Battle of Flers-Courcelettes.
The orange area was the sector to be attacked by 150 Brigade with the 4th Yorks Battalion in the Centre.
The trenches between the French villages of Bazentin Le Petit and Martinpuich are shown as they were held before
the assault. Blue lines for British held and Red for German.
The 4th Yorks Btn in Eye Trench had 3 objectives as shown and reached the third, but at great expense.
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The 50th Division were to take part in their first "set" Battle to further Haig's plan for
the Battle of the Somme. The area of their operations is shown on the map.
As can be seen their position was further forward than the rest of the line and with the
Germans in High Wood and Martinpuich any further advance would leave them exposed to fire from the front and both sides.
The 149th Brigade were particularly open to the enemy in High Wood. Nevertheless the plan was to advance immediately
on the 15th and capture the three objectives shown. The Germans had been subjected to heavy artillery bombardment
from the 12th and the attack was to be accompanied by a creeping barrage and for the first time tanks.
Actually in the 50th Division's sector only 2 tanks were used on the left flank near Martinpuich.
The official despatch reads:- At 6.30 a.m [15th Sept] the Infantry assault commenced and at the same moment the
bombardment became intense. Our new heavily armoured cars, known as Tanks, now brought into action for the first time,
successfully co-operated with the Infantry and coming as a surprise to the enemy rank and file, gave valuable help
in breaking down their resistance"
14th SEPTEMBER. The Battalion moved from Shelter Wood to O.G. line at 8 p.m, where stores were distributed.
They then moved to assembly trenches, Eye Trench, trench immediately behind that and Swansea Trench. This was a matter
of extreme difficulty as neither of the Battalions on the flanks had left the Communication Trenches available. The
positions had to be occupied over the open and this was noticed by the Germans. They opened a barrage causing 40
Casualties.
2Lt Robert Bernard Abrahams Of 6, Stafford House, Maida Hill, London, where he
had been a solicitor before the War. He had been commissioned into the Battalion from the London University Officer Training Corps
in September 1915. Killed in action this day and commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
1714 Pte Pickersgill Harry. Born and enlisted at Richmond N Yorks. Killed in action.
Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz.
2166 Pte Skinner John, Robert. Born and enlisted at Redcar, N Yorks. Killed in action.
Age 23. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
15th SEPTEMBER. The assault took place at 6.22 a.m. The order of attack was "Z" Coy right,
"X" Coy centre and "W" Coy left. "Y" Coy were in Reserve. Brigade order was 4th East Yorks, 4th Yorks and 5th Yorks.
Division order was 47th Div Right, 50th Div centre and 15th Div left.
The 150th Bde advanced in good order and quickly gained the first objective, Hook Trench. By 7.58 they were in
the second. But High Wood and Martinpuich was still in the hands of the Germans.
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Two 4th Battalion Officers outside tarpaulin "tent" hut.
Location and identities not known.
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The 47th Div and the 149th Brigade on the
right and East Yorks on the left were held up.
By 9.57 the 150th Brigade had taken the final objective with men in Prue trench. But the the 4th Yorks right flank was
"up in the air" [Open to German fire from the side.] at the junction of Prue Trench and Martin Alley. This position was
held despite terrific shelling which caused heavy casualties.
By 10 a.m the 15th Div had taken Martinpuich and by 1 p.m 47 Div had taken High Wood.
The following 26 men of the 4th Yorks were killed in action this day and have no known grave. They are commemorated on the
Thiepval Memorial.
3439 Pte Lorains William, Rippon. Home at 8 St Hildas Cottages, Church St, Whitby, N Yorks.
Enlisted at Guisborough N Yorks. Age 36.
201382 Pte Armstrong William. Enlisted at Middlesbrough, N Yorks.
5471 Pte Brown Harold, Charles. Born Leeming N Yorks and enlisted Northallerton.
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British Tank.
The first tanks were even more primitive and the Battle of Flers Courcelettes was notable for
their first use.
Still unreliable and moving at only half a mile per hour only 15 of the 49 that started made it to No Man's Land.
They were said, though, to have had an uplifting effect on British morale and the opposite on
the Germans.
High Wood and the villages of Martinpuich, Flers and Courcelettes were taken in a
2k advance.
201949 Pte Coates Stanley. Home at Nunthorpe, N Yorks. Born Whitkirk, Yorks and enlisted
Stokesley, N Yorks.
4907 Pte Dobson Isaac. Age 35. Home at Lingdale N Yorks. Enlisted Richmond, N Yorks on the 14th Sep 1914.
Isaac was unmarried and had been born at Commondale, N Yorks in 1882. He worked as an Ironstone miner before the War.
His brother, William also served in the Yorkshire Regiment.
