The Men of Hartshorne – Part 2

Posted on 30/03/2024 by Will Mac

Over the last 9 months I’ve been working on a more concentrated effort to track down the graves or memorials of the individuals that died in the Great War that are named on the village war memorial.  As stated in the original blog post (https://horsebacksapper.co.uk/?p=798) about the “Men of Hartshorne” there is a really good document that has the details of each individual that is named and also background information.

https://hartshornechurch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/In-Memory-of-the-Men-of-Hartshorne-who-fell-in-The-Great-War-Who-were-they-v3.pdf

Of all of the men named there are 3 which currently that I can’t get to, 1 in Kenya and 2 in Turkey but I am looking at possibilities to get the Graves photographed by people in those locations.

In addition there is one other that I have not visited as it is a bit further away from my current location and I’ll need to try and link them with some more activities or battlefield visits.  I will get them but not just yet!

The other thing that I will try and do is also give an indication of what battles they may have been killed in.  Now there is no guarantee that this will be an accurate assumption of the point at which they died, the reason for this is that some of these soldiers are buried in cemeteries that will have been located next to field hospitals, clearing stations or aid posts or they are in cemeteries that are amalgamation of smaller burial sites.  So these are assumptions and educated guesses.  If anyone has more accurate details then please let me know so that I can update the information.

Private John Warden Allen, 25th Battalion Royal Fusiliers

Died of Wounds on 26th May 1916 and is buried in Nairobi South Cemetery. 

I’ll try and get one of the Royal Engineers based in Kenya to visit the grave and take a photograph of John’s headstone.

Private William Edward Benbow of the 1st/5th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment.

Died of wounds on 1 August 1915.  Buried in Lijssentoek Military Cemetery.

Lijssentoek Military Cemetry is a large cemetery located near Poperinghe, this area had 4 large casualty clearing stations. it is likely that William was injured on the front at Ypres and then evacuated back to one of the Medical clearing stations/ field hospitals.

Sapper Thomas Baldwin, 254th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers (originally with the Lincolnshire regiment)

Killed in Action on the 22nd October 1917, buried in Poperinghe New Military Cemetery.

As a Sapper with a tunnelling Company I’ll do some investigation to try and find what may have happened at the time of Thomas’s death, it may be possible to identify from the unit War Diaries the what was going on.

Private John Bennett, 1st/4th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment

Died of Wounds 4 October 1918.  Buried in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez

This cemetery is north west of Arras and not far from the Vimy Ridge Memorial. it’s really well laid out and really worth the visit. I’d be interested to know what happened to John and it may well be something that I come back to look at further down the line.

Private John (Jack) Eaton, 6th Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry

Died of Wounds 28th Jun 1918, Buried in Neuf-Brisach Communal Cemetery Extension.

The cemetery is located to the south of Strasbourg and the military extension contains the graves of 35 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War, all of whom died in 1918 as prisoners of war. Unfortunately I currently don’t have the details of when John was captured or the details of his wounds.

Private John William Gilbert, 8th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment

Died of Wounds 31st July 1917, buried in Perth Cemetery (China Wall), Ypres.

The Third battle of Ypres started on the 31st July and in particular the Battle of Pilckem Ridge started on that day. the 8th Battalion were part of the units taking part in the battles and it is likely that Jack sustained his injuries in these battles.

Corporal Albert Booth, 1st/5th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment

Killed in Action 8 June 1917.  Commemorated on the Arras memorial

Private James Blood, 10th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment.

Killed in Action 4 March 1917, Commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.

Sapper Frederick Brazier, 180th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers.

Died of Wounds 30 March 1919, Buried in Hartshorne (St Peters) Churchyard, Derbyshire.

Sapper Fred Brazier was transfered to the Royal Engineers from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment due to his civilian experience working in the coal mines at Swadlincote. In March 1918 he and the others of 180th Tunnelling company found themselves on the surface fighting as infantry trying to stop the German offensive. During those battles the Germans used Gas and Fred wasn’t quick enough to get his mask on and as a result he was badly effected by the gas.

