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The 17th (S.) Battalion Royal
Fusiliers
1914-1919
by
Everard Wyrall
With a Foreword by Major-General Sir C. E. Pereira K.C.B., C.M.G.
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This is
the 1930 First Edition
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Front cover and spine
Further images of this book are
shown below
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Publisher and place of
publication
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Dimensions in inches (to
the nearest quarter-inch)
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London: Methuen & Co. Ltd
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5 inches wide x7¾ inches tall
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Edition
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1930 First Edition
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[viii] + 312 pages
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Condition of covers
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Internal condition
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Original blue cloth gilt. The covers are
rubbed and the gilt blocking is very still bright, though there is variation in colour to
the front and rear boards. The spine ends and corners are
bumped, with some slight fraying to the head and tail of the spine. There is
a crease in the spine, near the centre, and a small bump on the front
leading edge, near the top corner.
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There is a previous owners' stamp on page
(iv): "Romolo e Remo Notarianni" with the handwritten number "3955" (please
see the image below). There is a small, old, Bookseller's label ("E. S.
Fowler of Eastbourne") on the bottom edge of the front pastedown. There are
no other internal markings and the text is very clean throughout; however,
the edge of the text block is heavily foxed, with the foxing occasionally
extending into the margins. There is also some scattered foxing to the
end-papers and preliminaries. There is a crease on the bottom inside edge of
the Title-Page and the next five pages (please see the images below) but
this appears to be a minor production fault; otherwise, this volume is very
tightly bound.
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Dust-jacket present?
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Other
comments
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No
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Generally a very clean example of the First
Edition, noting some variation in colour on the front and rear covers and heavy edge
foxing.
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Illustrations,
maps, etc
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Contents
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NONE : No illustrations are called
for; there is one folding map.
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Please see below for details
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Post & shipping
information
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Payment options
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The packed weight is approximately
6 00 grams.
Full shipping/postage information is
provided in a panel
at the end of this listing.
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Payment options
:-
UK buyers : cheque (in
GBP), debit card, credit card (Visa, MasterCard but
not Amex), PayPal
-
International buyers : credit card
(Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal
Full payment information is provided in a
panel at the end of this listing.
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The 17th (S.) Battalion Royal
Fusiliers 1914-1919
Contents
I The Call to Arms
II In the Line: November, 1915-July, 1916
III The Devil's Wood
IV The Battle of Guillemont
V Three Months of Trench Warfare
VI The Battle of the Ancre, 1916: 13th-18th November
VII The Valley of Mud
VIII Arras, 1917
IX 'Third Scarpe, 1917': 3rd-4th May
X Trench Warfare: May-November, 1917
XI The Great Fight
XII The Withdrawal from the Bourlon Ridge
XIII The Last Winter in the
Trenches: 1917-18
XIV The Grey Avalanche
XV The Period of Active Defence
XVI The Advance to Victory
Conclusion
Appendices:
The Battalion Scouts
Roll of Honour
Roll of Officers, N.C.O.'s and Men
Index
MAP
Bourlon Wood: The Great Fight, 3oth November, 1917
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The 17th (S.) Battalion Royal
Fusiliers 1914-1919
Foreword
IT was a most interesting experience
for a regular officer to see the wonderful esprit de corps of the
new army battalions. I don t know any battalion where this spirit
was more marked than in the 17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers; it was
so strong that it has survived and is vigorous to this day, as their
Old Comrades Association shows.
I had the honour to command the 2nd Division from December, 1916,
until the division was broken up on the Rhine in March, 1919, the
17th Royal Fusiliers being transferred to one of the divisions newly
formed for the occupation of the Rhine. During this time I had
excellent opportunities of judging the fine sterling qualities of
this Battalion.
Their organization and administration were excellent, but it was as
a fighting battalion that they made their mark; during the time that
I commanded the division there was no important operation in which
we were engaged that the work of the 17th Battalion was not
outstanding.
The Battalion was exceptionally favoured in having a commanding
officer who had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order three
times and the Military Cross; I refer to Brigadier-General Weston. A
fighting battalion led by a fighting commanding officer is bound to
have a wonderful record of service.
