Battle of the Somme

An unknown Black Soldier at the Battle of the Somme

A decade ago we worked on a project to identify Black soldiers who served in the First World War and who were commemorated in the UK. We had some successes, as a result of our work the ‘lost’ grave of Lionel Turpin was located and his final resting place in a Leamington cemetery is now marked. The project also led us to the story of the Walker Brothers and a book that tells their story:

We were helped in our work by two books, recently published at the time, Black Poppies by Stephen Bourne and Black Tommies by Ray Costello, but there was still a sense that this was a hidden history and that there were those who wished to deny the presence of Black soldiers in Flanders – if they were there at all, they were there simply as labourers, not as fighting troops. Thanks to the work of John Ellis our website now contains the stories of a number of men of colour who served in combat roles (just type ‘somme’ into the search box to find them).

The photo we feature below is further proof of a Black presence at the Battle of the Somme in 1916:

John Ellis provides some context:

This unit is D Company of the 1^st/4^th Gloucestershire Regiment (City of Bristol Battalion). They were formed from civilian volunteers living in Bristol when WW1 broke out. They went to France in 1915 and in July 1916 they participated in the Battle of the Somme. The photo was taken after a successful attack on the German trenches They have taken trophies: A German machine gun. German helmets and swords. Within a few days they went back into battle. The Battle of the Somme ended in November 1916. Over 400,000 British soldiers were killed. So many of the men in the photograph would have been wounded or killed after it was taken.

Only a few of the men in the photo have been identified. Most are unknown. Including the Black soldier sitting behind the machine gun among his comrades.

The photograph comes from the collection of amateur historian, Ian Chard, who reached out to the BBC in an attempt to find out who some of the men were. You can read more about the story here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-67945251

As we approach Remembrance Day the photograph offers a timely reminder of the diversity of those who have served Britain.

‘Woke history’ – is there such a thing?

If history consists of facts, then the role of historians is to present the facts. But there are so many facts that historians must choose which ones to present (or omit) and, in making their choice, they create a narrative. The nature of the story they tell is of necessity influenced by their interests.

The question in the title of this post is prompted by John Ellis’s latest contribution to Historycal Roots where he comments that he is playing his part in ‘showing that the presence of such men [of colour] was more widespread than critics of attempts to recognise their contribution would have people believe.’ John is one of a number of historians (he cites Stephen Bourne and Ray Costello as two examples) who are seeking to redress the balance by researching hitherto untold stories of the black contribution to British history.

There is little doubt, as John suggests, that not everyone is happy with this approach and the epithet ‘woke’ would be tossed in their direction as a criticism. I don’t doubt that ‘woke’ can be defined in a variety of ways. One definition I have seen is that woke is ‘a concept that symbolises awareness of social issues and movement against injustice, inequality and prejudice.’ Personally, if I was ‘accused’ of peddling ‘woke history’, I would be happy to accept the ‘charge’.

I recently had the pleasure of eavesdropping on a presentation that David Olusoga gave to a group of black educators (he was on zoom and I happened to be in the room when a legitimate participant was listening – these things happen!). I am always impressed when I hear David speak and I was intrigued by his discussion of the abuse he is subjected to on social media. Clearly this must be an unpleasant experience but he said he regards it as a sign of success – people are hearing a different version of history to the one they are used to and they don’t like it. The message that British history is not and never has been exclusively white is getting across. David said he was confident that the arguments would be won and that, in the future, people would wonder what the fuss had been about.

This reminded me of a short film I saw at the BFI (British Film Institute) on London’s Southbank when I popped in for an hour or two to shelter from the rain. The film, dating from 1958, featured interviews with a range of people discussing the then vexed topic of mixed marriage. Some of the views expressed were predictably repulsive but the last contributor, Lord Stanhope, opined that in fifty years’ time people would wonder what all the fuss had been about and that mixed marriages would be seen as entirely normal. Perhaps I am unduly influenced by living in London, but my perception is that Lord Stanhope has been proved correct while the repugnant views (extreme even by the standards of the time) expressed in the film by James Wentworth-Day, have pretty much returned to the primeval sludge where they belong. Although the film can be viewed free if you visit the BFI it seems you have to pay to view it online:

https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-mixed-marriages-1958-online

You will need a strong stomach if you choose to watch it.

