The opening of the year 1916 found the 1st Battalion with its headquarters at Forward Cottage, which is only a mile north of the village of St. Jean and, of course, quite close to Ypres. On the 6th January the battalion was cheered by finding that Captain Cattley, 2nd Lieuts. Clouting, Dangerfield, Davies and Ferguson, Corpls. Wren and Duff, Pte. Gunn and the late Captain Homan, together with the good regimental doctor, Captain K. W. Jones, R.A.M.C., had been mentioned in despatches. On the 17th, too, came a welcome message from Admiral Jellicoe telling all and sundry of the high appreciation and esteem of the various bodies of the sailors, who had by arrangement visited the trenches in parties, and their admiration of the spirit of the troops. On the 25th of this month several officers and sergeants of the 8th Battalion dined with the 1st, and the opportunity of fraternizing was naturally made the most of. The two units were under the command of majors, namely Gould and Hamilton, Colonels Finch Hatton and Trueman being both on leave.
A curious incident seems worth recording as showing a fighting spirit a little out of the common, perhaps. On the 13th of February Pte. A. Ralph reported himself at the headquarters as a deserter—of all things. He had escaped from the home-keeping 3rd Battalion at Dover, made his way over to the port of Havre, presumably as a stowaway, and walked from that place to Poperinghe, where the fighting battalion was at the moment. His trial by Court Martial was dispensed with.
On the 16th March the battalion entrained at Poperinghe and proceeded to Calais for a rest and for fresh training, for training and instruction was never allowed to drop during the war. New inventions, modes and methods were constantly taken into use, and any relaxation from manning the trenches was taken advantage of to bring a unit up to date and to teach the new drafts what could only be taught in France and Flanders. This rest lasted ten days, and then a three days’ march brought the men back to Wormhoudt and into the Ypres area once more, and it was not long before the old trenches round La Brique and St. Jean were occupied by them again.
On the 19th April, while in the La Briques trenches, at 5.30 p.m., after a considerable amount of shelling all day, a heavy bombardment was opened on the 2nd Scots Guards on the Buffs’ right, and on the 8th Bedfordshire on their left. No. 15 platoon of our battalion suffered a good deal, but the attack which followed the bombardment came chiefly on the right and left of the regiment. Soon after eight o’clock Captain Causton was able to get in touch with the Guards and learnt that on their side the enemy’s attack had failed, but this was not so on our left, where the Germans had succeeded in penetrating several of the front-line trenches in the Morteldje sector; but two days afterwards all the ground so taken was recaptured by the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, who suffered several casualties, including the gallant Colonel Luard, D.S.O., who died of his wounds. The Buffs lost 21 killed and 36 wounded during these few days.
On the 4th May Captain Cattley took a staff appointment. He was the only officer who had never left the 1st Battalion since it arrived in France. On the 4th June Colonel Finch Hatton, who had just rejoined and taken over command again, was awarded the C.M.G., Captain Cattley the M.C., Sgts. Trigg and Viggers, who had been killed, Corpl. Cullen and L.-Corpl. Jenrick got the M.M., and on the 12th July Colonel Finch Hatton went away again—this time to command a brigade. On the 16th July C.S.M. Ralph was awarded the M.C.
A very important move commenced on the 2nd August. By this time the fighting on the Somme had been raging for a month. It now fell to the lot of the 1st Battalion to emulate in that district the deeds of the 6th and 7th, so on that day came a start from Poperinghe by train, followed by marching and camping, till the 9th August found it in the trenches south of Beaumont Hamel with the 2nd Durham Light Infantry on its right and the 2nd Sherwood Foresters on the left. The Buffs were now under the command of Major H. W. Green, who was made a temporary Lt.-colonel on the 12th August. A period of strict and hard training now ensued. It was a preparation for the fighting that was to come. As has been explained, the constant arrival of fresh drafts from England necessitated much teaching in France and teaching by men who were very up to date indeed. During the time devoted to this work the battalion, and indeed the whole brigade, was gradually approaching the fighting line, having been at Villers Bocage on the 6th September, Corbie on the 7th and so on. It marched to Carnoy on the 11th September and relieved the 167th Infantry Brigade in the line behind Guillemont and Combles.