Brigadier-General C. G. Higgins, and Lieut.-Colonels Grant and
Smith, were also enthusiastic Commanding Officers whose influence
helped to make the 17th Royal Fusiliers into a first-class fighting
unit.
Of the many great fights of the Battalion I select the most
spectacular when the German counter-attack broke on the northern
side of the Cambrai salient on the 30th November, 1917, on the front
held by the 2nd Division. The 17th held a trench running at right
angles to the general line. They received orders to withdraw from
the dangerously exposed line and organize a new position conforming
to the general front. The tale of the gallantry of their rearguard
under Captain Stone and Lieutenant Benzecry which inflicted heavy
losses on the enemy with bullet, bomb, and bayonet, sacrificing
themselves and thereby gaining invaluable time for the remainder of
the Battalion to consolidate their new position, is one of the
finest actions related of any battalion in the war.
It is indeed a matter of congratulation to the Battalion that their
gallant deeds have been worthily told by Mr. Everard Wyrall, an old
acquaintance of the 2nd Division whose war history he wrote soon
after the Armistice.
Cecil Pereira
Major-General
October, 1930
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The 17th (S.) Battalion Royal
Fusiliers 1914-1919
Excerpt:
. . . Colonel Weston's report of
the operations is as follows:
'On the commencement of the attack the enemy vacated their positions
with the exception of two men who were killed. All objectives were
reached and three posts were established at A.9.d.95.1o, A.9.d.90.15
and A.9.d.90.175 (i.e. on the lip of the crater). The enemy's
retaliation was not severe and the work of consolidation proceeded
vigorously. Three wiring parties wired the flanks of the posts.
Bombs and ammunition were carried up. A trench commanding the posts
was started. The 276th Field Company, R.E., under 2nd Lieutenant
Miller, taped a new trench from A.9.d.94 to A-9.d.95.10. The trench
was dug to an average depth of four feet by a party of seventy-five
of the 24th Royal Fusiliers.
'At 2.45 a.m. the attacking troops were withdrawn. The two flank
posts were manned by an officer, six men and a N.C.O. each, and the
centre post by six men and a N.C.O. In addition a Lewis gun was
placed in each flank post. Our total casualties amounted to 3 killed
and 10 wounded. Identifications were forwarded to Brigade
Headquarters.
'Beyond continual sniping and machine-gun fire the enemy kept
perfectly quiet until 3.10 a.m. At that moment a furious bombardment
was concentrated on our new position and the front and support
lines. This continued until 3.30 a m. when it gradually died down.
'All ranks displayed a fine military spirit both in the attack and
in the work of consolidation. In conclusion I wish to draw the
attention of the Brigadier-General Commanding to the courage and
organizing ability displayed by Major Hole throughout the entire
operation.'
The Battalion diary finally adds: 'The undermentioned have been
awarded the Military Medal in connection with the operation: Sergt.
J. Carrington, L/Sgt. S. Ellis, Sergt. A. Dray, Cpl. G. Ayres,
L/Cpl. A. Uttley, L/Cpl. D. Lowry, Pte. W. Smoker.'
'Warlingham', the new crater, now loomed large in the life of the
Battalion. In 'Comic Cuts' (otherwise Tactical Progress Reports) the
crater is frequently mentioned as being shelled and trench mortared,
though a little wholesome retaliation by the 2nd Division artillery
dampened the enemy's ardour. He had, however, pushed out a sap
towards the crater, which foreshadowed trouble in the future.
On the 12th the Battalion relieved the two companies of 24th Royal
Fusiliers who had held the line during the above operation, and on
the 13th took over the company frontage immediately south of the
Canal from the 2nd Highland Light Infantry. But on the 14th the 24th
Royal Fusiliers relieved the 17th as a whole and the latter marched
back again to Le Preol.
Private H. Clarke is mentioned on the 15th of August as having been
awarded the Military Medal.
The six days' 'rest' ended, the Battalion returned to the Canal
Sector. But the tour was uneventful, the diary mentioning only
intermittent shell-fire on 'Warlingham'. The 26th found the
Fusiliers moving back into Brigade Support, Battalion Headquarters
being at Kingsclere (south of the Canal), and companies at Braddel
Castle, Mountain Keep, Tower Reserve, Marylebone Road, Esperanto
Terrace, Cambridge Terrace, Spoil Bank and Orchard Keep.
