- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
The elder son of Leslie and Freda Turner of Milestone Cottage, Harrisons Lane, Ringmer, was Barry and he was born on 19th September 1919 in Kent. Before the War he worked in London for a bank and is thought to have joined the Territorial Army. He transferred to the Regular Army on the outbreak of World War Two and was in the Royal Corps of Signals at that time.
When the British Expeditionary Force of nearly 400,000 men sailed for France during the autumn of 1939, to help her repel the German invaders, Barry Turner was there. Along with the majority of that ill fated force he retreated and was rescued from the beaches at Dunkirk. Not all could retreat - many were killed or captured.
Following his return to Britain, Barry trained for and was granted a commission in the British Army on 23rd August 1941. His Regiment was the Royal Artillery and his service number was 201829. He was assigned to 300 Independent Anti-Tank Battery, which formed part of the 8th Army. On 1st October 1942, 2/Lt Turner was promoted and received the War Substantive rank of Lieutenant. He continued to serve in North Africa and took part in the various campaigns there.
On 7th July 1943 a task force sailed from Port Said in Egypt. Their objective was to assist in the capture of Sicily and their designated invasion area was the extreme south-east corner of the island. This part of the massive Allied operation was an amphibious assault by Montgomery’s 8th Army. 300 Independent Anti-Tank Battery was attached to 231 Infantry Brigade to defend them against Axis armour. By 08.30 on 10th July the bridgehead had been secured and all the anti-tank guns were ashore.
Gradually the Allies pressed ahead and the towns of Noto, Palazzolo and Buccheri were taken but 231 Brigade was held up by strong opposition at Vizzini on 13th July. Part of the 300 Battery was detached to accompany 23rd Armoured Brigade, and advance on Scordia. Casualties were sustained when the column was attacked by enemy aircraft on 15th July. The following day 300 Independent Anti-Tank Battery was ordered to rejoin 231 Infantry Brigade and proceed to Caltagirone which had been captured by the Canadians. During 17th and 18th July the Brigade fought its way to, and then occupied, the small village of Raddusa.
On 19th July, alongside the 2nd Devonshires, 300 Independent Anti-Tank Battery advanced against strong enemy positions. Severe casualties were incurred as the Brigade was held up by the enemy at a point midway between Raddusa and Agira in a narrow mountain pass. Lieutenant Turner and two others were killed by mortar fire and several men were wounded.
Initially Barry Turner and his men were buried by their comrades on the left of a mountain road in that pass at map reference: Sheet 268 (1/100,000), 475890. His body was later removed to a final resting place in Catania War Cemetery, Sicily. Barry is further commemorated on the stone tablet in Ringmer (New) Churchyard, which marks the burial place of his father. There is also a seat placed in his honour adjacent to the south wall of St. Mary’s Church near the porch.
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Silver War Badge
Released from captivity by the Germans at the end of the War, Joseph came home to die at the age of 23 on 8th September 1919 in Kitchener’s Hospital at Brighton. He was buried with full military honours at Ringmer on Saturday 13th September in St. Mary’s Churchyard. The Reverend G.R. Leefe conducted a choral service and the hymn Peace Perfect Peace was sung at the grave-side. Three volleys rang out in tribute to a brave soldier and The Last Post was played by a solitary bugler. The Cricketer’s Flag was lowered to half mast for the afternoon and the interval in the match that day corresponded to the funeral service. His grieving mother Eliza from Rushy Green, Ringmer was chief mourner. John Crossingham, Joseph’s father, had already sadly passed away.
Joseph enlisted in the 2/5th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment on 11th September 1914 with the number 2536. He transferred to the 7th Battalion when the call came through for more men to serve overseas. Having joined a Territorial Battalion he was not initially obliged to serve other than in his own unit which was then in the United Kingdom. Most of the men in the Territorial Army did, however, relinquish their rights and elect to fight at the Front when called upon.
As a private with number G/18076, Joseph Crossingham went to France to join the 7th Battalion in 1916 and he was entitled to the British War and Victory Medals. He also qualified for the Silver War Badge. This was given to Servicemen discharged from the forces due to injuries received or a severe illness. In the latter case this had to be of a nature which would have prevented any further active service. It was issued so that discharged soldiers, sailors and airmen could walk about safely in ‘mufti’ or plain clothes. There was otherwise a considerable risk of apparently fit young men, not in uniform, being given a white feather. This was the treatment meted out to some men when it was considered they had not, ‘done their bit’!
The 7th Royal Sussex saw plenty of action in France and Private Crossingham was in the thick of it. They fought on the Somme in 1916 though not on the notorious First Day. By November 1917 it was decided to launch a massive raid in the Cambrai area with the objective of destroying personnel and guns and general demoralisation of the foe. It was not intended to hold on to ground gained as G.H.Q. considered insufficient reserves of manpower were available for this. The battle, for such was its magnitude, was to test out the whole concept of the large scale use of tanks in warfare. The earlier attempts had largely failed owing to improper deployment over totally unsuitable ground. They had bogged down in the morass of Flanders and when stuck fast became easy targets for enemy gunners.
The attack commenced on 20th November 1917 after much secretive preparation. This was to be the first major attack by the British Army where the artillery barrage did not commence before zero hour and thus warn of the impending onslaught. Some 378 tanks and 1,009 artillery pieces were employed, and new techniques, especially by the Royal Artillery, were used. The role of the 7th Battalion, as part of the 12th Division, was to form the right wing in attack and defend that flank from retaliation. The advance was a resounding success and a huge salient appeared in the German lines. As it was originally never intended to hold on to the ground thus far gained no infantry reserves were available to exploit the break-through. A form of stalemate ensued where our forces could advance no more and on 30th November the Germans began to strike back. A retreat began on 3rd December and the British withdrew to lick their wounds.
