Frank Buttress: 190th Siege Battery RGA.

British War Medal 1914 - 1920.
Victory Medal.
Memorial Plaque.
61686 Gnr. F. D. Buttress, Royal Garrison Artillery.

William Harding Buttress married Annie Olivia Dunnicliff in 1891. Their first child, Ada Olivia, was born in 1894. Three years later, Frank Dunnicliff Buttress, their only son, was born in Aston, Birmingham. According to the 1901 Census, the family resided at 5 Fentham Road, Handsworth and William, now 36 years old, was employed as a Jeweller's traveller. Sadly, William died in 1905, leaving Annie to bring up the two children on her own and, at some point in the next few years, the family moved to 41 Crompton Road, Handsworth.

On 30th October 1915, Frank, now aged 19 and employed as a clerk, enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery and, after basic training, embarked at Southampton on 17th May 1916 for overseas service, initially with the 106th Siege Battery. During his time on the Western Front he suffered from impetigo and spent several spells in hospital, firstly in July - August 1916 and then from mid November 1916 till early 1917, when he spent time at the 16th General Hospital at Le Treport. On 9th January 1917, Frank was sent back to duty but was soon in hospital again, this time at the 1st Canadian General Hospital at Etaples, suffering from ICT (inflamed connective tissue) of the right hand. On 28th February, he was sent back to England on board the hospital ship "SS Brighton" and, in April, he was posted to the Siege Artillery Depot at Stowlangtoft in Suffolk.

On 25th June 1917, Frank again proceeded overseas and served for a while with the 126th Siege Battery. Early in 1918, he was again hospitalised at the 1st Southern General Hospital in Stourbridge, this time with ICT of the legs. On 6th May, he had recovered enough to be returned to France, joining the 190th Siege Battery on 21st May.

Two months later, on 29th July 1918, Frank Dunnicliff Buttress was killed in action. He was just 21 years old. He was buried in plot II C 5 in Hagle Dump Cemetery 7.5 km west of Ypres. Interestingly, in plot II B 6, lie the remains of 56943 Gunner Albert John Edmunds, also of the 190th Siege Battery, who was killed on the same day as Frank.

A few months later, some of Frank's personal possessions - letters, photos, three wallets, a book of poems, a cigarette case, a match-box and various cards - were returned to his mother in Handsworth. In September 1921, Annie Buttress wrote to the Royal Garrison Artillery Records Office in Dover enquiring about Frank's medals, which she had not yet received. In December, she acknowledged receipt of the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Annie Buttress died at the age of 77 in Birmingham in 1939. Frank's sister, Ada, lived till the age of 81, dying in Malvern in 1976.

Pte. Davies - A Veteran Of Two Conflicts.

1914 Star.
L- 6396 Pte. L. Davies, 2nd Royal Sussex Regiment.

Lawrence Davies was born in Lambeth around the year 1883 and at the age of 17 years and 4 months attested for the 4th East Surrey Militia. His Papers describe him as having a fair complexion, dark brown eyes, black hair and a scar on his forehead. His address at the time was 108 Lambeth Walk and he was working as a costermonger. Lawrence served in the Militia for the best part of a year before deciding that full time soldiering would be more to his taste and attesting for the Royal Sussex Regiment at Dublin on 5th March 1901, agreeing to serve for seven years with the Colours and five years in the Reserve. His Attestation Papers describe him as 5' 5" in height, weighing 116lbs and with an anchor tattooed on his left forearm. His occupation was now given as labourer.

Lawrence joined the Royal Sussex at the Regimental Depot in Chichester and at the end of March and is recorded on the 1901 Census as single, 18 years old and residing in the barracks there. His early army career did not go completely smoothly; on 4th April 1901 he was absent from tattoo and found drunk and using obscene language in the town at 11.15pm; at the end of the month was found guilty of "overstaying his pass", both offences getting him periods of 10 days confined to barracks.
In May 1902, Lawrence was posted to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Sussex, which was in South Africa, engaged in the struggle against the Boers. He would stay five months there, during which time he was awarded his 1st Good Conduct Pay and earned entitlement to the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps for "Cape Colony", "Orange Free State" and "South Africa 1902".
Following the end of the Boer War, Lawrence accompanied the 1st Battalion to India, where he would stay for the next six years. His relationship with military authority continued to be a difficult one. On 17th July 1905 at Ambala, he was absent from bugle practice and found guilty of not complying with an order, the result being the forfeiting of his Good Conduct Badge and 8 days confined to barracks. Two years later, in July 1907, he was again deprived of a Good Conduct Badge and awarded 8 days CB for being out of bounds, damaging property belonging to the station master at Barogh and assaulting natives.

