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.
On their first day at their base at Chocques, 42 Squadron’s aircraft are back at work. Greg is assigned with Lt Bett to an afternoon counter-battery patrol in the same aircraft that he ferried over from Rely yesterday. They were working around Englos and Sequedin, west of Lille. But they had to cut the patrol short. This was because the weather was poor, and the engine was missing badly.
Log Book
Date: 14.10.18
Time Out: 14.15
Rounds Fired – Lewis: -
Rounds Fired – Vickers: 100
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 171 hrs 20 mins
RE8: 6740
Observer: Bett
War Flying: 1 hr 50 mins
Height: 3000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P.
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book. Click for larger image.
Type and Number: R.E.8.6740
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Bett
Duty: Artillery Patrol
Hour of Start: 1415.
Hour of Return: 1605.
Remarks: No flashes seen, possibly owing to poor visibility.
1500. Fire (buildings) burning for a few minutes at P.13.c.5.9. [Hallenes-lez-Haubourdin]
Broad belts of wire protecting trenches in P.4.b. & 5.a. [Le Marais]
Unable to observe any train activity owing to mist.
Early return due to engine missing badly.
A.A. active. A.A.M.G. [anti-aircraft machine guns] active from O.5. & O.6. [Ennetières-en-Weppe]
E.A. Nil
E.K.B. Nil.
BOMBS. 1445. 4- 25lb dropped in O.12.d. [Moulin Joyeux] Four bursts observed.
100.V.G. fired from 2000’ into FORT d’ENGLOS.
Vis. Poor. Height 2000’. Obs. by P.&.O.
Englos and Sequedin
All this activity was around Englos and Sequedin, just to the west of Lille:
Map showing observations on counter battery patrol. Adapted from a 1:40,000 scale map. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital.
Today, between Englos and Sequedin there is a major autoroute junction on the A25, which runs from Dunkirk to Lille
Yet again, Fort d’Englos was on the receiving end of the RE8’s weapons, as on 8 October 1918 and 5 October 1918. Evidently it was still being used as a garrison site and ammunition depot.
In the end, engine trouble caused Greg and Lt Bett to go home early. At least the journey back to Chocques was 10 miles (16 km) shorter than it would have been to Rely.
Small Gain at Wavrin on the Front Line
The British Front Line, which ran more or less north-south just to the east of Armentières, had not moved much since 7 October 1918. An exception was a small salient encompassing a railway junction near the small settlement of Wavrin:
The British Front east of Armentières showing the small salient gained at Wavrin by 14 October 1918. Adapted from a map accompanying General Haig’s despatches on the final British offensive. Click for larger image. Map credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital
A small gain, but possibly a significant one. Gaining the junction meant that British troops now controlled the railway running just behind the front from La Basée to Armentières. No doubt very useful logistically.
Next up…
Greg’s next log book entry is for 17 October 1918.
Back to the routine today: this was Greg’s first counter-battery patrol since he returned from leave. Some things had changed: patrolling further east than previously, and with a new observer (Lt John Edward Elliott). And some things hadn’t: engine trouble again.
Log Book
Date: 8.10.18 Time Out: 13.30 Rounds Fired – Lewis: - Rounds Fired – Vickers: - Bombs: 1 Time on RE8s: 168 hrs 50 mins RE8: 2526 Observer: Elliot [sic, should be Elliott]War Flying: 2 hrs 00 mins Height: 2500 Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Engine missing.
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book. Click for larger image.
Type and Number: R.E.8.2526Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt ElliottDuty: Artillery Patrol.Hour of Start: 1330Hour of Return: 1530Remarks:
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
1410 small explosion at P.13.d.9.8[West of Lille]
1435 large fire in approx K.5. [Northeast of Lille] Too far to be pinpointed.
1415 flashes from windscreen of car moving along road in approx L.26.a[East of Lille]
1440 1 E.K.B. East of LILLE
1445 sent 1 E.A. I.10 [Between Armentières and Lille]. Unable to discern whether single or two seater.
Broad belt of wire in front of trenches running through I.34.a. and I.35.a. [west of Lille] in good condition.
A.A. normal.
1405 1-25lb bomb aimed at FORT D’ENGLOS [west of Lille]. Burst 300 yards S.W.
Returned owing to engine trouble.
Vis. Good. Height 2500’. Obs by P. & O.
These locations, both to the west and to the east of Lille, are shown on the following map:
Map showing observations on counter battery patrol. Adapted from a 1:40,000 scale map. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital.
