July 2018 - Greg's War

31 July 201831 July 2018

Wednesday 31 July 1918 – CBP, and Big Huns Overhead

A successful shoot with 237 Siege Battery (at last), was almost compromised by a German aircraft. And later there was a German bombing raid, possibly by Gotha bombers.

Log Book

Date: 31.7.17 
Time: 10.35 
Rounds Lewis: 100 
Rounds Vickers: - 
Bombs: - 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 2 hrs 50 m 
Height: 4500 
Course/Remarks: CBP & shoot with 237 SB. Successful.

Diary

Wednesday July 31^st.  CBP at 10.30.

Took up a shoot with 237 SB.  Called them up at 11, but there was a Hun overhead & did not put out groundstrips.  Shoot successful, battery firing wide during battery fire, so re-ranged them & then came home.

Dozens of Huns knocking about.  Hun bombing raid at night.  Three or four big Huns overhead.  No bombs dropped anywhere near.

Shoot with 237 Siege Battery

During his counter battery patrol, Greg took up a shoot with 237 Siege Battery. He must have been relieved to have a successful shoot with this battery, as previous attempts with them on 21 July and 28 July 1918 had failed.

A German aircraft overhead nearly compromised the shoot, since the battery could not communicate with the aircraft by putting out the usual ground strips (see the article on Shoots for an explanation).

Hun Bombing Raid at Night

It was an active day for enemy aircraft. Rely Aerodrome seems not to have been the target, but the ‘big Huns’ – possibly Gotha G.IV or G.V bombers such as illustrated below – were plainly heard. This was the kind of aircraft that used to bomb London.

30 July 201825 July 2018

Tuesday 30 July 1918 – Nothing Doing On the Line

A two hour counter battery patrol, but nothing doing on the line.

Log Book

Date: 30.7.17 
Time: 6.0 
Rounds Lewis: 100 
Rounds Vickers: 100 
Bombs: - 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 2 hrs 0 m 
Height: 2500 
Course/Remarks: CBP. Very dud. Eng rough.

Diary

Tuesday July 30^th.  6pm.  CBP.  Pretty dud, engine nothing great.  Absolutely nothing doing on the line.

For the first time in a week, though, both aircraft guns were fired. Greg and Lt Hodgson fired 100 rounds from each.

Monday 29 July 1918 – Very Misty

Another dies non for artillery observation as it was very misty.

Log Book

Date: 29.7.17 
Time: 12.50 
Rounds Lewis: - 
Rounds Vickers: - 
Bombs: - 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 20 m 
Height: 1500 
Course/Remarks: CBP. Weather test.  V. heavy ground mist. NG.

CBP = Counter battery patrol
NG = No good.

Diary

Monday July 29^th.  CBP 1pm.  Went up but came down, very misty.  Unable to observe anything so came down.

Sunday 28 July 1918 – Weather Unfit for Shoot

Yet another dud day, and another unsuccessful attempt at a shoot with 237 Siege Battery:

Log Book

Date: 28.7.17 
Time: 5.30 
Rounds: - 
Bombs: - 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 45 m 
Height: 2000 
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 237 SB. Unsucc. UL.

“UL” means that Greg sent the weather signal “unfit for counter battery work”.

Diary

Sunday July 28^th.  Wrote home.  Dud day, attempted a shoot in the evening, failed.  Absolutely unfit for shoot.

This was the second unsuccessful attempt at a shoot with 237 SB. The first was a week ago:

Sunday 21 July 1918 – No Windy Shoot

Saturday 27 July 1918 – Another Dud Day

No flying, as it was another dud day:

Diary

Saturday July 27^th.  Dud day, did not fly.

Friday 26 July 1918 – Shelled in St Venant

Yesterday’s windy weather was followed today by rain, which forced Greg down from a counter battery patrol. A subsequent exploration of St Venant didn’t go entirely to plan, thanks to the German artillery…

Log Book

Date: 26.7.17 
Time: 5.45 
Rounds: - 
Bombs: 4 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 1 hr 30 m 
Height: 3000 
Course/Remarks: CBP.  Forced down by rainstorm.

