Current Information:

Age-21

31, Dellow Street, Shadwell

The Battle of Arras was a series of offensives by the British Army between 9th April 1917 and 16th May 1917. It had been planned in conjunction with the French who would attack in Artois and between them the Allies would force the Germans out of the large salient they had held since the line of trenches was first established. But the Germans had spoiled this plan by falling back to the new and very strong Hindenburg Line in January 1917 and the salient no longer existed.  For the want of an alternative plan the attack went ahead anyway. It all started well for the British who made substantial gains on the first two days but then the offensive ground to a halt and by the end their losses amounted to over 150,000.

The Battles of Bullecourt, a village a few miles south-east of Arras, were a flanking attack designed to assist the main thrust at Arras and to capture parts of the Hindenburg Line. It was largely an Australian show, but British divisions were involved as well, including 58th Division, made up of second line London territorial units, that had arrived in France in February 1917 On May 14th, 2/2nd London  of 173 Brigade, were in support trenches over half a mile behind the front line. This they were grateful for because that afternoon the Germans unleashed one of the fiercest bombardments of the war which lasted for more than 13 hours. In the middle of this intense period of shelling, No. 3 platoon of “A” Company  consisting of one officer and thirty one men, were ordered to carry desperately needed bombs (grenades) up to the front line to the battalion who were grimly hanging on there. The communication trench that linked their position with the front line was, in places, no more than a two feet deep ditch with deep shell holes straddling it. Machine gun fire swept this trench, heavy shells pounded it and shrapnel burst overhead. All this and forty heavy boxes of Mills bombs to be carried. It was little more than a suicide mission. Twenty-one of this party were either killed or wounded in the hour and a half it took them to reach their destination, but they got there and so did the forty boxes of bombs. Once there they were ordered to stay and join in the defence of the front line and two of the men from 2/2nd London actually managed to wound and capture the commanding officer of 3rd Lehr Regiment of the Prussian Guards. On their way back another one of their party was blown to pieces, so only nine of this gallant party returned. Many were left behind, dead, their bodies never to be recovered. Frank Palmer was one of those from 2/2nd London who was killed on 14th May.