As a result he was treated but evacuate back to England for treatment. he was eventually invalided out of the Army in late 1918 and returned home to Hartshorne. He did try and return to work in the mines but continued to have difficulty with breathing, eventually he succumbed to the damage to his lungs and died in March 19, a year after being Gassed. As his death was attributed to injuries from service he is buried with a Military Headstone.

Private Richard Buxton, 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment.

Killed in Action 22 March 1918, Commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Apologies for the poor image but with the weather and the angle that I had for taking the photo it is a poor effort, the next time I’m down there I’ll go in and take a better photo.

Guardsman Willie Canner, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

Died of Wounds 1st October 1916, Buried in Bac du Sud British Cemetery, Bailleulval.

This is a small but interesting cemetery and there are several Grenadier Guards buried here, along with several Royal Engineers. It is one of those locations that makes me want to investigate further what was happening in this area at the time that Willie lost his life.

Private Walter Carver, 9th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment.

Killed in Action 10 August 1915, Comemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey

This is one of the sites that I’ve not been to and I’ve not been able to find an image of the Tablet that would have Walter’s name shown. I’ll try and contact a Battlefield study that is visiting Gallipoli and ask if they can get a photo of the tablet showing his name.

Gunner Geoffrey Gotheridge, 2nd Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery

Died of Wounds 30th October 1918, Buried in Premont British Cemetery.

This cemetery is located south of the 1914 Battlefield of La Cateau, however the soldiers in this cemetery are from the offensive that helped to end the war in 1918, this was known as the last 100 days and the “Pursuit to Mons”.

Corporal James Hallam, 15th Battalion Nottingham and Derbyshire Regiment.

Killed in Action 28 March 1918, buried in Assevillers New British Cemetery.

Able Seaman Frederick Hyde, HMS Lord Nelson, Royal Navy

Died 25th April 1915, Buried in V Beach Cemetery, Turkey

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56202722/frederick-thomas_mott-hyde

I haven’t been to Gallipoli but the there is a lot of information about the landings that happened on the 25th April. It appears that a detachment of sailors from HMS Lord Nelson provided the crews for the small boats that landed the infantry onto V Beach, throughout the morning. At some point Frederick was killed, but not before his bravery was noticed and he was Mentioned in Dispatches. I will definately look to do a blog post on the actions that Fred Hyde was involved in on the 25th April 1915.

Private Samuel Hyde, 9th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment

Died of Wounds 3rd October 1916, Buried in Bourlogne Eastern Cemetery

Boulogne-sur-Mer is a large Channel port and was one of the main ports used by the British and Empire Troops. The town also had a large military hospital to deal with the wounded as well as prepapre those to be returned to England.

It is very likely that Samuel was wounded, treated at a forward aid station or field hospital and was then moved back to Boulogne to the main hospital or to be returned to hospitals in Britian but unfortunately succumbed to his wounds.

Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, one of the town cemeteries and is a large civil cemetery, split in two by a road. Unusually, the headstones are laid flat in this cemetery due to nature of the sandy soil.

At the moment this is one of the French Cemeterys that I still have to visit.

Private Tom Hyde, 10th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment

Killed in Action, 14th February 1916. Commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Lance Sergeant Thomas King, 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards.

Killed in Action 25th September 1916. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial

Private Tom James, 2nd/6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment

Killed in Action 17th April 1918, Commemorated on Ploegsteert Memorial

Not the best photograph, but Tom’s name is at the top of the centre list. At the time of Tom’s death the Battle of Lys was occurring, this was part of the German spring Offensive, Operation Georgette.

Private Frank Masters, 1st Battalion Warwickshire Regiment

Died of Infection at Ypres, 25th April 1915, Commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Unfortunately the photo that I took of Frank’s name on the memorial was too poor to add to the blog and a recent visit to Ypres unfortunately I couldn’t get another photo due to the memorial being currently being renovated. As soon at the work is complete I’ll get back to Ypres and get the image to add to this post.

Private Thomas Meakin, 10th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment.

Died 18th September 1918, Buried Gauche Wood Cemetery, Villers-Guislain

As you look beyond the cemetery you can see the Memorial to the Indian Cavalry in the distance, which is located between Villers-Guislain and the village of Epehy.

