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Thursday 29 May 2014

A British German National

This week brings you the second guest post by Jo Vietzke, further investigating anti-German sentiment in County Durham.
Postcard of views of Consett, c.1910 (D/CL 27/277/375)
D/CL 27/277/375 Postcard of views of Consett, c.1910
Consett
While I was researching the riot at Crook I also stumbled upon the story of the Yager family.  The anti-German violence in response to the sinking of the Lusitania was more contained in Consett  than the scenes that took place in Crook.  However, the windows of a pork butcher’s shop and of a chemist, both owned by members of the Yager family, were smashed.  This part of the reaction to the Lusitania particularly piqued my interest. 

On searching the 1911 census for the Yagers I found that Mary Yager was living with her daughter at the butcher’s shop that would later become the object of the mobs’ ire.   I was originally impressed with a woman and her daughter running a business which predominately employs men, even today.  It does appear as if she might have had some help from her son, Henry Fred, who is also listed as being a pork butcher on the 1911 census.  However, it was Mary and Sophia who lived at the shop and Mary who was listed as an “employer” while Henry and Sophia were her “workers”.  From the Kelly’s Directory for 1914 I also identified George Yager, another son, as owning the chemist’s shop next door.

The census stated that Mary, and all of her children, were born in England.  More curiously still, I found an entry on The National Archives catalogue stating that Mary had applied for English Naturalisation in April 1915.  For a while, I assumed that there must have been more than one Mary Yager, until I stumbled upon the “British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914”. 

Because Mary Yager had been married to a man of a different nationality, the 1914 law said that she also took on that nationality.  Even though her husband had been dead for over 10 years, and she had been born and lived all of her life in England, she was deemed to be German!  According to the census, Mary had lived in Consett since before 1891.  She had brought up her family and they had established businesses in the town.  It is easy, from my point of view, 100 years distant from these events, to be amazed and astonished at how this family became a target for such hatred and violence.  Perhaps, if we are being charitable, the attack on the Yagers of Consett, could be said to illustrate the extreme nature of the times; where one peaceful neighbour might be turned on by another simply because of the nationality of their deceased husband.

Thursday 22 May 2014

The local impact of the sinking of the Lusitania

Whilst the Second Battle of Ypres was taking place on the Western Front, an event occurred that brought the atrocities of war into sharp focus for those at home.  The following is the first guest post by archivist Jo Vietzke.  
Postcard of a drawing depicting the sinking of the Lusitania after her being torpedoed by a German submarine, 7 May 1915 (D/DLI 13/2/105(16))
D/DLI 13/2/105(16) Postcard of a drawing depicting the sinking of the Lusitania after her being torpedoed by a German submarine, 7 May 1915
The Broad Sweep
May 7th 1915 is one of those “big dates” in terms of the history of the First World War.  On that day a German submarine, the U-20, torpedoed and sank the Lusitania.  The Lusitania was a passenger ship sailing from Liverpool to New York, although there is a debate that carries on today about whether it was also carrying munitions (1 & 2).  On board were 1,257 civilian passengers and 702 crew (3).

Once the impact had been felt by those on board, the luxury Cunard liner began to list, take on water and after just 18 minutes, sank off the southern coast of Ireland.  More than half of those on board lost their lives, including 94 children.

Moral outrage
The international outcry was massive.   History books often credit the sinking of the Lusitania for the involvement of America in the First World War.  While President Woodrow Wilson undoubtedly came under pressure due to the 128 US citizens drowned, America did not enter the war until April 1917, almost 2 years after the sinking.   A fact which dilutes this theory, somewhat!

In England the drowning of civilians played straight into the hands of the popular image of the barbaric hun.  Army recruitment drives made the most of the sinking and the Auckland and County Chronicle of 20 May reports an open-air meeting in Seaham where George Harrison, a survivor of the Lusitania, encouraged men to join up:
He also intended , if possible, to have a”bat” for his country and to get a bit of his own back.  The Germans could not drown him; he would see if they could kill him.  (Applause)

While the War Office tried to channel the populace’s indignation at the events surrounding the Lusitania into building up its pre-conscription army, popular feeling burst out in less controlled ways.