In December 1908, Lawrence was on his way back to England, where he joined the 2nd Battalion. In March 1909, he was transferred to the Army Reserve. His Transfer Papers describe his conduct with the Colours as "fair" but make the comment that there had been no instances of drunkenness in the last seven years. It is also noted that he ws a first class shot and had been an acting drummer for seven years. (The Regimental Band of the 1st Royal Sussex at Ambala in 1905 is shown in the photo above.)

Lawrence had re-engaged for the Army Reserve in 1913 and consequently was called up as a reservist on the outbreak of war in 1914. He rejoined the Royal Sussex Depot on 8th August 1914 and on 12th September was sent to France with a draft of reinforcements for the 2nd Battalion, thus earning entitlement to the 1914 Star and the proud title of "Old Contemptible".
In September 1915, he suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, probably in the 2nd Battalion's attack at Loos on 25th, during which Sjt Harry Wells won a posthumous Victoria Cross (as described in a previous post). There followed a period of convalescence in England and duty with the 3rd Battalion at Newhaven. Here Lawrence continued to find himself on the wrong side of military authority. In May 1916, found guilty of being drunk in barracks and striking his superior officer, he received 14 days detention. Two months later, another case of drunkenness got him a further 8 days detention.

On 16th August 1916, Lawrence was posted back to France to join the 4th Army Base Depot, before rejoining the 2nd Royal Sussex on 19th September. Apart from June 1918, when he had a month's furlough in England, he would serve with the 2nd Battalion till the end of the war and after. Lawrence Davies was finally transferred to the Class Z Army Reserve on 30th April 1919.

Col Sjt. Burrows - 21 Years Of Service.

Edward VII Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal.

10385 C. Serjt. A. E. Burrows, Royal Fusiliers.

Alfred Ernest Burrows makes his first appearance in history as a 5 year old schoolboy recorded on the 1871 Census as living with his mother, Elizabeth, who is described as a seaman's wife, a younger brother Edmund and two aunts in Basset Street, Budock, near Falmouth in Cornwall. At the time of the 1881 Census, the family was still resident in Falmouth and Alfred, now 15 years old, was apprenticed to a local draper. However, in February 1888, he attested as a private soldier in the Rifle Brigade, was given the service number 9416, and commenced his basic training. He passed his 3rd Class Certificate of Education in April 1888 and was posted to the 2nd Rifle Brigade in June 1888. Early in 1889, Alfred had his first taste of overseas service when he was sent to join the 3rd Rifle Brigade, which was stationed at Rawalpindi in India.
He seems to have made steady progress in his new career, being awarded his 1st Good Conduct Pay and passing his 2nd Class Certificate of Education in February 1890. He was appointed Acting Corporal in April 1890, promoted Corporal in January 1894, appointed Acting Sergeant in 1895 and promoted Sergeant in 1896. In March 1897, Alfred re-engaged for the Rifle Brigade at Rawalpindi, agreeing to complete 21 years service.
In the summer of 1897, the 3rd Rifle Brigade was one of the British Battalions that took part in the Tochi Expedition, whose purpose was to punish the tribesmen living in the village of Maizar and the surrounding area, who had ambushed Mr. H. A. Gee, the Political Officer for Tochi, and his army escort. It was a frustrating campaign, the soldiers having to deal more with heat, flies and disease than with enemy forces. A good description of the expedition can be found here. For his part in the campaign, Alfred Burrows was awarded the India Medal 1895 - 1902 with clasp "Punjab Frontier 1897 - 98".

In December 1898, Alfred was back to England and posted to the 4th Rifle Brigade. In September 1899, he qualified as a Sergeant Instructor in Musketry at the Army School of Musketry in Hythe and was later posted to the Rifle Brigade Depot. The 1901 Census, taken on March 31st, records Alfred as 36 years old, still single and working as a hospital attendant in the military hospital at Alverstoke, Gosport.
In October 1901, Alfred joined the 5th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade and on the 18th December he married Jane Annie Turner. Alfred had little time to enjoy married life, however, as he was soon sent abroad again, this time to serve in the South African War, where British and Imperial forces were engaged in a long and bitter struggle with the Boers. He stayed in South Africa for 10 months, earning entitlement to a Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps for "Cape Colony", "Orange Free State" and "South Africa 1902".