This is a small cemetery located away from the village, Thomas was with a unit that was taking part in the Last 100 Days offensive. Villers-Guislain is located North East of the village of Epehy

Private Joseph Herbert Pegg, 6th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment

Killed in Action 6th November 1918, buried Roisin Communal Cemetery

While this is a civilian cemetery it does have this single line of military graves, many of the men her are from the Lincolnshire Regiment, it’s hard to think that Joseph and his comrades died 5 days before the Germans surrendered and about 30 miles from the point where the war would end for the British, back at Mons.

Private George Roome, 11th Battalion Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment.

Killed in Action 16th September 1917, Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial

George died during the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele.

WO1 Albert Sabine, Royal Engineers

Albert seems to be an interesting character, the issue is that his death isn’t until 1935 and it isn’t clear what occurred with Albert that resulted in his addition onto the village war memorial as a Great War death. More research is needed into his background.

Gunner William Smith, 19th Heavy Battery Royal Garrison Artillery

Killed in Action 12th September 1917, Buried in Canada Farm Cemetery, Ypres.

Private Samuel Staley, 6th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment

Died of Wounds 22 August 1917, Buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

As stated for Private William Benbow, the Lijssenthoek Cemetery is located next to a number of Casualty Clearing Stations and it is highly likely that Samuel was injured during the Third Battle of Ypres and then evacuated back through the casualty system back to one of the Clearing stations or hospitals in the area of Lijssenthoek.

Gunner James Harrold Twells, 113th Siege Battery, Royal garrison Artillery

Killed in Action 28 September 1918, Buried in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery

Lance Corporal Sydney Walker, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment

Killed in action 14th July 1916. Buried in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval.

Lance Corporal John Walton, 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment

Killed in Action 1 September 1916, Commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.

Private Bailey Webster, 9th battalion South Staffordshire Regiment

Killed in Action 13 February 1916, Buried in Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle-D’Armentieres

Sergeant Albert Webster, 5th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment

Died of Wounds 7 February 1921, Buried in Hartshorne (St Peters) Churchyard, Derbyshire.

Albert is buried in the village church cemetery and died 3 years after the war, it would be interesting to find out what the wounds were that he died of, there will be the need to do a bit more investigation on this. Albert served in the same Battalion as my wife’s grandfather who was gassed in March 1918 and suffered with breathing issues for the rest of his life, a question could be was Albert gassed at the same time? So more research needed on this one.

Private Percy Winfield, 6th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment

Died of Wounds 19th July 1916, Buried in Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-L’Abbe

Looking across Heilly Station Cemetery

Heilly Station Cemetery is interesting as the vast majority of the graves are double or triple burials, most of whom are from the summer of 1916, which suggests that this was near or next to a field Hospital. This is supported by the fact that is it quite a distance back from the front lines of mid to late 1916.

Addition

The following soldier is not a Man of Hartshorne but his connection to the village is that he was the brother of Mr JT Alsop of the Scaddaws, Hartshorne.:

Private Samuel Alsop, 13th Company Machine Gun Corps.

Killed in Action 13th September 1916, Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

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Updates from the Horseback Sapper

Posted on 15/03/2024 by uptheyard87

Hello Everyone, you may have noticed some changes to the website, this has been due to changing the website host and also the layout. The new hosting plan now works better for how I use the website and for what I want to do with it going forward.

I’ve also been busy recently with tracking down some more of the Men named on the village war memorial, this will probably require a couple of separate posts, such as those in the Ypres area and those in the Arras and Amiens area.

Also there will be an update on the next stage of progress on the 1890 Saddle.

There are also a number of events that I’ll be attending this year, the first of these will be at the RE Museum in early April, this will be used as practice as we have been invited back to the “We Have WaysFest 5” which is in July.

So there is a lot planned, and also there will be continued adjustments on the website, please feel free to give some feed back on the layout and style of the pages and post. That way I can look at adjusting where I can.

Right then, time to finish my brew and get on with mucking out the nags.

