Pte Peter Hughes

10th Battalion, South Wales Borderers

PETER HUGHES came of age in the Winter of 1916/17, at the height of the Great War. One month after his eighteenth birthday, he left his home village of Aberffraw (on Anglesey) for Bangor, where he joined the 10th Battalion of the South Wales Borderers (10th SWB). No.48695 Pte Hughes was described at the time as 5'3" tall, 9st (126lb) in weight, with dark brown eyes, black hair and ruddy complexion. (Though, as someone who knew him well, I am sure that Grandad must have been on tiptoe to reach the height of 5'3"). The 10th SWB was at this time taking in large numbers of new personnel, after suffering severe losses at Mametz Wood during the Battle of the Somme in July 1916.

Grandad remembered that after basic training, he was sent to a place called "Wipers". In fact, the 10th and 11th SWB were two of the many units sent to Ypres in the summer of 1917, in preparation for the series of battles known collectively as the Third Battle of Ypres. The Third Battle of Ypres is more commonly known as "Third Ypres", or Passchendaele (after the ridge and village which were its main objective).

Background to Third Ypres: The Belgian city of Ypres (pictured below, in 1917) was a strategic military location on the Western Front because whoever held it controlled the route to the French Channel ports of Calais and Boulogne. The area around Ypres was therefore a scene of intense fighting for the whole of the War. In 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres, the British had been pushed back both north and south of Ypres, but held on to the town itself. The British front line at Ypres therefore formed a bulge, or salient, into German-held territory. The Ypres Salient was a difficult and dangerous area to defend because it was open to German attack on three sides at once, and because the Germans held the only high ground in the area (Messines Ridge and Passchendaele Ridge), from where they could fire down on the town's defenders.

Photo courtesy Imperial War Museum

Messines Ridge was recaptured by the British in June 1917, and Field-Marshal Haig planned an attack to retake Passchendaele Ridge on 31st July 1917. He intended that the infantry breakthrough of the German lines at Passchendaele would be extremely swift, and that British cavalry should sweep through the hole in the German lines and take the whole Flanders plain all the way to the Channel ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge. (Haig was a cavalryman - trained for War in a largely pre-Industrial Age - who believed that the Cavalry should play an important role in modern warfare. He said that the role which modern innovations such as machine guns, barbed wire and aircraft could play in warfare, was over-rated).

In the event, the infantry assault stalled after just four days, and thereafter advanced painfully slowly. This was partly because, thanks to lax British security, the Germans knew when and where the attack was coming, and heavily reinforced the area. It was also due to the fact that the whole area around Passchendaele was built on reclaimed marshland: the combined forces of unexpectedly heavy rainfall and the churning up of the ground by the British preliminary shell barrage soon restored this area to a marshy quagmire. (The bodies of as many as 42,000 British dead were not recovered after the battle, many of them lost because of the impossible terrain).

As a result, the Battle for Passchendaele Ridge and nearby Passchendaele village dragged on for three months. When Canadian forces finally took the village on November 12th, the battle had caused at least 550,000 casualties, 225,000 of them on the Allied side. By this time, Germany had reinforced the route to the sea, and Passchendaele no longer had any use as a stepping-off point to the German-occupied Channel ports.

Grandad's first military action came in the early hours of 31 July 1917, the first day of Third Ypres, when the 38th (Welsh) Division - of which the 10th and 11th SWB were a part - was ordered to capture Pilckem Ridge and Iron Cross Ridge, both positions held by the German 3rd Guards Division on the West bank of the Steenbeeke Canal. The 10th and 11th SWB were then to advance to the canal, and hold the west bank against expected counter-attack.

Pilckem Ridge was quickly captured, then the 10th SWB were held back in reserve while the 11th Battalion overcame heavy machine gun fire to capture Iron Cross Ridge. The 11th then reached and actually crossed the canal, and established a precarious bridgehead. Meanwhile Peter Hughes' Battalion moved forward to build defensive positions around Iron Cross Ridge, from where it could offer supporting fire to the 11th Battalion.

That afternoon, the Germans counter-attacked in large numbers against the 11th SWB, who were forced to withdraw back from the east bank of the canal. Grandad's Battalion was brought forward to reinforce the much-depleted 11th SWB, and helped to repulse a second counter attack. By this time, rain, mud and shells were making conditions very difficult, and the SWBs were under constant machine-gun and sniper fire from the German front-line less than 100 yards away.

Next morning (1 August 1917) the Germans directed a heavy artillery barrage at the 10th/11th SWB positions along the Steenbeeke and on Iron Cross Ridge: this continued throughout the day. The 10th and 11th Battalions nevertheless succeeded in holding and reinforcing their gains of the previous day and, when they were relieved by reinforcements on 2 August, they were two of the few British units who had actually been able to achieve and hold their battle objectives. Two hundred men of Grandad's Battalion were killed or wounded in this action, while the 11th Battalion suffered 350 casualties.

