YSJ Alumni killed at The Battle of the Somme- 100 years on
Today, York St John remembers former students Edward Batley and Reginald Percival Jones, who were both killed in action during World War One, on the first day of the Somme, 1st July 1916, exactly 100 years ago today.
EDWARD BATLEY – St John’s College 1911-13
Edward was born in Stainboro, Barnsley in 1893 and attended St John’s College between 1911-13.
From the Yorkshire Gazette there is evidence of Edward playing for the second eleven against Flaxton in 1912, a game in which Fredrick Seed (another casualty) also played.
Edward joined the 12th Battalion of the York & Lancaster Regiment (The Sheffield City Battalion or Pals) as a Private.
He was killed on 1st July 1916 which was the first day of the Battle of the Somme. This was a day when the Sheffield Pals were virtually wiped out, with 513 officers and men killed, wounded or missing by 3rd July.
On Saturday 24th June, the British artillery opened a bombardment that over a 5-day period was intended to destroy the German defenses completely. Each night the battalion sent out raiding and wire-examining parties; ominously, the German wire was found to be incompletely cut. On 28th June, word was received that the attack would be postponed for two days because of the poor weather. The new time for the start of the offensive was 7.30am on Saturday 1st July.
At 7.30am the bombardment lifted from the German front line. All four waves rose, took a moment to align themselves, then advanced steadily towards the German lines into a devastating hail of machine gun bullets and shellfire. An ineffective smoke screen exposed the battalion to machine gun fire from the left as well as from ahead. The third and fourth waves, caught on the opposite side of the valley, were reduced to half strength before even reaching No Man’s Land. On the left of the battalion front, long stretches of barbed wire had been left uncut. Men brought to a halt in front of the inpenetrable entanglements were reduced to firing vainly through the wire to the German lines beyond. Only on the right of the attack were a few men somehow able to force their way into the German trenches; amongst them were Lt. Charles Elam, 12/371 Pte. Albert Fretwell and 12/1003 Pte. George Mulford. Some found themselves alone and managed to return to the British lines. Others were never heard of again.
Within minutes it was as if the battalion had been wiped off the face of the earth. Cpl. Signaller Outram recalled that as far as the eye could see, the last two men left standing on the battlefield were himself and another signaller, A. Brammer. They signalled to each other. Outram turned his head for a moment, and when he looked back Brammer had gone. – from www.pals.org.uk
A fellow Private 644 H. Hall told of the day ‘By the time we had got out of the trench all hell had been let loose. Shells were falling all over the place and between the crash of shells you could hear the chattering of machine guns. There didn’t seem to be many people moving about, there were plenty on the ground, dead and wounded. But orders said you didn’t stop to assist the wounded just keep going. By the time I reached what was supposed to be our front line it was obvious that it was useless going on, the Battalion had been wiped out.’
Edward is buried in A.I.F Burial Ground, Flers – his body would have been moved here along with hundreds after the Armistice from his temporary grave near Serre.
Reginald Percival Jones – St John’s College 1910-1912
Sergeant 10th Bn, East Yorkshire Regiment died 1st July 1916 (first day of the Battle of the Somme). No known grave, remembered Thiepval Memorial. Student 1910-12. Swimmer. Teacher Hessle Ch S, East Yorkshire.
Son of Robert Price Jones & Maria Louise Shepherd, Howden. Was a local Hull teacher, original Hull pal. Married Jane Miriam Knighton on 22nd July 1915, who was a teacher from Barnsley. Hull Address Untraced.
Hull Pals Memorials writes; Born in 1889 in Lichfield, Staffordshire but living and working as a teacher in Hull at time of enlistment. He queued outside City Hall to volunteer for King and Country joining the 10th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, ‘The Commercials’, 1st Hull Pals.
Reginald followed the familiar path of training throughout the following year and leaving Devonport for Alexandria, Egypt at the start of December 1915. First though he took leave and married Jane Miriam Knighton in Greengates on 22nd July. Their time together was to be shortlived.
On 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the 10th were meant to be in Reserve. On that day though ‘Reserve’ meant first stepping out into pre-dawn No Man’s Land where they were put to work cutting ‘lanes’ through their own barbed wire to allow the attacking troops a path through. After that they pulled back to let those going ‘Over The Top’ to move forward. D Company remained in the front line, both to hold it in the event of a counter attack, and to help gather any wounded. The men were packed into trenches waiting to be called upon if needed, and stood all day beneath a heavy counter bombardment.
Reginald was killed in an explosion whilst stood in Palestine Street trench. His name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial as one of the 73,357 men who lost their lives in that sector and whose body was never recovered; he was 27 years old.
We will remember them.
We would like to pass on our sincere thanks to 1985 Alumnus Pat Neal, who is responsible for most of the research that we now have on York St John Alumni who lost their lives during World War One, and World War Two.
