Embarked for Britain

Landed at Devonport

The Second Battle of Ypres as it is known in British military history consisted of four battles, which took place between the 22 April to 25 May 1915 in the northern sector of the Ypres Salient. The offensive began with an attack on the allied front line by the German 4th Army on Thursday 22 April at 17.00 hours (British time). This attack, known as The Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge, witnessed the first use of poisonous gas by the German Army on its western front.

The Battle of Gravenstafel - 22nd - 23rd April 1915

The Battle of St Julien - 24th April - 4th May 1915

The Battle of Frezenburg - 8th - 13th May 1915

The Battle of Bellewaarde - 24th - 25th May 1915

Read a 1915 news cutting commemorating the role of the 2nd East Surreys in the 2nd Battle of Ypres

(click on image)

25th May - 25^th September 1915 : Remained in France

The Battle of Loos - 25^th September - 8^th October 1915

I Corps: 2^nd, 7^th, 9^th & 28^th Divisions

In May 1915, Henri-Philippe Petain and 9^th French Army launched an attack at Artois. Petain initially made good progress but was unable to take the main objective, Vimy Ridge. On 25^th September Anglo-French forces launched another offensive at Artois and at nearby Loos.

General Auguste Dubail and the French Tenth Army made some progress at Artois and one division managed to reach the crest of Vimy Ridge on 29^th September. However, Count Prince Rupprecht and the German Sixth Army made sure that the French made no long-term gains.

General Sir Douglas Haig, and the British First Army, attacked at Loos. By the end of the first day the British troops were on the outskirts of Lens. Strong counter-attacks by the Germans forced the British back. When a second British attack suffered heavy losses on 13^th October, Sir John French, decided to being an end to the Artois-Loos offensive. The campaign cost the British Expeditionary Force 50,000 casualties. The French lost 48,000 and the Germans about 24,000.

(1) Valentine Williams, describing the Battle of Loos in the Daily Mail (29th September, 1915)

It is too soon to write in any detail about the operations, as fighting is still in progress. The attack at Loos completely surprised the Germans, according to the prisoners taken there, with many of whom I spoke this afternoon. They describe our bombardment as "unspeakable" and say the first thing they knew about the assault was the appearance of lines of British troops streaming away over their trenches to the right and, the next moment, the inrush of a horde of khaki-clad figures upon their trenches from three sides. They declare that their ammunition ran out and their rifles became useless, so they were obliged to surrender.


(2) Philip Gibbs, a journalist working for the Daily Chronicle, observed the fighting at the Battle of Loos.

The Battle of Loos was a ghastly failure after the first smash through. The reserves - the two fresh divisions - were held too far back and came up too late. When they did arrive they were unprovided with maps, knew nothing about the ground, and made an awful mess of things, through no fault of their own. Our forward line, very thin now, received no support at the right time and was in no strength to resist counter-attacks.

I was invited to breakfast in Downing Street by Lloyd George. I had never had that honour before and wondered what it was about. Over the breakfast table with Mrs. Lloyd George at the coffee pot, the little great man was very genial, and it was not until the end of the meal that he turned to me gravely and said: "Tell me what you know about the Battle of Loos. I am a Cabinet Minister but we know nothing. Everything is held back from us by the military chiefs, and we have a right to know. How can we conduct this war if we are kept in ignorance?" I told him what I knew, and he was distressed by my account.


(3) Philip Gibbs, Adventures in Journalism (1923)

Again it seemed to us (war correspondents) that the guiding idea behind the censorship (at the Battle of Loos) was, not to conceal the truth from the enemy, but from the nation, in defence of the British high command and its tragic blundering.


(4) Private George Coppard took part in the Battle of Loos in September, 1915. He later recalled in his book, With a Machine Gun to Cambrai, how he reached the German front-line a couple of months after the initial attacks had taken place.

We reached the top of the slope where the German front line had been before the attack. And there, stretching for several hundred yards on the right of the road lay masses of British dead, struck down by machine-gun and rifle fire. Shells from enemy field batteries had been pitching into the bodies, flinging some into dreadful postures. Being mostly of Highland regiments, there was a fantastic display of colour from their kilts, glengarries and bonnets, and also from the bloody wounds on their bare limbs. The warm weather had darkened their faces and, shrouded as they were with the sickly odour of death, it was repulsive to be near them. Hundreds of rifles lay about, some stuck in the ground on the bayonet, as though impaled at the very moment of the soldier's death as he fell forward.

In October 1915 the battalion embarked at Marseilles, and proceeded to Egypt arriving at Alexandria on 30^th October.

(Since I have no recollection of my father mentioning that Henry went to Egypt or Macedonia, I think it is likely that after being wounded, and possibly sent back to England for treatment, he was transferred to the 7th (and subsequently, 9th) Battalions and continued his service in France).

2nd Battalion's Movements are detailed here anyway.

On the 26th November, they embarked for Salonika, arriving on 1^st December 1915.

They were sent to reinforce the combined
Franco-British force that had landed in Macedonia at the request of the
Greek Prime Minister. Their aim was to help the Serbs in their fight
against Bulgarian aggression and later against the Turks.

Dec 1915 - Feb 1917 : Operations in Struma Valley, Macedonia

Feb 1917 - Nov 1918 : Operations around Lake Doiran, Macedonia

This section gives a very brief overview of the war in Macedonia from the British perspective.

Bulgaria attacked Serbia in October 1915. This new threat led Serbia to appeal to the British and French governments for military assistance. At the same time Greece asked the Allies for help with their treaty obligations to Serbia. The British and French sent a small force which began landing at the Greek port of Salonika (Thessalonika) at the end of October. They advanced into Macedonia but were too late to help the Serbs who had to retreat through the Albania mountains. The Allies then withdrew back to Salonika and set up an entrenchment camp around the town known as the "Bird cage" and waited for the Bulgarians to attack. The Bulgarians did not advance on Salonika, but instead consolidated their gains in Macedonia.

The British continued to build up their forces, and by early 1916 the force had increased from just the 10th (Irish) Division to the 10th, 22nd, 26th, 27th and 28th divisions.

The Allies advanced up to the Serbian frontier and liberated Monastir. Trench warfare then began. The Allies attacked in the spring of 1917, but failed to break through. However, in September 1918 they attacked again and within two weeks had obtained Bulgaria's unconditionally surrendered.

The campaign in Macedonia was considered by many to be a "side-show". The Allied army was known back home as the "Gardeners of Salonika" due to the apparent lack of activity and people would comment "If you want a holiday, go to Salonika".

Despite the view of those at home, life in Macedonia was far from easy. The British Salonika Force not only had to cope with the extremes in temperature but also malaria. In 1916 it was possible to evacuate the most serious cases. However, with the introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare in April 1917 this was no longer possible. Consequently the cases of malaria soured as the infected men were compelled to stay in Macedonia. Hospital admissions in 1917 alone were 63,396 out of a strength of about 100,000 men. By early 1918 the British were again able to evacuate the worst cases and under the 'Y' scheme nearly 30,000 were evacuated.

Many men suffered numerous relapses made worse by having to remain in Macedonia. Even when they were finally evacuated many would still suffer relapses for many years to come.

The battalion
remained in Macedonia for the duration, ending the war at Dzuma Obasi,
north of Lake Doiran. The regiment was awarded the battle honours "Struma"
"Doiran 1918" and "Macedonia 1915-1918" as a result of their endeavours.