Two aircraft from B Flight, 42 Squadron, were in the air today. But the main activity was a couple of parades.
B Flight Orders
B Flight 2/12/18
0900 Parade
For Officers only, outside B & C Flts.
CHATEAU
Dress. Drill Order. Gumboots, shoes & stockings drill not be worn.
Flying Orders
(2517) 0930 Lt McDERMONT & Sandbags. Practice message dropping.
(2707) 0930 Lt SEWELL Lt MULHOLLAND Zone calls
MEN’S CHURCH PARADE
10.30 Lt SCARTERFIELD is detailed to take charge of B Flight.
C.E. Gregory, Lt
O.C. B Flight
Parade for Officers
The weather was evidently still bad. Gumboots compulsory, and shoes and stockings forbidden. But the reason for the parade wasn’t specified.
Flying Orders
Practice message dropping and zone calls: some of the skills of war still being practised. It is a while since zone calls were mentioned on these pages:
It is a bit of a mystery why the men should have been on a church parade on a Monday. It is not as if it was a major saint’s day. The Catholic church recognises 2 December as the feast day of a little known 4th century Roman martyr, Saint Bibiana (or, variously, Viviana, Vivian, or Vibiana). But that seems an unlikely reason for a Monday church service for the air force of a country whose established church was protestant.
Perhaps it was just a question of helping to fill the men’s day. And maybe that explains what the officers were doing too.
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.
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
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.
Today was, in retrospect at least, a significant day: the counter-battery patrol that Greg flew was to be his last of the war. It was also Greg’s last wartime flight for which we have an entry in the Squadron Record Books for 42 Squadron.
Log Book
Date: 31.10.18
Time Out: 8.00
Rounds Fired – Lewis: -
Rounds Fired – Vickers: -
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 182 hrs 55 mins
RE8: 2517
Observer: Mulholland
War Flying: 2 hrs 35 mins
Height: 3000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. 6 Huns. Fokkers.
Squadron Record Book
Click for larger image.
Type and Number: R.E.8.2517
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Mulholland
Duty: Artillery Patrol
Hour of Start: 0800
Hour of Return: 1035.
Remarks: 0820. Large fire and numerous explosions at D.B. zone. The fires were continuous for about 2 hours, and covered a large area.
0915. Large explosion at V.C. zone. Probably ammunition.
0930. Slight enemy shelling at PONT A CHIN, unable to pick up flashes.
E.K.B. 0815. 1 at 3000’ over J.18. Pulled down at 0840 and let up again at 0920.
E.A. Six Fokkers at 4000’ over I.&.O. squares. Sent 6.F.E.A.I.4. [Six Fokker enemy aircraft over I.4.]
BOMBS. 4-25 lb dropped at I.38.a. [Looks like 38, but can’t be, as the numbering only goes up to 36] Four bursts observed.
Vis. fair to bad. Height 3000’. Obs.by P.&.O.
The activity seen on this patrol was all to the north and northeast of Tournai:
Map showing events of 31 October 1918, north to northeast of Tournai. Adapted from 1:40,000 scale maps. Each lettered square is 6,000 yards,and each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/TNA/Great War Digital. Image of Kite Balloon adapted from IWM photo Q11901.
V.C. Zone
There is a bit of ambiguity about which V.C. zone the Squadron Record Book (SRB) report is referring to. V.C. zone refers to the bottom left quadrant of V square. The V.C. zone that I have shown on the above map extract is from V square of 1:40,000 Map Sheet 29, which is just to the north of Sheet 37. Sheet 37 covers Tournai and surrounding areas and has its own V square, and hence its own V.C. zone, though. For each map sheet, V square is immediately below P square, and hence for Sheet 37 it is southeast of Tournai.
The SRB entries rarely said which map sheet they were referring to. (Those who wrote them and read them all knew what they meant). I have assumed that V square and V.C. zone of Sheet 29 was what was meant here, on the basis that V.C. and D.B. zones, where similar activity was reported, touch each other.
Six Fokkers
The six Fokkers were over squares I and O. The specific subsquare that formed the basis of Greg’s zone call (“6.F.E.A.I.4“) was I.4, which borders square C. The River Scheldt (Escaut in French) as it ran north of Tournai from square O to square I formed the British front line at the time.
Four Bombs Dropped at I.38.a?
Well, they can’t have been! Although the entry seems clear, there isn’t a quadrant 38.a. Each lettered square is made up of a six-by-six array of subsquares, which are numbered 1 to 36. And each numbered square is divided into four quadrants a, b, c and d, with quadrant a being the top left. So 38.a just isn’t possible.
What might have been intended? Here is a larger scale extract, from a 1:20,000 map, showing the bottom 12 subsquares of square I:
Map showing Pont-à-Chin, north of Tournai. Adapted from a 1:20,000 scale map. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/TNA/Great War Digital.
Any of quadrants 28.a, 30.a, 33.a and 36.a might have been intended, as they were all to the east of the River Scheldt and hence the British front line.
Last Counter Battery Patrol
Today’s counter-battery patrol was Greg’s last. (One was scheduled for 3 November 1918, but the weather put paid to it.) Undertaking these patrols had been one of his two main jobs with 42 Squadron, the other being the observation of artillery fire, or ‘shoots’. The first CPB was on 13 June 1918, the week after Greg joined the squadron at Rely:
Today is the 46th entry in his log book for a counter-battery patrol. To see the whole collection, click here. And for a refresher of what they were all about, have a look at this page:
Although this was Greg’s last counter-battery patrol, there was still much to do before the fighting was over.
Last Flight with Lt. Mulholland
Today was also Greg’s last flight with Lt Arthur Mulholland, with whom he had previously flown on 12 September 1918 and 15 September 1918. The 12 September post contains a profile of Lt. Mulholland.
