Current Information:

Born-Pimlico

St Symphorien Military Cemetery, Belgium

Le Cateau 26th August 1914

By the evening of the 25th August, after their withdrawal south following the Battle of Mons on 23rd August, II Corps of the BEF, commanded by General Smith-Dorrien, had reached Le Cateau, in France. They had been retreating, but still fighting rearguard actions for two long days and they were done in. The Commander-in-Chief, Sir John French ordered them to continue the next day but Smith-Dorrien chose instead to stand and fight.  He reasoned that with the Germans on their heels a retreat would be disastrous without first halting the enemy advance. So, on the next day II Corps turned and faced the enemy. The town of Le Cateau saw little of the actual fighting on 26th August, the main actions taking place along the line of the road running between Le Cateau and Cambrai. A fierce battle ensued when the Germans began an artillery bombardment at dawn. Their infantry followed up in the wake of this barrage and became the targets of both the British artillery and infantry. The Germans were held at bay until the afternoon but by then they were threatening the flanks of II Corps which withdrew, whilst the enemy reorganised. British casualties for the day, killed, wounded or taken prisoner, were nearly 8,000.

On 26th August, 7 Brigade of 3rd Division occupied the village of Caudry, just to the south of the Le Cateau-Cambrai road. The 2nd South Lancashire battalion, along with 56th Field Company of the Royal Engineers took up positions just north of the town but by this time, all the  battalions of 7 Brigade were very weak with many stragglers yet to rejoin. Caudry, was a decided salient into the British lines so it was not surprising that the enemy concentrated much of their effort there and it  was heavily shelled from an early hour.  At 7am the Germans moved against the flanks of the village where 7 Brigade had only just learnt that the retreat was not continuing. Nevertheless they put up a stubborn resistance and managed to hold their position until noon. But the pressure on them was too great and by 2pm the German bombardment had driven them from the village and they fell back to Montigny. One of the casualties suffered by 56th Field Company during the day was Henry Rodford.