Current Information:

Age-23

36, Thorpedale Road, Hornsey Rise

Postedfrom 25th London

During the night of 25/26th July, 1918, the 8th London battalion of 174 Brigade, 58th Division launched a large raid against the enemy lines near Senlis, a few miles to the north-west of Albert. On the previous night they had moved forward from their reserve positions at Round Wood on the Béhencourt-Franvillers road and at 10pm on 25th July the raid was launched. Approximately 400 personnel from all four companies took part in the action which was preceded by an artillery barrage, some of which fell short and caused some casualties among the men, lying out in front of their trenches, waiting for zero hour.

Things did not go too well for the company on the right, attacking a feature near an old quarry. They failed to keep up with the barrage and as a consequence met frontal fire from machine-guns which, coupled with a strong defence by German bombers, prevented them from getting through the wire. The raid went much better for the company in the centre who rushed into the enemy trench with little difficulty where they caused the usual havoc and carnage associated with these sort of actions and were able to lend assistance to the companies on their flanks. The left company also got into the enemy trenches but the platoon attacking a feature known as the Hook had a hard fight. This was a raid so there was no intention of remaining in the enemy trenches and on the appropriate signal the men began their withdrawal to their own lines. This however was hampered by machine-gun fire from the flanks and a German artillery barrage which targeted no-man’s-land. A number of casualties were sustained at this stage of the operation and included men from the 2/10th London battalion, of 175 Brigade who were holding the line from where the raid was launched and who assisted in the withdrawal, mainly by bringing back the wounded. How successful this raid actually was is a matter of conjecture. The Battalion Diary of 8th London estimated that there were around 100 of the enemy who were killed, probably an grossly over-exaggerated figure, and that 17 prisoners were captured along with some machine-guns but 8th London sustained over 100 casualties themselves, around one fifth of whom were killed. Included among the casualties was Cecil Humphreys of 2/10th London.