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Born-Staines

Enlisted-London

After the opening battles of the war at Mons on 23rd August, 1914 and Le Cateau on 26th August, the British Army (BEF), in conjunction with the French Army, began a retreat that took them all the way back to the River Marne, 200 miles to the south. With the Germans in hot pursuit they were forced to fight a series of rear guard actions as they fell back in extremely hot weather. The Great Retreat, as it became known, came to an end on 5th September, 1914 when the allied forces attacked along the River Marne and drove the Germans back to the River Aisne.

On 10th  September, shortly after 9am, the high ground south of the village of Gandelu was reached by the 5th Cavalry Brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division. Two squadrons of  the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) were sent to clear Gandelu whilst the 12th Lancers crossed the River Clignon to the west of Brumetz, to cut off the German retreat.  There after a short fight they caught a force of 300 Germans with 30 wagons and 4 machine guns who had been driven from Gandelu by the Scots Greys. Edward Dudman was one of the casualties suffered by 12th Lancers during this operation.