The total British losses of killed, wounded and missing were put at 44,207 compared with around 50,000 equivalent German casualties. We had over 6,000 men taken prisoner during the Battle, many of whom were wounded. Among these was Private Joseph Crossingham. It is reported that as a Prisoner of War he ‘suffered terrible deprivations which undoubtedly hastened his death’.
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Edward Penfold's Grave Lapugnoy Military Cemetery
Born in Lambeth, London around 1887 it seems Edward was initially reluctant to join the conflict in which his country was embroiled. During June 1917 he attended the Chailey Tribunal where representations of people as to why they should be exempt military service were heard. In this instance, however, it was the military spokesman who made application for Edward to attend the Tribunal in order that his earlier exemption from Service be rescinded.
Edward had moved to Ringmer and become a baker in the village, living with his wife Emily Ester at Sunnyside. They had married on 24th October 1915 and at 35 she was his senior and already a widow. Conscription, with the number 203337, was into the Royal Sussex Regiment with which his initial military training took place. From there he was posted into the 74th Battalion Machine Gun Corps with the rank of Private and a new number of 126966.
The 74th (Yeomanry) Division that Edward was attached to served in Palestine until the end of April 1918. Also in that Division was the 16th (Yeomanry) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. They sailed from Alexandria for France and arrived in Marseilles on 7th May. Concentration was near Abbeville for training prior to moving into the line near Merville on 14th July. Early August saw their first action near Bapaume before they became involved in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line.
An attack was planned to commence at 5.50am on 21st September in the area of Ronssoy and Templeux le Guerard [about ten miles north west of St. Quentin]. The Machine Gun Section formed up with the 16th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment which supplied carriers for the ammunition. The main purpose of a Machine Gun Section in attack was to support our infantry by firing over their heads and saturating an area of land with bullets thus denying it to the enemy. The Vickers Machine Gun was fired from a tripod and altogether weighed 90lb without ammunition. During an advance this all had to be carried forward. Each gun was capable of continuous fire provided ammunition and water for cooling was available and instances of over 120,000 rounds being fired in 12 hours are recorded.
At this time of the War the Germans were, in general, retreating. They were not however prepared to relinquish ground easily and fought our soldiers with all available means. The Machine Gunners suffered many casualties during this battle. Their plight had not been aided by members of the carrying party abandoning their load of ammunition and withdrawing to safety. Starved of a constant replenishment of cartridges, the rate of fire withered and the enemy surfaced to fight back, the Gunners being a preferred target. Their Commanding Officer after detailing the events of 21st September, commented in the War Diary:
I wish to pay a particular tribute to the high morale and tenacity of the Section under very trying circumstances; the carrying party disappeared; withdrawing Infantry continually passed through; heavy fire was brought to bear on them from three flanks and the shelling throughout was exceptionally heavy. The Section never wavered and kept their nerve throughout.
It was in the course of this engagement that Edward Penfold was mortally wounded and died twelve days later in Number 18 Casualty Clearing Station (C.C.S.). He was 31 and is buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery which adjoined the C.C.S. His entitlement of British War & Victory Medals were sent to his widow who subsequently married for the third time and, as Mrs Emily Over, moved to Worthing.
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Alfred Brooks
Died : 18th April 1918
Alfred was the second of the Brooks brothers to die for his country during the Great War. He was born in Ringmer on 8th February 1893 and baptised there on 23rd April that year. Unlike his older brother all his schooling was in Ringmer and was from 5th April 1897 to 31st March 1906.
It was to Lewes that Alfred travelled to join the Royal Sussex Regiment as Private Brooks number G/1667. He landed in France on 18th May 1915 to serve with the 2nd Battalion. His arrival was in good time to participate in the calamitous Battle of Loos on 25th September that year. He was injured in the action and received treatment at Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester.
When the wounds had healed he was returned to the fray, but this time posted to the 9th Battalion, 73rd Infantry Brigade which was part of the 24th Division. He again saw action with his new battalion and was once again wounded. Alfred was not repatriated to England this time as he was not seriously injured and he was soon back in action. By now he was with the 13th Sussex, part of the 116th Brigade (39 Division) and was engaged in the same fighting as his brother, Charles. Shortly after Charles’ death on 22nd March, the 39th Division was returned to the Ypres Salient and, stationed in the Wytschaete area, came under the temporary orders of the 62nd Brigade, 21st Division.
The German Offensive in Flanders [Operation Georgette - part of the Kaiserschlacht - Kaiser's Battle], commenced on 9th April 1918 and on 16th April orders were received by 62nd Infantry Brigade for a counter attack. This was intended to be executed in conjunction with a French Division and the 13th Sussex moved forward to the line from Vandamme Farm to Store Farm. Alfred took part in the planned counter attack that evening to re-occupy Maedelstede Farm and Wytschaete Wood both of which had recently been seized by the Germans. The advance was under heavy machine gun fire, both enfilade and frontal, yet they secured their first objective. No French attack to assist materialised on the right and so it was impossible to proceed with the re-capture. The line so far held was consolidated under very adverse conditions and garrisoned by the 13th Sussex until they were relieved on 20th April. During the operation from 16th to 20th April the Battalion was constantly subjected to heavy shell and machine gun fire. 134 men were lost, killed or injured in the course of those five days. Among those killed was Private Alfred Brooks and the official documents list his death as occurring on 18th April 1918 at age 26.
