Frank Bunton 10th July 1915

Frank Bunton

1888-1915

Frank Bunton was a distant cousin on my maternal grandfather’s side of the family. Frank’s 3x grandfather James Jones was my 4x great grandfather.

Frank was born in 1888 in Bognor Regis, the third child and second son of Abel and Hopestill Bunton. Abel is a bit of an enigma as he was not with his family in either the 1891 or 1901 censuses although Hopestill described herself as married on both. The family were in Bognor in 1891 but sometime in the next ten years Hopestill moved them to London. They were obviously very poor as in 1901 Hopestill, her three children and a boarder were living in one room in a house in Putney and she was working as a laundress.

By 1911 all three children had grown up and were working, all still at home and now living in the same road but occupying three rooms. Hopestill now describes herself as a widow. Abel is very elusive but I suspect his absence from the censuses and other records may be explained by a sighting of him in the Workhouse in 1911 in Wexford in Ireland. Wherever he was, it appears that Frank and his siblings effectively grew up without a father.

Frank joined the 2^nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles who went to France in late 1914 and remained there throughout the winter. This was one of the regular battalions of the Rifles so Frank may have already been a soldier at the outbreak of war. They saw action at The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne, at La Bassee, Messines and the First Battle of Ypres.

The second Battle of Ypres had taken place in April and May 1915 and it was in this battle that the Germans first used gas as a weapon. The Irish Rifles Roll of Honour for May 9^th shows hundreds of deaths from the attack and from the gas and this continued for several weeks afterwards.

No major battles were then fought until September in this area, but daily deaths were being logged from small skirmishes and minor attacks. Presumably there were also deaths from accidents and illness.

Frank’s death was recorded as taking place on July 10^th and his burial was on July 12^th. The casualty list for that day as recorded in the war diary gives “1 killed and 4 wounded in trenches all of other ranks”. Presumably this one death was Frank Bunton but we will never know whether he died of wounds, an accident or illness. He may have been caught in by snipers or by a random shell thrown into a trench. Whatever his fate, he would certainly have played an important part in the warfare of the summer on 1915 in Belgium.

Back home, both his brother William and sister Alice married after the war and both had their first sons in 1924. William named his boy Frank William, while Alice named hers Henry Frank, which I think shows what a close family they must have been. They, and their mother, lived in London for the rest of their lives. By the time her son Frank was killed in 1915, Hopestill had changed her name to Fanny and her death in 1949 was registered as Fanny H Bunton.

In Memory of

Rifleman FRANK BUNTON

4966, "D" Coy. 2nd Bn., Royal Irish Rifles

who died age 27

on 10 July 1915

Son of Mrs. Fanny Bunton, of 9, Bendemere Rd., Putney, London.

Remembered with honour

SANCTUARY WOOD CEMETERY

Acknowledgements

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Members of The Great War Forum at The Long Long Trail

www.1914-1918.net

Bob Price for the photo of Frank’s Grave in France

Charles Luff Mason 4th June 1915

Charles Luff Mason

January 1899- 4th June 1915

The Helles Memorial

Charles Luff Mason is a third cousin on the Coombes side of my family who came originally from the Midhurst area of West Sussex. Charles’s great-great grandfather Richard Coombes was my 4x great grandfather.

Charles was born at the beginning of 1899 in Hartley Wintney in Hampshire. His parents, William Mason and Sophia Luff married on 2 June 1884 at Linchmere in Sussex. Their first child, a daughter Maud, was born in 1885 in Linchmere. Two years later the family were living in Beech Hill in Berkshire when Elsie arrived. Charles was the final addition to the family, by which time they were living in Hartley Wintney just over the border in Hampshire. They lived there for many years with William, Charles’s father, being listed as a beer house keeper and sawyer on the 1891 census, a licensed victualler in 1901 and an estate woodworker in 1911.