By this time the fighting on the Somme was two months old. There had occurred, as has been seen, a great deal of heavy fighting on the 3rd September and following days, and this had on the whole been successful. The Allies had from the first been slowly but steadily pushing forward and gaining one position after another. The enemy had made a most determined resistance, but he had gone back. One line of elaborate defence after another was falling into our hands, and Sir Douglas Haig determined to keep up the pressure as long as the weather and consequent state of the country permitted it. A general attack then was opened on the 15th September, the objective being the rearmost of the enemy’s original lines of defence, between Morval and Le Sars; and when the advance on this front had gained the Morval line the Commander-in-Chief arranged to bring forward the left of the British troops across the Thiepval ridge.
There is a road running from Ginchy to Morval, and as it approaches the ridge, on which the latter village stands, it is sunken and of course conceals anything in it, and just about half-way between the two villages a railway to the south of the sunken road almost touches it. Where the road and railway most closely approach, the Germans had constructed a very strong work which was known as the Quadrilateral and which was but a very little way from the edge of Bouteaux Wood. On the 13th of the month the 71st Infantry Brigade had attacked this Quadrilateral, but the attack had failed. The 15th was the first occasion on which tanks were used. Three of these new weapons had been told off to assist at the attack of the Quadrilateral, and consequently a gap in our barrage had been arranged so that these could advance before the infantry started. However successful the tanks were afterwards, these three proved worse than useless, because two of them broke down, and the third was so knocked about that it could do nothing, having amongst other injuries lost its periscope, so that it could not see. The unfortunate thing was, that there remained the gap in the barrage, exactly opposite the main face of the work to be assaulted. At 6.20 a.m. the 8th Bedfordshire advanced gallantly over the open, a bombing party attacking up a trench from the south-east. The enemy’s machine guns caught the Bedfordshire men on the top of the ridge and, though they tried in the most manly way, they could make no progress.
The Buffs supported the Bedfords with the finest courage, but could not stand against the very heavy machine-gun fire opposed to them. They suffered more casualties than any other unit in the brigade. A great number of men found cover in shell holes and managed later to get back into the lines. Captain Causton assembled as many of the battalion as he could in the trench originally occupied by the 8th Bedfords. The 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment had advanced behind the Buffs and had also assembled in the Bedfords’ trench. On reorganizing there were found in this trench about forty Buffs, two to three hundred York and Lancaster and forty Bedfords.
About 12.30 p.m. a number of the battalion was still lying in shell holes in the open, and at that hour a message was received from 2nd Lieut. Hills: “Am in a series of shell holes about two hundred yards from German line. German line was apparently untouched till midday bombardment. We got to present position and were unable to proceed owing to machine guns. No sign of Bedfords ahead. Baly killed, Kesby and Miller wounded. Have about twelve men with me and can’t get in touch with anybody. Our shells fell first right beyond German line, second just short, third very short. People in valley on left have just retired on account of our shell fire. Machine guns are not touched, as all opened on retiring line. We have fire from left and right and just off central sweeping us occasionally.” During the night of the 15th/16th the Buffs were withdrawn to a trench running south-east of Guillemont after losing the following in casualties: Lieut. C. J. P. Baly, 2nd Lieuts. G. W. P. Wyatt and G. R. Reid, and fifty-three men killed; 2nd Lieut. Hills wounded; Captain T. H. Kesby, 2nd Lieut. Miller and seven others wounded and missing; 2nd Lieut. Smith, Captain Jones, R.A.M.C., Lieut. Tuke and 2nd Lieut. Goodheart wounded. It was afterwards ascertained that Kesby was amongst the slain. One hundred and eighty-three other ranks wounded.