Alfred has no known grave and is commemorated on Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing which contains a total of 34,957 names. It is, in effect, a continuation of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres in that the names at Tyne Cot are for those missing in the Salient from 16th August 1917 until the end of the War. Menin Gate covers the earlier period. Two other sons of Charles Brooks, namely Albert, born 21st July 1888 and Ernest born 24th July 1891 served in the 2nd and 10th Sussex respectively and both survived the War. Alfred earned the 1914-15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.
Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium
Updated from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Ernest Barnes
Died : 9th April 1918
Over 47,000 Artillerymen were to die during the Great War. Among them was 25 year old Sergeant Ernest Barnes. He first joined the Sussex Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner in Lewes with a service number of 620. Later he transferred from that Territorial Force unit into the Regular branch with a new number of 119304 and rose eventually to the rank of sergeant in June 1916.
He was born in Ringmer on 21st November 1891 of Walter and Emily and lived in the village at Rushy Green. Schooled at Ringmer from 14th April 1896 until 15th April 1904, Ernest was to attain his grades each year. He married Alice Jane Reed from Dover early in 1916 and they lived at 11 Lime Terrace, Lewes. They had two children, Ernest Edgar and Alice Vera Barnes. In common with so many bereaved young mothers his widow was to re-marry soon after the war and, as Mrs Alice Baker, lived at 146 Malling Street, Lewes. She naturally was entitled to her former husband’s British War & Victory medals. As he died in hospital, rather than on the battlefield where they might have been lost, his personal effects including his wallet with family photos and his wedding ring were saved and returned to his widow. Because of the connection with Lewes and Ringmer he is named on both War Memorials. It is noticed that, whereas the severely damaged Service Papers record the names and dates of birth of two children, Mrs Alice Jane Baker, was awarded a pension of £1/2/11d per week in respect of herself, but only one child, with effect from 14.10.1918.
 |
Letter from Alice Baker to the War Office among Ernest Barnes' service records, severeley damaged by fire in 1940. |
Promoted to Corporal in April 1916 Ernest Barnes was soon to be promoted again and service in France and Flanders followed from 25th September 1916. He had transferred from 176 Siege Battery via several other units before his final posting to 253 Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) on 30th January 1918. It was armed with six 6” howitzers. They were short barrelled guns designed mainly for lobbing their 100lb shells over intervening obstacles into the enemy fortifications. Their maximum range of 9,500 yards was rarely required. There were many different artillery pieces in use in the First World War of which the 6” 26cwt BL Howitzer was but one. It was nevertheless a reliable work-horse and fired over 22 million shells at the enemy in France & Flanders. That represents around one million tons of steel and high explosives hurtling through the air - from that type of gun alone! Needless to say the Germans did not like it coming at them. They retaliated and we followed suit by targeting the opposing batteries and having ‘counter battery shoots’. Perhaps half of all siege batteries were fired at each other's gun positions, rather than each other's trenches and fortifications. That strategy accounted for the huge number of casualties incurred by the Royal Artillery.
By the beginning of April 1918 the German Spring Offensive was grinding to a halt in the area occupied by Sergeant Barnes. They were checked just outside of the vital French pivotal city of Amiens, after pushing our forces back over 30 miles on this front. Ground that the Allies had fought to take back inch by inch over the entire war to date was lost again in nine days. It was not realised that the enemy had exhausted his main thrust and further attacks were still expected by the minute.
From 1st to 4th April the XXII Artillery Brigade of which the 253rd Siege Battery was a part, had established its Headquarters in Cachy, about seven miles east of Amiens. The gun batteries were located nearby and they continually exchanged fire with their German counterparts. Reports were received that the enemy was massing, evidently to resume his attack. Fire was rained down on his infantry positions causing great damage and inflicting many casualties. On 5th April the Brigade was parked in Cagny, a suburb of Amiens but on the 6th was once more in action to ward off yet another anticipated attack. Throughout the next three days the batteries maintained a harassing fire on all observed enemy positions. They also fired in support of our own infantry wherever it was most effective to assist them.
During those early and vital days of April the battery had seven gunners killed outright and a further twenty one wounded. It is not known exactly when Ernest Barnes fell mortally wounded; however, despite the Army Casualty Form B.103 implying the 2nd April the most likely date is 4th April 1918. The War Diary records that, ‘between 6am and 8am all battery positions and Brigade HQ were heavily shelled by 10.5 & 15cm howitzers.’ After initial treatment he was taken to No. 3 Australian General Hospital in Abbeville where he unfortunately succumbed to his wounds on 9th April 1918. It is recorded that he had severe facial and chest wounds as well as multiple fractures to his right arm which was amputated in an attempt to save his life. He is buried in Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension.
His parents pre-deceased him, his mother dying on 13th February 1915 whereas his father, Walter had died prior to the War. Ernest had two brothers, one of them, John, served with the 2nd Royal Sussex Regiment in the Great War. He had been a pre-war regular and fought with the 1st Battalion in the South African War. At the time of his mother’s death John was recuperating in England from shrapnel wounds received at Ypres. He is reported as, ‘having just previously saved the life of a wounded comrade, carrying him to safety.’ He rejoined his unit in France and survived the War. The other brother, Walter James had been born on 6th August 1880 before the family had came to Ringmer from Laughton. They lived initially at ‘The Village’, before moving to Rushy Green. Following the death of their parents the three brothers moved to Lewes, with Walter and John being recorded as residing at 111 Malling Street.