Last wartime SRB entry
And on the subject of ‘lasts’, today is also the last day for which a pre-armistice Squadron Record Book entry for 42 Squadron RAF is available. That isn’t to say that there never were any entries. It’s just that they’re missing from the files of The National Archives.
The Squadron Record Books for 42 Squadron RAF for late 1918 are held in two files at The National Archives. They are AIR/1/1840/204/209/10 (July to November 1918):
Cover for file AIR/1/1840/204/209/10 at The National Archives. Click for larger image.
Cover for file AIR/1/1416/204/29/9(1) at The National Archives. Click for larger image.
The two files contain duplicates of some records. Often duplicates are just carbon copies of different quality. Unfortunately, neither file contains any records covering the almost three weeks from 1 to 19 November 1918. And, to be honest, the subsequent SRB entries are pretty dull. They’re mostly such things as rigging tests and travelling flights.
If anyone finds copies of the missing entries, or knows something of their whereabouts if they’re still extant, please do get in touch via the contact page. The National Archives would probably be glad to hear from you too.
An unsuccessful – and probably frustrating – shoot with a new battery (346 Siege Battery, RGA). It was unsuccessful because Greg couldn’t see the bursts of the shells, and he didn’t know why he couldn’t. Greg’s observer today was Lt Bett, but in another sortie Lt Mulholland has a lucky escape.
Log Book
Date: 15.9.18
Time Out: 14.10
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 157 hrs 55 mins
RE8: 2517
Observer: Lt Bett
War Flying Time: 1 hrs 25 mins
Height: 4000
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 346 SB, 6” How. Unsucc.
RE8 2517
Greg’s usual ‘bus’, RE8 E27, was presumably with the mechanics. He had described the engine as ‘rotten’ yesterday. Greg flew 2517 on one earlier occasion (21 July 1918), and would fly it more often as the war progressed.
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book – click for larger image
Type and Number: R.E.8.2517
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Bett
Duty: Art Obs on H.B. Destructive.
Hour of Start: 16.20
Hour of Return: 17.45
Remarks: U. [unsuccessful] with 346 S.B. (4-6” Hows) on H.B. [Hostile battery] at N.17.c.15.52. (P).
Called 16.40. K. 16.42. L. 16.45. G. 16.47.
10 ranging rounds:- 1 C. 9 W. Salvos unobserved.
Battery firing, but unable to see any bursts. Vis. good and unable to account for inability to see bursts.
C.I. sent 17.15.
16.50. fire in wood in J.18.d and 24.b. (Nth of LILLE).
17.00. sent N.F. [Now firing] N.12.a.5.0. (A). Result unobserved.
17.05. sent K.K. on flash in I.2.a.
A.A. active. E.A. and E.K.B. nil.
Vis. good. Height 4000’. Obs. by P. & O.
The locations in the above Squadron Record Book are shown on this map extract:
Map of Fromelles, Armentières and Lille. Adapted from a 1:40,000 scale map. Each numbered square is 1,000 yards. 213 Siege Battery’s target was in square N.17. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/TNA/GreatWarDigital.
The hostile battery that was 213 SB’s target was near Fromelles (bottom left of map) not far from Aubers. This is where Greg saw a lighthouse in a pre-dawn patrol on 14 July 1918.
Greg’s observer three days ago, on 12 September 1918, was 2/Lt Arthur Mulholland. Today, Lt Mulholland was up with pilot 2/Lt R.M. Marshall on a counter-battery patrol in RE8 2649 (which Greg had earlier flown on 13 July, 7 August and 8 August 1918). According to a casualty report in file AIR 1/859 at The National Archives:
[C2649 RE8] Shot down by EA at Sh36G7 on artly patrol. 2Lt RM Marshall slightly wounded/2Lt A Mulholland Ok
‘EA’ is enemy aircraft. ‘Sh36G7’ is 1:40,000 map sheet 36, square G7, which is just north of Estaires:
Map of Estaires. 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.
Fortunately, where they were shot down was more or less over the British front line at the time. They made it back to safety. Greg was next to fly with Lt Mulholland at the end of October.
After an absence from the field of operations of eight days, Greg is back in the air today, with (for the first time) 2/Lt Arthur Mulholland as observer. But the poor weather hasn’t improved. Greg rated today’s counter-battery patrol – yet again – as a dud as a result of it being very windy.
Log Book
Date: 12.9.18
Time Out: 16.05
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 155 hrs 0 mins
RE8: E27
Observer: Lt Mulholland
War Flying Time: 1 hrs 05 mins
Height: 2000
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Dud. V windy.
Very Windy
Not a round fired, and not a bomb dropped. Pilot and Observer were probably glad to get back home after a little over an hour of being bounced around in the very windy conditions.
Lt Arthur Mulholland
This was Greg’s first outing with 2nd Lt Arthur Mulholland as his observer. In fact it was one of only two, the other being at the end of October.
Arthur Mulholland was born on 4 November 1894 in Sheffield. He had been with the army in France since 1914. But he had only been commissioned within the last few weeks, on 24 August 1918.
Although he was to have a narrow escape a few days after this patrol with Greg, he survived to the end of the war, and after demobilisation became “an Auxiliary” – a member of The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC). He survived that experience, too, despite being on a tram in Dublin held up by the IRA in May 1921.
After the disbandment of the ADRIC, Mulholland became a policemen in Palestine, as did many of his colleagues. But he then emigrated to Canada in 1926. He spent the rest of his life there and died in Vancouver in 1976, aged 82.
Grateful acknowledgement to David Grant of theauxiliaries.com website, which is the source of this information about Arthur Mulholland and much more about the ADRIC. Arthur Mulholland’s page is here.
Next Up…
Greg’s next log book entry is on 14 September 1918.
