Pte William Gow 34564 13Btn Royal Scots @ww1wullieswar - Tumblr Blog

2018 update

I haven’t added to this blog since my trip to the Western Front in 2014 but i have continued to research the activities of William’s battalion through out the duration of the war in an attempt to pin down where and when he died. At the beginning I had theories based upon some on-line information from a website. However, this website hasn't been completely accurate and has led me to reach some conclusions incorrectly. since 2014 there have been many more resources available on-line and in publications. Archives have released many more records that were previously not digitised. As a result I have had access to some primary resources. The most revealing of these have been the battalion war diaries which give a daily account of where the battalion has been and the action it has seen. The accounts can vary depending on the officer recording the information. Some officers do not give too much away and others provide very detailed accounts.

The one thing that confused me was that the notification of death (seen earlier in the blog) is signed by Lieut Colonel Lumsden of the 2nd Btn Royal Scots. The 13 Btn Royal Scots was sent off the line for the whole of September, yet his registered date of death was 29th September 1917. Therefore, I had to read the war diaries of the 2nd Btn Royal Scots. It took me a few years to gain access to all of these resources and part of that was that I had to retrace my steps research wise and try and undo some of my perceptions regarding what happened to William. Also, gaps in the information I had previously located meant that important facts had been missed. I had been misled as to the locations of the battalion on certain dates. I had been confused by his date of death when the battalion had been on R&R. I had eventually discovered that the battalion was on the Frezenberg Ridge both in July and August 1917 and that the action had been so fierce that the battalion had huge losses and that the R&R in Arras was actually to enable the replenishment of the battalion to bring it back to strength. Beck House, a ruined farm house with a huge pill box built within it.

William’s Battalion was engaged in a battle to take the German garrisoned Pill Box on the 31st July. This resulted in disastrous losses for the battalion. By the 1st August 1917 the 13th RS had taken Beck House after an entrenched battle. That night the rain came and there was no moon. The relief battalion, the 10th Scottish Rifles, was stood down as it was unsafe to send the men in without being able to see. When dawn came the Germans had regrouped for a counter offensive and had surrounded the 13th RS on 3 sides. The German’s hit hard and when it was over the RS had sustained considerable casualties. By the the morning of the 2nd August 1917 the battalion had a strength of just 11 officers and 126 other ranks. The rest of the battalion was either dead, missing or taken prisoner. Although the battalion also saw action in August, this night was by far the most devastating to their strength and the likelihood of William surviving it was pretty slim.

Although William’s name is carved on the memorial wall in Arras, the effects register puts his death in Belgium, which is where Beck House is. By the 26th September the area was securely in Allied hands. By the 1st September the 13th RS had gone to Arras to rebuild the battalion and the 2nd RS had moved into the Frezenberg area near Beck House. With the enemy driven back for a time, the task of clearing the battlefield and identifying the dead had begun. I believe this is why the 2nd RS commanding officer is the one who signed the death notification.

At the end of September I will be making a trip to Ypres to take in the memorial ceremony and after that i will visit the Scottish Memorial to lay a wreath.

#Lestweforget

Somme Military (British) cemetaries - headstones

At the start of each series of photos there is one showing the name of the cemetary, apart from Thiepval. The photo of the monument precedes those of the headstones.

The people in the middle of the photograph are standing in the German front line trench and the photo was taken from the Canadian Front line trench...a distance of about 30 feet.

#vimy ridge #vimy trenches #ww1

preserved trenches at vimy ridge

#vimy ridge #ww1 trench warfare #ww1

preserved trenches @ vimy ridge

#vimy ridge #ww1 trenches #canadian ww1 memorial

some of the beautiful sculptured figures

on the memorial at the base

#vimy ridge #canadian ww1 memorial #ww1

Stunningly elegant monument. The scale has to be seen to be believed but there is much more to see on this site to teach us of the realities of war.

