Ascq Archives - Greg's War

1 December 201831 December 2018

June to November 1918: Flying and Armaments Statistics

At the back of Greg’s log book is a table, in which he compiled some summary statistics. They show his flying hours and armaments used over the months he was on the Western Front.

Log Book

MONTH	BOMBS	VICKERS	LEWIS	TOTAL	HOURS
JUNE	24	1,000	1,500	2,500	23 hrs 55 m
JULY	44	1,200	2,200	3,400	55 hrs 0 m
AUGUST	54	4,100	5,300	9,400	46 hrs 20 m
SEPTEMBER	8	500	700	1,200	12 hrs 15 m
OCTOBER	13	400	300	700	22 hrs 05 m
NOVEMBER	12	100	600	700	7 hrs 50 m
TOTALS:	155	7,300	10,600	17,900	167 hrs 25 m

Flying and Armaments Statistics

There are a few interesting points that emerge when comparing the figures month-by-month, and when looking at how they were built up. As a reminder, the pilot fired the Vickers gun through the propeller, which was safeguarded by a synchronisation mechanism. The observer fired the lighter and more manoeuvrable Lewis gun, which was mounted on a Scarff ring around his compartment. More on the RE8 and its armaments here:

The Royal Aircraft Factory RE8

June

Greg arrived at the squadron as a new pilot on 3 June 1918. He had a rocky start, with engine failure and a crash landing on 4 June 1918. As a result of his minor injuries he didn’t fly for a few days. According to his log book:

his observer first fired from his Lewis gun on 13 June 1918;
Greg first fired from his Vickers gun on 15 June 1918; and
he dropped his first bombs on 16 June 1918.

Shortly afterwards he was off for a few days with an attack of “Merville Fever” (Spanish flu), starting on 20 June 1918.

So his first month was not a full one: 17 flying days in all.

July

In terms of hours flown, July 1918 was Greg’s busiest month. He spent 55 hours in the air, which works out at an average of just over 1 hr 45 mins per day (including non-flying days). To start with he was mostly flying counter-battery patrols. There were more observations of artillery fire (“shoots”) later in the month. A big day was 18 July 1918, when he directed fire onto Merville railway bridge that brought it down.

On 20 July 1918 Greg began to record in his log book the number of rounds fired and bombs dropped. This was refined on 29 July 1918, when he began separately recording the number of rounds fired from the Lewis and Vickers guns. Possibly this was part of an effort to encourage aircrew to shoot and bomb the enemy more. The numbers certainly increased.

August

Another busy month. In fact, by the measure of small arms fire, it was by far the busiest. The 9,400 rounds fired by both Lewis and Vickers guns were more than the rounds fired in all the other months that Greg was on the front put together. His 46 hrs 20 mins in the air averaged out at about 1 hr 30 mins per day, again including non-flying days. The work was – as had now become usual – a mix of counter-battery patrols and shoots. One of the shoots was on 8 August 1918, the day of the start of the Allies’ Final Offensive. It was a shoot on a hostile battery just west of Merville, and Greg was evidently proud of it.

September

Greg was on leave for most of the second half of the month (from 18 September to 2 October 1918). But, even so, the figures are quite light for the time that he was in the field. This is partly accounted for by eight non-flying days from 4-11 September 1918 for unknown reasons. In fact, he was only in the air on six days in September. So his total of 12 hrs 15 mins in the air for the month works out at just over two hours per flying day. Small arms fire was well down on the previous month, even allowing for the reduced flying.

October

There were 17 flying days this month. On 13 October 1918 the squadron moved from Rely to Chocques. By this time, the German army was on the run, and Greg’s work was a mixture of counter-battery and reconnaissance patrols. His first patrol east of Lille – quite a milestone – was on 17 October 1918. And five days later, on 22 October 1918, the squadron itself moved east of Lille to Ascq. Greg didn’t direct a single shoot in the month, and there wasn’t much small arms fire.

November

The November statistics only cover the time up to the armistice, which is proper since they relate to war flying. During the time, the bomb tally and the small arms fire was essentially the same as for the whole of October. This probably shows that in the closing days some increased pressure was being applied to the retreating enemy. And the small arms figure also includes the large number of rounds fired in the château-shoot up adventure that Greg and Capt. Gordon had on 2 November 1918. That was the last day Greg fired small arms ammunition in the war. He didn’t fly for five days after 3 November 1918, possibly because of another attack of flu. On 10 November 1918 Greg dropped his last bombs. Armistice Day itself saw merely a joyride and a travelling flight to the squadron’s new home at Marquain, across the border in Belgium, untroubled by the newly silent guns.

