THE STORY

- - - O F T H E - --

FIRST --FIFTH
BED FORDS
I J

By EDMUND RIMMER

MANCHESTER:
CO-OPERATIVE WHOLESALE SOCIETY'S PRJNTTNG
WORKS, LONGSIGHT.
1917
 FOREWORD.
AS there has been no public record of the history
n of the battalion in which all the tovvnspeople of
Luton are interested, the \vriter has gathered
a fe·w facts ":hich will het p to keep green the memory
of the rst Battalion of the 5th Bedfordshire Regi-
ment, not only in our to\:vn, but also in the to\vns
and han1lets of the county \V hose name they have
borne with honour.
Sorne of the incidents are the records sent home
by the boys themselves to parents and friends, and
for some the writer is indebted to the editors of our
local ne~·\ ·spapers for their permission to reproduce
published reports.
ED::\fUND RL\fM ER.
 /

,·

P.fwto:]
LJ UTP.:S I\ NT-Co r.o ~ L D~IGHTr.~, Com mand ing Officer, I / ~ th Beds
.m,..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~.
-'-~-I· "'-W. r ··'--W;. "\.~J .. "\.W~·r ..~W. r ··\.w.I· ··~w.f· ··'-W~i·

The Story of the First~ Fifth

Bedfords.
HE 5th Bedford Regin1ent (Territorial Force),
T like rnany others, had its origin in the Volun-
teer rnovement. The Volunteer Regiment,
forn1ed in r869, had its headquarters in Bedford; and
consisted of nine companies, of which " C," F ," and 'I

({ G" Cotnpanies \.Vere at Luton, the local headquarters

being in Park Street. The re1naining companies were
at Bedford, Ampthill, and in 'foddin~on district.
'l'he first uniform was grey, and not a few of the older
residents of Luton are well acquainted with the
tnovements of the old volunteers. · and the popular
band \vhich·led their marches. Under Lorcl Haldane's
scheme this body becatne absorbed in the Territorial
Force at Bedford·- the rst Battalion consisting of
about a.n equal number of Luton and Htintingdon
men, made up to full strength b y a few from other
companies. Captain Cumber]and Brown was the
last captain of the volunteers in Luton.. ·
It \Vas early in September, I()I4, the word patriot-
istn was impressed on many a brave young heart to
which ·it had previously been a stranger. The old
country, \.vhich h a d hitherto merely been a name,
became a reality. 1'he n1other country ! what was
that to them ? 1'he sporting column8 of the papers
had claimed their first attention. Politics, including
military and naval news, never concerned them.
Those possessed of real estate or invested wealth
might be interested in political affairs, but what were
these things to the young tnen of I-~uton, whose wealth
was the \veekly wage and vvhose only estate ·what
they carried about ? \Vhat interest had they in the
old country ? Sotnething had happened to command
6 The Story of the F£rst-Fiflh Bedfords.

their attention. On this September morning, watch-

ing the mixed company of young recruits at the
Corn Exchange, one wondered on what common
ground such a crowd could meet. Yet here they
were, almost as motley a crew as could assemble.
Smart young men from tbe office, well-knit young
fellows from the workshops, warehousemen proud
of their appearance; others on the pavernent, who
had never worn a starched collar and had never
given a thought to appearance. What was the
common ground on which they met ? Here was a
man leering in .the face of the public around him as
he joined the increasing company. He could scarcely
1
stand to attention . because be had been celebrating ''
'

the occasion in his customary way of celebrating

anything and everything. But he was to be one of
their mates; yes . and a ~vorthy mate, too, taking a
pride. in his appearance and his duty, leaving the
dross of his former self, and giving of his best for his
conntry on the sand~ of Calli poli. under which he
now sleeps. Nu contempt was shown for the weak
one. He was to be one of them- a brother in arms.
for he enlisted as they in a common cause. The
Kaiser had lit the beacon fires in our land, and our
young men were gathering for resistance, determined
to stand shoulder to shoulder in the service of their
country against a common foe. They marched to
the station to entrain for Bedford, to form eventually
the rst Battalion of the 5th Bedfordshire RegimePt.
Passing through the crowds of onlookers there was
a question which forced itself on the crowd. How
from this motley throng could a soldiery be formed
worthy to meet the highly-trained enemy, and bring
credit to our army ? Wait and see. There was
something hidden in those youths which was to come
out in the trainjng. The spirit uf the soldier was only
clormant. Rough diamonds all; only waiting to be
polished to show their worth.
They were sent to Bedford for their early training.
I saw them swinging along before they had their khaki,
P holo : j [ JV. H. Cox, L uton..
y, . J. P R t\l TT, [ ~ Q. , j. P.
~' layor of Luton 19 13- q, 191 1- 15, who \\'d<'Olll<'O th e tro0~
a 11 C'r t h<"i r I ong- 1narc h,
 Th e ~":>·tory of the First-F·ijth Bedfords. 9

already taking pride in their appearance, looking

with some conternpt on the slacker and cognisant
that they caught the public eye. They 1nade many
friends in Bedford, as many a letter which followed
them on thei.r journeyings can prove. Friends who
followed their movements to far-off Gallipoli, and
who sent letters of cheer, of love, fatherly and
motherly love, and parcels of comforts showing that
the sojourn of our boys in the County to~rn was
not forgotten.
Bury St . . Edmunds was their next training place,
and here came a great physical transition. Here, if
the description is permissible, they ·were sworn at and
bullied, and drilled, and sent on their long and trying
route marches, ofttimes hungry and thirsty. These
were the things vvhich tried and tested them, even
8isgusted them , till they understood that their officers
were getting proud of them. and favourably com-
paring then1 ·with other battalions, till the lads began
to be proud of themselves.

AT BuRY ST. :EnMUNDS CATHEDRAL.

Soon after their removal to Bury I sa"r them

marching to the Cathedral. The old veteran. Lord
Roberts- the man who had been appealing frantically
to the nation to arm and prepare to meet the foe
who \vas secretly preparing to strike a blo\v at our
country- had been called to rest before the great
armageddon had a\vakened his cout:ttrymen ~o a
proper appreciation of his devoted efforts and warn-
ings. By some he ~:as considered a dotard; but
there were a few men of influence and power who
had heeded the warnings, and who silently rnade
preparations which dirt much to save the national
honour. The new battalion attended the metnorial
service, and heard a touching tribute to the great
soldier, and left with a feeling of reverence for the
noble patriot who had tr~ed to arouse his countrymen
to action.
10 Th e Story of tlw First-Fzfth Bedfords.

It was up to them to do their part to stem the

torrent which the \-\7ar-L.ord had turned upon their
country, a nd \\:hicb the der:-rted veteran had predicted.
Those \vere busy tin1es for the battalion at Bury, and
our lads vve re put through it in real earnest. 'vVatching
the march past of the new recruits on this Sunday one
felt that in ~ ome of the platoons there were very
youthful elements-belo·w the standa rd in physique
a nd in age. But there ~·as something very encourag-
ing when one scanned the hoys' faces-for many were
only boys of seventeen, \Yho in their eagerness to serve
had put on several years at a bound, heedless of the
calendar or attestation penalties . There was a look
of determin a tion ·which promised much. Anxious
they were to bear their part and carry out in detail all
that was required of them. Every· man was alert, and
careful of hi~ appe~ ranee. There Y\'a s already show-
ing in :he faces of every cotnpany the 11
pride of
regiment" whic h makes the soldier. Few bestowed
even a glance on the friend s who were present to watch
their parade. The age w as sure to come, and the hard
training was going to turn the boys into men. Essen-
tials were there--pride, uetermination, patriotism,
giving promise to their officers who sa\-v \Vhat ~~as in
them-material ready for the n1onlding.

CHRI STMAS AT BPRY.

I sa·w many of them at Christmas time at the ~tation

when the train ca me in; standing in lines, expectant
to meet friends who were visiting them fur the
(( joy of Christmas " and making them feel at home
again. The people of Bury St. Edmunds were thought-
ful and kind, and crowded themselves out to let the
lads haYe their friends frotn home ; and many a Luton
lad felt that life was worth liv ing on that Christmas of
19 r4, when the friends and rela tions gathered round
and brought to them good c.heer, a nd joined in their
songs and merriment in the billets. It W'as to be the
last Christmas gathering for many of them, and that
I 2 Th e SLory of the Firs/-Fzjth R (dfords.

thought no\v and again stole into the n1inds of both

visitor and soldier, but it found no expression among
the n1erry party.
'rhere were son1e among the lads at Bury who saw
little of the joys of Christmas time. There was a
row of earnest faces to be seen as you passed along the
rai lway platform to the exit. They had scanned
keenJy and sadly the faces of each one who passed,
expecting a visit from a friend or relat ion who never
catne. La(ls from poor homes, many of them whose
parents could not affon.l the fares. P erhaps some of
them had no friends, but were hoping agai nst hope
that they \vould find some familiar face in this cro\ovd
of visitors. There a re many such lads in the army;
and \vhen the thoughtful, feeling n1embers of the
comtnunity send comforts to the soldiers, they may
often touch the heart of the friendl ess lad who never
gets t:omforts from home. The boys I visited told me
a touching story. They had been to the n1ess room
the day ~efo re, hurrying 8.\>Vay frum parade to join in the
scramble for Christmas parcels, vvhich were cuming in
pkntitude. 'fhey sa\V them clistr1buted, and heard the
tnerry laugh and the boyish glee of scores who thought
Father Christmas was a jolly old soul because a friendly
parcel had c.ome, a nd th ey wa ited and waited till all
were given out, and, lo, there ·were none for them. ''It
was rotten, I can t ell you,'' said th~y, u v-rhen we had to
return to our hillets empty-handed. Forgotten at
Christmas! It did not seem possible; but there it
wasJ and we \oVondered that our friend s should fail us
just novv, and vve passed the quietest day in billet that
we had ever done in our lives."
It wa · explained afterwards . The traffic had been
such that hundreds of parcels did not get through, and
were forwarded afterwards to the ctisappointed lads.
l(Never mind," they said., you have made up for it,
lt

and \Ve have spent a Chr15tmas in the good old sty1e,"

and we felt as the l~d s let themselves go and gave us
sna t ch es of their route march songs, and played their
tricks on one another, that \Ve harl. lifted them out of
I4 The .')to;y OJ the F£rst-Fijlh Bedfords.

the rut and given the!n son1ething to look back on for

many a long d ay.
Easter ca me, and I visited then1 again, and saw
them ma rch to a church parade in the fields. They
were m aki ng progress. Their route m arches \\-·ere
making them more fit and strong. They passed along
\.vith an easy swinging gait. \Vhere \Vere the under-
sized lads of a fe~' months ago ? Their training was
doing \VOnders, and they w~re enjoying it) too. In
their sports, urganised in friend ly rivalry \Vith the
lads of neighbouring counties, the boys of the Bedfords
easily c~me out first, and the Genera l gave them
praise for their appea rance and efficiency on parade.

1\vo H UNDRED \:-OLUNTE.ERS \V.ANTJo:D.

