Military History

Edward is listed as being killed in action on 19 Aug 1918. Edward's unit was the 9 New Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery which, in 1918, was part of the 2nd Army - Army Brigades - 77th (Mixed) Brigade of the Royal Garrison Artillery

The very brief 77th Brigade, RGA War Diary entry for the period 15th to 20th August 1918 states "Harbonnieres - 15th - 20th - Batteries remained silent in position manning guns with skeleton detail ?". However an electronic book 9th Heavy Battery R.G.A 1914-1919 contains the following passage covering the above events and actually names Edward as being one of three men killed.

"On the 3rd August [1918] the Brigade left the 2nd Army area under orders to join the 4th Army. The Battery, now under the command of Major D. Rhodes, MC, entrained at St. Omer on that morning, and detrained at Ailly-sur-Somme the same day, marched to Longpre and spent the night there. The following night was occupied in the march to Daours, and on the night of the 5^th August the battery went into action at Hamelet.

On the 8th of August the British Offensive opened with the attack by the 4th army astride the Somme. The battery cooperated in this attack into full of the Australian Corps. Some 1800 rounds were fired in six hours from the position at Hamelet. In the afternoon of the same day the advance was followed up, the Right and Left Section gardens moving forward to a position in the valley between Cerisy-Gailly and Lomotte. From this position much work was accomplished in support of the subsequent stages of the advance, mainly by counter battery work and sustained harassing fire. The Centre Section guns were brought up to this position on the night of the 10th August, but the following morning the whole Battery was withdrawn back to Daours.

On the night of the 13th the situation demanded that the brigade should go into the line again, and the battery occupied a silent position 2500 yards west of Lihons. This position was on the direct observation by the enemy, and the battery came in for a great deal of attention from the enemy, and was shelled more or less continuously with H.E and gas. On the 27th August the beginning was ordered to leave the Corps, and that night the Battery pulled out to the Waggon Lines at the Hamelet to await further orders.

In the course of this series of operations the battery did not escape without casualties but considering the magnitude of the work undertaken it suffered comparatively lightly in point of numbers. Gunners C.A. Holt, H.T. Smith and E. Woodward were killed or died of wounds, and Lieut. W.G Constable and five others were wounded or gassed. For Gallantry in Action on the night of the 17^th August, in extinguishing burning ammunition, Lieut C.R. Simpson received a bar to his Military Cross and Gunner F.E. Whittaker was awarded the Military Medal".

Our thanks to "busterfied" a user at the Great War Forum for finding this book after our appeal for information.