November flying during the armistice only amounted to a further 55 mins.

11 November 201821 December 2018

Monday 11 November 1918 – Armistice, Joyride & Move to Marquain

Today was the day the fighting stopped. It was also the day of Greg’s last flight in wartime, a joyride with an intriguing passenger. Was “Norman” Norman Gregory? And the day of his first post-armistice flight: travelling from Ascq to Marquain Aerodrome, over the Belgian border near Tournai. Meanwhile, the King sends his thanks to the Royal Air Force. And we give a quick preview of Michael Seymour’s new ‘Setting the Scene’ article: ‘When the Guns Fell Silent‘.

Log Book

Date: 11.11.18 
Time Out: 10.25 
Rounds Fired – Lewis: - 
Rounds Fired – Vickers: - 
Bombs: - 
Time on RE8s:  190 hrs 40 mins 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: Norman 
War Flying: 0 hrs 10 mins 
Height: 1000 
Course/Remarks:  Joyride

Date: 11.11.18 
Time Out: 2.00 
Rounds Fired – Lewis: - 
Rounds Fired – Vickers: - 
Bombs: - 
Time on RE8s:  190 hrs 45 mins 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: A.M. Rose 
War Flying: 0 hrs 05 mins 
Height: 100 
Course/Remarks:  Travelling to Marquain

B Flight Orders

B FLIGHT ORDERS FOR 10.11.1918
2872 0800 Lt Bon     Capt Gordon Reconn.
6740 1100 Lt Judd    Lt Elliott  – do -
4889 1400 Lt Sewell  Lt Whittles – do -
2517      Lt Gregory Lt Bett     Next job

All officers’ kits to be packed and outside the mess by 8.15.
No breakfast to be served after 0700.

                     C.E. Gregory, Lt
                     for O.C. B Flight

So Lt Bon and Capt Gordon had a pre-armistice reconnaissance patrol at 8:00am. And at 11:00am, Lt Judd and Lt Elliott went up to reconnoitre the situation as the armistice came into effect.

Who was ‘Norman’?

Greg’s first flight of the day was a 10 minute joyride with “Norman” as an observer/passenger. It is recorded in his log book but was not mandated in the day’s orders for the flight, which Greg signed. So who was this Norman who went on this brief and unofficial flight, just half an hour before the armistice?

According to Cross & Cockade’s list of first world war officers in 42 Squadron RAF, there was none whose surname was Norman. There was a George Norman Goldie, but he does not seem to have been in B Flight, and Greg has never mentioned him. In any event, this George Norman Goldie does not appear on a list of B Flight officers dating from December 1918. And, all other things being equal, he was more likely to have been known to his familiars as George rather than Norman.

A more intriguing – and certainly more poetic – theory is that “Norman” was Lt Norman Gregory, Greg’s brother.

Norman Gregory

Norman Gregory was born in 1894 and would have been 24 in November 1918. He was a lieutenant – a proper, two-pip lieutenant, not a second lieutenant – in the Royal Engineers. His available war records are sparse, but we know that he entered the French theatre of war on 21 July 1918. So maybe Norman found himself near Lille and called in to see his baby brother at Ascq. And perhaps in those heady minutes before it all ended, they went up for a quick spin.

If they did, and if their mother knew, she would probably have been horrified. To have three sons in the war – one in each of the three services – was bad enough. But for two of them to go up voluntarily together in one of those dangerous contraptions at the last minute was…well, probably something she didn’t need to be told about until they could laugh about it later.

In fact, they were nowhere near danger, at least danger in the sense of German guns and aeroplanes. Even if they had flown flat out east for five minutes, they would have not have been halfway to the front line before they had to turn back.

A Working Hypothesis

Whether this is the true explanation of who “Norman” was, we will probably never know. But it has a strong draw at least for me, as I rather like the idea of my grandfather taking my great uncle up for a little caper in the air as his last flight before the armistice. And one further, but admittedly tiny, piece of evidence that Norman was someone quite familiar, is that his is the only “observer” on that page of Greg’s log book whose name is written in cursive script rather than block capitals.

Extract of Greg's Log Book. — Greg’s ‘observers’ in November 1918. ‘Norman’ is the only one in cursive script. Click for larger image.

So my conjecture is that it was Norman Gregory that Greg took for a joyride, and that can stand until better evidence refutes the theory.

