yarmouth (coastal defence)
January 1916 - A medical report of a left Inguinal Hernia (brought on by strain of pulling heavy guns)
9 March 1916 - Posted to France on the and joins the 62nd Siege Battery. The 62nd Siege Battery were part of 45th Army Artillery Brigade, they were equipped with 9.2inch Howtizers, a real war winning weapon from an allied perspective. Its the one immortalised in Portland Stone on the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner.
Siege Batteries Royal Garrison Artillery were equipped with heavy howitzers, sending large calibre high explosive shells in high trajectory, plunging fire. The usual armaments were 6 inch, 8 inch and 9.2 inch howitzers, although some had huge railway- or road-mounted 12 inch howitzers. As British artillery tactics developed, the Siege Batteries were most often employed in destroying or neutralising the enemy artillery, as well as putting destructive fire down on strongpoints, dumps, store, roads and railways behind enemy lines.
2 October 1916 - Temporary deafness right ear (attributable to shell explosions)
11 November 1916 – Posted to Boulogne Base Depot as an instructor
18 January 1917 – Joined 62 Siege Battery in the field
9 February 1917 – UK Leave
9 March 1917 – To hospital with L Hernia
6 April 1917 – Re-joined unit in the field
2 June 1917 - To hospital with influenza
30 June – Re- joined unit in the field
31 August – Granted proficiency pay back dated to Feb 1915
21 September 1917 – Promoted to Battery Quarter Master Sergeant
19 January 1918 – Granted UK Leave
21 April 1918 – Temporary RSM (RSM Flood was hospitalised)
4 May 1918 – Reverted to BQMS (RSM Flood rejoined)
5 October 1918 – 7 days leave in France
9 November 1918 – Promoted to RSM and posted to 479 Siege Battery
23 December 1918 - London Gazette shows him Mentioned in Despatches - I believe this to be for a his service as acting RSM during a critical period during the German Spring Offensive as opposed to an individual act of gallantry it was for a period of time where he showed leadership and set an example to those around him.
7 January 1919 - He arrived back in the UK 1919 so served 2 years 305 days overseas.
26 July 1919 - Medical disability reports finds his hearing was good and hernia repaired, he was however granted a 20% in case his hearing trouble returned in later life. He had five children at the time Mo (1902), Norman (1903), Margaret(1904), Constance (1908) & Roderick (1912) a further child Ronald (1902) died in infancy? The pension awarded was £63, 15 shillings a year.
Home address post war - 32 Commercial Road East Greenwich SE10
*as to his movements in France, I know that his unit were engaged in the Passchendaele offensive between July/November 1917, given their range of 5/10 miles he would have been located out of the devistation zone and in the green fields of Flanders, the danger was ever present however from return longe range artillery fire and air raids almost on a daily basis.
In March 1918, given the speed of the initial German advance and that it takes 48 hours to remove a 9.2" Howitzer many such units were literally over run and we know his promotion to April was due to the hospitalisation of RSM Flood so I believe his unit was involved in such capers. I have located the war diary movement sheet for 62 Battery and should get it passed onto me this weekend after which you will know the exact villages that Robert served in.
Hi Len, a bit more for you that will help you trace your relative around the battlefield's, I have managed to get hold of a commemorative booklet given to veterans of the Battery in 1919 that is most helpful, I have attached a couple of pages that mention you relative by name.
(i) A list of those serving with the Battery in 1918 (ii) A list of honours and awards to Battery members in the war (iii) A photo of the battery bring ammunition up (9"2 inch shells) on a narrow gauge railway (iv) A nice cover with the boast they fired over 10,000 shells during their time overseas
The locations of 62nd Siege Battery whilst under fire/in action were as follows:
March to June 1916 - St Amand/Monchiet, (this is a little village around 5 miles west of Arras just off the N25) Jun to July 1916 - Colincamps (this is a small village just behind the Somme and proves his involvement in the barrage leading up to the battle) July to September 1916 Martinsart (as above but a bit closer to the line firing in support of units fighting at Thiepval) September to October 1916 - Englebelmer (nearby to Martinsart, moved for a better battery position) October to December 1916 - Martinpuich (right in the heart of the Somme battlefield and in the shadow of High Wood where most Charlton supporters who joined the 20th London's would have fought, this would have brick dust and mud and a completely different prospect to the pleasant Picardy villages above) November 1916 - April 1917 - Aveluy - Still on the Somme just to the north east of Albert.