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Charles Brooks
Died : 22nd March 1918
The oldest of the four sons of Charles, a milkman, and Fanny S. Brooks to serve during the First World War was Charles (jnr). He was born in the village of Selmeston on 30th April 1881 and the family continued to live there until 9th January 1893. It was there young Charles first went to school before transferring to Ringmer on 9th January 1893. He remained at Ringmer School until 27th April 1894, when he was exempted further education. During this time the family lived at The Broyle but soon after moved to Ashton Green, Ringmer.
Charles joined the 13th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment (a Southdown Battalion) at Lewes. It was as part of the 39th Division and the overseas service of SD/5825 Private Brooks whilst with them, that earned him the British War & Victory Medals.
The Battalion was to see much action on the Somme in 1916. On 30th June it was in the forefront of the debacle at Richebourg when, as part of a diversion, it was decimated. The fighting at Stuff Trench on 21st October and St. Pierre Divion on 13th November was particularly bad and many more casualties were incurred. It fared little better in 1917 having been sent to the Salient to take part in vicious fighting at Kitchener’s Wood during the Battle of Pilckem on 31st July. More action followed south of the Menin Road near Stirling Castle on 26th September as part of the Battle of Polygon Wood.
On 21st March 1918 the 39th Division was ordered to St. Emilie near Péronne in support of the 16th Division. The enemy attacked their position at 7am on the following morning and were driven off. The force of the onslaught was such that the 16th Division on the right of the 39th was forced to retire. Then, ‘A’ Company of the 13th Sussex was ordered to form a defensive flank and act as rearguard. Charles was a member of its III Platoon. Around noon the Germans made a violent thrust on the Battalion H.Q. which was occupied jointly with the 1st Hants and situated in the quarry to the north of St. Emilie. They were repulsed. Shortly afterwards orders were received to retreat and most were able to comply except for ‘A’ Company and half of ‘B’ Company which had been sent up with them. They did not receive that vital order. These poor men were isolated and, as the official account dramatically reads, 'cut off and annialated;4 officers and about 150 O.R.s [other ranks] were thus lost to the Battalion'. The War Diary for 22nd March 1918 records all this without emotion and then adds that, ‘the night was fairly quiet’. In fact, although many were indeed killed, those who survived the action, including the wounded, were taken prisoner and spent the remainder of the war in captivity.
As the enemy captured the ground where Private Charles Brooks died, even if his body had been recovered, there is no record of his burial and in consequence he has no known grave. It is most likely he was buried by the Germans near to where he fell. Charles is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial to the Missing, which is situated right in the heart of the Somme Battlefields. This records a further 14,707 names of men without known graves, most of whom were lost without trace between 21st and 24th March 1918 as a result of the German Spring Offensive of 1918; otherwise known as the "Kaiserschlacht"
The cemetery and Memorial to the Missing at Pozières, right in the heart of the Somme Battlefields.
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Percival James Wicks
Died : 24th October 1917
An Easter wedding in the Spring of 1917 was the happiest moment of Maud Ellen Wick’s young life. A bare seven months later she was a widow, her husband, Percival James having been killed on 24th October 1917. She moved away from the matrimonial home in Well Hall, London to Nuneaton in Warwickshire shortly afterwards. Her husband is buried in Canada Farm Cemetery not far from Elverdinghe, Belgium.
Percy was born in Lewes on 13th November 1892 and the family then moved to The Broyle near to the Green Man, Ringmer. His parents were James and Ellen Wicks who moved back to Lewes to 149 Malling Street in 1917, the year of their son’s death. Two other sons also served in the Great War. One was a corporal in the Army Veterinary Corps in Egypt and the other a private with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Salonica.
The young Percival went to Ringmer School from 14th April 1896 until 29th April 1905 when he commenced working for Robert Bannister at Upper Stoneham Farm. At the outbreak of the War he enlisted as a Driver with the Royal Horse Artillery. Assigned to ‘O’ Battery he was in due course to rise to the rank of Sergeant with the number 74696. The decision was made shortly before his death to award this man the Distinguished Conduct Medal (D.C.M.). Unusually, it was not awarded for a single act of bravery but, as the citation reads, ‘For conspicuous gallantry & devotion to duty & consistent good work during a long period.’ First announced in the London Gazette of 1st January 1918 the actual citation was not published until 17th April 1918. This D.C.M. is the highest known award to any Ringmer casualty of the First World War. For ‘other ranks’ it rates just one gallantry award down from the Victoria Cross. The British War & Victory medals were also sent to his widow.
The V Brigade Royal Horse Artillery was situated in the northern part of the Ypres salient in 1917. It comprised three batteries (‘G’, ‘O’ and ‘Z’), each armed with six 13pdr. field guns. They were dug in at a farm called ‘The Ings’ and Percy Wicks was by then the sergeant for one of ‘Z’ Batteries guns. Each battery had only five officers, including the Major in command, for 200 men, so it will be realised that a sergeant had a very important role to play. He may well have been in charge of one of the guns.
