Taken Prisoner In The Kaiser's Battle.

1914 - 15 Trio.
2335 Pte. P. G. Dunn, 15th London Regiment (Civil Service Rifles).

Percy Gordon Dunn was born on 23rd April 1895. The 1901 Census gives his family's address as 66 Chippenham Road, Paddington, and lists the eight family members: George, aged 47 and a Post Office sorter, his wife Elisa (34), and their children - Dorothy (11), Florence (10), Albert (8), Percy (5), Edith (3) and Cecil (8 mths). At some point before the outbreak of the First World War, the family moved to 147 Bravington Road, Paddington.
Percy attested for the 15th London Regiment (Civil Service Rifles) on 31st August 1914, agreeing to serve for four years in the Territorial Force. His Attestation Papers describe him as aged 19 with good physical development. He was also just under 6', which was exceptionally tall for the early 20th century. On 9th September, Percy signed Army Form 624, agreeing to serve "in any place outside the United Kingdom in the event of National emergency."
After a period of basic training, Percy went to France with the 1/15th Londons on 17th March 1915; he was one of the original battalion, which landed in France on this day, the men earning themselves the proud title of "17th of March Men". Percy appears to have served with the Battalion through till March 1918, and would have taken part in the many battles and engagements that the 1/15th Londons were involved in. These include Festubert and Loos in 1915, Vimy Ridge, High Wood and the Butte de Warlencourt in 1916 and the Ypres Salient, Messines Ridge, Bourlon Wood and the Hindenburg Line in 1917. Percy was appointed unpaid Lance Corporal on 2nd November 1916 (shortly after the Somme battles at High Wood and the Butte, when there would have been a shortage of NCOs) and paid Lance Corporal in June 1917. (A lance corporal received 1s and 3d a day compared to the "shilling a day" paid to privates.)
On the morning of March 21st 1918, the Germans launched the Kaiser's Battle or "Kaiserschlacht", attacking along a 50 mile length of front held by battle-weary divisions of the British Third and Fifth Armies. As the line gave way and British troops fell back, retreating in the face of overpowering odds, the fighting became confused. The 15th Londons' Regimental History states: "There have been many attempts to write the story of the great retreat and, generally speaking, the experience of one battalion was much the same as that of any other. But it is well-nigh impossible to describe in detail the career of any unit throughout the most strenuous days of the fighting - the 21st to the 26th of March. During these days battalions often became split up into several parties engaged in different small fights, where none knew how the battle fared with their comrades in other parts of the field."

According to his Service Papers, Percy Dunn was reported missing on March 22nd. The Regimental History, on the other hand, describes March 22nd as a quiet day with March 23rd being "the most critical day in the career of the Civil Service Rifles in France." Certainly there was prolonged and confused fighting on the 23rd and by the afternoon 'D' Company, with their right flank "in the air" had been surrounded and most of the men were killed or captured. It is impossible to know whether it was here or in one of the "different small fights" that Percy was taken prisoner. What is known is that he suffered a gun shot wound in the thigh and, as noted on his Service Papers, he lost his extra lance corporal's pay once he was a prisoner.

In June 1918, a communication was received from the Central Prisoner of War Committee with the information that Percy was a POW at Sprottau Camp in Lower Silesia. (The town of Sprottau is now within the borders of Poland and goes by the name of Szprotawa.) He would be repatriated to England in late November, soon after the Armistice. Discharged from the army on 25th March 1919, Percy was awarded a King's Certificate, a Silver War Badge and a weekly pension, his wound having resulted in a 30% degree of disability. He had served 4 years and 207 days. In 1922, Percy married Lilian Holton. He died in Hampstead in 1974.

A Millionaire's Footman In The Trenches.

British War Medal 1914 - 1920.
Victory Medal.
S-34191 Pte. C. T. Giles, Rifle Brigade.

Charles Thomas Giles was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, his birth being registered in nearby Amersham in early 1888. At some point the family moved to London and, by the time of the 1901 Census, were living at 6 Portman Mews South, part of the Portman Estate, in the Parish of Marylebone. Charles' father, Thomas, was employed as a domestic coachman while his elder brother William was a clerk in a merchant's office and his elder sister Cecilia was a short-hand clerk.
At the beginning of 1914 or thereabouts, Charles had sailed for America and found employment in New York. Three years later, on 11th July 1917, he enlisted in the British army for the duration of the war. His Attestation Papers describe him as 27 years old, just over 5' 7" in height, with good physical development and a tattoo of a butterfly on his right leg. He was employed as a footman at 660 5th Avenue, the New York residence of the millionaire, Mr William K. Vanderbilt. Pictures of this impressive building, which had been designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, can be seen here and here.