The Final Front Lines

Map of Front Lines on 11 November. — Front Lines on 11 November. Click for larger image. Map credit: Map Archive

We used to be able to refer to Greg’s sector confidently as the Lys sector, until his squadron no longer operated along the River Lys. This was as forces advanced east to the the next river – the River Scheldt – and beyond. But whatever the sector was called by 11 November, the ground troops of General Birdwood‘s Fifth Army had moved beyond Ath. In fact they had almost reached Grammont and Soignies, which are closer to Brussels than they are to Lille. And here the line was drawn on Armistice Day.

42 Squadron Moves to Marquain Aerodrome

Greg’s second flight of the day was a travelling flight, as part of the squadron’s move that day. (This was why kit had to be packed up and no late breakfasts were served.) After the guns had stopped, Greg and Air Mechanic Rose flew the 7 miles (11 km) to Marquain Aerodrome, just to the west of Tournai. It took them 5 minutes. At 100 ft, they were practically skimming the hedges. And so it was that Greg and the rest of 42 Squadron ended up in Belgium on Armistice Day.

Map of Ascq to Marquain — Ascq to Marquain on a modern map (courtesy Google). Click to go to Google maps.

The King’s Message

Meanwhile, the King sent his thanks to his newly formed, and newly tested, Royal Air Force. This printed copy of his message is at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon (behind glass, hence the reflections):

When the Guns Fell Silent

Michael Seymour has written a new article for today in the ‘Setting the Scene’ series. In it, Michael reflects on the circumstances of the signing of the armistice, and surveys some of the consequences of the new-found peace:

When the Guns Fell Silent

Next up…

Although this post marks the end of Greg’s wartime activity, it doesn’t – quite – mark the end of the Greg’s War blog. As will become apparent, Greg didn’t go home until the new year. Before then, the squadron made three more moves. And there were new photos to be taken, there were joyrides to be had and crashes to be avoided (sometimes). And of course there was Christmas to be celebrated. So there will be more posts to come, but they won’t be daily, and they will no longer involve the activities that were the core of Greg’s war flying since the beginning of June. No more counter-battery patrols, and no more shoots.

The next entry in Greg’s log book is for 20 November 1918.

10 November 201828 August 2019

Sunday 10 November 1918 – Message Dropping

Things were moving fast on the penultimate day. B Flight was fully engaged in reconnaissance, and then message dropping with the latest information. But they had to see the C.O. or the Battalion Intelligence Officer before going up. Greg and Lt. Bett had the first flight of the day.

Log Book

Date: 10.11.18 
Time Out: 6.15 
Rounds Fired – Lewis: 200 
Rounds Fired – Vickers: - 
Bombs: 4 
Time on RE8s:  190 hrs 30 mins 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: Bett 
War Flying: 1 hrs 45 mins 
Height: 3000 
Course/Remarks:  Reconn.  Successful.

Allied forces were keeping up the pressure on the retreating German forces. The Lewis gun was firing, and bombs were dropping from Greg’s aircraft. But, for him, this was the last use of weaponry.

B Flight Orders

B FLIGHT ORDERS FOR 10.11.1918
2517 0600 Lt Gregory    Lt Bett     Reconn: Bombs
4559 0900 Lt Sewell     Lt Whittles    – do –
2872 1200 Lt Bon        Capt Gordon    – do –
2707 1500 Lt Wallington Lt Paton       – do –
2500 0930 Lt Judd       Sandbags      MARQUISE.
2924 To be ready at 10.30.

All Pilots to report to the C.O. [Commanding Officer] or B.I.O. [Battalion Intelligence Officer] before going up.  All machines when coming home are to drop a message at Divisions giving position of the Hun front line troops, M.G.s etc. The same message to be dropped to our advanced troops.
                                          C.E. Gregory, Lt
                                          for O.C. B Flight

The position of the front line was changing rapidly. In 24 hours it advanced 17 miles (27 km) from Tournai to just east of Ath:

Map of line held 10 November — Line held 9 November. Click for larger image. Map credit: Map Archive (adapted)

Lt Judd was nor part of the main action, though. He was detailed to take RE8 2500 to Marquise, where No. 1 ASD was now based, as explained in the post for 3 June 1918.

9 November 20188 November 2018

Saturday 9 November 1918 – “Fire All Small Arms Ammo”

Today was a day for reconnaissance. Greg, with Capt. Gordon as his observer, was among those flying reconnaissance patrols, which were to leave the ground every hour. B Flight’s Orders for the day, which were signed by Greg, said that patrols were to fire all their small arms ammunition before returning.