On 24th October the V Artillery Brigade commenced a 48-hour bombardment in preparation for an infantry attack. The batteries fired ‘stop and weave’ barrages on various areas during the day and night. Each battery fired 900 rounds but did not have it all their own way. They were shelled at intervals, although not as intensely as on the 23rd when luckily no one had been hit. Not so on the 24th when the casualty returns show the following:
‘O’ Battery - Three Other Ranks Wounded.
‘Z’ Battery - Two Other Ranks Wounded.
The newspaper account of Percy having been, ‘killed instantly on 24th October 1917, along with two comrades, by the bursting of a shell’ is plainly not true. He was buried some six miles from where the battery was in action. Canada Farm Cemetery is adjacent to the dressing station, where he evidently died of his wounds received earlier that day.
|
Canada Farm |
Percival Wicks grave at Canada Farm Cemetery |
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Henry Reuben Ellis
The second of our men destined to die and forever lie at the scene of some far-flung conflict was Henry Ellis. Way across the hostile desert, a lonely cemetery near the capital of Iraq is his final resting place. He shares the ground of Baghdad (North Gate) Cemetery with his pal Allan Parsons. Henry’s early life at present remains a mystery but he is believed to have lived at Church Hill, Ringmer. It is known that he married May Honeysett on 3rd June 1911 and at that time his father William was already dead. He was a labourer and also a member of the Ringmer Mutual Benefit Society.
Henry enlisted early in the War into the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner with the number 56556 in Brighton. He transferred into the 9th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment as a private soldier with the new number 12546. He was sent as part of a replacement draft on 25th September 1915 to the Gallipoli Peninsula and landed there on 5th October. The campaign against the Turks was faltering and Allied casualties were mounting up at a prodigious rate. The 13th (Western) Division, of which the 9th Warwicks was part, saw considerable action both at Helles and then on the ANZAC front. Bad weather conditions were already playing a part in the health of Ellis and his fellow soldiers for, on 26th November owing to a severe storm, all kit was drenched and any shelter was flooded. Several men died of exposure later as a result of the storms and frost. They were then transferred to the Suvla front and remained there until evacuated during the night of 19/20th December 1915. They formed part of the rearguard here helping to cover the evacuation of 83,000 men and their equipment from the beaches at Suvla Bay and around Anzac Cove. They returned to Helles and were involved in more bitter fighting until a further final withdrawal was ordered for the night of 8/9th January 1916. This time they sailed to Egypt via Mudros, by which time the effective strength of the Battalion was down to 481 men [from 811 on 31st October].
A short period of guarding the Suez Canal followed before the Division was once again on the move; this time for Mesopotamia. They disembarked at Basra on 27th February and began to travel by boat up the River Tigris. On 2nd April they were involved in the third unsuccessful attempt to relieve Kut-al-Amara [and so try to rescue Allan Parsons of Ringmer]. After the capitulation of Townshend’s force, the 13th Division with the 9th Warwicks continued to skirmish with the Turks and Arabs (whose allegiance varied), for the rest of 1916 and into 1917. By 25th February Kut-al-Amara fell once more to the British and we pursued the enemy, by then in retreat, northwards. The Turkish losses increased as we pressed on towards the goal of Baghdad which was entered on 11th March after three days bitter fighting.
With the British, ANZAC and Russian forces compressing the Turkish Armies on all quarters the enemy losses mounted. It was not all one sided however. The Allies still sustained considerable casualties not least from the ever present virulent diseases and hostile environment. For example on 20th July the temperature in the shade at Baghdad was 123 degrees Fahrenheit [50.5 degrees Celsius]. Whilst in the desert, many days were spent in sheer survival trying to find sufficient water to stay alive. Many soldiers succumbed to these conditions and died from heat-stroke, dysentery, beri-beri and other unpleasant ailments. Some even drowned whilst bathing in the Tigris in their enthusiasm to get cool. This was either on water collecting duties or when the Battalion moved up to the river bank for a while late in June 1917.
In the midst of this hotbed of bugs, bullets, and burning heat Henry died on 2nd August 1917. His precise cause of death is not recorded in the War Diary of the 9th Royal Warwickshire Regiment but it was not the result of any major military offensive. Private Ellis, who was entitled to the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals, was transferred one last time - to his lonely grave at Baghdad.
The Cross of Sacrifice in Baghdad
(North Gate) War Cemetery
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Arthur Frank Gribbell
Died: 13 March 1916
| Arthur Gribbell was the first of the two officers named on our Memorial to die whilst in the service of his country during the Great War. He died at Guy’s Hospital, London on 13th March 1916 and was brought back to the Parish of Ringmer for burial on 16th March. The pall bearers were part of a supernumerary company from the 2/5th (Territorial) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. His two sisters Isabel and Gertrude were present at the funeral. At the end of his 40 year life he left the princely sum of £98.12s.7d to his sisters. | |
| Arthur was the only son of the former Vicar of Ringmer, the Reverend Frank Barrow Gribbell and his French wife Eliza (née Morrell). He was born on 16th October 1873 and on the following 3rd May christened Arthur George Francis Gribbell; both events occurring in British Colombia. After his death in 1916 his body was brought to Ringmer and he was interred on Thursday, 16th March. From Census data it is evident that the Rev. Frank and Eliza were in Canada for several years for, as well as Arthur, their two daughters were all shown as being born in Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Colombia. Frank was the Vicar of St. Mary’s from 1891 to 1915 and is also buried in what was, at the time, his own churchyard. The entire family are buried in a row together near the south-west corner of the Church tower. | |
|
Captain Gribbell served originally in the Boer War with the South African unit, Cape Mounted Rifles. He was present at the Defence of Wepener and saw action at Wittebergen. For his part in that war he received the Queen’s South Africa [QSA] and King’s South Africa Medals. His QSA carries four clasps to represent the areas and actions in which he was involved. Whether or not his experiences in South Africa promoted a desire for adventure is not known but Arthur subsequently settled in Argentina. It was from that distant land that he responded to his country's call for volunteers to defend his country.
