Thomas Hope Floyd - At Ypres with Best Dunkley

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Sergeant Howarth was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his
personal initiative in taking command of the Battalion when no officers
were to be found, and for the able way in which he executed his task;
and the D.C.M. was also awarded to Lance-Corporal Lawson.

Eleven Military Medals were awarded for deeds done that day: Sergeant
Baldwin, Sergeant Olive, Corporal Fox, Lance-Corporal Furnes, Sergeant
Hudson, and Privates Baron, Daynes, R. Turner, Rouse, Rodwell and
Fitzpatrick.

The casualties, as has already been pointed out, were tremendous. Five
hundred and ninety-three other ranks went into battle; four hundred and
seventy-three became casualties. It was a very tiny Battalion therefore
that went to rest, reorganize, and train at Le Poirier a few days later!

Gilbert Verity had expired shortly after his misfortune in Congreve
Walk. Douglas Bernard Priestly was shot through the head and killed
instantly almost as soon as he got over the top. The fate of the
Adjutant, Reggie Andrews, whom I last saw aimlessly wandering about the
battlefield shortly after we went over and who looked over his glasses
at me and inquired whether I had seen anything of Headquarters, has
already been recorded. And the Assistant-Adjutant met a similar fate:
Gratton was, first of all, wounded and he lay in a shell-hole; and while
he was in the shell-hole another shell came right into the hole and took
his head clean off. Joye remained with Colonel Best-Dunkley until quite
late in the day, when he got the 'Blighty' in the leg which was to send
him to join me at Worsley Hall. Captain Briggs, Telfer, and Young,
together with a large number of other ranks, were taken prisoners;
Briggs and Telfer were also wounded. West was badly wounded. Captain
Andrews, Captain Mordecai and Donald Allen were all wounded quite early
in the day. Out of nineteen combatant officers eighteen were casualties.
The non-combatants, Padre Newman and Dr. Adam came through this battle
safely, but they were both wounded at the Battle of Menin Road on
September 20! Newman got to England with his wound after that battle,
but he was very soon back with the Battalion again to play an even more
conspicuous part in the drama of the Great War.

It was a great day was the 31st of July. General Gough sent the
following message of congratulation to Brigadier-General Stockwell:

"The Army Commander wishes to convey his thanks and congratulations to
the G.O.C. and all ranks of the 164th Infantry Brigade on their fine
performance on July 31st. They carried out their task in a most gallant
manner and fought splendidly to retain their hold on the ground won.

"All officers showed energy, courage, and initiative in dealing with the
situation, and the men under their command in spite of heavy losses did
their utmost by carrying out their orders to ensure our success and the
enemy's defeat. Great credit is due to G.O.C. 164th Brigade for the
magnificent behaviour of the troops under his command." And Stockwell
sent on the message with the following personal addition: "The
Brigadier-General Commanding has much pleasure in forwarding the above
remarks of the Army Commander. He considers that all the credit is due
to the officers and men of the Brigade."

Major-General Jeudwine congratulated Stockwell in the following terms:
"Well done, 164th Brigade. I am very proud of what you did to-day. It
was a fine performance and no fault of yours you could not stay." And in
the course of a Special Order of the Day issued to his Division on
August 3, General Jeudwine said: "The attack you made on the 31st is
worthy to rank with the great deeds of the British Army in the past, and
has added fresh glory to the records of that Army."

Meanwhile, the supreme hero of the day lay at the Main Dressing Station
mortally wounded. But like Sir Henry Lawrence long ago he had the
consolation of feeling that he had tried to do his duty. The Reverend
James Odgen Coop, D.S.O., T.D., M.A., the Senior Chaplain to the 55th
Division, visited the dying Best-Dunkley at the Main Dressing Station
on August 1. It was to Colonel Coop that Colonel Best-Dunkley said that
he hoped the General was satisfied, and Colonel Coop recounted the
conversation to General Jeudwine. Old "Judy's" heart was touched as it
always was by any deeds of gallantry, and to Best-Dunkley he immediately
wrote the following historic letter:

"Headquarters, 55th Division.
"1st August, 1917 (Minden Day).

"Dear Best-Dunkley,

"The padre has given me your message, and I am very much touched by it.

"Disappointed! I should think not, indeed. I am more proud of having you
and your Battalion under my command than of anything else that has ever
happened to me.

"It was a magnificent fight, and your officers and men behaved
splendidly, fighting with their heads as well as with the most superb
pluck and determination.

"The 31st July should for all time be remembered by your Battalion and
Regiment and observed with more reverence even than Minden Day. It was
no garden of roses that you fought in. I have heard some of the stories
of your Battalion's doings and they are glorious. And I have heard of
your own doings too, and the close shave you had.

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure than that you should come back
and command your Battalion, and I greatly hope you will. I am afraid
you have painful wounds, but I trust they will not keep you long laid
by.

"The best of luck to you.

"Yours,
"H. S. JEUDWINE."

"General Jeudwine's hopes were not to be realized. After a few days'
agony Best-Dunkley passed away. On August 6 Major Brighten issued the
following pathetic Special Order to the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers at Le
Poirier:

"I regret to inform all ranks of the Battalion that our late Commanding
Officer, Lieut.-Colonel B. Best-Dunkley, died at a C.C.S. yesterday from
wounds received in the attack on 31st July--an attack to the magnificent
achievement of which he contributed so largely in the long preparation
and training and in the actual carrying out. His personal gallantry in
leading on the Battalion in the face of heavy enemy fire was an example
of bravery and courage which has added to the laurels of the Regiment,
and his loss is one which will be felt deeply.

"(Signed) G. S. BRIGHTEN,
"Major, Commanding 2/5 Battalion
Lancashire Fusiliers.
"August 6th, 1917."

Best-Dunkley was buried at Proven. The funeral was taken by Padre
Newman. As the body was lowered into the Flanders clay General Jeudwine
exclaimed: "We are burying one of Britain's bravest soldiers!" The
Battalion buglers played the Last Post. And the spot where the hero lies
is marked by the traditional Little Wooden Cross.

The crowning triumph came when he was awarded the Victoria Cross;
though, to the great sorrow of all, he did not live to know that he had
won it. I well remember the excitement in the Mess at "Montpellier" at
Scarborough when we read the following announcement in the _Manchester
Guardian_:

"CAPT. (T./LT.-COL.) BERTRAM BEST-DUNKLEY, LATE LAN. FUS.

"For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when in command
of his battalion, the leading waves of which, during an attack,
became disorganized by reason of rifle and machine-gun fire at
close range from positions which were believed to be in our hands.
Lieutenant-Colonel Best-Dunkley dashed forward, rallied his leading
waves, and personally led them to the assault of these positions,
which, despite heavy losses, were carried.

"He continued to lead his battalion until all their objectives had
been gained. Had it not been for this officer's gallant and
determined action it is doubtful if the left of the brigade would
have reached its objectives. Later in the day, when our position
was threatened, he collected his battalion headquarters, led them
to the attack, and beat off the advancing enemy. This gallant
officer has since died of wounds."

And some time afterwards I noticed, in an illustrated paper, a little
photo entitled "Daddy's V.C." It was the picture of a little baby being
held in his mother's arms at Buckingham Palace, while His Majesty King
George the Fifth pinned upon his frock the Victoria Cross.

[Illustration: Map of FREZENBERG]

FOOTNOTES:

[11] This refers to the officers' quarters. Company Headquarters were
stationed in the cellar mentioned in the previous chapter.

[12] See Appendix V.

[13] He did not get as far as Aviatik Farm. We met again at Scarborough
in October, and he told me that he was wounded about the same time that
I was wounded.

[14] Sergeant Brogden was afterwards killed in action at the Battle of
Menin Road, September 20, 1917.

[15] _Manchester Guardian_, August 4th, 1917.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I.

MURRAY AND ALLENBY

In view of my comments upon the appointment of Sir Edmund Allenby to
succeed Sir Archibald Murray, the following extract from the _Manchester
Guardian_ of September 17, 1919, is of interest:

_The Victor and His Predecessor._

When Field-Marshal Allenby stepped off the train at Victoria to-day one
of the first men whom he greeted was General Sir Archibald Murray, his
predecessor in the East. The meeting must have been a pregnant one to
them both. Sir Edmund Allenby came home victor of our most successful
campaign in the war to receive a peerage, while inside and outside the
station London was roaring its welcome. General Murray, after the
failure of the battle of Gaza, had been transferred home and had been
received there with the severest criticism and some personal attacks.
The War Office is famous for its short ways when it does make up its
mind to do something disagreeable, and its treatment of Sir Archibald
Murray is said to have lacked nothing in discourtesy. Since then a good
deal has come out about the early part of our war in the East and the
work done by General Murray, and the nearness he got to success with
quite inadequate support had become recognized even before Sir Edmund
Allenby's dispatch was published, which officially re-established his
military reputation.