Charles sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and arrived at Liverpool in early August 1917. On the 11th, he was at the Rifle Brigade Depot and was subsequently posted to the 6th Reserve Battalion at Eastchurch. He crossed over to France on 12th January 1918 and joined the 2nd Rifle Brigade, which was enjoying some time in reserve. At the beginning of February, the Battalion marched to Poperinghe and on the 15th was in the front line at Passchendaele, the centre battalion of the 8th Division's front. Except for an abortive enemy raid and occasional shelling with H.E. and gas shells, it was an uneventful tour; according to the Regimental History, casualties for February amounted to one officer and five other ranks killed and sixteen other ranks wounded. One of the latter was Charles Giles, wounded in the right arm on 16th February and evacuated to a field ambulance, then a casualty clearing station and, finally, to hospital. Fortunately, his wound was not serious and in early March he was back in England to convalesce. In mid-June, he was granted 10 days leave, which he spent at the family home at 12 Warriner Gardens, Battersea. He had sufficiently recovered to be sent back to France on 9th November. This time he was posted to the 1st Rifle Brigade and probably joined them just in time to celebrate the Armistice.

Charles was demobbed on 19th February 1919 but had a frustrating few months waiting for the army to arrange for his repatriation back to the USA. Finally, on 14th June, he sailed on the "Orduna" as a steerage passenger, arriving in New York on June 29th. The ship's manifest describes him as a "butler". It would be interesting to know if he went back to his old job, especially since William Vanderbilt died the following year and the 5th Avenue mansion was demolished in 1926. Charles Giles' medals were sent to him in June 1921, by which time he was living at 313 West 29th Street, New York City.

Pte. John Bunce, 15th London Regiment.

Memorial Plaque.
John Henry Bunce.

John Henry Bunce was born at Forest Gate, Essex, on 24th August 1894, the second son of Samuel Bunce, a commercial clerk, and his wife Alice Amilia. The family are recorded on the 1901 Census as living at 24 Tonsley Hill, Wandsworth. John was educated at Swaffield Road and Wandsworth Technical Institute. The family later moved to 21 Dyson Road, Leytonstone. Following the outbreak of war, John joined the 15th (County of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles) in August 1914. After basic training, he went to France with the Battalion on 17th March 1915. (John's two brothers both served in the army in the Great War. His older brother, Leonard, enlisted in the West Kent Yeomanry in June 1915, served in Egypt and Palestine, and later transferred to the East Kent Regiment and was wounded in France. Wilfred, his younger brother, who was a bank clerk, joined the Honourable Artillery Company in 1917, serving two months on the Western Front until being wounded and taken prisoner in May 1917.)

Serving in 'B' Company of the 1/15th Londons, John Bunce had his first experience of life in the trenches in early April 1915. In May, the Battalion played a supporting role in the Battle of Festubert, being occupied with holding the line, burying the dead, supplying carrying parties and patrolling. The conditions of trench warfare had brought many new types of weapon into general use. One such was the hand grenade, which was particularly useful in close quarters fighting or for clearing the enemy from dug-outs. John Bunce was one of a number of selected men who were sent to the Divisional Bomb School of Instruction at Noeux-les-Mines to learn something of the rather crude bombing techniques in use in 1915. According to the 47th Division History, there were about a dozen different bombs and rifle grenades being tested and new ones coming out almost every week. All were unpredictable and liable to explode prematurely and accidents were a common occurrence. Sadly, John was wounded in one of these accidents and died on 24th July 1915. Two other men from the Civil Service Rifles, 255 Sjt. E. K. Evans and 1785 Pte. C. H. Taylor, were also fatally wounded in the same incident. Soon after, it was discovered that the cause of many of these accidents was due to the way in which the fuses had been inserted into the bombs and measures were taken to correct this.

There are no surviving Service Papers for John Bunce but there is an obituary in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, which quotes from letters of condolence sent to his family. His Captain wrote: "Your son was a universal favourite - cheerful, willing, and a hard worker, and a very promising soldier." In the words of his platoon sergeant: "In the army the best that can be said of any man is that 'he is a good soldier.' I can say that your son had fully qualified for this high standard. He was well disciplined, obedient, and always ready to do anything he was called on to undertake; the mere fact that he was selected for instruction in bomb throwing shows that his superiors had a thorough confidence in his abilities." John Henry Bunce was laid to rest in Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery. On either side of his grave are the graves of Evans and Taylor, who were killed in the same fatal accident.

