221924 Pte. Henry Richard Nix British Army 24th Battalion London Regiment from:Southwark (d.26th May 1915) Dick Nix served with the 24th County of London Battalion. He was
Born on the 7th of April 1893 and died on the 26th of May 1915.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the War Memorial at le Touret.
His brother Arthur, was called up in 1917 and survived the war though suffering from the effects of gas and shell-shock.
My mother told me that he had been blown to bits. She said that after this happened his brother stood on the parapets and cleared 3 German trenches with grenades and that if he had been an officer he would have received the Victoria Cross. She was only 5yrs. old when he died so someone who had been there presumably told her the story.
By the time I came to research what happened, she had died.
At the archives at Kew, I found the original reports written at the time by the commanding officer (C.G.Maude) of the 24th. Battalion (The Queens), The London Regiment that took place the day of the official ending of the Battle of Festubert which took place from 15th.- 25th May 1915. The British lost 16,648 casualties from 15/16–25 May.
The events of 25/26th. May are described in the official History 47th. (London) Division would appear to be inaccurate in that it mentions that the 23rd. Battalion also took part but Captain Maude states that as they were not ready, so the 24th. started without them and although he mentions the 22nd. assisting he makes no further mention of the 23rd.
The division suffered casualties from shellfire while holding the line as neighbouring formations fought the Battle of Aubers Ridge, (9 & 15 May),[12] but Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby's 142 Bde carried out the division's first offensive action, on 25 May during the Battle of Festubert. The attack on the 'S' Bend was timed for 18.30, to precede a Canadian night attack further along the line. The 23rd and 24th Londons swept across the open ground and immediately captured the German front trenches with few losses. However, German listening posts had given warning of the impending attack, and they had registered their artillery onto their own trenches. The divisional historian records that the Londoners now encountered 'a fierce and deadly enfilading fire from the German guns, and particularly from a heavy battery posted near Auchy-les-la Bassée, far to the south and out of range of the guns of our Division'.
In The Great World War - A History Volume III pp. 253-255 Battle Honours of the London Territorials Frank A Mumby writes:
"The attack had originally been planned for the Sunday night, but for various reasons was postponed until the evening of the 25th. Tuesday. It was the baptism of fire for most of the London Territorials, and though their action occupies but four lines in Sir John French’s dispatch of June 15, crowded as it is with battle records extending along the whole British front, their gallant deeds were rewarded with generous recognition in the Honours Lists."
While these things were happening to the 23rd., the 24th. (Queen’s) on their right were covering themselves with glory. Having carried the German trenches immediately in front of them, they endeavoured to follow up that success to follow up the success by repeated bomb attacks. Of the seventy-five men who formed the bombing-party fifty-eight became casualties. It was almost a miracle that any survived the storm of shot and shell from the German defences, especially Lance-Corporal Leonard J. Keyworth - a solicitor’s clerk before the war - who won the Victoria Cross on this occasion: “During this fierce encounterâ€, says the Gazette, “Lance-Corporal Keyworth stood fully exposed for two hours on the top of the enemy’s parapet and threw about 150 bombs among the Germans, who were only a few yards away.â€
This seems to match my mother’s description of events. Perhaps Lance-Corporal Keyworth was the only one involved but it was interesting to confirm a family tale.
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