Chapter 2: Mud, blood and bluster .. Ballymena at war 1914-1918

And it was not just the enemy causing casualties, mother nature herself contributed to the roll call of pain and suffering. In the wars of the 19th century, standard procedure dictated wars of movement with campaigns taking place during spring and summer months with the combatants retiring to winter quarters with the worsening weather.

But with the Western Front now consisting of an unbroken line of increasingly strong trench fortifications running from the Swiss border to the North Sea, war was no an all-year-round affair.

While the Germans expended great energy on the construction of deep shelters for their troops in anticipation of a long defensive struggle, the British and their French allies viewed their lines as little more than a jumping off point for the next offensive to beat the ‘hun’ back to Berlin. This attack minded ethic meant that Allied trenches were nowhere near as well appointed as those of the enemy.

Exposure to the elements was just another burden for the average front line ‘Tommy’ to bear. As the Ballymena Observer reported in January 1915:-

Private William Allen, Alexander Street, who was serving at the front with the Royal Engineers, is now invalided to No. 11 Field Ambulance, suffering from syncope as a result of his strenuous experiences in the trenches.

Private Dick McCormick of North Street is home from the front suffering from frostbite. He was with the Royal Irish Rifles.

Syncope is due to a temporary reduction in blood flow and therefore a shortage of oxygen to the brain. This leads to light-headedness or a ‘black out’ episode, a loss of consciousness.

While conditions in the trenches varied with the time of year and weather, it is fair to say that trench life was generally squalid. There was a steady accumulation of filth which was inevitable from living a semi-subterranean existence and this was worsened as men were unable to wash or change for days or weeks at a time.

Vermin such as rats and lice were very numerous; disease was spread both by them, and by the maggots and flies that thrived on the nearby remains of decomposing human and animal corpses.

Troops in the front lines were also subjected to flooding with the water in their trenches sometimes rising to waist height. It was common for men to suffer from exposure, frostbite and trench foot, a wasting disease of the flesh caused by the foot being wet and cold for days on end.

There were few comforts for such troops but one constant throughout the war was the doling out of the famous rum ration. In post conflict hearings, one medical officer expressed the opinion that this daily ritual had done more to win the war than anything else!

At home there were those who took a distinctly dim view of alcohol in all its forms.

At the annual meeting of the Vestry held on Wednesday, April 7, the following resolution was passed, Rev. T. Dowzer M.A. Chairman.

“That the Vestry of St. Patrick’s Church, Broughshane are unanimously of the opinion that prohibition of intoxicating drink should be carried out by the Government during the time of the war and also that this prohibition should be applied to all officers, NCOs and men of the British army and navy. Ballymena Observer April 9, 1915

While Tommy might have a tendency to ‘go large a bit’ when home on leave or while enjoying the delights of a smoke-filled French or Belgian ‘Estaminet’, there was little chance that he could over-indulge in the front line trenches.

Stories of men being liberally dosed with strong alcohol to imbue them with ‘Dutch Courage’ can be dismissed. In the words of one soldier: “The rum ration warmed us up and helped morale but the idea of being drunk in the front line is plain stupid.” (1.)

If they were to survive the mincing machine of the Western Front, soldiers needed all their wits about them.

Death could come in a variety of forms, with shellfire being by far the biggest killer. Barrages could bury men alive or vapourise them entirely. Jagged chunks of red hot metal sliced through flesh in an obscene fashion, removing heads and limbs with terrible ease.

Gas, snipers, grenades and the scything machine guns, used so skilfully by well trained German specialists, all contributed to the horror.

Going ‘over the bags’ was often a Gethsemane as troops were fully exposed to all the defenders’ firepower. Ballymena man, David Larkin wrote home with an account of one such attack. His words were published in the Observer.

Information has been received from Private David Larkin, Hill Street, of the 1st Btn. RIR

“I am in a hospital wounded. I got it on 11th March at Neuve Chapelle, a bullet through my left forearm and a piece of shrapnel shell in the upper part of my right leg. It was something dreadful to see how some of the men were suffering. I had to crawl on my hands and knees to the dressing station. “I shall never forget that battle. My company suffered most, there are only four of us left out of 100 and I consider myself lucky getting off with wounds. The Germans were cut to pieces and lost thousands. They deserved all they got for man, woman and child are all alike to them. “It would make your blood run cold to hear the people of Neuve Chapelle tell of the cruel treatment they received at the hands of the Germans.”