He rejoined the Colours and received his Commission as a Temporary Lieutenant on 29th November 1914. Promotion quickly followed and took effect from February 1915. As Captain Gribbell, he was appointed to command "A" Battery, 94th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery which, at that time, was still in England. Owing to ill-health the Captain relinquished his command in August 1915. He was initially hospitalised in Cambridge Hospital, Aldershot followed by a spell in the Lady Dudley's Hospital, Brighton before being taken to Guy's Hospital in London on 1st January 1916. His former battery, now commanded by Captain Henry Lowry-Corry, sailed for France without him on 8th September.
|
|
| He rejoined the Colours and received his Commission as a Temporary Lieutenant on 29th November 1914. Promotion quickly followed and took effect from February 1915. As Captain Gribbell, he was appointed to command "A" Battery, 94th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery which, at that time, was still in England. Owing to ill-health the Captain relinquished his command in August 1915. He was initially hospitalised in Cambridge Hospital, Aldershot followed by a spell in the Lady Dudley's Hospital, Brighton before being taken to Guy's Hospital in London on 1st January 1916. His former battery, now commanded by Captain Henry Lowry-Corry, sailed for France without him on 8th September. | |
| The entry on the civilian cross marking his grave states: [died] ‘from wounds received in the Great War.’ This poses a quandary as the evidence from the War Office Medal Rolls indicates he did not enter a theatre of war on duty overseas in the First World War. The record in Officers Died in the Great War shows he ‘died’, a term usually reserved for death from disease or injuries caused other than as a result of enemy action. There are however other possible explanations for this dilemma. The official records may be in error. He may have been injured whilst training in this country and died as a result. He could have been in action as part of the garrison forces retained in Britain to defend against possible invasion. On several occasions German ships bombarded coastal towns and were engaged by our artillery. Several servicemen were killed and injured in these exchanges of fire. Sections of the Royal Artillery were deployed on anti-aircraft work. No doubt some of their personnel lost their lives due to odd enemy bomb hits and their own shell fragments falling back to earth. It is however just as possible that he died of natural causes, even if these were exacerbated by military service. | |
| Whatever the exact cause of Arthur Frank Gribbell's death, the fact remains that he served his country at a time of crisis and paid for his patriotism with his life. |
Arthur Gribbell's grave in Ringmer Churchyard |
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Benjamin Thomas Tasker
Died: 27th March 1918
|
A Territorial Gunner, Benjamin joined the Sussex Royal Garrison Artillery with the number 695 in September 1915. He was a Ringmer lad having been born and baptised there on 23rd April and 5th June 1898 respectively. |
|
|
The son of Philemon, a labourer, and Agnes Tasker who lived at Broyle Lane, Ringmer he attended the village school from 24th June 1901 until 28th October 1908. However, the school admission register shows that on 13th April 1912 he was exempted further education. He left the district and moved to Catsfield near Battle to marry Nellie Bourner in 1917 and their daughter Hilda Agnes was also born that year. It would appear young Hilda was baptised in Ringmer on 17th October 1917. |
|
|
Ben Tasker transferred from the Sussex Gunners, who were on coastal defence, into the Regular Artillery and received the new serial number 128885. He was sent to France with the 154th Heavy Battery which formed part of the LXXXVII Artillery Brigade and was attached to the 2nd Army. Their guns were 60 pounders and had a maximum range of 12,300 yards. As part of a Heavy Battery, Gunner Tasker would have fired barrages in support of the various offensives engaged upon by the 2nd Army. |
|
|
It must have come as a nasty shock to find that at 5am on 21st March 1918 the roll was reversed and that the big guns were having to be fired in defence to try and keep the invading Germans at bay. |
|
|
The LXXXVII Brigade was based at Beaumetz prior to the attack and progressively retreated in the face of close fighting and heavy casualties. They withdrew to Lebucquière as Louverval and Doignies had fallen to the enemy. They were firing on Agache Valley before being forced back via Fremicourt to Avesnes-les-Bapaume. It was not long before that too fell and the retreat continued each day amid mounting losses of men and equipment. The Brigade withdrew back over the land already laid waste by the fighting of 1916 and 1917 when so much blood had been sacrificed in the offensives of those years. They returned all the way to Bucquoy and then on to Souastre via Fonquevillers. Altogether the 154th Battery and the others of the Brigade were compelled to retreat around 25 miles to the west although a far greater distance was covered on their tortuous route. Firing their 60 pounders out of Fonquevillers to help finally stem the offensive naturally promoted direct retaliation. The counter batteries of the German gunners were active scoring direct hits on our gun positions and on 27th March an exploding shell killed Ben Tasker. |
Grave of Benjamin Tasker in Fonquevillers Military Cemetery |
|
He was buried in the Military Cemetery at Fonquevillers before his battery withdrew to a more advantageous position. Although Gunner Tasker enlisted in 1915 he did not enter a theatre of war before the end of that year and in consequence was only entitled to the British War & Victory Medals. |
|
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
William Tasker
Died: 29 March 1918
|
The older brother of Benjamin Tasker who was killed on 27th March 1918 was William and the family all lived in Broyle Lane. He was born on 17th August 1892 and baptised in Ringmer just three weeks later. Like his brothers and sisters William attended Ringmer School, his period of attendance being from 17th April 1896 until 29th April 1905. |
