1/4TH   BATTALION
Alexandra,  Princess   of   Wales's   Own
YORKSHIRE   REGIMENT
Page 19. Jan/Feb 1916 Armagh Wood. Hill 60.
Pte Edwin Morgan.


1750 Pte Morgan Edwin. Born and enlisted at Middlesbrough, N Yorks. Home at 46 Suffield St, Middlesbrough. Killed in action Age 20. Buried at Maple Copse Cemetery. CWGC have date of death as 6th January and Soldiers Died in Great War as 14th.
16th JANUARY. The Bn were relieved by 5th DLI and marched back to huts at Dickebusch.

20th JANUARY. The Bn had a quiet time at the Huts as the ground was too muddy for any training.
On this day they made the long march back to Armagh Wood to relieve the DLI.

22nd JANUARY. They had a quiet time in trenches but plenty of hard digging work.
A draft of 155 other ranks was received at Dickebusch. Previously they had been further South with the 3rd Entrenching Battalion.
It was found that 24 of them were suffering from Scabies and had to go into Hospital.

24th JANUARY. The Bn marched back to Railway Dugouts and for the next 3 night provided a 100 strong digging party for trench work.

28th JANUARY. Three companies of the Bn relieved the DLI in Armagh Wood.

Each Infantry Division had 3 Field Ambulances, which were mobile Hospitals composed of 10 Officers and 224 men.
If a wounded man could not be treated by Regimental Field Dressing he would be passed to the Field Ambulance.
Serious cases beyond their capacity to treat would be taken back to the Casualty Clearing Stations.
Then Base Hospitals and some back to Britain.

30th JANUARY.
1586 Pte Newton Milton. Home at 8 Hyde Place, Aylesham, Adisham, Canterbury. Born at Loftus, N Yorks and enlisted at Skelton in Cleveland. Died at home. Age 22. Buried at Loftus Cemetery, N Yorks.
The trenches to the Bn's right on Hill 60 were re reconnoitred as they were soon to take them over.
The wiring party inspects a German patrol and throws a bomb in its supposed direction but the morning does not reveal a catch.

31st JANUARY. A fine day after the misty ones is made use of by the enemy for a plentiful supply of Whizz bangs which failed to cause any damage.
The Bn less one and a half companies, who are left in trenches A3 to A6 are relieved by the 7th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers, retire into Divisional Reserve at Canada Huts, Dickebusch.

1st - 4th FEBRUARY, Training - Physical drill, smoke helmet drill, dummy bombs and cartridges, Platoon drill etc.

5th FEBRUARY,

25055 Pte Howells Thomas. Home at - 13 Lambert St, Stockton on Tees, Co Durham. Born at Tredegar Mons and enlisted Middlesbrough, N Yorks. Died at home. Age 37. Buried at Stockton on Tees (Durham Rd) Cemetery.
The 25 men per Company who have been training on previous days at throwing dummy bombs, plus the Battalion Bombers, proceed to throw live bombs.
One of these on exploding throws a "dud" out of the pit which explodes and slightly wounds 3 men.
8 Officers proceed to Bailleul for a lecture on "Artillery from the Infantry point of view."



6th FEBRUARY, The bomb pit being repaired the remaining 300 are thrown.
The Battalion moved from Huts at Dickebusch into Brigade Reserve position at Swan Chateau, Bedford House and Blaupoort Farm.
Bedford House was the Soldier's name for Chateau Rosendal.
The chateau was destroyed during the course of the War and Bedford House Cemetery made in its place.
On the 12th February the Battalion took over trenches at Hill 60.
Hill 60 was a man made mound about 150 feet high and 250 yards long, which had been made when the railway cutting was dug.

7th - 11th FEBRUARY, The Bn had instruction on the Lewis gun and by night provided 300 men as working parties on the trenches, digging, barb wiring etc.

12th FEBRUARY, At night the Bn took over trenches 37L - 48R around Hill 60.
Diary - "This was the first time we had occupied these and we are not likely to forget the experience.
The 4th East Yorks were on the left, the 8th Bn South Staffs, 17 Division on the right and one Company of the 5th Yorks in close support.

2nd Lt Hugh Mosman. Reserve Battalion. He was born in Edinburgh on October 27th 1860 and was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and Edinburgh University from 1878 to 1881. Before the war he was agent to the Ormesby Estate near Middlesbrough, chairman of Cleveland Agricultural Society and secretary of the Cleveland Hunt.
2nd Lt Hugh Mosman.
Although 54 years old at the onset of war he offered his services and was commissioned with the 4th Battalion in August of 1915. 2nd Lt Hugh Mosman died on Febuary 12th 1916 aged 56 while in training at Cramlington in Northumberland. Riding out on his horse he suddenly fell forward and died of heart failure attributed at the time to the hard physical work involved for a man of his age. Hugh Mosman was the son of the late Hugh Mosman and his wife Helen, of Auchtyfardle in Lanarkshire. His grave can be seen today in Edinburgh’s Grange Cemetery and his name is also remembered on a memorial plaque in St Cuthberts Church at Ormesby just outside Middlesbrough.
13th FEBRUARY,
1869 Pte Swift Victor. Born and enlisted at Middlesbrough, N Yorks. Killed in action. Railway Dugouts Burial Ground.
Hill 60.
Save for continual sniping, a good deal of "Sausaging" and the sending of rifle grenades on the part of the Germans things were pretty quiet all day and all night.
The work of repairing trenches and communication trenches went on interruptedly.

On the Northern bank of the Ypres-Comines Canal was a narrow ridge, only some thirty to forty feet above the level of the plain. The eastern point of this ridge is the area referred to in the War Diary as the "Bluff".

During the next few days this area was the objective of a German attack. Opposing them were the 50th Division in the centre with the 17th on the Right and the 24th on the Left.
The Germans were to capture some 600 yards of front line trenches immediately North of the Bluff, which were held by the 17th Division.

They retained this gain for something over a fortnight.
Go to Next page - Feb 1916 - Mine Explosion on Hill 60.
Go to Previous page - Armagh Wood.
Go Back to Contents.