Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 4. Introduction [2]

Col. Dimmer, V .C ., took command. In
November th e battalion assisted in holdin g up th e German counter-attack after
th e Cambrai advance.
Christmas was
spen t near Bray. The first t o m o th s of
1918 w ere 21st th e grea t German blow fell. In th e
even ing th e battalion , w hich had been in
reserve, a tta ck ed Maissemy.
N ear th e Windmill, w est of th e village, Col. Dimmer w as killed w h ilst leadin g h is men on
horseback . T h is a ttem p t to stop th e German rush failed.
B e fo re m idn igh t on M arch 22nd th e enem y had
broken th rou gh . T he brigad e was ordered back
t o Nesle, w here a stand was m ade. T w o
hundred Berks w ere in th e centre when
Nesle w as ca ptu red, b u t th e flank b ein g
tu rn ed, a retrea t was began on Roye . The
Division w as moved in lorries towards
Amiens, and on March 27-28th attacked
La Motte , b u t failed in the attempt. T he
Australian s cam e up, and th e rem nan t of
the 61st Division was relieved. T he G ermans brok e th rou gh on th e Lys in April,
and th e battalion was attacking again on
April 12th. F o r the rest o f th e m onth the
regiment w as in th e Robecq sector. A t
th e end of May the en em y'€™ s power reached
its zenith.
E arly in August th e 61st Division relieved the 5th Division in fro n t
o f Nieppe Forest. W ith in a d a y or tw o
the batta lion w ere sent forw a rd, and soon
crossed th e Lys, and d u rin g October were
in im portan t fightin g. The battalion was
n o t in th e Army o f th e Rhine, fo r a fter
m ost o f th e original m em bers o f the battalion had been demobilised
, large drafts filled up th e ran k s and th e regiment sailed
fo r Egypt.

5t h BATTALION .

The 5th Battalion to o k p a rt in the
dramatic advance on November 20th, 1917,
w hen a grea t w edge w as driven in to th e
German fro n t. W h en th e en em y cou n ter­
attacked in fo rce ten d a ys la ter th ey held
on to th eir line w ith g rea t tenacity .
E qually ga lla n t w as th e ir d efe n ce in th e
G erman offensive on March 21st, 1918.
On Sunday, March 24th, th ey w ere rushed
t o th e fro n t in buses. They occupied a
line near Montauban . On March 29th the
Germans a tta ck ed in force from Mesnil.
T he Berk s dug in and held on. On Easter
Tuesday the battalion w en t in to lin e in
fro n t o f Albert. T w o days la ter th e enem y
m ade th e second g rea t attem p t fo r
Amiens. On April 5th th e battalion w as
a tta ck ed five tim es. On April 6th A and
B Companies w ere about 100 strong and D
Company 90 strong. F rom April 2nd t o
April 5th th e battalion lost in th e ranks
243 killed, w ounded or missing. T h e G ermans
announced th a t the 5 th had been
annihilated, b u t th e actual losses w ere 15
officers and 300 other ranks.
The' battalion w ere at Heuencourt till May 25th.
In August th e 12th Division attacked
n orth o f th e Somme. They w ent th rou gh
Carnoy, and then t o Vim y Ridge, followin g up th e Germans t o Conde, near Mons.
On February 6 th , 1919, th e Prince of
Wales presented colours to th e battalion,
and in his address alluded t o th eir fine
w ork at Loos, Hohenzollern Craters,
Somm e (1916), Arras, Cambrai. Somme
(1918), Epehy, and th e German retreat to
the Scheldt. T he cadre arrived in Reading on Wednesda y, June 18th, 1919, and
received a warm welcome.

6t h BATTALION .

T h e 6th Battalion ceased to exist when
th e forces w ere reorganised a short time
a fter th e German offensive in March, 1918.

7t h BATTALION .