There \vas so me cotnrr1otion in the camp. ..\ draft

·was wanted for another regiment vvhic:h was belo\v its
strength, anrl the r/ )th Bed fords \\iere asked to fill it up
by 200 volunteers for active service. The alarm wa." felt
not because they feared active service, but because
the proposal to take zoo of their number \vould
destroy their battalion. 'fhey were taking an interest
in each other, Yieing with each other for efficiency.
They \vere B edfords, and desired no other natne.
vVhat was it to them that anothC'r regiment W&;
deficient ? The rfsth Bedfo rds \\:ere all right, and
they refu sed to be broken up. A caH was made for
200 volunteers , and the \vhole battalion held up their
b ands. That was the way they rlefeated the call for
men. They were going to face the music all together;
whether it ,;vas the home service or foreign, there
was to be no separation order " for them.
l(

Prouder than ever ·w ere their officers. And the

work of training went on more briskly than before,
for the lads were in deadly earnest. Intrepid leaders
-intrepid soldiers. '!'heir work was full of incident.
~~ :Niajor A wi11 kill e\-ery beggar of us," said one of
them to me. /(He'd make us charge the enemy
right through the gap in the hedge where there is
Ph~ :] A FTER TJI E R BCI! PTIO.N. MARCHING THRO UGH G E ORGI! 5TRI!:ET. [W . H. Cox, L t!Un'f..
r6 The Story of the First-F~(th Bedfords.

a machine gun fix ed. Hope I get out of his squad

before we go abroad.))
Tryi ng to locate an enen1y in the dark, with the
feeling t hat he tnight b'-' within two yards of you,
was a bit trying; but it was rnore trying still to
grope about for a con ple of hours after an enen1y
and the n find out that he had retired and \Vas safe
in his bi)let. Of course the re were impolite expressions
at tin1es, when such accidents occurred .
Bury St. Edrnunds \vas now becon1ing rather stale
to them. They had been rnarching for more than
six months over the sa me ground day by day, and
returning to the san1e scenes and streets, and so
11
little variety that they \vere , as they said, about
fed up.u " \~le kno\v eve ry house, every girl, every
\Va ll on our route, nearly every tree; we kno·w just
ho\v many steps it takes to get to such and s uch a
place, and we are sick of it. The people are a ll right,
but we did not join the army to live and die in Bury
~t . Edmunds ! "

()FF '"ro NoR\\.ICH.

(J rders ca me at le ngth for the desired change, and

briskly the boys ran here and there, like schoolboys let
out of ~choot \"\'hen they lea rned that Non.vicb. \Vas their
desti nation. It was a sight \vorth seeing when they all
fell in on Easter !v!onday before marching to their new
b illeting tow·n. A hea lthy glo\v \vas on every face, a
cheery look in every eye, and they stood in their ranks,
~vith their hundred round~ of ammunition and their
packs, eager to face the hard march of forty miles,
which they were doing in three stages, to the old
\j}y, which gave them such a genwne welcome. No
body of territorials could bave looked more fit, and
probably none did more arduous marches than they
with fewer F all-outs." 1'he boys had becotne men.
ll

There were youthful faces-a goodly number-but

the bearing, the con.fidence, and the alertness was
eYident in each platoon of the battalion which marched
 ~
j
~-

~·
i "
~
........

I
I

• ..
I 'I

,...,
..
~
...:;:
~

R
18 1'he Story of the 1·-irst-Fijth B edjords.

out of Bury St. Edmunds. There were hasty fare-

wells to make, many handshakes to give to the
friends they had made, and many a tender look given
towards those who were losing a mate who had
perhaps been more than a brother to the pale-faced
girl who was feeling the parting. Their stay at
Norwich was rather short, but long enough to make
many friends. The district was new, the city bright
and interesting, and the marches through pleasant
country. Other soldiers had trained in Norwich,
but the citizens gave the Bed.fords a special welcome,
which touched their heart5 and immediately tnade
them feel at home. It was like a holiday, they said;
but, more than the change of scene and surroundings,
they felt real friendsbi p in their contact with the men,
women, and children of Norwich, who seemed to fully
appreciate the services these young men were giving
to their country. After leaving Norwich they kept
in touch with its people, for letters of friendship
followed them both to home stations, to Gallipoli,
and Egypt. I have seen some of these letters which
were sent to the boys by kind fathers and loving
mothers, which breathe a pure spirit and tender
feeling for boys they might neve·r see again-letters
such as fathers and mothers should write to their
boys to help them to pursue the noble and true
ideal in life. There were mothers who had been by
nature denied the voice of boyhood in the home
?Y·hose hearts were won by the la ughter and song of
these lads of Bedfordshire, and the boys prized
and cherished these messages in their subsequent
journey-ings, and some of them were left in their
keeping on the other side of Suvla Bay, in the land
o( silence and away from the eye of the stranger.
AT ST. ALBANS.
St. Albans was their next and final training station
before they went to Gallipoli. They got on well,
as usual , and are al't\·ay~ spoken of in the highest
term~ at the cathedral city. There were many

'
..
,-.
20 The. Story of the First-Fifth Bedfurds.

attractions at St. Albans to break the tedious round

·of duty, and here the young soldiers seemed without
a care in life. Friends from Luton frequently visited
them with mutual benefit. But the chief attraction
of St. Albans was its proximity to Luton, and when
fail and cycle facilities were not available--well,
what are ten mile ~ to the young soldier who daily
does marches of twelve or fifteen miles with full
equipment?
A PEEP AT THE OLD HOME .
..Vter Sunday church parade dozens would foot it to
Luton, swinging along in tvvos or threes with brisk,
soldierly gait, their faces bright with the pleasurable
anticivation of seeing home, re1ations, or friends. They
were going to the homes where someone was preparing
a good meal for them, and anxious to give them a
kindly reception.
They bad had their hardest training at Bury, but
their officers kept them fit, and many a fine route
march was put to their credit around the historical
city·. It was nice tn receive letters from home, to keep
in touch with their old frienrls , to open the parcels
which loving friends had se nt them, and divide the
contents with their pals, but it was nicer still to visit
Luton, to see the faces light up with pleasure as they
entered the old hotne, to hear the merry laugh, to be
in touch with the home life, to have a square meal
provided for them \vith neithC'r jam nor bully beef in
sight.
1'he home vvas more tu them than it had ever been,
becau~e they had not realised its comforts till the
flo01' becls and rough surroundings of camp life initiated
them into the ha rdships of the soldier. There were
few expressions of regret that they had left it. Their
work was not done-they were ambitious to be doing
tnore. They were said to be attached to a certain
division which \vas waiting its full equipment, and
they got restive at the delay, and surprised the officers
one day by a deputation stating their grieva~ces----
 p ,\RT 01- A:-J l l\ t; B EACH,
~HuW J NG GA H/\ T E r E 1\NL>
ACH J BA lM .

A SC J.; ~E AT L E .'•I ~OS,

\VhNe the l / 5th Beds. s tayed
::\iter le :w i 11~ the Peni nsula.
22 The :·<tory of the First-Fifth Bedfords.

that they vvere being kept drilling and " messing

about " when they wished to be on active service.
u V ou fuols," the officer is said to have
replied. " You don't know \vhat you want. Be
content \\'here you are. You vv111 get service enough
by and by."
His words no doubt were prophetic, but they did not
discourage the eager hea rts who felt they vvere fit for
serious ~vork, and they vvould have repelled the idea to
a man of being kept for home defence .
T1i.EIR SPLE~DID }fARCHES.
A march from St. Albans to Bedford, via Houghton
Regis (where they stopped for the night), \Vas done in
fine style, but the march from Bedford to Luton, a
rlistance uf twenty miles on a hot day, with only a
single halt for dinner, was the finest on their record.
From a battalion nearly r ,noo strong not more than
tvvo or- three failed to come through fresh and fit.
H ow sprightly their appearance and the healthy glow
on their faces as they marcherl into Luton many of us
\d.ll never forget. I knew a young !:lOldier vvho
happened to 'be on leave and stancling among the
<...'iowd &::. the battalion arrived. It was interesting to
hear his remarks on the fine appearance of the men:
~ · See, not a man out of place. Look at that line
there ! Perfect, &c. ! " He kneV\· the trouble, the
training, the dreary repetitions of drill, the weariness
of the marches , the exhaustion of patience, the display
of temper which had contributed to this fine effect, and
his pride of his company was bubbling over because
be considered them a force in every way \vorthy of
the honour which was being done to them. The
following interesting record of the march is from the
Luton N ews :-
THE MARCH.
R 1~CEPTION.
The three d ays• ma rch from St. Atbans via Dunstable and
Bedford to Llllton was a very good test of the tnen 's power
of endurance. as they had to cover over 6o miles v.;th full
war kit in three days.
~
u; 0
< <
0 ..J
u~
24 the Story of the F'£rst- F i/th Bedfords .
The r . ·sth Batt. Bedfordshire Regiment , early on Thursday
morning, l~ft S t . ..-\ !bans on their n1arch through the coun ty
before their dep a rture for the front . T hey carried full kit,
and were, o f course , follo wed by t h e " ki tchens," the cooking
bL:jn!~ done er:. rou.te , T hey m a rched. to th e music of t he ba11<.l >
and !lassed th roug h ~r arkyate . .Near Dun stahle they h ad
dinner u:i Costio 's fi~ld c The re we re one or two ve ry welcome
visitors from Dunst able in the persons of the ~fayor (Coun cillor
F. T . G arrett ), the T o wn Clerk p u-. C. C. S . Benning ), the
R ector o f Dunstable (Ca non B ak er ), \\·hose son is a second-
lieuterta rrt .in the b at talion , a nd :l\Ir. Oaklcy. They w ere d eeply
interested with alL they saw, a nd had an en lig htening chat with
Lieut.-CoL Brig b t~ rL By the kindness of t hese and o ther
frien ds, the men a nd o 1~ icers were provided with liquid
refresh ments,
Just be fore dinner Lieut.-Col. Brig hten spoke a few words
o f ins truction t o the m en. He advised them to cond uct
the w selv es in accord a n ce with the rep utation of the battaliun,
of \'lWC.h t hey were v e ry pro ud .
About 1 - 30 the battalion moved off to Duns t a ble( where
flags were flying ; a nd whe re crowds Jined the roads ready to
weloom e the m e n .
The ~Iayor said that Dttnstable l0oked upon the 5th B a tt.
Bedfordshire R egim e nt a a DunstalJle battalion. a nd they
could bot let them m a rch t hro ug h the town ·witho ut offering
them. e. hearty welcome and cuugra tulation upon their prese nt
appearance. They heartily cong ratula ted t hem on the
smartn ess of their a ppearance. T hey knew the battalion
had been hard a t \'\·ork to acquire such great e fficiency, a nd
they knew fro m the Comma nding Officer that the 1nen h ad
willingly pe rformed theit work. The y knew that whe n they
were c alled upon to t a ke a s till g reat er part they would be
ready a n d pre pared , an d wo uld be anxious to e1u ulate t h e
heroic wo rk of t he Bedfonls h ires no w at the front .
Cheers were given fo r the battalion a ud Lieut.-Col.
Brighten , and the colouel. in r esponding , said he w as proud
of bis battalion. He e x pressed thanks for the kindness sho,·v n
them, a nd c alled fo r cheers for Dunsta b le .
These the men gave lus tily, and a fte r wa rds m a rched o ff
to Hough t o n R egis for t he nig ht..
O n F rid ay the b a t talion tnarcbed fro rn H oug hton R egis
through T od<li ng t on , \\·estoniug. a nd F litwick t o Ampthill.
At Bedford the ba t t alion was given a civic rece ption, a nd
a s peech, which •Nos \·cry sllort a nd quite f:u the p()int , was
d eliv er ed by the 1\1ayo r (Mr. H. Browu.in g), wh ose c hapla in
also deli vered an address of welcome, which was not quite so
sho rt.
T he b attf.t.liu u then mar ched r ound t h e town, a nd a fterwards
to the bii-rracks of the Bed.fordsbire R eghuent, a t K empston,
to bivouac f,) t the njg b t in an ad joining field.
';,.
-<.
~
0
.r:::. ;...,
"<
....l
:;. --
CL ~
.!::
:...>
v. :.- cw
;:!
.0- .;)
"(
~
;,.
<
v. .:::.
....00 -
'-
0
.=. E:

--
;.J p.,
•r. ..-
;..; '-'
-
7.
('I!
,....
1<:
..:::
,..., <:::
01)
;,j :;:; t.L
:::1
"( ......
1-

z
0

I
26 The Story of the First-Fifth B~dfords .

