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| Passchendaele - at what cost? |
The 100th anniversary of end of the First World War has just been celebrated. There is a massive amount of interest and information available on-line on the end of the First World War. There are pretty good records which are coming to the surface, but the personal records and stories of those who were there are fast dying out. Obviously there are no living survivors from the First World War. It is, after all, over 100 years since the guns fell silent on the Western Front. Many of the children of the survivors from the First world war are also no longer with us. The grandchildren of the survivors of the WW1 are now starting to move into the age of Alzheimer Disease and these stories, which have already been dramatically diluted by time, will be lost for all time. So we, the grandchildren or great grandchildren of the men and woman who served not only in the first world war, but the second world war as well, need to record that we can remember before it all gets lost forever.
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| Richard Bragg and Daisy Pearson in 1919. |
So, my grandfather, Richard Bragg, served in the First world war. Firstly he took part in the defeat of the Germans in South West Africa, now called Namibia. He then volunteered for service in France and spent over 2 years on the Western Front. In civilian life he was a train driver and during his time on the Western front, there is very good evidence that he served as a train driver.
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| A remarkable photo from the time. This photo speaks to me in a big way. |
In part 2 of this series, I indicated that Richard Bragg was posed to No 7 Light operating company. What I understand from history and searchers on line is that the No 8 Light operating company was posted to the Arras. The No 7 Light Operating company moved closer to the Belgium boarder. The number 7 Light operating company joined up with the 5th Army and became the 92nd light railway operating company (which will be referred to as OC from here on). The 92nd OC was active in the North Eastern section around Ypres. Firstly they were in charge of all movement of the newly built Ploegstreet light rail system.
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| 3rd Battle of Ypres - note the train track |
The 92nd OC moved towards Messiens Village where the battle of Messiens Ridge took place from 7 June 1917 to 14 June 1917. This battle by the British forced the Germans to move reserves from the Arras and Aisne areas of battle, thus providing some relief to the French who had taken a beating at the Battle of Verdun. The main objective was to capture the high ground between Ploegstreet Wood to Messines village to deprive the Germans of the high ground to the South of Ypres. One of the characteristics of this battle was the detonation of 19 mines under the German lines. It is estimated that this killed around 10 000 German soldiers.
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| Creator at Messines Ridge |
The Battle of Messines Ridge was the start to the much greater 3rd Battle of Ypres. The preliminary bombardment of the 3rd Battle of Ypres started on the 11 July 1917. The 92nd OC probably played a significant part in moving the artillery shells forward to the guns used in this bombardment. During the 3rd Battle of Ypres, the 92nd Railway OC was awarded 11 military medals for bravery. Being a train driver in the 92nd OC was obviously not a cushy job far from the front lines. There were also 33 men from the 92nd OC killed during this time.
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| Horses and mud |
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All indications from the military records which I have on hand was that Richard Bragg was with the 92nd since he arrived in France on 19 March 1917, so in all likelihood he would have been involved in all of the above mentioned activities.
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| Field gun on a train. |
The 3rd Battle of Ypres ended on 10 November 1917.
Richard Bragg was granted leave from 9 February 1918 until 22 February 1918. In March 1918, the 92nd railway OC moved to South Belgia Noyon and then again Crombeke. He was again granted leave from Calais (so I guess that this was a trip back to the UK) from 15 March 1918 to 29 March 1918.
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| Light railway line on the front |
The 92nd moved to Berquette and worked on the route Tourcoing to Tournai and then also the route from Merville towards Armentieres.
As part of the story that I was told, my grandfather was gassed during the war. On 13 October 1918, he was admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing station. According to the military records, it was recorded that he had an abrasion to the face. He was discharged from Hospital on 19 October and rejoined his unit. This is the only indication of any injury during his time on the Western Front.
In November, the 92nd moved to Lille, with the HQ in Tournai.
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| Light railway line on the front |
The first world war ended on 11 November 1918.
On 2 Feb 1919, he was granted leave and this was extended until 30 March when he (probably with the rest of the unit) moved back to England. There followed additional periods of leave. Richard Bragg had not had any time away from the unit since arriving in France on 19 of March 1917, until the 9 Feb 1918. There is no clear record of when he, or the rest of the unit, boarded the ship back to South Africa in the military records but it could have been on 9 April 1919. There is a record stating that he disembarked in Cape Town from the H.M.S. Ballershone on 30 May 1919. He was finally discharged on the 29 June 1919.
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