WAR! 1914
Lancaster and The King's Own go to War.
Generously supported by the Sir John Fisher Foundation.
August to December 1914
The Retreat 27th August – 5th September 1914
Following the disaster at Haucourt the remainder of the 1st Battalion
joined the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force. The retreat was
very trying, with the constant threat of German attack, no rest and
little to eat except their emergency rations.
As the King’s Own crossed the River Somme, all officers’ kits were burnt
in order to allow for the transport to be used by the wounded and the
foot sore men.
By 29th August the strength of the 1st Battalion had fallen to 14
officers and 400 other ranks, less than half the numbers which had
arrived in France less than a week before.
The withdrawal continued, crossing the River Aisne on 30th August and on
5th September the battalion stopped at Brie-Comte-Robert, to the
south-east of Paris. It was here that the famous Retreat from Mons
ended.
Battle of the Marne
On 6th September as the great French attack was launched, the British
advance started and the River Marne was quickly crossed. By 17th
September the battalion strength was at 940 (all ranks), with drafts of
men arriving from England. It was at St. Marguerite that the defences
and the first trenches were established and the first hand grenades were
issued for use.
The Germans had been held and both sides started to dig trenches. On 6th
October the British were relieved by French troops, and the King’s Own
moved to the north.
The 1st King’s Own moved by lorry and train to Hazebrouck and took part
in the attack at the Battle of Meteren on 13th October. The fighting was
bitter with two officers and 44 other ranks killed, 34 wounded and 15
missing.
On 16th October the battalion moved to Ploegtseert and were at the
attack of Le Touquet two days later. Hard fighting followed for days,
with 25 men killed, 82 wounded and 78 missing.
The 1st King’s Own remained in the Armentieres sector until April 1915.
The usual tour of duty was four days in the trenches and four in
reserves and history records “little of importance occurred beyond the
normal incidents of trench warfare”.
On 2nd December His Majesty the King, Regimental Colonel and Chief and
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales inspected the 1st King’s Own.
Bad weather set in on 5th December and from then on the trenches became
very wet. Christmas Day was spent in billets at Le Bizet, when Princess
Mary’s tobacco tins were distributed to all ranks.
The following should tie in with various objects in the nearby case:
Christmas Day 1914
2nd Lieutenant Roger Leach, of the 1st Battalion, wrote home to his
mother and described Christmas Day 1914:
“I think we must have had a decidedly more cheerful Christmas than you
at home. For a start on getting into billet I found 15 parcels waiting
for me. They had a special PO bag for them. Well on Christmas morn I
spent till about 1.30 issuing presents to the men; both yours which were
very welcome and those sent in bulk to be divided amongst the troops,
each regiment getting a certain share. There were also Princess Mary’s
presents which consisted of a packet of cigarettes, a pipe, a packet of
tobacco and a Christmas Card. Also a Christmas card from King and
Queen.”
Leach went on to describe an improvised brass band concert and an
officers and sergeants mess football match in which he had played an
evening concert in a local deserted cinema and the officers’ dinner held
in a tobacconist’s shop. “And so ended Christmas Day 1914 and one
couldn’t have asked for more.”
2nd Lieutenant Ralph Charles Matthews of
the 1st Battalion, manning a front line trench at St. Marguerite on 22nd
September 1914. It is a forerunner of the trench systems that were to
spread across France. It is shallow and without a fire step; it lacks
bays and so would be vulnerable to fire from a flank; however, there is
an entrance to a crude form of dug-out.
Matthews had been commissioned into the King’s Own in September 1912 and
arrived in France on 23rd August 1914 with the rest of the battalion. He
was photographed at St. Marguerite on 22nd September, and wounded at
Meteren on 13th October 1914. He survived the war and continued to serve
in the regiment. He was remembered by one fellow officer in his obituary
in 1969: “To those who were young officers in the regiment after the
war, Ralph Matthews was a most impressive figure, the fount of all
wisdom and upholder of regimental traditions…. he was a fine character,
very kindly, of the highest integrity and very approachable and
friendly.”
Accession Number: KO2331/01
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