VCs of the First World War 1915 The Western Front

by Peter F Batchelor

  Auber’s Ridge – southern sector

  One of the attackers was No. 1780, A/Cpl David Finlay, 2nd Black Watch who, having been briefly knocked unconscious by the explosion of a shell soon after crossing the British breastworks, led a bombing party of twelve men towards one of the remaining bridges. Two of his men were killed and more were hit when crossing the ditch, as the party dodged from shell-hole to shell-hole on their way towards the enemy line. When only two of his original group were left, Finlay ordered them to return. He then crawled over to a wounded man, picked him up and carried him almost 100 yards to safety. Finlay was under concerted enemy fire during the whole of this period, and for his gallantry was awarded the VC.

  The attack was halted by the CO of the battalion who realized that further efforts would only be a waste of life. Of the 450 officers and men of the battalion who actually advanced 276 became casualties.

  The citation for Finlay’s award was published in the London Gazette on 29 June and he received his medal from the King on 30 July.

  David Finlay was born on 25 January 1893, the eldest of 11 children, in the parish of Guardbridge, Fife, and worked as a ploughman before enlisting in the Black Watch on 5 February 1910, shortly after his eighteenth birthday. He served with the 2nd Bn in India for almost three years and was a lance-corporal when the war began. His battalion landed at Marseilles, France, on 12 October 1914, having sailed from Karachi. The long delay in reaching France since being mobilized at Bareilly on 9 August was caused partly by the presence of the German cruisers Emden and Koningsberg in the Indian Ocean and also the very slow progress of the troop transports.

  With the Bareilly Brigade the 2nd Black Watch were in action during the winter of 1914 at the Battle of La Bassée and subsequently in March at Neuve Chapelle.

  Sergeant Finlay (he had been promoted to corporal on 23 May and sergeant on 27 June) returned home on leave and married, on 27 July 1915, in a civil ceremony at Cupar, Christina Cunningham of Prestonbank. After his VC presentation the local community of Glenfarg (where Finlay’s family now lived) enthusiastically welcomed the newlyweds with a number of Black Watch pipers and the local laird presented him with a watch and a purse of gold. He rejoined his battalion in France after only a week’s leave and was involved in various actions before being posted to Mesopotamia, arriving at Basra on the last day of 1915.

  On 20 January 1916, at the Battle of Karma, Mesopotamia, the battalion dug in about 300 yards from the Turkish line near Hannah, patrols under Sgts Mitchell and Finlay having been sent out earlier to find good positions. The next morning the battalion made a bayonet attack on the enemy line after an artillery bombardment and in this assault Sgt Finlay became one of 163 casualties. His body was not recovered and his name is commemorated on the Basra Memorial to the Missing, Iraq. Finlay’s widow moved to Lanarkshire and subsequently remarried, returning his medals to George Finlay, his father. Later the medals passed into the care of Finlay’s brother, David, at Cupar.

  The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association were contacted by Mr George Cartwright VC of Epping, New South Wales, Australia, and advised that an officer named David Findlay VC had died in NSW on 26 July 1960. The secretary of the Association sent a letter of sympathy to the widow but asked Canon Lummis for verification. Lummis checked the available facts and discovered the man was an impostor who claimed his VC had been stolen when he was in hospital.

  A family decision was made to present the medals to his regiment and on 17 March 1967 Finlay’s medals, comprising the VC, 1914 Star and Bar, BWM and VM were presented at a ceremony to Brigadier Baker-Baker of the Black Watch. Finlay’s brothers John, William, James and Albert made the presentation; also present were other family members including his sister Elizabeth. The medals are now held in the Regimental Museum, Edinburgh.

  The name of Sgt. David Finlay VC appears on a bronze panel with other men of Leauchars Parish who fell in the Great War, set into the unusual and charming War Memorial. This Memorial stands south of the cemetery adjacent to a golf club. In the isolated churchyard at Moonzie, about three miles from Cupar, the last name on the granite War Memorial is that of David Finlay VC.