The First Days of Third Ypres: The Battle of Pilckem Ridge

Upper left - British soldiers constructing a bridge over the Yser Canal.
Upper right - German prisoners awaiting interrogation.
Lower - Stretcher bearers bringing back a wounded man.

All three photographs were taken on Pilckem Ridge while the 10th/11th South Wales Borderers were attacking there, 31 July - 2 August 1917. It is strange to think of your own Grandfather being in the area when these photographs were taken.

The 10th and 11th Battalions were sent back into the Battle on 16th August, when the Welsh Division was assigned to support the 36th (Ulster) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division in an abortive advance across No-Man's-Land officially known as The Battle of Langemarck. The Ulster, Irish and Welsh Divisions were intended to advance 2 miles, with the support of tanks, to overcome a German fortified line whose concrete pill-boxes were supposed to have been destroyed by a heavy artillery barrage. Unfortunately, the tanks could not move in the mud, so the infantry moved on alone, only to find that the supposedly-destroyed German fortifications and barbed wire were still in place. By the end of the day, the advancing Welsh, Irish and Ulster Divisions were back where they started. Peter Hughes' Battalion had lost another 100 men, but had escaped lightly compared to the Battalions of the Ulster and Irish Divisions, some of which had lost all their officers and more than two-thirds of their men. Fortunately for Peter Hughes, this was his last involvement in Third Ypres. After Langemarck, he and the other surviving members of the 10th Bn were relieved and assigned to patrol the trenches at Armentieres, France.

From August 1917 to April 1918, Grandad was based in the Armentieres Sector, where his Battalion was responsible for defending its sector of the trenches, patrolling No-Man's-Land, and mounting periodic raids against the German trenches.

On March 21st 1918, the Germans threw all their resources and reserves into an all-or-nothing offensive against the British front line. This was known as The Great March Offensive: it took the British completely by surprise, and drove back their front line to a depth of 40 miles. This was an unprecedented success in a War in which the frontlines had rarely moved more than 500 yards in either direction for much of the previous three years. From March 21st to April 5th, the fighting was centred to the south at St Quentin, and did not directly involve Peter Hughes' Regiment.

However, the second thrust of the German offensive, which is known as the Battle of the Lys (April 9 - 29), was to fall directly upon Armentieres. On the night of 7 April, the Germans launched a heavy barrage of gas-laden shells upon Armentieres, and soaked the town with poison gas to such an extent that it became uninhabitable. On 9 April, they launched a major infantry offensive from just south of Ypres, storming the Messines Ridge and then directing their attack against an under-strength Portuguese Division stationed just south of Armentieres. With the destruction of the Portuguese Division, the town of Armentieres fell and a wholesale retreat of British forces from the Armentieres sector began.

On April 11th, Field-Marshal Haig issued his famous Special Order to the British troops retreating in the face of the onslaught: "There is no course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight to the end".

Pte Hughes wisely declined the invitation to fight to the end, and he and his Battalion began the long, fighting retreat westward across the old Somme battlefields which had been won at such cost in July 1916. The German advance was not stopped until the Allied victory at the Battle of Amiens, between August 8th and August 10th. This battle was the beginning of the ultimately victorious Allied advance which, between August and November 1918, pushed German forces out of France and eastwards across Belgium. The offensive halted only in November 1918 when, with its allies defeated, mutiny in the Navy and widespread rioting throughout the country, the German Government appealed for an Armistice.

Peter Hughes did not participate with the rest of the 10th SWB in the successful Allied offensive which would end the War: he suffered a serious wound to the right arm during the first week of August 1918, while the 10th Battalion was in reserve in the Aveluy Sector (immediately northwest of Amiens, see Map B, below).

Map A - Main Locations where the 10th SWB served in 1917-18.

KEY:
1. Ypres
2. Pilckem Ridge
3. Langemarck
4. Passchendaele
5. Armentieres
6. Amiens
7. Villers-Outreaux
8. Aulnoye-Aymeries

A = Approximate area of coverage of Map B, below

Map B - The 10th SWB in the vicinity of Amiens, France (July & August, 1918).

KEY:
1. Aveluy
2. Herissart
3. Acheux-en-Amienois
4. Senlis-le-Sec
5. Toutencourt
6. Puchevillers
7. Beaussart

On 20th July 1918, the 10th Battalion had finished a stint in the Front Line, and was sent out of the trenches for rest and recreation, and to conduct training for its next planned offensive. The Battalion remained behind the lines at Herissart and Acheux from 21 July to 5 August. On 6 August they moved back into the trenches at Aveluy, in reserve to the 115th Brigade, and were occupied with general repairs and trench improvements. While in reserve, the 10th SWBs were removed from the immediate danger of enemy patrols or sniper fire: they were, however, still subject to unexpected air attack and artillery fire. To judge by the 10th Battalion's War Dairy for this time, the Battalion's working parties seem to have been a fairly frequent target of sudden, unexpected shelling. All the Battalion's casualties during the first week of August were in fact caused by shelling, and it seems to have been an unexpected shell, on an otherwise quiet day, which caught Peter Hughes on 6 August.

