It was with much regret that on the 10th June I was compelled to leave the Battalion and proceed home on sick leave, the command thereof devolving upon Colonel (then Major) Thompson.
This did not, however, entirely sever my connection with the Battalion as, upon recovering my health, I assumed command of the 3rd/4th Battalion at Blackpool on 13th December, 1915. This Battalion proceeded to Oswestry on 19th April, 1916, and subsequently (having absorbed the 3rd/5th Battalion) became the 4th Reserve Battalion in which—during my period of command—approximately 250 officers and 4,500 other ranks were trained and despatched in drafts to units serving overseas; the majority joining my old Battalion, the writing of the further history of which I am content to leave in the able hands of one who continued to serve with it.
Walter F. A. Wadham.
13th November, 1935.
FOREWORD TO PART II
The task of writing the following pages has fallen to me. Now that the duty has come my way, I have done my best, after a lapse of more than fifteen years, with the material available, and am aware of many omissions and imperfections. These have been kept as few as possible.
The record is written primarily for friends in the Battalion. No literary merit is claimed, and should the book fall into the hands of the general reader, his indulgence in this respect is solicited. It has been pleasant labour (bearing in mind our glorious dead), and up to May, 1917, when I left the Battalion, I am not dissatisfied with the result. From that time onwards is another matter. I was reluctant to attempt a story in which I was a non-participant, and used every means to get this part written by someone more qualified for the task. I was unsuccessful, and it became a question of the record remaining unwritten, or myself making the most of the position as it stood. Fortunately, powerful support was at hand in the person of Lieut.-Colonel R. Gardner, M.C., who served with the Battalion throughout, and, towards the end of the war, attained Command. This Officer has edited, and largely re-written, considerable sections relating to this later period. More would have been warmly welcomed (especially dealing with the remarkable stand of the Battalion at Givenchy), but he is a busy man, and scholastic duties intervened. My very real thanks are due to Colonel Gardner.
Major N. E. Barnes, T.D., Major W. G. Pearson and Captain P. W. Powell, M.C., have been helpful, and I have drawn gratefully on Captain R. B. Ross’ charming book, “The Fifty-First in France.” (Hodder & Stoughton). Acknowledgement is due to the courtesy and assistance given by the Committee of Imperial Defence, the War Office, and Lieut.-Colonel R. J. Brook, C.B.E., D.S.O., the Officer Commanding 4th Battalion The King’s Own Royal Regiment.
JAMES CROSSLEY.
Ulverston,