GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY
One incident in this fighting is worthy of mention. During the forenoon, Captain Ensor, knowing that Lieut. Macdonald had been hit, went out to try and find him. After running from shell-hole to shell-hole for about three hundred yards under fire and in full view of the Germans, and calling out Macdonald’s name, he found him lying seriously wounded. Then, having put iodine on his wounds and made him as comfortable as possible, he ran the gauntlet back to where his men were dug in. The next morning before it was light, Captain Ensor with his orderly went out again and tried to bring in his wounded subaltern, but after carrying him for about two hundred yards the orderly was shot dead. Captain Ensor, however, had succeeded in getting Lieut. Macdonald within the zone of his own stretcher-bearers, who brought him in. Lieut. Macdonald eventually recovered, though in hospital for five and half years.
The casualties were as follows - Killed: Captain S. H. Byrne; 2nd Lieut. G. D. Gardiner; and 15 other ranks. Wounded: Captains V. W. Barrett and N. R. Rawson (R.A.M.C.); 2nd Lieuts C. Wayman, A. G. Douglas, G. W. Collyer, D. K. Macdonald, H. E. Falkner, A. Fudge, F. Goatcher, and H. Almack; and 185 other ranks [including Day]. Unfortunately for Day he did not have a Captain Ensor to find him, and he was forced to crawl back to British lines under the cover of darkness:
‘Here he very narrowly escaped losing his life. He sustained no fewer than four wounds on different parts of his body. As luck would have it, one bullet struck him directly over the heart, and would certainly have put an end to his career but for the fortunate circumstances that he had in his breast pocket two or three pocket books, a packet of post cards, and about a dozen field cards. The bullet passed through the lot, but was deflected and, entering his side, came out at his back. Another bullet struck him near the groin, but became embedded in the leather case of a range finder [this is in fact the compass case included in the lot] and inflicted nothing worse than a bruise. A third passed through his thigh and came out of his groin; and a fourth went through his left side and came out of his back. Thus wounded and exhausted he lay in a shell-hole from seven o’clock in the morning till it became dark, when he crept three miles to a dressing station.’ (Newspaper cutting included in lot refers)
Day was once again evacuated to the UK, however, this time he managed to be posted to a hospital closer to home - the Norfolk War Hospital at Thorpe St. Andrew.
1917: Third time ‘lucky’
After several months of recuperation, and advancing to Corporal, Day returned to France in 1917. He transferred to the 11th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (Cambridgeshire) and served with them as part of the 34th Division, IIIrd Corps. In July 1917 the Battalion proceeded to Péronne, with the division occupying a line about twelve miles east of that town, the centre being three miles west of the Hindenburg line at Bellenglise.
Day, and the 11th Battalion, ‘moved into the front and Brown Lines [on 24 August], with two companies in Priel Wood, taking part two days later in a most successful attack on Malakhoff Farm and trench system in front of Hargicourt, in which all the objectives were quickly gained. The Thirty-fourth Division, 1915-19 says: “This battalion had some hand-to-hand fighting at the junction of Sugar and Malakhoff trenches, and suffered from a machine-gun’s fire until its crew was killed. The centre company, ‘B’, lost ground getting through Malakhoff Farm, but this had been anticipated, and the troops on the right and left bombed inwards down the support trench, so that the Red Line was occupied up to time. The officer commanding ‘D’ Company [Captain A. B. Wright] materially facilitated the consolidation of this part of the objective by seizing the adjacent portion of Triangle Trench, in which he took thirty prisoners.’
The rather dry paragraph written above, written with Corps level in mind, hardly does justice to the heroics of Corporal Day during the attack. The Battalion had been tasked with the capture of a system of trenches on a ridge, protected by a German strong point called Malakhoff Farm, near the French village of Hargicourt. Day, given command of a bombing section, spearheaded the attack. Entering into a labyrinthine system, the whole attack was in danger of grinding to a halt when it faltered under the deadly fire of a machine-gun crew. Day came to the fore, killing two of the gunners and taking the remainder of the crew prisoner. Advancing again, the attack became fragmented and it was Day who went alone to bomb his way out, and thus re-establish contact with the remainder of the Battalion. Having successfully re-established a link with the other members of the attack, Day returned to where he had left his section. Upon arrival he discovered two officers (one badly wounded) and three other ranks in his newly captured part of the trench.
Almost immediately, in this ‘tit-for-tat’ struggle, Day was faced with a German stick grenade landing at his feet. Fortunately for all concerned survival instinct kicked in, and Day seized the grenade before hurling it over the side of the trench. It exploded almost as soon as it left his hands. His actions saved the lives of those in the trench, as well as his own.
Despite this near death experience, Day pressed on once again and cleared the remainder of the trench. He consolidated his position, heavily entrenched himself, and remained at his post under intense shelling until his relief sixty-six hours later.
In recognition of his gallantry, Day was awarded the Victoria Cross - 1 of only 2 ever awarded to the Regiment. He wrote to his parents on 4 September, ‘in about six weeks’ time you will, I hope be informed of great news, which will make you the proudest parents in Norwich. I am recommended for the coveted honour, the V.C..... When we got back to our billets my platoon officer, who is a perfect gentleman... called me aside, and told me that he was very pleased with what I had done in the attack, and was recommending me for a reward. At first, he said, I was in for a MM, but the Captain himself decided on a DCM, but finally the Colonel and Captain thought me worthy of the Victoria Cross, as he told me personally I thoroughly deserved it, and he hoped I would get it. Well, when my officer told me that, you might have knocked me down with a feather, for little did I dream that I should ever be the one to gain that much coveted honour.’
Day, spearheading the attack at Hargicourt, 26 August 1917
www.dnw.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290 |
Page 291 |
Page 292
