In July 2002 I took part in a battlefield tour of the Ypres and Somme. While visiting Essex Farm Cemetery I noticed a number of graves for members of the 2nd York & Lancs, mostly from the 20/21 April 1916.

Map of Canal Bank area and Essex Farm Map of attack on trenches D21 & D20

The action in which these men fought was near the canal north of Ypres, it was not a major action in terms of the overall war, but it would have been very real for those who fought and died there. The names that I have been able to take from the photos of the headstones are in the table below, in no particular order, with the date they died, all 1916.  There were more than these from the 2nd Battalion, but I did not have photos of them all, or where I did, I could not read the names from the photos.

Private G. Tindall 7 June Corporal G. Armer M.M. 10 May 2nd Lt. A.E Clarke 20 April Private W. Smith 21 April Private C. Lockwood 21 April Private J.A. Hill 21 April Lt. R.L. Ward 21 April Private J. Thompson 22 April L. Cpl. Gascoigne 21 May Private R. Aspinall 21 May Captain L.E. Atkinson 20 April Private P.Wood 21 April 2nd Lt. H.W. Twine 13 May

The headstones for Cpl. Armer M.M. on the left & 2nd. Lt. A.E. Clarke on the right.

The following is a description from the 2nd Battalion history.

The Division was back in the front line by the end of the second week in April, the Battalion again occupying the Canal Bank, while the 8th Bedfordshire Regiment was holding certain trenches, known as D20, D21 and Willow Walk, [see the second map from the trench map CD, I have indicated the trenches from a map in the 1 KSLI War Diary. J Dillon] which were much overlooked from a redoubt held by the enemy and which was no more than one hundred and fifty yards distant. The Germans bombarded these trenches all through the 19th April and attacked them as darkness was coming on, news reaching the Battalion at 8.30 pm from the O.C. 8th Bedfordshire that his three trenches were all in the hands of the enemy and that their defenders had become casualties.

Captain L.E. Atkinson

Lieutenant Colonel Halford of the Battalion was now ordered to move up at once to Belle Alliance with one of his companies, the remainder following. and to take charge of the situation.

The map above shows Belle Alliance below the red ‘X’, and Essex Farm just to the right of the cross-roads above the red ‘E’. The attack would take place just off the top of this map. See the map below.

The attack, made by one company of the 8th Bedfordshire and ‘A’ Company of the Battalion under Captain Atkinson (who died in the action), had not sufficient weight to achieve more than a mere local success, and the Germans were able generally to maintain the position they had earlier captured.  During the night the Battalion relieved the 8th Bedfordshire in the front, and throughout daylight on the 21st - from 8 am to 8 pm - the German trenches were subjected to a very heavy bombardment by all the guns of the Corps artillery. A counter-attack by the Shropshire L.I. was then launched on the night of the 21st - 22nd, and was completely successful, and the Battalion then took the place of the Shropshire L.I. in the captured trenches.  “The work of one platoon of ‘C’ Company, made up of Nos. 9 and 10 Platoons, was beyond all praise,” so we read in the Battalion War Diary, “they relieved the Bedfordshire in part of D21 on the night of the 19th, and remained there for three nights without food or water, their officer, 2nd Lt. R.L. Ward, was killed and Platoon-Sergeant Fellowes wounded.” There was recognition of the work done by Captain Atkinson in the report of 16th Infantry Brigade to Divisional H.Q.; “The work of the 2nd York & Lancaster Regt. since they were sent up in support of the 8th Bedfordshire Regt. on the night of the 19/20 has been admirable. The only successful attack on the night of the 19/20 was executed by one company of this Battalion - which recaptured D21.  During the 20th & 21st and the night of the 21/22 they worked hard on the Second Line and suffered considerable losses.  Whilst it is almost entirely due to their hard work and gallant patrolling that S.18 [a trench north of Algerian Cottage towards Turco Farm J.Dillon] and the MORTALDJE ESTAMINET have been occupied.”

The map above shows the area of Cpt. Atkinson’s attack against the trenches D21 & D20. Algerian Cottage is just above the red ‘X’, with Mortaldje Estaminet just above the red ‘Y’.

The War Diary of the 1st KSLI mentions the very muddy conditions in which they were fighting; “Very great difficulty was experienced by C Coy in covering the ground up to D20 owing to the great depth of mud. To prevent themselves sinking in, it was found necessary in place for the men to lie flat on the ground and push themselves along with their hands and knees, throwing their rifles in front of them as they progressed.”

There were some interesting notes at the bottom of the 1st KSLI report of the action;

“Steel helmets were found to be of the greatest value, but it is absolutely essential that they should be covered with a sandbag or some similar material, as the wet helmets can be clearly seen when the light of the moon shines on them.”  General Jack in his diaries speaks of his men on the 31st July, 1917, going into battle with “...the polished helmets coated with a thin skin of mud to be less visible...”

“The Germans who carried out the counter attack wore helmets, the men holding the trenches, caps.”

“Had it not been for the utter demoralization caused to the enemy by our incessant shellfire, and the utmost coolness displayed by those taking part in the attack, it would probably have been impossible to advance owing to the exceptionally heavy state of the ground.”

During the fighting of these three days the casualties were heavy, Captain L.E. Atkinson, 2nd Lieutenants A.E. Clarke, R.L Ward and P.H. Allen being killed, while 2nd Lieutenants R. Rowbotham, P.G.K. Bridgwood and R.S. Oakley were wounded. 

The battalion remained on in the Ypres Salient throughout the months of May, June and July, taking part in no major operations, but busily engaged in strengthening and improving the trenches, patrolling up to the German defences and doing all possible to capture individual soldiers of the enemy, and so secure identifications sufficient to establish what, if any, changes the Germans were making in the composition and distribution of the units in front of the 6th Division.

2nd Lt. R.L. Ward

In carrying out such minor operations the casualties were by no means light; thus during the month of May, 1916, three officers - Major H.P. Philby, D.S.O., who was then commanding the Battalion, Captain A.E. Sanders and 2nd Lieutenant H.W. Twine - and nineteen non-commissioned officers and men were killed or died of wounds, while four officers and sixty-seven other ranks were wounded.

L. Cpl. Gascoigne and Private Aspinall

Private J Thompson

The last few lines from Sassoon’s ‘Prelude: The Troops’   And through some mooned Valhalla there will pass Battalions and battalions, scarred from hell; The unreturning army that was youth; The legions who have suffered and are dust.