Greg and Lt Elliott may have seen more, were it not for the dodgy engine in 2526. Probably it was the engine problem that meant that they only offloaded one bomb. It was intended for Fort d’Englos, which had received some attention three days ago:
Lt John Edward Elliott was born on 20 February 1899, and was therefore 19 days younger than Greg. This was the only time that these two teenagers flew together. Lt Elliott survived the war and was to have a lucky escape on 15 December 1918, still in France, when he survived a crash. The official casualty report read:
Ok [D6740 RE8] Crashed landing Saultain on travelling flight to new aerodrome. Lt McDermont Ok/Lt Elliott Ok [shown as 6740]
Credit to the RFC pages of http://airhistory.org.uk/ for the casualty information [from TNA AIR 1/865].
Next up…
The next entry in Greg’s log book is for Friday 11 October 1918. But there was to be quite an occasion the day before that…
A midday counter-battery patrol for an hour and a half with Lt Stuart Francis Bett. Not a great time by the sound of it, with the weather and E27’s engine both being ‘rotten’. Still, makes a change from ‘dud‘!
Log Book
Date: 14.9.18
Time Out: 12.00
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 156 hrs 30 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Bett
War Flying Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
Height: 3000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Weather & engine rotten.
2/Lt Stuart Francis Bett
This was Greg’s first patrol with 2/Lt Stuart Francis Bett, with whom he would fly several times in the next couple of months.
Stuart Bett was born on 11 November 1899 to Mary Bett, and so was some nine months younger than Greg. He survived the war, and was no doubt delighted that Armistice Day was on his 19th birthday. He was injured a few weeks later, on 17 December 1918 – playing rugby! – and wasn’t present at the B Flight Officers’ Christmas Dinner. Injury may have been the cause of his absence. Maybe he went home.
After the war, he graduated with a B.Sc. degree and on 1 October 1923 joined the Indian Service of Engineers an an assistant executive engineer in the United Provinces (of Agra and Oudh) – roughly present day Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Promotion to executive engineer followed in October 1932. Later, he transferred to the central public works department in August 1933 as a divisional officer. Stuart Bett died aged only 37, on 6 June 1937, in Dehra Dun. His widow was Ethel Margaret Fisher Bett.
Thanks to Margaret Sheard for sourcing information on Stuart Francis Bett.
Although Greg’s early Counter Battery Patrol was curtailed by a dud engine, and he only flew for 1¼ hrs, something was clearly afoot. In a ‘hot air gust’ in the squadron, three machines were on the line all day.
Log Book
Date: 7.8.18
Time: 6.00
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 110 hrs 20 mins
RE8: 2649
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Height: 2500
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Three machines on line. Eng dud.
Diary
Wednesday Aug. 7th. Rec’d Ma’s letter. Great hot air gust in Squadron. Three machines on line all day. CBP at 5.30am. Dud engine, landed on drome after 1¼ hrs.
Hot Air Gust
Here’s this term again. He used it because there was lots of aircraft activity, with three machines being kept on the line at any one time. So the squadron must truly have been busy. Possibly it was an intensive reconnaissance effort in anticipation of the Allies’ final offensive.
There’s more on the term in these two earlier posts:
Back in the air again after two days of miserable weather. But a dusk reconnaissance ended in rain. The evening brightened with entertainment by a concert party – Leslie Henson’s ‘The Gaieties’.
Log Book
Date: 3.8.18
Time: 7.35pm
Rounds Lewis: 400
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 103 hrs 40 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Hodgson
Time: 1 hr 25 mins
Height: 3000
Course/Remarks: Dusk reconnaissance. Rain.
Greg had by now adapted his log book entries. He now not only recorded the ammunition fired from each gun and the number of bombs dropped but also noted the cumulative time he had flown on RE8s.
Diary
Saturday 3rd August. Wrote home. Dusk reconnaissance. Returned in rain, engine nothing great. Four bombs & 400 rounds Lewis.
Concert party – ‘Gaieties’ in Hangar. Leslie Henson, Errol & Teddie Horton [sic., probably should be Holton]
‘Gaieties’
‘The Gaieties’ was a troupe of army entertainers under the direction of Leslie Henson. Henson had begun his professional stage career before the war, appearing in Edwardian musical comedies, among other productions, in the West End and elsewhere. He joined the RFC, but in 1918 was asked by General Gough to form a touring concert party to entertain the troops of the 5th Army in France. Evidently this survived Gough’s removal and the re-formation of the 5th Army under General Birdwood. So here were ‘The Gaieties’ at 42 Squadron in Rely, just over three weeks after General Birdwood’s visit on 12 July 1918.
Among the members of the troupe was Bert Errol, ‘a noted female impersonator’. Quite possibly it is Errol, and maybe others members of The Gaieties cast, in this photograph from Greg’s collection:
A concert party by Leslie Henson’s ‘The Gaieties’ was held at Rely on 3 August 1918. Greg is third from the right in the middle row, next to one of the ‘ladies’. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection.