Log Book

Date: 9.11.18 
Time Out: 10.10 
Rounds Fired – Lewis: - 
Rounds Fired – Vickers: - 
Bombs: 4 
Time on RE8s:  188 hrs 25 mins 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: Cpt. Gordon 
War Flying: 1 hrs 10 mins 
Height: 7000 
Course/Remarks:  Reconn. Engine dud.

Later in the day, Greg took up Air Mechanic Corkhill to test the engine.

Date: 9.11.18 
Time Out: 15.00 
Rounds Fired – Lewis: - 
Rounds Fired – Vickers: - 
Bombs: - 
Time on RE8s:  188 hrs 45 mins 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: A. M. Corkhill 
War Flying: 0 hrs 20 mins 
Height: 2000 
Course/Remarks:  Engine test – OK.

B Flight Orders

B FLIGHT ORDERS FOR 9.11.1918
6740 0700 Lt. Judd       Lt. Elliott  Reconn. Bombs.
2517 1000 Lt. Gregory    Capt. Gordon     – do –
2707 1300 Lt. Wallington Lt. Paton        – do –
2872      Lt. Sewell     Lt. Whittles Next job
          Lt. Bon        Lt. Bett     Next job
4889  0930  Ready for Major Hunter with bombs
-------------
Patrols will leave the ground at every hour and may return after 1¼ hours on the line, providing that all SAA [small arms ammunition] has been fired and they have a decent report.  Bombs are to be taken if clouds are at 2000 ft or over.

                             C.E. Gregory, Lt
                             for O.C. B Flight

Patrols left every hour. Reconnaissance was clearly the priority of the day. This was because a lot was happening on the ground. The British front line was moving rapidly eastwards from the River Scheldt as the German armies withdrew east from Tournai towards Ath.

Line held 9 November. Click for larger image. Map credit: Map Archive

The small arms ammunition was the .303 rounds that the Vickers and Lewis machine guns fired. For some reason, Greg and Capt. Gordon didn’t fire any. That could have been because the engine gave them trouble, and they went back to the aerodrome prematurely.

This was to be Greg’s last flight with Capt. Gordon before the armistice.

8 November 20188 November 2018

Friday 8 November 1918 – Ascq Aerodrome

42 Squadron RAF only arrived at Ascq Aerodrome on 22 October 1918, and would be leaving in three days time. Among Greg’s collection are two photographs of him and a few fellow officers, taken on the airfield, with some still identifiable houses behind them. Meanwhile, the everyday business of B Flight – reconnaissance and counter-battery patrols and a shoot – continues. As it turned out, these would be the last counter-battery patrol and the last shoot flown by the flight in the war. Greg did not fly today.

B Flight Orders

B FLIGHT ORDERS FOR 8.11.1918:-
2707 10.00 12.30 Lt Judd       Lt Elliott  RECON & CBP
4889   when fit  Lt Bon        Capt Gordon   SHOOT
                 Lt Sewell     Lt Whittles  NEXT JOB
                 Lt Wallington Lt Bett       - do –

E27 will be ready to leave the ground at 630.

                             Wm. Ledlie, Capt.

Ascq Aerodrome

The Anciens Aerodromes website pinpoints the site of Ascq aerodrome as being just south of the junction of the Rue des Fusilés and the Rue de la Tradition/Rue Gaston Baratte. The road junction is itself only a few hundred yards/metres southwest of the centre ville of Ascq itself, as can be seen on this embedded Google map:

Today, the site of the airfield is mostly an industrial estate, with a bit of scrubland and some allotment land – with what looks like an asparagus bed on the right! –

Photo of the site of Ascq aerodrome, June 2018 — The site of Ascq aerodrome, June 2018. Looking south from the Rue de la Tradition towards the marker in the Google map, above. Click for larger image.

Photos with the Rue des Fusilés in the Background

Here are the two photographs of Greg and others. They are taken with buildings on the Rue des Fusilés being visible behind them.

