24th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment

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24th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
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Penny Thomas James. Pte. (d.12th Oct 1917)

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Pte. Thomas James Penny 21st Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.12th Oct 1917)

Thomas Penny attested aged 20 years and 2 months for the duration of the war with the 16th Middlesex Regiment, Public School Battalion, Duke of Cambridge’s Own at Woldingham on the 30th March 1915. Thomas joined as a Private and was given the service no. PS/1805, Thomas had been working as a Gardener.
Thomas and the 16th Middlesex Regiment moved in July 1915 to Clipstone Park and then in August to Perham Down. On the 28th of October 1915 Thomas spent 5 days at Pernham Down hospital for treatment for a septic hand. On the 15th of November 1915 the 16th Middlesex Regiment embarked to France but Thomas was put with the 24th Middlesex Regiment who were a reserve regiment, as he was deemed not fit for foreign service at the time. Throughout the war the 24th Middlesex regiment provided replacements and on the 23rd of January 1916 Thomas left to re-join his friends in the 16th Middlesex Regiment who were in Annequin, France. Thomas joined the 16th Middlesex on 7th of February 1916. Annequin was on the outskirts of Bethune, it was a rather unpleasant part of the line as dead bodies lay rotting, who had died 4 months previously from the Battle of Loos in 1915. On 29th June 1916 Thomas was seen by the 89th Field Ambulance and then the following day was sent to the 29th Divisional Rest Station, with possibly a problem with his knee. On the 2nd July 1916 Thomas was sent to no.35 Casualty Clearing Station in Doullens. Thomas needed further treatment and was sent back to England to the 2nd General Hospital on 4th July 1916.
Meanwhile on the 1st July 1916 the rest of the 16th Middlesex Battalion of the 29th Division, took part in their first major battle in trenches near Auchovillers opposite the Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt which was the German front line. This is known as The Battle of Albert, part of the Somme campaign in 1916. Only 120 men of the 16th Middlesex Battalion reached the crater. By 10.30am under heavy enemy fire, the men were short of ammunition and the survivors, returned to the British lines. Thomas lost a lot of friends that day and in particular other Warlingham boys, Charles Alfred Elmes and Walter Hoad who are commemorated on the Warlingham War Memorial.
On 7th August 1916 Thomas was at 41 Infantry Base Depot which was a holding camp in Etaples. The base depot received men from England and kept them in training while they waited to be posted. On 2nd September 1916 Thomas was back with the 16th Middlesex Regiment who had been withdrawn from the Somme and sent to Ypres in Belgium. However 15 days later Thomas was seen again by the 89th Field Ambulance and sent to no.10 Casualty Clearing Station in Remy Siding, Belgium and no.12 Casualty Clearing Station in Hazebrouck, Northern France. He was diagnosed with cervical adenitises, an infection of a lymph node in the neck. Thomas was sent to a base hospital, no.3 Canadian Stationary Hospital in Boulogne. On 5th October 1916 Thomas needed further treatment and was sent back to England on Hospital Ship HMHS St Patrick to Dover. Thomas then spent 17 days at Glen Red Cross Hospital, South-end on sea.
On the 2nd November 1916 Thomas was with the 6th Middlesex Regiment who were a depot and training unit in Chatham. On the 8th December 1916 Thomas was back to the 41 Infantry Base Depot, holding camp in Etaples, waiting to be posted to a serving regiment. Thomas was posted to the 21st Middlesex Battalion (Islington) who were serving in France on 27th December 1916. The 21st Middlesex were in the area of Albert at Maricourt. The war diary on the 27th December 1916 says: Battalion marched to Camp 21 leaving at 9am and arriving at 3.15pm. Condition of camp very muddy. Draft of 96 O.R received from Base (mostly men with previous experience on Western Front but a few only partially trained). Thomas and the 21st Middlesex Regiment would have spent a few days clearing the Camp particularly the mud and making improvements to the trenches, Asquith Flats, which were very wet and the communication trenches that were impassable.
While serving with the 21st Middlesex Regiment, Thomas fell ill with bronchitis and was seen by the 10th Field Ambulance service on 26th February 1917, this developed into Influenza. Thomas was taken to the 13th General Hospital in Boulogne. On the 3rd March 1917 Thomas was on his way to England on the Hospital Ship HMHS St Denis as he had further problems with myalgia, which is muscle pain. Thomas was likely to have been suffering from Trench Fever which was caused by body lice, a hazard of dirty conditions in the trenches. Easily spread it caused the soldier to suffer from a high fever, headaches, aching muscles and sores on the skin. Thomas was sent to Cambridge Hospital on 11th March 1917 for 14 days.
By the middle of March 1917 Thomas was back at the depot and then on 3rd April 1917 Thomas was posted to the 5th Middlesex Regiment, who were a depot and training unit in Chatham, Kent. Thomas’s final posting was on the 12th May 1917 where Thomas embarked to France to join the 4th Middlesex Regiment ‘D’ Company on 2nd June 1917. 2 Officers and 136 Other Ranks joined the 4th Middlesex that day at Manin, France. On the 5th June Thomas and the battalion went by motor bus to billets at Beauvois which were described as rather bad and the majority of the men slept in the open. The following day they moved to billets at Tangry and then onto Matringham, North West of Arras where they spent time training.