All of this is a rather long preamble introducing you to John Ellis’s latest contribution to Historycal Roots which you can read here: https://www.historycalroots.com/a-sri-lankan-in-the-die-hards-private-cyril-lorenz-mellonius-a-somme-veteran-of-the-middlesex-regiment/. Using Cyril Mellonius as its starting point, the article tells the story of the black presence in the Middlesex Regiment at the Battle of the Somme.

I should also draw your attention to another recent article by John tracing the naval career of John Addoo from Africa to his final resting place in Brockhurst, Hampshire. A career that encompassed the transition from sail to steam: https://www.historycalroots.com/from-sail-to-steam-john-addoo-1795-1855-an-african-in-the-royal-navy/ . It was remiss of me not to mention this article at the time of its publication.

I hope you enjoy reading both of John’s new contributions.

Walter Moore – A black soldier at Gallipoli and the Somme

As promised last week, we can now, courtesy of John Ellis, introduce you to Walter Albert Moore. Some people may still cling to the notion that black soldiers did not serve in front line roles during World War One, Walter’s story provides yet more evidence that nothing could be further from the truth. He served in the Gallipoli campaign (1915-16) and then in Flanders at the Battle of the Somme (1916). Did he survive? Read John’s article to find out!

http://historycalroots.com/the-soldier-walter-albert-moore/

Before you do though, John’s article prompted me to look at the War Diary of Walter’s battalion for the period he was serving in France during the Battle of the Somme.

We get used to thinking about the shocking carnage of the first day of the battle (around 19,000 British troops lost their lives on that day alone) and on the days that followed. But what we tend to lose sight of is the drip, drip, drip war of attrition in the periods between one ‘big push’ and the next. War diaries will rarely mention the names of rank and file soldiers like Walter whether they were black or white but they do give an impression of what life (and death) was like in the trenches. Here is a short selection of extracts from the War Diary of Walter’s battalion. The diary starts with an account of a night raid on enemy lines:

“4th July, 12.45 am: Party consisted of 70 men and 6 officers which were split up into two parties. Raid was a failure and the officers put down the cause to a certain German listening post. Only the right party got anywhere near the trenches which however they did not penetrate. Casualties in the raiding party were light but there were a good many in the trenches caused by the German artillery retaliation which lasted half an hour. Casualties A Company NIL, B Company OR [other ranks] 1 killed 2 wounded.

A and B companies relieved by C and D companies at almost midnight and returned to huts at COUPIGNY. C Company 200 wounded D Company NIL.”

The troops seem to have then spent a few days out of the front line but there was still business to attend to:

“8th July: temporary commission and appointment of RH McLean, RNVR, Drake Battalion, terminated due to medical unfitness.”

Then they were back in the trenches:

“13th July Lieutenant Commander H B POLLOCK wounded by shrapnel, OR 300 wounded.”

On 18th July, during another respite from the front line, a Field Court Martial was convened and “LS W SMITH was found guilty on three [unspecified] charges and reduced to AB.”

After what seems to have been a quiet period (21st July – “situation quiet throughout”), when a lot of effort went into improving the trenches, the war of attrition continued:

“10th August: Enemy active with LTMs rifle grenades in particular . Two killed.

11th August: Enemy very active in sector with LTMs rifle grenades in particular. One killed three wounded.

12th August: Btn [Battalion] relieved by Hood Btn – Relief complete about 12 midnight. One killed, one wounded.”

The relieved troops marched to Aix Noulette Woods where they spent the next few days ‘in huts’ presumably beyond the reach of German artillery. But they were soon back in the front line.

War diaries are not an easy read in more ways than one

“20th August: A bombardment of gas release started in the ANGRES SECTOR at 10.30 pm which lasted til about 11.45 pm. Some of the enemy retaliation with field guns and trench mortars were [‘was’ has been deleted, grammatical standards must be maintained after all] directed at our Front and Relief lines. Damage slight. Three wounded.

21st August: One wounded.”

And so it continued, the diary reports one killed (22nd August), 23rd August (two wounded), 24th August (two wounded) and, after a brief respite, one killed, one wounded (27th August).

It seems that when you weren’t in the front line being shot at you were behind the lines waiting for your turn to be shot at.

Walter Moore, a black soldier from Trinidad, was part of all this.