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This book was inspired by the life of the author’s great uncle, Joe Waite, who was awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Broodseinde (part of the third battle of Ypres). Waite served with the 1/7th (TF) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, after lying about his age to sign up, and survived the war, living until 1973.
The structure of this book is most unusual. After the normal biographical chapter we look at the army of 1914, Waite’s route to war and get an account of the battle of Broodseinde. However the largest chapter in the book by far provides individual biographies of every man from the battalion killed during the battle and its immediate aftermath, a total of 64 men. In most cases we get a family background, brief look at their previous military experience, fate (if known) during the battle, and any payments to the bereaved family.
As with many detailed accounts of these battles this one reminds us that the standard image of a line of men rising from the trenches only to be cut down, or getting caught in the wire, isn’t accurate. While many casualties were indeed suffered early in the attack, in most cases the initial targets were captured. This part of the attack could be planned in great detail, and was supported by a massive artillery bombardment. The big problems came next, when the Germans had time to recover from the initial attack, move fresh artillery into the area, isolate the most advanced British troops and counterattack. In this case the battalion captured its targets on 4 October, but then had to spend three more days holding their positions before they were finally replaced late on 7 October. Tragically a significant number of casualties came on the following day, 8 October, when the battalion had to send working parties to the front and suffered heavy losses doing so.
Joe Waite himself survived the battle, but suffered a tragic loss in the Second World War when his family were killed during a German bombing raid on Coventry while he was out at work. Despite that the author remembered him as good humoured and well liked.
This is an unusual approach to the topic, but I found it an effective one, giving us a snapshot of the men our subject served alongside, and a reminder of the terrible human cost of these battles.
Chapters
1 – From Cradle to Khaki
2 – The British Army of 1914
3 – Marching to War
4 – The Battle of Broodseinde
5 – On the Ground in October 1917
6 – The Fallen
7 – Druid: The Story of a Tank
8 – After the Guns
Author: John Waite
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 248
Publisher: Pen & Sword
Year: 2024