To-day, at Dover, Sir Edmund Allenby spoke even more clearly of the debt
he owed for the foundations laid by General Murray and for the loyal way
in which he started him off as a beginner. It is not too common in our
military history to find great commanders on the same battle-ground as
sensitive about one another's reputation as they are of their own. It is
so easy to say nothing and leave matters to history. The lustre of
Allenby's achievement is even greater for his acknowledgment of his debt
to his predecessor.

_The First Palestine Campaign._

Something may be added now about General Murray's work in the East. He
commanded in Egypt from January, 1916, to May, 1917. During that time he
dealt with the Gallipoli forces, disorganized and with most of their
supplies gone. He had to reorganize them into a fighting force again and
to send them West. He had to organize and plan the campaign against the
Senussi, to be responsible for the internal condition of Egypt, and to
defend Egypt from the Turks, then relieved of the Gallipoli operations.
The Turkish attack was beaten off and four thousand prisoners taken, the
defences of Egypt were pushed forward through the Sinai desert,
water-lines carried up and wire ways laid, and all the vast preparations
made by which it became possible to take Palestine. His two assaults on
Gaza failed, but he held the ground he had taken, including the Wadi
Ghuzze, which would have been a big natural defence of Palestine.

He was fighting with three divisions very far short of their full
strength and several battalions of dismounted yeomanry, four big guns,
and thirty aeroplanes, all of old-fashioned type. His pipe-line was
within distance from which it seemed possible to "snap" the Turks at
Gaza, but fog delayed the start, and the manoeuvre took too long, and
the cavalry fell back from want of water. The snap was so near a success
that they picked up a wireless from the Germans in Gaza to their base
saying "Good-bye," as they were going into captivity. That was the main
point of the story.

According to General Murray's friends what happened in Palestine was
what has happened so often in our history. A general is given a job to
do with insufficient forces, and urged on despite his appeals for a
sufficient force. He fails. Another commander is appointed, and the new
man naturally can exact his own conditions, begins the task with an
adequate force, and succeeds. All this, of course, does not take away a
single leaf from Sir Edmund Allenby's brilliant bays or suggest that
General Murray could have done so well. All that is suggested is that he
did not get the same chance.

APPENDIX II

THE INFANTRY AT MINDEN

The six Infantry Regiments engaged at Minden, on August 1, 1759, were:

12th Foot--Suffolk Regiment.
20th Foot--Lancashire Fusiliers.
23rd Foot--Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
25th Foot--King's Own Scottish Borderers.
37th Foot--Hampshire Regiment.
51st Foot--King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry).

Tradition tells that in the course of the operations at Minden, the 20th
were passing through flower gardens and, while doing so, the men plucked
some of the roses and wore them in their coats. This story was the
origin of the "Minden Rose" which is worn annually, on August 1, by all
ranks of the Lancashire Fusiliers.

APPENDIX III

GENERAL RAWLINSON AND OSTEND

Field-Marshal French did not definitely state in his fourth dispatch
that General Rawlinson landed at Ostend, but he devoted a number of
paragraphs to the subject of "the forces operating in the neighbourhood
of Ghent and Antwerp under Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Rawlinson, as
the action of his force about this period exercised, in my opinion, a
great influence on the course of the subsequent operations." However, in
"1914" Lord French has written (page 200): "I returned to Abbeville that
evening. I found that an officer had arrived from Ostend by motor with a
letter from Rawlinson, in which he explained the situation in the north,
the details of which we know." And John Buchan in _Nelson's History of
the War_, Vol. IV (page 33), states that "On 6th October the 7th
Division began to disembark at Zeebrugge and Ostend, and early on 8th
October the former point saw the landing of the 3rd Cavalry Division,
after a voyage not free from sensation. The force formed the nucleus of
the Fourth Corps, and was commanded by Major-General Sir Henry
Rawlinson, who had a long record of Indian, Egyptian, and South African
service." G. H. Perris in _The Campaign of 1914 in France and Belgium_
is even more emphatic: on page 305 of that work he writes: "Part of the
4th British Corps--the 7th Infantry Division and the 3rd Cavalry
Division--under Sir Henry Rawlinson, had been landed at Ostend and
Zeebrugge without interference, and had advanced eastward to cover the
Belgian-British retreat to the south."