#vimy ridge #ww1 #canadian ww1 memorials #Le grande guerre

8 August

Home now. Horrendous journey this side of the Channel due to ridiculous rain storm. Visibility was awful. But here and safe. This morning we went to Vimy Ridge. The monument is exactly that and commands the skyline. Majestic in nature and looking out over a valley, it can be seen from the motorway. The rest of the site has to be seen to be believed. Again this is a monument to Canadian Troops who fought in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, an offensive of the Battle of Arras, which was a diversionary action designed to draw the Germans away from the French line, allowing the French to come up behind the Germans as they battled the Canadians and the rest of the allies. At the same time, my Great Uncle was making his way, with 24,000 other British troops, out of the chalk tunnels under Arras and fighting his way toward Blangy. It didn't go well for the allies and the 13th Royal Scots ran into trouble when mines exploded prematurely. Vimy also has an extensive network of preserved trenches and tunnels and they run tours. Among the trenches are shell holes and craters created by mines exploded in an attempt to weaken the enemy. At it's narrowest point the front lines were only about 30ft apart.,

After Vimy we went via Lens to a village referred to as Loos in the history books. This was the site of Williams first battle in the autumn of 1915. Along with other allied battalions the 13th Royal Scots attempted to take control of Hill 70, a coal bing on the edge of the village. There is a link to the details of this battle at the start of the blog. I don't have the words to describe properly, the things that I have seen on this trip or their impact on me. Suffice to say, the entire trip has been emotional, overwhelming at times. I have had my preconceptions blown away and I now have a familiarity with the geography of the Western Front in a way I didn't have before I went. The books are great but they can only give you so much, but add that to actually walking the Front line and the perspective changes completely. To stand on a hill and look out over the front line to the German positions, knowing where the towns and villages were, the railways and the supplies of coal, and the strategic importance is obvious.

I will leave it there for tonight, but although the trip is over the quest goes on.The big question is, after Arras, where did William go, and how did he die? Was there an action he participated in still in teh Arras sector or did he move on? Or, after Arras, was he redeployed to make up numbers. If anyone can help me on that one, I would be so grateful.

Tomorrow I will begin to upload the photos that we have taken. We have some of the headstones in some of the cemetieres and some of the panels with names from Thiepval and The British Memorial in Arras. If anyone is researching, they may be useful for you.

7 August

The last complete day in France. Today was the big day. I have visited the cemetiere's in search of Williams comrades and i have walked down some of the steets and in some of the places he would have walked or fought. Today I visited Le Cemetiere Militaire Britannique du Faubourg D'Amiens in Arras. I already knew that my Great Uncle had no known resting place and luckier than some, he has his name on a memorial. So Bay 1 and 2 was where I was to find him. I wasn't prepared for the sight once I got there. Bay 1 and 2 are inscribed with the names of at least 676 names of The Royal Scots, all of whom have no known grave and are for all intents and purposes, missing! Officers, men and all. It explains why I didn'f find more than one or two elsewhere. Also in the cemetiere itself, lie the bodies of about 2 dozen of his comrades. More about this later. I had taken a pot plant and Royal British Legion cross with a poppy upon it. On the front I wrote his name and number and battalion, and on the back I left a message on behalf of his parents and 'reunited at last'. He went off to war a brave fresh faced 17 year old boy, never to return and never to be seen by his parents again. As far as I know, I am the first descendant to pay homage to him since he landed on French soil 99 years ago.

Just some of the boys and men who fought alongside my Great Uncle William and who like him, have no known grave.

One more thing to do. To visit the place where he spent 8 days waiting and preparing to go into battle for the Battle of Arras along with 24,000 other British soldiers. La Carriere Wellington. A network of tunnels dating back to the chalk quarries were added to and linked up by the New Zealand regiments. Caverns and chambers were opened up and tunnels connected in preperation for what was to come. 10 April 1916, 24000 british soldiers would pour out of the tunnels and attach the Germans, distracting them from the real offensive being fough by the French further south.

Just a couple of glimpses into life underground whilst waiting to begin the Spring offensive. The walls are carved with grafitti and painted or drawn on. I can't describe to you what it was like walking through the tunnels, they have to be seen to be believed.

Tomorrow it is time to go home, back to Blighty. We are stopping via Vimy Ridge. This is my last blog from The Somme but I have so many photos to share and too much research still to do. please do come back to have a look as I will be adding to it over the next week of so. Till then abiento.

6th August

A break from the cemetieres and monuments today. It is so overwhelming and there is more to come. Today the weather is forecast to be wet and looking out of the window it is not wrong. It is tres pluis! raining like there was no tomorrow. The Somme mud will be having an outing today. Even with the prolonged dry spell, the ground has been muddy in the more rural cemetieres. Evidence of the type of mud that would have been the problem during the Somme battle were seen at Martinpuich cemetiere which is in the middle of a field full of potatoes. Rain prior to our arrival had liquidised the mud so that it flowed down through the field, looking much the way the sand does under the water when the tide is in, you stand on it and your feet sinks in till the sand envelopes your feet. That is what the mud is like here. So...today we visited Amiens, it was pretty but very wet. Still we visited the Cathedral and took a walk through Little Venice. Lunch at a Creperie....look ma! no omelettes!. The Oef Salade was delicious wrapped in a savoury crepe and then for desert I had......wait for it.....crepe....stuffed with apples and cream, drowned in calvados and set alight. Gorgeous! I thoroughly recommend it.

