by scully » Sat Feb 05, 2011 2:44 pm
Hi Phill.
Additional information.
Your grandfather was the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the 4th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. He was later commisioned in the field to 2nd Lieutenant and on the 17th October 1919 promoted to Lieutenant. He retired from the Army on the 3rd November 1920.
Below is an extract from the official Regimental history which covers the period for which your grandfather was arwarded the DCM. He is mentioned by name in the text:
THE BATTLE OF POELCAPPELLS (9th October 1917)
Just as the first light of the October day showed through the rain the British guns opened the battle, and the two leading companies of the 4th Worcestershire advanced (led by Captain H. L. Grogan and Lieut. C. W. Morton). They reached the stream; and before the one available bridge could be got forward it was found that two of the enemy's foot-bridges were still intact. Some of the attackers crossed by those bridges, but most splashed their way across through the stream and through the muddy shell-holes on its banks. Germans, many more than had been expected, were found in the shell-holes near the stream; they were killed or captured and the attack pushed forward.
Behind the leading companies the two companies of the second line and also the first line of the Newfoundlanders followed closely, so closely that in that difficult ground the units became intermixed; but all pressed forward with a will. Within half-an-hour, after dealing with several block-houses along the railway embankment, the attack had reached the first objective, marked by "Namur Crossing," where a road, just recognizable, ran under the railway embankment.
There the platoons commenced to entrench. Two hundred yards in front the protective barrage, a curtain of smoke and bursting shells, screened their extended line.
In spite of that barrage the enemy's fire was not yet mastered. One of the concrete blockhouses in front of the line (Apparently the solitary block-house midway between, the railway and the stream ? ?) had not been struck by the shells, and its machine-gun swept the line of the labouring troops with burst after burst of fire. Officers and men were shot down or were driven to shelter in the shell-holes. Musketry was useless against the concrete walls, and messages were sent back for trench-mortars to deal with the block-house. But before the mortars could be brought up the fire of the machine-gun suddenly stopped. A minute later every man within sight was on his feet cheering and laughing, for stumbling through the mud towards the British line came a little crowd of the enemy with hands raised in surrender, and behind them came a solitary British soldier, labouring along under the weight of a machine-gun—the machine-gun. The cheering grew as he was recognised : "Dancox! " the troops shouted, "Good old Dancox ! "
Private Frederick George Dancox (Private Dancox was a Worcester man, born and bred in Worcester City), a stolid old soldier, had served with the Battalion throughout the war. For that day he had been detailed as one of a party of " moppers-up," intended to deal with isolated enemy strongholds such as that block-house. The mud and the enemy's fire had broken up his party, and Dancox found himself out in front alone. Nothing daunted, he proceeded to attack the block-house single-handed. To approach its machine-gun from the front was impossible: behind and about the block-house our own shells were bursting. Carefully working round from shell-hole to shell-hole, Dancox ran the gauntlet of the bursting shells and reached the back wall of the block-house unobserved.
With a bomb in his hand he walked through the doorway at the back of the block-house into the midst of the enemy. Surprised and terrified the machine-gunners surrendered.
Holding his bomb ready to throw, Private Dancox backed out of the block-house, beckoning the Germans to follow. Once outside, he ordered his prisoners off to our, lines: then, when he had seen them started on their way, he went again into the block-house and dismounted the machine-gun. He carried the weapon back in triumph, and fired it himself throughout the rest of the day, in great good humour and amid the laughing congratulations of all around.
For that example of cool bravery Private Dancox was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.
Other German strongholds met a similar fate. Private W. Harding likewise attacked a block-house, the eight occupants of which surrendered with a machine-gun (Pte. Harding was awarded the D.C.M.). Lance-Corporal W. G.T. Pearse led a "mopping-up" party and captured a German post firing from a shell-hole. A party of the Battalion signallers while laying a telephone wire discovered a German dugout which had been overlooked by the attack. Led by Lieutenant H. M. Clark, the signallers attacked the dugout and captured it's occupants (L/Cpl. Pearse was awarded the D.C.M. Lieut. Clark was awarded the M.C.).
Meanwhile Colonel Linton, ever in the thick of the fight, had moved his Battalion Headquarters (R.S.M. D. G. L. Morgan showed great bravery in reorganising the companies, consolidating the position and getting up ammunition. He set a splendid example, and was subsequently awarded the D.C.M.) forward to a captured block-house near Namur Crossing. Soon afterwards the barrage began again to move forward. Behind the barrage, the two supporting companies advanced (one company was led by 2/Lt. G. S. Pegler, who showed great skill and determination in leading the platoons to their objective. He was awarded the M.C.) to the second objective. With them was carried a trench-mortar. A block-house near the railway some three hundred yards to the front opened fire as the barrage lifted, and against it the trench mortar was brought into action from the line of the stream. Four direct hits and an encircling advance (headed with great determination by Sergt. A. Sanders, who was awarded the D.C.M.) caused the surrender of its garrison, some thirty in all.
Only Pascal Farm then remained to be dealt with. The trench-mortar was shifted to Namur , Crossing and thence bombarded the Farm, while platoons pushed in from the left flank. Twenty-five rounds from the mortar were sufficient, and the garrison of the Farm, about fifty in number, came out and surrendered.
Thenceforward the advance met but little opposition, and by 9 a.m. the line of the Second objective had been secured. Again there was a long pause while the protective barrage burst in front of the line; then the barrage moved on, and the Newfoundland Regiment went through to capture Cairo House and the line of the third objective.
Behind them the Worcestershire platoons worked hard, digging themselves into safety amid intermittent shell-fire. On the left the Guards were pushing forward towards Houthulst Forest, and away to the right Poelcappelle had been stormed by the 4th and 11th Divisions.
The work of consolidation went on until darkness fell; then the Worcestershire companies were relieved (the two companies on the first objective were relieved by the 7th Lincolnshire. The two companies on the second objective were relieved by the Newfoundlanders. Relief was not complete until nearly 4 a.m. on the following day, October 10th) and made their way back across the battle-field and over the canal to camp near Elverdinghe. There, after breakfasts, the Battalion entrained and was carried back to International Corner north of Proven, whence the weary troops marched to Sarawak Camp to rest (for his able and fearless leadership in that battle, Colonel Linton was awarded a bar to his D.S.O.).
The losses totalled 7 officers (2 killed - 2/Lts. W. W. McNally, M.C. and J. Sedgewick. 5 wounded including Lt. C. W. Morton and 2/Lt. R. E. Wilson, Capt. N. H. W. Saw, R.A.M.C. attached, was also killed) and 167 N.C.O's. and men (20 killed, 107 wounded, 40 missing). On the other hand the Battalion had captured more than 200 of the enemy, including 6 officers, together with five machine-guns.
Regards,
Louis (webmaster)