Larkin’s perception that the Germans had ‘lost thousands’ is not borne out by history which records that after an initial ‘break-in’ to the German lines at Neuve Chapelle, swift counter-attacks wrought a terrible toll on the British.

But the last paragraph of his letter is worth quoting for its insight into the spirit of comradeship which existed almost universally amongst the ‘poor bloody infantry’.

Larkin says:

“I had a letter from A.... about a parcel that she and a few others had sent me but of course I was not there to receive it. It will not be lost. Some of the boys will get it and it will be divided up between them. That is the way we all do when the owner is away wounded, so I must thank you very much for the parcel. You would be surprised how a little parcel brightens up the troops. They are pleased as schoolchildren.”

Local men at the front also benefited from community fund-raising exercises such as that organised by the redoubtable editor of the Ballymena Observer, Mr. John Wier, who had two sons with the forces, one of whom, obviously an adventurous soul, had come back from South America to join up.

No doubt, the editor was able to report with affair degree of pride:-

James A. Wier, eldest son of Mr. John Wier JP, Liscoom, Ballymena, who has returned to do his bit from the Argentine, where he was employed as an accountant on an estancia, has joined the army cyclist corps as a private.

Lt. H. W. Wier, MB, RAMC, another son of Mr. Wier, has been gazetted to the rank of Captain. He went to the front in December 1914 with the 83rd Field Ambulance and for the past seven months has been medical officer to the 2nd Btn. Cameron Highlanders.

He latched on to an idea which was already widespread and launched the newspaper’s very own ‘Tobacco Fund’.

Each week, contributions to the fund were tallied up and parcels of cigarettes and tobacco dispatched to grateful soldiers. A superb advertisement in the newspaper featured a smiling Tommy, a well filled pipe in the corner of his mouth. Below was the legend: “I received the tobacco quite safe, you don’t know how much it is wanted out here.”

From the outset of the war, people on the home front made contributions, the details of which were published on a regular basis, to everything from the ‘Red Cross Fund’ to ‘The UVF Hospital Patriotic Fund’.

The great and the good organised tea dances and bazaars in aid of various comfort funds and there was much knitting of scarves and socks for use of ‘our brave soldiers’. From time to time, requests for sundry items were published in the newspaper along with acknowledgements from the recipients.

“Farrier Alexander Rainey of Ballymena is currently home on leave after being wounded in the chest. The Observer Tobacco fund, he said, was a great organisation. Previous to the newspaper tobacco funds, they seldom had a supply of tobacco or cigarettes but now there is nearly always a supply coming to them from some paper or another.” Ballymena Observer, June 25, 1915

Not satisfied with his tobacco scheme, Wier was soon immersed in a project to buy an ambulance for the front. And just one week after he made his first appeal, his readers had responded generously:-

“WE have very great pleasure in announcing that our appeal in last week’s Observer for a sum of £500 has resulted in the magnificent and gratifying response of more than £250 in subscriptions in one week. This is one-half of what will be required to furnish one of the best motor ambulances to the war office for immediate service at the front. As we said in last week’s appeal, the scheme has got nothing whatever to do with any political party or religious denomination. It is for us all, masses and classes, and all must take a pleasure in its promotion.”

By the middle of 1915, two fully equipped ambulances, ‘donated by the readers of the Ballymena Observer’ were at the front.

As the war intensified and men found even more profitable methods of killing their fellow human beings, there was a huge demand for such vehicles and the medical personnel to deal with their bloodied cargo.

Just over half a century earlier, Florence Nightingale had revolutionised military nursing and a number of Ballymena ladies were anxious to show their commitment to the nation’s struggle.

Many of these women were daughters of the middle classes, a reflection of that section of society’s sense of duty to ‘the cause’. While some joined nursing units administered by the army medical authorities, others opted for service with the Voluntary Aid Detachments, better known as VADs.

Miss M. O. Simpson, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister in Ballymena found herself bound for Egypt having joined Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service reserve. No doubt she would have been acquainted with:-

Miss Bresland, daughter of the late Mr. James Bresland, formerly headmaster of Ballymena Model School, has been accepted by St. John Ambulance Association and has been posted for service in Egypt.

Further evidence of female middle class enlistment can be gleaned from a report in the Observer of 1915. All three women mentioned in the snippet come from prominent local families who would have been considered ‘toffs’ by the mill lads who had filled the ranks of the infantry.

