Read Ebook: At Ypres with Best-Dunkley by Floyd Thomas Hope

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"At 7.40 the padre conducted a short voluntary church parade service in an orchard behind the farm in which C Company hangs out--just opposite the farm in which I am billeted. Allen, Priestley, Barker, Giffin, and I were there. The band was there for the first hymn--it then had to go to Headquarters to play 'retreat' at 8 p.m. There were about twenty men...."

Before I close this chapter I ought to say a word about the Brigadier whose personality dominates the canvas. I do not wish it to be supposed that I desire to reflect in any way upon the character and ability of General Stockwell. Nothing could be further from my mind. I relate the incident because it strikes me as being funny, because such an episode forms the subject for an interesting study in the bearing of two remarkable personalities, and because I hold that the truth should always be told about such matters. The episode has long been a topic of intimate conversation amongst members of the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers and their friends; many a laugh have we had about it. Why should not the public be allowed to laugh with us?

All men and women, even the greatest, are capable of making mistakes. Nobody is perfect. Even the great Napoleon made mistakes. So General Stockwell will not, I am sure, claim to be immaculate. But for Clifton Inglis Stockwell as a General I entertain, and always have entertained, feelings of the most profound respect. Nobody can possibly entertain a more ardent devotion for a leader than I entertain for General Stockwell under whom it has been my good fortune to have the honour to serve in 1917, in 1918, and in 1919. The longer I have served under him the more have I admired his perfectly obvious talent, his brilliant initiative, and his striking personality. His record in the Great War is unique. As a captain in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, he commanded a company in the retreat from Mons in 1914. He rose rapidly. He became a major; and he became a colonel; and, during the Battle of the Somme, in 1916, he became a Brigadier-General, succeeding Brigadier-General Edwards in command of the 164th Brigade. And he remained in command of that famous Brigade until the end of the war. As I studied the countenance of General Stockwell on that country road at Boisdinghem that afternoon I realized that he was no ordinary twopenny-halfpenny brigadier; but I did not then know that this was the man who, less than twelve months later, was destined to stand between Ludendorff and decisive victory in his last dramatic throw at Givenchy on the glorious ninth of April, and seven months later still to be chosen to command the flying column known by his name which captured Ath on Armistice Day and fired the last shots of the Great War. It is right that Stockwell's place in history should be duly appreciated.

THE GENERAL'S SPEECH

This chapter will be a very short one; but, despite its brevity, it seems to me that the event narrated in it should form the subject of a single chapter. General Stockwell's speech at Westbecourt, on Waterloo day, 1917, was a very remarkable speech; it was the most striking speech I have ever heard--and I have listened to a good many famous public speakers in my time--and it produced a very profound impression upon all who heard it. I only wish there had been a reporter present to take it down verbatim. But that could not be. Those were the days of that most objectionable of all tyrants, the Censor! I can but quote from the letter which I wrote home from Westbecourt on June 18:

"Having said his say he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared!

"We then carried on with training. We finished at 12. The weather is still hot.

"I had a stroll about the village this afternoon, having some milk again at the farm I spoke of yesterday.

"There is no harm in telling you that the Colonel told us that we should remain billeted in this village for the remainder of this month at least. And it is a delightful little village to be in. But we are an hour and a half's march from the divisional training area where we are now going to proceed for training every day....

"Every time June 18 comes round I cannot help thinking of the great drama brought to a close on that day in 1815. Before many weeks have passed I myself will probably partake in the operations of another Waterloo fought upon the blood-stained soil of unhappy Belgium! I always said that I would be in at the finish whether that finish happens to be in Belgium, on the Rhine, or in Palestine, didn't I?"

Yes, It was my destiny to be "in at the finish;" but the finish was not, as so many of our optimists then thought it would be, at Ypres in 1917! The decisive victory was not to be ours until Foch and Sir Henry Wilson were at the head of military affairs and D'Esperey at Cerna and Allenby at Armageddon had won their Waterloo in the September of 1918; and when Stockwell's Force fired the last shots at Ath in Belgium I was there!

THE VALE OF ACQUIN

We now commenced that early rising and continuous training with which we soon became heartily "fed up."

"June 19th.