It should b e mentioned that when t he men were h avi ng

dinner, prepared in their own field kitchens on the polo g rou nd ,
liquid refreshments we re proYide<..l out of fund s s ubscribed by
the townspeople of Bedfo rd . and also smokin g ru a terial.
There were seve ral distin~uishL:d visitors . who occupied
sp eci a lly reserved seats near the flag a t the p o int of ~a l ute.
The Duke of Bedford, of cou r~e. was present on horseback,
in kha ki, a nd u t hers presen t we re the Duc h ess of Bed ford ,
Emily Lady Atnpthill, the Hon . Constance Russell , the H on.
Romola Russell , the J..ord Lieutenant (~fr. S. Howarrl
\~/ hi t bread} and :\frs. \\"hit bread , and many other d istingtushed
county peo p le .
.-\t 6 a. m. on Satu rday, the battalion left Kempston and
m a rched thr ough Cloph ill and Silsoe to Barton on their way
to J,uton . They got to Barton at r o-3o, and, h ad it b een
urgently n ecessary, could h a ve managed the rest o f the
journey to \Vardo w n by twdve o'clock , as previously arranged.
But having regard to the trying conditions expe rienced on
Friday, and to the heat, Lieut. -Col. Bright e n decided in favour
of a halt at B arton.
The star t from Barton w<•s timed for 4-40. \Vith the us ual
ten minutes' res t in each hou r, t h is enabled tbe bat talion to
;.;et to the T own H ~.dl ju~t in titne for thL civic reception at 7
p .m. Before they left Barton t ea was provid ed, the menu
inclucliog bread and butter, cake. and pineapple.
Lie ut.-Col. Brig hten had with hitn on the march 20 officers,
a bo ut 8oo m e n. a nd ;o horses. The other rs officers and
200 m e n were left at St. ..-\.lbans to continue spedal courses of
instruction which could not be stopped .

THE RECE PTION AT L UTON.

Th(~ reception of the battalion a t Luton Town Hall on
S a.turday e\·ening \Va :s rtsponsible for a scenl! unparalleled in
the history or the boroug h . Ne ver before has the whole
battalion b een seen in the town, and thls in itself made it a
noteworthy o ccasion. In addition , there was the probability
t hat it mjg bt be tll•e last opportunity Lu ton wo uld have of
.seeing the battalion before it wen t abroad . In these tim<!s a
battalion is here t o -day and gone in the u ig bt, and at a ny
mome nt we may hear that the battalion is no longer in the
country. T his v ery fact alone would have justified a
d e monstration of the popular sentiment, and if any furth er
e xcuse were n eed ed it '"vas to b e fo und in the fact that the
batt alion was tn ade up la rgely of our o wn men, ·w h o cam e
in a.::i a body for the firs t time s inc•e mobilisation, ann for the
first time u nder a commanding office r who is a lso a Lutonian.
Lie u t.-Col. E. \V . Brig ht en bro ugh t ills men. who had done a
trek o f over sixty miles in three hot days, into George Street
exactly as the dock was ~triking seven, and they could not
) . I,

GH URKAS' R •Ll OIOUS D ANCE.

GRouP o F OFPlC RS , If5TH Bsos.
A Due-ou r : ., F t NSBURY VALK. "
2H The Story of the First-Fljth Bcdfords.
have desirE-d a more cordial reception. Chief-constable Teale,
Inspec to r ] a nes. a n d other police officers had k .. ·pt the ground
well cleared fo r tlte troops, and unt il t he reception by the
:\fayor a n d othe r lead ing: to\nlspeoplc ,,·as over one could
h a rdly tell the siLe c; f t he crowd which had been dra"rn
together. Hu t \\'he n, t he troops h a ving 1-esumed their march
to Luto n Hoo, the public were free t o take up thl.! \vhole
road way, it was rea lly s urpr13 in g t o see wha t a cro\vd had
gathe red t o ha \·c a fi rst and, m aybe, a last. look at the
battalion a s a wh ole. In<.leecl, townspeo ple able to speak
with t h e au thority of lo n g years o f expe rience, said that such
a cro\vd h ad never be fo re been seen in Gt:Grge Street. \Ve
ma.y ho pe tha t it will be ecli psed when celebra tio ns rnark the
return of peace. But be that as it tnay, S a turday evening's
gatherin g will go down as one of the mos t metuorable occasions
in the h.istory of the borou g h . The :\Iayor 's invitatiou to
residen t s to d ecorate their pre nu ses w as weH responded to
in the pri ncipal thoroug h fa res, a gny sh o w of flags and huntin g
being rnade a long t he line of route from ~ e w Bedford Road
to t be e n d of Park S treet, and in so m e o f the side streets also.
A tem porary platfo nn had been ere cted outside the Town
H all, a nd on this t h e ) lay or (Councillo r \V. J. rrirne tt) \VaS
accompanied b y va r ious m e m b ers of the Town Coun cil, tile
South Bedfordshire Recr uit ing ( onnnittee. a nrl other
prominen t to\·vnspeople. In cluded were Aldermen T . Cain
aild H. Arnold, Coun cillors C . \\'a r re u) A. B. A ttwood, \V.
\\". l\Ie rch a nt, ::\L Ba rfo rd, R. F. Bri ggs, A . Cha ptna n, S. Green,
J. Bone, H .l mpey, \\' ._-\.. R a inbo w, J. C"nwin, 'Messrs. J. \V.
Gree n, J. P. , B. H a rtop , H. ln wards (secretary of the
Recruiting Co m mittee), T. K eens, C. Cotchin, G . E. l\L
\Valke r, F. E. S hoosm ith , J. E aton -S mith , a nd J. A. Burgess,
Rev. G . Robe rts H e rn , and o t hers. The llayoress and a
number of o the r lad ies h ad seats at the windows of the Town
Hall.
The ~lay or~ on behalf of the Corpo ration, Recruiting
Lommittee, and the t own ge ne rally, ga ve the battalion a ve ry
hearty ·w elcorne. They b elonged , he s .l.id , t o a county w hich
had sent o ut m en who had d one some wonderful d eeds on the
field of b a ttle. The Bedfords hacl a ccomplis hed man y
no table exploits, and h ad done n oble deed fo r t heir country.
Probably, in a v e ry sho rt time , this 1 5th B a t t alion would be
called t o face tbe enetn y.
" \Ve a d o re every man o f you , " s aid the 1\fayo r, a tnid
cheers, Cl fo r the reason that y ou have volunt arily step ped
for ward a n d o ffered yo urselve and your v e ry lives, if need
b e, to protect o ur wives ancl children, a nd t he homes a t L ttton,
of Bedford shire, and of the country generally ." T h e Bed ford s
won immortal fame ill the heavy fig hting of the October-
Kov etnbe r last , and at Y pres, and again a t Hill 6o, a nd they
bad beard how one of the rst l3edfords had been d ecora ted
.;,
0
a:
0
0

f::
·r-,
...
t.l
-
::
...""
()

-.
(/l
cc
u
c:.
CO.
0
30 The Story of the 1;·-irst-F ijth Be~fords .

for distinguished services . In the last week they had read

much of what othe r boy. from Lu t on had been through.
They had heard ·w ith joy of boys winning stripes for plucky
wotk on the battlefield, and in the assistan~e of the wounded,
and also with saJness of some who would never return. All
honour t o th e Lu to nt a ns and the Be cl ford shin:s ! :\ ll honour
to the men who were makjng such noble sacrifices t
" ~-lany of you .' ' said the :\Iayor, have given up lucrative
tl

positions, and brok e n aw·ay from your home circles, to stand

in the breach in your country's h o ur of peril and danger. 'Ve
honour every o ne of you. .And when y o u are called upon to
meet this mos t unscrupulous enemy, the vilest enemy that
e ver fo ught in batt1e, I trust you w·ill cherish the thought
that we are thinking of you, and that we shall bear you up,
not o nly in our thoug hts, hut in our prayers also. In the
na me of e very m a n > womao, a nd. child in Lu t on, we give you
a hearty welcome in our mids t , a nd wish you God speed."
The ~Iayo r complimented the men on their very fit
appearance, and s a id they we re all proud of Lieut.-Col.
Bright~n as commanding o ffice r of the battalion.
Lieut.-Col. Brighten w as cheered before replying. Ht: said
i t wo uld be di ffic ult to e xp n !ss what they all felt at the
reception whjch had be-en accorded to them. They felt they
were at home·, :1nd were roost gratified at being received in
this v;·ay. Tht:y we re proud to belong to the Bedfordshjre
R egiment: . a nd when their time came they inte nded to do
their part. The men were proud of t he battalion. All
worked h a rd a nd tried to do their bes t, bttt the proudest man
in thr~ whole ba ttalion was himself.
To show their a p p re ciation of the '~elcome which had been
give n , Lie ut .-Col. Brighte n called for three cheers from the
battalion. In a t\.v inkling every m an 's hat was off, and there
was nothing half-hearted about the re.sponse. Three cheers
for the ba ttalion we re th~ n g iven a t the call of the lv'iayor.
a nd afte r the band h ad played the National Anthem the
b a t talion moved off to Lnton Hoo.
T hey bivouack ed for the nig ht on the hig h ground just
inside the Park Roarl entran ce to the park, but all num wno
had homes in the town we re give n pe rmission to go home for
the night, on the condition that they turned up for chu.rcb
parade on the following morning.
For t he c hurch parade o n Su.nda y, the Vicar of Luton (the
R e v. A . E. Chap n1an, 1\LA.) invited the battalion to the
Parish Church . T he O fficers \Ve re sea ted in the choir stalls,
as als o was the l\fa y o r (who r ead t he lesson) and the Town
<: Icrk, while m e mbe rs of the R ecruiting Committee were
prov ided v~·ith seats n ear the chancel steps. Only a few
tn etnbers 0f the gen e ral public \Ver e admitted after all the
me.n of the battalion h ad be-en accommodated. Mr. F.
Gostelow was a t the organ, and it was fine to bear the men
 C :.rTAI:-1 BR rAN C. Ct:\I BE.tU.. A NO(K illt.d in action.).
Cap tain Cu mbf'rla nd wac; l('a(itng h is com pa ny, t he" A" Com pany,
wben he wr~-; killed o n Augu_;;; t r 5th, 19 r 5, l><>ing .l{iw; n the pa!i t of
hono ur i11 lcndtng the attack It was h is rompa ny t h:.t :td va ncrd
fnrth t and suffered hNIVil.y.
 The Story of the First-Fifth Bedfords. 33

sing some of the good old h yrn.ns which were included in t he

order of service.
In his address, the Vicar <'nrdially w elcomed tbe officers
and men. He said it was a special gratification to hint to
find they were prepared to conte to that hist orir. chu rc h once
more before p assing to Frat1ce or to whatever tlJeir destination
mig h t b e. Kot ouly was the Luton Parish Church a house
of God, but it was a place worthy for soldiers to wors hip in,
as it was really built by soldiers. In 931, Athelstan, the
Kin;~. a nd one of the best soldiers of his time, was there for
the dedica tion of the church. Then in 11 20 Robert, Duke
of Gloucester, one of the best soldiers of his day, really built
the g reater part of the church, and it w as to rum they could
look back when they thought about this splendid h ouse of
God. Ic 146 1 the first Lord \\-.enlock, who was slain in the
\\'ars of the Roses, built the latest part of the c hurch, the
Some ries Chapel, which had been recently restored so
beautifully by Lady \Vernher. It was a soldiers' church ,
and the spiri t of tho!le splendid warriors, who did their duty
t o the country in the day~ that were past, still lived in o ur
rni<lst. I n t hese la ter times t here was th e same keen spirit
of determination to stand up for (~od, for Kin g a nd country,
and to see to it that tlJe British Empire never s ufrer'-=d for
wa nt of the duty and loyalty of her sons. Luton was proud
of the r . ·sth Battalion, and whenever they wen' tne ntioued
one heard how s plendidly fit the m en were .
On leayin g the ch urch, the battalion mardtc:u through
somt> of the principal stret"ts. They w e re then di sm1 ssecl
at the Corn Exchan.~c. and were free until the e\'ening, when
they h ad to parade at Luton Hoo and march back to St.
AI bans.

