With the weather improved enough for a 2½ hour counter-battery patrol, Greg saw 30 fires – more than he had ever previously reported. He sent one report of a German battery now firing. Today was Greg’s last flight with Lt Sam Hodgson as observer.
Log Book
Date: 29.8.18
Time: 11.50
Rounds Lewis: 400
Rounds Vickers: 300
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 145 hrs 25 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
War Flying Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Height: 7000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. 30 fires. 1 N.F. [now firing]
Lt Sam Hodgson
This was Lt Sam Hodgson’s 33rd and last flight as Greg’s observer. Perhaps he was posted elsewhere, or began flying training as a pilot in his own right, or possibly he was wounded (or worse) on a flight with someone else. Hodgson was a couple of years older than Greg, having been born on 15 December 1896.
Sam Hodgson’s page on the IWM’s Lives of the First World War website is here.
30 Fires
The 30 fires that Greg reported could have been an indication of increasing pressure from British artillery on enemy-held territory…or maybe it was a sign of an enemy in retreat, laying waste as he goes. As the days ticked past, the British line was advancing eastwards along the Lys towards Estaires.
Taking Off
An RE8 of B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF takes to the air. Getting the horizon level has always been tricky in an action shot!
An RE8 of B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF takes to the air. Click for larger image. Photo credit: Greg’s War Collection
On what looked like a hopeless day for flying, Greg and his observer Lt Hodgson went up for a weather test to see what it was like. And it was indeed hopeless. Or dud, as Greg said.
Log Book
Date: 28.8.18
Time: 14.30
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 142 hrs 55 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
War Flying Time: 15 mins
Height: 1000
Course/Remarks: Weather test. Dud. Clouds 900 ft.
Weather Test
There really was no substitute for going up in an aeroplane to see if conditions were fit for flying. And from the 15 minute duration of the weather test, it can be seen that it didn’t take long to assess the situation. The resulting radio signal would have been:
UL UR UD C09
i.e. unfit for either counter-battery work, artillery registration or photography; clouds at 900 ft. In other words, a dud day.
The weather in north west Europe in the summer of 1918 was clearly a lot worse than 100 years later.
A cloudy and windy day made for a dud counter-battery patrol. But on the ground the British line had made further progress eastwards, and was now less than two miles (3.2 km) from Estaires. Merville was starting to recover from the occupation and shelling, which had damaged Merville Church beyond repair.
Log Book
Date: 26.8.18
Time: 11.5
Rounds Lewis: 300
Rounds Vickers: 300
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 142 hrs 40 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
War Flying Time: 55 mins
Height: 1800
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Dud. Cloudy & windy.
The British Front Nears Estaires
The British Front on the morning of 26 August 1918. Adapted from a 1:40,000 scale map dated December 1917 with information from a map accompanying General Haig’s despatches on the final British offensive. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital.
As the British front approached Estaires, several of Greg’s landmarks were now out of the enemy’s hands and back under allied control. These included:
The village of Neuf Berquin, which has been mentioned in several posts;
The site of the hostile battery at KD90, on the outskirts of Merville, which was the target of Greg’s first shoot, with 145 Siege Battery, on 1 July 1918:
And the site of the hostile battery and dump at Crinquette Lotte, east of Merville, which was the target of the shoot which Greg had been proud of on 8 August 1918, just over two weeks previously:
Meanwhile, if the (enemy) shells had stopped falling on Merville, it was about now that the official photographer took photographs of what remained of the town. One picture he took was of Merville Church:
Merville Church by the official photographer after Merville had been liberated by the British in August 1918; Click for larger image. Credit: NLS.
The remains of the church were demolished after the war, and the Hôtel de Ville was built on the site.
Merville Hôtel de Ville, built on the site of the original church, seen in 2018. Click for larger image.
A new church now stands across the main north-south road running through the town, the rue Thiers/D946). It is to the north and west of the original site, as this Google maps view shows:
A midday counter-battery patrol in cloudy conditions revealed Merville being shelled. Nothing unusual there, you might think. But now the town was in British hands and was being shelled by German artillery. Another sign of the turning tide.
Log Book
Date: 23.8.18
Time: 11.20
Rounds Lewis: 200
Rounds Vickers: 300
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 139 hrs 30 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
War Flying Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Height: 5000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Fairly dud. Cloudy.
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book entry. Click for larger image.