The Battalion's War Diary for Peter Hughes' last few days at war illustrates well the pattern of daily life behind the lines - long days of drilling, marching and training, interspersed with the periodic danger of enemy attacks, and with occasional attempts to organise normal social activities, which seem almost surreal in the context of an ongoing War.

Extracts from the 10th Bn South Wales Borderers War Diary, July-August 1918

July 1918

20th (Saturday) - Battalion in reserve at Herissart. The day was spent in cleaning up & usual inspections were held in the afternoon to find deficiencies of Kit, etc. The Commanding Officer & one officer per company were away on reconnaissance of the battle positions which the Brigade would take up in case of enemy attack.

21st (Sunday) - Battalion in reserve at Herissart. Church parades took place at 8am, after which two companies went on the range from 9am to 1pm for firing practice. A few bombs were dropped during the night, but no damage was done.

22nd (Monday) - Battalion in reserve at Herissart. The day was spent in pretty hard training, both morning and afternoon. In the evening, a football match took place between the Signallers and Transport, & a very good game was witnessed. The final score was a win for the Signallers by one goal to nil. The Commanding Officer again took some of the company officers on reconnaissance.

25th (Thursday) - Battalion in reserve at Herissart. The training this morning consisted of a battalion Route March and a small tactical scheme. This change in the ordinary routine was much appreciated by all ranks. In the afternoon there was a lecture on Gas by the Divisional Gas Officer. In the evening, the Battalion Sports took place, and were a great success. The Sports Officer was able to pick out the best runners for the Brigade Sports which take place on Monday. The Divisional Band was present & gave us many delightful overtures.

27th (Saturday) - Battalion in reserve at Herissart. The ordinary routine of training was again carried on - some companies on the range and the others practicing live bombing &c in the Puchevillers area...In the evening, a brigade concert was held in the schoolroom at Herissart and was much appreciated by all.

29th (Monday) - Battalion in reserve at Herissart. Today is a general holiday throughout the brigade, on the occasion of the Brigade Sports being held. The men had entered for the various competitions in large numbers, and, as usual, we won most of the important ones. The weather conditions were perfect, and everyone had a very pleasant afternoon. The drums of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers were present and played excellently. The cookers were taken up to the ground, and tea was served to the men.

30th (Tuesday) - Battalion in reserve at Acheux. The Battalion moved today to reserve in Acheux, in conjunction with the rest of the 115th Brigade. The morning was spent in cleaning up & general organisation for the move. We left Herissart at 1pm and arrived at our destination at 5pm, after a march, which though not very far, was very fatiguing owing to the intense heat. Three companies were billeted in tents in Acheux Wood and the remaining Company in barns in the village.

31st (Wednesday) - Battalion in reserve at Acheux. The morning was spent in cleaning up of equipment and generally making ourselves comfortable. In the afternoon, the battalion was inspected by the Commanding Officer. During the night, the village was visited by enemy aeroplanes, who dropped some bombs, but caused no casualties.

August 1918

1st (Thursday) - Battalion in reserve at Acheux. The day was spent in training - also most of the battalion had baths in the village.

3rd (Saturday) - Battalion in reserve at Acheux. The morning was set apart for a practice attack by the whole battalion, which was to be witnessed by the Divisional Commander, General Cubitt...But owing to heavy rain, the whole affair was cancelled. In the afternoon, the Divisional Sports took place at Toutencourt, & the battalion, though not very successful, did its utmost to uphold its traditions.

4th (Sunday) - Battalion in reserve at Acheux. Practically the whole battalion was out on working parties...in the Brown Line near Beaussart. The men were given task work and everybody had finished about 12.30pm...In the afternoon, the Divisional Horse Show took place at Toutencourt, where a very fine show was witnessed.

5th (Monday) - Battalion in reserve at Acheux. The morning was spent in company training until 12.30pm. The battalion had received orders to move, so the afternoon was given over to preparation. At 9.30pm the battalion marched to the new position in the Purple System in the vicinity of Senlis, where we relieved the 10th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regt.

6th (Tuesday) - Battalion in reserve to 115th Brigade in Aveluy Right sector. The men are billeted in the trenches of the Purple System. The day passed very quietly and was spent in draining the trenches which were very wet owing to rain, and generally making things as comfortable as possible. There was practically no enemy activity - in consequence of his having had to retire over the Ancre on our immediate front. Casualties, 1 man wounded.

