OLDHAM 'PALS' WAR RECORD
(during their months on the Somme in 1916)
by
Sergeant Harry Bradley, 24th Manchester Regiment, (Comrades)
and published as a series of articles in the 'Oldham Standard', in 1919.

HEAVY FIGHTING IN FRANCE
EXPERIENCES OF THE TRENCHES
BOMBARDMENT NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN

Part IV

During the following few days the men of the battalion were kept busily occupied in repairing the badly damaged trenches which had been considerably blown about during the bombardment. The work was very necessary on account of the many blockages and the necessity of maintaining communication between the front line and the supports. It was generally thought that the enemy would work on the principle of the old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, etc." and with this in mind the work was pushed on as speedily as possible. The obstructions in the trench were quickly cleared, parapets re-built, trench sides again revetted and generally a good job made of the repairs to the sector. It was not known at that time that the Corps Commander was to make a tour of inspection of the trenches, but it so happened that very shortly after the work of restoration had been completed, the commander of the XV Corps paid a visit to the trenches in the particular sector held by the 24th, and was very pleasantly surprised to find the general upkeep so excellent and the revetting of the trench walls and 'bays' so cleverly done, this being especially noticeable in a trench named Kingston-road. He warmly complimented the battalion on the way they had maintained their particular trenches, and paid a tribute to the workmanlike manner in which the revetting had been done.

The remainder of the second tour was of a comparatively quiet nature but the battalion suffered another calamity on the 17th of March, when Captain Frank Marshall, a daring and popular officer of 'D' company was 'sniped' and died almost instantly with a bullet wound in the head. His body was laid to rest in a cemetery near to Meaulte, neat cross bearing the words "Killed in action" marking his grave.

Major Edward Viner, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was second in command of the Pals' Battalion for a considerable period, going abroad with them as a Captain and a Company Commander.

Captain A.M. Winder, the popular quartermaster of the battalion. He was one of the three officers who went abroad with the battalion , and remained with them to the end. In the list honours gazette he was awarded the Military Cross. Captain Winder is still in Italy, having been appointed architect to a War Graves Commission in Italy.

A day of two later the battalion again returned to their billets at Morlancourt. The time of 'rest', however, was mainly spent in laying alight railway track behind the lines, near to the village of Meaulte. On this work the four companies of the battalion were engaged, and the progress made was fairly rapid. The enemy did not quite record a direct hit on the track, though several times he made attempts to do so with his artillery. Although the nature of the work ['tion' ?], they made an excellent and thorough job of it, and they were again complimented on their skill in engineering. It was just about that time that the division were without a pioneer battalion, and seeing the possibility of securing a tested and good battalion of men whose knowledge of engineering was above the average, the Commandant of the Royal Engineers in the division made a request to the corps Headquarters for the conversion of the 24th Manchesters from a fighting unit to a pioneer battalion. The Divisional Commander was not in agreement with this proposed change and objected that the battalion had shown their value in the line. The Commander of the Royal Engineers, however, urged forward his desire and ultimately, after considerable discussion and correspondence the 'Pals' Battalion were converted into a pioneer battalion. This conversion took place on May 17th 1916. Although this proved later to be an excellent stroke of luck for the battalion in view of the fact that two months later the division was engaged. During this time Second-Lieut. J. Sutcliffe was killed. This occurred on the 12th of May. A few men were also killed and wounded at the same time. A remarkable incident happened during one of these latter tours in the line - an incident of a most pathetic nature which was not readily forgotten by the men of the rescue party. The enemy had done a little shelling with 'heavy stuff', and had severed telephonic communication between the supports and the front line. Two of the battalion signallers - Lance-Corporal Fairbrother and Private E. Hutchinson - went to discover the breakage and repair the damage. shortly afterwards it was reported to the company-sergeant-major of 'D' company that both men were missing and there was considerable anxiety as to their safety, as probably it had been necessary for them to leave the trench and climb out on top to effect the repairs. the sergeant-major set out to look for the two, but could find no trace of them. He was passing along the communication trench, however, and came to a place where the trench wall had been blown in by a heavy shell. It appeared as if the shell had had struck the top of the trench and the force of the explosion had blown in the sides and practically levelled them. As he was passing by this place, the co. Sergeant-Major heard a moan, ever so faint and plaintive, but without doubt a pitiful moan of some human being. The sound was apparently issuing from beneath the fall of earth. Instant action was necessary , and in less than a couple of minutes a party of men was hard at work clearing away the large heap of dirt and stones and sandbags. As the dirt was gradually cleared away, the moan became a little more distinct, and the men, urged forward by the knowledge that one or more of their comrades were lying beneath that slowly vanishing hap of dirt, worked with energy and determination worthy of the highest praise. But so heavy had been the fall of earth that it was fully an hour before the forms of the two buried men could be reached. They turned out to be the two signallers - Fairbrother and Hutchinson - who had set out to repair the broken telephone wire. Both men were lying on the trench floor quite close to one another with their faces almost touching. Fairbrother was quite dead but Hutchinson was alive. The latter's life had doubtless been saved by the fact that between him and the trench side a slight obstruction had prevented the earth falling on his head, and had thus left a little air space which had allowed him to breathe, whereas Fairbrother had been completely covered with the earth and had been smothered. With all speed the men were got out, and Hutchinson was given restoration which revived him sufficiently to allow him to ask for a cigarette. Although he had passed through such a terrifying ordeal Hutchinson was soon little the worse, but he was sent to hospital for a rest of a few weeks. The body of the unfortunate man, Fairbrother, was later reverently buried in the cemetery close by.