Back in England again, Alfred was promoted to Colour Sergeant on 10th December 1902 and five months later, on 11th May 1903, he was posted for duty to the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers as a Sergeant Instructor. Three children would be born to him and his wife over the next few years: Montague Alfred (b. 25/2/1904), Dorothy Annie (b. 5/2/1906) and Edna (b. 29/1/1907). His Long Service & Good Conduct Medal was awarded on 13th February 1906.
Alfred Ernest Burrows completed his 21 years of army service in February 1909 and was discharged at Hounslow. At the time he was on the permanent staff of the 4th Battalion, City of London Regiment (TF). His Discharge Papers describe him as 42 years and 2 months in age, 5' 5" in height and with a fair complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. His conduct had been "exemplary" and it was noted that he was "a good clerk, reliable, painstaking, willing & industrious. Will make an excellent caretaker." His intended place of residence was 44 Charteris Road, Tollington Park, London. Sadly, Alfred Burrows passed away on 12th July 1912.

A Machine Gunner In The Notts & Derbys.

1914 Star.
12360 Pte. S. J. Ball, 2nd Notts & Derby Regiment.

Sydney James Ball was born in 1895 in the village of Skegby, Nottinghamshire, the son of Henry Ball, a coal miner, and his wife Elizabeth. The 1901 Census records the family as living at 64 Chatsworth Street, Sutton in Ashfield, by which time Henry and his wife had had two more children: John (aged 3 yrs) and a baby girl Ann. In due course, Sydney would follow in his father's footsteps, finding work in the mines.

On 12th August 1914, barely a week after the outbreak of war with Germany, Sydney enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment) at Nottingham. He would have undegone a period of basic training and just three months later, on 11th November 1914, he found himself part of a draft sent out to reinforce the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front. The 2nd Notts & Derbys had left for France on 8th September and had taken part in the First Battle of Ypres, suffering heavy casualties at Ennetieres on 20th October, when the Battalion had been practically wiped out in a confused night action against superior numbers, many of the men being killed or taken prisoner.

Sydney served with the 2nd Battalion through to the end of December when he returned to England. The reason for this is not clear; it is possible he may have been slightly wounded. Whatever the cause, in March 1915 he was again with the Battalion and would serve a further six months in France and Flanders. On 5th October at Ypres, Sydney Ball was in action as a machine gunner when an aerial torpedo fell near to him, smashing up both the gun and the gun-pit. He was struck by several shell splinters and buried up to his neck in earth, which resulted in serious injury to his right knee joint. Evacuated to England four days later, Sydney would spend two months being treated at Southport Hospital before being returned to light duty at Derby.

Over the next couple of years, Sydney would attend various medical boards in order to be assessed for his disability pension. He was unable to walk properly and also needed an operation to remove shell fragments from his thigh. He had been discharged from the army on 5th September 1917 as "no longer physically fit for war service." His intended place of residence was 1a Primrose Street, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. His Discharge Papers stated that his military character was good and that he was sober and trustworthy. He had served in the army for just over three years and was entitled to a 1914 Star Trio and a Silver War Badge.

Pte. Thomas Haynes, 2nd Dragoons.

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Relief of Kimberley", "Paardeberg", "Driefontein", "Johannesburg", "Diamond Hill" & "Belfast". 3859 Pte. J. Haynes, 2nd Dragoons. 

Thomas William Haynes was born in Bermondsey around the year 1873. He attested for the army at Aldershot on 19th September 1893, expressing a desire to serve with the dragoons and agreeing to serve for seven years with the Colours and five years in the Reserve. His Attestation Papers describe him as over 5' 11" tall with a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair, and a scar on his chin. He was 20 years and 5 months old and he was working as a clerk. He had some military experience as he was serving as a volunteer in the Medical Staff Corps Militia. Given the service number 3859, Thomas spent the first years of his army service in the UK in the ranks of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and appears to have got on well. He was awarded his first Good Conduct Pay in September 1895, appointed Lance Corporal in 1897 and received a second Good Conduct Pay in September 1899. In the following month, he reverted to Private and in November, following the outbreak of the war with the Boers, sailed for South Africa with the Regiment. Thomas would serve for almost three years here, earning entitlement to the Queen's South Africa Medal with six clasps and a King's South Africa Medal with the usual two clasps. His QSA was impressed with the wrong initial and no attempt was made to correct it.