Above: the main Stained window of Amien Cathedral.

Above: some of the artisan houses by the canal in Little Venice in Amiens.

After lunch, we headed out to Peronne. There was an exhibition of the war in their Musee de la Somme. Destroyed in both wars and rebuilt after the first just to be destroyed again, the four original medieval

turrets have survived.

5 August

We also visited the monument for the Welsh regiments which wasn't installed and dedicated until the 80's. Over looking a woodland with welsh flags and wreaths strewn and a wood littered with shell damage both on the ground and in the trees.

Peake Wood Cemetiere

By the side of the Fricourt road stands another small cemetiere. A look at the register reveals more soldiers of the 13 btn Royal Scots lie here. I have found an entry in a book here in France which tells me precisely and too the date, my great uncles battalions movements. 13th (service) battalion Royal Scots moved to the Somme Sector from Hulloch Sector Battle of Loos - July 1915) end of JulyI(I believe this to be 1916) arriving Prouville on the 28th July. Moved on to Vignacourt 31 July, Molliens-au-Bois 3 August, Bresle 4 August and Peake Wood via Albert 8 August.

Support positions at Contalmaison 9 August, Front line 10 August, relieved and via Contalmaison to Peake Wood 12 August. To Becourt Wood 14 August, Front Line Martinpuich 19 August, Reserve positions on Fricourt Road 22 August. Front line 27 August, Villa Wood 29 August, Fricourt Road 30 August, Front line intermediate Trench 3 September, Bivouacs east of Albert 4 September, North east of Lavieville 5 Septembre, East of Albert 12 September, near Shelter Wood 13 September. Front Line east of Pozieres 15 September - attack and capture of Martinpuich.

War Diary records 'Men went over the top at 6.20am - there was practically no hostility from the trenches - 'enemy apparently taken by surprise..' High Casualties British Military noted. Relieved and to Millencourt 18/9., Bazieux ??? 19/9, Baizieux 25/9, Bresle 5/10, Scots Redoubt 8/10, and from there to support positions around Destremont Farm, Le Sars Sector. To Front line 10/10, support 12/10. Relieved at midnight 13/10 and to Martinpuich, To Contalmaison 14/10m Martinpuich 17/10, support line 18/10. Work carried out on Scotland Trench 20/10 - 30/10. Releived and to Martinpuich 1/11, Albert 3/11, Baizieux 5/11, Lahoussoye13/11.

Today I know for certain I walked in the places he walked during this time. Albert, Peake Wood, Martinpuich, Contalmaison, Drove past Bresle, He would have been here in Le Sars, even just to march through on the road outside our B&B going to Albert or back to the front line.

Martinpuich cemetiere is just behind the village in a field which is ploughed and planted every year using tractors and harvested using combines. Just at the entrance to the cemetery we came across a stark reminder of the surprises that are churned up from time to time. Although obviously diffused, I wouldn't

recommend picking these up.

23153 Lance Cpl W Muir Royal Scots 27th December 1915 Age 33

Martinpuich British Cemetiere

Martinpuich is not far from Poziere or Le Sars. In fact, In the Somme you realise how little ground was gained by how close all the cemetieres are and when they were established. Martinpuich, however, is of importance to me on this journey to find my Great Uncle Williams war. I now say it is a journey to find his war, as since my arrival, I now understand a lot more. At the beginning of the blog, I have listed the Battle orders, My uncles battalion was the 13th (service) Royal Scots and was formed specifically for this war. They were attached to the 15th Scottish Division which was part of the 45th Brigade. Now that is a lot of men and they covered a vast part of the Western front, however, my Great uncle William didn't fight everywhere attributed to the Division. He did however, participate in the attack on Martinpuich, a small village on the Front line and they were successful in taking Martinpuich from the enemy. Reports are that there were few casualties and that the village was taken with little resistance. There is however, a small cemetiere and it was here that I found evidence that the battalion had indeed been there. Although we had found graves for the Royal Scots before (not many tho'), these were the first of my Great Uncles comrades from the 13 Royal Scots.

German machine gunners view of the Allied positions and approach. There would have been no shrubs there back then.

5 August 2014

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Pte William Gow 34564 13Btn Royal Scots