Violence
According to the 1914 Kelly’s Directory the population of the parish of Crook stood at 9,788 in 1911.   It is hard, therefore, to comprehend (or perhaps even believe) how 8,000-10,000 people came to be involved in a riot in the small town.
Riots, sparked by the sinking of the Lusitania, occurred all over the country.  Liverpool, as the port of origin of the ship, saw some of the worst violence.  The Times reported on 13 May that over 200 premises, mainly occupied by Germans , had been destroyed and damage worth £40,000 had been done by the mob.  The East End of London with its large immigrant population also witnessed shocking scenes of violence.  The Liverpool and Merseyside Remembered website shows some shop owners even white washed signs on their shutters stating their nationalities to avoid being ransacked.

In the north east a spate of rioting took place a week after the first incidents in Liverpool and London.  The papers report outbreaks of violent behaviour in Crook, Consett, Sunderland and South Shields on Friday and Saturday, 14 and 15 May.  Although it is not entirely clear why the riots occurred later, the recruitment drive referred to above and the report in the Durham County Advertiser of 21 May of the funeral of a victim who hailed from Sedgefield on the 15th, might provide some clues.  The fact that they took place on a Friday and Saturday evening might suggest that alcohol might also have played a part.

Crook
The riot in Crook was peculiar as the initial violence was aimed at an English butcher, by the name of John Robert Hodgson.   After the event, it was claimed that Hodgson was targeted because he had helped another, German, butcher named Anthony Bowman (Bauman).  This may well have been the case but as Hodgson had been a member of the Urban District Council it may well have been that more than a few locals had an axe to grind with him!

Many of the aspects of the Crook riot could be seen as farcical; the first missile thrown at Hodgson’s window was a coconut and the handful of police that turned up to the scene were pelted with “meat, suet, etc” (Durham County Advertiser, 21 May 1915).  However, the mob then turned their attention to Hodgson’s house, situated at the other end of the town, where Hodgson’s young children were asleep.  All of the windows were smashed.  The crowd then took a hay-rack from a nearby field to use as a battering ram.  They used it to rush through the police cordon that had been formed and then to smash up Bowman’s shop.

Subsequently, a group of 12 men and one woman were brought before the magistrate for the damage to Hodgson and Bowman’s shops.  Surprisingly, considering the scale of the riot and the violence involved, the 13 defendants were handed down fines of 5s, 10s 6d and 40s, the latter for assaulting a police officer, and were ordered to pay costs.  On 4 June, the Durham County Advertiser gave a report of the hearing, the magistrate summed up with the following statement:  
                …no doubt the excited state of public feeling in Crook arose out of the wrongful and wicked doings of the Germans, especially in connexion with the sinking of the Lusitania.  They believed they were acting patriotically.  Unfortunately, it was a patriotism so run to seed as not to be patriotism at all, but a great mistake.

Further reading:
1) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9366985/British-not-to-blame-for-rapid-sinking-and-loss-of-life-on-liner-RMS-Lusitania-find-underwater-researchers.html
2) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/lusitania-salvage-warning-munitions-1982
3) http://www.titanicinquiry.org/Lusitania/01Header.php

Thursday 15 May 2014

The Second Battle of Ypres - Statistics

Postcard of a view of the ruined Cloth Hall and Market Place, taken at Ypres, Belgium, 1914 - 1918 (D/DLI 2/35/9(1))
D/DLI 2/35/9(1) Postcard of a view of the ruined Cloth Hall and Market Place, taken at Ypres, Belgium, 1914 - 1918
At full strength, a battalion consisted of about 1000 men, including 30 officers.  The figures below show the number of men and officers who were killed in action over the course of the Second Battle of Ypres, 22 April to 25 May 1915 for each of the Durham Light Infantry’s territorial battalions.  The figures also include those who died of wounds up to the end of May, about six weeks after the battalions left the UK

Battalion                 Soldiers             Officers
5th                             89                           2
6th                             64                           4
7th                           111                           6
8th                           127                           5
9th                             35                           1

A significant number of men were also wounded and would have been out of the front line in the immediate aftermath of the battle but there are no definitive figures for this.

The book written by Ward (2) gives a total figure of soldiers who died for each battalion throughout the entire war.  The table below shows these figures and the proportion that occurred during the Second Battle of Ypres.