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Meeting the need for water in the 1917 Desert Campaign

Posted on 10/12/2023 by Will Mac

I’ve always been interested in the Campaigns in the Middle East, probably due to films such as “Gallipoli” and “The Light Horsemen”. When I started to really dig into the RE Mounted History an area that does offer a lot of information is the Campaigns in Palestine and Mesopotamia. While I am about to finish an post on the engineer work put in place for the attack at Beersheba on the 31 Oct 1917 as part of the 3rd Battle of Gaza, I have been distracted by current Middle East events in the Gaza area.

The thing that has created the distraction is the media cries that water has been cut to Gaza and that the locals don’t have access to water.

I’m not going into the politics or side taking, those are discussions that can take place else where away from this history blog. I want to consider the facts that the British and Imperial Forces fought the Ottomans over this very ground in 1917 over three battles. In this theatre, water is a key requirement because without it you cannot fight, particularly in the period of the Great War. There are three key users of water in this type of warfare:

  • Men
  • Horses, Mules, Camels and Donkeys.
  • Train Engines.

The Ottomans held the wells at Gaza and also the significant wells at Beersheba off to the east (the end of the Ottoman Defensive Line). What existed south of this point were considered as minor wells and were used by the Bedouin Arabs that lived and migrated in the area.

To meet the water requirements for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) there would be a need to supply water either from existing supply and sources back in Egypt or to create/ exploit water sources locally.

The Royal Engineers could meet the requirements of both options.

A pipeline was created to push water forward across the Sinai, following a coastal route, from the Nile and would be added to as the EEF advanced. Also all of the EEF Sapper units would have water development and water supply as one of their key roles in the campaign.

The Egyptian pipeline under construction with RE Works supervision and Egyptan Labour Corps personnel

By January 1917 the British and Imperial Forces of the EEF had crossed the Sinai and were established at El Arish and were raiding Rafah (9 Jan 1917) to the north. At El Arish the pipeline from the Nile had arrived and was providing 230,000 gallons of pumped water per day.

By March 1917 the EEF had pushed forward to south of the town of Gaza. As they moved forward the sappers worked to repair and develop sources of water at a local level.

  • On the 12th March 410 and 412 Field Companies RE moved to Rafah and developed the water supply in the local area, good quality water was found in the Sand Dunes near the sea and many tube wells were sunk and all provided good yields. 412 Fd Coy RE and support from the Egyptian Labour Corps troops errected 100,000 gallon water storage in this area.
  • North of Rafah at Khan Yunis, 437 Fd Coy RE repaired the the well and the pumping plant to bring it back on line.
  • By 21 March, in the Khan Yunis area 439 Fd Coy ARE had sank wells to provide a yield of 100,000 gallons per day.
  • Further deep wells were developed at Khan Yunis between the town and the coast to provide 130,000 gallons per day.
Norton Well Driving apparatus could be used to drive both shallow and deep wells – ground conditions dependant
Initial well set up, probably a shallow well, due to the lift and force pump being used

The EEF had created their front line north of the town of Deir El Balah. In this area the RE units had created several shallow wells which were giving very good yields. It was also found that the area of Wadi Ghazzee which ran from the coast, just north of Deir El Balah, and headed East/South East into the Desert offered good potential and as such would allow the EEF to widen it’s front against the Ottomans and not to be constrained to the narrow coastal strip.

When exploring the Wadi Ghazzee area it was found that there was large supplies of water, this was particularly the case towards Shellal, which had natural springs.

Royal Engineer’s pumping water from the subterranean fountain from which Solomon’s Pools reserve are fed. © IWM. Q12622

A large part of the water used for the 1st and 2nd battles of Gaza (March and April 1917) were provided from these sources and also from the pumped pipeline from El Arish. It should also be noted that even once wells were developed work did not stop on them, improvement works were constantly happening and it was noted that the deep well at Khan Yunis had been improved to produce 168,000 gallons per day by the 27th March 1917 (the second day of the 1st battle of Gaza).

