At Newport Sap Sec.-Lieut. G. Crowther, in spite of the terrific bombardment which blew in the trenches in several places, got his men standing to and beat off a party of the enemy which appeared, with rifle and Lewis gun fire. The men at Devon Dump, which post was fortunately not hit, opened rapid fire to their front, but it was purely blind fire for they could not see more than twenty yards owing to the dust and smoke raised by the bombardment. Machine guns at Dudley Dump fired on a party of Germans who were seen in the vicinity of “K” Dump, and drove them off. But a third enemy party succeeded in entering Boyau 78. Here the platoon commander had withdrawn his men into the tunnels, as soon as the bombardment opened, in order to avoid casualties. Unfortunately, two men took a wrong turning and were come upon by the raiding party. One managed to escape into an old shelter, but the other was captured. The raiders then blew in the main tunnel exit with a mobile charge, and returned to their own lines, harassed in their retreat by the machine guns at Dudley Dump, and the excellent shrapnel barrage which the British artillery was putting down. By about 3-30 a.m. the raid was over and the barrage had ceased.
The total casualties in this raid were 2 officers and 4 other ranks killed, 1 officer and 12 other ranks wounded, and one other rank a prisoner. To the surprise of everyone the G.O.C., 6th Division, was pleased when he heard that a prisoner had been taken. It suited him well that the enemy should think his division had been relieved on that sector by the 49th Division. But this was little satisfaction to the Battalion which had suffered so seriously, particularly in the death of Capt. J. G. Mowat, M.C., one of the most gallant and competent officers in the Battalion. Its only real satisfaction was the knowledge that heavy casualties had been inflicted on the enemy. Early in the morning several German ambulances had left, crowded with wounded, and observers had seen a number of bodies laid out for burial in the cemetery near Cité St. Elie.
Early the following morning the Battalion was heavily bombarded with gas shells, the right company and Battalion H.Q. receiving most attention. Some of the gas got into the tunnels, but they were quickly cleared by the ventilating apparatus. This was the first real experience of enemy gas which the Battalion had had since the days of the Somme, and about twelve casualties, including Sec.-Lieut. C. E. Binns, were sustained. Many of these did not report sick until some hours after the bombardment, the gas poisoning apparently taking time to develop. The Commanding Officer had a slight touch of it, but remained in the line.
To assist more active operations, which were in progress further south, efforts were being made to attract the enemy’s attention to the St. Elie Sector. The capture of a prisoner from the Battalion had already assisted this object. The next night, a patrol of the 6th Battalion exploded a Bangalore torpedo in the enemy wire opposite Boyau 78, and left marks of identification near the spot, in the hope that they would be found by the enemy. On June 28th companies had orders that unusual movement was to be shown in their lines, and arrangements were made for a smoke screen to be put up along the fronts of the two flank companies that evening. At the same time the artillery was to put down a heavy barrage. Actually, the smoke was not discharged, for the wind was in the wrong direction, but the artillery part of the programme was carried out. To save casualties all men, except a few sentries, had been withdrawn to the tunnel entrances before zero hour. The enemy replied to the barrage, shelling posts and communication trenches for the most part, but no casualties resulted except at Newport Sap. There the platoon commander had his men drawn up on the two stairways leading to the deep dugout which they occupied. He remained at the top of one stairway himself, with his platoon sergeant immediately behind him. During the enemy retaliation a shell burst on the parapet just in front, killing him and wounding the sergeant. Sec.-Lieut G. Crowther was a great loss to the Battalion; he was a most competent officer and very popular with everyone.
The remainder of the tour was fairly quiet. A good deal of rain fell, flooding part of Devon Lane temporarily, but the water soon cleared. No one was sorry when the 9th Battalion Suffolk Regiment returned from the neighbourhood of Lens, and relieved the Battalion on the night of July 1st/2nd. The heavy casualties at the beginning of the tour had depressed everyone, especially after the quiet times which the Battalion had had for some months. The tunnels too exerted a depressing influence.
After two days in Brigade Reserve near Vermelles, the Battalion was relieved by the 9th Battalion Norfolk Regt., and, embussing at Philosophe, moved to L’Epinette, near Lestrem. Everyone was glad to leave, and the “Hulluch” sector, as it is known to most, represents a black page in the Battalion history. A little row of graves, in the military cemetery at Sailly Labourse, is the only lasting memorial of the Battalion’s sojourn there.
St. Elie Right Sub-sector.
June–July. 1917.