The first:

Greg (second from left, front row) and others on the airfield at Ascq. Third from left in the front row is probably Capt. Bill Ledlie. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection

The houses on the left of the group are still there, on the Rue des Fusilés, although somewhat altered and built around:

Houses on the Rue des Fusilés in June 2018. The cream house on the left and the red-roofed building, since refashioned but recognisable by its chimneys, were there in 1918. Click for larger image

And the second, probably taken on the same occasion:

Photo of Greg (on the right in the back row) and others on the airfield at Ascq — Greg (on the right in the back row) and others on the airfield at Ascq. Seated in the middle in the in the front row is Capt. Bill Ledlie. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection

Note the house with the patterned roof, visible between the observer standing on the left and other other five. It is still quite conspicuous on the Rue des Fusilés:

Photo of house with pattered roof on the Rue des Fusilés in June 2018 — House with pattered roof on the Rue des Fusilés in June 2018. Click for larger image

7 November 20188 November 2018

Thursday 7 November 1918 – B Flight Work Continues

Although Greg was not flying again today, it was business as usual for B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF at Ascq. Reconnaissance and counter-battery patrols and shoots were in today’s daily orders. An apparent dual role for Lt Sewell is resolved.

B Flight Orders

B FLIGHT ORDERS FOR 7.11.1918
2517  6.0  830 Lt Wallington Lt Bett     Recon & CBP
4889 1200 1430 Lt Bon        Capt Gordon  – do –
6740           Lt Sewell     Lt Sewell   Shoot
2707           Lt Judd       Lt Whittles    do
E27            Capt Ledlie   Lt Paton       do
                             Lt Mulholland

Pilots and observers who have not passed all tests will please arrange to do so tomorrow.
The early machine will send down a weather report at 6.45 so that, if fit, the people on shoots can get into the air without any loss of time.

                         W.  Ledlie, Capt.

There are obviously a couple of mistakes here. I have corrected Capt. Ledlie’s implication that he himself was still a lieutenant. But then there is Lt. Sewell’s designation as both pilot and observer in 6740! Judging from other entries in the B Flight Orders, he was in fact a pilot. And he often flew with Lt Whittles as observer. So probably Lt Sewell’s name should just be deleted from the observer’s column, and those named beneath him shunted up.

Lt Denis Charles Sewell

Lt Denis Charles Sewell was born on 31 October 1898. Prior to being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 42 Sqn, he was in the Honourable Artillery Company.

‘Tests’

The nature of the ‘tests’ that both pilots and observers must pass is not explained.

6 November 20188 November 2018

Wednesday 6 November 1918 – B Flight Orders

It was another non-flying day for Greg, but today we can see why. For the last few days of the war, we have copies of the daily orders for B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF. And today’s entry shows that Greg was the first reserve pilot on the list for any job that fell due after the already scheduled reconnaissance flights and shoots. As it turned out, he stayed on the ground.

B Flight Orders

B FLIGHT ORDERS FOR 6.11.1918
2707 0800.1030 Lt Sewell     Lt Whittles   RECON.
6740 1400.DUSK Lt Judd       Lt Elliott    - do –
E27            Capt. Ledlie  Lt Mulholland SHOOT
4889           Lt Bon        Capt. Gordon  - do –
               Lt Wallington Lt. Bett      - do –
               Lt Gregory

                             Wm. Ledlie, Capt

Presumably other flights from the squadron will have fielded aircraft for further reconnaissance patrols and other jobs during the day.

The flight’s daily orders, and presumably those for the other flights, were nothing very grand. They were hand written and signed by the Officer Commanding the flight or his deputy. What we see above is evidently a carbon copy of the orders in Army Book 152, a correspondence book for field service. Probably a notice board or somewhere equally prominent displayed the original for all concerned to see.

5 November 20182 March 2023

Tuesday 5 November 1918 – B Flight, 42 Sqn RAF at Ascq

On one of the first few days of November 1918, when other duties didn’t interfere, B Flight of 42 Squadron had a group photograph taken. If it wasn’t taken on this day, then for various reasons it can’t have been more then four days earlier or five days later.

Group photo of B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF. — B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection.

Faces of B Flight

Some of the faces are recognisable, but many are not. Of those that are:

Lt. John Macmillan is second from the left of the front row. (Thanks to Douglas Macmillan, John Macmillan’s grandson, for identifying him.) More on Lt. Macmillan here:

Saturday 26 October 1918 – Prop. Split by Shrapnel

Next to John Macmillan, Greg is third from the left of the front row .
Capt. Bill Ledlie is seated fifth from the left, in the centre. At his feet are a shield and Waso, Capt. Gordon’s dog. More about Capt. Ledlie here:

Tuesday 27 August 1918 – No Flying – Bill Ledlie

Next to Capt. Ledlie is Capt. Cedric Gordon, seated sixth from the left. More about Capt. Gordon here:

Friday 1 November 1918 – Shoot with Capt. Gordon

Next to Capt. Gordon is Lt Edward Ives (fourth from right), who had evidently returned to the squadron after his posting to the home establishment on 28 June 1918. Thanks to Julian and Les Ives for confirming their grandfather’s identity. More about Lt Ives here:

Saturday 29 June 1918 – CBP Cancelled by Weather

Today’s photograph looks like a more or less complete grouping of the officers and men of B Flight, 42 Squadron. The photos taken at Rely and recorded in the post for 25 August 1918 were apparently just of the officers of the flight:

Sunday 25 August 1918 – Did Not Fly – 42 Sqn B Flight Photos

4 November 201819 February 2023

Monday 4 November 1918 – Photos from the Front

No flying for Greg today, for unrecorded reasons. But others in the squadron had been busy taking reconnaissance photographs either side of the River Scheldt (Escaut), along which the front line ran. Here are the three, taken today, that Greg brought home after the war. The first is west of the Scheldt, showing Ferme Cazeau/Prade (today, Ferme Hurette), Pont-à-Chin, Tournai. The second and third are east of the river, at Kain, north of Tournai, where German trenches are in evidence.

1. Ferme Cazeau/Prade (Ferme Hurette), Pont-à-Chin, Tournai

The first photograph is behind the British front line, to the west of the River Scheldt. The open land in the top right of the photo is part of the former German aerodrome at Ramegnies-Chin (thanks to Dominique Van den Broucke for noting this). Shell holes pock-mark the airfield.

This vertical aerial view was taken from 4,000 ft at 11:00 am half a mile (800 m) or so southwest of Pont-à-Chin, and about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Tournai.

The pentagonal building towards the bottom of the centre of the image are the farm buildings of what today is la Ferme Hurette but was then marked on contemporary British Army trench maps as la Ferme Cazeau. However, this does not seem to be what it was called locally:

During WW1, the Hurette farm on rue Hurette belonged to the parents of Mr. Joseph Prade. It was the Prade farm. I interviewed Mr. Joseph Prade in the early 80s for my article (Nord Eclair newspaper) about the Ramegnies-Chin aerodrome. At the time, all the bunkers and refuge cellars still existed. Next to the Prade farm was the rue d’Allain. This rue d’Allain was an umade road that the Germans modified to make a paved road. The aerodrome was very large in area and ran along the woods and the railway line. There was a flight school and a building for aerial photography. The airmen were lodged in two castles and a large villa. Nowadays you can still see a bunker at the edge of the wood.

Dominique Van den Broucke

These days la Ferme Hurette offers group accommodation and reception rooms as part of the non-profit organisation Le Haras de Cazeau.

Vertical aerial view of Ferme Cazeau (now Haras de Cazeau), Pont-à-Chin, Tournai — Vertical aerial view of Ferme Cazeau/Ferme Prade (now Ferme Hurette, Pont-à-Chin, Tournai, taken 4 November 1918. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection

And in the corresponding view today from Google maps, not much has changed – apart from the welcome absence of shell holes.

On the ground, the view from just off the upper left of the aerial view, looking towards and along the railway line, is this:

View of woods — The view looking north to the woods by the railway line in June 2018. If you tap or click to see a larger image, you should be able to make out the masts of the railway’s present day catenary system in front of the trees.

This ground photograph was first published in the post for 18 October 1918. This was because, coincidentally, the woods along the railway in the top left of the aerial photos are where Greg reported large fires during a reconnaissance patrol on that day:

Friday 18 October 1918 – Reconnaissance into Belgium

2. Rue d’Ormont, Kain, Tournai

Meanwhile, moving 1¼ miles (2 km) due east across the River Scheldt, we come to territory that was probably still in German hands. If it wasn’t, it would have been no-man’s land. And if that, it evidently hadn’t suffered nearly as much as land further west that had the dubious distinction of being between the opposing front lines for much longer. Just a few shell holes are seen in the top half of the image, particularly in the centre, and something of a trench system in the bottom right. This photograph was again taken at 4,000 ft at 11:00 am. It shows the Rue d’Ormont, in Kain, about 5 miles (8 km) NNW of the centre of Tournai.

Vertical aerial view of Kain, Tournai, taken 4 November 1918 — Vertical aerial view of Kain, near Tournai, taken 4 November 1918. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection

Today, the area has become more built up, and the railway line has disappeared.

Google maps view of Kain, Tournai. — The corresponding view today. Note that the railway line has gone. Click to go to a larger view in Google maps.

Some of the original buildings remain:

Detail of vertical aerial view of Kain, near Tournai, taken 4 November 1918. Click for larger image.