April to May 1917 - Mory (this is a small village on the road to Arras north of the Somme) June 1917 - Kemmel (the nearest thing to a mountain in Belgium, he moves north over the French/Belgium border for the successful Messines offensive) July to December 1917 - White Hope Corner (near the village of Elverdinghe just behing the Ypres Salient and well within range of the German Artillery, this is for the Passchendaele offensive)
January to April 1918 - Bac St Maur (This is just to the south of Armentieres and means that he escapes the German Spring Offensive in the March of that year) September to October 1918 - Neuve Eglise & Ploegsteert - (Back in to Belgium and attached our First Army as they finally clear the Ypres sector) October to November 1918 - St Leger (Ends in France out of the main firing that supported the Third Army push across the Sambre Canal, St Leger is south of Arras facing towards Cambrai)
No excuse for you not following in his footsteps now!
Hi Len, a bit more for you that will help you trace your relative around the battlefield's, I have managed to get hold of a commemorative booklet given to veterans of the Battery in 1919 that is most helpful, I have attached a couple of pages that mention you relative by name.
(i) A list of those serving with the Battery in 1918 (ii) A list of honours and awards to Battery members in the war (iii) A photo of the battery bring ammunition up (9"2 inch shells) on a narrow gauge railway (iv) A nice cover with the boast they fired over 10,000 shells during their time overseas
The locations of 62nd Siege Battery whilst under fire/in action were as follows:
March to June 1916 - St Amand/Monchiet, (this is a little village around 5 miles west of Arras just off the N25) Jun to July 1916 - Colincamps (this is a small village just behind the Somme and proves his involvement in the barrage leading up to the battle) July to September 1916 Martinsart (as above but a bit closer to the line firing in support of units fighting at Thiepval) September to October 1916 - Englebelmer (nearby to Martinsart, moved for a better battery position) October to December 1916 - Martinpuich (right in the heart of the Somme battlefield and in the shadow of High Wood where most Charlton supporters who joined the 20th London's would have fought, this would have brick dust and mud and a completely different prospect to the pleasant Picardy villages above) November 1916 - April 1917 - Aveluy - Still on the Somme just to the north east of Albert.
April to May 1917 - Mory (this is a small village on the road to Arras north of the Somme) June 1917 - Kemmel (the nearest thing to a mountain in Belgium, he moves north over the French/Belgium border for the successful Messines offensive) July to December 1917 - White Hope Corner (near the village of Elverdinghe just behing the Ypres Salient and well within range of the German Artillery, this is for the Passchendaele offensive)
January to April 1918 - Bac St Maur (This is just to the south of Armentieres and means that he escapes the German Spring Offensive in the March of that year) September to October 1918 - Neuve Eglise & Ploegsteert - (Back in to Belgium and attached our First Army as they finally clear the Ypres sector) October to November 1918 - St Leger (Ends in France out of the main firing that supported the Third Army push across the Sambre Canal, St Leger is south of Arras facing towards Cambrai)
No excuse for you not following in his footsteps now!
Soapy, PM his details, he wouldnt have been killed around Mons in June 15 we were out of there by August 23 14 and didn't return until November 18. I could probably let you know what really happened as it sounds a very moving story
Will do. Gotta get up to my old man in Sidcup and get him to dig the details out, I'll PM you once I have the accurate info.
One thing I do remember clear as day was a letter/card written a couple of weeks before he was due on leave arranging to meet the wife at Waterloo station and hoping "little Freddie" was ok. He did not make it to that meeting.
Enjoyed Clives contribution to a really fascinating program about the first World war. Prof. Hew Strachan who also contributed to Max Hastings program has written a book called 'The First World War' which is a must for anyone interested in the subject. Also enjoyed Paxmans 3 part program on the history of the war.
Enjoyed Clives contribution to a really fascinating program about the first World war. Prof. Hew Strachan who also contributed to Max Hastings program has written a book called 'The First World War' which is a must for anyone interested in the subject. Also enjoyed Paxmans 3 part program on the history of the war.
Comments
He signs his attestation as Waller and this what is engraved on his medals however later in the war it's clearly Walker but by then the Army dont appear to take any notice. As a result Ian won't find anything if he searches online or at Kew for Walker.
A cracking twist
....."dated the 8th November 1918 for gallant and distinguished services in the field. I have it in command from the King to record His Majesty's high appreciation of the services rendered.
Winston S Churchill Secretary of State for War War Office Whitehall SW 1st March 1919"
I have tried without success to locate the London Gazette online to see if that gives more information.
In essence I'd like to know, if possible, what he actually did.
Must admit it was quite bizarre for him to refer to the conchies as cranks.
