David Bilton - The Trench: The Full Story of the 1st Hull Pals

First published in Great Britain in 2002 by Leo Cooper

Reprinted in 2012 by

PEN & SWORD MILITARY

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Pen & Sword Books Ltd

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South Yorkshire

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Copyright David Bilton 2002, 2012

ISBN 978 0 85052 862 6

eISBN 978 1 78303 714 8

The right of David Bilton to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Contents

This book is dedicated to the memory of all ranks of the 10th (1st Hull) East Yorkshire Regiment

Acknowledgements

Myriad thanks to my long-suffering wife for feigning interest and fending off three children while I enjoyed myself.

I am extremely grateful to Anne Coulson for proof reading the book. Much of the personal information on the officers and men comes from the archives of Malcolm Mann - an experienced Local History researcher. The staff at The Prince Consorts library generously provided me access to their Soldiers Died CD, The London Gazette and Army Lists plus a whole host of other books - many thanks. The warm water was much appreciated as well!

Access to copies of the letters of Captain Williams and the diary of Private Clappison was kindly provided by Hull Libraries. Dr A Peacock allowed me to use material from the memoirs of W E. Aust.

The IWM kindly gave me access to the letters and/or papers and to the copyright holders of the papers of J. Beeken, J. Graystone, C. Carter, C.Traill, R. Pearson and Captain R. B. Carver. Thanks to G. Hanwell for allowing me to use passages from the diary of Private Pearson. The Prince of Waless Own Regiment provided me with access to the Regimental Magazine of the East Yorkshire Regiment, The Snapper, and kindly provided me with a number of illustrations - many thanks, and especially to Mrs Boyd for facilitating the copying of many photographs. Incidental material and photographs were kindly provided by I Anderson, Mrs J. Evans, J. Leighton, P. Lomax, J. Faisey, N.Young, Mrs Collinson, T Large, R.Ward and William Turner, P. Smith (apologies). Without the friendly help of the Keeper and Staff of the Public Records Office there would be little detailed information on the soldiers.

Especial thanks are due to P. Calvert for photographs and documents relating to his father. Thanks to J. Fenton for chauffeuring my wife around to take pictures of houses and to my wife for doing such a ridiculous thing. And last of all, a thank you to Roni Wilkinson for almost showing restraint and patience during the compilation of material for this project.

Select Bibliography/Further Reading

Barnes, B. This Righteous War. Richard Netherwood Ltd. 1990

Becke, Major A. F. Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3B. HMSO. 1945

Becke, Major A. F. Order of Battle of Divisions Part 4. HMSO. 1945

Bilton, D. Hull Pals. Pen & Sword. 1999

Buchan, J. The history of the South African Forces in France. Thomas Nelson.

Bourne, J. M. Britain and the Great War 1914 - 1918. Edward Arnold 1989

Carver, R. B. et al A History of the 10th (Service) Battalion The East Yorkshire Regiment (Hull Commercials). A Brown & Sons Ltd. 1937

Cooksey, J. Pals: the 13th & 14th Battalions York & Lancaster Regiment. Pen & Sword. Reprinted 1998

East Yorkshire Regiment War Diaries of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Battalions. Unpublished. Held at the Public Records Office.

East Yorkshire Regiment Medal rolls for the 1915 Star and the British War Medal. Unpublished. Held at the Public Records Office.

Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James Military Operations - France and Belgium 1916. Volume I. Macmillan. 1932

Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James Military Operations - France and Belgium 1917. Volume II. HMSO. 1948

Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James Military Operations - France and Belgium 1918. Volume II. Macmillan. 1937

Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James Military Operations - France and Belgium 1918. Volume V HMSO. 1947

Falls, Capt. C. Military Operations - France and Belgium 1917. Volume I. Macmillan. 1940

Farrar, P. Diary of Private J. Tait. Malet Lambert Local History. 1982

Fowler, S. et al Army Service Records of the First World War. PRO Publications. 1997

Gibson, R. & Oldfield, P. Sheffield City Battalion. Pen & Sword. 1988

Gillett, E. & MacMahon, A. A History of Hull. Hull University Press. 1989

Gliddon, G. The Battle of the Somme - A Topographical History. Alan Sutton. 1998

Hull Daily Mail Various dates

MacMunn, Lt. Gen. Sir G, & Falls Capt. C. Military Operations - Egypt & Palestine. Volume 1. 1928

Maddocks, G. Liverpool Pals. Leo Cooper. 1991

Markham, J. Keep the home fires burning. Highgate publications (Beverley) Ltd. 1988

Middlebrook, M. The First Day on the Somme. Allen Lane 1971 Miles, Capt. W Military Operations - France and Belgium, 1916. Volume II. MacMillan & Co. 1938

Milner, J. Leeds Pals. Pen & Sword. Reprinted 1998

Mitchinson, K. W Pioneer Battalions in the Great War. Leo Cooper. 1997

Oram, G. Death Sentences. Francis Boutle. 1998

Sheffield, G. Forgotten Victory. Headline. 2001

Sheppard, T. Kingston-Upon-Hull before, during and after the Great War. A. Brown & Sons Ltd. 1919

Simpkins, P. Kitcheners Army. The raising of the new armies, 1914-16. Manchester University Press. 1988

The Snapper, The Regimental Journal of the East Yorkshire Regiment, issues for 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918 & 1919.

War Office 1915 Star medal rolls - all regiments.

War Office British War Medal rolls - Northern regiments.

Williams, J. The Home Fronts 1914-1918. Constable. 1972

Wilson, M. & Kemp P. Mediterranean Submarines. Crecy Publishing. 1997

Wyrall, E. The East Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War 1914-1918. Harrison & Sons. 1928

31st Division War diary. Unpublished. Held at the Public Record Office.

92nd Brigade War diary. Unpublished. Held at the Public Record Office.

93rd Brigade War diary. Unpublished. Held at the Public Record Office.

Foreword

In the context of the Great War, the word Pals conjures up a host of images; indeed the word has become a symbol for the so-called senseless slaughter of the Great War. In this book I hope that the reader will find a true image of what a Pal was and what he felt, lived, experienced and did. The image painted will not be a standard image, for the truth of their experience is not necessarily the truth of todays media-driven perceptions. These were not lions led by donkeys, but men thrown together to perform a task, a task they did well; so well that they were congratulated by Haig, twice, for their skill at arms. What makes this all the more special is that they were clerks and teachers who showed that they were as good with the rifle and grenade as they were with words and numbers.