THE DEPARTURE.
July 25th, 1915, was a busy and exciting day. It
was their last day in the old country. As they
marched to the old :\bbey in the morning the crowds
turned out to hid thetn fareweLl. It was a hearty
service in which they joined, and right heartily they
sang the popular hyn1ns. The battalion was fond of
singing, and one could always hear the popular airs in
various sections of the line on the tnrrrch. After
service they formed UlJ in the field near the church,
a nd Lieut.-Col. Brighten, following their movetnents,
was evidently proud of his men. 'l'hl: service over,
they '\\7ent back to their billets for th(·ir last dinner in
old England, at any rate for tnany a long day. Later
c
 34 Tlze Story of th,; F ·i l'sl-f'ijth Bedjords.

the city \-Vas all anttnation. rfhe lads ha d got their

s un heltnets on, and hacl a changed a p pearance.
It w as interestin~ to see the scores o f mules being
hustled by t ht:ir dri\·ers in and out of the various
tlu a rter~. a ncl to see the men in the streets with loads
of equipn1ent o n the grou nd trying t o find space for it.
There were hand-shake-.; later on, a nd n1any hearty
\Vishes fo r the safe return of the lads \vho had tna d e so
~na ny friends , and vvho were going out t o facC' unkno\.vn
ri: ks in a la nd of disease a nd death. 'fhere \vere
secret little rneet i ngs, where the hearts were strangely
sad-father ·, mothers, and sisters vvho held the a rn1s of
their boys t ig htly for a :ittle space because the fear
ca me into their heart~ that they tn ight not ~ee then1
aga1n.
In the dead of night the J~ d s trooped clown to the
s tation , a ncl ea rly on the tnorning of the 2(>th they le ft
. the st at ion with n1any a good wish for their \velfa re.
'l'he \·oyage was a pleasa.nt one, a nd the d iary of one
of their number , nly son , Pte. Frank R.itnmer. gives
a n inte r "Sting account of the voyage to Alexa ndria.
'l'he st ay at Alexandria \vas very brief. It \Vas
believed t hat the boys would st ay here ror son1e day~ .
if n ot \veeks, to acclin1atise. An old friend who had
spent some years in Egypt assured tne t ha t the arn1y
a uthoriti4.· s rn.usL give t hetn some \veeks to get used to
the very trying clim ate, as the la ds would not be fit for
their arduous t ask other'.-vise. JVJ llSL is a potent ·word,
but the need of their help in the great task was more
potent still , and the dreatns of seeing the ~vonders of
this fa bled la nd were dis pelled , a nd one s hort march
·was all they got in the la nd of the Pharaohs. It was
a tnarch many of them \vill remember for its glimpse of
the old tinte city, but it left them no time to pick up
the relics or wonderful knick-knacks of the ancient
people ·w hich they had protnised to their home friends.
l)n they pressed, and even letters and parcels from
home could not overtake the1n in this hurried voyage,
a nd l u ~t. ny a young heart wa s aching for m essages frorn
horr1e, \vhich 've n~ long dela yed. Some, indeed, never
P hoto : ) [ H . ]. ] arman & Co., 8 ury St. r:dmuruls.
CAPTAI N S HOOSM I TH (K ~Ued ;,, Gallipoli ).
T he r eport. of A u)$Ust .rsth, IQX'i , t,:~,ys $h~mit h had a charmed
lift that day. Practic:<1Uy all his f-:.C.O.' s a nd m e n were k nocked
o ut, and he was left only ,,·ith o ne man to fi ght his g un , which
he did with the ut mo~t gallan try. H e swept ~he gr ol.lnd clear
for our advance.
 1'he Story of the First-Ftf th Bedfords. 37

were delivered, being returned to the sender _w ith sad

messages from those whose duty it was t o break the
saddest of news t o the relatives. By-and-by this
confusio n was remedied, and those who \vere fo rtun ate
enough to receive p a rcels rejoiced in t he remetnbrance
of their friends a nd kindred, a nd life, even a mid t he

_______________
t rials of s uch a clirnate, was still_vvorth living.
..:..___

.
I

'
Puoto : J SEc. -LI E UT. R. D. ] . B RIGIITE:-J . ~ " L~tton /l: ro::, .'
(,"( iUed in aciion, August JSih, 19t 5).
His bodv was fo und three d ays a ft "'rward "ith a
numbtr 'of his fallen men around hiln. He had
=\•lvanccd ''ith his platoon to t he farthest point
n:·achcd it\ the action.

The following diaries of my son, Pte. F. Rimmer,

and his m_ate5, Ptes. Goodwin and Scott, give records
of the daily work. The first s hows t he longing for
home creeping in on the voyage when the thoughts of·
38 Th e Story of the F1:rst-Fijth Bedf()rds.

the welcome home are stirred by the words of the

1 1
Little Grey Home in the \.:Vest.'' It \vas a welcome
\vhich was never experienced, for the \vriter sh ared
the fate of many of his brave n1ates of Corn pany
I( •. : \ . "

who advanced into the dead ly a rea of the Turkish

shells on ..\ugust 15th. He was afte nva rds found close
to Sec.-Lient. R . D. J. Brighten, and buried 'With him
near the One. 'free Valley.

DIARY OF OUTWARD VOYAGE.

S.S. ~~ Rrccmar Castle ,)}
Sunday Evening, August rst, r915 .
l\Iediterranean Sea
(In sight of the Algerian Coast).
DF:\ R DAD A~D ~lA,
I am ho ping you will get this letter safely when
the ship returns to England, as it is going to be post ed
there, if possi ble. \ Ve left St. Albans in the early
morning of ~Ionday, July 26th, and passed through
Reading, Swindon, Bath, Bristol, Exeter (where \Ve
received tea, sandwiches , cigarettes, &c., with the
l\.Iayor 's compliments), a nd then to Devonport, where
the train took us alongside our liner, and we e mb<:trked
immediately. At tea time we sailed, a nd sat till dusk
vvatching the old land fade a"vay. Down below on our
troop deck we had tea, slung our hammocks, jumped
into them, and soon were sou nd asleep . At s- J0 on
11
Tuesday we showed a leg" (the sailors' term for
tumbling out of his harnmock), and found we were out
of sight of land. \\·e had plenty t o do during the day,
including stow1ng av1ay rifles and helmets, and had kit
and boat drill . This is our menu : For breakfast we
have a plate of porridge, a bloater, and bread a nd
hutter and tea. Dinner time : Potatoes and beans,
and every other day plum duff or rice pudding. Tea:
Bread, butter, and jam; and the cooking is Ar. We
buy extras from tAe c~nteen, and liv~ very ~ well.
 Photo: ] rBassano U d ., Bond l ., H'.
C APT. B AKER
(K ilft4 in action, Septembu 1,5tlr, 1915, son of fht. RtclrtT o.f D mt sfnblc) .
Although suffering from a sha ttcrrd arm he went on
the head of his ~m nany until hr. \\' ril\ sho ~ ;tgain.
\;li
 1'he Story of the Firsl-F1jth Bcdfords. 41

On ~'"ednesday everybody ·w as prncticaU.y better,

and \ve had an hour's physical drill, boat drill, and did
as we liked the rest of the day, \vith a si ng-song on
deck in the evening.
'fhursday found us still at sea, anrl at each end of
the ship a big sheet \Vas filled \-vith \"Vater, ancl m a de a
bath about a foot deep. I "vent on guard on Thursday
night, ·watching for subrnarines. It \Vas a lovely
n1oonlight night, and \Ve could see very clearly. \Ve
came off at 5 a.n1.; the only incident \vas sorne of the
crew came washing the deck down with a hose pipe,
and didn't see the relief party lying asleep on the deck.
They woke up in a tremendous hurry, and thought the
ship was s inking. \:Ve were still out of sight of land,
the reason being that \-Ve had made a bi g sweep out in
the Atlantic to avoid traffic . \Ve passed c;ibraltar
at r r- 30 p. m., and, of ('OU rse, did not see the rock, as
it was n1jsty. 'fhe fog horns were going all night, and
we heard in the morning that we \Vere within a fe\-v
hundred yards of ramming the " :\1auretania,"
returning home.
The morning of Saturday, J tt ly :) rst, still found us
at sea, and we had the usual drills during the day.
\Ve began to feel the heat no\v, but not being over-
worked \Ve managed to exist.
Sunday 1norning, A ·ugust Ist.- To-day ·we found we
were in sight of the Algerian coast. W e could see the
mountains rising out of the sea so miles away. Church
parade \Vas held on deck by the chaplain, and after
that we ha d the day to ourselves. A French destroyer
came right up to us and wished us bon ·~.;oyage , and in
the evening Brigadier-General de \Vinton held a service
on deck, and had a big congregation. Then we turned
in at X. p.m . I jurnped out at 4 a. m. on Bank Holiday
:\fonday and had a lovely bath. \Ve had drill and a
tnedical inspection., and we finished for the day. \Ve
are running within a fevv miles of Algeria. Rocky
mountains run right into the sea, with here and there
the shining white towns \vith dotne house tops. It is
a beautiful picture. 1he sea has hardly a ripple, and
42 Tlz c Stor_"/ n.f the Tirst- Fljth Bedfords.

there i.::. a bright b lue sky. Xo clouds can be seen, and

the sun is a lmost right ()\·erheac.l. 'l'o t he north \Ve
passed several r0cky isla nds , apparently not inhabited.
Xothing further occurred of any note, and we turned
in at 7 p .m. During the night the sea rose a bit, and
se\·eral chaps \vho slept near the port holes got a
heauti ful h ath free of charge. I J. m ·writing this part
about bvo huurs' sail from \ Taletta (I\Ia lta) _ 1'he boys
arc~ a ll on deck singing (( Little Gre)r Home in the
\'Vest ," to the accon1panixnent of a mandoline and
flute, and it rn akes me long for the day when " 1-Iands
\Nill \Velconle me in " to n1y \Vestern home again.
\Ve arri\·ed at :\Ialta at IO a.rn. on Tuesday, August
3 rd , and a nchored in the beautiful har!:>onr of Va letta
at r o'clock. \Ve were at once surrounded by hundreds
of little boats carrying fruit (which \ve ·w ere not a llu\\'ed
to buy), tobacco, shawls, and all kinds of fancy articles.
Little bro\vn bo\~S"'
dived for 1nonev. and it made a
~

pietur~ to be r~men1bered. The harbour is very heavily

£ortifiLd, and conta ined many British and Fre nch
warship'~ and tra nsports. 'Ve got no chance to get
- v erv,.. clos~ to the tn\vn , a nd could see
as hore , but lav
the square houses an(l narro\v streets. But our stay
\vas s hort, anrl here ·we are again at sea, and steaming
cast_ 'f'he beautiful island is just fading away over a
calm sea. It h as been awfully hot to-day, hut we are
getting used to it. 'rhe band is playing <l'fill the
Boys Come Home,n and I think I 'vill just join them
in the sing-song till lights-out.
vVednesday , August 4lh.-\Ve are quite out at sea
and ha\'e not seen a s hip a t all. It has been an
uneventful day-nothing to do but read. I have
written you a post card t o-day to go off at Alexanrlria,
but, of cou rse, there is not much on it, as the officers
censor our letters. It h as been very hot again \\rith
a calm sea .
Thursday, ri ttgust 5th.-I am having to finish up
now, as there is a risk that we may have to leave the
phip in a hurry at Alexandria to . . morrow! aud I must
 CAPTAI ~ E. V. A :-JD REI!\1
This gaHant vffiu:r with h is platoon took par t i n the figh t , ancl
was at fi rst reported mi ing. He had a slight "uns troke, bu~
t.tfterwards r~jo i n ed hi regi men t .
 The Story of the First-1--.ijth Bedfords. 45
give this in. I hope it ·will reach you safely sometime
ur other. and will be n1ore interesting t han the usua l
post cards.
So good-bye for the present. 'J\lith fondest love
from your loving boy,
FRA:'\K .