The farm building in the red square is today a house, and looks like this:

Former farm building on the Rue d'Ormont, Kain, Tournai, June 2018. — Former farm building on the Rue d’Ormont, Kain, Tournai, June 2018. Click for larger image.

And the part of the building in the red circle at the road junction that remains today looks like this:

House at the road junction on the Rue d'Ormont, Kain, Tournai, June 2018 — House at the road junction on the Rue d’Ormont, Kain, Tournai, June 2018. Click for larger image.

3. Trenches North of Kain, Tournai

Finally, we move northeast from the Rue d’Ormont, to the western slopes of the Mont St. Aubin. Here, about 3 miles (5 km) north of the centre of Tournai, there was an extensive system of trenches. Greg had captioned this vertical aerial photo “Trenches”, as a particular example of an elaborate defensive system. Shadows cast by the low November sun equally defines the trenches and shell holes quite sharply.

As it turned out, this was one of the trickiest photos to locate on Google maps today. The reason was not because the land had been built over; there still isn’t a building on it today. Rather, it was that the pattern of woodland and open farmland has changed so much in the intervening years. Here’s how it now looks:

Google maps view of north of Kain, Tournai. — The corresponding view today. Click to go to a larger view in Google maps.

What these two aerial views – ancient and modern – don’t give is a sense of the gentle upward slope. The track up the middle of each aerial photograph ascends a shallow valley, overlooked by low slopes on both sides. The following view was taken in June 2018 and looks north from a point below the bottom of the aerial photographs.

View looking north of Kain, up the valley towards where the trenches were. The house on the right is just below the field of the aerial photographs. June 2018. Click for larger image.

Even a non-expert can imagine how eminently defensible the upper slopes of the valley would be. But they weren’t held for long.

3 November 201830 November 2018

Sunday 3 November 1918 – Dud Weather, Lille Theatre Reopens

In a quieter day than yesterday, Greg was down to do a counter-battery patrol. But the weather was dud, as confirmed on a brief test flight with Capt. Gordon (and his dog, Waso). This evening saw the opening under allied auspices of the Nouveau Théâtre Lille with a performance by Leslie Henson’s Gaieties entertainment troupe.

Log Book

Date: 3.11.18 
Time Out: 15.20 
Rounds Fired – Lewis: - 
Rounds Fired – Vickers: - 
Bombs: - 
Time on RE8s:  187 hrs 15 mins 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: Cpt. Gordon 
War Flying: 0 hrs 10 mins 
Height: 500 
Course/Remarks:  Weather test. C.B.P. Dud.

Weather Test

Aircraft serial no. 2517 was back in service for the test at 3:20pm, thereby demonstrating that it took no more than a day to repair or replace an RE8’s petrol tank.

The weather test flight was mentioned in Capt. Gordon’s letter home to his mother today. In the letter he says kind words about Greg, who he reports wasn’t well*. Is it possible that these emollient words belied some sort of anxiety, following yesterday‘s brave/reckless (delete according to taste) adventure, in which they both could easily have died? Perhaps that is to read in too much.

3 November, letter to darlingest Mother from 42 Squadron, RAF, BEF, France

All goes well, but the weather alas has taken a turn for the worse.   I am getting on quite well & am less lonely than I was before Waso’s return.   I am beginning to get to know some of the people here.   Waso went up today for a 10 mins joy ride.   She didn’t enjoy it much!

I have moved downstairs in my billet & have got a very nice room.   The people are very nice.   The old lady thought the stairs were too much for me! & so they moved out themselves, which was extraordinarily good of them.

Leslie Henson (K. will know who he is, he was in Theodore & Co) is giving a show somewhere near here tomorrow evening.   I hope to go & see him.

The Day’s Activities

I expect I ought to tell you what I have done today!   Not very interesting but still, here goes.   This morning I woke about 7.10am & read in bed. ‘A Knight on Wheels’, ‘till about 8am when I lightly leapt up & dressed etc.   Breakfast, bacon & fried bread, then down to the aerodrome, pausing en route for the odd word with one or two fellows, on arrival at the aerodrome I found the weather was dud., so I went & looked at the workshops & got the SM (that stands for Sergeant Major) to explain engines & bits of engines.   I then went & played about with a Lewis gun.   I can’t remember what I did then until lunch time.

After lunch I hung about as I was meant to be flying, but the machine wasn’t ready & the weather was dud.   I & Waso & the pilot went up for a test of a few mins.   Waso didn’t care much about it.   My pilot was a fellow called Gregory, a very nice fellow, about 19 years old.   He isn’t very well having a touch of flu.    After that I went & tidied up my room & had tea & read a paper, & here I am now writing to the dearest old mater in the world.   I fear all this is dull to you.