"I rose at 3.30 this morning, made a hurried breakfast, and went on parade at 4.15. We marched about three miles to the training area. Our dress on this occasion was without tunics, but Sam Brown and other articles of equipment over our shirts; shirt-sleeves rolled up. When we reached very open country, high up on the moorland, a thunder-storm came on and we were drenched! It was splendid. As we were wet through, we marched back to our village again when it got fine! It was quite fine again when we got back. It is just a little cooler now, but is quite fine and warm.

"At 11 we had a conference at Battalion Headquarters. The Colonel informed us that we are moving again, after all, to-morrow! We are going to another village eighteen miles away. I expect the reason is because the selected training area for us while here is not satisfactory. I am sorry we are moving again so soon, because I like this village...."

"June 20th.

" ... An order came round yesterday evening to the effect that we might move to the new place by bus, it might be by march; in case it should be the latter we must be prepared to move off at 2 in the morning. Later in the evening Regimental Sergeant-Major Hoyle came to see us in B Company Officers' Mess, as he frequently does by invitation, and told us that it was now official that we were to move by motor-bus at 7 this morning; so we all decided to go to bed. We got up at 4.30 this morning and had breakfast. We were then informed that the move was 'washed out' for to-day, and that we were to carry on with training. A parade was ordered, and took place at 6.30, for the purpose of proceeding to the training area as per yesterday; but it rained, and the parade was dismissed with orders to stand by until further orders. Then a box-respirator inspection in billets, with drill on same, was ordered and took place; it was, I may incidentally remark, the second they had already had during the day. This kind of thing went on for some time; the weather cleared up; and then another parade was ordered and took place at 9.15. We then marched off to the training area. We went four or five miles this time, further than we went yesterday. We passed through that village where the padre and I lost the Battalion on the march here on Saturday! We halted in a field beyond that village. Then Colonel Best-Dunkley asked for all officers. We all sat round him on the grass for about a quarter of an hour while he explained to us a tactical scheme which the Battalion was now to carry out in the district. We then carried out the tactical scheme which took place over potato fields and fine crops--it seemed a great pity for the farmers! We all had to move our platoons across country to a certain position, each platoon proceeding separately, but, of course, keeping its correct distance from the others, and, by means of scouts and runners, keeping in communication. On the front along which I had to proceed with my platoon there were numerous fields enclosed by thick hedges and awkward obstacles; but I got it along all right, without either map or compass. In one lane I encountered Major Brighten, sitting on horseback. He asked me various questions about the position, and gave me a word or two of advice. I really like Major Brighten very much; he is the nicest, as well as one of the most capable, officer in the Battalion. When the scheme was over, Halstead told me that my platoon was in exactly the right position. That information was a pleasant surprise!

"We then marched back. Some of the way I rode on Halstead's horse, 'Peter.' He must be a very good horse, because I got along all right; he did not play any pranks. We got back at 3.45.... We had a kind of lunch at 4 p.m. At 5.30 we attended a conference of all officers at Battalion Headquarters. The Colonel discussed the scheme, and criticized most officers very roundly; fortunately he had nothing whatever to say about me! While we were there the Adjutant opened an order from Brigade to the effect that the move is now cancelled altogether; so we are remaining here for our training. I am glad."

"June 21st.

"We were up at 4 again this morning. I am becoming very 'fed up' with this stupidly early rising. I have no particular objection to shells or to route marches in themselves; but I do object to being awakened from a pleasant sleep and having to get up at 4 every morning! It makes one feel so washed out.

"At 5 we marched off on a Battalion route march. We went round about nine miles, and got back at 9.45. Then there was a kit inspection; then gas drill. This afternoon I had a stroll in the woods. There was a foot inspection at 4; there is a battle-order inspection at 5.40; and this evening there is to be bayonet fighting and bombing! The men are, quite naturally, not pleased."

"June 22nd.

"We marched off at 6 this morning to a range about seven miles away . When we had been going about twenty minutes it began to rain. It rained all the way, but we went on just the same. I had no coat, so was thoroughly wet. When we got to the range it was still raining. We had lunch there and discussed whether to fire or not. We got there at 9. At 11 it was decided to return without firing."

