Military History

Charles is listed as being killed in action on 7 Oct 1916. The 6th Battalion History of the Attack and the war diary entries for the 8th and 9th Oct 1916 are transcribed below.

6th Service Battalion Ox & Bucks LI
History of the Attack on 7th Oct. 1916
By Major J. E. Osborne, Commanding the Battalion

On the 7th October zero hour was 1.45 p.m., when, in accordance with 60th Brigade Operation Orders, the Battalion left its trenches and attacked Rainbow Trench (1st Objective), which runs from about N.28.a.l.4 to about N.28.c.l ½ .l ½.

About 11/30 A.M. On the morning of the attack an hostile aeroplane flew over our lines. This aeroplane no doubt saw the concentration of troops for the attack as considerable hostile shelling broke out about 1/30 P.M. A 77mm Battery was the battery that apparently had been detailed for this portion of the Enemy’s front. The shelling was searching the front British trench the assembly trenches in the rear either side of the Sunken Road running N from Millars Son and considerable concentration of the road itself the latter was kept up for about 6 hours making the road very dangerous to travel up and down.

At 1.45pm the leading waves moved out of the British line close up to our barrage, arrived at the German barbed wire (about 40 yards in front of our trench), and lay down.

The enemy had manned his parapet some 60 yards to our front, and was delivering a very hot fire from 6 machine-guns and from rifles, to which our troops replied.
Shortly afterwards the advance began again; some men were able to crawl through the wire; others were able to move round through the gaps; others, by placing their feet on the top strand of the wire, were able to get through.

The wire obstacle was one single length of barbed concertina wire, extending along the whole of the frontage of the Battalion's left company. It was about 2 ½  feet high, and appeared more of an alarming ob­stacle than it actually was.
 
During the period zero to zero + 4 minutes the enemy's machine-gun fire was very intense, but at the latter time it was silenced. The enemy then left their trenches unarmed, and ran back towards their second line. During their retreat our Lewis-guns did con­siderable damage to them; large numbers were seen to fall, and few Germans got back, those remaining in their front line being bayoneted or captured.
 
The advance from the first German line to the second, a point about N.22.c.8.2. to N.28.b.7.1., was accomplished with com­paratively little loss, although some casualties occurred from snipers on our extreme right, who took advantage of that flank being temporarily in the air. Shortly afterwards a portion of the Division on our right pushed forward their attack and commenced digging in; thus, by joining up with our troops, they made our extreme right secure.
 
The consolidation of this position was at once commenced, our troops having reached their final objective. This attack was launched in conjunction with the 56th Division on our right and the 12th Division attacking on our left.
 
The Battalion lost most of its officers early in the attack; the Company 'Commanders of A, B, and C were killed, and D Company Commander was severely wounded. The casualties amounted to 13 officers and 230 other ranks.

8th October 1916: Consolidating new position captured the previous day.

9.00pm - Relived by 2nd Battn Yorks & Lancs Regt.

12 MN - Relief completed, on relief Battn marched to Bernafray Wood and halted for breakfast.

9th October 1916: 9am Battalion paraded and proceeded by Route march to Camp at Sandpits on the Bray-Albert Road point about E.24.d Sheet Albert. Distance about 6 miles.

2.15pm - Arrived at Camp.