T he 7th Battalion cam e in for great
praise fo r th eir w ork on the Salonika
fr o n t d u rin g th e year 1917, b ut v ery little
inform ation of th eir doings cam e th rou gh
fo r publication. They did grea t th in g s in
th e advance w hich finally b roke th e Bulgar
lines and led up t o th e collap se of the
enem y on th a t fr o n t in th e autumn of
1918. T he battalion was still in th e East
at Christmas, 1919. T he surrender of
Bulgaria w as th e begin n in g of th e end,
a nd cam e as a thunderbolt t o th e Germans, w ho at on ce realised th a t their,
dream o f a g rea t E astern Empire had
vanished.

8t h BATTALION .

T he 8th Battalion w as transferred to
th e 18th Division and was brigaded w ith
th e Royal West Kents and the Essex.
W hen the grea t Germ an atta ck was commenced on March 21st, 1918, th ey w ere
in th e n eighbourhood o f S t. Q uentin.
W h en th ey w ere w ithdrawn from the fighting line th ey w ere barely 200 strong. B y
th e tim e th e British offensive started on
August 8th th e ranks w ere filled again.
O n th at d a te th ey w ere between th e
Amiens-Roye road and Morlancourt, th e
5th Berks bein g in sup port. T h e first day
an advance of six m iles was made. On
August 22nd th e 18th Division forced th e
pa ssa ge o f the Ancre and captured Albert.
H ea v y figh tin g took place at La Boiselle
on August 24th, and this was con tin ued
on August 27th, when th e 8th Battalion
to o k p a rt in th e a tta ck on Trones Wood ,
th e enem y b rin gin g up th eir 2nd Guard
Division . Combles was entered on Aug.
29th, and in operations rou nd Mont St.
Quentin on August 31st and September
1 st m uch good w ork w as don e. A fte r a
short pausei th e advan ce was continued,
b ut th e German resistance stiffened, and
a despera te fight took place a t Epehy,
w hich fell on S eptember 15th, and th e
Hindenburgh lin e w as crossed on th e 27th.
A fte r a rest th e battalion was engaged in
th e b a ttle of th e Selle River on October
23rd, and near Landrecies on November
4th. A fte r th e armistice th e battalion
m arched in to Germany.

BERKSHIRE YEOMANRY.

On October 28th, 1917, th e Berkshire
Yeomanry to o k p a rt in the operation s leading up to th e ca ptu re o f Jerusalem . Then
th ey m oved t o the le ft flank and m arched
up by th e sea, and on November 13th co-
operated in th e capture of Mughar, when
th e 6th Mounted Brigade to o k 1,100 prisoners, two guns and 14 machine guns,
It w as on th is occasion th a t Lieut. W . V . R .
Sutton , fourth son of M r. L . G. Sutton,
J .P ., of R eading, w as killed. On November 15th th e village o f Abu Shusheh was
captured.
A few da ys later th e Berks
Yeomen m arched th rou gh th e Judean Hills
t o cu t off th e Turkish retreat from Jerusalem, b u t th e enem y pu t up a stron g
defence. The commanding officer, Colonel
Pirie, was killed, as w as also Captain A.
H . Headington , of Maidenhead.
Major Sir Ralph Gore, B a rt., succeeded to the
com m and of th e regiment, w hich w ent to
th e coa st for rest and reorganisation.
O rders w ere th en received fo r th e Berks
and Bucks t o proceed t o France as a
machine gun battalion . D u rin g their 18
months in Palestine th e regiment covered
thousands of miles, m ost of th e tim e in
scorching heat.
They m et w ith further
adventure on leaving, fo r th e y had only
left Alexandria nine hours when th e troop -­
ship was torpedoed on May 23rd, 1918.
T he Berks only lost one man. A m on gst
th e saved w as th e only surviving son of
M r. L . G. Sutton , Captain Noel Sutton.
The machine gun battalion left Alexandria
th ree w eeks later.
K now n as th e 101st
Bucks and Berks Yeomanry Battalion,
Machine Gun Corps, th e y w ent in to line
near Arras in August. Th ey to o k p a rt in
the capture of Messines Ridge and Menin,
and advanced t o Courtrai. A t th e tim e o f
the armistice som e of them were near th e
Scheldt, and soon a fte r demobilisation began, th e battalion b ein g disp ersed in
France.

