A patrol taken PoW

[charlie]

On the 8th February 1916 17th (Northern) Division took over the line between St Eloi and Hill 60. The 12th Bn were in the front line to the east of St Eloi occupying trenches T1 to T3.

The printed history of Saxony's part in the war ,,Sachsen in grosser Zeit" (Saxony in stirring times) records that a small patrol of 1 NCO and 2 men of the 12th Manchesters were taken prisoner on the 9th February in the Infanterie Regiment 178 sector of the German front.

There is no mention of the incident in the 12ths War Diary. Reference to the Red Cross PoW files reveals that the three men were 2308 Cpl Daniel McKenna of C Coy, 3810 Pte Harry Percival Rushton and 9626 Pte William Meadowcroft.

Charlie

[pete th]

Charlie, brilliant find!

[mack]

hiya Charlie
Cpl McKenna suffered a shrapnel wound to the head when he was captured,he states he was taken on 8th February and this is confirmed in his records,it must have been a night patrol,so the 9th February must be when the germans reported it,i got the impression that the war diary was being written from a snug billet way behind the lines by a officer who didn't have a clue what was happening in the front lines

mack
ps.nice work charlie

[charlie]

Mack,
Thanks for the extra information.
The officer writing the War Diary hadn't improved 2 years later. The recent thread re Sgt Kershaw http://themanchesters.org/forum/index.php?topic=10015.msg66685#new is another good example. No casualties are recorded in the WD for the 24th August, the CWGC records 14 deaths.

Charlie

[mack]

I like the way he describes the dates around the time of the patrols capture,german artillery dropped 40 whizz bangs, enemy MGs and snipers active,otherwise a quiet day ,I wonder what a bad day was like

mack

[themonsstar]

isn't there something about reports going in every 12 hours so it may have missed the first 12 hour report then show in the next 12 hours which may put it on the next day?

[PhilipG]

My impression of the completion of War Diaries is that the task was often considered an onerous one by the officer detailed to prepare it.    However, in the case of Edmund Blunden,the War Poet, and reading some of those he wrote, I think he relished the task.    Praise was given where appropriate, both to individuals and his battalion as a whole (11th R. Sussex).       The choice of language and the style of writing suggest that here was a writer who enjoyed using his skill with the written word.

Not so in respect of an entry I once read :  "A quiet day. 1 OR killed".

PhilipG.