APPENDIX IV

EDWARD III AND THE ORDER OF THE GARTER

Colonel Best-Dunkley's question on this subject can best be answered by
quoting in full the first paragraph of Chapter XVI of David Hume's
_History of England_, Vol. I:

"The prudent conduct and great success of Edward in his foreign wars had
excited a strong emulation and a military genius among the English
nobility; and these turbulent barons, overawed by the crown, gave now a
more useful direction to their ambition, and attached themselves to a
prince who led them to the acquisition of riches and glory. That he
might further promote the spirit of emulation and obedience, the king
instituted the order of the garter, in imitation of some orders of a
like nature, religious as well as military, which had been established
in different parts of Europe. The number received into this order
consisted of twenty-five persons, besides the sovereign; and as it has
never been enlarged, this badge of distinction continues as honourable
as at its first institution, and is still a valuable, though a cheap
present, which the prince can confer on his greatest subjects. A vulgar
story prevails, but is not supported by any ancient authority, that at a
court ball, Edward's mistress, commonly supposed to have been the
Countess of Salisbury, dropped her garter; and the king, taking it up,
observed some of the courtiers to smile, as if they thought that he had
not obtained this favour merely by accident: upon which he called out,
'Honi soit qui mal y pense,' Evil to him that evil thinks; and as every
incident of gallantry among those ancient warriors was magnified into a
matter of great importance, he instituted the order of the garter in
memorial of this event, and gave these words as the motto of the order.
This origin, though frivolous, is not unsuitable to the manners of the
times; and it is indeed difficult by any other means to account, either
for the seemingly unmeaning terms of the motto, or for the peculiar
badge of the garter, which seems to have no reference to any purpose
either of military use or ornament."

APPENDIX V

GOLDFISH CHATEAU

The following note about Goldfish Chateau, contained in the _Manchester
Guardian_ of September 8, 1919, is relevant to the text:

All the men who had any part in the tragic epic of Ypres will be
interested in the news that the Church Army has taken over "Goldfish
Chateau" as a hostel for pilgrims to the illimitable graveyards in the
dreadful salient.

For some reason (writes a correspondent who was in it) we christened the
place "Goldfish Chateau." It was a somewhat pretentious mansion, in
Continental flamboyant style, standing just off the Vlamertinghe road
about half a mile our side of Ypres. Its grounds are ploughed up by
shells and bombs, but most of the fountains and wretched garden statuary
remains with the fishponds which perhaps gave the villa its army name,
and rustic bridges most egregiously incongruous with the surrounding
death and desolation.

All through the Ypres fighting it was a conspicuous landmark well known
to every soldier, and used, as things got hotter and hotter, as staff
headquarters, first for corps, then for division, and finally for
brigade and battalion.

Strangely enough, the chateau never received a direct hit, though all
the country round was ploughed up and every other building practically
flattened out. The camp tales accounted for this immunity in all sorts
of sinister ways. One story was that some big German personage had
occupied the place. Probably these were romantic fictions. But the fact
remained that "Goldfish Chateau" bore a charmed life in spite of the
fact that the German sausage balloons almost looked down the chimneys
and so many staffs lived there. Hundreds of thousands of men in this
country who could not name half the county towns in England would be
able to describe every room in this Belgian villa outside Ypres.
Lancashire soldiers are well acquainted with it.

During the third battle of Ypres the transport of the 55th Division had
to leave the fields just opposite the chateau in a hurry. The Germans
not only shelled the place searchingly, but one morning sent over about
a dozen bombing planes. Simultaneous shelling and bombing is not good
for the nerves of transport mules. But the luck of the "Goldfish
Chateau" held. Nothing hit it.

* * * * *

THE ROAD TO EN-DOR

By E. H. JONES, Lt, I.A.R.O.

With Illustrations by C. W. HILL, Lt., R.A.F. Fourth
Edition. 8s. 6d. net.

This book, besides telling an extraordinary story, will appeal to
everyone who is interested in spiritualism. The book reads like a wild
romance, but is authenticated in every detail by fellow-officers and
official documents.

_Times._--"Astounding ... of great value."

_Daily Telegraph._--"This is one of the most realistic, grimmest, and at
the same time most entertaining books ever given to the public.... _The
Road to En-dor_ is a book with a thrill on every page, is full of
genuine adventure.... Everybody should read it."