.A diary by Pte. Harold Scott brings the battalion

to the scene of action, and one by Pte. H. Goodwin
records the work from the landing to the morning of
the rsth August.

DIARY OF PTE. H. SCOTT.

You had most of the details frotn Prank's letter, I
think, covLring the period from leaving England until
we arrived at Alexandria on ~aturday , . August 7th .
We had a route march round the city, and. e n1barked
again for the Peninsula in the evening. I well
remember the church service ~'e had the next tnorning,
when Brigadier-General de Winton addressed us and
conducted the service. He fini shed ttp with the words,
" \Ve are going into a strange land to fight our
country's battles, and n1any of us may fall , but I hope
the great tnajority will soon be back in our O\tvn hotnes
again, enjoying peace a nd quietnt:ss, \vhich I pray to
God may soon rest upon the world."
Tuesday, August roth.-V...Te arrived at 1viudros in the
morning, leaving late in the day and going into Imbrus
for the night. We left again before dt.twn, and early
on August r rth we were making preparations to land
at Suvla Bay, which landing had been partly made by
the I oth (Irish) Division four days previously. Once
ashore--\tve had very little difficulty in 1nanaging that
- vJe \vent about h alf a mile inland and deposited our
goods and chattels in practically open country. It did
not take us long to realise that we were at last on
Active Service-too active for us in rr1atters of fatigue
duty, &c., and shortly we had our first sample oft( iron
rations "-bully beef and biscuits . \Ve turned into
our blankets as soon as it was dusk, and I believe !'lept
46 Th e Stnry of the First-}'ijth Bedfords.

sou tHllyl in spite of the fact that the Turks were

endeavouring to shell our ships~ whilst our batteries
and na vat guns \·v ere answering frequentl:y.
Thursday, ._;l ugust 12th.-An easy day for us, with
nothing tn do but cook food, fetch \Vater, write letters,
and go bathing.
Friday, Ijlh.-Found us trench digging in the
morning and afternoon, which proved rather exciting.
\Ve \-vere n1 aki n g second line trenches, and occasiona1ly
\Ve \Vere treated to a fevv rounds rapid from so m e where
in front, but fortun a tely none was hurt until we were
con1ing bac k , \vhen one officer and a n1an got hit. While
'-'Ve were 1nak ing the trenches , Frank did all the shovel
\Vork while I used t~e pick.
Saturday, r -tllz.-\Ve rested most of the day, while
in the afternoon the General of the Division m a de a
speech to us. In the evening we \.ve re again out with
the intenti on of finishing the trenches, but we did not
make tnuc h progress owing to the severe peppering \Ve
had from the Turks. l\Iost of the tim(' \Ve la y huddled
behind the earth we had thrown up b efore, and early
in the n1orning, almo.:;t tired out, we returned to our
lines and t rie~ to sleep.
Sunday} rsth, wa: the day for our battalion, when
great yet t er rible things happened. I have only a
hazy idea of \vh a t happened after Fra nk and 111ystlf
returned from sco uting on the right.

VOLT'NTEERS \rVANTED.
Pte. Scott then a lluded to an incident which took
place just previous tl) the advance of" 1\ " Company.
Captain Cumberlancl had called for two volunteers to
sco ut to the right previous to the advance, so that
they should not be surprised by the enemy at close
quarters. Pte. Scott and Pte. Rimtner had volunteered,
and rte. Scott gives the following version of the
incident :-
'Jle had already mi . ed Nobbie, and soon Prank went
on in front of me as we were climbing the hill, on the top

•
 rSpdght & Co., S ertt Hou.i. lrteJ 1 11'
C APTAIN \\"ALTER M EAK IN
(R.~ported m issing ; believed kill-ed August I Sth , 1915 ).
H ·:: was the ieader ot "C., Company, which supported '' B '' in.
the attack. A comrade s.ays : " 1 am told he was hit, !Jut the
rnan who saw it wa hit h i11~clf l~tc r. \\'e ne\·cr found hi m,
tbough \\C spen t nights of searchi ng.'
 The Story of the First-F-ifth Bedfords . 49

of 'vhich I found Captain Cumberland and one o r two

more of the boys.
Since \Ve (hin1self and P t e. Rin1mer) n1a naged to get
bi11et ed together at St. Albans \Ve stuck fast, and were
hardly out of each other's sight until that never-to-be-
fo rgotten d ay on the Peninsula. It \·vas a terrible day,
made worse because -vve really did not know t hat we
were going into the thick of it until it came on us with
frightful suddenness. Then we real ised that anyone
who cam e out of it untouched would be indeed lucky.
As us ual, our cotnpa ny C' A'' Company) got into the
thick of it, and out of our platoon, ·which Captain
Curnberland was leading, only five v-vere p resent at roll
call when sent back for a,Jest. \Vhi h.: we were ad vanc-
ing up the hill (on A.ugust 15th) Captain Cutnberland
asked for two volunteers te go out a nd mak~..: s u re that
there was no chance of us being attacked on the right
flank. I h ad m y back turned at the time, but, of
course, looked round to see wha t would happen, and
alrr1ost expected to see Frank's hand ~ hoot u p, and
sure he was the first to volunteer. It was just like
him- h e had no fear-- · and I naturally "vant~d to be
w·ith hitn in the sport, so I said I would go too. \Ve
had ra ther an exciting time, as the bullet~ 'vvere cotning
around us pretty thickly, but nothing else h appened.
When \\'e got back our chaps vvere just goi ng u p the
hill in fine style. a nd in the C'Xcitetnent I lost _sight of
Frank , as he was ru n ning on. H e could run faster
than me, a nd that was the last I sa\>v of him. Directly
afterwa rds I came across the captain and gnt n1ine iu
the foot. c
-
PTE, GOODWIN'S DIARY.
A1.' THE PENINSULA.
We reached Suvla Bay on August roth, r gr5J a nd
anchored for the night. O ur first experience of war
came very early next n1orning, one of the enemy
aeroplanes coming over and dropping a few botnbs
between the ships in which we were: bnt luckily none
0
50 The Story of the First-F'ijth Bedfords.

were hit. \Ve rushed on deck to have a look at them.

()£ course, it \vas the worst thing \.Ye could have done,
but you can guess ho\\ we ~·ere, and wanted to see all,
and I can tell you we saw some very good firing from
our guns. They dz'd let him have it hot. Shrapnel
\Vent all round hin1 and he soon had to retire, hut we
\Vere all eager to see another one con1e over to have a
little more excitetnent. ...\fter that we went down
and had breakfast, and then we got our things together
ready for landing. \Ve left our large boat and entered
the s mall boats , on which \ve were sitnply packed, and,
to make matters \vorse, it \vas a very hot day. Well,
I suppose \Ve felt it more , going straight there, but we
got along ~omeho\\. to our resting place, vvhich I should
say \Vas about a mile from the beach. \~le landed
"rithout a shot b~ing fired, ~o \ve w·ere very lucky in
th at way. \\ e had no sooner got to our rest camp
than they started us to \Vork, son1e unloading the boats,
others on \:Vater fatigue . 1 \Vas on the ·water fatigue,
filling tins and skins (the old water bottles of the J e·ws),
to go on mules, and \Ve quite thought we had to go up
to the firing line \vith this water, as the lieutenant told
us the. pno r chaps in the trenches had not had any
\Vater for twenty-four hours, and \Ve had to hurry and
get it up there. However, the Indians took the water
up ; each Indian had four mul~s to look after (an~l some
of them wanted looking after, too). If one mule
ha!1pened to touch another there was a mess-up;
they kicked and jumped, and were not satisfied until
they had thrO\\·n everything off their backs, and we had
the job of putting the load all ttp again. For the rest
of the day ·we were getting food reJ.dy, and then went
for a bathe. The bathing \Vas a bit of a luxury, as the
water was " 'arn1, and you conld stay in any length of
time \v-ithout discomfort. 1"here \Vas one drawback
to the bathing, as enemy shells ·were passing over our
heads, and our own shi ps were giving exchange. \Ve
had not been in the nei~hbourhood 1ong, but we were
getting used to the shells, and did not duck and dodge
about as we had done at fir~t. After the bathing we
Photo :] [H.]. ]arman 6- Co., Bury S t. Edmuu.ds.
Lt:.:t:r. C. R. L't'n EK I< ER. The Lodge; Harpe.a cten
(K illed if• ti el i<m Aug ust xslh, 1915 ).
A gal!aot officer beloved by bis men.
 The Story of the Firsf.-Ftjth. Bedjords. 53

came back and clre'A' rations , and got ready for the
night'~ rest. We had t\>vo blankets, a nd lay down
an-d h ad a qu iet night.
On the morning of the rzth ·we got our little fires on
the go, and soon had our breakfast; then cleaned our
rifles and had an inspection and another bathe, a nd
then had to line up to fetch ·water. T\.vO men out of
each platoon ·were told off for this, and it ~·as a\¥fnl to
see the eagerness of hundreds of men ·wJ.iting for their
turn for water, and \Ve \Vere only allo\ved to take our
water bottles. If we \vanted to take a large tin to fill.
we h a d to get a note from the officer before '\ve could
fill it. After this business we got dinner. and then
had the excitetnent of seeing the Turks fi ring on our
~h ips, and they let them have it rather hot. Our ships
kept on the 1nove during the firing, a nd then began to
let them have it Lack and silenced them. \Ve were
near the coast and in a line with the ships, but. for-
tunately, they did not get among us , a nd we had a
quiet day and a quiet night, too.
On the next clay, August 13th, 've went th·rough the
satne orders as the day before, but at d inner time we
knew that the 'I'urks had got our position, for they
st a rted shelling us. as ~. e \vere on open ground. The
ravines a nd gullcys vvere behind us, \Vhere we could
have got some shelter, but our colonel told us he \Vas
awaiting orders whether wl~ had to dig in there. or in a
safer s pot further b ack. SoJne of the battalions were
already on the \York, but our orders can1e: along soon,
a nd I can tell you we " 'ere not long before we made
some cover, and the shells seemed to go over our heads
or drop short, so we had no casualties. Being our
first experience, we did a bit of bobbing u p and down
when we heard a shell coming, and as soon as we heard
it go over, it \vas a picture to see all our heads bob up
to look where it '9.ras bursting. I will say they caught
the In<;lians and the n1ules which were just behind us
one nasty smack, ann they cleared off in surprisingly
quick time. After a'Qout an hour the shelling stopped,
54 The ~Story of the First-Fifth Bedjo·rds.

a:1d it was safe for us to lie outside o ur dug-outs . As

t he sun wa::> hot \Ve generally fixed a bit of sh a de up
\vith our blankets a nd rifles , and they m ade a sort of
tent . That night we had orders t o go tre nch digging,
a nd I should ~hink we went a good t\vo or three miles,
bnt it is h~t rcl to j udge dista nces in the dark, over
ruug h a n d uneven groun d . i,
.~ an d ,, B '' C om-
.\ , ,

panic5 went first, C " and ~~ D "Companies following,

I(

as if in fighting order, and vvith pick or shove] \Ve

m arched along, a nd the ~nipers we re all over the place.
Tl~e cotn panic·s following us had an easy time, as they
returned ~·:tho ut n1uch digging. I s uppose we did
\vhat was required. I think we were very lucky, fo r
" B " Company r1id not have one hit , but ~~ A. " Com-
pany had o ne hit in the foot by a sniper as we \Vere
r~..: turning up a g ully.
()n the morning of the I.tt h C " and ' ( D " Com-
(I

panies went up , but they were not so lucky as our

con1pany had been, and the).. had a fair number
\vo u nded. \Ve '"'ere resting till dinner time, when
t he T urks let u s have it again. to show they were alive,
a nd ~o we h ad to get on \Vith our dug-outs. .\t n1ght
\Ve we nt up aga in, but this time we were not ::>o lucky,
ns we had s ome wounded as soon a.s ever we got to our
trenches. The snipers '\vere very hot, bullets coming
f rotn all directions ; but \Ve stu ck to our work, and
\·\'e re relieved after about t\vo h ours ' h ard digging.
\Ve had a little rest in the 1norning, cleaned our rifles,
&c., and t he n we \vent and had our bathe, a nd after
dra wing r atio ns for the day had ~ quiet morning. We
we re just settling down to dinner when \:ve h ad orders
to hurry u p ;'.nd have dinner and draw rat ions fo r
three days--corned beef a nd bi~ cu its. Our lieutenant
ca tne u p a nd t old us to take as many ration~ as we
could, as we \vcre going up in the communication
trenches for three day . He said it was a snip job,
and, by jove, it \Vas ! Some of us carried tins of water,
b esid es 2 50 rounds of ammunition and rifle and rations,
so you can tell we were fairly loaded.
stJ ,.f lz f Stor_y of the F·irst-F·ifth Bedjords.

