All quiet on the Western Front

A year and a day after Britain went to war with Germany and the 5th August 1915 was what might be termed a quiet day as regards fatalities in the British Army. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 165 men lost their lives on this day. Of these men, 33 died in the United Kingdom, some as a result of wounds received in action, others as a result of disease or accident in the UK, before they'd even set foot overseas.

The Durham Light Infantry lost 15 men on this day. Here they are:

4/9468 Private George Robert ACOMB aged 33
3/10665 Private James ALDERSON aged 25
14878 Lance Corporal William Gordon BURNS aged 30
19530 Private Daniel DALEY
8313 Private Frederick William HARGREAVES aged 35
Lieutenant JAMES MADDISON KENT aged 29
4/9186 Private Thomas MALLON
3/11654 Private John MALLOY aged 36
6982 Private Thomas MOCKLER aged 34
7832 Private James MOWBRAY
3/7679 Private Thomas McMAHON aged 34
3/9762 Private Gregory O'RORKE
8990 Corporal Henry THOMPSON
3/8142 Private Frank WADDLE aged 32
8984 Private Henry WEST aged 31

All of these men were serving with the 2nd Battalion when they died. I have not checked to see if individual service records survive for these men but I have checked their names against medal rolls, adding in full first names and updating regimental numbers. In a number of cases, the CWGC omits regimental number prefixes, but adding these in I was struck by just how many of these casualties had originally joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion and the 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion: five and two respectively. These seven men, as well as Lieutenant Kent who was also a 3rd Battalion man originally, would all have been sent out as drafts to the 2nd Battalion.

William Burns and Daniel Daley were volunteers, Kitchener men who had volunteered after Britain went to war. Both have surviving service records and we can see that Daniel had also seen prior service with the 3rd Battalion before he re-enlisted on the 21st September 1914. So no fewer than nine of the fifteen 2nd Battalion men had served with the Special or Extra Reserve.

Of the remaining men, 34-year-old Thomas Mockler was the longest-serving man. His number dates to the second half of 1899 and he had already seen service during the Boer War. The fact that he still retained this regimental number in 1914 suggests to me that he either extended his service before 1914 or else had opted to serve an additional four years on Section D Reserve (in other words, effectively extending his period of reserve service). He had arrived overseas on the 22nd October 1914.

Lieutenant Kent was killed when the battalion moved into trenches at Hooge. He is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. The other men were killed during an attack in the vicinity of the Crater and Stables at Hooge. The war diary for the battalion is quite detailed and lists casualties, including wounded men. A report on the attack is also included.

So, all quiet on the Western Front on the 5th August 1915, but there was weeping in the homes of 15 men from the DLI, and from the family members of the other 150 men who lost their lives on this day, one hundred years ago.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

I've borrowed the 1920 image of Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery from the Returned Services league Australia website. It's well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in this cemetery.

For assistance with your own research projects, contact me by clicking on the Research Tab on this blog. Also have a look at my Army Service Numbers blog which has a lot of useful information about regimental numbers in the British Army between 1881 and 1918.