Charles was at home in 1901 aged 12 but sometime in the next ten years he joined the army and the 1911 census lists him, aged 22, as a private in the 2^nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment stationed in South Africa. The battalion had been stationed in Bermuda from 1905-1907 before being posted to South Africa in 1908. At the end of 1911 they went to Mauritius and in 1914 when war broke out, were in India. Charles certainly saw the world.

The Hampshires were in Colaba (now part of Mumbai) until 16^th November 1914 when they sailed for England. They arrived in December at Plymouth and mustered with other troops in Warwickshire to form the 29^th Division. In March 1915, the soldiers were reviewed by the king before setting sail from Avonmouth on 29^th March for Turkey to take part in the now infamous Gallipoli Campaign. The background to the decision to fight here, very briefly, was to gain access to Constantinople because the German Empire and Austria-Hungary had cut off trade routes between Britain and Russia. At the beginning of 1915 the French navy tried to take the area but were defeated so it was decided to mount a land campaign.

On 25th April, the 29^th Division landed at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in an old collier called The River Clyde. The boat was run aground on the beach and the soldiers used doors cut in the side of the hull to disembark quickly.

SS River Clyde at Gallipoli

The landing was mismanaged and many soldiers died before they had reached land, some by drowning but many were picked off individually by machine fire. Only 21 out of 200 of the first wave of soldiers actually reached land.

Once onto the Gallipoli peninsula several battles were fought near the village of Krithia. Four times British and French troops attempted to take the village but each time they were beaten back by Turkish soldiers. The third battle took place on 4th June by which time the allied troops were entrenched to the south of the village. The objective this time was to firstly take the Turkish trenches then to advance 500 yards and establish a new trench line. One noted event in this battle was the deployment of eight armoured cars operated by the Royal Naval Air Service.

Gun Battery at Cape Helles 1915

The terrain in which they were fighting was an area of sand dunes with channels between high ground scattered with scrubby fir trees and undergrowth. From the air it resembles a hand with fingers as ridges and the gaps between them as gullies. The valleys have been described as intimidating as the troops felt very vulnerable as they could see little apart from the way ahead. It was also described as being eerily quiet as the high banks cut off all sound. The climate was difficult; very hot of course in summer but in winter prone to gales, floods and blizzards. The land was covered with trees, and roots, sharp leaves, grasses and the sand underfoot made progress difficult. Sickness was a huge problem with an estimated 14500 British soldiers contracting typhoid, dysentery and diarrhoea during the campaign.

The 29^th Division, including the Hampshire Regiment and Charles Mason, set out to attack along Fir Tree Gully while other divisions were detailed to other parts of the outskirts of the village. Overlooking Fir Tree Gully were Gully Spur and Fir Tree Spur. They faced unexpectedly fierce opposition from the Turkish forces and took heavy casualties. In the centre were the Manchester Brigade who were successful in taking several Turkish trenches and gaining the hill named Achi Baba.

This extract is from the war diary of General Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force which consisted of troops from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, France, India, Ireland, Egypt and Malta.

Chapters could be written about this furious battle fought in a whirlwind of dust and smoke; some day I hope somebody may write them.

After the first short spell of shelling our men fixed bayonets and lifted them high above the parapet. The Turks thinking we were going to make the assault, rushed troops into their trenches, until then lightly held. No sooner were our targets fully manned than we shelled them in earnest and went on at it until--on the stroke of mid-day--out dashed our fellows into the open. For the best part of an hour it seemed that we had won a decisive victory.

However on each side of the British troops, other allied forces were attempting to make progress but failing. The 14^th Battalion of the Ferozepore Sikh Regiment lost 380 out of 514 men. The 2^nd Naval Brigade were forced back. At the end of the day the allies had only advanced 200 yards and the Manchester Brigade were forced to join in the retreat. Somewhere in all this chaos fell Charles Luff Mason, a world away from his home in Hampshire and aged just 26.

Further battles ensued until the final evacuation of the area at the end of 1916 by which time it is estimated that 21300 British troops had died.