Thought last night was fascinating looking at the dissenters, the red clyde, rent strikes, The Easter Rebellion/Uprising and the "conchies". He did call them cranks but he had spoken about them and noted that the UK was the only country to allow this option.
Is that all the information there is (other than his medal card which I am going to buy from National Archives) or are there any other sources (eg Haig's original despatch) that might tell me what he actually did to be mentioned do any of the historians on here know?
And also the pained expression and agonized tone whenever he mentions men in the trenches is a bit tomuch, he talks about the misery whilst all the men in the film are smiling and waving. I do hope he balances it up a bit by mentioning that men spent around 60/65 days a year in a trench, put over a stone of weight on during time in france as they were often fer better and more regularly than when at home with a controlled 4000 calorie diet or that life expectancy as a Welsh Coal Miner was less than as a soldier in France.
It was very tough conditions by todays lifestyle but trenches werent the problem it was leaving the shelter of them to attack that was unpopular with the veterans I knew.
I did speak to JP whilst he was making the series in HAC Burial Ground Cemetery, Ecoust st Mein. It was for a burial of some British soldiers that had been filmed, as we spoke what came across was how he was completely unprepared for the scale and enormity of the war, not just the casualties but the amount of men,equipment and logistics it involved. He said he was overwhelmed by it all and struggling to come to terms with how little he knew about the subject.
As this was halfway through filming the series this may explain his almost apologetic manner when referring to the soldiers, it was obvious he was going through a steep learning curve himself making the program so I am not going to be over critical.
We are going to be swamped with Great War related media over the next four years, I have been tentively speaking to the BBC this week about a program on Sportsman in the Great War, if it goes ahead I will do my utmost to include the story of "our club" between 1914/18 as it is so typicle of those up and down the country who flocked to the colours in the late summer of 1914 for a cause that they felt was just and right.
He suffered a gas attack and was buried alive by a shell exploding. At one point he put soap and a copper coin on a wound in his leg to make it go septic so he would be invalided out but, contrary to what he'd been told would happen, the wound healed. After the war, he spent seven years in a mental hospital recovering from the trauma he'd suffered and his health was compromised for the rest of his life.
Two of his brothers died on the Western Front.
Our uncle, his son and fourth child, sold his medals, some time in the '40s, I think. (Edited for spelling)
Acting Battery Sgt Major Robert John Miller
Born in Norwich he served in the Prince of Wales Own Norfolk Artillery, buying himself out on 30 December 1900 to move to London and join the Metropolitan Police.
14 October 1914 - He was recalled to the colours as a special reservist, at that stage he recorded as being 37 years old, 5”9 and in good physical condition.
19 October 1914 - Posted to Great Yarmouth (coastal defence)
January 1916 - A medical report of a left Inguinal Hernia (brought on by strain of pulling heavy guns)
9 March 1916 - Posted to France on the and joins the 62nd Siege Battery.
The 62nd Siege Battery were part of 45th Army Artillery Brigade, they were equipped with 9.2inch Howtizers, a real war winning weapon from an allied perspective. Its the one immortalised in Portland Stone on the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner.
Siege Batteries Royal Garrison Artillery were equipped with heavy howitzers, sending large calibre high explosive shells in high trajectory, plunging fire. The usual armaments were 6 inch, 8 inch and 9.2 inch howitzers, although some had huge railway- or road-mounted 12 inch howitzers. As British artillery tactics developed, the Siege Batteries were most often employed in destroying or neutralising the enemy artillery, as well as putting destructive fire down on strongpoints, dumps, store, roads and railways behind enemy lines.
2 October 1916 - Temporary deafness right ear (attributable to shell explosions)
11 November 1916 – Posted to Boulogne Base Depot as an instructor
18 January 1917 – Joined 62 Siege Battery in the field
9 February 1917 – UK Leave
9 March 1917 – To hospital with L Hernia
6 April 1917 – Re-joined unit in the field
2 June 1917 - To hospital with influenza
30 June – Re- joined unit in the field
31 August – Granted proficiency pay back dated to Feb 1915
21 September 1917 – Promoted to Battery Quarter Master Sergeant
19 January 1918 – Granted UK Leave
21 April 1918 – Temporary RSM (RSM Flood was hospitalised)
4 May 1918 – Reverted to BQMS (RSM Flood rejoined)
5 October 1918 – 7 days leave in France
9 November 1918 – Promoted to RSM and posted to 479 Siege Battery
23 December 1918 - London Gazette shows him Mentioned in Despatches - I believe this to be for a his service as acting RSM during a critical period during the German Spring Offensive as opposed to an individual act of gallantry it was for a period of time where he showed leadership and set an example to those around him.