Greg’s diary entry also mentions ‘Teddie Horton’. Possibly this was meant to be Teddie Holton, who (spoiler alert) was certainly performing with Henson, Errol and others in The Gaieties in early November 1918. More on them then…
Another day, another shoot, another Merville bridge knocked about: this time, the Pont de Pierre road bridge after yesterday’s railway bridge. Not brought down, but still rendered impassable, in another successful partnership with 213 Siege Battery RGA. Then an abortive trip to Fauquembergues, and the day finished with a couple of practice night landings.
Date: 19.7.18
Hour: 5.30-6.5
Machine type: RE8
RE8: E27
Observer: Maitland
Time: 35 mins
Height: 2000
Course/Remarks: To Fauquembergues Aerodrome with Maitland
Date: 19.7.17
Time: 10.30pm
Rounds: -
Bombs: -
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt. Hodgson
Time: 15 m
Height: 800
Course/Remarks: Two night landings
Diary
Friday July 19th. Shoot and photos. 213 SB on another bridge near Merville. Bridge badly damaged at Eastern end. Took some photos of it.
In evening took Maitland to Fauquembergues Aerodrome, did not land because there was no wind indicator.
Dropped 4 Coopers.
Bullet through fuselage from ground.
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book. Click for larger image
Type and Number: R.E.8.27
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Hodgson
Duty: Destr. Shoot 213 S.B. (8” How) on Bridge at K.29.c.7.2. [see below]
Hour of Start: 10.55
Hour of Return: 13.55
Remarks: SUCCESSFUL. Called up 10.55. K. 10.57. L. 11.0. G. 11.4. V. 12.17. Time G. to V. 1 Hr 13 mins. [This was the time between the first signal to fire, and the Battery Commander being satisfied that the guns are ranged.]
OBSERVED:- 2 M.B.9. 9 Y. 4 Z. 13 A. 4 B. 8 W. 38 ranging rounds. 4 M.O.K. sent during B.F. [The mean points of impact of four salvos during battery fire were direct hits.] Bridge hit on Eastern end. Not down. Road at Western end rendered impassable. Sent C.I. Eng. [going home, engine trouble] 13.45. Shoot by P. Height 2/3000’.
MISC INF. 11.3. 4-25lb bombs dropped at K.29.c.5.5. [see below] All bursts observed. 11.10. fire at K.29.a.5.9. [see below] burning continuously. 12.10. C.W.S. sent X. 12.25. 1 E.K.B. [enemy kite balloon] N. of ESTAIRES
Pont de Pierre – The Bridge at K.29.c.7.2
Merville from a 1:10,000 scale map dated August 1918. Each dotted line sub-square is 500 yds. Credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital
The Pont de Pierre is a road and pedestrian bridge over La Bourre, a tributary stream to the River Lys. It was navigable, with the remains of lock gates just as it joins the Lys still present, and heads upstream to the northwest to connect with the Canal du Pré-à-Vin and the Canal de la Nieppe at La Motte-au-Bois in the Nieppe Forest. Ultimately the Canal de la Nieppe rejoins the canalised Lys, near Aire-sur-la-Lys.
The road carried by the Pont de Pierre is the road west from Merville to Haverskerque and Aire (and at the time to the German front line at Le Sart). To the east of the bridge the road is the Rue du Pont de Pierre, and to the west it is today the Rue de Maréchal Joffre.
The bridge was disabled by the shoot – probably by one or more of the four salvos whose men point of impact was a direct hit. Greg was directing fire from a lower altitude than yesterday (3,000 ft as opposed to 7,000 ft). Although no doubt this gave him a better view, his more privileged vantage point came at a cost, as bullet through the fuselage from the ground bore witness.
The Evidence
Here is one of the photos that Greg took of it, at 2:45pm, after the shoot:
West Merville and the Pont de Pierre (bottom of photo) after the shoot on 19 July 1918. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection
To show the damage more clearly, here are magnified details of (a) a photo taken yesterday and (b) the above photo:
BEFORE THE SHOOT. Pont de Pierre at 6pm on 18 July 1918. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War CollectionAFTER THE SHOOT. Pont de Pierre at 2:45pm on 19 July 1918. Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection
Pont de Pierre today
Unsurprisingly, the bridge has since been rebuilt, probably more than once. Today, it is decked with flowers and calmly carries cars and cyclists going about their business in Merville, without any visible memory of the destruction that rained down on the old bridge on the site 100 years ago:
Pont de Pierre in June 2018, taken from the southwest corner. Credit: Andrew Sheard
Greg had an abortive trip taking Lt. Maitland for Fauquemberges, and coming back because there was no wind indicator, which was needed for a safe landing. But it was only 11 miles (18 km) in each direction.
