History of the 1/4th Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, 1914-1919.Bales, P. G.
History
History of the 1/4th Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, 1914-1919.
Bales, P. G.
Great Britain. Army. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
Late in the afternoon of August 14th, a dugout in A Company’s line was
blown in and a number of men were buried amid the wreckage. Capt. M. P.
Andrews immediately hurried to the spot and, under heavy artillery and
rifle fire, succeeded in extricating the men. Three were found to be
dead and three wounded, one so seriously that, unless he could receive
proper attention at once, there was little hope of his recovery. The
trenches were too narrow for the wounded man to be carried along them
on a stretcher. There was nothing for it but to carry him across the
open. Capt. Andrews did not hesitate. Getting out on the top himself,
he assisted to raise the wounded man, and then set out across the open
with the stretcher party. He paid for his devotion with his life. The
ground was swept by bullets and, before the party could reach the
shelter of a communication trench, he was hit in the head and died
almost at once. So perished one of the most gallant gentlemen and
conscientious officers who ever served with the Battalion. Word of
what had happened was despatched at once to Battalion H.Q., while the
stretcher-bearers, true to their duty, remained in the open, trying
in vain to stop the flow of blood. Lieut. B. Hughes, R.A.M.C., then
Medical Officer to the Battalion, at once hurried up the line. But he
was too late. Capt. Andrews was already dead. The event cast a gloom,
not only over A Company, but over the whole Battalion.
About this time the Battalion transport was having a very rough
passage, and they too soon recognised the difference between Ypres and
Fleurbaix. Almost nightly, heavy shelling of the roads used by the
ration convoys caused much inconvenience and some loss. On August
14th, in particular, two horses were hit and, for a time, the column
was much disorganised. Cpl. E. Ashworth was in charge and, by his own
gallantry and coolness under fire, he restored order and confidence,
and was able to deliver his charge. For this he was afterwards awarded
the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
When next the Battalion went into Brigade Reserve it occupied a number
of farms north-east of Brielen. Though not so safe as the shelters on
the Canal Bank, these farms were more comfortable, and they did not
suffer so much from enemy artillery fire. Work continued as before, a
new feature being the erection of “elephant” frames in the Battalion’s
new billets.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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