7 January 1919 - He arrived back in the UK 1919 so served 2 years 305 days overseas.
26 July 1919 - Medical disability reports finds his hearing was good and hernia repaired, he was however granted a 20% in case his hearing trouble returned in later life.
He had five children at the time Mo (1902), Norman (1903), Margaret(1904), Constance (1908) & Roderick (1912) a further child Ronald (1902) died in infancy?
The pension awarded was £63, 15 shillings a year.
Home address post war - 32 Commercial Road East Greenwich SE10
*as to his movements in France, I know that his unit were engaged in the Passchendaele offensive between July/November 1917, given their range of 5/10 miles he would have been located out of the devistation zone and in the green fields of Flanders, the danger was ever present however from return longe range artillery fire and air raids almost on a daily basis.
In March 1918, given the speed of the initial German advance and that it takes 48 hours to remove a 9.2" Howitzer many such units were literally over run and we know his promotion to April was due to the hospitalisation of RSM Flood so I believe his unit was involved in such capers. I have located the war diary movement sheet for 62 Battery and should get it passed onto me this weekend after which you will know the exact villages that Robert served in.
Clive
I will just eat up anything broadcast this year to commemorate this anniversary.
This is great!
My late father told me that he was renowned for his physical strength in his prime so that probably explains how he got involved in dragging those heavy guns around!
Thanks for all your efforts with this.
Seeing as you're not busy at the moment :-), can you dig up some service details of my Grandfather. He died before I was born, so I only got third hand stories about him. I get the feeling he may have had one or two field punishment nr.1s!
17262 Sjt F S Hannam R.A - I was told he was in both the RFA and the RGA and fought in Palestine, Egypt, Iran and was at Third Ypres where he was mustard gassed.
I also have an 1885/87 Burma Medal of his father, 2088 Private H Hannam 2nd Btn, Somerset Light Infantry.
And finally a 1914/19 VSOS medal of his Father in Law, 1263 Private Fairweather, Somerset Light Infantry.
Any info greatfully received!
My other Grandfather was wounded twice --once at Ypres (wipers as he called it) and his brother died there. His name is on the memorial at St Augstines Church Slade Green.
(i) A list of those serving with the Battery in 1918
(ii) A list of honours and awards to Battery members in the war
(iii) A photo of the battery bring ammunition up (9"2 inch shells) on a narrow gauge railway
(iv) A nice cover with the boast they fired over 10,000 shells during their time overseas
The locations of 62nd Siege Battery whilst under fire/in action were as follows:
March to June 1916 - St Amand/Monchiet, (this is a little village around 5 miles west of Arras just off the N25)
Jun to July 1916 - Colincamps (this is a small village just behind the Somme and proves his involvement in the barrage leading up to the battle)
July to September 1916 Martinsart (as above but a bit closer to the line firing in support of units fighting at Thiepval)
September to October 1916 - Englebelmer (nearby to Martinsart, moved for a better battery position)
October to December 1916 - Martinpuich (right in the heart of the Somme battlefield and in the shadow of High Wood where most Charlton supporters who joined the 20th London's would have fought, this would have brick dust and mud and a completely different prospect to the pleasant Picardy villages above)
November 1916 - April 1917 - Aveluy - Still on the Somme just to the north east of Albert.
April to May 1917 - Mory (this is a small village on the road to Arras north of the Somme)
June 1917 - Kemmel (the nearest thing to a mountain in Belgium, he moves north over the French/Belgium border for the successful Messines offensive)
July to December 1917 - White Hope Corner (near the village of Elverdinghe just behing the Ypres Salient and well within range of the German Artillery, this is for the Passchendaele offensive)
January to April 1918 - Bac St Maur (This is just to the south of Armentieres and means that he escapes the German Spring Offensive in the March of that year)
September to October 1918 - Neuve Eglise & Ploegsteert - (Back in to Belgium and attached our First Army as they finally clear the Ypres sector)
October to November 1918 - St Leger (Ends in France out of the main firing that supported the Third Army push across the Sambre Canal, St Leger is south of Arras facing towards Cambrai)
No excuse for you not following in his footsteps now!
Clive
This is truly fantastic.
Thank you so much for all your hard work on this.
One thing I do remember clear as day was a letter/card written a couple of weeks before he was due on leave arranging to meet the wife at Waterloo station and hoping "little Freddie" was ok. He did not make it to that meeting.
On catch up and iPlayer.
Prof. Hew Strachan who also contributed to Max Hastings program has written a book called 'The First World War' which is a must for anyone interested in the subject.
Also enjoyed Paxmans 3 part program on the history of the war.