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Pte. Henry Bush
British Army 8th (Irish) Battalion Kings Liverpool Regiment
from:Toxteth, Liverpool
Henry Bush served with the Kings Liverpool (8th Irish) Regiment. Henry was taken POW at the battle for Guillemont on the Somme in August 1916. Henry was subjected to field punishment number one on two occasions due to insubordination. He was a feisty man and could use very colourful language at times. He survived the war and died in Speke, Liverpool in 1975.
The Division occupied the trenches opposite the village of Guillemont on 30th of July 1916, and spent a week preparing for the attack in which two and a half infantry battalions of the King's Regiment took part. 8th King's, the Liverpool Irish, were to attack to the north of the village, to capture Guillemont Station. The 5th King's and half of the 6th King's were to attack the Guillemont-Hardecourt Road. The attack was planned for 4.30am on 8th of August 1916.
5th King's and Liverpool Rifles quickly achieved their objectives, linking up with the French Army, and established telephone communications back to Brigade HQ, no mean feat!
An hour after attacking, the Liverpool Irish reported that they were in Guillemont Station. Unfortunately, the Battalion tasked to take Guillemont village became stuck on barbed wire and withdrew. There was nobody to support the Liverpool Irish, who were being fired on by a machine gun from Guillemont village, so they started to bomb their way down the trenches to the village. The smoke from the guns and the dust thrown up by explosions seems to have disorientated them and they were isolated by the failure of other units to achieve their objectives.
Germans in underground positions waited for them to pass over before emerging to attack them in the rear.
The Liverpool Irish were eventually cut off and forced to surrender the following day, the survivors could be seen marching to captivity and there was nothing their fellow Liverpool Territorials could do about it. The fighting around Guillemont was severe and tested the Liverpool Territorials. They lost 219 officers and 3,907 other ranks (including those killed, missing, wounded and prisoners of war).
He served his time as a POW at Dulmen POW camp in Germany. He was returned to the UK in December 1918.
Henry re-enlisted in the 6th Kings Liverpool Regiment, in 1921.