  D.W. BELCHER

  South of Wieltje–St Julien Road, Belgium, 13 May

  The next day, 13 May 1915, dawned gloomy and wet, and from 03.30 hours until early afternoon the heaviest bombardment yet seen on the Ypres Salient turned the rudimentary trenches and support areas into a muddy quagmire. The line from 600 yards east of Shell Trap Farm to Turco Farm was occupied by the 24th Bde, 4th Div., who had held this section since their withdrawal from the Gravenstafel Ridge during the night of 3 May.

  The 11th Bde front, on this May morning, was held by two companies of the 1/5th (City of London) Bn, The London Regt (London Rifle Brigade), 1/East Lancs, 1/Rifle Brigade (including Shell Trap Farm), 1/Hampshire and, joining up with French troops, 1/Somerset Light Infantry. The reserves amounted to two companies of the London Rifle Brigade, plus the 2nd Essex Regt of 12th Bde.

  Intense shelling flattened much of the trench line, forcing the evacuation of the 1/East Lancs and annihilating two platoons of the London Rifle Brigade who were holding Shell Trap Farm (see map on page 89). The farm certainly lived up to its fateful name, and shells were observed falling there at the rate of over a hundred per minute. One small section of trench, less than 40 yards long, just south of the Wieltje–St Julien Road, was occupied by L/Sgt Douglas Belcher and the remnants of his section, some eighteen men of the London Rifle Brigade. Gradually the incessant bombardment took its toll of Belcher’s small group, who continued to pour volleys into any Germans who approached nearer than 200 yards to the battered trench. Rifles jammed with mud and became too hot to hold but still these few men held out while other troops holding another short section of trench on their right retired. Subsequently, the breastwork became almost non-existent, and Belcher decided to occupy the vacant trench to his right as it appeared to be less damaged than the position he held. His party, now reduced to only five men, quickly moved to the other position, and, within minutes the trench they had vacated was demolished by German high explosive shells. For a total of over nine hours they hung on to their trench, firing at any enemy infantry who appeared, until they were finally relieved. Belcher escaped with a graze on his chin and a shrapnel rent in his cap. For holding these short sections of the line under such trying conditions Belcher was awarded the VC.

  On the same day, in an extract from Battalion Orders, as quoted in the Battalion War Diary, the following appeared:

  The commanding officer wishes to congratulate Sgt Belcher on the most distinguished honour he, and the Bn, have received by the honour of the Victoria Cross for his gallant conduct on May 13th.

  The orders also named the eight men who were with Belcher. The London Gazette of 23 June 1915 published the citation:

  Douglas Walter Belcher, No. 9539, L/Sergt, 1/5th (City of London) Battn, The London Regt (London Rifle Brigade). Date of act of bravery: 13 May 1915. On the early morning of 13 May 1915, when in charge of a portion of an advanced breastwork south of the Wieltje–St Julien Road, during a very fierce and continuous bombardment by the enemy, which frequently blew in the breastwork, L/Sergt Belcher, with a mere handful of men, elected to remain and endeavour to hold his position after the troops near him had been withdrawn. By his skill and great gallantry he maintained his position during the day, opening rapid fire on the enemy, who were only 150 to 200 yards distant, whenever he saw them collecting for an attack. There is little doubt that the bold front shown by L/Sergt Belcher prevented the enemy breaking through on the Wieltje Road, and averted an attack on the flank of one of the divisions.

  When a reporter from the Daily Express interviewed Belcher’s mother, following the announcement of his award, she said:

  Douglas was home on 72 hours’ leave only a very short time ago. He went to the front last November, as a private in the London Rifle Brigade, and, with the exception of the short leave I mentioned, he has been
there ever since.

  Although we knew that he had distinguished himself, and that he had been recommended for a medal of some sort, we had no idea it was to be the VC. My son was unwilling to discuss the affair at all, saying, I remember, when someone present at his first meal home tried to get him to talk about it, ‘Oh, let’s get on with the tea, shall we?’

