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Over the Top by Jason Askew. The 29th Division go over the top to the sound of the officers whistle to attack Beaumont Hamel during the battle of the Somme. The regiments of the 29th Division are the Middlesex Regiment, Lancashire Fusiliers, Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Fusiliers and the Newfoundland Regiment. |
The Royal Fusiliers by Richard Simkin (P) No text for this item |
Royal Fusiliers by Richard Simkin No text for this item |
Royal Fusiliers by Harry Payne. No text for this item |
German Assault on the Nimy Bridge, Mons, 23rd August 1914 by Jason Askew. German forces begin their assault on the Nimy Bridge, 23rd August 1914. The bridge was defended by the 4th Battalion The Royal Fusiliers. |
Sergeant-Major Sharpington Rescuing An Old Woman From A Burning Farm. On November 6th 1914, a German set fire, near the village of Fleurbaix, to a farm which belonged to an old woman who had refused to leave it though it was always in danger of destruction. The old womans existence was known to Sergeant-Major Sharpington, who was with his company of 1st Royal Fusiliers in a trench near by. The building was in a blaze, but without hesitation he entered it through a window, found its occupant unconscious on the floor, and carried her to safety through a hole in the wall made by a shell. For this action he received the D.C.M. |
The German attack on the Nimy Bridge At Mons. The defence of the Nimy Bridge at Mons on August 23rd 1914 was one of the gallant episodes of the first days of the war. From eight oclock in the morning, when the Germans launched the first infantry attack, a single company under Captain Ashburner held the bridge until the order to retire was given late in the day. Time after time the Germans advanced in great rushes in an endeavour to clear the bridge, and four battalions were opposed to the British Company without success. Lieutenant Maurice James Dease, of the 4th Battalion The Royal Fusiliers, whose most gallant services were rewarded with the V.C., was wounded no less than five times, but he continued firing his machine gun throughout the day. At the retirement Lieutenant Steele carried him across the open to a place of safety where he died. |
Private Godley Working A Machine Gun In Defence Of The Ghlin Bridge At Mons. While Captain Ashburner and his company were engaged in a struggle against overwhelming odds at the Nimy Bridge, Captain Byng and his men were fighting with equal valour to hold the Ghlin Bridge. The pressure was tremendous and the Germans made considerable progress, but they could not gain the bridge. Private Sidney Frank Godley, of the 4th Battalion The Royal Fusiliers, who though wounded, remained working his machine gun for two hours, inflicted great losses on the enemy. He was rewarded with the V.C. for his great gallantry. |
Temporary Lieutenant Wilbur Dartnell Sacrifices His Life In Staying With His Wounded Men. During a mounted infantry engagement near Maktau in East Africa, on September 3rd 1915, the enemy pressed forward to within a few yards of the British force, and it became impossible to get the more severely wounded men away. Temporary Lieutenant Wilbur Dartnell, of the late 25th (Service) Battalion (Frontiersmen) The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), who was himself being carried away wounded in the leg, seeing what was happening and knowing that the enemys black troops would murder the wounded, insisted on being left behind in the hope of saving the lives of the other wounded men. His gallant attempt to save others, however, resulted in his losing his life. For his most conspicuous bravery a posthumous award of the V.C. was made. |
Sergeant Tuersley running to assist a wounded Corporal half of whose leg had been blown off by a shell. On working his way out of the debris of a parapet at Fleurbaix in which he had been buried on the afternoon of November 9th 1914, Sergeant Charles Leonard Tuersley, of the 1st Royal Fusiliers, heard a man calling from a trench near by. On running round he found that a section commander, Corporal Tanner, had had half of his leg blown off. Sergeant Tuersley at once applied an improvised tourniquet, but while he was bending over the wounded man a shell burst near by. Two pieces struck the Sergeant in the back, but though bleeding freely he continued to attend to his comrade. He refused to retire for treatment until the wounded Corporal had been removed. For his conspicuous gallantry Sergeant Tuersley was awarded the D.C.M. |
Lance-Sergeant F. L. Hastings Bombing Seven Of The Enemy Who Were Attempting To Seize The Lip Of A Mine Crater. After the enemy had exploded a mine, Lance-Sergeant F. L. Hastings, of the Royal Fusiliers, rushed off with two men, through a heavy barrage of shrapnel, telling the rest of his party to follow as quickly as possible. On reaching the lip of the crafter he met seven of the enemy creeping round to seize the lip. He attacked them and bombed them off. For his conspicuous gallantry he was subsequently awarded the D.C.M. |