On the 25th of June 1917 they marched to Kemmel in Belgium, South West of Ypres. The 4th Middlesex Regiment were in the 63rd Brigade, 37th Division and they were sent to Ypres to take part in several battles during the Third Battle of Ypres 1917 better known as Passchendaele. Thomas and D Company spent time in the front line trenches near ‘Zero Wood’, as working parties, digging and clearing up the trenches in the pouring rain with enemy artillery fire.
18th of July 1917 at Torreken Farm. In the early morning the new type of gas shell was noticed in most Companies. Severe sneezing and watering of the eyes resulted – the smell of the gas was too faint for any adequate idea of its character to be given. They also spent a lot of time training and in model trenches.
23rd July 1917 Beaver Camp, The Battalion was practiced in the attack in view of future operations.
28th July 1917 Beaver Camp Owing to inclement weather the afternoon was spent in lectures on box respirators and various points of interest concerning active operations.
The next offence which was to be The battle of Pilckem Ridge, which commenced on 31st of July 1917 until 2nd of August 1917, this was the opening attack for the Third Battle of Ypres. On the 29th of July 1917 Thomas and the 4th Middlesex Battalion went into the front line. Zero hour was 3.50am when Thomas and D Company left the safety of the trenches. The war diary states: 31st July 1917, D Company advanced till its left rested on Bee Farm on the other side of which were the 8th K.O.R Lancaster Regiment. They were out of touch on the right, they reached this position about 5am. The farm was searched and about 40 prisoners taken, half of these were seen to fall under hostile machine gun fire. Between 7am and 8am hostile bombers approached and began to attack their right. They were met with rifle grenades, rifle and lewis gun fire and gave no further trouble. The war diary goes on to say that from 9am the remains of A Company and Thomas with D Company re-joined the rest of the battalion they were shelled heavily until midday, which caused many casualties. When the ‘Kings Own Regiment’ were counter attacked it was felt that the 4th Middlesex could not hold their shell holed line so were ordered to retire under the protection of the Lewis guns. They went into the line held by the 19th Division, where they met 4 Privates from the Kings Own but no other 19th Division men were seen. Thomas and the 4th Middlesex held this line until the 2nd August 1917 when they were relieved. The casualties for The Battle of Pilckem for the 4th Middlesex were 5 Officers killed, 1 Officer later died of wounds, 1 Officer wounded and was a German prisoner. Other Ranks 15 killed, 97 wounded, 69 believed wounded and missing and missing believed killed 23. Along the 15 mile line of this offensive the British Commanders deemed the battle a great success. The G.O.C. of the 37th Division congratulated the 4th Middlesex Regiment saying that they had fully maintained their name The Diehards.
The rest of August 1917 was spent in training, cleaning equipment and as working parties. September, there was torrential rain which made everywhere water logged and the shell holes and craters full of dirty water. In the Ypres Salient the mud was described as sticky and men drowned in this mud. For the Battle of Menin Road Ridge on 20th until 25th September 1917, the 37th Division was in reserve and the Battle of Polygon Wood, 26th September until 3rd October 1917, the 4th Middlesex were in the area but did not attack.
On the 10th of July 1917 Thomas and the 4th Middlesex were guided to the front line south of Veldhoek. As the battalion passed, Mont Sorrel they went through very heavy shelling where 2 Officers were killed, 6 O.R killed and 5 wounded. On the 11th of October 1917 Thomas and the 4th Middlesex were still in the front line trenches and no rations were set up but the enemy was fairly quiet. On the 12th October 1917 The First Battle of Passchendaele commenced. The 4th Middlesex Regiment were in the front lines during the battle but they did not engage the enemy that day. The war diary on the 12th October 1917, states:- The battalion remained in the line. Occasionally Battalion Head Quarters was shelled with light guns. No ration party arrived. 3 ORs killed. Thomas was one of the three other ranks who was killed that day, aged 22 years old. His father was sent Thomas's tobacco pouch. No will was found to be in Thomas's pay book. Thomas is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the missing, as there is no known grave. The other two men killed that day were Private Arthur Howard and Private James Arthur Doust from the 4th Middlesex Regiment, who are also commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. The Tyne Cot Memorial has 35,000 names for the Officers and men from the United Kingdom and New Zealand forces, who have no known grave. The memorial bears the names of those who were killed after August 1917, those pre this date are on the Menin Gate. Tyne Cot marks the furthest point in Belgium that the Commonwealth forces reached until the end of the war.
Thomas was awarded the British and Victory medals for services to his Country. Thomas is commemorated on the Warlingham War Memorial, the All Saints Roll of Honour and at Warlingham Village School.
David Penny

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Those known to have served with
24th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
during the Great War 1914-1918.