Mrs. Wolseley, widow of the late Mr. C. Wolseley Jnr. Galgorm Road, Ballymena, who some time ago volunteered her services as a nurse to the War Office, has received instructions to proceed to France. Mrs. Wolseley is a daughter of the late Mrs. Jas. Bresland, formerly Headmaster of Ballymena Model School, and was connected with the local branch of the St. John Ambulance Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force Nursing Corps. Two other local nurses connected with the St. John Ambulance, Miss C. Lancashire and Miss D. Caruth have volunteered and been accepted but have not yet been called up. Ballymena Observer, October 1, 1915

Families at war

The true nature of war was a mystery to those who had never experienced the front line. While, no words or pictures could truly convey the dreadful, stinking, bloody reality of the conflict, the simple human cost was never hidden from the public.

News of the arrival of a dreaded ‘official notification’ swiftly travelled along terraced streets or country lanes. And then there was the increasingly lengthy column of death reports in the avidly read weekly newspaper.

Individual fatalities were hard enough to bear but some families, in the parlance of the time, ‘did not have their sorrows to seek.’

‘Two brothers dead and one wounded’ ran the heading above this short article from the Ballymena Observer of April 16 1915.

“Information has been received in Ballymena that L.cpl. Robert Black, of the 2nd Btn. Highland Light Infantry, who was previously reported wounded and missing, is now reported killed. L.cpl. Black comes from Ballygarvey, Ballymena and his brother, Private W. Black, of the same regiment, was killed at the front some months ago. Another brother, Private Jerry Black of the Connaught Rangers, was wounded early in the war.”

It transpires that this was yet another example of a ‘final confirmation’ in Robert’s case. In fact, Robert had fallen in October 1914 while his his brother, William, had been killed three weeks later. Neither body was recovered and they are commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, the town at the heart of the bloody salient which the British defended at all costs throughout the war.

Often the man who sent home news of a relative’s death was soon to find himself of the list of the fallen. This was certainly in the case of cousins James and Daniel McFall, both pre-war recruits to the 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Rifles. The Ballymena men would have joined the Rifles around the same time as a famous chronicler of the battalion’s role in the Great War, John Lucy, whose autobiography, ‘There’s a devil in the drum’ is rightly regarded as a classic account.

The McFalls took the King’s Shilling in late 1913 and both had been at the front since the outbreak of war.

James was killed on May 8, after his battalion had been involved in several days of fighting around the notorious Hill 60, a byword for slaughter, even in the context of the evil reputation of the Ypres Salient.

Cyril Falls writes of this period:-

On May 6, 1915, the Battalion was ordered to march to a point north of Hill 60 and relieve the Bedfords of the 13th Brigade.  The relief was carried out amidst considerable confusion.  The guides led the Battalion from the ill-famed Shrapnel Corner, on the Ypres - Wytschaete road, along the side of the Zillebeke Lake, in single file, amid falling shells, by a path littered with the wounded and gassed, whose stretcher-bearers had been forced to set them down for a few moments’ rest to their aching arms. 

Having lost their way more than once, they reached Dormy House, the Battalion headquarters, at 1.30 a.m. on the 7th.[May 1915].   A bombing attack to clear a communication trench held by the enemy had been planned for 2.30am. 

Father Gill, the Battalion’s chaplain, who describes the relief, states that he saw the scheme on the back of an envelope.  The men were not in position till ten minutes before that hour, utterly wearied already.  Moreover, the barricade, which was supposed to have been mined, did not “go up,” and the bombers were met by heavy fire from it.  The attack failed with heavy loss, Captain Burgoyne and Lieutenant Leask being wounded, and of other ranks 9 killed and 16 wounded.

Next day there was further violent fighting at Hooge in which the Battalion was involved only to the extent of some bomb-throwing.  It lost Captain V. Gilliland killed, 2nd-Lieutenant G. W. Webb wounded, and had 12 other casualties.

Young James McFall was one of the 12 ‘other casualties’ of that fight. His cousin Daniel passed word to his family in Ballymena and on May 26, the Observer dutifully reported:-

“Intimation of the death of Private James McFall, Dunfane, Ballymena has been received. Private McFall joined the Royal Irish Rifles about 18 months ago and went into action with his regiment. News of his death was received from his cousin who is also at the front.” Ballymena Observer, May 21, 1915.