Awarded The Naval Good Shooting Medal.

1914 - 15 Trio.
George V Naval Long Service & Good Conduct Medal. HMS Hibernia.
Edward VII Naval Good Shooting Medal. HMS Bulwark.
189502 R. Watkins, Petty Officer, Royal Navy.

Robert Watkins was born in Islington on 10th December 1880 and joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 on 4th July 1896. He was just over 5' tall, with a fresh complexion, brown hair and eyes and a scar on his left hand. Initially rated Boy 2nd Class, he commenced training on HMS St Vincent, a training ship moored permanently at Haslar. Nine months later, Robert was rated Boy 1st Class and continued his training at HMS Pembroke and Thetis. On his 18th birthday, he was rated Ordinary Seaman and soon afterwards joined HMS Pylades, a satellite-class composite screw corvette serving on the Australia Station. He would stay with this ship until April 1902, during which time he was rated Able Seaman.
Robert was rated as a Qualified Gunner in November 1902 and, in 1905, he served as a Seaman Gunner aboard HMS Illustrious, a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought that had been launched in 1896 and was now part of the Atlantic Fleet, and gained advancement to Leading Seaman. Service on HMS Resolution in 1906, followed by two years aboard HMS Triumph, saw Robert Watkins promoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class. He passed educationally for Petty Officer on 2nd March 1909.
HMS Bulwark was a Formidable-class battleship that had been launched in October 1899. In 1908, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the Polar explorer, became Bulwark's commander, becoming the youngest junior battleship commander at that time. Robert Watkins joined the ship as a Petty Officer 1st Class on 1st March 1910, the same day that HMS Bulwark was commissioned into the Reserve at Devonport with a nucleus crew, as flagship of the Vice Admiral, 3rd & 4th Divisions, Home Fleet. It was also in this year that Robert was awarded the Naval Good Shooting Medal for excellent gunnery performance in the annual Fleet Competition, using the 12" breech-loading guns which were Bulwark's most powerful armament.

The reverse of the Naval Good Shooting Medal, showing a nude figure of Neptune, holding five thunderbolts in each hand. The Latin motto VICTORIA CURAM AMAT translates as "Victory Loves Care". The recipient's name, number, rank, ship and calibre of gun are impressed around the rim in upright capital letters. A total of 974 medals and 62 bars were awarded between 1903 and 1914, when it was discontinued.

HMS Bulwark was lost in November 1914 when an accidental explosion in the after magazine tore the ship apart. Out of the ship's crew of 750, only 14 men survived, two of whom subsequently died from their injuries. Read more about HMS Bulwark here.

Robert Watkins passed professionally for Petty Officer on 8th December 1910 and later served on HMS London, a Formidable-class battleship with the Atlantic Fleet. In May 1912, this ship was involved in a collision with the merchant steamer SS Don Benite. Soon after, Robert joined the crew of HMS Hibernia, a ship he would stay with for over five years. In November 1912, as a consequence of the Balkan War, Hibernia was sent to Malta and then participated in the blockade of Montenegro and the occupation of Scutari. In the early part of the Great War, Hibernia was part of the 3rd Battle Squadron and saw service with the Grand Fleet and the Channel Fleet. In November 1915, she was sent to the Dardanelles, arriving there on 14th December, and covering the evacuation from V and W Beaches at Cape Helles.

HMS Hibernia arrived back at the Devonport Dockyard in February 1916 and, after a refit, rejoined the Grand Fleet in March. In October 1917, the ship returned to port and became an overflow accommodation ship. Read more about HMS Hibernia here. Robert Watkins ended his naval career as a Chief Petty Officer and transferred to the Royal Fleet Reserve on 5th March 1921.

A Trumpeter In The Scots Greys.

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Cape Colony", "Paardeberg", "Driefontein", Johannesburg" & "Belfast".
3983 Pte. S. Waterer, 2nd Dragoons.
Ex Roderick Cassidy Collection.

Sidney Benjamin Waterer was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, in 1878. On 24th August 1894, at the age of 16, he enlisted in the army, agreeing to serve twelve years with the Colours. His Attestation Papers give his profession as musician and describe him as being only 5' 2" tall, weighing 94lbs and with fair hair and complexion and blue eyes. The following day, he joined the 2nd Dragoons at Aldershot and was initially on the strength as a "boy". Sidney managed to pass his 2nd Class Certificate of Education in 1895 and the following year he was appointed bandsman and awarded his 1st Good Conduct Pay. However, his army career was by no means a smooth progression; on 15th May 1897, he was deprived of his Good Conduct Pay and, nine days later, was sentenced to 14 days imprisonment by order of the C.O. On his return to duty, he reverted to Private. In January 1898, Sidney was appointed Trumpeter and his Good Conduct Pay was restored but events seemed to repeat themselves as six months later he was back in the cells for seven days and again reverted to Private. In 1899, he again managed to be awarded and be deprived of his Good Conduct Pay in the space of four months; he was clearly a bit of a rogue.