Back home what became of Charles’s parents is a mystery. They seem to have vanished from the records and I cannot find them anywhere after 1911 and they were not mentioned on his citation. Charles’s sister Maud married a soldier in 1910 and was miles from home in Northumberland when she died in 1917 leaving a five year old daughter. Only the younger sister Elsie survived the war, married a hairdresser and lived in Hampshire for the rest of her life with her husband and daughter.

As a postscript I read quite a bit of Sir Ian Hamilton’s diary. In the preface he wrote

“Only constant observation of civilian Judges and soldier witnesses could have shown me how fallible is the unaided military memory or have led me by three steps to a War Diary:--

(1) There is nothing certain about war except that one side won't win.

(2) The winner is asked no questions--the loser has to answer for everything.

(3) Soldiers think of nothing so little as failure and yet, to the extent of fixing intentions, orders, facts, dates firmly in their own minds, they ought to be prepared.

Conclusion:--In war, keep your own counsel, preferably in a note-book.”

What a very wise and forward looking man. Current historians can be very grateful that he did.

In Memory of

Private CHARLES LUFF MASON

79800, 2nd Bn., Hampshire Regiment

who died

on 04 June 1915

Remembered with honour

HELLES MEMORIAL

Acknowledgements

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Wikipedia

Gully Ravine; The most informative and fascinating website about the Gallipoli Campaigns and the geography of the area. Put together by Andy Crookes a member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides, it is well worth a visit. www.gullyravine.org.uk

William George Choney 1887-1914

William George Choney

18^th March  1887- 16^th November 1914

William Choney was a 2^nd cousin three times removed. His grandmother Mary Ede was an older sister of my 4x grandmother, Eliza Ede.

William’s parents William Choney and Alice Carpenter were married on May 14^th 1887 at Holy Trinity Church in Bramley, Surrey. William was born on March 18^th the following year and baptised at Holy Trinity on May 6^th.

When the census was taken in April 1891, the family were living at Birtley Road in Bramley, now the A281 between Guildford and Horsham but then, of course, much quieter. William senior was an agricultural labourer and, as well as three year old William junior, the family had another son Albert who was 18 months old while Alice was just a few weeks away from giving birth to Herbert. Two years later, the boys acquired a little sister, Alice and in 1895 another brother Ernest.

In 1901, the family; William, still an agricultural labourer, Alice and the children, William aged 13, Albert aged 11, Herbert aged 9, Alice aged 7 and 5 year old Ernest were still in Birtley Road Bramley. In June of 1902 the family welcomed their last child Annie.

William junior enlisted in the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment for five years on 27 Dec 1906 at Guildford. He was aged 19 years and 10 months. A reference was given by his employer Mr Charman of Shamley Green who had known William for 14 months and who described him as being of good character. 

The regiment was based in Colchester and did not see active service until 1908, by which time William had become a Lance Corporal. In 1910 the regiment was posted to Gibraltar and William became a Corporal. On the family’s 1911 census return he is listed as “soldier abroad” then crossed out and "away on census night" noted. He was indeed away in the barracks in Gibraltar.

In 1912 they went to Bermuda and on 19 Oct 1913, William was passed fit for service in South Africa having extended his period of army service to 12 years. At this time he was given a glowing report.  It read; “Character very good. An excellent man in every way. Thoroughly reliable and well above the average in intelligence. Has been a caterer in RATA 1910-11 and in charge of transport since 1913. 

The regiment spent six months in South Africa returning home in home the following summer. William became a sergeant in September 1914 when the regiment arrived back at Southampton. They marched to Lyndhurst at which point there were 28 officers, 2 Warrant Officers, 40 sergeants, 49 corporals and 855 men. During the week of 21^st September, the soldiers were allowed 24 hours leave to visit their families; the rest of the time was spent in exercises and route marches.

