|
In his autobiography William Evan Datlen writes about his experiences of his time in the Army. His official Army records, however, are very sparse and do not reveal much about his Army career. They only tell us the bare, hard facts of events as they were reported and can leave us with an account far less colourful than the actual true-to-life story that only the man himself can tell. This account, therefore is drawn from both sources, the Army documents give us the skeleton with known dates and facts and William’s Auto-biographpy adds the very meat to those bones.
William was 18 years old when he enlisted at Whitehall in London on 9th April 1917. His papers state that he was born in Kilburn, London and that he was a baker by trade. He was 5 foot 8 inches tall weighing 125 pounds, his chest measurement was 34 inches with a range of expansion of 2 inches. He has three vaccination marks on his left arm and a scar on his right kneecap. His eyesight was tested as 6/36 in his right eye and 6/18 in his left eye. He wore glasses to correct this.
William was taken to Aldershot for training where he was posted with the Royal Sussex Regiment at first he was with 253rd Infantry Battalion then 51st Battalion, then to the 3rd Battalion. During his training he was made to work in the cookhouse, a position which he didn’t particularly enjoy and so in a fashion typical of William he managed to wrangle his way out of this responsibility. William chose Boxing and Diving as his training sports proving to be particularly adept at both.
After months of hard training William’s battalion was sent to France, crossing from Folkestone on the “Ville de Liege” and disembarking at Boulogne. From here they marched on cobbled roads to the station where they travelled to Etaples. He was posted to the 7th Royal Sussex Regiment and that same night travelled to the front line.
I wonder if William knew his third cousin George Edward Datlen, who over a year ago had made the very same journey across the channel to Etaples; who was also posted with the Royal Sussex Regiment and who met a very violent death in the trenches of the Somme.
 William writes of the days he spent in the trenches and the conditions he had to ordeal. Intermittent gunfire from insatiable guns, continuous rain which not only soaked the soldiers but would leave them having to slush through the mud in the trenches often more than knee deep. Working during the night under the blanket of darkness, repairing trenches, fixing barbed wire, and going out to patrol in ‘no man’s land’ and then having to try and catch some shut eye during the day, sleeping on shelves cut into the trench wall. The men would be infested with lice and fleas and despite the infrequent washing they could not be gotten rid off until the men returned to England. The days became weeks, and the weeks became months and William soon became used to this living hell.
During May 1918, William recalls one major engagement “two other regiments and ours, each eight hundred and fifty strong, went over to straighten the line. Zero hour was five a.m. We chased Jerry out, he countered and drove us out. This went on for three days and nights. Due to serious losses we were back in the trenches from which we had started. Casualties were heavy. We, the Sussex, came out best; the roll call one hundred and eighty-six.
For three nights we tied up the dead in the waterproof sheets, using their bootlaces, and stacked them in rows five or six high. Mule limbers (wagons) were brought up as near the line as possible. Into these we carried and dumped the corpses.It may seem callous now, but we got a good measure of amusement out of this final operation. Emotions can hardly exist in an atmosphere of death.”
During the first week of August, the Royal Sussex were out of the front line, camped in Round Wood just east of Behencourt. The soldiers were occupied with bomb proofing tents, training and general cleaning up the area. On the 7th August 1918 the Battalion was moved to their assembly position South West of Morlancourt in preparation of what was to become the battle of Amiens. En-Route they were shelled resulting in the loss of several officers.
The objective of the Battle of Amiens was to clear three railways which were vital to lateral troop movements across the western front. The operation would be undertaken by the British Fourth Army and the French First Army, the latter coming under British command. They faced the German Second Army under General von der Marwitz.
 Rawlinson, in command of Fourth Army, chose to employ nine Divisions supported by 400 tanks in the initial assault. The Tank Corps provided 342 heavy tanks, 72 whippets and 120 supply tanks. During the nights when the attacking units assembled, German gas shelling was persistent, and on 7th August 25 tanks were destroyed by a heavy enemy bombardment. Soon after dawn on 6th August, a heavy raid on units of the 58th and 18th Divisions near Morlancourt led to a loss of ground 800 yards deep, with some 236 men being taken prisoner. None gave anything away about the imminent attack. Zero hour was fixed for 4.20am on 8th August. William recalls:-
“The front was covered with thick mist, zero hour was four a.m. – only officers and a few N.C.O.s knew the exact time. While we were waiting in small groups, chatting, a single high explosive shell bursts, shattering the stillness. One man older than I, was wounded. I stuck my finger in his groin, hooked out a jagged piece of shrapnel, then all hell was let loose and I left him, to move forward with the rest. Tanks were to lead the way but due to mist they were unable to give us any assistance until some hours later. The drivers couldn’t see where they were going. The barrage was one of the heaviest of the war, mist and dense smoke from shells looked like smoke mixed with blood. We could not hear speech, only the language of steel.”