3427 Pte Downes Mark, Kirton. Home at - 1 Mulgrave Rd, W Hartlepool, Co Durham. Enlisted
at Middlesbrough. Age 19.
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3931 Pte Ferguson Harrie, Leonard. Home at - 69 Borough Rd, Middlesbrough, N Yorks, town
of enlistment. Age 20.
3007 Pte Fishwick Joseph. Home at - Loftus N Yorks. Enlisted at Skelton in Cleveland,
N Yorks. Age 19.
201258 Pte Gill James. Home at N Ormesby, Middlesbrough N Yorks, town of enlistment.
2072 Cpl Goodchild Samuel. Born and enlisted at Middlesbrough, N Yorks.
200644 Pte Hall George, Walton. Home at Boosbeck N Yorks. Enlisted at Skelton in Cleveland,
N Yorks. Thiepval Memorial
3309 Pte Harrison Fred. Home at - 8 Jackson St, Brotton, N Yorks. Enlisted at Skelton
in Cleveland, N Yorks. Age 23.
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Field Marshal Douglas Haig.
He was a Cavalry Officer of the Old School and, it is said, did not have
much faith in the Tank as the weapon of the future. He had been Commander in Chief of the British Army since
replacing Sir John French in December 1915. Haig was responsible for the offensive on the Somme, which started at
the end of June 1916 and went on into the autumn. He has been blamed for sending so many young men to their
deaths [600,000 Allied troops]. He argued that it had been necessary to force the Germans to divide their
resources, as earlier in the year they had looked like overcoming the French at Verdun, which, had it happened,
could have meant the War was lost. As one French General observed, once the lines were drawn in this War of attrition to the end,
thousands on both sides were inevitably going to die.
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1480 Pte Hewson George. Home at - 48 Marsh St, Middlesbrough, N Yorks, place of birth and
enlistment. Age 24.
4069 Pte Hitchen Thomas. Home at 6 Maltby St, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, N Yorks.
Age 18.
200793 Pte Hodgson James, Richard. Home at Loftus, N Yorks.
4572 Pte Husband Joseph, William. Home at - 133 Duncombe St, Middlesbrough, N Yorks, place
of enlistment. Age 23.
4813 Pte Longstaff Robert. Born and enlisted at Middlesbrough, N Yorks.
Age 21.
201889 Pte Macken James. Home at - S Otterington N Yorks. Born at Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Enlisted at Northallerton.
4236 Pte Mainforth George. Home at - Carlin How N Yorks. Enlisted at Saltburn, N
Yorks.
3254 Pte Marsay Francis, George. Home at - Haredale Farm, Moorsholm, Skelton, N Yorks
Age 26.
3779 Pte Royer George, Arthur. Enlisted at Middlesbrough, N Yorks.
200440 Pte Smith James, W. Born and enlisted at Northallerton, N Yorks.
201662 Pte Smith James, W. Home at 7 Aysdalegate Cottages, Charltons, Boosbeck, N Yorks.Enlisted
at Guisborough. Age 19.
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Pte Robert Ernest Waller.
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L/Cpl Charles Waller.
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3251 Pte Waller Robert, Ernest. Home at 28 Oxford St, Boosbeck, N Yorks, Enlisted at
Saltburn, N Yorks.
[According to information provided by Simon Jervis, who kindly also contributed these photographs, Robert's medal index
card shows that he joined the
Battalion in Europe on the 19th October 1915.
He had a brother, L/Cpl Charles Waller in the 4th Battalion. He enlisted
in December 1914 and was discharged due to sickness 21st November 1917.
Three other brothers served during the War, Arthur S Waller in the Royal Navy; Cpl William Waller, 1st Bn Northumberland
Fusiliers and Jack [John] Waller in the A I F.]
201062 Pte Watson William. Home at 38 Back Lane, Skelton in Cleveland, N Yorks.
Born Normanby. Enlisted at Northallerton. N Yorks. Age 27.
3231 Pte Nelmes Albert. Home at 2 Zetland Tce, New Marske N Yorks.
Enlisted at Skelton in Cleveland, N Yorks.Age 20. Buried at Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz.
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The following three men were killed in action and are buried at Adanac Military Cemetery, Miraumont.
3867 Pte Williams Daniel. Home at 64 Waterloo Rd, Middlesbrough, N Yorks, place of
enlistment. Age 18.
3748 Pte Cleaver Charles. Born Grangetown, Middlesbrough and enlisted at Saltburn, N Yorks.
Age 28.
201060 Pte Gibson Edward. Home at - N Ormesby N Yorks. Enlisted at Northallerton.
Capt Thomas Sowerby Rowlandson. Age 36. Killed in action. Home at Newton Morrell, Darlington. He had been awarded the
Military Cross. Buried in Becourt Military Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt.
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