Three days were thus spent and then back again into the Canal Sector
the 17th returned.
Portuguese troops were attached to the 2nd Division at this period
for instruction in trench warfare. They were a curious lot and
regarded themselves as professional soldiers, whereas they looked
upon the British as amateurs and therefore incapable of giving
instruction. The men were good material, but the officers were of
poor quality. The Portuguese had been given a sector of their own,
but they were so lazy that the trenches were falling into disrepair.
They were, therefore, told that unless they worked they would be
taken out of the line as incompetent to hold trenches. Their reputed
saying was, 'The night is for sleep and the day for repose'. That
there was good material among the N.C.O.'s and men is evident from
the fact that one night one of their lance-corporals saw two Bosche
in front of the wire. He went out, wounded one German with his
bayonet and collared the other and brought him in a prisoner.
The 17th Royal Fusiliers merely mention that Portuguese troops were
attached to the Battalion and were split up amongst the posts.
The final entry in the Battalion diary
for August is a list of names of those who during the month had made
the supreme sacrifice: 2nd Lieutenant S. F. Drummond, Corporal E.
Perkins, Lance-Corporals D. Gordon, J. Dunn, R. Hart, and Privates
W. Wolfe, J. Wilson, F. Saunders, E. Spear, H. Brown, L. Jenner, A.
Daisley, A. Utteridge and J. Finch.
On the 31st of August the ration strength of the Battalion was 474
all ranks and the trench strength 364 all ranks.
The tour ended on the 4th of September and the Fusiliers moved back
to Le Preol, the attached Portuguese going back to Beuvry.
The month was, however, the most uneventful since the Battalion
moved north from the Arras front, i.e. so far as the front line was
concerned. The Battles of Ypres were at their height and as a
consequence the British artillery on other sections of the Western
Front was 'rationed': their ammunition was limited. This had the
effect of drawing less fire from the enemy and as a consequence life
in the front line was more peaceful.
Yet, the Bosche was kept very much on the qui vive, for a prodigious
quantity of gas was projected on to his lines and he must have
regretted having first used it. On the 10th the Battalion lost Major
J. Brett, who returned to his own Battalion—2nd Oxford and Bucks
Light Infantry—as second-in-command. On the 29th of September
'usual' billets were occupied in Le Preol.
Only one tour in the front line was served by the 17th Royal
Fusiliers during October, i.e. from the 4th to the 6th, and by the
9th the Battalion was located in billets at Lapugnoy, the 2nd
Division having moved to the Auchel area, where at last the
long-overdue training period was to be carried out.
The Fusiliers had marched into Lapugnoy, via Chocques, on the 8th,
and on the following day the Battalion was reorganized on the old
lines of four platoons per company. Companies were then inoculated.
Then began a vigorous training programme which, in the not too
distant future, was to bear splendid fruit. Rifle practice on the
range, practising the attack and all the various items of the usual
training programme kept all ranks busy during the working hours.
On the 17th the results of a Brigade Musketry Competition, which had
taken place some days previously, were published. The 17th Royal
Fusiliers had won both the Lewis-gun and Platoon Competitions. On
this date also the Divisional Competition was fired off at Auchel,
the Fusiliers finishing second and only 4½ points behind the ist
King's Royal Rifles—the winners.
The rapid-fire competitions held in
the Division at this period were of great benefit and several units
were almost back to the pre-war rate of fire, i.e. fifteen aimed
shots per minute.
Lectures on all sorts of subjects were given by various officers,
including a lecture to all officers and N.C.O.'s by General Bullen-Smith,
the Brigade Commander.
On the last day of October the ration strength of the Battalion was
39 officers and 729 other ranks: not for a long while had it stood
as high as that; even so, some 200 N.C.O.'s and men were still
required to bring the Fusiliers up to full strength.
November began with increased activity in the instruction of snipers
and many hours were spent on the ranges. The diary also speaks of
the new drafts having settled down—'of good physique'.
The first few days were spent at Lupugny, but rumours had already
circulated that the Division was to move north to take part in the
Battles of Ypres, and when on the 5th the Battalion began to pack up
and received orders to march to Thiennes on the 6th, rumour gave
place to certainty.
