WW1 Stories required for classroom

[Kloumann]

This was my Grandfather's final hours in WW1. His body, like many others, has no marked grave.

Lance Corporal John Hughes, Black Watch, killed in action at
the Battle of Hanna 21st January, 1916, Mesopotamia (Iraq)

11. On the morning of the 21st, under cover of an intensive Artillery bombardment, our Infantry moved to the attack. On our right the troops got to within 100 yards of the enemy's line, but were unable to advance further. Our left column, consisting of the Black Watch, 6th Jats and 41st Dogras, penetrated the front line with a rush, capturing trenches which they held for about an hour and a half. Supports were sent forward, but losing direction and coming under heavy fire, failed to reach them. Thus, left unsupported, our previously successful troops, when Turkish counter-attacks developed, were overwhelmed by numbers and forced to retire.

12. Heavy rain now began to fall and continued throughout the day. Telephone communication broke down, and communication by orderly became slow and uncertain. After further Artillery bombardment the attack was renewed at 1 p.m., but by this time the heavy rain had converted the ground into a sea of mud, rendering rapid movement impossible. The enemy's fire was heavy and effective, inflicting severe losses, and though every effort was made, the assault failed. Our troops maintained their position until dark and then slowly withdrew to the main trenches which had been previously occupied, some 1,300 yards from those of the enemy.

13. As far as possible all the wounded were brought in during the withdrawal, but their sufferings and hardships were acute under the existing climatic conditions, when vehicles and stretcher-bearers could scarcely move in the deep mud.

14. To renew the attack on the 22nd was not practicable. The losses on the 21st had been heavy, the ground was still a quagmire and the troops exhausted. A six hours' armistice was arranged in order to bury the dead and remove the wounded to shelter.

15. I cannot sufficiently express my admiration for the courage and dogged determination of the force engaged. For days they bivouacked in driving rain on soaked and sodden ground. Three times they were called upon to advance over a perfectly flat country, deep in mud, and 'absolutely devoid of cover, against well-constructed and well-planned trenches, manned by a brave and stubborn enemy approximately their equal in numbers. They showed a spirit of endurance and self sacrifice of which their country may well be proud.

My grandmother, who was left to bring up 6 children, also lost her brother, killed in France in the final weeks of the war.

[Nanna52]

I have written about a cousin here:
https://www.liverpoolpals.com/survivorsstories/edwin-william-barratt-vincent/?id=13

You are welcome to use it.

Do you want New Zealand soldiers too?

[rosie99]

The IWM have done interviews of some people that served in WW1 (& WW2.)

This link takes you to a recording of Clarence Jarman who was born in Stoke Newington 1896 but grew up in Woking.  Clarence (Clarrie) lost a leg in WW1.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012654
There are 3 reels about his experience of the war and how he coped with his injury afterwards
(Content description describes what is on the reels)

I remember 'Clarrie' in the late 1950's on his adapted bicycle. 

[phil57]

You could look up my cousin twice removed, Job DRAIN V.C. There is plenty of information about him online, including images of him, his Victoria Cross, his statue in Barking, his house with blue plaque, and other information.

This is a summary cut and pasted from my tree software:

He volunteered for the regular army in 1912, aged 17, as an alternative to unemployment. During the Great War of 1914-1918 he served as a Driver (service number 69960) with the 37th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery. On 26 August 1914 he was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France, when his Battery strove to limber up their guns in a hail of fire from enemy infantry, who were within 200 yards of the muzzles. Four of the battery's 4.5 inch howitzers were got away, but to recover the remaining two was a task that seemed suicidal.

Nevertheless, when his Captain Douglas REYNOLDS asked for volunteers, two teams galloped forward to what seemed like certain death. One was quickly shot down, but the other got to the gun position, wheeled round, limbered-up and brought one of the howitzers out of the action, one of the drivers being hit in the process. REYNOLDS and Drivers Frederick LUKE and Job DRAIN all received the Victoria Cross.

His award was announced in the London Gazette on 25 November 1914: "Le Cateau, France, 26 August 1914, Driver Job Henry Charles Drain, 37th Bty., Royal Field Artillery. With Driver Frederick Luke at Le Cateau on 26th August, as volunteers, helping to save guns under fire from hostile infantry who were 100 yards away."

Job was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V in France on the 1st December 1914. He was later promoted to Sergeant and survived the war. In addition to the Victoria Cross, he also received the 1914 Star + clasp "5th Aug-22 Nov 1914", the British War Medal (1914-20), the Victory Medal (1914-19), the King George VI Coronation Medal (1937) and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953).

The medals awarded to Sergeant DRAIN have since been acquired by the Michael Ashcroft Trust, the holding institution for Lord Ashcroft's VC Collection.