Typical improvements done to existing wells such as at Khan Yunis- this is taken of an improved well at Beersheba Station, 1st Nov 17. © IWM. http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205194793

Working hand in hand with the water supply was the pushing forward of the rail network, which had been pushed forward to Deir El Balah. this allowed troops, stores and supplies to be moved forward, part of this was water supplies from the end point of the Nile Water Pipe at El Arish. Water storage was created at the rail head to store this train shipped water. The wells in the Deir El Balah area were connected to pumping system at the rail head and this allowed for water to be pumped to a water storage area near Khan Umm Jerra in Wadi Ghazzee. This storage area provided 90,000 gallons of stored water and water points for 300 Camels and 300 horses at a time, this was all in a location that could not be observed by the Ottomans.

Typical style of construction of Reservoirs, these are in Wadi Ghuzzi – IWM Q81517

After the close of the 1st battle of Gaza, (26&27 March 17), 410th and 413th Fd Coy REs move into Wadi Ghazzee and sink 21 wells in the gravel areas, while the majority are shallow wells some go as deep as 60 feet, these wells end up providing 40,000 gallons per day. These field Companies are then joined by the Sappers from 54th Infantry Division who create more wells in the Wadi Ghazzee and also clean and repair old water cisterns, these additions provide 70,000 gallons daily

Members of The Royal Engineers and the Egyptian Labour Corps restoring wells and cisterns.© IWM. Q12873

The 2nd Battle of Gaza occurs on the 17-19 April and while it is more successful than the first battle it does not dislodge the Ottomans from Gaza so work must continue to support the troops holding the area in preparation for the future actions.

In May 1917 the deep wells at Khan Yunis were upgraded with pumping plants, this allowed production to increase, for one of the deep wells on its own the production increased to 80,000 gallons per day. On the 11 May the 220th Army Troops RE started work on a 250,000 gallon Water Reservoir in the Khan Yunis area.

Gwynnes’ Portable Pumping Set – Capacity 6000 gallons per hour
Aster- Gwynnes’ Pump set mounted on wheels

By the end of May work continued to create new wells in the Wadi Ghazzee area, these added a further 120,000 gallons and had pipes laid to forward water dumps, complete with concrete water tanks and sunshades.

Members of The Royal Engineers and the Egyptian Labour Corps restoring wells and cisterns © IWM.Q12881

By this point in time the pipeline from Egypt had reached it’s final limit and was a 150 miles long and maintained a pumped pressure at all of it’s delivery points.

The gravel wells in Wadi Ghazzee were continuing to produce plenty of water but the quality was classed as Brackish but was still classed as potable (drinkable) water. The springs at Shellal had been enhanced and were providing 250,000 gallons per day, while the springs at El Qamle and Bir Esani continued to provide good yeilds (100,000 gallons per day at least per day)

On the front line sector of El Mendur (from the coast and directly across the front of Gaza town) it was found that the local wells were sufficient to supply the troops on the front, and as such the localised pipeline from Deir El Balah and the Wadi Ghazzee reservoirs.

It was recognised that there would be further actions to take Gaza and as such the Corps developed extra wells in the dunes areas at the mouth of the Wadi Ghazzee (at the coast, west of Deir El Balah), these wells would yield brackish but drinkable water of sufficient quantity to supply 2 infantry divisions as emergency supply if required.

By June 1917 220th Army Troops RE took over the Khan Yunis water area to free up RE Field Companies for front line/ forward area works. This was as part of the preparation work for what would be expected as the 3rd battle of Gaza. During June and July the water sources between Deir El Balah and Shellal were fully developed and provided with mechanical pumping plants.

Mechanical engines would often be used to power the larger pump sets at the larger yielding wells.

In September 1917, the Sheikh Abbas Sector (the eastern sector in front of Gaza Town and joined the El Mendur Sector) now had deep wells yeilding 123,000 gallons per day, with having this source close to the front means that there is now reduced requirement to move water forward from Deir El Balah and Wadi Ghazzee. At the same time 410th Fd Coy RE was installing mechanical pumps on the smaller wells in this sector.

A lightweight mechanical pump found to be ideal for the smaller and shallow wells – Rotorplunge Pump and Lister Petrol Engine.

The last major piece of water works in this area was the installation of a pumping plant at the deep well at the mouth of Wadi En Nukhabir (located 2 miles South West of Deir El Balah), this work was carried out by 496th Field Coy RE.