Just two months later, it was Daniel’s turn to die. The circumstances of his demise are less clear and it is possible that he was merely another victim of the daily grind of hate on the Western Front . There is no mention of any major action for the date of his death but the Rifles were under regular shelling and sniper fire at the time. Again, the Observer reported:-

MRS. Rosetta McFall, Garfield Place, Ballymena, has received official notification that her third son, Pte Daniel McFall 2nd Btn R.I. Rifles has been killed in action in France. Deceased, who was only 19-years-old, enlisted towards the end of 1913 and was about nine months at the front when killed. His cousin, James McFall, who was in the same regiment, was also killed in action recently. Ballymena Observer, July 30, 1915

The McFall boys are both commemorated on the Menin Gate. It was not the end of suffering for the extended family. James’ older brother, another Daniel, was killed on July 2, 1916 while serving with the 8th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles, 36th (Ulster) Division, at the Somme. He is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.

Simple statistics will inevitably show that the ‘other ranks’ suffered the highest number of fatalities in the war, they mask the harsh truth, often overlooked by revisionists, that the toll on officers was far greater in proportion to their numbers.

Junior officers were expected to lead from the front and thus were exposed to all the dangers faced by their men, and more. In these early stages of the war, the stereotypical image of the dashing British officer charging the German trenches with little more than a

walking stick is really not very far from the truth.

For the most part, and certainly in the ‘regular’ battalions, they were products of the Public School system, until casualty rates opened doors for those who had been educated in the Grammar school system. Eventually, a man’s military merit and basic intelligence became prime factors in selection for officer status.

Ballymena had its fair share of officers from the landed gentry class with the Hodges family, whose estates encompassed the rural Glenravel district, being an early example.

On April 30, 1018, the Ballymena Observer published a photographic portrait of Henry Burden Hodges, a 2nd Lieutenant with the 2nd Btn. of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

Young Hodges had fallen at Ypres just a few days earlier.

2nd Lt. Hodges was the younger son of Mr. J. F. W. Hodges JP. He was only 19 years of age and was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset and Sandhurst. He was a noted athlete; last year (1914) he won the pubic school championship at Aldershot in the light weights. He was posted to the KOYLI on 23rd December last and went to the front in the middle of March. He was a prominent Ulster Volunteer and for a time instructor to the Newtowncrommelin Coy of the UVF. His brother Lt. J. F. Hodges, Royal Irish Fusiliers was wounded on the day that 2nd Lt. Hodges went into the trenches.

Henry Burden Hodges has no known final resting place and is commemorated on the Menin Gate. His brother J. F. Hodges survived the war, winning a Military Cross and Bar for gallantry. Few, if any, remember the Hodges name in Glenravel today. The ‘big house’ is gone and the estate has long since been broken up and sold to local farmers.

Given the social demarcation lines which existed during this period, it is hardly surprising that the demise of officers received more column inches and prominence in the local press than that accorded to rankers.

But sometimes, this situation caused considerable resentment amongst the family and friends of the citizen soldiers of the locality. They felt that their lads were making just as great a sacrifice for King and Country and on one notable occasion, when the great and good of the Urban District Council waxed lyrical about the exploits of one such upper class officer, they were taken to task by a correspondent with an acid tipped pen.

The Observer’s editor headlined the letter ‘A distinguished Ballymena soldier’:-

Dear Sir - I observe with pleasure in this week’s issue of the ‘Ballymena Observer’ where Mr. Samuel Hood and the Urban Council have brought to the notice of the general public, the names of several officers from this district who have distinguished themselves on the field of battle.

We all rejoice with the relatives of those distinguished soldiers and are proud of the brave County Antrim officers who have been conspicuous among the millions of soldiers for their noble deeds. I had no idea there were so many from these parts that we could be so especially proud of, but if you will allow me space in your paper, I will add another, whose name seems to have been omitted from the list.

His is not an officer’s name, but as Burns would say ‘a poor but honest soger’ 23504 Pioneer R. Wylie, Royal Engineers who was mentioned in despatches and has been recommended in recognition of ‘conspicuous bravery in the field’.

He is a real Ballymena man, was born and brought up in King Street, Harryville and now lives in Gilmore Street with his family.

Private Wylie is quite young and smart and a good type of Irish soldier though he has just been discharged from the army with 25 shillings per week of a pension, having been incapacitated through gas used by the Germans. When I see Wylie, I always like to salute him and when I see a group of young men and Wylie near by, I point to him and say, ‘Go thou and do likewise.’

Yours Faithfully,

Andrew McQuiston.

July 16, 1915

This letter set the cat amongst the pigeons when the Urban Council next met. Mr. McQuiston was reflecting the views of many ‘real Ballymena folk’ that the officers from the ‘big house’ families of the district, some of whom had only limited contact with the town and common people were receiving more than their fair share of publicity.