William was hit in the leg by the nose-cap of a shell. He was helped back to a dressing station by four German prisoners. Amazingly he recognised one of them. “He had, before the war worked in a sausage and mash shop; one of those numerous eating houses I went to while working at Isaake’s. An odd meeting! We talked of London.”
“After five days I went back to the line, leading a pack mule. I enjoyed his company and his intelligence. He saw barbed wire and shell holes in the dark long before I did. He smelled poison gas and made a detour, with me hanging on. “
The Battle of Amiens was a great success with most of the objectives met. The total British casualties amounted to just over 22,200 of all ranks, killed, wounded and missing. Cavalry Corps losses were 887 (of which 101 died); III Corps 6,250 (4,012); Canadian Corps 9,074 (2,266), and Australian Corps 5,991 (850). German losses were approximately 74,000.
On the 13th August the Royal Sussex were holding the front line. At night they pushed up an enemy trench and managed to capture 12 prisoners and 2 machine guns, destroying 6 more. Owing to a counter attack and lack of support they were forced back to their original line. They were relieved that night by 5th Royal Berks.
The next few days were spent at Mericourt, bathing in the river, cleaning up the sector and collecting salvage. On the 21st they moved up to their assembly position in preparation for a further attack. There was heavy gas shelling from midnight onwards. Their own barrage opened at 4.45 am with no enemy resistance. The official documentation records that “All objectives were gained with 60 prisoners taken.” But William’s first hand account reveals a different perspective - “On the 21 August we went over on another big ‘do’. It was fairly easy going, very few casualties. Collected fifteen wrist watches and three automatics from dead Jerries.” One small victory for the British Army, one giant victory for the English Soldier!
On the 24th August at 1am the Royal Sussex were engaged in another attack. Again, all objectives were gained with 26 Prisoners captured. Another small victory in the context of the Great War, but this encounter had a far greater significance in the context of William’s life:-
“On the 24th I went over for the last time at one in the morning, nasty ‘do’ this one! Jerry had got word that we were coming. We were met by such a hail of machine gun fire that it seemed as if one was silhouetted in lead. We were told to dig in, using a small pick; the ground was hard and stony.”
“Light, during night actions was always much too good, Very lights and the flashes of guns did their best to make you feel naked. I spun round twice and sat down, Lieut. Swift ran to me, with a knife he ripped off the sleeve of my tunic, felt for the wound, told me to get back, then dashed off to the men going down like ninepins all along the line.”
William had been shot in his left arm, his memoirs tell of his long walk back to the casualty clearing station, his realisation that he could get back home. He stumbled across a wounded soldier who had laid immobilised for three days on the bank of a road. William carried him on his back for the many miles and many hours that it took to reach the station. He was taken to the Third Australian General Hospital at Abbeville then on to Boulogne and finally to a hospital in Egham Surrey, just 22 miles from his home.
“On the following Sunday Mother and Dad came to see me. My joy was like a river that had broken its banks and flooded the world.”
William was sent to a hospital camp in Eastbourne. Here he remained receiving massage treatment and remedial exercise until 16th November 1918. “I was sent to a hospital camp at Eastbourne where over five thousand wounded were accommodated in huts. Reeds Hall was the name. It was a complete township, shops, cinemas, concert halls and playing fields. I have often said that I wouldn’t mind being shot once a year if I could spend another twelve weeks there, which goes to prove how much I enjoyed being there.”
While at Eastbourne William would have heard of the Allied breakthrough of the German lines forcing the enemy back beyond the Hindenburg Line freeing much of occupied France and Belgium signalling the end of the Great War. The signing of the Armistice on November 11th 1918 would have provoked emotions and energies that we can only imagine. William wrote:- “We commandeered lorries, removed pianos from hotels and drove around the town singing and playing. One piano was left on the golf links some two mile out of town at the end of a sing-song which lasted till three in the morning. We ran riot for three days. Good fun!”
In January at Newhaven, William filled a disability form and gave his permanent address as 39 Shepherds Bush Road, Hammersmith. He was posted to a dispersal station at Crystal Palace and discharged on 24th February 1919. He was transferred to class ‘Z’ army reserves of 3rd Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment.
I cannot leave this account of William’s war service without one last recollection from his memoirs. While he was serving with the reserves at Newhaven, December 1918, sitting in the canteen a soldier approached him – “he was about forty, very excited. He told me that he was the chap that whom I had hooked the piece of shrapnel from his groin a few minutes before zero hour on the 8th August. As I was in doubt, he insisted that I go with him to the lavatory so that he could show me. Over a cup of tea, I discovered his joy; he was the father of six… The Shrapnel probably saved his life.”
William was awarded the following medals:-
British War Medal
Victory Medal
|