INTO THE FIGHT.

'fhey were now entering on their first battle, of
\Vhich the following narrative fronl the Luton r·l CV/ S
is a fine description:-
The battalion, after leaving Alexandria, which was only
t o uc hed fo r the purpose of land.i ng reserves of about I 70 men.
sailed across the )fedite rranea n and were landed " somewhere "
on the shore of the Gallipoli Peninsula. In the \VOrds of one
who took part in t h e landing , (• they fell right into it straight
awa y," for in fac t the Bedfordshire lads found there was n0t
mur.h in d is tance between them and the enemy.
(Jn the shores while landing, and on the beach when camped,
t~ i :·· Turks h ad found the artillery distant:e and dropped shells
iuto the men during various times of the day. Although the
shell fire was accurately distanced and timed , the damage done
was extrao rdinarily sn1aU, and this has continued to be, at all
~ ,·e n ts, up to the middle of September. the experience of our
batt alion.
As soon as the stores were landed all hands were set to dig
the m selves in, and during this necessary operation the enemy
ope ned a long range musketry fire, accompanied at intervals
with shra pnel. The" baptism of fire ·• to lads who had never
been under fire before , all of them only a few months before
~ittin g caltnly in offices, working at the bench, or steadHy
e ngaged on so1n e agricultural work, must have been a distinct
ne rve-shaker. But a n eye-witness says: " It was perfectly
wonderful to see the m e n going on coolly with their digging just
as if t hey had heen at home."
It was during these fi rs t hvo days that the regiment ex-
pe rie nced its first casualties. Atnong them was Lieut.
Chaundle r , of Bigglcs\\rade, but so steady ,,, as the discipline
tha t alt ho ugh wounded he just s a t down and went on directing
ltis pla toon until it was insisted upon that he should retire to
ihe rear.
As a n e xatn ple, howe \·e r, of the enemy's shell firing it 1nay
here be tn entioned that while supervisin g and a.<;Sisting the. men
cl u ri ng these e ntre nching opera tions, no less than three shell:
burs t within a few feet o f J,ieut.-Colonel Brighten.
On Sunday, t he I 5th, the battalion was ordered in to action.
T he gene ra l po sitio n of the brigad e cannot, of course, be given
h e re for o b\·io us reasons , but the r '5th had to act as a flank
g u ard t o a d ivision which was tnaking a push to straighten out
the line. Tile baUalion \vas gi ven the post of honour in thE'
van of the b rigade. " B " Company, ttnder the command of
Capt . Baker (so n of the Rector of Duustable), was put on the
righ t flank o f the battalion, to keep in touch with the other
troops; " A" Compan y, under the corumand of Capt. Brian
Cumberland (son o f ~[r. Hug b Cumbe rland, of Lutoo), '' <1S
 (K illed in ac/ion, Augu.~l 15/h, I <) I 5).
P fHVATE F R AI'JK R B f\I RR

The wri ter of the d iary o f the vora~e , ancl one of the volun L<'<'N
a'-kr<l (o r by Captain Cumtx>rland . H .~ mate's lt·ttcr ..ays: · ' TtiC'
Cnptnin called for vol m\lt:l'l~ . I :..aw Fl ,ulh' .... h.u1d ...hoo t up. It
was j us t li ke him; he bad no fear. So I ~n id I would go too."
sB 1'he Story 0j the First-Fifth Bedfords.
t:>xtended back a little on the dangerous flank that had to be
most can.:fully watched, and the machine gun section. under
I,ieut. Shoosn.llth, \V a::; detailed to support it Company.
.:\ "

The battalion, at the time of the attack, besides those left

at Alexandria, was short of one platoon of men and one machine
guu section . both of which had to he left to garrison the trenches
the battalion had been digging. Lieut. \Voodhouse was in
charge of that party. The n·~imental headquarters section
followed the t\vo leading cornpanies, and the reserve companies,
" C "a.nd "D ",u nder Captains l\Iea kin and Forrest respecti\·cly,
were close behind. The following diagram \Vill give some little
idea a ~ to the disposition of the battalion:--

8 ~
[]
:\l ac hinc
Glii i S .

B
H eadqua r ters . ·

·~ []
\' ery soon a rnessage \Vas delive red saying that the hill in
front was very s tron.!:.!ly held, and then the battalion " went for
it." " C "Compan y w as thrown fo rward with" .A " and" D "
Cotnpa nies, and the t h re~ companies at once very hotly engaged
in the at tem pt to clear the hill. I t \vas not long before " ]) "
Cornpany had to be thrust unwards to support the charge.
This weight of bra\·e. intrepid, well-disciplined men soon took
the firs t hill, but the next proved a 1nuch more difficult propo-
sition.
The natnre of the country in Gallipoli is such that any exact
account of what s ubsequently happened is impossible, t he
sm a ll precipito us hills, t h e im1ne nse boulders of rock, and the
tangled thicke ts of scru b-the t'<vo latter features naturally
taken a ll possible Qd vantage of for cover- make ao observer's
chances V@ry small, and it is only from piecing vario us accounts
frotn all qua rters together tha t any choate "idea can b e forrued
as to t he " carry on " of the m ovetnent.
These obstacles, in themselves formidable e nough, against
observation were aided by the fact that at the assault of the
.second hill the tide of battle seemed to run off very much from
 PRIVA T I! HAROLD S coTT . PRIVAT E HORACF: G OODWIN.
One o f th e Vol unteers w~ nt erl uy C::l p t :::ti n Cttmberla tttl. W riter of d iary from the landiug to the :1c tio n of
.l:ie was ilft <.'rward~ wo ttrH!ed a nd i m ·<lliclr·d hnrnc. Augn:->t 15th, ! 1)15.
6o The Story uf the First-Fifth Bedfords.
t h e region of the Bedfonls' headquarters, ancl it becatne very
d ifficult to kee p in touch with the various units.
The Adjutant , Capt. Younghusband, and )-fajor Hill, were
here of the greatest assistance to Lieut.-CoL Brighten, and
hurried from place to place under a searching fire, assisting to
get t he direction of attack ch a nge d, and to keep the four cu m-
panies in touch with each other. They must have borne
charmed lives, for .hov,: they got through \Vithout a scratch it is
irnpossibk to explain.
\\"ben once more the battalion was in touch and moved
fonY c.nl it came suddenly in t o a zone s wept by an enfilade of
shrapnel fire. ...f.h.is enfilade had evidently been carefully
prepared , as the enen1y's infantry immediately cleared off the
slopes of the hill, leaving the operations to the artillery. Shell
ait er .shell fell into the Bedfords. sotne dropped on top of the
Hearl.q uarters Section , and the place became a shamble!::i.
Lieut. Ballance. of Dunstable (Lieut.-Col. Brighten's s ignal
officer), was wounded at trus period, and Lieut. Hunter passed,
being taken to the rear with a s hrapnel wound in the foot. All
the \\·ounded 1nen seemed to crawl towards h eadquarters, and
for some time came so thickly one could hardly move.
Thi s was a time to rack thl' nerves of any officer. 1Vfet1 who
had passed throug h previous c ;..t.tnpaig o and with nerves of
:;teel n:light \·ie\v such a sight wi t h calmness, but our boys, at
this fir t sign of the effects of n1odern \va rfare, might have been
excused had their steadiness deserted them. But what really
h uppened ? Instead of shrinking, the sight rather braced up
their stren gth, for they k new th a t the best way to protect their
wounded was to keep the l.ine whole and preserve the ground
\vllich they had token.
Once more the units of the bat talion were brought into
touc h , casualties were sorted out . and Hu~ attack was con~inued.
About this time new.s came t hat the Brigadier-General , General
C. de \Vinto n, had been wo unded. This very gallant gentleman
had endea red himself to every officer aud man in his Brigade,
and althoug h he and some of his staff office-rs were wounded,
remetnbering the .strai ts of the I 1 5th Bedfordshires, h e ordered
up two more battalions to support the m.
The day was now wa ning and the work was not done, but
the a tta ck ca rried t he Bedfords to the cre st of the second hill,
where both tnus ketry a nd machine g un firing was t errific.
Ca pt. Baker , altho ug h suffering from a shattered arm,
went o n at the head of his co~npany until he fell, sl1ot ag ain.
Lieu t. L ydekkcr, of I-Iarpcnden , was als o k illed in this assault.
•· CUtnlJc:rla ud," ,,.. e ar e told b y an eye w i tness , " called on his
Compan y C A '') for the la$t cllarge up the crest, and in the-
act of waving then1 on was shot through the head; L.i cut.
R alph (the b rother o f Lie ut.-Col. Brig hten), who led No. 1
Platoo n of '( A " Cc tnpany, which was poor Cumberlaud's show
pla toon, was close to him~ a nd was s hot almost at the same
SI!RCE ANT \ V. S T APLE TON, Ampt hiU. SERG EA NT T. Bu .. LING, Woo tton.
L ANCK-SRRGEA :-iT ]. A. w. RODI NS0:-1, Atnpth ill.
P.RrVATE C. A. F I NCH, PRivATE G. DlEM£R,
98, I Ligh S t reet., Duo table. Beacoos field Head, Bedford
IS:ILLED IN ACTION.
 6z T he Story of thr F £rst-Fifth B edfords.
time; Lieut. Risin g (who has since been reported ' wounded
a nd 1nissing ') was not seeu after this eharge, and has never
been f0 und , ~o it is b e lie\·e<l, too, t hat he is killed.''
\Vh at a glorious eharge ! But what a price to pay, for th.is
list of officers did not exhaust the casualties. Lieut. J ames
P,Irs . Brighten ':> b rother) was wounded very early in the action ,
being shot in the calf of the leg, b ut he was able to hohble back
by himself durin~ the night . The leader of " C " Company,
which had suppor t ed " B . . Company in the a t tack, Capt.
~le akin, is b elieYed to h a ve l)ecn killed at this time. .:\ com-
rade says:- '' I am told he was hit , but the man who saw it \Vas
hit himself later ; we ne ver found him eH her, althoug h I
persona lly s pent nights of searchin.~.u
Lieut. Day was also wounded badly in the head , but, like
t he rest of the cheerful Bed fords , made very light of it . Lieuts.
Chirnside and Yarde we re hit about this time, too, but v.·ent
on, n ot only during the re mainder nf that attac k, but also
th ro ugh the n c·xt day and nig ht until relieved .
A lthou.~ h ont: r ecords these fac ts with sorrow, yet one is
hound to feel pride in conduct lik(.: t his. T hese two young
o ffice rs , when nigh t fell, " found ~hat the:ir company \vas in for
another 2.~ hours' shi ft, a n d insisted on s topping. Brave lads,
both of thl:rrt." It was not un t il Tuesday nig h t, whe n they
were seen by the doctor, that they could be induced to lea ye
and be packed off to hospital.
" D ' ' Company had , durio.Q the attack. ~upported " ~\ "
Company. and being the last company to be brought up had
fare d a little better, although they had been badly wanted.
Capt. F o rn:.:>t opened an old w0und early in t h(? day, and his
j unior, Capt. Andreini (well known to all Luton straw traders),
got a to uch of sun stroke. Apart fro m these the ca~ualtit8 were
all in t h e ra nk and file .
H e re must be quoted another communication, a lso relative
to the fight of the I '5t h. u Shoosmith bore a charmed life
t h at d ay. Practically all his );.C.O.'s and rnen were knocked
out, and he was left with only one man to fig ht his gun, whic h
he did with the u t most galla.nt ry; and he sitnply sweo t the
:~ round in fro n t of our ad vauce and clt:•ared the \\ay for them."
During the above- m~ ntioned single handling of the gun
:Major Hill, seein g it w as a v er y pressing moment, and fearing
t he wo r~t, ,_.,·ent up to Lie ut. Shoosrnith (the son of :Mr. Frank
Shoosmith, of Luton) and aske d him, " \.Vho is to fig ht t he gun
if you he t knocked o ut ? No on'~ else knows enough about it
up h ere; your section is gone, and you had better show me
bow to do it." The a nswe r was, " Oh, you just pu.ll this and
press that; i t 's quite simple l " All t h e time this was goi.ng on
Lieut. Shoostnith wa$ letting the g un rip int o the Turks for all
h e was wo rtl1.
)iig llt fell just a the summit was won, and found the
remnants of tllree battalions in a very mixed-up condition
SERGEANT F. BuTLER, H. WA R DLII,
P Rr v ATII
Po t t<'r' s Cross, Wootton. Caddington.
PR!VATB A. \VooocRO t'T, F litwick.
PRIVATE H AROLO QUICK, P R !VAT F. G. STOK &S,
l..eigh too Buzzard. 20, I<ing's Road, Kcmpston .
DIED_OF \ VOUNDS
6L~ The Story of the First-Fifth Bedfords.