|
Bill Tasker was one of several villagers to join the Royal Sussex Regiment and he enlisted into the 8th Battalion in Lewes during 1914 and trained at Colchester. He was a private and his service number was G/2234. He transferred to the 13th Battalion and saw basically the same actions as his friends, the brothers Charles and Alfred Brooks. All were to die in the course of the Spring Offensive of 1918 with the 13th Battalion. |
|
On 27th March 1918 the 39th Division was in the Amiens to Péronne area and the Southdowners were ordered to defend Morcourt but the enemy succeeded in crossing the winding River Somme at Cerisy, about one and a half miles away. The 13th Battalion was ordered to try and cut them off but with no transport they arrived too late. A counter attack was launched against the Germans and the Battalion drove them back, initially about 1,000 yards but were eventually compelled to fall back to a position about one mile east of Lamotte. This was because communications were cut and no reinforcements could be summoned to assist. |
|
With powerful German forces attacking all along the front, this was a time of the war when general confusion reigned. Desperate situations called for desperate measures and many locally arranged counter attacks or defence positions were instigated without adequate planning, as time did not permit. |
|
On 28th March the Sussex men were ordered to withdraw but that order had been delayed due to the destruction of telephone lines. Other communication links were no more successful and they became heavily engaged with the enemy. It was only with great difficulty that they retreated to a position between Marcelcave and Wiencourt. From there a slightly more co-ordinated withdrawal took place to a position 500 yards east of Marcelcave. During the 29th the Southdowners remained in that position until they were relieved by troops of the 61st Division. On the 30th the exhausted remnants of the Battalion took part in another counter attack near Hangard before being ordered once more to withdraw and ‘concentrate’ at Longueau near Amiens. |
| Officially recorded as killed on 29th March 1918, the death of Private William Tasker could actually have occurred in the confusion any time from 27th to 30th March. With constant fighting and retreating there was naturally no time for adequate records to be kept. |
|
| Imagine the torment of Philemon and Agnes when they received news that they had lost two sons, perhaps on the same day! In common with many infantrymen killed in the Spring Offensive, William has no known grave and he is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at Pozières. | |
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Alfred John Wren
A Regular Driver since August 1909, Number 57850 Alfred Wren was in the Royal Field Artillery [R.F.A.]. He looked after and helped lead one of the many teams of horses in the XL Artillery Brigade. [To distinguish an Artillery Brigade from an Infantry Brigade the former were numbered in Roman numerals]. Such a Brigade had a Wartime Complement of 23 Officers, 772 Other Ranks, and, to haul all its equipment and 18pdr. Field Guns, 746 horses. When not engaged with the horses Alfred acted as Batman to a Major and in consequence earned a little extra and received a few ‘perks’ such as better food.
Alfred was born in Lewes during 1889, the son of Edward A. Wren. The family is said to have moved to Smith’s Lane, Ringmer and then to Acorn Cottage in Harvey's Lane where they remained for some time. He was married to Alice and they had one child. Alfred at one time worked for Mr Cotton of Oaklands on the Uckfield Road before joining the Army at Brighton. It was a regular source of income and a change from the usual labouring jobs of village life.
Driver Wren first went to France on 14th August 1914 with the 3rd Division. By 23rd August he was in action at Mons and involved in the famous retreat. As part of a Regular Army Division the Artillery was involved in many well known engagements throughout the War. Alfred saw action with Number 6 Battery in the Ypres Salient and especially at Hill 60 where he was wounded in the left side. The Divisional Artillery was involved in fighting on the Somme although not on 1st July 1916. They were involved in the Battles of Arras in April and May 1917 before returning to Flanders and the Ypres Front.
On 13th October 1917 the Brigade Batteries were dug in south of the Ypres to Zonnebeke railway line about four miles from Ypres itself. They were bombarded by 21cm and 15cm shells from 3.45pm to 4.55pm and two casualties were incurred. It is most likely one of these was Driver Alfred Wren despite the newspaper account stating he was wounded the next day. Although there was more incoming artillery fire and indeed enemy aircraft activity in the vicinity of our batteries on 14th October no more casualties were recorded for that day.
Alfred was taken to a Casualty Clearing Station (C.C.S.) not far from Poperinghe in Belgium and died there of his wounds on 17th October 1917. He was buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery which adjoined the C.C.S. It became one of the largest British War Cemeteries for the First World War on the Western Front with 9,906 Allied burials.
In action in France since August 1914, Driver Wren naturally qualified for the Bar to his 1914 Star which his widow received together with his British War & Victory Medals. She later moved, first to live with her husband's parents at The Laceys, Glyndebourne and then to Upper Woodford, Salisbury.
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Wallace D. French
Wallace Denys French was another of our Regular soldiers. In fact his parents, John and Christiana of New Town, Ringmer (formerly from The Village) had two serving sons in His Majesty’s Armed Forces. Another son, Harold, served during the First World War in the Royal Horse Artillery only to loose his life tragically during the Second World War by the explosion of a German ‘doodlebug’ whilst he was living at Shortgate.
