The 2nd Battalion
Roll of Officers
April.
On the night of April 3 the Thirty-second Division captured Ayette, which considerably eased the situation on the right flank of the Guards Division. The 2nd Battalion went up into the line, and found the trenches very wet. On the 4th, during a heavy shelling, which was entirely directed against No. 1 Company on the right, Lieutenant the Hon. H. F. P. Lubbock was killed by a shell which pitched in the trench.
This was a great loss to the Battalion, for he was an officer of sound judgment, who did not know what fear was. Corporal Teague, M.M., was killed at the same time, and 6 men were wounded. The 7th and 8th were spent in a camp behind Blaireville and Heudecourt, when Lieutenant F. H. J. Drummond and Second Lieutenant G. F. Lawrence joined. After two more days in the trenches the 2nd Battalion retired to Saulty, where they remained training till the 24th. On the 14th Second Lieutenant J. A. Paton and Second Lieutenant C. A. Fitch arrived from the Reinforcement Battalion, and on the 20th Second Lieutenant C. Gwyer joined.
On the 24th the 2nd Battalion proceeded in buses to Bienvillers-au-Bois, to relieve the 15th Battalion Highland Light Infantry, in reserve west of Douchy-les-Ayette. Two companies were billeted in the old German line just west of Monchy-au-Bois, and the remainder were in trenches between Douchy-les-Ayette and Monchy. The following day the Battalion moved up into the front line on the eastern outskirts of Ayette, and found everything very quiet. The explanation seemed to be that the Germans were thinning out their troops in this district, in order to increase their forces available for the thrust forward north on the night of the 29th. Second Lieutenant C. A. Fitch, who had gone out with a patrol to reconnoitre the German lines, was wounded in the head and right arm by a bomb thrown from a German post.
May.
The same routine was carried out all during May: five days in the front line with inter-company relief, followed by two days in reserve at Monchy-au-Bois. On the 4th an American Company Commander and three N.C.O.'s were attached to the 2nd Battalion under instruction. In order to ensure that the junior officers were proficient in technical subjects, special lectures were given by Officers from different branches of the service, and were attended by Officers and N.C.O.'s of the Battalion when it was in reserve. On the 11th Lieutenant J. C. Cornforth arrived, and on the 19th Lieutenant C. A. Gordon and Lieutenant H. A. Finch joined the Battalion. On the 22nd, during a heavy bombardment which was directed on the front line, Lieutenant A. W. Acland, M.C., was wounded, and almost every day there were casualties amongst other ranks. The exact spot the enemy would select for their next thrust was naturally not known, and a determined attack was expected daily, but except for intense shelling the enemy showed no signs of life. On the 27th the shelling increased, and the enemy aircraft became very active, with the result that there were 9 men killed and 8 wounded.
June.
The first week in June was spent by the 2nd Battalion in the front line, where the shells continued to fall with monotonous regularity. On the 3rd Lieutenant R. M. Oliver joined the Battalion. On the 6th, after a relief, rendered difficult by the enemy's barrage, which had been put down on the tracks leading to the trenches, the 2nd Battalion proceeded to Saulty, where they were billeted in the village and the Château grounds. There they remained till the end of the month, training, carrying out tactical schemes, and learning the latest developments in bombing. Colonel Rasch organised a platoon competition in the following: bomb-throwing, rifle-bombing, message-carrying by platoon runners, stretcher-bearer competitions, bayonet-fighting, Lewis-gunnery, musketry, tactical scheme and drill. The tactical scheme was judged by the two other Commanding Officers in the Brigade, and the drill by the three Regimental Sergeant-Majors. No. 7 Platoon, under Lieutenant Palmer, was the winner; No. 16 Platoon, under Sergeant Taylor, second; and No. 4 Platoon, under Second Lieutenant Bevan, third. At the Divisional Horse Show, which took place on the 22nd, the 2nd Battalion won Major-General Feilding's Cup, and Lieutenant G. Vereker, the Transport Officer, was congratulated on his horses having proved themselves the best in the Division. On the 23rd Lieutenant N. McK. Jesper, Lieutenant L. St. L. Hermon-Hodge, and Second Lieutenant F. J. Langley rejoined the Battalion, and in the absence of Colonel Rasch, who had gone temporarily to command the Brigade, Captain Harcourt-Vernon took over the command of the Battalion. On the 29th a Guard of Honour for H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, under the command of Captain Browning, went in buses to the Third Army Headquarters at Hesdin, where their smart appearance created a great impression. Onlookers refused to believe that the men had just come out of the line, and maintained that they had been sent out from England for the purpose. The following day, the Army Commander, General Sir Julian Byng, in a message addressed to the Division, expressed the satisfaction at their smart appearance, and added that their turn-out and bearing, their marching and handling of arms, were beyond all criticism.
3rd Batt.