_Morning Post._--"It is easily the most surprising story of the escape
of prisoners of war which has yet appeared.... No more effective
exposure of the methods of the medium has ever been written. This book
is indeed an invaluable reduction to absurdity of the claims of the
spiritualist coteries."

_Birmingham Post._--"The story of surely the most colossal 'fake' of
modern times."

_Daily Graphic._--"The most amazing story of the war."

_Spectator._--"The reader who begins this book after dinner will
probably be found at one o'clock in the morning still reading, with eyes
goggling and mouth open, beside his cold grate."

_Punch._--"It is the most extraordinary war-tale which has come my way.
The author is a sound craftsman with a considerable sense of style and
construction. His record of adventures is really astounding."

_Country Life._--"More exciting than any novel.... The book is a record
or almost incredible courage and inventiveness."

_Bystander_.--"It is one of the most unexpected and engaging books for
which the War has been responsible."

_Pall Mall Gazette_.--"A really entertaining account of a wonderfully
successful and useful rag on an unusually big scale."

_Westminster Gazette_.--"Lieuts. Jones and Hill displayed an
inventiveness, an ingenuity, and a patience worthy of the greatest
admiration."

_Outlook_.--"The book deserves to become a classic."

_Illustrated London News_.--"It is an amazing story, humorously told, of
a subtle and successful conspiracy to escape. But it is also a most
telling indictment of the spiritualistic craze."

_New Age_.--"As a mere story of adventure and suffering the book is one
of the most remarkable known to me; it is an epic of human ingenuity and
human endurance."

_Queen_.--"Sensational and amazing ... absorbingly interesting."

_Daily Mail_.--"A really striking and diverting story."

_Evening News_.--"The tale of the two lieutenants is perhaps the noblest
example of the game and fine art of spoof that the world has ever seen,
or ever will see ... their wonderful and almost monstrous elaboration
... an amazing story."

_Everyman_.--"One of the most amazing tales that we have ever read. The
gradual augmentation of the spook's power is one of the most
preposterous, the most laughable histories in the whole literature of
spoofing. Lieut. Jones has given us a wonderful book--even a great
book."

* * * * *

THE SILENCE OF COLONEL BRAMBLE

By ANDRE MAUROIS.

_Translated from the French._

Second Edition. With Portrait. 5s. net.

_Westminster Gazette_.--"_The Silence of Colonel Bramble_ is the best
composite character sketch I have seen to show France what the English
gentleman at war is like ... much delightful humour.... It is full of
good stories.... The translator appears to have done his work
wonderfully well."

_Daily Telegraph_.--"This book has enjoyed a great success in France,
and it will be an extraordinary thing if it is not equally successful
here.... Those who do not already know the book in French, will lose
nothing of its charm in English form. The humours of the mess-room are
inimitable.... The whole thing is real, alive, sympathetic, there is not
a false touch in all its delicate, glancing wit.... One need not be a
Frenchman to appreciate its wisdom and its penetrating truth."

_Star_.--"An excellent translation ... a gay and daring translation....
I laughed over its audacious humour."

_Times_.--"This admirable French picture of English officers."

_Daily Graphic_.--"A triumph of sympathetic observation ... delightful
book ... many moving passages."

_Daily Mail_.--"So good as to be no less amusing than the original....
This is one of the finest feats of modern translations that I know. The
book gives one a better idea of the war than any other book I can
recall.... Among many comical disputes the funniest is that about
superstitions. That really is, in mess language, 'A scream'."

_New Statesman_.--"The whole is of a piece charmingly harmonious in tone
and closely woven together.... The book has a perfect ending.... Few
living writers achieve so great a range of sentiment, with so uniformly
light and unassuming a manner."

_Observer_.--"The flavour of M. Maurois' humour loses little in this
translation.... The admirable verisimilitude of the dialogue.... M.
Maurois' humorous gift is unusually varied.... He tells a good story
with great vivacity."

Holbrook Jackson in the _National News_.--"The Colonel is an eternal
delight.... I put the volume under my arm, started reading it on the way
home, and continued reading until I had finished the same evening....
That ought to be sufficient recommendation for any book...."

_Times Lit. Supplement_.--(Review of French Edition.)--"M. Maurois ...
is indeed so good an artist and so excellent an observer that we would
not for worlds spoil his hand, or do more than merely introduce to
English readers by far the most interesting and amusing group of British
officers that we have met in books since the war began."

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