Private Wylie’s name was hurriedly added to the Urban Council’s list of congratulations - causing several red faces in the chamber! It would not be the last time, that the ordinary ‘sogers’ would take the great and good of the Urban Council to task for their often contemptuous remarks about the rank and file.

When a number of the town fathers made scathing comments about the behaviour of soldiers who had come home to Ballymena on week-end leave and the conduct of some of their comrades from the camp at nearby Randalstown, there was a swift and sarcastic response from the local volunteers.

Councillors had berated the town’s publicans for serving some men who were already ‘well lit’ and others voiced outrage at seeing a group of soldiers with ‘drink taken’ singing songs and dancing to the music of a street entertainer with a melodeon. Wiser heads urged the complainants to bear in mind that these were, in the main, young men who had been sent to a part of the country far from their homes and who had been engaged in hard, physical training for weeks on end.

The Observer’s report of the meeting obviously infuriated the men of the 12th Rifles who were undergoing their own training, sixty miles away from Ballymena at the Newtownards Camp.

The following week’s paper contained a letter to the editor which pulled few punches and absolutely reeks of resentment and dismay:-

Dear Sir – We hope you will permit us space in your widely circulated paper to express the opinion of the majority of the soldiers in this camp, who were recently at home on leave, with regard to the discussion which took place at the meeting of the Ballymena Urban Council on Monday 7th Inst.

We have read with much interest what appears to be a verbatim report of the meeting and we regret that in this critical time, when the spirit of all should be united in one common cause that a few of what some people might consider the most intellectual members of the council should have lost such valuable time in endeavouring to arrive at a conclusion as to how to act in order to prevent a recurrence of evil should any of the soldiers again arrive to pollute the peaceful streets of your law-abiding town.

It is a great pity that the good words uttered by Rev. Dr. Patterson, the founder of the Catch-My-Pal movement, should have been so soon forgotten by some of the prominent members of this once flourishing organisation. The Rev, gentleman said that in the event of a Pal falling, our duty was not to publish it on the house-tops but to shield him from the world, inspired with the spirit of Him who flew the banner of love.

A member, voicing the opinion of quite a number of influential gentlemen of the town, spoke of the sad sight and unseeming conduct of a ‘great many’ of the soldiers on leave. Is this his idea of patriotism?

Does this encourage recruiting? Will it encourage the respectable lads of Ballymena who are still wearing mufti to don the King’s uniform and take their stand side by side with men whose conduct was so deplorable?

Another member, who seemed most anxious that his remarks should be reported in full, directed his ‘gas’ towards the Randalstown camp. We desire to tender our best thanks to those members who defended the soldiers and did not judge them by the improper actions of one isolated case. Thanking you for publication and apologising for having taken up so much of your valuable space.

Yours sincerely, Ballymena Boys serving in the 12th R.I.R.

The ‘Catch-My-Pal’ movement mentioned above was a pre-war temperance league aimed at defeating the perceived evils of the demon drink. Court reports of the time make regular reference to men ‘taking the pledge’ to refrain from alcohol but there were equally frequent references to those who had failed to keep their promise.

From time immemorial, soldiers have acquired a reputation as hard drinkers and there is little doubt that some men, home on leave, perhaps for the last time, enjoyed a fair few pints in their local.

The men of 1914-1918 were not lily-white angels. In the main they came from a hard-drinking, often violent society. There should be no rose-tinted glasses worn when examining this era.

Nevertheless, the council debate brings to mind the words of Kipling’s legendary poetic tribute to the average British soldier.

Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap; An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit. Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, ‘ow’s yer soul?” But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll …

In the following year there would be little time for ‘goin’ large’ and the red line of heroes would, indeed, be drastically thinned.

After months of initial training at Clandeboye, the Ulster Division moved to Seaforde in southern England for their final sharpening prior to embarkation to France. Before they left, the battalion received an unusual gift from a civic dignitary. The Observer reported:-

The 12th Royal Irish Rifles (Central Antrims) was recently presented by the Chief Constable of Norfolk with a regimental pet. ‘Slemish’ is a very handsome, stern looking blood-hound. Slemish mountain is the highest peak in Mid-Antrim and for many years has been a popular meeting place for picnic parties. Ballymena Observer, October 15, 1915

The new mascot was aptly named since Slemish, the ‘mountain of mists’ closely associated in legend, if not fact, with the story of Saint Patrick, would have been a familiar sight to virtually all the local lads in the battalion.