Type and Number: RE8 27
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Hodgson
Duty: Artillery Patrol
Start: 11.20
Return: 13.50
Results and Remarks:
11.55. UL UR UD. [Weather unfit for counter-battery work, artillery registration or photography]
12.00. MERVILLE being shelled by enemy artillery. Called up C.W.S. [central wireless station] with TP, L30 [Estaires]. L30 kept under observation, but no flashes seen. Visibility poor.
12.55. C.W.S sent GC [3,000 yd square east of Estaires]. No flashes seen.
Two barges in CANAL at L 35 b 2.9 & L 27 d 8.5.
13.45. Large fire in BUILDINGS at R 27 c 1.7
AA nil. EKB nil. Vis: poor to fair. Height 1/4000’. Obs by P&O
300 V.G.[200 rounds from Vickers gun] & 200 L.G.[200 rounds from Lewis gun] into BUILDINGS L 34 [la Gorgue] from 1800’.
Merville Shelled
The various locations in the Squadron Record Book entry are marked on the following map. They show that enemy activity observed by 42 Squadron was now decisively moving eastwards. But the shells still fell on Merville.
Merville, Estaires and Laventie. Adapted from a composite of 1:40,000 scale maps. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital.
TodayGreg spent the day on a shoot. He was directing the fire of 99 Siege Battery onto a target in square R3, near Lestrem. His mind probably occasionally wandered to his sister Alice Gregory, whose birthday it was today
Log Book
Date: 22.8.18
Time: 17.20
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 137 hrs 00 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
War Flying Time: 2 hrs 05 mins
Height: 5000
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 99 SB. Successful. R3.
Shoot with 99 Siege Battery on R3, near Lestrem
This was the first shoot that Greg did with 99 Siege Battery RGA. He does not record their equipment, but it was probably howitzers with a bore of at least 6″. [Update at 15:00: An entry in the Squadron Record Book for 24 August 1918 says that 99 SB was equipped with two 6″ howitzers.]
The target is not noted in any more detail than the 1,000 yard map square. But square R3 encompassed what looked like a small field marshalling yard where a field railway met the Lys valley main line from Armentières to Merville. The yard is hatched on the map to denote it as an ‘area of interest’ and could well have been the target.
Square R3, near Lestrem, from a Log Map dated 20 July 1918. German positions and workings in red. Areas of interest are hatched in blue. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital
Alice’s 27th Birthday
Back home, Alice Gregory – Greg’s sister – celebrated her 27th birthday today.
Alice Gregory, Greg’s sister, picking apples, probably in the orchard at the family home in Holyhead, North Wales. Click for larger image. Photo: Greg’s War Collection
A counter-battery patrol day, but nothing doing. Possibly the enemy were more preoccupied with removing artillery from the advancing British forces than with firing themselves. That would change within a couple of days.
Log Book
Date: 21.8.18
Time: 12.00
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: 300
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 134 hrs 55 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
Height: 5000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Nothing much doing.
Diary
Wednesday Aug 21st. CBP 11.30 – 2.15. Nothing doing.
The Last Diary Entry
This was Greg’s last diary entry. But why? On the About Greg’s War page, I wrote
I’m not sure why he didn’t keep up the diary beyond August 1918. It may have been that life had got more stressful after the start of what we now know as the Allies’ Final Offensive or ‘Hundred Days’ on 8 August. Or it may simply be that what was initially unfamiliar had become routine. Perhaps writing a daily account that was more detailed than what was required for the log book just became too much of a chore.
Having now posted all entries of the diary and all log book entries to date, I’m still not totally sure of the reason. But I think it was more likely to be ennui than being too busy. There didn’t seem to be a noticeable increase in workload with the start of the final offensive. Dud days because of bad weather were fairly common before and after 8 August 1918. And the number of sorties actually flown didn’t seem to change much. As we have seen, though, the diary entries became more and more terse. In the end they more or less reproduced the ‘Course/Remarks’ section of the corresponding log book entry.
What was evidently more laborious than writing either log book or diary entry was putting together the report for the Squadron Record Book, which included careful notes of events, timings and map references for counter-battery patrols and shoots. (Not all of the Squadron Record Book entries are still available: the last to be recorded in this blog was on 4 August 1918, and the next will be on 23 August 1918.) So it is possible that the combined requirements of writing the log book and Squadron Record Book entries squeezed out the diary entries. Perhaps by then they had become one chore too many.
The Western Front Moves East
By the morning of 21 August 1918, the map accompanying General Haig’s despatches of the final British offensive showed the British front line to be just to the east of Merville, but not as far as Neuf Berquin:
The British Front on the morning of 21 August 1918. Adapted from a 1:40,000 scale map dated December 1917 with information from a map accompanying General Haig’s despatches on the final British offensive. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit: IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital.