On October 4^th they embarked at Southampton for Ostend then on by train to Bruges where they joined the 22nd Infantry Brigade as part of the 7^th Division of the British Expeditionary Force.  They took part in the battle of Mille on October 8^th and throughout October were involved in defending various strategic sites and attacking forward lines in and around Ghent. They endured a three day march westwards in the rain arriving in Ypres on October 16^th, some men being so footsore they completed the journey by train. They fought numerous battles over the next few days which did not change the frontline; some days there were advances, some days retreats and the soldiers were constantly being sent to help defend new strategic points  such as railway lines and canal bridges. They were in action every day with little rest.

This from the war diary of October 21^st. “The ridge along the Zonnebeke-Langemarck road was held by part of A company and a squadron of Life Guards on the left and other portions of the Queens on the right. About 4pm a company of Irish Guards arrived and took over the ridge and the Queens withdrew to the railway embankment where they had been ordered to take up a fresh position – stragglers were here collected including a party of Warwick’s and Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Orders were then received for the battalion to go up to the Passchendaele Road and get orders from Lt Col Cadogan of the E W Fusiliers. The Queens were ordered to fill in a gap between them and the Staffords but it was pitch dark and no-one knew where the Staffords were.“ And so it went on day after day.

The battalion had moved on by the end of October to Kruisick south east of Ypres. They took up position beside a road but were shelled out of their trenches and had to quickly dig new ones further back. At one point a firing line was ordered meaning that the men stood in a line along the edge of the road and fired towards the Germans. The Germans however were stronger and small parties worked their way behind their enemy’s lines and attacked. It sounds like complete chaos and must have been a terrifying experience. Eventually the British soldiers retreated into the village or took shelter in some woods and in a chateau while they awaited reinforcements. On the 5^th November the brigade left the area and were billeted in the Hotel de Ville in Ypres. They rested for a day and by 6am on the 7^th were in place ready to storm German trenches. This appears to have been a well-planned and prepared attack. The war diary from that day reads, “At about 5am the brigade left the field behind Lord Cavan’s HQ and went down a path through the woods leading to the trenches held by the Germans. The attack was scheduled for 6.15am. There was a heavy mist and it was only just becoming daylight. The brigade deployed in lines, the Queens forming the first two lines. They advanced over the rise in the ground and a heavy machine gun was opened by the Germans. The second line came up with the first and together the charge was made. It was completely successful and the enemy got out of their trenches and ran away.” The line was held all day but there was a lot of resistance and the British soldiers took many casualties. The toll was five officers, 59 other ranks killed and 19 missing.

After this the battalion had a long break, first to rest and then to dig and equip new trenches. There was no action with the enemy, partly due to the appalling weather, between the 7^th and the 16^th November when William Choney died of his wounds, so presumably he was injured in one of the earlier battles. He was reported as having been shot in the head right side and hand but no indication is given as to whether he was on the front line or still working in support either in catering or transport as he had done previously. His possessions were recovered and returned to his family and the family informed of the whereabouts of his grave, all of which implies that he died in a quieter place than on the field during a battle, so presumably at a field hospital somewhere behind the lines. He is buried in Larchwood cemetery south east of Ypres very close to where he died. Larchwood Cemetery contains 856 burials from the First World War and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

He was awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. His medals and scroll were sent to his parents who moved soon after the war to East Street in Epsom. Both died in the 1930s in Epsom.

Ernest George Pullen 1895-2014

Ernest George Pullen

1895-19^th October 1914

Ernest George Pullen is a second cousin twice removed. His grandfather Charles Coombes was the eldest brother of my great-great grandfather Eli Coombes.

Ernest was born in Croydon in the autumn of 1895, the fifth child of eight born to Thomas Pullen and Liza Coombes. Thomas and Liza were married in the spring of 1882 in Lurgashall, a small village near Midhurst in Sussex, where Thomas was working as a farm labourer and where they both grew up.  Their first child, Charles Henry was born later that year. By the spring of 1885 the family had moved to Uckfield, where second child Thomas Richard was born. By the time the third son William John arrived two and a half years later, they were back in Sussex at Lodsworth, another small village near Midhurst and were still there two years after that for the birth of their first daughter Winifred Agnes. By the time the 1891 census was taken they had returned to the family roots in Lurgashall.