Battalion                 Total                      Proportion (rounded up/down)
5th                            831                                      11%
6th                            830                                        8%
7th                            600                                      20%
8th                            816                                      16%
9th                            682                                        5%

Sources 
1) Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919, The Durham Light Infantry – originally compiled by The War Office, 1921 
2) Faithful, The Story of The Durham Light Infantry – SGP Ward, 1968

Thursday 8 May 2014

The Second Battle of Ypres - 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry

What was the 9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry?
  • The 9th Battalion (9DLI) was one of the Territorial Battalions of the 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Brigade
  • Recruits came mainly from the Gateshead area
  • It was commanded by Colonel A Henderson

What happened when war was declared?
  • At the end of July 1914, 9DLI was at the annual brigade training camp at Conway, Wales
  • 3 August – An advance party went back to Gateshead
  • 4 August – The rest of the battalion returned to Gateshead; the men were sent to their company headquarters and the men sent home from there; the mobilisation telegram was received at 7:15pm

What did the battalion do at the start of the war?
  • 5 August – 9DLI convened at Gateshead; the battalion moved to South Shields for coastal defence work
  • Later in August the battalion moved to a camp at Ravensworth Castle
  • In October they moved to billets around Newcastle
Soldiers of the 9th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, 'waiting teeth inspection for the front', 1915 (D/DLI 2/9/288)
D/DLI 2/9/288 Soldiers of the 9th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, 'waiting teeth inspection for the front', 1915

When did the battalion leave the UK?
  • 17 April – The transport and machine gun sections left for Southampton; they sailed to Le Havre on board the SS Mount Temple
  • 19 April – The rest of 9DLI left went to Folkestone then travelled on to Boulogne
  • They were billeted in the area around Cassel
  • 23 April – The battalion marched towards Vlamertinghe with 7DLI

When did 9DLI first engage with the enemy?
24 April
  • They marched through Ypres where they had a close encounter with shelling, ‘I was marching along at the rear of the Battalion when suddenly the company in front of me disappeared in the gutter and I was left standing…I never heard the burst or probably I should have followed their example.’ Major J English (1)
  • The battalion lost some men and horses when the transport section was fired on by Germans
Shell-damaged buildings and streets, taken by PHB Lyon, captioned: Ypres, the Cloth Hall from the west, Belgium, 14 May 1915 (D/DLI 7/424/2(66))
D/DLI 7/424/2(66) Shell-damaged buildings and streets, taken by PHB Lyon, captioned: Ypres, the Cloth Hall from the west, Belgium, 14 May 1915

What were the worst days for 9DLI at the Second Battle of Ypres?
  • The battalion spent much of the last week of April entrenched in fields around Verlorenhoek under constant shellfire but suffering few casualties
  • 3 May – The battalion marched to huts at Brielen, arriving about 2am; as they passed through Ypres a shell landed amongst the men, killing seven and wounding others; ‘…it burst just about 20 yards in front of me and I got plenty of muck in my face but I am alright…’, R Constantine (2)
  • 11-12 May – 9DLI were involved in what is known as the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge; they were in trenches that were liable to flooding; heavy rain and shell fire caused severe damage to the trenches; four men were killed on each of the two days and more wounded

Casualties
The only figures found are for those who died, not wounded or missing:
                                3 May                    11-12 May
Officers                        -                               -
Other ranks                 7                              8

How do I find out more about what happened?
1) The Gateshead Gurkhas, A History of the 9th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry 1859-1967 – Harry Moses, 2001
2) Letters of R Constantine, Durham County Record Office reference D/DLI 7/137/3
3) Faithful, The Story of The Durham Light Infantry – SGP Ward, 1968

Thursday 1 May 2014

The Second Battle of Ypres - 8th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry

Soldiers of the 8th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, constructing a trench, 1914 (D/DLI 2/8/60(71))
D/DLI 2/8/60(71) Soldiers of the 8th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, constructing a trench, 1914

What was the 8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry?
  • The 8th Battalion (8DLI) was one of the Territorial battalions of 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Brigade
  • Recruits mainly came from the Durham City, Chester le Street and Houghton le Spring areas
  • Over 150 students of Bede Teacher Training College in Durham City served in 8DLI; the college produced a magazine called The Bede for students and alumni which contains several accounts of the battle
  • Commanded by Colonel WC Blackett until October 1914, then by Colonel J Turnbull

What happened when war was declared?
  • At the end of July 1914, 8DLI was at the annual brigade training camp at Conway, Wales
  • 3 August – The battalion left Conway in the evening, arriving at Durham City in the early hours of the 4th
  • 4 August – Gathered in the Market Place; no orders were received during the day so men were allowed home with orders to report as early as possible the following morning; mobilisation orders were received at 7pm
  • Battalion strength was 29 officers and 996 other ranks