This, I remember, was the occasion upon which I first met John Bodington, who had just returned to the Battalion, from leave I suppose. He was then second-in-command of D Company, and did not possess a single ribbon. Few could have guessed what a remarkable military future lay before him. "I should guess he's about the luckiest fellow that ever dodged a 5.9," remarked a friend, now on the Rhine, who wrote to me the other day .

"It simply poured on the way back. I was drenched to the skin. I do not think I have ever had such a drenching before. The ground was thick with mud and slush. We were all horribly dirty. It was 2 p.m. when we got back. I took off my things and had them dried by the fire. The people in this billet are really very decent indeed. I went to bed for an hour. Then tea. At 6 we had a lecture on the compass, by Major Brighten."

"June 23rd.

"Reveille was not quite so early as usual this morning. We did not march off from here until 8 a.m. We then went, in battle-order, to the training area. While there I saw, through my field-glasses, General Sir Hubert Gough, Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Watts, Major-General Jeudwine, and Brigadier-General Stockwell, on horseback, together with a whole crowd of staff-officers, on the crest of a hill some distance away. They were too far off for their faces to be distinguishable; but I knew that they were the above-mentioned generals because Major Brighten told us yesterday that they were coming. They were inspecting the training.

"The weather to-day has been very nice--sunshine, yet neither too hot nor too cold. We got back at 2. Then lunch. I then went to the farm the other side of the hill for some milk. Then tea. Then bombing. Then dinner. Then letter-writing. Now bed!

"Would you mind sending me a Lancashire Fusilier cap badge? Excuse me asking for something fresh in every letter, but Colonel Best-Dunkley has conceived the brilliant idea that our battalion should set an example to the rest of the Brigade--'lead the way,' as he calls it--by having cap badges in our steel helmets as well as in our soft hats. Of course with such devices we cannot fail to defeat the enemy next time we encounter him! What a life!

"We are hoping, but scarcely daring to expect, that a somewhat easier day will be ours to-morrow, Sunday!"

"June 24th.

"I did not get up until 9 this morning. Church parade was at 10. The service was, of course, taken by Newman.... The service was held in the field which is the Battalion parade ground. After the service the padre had a communion service in a corner of the field for those who wished to stay. About twenty men stayed, and the following officers--Colonel Best-Dunkley, Allen, Gratton, Giffin and myself. The padre had a miniature oak altar, containing a crucifix, with two lighted candles, on a table.

"After this Colonel Best-Dunkley walked down the lane with us and accepted Giffin's invitation to come inside B Company's Mess. He had a drink with us there, and stayed a minute or two. He remarked that it was a dirty mess, pointed out a match on the floor, and, with his customary blink and twitch of the nose, asked how we dare ask him into such a dirty mess; but he also paid us the compliment of saying that B Company was the best working company in the Battalion! Then we walked up to Headquarters with him as he wanted us there. He told us that Sir Hubert Gough expressed himself pleased with the Battalion yesterday. When we got to Headquarters he gave us a paper to answer--an account of an operation upon which we were each to write a report. We then returned and wrote out the reports. Then lunch.

"The weather has been glorious to-day--bright sunshine, with a refreshing breeze, not too hot. This afternoon I had a walk in the country beyond this village, and strolled about a thickly-clustered wood, plucking wild strawberries and eating them. Then back for tea. Then letter censoring.

" ... We are supposed to do an hour's reading per day of military text-books, and have to send in to Orderly Room a certificate to that effect every evening!"

"June 25th.

"We have been to the range again to-day. A and B Companies went later than the others, so we did not leave here until 8.45. It was 11.45 when we got there. The weather was glorious as usual; and, since there was a slight breeze, it was not too hot. We got the men into details of eight and fired this time. We had taken our lunch with us, and so we had it there. The ground there is very high, and there is a splendid view. I put my glass on it. We remained there until 4. Then we marched back....

"I had three sergeants with my platoon to-day--Sergeant Clews, the platoon-sergeant, Sergeant Dawson, and Sergeant Baldwin. The latter I like very much; he is a very pleasant youth; he was a corporal in 7th Platoon when I first joined the Battalion. My four section commanders in 8th Platoon are Corporal Pendleton , Lance-Corporal Morgan , Lance-Corporal Flint , and Lance-Corporal Riley . Lance-Corporal Topping, of 7th Platoon, lives in Oldham Road, Middleton; he is a nice easy-going boy; I like him very much. He told me, when we were out on that working party on June 9, that he knew my face.

