My next stop on Day 4 was to visit the area where my Great-Great Uncle William Pountney was wounded during the Battle of the Somme. Bill was quite old for a soldier, being 34 when he enlisted on 1 September 1914. He was another volunteer who signed up before conscription...seems to be a common trait with lots of my family members.
Bill was posted to the 9th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers and spent the next 10 months in the UK (the 9th RWF was only formed on 9 September 1914...officially AFTER Bill was posted to the unit!). On 12 October 1914, he was promoted to Acting (Paid) Lance Corporal but responsibility clearly didn't sit well with him because he asked to be reduced to Private in early January 1915. On 19 July of that year he was shipped off to France. The New Year of 1916 was eventful, perhaps in a good way, as he was admitted to hospital for a month, I think for haemorrhoids, followed by a further month in a Convalescent Depot at Rouen and yet another month at the Infantry Base Depot at Etaples. Methinks he may have been swinging the lead a wee bit. Regardless, he was back with the 9th RWF in late March 1916.
Bill's brigade was selected as a reserve formation for the Battle of the Somme, which kicked off on 1 July 1916. The 9th RWF War Diary describes the unit's actions while they sat in the relative comfort of the rear:
At 10.00 p.m. the Battalion left its billets and proceeded to a preliminary position of assemble in a hollow immediately west of the railway, south of the main AMIENS-ALBERT Road at the latter town. There, the Battalion bivouaced [sic]
for the night June 30th-July 1st, and at 10.30 a.m. proceeded in its turn to the trenches on the TARA-USNA line some 1,000 yards east of the town.
I pored over the relevant trench map to see if any features matched the description of "a hollow immediately west of the railway, south of the main AMEINS-ALBERT road at the latter town." The following area jumped out at me as clearly matching the description. It could be the area slightly further south but that seemed to offer less protection as the area was narrower than the circled area.
I found the same area on GoogleEarth and it hasn't changed that much:
Since I was in the area, I had to have a look. It was pretty easy to find and fits the description rather well. Am I certain Bill was there just prior to the Battle? Absolutely not, but it's certainly a very likely candidate given the terrain. Here are a few ground-level views taken from the same location - not a bad place to hide away. The towers for the railway electric power lines are visible in the first image, showing how the elevation of the railway helped provide additional obscuration and protection for the troops in this position:
After the first day, it was clear things weren't going well for the British. German defences were far stronger and more resilient than expected. With the front line forces suffering considerable casualties, it was time to call on the reserve formations, including Bill's unit. Per the above War Diary entry, they moved forward about 1000 yards east of Albert and took up positions on the "TARA-USNA line" Heading east from Albert, the main road rises quite markedly to a pair of hills, the Tara south of the road and the Usna north of the road. In reality, they're little more than a continuation of the same ridge line but they were differentiated on maps at the time so who am I to argue with the map makers? Here's another portion of the trench map showing the Usna and Tara hills quite clearly in the centre, together with their relative position to the German trenches defending La Boisselle:
The 9th RWF probably took up positions west of the hills, in the valley between Tara-Usna and the town of Albert, to avoid being seen and to limit exposure to direct fire. Coincidentally, the Tara-Usna valley area is about 1000 yds from the original bivouac position shown previously.
The 9th RWF, in concert with the 9th Cheshires, was ordered to attack La Boisselle on 2 July but the logistical challenges that plagued the Battle of the Somme continued. The front trenches were so crowded that it proved impossible to make good progress towards the jumping off point. The War Diary notes that the Battalion "only reached the craters - which had been formed in the German defences the previous morning - by daybreak on the 2nd." It's likely "the craters" refer to mines that were blown up on 1 July, the most significant being the Lochnagar Crater which is still there...but you'll see that in a later post. Lochnagar Crater was off to the right of this image, which is perhaps the route the 9th RWF followed into the front line positions and thence into La Boisselle.
The approach from the valley to the front-line trenches would have been protected but this is what the view towards La Boisselle looks like today. The Tara and Usna valleys lie behind the camera position, but are now built over by Albert's urban sprawl, so it's hard to accurately gauge the lie of the land from the top of the Usna/Tara hills:
Congestion in the front line trenches continued, and it was 1600 by the time Bill's unit went over the top with orders that "the objective [be] gained regardless of the cost." Those are never words that ANY military person wants to hear. The 9th RWF, 9th Cheshires and 6th Wiltshires went forward. "Owing to the congestion of troops in our front line system of trenches and to the havoc wrought by hostile artillery the previous evening, it was found impossible to launch the attack on a regular frontage, and it was entirely due to the handling by their leaders of the various Companies...that the advance to the German line resulted in so few casualties." Once in the thick of the fight, grenades were thrown and considerable progress was made, with the attacking force reaching and consolidating at the church in La Boisselle by nightfall.
At some point in the battle, Bill Pountney took a gunshot wound to the chest (Total 9th RWF casualties for July 1916 were were 3 officers and 42 ORs killed; 10 officers and 240 ORs wounded). He was evacuated through No.34 Division Collection Station at Dernancourt, then to No.45 Casualty Clearing Station, at Vecquemont (sitting on the train line from Albert to Amiens), before ending up at No.11 Stationary Hospital at Rouen. He was repatriated to the UK on 5 July and was admitted to the Lord Derby Hospital in Warrington, less than 10 miles from his home. He recovered remarkably quickly--because "the wound healed without interruption--and was discharged from the hospital on 25 July. He spent a further 3 weeks, probably on leave recuperating, before going back to the Army, serving in a couple of different RWF Battalions. He returned to France in October and finally made it back to the 9th RWF in November 1916.
On 9 December he was appointed Acting LCpl (Unpaid) but that promotion didn't last long. He lost his stripe on 31 January for being drunk on duty....a little New Year's cheer to keep warm, perhaps? He spent a few weeks home on leave in January 1917 and I can't help wondering if his wife, Elizabeth, asked him to apply for a safer job that the infantry because, on 9 March he joined the 354th Electrical and Mechanical Company, Royal Engineers. A month later he officially joined the RE with a new regimental number. While this may at first seem a much safer option, in reality the Elec-Mech Coys were responsible for all the electrical and mechanical stuff necessary for trench warfare: lights, generators, water pumps, etc. If the electric wires were cut by shellfire, it was the Elec-Mech REs who went out to fix it. This work probably suited Bill nicely because he'd been an engine driver pre-war.
As of 15 April 1918, Bill's service record notes the following technical abilities based on his time with the RE:
- Firing and Driving Steam Engines, and Making Repairs to Same: Very Superior
- Driving Gas or Oil Engines, and Making Repairs to Same: Skilled
- Driving Petrol Internal Combustion Engines Including Procedure in Case of Breakdown: Skilled
- Working a Pumping Station: Skilled
- Engine Erecting: Proficient
- Qualifications in an Iron Trade: Rough Fitter
- Working an E.L. Blast Including Repairs to Lining etc: Proficient
- General Qualification: Skilled
Bill survived the war, being discharged on 17 February 1919, and returned to his wife and their 2 sons. He was medically examined but never claimed any disability despite the GSW to the chest and all the other hardships he must have faced. Bill passed away in 1943 and I can't help wondering that the Great War did, eventually, shorten his life. However, he was clearly a tough old duck.