And to End..

I wonder if Karf could very kindly buy & borrow the things on the attached list & send them out to me soonish.   I lost a good bit while I was on leave!   I am sending a quid along for expenses.   I hope you all are flourishing.   I wish often that I was back with you again.   I did have a deuc’d fine leave.

The old war will soon be over really.   It’s good all these other countries having come out of it.   Very best love darlingest.   God bless you.   This would have been Donald’s birthday.   Your v v loving Cedric

[Letter reproduced by kind permission of Keith Gordon, Capt. Gordon’s nephew.]

* Note added on 11 November 2018 at 10:30pm: I was rather taken with Rob’s initial suggestion that Greg’s ‘touch of flu’ was actually a hangover resulting from too many snifters (a very Greg word) the previous evening after his harrowing afternoon!

However, Rob subsequently revised his theory on learning that Greg didn’t fly for the next five days: maybe it actually was flu. The post for 21 June 1918 recounted the time when Greg had flu at Rely (‘Merville fever’, he called it then). And from the brief discourse on the epidemiology of Spanish Flu in that post, it can be seen that it had a second wave in early November 1918. So Spanish Flu is a good candidate to explain Capt. Gordon’s reference to Greg being unwell, and why he didn’t fly for the next few days.

Friday 21 June 1918 – Spanish Flu

The Gaieties Reopen the Nouveau Théâtre Lille

Capt. Gordon says that “Leslie Henson…is giving a show somewhere near here tomorrow evening”. In fact, that was to be the second of two performances opening the Nouveau Théâtre Lille, which is now the Opéra de Lille, under Allied auspices. The first was this evening. We don’t know on which night Greg travelled the 5 miles (8 km) from Ascq into Lille to see the show, but he seems to have gone to one of them as the programme is among his papers:

Programme

This must have been a hot-ticket occasion. In a fascinating article entitled ‘Lille under German Rule‘ on the Remembrance Trails – Northern France website, Claudine Wallart, the Head Curator of Heritage at the Archives Départementales du Nord, tells the story of the theatre during the First World War:

Destroyed in the fire of 1903, Lille theatre (now the Opera) was in the process of being rebuilt when war broke out. The occupiers completed the job and named it the “German Theatre”, opening with much pomp and ceremony at Christmas 1915 in the presence of Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria and Lille’s governor General Heinrich. Artists from Berlin performed Iphigenia in Tauris by Goethe, a symphonic prelude and Liszt’s Festklange. On subsequent occasions the Ring of the Nibelungen and various light operas were also performed there but, although invited, the civilian population of Lille kept away. The German artists remained at the Opera until the end of September 1918 when they destroyed the sets and stage machinery and left.

In the intervening weeks since the Germans left, repairs had evidently made the theatre ready enough for tonight’s performance. No doubt General Heinrich and the German high command would have been aghast at the cultural plummet from Goethe, Liszt and Wagner to a singalong with Louis J. Seymour and crowd. And equally, no doubt tonight’s audience wouldn’t have given a toss. But how they would have relished William Ewart Noble’s ‘Advice to Another William’!

Leslie Henson’s ‘Gaieties’

The Nouveau Théâtre Lille was not the first venue at which Greg had seen Leslie Henson’s ‘Gaieties’ Army Entertainers. Exactly three months earlier, a few days before the beginning of what would be the Allies’ final offensive, The Gaieties had put on a show for 42 Squadron in the hangar at Rely:

Saturday 3 August 1918 – Reconnaissance and Concert Party

The names mentioned in August are still there. Bert Errol, the ‘noted female impersonator’ had pieces in both halves of the Lille show. (You have to wonder what the ‘camouflage’ was in ‘Camouflage & Cacophony’!) Teddie Holton was there, as of course was Leslie Henson. A little over a month later, The Gaieties were still performing at Lille, as this Imperial War Museum photograph shows:

'The Gaieties', Leslie Henson's Fifth Army Concert Party — ENTERTAINMENT ON THE WESTERN FRONT, 1914-1918 (Q 3414) ‘The Gaieties’ a Fifth Army Concert Party, run by actor Leslie Henson (seated centre), performing at Lille, 6 December 1918. Peter Shannon, Teddie Holton and Jazz Band. Click for larger image. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205235952

Next Up…

The next flight recorded in Greg’s log book is on 9 November 1918. But there are a few other bits and pieces to share each day before then.