On 16 January 1915, he was mentioned in an article in the Bendigo Advertiser in Australia, apparently reprinted from the London Daily Express. The article, titled "Bad Boy who won the V.C." referred to his heroism and quoted his step-mother [Emily DRAIN, née ANDERSON] as saying that Job "was born in Barking, and as a boy had attended the Back-Lane Church of England School. It is true that one of the masters there had described him as amongst the worst boys in the school, and he was frequently up to some mischief or other.

"He hated school, but, on the other hand he liked work, preferring above all things, to mind the cows. He was sent to the Walthamstow Truant School in 1910, and joined the Army two years ago being stationed in Ireland on the outbreak of war.

"He was only nineteen in October, so that he was only eighteen at the time he won the V.C. Naturally we are all very proud of him. In his letters home he said nothing about the war or his own actions. He just said that he was well, and that his trouble was that he could not get "fags".

The article added that not only had he received a telegram from Mr. A. BLAKE, the chairman of the Barking Council, reading, "Heartiest congratulations, the town of Barking is proud of you." but that the art master of the school at which he was described as "the bad boy" was painting the hero's portrait, to be hung on the school wall!

After the war Job had some difficulty getting back into civilian life. He worked as a messenger for government offices in Whitehall, then as a fish porter, a local bus driver and finally for the London Electricity Board.

[Viktoria]

Another book “ Death of a Hero”.Richard Aldington.1929
A man not a hero at all, until his last moments as a Runner( running with messages when trench telephone wires  were cut in the explosions.
At the end is a sort of poem.
The action is at Gallipoli ,  and The Dardanelles are where it is believed the City of Troy was.

Epilogue .
Eleven years after the fall of Troy —- it is about old soldiers of the Trojan War, reminiscing , two young people pass and the lad us very sneering about the old soldiers ,he pulls his girl friend away ,he is fed up with the old tales etc.( Sadly just as people begin to be in the hedonistic 1920’s)
There is a bit of arithmetic involved ,bringing the two conflicts together in a way ie the poet describes them “ And I looked at the old men nearly forty ,so 39 maximum, eleven years after Troy means they were 28when it ended, that war lasted ten years so they would be 18 when it started, the age of conscription in WW1.


“And I thought of the graves by desolate Troy
And the beauty of many young men,now dust ,
And the long agony and how useless it all was “


“ And I looked at the hollow cheeks
And the weary eyes and grey streaked heads
Of the old men, nearly forty, about me;
And I too walked away
In an agony of helpless grief and pity.”

The book is not what I would think is suitable reading  for youngsters, not even these days! However the gist and conclusion  are very powerful.

First published in 1929 by Chatto and Windus then by Sphere Books  1965.
It shows that your typical hero is not always a perfect person.

Viktoria.

[tazzie]

Hi my son Matthew is a secondary school teacher of History as well. He teaches at a school that is in an old market town near Milton Keynes. He ran a project for a year 8 class who's only view of history did not go further than breakfast that day, however he was in shock when they got stuck in and the work produced. Here's what they did.
They looked at the names on the local war memorial.
Looked up soldiers on CWGC.
Used computers to look at their families in the census.
Mapped the soldiers to their homes on a map in class.
Some went home and printed off records ( parents on board as well)
Photos were taken of the addresses found.

Tazzie

[Nanna52]

My grandkids did similar in year 8 tazzie.  They were assigned a name or could choose one from family or friends.  The first one was an assigned name.  We managed to find quite a lot about him and the home he lived in.  The second I was prepared for and had some family members names ready.  Grandkid chose a NZ cousin killed during WW1.  We had photos of him and it was a totally different type of presentation.
The following year they did WW2 battles.
This is in Australia so we are fortunate that the information is available online if you know where to look.

[Viktoria]

Those seem like very good ways of going about raising interest, more personal and local too so more relevant to the pupils.

I can’t imagine it being forgotten , but other conflicts have been,except as history.
No  special day for Waterloo, Crecy,Poitiers,Agincourt ,Nazeby ,the dreadful toll of Towton,and those were often hand to hand encounters.
We have few records of burials of those who died in those battles , no remembrance fior them .
I suppose because it went on for four years ,over such a big area, the enormous numbers lost and injured, and the artillery involved ,plus I think it would be the first war where  conscription was in place, makes a huge difference ,it was a war,not a battle.
Wars of The Roses,yes but that was not  continuous .
France has agitated for some time to reclaim the cemeteries for farming.
However, the land was given “ In perpetuity” and the cemeteries do bring in tourism .

To start small and local and find out where that fits in to  the  very big picture
is an excellent way of gaining the pupils’ interest .
It was such a big overwhelming cataclysmic event as to be unimaginable for young people.
Hope we hear from the RootsChatter who asked for  info, it will be interesting
to get the pupils’reactions.
Viktoria.

[Nanna52]

Viktoria it also helped that Nanna knew where to look for the records.  For the second one we did a tree linking them.  That went down very well with the teacher.