The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's) Part 1

The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's).

by Fred W. Ward.

FOREWORDS

THE SPORTSMEN

Sportsmen of every kind, G.o.d! we have paid the score Who left green English fields behind For the sweat and stink of war!

New to the soldier's trade, Into the scrum we came, But we didn't care much what game we played So long as we played the game.

We learned in a h.e.l.l-fire school Ere many a month was gone, But we knew beforehand the golden rule, "Stick it, and carry on!"

And we were a cheery crew, Wherever you find the rest, Who did what an Englishman can do, And did it as well as the best.

Aye, and the game was good, A game for a man to play, Though there's many that lie in Delville Wood Waiting the Judgment Day.

But living and dead are made One till the final call, When we meet once more on the Last Parade, Soldiers and Sportsmen all!

TOUCHSTONE (of the "_Daily Mail_").

FROM MAJOR-GENERAL SIR C.E. PEREIRA, K.C.B., C.M.G.

The history of any New Army battalion is a valuable contribution to the history of the war. This applies particularly to a battalion like the 23rd Royal Fusiliers, which achieved a high morale and maintained excellent discipline throughout the war.

At the Front our only knowledge of the New Army before they came overseas was gained from the Brigade Staffs and Commanding Officers of the new Formations, who were sent over for short attachment to troops in the line.

We learnt from them the great difficulties that had to be overcome in raising new units, with very few officers, warrant officers, and N.C.O.'s to lead the new force and instruct them in military routine.

Without exception they were filled with admiration of the physique, intelligence, and spirit of the men who had rushed to arms in those dark early days of the war.

It was evidently the flower of the nation that came forward, and probably in the history of all wars such magnificent material has never been equalled.

My acquaintance with the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers extended from the end of 1916 to March, 1919, when the Battalion left the 2nd Division, and it is interesting to look back at my first impression of the Battalion, as I had not previously had any New Army battalions under my command. Regular battalions have the pride of history to sustain them, and traditions to live up to, but here I found a battalion not two years old, with its history in the making, but with the same spirit and self-consciousness that one finds in the old formations.

Those who have not had considerable experience of troops in peace and war may imagine that regiments are, at all times, sustained by a great pride in their past, and a determination to live up to it. Alas! in some cases this spirit dies away in adversity. I have seen the 23rd Royal Fusiliers in good times and in bad, and I have never found them downhearted.

When out for a few weeks' rest and training, in pleasant surroundings, their work and play were carried out with much life and zest.

In the fighting in the Cambrai salient, in the Bourlon-Moeuvres Ridge, on November 30, 1917, when the 2nd Division defeated six successive attacks on their line, the 23rd Royal Fusiliers at the end of the day held their line intact. This action was followed two days later by a withdrawal which was necessary to get us out of a sharp salient. This entailed very hard work and constant trench fighting, extending over several days. The troops were very exhausted from the extremely heavy calls that had been made on them, but after a few days' rest it was almost incredible how rapidly they had thrown off their fatigue and how good their spirits were.

They knew they had killed large numbers of Germans, and had successfully defeated a German attack which, if successful, would have been a great disaster for the British.

A more trying time was the March retreat in 1918. Lieutenant-Colonel Winter had lost his voice from the effect of several days of very heavy gas sh.e.l.ling of the Highland Ridge just before the Germans launched their attack, and he was voiceless for the next ten days. A large proportion of his Battalion were similarly affected, but time after time during the retreat they turned and fought, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy until they did their share in repelling a heavy attack at Beaumont Hamel, where the Germans were finally held.

It was the spirit of such battalions as the 23rd Royal Fusiliers that broke the German offensive, and the marvellous power of recuperation that they had, given a few days to rest and sleep.

In the offensive operations that lasted from August 21, 1918, to the Armistice, the Battalion delivered many successful attacks with undiminished dash and courage, and it was a proud day when I saw them march through the Square in Duren with fixed bayonets, headed by the few Regimental pipers that had been through the war with them since their formation.

Well had they earned their Victory March into Germany, and Lieutenant-Colonel Winter was justified in his great pride in their fine appearance and magnificent transport.

In conclusion I must pay a tribute to the private soldiers, the non-commissioned officers, and the young officers, who, year in and year out, faced death and the greatest of hards.h.i.+ps with that dogged courage that has always broken the hearts of our enemies. The saying that the British soldier never knows when he is beaten has never been truer than in this war.

My hope is that histories such as this may have a wide circulation, so that mothers, wives, and children may know what their men have done for their country, what dangers they have faced, and what vast sacrifices they cheerfully made.

FROM MAJOR-GENERAL R.O. KELLETT, C.B., C.M.G.

The story of the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers cannot fail to be a fine one. Every soldier who, like myself, had the honour of fighting, I may say, shoulder to shoulder with it, will read its history with the deepest interest.

As its first Brigadier, I took up that appointment on December 19, 1914, when the Battalion was in its infancy, deficient of arms and equipment, but full of men whose physique, zeal, and spirit were magnificent, and this spirit was fully maintained, to the honour and fame of the Battalion, in the face of the enemy in France during the winter of 1915-16, and throughout 1916 and 1917, during which time it was in my (99th) Brigade, which formed part of the 2nd Division.

Throughout the heavy fighting we went through during this period, the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers never failed me. What they were ordered to do they did, and more; any objective they seized they held on to, and never retired from. Few units can boast of as proud a record as this.

Many hundreds of their best and bravest made the last sacrifice, but the splendid gallantry and dogged and cheerful endurance of the Battalion never lessened.

I was, and am, a proud man to have had such a Battalion in my Brigade, a Battalion second to none amongst those who fought for the Empire in the Great War.

+-----------------------------------------------------+ | FORMATION OF THE BATTALION, THE HONOURS GAINED, AND | | ITS RECORD IN BRIEF | +-----------------------------------------------------+

FORMATION OF THE BATTALION, THE HONOURS GAINED, AND ITS RECORD IN BRIEF

RAISED IN LONDON IN 1914 BY MRS E. CUNLIFFE-OWEN (NOW MRS.

STAMFORD, O.B.E.)

PARTICULARS OF STRENGTH.

---------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+ | Officers. | Other | Total. | | | Ranks. | | ---------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+ Total strength of Battalion on | | | | embarkation | 31 | 1,006 | 1,037 | | | | | Total number of reinforcements who | | | | were posted to and joined the | | | | Battalion whilst overseas | 188 | 3,762 | 3,950 | | | | | Total number who have served on the | | | | effective strength of the 23rd Royal | | | | Fusiliers whilst overseas | 219 | 4,768 | 4,987 | ---------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+

NOTE.--The above figures do not include those posted to the Battalion for record purposes only, and who never joined the Battalion in the Field. The figures represent only those who have served on the effective strength of the Battalion overseas.

COLONELS IN COMMAND.

Colonel Viscount MAITLAND. From formation of Battalion to January 29, 1916.

Lieut.-Colonel H.A. VERNON, D.S.O. From January 31, 1916, to May 23, 1917.