Military History

The following description of events is taken from the book "Regimental Records of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers" by Charles Humble Dudley Ward which is available on the Internet Archive here.

The enemy also commenced to move. From the 18th to the 20th March [1917] the XII Corps front was subjected to a heavy bombardment with gas shells, phosgene, and lachrymatory. Our battalion came under this unpleasant bombardment on the 19th, and lost 4 men killed, 3 wounded, and 18 slightly gassed.

Another meeting with the enemy took place in "No Man's Land" on the 27th March 1917. It had been a fine day, but as night fell it began to rain and the night was very dark. The usual patrol, with Lieutenants T. E. Evans and S. S. Jones Savin and 2nd Lieutenant T. Rowlands, went out to reconnoitre and occupy the Piton de I'Eglise. They had reached One Tree Hill Ravine when they were joined by a patrol of the 2/1 9th London Regiment (60th Division), who, under two guides from our battalion, were making for 4 Arbres.

The London Regiment patrol was put on its way, and Lieutenant Evans led his patrol towards the Piton de I'Eglise. Advancing by bounds, he detailed Lieutenant Jones Savin and 7 men to make good the cottages on the south-west corner of Macukovo village. But before Jones Savin had gone far, a noise of many men moving was heard ; suddenly the enemy was revealed to front, right, and left a strong patrol was advancing in horseshoe formation and the whole of our patrol was inside its horns.

A burst of rifle fire and machine-gun fire from the cottages discovered to Jones Savin the peril he was in ; he tried to rejoin the main patrol, but was instantly killed and most of his men were wounded.

Lieutenant Evans and his party retired hastily, but halted some 70 to 100 yards away to wait for wounded. The heavy firing brought the London Regiment patrol back, and their appearance caused some of the enemy to move, as about 20 were seen scampering away in the darkness.

Casualties were then found to be 2 officers and 2 men missing and 10 men wounded.

The firing died down, and a relief patrol under 2nd Lieutenants W. A. Pickard, H. A. Allison, and D. J. Meecham arrived to take over. The evacuation of the wounded and the recharging of Lewis-gun magazines took some time in the dark, but all this was eventually done and the first patrol withdrew.

Meecham then went forward with a small party and soon reported finding five enemy dead. Pickard told him to continue his search and bring in all papers found on the bodies.

Pickard then left Allison in charge of the main body of the patrol, and with 12 men proceeded to complete the reconnaissance of the Piton de I'Eglise. He soon came across the body of Jones Savin, and at the same time the enemy appeared. He opened fire, upon which Allison brought up the main body of the patrol, and the enemy vanished.

Unfortunately Meecham, on the outburst of firing, had also attempted to join Pickard, and was killed while crossing the sunken road. Dawn was now breaking, and Pickard, taking with him the body of Jones Savin, withdrew his patrol.

Meecham, Rowlands, and one man were missing, so Lieutenant J. O. Williams and a party of scouts went out to search for them. They recovered Meecham 's body and found traces on the ground that led them to believe that Rowlands had been hit and made prisoner. The enemy had evidently searched the ground thoroughly before our scouts arrived, and had removed their dead and wounded, but the ground was littered with German bombs, and the scouts also found heaps of them dumped for use.

The result of the encounter was distressing: 2 officers killed, 1 missing and prisoner of war, 1 other rank missing and 13 wounded".