"Since I am on this subject I might mention that there are the following sergeants in B Company: Sergeant-Major Preston, Quartermaster-Sergeant Jack, Sergeant Donovan, Sergeant Butterworth, Sergeant Williams, and the three I have mentioned above. I think the most competent N.C.O. in my platoon, apart from Dawson, who does not command a section, and Baldwin, who really belongs to 7th Platoon, is Corporal Pendleton. My servant is Critchley. He is, of course, in my platoon. He is a very obliging man. I am perfectly satisfied with him. Officers' servants also act as runners. I think it is a bit thick on the part of the Colonel making them go on parade; it means that they have very little time to themselves.

"The B Company officers are: Captain Andrews , Lieutenant Halstead who is Company Commander while Captain Andrews is on leave, Lieutenant Giffin , Second-Lieutenant Allen, Second-Lieutenant Gratton, and myself. Gratton was a private in Gallipoli, and so is a decent sort. Allen is very orthodox and proper, and gets very 'windy' about being on parade in time; but he is a good sort and we are great friends. He comes from Buxton way somewhere. Gratton comes from the south; he was in the Royal Fusiliers as a Tommy. Halstead comes from Haslingden; he is a very decent, calm, fellow. He is married. Giffin comes from Burnley. He is about my age. Gratton is twenty-seven. The two latter were on leave when I arrived.

"Two new officers have recently arrived from Scarborough--Walsh and Hickey. They arrived there from cadet battalions just before I came out here. They are in A Company, which is at present commanded by Captain Briggs, Captain Cochrane being on leave. Lieutenant Ronald, an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander attached to this Battalion--a decent sort--is also in A Company; he has just been on leave. Leave comes round in turn throughout the officers of the Battalion; it will be a long time before my turn comes: perhaps when the war is over! Horace Beesley of D Company is very nice with me; he is an awfully decent sort. Lieutenant Joye, who is in command of Headquarters Company, is an amusing fellow; he is large and fat, with yellow hair and a smiling face. Colonel Best-Dunkley is always going for him; he had him under open arrest for something paltry the other day! Lieutenant West is Assistant Adjutant and also physical training officer. Captain Bodington is in command of D Company while Captain Blamey is on leave. Reggie Andrews, the Adjutant, amuses me. He does not seem to worry much, though the Colonel gives him a deuce of a time; he is very short-sighted, but does not wear glasses. He is very young.

"I am Orderly Officer to-day and have not performed a single duty appertaining thereto! It was too late to mount the guard when I got back from the range; and the Colonel had a conference of all officers this evening at the time when staff parade was being held. These conferences are a bore. The Colonel blinks and twitches his nose, and the thing dawdles on. The subject of the conference on this occasion was to discuss a Brigade scheme taking place on the training area on Wednesday."

"June 27th.

"We have had hardly a moment to ourselves during the last two days. At 9 yesterday morning we walked to the training area, as all officers and N.C.O.'s had to reconnoitre the area in which the Brigade stunt was to take place to-day. When we got a little beyond the aerodrome, Allen, Verity, Barker and I got a lift in a Flying Corps tender as far as , the little village where we had to assemble at 10. We then went over the area using maps, and the scheme was explained. The area was exactly the same in dimensions as that with which we shall have to deal in the great battle, and positions were named by the names of positions which we shall attack then; strong points were marked by rings of flags. We spent a terribly long time up there; we sat down waiting for company commanders to return for about two hours. The whole thing, I am sure, could have been done in much less time. The position of advance allotted to our Battalion was on the extreme left of the Brigade, B Company on the left of the Battalion, and 8th Platoon, therefore, on the extreme left of the Brigade....