Private French (number 9841) joined the 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers around 1909. Born on 25th April 1891 he was 23 years of age when he was killed on or around 11th November 1914. The 1891 Census records the family as living at that time ‘near Brewers Arms’ and shows an entry for ‘Wallace C’, ‘son’ as being ‘under 1 month’. Christened ‘Wallace Denys’ on 16th August 1891 he became a pupil of Ringmer School from 23rd April 1894 to 3rd April 1903. Wallace left with a labour certificate having attained his grades each year. No doubt the idea of spending his life as a labourer, as his father was, had something to do with him signing up for the Army. The Royal Scots Fusiliers had several very persuasive recruiting drives in this area before the War and enrolled many men from Sussex into their Regiment.
The 1st Battalion of about 1,000 men landed in France at Le Havre on 14th August. By the 23rd they were heavily engaged fighting a rearguard action in and around Mons. This was to delay the enemy who was attacking the retreating British Expeditionary Force. They were in the thick of the fighting at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26th August and then formed once more the rearguard until the general retreat halted just south of the River Marne on 3rd September. The Allies re-grouped and counter attacked on the 5th. The Fusiliers again crossed the Marne on 9th September and the Germans were gradually pushed back. The tide had turned and, surprise, this time Wallace French’s battalion was in the vanguard! The push continued with several more vicious battles and mile upon mile of endless marching. By 18th October the British forces were forming a salient around the ancient Flemish town of Ypres. Our friends fought their way to this sector by 10th November. The battalion had had hardly any rest since landing in France and was exhausted to a man having marched around 500 miles so far!
On 11th November the 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers were ordered to counter attack the crack troops of the Prussian Guard. They were breaking through our defensive positions near a chateau at Herenthage, just south of the Ypres to Menin road, and had to be stopped at all cost. The fighting was continuous and vicious and the casualties heavy during the next couple of days. It was simply impossible to stop to record individual deaths and in consequence no one will ever know precisely when Private Wallace French died. He has no known grave and along with 54,895 others is commemorated on Menin Gate Memorial. By the end of this action, the First Battle of Ypres, over 200 Fusiliers had been killed and many more seriously wounded. To this day the atmosphere in the grounds of Herenthage Chateau, where so many perished, can best be described as melancholy.
- Details
- Parent Category: Ringmer Past
Frank Miles Wilmshurst
Died : 24th September 1917
Ringmer Post Office Stores was run by William John and Amy Jane Wilmshurst from the late 1890s until the Second World War. Their only child was a son, Frank Miles who was born on 26th March 1897 and baptised in Ringmer Church on 30th May the same year. He went to the village school for just twelve months from 17th March 1902 and then left for a private school. His secondary education was at Lewes [Old] Grammar School and he progressed to become a keen athlete and footballer. At 6’3” he was a prominent member of Ringmer Cricket Club and is so honoured on their Memorials in the Church and in the cricket pavilion.
Frank worked for his father as a letter carrier and a roundsman in the grocery business. It was because of this employment, which William Wilmshurst considered so vital, that an appeal for exemption from military service was lodged. The appeal failed and Frank, who was already attested and on the reserve, was to join the Royal Sussex Regiment at the end of March 1916. After a mere eight weeks training he was sent to France to join the 1/5th (Cinque Ports) Territorial Battalion. He served in the Machine Gun Section.
Ever since 20th August 1915 the 1/5th had been a pioneer battalion with the 48th Division. That is not to say they had a ‘cushy job’ to use the parlance of the day. The Battalion had been decimated in the vicious fighting at Aubers Ridge and on other occasions earlier that year. Their job often took them to the front line and casualties continued to mount up. On 10th August 1917 Frank was reported to be in hospital in France, together with two other Ringmer lads, suffering from the effects of gas poisoning. He soon recovered and was discharged from hospital to resume his former duties. By early September the Battalion was engaged on road making and helping to construct light railways.
It seems Private Wilmshurst was in either ‘C’ or ‘D’ Company. They were both assigned the task of making additional accommodation to the camp some 500 yards north-west of the Belgian village of Vlamertinghe. On 22nd September 1917 that site was subjected to continual aerial bombing and a number of casualties were incurred. Among these was Frank Wilmshurst who suffered very serious abdominal wounds. He was taken by ambulance to No.4 Casualty Clearing Station (C.C.S.) at Westvleteren, some five miles distant by road. Speciality abdominal units were being set up in C.C.S. where sufferers were congregated to be made as comfortable as possible. This arrangement also kept them out of sight of those with less serious wounds. They were rarely sent back to the large base hospitals at the coast because not many were expected to live. Whereas x-rays were by now in use to detect shrapnel and bullets in the body, there was little that could be done where massive injury had been sustained by the internal organs. The technique of blood transfusion was in its infancy and antibiotics were yet to be discovered. Strong as he was, Frank had no real chance and he slowly succumbed to his wounds, dying at 4.40pm on 24th September 1917 at the age of twenty.
He was buried in the adjacent Dozinghem Military Cemetery together with over 3,000 others. The majority of them also died of their wounds in the nearby Casualty Clearing Stations. Frank Miles Wilmshurst was entitled to the British War & Victory Medals and I am sure they were treasured by his grieving parents. The stone tablet in the Church that marks the patriotism of the members of the Cricket Club and especially those three who fell was given by his father. It is also believed that the Oak Memorial in the Church which lists the casualties from the Great War was donated by the Wilmshurst family. This was originally mounted in the South Chapel.
Adapted from Valiant Hearts of Ringmer by Geoff Bridger: Ammonite Press, 1993