Puzzle

Received this photograph from Peter Cattrell who forwarded me a picture of his Great Uncle, William Wyatt Bagshawe who served in A company of the battalion, and died at Serre in the first wave on 1st July 1916. He was good friends with Alexander Robertson the poet, and ES Curwen.

- the group is Alexander Robertson on left, Mr Bailey, WWB, then ES Curwen on the right.

Do you think this is taken at Redmires?

Happy Christmas

For those interested in military history, I am hoping to offer the WEA at Easter a new course .....

'D Day Operation Overlord ... The Fight for Europe '.

More details to follow.

In the meantime, my very best to all people and friends who have taken the course pals or have a general interest in the Sheffield pals.

"Happy Xmas (War Is Over),"

Redmires Walk

Hi everyone

Please find below a number of photos taken during the walk at Redmires Saturday 15th August 2009

Summer Walk - Redmires

Helen Ullathorne who teaches archaeology and history at the university has kindly agreed to lead a walk of the Redmires area. The walk will focus on the recent archeology work on the site and matters relating to the pals and their military training in 1914/15.




The walk will take place on Saturday the 15th August at 11am and we intend to meet at the top car park up at Redmires. The car park is situated on the right hand side and is the furthest point you can travel by car on that road.

The walk is open to all and hopefully the weather will be far kinder than it was in December - fingers crossed!

A stout pair of walking boots is advisable and waterproof - just in case





A number of people have indicated they would be interested in a pint and a bar meal after the walk - The Sportsman have a good variety of ales and bar meals.

Hope to see you there on the 15th

Sheffield City Battalion Display

Click on the picture to view full size

Great team effort

Many thanks to Christine, Dave, Margaret and Norman for their ideas and hard work putting together the display in the central library today - well done!. Thanks to Phil for coming along and supporting our efforts today. I think that everyone was pleased with the final display and we certainly had some constructive feedback from members of the Sheffield public as we constructed the display.

This has been a great team effort and we should not forget the contribution of Mark, Yvonne, Mark, David, Mark, Hank, John and many others who have contributed to the display.

The display is a small tribute to the pals who went into combat on the Somme on this day in 1916.

The display will run until the 16th July - I would be grateful if people could upload a few photo's of the display for the blog.

More to follow next week with news of the summer walk.....

Display - Wednesday 1st July

Can I invite people to the construction of the pals display at Sheffield Central Library on Wednesday 1st July. Could we meet at 9.30 am outside the main entrance on the Weds morning. If you require more details, you can contact me on: 07530331720 or by e mailing ianrobo@gmail.com

Thanks to all the people who took part in sorting the materials at the Attercliffe Learning Centre last week - you did a great job!!

Even if cannot make the Weds to put together materials - pop along if you are in the area and say hi. Appreciate that people have work commitments and therefore I will endeavour to organise a photo session at a later date.

Hope to see you Weds morning

Final Prep Meeting

Can I invite you to a meeting to finalise the design for the Sheffield City Battalion display.

The final meeting before we put together the display has been arranged for Thursday 25th June at the WEA Attercliffe Learning Centre at 7.15pm. The Learning Centre is the old Vicarage at Attercliffe at the back of the Adelphi Theatre.

Please bring with you all the materials you have collected

I noticed today that The Cocked Hat is back open and perhaps people might want to have a drink afterwards.

Hope to see you on the Thursday evening

Community Display

Many thanks to all the people who met at the Red Deer last Tuesday.

Well done to all of you for collecting materials from far and wide. Thanks to Christine and Margaret for all the photo's and clippings - you have a treasure trove of materials and these will certainly serve as the 'bedrock' of the display. Thanks to you both for the poster - much appreciated.

Thanks to Mark for the role of honour details and part of the database he has worked so hard to collate.

Norman brought some terrific photographs in - part of the Casey family archive and these should generate some interest on the display. Thanks to Yvonne for some great photographs taken and to Dave for the pics - plus the well written article for the display...well done.

Thanks to Mark for attending and bringing the photographs of the family heirlooms - great pics and a great 'back story' to boot.

We agreed to meet up once again to collate and sort the materials for the display. I am currently trying to book a room for June - 21st or 23rd. I will let you know as soon as something is finalised. By next week, hope to give you a progress report on the artwork that is in progress for the display and some of the final arrangements for the library on the 1st of July. If you have any questions or points or suggestions - please e mail at ianrobo@gmail.com

Raymond

It was with great sadness that we learned that Raymond passed away recently. Raymond brought great knowledge, enthusiasm and a great deal of humour to the first pals course and he will be missed by many of his friends who have also attended the course. We would like to send our very best wishes to Raymond's wife Lynda.

Pals Display Project 2009

Many thanks to (left to right) Yvonne, Dave, Margaret, Mark, Christine, Hank, John, Norman, and Ron for giving their time on Thursday evening and put forward their ideas and offered their expertise to the project with such enthusiasm. I was really knocked out by all who attended and some of the terrific ideas that were generated.

A number of people volunteered to track down certain materials and visit certain locations. I will post these on the blog but first, I will forward an e mail to summarise the evenings ideas and you can comment on these personally/ add corrections etc.. before I post them on the blog.

We agreed to meet up once again to collate some of our materials - just a reminder that we set the meet for : Tuesday 12th May 7.30pm in the Red Deer.

We may have even more numbers next time, as a number of people sent their apologies for the evening but have promised to make the next meet - that would be great.

Start collecting those materials!!

Lastly, can I take the opportunity to congratulate Ian Duffy, who undertook the pals course in the Autumn - his Pipe Band have been invited by the Chinese Embassy to take part in the Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Sheffield's sister city, Chengdu this summer. Hope to see Ian at the next meet.

Well done to Ian and the band!!

Meeting - 'The Red Deer'

There will be an informal meeting over a pint to discuss the library pals display set for July. We have arranged to meet this coming Thursday the 2nd of April at 7.30pm.

The Red Deer pub is situated on Pitt Street, Sheffield 3 - just off Mappin Street and West Street in the city centre.

To help with directions - try the new street level maps launched in the UK last week by Google.

Just click on the link below and type, Mappin street into the search box and navigate around the street level maps

http://maps.google.co.uk/

Long Walk Home

In the last session at Attercliffe we examined the events of the 1st July 1916. We traced the battle along the 12 mile front and focussed on the Sheffield City Battalion in the most northerly sector, as they strove forward to their objective for that day - to capture Serre and provide a defensive screen for the southern sector advances. We detailed, how the original plan began to disintegrate on the battlefield and discussed the often tragic reasons for the failure/successes along the line.

The casualty rate, (originally calculated at 10%) for the Sheffield City Battalion on the 1st July 1916 was a staggering 66% and we examined why the Sheffield and Accrington pals in particular suffered these great losses.

The aftermath of the battle only added to the chaos. Many men were trapped out in No Mans Land - it took many Sheffield pals two days to make their way back to the British line. Two days after the first battle, 50% of the battalion were still officially classified as 'missing in action'.

The scene at the casualty clearing stations was equally chaotic. The medical corp tried their best to tend to the wounded but they were clearly overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the casualties. Many men waited to be transferred by train to field hospitals and such was the scale and anger of their lack of medical assistance - Royal Military Police were forced to draw their weapons on the wounded to restore order to the chaos.

The original plan for the battle, to serve as a springboard for pushing back the German line failed.

We discussed the reasons for this failure and examined how the men of the Sheffield City Battalion themselves accounted for their great losses. But it must never be forgot that all the pals did not waver in the battle - they fought with great heroism and carried out their orders to the letter.

As news of the battle slowly emerged back home - there was great shock in Sheffield and all the communities that had raised battalions and companies. The formation of the pals as fighting units from often, very tight knit communities only served to intensify the loss in these communities.

The Sheffield City Battalion was supplemented by reserves from all parts of the country and went on to serve once more with great distinction in the First World War - most notably at Vimy Ridge alongside the Canadians.

The Battalion was officially disbanded after the war in a ceremony at Sheffield Cathedral where the Battalion's colours were passed on - they can still be seen in the transept of the Cathedral.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end, they remain

Zero Hour

The plan is now in place, the artillery are pounding the German line and the Sheffield City Battalion move up to the front line copses and take their place in the trenches awaiting zero hour.

The next session details the events of the 1st July 1916.

The next session will be our last at Attercliffe.

There will be the meeting at the Red Deer next Thursday evening at 7.30pm (2nd April) to discuss the pals display at Sheffield Central Library, that will serve as a meeting; plus, we have the guided walk of Redmires by Helen Ullathorne (University of Sheffield Archaeology Department) later in July. I will forward you the details of the guided walk when the arrangements are in hand.

Furthermore, I would be most grateful if people could complete the course evaluation sheets that I will distribute in the session - thanks in advance for this.

I am very much looking forward to the last session - although I have promised Ken that we will be out of the building a bit earlier this week!

Gwen and Phil will miss the last session due to family and holiday committments - I will post out materials to you at Easter. Have a great time on your journey

Can I take this opportunity to thank everyone for their enthusiasm and support on the course. People have brought to the sessions incredible knowledge and insight - well done to all!!

Countdown to Zero Hour

In the next session we will examine the final countdown to the battle and analyse the advantages/weaknesses of the battle strategy.

The Sheffield Battalion by April 1916 were having periodic duties at the front line but the vast majority of the companies were billeted away and rehearsing their assault of the German front line.

We will examine the battalions place in the grand plan and look at the pals soldier as they prepared for the big push.

We will also examine the crucial role played by the artillery in the lead up to the main infantry assault.

Can I take the opportunity to recommend a couple of 'popular' history accounts of the Somme.

Middlebrook's book is widely available and I cannot think of a better title as a starting point to introduce the main issues surrounding the battle. The book also features the pals and the role of the Shefield City Battalion.

Can I also recommend:

Meeting - Thursday 2nd April

There will be a meeting in the Red Deer pub (just off West Street) at 7.30pm on Thursday (not Tuesday!) 2nd April to discuss the forthcoming pals display at the Central Library in July. I will forward people more details by e mail shortly.

Hope to see you there

PT Harold Roddis

Link to the site is at:

http://www.angelfire.com/az/garethknight/redcross/horton.html

The Race to Relieve Verdun

Battle of Verdun

In December 1915 Chief of Staff of the German army, Erich von Falkenhayn, decided to attack Verdun, a French garrison town. A million German troops attacked 200,000 French soldiers at Verdun on February 21, 1916. By February 24, the French had already retreated to their third line. Henri-Philippie Petain was appointed commander of the Verdun sector, and he gave orders to stop withdrawing. Every spare French soldier was sent to defend Verdun. The Germans were stopped near the end of February, and on March 6, they attacked Verdun again. They were stopped near Mort Homme Hill. Until May 28, the French held Homme Hill; then the Germans secured it. The Germans continued to attack Verdun throughout early autumn. The German attacks were becoming weaker due to the need to transfer troops to defend their front-line. The French used this opportunity to counterattack, and retake the Douaumont and Vaux forts. Verdun was the longest battle of World War I, and ended on December 18. The French army had 550,000 casualties, and the Germans had 434,000 casualties. About half of all casualties were deaths.

There was an urgent need to relieve the French at Verdun, therefore a second front had to be opened up in France.

In the next session we will examine the plans for the Somme offensive

Can I recommend a DVD drama based on the The First World War, 'My Boy Jack'.

Trip to France 2010

A number of people in the last 6 months have asked me about the possibilty of organising a visit to the battlefields in France. In the next two weeks I am going to forward letters to everyone who has or is taking part in the pals course to see if there is enough interest in pursuing this idea.

Furthermore, I will approach the WEA and Sheffield City Council to ascertain, if any funding exists to help with the costs of such a visit.

If a visit was to take place it would ideally be a long weekend (Friday to Monday) as this will keep the costs down and could be slotted into people's busy schedules. Perhaps a target date for the visit would be July 2010. I think the chances of a July 1st visit have already gone. I know that many places are booked two years in advance for July 1st visits.

Perhaps the second weekend in July? I am guessing at numbers here but with the inclusion of partners or friends - around the 20 mark?

The visit could be with a tour company with an itinerary prescribed by ourselves or we could organise the whole thing.

One idea would be to:

Friday - morning, travel by coach to Leeds Bradford, go over by the new air route with Jet2.com to Albert and then transfer to accomodation. Hire a coach and driver over in France for the weekend.

- settle in accommodation and then leisurely evening in Albert and a meal (plus wine!).

Saturday - Sheffield Memorial Park, Serre, Thiepval.... etc and then a meal in Albert in the evening.

Sunday a trip up to Ypres for the Cloth Hall and then finish with the 'Last Post' at M. Gate. Meal in Ypres - some fine cafes in the main square! (plus wine again!)

Monday - Delville Wood in the morning and lunch later in Albert and then transfer for the flight home.

There would be time for you and your partner/friends to ramble round by yourselves but also have group activities - a combo.

I would welcome any ideas or thoughts about the idea. I can be contacted at:

ianrobo@gmail.com

Session

Thanks to everyone who are bringing in primary and secondary materials to the sessions.

This week we had a variety of evidence - photographs, shell cases, documents, newspaper articles and original plans brought to the sessions - much appreciated and this enriches all of us on the course.

Well done to everyone on the task set in the session - all of the displays were terrific. You negotiated all the information and synthesised this perfectly on to your designs.

Rugeley - Port Said - Marseilles

Accompanied by marching bands the pals set off from their Redmires base for further training at Rugeley and Salisbury Plain. Here for the first time they are able to train along side the battalions of 94th Brigade who were to take part in the 'Big Push'.

At Rugeley they were to trade the wooden huts of Redmires to the wooden huts of Cannock Chase.

For those who would like more details about Rugeley Camp during World War 1 take a look at the following link:

http://www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/site/HeritageTrail/great_war.html

After training. the battalion are mobilised to Egypt.

Aboard SS Nestor they make their way through Gibraltar, enjoy leave in Valletta, Malta and then push on to Alexandria and upwards to Port Said.

In March 1916, the battalion are stood down in Egypt but mobilised immediately for action. The battalion are to be deployed to the Western theatre of operations.

The pals embark aboard ship bound for France and arrive in the French southern port of Marseilles - like countless thousands of British, French and Commonwealth troops they are heading toward the North West sector of France, the area we now know as, The Somme.