By the start of September the plan for the 3rd Battle of Gaza was being developed and the plan is to attack the far Eastern end of the Gaza defensive line at the town of Beersheeba, and as such the focus for forward areas water development and supply was to push away from the coastal area and start to develop further east into the Wadis and desert areas. This work along with the railway expansion will be covered in it’s own blog post hopefully before Christmas.

One of the developed well sites believed to be at El Baqqar out in the desert on the route to Beersheba as preperation for the 3rd battle of Gaza.

So from all of the information above it is possible to see how the British and Imperial forces were able to cross the Sinai desert and take the battle to the Ottomans. Also while the pipe line from Egypt helps to sustain the force and allows it to push forward, it is key that sappers push ahead and develop the existing sources and develop significant new water sources. Once more equipment and time permitted then the new wells are improved and fitted with pumps and reservoirs.

The questions that I currently have going around in my mind in relation to the current conflict are:

  • Are any of the deep and shallow wells from 100 years ago still in use? If they are what type of yields are they producing?
  • Considering that the Corps was developing water extraction both in terms of shallow (30 feet) and Deep (100 feet) depth and from a variety of locations and sources, have the Palestinians developed their own set of wells and extraction points?
  • There has been plenty of discussion about the use of desalination plants, but accepting that these can be expensive, but has there been any work by any of the aid agencies to look at creating more localised water extraction?
The Great War locations of Front Line, Deir El Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah shown on a modern map og the Gaza Strip.

I don’t know the answers to the above questions but it does strike me that modern conflicts forget to look back at solutions that may actually be more viable but have been forgotten due to the advance of technology. It is clear that there was good viable sources of potable water right across the area of Gaza and Sapper field units were able to exploit them quickly and once established they could be improved in infrastructure terms and this would in turn improve the yield.

I wonder what could be done by 8 people with some modern equipment, a modern version of the Norton Tube Well driving apparatus, a robust submersible pump and some modern flexible/ collapsible storage tanks. Its just a thought?

Notes and references:

1. The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume 6. (1952) Institution of Royal Engineers.

2. Lt Col EWC Sandes DSO MC RE (1937), The Royal Engineers in Egypt and the Sudan 1800-1936, The Naval & Military Press.

3. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk – An excellent site for information on the Great War.

4. Lt DC Howell-Price (1914), The Light Horse Pocket Book, Originally published by Angus & Robertson Ltd, Reprinted in 2020 by The Kangeroo Feather Publishing Company.

5. Instruction in Military Engineering (Part 5)- Miscellaneous (1898) School of Military Engineering, Fifth Edition, War Office.

6. Military Engineering Volume 6 Water Supply (1922), His Majesty’s Stationery Office.

7. David Murphy (2008), The Arab Revolt 1916-18, Osprey Publishing

8. Mike Chappell (2005), The British Army in World War 1 (3) – The Eastern Fronts, Osprey Publishing

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The Royal Engineer that improved Water Supply in the Middle East

Posted on 19/11/2023 by Will Mac

In the Great War the biggest challenge facing operations in the Palestine Theatre of operations was to try and to provide water to the troops and 1916 saw the troops of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force push out into the Sinai Desert with the aim of taking the fight to the Ottomans. However to fight in the desert, one of the essential logistic items is that of water. Without sufficient water the range of operations would always be severely limited.

Therefore there was a need to develop existing wells to increase production and also to create new wells. The Royal Engineers had equipment to create wells but the difficulty was to develop equipment that could be more portable to allow the provision of water as the troops advanced, as well as having the ability to produce water in an appropriate quantity.

What appears to be a shallow well with a lift and force pump

A Royal Engineer attached to the ANZAC Mounted Division, in 1916 developed a more portable system of equipment that could be carried by horses and deployed quickly by a Royal Engineer Mounted Troop. The officer was Major Alexander RE.

Maj Alexander RE in 1918 examining a Turkish “Air torpedo”

Major Alexander looked at the existing deployable equipment and realised that a large amount of it was transported by Camel, while this allowed it to get out to the remote areas that it was required in, it was too slow and certainly could not keep up with the Mounted Divisions during operations, as such the camel mounted system was better suited for follow on operations. What was needed was a lighter system.