Captain (Temporary Lieutenant- Colonel) R. B. Barker Organizing The Defences Of A Wood. During operations Captain (Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Randle Barnett Barker, of the Royal Fusiliers, took over and organised the defences of a wood great skill, after making a personal reconnaissance of the whole wood under shell and machine gun fire. He had done other fine work, displaying great bravery, and has been awarded the D.S.O. |
A History of the 22nd (Service)Battalion Royal Fusiliers (Kensington) by Major Christopher Stone DSO MC (1923) The battalion was raised by the Mayor and Borough of Kensington as a Service (Kitchener) battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (RF) on 11 Sep 1914 at the White City. In June 1915 it became part of 99th Brigade 33rd Division, along with 17th, 23rd and 24th Battalions RF. The battalion went to France in November 1915 with 33rd Division, but almost immediately on arrival the brigade was transferred to the 2nd Division, a regular division, where the battaion remained till it was disbanded in Feb 1918 when the BEF reduced the number of brigades in a battalion from four to three.The editor stresses this book was compiled for the surviving members of the battalion, some 410 died, a VC was won by L/Sgt F.W Palmer (also MM) near Courcelette in Feb 1917. There is a Roll of Honour in which the dates of death of the officers is given, but in the case of other ranks, they are grouped by companies for each year of the war without number, rank or date of death. There is also a list of recipients of honours and awards, headed by Palmer with his VC. In this list, which includes mentioned in despatches, names are grouped alphabetically for each medal, but no number, rank or date of award. |
The Royal Fusiliers in the Great War. H. C. ONeill. The Royal Fusiliers (7th Foot) was one of five infantry of the line regiments to have four regular battalions (all the others had two each) and two Special Reserve, numbered 1 to 6. In addition the Royal Fusiliers had an Extra Reserve battalion, the 7th. By the end of the war the number of battalions had risen to 44, and in the first half of 1919 a further two battalions (45 and 46) were raised for service in North Russia. The regiment did not have its own Territorial battalions but the first four battalions of the London Regiment were affiliated and included (Royal Fusiliers) as part of their full title. These in turn raised 2nd, 3rd and 4th line duplicate battalions. Leaving aside the London Regiment battalions this history quotes an estimated 195,000 as having served in the RF (more than the whole of the original BEF) if the Londons are included the total rises to 235,476. They fought in every theatre of war except Mesopotamia and 15,600 died. 80 Battle Honours and 12 VCs were awarded (Jamess British Regiments 1914-1918) The first two VCs of the Great War were awarded to Lieut M Dease (posthumous) and Pte S Godley, both of the 4th Battalion, both at Mons on 23 August 1914. To cover so many battalions in detail in a single volume is hardly practical, but the author has managed a fair compromise. He has set out to deal with every significant engagement as correctly and completely as possible, while singling out incidents he judges worthy of note. He does not devote separate chapters or sections to each battalion but lets the story unroll, bringing in the battalions as they appear on the scene. There are separate chapters on Gallipoli, Salonika and East Africa; the rest of the book is concerned with the Western Front. His sources are the battalion diaries, personal diaries of officers, special accounts of particular actions contributed by soldiers actually involved, letters and conversations. The opening chapter is of particular interest because here the author explains in some detail how the regiment expanded and how each wartime battalion came to be formed. The appendix gives the Roll of Honour of officers (1054 names) a table showing the numbers of Warrant Officers, NCOs and Men on the Roll of Honour, by battalions; a table summarising decorations awarded, including foreign awards; brief biographies or notes on a number of RF general ranking officers; and several accounts of soldiers who took part in the various operations. There is a good, 24-page index. |
The History of the Old 2/4th (City of London) Battalion the London Regiment Royal Fusiliers. by Anon (1919) This second line TF battalion was formed in September 1914 on the departure of the first line battalion, 1/4th, for Malta. In the last week of December 1914 the 2/4th battalion sailed for Malta where it relieved 1/4th which went to France. The battalion served on Malta till August 1915 when it moved to Alexandria, and shortly after (October 1915) headed for Mudros and then Gallipoli where it arrived in October 1915. In January 1916 it left Gallipoli and made its way to Rouen, via Alexandria, and there, in June 1916, the battalion was disbanded. At this point the third line battalion (3/4th), which had been raised in January 1915 and was still in England, was re-designated 2/4th, under which title it went to France in January 1917. In effect, then, the 2/4th lived on but to emphasize the fact that this history is concerned only with the original battalion the book title refers to the Old 2/4th. |
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