Sometime in the next four years, Thomas and Liza embarked on a bigger move into the suburbs of London where Ernest George arrived at the end of 1895. The family was rounded off by Edith Violet in 1898, Victor in 1899 and Stanley Herbert in 1903. All three give their birthplace as South Norwood, and in 1901, the family were all living in Elmers Road in Croydon. Thomas was working as a Woodbroker’s carman, presumably driving a cart delivering wood.

Elmers Road is a road of terraced houses, which appears today to be fairly unchanged, apart from wheelie bins and parked cars everywhere. The area is known as Woodside and Ernest and his siblings attended Woodside Board School, now Woodside Primary School.

When he left school, Ernest found employment at a tin factory as a labourer. His father Thomas died in 1910 at the age of 55 and by 1911 Liza had moved the children who were left at home, Ernest, Edith, Victor and Stanley, to a smaller house in Alderton Road, Croydon. Ernest was the only one working to support the family at this time.

Sometime in the next three years Ernest joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers so I believe he was a reservist as they were the first men to be mobilised and were sent to join whichever regiment need them. This would explain why a man from Croydon joined a Welsh regiment.

In the summer of 1914, The 1^st Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers were a battalion of the regular army based in Malta before returning to England at the beginning of September. They then became part of the 7^th Division which formed during September 1914, assembling at Lyndhurst in the New Forest before travelling to Belgium, landing in Zebrugge on October 7^th. They were sent to Antwerp to assist in the defence of the city and defended various bridges and other infrastructure before moving westwards to Ypres as part of the British Expeditionary Force. They were sent under the command of Field Marshall Sir John French to supplement the French and Belgian troops already in place trying to stop the German troops from taking Ypres and heading for the coastal towns of Dieppe and Le Havre. There appears to have been very effective communication between the French and British commander and they worked together well, although Sir John does mention in his despatch that the road running from Bethne to Lille was to be the dividing line between British and French forces. The General remarks that the terrain was very difficult, “the ground upon which they were operating, was similar to that usually found in manufacturing districts and was covered with mining works, factories, buildings, etc. The ground throughout this country is remarkably flat, rendering effective artillery support very difficult.”

At 2:30 in the morning of October 10th 1914 the Brigade moved south from Ghent in Belgium to Meirelbeke again to support Belgian and French troops already in place. They did not come upon any German troops during the morning, but heard some firing in the distance to the South and South East. Later in the day, the British troops positioned themselves in a trench south east of Meirelbeke covering French and Belgian positions in front and although they heard firing, it was thought to be from allied soldiers and there were no sign of attacks by the Germans.

Over the next two days the battalion repositioned several times to back up the French and Belgians and on the 19^th came the first attack on enemy positions at Menin, Gheluwe and Kleythoek. The Welsh troops attacked uphill towards the ridge near a windmill but were held back by enemy fire. They received no support and in the middle of the day were ordered to withdraw whereupon they retreated along the road to Dadizeele and regrouped. They joined up with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment to hold some high ground to cover the retreat of two other regiments. The Welsh battalion fought closely with the enemy and suffered losses. At 6pm they again took cover in the trenches they had occupied three days earlier. In the course of the fighting that day, October 19^th 1914, 3 officers and 15 men were killed. One of those men was Ernest George Pullen. He was just nineteen years old.

He was buried at Harelbeke New British Cemetery close to where he died. The small cemetery at Harelbeke about 10 miles south of Ostend was erected after the war and soldiers were reburied here. Those who died in 1914 are together in one corner of the cemetery and marked with the traditional white headstones.

Ernest’s mother Eliza never remarried and stayed in Croydon until her death in 1938. All of her twenty-two grandchildren were born there. His brother Thomas was killed in France in 1918.