Nobody fell out on the march to Thiennes, though it was 20
kilometres distant, but on the following day when the march was
continued to St. Sylvestre Cappel— 15 kilometres—the cobble stones
temporarily knocked out some of the men's feet.
The 2 nd Division now formed part of the II. Corps and on the 8th
moved to Zermezeele via Cassel—another xo kilometres. Companies were
rather scattered in the Zermezeele area but billets were good. The
Battalion was informed that it would probably stay in the area for a
short while, and indeed it was the 14th before orders were received
to move and the Fusiliers again 'packed up'.
On the 15th they marched to Winnezeele— 12 kilometres—where a vile
camp, pitched in a ploughed field, inches deep in mud, was to be
their resting-place. It took two days to clear the place before it
was in anything like a habitable condition.
Again rumours beset the Battalion: the Division was to go to Italy.
But no such thing happened, for on the night of the 22nd the
Fusiliers marched to Cassel Station and entrained for Achiet-le-Grand—they
were going back to the old battlefields of the Somme area.
They did not know it, but they were going also to where their
courage, their devotion to duty and self-sacrifice were to be put to
the test, as fierce and as fiery as that to which gold is subjected.
They had trained hard during the longest period of training they had
ever had out of the line since they landed in France: they were fit,
they were eager. As the train carried them south they sang their
songs, they whistled their war tunes, the while Death counted his
numbers and the gods plaited their laurel wreaths for those who were
to fall—to rise no more.
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Please note: to avoid opening the book out, with the
risk of damaging the spine, some of the pages were slightly raised on the
inner edge when being scanned, which has resulted in some blurring to the
text and a
shadow on the inside edge of the final images. Colour reproduction is shown
as accurately as possible but please be aware that some colours
are difficult to scan and may result in a slight variation from
the colour shown below to the actual colour.
In line with eBay guidelines on picture sizes, some of the illustrations may
be shown enlarged for greater detail and clarity.
There is
a crease on the bottom inside edge of the Title-Page and
the next five pages (please see the images below) but
this appears to be a minor production fault.
There is a previous owners' stamp on page (iv): "Romolo
e Remo Notarianni" with the handwritten number
"3955" (please see the image below).
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE
BUYERS
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U.K. buyers :
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the postage figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and
do not seek to profit
from postage and packaging. Postage can be combined for multiple purchases.
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Packed weight of this item : approximately 600 grams
Postage and payment options to U.K. addresses:
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Details of the various postage options (for
example, First Class, First Class Recorded, Second Class and/or
Parcel Post if the item is heavy) can be obtained by selecting
the “Postage and payments ” option at the head of this
listing (above). -
Payment can be made by: debit card, credit
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"G Miller", please), or PayPal. -
Please contact me with name,
address and payment details within seven days of the end of the auction;
otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the auction and re-list the item. -
Finally, this should be an enjoyable
experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope you will
find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question or query
about any aspect (postage, payment, delivery options and so on),
please do not hesitate to contact me, using the contact details
provided at the end of this listing.
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International
buyers :
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the shipping figure.
I make no charge for packaging materials and do not
seek to profit
from shipping and handling.
Shipping can
usually be combined for multiple purchases
(to a
maximum
of 5 kilograms in any one parcel with the exception of Canada, where
the limit is 2 kilograms).
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Packed weight of this item : approximately 600 grams
International Shipping options:
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Details of the postage options
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Payment options for international buyers:
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Payment can be made by: credit card (Visa
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Regretfully, due to extremely
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Please contact me with your name and address and payment details within
seven days of the end of the auction; otherwise I reserve the right to
cancel the auction and re-list the item. -
Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for
both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal
with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (shipping,
payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact
me, using the contact details provided at the end of this listing.
Prospective international
buyers should ensure that they are able to provide credit card details or
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they will be sending a cheque in GBP drawn on a major British bank). Thank you.
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(please note that the
book shown is for illustrative purposes only and forms no part of this
auction)
Book dimensions are given in
inches, to the nearest quarter-inch, in the format width x height.
Please
note that, to differentiate them from soft-covers and paperbacks, modern
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Fine Books for Fine Minds
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I value your custom (and my
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