Following the outbreak of the Boer War, Sidney Waterer sailed for South Africa with his Regiment in November 1899. He saw action in Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal, earning entitlement to the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps. On 19th September 1900, five men of the Greys, including Pte. Waterer, were wounded in action at Rietvlei. Sidney Waterer's Service Record has no details of his wound but it was enough to end his career as a soldier. He was sent back to England and "having been found medically unfit for further service" was discharged from the army at Edinburgh on 11th April 1901. He had served a total of 6 years and 231 days of which 1 year and 20 days had been overseas. His conduct on discharge was described as "fair" and his intended place of residence was given as 171 Goswell Road, Clerkenwell.

With The 1st Lincolns In The Sudan.

Queen's Sudan Medal.
Khedive's Sudan Medal 1896 - 1908 with clasps "The Atbara" & "Khartoum".
2763 Pte. G. Brown, Lincolnshire Regiment.

George Brown was born in Spitalfields around 1873. On 2nd June 1891, at the age of 18, he decided to enlist in the Lincolnshire Regiment, agreeing to serve for seven years with the Colours and five years in the Reserve. His Attestation Papers give his religion as Roman Catholic, his occupation as a printers labourer and describe him as just over 5' 5" in height, weighing 128lbs and with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He also had scars on the top of his head and the back of his neck.
After initial training in England, George was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolns, with whom he served over two years in the Straits Settlements. During this time, he was tried and imprisoned for ten days with hard labour - but his surviving Service Papers give no indication of what his offence might have been. In February 1895, the 1st Lincolns had arrived in Malta. Two months later, the "Jumna", carrying the 2nd Lincolns home from the Far East, arrived in Valetta harbour and the two Battalions thus came into contact after a long separation. About 375 men of the 2nd Battalion, including George Brown, were transferred into the 1st Battalion. George was to stay in Malta for the next two years, during which time he was granted his 1st Good Conduct Pay.
In February 1897, the 1st Lincolns took ship for Egypt. The following year, despite being under orders to proceed to India, the Battalion was ordered to proceed up the Nile as part of General Sir Herbert Kitchener's expedition to reconquer the Sudan and avenge the death of General Gordon at Khartoum. On 7th January, the Battalion left Cairo, travelling south via Assouan, Wady Halfa and Abu Hamed to Gurheish, where they stayed till February 13th. They next proceeded to Abu Dis and then Berber. From here the journey was trying; marches had to be done over rocky ground, and usually at night to avoid the heat of the day. Nevertheless the troops managed to cover 140 miles in six days. In the first week of April, a reconnaissance party located the Dervish camp, fortified with trenches and ringed by a thorn-bush zareba, on the right bank of the Atbara, a tributary of the Nile. On the morning of April 8th, the Battle of the Atbara was fought as Kitchener's troops advanced and captured the Dervish position, the Lincolns losing 1 man killed and 16 wounded.
In August, after four months in summer quarters awaiting reinforcements, Kitchener was ready to continue the advance to Khartoum. The final battle of the campaign was fought at Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 and again the 1st Lincolnshire Regiment were present and had 18 men wounded. For his participation in the campaign, George Brown received the Queen's Sudan and Khedive's Sudan Medals.
George returned to England in October 1898 and was transferred to the Army Reserve. Just over a year later, on 28th December 1899, he was recalled to the Colours and sent out to join the 2nd Lincolns in South Africa, where he served for over two and a half years. He was awarded his 2nd Good Conduct Pay in June 1900. For service in the Boer War, he received the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps, the present whereabouts of which are unknown. George returned to England in August 1902 and was discharged from the army on 1st June 1903. In July 1903, he enlisted in Section D of the Army Reserve for four years. Reservists were paid 3 shillings and 6 pence a week and had to attend twelve training days per year. He was finally discharged from all military obligations on 27th July 1907. His Discharge Papers describe his military character as "good" and give his home address as 3 Gales Gardens, Bethnal Green. The picture below shows this street in 1923. It is not known whether George Brown served in the First World War.