2725 Private William
Fryer Washbourne was a patient at Beechland House from September 1916. His entry
in Nurse Oliver’s album reads:
2725 Pte W Washbourne
1/5 Gloucester Regt
Wounded @ Pozieres on
Aug 27 1916
Also on this page
in the album is an autograph entry by 230 Private Herbert Maginnis of the 10th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
Private Washbourne’s
original entry was written in pencil but at a later date has been all but obliterated by an over-written entry in biro. Nevertheless it is possible to sketch a brief outline of his service history.William
enlisted with the 1/5th Gloucestershire Regiment on 31st August 1914 and was posted to C Company. He arrived in France with the battalion on 29th March 1915. At this stage the battalion still formed part of the South Midland Brigade of
the South Midland Division but within a couple of months they would be re-designated the 145th (South Midland)
Brigade of the newly formed 48th (South Midland) Division.
The following
extract is taken from part 15 of The Hospital Way:
The division was comprised entirely of territorial soldiers from county regiments
and far from being thrown straight into battle as soon as it arrived in France, it had been given an early glimpse of the
then relatively quiet sector of the Somme. Taking over part of the northern sector front from the French in July 1915, had
they but known it, they were the first British troops to take up positions on the Somme and they were also the first to sustain
a fatal British casualty there. On 22nd July, just two days after
taking over from the French, Private Whitlock of the 1/4th Oxford and Buckinghamshire
Light Infantry had been killed by a shell.
The division’s quiet spell came to an abrupt end on 1st July 1916. Two battalions from its 143rd
Brigade – the 6th and 8th Royal Warwickshires – had been attached to the 4th
Division which was to play a leading role on the opening day of the Offensive. The
Warwickshires’ objective was Pendant Copse to the South East of the village of Serre, and at first
the advance had gone well. By 7.50am, half an hour after their own heavy artillery
had lifted and the men had begun their advance, the 8th Royal Warwickshires had taken the first four lines of trenches. To their left and right however, the 31st and 29th Divisions
respectively, had not made such good ground and, finding their position untenable without the desired support on each side,
the men had retired in the face of strong counter attacks. By the end of the
day, the 8th Royal Warwickshires had suffered 573 casualties out of 600 men and its sister battalion, the 1/6th
had fared little better. Its orders had been to take the fifth and sixth line
trenches but the men had been mown down before they reached the higher ground in front of Serre. By the end of the day, the cost to the 48th (South Midland) Division
was reckoned at 1,060 casualties, and all of those from just two battalions.
More casualties were to follow. Pozieres,
a fortified German-held village situated on the high ground overlooking the attacking Allies to the south west stood in the
path of the advance, protecting the German Thiepval flank to the north. In July,
four attacks had been directed at Pozieres until finally, the 1st Australian Division had secured a foothold to
the south west of the village on 23rd July; two Australian infantrymen winning Victoria Crosses in
the process. The 48th Division, to the Australians’ left, had
attacked at the same time and suffered heavy casualties. Those attacking troops
who had managed to survive the hail of shellfire which fell on them while they were in their trenches waiting to go over the
top, were mown down by German machine guns when they finally managed to clamber out. Three Gloucestershire territorial battalions
had played a role in the assault and sustained heavy casualties.
Private Washbourne though had come through unscathed and although he would later write
in Nurse Oliver’s book that he had been wounded at Pozieres on 27th August, it was in a local action attacking
trenches towards Mouquet Farm, north west of the village, that he had received his Blighty wound.
Running down south west from Mouquet Farm was the German held Constance Trench, ending
in a T junction where it was crossed by Pole Trench. This, the 1/4th
Royal Berkshire Regiment and the 1/5th Gloucestershire Regiment, had attacked on the evening of 27th
August, both battalions advancing over the top with bombers. Private Washbourne
was part of the assaulting wave of C Company.
“C Company attacked on right and
B Company on left, both in two lines across the open” wrote the battalion war diarist later, “intense barrage
for three minutes. Right company entered trench in their own barrage and left
company at the moment of lift both with few casualties. The bombing platoons
met with considerable opposition in the communicator [communication trench] and a large party of Germans held out but were
ultimately forced to retire across the open when our Lewis guns accounted for all but three.
Several dug-outs were bombed and the trench was consolidated and held. About
50 prisoners were taken and the enemy’s other losses were estimated at about 200 killed and wounded. One machine gun was captured.”
The Official War History reports that the prisoners belonged to the 5th
Guard Grenadiers, whose own history states that the British attacked “in dense masses”. German troops occupying part of the trench system the following day reported a terrible scene of destruction
caused by the British bombardment.
The battle though, had also taken its toll on the attacking troops. For the gain of a loop of trenches south west of Pole Trench, the 1/5th Gloucesters had lost
six officers and 108 other ranks killed, wounded or missing. Amongst the dead
officers was Lieutenant Cyril W Winterbotham, a poet, lawyer and one time Liberal Party prospective candidate for East Gloucestershire. He was 29 years old. Amongst the 84 wounded other ranks was Private William Fryer Washbourne. The following day the 48th Division was relieved by the 25th Division and transferred
to V Corps north of the Ancre.
William arrived
at Brighton as part of a convoy of wounded soldiers on Saturday 2nd September
and is mentioned by name in the Sussex Daily News published on 6th September as having arrived at the 2nd
Eastern General Hospital. The convoy comprised 80 stretcher cases, 20 sitting
cases and 16 officers. He was at Beechlands for some while as he appeared in
the pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, staged at The Parish Room, Chailey in February
1917. He is noted in a report in the East Sussex News as having taken on the
role of Wizard III. Herbert Maginnis was also still at the hospital as he appears
in the role of Vanity.
After recovering
from his wound William was transferred to The Labour Corps and given the number 366514.
He was discharged from the army on 11th February 1919.
William Fryer
Washbourne is possibly the William F Washbourne who appears on the 1891 census as a two year old living at The Oak Inn, 218 Barton Street, Gloucester. The household comprised
Robert H Washbourne (head, married, aged 42, a shipwright), Ellen Washbourne (wife aged 40) and five children: Rose E Washbourne
(aged 18), Louisa Washbourne (aged 13), Susannah Washbourne (aged six), Mary A Washbourne (aged four) and William. All family members were born in Gloucester.
The website www.gloucestershirepubs.co.uk
notes that in 1885 a William Fryer Washbourne was the landlord of The Star Inn, Quay Street, Gloucester. This is possibly the
grandfather of the William Fryer Washbourne who, twenty years later, would be serving his King and Country on the Western
Front.
Sources and Acknowledgements
· 1891 Census of England and Wales
· The National Archives - Medal Index Card
· The National Archives: British War and Victory Medal Roll: Roll LC/101 B122: Page 12428: WO 329/1825
· The National Archives: 1914/15 Star Medal Roll: Roll LC/28 C: Page W/54/2: WO 329/2843
· The National Archives: War Diary 1/5th Gloucesters: WO 95/2763
· Joe Devereaux for details of William Washbourne’s date of enlistment and the company he served
in.
· The Sussex Daily News
· www.gloucestershirepubs.co.uk