  Belcher was decorated by the King at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 1915 and was pictured emerging through the Palace gates with a number of other VC winners. A few days later, his employers, Messrs Waring & Gillow, presented him with a silver rose bowl. Over 3,000 employees of the firm were present at a ceremony at the White City, London, where Waring & Gillow employed thousands on tent-making and aeroplane manufacturing, and replying to Mrs S.J. Waring’s speech, Belcher replied that he often thought of his old firm when at the front, saying, ‘sometimes we’d see the old vans at the front, and we’d think of home and London and all that’. Douglas Belcher was the first territorial ranker to win the VC in the First World War.

  Douglas Walter Belcher was born at Surbiton, Surrey, on 15 July 1889 and went to Tiffin’s School, Kingston-upon-Thames. He was very fit, regularly swimming across the River Thames and back on summer mornings. Rowing, cycling, cricket and tennis were other activities he enjoyed but his main passion was the Territorial Army. He had joined a cyclist volunteer corps in 1906 and transferred in 1908 to the Queen Victoria Rifles with whom he won a silver cup for shooting. He was employed in the antiques department of Messrs Waring & Gillow and continued with his shooting on their rifle range.

  In August 1914 he joined the London Rifle Brigade, and volunteering for foreign service, went to France as a lance-sergeant in November 1914. In 1916 Belcher was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 9th Bn, London Regt (Queen Victoria Rifles), and was promoted to lieutenant on 10 August 1917. He married in January of that year Emily Francis Luxford at St Mark’s, Surbiton, where he had been a boy chorister. Serving with the Gurkha Rifles from 1918 to 1922, he was a company commander in Mesopotamia during the Arab rising of 1921 and later saw service in Burma.

  Retiring from the army in 1922 with the rank of captain, Belcher suffered from bad health after the war and, as reported in the Sunday Dispatch of 24 May 1931 he had first obtained a job with a cigar merchant,

  … then had a bad breakdown and a year or so after went to work for a firm in its antique department, but I had not been in the new job long before my health went again, and the doctors told me that I had to get an open-air life or things were going to be serious.

  I went to Tunbridge Wells where my wife had been struggling to run our present business to help keep the home going. We hadn’t any capital – my health had done away with that – but we managed to keep things going. She worked hard in the shop and I went out on the round.

  He had evidently spent eighteen months going out on a pushbike getting orders and delivering vegetables.

  Belcher was diagnosed as suffering from neurasthenia in 1926 and his state of health was used in evidence when he filed for divorce in February 1935. He had acquired a poultry farm in Westhorpe, Suffolk, and in the undefended divorce petition, widely reported in October 1935, Mrs Belcher admitted adultery with one ‘Reg’ Larkin at Westhorpe in 1931. Subsequently, it was stated, Mrs Belcher had brought the co-respondent to live in the house in Tunbridge Wells, Capt. Belcher being treated ‘almost like a lodger’. Belcher, who had been in and out of hospital ‘was not in a state of health to exert any authority over his wife’, and ‘only feebly protested’. The Tunbridge Wells shop had been sold in 1933, Mrs Belcher and Larkin going to live at Westhorpe. Belcher’s health had improved by 1934 and, after the granting of a decree nisi in October 1935 he was granted custody of his two sons, then aged 17 and 9.

  Belcher was active in the British Legion and Old Comrades Association, the Tunbridge Wells branch of the latter being named after him. He was working as a ‘clerk-commissionaire’ in a city firm of charted accountants in October 1937. In June 1938 he led the procession at a Torchlight Tattoo held at the Memorial Sports Ground, Redhill, Surrey, and on 30 October was pictured with two other winners of the Victoria Cross, Sgt Boulter and L/Cpl Wilcox, at the Ypres Memorial Service on Horse Guards Parade.

  Belcher joined the London Rifle Brigade Territorials in the ranks as a rifleman before being promoted to sergeant. Following a bad fall at Woolwich Barracks he was invalided out in May 1940 and granted the rank of captain. He remarried in August 1941 at St Ethelburga’s Church, Bishopsgate, London; his bride was Miss Gertrude Elizabeth Brine of Surbiton, where Belcher was now living in Villiers Avenue. A guard of honour was formed by the London Rifle Brigade and the National Defence Corps. He was present at the Victory Parade and Dinner on 9 June 1946.

