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4th Territorial Battalion

Northumberland Fusiliers

1914 - 1918

Armentieres

16 Jul to 31 Dec 1915

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The 4th Bn settled into the typical routine of life on the Western Front. Taking its turn with the other Bns of the 50th Division in the trenches to the east of Armentieres.

A four day stint in the trenches

24th Sept 1915

A very heavy bombardment on the right flank of the 2nd Army, lasted all day and was of extraordinary intensity. The 149th Bde occupies the right of 2nd Army. In conjunction with the proposed general advance of the 1st & 3rd Armies & French this Army is operating. In view of this the 4th Bn carried straw from behind the support trenches to the front line. When the mist lifted the enemy spotted these working parties resulting in 22 men being wounded, eight from the 4th Bn. Cpl Spark, L/Cpl McGuire, Ptes G Easter, Powell, Dodds, Teasdale, Thompson and Redpath. The working parties were stood down until it was dark, whereupon wet and dry straw was carried to the front line and positioned until midnight.

25th Sept 1915

Very heavy bombardment to the right of the Bn. Due to a misunderstanding the Bn on the immediate right set alight the straw and phosphorous bombs, gathered and put out the previous night. All the straw down the Divisional front was ignited & produced a strong cloud of smoke, added to which there were phosphorous bombs. The planned bombardment did not take place, because the mist was to heavy for the observers. It remained quiet for the rest of the day.

Throughout the day the Bn received information about the advance of the 1st Army to the south and the Divns towards Bellewarde in the north. The latter were forced back to their own trenches by German counter attacks late in the day.

26th Sept 1915

The enemy were expected to retaliate during the day, but it passed without any particular activity on their part, except for machine gun fire at night. The Bn had a patrol out by day up the Ruisseau which did good work and bombs were thrown at night by a party into the German trenches. 2nd Lt Bagnell proceeded to England on leave for six days.

27th Sept 1915

The day passed quietly with the exception of some whizz bangs . Capt Cheesemond returned from leave in England. The Bn was relieved from the front line trenches by the 7th Bn NF . Two coys & half MG Section proceeded to the subsidiary line, while the remainder including HQ moved to billets in Armentieres . The relief was reported complete at 8.20pm.

Trenches east of Armentieres

1st August 1915

The author has coloured this map for clarity

Trenches - black, roads and tracks - red. Watercourses - blue

Amentieres Casualties

For information on 4th Bn burial and memorial sites for casualties sustained in this sector, select the link.

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Armentieres - Glossary

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2nd Lt - Second Lieutenant - lowest commissioned rank - platoon commander.

Bde - Brigade. An infantry Brigade at this time was usually comprised of 4 Battalions.

Bn - Battalion. A full strength infantry battalion at this time would comprise 1021 men.

Capt - Rank of Captain. Company Commander.

Coy - Company. 234 men in full strength Coy. 4 Coys in a Bn.

CO - Commanding Officer.

Cpl - Rank of Corporal.

Divn - Division. Approximately 18,000 men in a full strength Division.

DLI - Durham Light Infantry. British army regiment with 5 Battalions in the 50th Divn.

HQ - Headquarters.

L/Cpl - Rank of Lance Corporal.

MG - Machine Gun.

NF - Northumberland Fusiliers. British army regiment with 4 Battalions in the 50th Divn.

Pte - Lowest infantry rank of Private.

Whizz-Bang - Popular slang name for a high velocity German artillery shell. Describes the sound it made passing through the air and on explosion.

Armentieres - Locations

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Bellewarde - Ruined village in the front line, east of Ypres.

Armentieres - A weaving, spinning and brewery town situated on the River Lys 20km south east of Ypres, known as the 'City of the Linen'.

Epinette - Position of village marked on top right hand corner of '1st August' map.

Ferme Porte Egal - Farm. Photograph of this farm can be found in '25th September' section. Position marked on '1st August' map.

Ferme Chards - Farm. Position of farm marked on '1st August' map.

Ferme du Biez - Farm. Position of farm marked on '1st August' map.

Moulin - Group of buildings shown on '1st August' map.

Ruisseau -

Armentieres - Military Units

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50th (Northumbrian) Territorial Division - Comprised of the 149th, 150th and 151st Infantry Brigades.

The 149th (Northumbrian) Bde - Comprised of the 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/7th Bns - Northumberland Fusiliers, 1/5th (Cumberland) Bn - Border Regt.

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The 150th (York & Durham) Bde - Comprised of the 1/4th Bn - East Yorkshire Regt, 1/4th Bn - Green Howards, 1/5th Bn - Green Howards and 1/5th Bn - Durham Light Infantry

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The 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Bde - Comprised of the 1/6th, 1/8th and 1/9th - DLI

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4th Territorial Battalion

Northumberland Fusiliers

1914 - 1918

Armentieres

16 Jul to 31 Dec 1915

© Copyright N.Storey 2004