around the top of the hill. Although desperately weary, the

rnLn had to entrench themselves and hold the line in a fairly
straightened mauner. ~\djt. and Capt. Younghusband ran
about and collected all the " bits " of platoons left, and 1nade
somL: sort of a line, and i\Iajor \Vhite took charge of the advanced
unib. The Headquarters ·were establisbl:d in a small way in
.i. fold of the ground about 50 yards behind the line, and there
men were collected and organised for fatigue parties, to fetch
up, first of all, tools and sandbags and barbed wire, then food
and water. Owing to the circumstances that night there was
no surplus of either of the latter articles.
\\·- hile this was being done by some sections, others were
c0llecting the wounded and bringing them to the Headquarters
Section. where they awaited the field ambulance, which during
the night managed to get them all away.
At dawn, on ~Ionday, August 16th, more entrenchments had
to be made, r1nd the Headquarters w a~ then fixed up in a sort of
natural ditch or ::;ully that the Colonel bad said " he had had
his eye on," and then the section set to work tu dig and fortify
it partly as headquarters and partly as a support trench. A
telephone wire was also run out and the Brigade Headquarters
brought into touch_ These operat.ions were carried out with
the utmost ra pidity, for one kne\-v that immediately it was
light e nough the enetny would start sltelling the position.
Soon shrapnel shells were bursting all around. This fire
''re nt on all day in the endeavour of the Turks to get the
Bedfords out, but they wen .: far to-o snugly cnsconced and far
too wary and brave to lose '"lmt they had gained at such a cost.
During the d a y Lie ut. Rawlins, seeing a wounded Bedford
lying in front, left the trenches to bring him in. ·\ Vhile engaged
in this merciful erra nd he himtlelf w~ wounded. and had to be
broug ht in after a. time by another brave man, Pte. Bell, who
since h as b een promoted to Co-Qmr.-Sgt. Again uuring this
day Lieut. Shoosmith hekl thlngs together with his gun, and
any movetnent of the Turks towards the Bedford lines was
countered by him at once.
The ni.':!:ht of ~'londay was eomparatively peaceful, and men
of the battalion have said how thankful they \lf"Cre for tbe nights
of calm. f( The days were all too long and the nights all too
short. ·· writes one w earied officer. :But evt::n the nights were
not a ll rest. They were partly taken up with digging and
re-organisation, and on :Monday night the first proper re-
organisation of the battalion took place. The companies were
a rranged into a battalion frontag e, ' ·' A" and ({ B Companies
I)

were withdrawn from the front line and set to make some
reserve trenches a little b ehind. the Headquarters . During
tllis nig ht, too, all the gallant dead were reverently laid to n:st.
And so another nig ht p assed!
l'll~ n ext day w as ve r y like the preceding, e ~ept that by
now the battalion could report by telephone the effect and
 SERGEA~T A UIERT PAY~R, S ERG A~T A. H tNKS,
2, Beech Ro;td, L \Jto u. 32 , \Vin :J ·or Street, Lutou _
SRRG& A NT ' . H. Fo TKR, CORPOR AL N . PA Y~R,
tt\\ick. 2, Bcrch Road , L utOIJ.
:K I LLED 1~ .o\CTION.
E
f>(> Tlze Sto1y of the First-Fzjtlz Bedfords.
r a nge o f th~..: fire of our own artillery, and help them to get the
·e xact position of the Turks, and the comparati\·e calm enabled
the regin1ent to Jig itself <l~~per in.
On Tuesd a y night' ' .-\. "and" B "Cu.m panie::; were put back
1
in the t renches. and ' C" and'' D" Curnpanies were taken out
ior 2.f hours. This operation was repeated as each day went
-on, and g radually the battaLion got tnore com iorta ~. le; 1nore
troops also we re sent up to the front. and this "·ent on until
Friday, the 2oth, when another forward movement was UO(ler-
taken in another part of the line, hut which, of course, had to
be supported by fire by the 1 5th Hedfords.
Xaturally this drew fire in return, and it \\·as during suc h a
.comparatiYe calm that Lieut . Shoosmith got hit and killed.
It is said h e was walking fr01n one part of the trench to another,
when by hrs he ight his head ·was exposed and a bullet struck
h.itn. \Ve h a \·c it on the best of eYidenc~ that on learning of
his rlea th, Col. Brighten exclaimed that he h a J u lost a tower
-of st rength. "
O n t l~e Sunday following more fresh troops came up during
the nig ht, and the Bedfords w ere relieved ann sent
-down to their old camp, where they could bathe in the sea and
.bask in the s un to their hea rt 's content. They loved the
bathing, but they were quite prepared to do with a little less
-sun, and the beach presented a most eCCt.;ntric appearance, for
whe rever they could b e installed, blankets were s tretched to
,gi\·e some kind of shade. About this time Capt. ~Iaier had
beeu feeling seedy with dysentery and had tu go to hospital,
.and on the Sunday the reserve left at Alexandria, under Capt.
Smythe and Lieut. Hobbs, was landed as a reinforcement.
" Afte r that ," s ays another letter, " we had a day or two's
r est. or at least ·what is caUed a n..:.st out h ere; there's always a
numbe r of fatig ues to b e dou e, and ah,·ays the shell fire to
-dod Re . \Ve were then sent into anoth e r part of t he line,
·whe re we now are, and where v..·e spend six days in the trenches
and six o ut. \Vhen we are out we get back a little behind the
line, still under rifle fire, and we find digging parties (every rnan
-doing six hours a day in addition to his ordinary battalion
Toutine) to work up in the trenches and on the con1municatiuns
behind.' '
Adjt. Vounghusba nd was nt: xt day \Vounded in the knee,
but fortunately not very sc..: riously. Li eut . \Voodhouse ·was
.si.ig h tly wounded in the ann, and Capt. Smyth e was shot in
the head a nd never recovered conscio us ness , dying next
1norrung.
FOR LOVE OF A PAL.
It was a few d a ys after the fateful I 5th, \V he n t he gallanl
lad s who had n e ver ret:uned were interred in their last sacred
ch velliug-place, that a lad of the "A" Company soug ht one of
the R . A.~l.C. t.ne n and made inquirie:) a , \v tht! pl ~ cl! whe re hhi
LA~Cf.-CORPOR.\ t RoL.-' KD Au eoTT, l'>nVATE \.Vn.LIAM jA RVIS,
77, Chn-.c S tn-ct , Luton. Dorset Stree t, Luton.
P RI V ATE L. H tTR D, PR! V Ant F. \V. TH UR I.OW ,
3: , lkcch Rv:t<l, Lmo n. 2 16
1
We-llins-ton Street, Luton ,
D I E D OF \VOUNDS.
68 Tlz r Story of the First-Fzjth Bedford.' .
mate had been found. He was missing his mate . for they had
been more or le:-os togethe r since they went to Bedford . a nd
now he felt as if he should at least like to see the exact spot
where h e lay, so that he could fix his mind in years to come on
this far-away grave among the rocks of thl! Peninsula. Quie tly
he left his mates and worked his way among the gulleys to
visit the grave sotne three miles away, as far a~ he could judge.
The shells we re flying over him, both Turkish and British, but
he was h eedless of them, for a last glance at the resting place,
h e thoug ht, would bring him close to his old friend . It was
not to be. H e had proceeded less than two n1.iles on th.ls
dangerous journey when he stumbled near the trench of
a nother company. The officer approached and abruptly
questioned the la d, who had t o acknowledge that it was not
part of his orders to be there, but he wanted to see the grave
o f his pal. " Go back, you idiot," said the officer; " time
enou g h to go up there when you are ordered. \Vt've lost
e noug h already ! " H e retraced his steps crestfallen, and
bla m e d his luck for going too n e ar the company whose officer
had cut sh ort his little quest for the love of a pal.

That the lads of the r;'sth Hedfordshires bore them-

selves well and faced the ordeal of a first fight with
courage and determination none can doubt. They
had to contend ~vith more than the open enemy. A
constant daily difficulty was the scarcity of ·water,
which was the enemy above all others, and made the
Gal.lipoli Peninsula a terror to our men, and led to the
L1ilure of all e fforts put forth by officers and men.
1\IIany of the men tell of experiences of thir~t \vhich
will never be forgotten. The same little allo·wance of
water, which could be easily drunk at a meal, had to
serve for \Vashing, shaving, and drinking. Of cour~e
shaving and washing were of minor consideration as
a rule. They will tell you o£ a muddy \Vell ~vhich was
found , where men sifted the mud out to get a few
drops of water, and which they guarded as jealously
as if it had been a diamond n1ine. " What could I do,
\-vhen my tongue was swollen and refused to keep
in my mouth, but drink of the dirty \Vater which my
horse enjoys ? " said a yuung soldier to me. He
drank, and the consequence \vas that the dreadful
dysentery seized him.
I

PRIVATP. B. Tt: FFS F:L L~ PR I \'ATE A. LLOY D,

"D •· Co mpany, t / jth Be ds . Rcgt. , t /s th Beds. Reg t.,
1 s. York Stre-et. Luto u 4 0, ~fil to n Rof\ci, L ut<'ll
(l\ illed it• ad ion at S ut'la Ba}', (D id of H'o rtnds ).
A rcgust t SIIr, 19 15).

PRt\'A TF. E. C. l JAGii, H. F. P t: ODEPH AT T ,

P R I\' t\TE

I/5th Beds. Regt., r/s t h Beds. Rcgt.,

St. ~ cot s so, Butlin Road, Luton
( l\ illed i'•A et ion}. (l\ illtJ i n A cl io1l).
70 Tlze Story (lj tlze .F£rsf- Fi}Lh B cdfords.

It ·wa~
a sad night for the Bedford boys when they
dug themsel Vl:~ in On that fatal 15th Of .\ugust.
Eight of their officers vvere killed or missing, and the
platoons of " A , and B Companies had great
t l
11

gaps in them. In all, so1ne so non-corns. and men

feU in the action, and 1nore than 20 subsequently
died of \vounds. ~Iany eyes were wet on the evening
of that fateful Sunday , and n1any a soldier lost his
best pal. But the battalion, though vvar vvorn, is
not broken. There still remains t he pride of t heir
reg iment in them, and their hope is that it \viU be
kept together under their able commander to take
1ts further part in the greatest struggle for liberty
\:vhi c h the vvorlcl bas ever seen. And Bedford county
says: ":\11 honou r to them .' '

AFTER THE FIGHT.