  Douglas Belcher VC died at Claygate, Surrey, on 3 June 1953, just over a month short of his 64th birthday, and he is buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Claygate, Surrey. His medals are held by the Rifle Brigade Museum, Winchester.

  THE BATTLE OF FESTUBERT

  15–27 May

  Following the Battle of Aubers Ridge Sir John French was put under considerable pressure by the French to mount a further offensive and the action that was later to be known as the Battle of Festubert was proposed by Sir Douglas Haig on 12 May.

  The broad details were not dissimilar to the attack of 9 May but on this occasion the distance between the two parts of the pincer movement were much closer. The 7th Div. would attack north of Festubert while 600 yards to the north the 2nd and Meerut Divs would attack from just north of Chocolat Menier Corner to Port Arthur. The objectives of this new attack, much curtailed from that of 9 May, were now to be an advance of some 1,000 yards along La Quinque Rue from north-west of Festubert to la Tourelle.

  As the northern sector was over ground which had previously been attacked, it was proposed that this part of the action should be at night, followed by a daylight attack by the 7th Div. French attacks had achieved more success with a longer artillery bombardment so it was agreed that a 36 hour bombardment would precede the attack. The artillery began firing on the morning of 13 May and continued in a deliberate fashion with shots being observed and reported. A number of howitzer shells did not explode, possibly owing to faulty fuses. Rain fell throughout 13 May, making observation difficult, and it was considered necessary to extend the bombardment to 60 hours.

  The attack of 2nd and Meerut Divs began at 23.30 hours on 15 May and the forward battalions of 6th Bde (2nd Div.) were successful in their surprise attack and occupied the German support trench. To the left 5th Bde (2nd Div.) and Garhwals Bde (Meerut Div.) were caught by rifle and machine-gun fire in no-man’s-land and few men reached the German front line.

  At dawn on 16 May 20th Bde of 2nd Div. advanced; 22nd Bde managed an advance of about 600 yards but 20th Bde was halted by enfilade fire from a strong enemy position to the left and only the right section of the brigade went forward past the German front line.

  During the night of 16/17 May the Germans started a withdrawal of about 3⁄4mile to a new line from South Breastwork to Ferme du Bois, but the British were not aware of this withdrawal for a number of days.

  On 17 May the gap between the 7th and 2nd Divs in the enemy front line was joined. Various attacks were made during the period 18–24 May which resulted in some small gains. On 18 May the 7th Div. was relieved by the Canadian Div., and the 2nd Div. by the 51st Div. on 19 May. On 25 May the Canadian Div., with 47 Div. on its right, attacked and gained some ground east of Festubert. The overall gains from the battle were about 600 yards on a front of 4,000 yards. British casualties exceeded 16,600, compared to about 5,000 German.

  F. BARTER

  Festubert, France, 16 May

  Three days after L/Sgt Belcher won his VC near Ypres on 13 May, the first of the VCs awarded during the Battle of Festubert was won by CSM Barter of 1st Bn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (RWF).

  The battalion was part of 22nd Bde, 7th Div., and was in billets at Essars when news of a forthcoming attack reached
it. Capt. Stockwell of A Coy, together with other officers, went to the front line on 12 May and during a night reconnaissance found a ditch, ‘from five to ten feet broad and everywhere a depth of five or six feet of water’. It was arranged that the leading men in the attack would carry trench-boards to place across the ditch before the attack. The battalion’s orders were to advance 450 yards behind the German lines, change direction half-right and occupy a long communication trench. A Coy, the leading company, was instructed to take an orchard, later known as Canadian Orchard, 1,200 yards from the British lines (see map above).

  Battle of Festubert

  After sixty hours – the longest artillery bombardment of the war to date – the battalion, having moved up to its assembly positions during the night, prepared to advance. Stockwell ensured that the boards were laid across the ditch and noted in his diary that the enemy parapet was not much damaged as many of the high-explosive shells had gone over it. He also commented on the number of ‘shorts’ from British artillery which wounded several of his men. German artillery returned fire ten minutes before zero hour, shelling both the British front line and no-man’s-land.