 

The Greys saw plenty of action during the Boer War, firstly as part of General French's forces, which advanced to the relief of the besieged town of Kimberley, and in various later engagements. The full details can be read here. On 25th June 1901, Thomas Haynes was tried by Court Martial and found guilty of "When on active service, using insubordinate language to his superior officer." He was sentenced to 28 days Field Punishment No:1, which would have involved spending part of each day tied to a wagon wheel. In addition, he forfeited his Good Conduct Pay.

In November 1902, Thomas was transferred to the 1st Class Army Reserve, being finally discharged on 18th September 1905, on the completion of his 12 years of service.

Wounded At The Hohenzollern Redoubt.

1914 - 15 Trio. Silver War Badge. 3310 Pte. I. Ross, 1/5th Lincolnshire Regiment.

Irvine Ross was born in Scotton, Lincolnshire, the son of Arthur Ross, an agricultural labourer, and his wife Mary. The 1901 Census lists the couple and their six children (Albert 12yrs, Charles 10yrs, Olive 8yrs, Irvine 6yrs, Myra 4yrs and Rose 2yrs) as resident in Church Road, Bolinbroke. By 1914, the family were living at Laughton Wood Cottage, Gainsborough.

On 9th November 1914, Irvine joined the 2/5th Lincolns, a Territorial Battalion based at Grimsby, his Attestation Papers describing him as 20 years old, 5' 6" in height and with good vision and good physical development. On 17th January 1914, he signed Army Form E.624 agreeing to serve outside the United Kingdom in the event of national emergency. After a period of basic training, he was transferred to the 1/5th Lincolns on 17th March 1915. This Battalion had actually gone to France on 1st March and Irvine would join them on the Western Front on 25th June, a member of the first draft of reinforcements under Lieutenant Walcott. The draft travelled by train to Poperinghe and was met on the road by the Regimental Band, who played them to their bivouac in an open field near the village of Ouderdom, where they were received with great enthusiasm.

On June 29th, the Battalion paraded at 7.00pm and marched seven miles to the trenches south of Hooge, where Irvine would have his first experience of life in the front line. Routine trench warfare interspersed with periods in reserve and at rest continued throughout the following months. On the 13th October 1915, the 1/5th Lincolns took part in the 46th (North Midland) Division's attack on the German positions around the Hohenzollern Redoubt. The Lincolns went over the top in the first wave and were cut down by heavy rifle and machine gun fire, suffering appalling casualties. 23 officers went into action, of whom 11 were killed and 11 were wounded, one of the latter subsequently dying of his wounds. 285 other ranks were reported killed or missing and 175 were wounded. A full description of the action can be read in the Battalion history. According to this "The attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt was a feat of arms of which the Battalion will be ever proud, but the enormous number of casualties practically destroyed it for the time being as a fighting unit. The survivors for a short period were shaken and depressed and all organization was destroyed, but the task of rebuilding the Battalion on its old lines and traditions was begun at once, and carried through ultimately with entire success. "

Private Irvine Ross suffered a gunshot wound to the neck in the attack and was evacuated to England on 18th October. After five months, he was sufficiently recovered to be sent back to the 1/5th Lincolns and would serve with them from 19th March 1916 through to 26th January 1917. On 1st July 1916, the Battle of the Somme commenced and the Lincolns were in reserve for the Division's attack on the Gommecourt Salient. A full account of this action, again from the Battalion history, can be read here. On 26th January 1917, Irvine Ross was again evacuated back to England but the surviving pages from his Service Record do not reveal the reason for this. In August 1917, he was discharged from the army and awarded a Silver War Badge for "Services Rendered". He had served a total of 2 years and 283 days.

Irvine is remembered on the Scotton Roll of Honour, which was "erected by this grateful village to commemorate its faithful sons who fought for England and liberty" and is located in the church of St Genewys. He is also listed on the Roll of Honour in Scotton Chapel. He died in 1964 at the age of 69. In 2006 a new memorial was unveiled on the site of the Hohenzollern Redoubt to commemorate the men of the 46th (North Midland) Division who died there in October 1915. You can read more about the battle and the memorial here and here.