Current Information:

Enlisted-London

The Race to the Sea - September-October 1914

By the middle of September 1914, the Aisne battlefield had stagnated into trench warfare and in order to break this impasse, both sides tried to outflank each other in a general movement northwards. Moving up through Picardy, Artois and Flanders the race was over by 19^th October when the North Sea was reached. The Western Front, a line of trenches stretching from Belgium to Switzerland, was now a reality. Initially it was the French army that conducted this movement whilst the British Expeditionary Force remained on the Aisne but by 6 October British reinforcements were needed to help beat off German attacks around Lille. They moved north and along with reinforcements from Britain, they took up new positions in Flanders, on the left of the Allied line and much closer to the Channel ports.

The Battle of Armentières  12th October-2nd November 1914

The official History pinpoints the battle of Armentières to a series of battles that took place between the river Douve and a line between Estaires and Foumers. It was part of the Race to the Sea and it determined the line of the Western Front in that sector. It was fought by III Corps which consisted of 4th and 6th Divisions as well as 19 Brigade.

During the last two weeks of October, the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders of 10 Brigade, 4th Division were at Frelinghien, just to the east of Armentières, where they came under continual pressure from the enemy. The morning of 26th October was a particularly trying time for the battalion with large shells, probably mortars, being fired at them as well as shrapnel, machine-gun and rifle fire all of which which necessitated a move back to trenches as the buildings they occupied were too dangerous. Their casualties on this day numbered over 60 and included William Keene who was killed.