Diary

Friday July 26^th.  CBP (5.30am).  1½ hours.  Forced down by rain.

Went down to St Venant in the afternoon.  While exploring in some of the houses Fritz started shelling.  Cleared out pretty quickly.  Managed to pick up piece of shell as souvenir.

Thursday 25 July 1918 – Fearfully Windy & Bumpy

Back to work after his ‘bilious attack’ yesterday, Greg has a counter battery patrol in blustery conditions:

Log Book

Date: 25.7.17 
Time: 1.15 
Rounds: - 
Bombs: - 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Pring 
Time: 2 hr 15 m 
Height: 2000 
Course/Remarks: CBP.  Very bumpy & windy.

Diary

Thursday July 25^th.  C.B.P. in afternoon.  Fearfully windy & bumpy (2¼ hours).

Wednesday 24 July 1918 – Bilious Attack, Had a Day Off

No flying for Greg today, owing to a ‘bilious attack’.

Diary

Wednesday July 24^th. Had a bilious attack, & a day off.

Bilious Attack

So what exactly is that? Collins English Dictionary defines this medical term from another era as follows:

Bilious Attack (British)

[pathology, obsolete]

a group of symptoms consisting of headache, abdominal pain, and constipation

Quite possibly what Greg suffered was a migraine attack. In migraine, a moderate-to-severe headache (typically on one side of the head only; the word ‘migraine’ derives from ‘hemicranium’) is often accompanied by gastric disturbance including reduced gut motility.

Greg was prone to migraines in later life – a tendency which he passed on the two generations immediately after him (ah, well). But he swore that he had a remedy that always caused a migraine attack to abort: a stiff glass of whisky. Sadly, it never worked for me!

23 July 201812 July 2018

Tuesday 23 July 1918 – Dud Day – Wrote Home

Log Book

Date: 23.7.17 
Time: - 
Rounds: - 
Bombs: - 
RE8: - 
Observer: - 
Time: - 
Height: - 
Course/Remarks: Weather dud, raining.

Diary

Tuesday July 23^rd.  Wrote home, Dad & Albert.  Dud day.

Possibly ‘Albert’ was Albert Gertrey, whom Greg knew from training in Yatesbury:

More on flying training at Yatesbury here:

Flying Training

Monday 22 July 1918 – Another Shoot with 213 SB

The fourth shoot with 213 Siege Battery RGA in five days. We don’t know the target for this one. But it was another long time in the air being shot at, and another success.

Log Book

Date: 22.7.17 
Time: 9.30 
Rounds: 100 
Bombs: 4 
RE8: E27 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 3 hr 25 m 
Height: 4000 
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 213 SB.  Successful.

Diary

Monday July 22^nd.  Did a shoot with 213 SB.  Dropped 4 Cooper bombs & let off 300 rounds ammunition.  Archie pretty hot stuff.  Went to see the battery after, & scrounged some furniture for my room.

Another Visit to 213 SB

“Observers should utilise every opportunity of visiting the batteries allotted to them”, says the General Staff in the handbook “Co-operation of Aircraft with Artillery” [SS 131], December 1917 edition.

(Just to note in passing: “observers” in this context means those observing a shoot, rather than the chaps in the back seat of the plane.) Greg seems to have taken this injunction to heart. He went to see 213 SB again, only two days after his last visit on Saturday 19 July 1918. But perhaps at least part of his motivation was to complete his mission to furnish his room, possibly with more pieces from the ruins of St. Venant. Visiting the battery would have provided a good excuse…and the transport.

Haverskerque, which is where I speculated (here) might be near the location of 213 Siege Battery, is a village lying on the flat land by the River Lys not far north of the river crossing at St. Venant. In the corner of a quiet field is a small British cemetery – Cim. brit. on the map – looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:

Haverskerque and St Venant on a present day map. The distance between them is about 1¼ miles (2 km). Map credit: GreatWarDigital

And from the cemetery, the distant spire of St. Venant church is just visible: