Read Online Blood and Thunder by Alexandra J Churchill - Free Book Online
Authors: Alexandra J Churchill
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was relocated to Cement House Cemetery in the 1950s.
Diagram showing the charge of the 9th Lancers at Audregnies
4
âOur Little Band of Brothersâ
As autumn began, large numers of OEs were engaged in a type of conflict that is unfamiliar to many envisioning the Great War. The timeless image of the war is that of the trenches: stagnant warfare, andarmies scrapping over slithers of mud in Flanders and on the Somme. But this was not the war that governments, generals or the troops involved had anticipated. Combatants across Europe were trained to fight on the move and were conducting the opening throes of the conflict as such: seizing positions, defending them briefly and then moving on. It was a fluid, mobile type of warfare similar to the experience of their ancestors on the battlefields of Europe in the nineteenth century.
Nearly one third of the Old Etonians who fell during the Great War have no known grave. Prior to the BEFâs descent into Picardy and the environs of the River Aisne in September 1914 only three of the schoolâs casualties were missing and presumed dead, as opposed to actually having a marked burial site. For Eton the retreat changed this, followed by the re-crossing of the river in pursuit of the enemy two weeks later and the Battle of the Aisne. At the time the reaction of the families of these missing men was not one of muted acceptance. The world had not yet seen the opening day of the Somme, or the vile mud of Passchendaele. The idea of young officers having vanished into oblivion in the opening months of the war was shocking, unacceptable even, and the families of some went to extraordinary lengths to obtain answers that they were convinced had to be waiting for them on the battlefields and from the mouths of those that had survived.
As yet, the Guards Regiments had barely fired a shot in anger. When the 4th (Guards) Brigade arrived in France it comprised the 2nd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards, the 1st Irish Guards and both the 2nd and 3rd Coldstream Guards. For many Etonians these regiments were a family tradition. The Coldstream had been formed by General Monck in 1650 and on embarking for the Great War an OE with the same name boarded the transport; whilst another Etonian travelling to France claimed to be a sixth-generation Grenadier. Between them the four Battalions took 125 officers to war and nearly 60 per cent of them had been educated at Eton College. The presence of such high numbers of Etonians in certain units meant that when they were decimated in combat, large numbers of OEs would likely fall together. On 14 September this trend began, twenty of Etonâs old boys fell in one day and of them eleven belonged to one of the four Guards regiments.
Amongst their number was a 22-year-old Old Etonian who had barely been with the Grenadiers for a year when war was declared. Mild-mannered, perhaps a little too laid-back and cheerful by nature, John Manners had it all: intellect, looks and athletic ability in just about every sport he tried. His Eton fame had been secured by the Lordâs match in 1910. Partly a brainchild of Lord Byron, it had become tradition that the boys of Eton would take on the boys of Harrow School every summer at the Marylebone Cricket Clubâs famous ground in St Johnâs Wood. At the time it was a social event to rival Ascot or the Grand National and attracted crowds in the tens of thousands.
The match in 1910 ended in a breathtaking manner. Eton was languishing after the first innings, being all out for a pathetic 67. John himself was ninth in the batting order and had been caught out for 4, the future Field Marshal Alexander of Tunis bowling the offending ball. Harrow had been unbeaten all year but the star of the day was Robert Fowler, the Eton captain. Apart from his 64, the second innings was nothing to shout about either. John made 40 not out, the second highest total, and in desperation Boswell KS, the wicket keeper, had racked
Diagram showing the charge of the 9th Lancers at Audregnies
4
âOur Little Band of Brothersâ
As autumn began, large numers of OEs were engaged in a type of conflict that is unfamiliar to many envisioning the Great War. The timeless image of the war is that of the trenches: stagnant warfare, andarmies scrapping over slithers of mud in Flanders and on the Somme. But this was not the war that governments, generals or the troops involved had anticipated. Combatants across Europe were trained to fight on the move and were conducting the opening throes of the conflict as such: seizing positions, defending them briefly and then moving on. It was a fluid, mobile type of warfare similar to the experience of their ancestors on the battlefields of Europe in the nineteenth century.
Nearly one third of the Old Etonians who fell during the Great War have no known grave. Prior to the BEFâs descent into Picardy and the environs of the River Aisne in September 1914 only three of the schoolâs casualties were missing and presumed dead, as opposed to actually having a marked burial site. For Eton the retreat changed this, followed by the re-crossing of the river in pursuit of the enemy two weeks later and the Battle of the Aisne. At the time the reaction of the families of these missing men was not one of muted acceptance. The world had not yet seen the opening day of the Somme, or the vile mud of Passchendaele. The idea of young officers having vanished into oblivion in the opening months of the war was shocking, unacceptable even, and the families of some went to extraordinary lengths to obtain answers that they were convinced had to be waiting for them on the battlefields and from the mouths of those that had survived.
As yet, the Guards Regiments had barely fired a shot in anger. When the 4th (Guards) Brigade arrived in France it comprised the 2nd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards, the 1st Irish Guards and both the 2nd and 3rd Coldstream Guards. For many Etonians these regiments were a family tradition. The Coldstream had been formed by General Monck in 1650 and on embarking for the Great War an OE with the same name boarded the transport; whilst another Etonian travelling to France claimed to be a sixth-generation Grenadier. Between them the four Battalions took 125 officers to war and nearly 60 per cent of them had been educated at Eton College. The presence of such high numbers of Etonians in certain units meant that when they were decimated in combat, large numbers of OEs would likely fall together. On 14 September this trend began, twenty of Etonâs old boys fell in one day and of them eleven belonged to one of the four Guards regiments.
Amongst their number was a 22-year-old Old Etonian who had barely been with the Grenadiers for a year when war was declared. Mild-mannered, perhaps a little too laid-back and cheerful by nature, John Manners had it all: intellect, looks and athletic ability in just about every sport he tried. His Eton fame had been secured by the Lordâs match in 1910. Partly a brainchild of Lord Byron, it had become tradition that the boys of Eton would take on the boys of Harrow School every summer at the Marylebone Cricket Clubâs famous ground in St Johnâs Wood. At the time it was a social event to rival Ascot or the Grand National and attracted crowds in the tens of thousands.
The match in 1910 ended in a breathtaking manner. Eton was languishing after the first innings, being all out for a pathetic 67. John himself was ninth in the batting order and had been caught out for 4, the future Field Marshal Alexander of Tunis bowling the offending ball. Harrow had been unbeaten all year but the star of the day was Robert Fowler, the Eton captain. Apart from his 64, the second innings was nothing to shout about either. John made 40 not out, the second highest total, and in desperation Boswell KS, the wicket keeper, had racked
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