The German artillery may well have been digging in their new positions to the east of this line, which could explain why Greg saw so little of note in his patrol.
Updates to Earlier Posts
An update to the post for 8 August 1918 records the position of the front that morning:
Today was a shoot with the big gun – or more properly the big 12 inch howitzer – of 524 Siege Battery RGA. Thirty 12 inch rounds in the record time of 1 hr 22 mins.
Log Book
Date: 18.8.18
Time: 6.20
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: 2
Time on RE8s: 132 hrs 35 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 2 hrs
Height: 4000
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 524 S.B. 12” How. 30 rounds in 1 hr 22 m.
Diary
Sunday Aug 18th. Down for dusk patrol. Did a shoot instead, with 514 S.B., 12” How. Got off 30 rounds in record time.
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: Art Obs on H.B. Destructive.
Hour of Start: 18.20
Hour of Return: 20.20
Remarks: S. with 524 S.B. (1-12”) on H.B. at R.3.d.58.39. [East of Lestrem] (P).
Called 18.34. K 18.36. L 18.39. G 18.42.
29 ranging rounds:- 1OK, 3Y, 5Z, 9A, 4B, 7W.
O.K. on ranging pit and O.K. on No3 pit by a shot at Z8 causing an explosion.
Total No of rounds fired 29, av. Rate of fire 2.45.
CI sent 20.7.
18.23 2EKB north of ESTAIRES.
18.30 2-25lb bombs dropped at K.36.d.1.6. Two bursts obs.
19.23 ) KK )
19.42 ) KK ) Flashes at G.22.c.4.7 approx [West of Sailly]
19.44 ) KK )
19.48.Three flaming onion batteries firing at G.8.c. & G.14.a.
19.58 Green Very lights from K.18.d.2.9 and L.19.a.
Fires in CROIX DU BAC and STEENWERCK burning continuously.
Vis:good. Height 4000’. Obs by P & O.
12 Inch Howitzer
Greg does not record whether the 12″howitzer used by 524 SB was railway mounted or static, but both of these monsters are shown in action in this footage from the Imperial War Museum’s collection:
Updated with Squadron Record Book info and corrected to say that 524 SB was operating a single 12″ Howitzer, as shown by the SRB – 28 September 2018 16:30
Fresh from his unscheduled awayday at Paris-Plage yesterday, Greg is down for a morning counter-battery patrol. But heavy mist precludes a successful outing. He sees one Hun.
Log Book
Date: 16.8.18
Time: 9.30
Rounds Lewis: 100
Rounds Vickers: 150
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 130 hrs 35 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Height: 5000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Dud. Mist. One hun.
Diary
Friday Aug 16th. C.B.P. Heavy mist. Dud – one hun seen.
Heavy Mist
The poor weather doesn’t stop them firing off 250 rounds, between the Lewis and Vickers guns, and dropping four bombs. But we don’t know to what effect.
For only the third time, Greg was assigned to take part in a bomb raid. The previous occasions were 11 August 1918 and 4 July 1918. To round off the day he went on dusk reconnaissance and found two batteries firing.
Log Book
Date: 14.8.18
Time: 10.25
Rounds Lewis: 350
Rounds Vickers: 150
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 126 hrs 45 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Hodgson
Time: 30 mins
Height: 3000
Course/Remarks: Bombs & ammunition.
Date: 14.8.18
Time: 19.15
Rounds Lewis: 150
Rounds Vickers: 200
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 128 hrs 25 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Hodgson
Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Height: 4000
Course/Remarks: Dusk reconnaissance. 2 NFs. [Twice, the signal for 'guns now firing' was sent.]
Diary
Wednesday Aug 14th. Two jobs. Bomb raid in morning & dusk reconnaissance. 2 N.F.s sent.
Following on from yesterday’s unsuccessful shoot with 213 Siege Battery South, another shoot with the same battery was scuppered by a wireless failure.
Log Book
Date: 13.8.18
Time: 15.10
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 126 hrs 15 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 1 hr 50 mins
Height: 7000
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 213 SB South. Wireless failed.
Diary
Tuesday Aug 13th. Shoot with 213 SB (South). Wireless failed.
Wireless Failed
This was the first time that Greg recorded difficulty with his wireless. In contrast, there were (so far) some 20 instances of engine trouble and three instances of camera trouble.
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