Note 1: "in consequence of his having had to retire over the Ancre" - All the training that the 10th SWB had carried out in Herissart and Acheux was in preparation for an attack which the Battalion was intended to launch on 6 August. The purpose of the attack was to push back the German front line opposite them over to the eastern bank of the River Ancre. When they arrived back in the trenches on 5 August, however, the SWB discovered that the Germans had already retreated to the far bank of the river, because of attacks against them by the British 4th Army, on their southern flank. So the attack that the 10th SWB had trained for was never carried out.

Note 2: "Casualties, 1 man wounded." - This is probably Peter Hughes. In later years, Grandad said that he recalled very little about how he was wounded. His last memory was that he was in a field, and running for cover...but nothing more. His military records provide no further details of the incident either, as they were destroyed in the Blitz in 1940. Fortunately, Peter's mother at home in Aberffraw held on to the official notices she received when her son was wounded and hospitalised, and some of these still survive. Had she not done so, it would be impossible now to reconstruct what had happened to Grandad.

[End of War Diary Extract]

Peter Hughes was repatriated to Britain and admitted to the Wellington Road Military Hospital in Liverpool. The severity of his wound meant that he would never be sent back to active service - in fact, he underwent lengthy rehabilitation to re-establish use of his right arm, which he never completely regained. There still exist among Peter's personal effects long lists of names which he laboriously wrote out over and over again as part of the therapy to re-use his hand. Pte Hughes was honourably discharged from the Army on 25 March 1919, and was awarded the British War Medal, the Allied Victory Medal and the Silver War Badge. The Silver War Badge was awarded to soldiers who had been honourably discharged as a result of wounds suffered, and Peter Hughes can be seen wearing it on his lapel in his wedding photograph, below left.

After Peter Hughes' discharge from the Army in March 1919, he was sent to Wrexham's new War Memorial Hospital for rehabilitative therapy on his paralysed arm. The Denbighshire Local Committee for War Pensioners assigned him lodgings at 23 Benjamin Road, Wrexham. This is how he came to meet his future wife, May Brown of the Old Swan Inn, Wrexham (pictured above, right, abt 1920). They were married in 1921, and went on to have three daughters - Lilian (b.1924), Dorothy (b.1930) and Margaret (b.1937).

The combination of his disability and the Great Depression meant that Grandad struggled to find regular employment throughout the inter-War years. In 1929, he temporarily moved his young family to Shropshire - his wife May worked at another Brown family pub (The Crossed Keys, in St Martin's, Oswestry) in return for board and lodging there, while Peter volunteered to go to a government work camp near Shrewsbury, where food and accommodation were provided in return for physical labour. While working here, Grandad played for the "Wrexham Terrors", the amateur football team made up of unemployed Wrexham men at the camp.

Left - Peter Hughes' volunteer work camp. Shropshire, 1929.

Right - The "Wrexham Terrors". Grandad is standing fourth from left in the second row from the back.

Grandad finally found regular work early in World War II - when all the able-bodied men in the job market were otherwise occupied. In 1940, he became a Warehouseman at the NAAFI warehouse on Holt Road, Wrexham. This job marked the first period of steady employment that Peter Hughes ever had, but it ended in 1950 when the warehouse was closed down. From 1950 to 1952, he worked at a series of casual labouring jobs, before returning to the newly-reopened NAAFI, where he worked as a nightwatchman until being laid off for the last time in 1962. Despite the considerable hardship in which Peter Hughes lived for most of his life, he always said that he was very satisfied with the way his life had turned out, and had nothing to complain about.

Although he never volunteered information about what he did in the War, Grandad was always happy to talk about it, if asked. The funny thing was, for all his willingness to talk about the War, he never really told us anything about it. He talked about going to Paris (where he had sailed on a boat down the Seine), and Ypres (where no-one could pronounce the name, but just called it 'Wipers') and Armentieres (another one that they couldn't pronounce, but they all sang a song about it), but he spoke about them as he would talk about places he had visited on holiday - the War he spoke about was full of new places to visit, but there was never any rain or mud or danger, and no-one ever died. I don't know if that was because he thought we wouldn't be interested, or if he really didn't want to talk about it. Only on one occasion did he ever let slip that his War had been anything other than a sightseeing tour of France and Flanders: the autumn before he died, he was asked to buy a British Legion poppy of remembrance but declined, saying simply that he had already paid.

Peter Hughes died in Wrexham on 30 March 1978, and is buried with his wife, May Brown, in Ruabon Road Cemetery, Wrexham. Soon after he died, his British War Medal, Allied Victory Medal and Silver War Badge were stolen from his home by burglars, and never recovered.