And before retiring for the night, Greg practised a couple of night time landings.
A day of contrasts: Greg does battle with a machine gun post in the morning, and takes a kitten called Snowball up for a test flight later in the day. Then he visits St Omer.
Log Book
Date: 15.7.18
Hour: 11.45-1.30
Machine type: RE8
RE8: 2526
Observer: Lt. Hodgson
Time: 1 hr 45 m
Height: 2000
Course/Remarks: CBP. 4 Cooper bombs. 650 rds Vickers & Lewis
Date: 15.7.18
Hour: 5.35-6.20
Machine type: RE8
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt. Hodgson
Time: 45 m
Height: 2000
Course/Remarks: Engine test – Eng OK
Diary
Monday July 15th. E27 dud. C.B.P. 10.30 to 1.30. (Actually 11.45-1.30.) Eventually took up Martin’s bus as E27 was hopelessly dud.
Managed to find a Hun machine gun firing at us from the ground.
Strafed him pretty badly, but could not make him shut up. Rotten weather – cloudy & poor visibility.
E27 repaired. Took her up in the evening for a test with Lt Hodgson as passenger, also kitten Snowball. Snowball apparently enjoyed the trip but objected to the wind. Did most of the journey under Hodgson’s coat.
Visited St. Omer.
More details of the patrol, and the location of the machine gun post, are in the Squadron Record Book:
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book extract – Click for larger image
Type and Number: R.E.8.2526
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Hodgson
Duty: Artillery Patrol
Hour of Start: 11.45
Hour of Return: 13.30
Remarks: 11.55. 4-25lb bombs dropped on K.36.a.5.6. All bursts observed, two on the railway.
12.15. C.W.S. sent R.A. [see map below] R.A. kept under observation, but no flashes seen.
12.15. sent U.L. U.R. U.D. [Unfit for counter-battery work, artillery registration or photography]12.30. explosion at Q.3.c.4.7. S. of the siding. [see map]
12.33. one flash seen in Q.B.10. K.K. sent. No more flashes seen at this place.
13.10. C.W.S. sent X. 250 rounds V.G. fired into trenches round CALONNE. [see map] 300 rounds L.G. into trenches and back areas, and 100 rounds L.G. at active M.G. post at K.26.c.6.4. [see maps]
Height 12/1800’. E.A. nil. A.A. normal. Vis. poor to fair. Obs. P. & O.
Merville and surroundings. 1:40,000 scale in original. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital
Here is a larger scale map showing the position of the machine gun post at K.26.c.6.4, which is right on the German front line. The British front line is about 250 yards away.
Extract from 1:20,000 map, enlarged. Each numbered square is 1,000 yds. German positions/works in red; British in blue. Machine gun position marked. Click for larger image. Credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital
Nothing more is recorded either of Kitten Snowball or of Greg’s visit to St Omer that evening.
After his 2 am return from Paris-Plage, Greg was probably glad not to have an early start. In fact, he didn’t have much of a start at all as his aircraft’s engine had an oil leak, and he didn’t fly. The big event of the day was a visit by General Birdwood, commander of the Fifth Army.
Diary
Friday July 12th 1918. Found that the oil filter on my engine was leaking, so engine was taken out of E27.
Weather pretty dud, heavy rain in morning, afternoon fine but very windy.
General Birdwood came round in the morning (commanding 5th Army) and spoke to us all. Seemed a nice chap.
Watch the Birdy
General Sir William Birdwood visited 42 Squadron at Rely, not many miles from his headquarters at Upen d’Aval, just west of Thérouanne. Michael Seymour looks at the the man and the reasons for his visit, and finds a resonance with Greg’s characterisation of him as “a nice chap”:
In other news, the day’s Daily Orders from Major Hunter report that Greg is no longer on probation but has been confirmed in rank as a (temporary) 2nd Lieutenant:
Daily Orders extract – 12 July 1918
The Daily Orders are written in their customarily elegant way. Rob (Parsons) thinks that it would almost certainly have been the Orderly Room Clerk who was the scribe. There would have been a Sergeant in charge, responsible for all the written records, disciplinary procedures etc. And then there would have been a Squadron Adjutant, possibly as a secondary duty.
To give a flavour of administrative operation of the squadron that day, here is a complete copy of the the day’s Daily Orders. Note the incorrect date on the top right of the first page. It was definitely 12 July that the orders relate to. But the clerk’s mind seems to have wandered back to May!