After another short rest at Morlancourt, during which time great preparations were made throughout the Division for the great battle of the Somme, the battalion marched to a camp at Bois-des-Tailles, not very far from the village of Bray-sur-Somme. A little later another division arrived at Bois-des-Tailes, and encamped close by the battalion's area. in this division was a battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, and amongst their number were several local men, who quickly discovered the Oldham Pals' whereabouts and looked up many old friends and acquaintances. The adjutant of this battalion was an Oldham gentleman, Captain W. Ormrod, who later became the brigade major of the 91st Infantry Brigade in the 70th Division.

The work of the battalion as pioneers at this period was very heavy and dangerous. Prior to the advance much defensive and preparatory work had to be completed, and daily the men were engaged in making advanced gun pits, first aid posts, machine gun emplacements, etc., in the area round Fricourt, Mametz, and Carnoy. At night parties of the battalion were sent forward into 'No Man's Land' to erect new belts of wire and other defensive measures. Gaps would have to be cut in this wire on the night of June 30th-July1st by the attacking infantry, and the most suitable places for these gaps to be cut were indicated by some sign. It was quite evident that in the enormous preparations for the attack the question of defence was not forgotten, one instance of this being the construction by the battalion of Fort Oldham. this consisted of a strong redoubt in the support line.

Quite a fortnight prior to the day of the attack the British and French artillery vigorously bombarded the enemy lines and rear areas. As the days passed the bombardment grew in intensity until it developed into a continual deafening roar of horrible magnitude. Each night the whole front was a mass of lurid death-dealing flame which baffles description. As the battalion watched the wonderful scene from points of vantage in the Bois-des-Tailes the most frequent remark uttered was "Heaven help the Jerries. Surely not a single one will come safely through that hell." And no better or more apt description of the scene could adequately describe it. It was hell with a vengeance.

The division which had encamped alongside the 7th in Bois-des-Tailles occupied the line during the bombardment in order to give the 7th division a rest before they went forward on the evening of 3oth June to attack on the following day. The Lewis Gun section of the 'Pals' battalion were ordered to accompany the Lancashire Fusiliers in the line. In that terrible bombardment the men had the most nerve-wrecking and gruelling time, and the Lancashire Fusiliers sustained heavy casualties. The enemy were replying in a vigorous manner to the shelling of the British artillery, and their guns spat out fire and iron almost as rapidly as those of the British. To those who were not there at the time it is impossible to imagine what a period of hell on earth that fortnight was. Without a moment's respite the fury of the guns was maintained and ever increasing roar continued. As the Division lay in the Bois-des-Tailles the thoughts of every man dwelt on the terrible time the men in the line were passing through, and what would be their fate when the time came for them to go forward in relief of their comrades, and carry out an attack which was to occupy a premier page in the history of the glorious achievements of the men of Kitchener's army. the men of the 24th wondered how their chums of the Lewis Gun section were faring. As events turned out they did exceedingly well and added honour to the name of the Oldham battalion. Private Humphrey again distinguished himself with an act of great courage and determination. For three whole nights he kept his machine gun in operation whilst the bombardment was at its height, and, although wounded and badly shaken, refused to leave his post for medical treatment, but continued to blaze away magazine after magazine of ammunition. With practically no rest and with very little food, and with no regard for personal safety, he kept his gun in action., and set an example of coolness and courage in the furious fighting in the historic push on the Somme, it must not erroneously be assumed that the battalion was converted into a pioneer battalion on account of any inefficiency in the trenches or because they lacked any soldier-like qualities. On the other hand, it was a compliment to their engineering ability, and their work would be almost as dangerous as that of the ordinary infantry.

Whilst the matter of converting the battalion into pioneers was under consideration the 'Pals' completed one or two more periods in the trenches, and met with varying fortunes in the matter of casualties. The last stretch was of twelve days' duration, of the highest character. For this gallant work Private Humphrey was later awarded the D.C.M.

On the night of 30th June the Royal Engineers of the 7th Division along with the Oldham 'Pals' held an open-air concert in the wood, and all thoughts of what the morrow would bring were entirely forgotten in the cheerfulness and enjoyment of the programme. From about six o'clock till eleven the fun continued, meanwhile a Church of England service conducted by a former minister of St. Mary's Church, Oldham, was being held in another part of the wood. At the conclusion of the service a photograph was taken of the scene, and about a month later this photograph, amongst others, appeared in the film 'The Battle of the Somme', which was shown at some of the cinema theatres in the town.

Transcription - Sheila Goodyear

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Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

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