What did the battalion do at the start of the war?
  • 5 August – 8DLI moved to the Sunderland area for coastal defence duty
  • 19 August – Moved to training Camp at Ravensworth Castle
  • Moved to billets at Gateshead prior to the end of 1914; undertook further training and remained there until April 1915
A  group of officers of the 8th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, at Cassel, France, April 1915 Left to right: Lieutenant E.A. Leybourne, Captain J. Turnbull, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Turnbull, Lieutenants P. Kirkup, F.M. Weeks, and C.L.B. Whall (D/DLI 2/8/59(6))
D/DLI 2/8/59(6) A  group of officers of the 8th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, at Cassel, France, April 1915 Left to right: Lieutenant E.A. Leybourne, Captain J. Turnbull, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Turnbull, Lieutenants P. Kirkup, F.M. Weeks, and C.L.B. Whall
When did the battalion leave the UK?
1915
  • 17 April – Transport and machine gun section left for Le Havre
  • 19 April – The rest of the battalion marched to Newcastle Central Station for trains to Folkestone, embarked for Boulogne aboard the Onward
  • 20 April – Moved to the vicinity of Cassel
  • 23 April – Ordered to move forward to Steenvoorde, then Poperinghe, halting at Vlamertinghe
  • 24 April – Moved further forward, marching through Ypres under shellfire, arriving in the early hours of 25th at Boetleers Farm where some Canadian troops were stationed

When did 8DLI first engage with the enemy?
25 April
  • A and D Companies were ordered forwards to trenches to relieve the Canadians holding them
  • B and C Companies were entrenched at the farm
  • The Germans line was an arc covering two sides
Map of positions at Boetleers Farm on 25/26 April 1915, based on a map enclosed in '8th Battalion., The Durham Light Infantry, 1793-1926'
Map of positions at Boetleers Farm on 25/26 April 1915, based on a map enclosed in '8th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, 1793-1926' (1)

What were the worst days for 8DLI at the Second Battle of Ypres?
25-26 April
  • The Germans attacked from the left side of D Company 8DLI
  • Shelling broke the communication lines back to Boetleers Farm
  • A German plane scouted the locations of A and D Companies; shells began to land in the D Company trenches, then in those of A Company
  • Several of the accounts in The Bede say there was little or no support from British guns
  • As the Germans made their way around from the left to the rear of the British line, those left of A and D Companies gathered in one trench, holding the position until the evening
  • Surrounded on three sides, the decision was made to withdraw through the remaining gap ‘…the force retired under a perfect Hell of fire; shells, high explosive and shrapnel, machine guns and rifles dealing out Death on all sides…The slaughter was fearful – the scene indescribable.’ The Bede
  • Some of the men made it back to Boetleers Farm, others found their way to Vlamertinghe
  • Whilst this was happening, some of B Company had tried to move forward to reinforce A and D Companies but were driven back
  • B and C Companies had their own close encounters with German troops who were found to be occupying some nearby farm buildings; the Germans advanced and 8DLI retaliated but were eventually forced to retire
  • Those still at Boetleers Farm were relieved by 5DLI on 27 April

Casualties 
The 8th Battalion history gives the total number of killed, wounded, and missing (including those taken prisoner) for these days as 19 officers, 574 other ranks.

The Soldiers Died record lists 102 names as killed in action on 26 April 1915 (no names are given for 25 April, it seems possible that as the fighting was continuous, those killed on this date were all recorded as 26 April).

Another account from The Bede records the thoughts of a soldier as he is transported in a Red Cross train to Boulogne: ‘Thank God! he said...  But his friends and comrades, what had become of them?  They had vanished like a dream.  When would he get to know how many were still alive?’

Due to the heavy losses suffered by the battalion over the course of the Second Battle of Ypres, orders were given on 7 June for it to amalgamate with 6DLI to form the 6/8th Composite Battalion.  The drafts from Britain were insufficient to bring them up to fighting strength.  The battalion comprised one company of 8DLI and three companies of 6DLI.  They remained as the 6/8th until August of that year.

How do I find out more about what happened?
1) 8th Battalion., The Durham Light Infantry, 1793-1926 – EH Veitch, (no year)
2) Faithful, The Story of The Durham Light Infantry – SGP Ward, 1968