BERKSHIRE ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY (T.).

T he period between th e second failure
a t Gaza and General Allenby'€™ s attack at
th e end of October, 1917, w as occupied in
trainin g fo r th e part t o b e ta k en when
active operations were resumed.
The Berks w ere brigaded w ith th e Hants and
Leicester Batteries, and styled th e 20th
Brigade R .H .A .
E very th in g w as ready
by September. In th e last d a ys of O ctober th e ca va lry m oved tow a rd s Beersheba
a nd th e guns thundered against Gaza.
T he Berk s w ere attach ed t o th e 303rd Brigade R .F .A ., 60th Division , fo r th e attack
on Beersheba. A fte r Beersheba had fallen th e Berks to o k over th e 13-pounders
o f " A "€ B a ttery , H .A .C ., and becam e a
real " Horse Artillery"€ unit. T he battery fou g h t fo r fou r da ys before Sheria,
and a fter th e fall o f Gaza m oved alon g
th e coast and to o k its pla ce in th e grea t
drive northwards. W hen th e B rkshire
Yeomanry attacked the Abu Shusheh
Ridge , Ramleh, th e Berks Battery supported them . T he b attery spent tw o days
a t Ramleh. The tig h te s t corner th e battery was in was at Tahtu and Fokker, in
th e Judean H ills, being penned in b y th e
Turk s fo r tw o days and nights, but w ere
even tu ally relieved by th e 74th Division.
T he battery m oved back t o Mejdel fo r a
tim e, and Christmas, 1917, w as spent
th ere. Early in January, 1918, the battery m oved farth er south t o Deir-el-Belah
fo r a long period.
W hen th e Berkshire Yeomanry le ft for France their p la ce was
taken by Indian cavalry.
The m arch from Belah t o th e Jordan Valley began at
th e end o f April, 1918.
T he route w as via Mejdel, Juliuo, Latrone, Enab, Jerusalem and Jericho. Jerusalem was reached
at midnight a n d entered through th e Jaffa Gate.
P roceedin g p a st th e Mount of Olives, the battery w ill n o t fo rg e t th e
moonlight scene'. They fou n d a battle proceeding on th e other side o f Jordan , and
proceeded to shell th e enemy. L a ter th e
battery was m oved back t o Ras-el-Deiran ,
n ear Ramleh.
A fte r being re-organised
th e Division returned to Mejdel. E arly in
September everyth ing was ready fo r the
final push, and on September 18th th e
battery was at Sorona, behind th e Jaffa
front. The guns opened on the 19th, and
th e infantry broke through, and th e
cavalry com m enced th eir w ond erful advance.
In 36 hours th ey w ere 92 miles
aw ay at Beisan in th e rear of th e
Turks. The Battery crossed the Plain of
Armageddon. Only five days were spent
at Beisan and th e Battery pushed on
a cross the Jordan t o Mezevib, and then to
Damascus. Fou r d a ys w ere spent outside
th e walls of this historic place, and then
th e pu rsu it was con tin ued.
Then began the epidemic w hich was responsible for
m ore deaths than all th e fighting which
th e Battery had passed through. It w as
a decimated pa rty w hich reached Baalbek,
at w hich place news of th e Armistice was
received.
W h en sufficient reinforcements
arrived th e Battery trekked across the
Lebanon range t o Beyrout and demobilization commenced. T he cadre, consisting of
Captain Hughes and five oth e r ranks,
arrived in Reading on November ll th,
1919, and w ere m et by th e Mayor (Alderman G. S. Abram ).

2/1st BERKS R .H.A.

In March, 1918, the 2 / l s t Berks R .H .A .
w ere at Moncby when th e Germans attacked . They behaved very gallantly and
w ere the last battery t o m ove, retreating
on Arras. H ere th e advance of the enemy
w as stopped, th e fierceness of th e fighting
bein g indicated b y th e fa ct th a t th e Battery had 24 guns destroyed in 28 days.
W lien it becam e th e British turn to advance in August the Battery was th e first
w ith 18-pounders t o cross th e canal, and