The lads had put n p a good fight and earned the
praise of their leaders , but they could not fight the
hidden enemy that played such havoc in all the
ranks that entered in this unfortunate campaign.
Dy~entery had hroken out an1ong them; strong men
vvere fighting for their very Ii ve;;- fighting without
tools ; for the conditions were aH in the enemy's
favour. \Vater was only to be got in very limited
quantities frotn the ships, for none \vas to be found
on the Peninsula. Ko chance to wash, burning heat
by day and piercing cold by night, and a good pro-
portion of the lads went under, \Veakening the
battalion anrl worrying the leaders.. It is ~aid that
at least a third of the battrtlion was suffering from
dysentery or enteric, and there \vas very little chance
of fi ghting the eviL
It was a pitifu l voyage home for many of them,
with the scarcity of nurses and the crowding of the
boats. 'fhis vvas war sho rn of its glory, and those
w·ho saw the conditions of dire helplessness of the
v ic:titns of the disease \vill never forget it. ::VIost of
them returnt::d home and have found tb@air of the old
 .·

P RI VA T EE . P ARK E R, G. F A R ~ II A~I ,
P Rt VA 'l.' E
70 , Cauld wcll Street, Bedford. .E t\ ton Bray.
PRI V TE A. E . B LAYD O~ , PR tVAT K H . B. C .-\RH .K,
Leagrave . Clifton l{oad , Shc ffo rd.
PR t VAT~ \\·n .. t.J .M Drx, PR I VA T E P . JIOWFS,
f Ji t,\ick. 3R, ~l t\rgc tt ~ Hoa.d, K e111psto n .
KILLE D IN ACTION.
72 The Story of the F£rst-Fzjth Bedfords.

Jand the best medicine for the effect::; of the scourge,

but the boats that came over failed to land the
.sufferers in many cast::s, and the sea has taken a long
·toll of the brave hearts from all parts of the Empire
t.vhu tried to do the impossible in Gallipoli. ~{any
of the Bedfords have thrown off the disease and found
·their place again in the army. Some of them have
been drafted to other regin1ents, losing the distinction
v.~!1ich they prize most-the little n Deer " badge,
which shows that they player1. their part in the ranks
·of an honoured battalion.
The r/ jth Bedfords retained the position they had
\von for sume days, and then moved to another
position at Sari Bahr, and from there were sent on
to Alexandria, where they took an active part in
o perations. They are receiving drafts from the old
country, and are getting up to full strength again,
and having got acclimatised, they will meet the task
which war may demand of them with brave hearts.
\ Ve lay no claim to h ero pra ise,
Nor d ret\lll o f deeds in m ~rbl e writ:
I t is enough if his tory says
" T he)' lovffi their r oun try--d id thei r b it."
PRt VATE C. J. AlloRtOG E , PR tVA T E C. R. Co\:sn•-.
7.~. Dane Road, Lu t un. .t7, Chal'cl Stre<.'t , Lnton.
PRIVATE C. s~oX ~L L , P 'RTV.'-TEC. B. BA RTON,
84, Grange Road, L uton. :t8, Brach<' Stree t, Luton.
P RIVATE A. ]. ELLI NGHA t, PRtVATe H. B !!RR V,
39, H ibbert treet, Luton. Alexandra Ave nue , Luton.
K l LLED I\' ACTION.
74 The Slory of the First-Fzjih R!..'djords.

-:fn Jne.moriam.
T\VELVE ::.'\Io~THs LATER.
Tuesday, .i\ugust 15th. \vas the a nnive r~ary of
th:tt fateful day last year fraught \:vith so much
a nxiety and sorrow to many Luton townspeople. On
August xsth, I()I5 , it '.-Vi11 be remembered, what has
con1e to be known as the Battle of Suvla Bay \Vas
fought on the Gallipoli Pt:ninsnla. The officers and men
of the r/sth Bedfordshire Regin1ent, called hurriedly
into the fighting line, made their tnemorable advance
across the fire-swept zone with a bra \..ery and an
intrepidity that wac; marvellou~ in ne\v, unseasoned
troops. The withering fire of tht Turks had a
disastrous effect on the ~dYc.lncin:s Bedfords, but
they bravely pressed on, over the rugged ancl ut,cven
~~-round, to their objective. This they gained, despite
the ince<;sant gun and rifle fire of the enemy. The
heroic advance of the Bedfordshire men that day
earned for them the soubriquet of I( The Yello'v
Devils." Their deeds secured not only the commend-
ation of the officer commanding, but also evoked the
admiration of other regin1ents who took part in the
op€rations. It was indeed an oven•v helming (( baptism
of fire," but the local men vve11 \Vithstood the shock,
and the annal;; of the regiment had yet brighter
lustre inscribed upon them as a result of .the galJantry
a nd valour which conferred upon all a new a nd high
distinctio n on that Eastern battlefield.
HEROISM OF THE BROTHERS P :\. Y~E.
Sergt. Ronald :VIc.Cormick, r!sth Bedfords, whose
ho1ne is at the er Salisbury Arms," \:Vellington Street,
Luton, ·writes a graphic accou nt of the experiences of
the battalion in the course of a letter to a lady at
St. AJbans.
He says :-u Y-ou \vill have seen by the papers that
we lost a lot of men on that terrible Sundav.., I can't
make out how I am al ive to write this, as shells and
PRI VATE A. SM I TH, PRIVATE A LO ERT G RAVES,
r I, S pri ng Place, Lnt on. 33, York Slr('et, L uton.
P RI VAT E: F. R DIM ER, l-'f, IVATE A. A ~ D E R SO~· .
r 53, T ennyson Road, Luton. z7. Br:.t chc Street , Lu:on.
· lO: ILL£ 0 1:-.l ACTIO:'\.
Jh The itory of the First-F-ifth Rcdfords.

bullets \-vere coming all round me. There was onlv

a handful of Bedfords with Capt. Baker, jncluding
myself and Albert Payne and Nathan, his brother.
\Ve \-vere right in front of the battalion, and Capt.
Baker had just given the order to fix our bayonets,
\"\'hen a shell burst and shattered his left arm. He
told us to hang on there till he could send more
reinforcements up, and Sergt. Payne bound his arm
and sent him back with Pte. Findon, who was wounded
going back, and Ca pt. Baker must have been hit again,
as he was killed. So we lost one of the best officers
\vho ever donned khaki. We held on as \\'e were
ordered for three hours, and then a party of the London
Regiment came up with a Capt . Cowley, and over the
ridge we \'Vent like fury. The Turks did not stop to
ask us how we were in health. They ran like the
devil, and we shot them as they ran. We took up a
position about a thousand yards up this gully from
\Vherc we started, and we had not been there long
before we heard the Turks coming back, and the
officer thought they ~-vere going to surrender, as they
were jabbering, to each other and making plenty of
noise. He spoke to them in their ovvn language, but
had no ansvver, so he gave us the order to fire, and they
feli. like corn; but they had got some more men
coming round the top of the gully on both sides, and
\Ve should have been su rrounded, so we on the left
were ordered to retire , while those on the right kept
up the fire . I managed to get back \vith several
other~. but Albert and ~athan Payne must have
fallen, as they were on the right, and a land tnine
went off when ·we got over the ridge. If Albert bad
lived I think he vvould have got something, as he was
a heru. All he troubled about was his young brother
Kathan."
 PTE. F. S:o.IITH, l'RJ\." TE P. H OLl .I MA:-\,
95, Hi::!b Street, Houghton R egis 3·..>0 , H igh ~trcC't Nort h, Dun ~ tabk:
(Killed in Act io n ). (D ied of Trotm ds).

PR tt.;~ Ta G. H. BROWN,
·:q , Cobdeo Stree t, Lu ton
(D ied of W oamas ).
78 Tlz t: S tory of the First-Fl}th Bedfurds.

Belo·w are appe nded the names of men \:vho t hu~

fell gloriously~ serving their King a nd Country:-

OFFICERS.
Captain B. C. Cc~rBER I ,A~D. Luton.
Ca ptain L. T. BAKER, Dunstable.
Captain \ \ '. H . ~lr: ;\KI='-", Bedford.
Lieut. F. S. Snoos~II 'fH , Lu ton.
Lieut. l' . R. LYDEKKER. HarpendE:n .
Sec .-Lie ut . R. D. J. BIHGHTF:::\-, Biggleswade .
Sec.-Licut. F . Rr s r~G. 0. B.G.

i\0:\-CO~L\ IISSIOXED OFFICERS AND 1\IE.N.

I--: ICL.E D.
Sergt ..-\r... nF.RT PA Y~E . Luton .
Se rg t. _\.. Hr~...:s, Luton.
Serg t. \\'. H. FosTER, Luton.
Se rg t . \\ .. STAPLF.TO~. Ampthilt.
Serg t. T . BILI.I.::\"'G, \ Vootton.
Lance-Scrg t . .\ . P. DRACCP.
Lancc-Se rgt . J ..\ . \\'. RoB I ~SO:\"", .\.mpthill.
Corpl. XA T HA~ PA \'XE, Lutoo .
P te . CHARLES J OH:\' A~rBRI~GE, Luton.
Pte ..\I,FR E:D R. Coesr~s. Luton .
Pte . C. S:\""OXELT., Luton .
Pt e . CVRIL BERT ll .- \RTOX, Luton.
Pte . C . H. BR O W~. L uton .
Pte ..-\ . J. ELU~GHA:\1, Luton .
P te . HAROLD P t: DDEPHATT, Luton .
P te. H. BERRY, L u ton.
P t:e . A. S~liTII, Luton.
Pte . A. GR .\ VES, Luton.
P te . B. Tt:FFX.Ef~L, Lu ton.
Pte . F. RDD I ER, Lutoo.
Pte . A. E. ) [ I TCHECL, L uton.
Pte. G. _-\. V. FINCH, Duns ta ble .
Pte. FRA~K F. F OW LER , Arlesey.
Pte. H. GooDSHI P, Stopsley.
P te . G. DI E~fER, Bedford.
P t e . C. E . PARKER , Bedford.
Pte . G. PAR~HAM, Eaton Bray .
Pte . A r.B E RT EowARD BLA YDON, Leag ra ve-.
Pte. }{. B. CARTER, S h efford.
Pte. \\'~r. DIX, Flitwick.
Pte . E. C. PA GE, S t . Neots .
P t e . G. Ht'TC HI~GS.
Pte. 1\l. SnREgvEs.
Pte. E. J. C.\ VF,S .
 Tlz e Story of tlze First-Fiftlz B edfords. 79
Pk . P. HO\\'ES , K etnpston.
Pte. E. OVERTOZ\".
Pte. E ..-\ ~DERso:;o.;.
Pte. SEADROOK, Dunstable.
DIED OF \Y O~XDS .
Sergt. T. BCTLBR, \\:-oottoo.
Corpl. \V:-.r. J AR\'IS, Luton.
Lance-Corpl. RO\VL :\);D ABBOl'T, Lutou.
Pte . L. H~RD, Luton.
Pte . J A:\IES STE:-:HO'CSE, Luton.
Pte. H. BARTOX, Luton .
Pte . F. \\" . THCRLO\\', Luton.
Pte. H. j\ [ ARDLE, Caddington.
Pte. E. G. PAGE, St. Xeots.
Pte. A. J. CCRTIS, Brornham.
Pte. A. \VOODCRAFT, Flitwick.
Pte. G. STOKES, Kempston.
Pte. C . A. SMI'l'H.
Pte. G. BROWN.
Pte . \V. J. )L-\\':-:ARD.
Pte. \V. J. B .\KER .
Pte . \V. J. FLORI~.
Pte . H. ROBI~SON.
Pte . P. HOLLDfAN.
Pte . A . LAWSOK.
Pte. H. QUICK, Leighton Buzzard .
Pte. A. l.LOYD.
In addition to the above, t here \Vere a considerable
nun1ber \vounded in the action, and many v;ere
stricken with dy~ent ery.
•