On the 20th April the 37th Division joined the XVII Corps and took over part of the line north of the River Scarpe, near Fampoux.  In the coming action, the Second Battle of the Scarpe, the 37th Division was to attack on the left and the 51st Division on the right of the XVII Corps front.

Entry in the Battalion War Diary for 20th April; “Division going into line.  Battalion proceeded by Motor Lorry to Assembly place (RONDPONT, ARRAS) and then proceeded by route march to part of line allotted N. of R. SCARPE near FAMPOUX.  First line transport to ROCLINCOURT Valley.”

On the 21st April Private, 32216, John Thomas Dillon of the 10th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment was killed, the battle started on the 22nd. I believe it highly likely that my grandfather and John Thomas Dillon both knew each other as they had the same family name and were in the same Battalion.  My father and myself were both christened John.

I have also added a page on Private Bywater who was in the Battalion at this time, and may have fought alongside my grandfather.  The details come from his grand-daughter.

Operation Order 124, 21 April 1917

Division will attack in conjunction with 51st Div on right and 63rd Div on left.

63rd Brigade will be on right, 111th Brigade on left, 112th in reserve.

Battalion to assemble in HONEY trench and a line of shell holes now occupied by 4th Middlesex Regt.

It must be impressed on everybody the vital necessity of following up the barrage as close as possible.  If this is not done, the enemy have time to get their machine guns in action. Leading waves should keep within 50 yards of the barrage.

The following is the report of the operations from the 22nd to 29th by the commander of the Battalion.

“This Battalion moved up from Effie Trench about 11.15 on the night of the 22nd-23rd, and relieved the 4th Bn. Middlesex Regiment in Honey Trench and a line of shell holes, the relief being completed by about 1 a.m. the 23rd. Immediately the attack was launched on the morning of the 23rd the Battalion went steadily forward and met with heavy frontal and enfilade machine-gun fire.

Very soon after the battle opened units of the Brigade became mixed up, and no information reached me from officers of the Battalion. I sent out patrols to get in touch with the companies, but no reliable information was brought back.  I got in touch with the O.C. 8th Lincoln Regiment and again sent out two patrols.  These only met scattered parties, which were collected and, under the orders of the O.C. 8th Lincoln Regiment, formed a support line in Chili Trench. I remained there under the orders of the O.C. 8th Lincoln Regiment during the night of the 23rd-24th with two officers and thirty-eight other ranks, dug in on the right of the 6th Bedfords and joining up with the left of the 11th Warwicks. We remained in this position during the 24th until ordered to withdraw to Hudson Trench and Sunken Road about 9.45 p.m.

The Battalion remained in these positions until 11.30 p.m. on the 27th when it moved to assembly trenches, west of Cuba Trench, under the command of Lieutenant R.N. Wilkinson, and got into position about 3.55 a.m. 28th.

At 4.25 a.m. the attack was launched, to the north of Gavrelle, the Battalion being in support to the 8th Lincolns. By 5.30 a.m. the Battalion had taken and occupied trenches and at 6.30, together with parties of other units, had taken up a position north of the road. Owing to being isolated and under heavy machine-gun fire, the Battalion, at about 11 a.m., retired to a line of trenches occupied by the 111th Brigade, remaining there until relieved about 4 a.m. on the 29th when it was ordered to withdraw from Chili Trench, and retired to Arras, when the Battalion proceeded by bus to billets at Manin.”

Losses were very heavy in these two battles of the Scarpe. The Battalion lost 6 officers, including the C.O. Lieut.-Colonel J.H. Ridgway as well as 37 non-commissioned officers and men killed or died of wounds (including Private Dillon); 16 officers were wounded together with 391 other ranks; 119 men were missing. This gave a total casualty list for these few days of 569, and explains why on the 27th above, the Battalion was under the command in battle of a Lieutenant.