10th HLI reconnaissance patrol in trouble near Zillebeke, 31 August 1918

Background

This article is adapted from my report on Alloa man Private 44145 Robert Bryce, which I carried out for a private client in 2015. He was wounded and taken prisoner in the action described here, and sadly he died in captivity on 2 October 1918. German documents say that Robert was buried in the “Westfriedhof” (West Cemetery) in Ghent. Commonwealth War Graves Commission has him as in row D, grave 19 of Gent [Ghent] City Cemetery.

The 10th (Service) Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry was under command of the 43rd Infantry Brigade of the 14th (Light) Division. The entire formation had only just returned to the Western Front after a period in England when it was re-established after being destroyed (to all intents and purposes) during the German offensives of spring 1918.

Events

20 July 1918: the 14th (Light) Division is in a deep rear area North West of Saint-Omer, carrying out training. The battalion is at Nortleulinghem.

30 July: the division is under orders to move to French Flanders and the battalion begins at move to the Caestre area via Tatinghem and Staple. It is put onto work constructing a new rear defence line near Thieushoek.

16 August: the division is now moving closer to the front line. The battalion moves to Droglandt before going forward to “Orillia Camp” near Vlamertinghe. This is in the rear of the Ypres sector of front and this move has brought the battalion to within range of long-distance enemy artillery fire. The sound of firing from the front line, and gun flashes at night, will be evident.

The Vlamertinghe area was a dense mass of camps, stores, dumps, light railways, medical units and the batteries of the British heavy artillery. I have marked the position of “Orillia Camp” with a red flag (using Linesman).

On the night 19-20 August the brigade took over part of the front line trenches but kept the 10th HLI in reserve.

23 August: the battalion moved forward to relieve another unit in the support trenches just behind front line. It goes into the sector South East of Ypres and is held up by shellfire on the way up at Shrapnel Corner, although the situation is in general quiet.

14^th (Light) Division took over the Zillebeke – Ypres Canal sector of front line on 16 August 1918, although the 10^th HLI did not move into the forward area for a few more days. Robert Bryce and his comrades were held up by enemy fire falling on “Shrapnel Corner” which can be seen directly south of the city, before moving up to the area north of the Zillebeke lake (actually a reservoir, named here as “Etang de Zillebeke”). On 27 August the battalion moved into front line trenches between the “Moated Grange” and the railway to the north of it.

Imperial War Museum photograph Q6430. British troops taking water up to the front line in petrol tins. Note a derelict tank on right. Zillebeke, 20 September 1917. While it would be almost another year before Robert Bryce was in this same area, the conditions were not dissimilar.

27 August: the battalion moved forward again, this time in darkness to relieve a unit in the front line. Three companies occupied the front line: Robert Bryce’s “C” Company was held in reserve. There was some enemy shellfire. During the night of 29-30 August “C” Company relieved “D” in the front line. There was heavy shellfire next day.

31 August: early in the day there was a minor enemy attempt to raid “A” Company’s trenches. At 9.35am news came that the Germans are withdrawing from the front line a few miles to the south. “C” Company was ordered to have a platoon on standby with a view to probing forward to see if there is any sign of it also happening in front of the battalion.

Part of a British trench map dated 11 July 1918. Red trenches are in British hands; blue are German. My red flag marks I.16.b.30.35, where 9 Platoon came under fire and where Robert Bryce was wounded and taken prisoner on 31 August 1918.

At 2pm, Number 9 Platoon of “C” Company under Second Lieutenant Alexander Mackay left the trenches to carry out reconnaissance as ordered, going towards an enemy position known as “Gordon House”. The platoon reached a position about grid reference I.16.b.30.35 where fire was opened on it by two rifles. The platoon took whatever cover it could and remained there for some time, until a heavy fire was opened on them from all sides. Only eight men eventually returned to the British trenches. Later a party went out in search of wounded men but found no one.

In the period 23 to 31 August 1918 inclusive, in what was otherwise an unusually quiet time for the Ypres salient, the battalion reported one officer wounded and missing, one officer missing, one man killed, 15 men wounded (1 remained at duty), 4 were wounded and missing (including Bryce), 15 missing and 4 were “not yet diagnosed” cases, likely to be shell-shocked.

The four “wounded and missing” were named in the War Office daily list of 17 October 1918. We now know that all four lost their lives.

Missing in action: the official War Office list of 22 October 1918. As far as I can tell, all of these 15 men were of the battalion and taken prisoner or killed on 31 August 1918. They were not all sent to the same camp. For example, Red Cross records show that Joseph Ancill was of “C” Company and held at Stendal POW Camp, whereas Harry Fermor went to Friedrichsfeld. They survived the war.

Red Cross records show that Second Lieutenant Alexander Mackay was taken prisoner and sent to the officers camp at Rastatt.

Records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission include the following for the battalion, with the date of death of 31 August 1918 and with places of burial or commemoration that suggest that they casualties of the action. Some appear in the list of the missing:

Ypres Town Cemetery Extension: L/Cpl 65688 John Craig (II.G.17), Pte 356098 William Dawson (III. H.29), and Pte 356103 Charles Geeves (III.H.28). They were brought into the cemetery from locations near “Gordon House” after the war. An unidentifiable British soldier lies in III.H.27 who was found at the same location as Geeves: he may be of the battalion, and is quite possibly either Thomas Gilmour or Irving Metcalf (see below). Originally reported missing, they were confirmed killed in the official list of 21 November 1918. The same applied to Gilmour: were they found together?

Birr Crossroads Cemetery: L/Cpl 65615 James Lightbody (II.D.10) and L/Cpl 65765 Hugh Greig (II.D.11). Both had originally been reported as wounded and missing. They were brought into the cemetery from a battlefield grave just north of “Gordon House” after the war.

Perth (China Wall) Cemetery: Second Lieutenant John Alexander Ross (II.L.40). He had taken out a second patrol later that day.

Tyne Cot Memorial (no known grave): Sgt 355049 Thomas Gilmour. Originally reported missing, he was confirmed killed in the official list of 21 November 1918. And Pte 252302 Irving Metcalf.

Barnoldswick man Irving Metcalf, aged 43 when killed.

Hagle Dump Cemetery (near Poperinghe and typical of a man who died of wounds, having been evacuated from the battlefield): Pte 353538 Walter McCabe (II.G.5).

From the Dundee “People’s Journal” of Saturday 18 January 1919 (British Newspaper Archive). Robert Bryce’s parents were still hopeful of finding more details. Red Cross paperwork suggests that his death on 2 October 1918 was finally communicated to the family on 9 December 1918. Where the 31 March 1918 date came from is unknown, but may simply be an error for 31 August, when he was reported missing.

The area today

A present-day map of the area, on which I have overlaid the battalion’s front line trench (in red) and the position where 9 Platoon came under fire. The general layout is unchanged, although Ypres is now very much larger and has grown out to reach Hellfire Corner. The line of the old Ypres-Roulers railway is now a road, and Hellfire Corner is a traffic roundabout. The cemetery just south of the red flag is Perth (China Wall) Cemetery, named after a long communication trench that was once here.

This image is from Google Earth. The camera is standing on the road at a position north of Perth (China Wall) Cemetery, looking in the direction of Hellfire Corner. The car is approximately where 9 Platoon came under fire, having probed down the slight slope on the left of this picture from their trenches just beyond. Robert Bryce fell into enemy hands somewhere within the vicinity. CWGC records suggest that several of his comrades were killed or mortally wounded here. The buildings on the right are on the site of “Gordon House”. If youu pass this way on a battlefield trip around the Ypres area, spare them a thought.

Links

Highland Light Infantry

14th (Light) Division