It became clear to Major Alexander that the whole system had to be modified to be fitted on pack horses, this would allow the equipment to be utilised by the RE Field Troops attached to the Mounted Brigades and still keep up with them as they moved.

His system developed what was known as a Spear tip for the driving head of the pipe that would be sunk into the ground – this appears to be very similar to what the Sappers of my era would recognise as the driving head for a Camoflet – the Spear Tip method was already used in rural Australia but by looking at the whole water supply requirement he brought together a full system that would be portable by pack horse/ mule.

The well pipe would be driven in using a drop weight system or if necessary it could be hammered in by Sappers themselves using sledge hammers.

While the lift and force pump was the main pump set used by the Royal Engineer Field Troop and Squadrons they would not be sufficient to raise the quantity of water needed to sustain units in the desert, so he looked at existing pump sets. He found that the Lister and Worthington Pumps were light enough to be carried on pack saddles but also powerful enough to pump water from both the shallow and deep wells. The Royal Engineers defined wells into 2 categories – shallow (40 feet deep) and Deep (100 feet deep).

Image shows the drop hammer and also driving heads.
Authors Note -While this may be a light weight construction, I would suggest that this is pushing it a bit as a load for the horse! I think it would have been better for the pack horses to have these collapsed into more manageable loads!
The key is to get the load balanced.

Having looked at all of these photos it does appear that all of the loads are fitted to the standard General Service Pack Saddle with only slight additional modifications such as additional straps and extra surcingles. Also the loads – with the exception of the Well Set load – all look very manageable and balanced.

While his developments and creation were put in place for the Sinai campaigns in 1916, they would proved invaluable for the campaigns at Gaza and Beersheba in 1917 and would become essential equipment of the Royal Engineer Field Troops attached to all of the Mounted units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

Authors Note – I first came across Major Alexander RE and his work in 2016 when researching the work of the RE mounted Troops in the wider Middle East. I came across a New Zealand Website which gave the details of Maj Alexander’s background being of Irish and New Zealand extraction. The majority of the images of the pack horse loads are from that website, unfortunately the website no longer seems to be available as I would like to give credit to that site as it provided a big chunk of the information that I used in my original facebook post on this topic and provided the basis for this blog post.

If anyone knows if the New Zealand website has moved to a new address then please let me know as I would like to provide a link to it and to give it the credit for setting me off in the right direction with this research. Regards Will Mac

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Remembrance Day at Maisieres

Posted on 11/11/2023 by Will Mac

This morning I represented the British Forces at the Church at Maisieres at Mons. This is the local church to where I live out here in Belgium and I volunteer to lay the wreaths here due to the Royal Engineers connection of the village and the church.

At the Church there is a memorial plaque that commemorates the British units that defended the section of the Nimy Canal on 23 August 1914.

56 Field Company Royal Engineers are named on the Plaque and as such I feel it is my responsibility to attend this location on behalf of SHAPE and the Corps.

Why? well 56 Field Company RE were tasked with the demolition of the 4 bridges in this area and were the first RE unit to be engaged by the Germans, they also sustained the first Royal Engineer Casualty from enemy action of the Great War – 2Lt HW Holt RE.

Holt and the other dead from the Engineers, Royal Fusiliers, Royal Irish and the Middlesex Regiment were originally buried in Maisieres before being moved to the combined British and German cemetery at St Symphorien on the eastern side of Mons.

The thing that struck me was the passion that the locals have to remember those that fought in 1914-18.

With a wreath laid at the Church memorial we all moved up to the village war memorial for a small ceremony where the names on the memorial are read out and Wreaths are laid. The move up to and back from the village war memorial had us escorted by 2 Horses and riders. From all accounts this is a local tradition and possibly dates back to just after the Great War when there was a Belgian Cavalry unit based at the Barracks that now form part of SHAPE.

Only apt that the Horseback Sapper grabs a photo with our escorts from this morning’s wreath laying.

So with wreaths laid it was Duty done and respects paid, it was a honour to do this morning.

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