Heavy Labour Corps air raid casualties near Merris, 18 August 1917

By Chris BakerArticles

At 6.30pm on 17 August 1917, while the Third Battle of Ypres was in progress to the east, number 30 Ambulance Train arrived at Merris from Boulogne. It parked (the railwaymen called it “garaged”) and awaited instructions to proceed to Remy Siding, the station at Lijssenthoek where it was to pick up casualties for conveyance to base hospitals. Soon afterwards, a hostile aircraft dropped six bombs in the vicinity of the train without doing damage. Trains were marked with the red cross insignia and on an August evening they would have been visible. That night and next day there was widespread and repeated bombing of the area.

On 18 August, the train was still at Merris and more bombs fell. At 10pm, a stretcher bearer party was sent from the train to assist at the nearby camp of 48th Labour Company*, where two bombs had fallen. They found 11 men killed and 56 wounded. 28 of the wounded were taken to 29 Ambulance Train, garaged behind 30. The men’s wounds were dressed and they were given tetanus injections and something to eat. An un-named man died on board 29 AT at 00.25am and the other 27 were transferred to 14 Motor Ambulance Convoy. 30 AT provides no details but something similar is likely to have happened to the other 28 wounded. I speculate that they went to a Casualty Clearing Station at Outtersteene, not far away, with 1st Australian CCS being the most likely.

The records of the Ambulance Convoy add no useful detail except to say that it was headquartered in Bailleul.

Location

A present-day map. Merris can be seen east of Hazebrouck. Note that a railway line (shown in black) runs from the latter town and goes on past Outtersteene to Bailleul.
A map from October 1917. Today’s railway line runs on the same path as that shown. Note the station (“Ston”, actually Strazeele halt) on the left of this image.
To the west of the station, the British Army had created a major train garaging area. Although the war diaries do not say so explicitly, this would appear to have been where 29 and 30 Ambulance Trains had parked, and from where the stretcher bearer parties went to the nearby Labour Corps camp. The Director of Labour of Second Army states in his war diary that the company was located in grid square E.3.c: that puts it at the western end of the sidings and the lane that crosses the main railway line at that end.
Standing on the lane today, looking westwards across the area. The camp occupied by 48th Labour Company was on the left hand side of the tracks.
Turning right around, now looking eastwards in the direction of Strazeele station, Outtersteene and Bailleul. There is now no clear trace of the railway sidings that were such a feature here in 1917.
Imperial War Museum photograph Q8690 “British infantry marching along the railway line near Merris to take up a defensive position, 12 April 1918”. Obviously some months later than the incident described, but a useful illustration of conditions.

The casualties

Killed or died of wounds

I have traced the dead from the record of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, finding that they were buried at Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension. This plot was is use by Casualty Clearing Stations at Outtersteene and was not too far from the location of the incident. In all, 15 men lie together in Plot I, row A.

Having established the names from CWGC records, I found 11 of the dead listed in the War Office daily casualty list of 20 September 1917. They were classified as having been “killed in action”. Deeper analysis revealed that Privates Entwistle, Harris and Mercer were with different units when killed elsewhere and are therefore no part of this story. The other eight were all casualties from the incident described.
The same list included Cpl G. Taylor and Ptes F. G. Allen and E. P. Goddard, but classified as having “died of wounds”.
War Office daily casualty list of 5 October 1917 included the names of Cpl Pearson and Pte S. Hyde, more of those buried at Outtersteene. It is not clear why the announcement of their death lagged behind the others.

It will be noted below that most of the men had previously been serving with the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. Service records show that they landed in France on 29 March 1917 and were transferred to the 48th Company of the new Labour Corps on 14 May 1917.

Pte 28239 Ernest Frederick Allen, formerly 46245 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.33)

Pte 28240 Frederick George Allen, formerly 37792 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the North Staffordshire Regiment. (I.A.32)

Pte 28266 Arthur Edward Beddall, formerly 45826 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.26)

Pte 28383 Thomas William Carnall, formerly 46263 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.29)

From “The Derbyshire Times” of Saturday 15 September 1917

Pte 28312 James Frederick Chapman, formerly 46292 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.33)

Pte 28313 John William Chapman, formerly 46199 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.22). Note: John was from Blackheath in Staffordshire and not the Blackheath in SE London given in the casualty list.

Pte 28341 Edward Daft, formerly 46096 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.25)

Pte 28374 Edward Percy Graham Goddard, formerly 46054 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment, and before that 66856 of the Durham Light Infantry. (I.A.18)

Pte 25385 William Grewcock, formerly 46054 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.24)

From the “Hinckley Times and Bosworth Herald” of Saturday 22 September 1917, which also carried two family entries “in memoriam”. The same newspaper had three days earlier reported that Mr. & Mrs, Grewcock of The Common, Barwell, had received news that William had been killed in the evening of 18 August. His brother James had been killed in April 1917.

Pte 28439 Stephen Hyde, formerly 46083 of the 8th (Infantry Labour Company of the?) Lincolnshire Regiment and before that, 5664 of the Somerset Light Infantry (I.A.21)

Cpl 28209 John Pearson, formerly 46451 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment and before that, 13896 of the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment) (I.A.27)

L/Cpl 28231 Joseph Albert Rodgers, formerly 14288 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.31)

Pte 28604 John Southall, formerly 46179 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.30)

Cpl 28214 George Taylor, formerly 29444 of the 14th Manchester Regiment. (I.A.20)

Pte 28654 Joseph Tailby Ward, formerly 46214 of the 9th Infantry Labour Company of the Lincolnshire Regiment. (I.A.28)

The original registration of the men’s graves reveals inconsistent dates between 18 and 20 August 1917. The latter dates do not align with men classified as dying of wounds.

The wounded

Wounded men are not so easy to trace, but I found a few by a study of service records of men numbered in the 48th Company’s sequence. They appear in this list, dated 20 September 1917. Note how many have numbers beginning “28”. The list may not include all of the men wounded in the incident.

Part of the service record of Pte 28262 Francis Batkin. He sustained wounds to his head and shoulder and received treatment at 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station before being evacuated to 14th General Hospital at Wimereux.

Sources

War diary, 30 Ambulance Train (National Archives WO95/4139)
War diary, 29 Ambulance Train (National Archives WO95/4138)
War diary, 567 Mechanical Transport Company ASC (14 MAC) (National Archives WO95/341)
War diary, Second Army Director of Labour (National Archives WO95/287)
British Newspaper Archive
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Google Maps
Memory Map using Linesman

*The diary of 30 AT gives the labour unit as 46th Labour Company, but from the casualty data this appears to be a simple error that should have read 48th.

Links

Labour Corps