134
THE YPRES TIMES
depleted ranks. Anyone who has wandered in a mist knows how surprising are the
places at which one may arrive, and in this instance Lieutenant Holland, whose
wonderful dash impelled him ever farther, eventually reached the Hansa Line and
joined upinconceivable as it may seemwith the ist/ist Battalion Hertfordshire
Regiment on the extreme right of the 118th Brigade front. A glance at the map
will indicate the reason for this remarkable denouement.
During this time other small dug-outs had been captured by the rest of the
battalion, and by 9 a.m. a few isolated ones only remained untaken, but from these
the enemy maintained an obstinate defence by sniping and bombing. They were,
however, soon rendered innocuous by White Star bombs (poison gas), which were
used in this action for the first time.
At 9.15 a.m. the whole situation was cleared up, and the entire German trench
system was in our hands.
Our casualties were relatively slightKilled, 1 officer and 4 other ranks.
Wounded, 67 other ranks.
At 7.15 p.m. we were relieved and proceeded to Paisley Avenue, after a long,
arduous and triumphant day. It was the last of our sojourn in the Somme battle
area, and we had rung down the curtain with some distinction, for with 360 men
we had captured 13 German officers, including a Battalion Commander, and 720
other ranks, besides a vast trench system and much booty.
Perhaps no better conclusion can be given to this narrative than a brief quota
tion from Mr. Edmund Blunden's great work, Undertones of War," a book which
will immortalize the doings of the other (116th) brigade in our divisionin
which he generously pays this tribute to the work of the other two on
November 13th.
"That was a feat of arms vieing with any recorded. The enemy was surprised
and beaten. From Thiepval Wood battalions of our division sprang out, passed
our old dead, mud craters and wire and took the tiny village of St. Pierre Divion
with its enormous labyrinth and almost 2,000 Germans in the galleries there."
A WEEK-END TRIP LONDON TO YPRES (taken at any time desired), 2nd Class
rail, 1st class boat via Ostend or Calais, with full board and first class accommodation
(three nights) to include service and taxes, is offered to any Ypres League member or
Corresponding Member who succeeds in recruiting the greatest number of new members
from January 1st to December 31st, 1931.
All membership forms completed must be received at Headquarters, bearing on
the top left-hand corner the name and address of the person responsible for recruitment.
It is realized that our Branch Secretaries have a more favourable opportunity of
recruiting in larger numbers, so we offer a second and similar reward, which can be
enjoyed by the Hon. Secretary, or any one of his committee whom he chooses to nominate.
All forms in this case must bear the name of the Branch responsible for recruitments.
Members, Corresponding Members and Branch Secretaries intending to compete
for these inviting prizes should lose no time in applying to Headquarters for member
ship forms as undoubtedly competition will be very keen.
