Bertie (Edward) Challiss
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Lance Corporal
Bertie Challiss, 290071, 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, died at Flanders on
Tuesday 9th October 1917.
Lance Corporal Bertie Challiss born in
Brandon, Suffolk and enlisted at Brandon, Suffolk.
Remembered with honour at HOOGE CRATER
CEMETERY, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
From 'Jax', one of Bertie Challiss' relatives -
"I know that Bertie died of wounds on the 9th October 1917
and that he is buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery. I believe that he
signed up quite early in the
war and managed to survive longer than most. Bertie
appears to have been in the 1st Battalion. The actions on the 8-9th
October 1917 on Polderhoek were a disaster for the Battalion; they gained
no ground but sustained substantial casualties when two Companies strayed
from the defined route in the darkness and rain. Bertie was one of 38
killed, 144 were wounded and 112 missing."
From The Norfolk Regiment, volume 2,
1914-1918 by F L Petre ...
"1917...............and on October 1st moved up, partly by bus, to
the front line, where it relieved the 23rd division that night.
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It
was now part of the 10th corp. The 1st Norfolk remained with the
15th brigade in divisional reserved just east of Dickebusch Lake.
The weather was again wet, which rendered this low country most obnoxious.
Movements had to be made largely by "duck boards" and shell
holes and craters were often the watery graves of men who fell into their
depths.
The front of the 5th division has its rights about 1,000 years short of
Gheluvelt on the Menin road, its left at Polygon Wood. On October
5th, when the 15th brigade moved into front line, the Norfolk battalion
found themselves facing the Polderhoek Chateau, with the 1st Cheshire on
their left and the 16th Warwickshire on their right.
During the next two days they had several casualties from shell fire, and
on the night of the 7th moved into support trenches in front of Inverness
Copse. The German position at Polderhoek Chateau has been made into
one of great strength, with numerous machine guns, and "pill
boxes". It had been attacked on October 4th by the other 2
brigades of the 5th division with partial success, but the final objective
had not been reached, and some of the ground gained had subsequently been
lost in the great counter-attacks launched by the enemy. The 13th
brigade, which the 15th now relieved, had suffered heavily in the
fighting, and both sides were recovering their breath after the struggle. |
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The Diary of the 1st Norfolk about this time contains a good many
complaints of the miserable weather, and the hard labour imposed on the
men by constant fatigues for improving defences, making huts in the back
areas, and bringing up supplies of all sorts. On the evening of the
8th orders were received for a renewal of the attack on the Polderhoek
position in the morning of the 9th.
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By 4 am the battalion had moved from the support trenches to the point of
assembly, under the command of Major Lambton, who reports on the action.
"C" company on the right and "A" on the left were to
lead the advance, with "B" in close support, and "D"
in reserve ready to make counter-attacks. The early morning was very
dark, with heavy rain, and there had been great difficulty in finding the
way the assembly point.
As the barrage lifted at 5.20 am, the 1st Norfolk and the 16th
Warwickshire, leading the advance of the 15th brigade, went forward, the
latter on the right. In the darkness and rain "A" and
"C" companies of the Norfolk battalion inclined too much to the
right and found themselves right in front of the Chateau, instead of to
the left of it. They were falling back when the officer commanding
threw in "B" to reinforce them. |
By this time the enemy had
opened a terrific cross fire ofmachine guns on them and the British
barrage had passed forwards, leaving them unprotected. The losses
under these circumstances were very heavy, and no farther progress could
be made all day. Farther to the left, two platoons had also lost
direction and gone leftwards, which brought one of them, after an advance
of about 400 yards, in front of the 1st Cheshire on their left, where they
held on all day, isolated and out of touch with the rest on their right.
To add to their difficulties the men had no hot food after they started
for the assembly point in the very early morning.
At 9 pm the battalion was back reorganising in its original firing line,
where they were relieved between 10 and 11 pm. The casualties during
this unfortunate day were:
Officers killed:
Captain L W Clements, 2nd Lieutenants W D C Sharp, F Entwhistle and Coxens
Officers wounded:
Captain Dickinson, 2nd Lieutenants C B Smith, R P Scott and Livingston
Other ranks:
killed 38, wounded 144, missing 112 |
Bertie's family portrait
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The failure of the attack is attributed, in Major Lambton's report, to the
exhausted condition of the men and the terrible weather. Next day,
when they were back in their old position, only one officer was left to
reorganize the remains of the three leading companies. Many wounded
had been lying out for a long time, and stragglers continued to come in in
a ghastly condition during the 10th and 11th, on which latter date the
battalion was back in Berthen reorganising and training in very bad
billets. On the 17th a draft arrived with 148 men - a smart, well
trained lot, but mostly men from the north-east counties, and few of them
Norfolk men. Another fair draft of 144 arrived next day....." |