"It was nearly 5 p.m. before we got back, having had no lunch. We had some then. At 6.30 we had to attend a conference at Battalion Headquarters. It was 8 when we got back to B Company Mess, so then dinner; and at 9.15 we were on parade for marching off on this Brigade stunt! It was midnight when the Battalion reached the village where we had assembled in the morning; we felt very tired and sleepy. The first thing we did was to get all the dispositions of the Battalion effected under darkness, every section in its correct place. The dew had fallen very thickly and the long grass and corn were wringing wet; consequently we all got our feet and legs soaked. Then dummy ammunition was distributed. At about 2 a.m. we had permission to lie down where we were and get some sleep if we could! I lay down in the dirt at the roadside and had an hour or two's sleep. At about 3.30, when it was becoming light, I was awakened, my teeth chattering horribly, hearing the Brigadier-General strafing somebody! General Stockwell and his Staff seemed to be walking up and down all night. I saw them just before I went to sleep, and the first object which I saw on opening my eyes again was General Stockwell. I hear that poor Best-Dunkley got it hot again from the Brigadier about something during the night! The fiery young General seemed to be on the war-path.

"At 5.15 we had breakfast, cooked in the travelling cook-waggons. We had to keep going up and down the line most of the time, explaining the scheme to the section commanders. Then Colonel Best-Dunkley went along the line asking questions. The first section commander he dropped on was poor Topping, who had only been put on the particular job last night; he had been somewhere else yesterday when it was all explained. The Colonel asked him what was the interval between his section and the section on his right; he did not know! 'You see, your section commanders don't know their orders,' blinked the Colonel.

"7th and 8th platoons were merged into one under Giffin. I commanded the left wing, consisting of the sections of Lance-Corporal Topping and Lance-Corporal Heap. We were the fourth wave, supporting the two platoons of Gratton and Allen who were in the third wave. The idea was that another brigade had taken all the strong points, and our brigade had to push forward past them and penetrate the enemy's lines to a certain distance, consolidate, and repel counter-attacks. The other brigades were supposed to have gone over the top at dawn. So we went over at 7 a.m. We went forward very nicely, under cover of a 'creeping barrage' which was represented by drums rumbling and flags waving. At the little village of Giffin went to the right, and I took Topping's and Heap's sections through the village and round to a field the other side where I turned half-left and awaited Giffin's arrival on the right. When he came up we all advanced to our final objective which was in advance of the Battalion's objective. We have to go to the outpost line. Then we sent off flares to signal to the aircraft that we had reached our objective; and then we were supposed to be digging in and putting out wire, patrolling, and resisting counter-attacks! As a matter of fact we sat there for a an hour or two. My two sections were on the extreme left of the whole Brigade.

"At 11.30 the stunt was declared over and the men went home; but General Stockwell wished to see all the officers in the Brigade. So we assembled near the aerodrome. The General was very agreeable; he was in a most agreeable and accommodating mood; he seemed very pleased indeed with everything. He spoke for about twenty minutes on the operations. He is really a brilliant speaker. He said that on the whole the advance was carried out very well indeed, that the right was not quite so good, but that the left was very good indeed; we kept our dressing splendidly! Giffin and I exchanged glances of satisfaction. At the close of his speech General Stockwell said that we must do the scheme once or twice again, and asked the colonels whether 9.30 to-morrow morning would be agreeable on the training area. Colonel Best-Dunkley said that it would do quite well; but Colonel Heath objected that the men were all tired and would require some sleep--would not Friday be better? 'Very well then; I'm quite agreeable to have it on Friday; you can do what you like to-morrow,' replied the General in a jovial tone. We were all very pleased. The conference over we set off back. Thus ended our first 'dress rehearsal'!

"When we got back we had some lunch. Then, at 2 in the afternoon we went to bed. At 5.30 Critchley wakened me with the information that there was a conference of all officers at the aerodrome at 6. Allen immediately got the 'wind up,' but I pointed out to him that even if it were correct, which I doubted, the thing was now out of the question so far as we were concerned; so we might as well remain in bed and get up at our leisure. As a matter of fact, the information turned out to be incorrect: it was merely company commanders who were required--Halstead had gone.

"We got up for dinner at 8. Captain Andrews had then returned from leave. When Halstead got back he was jolly glad to find that he was relieved from the responsibilities and worries of a company commander. But Captain Andrews is going to be second-in-command of the Battalion in the forthcoming battle, as Major Brighten, who is now home on leave, may not be there; so Halstead will have to command B Company in the operations, and this scheme is to hold good, with regard to all schemes and rehearsals concerning the operations."

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