The 12th (Service) Battalion (Bristol's Own) of the Gloucestershire Regiment was a 'Pals battalion' of 'Kitchener's Army' raised immediately after the outbreak of World War I through the initiative of the City of Bristol. It saw action at the Somme, Arras and Ypres, before moving to the Italian Front. It returned to the Western Front to fight in the German spring offensive and the victorious Allied Hundred Days Offensive.
Recruitment
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army, and the newly appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.Army Council Instructions No 32 (6 August) and No 37 (7 August).Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2 & 8; Appendix I.Grist, p. 53.
A flood of volunteers poured into the recruiting offices across the country and were formed into 'Service' battalions of the county regiments. However, the Bristol Chamber of Commerce considered that the city's response was inadequate and formed a Bristol Citizens' Recruiting Committee under the leadership of the former Lord Mayor, Sir Herbert Ashman, to encourage enlistment. The city's Colston Hall was opened as a recruiting centre on 14 August, and 2,274 men enlisted by 2 September; 80 men calling themselves the Weston Comrades Company also joined from Weston-super-Mare. It was clear that many of these men wanted to serve together in a special Bristol battalion, similar to other 'Pals battalions' being formed around the country. The War Office gave the committee authority to form the Bristol Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, on 30 August. Later in the year it became part of Kitchener's Fifth New Army (K5) and was officially numbered as the 12th (Service) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment (Bristol), but the subtitle was usually rendered as 'Bristol's Own'.
The recruiting committee encouraged 'mercantile and professional' men to apply, both through reasons of social exclusiveness and with a view to Kitchener's directive that workers in vital industries could not be spared. The first commanding officer was William Burges, who had retired from command of the 3rd Militia Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment some years before. Several of the other officers appointed had experience in the Regular or Auxiliary forces, and a number of junior officers had been members of their school or university Officer Training Corps.Marks, pp. 8–20, 32–3, 39.Grist, pp. 54–5.Daniell, p. 227.Army Council Instructions, October 1914, Appendix VIII; December 1914, Appendix III.Frederick, p. 102.James, p. 72.Glosters at Long, Long Trail.
Training
The rush of recruits had overwhelmed the Army's ability to absorb them, so the Pals Battalions of K5 were left for some time in the hands of the recruiting committees. Initially, the Bristol men lived at home and drilled by squads at Colston Hall in their civilian clothes, distinguished only by a lapel badge bearing the words 'New Bristol Battalion Gloucestershire Regt'. They then began battalion drills at the Artillery Grounds in Whiteladies Road, the headquarters of the I South Midland (Gloucestershire) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery of the Territorial Force. But in late September the recruiting committee persuaded the War Office to buy up the site of the abandoned Bristol International Exhibition in Greville Smyth Park, the buildings of which were converted into barracks by the Royal Engineers and Army Service Corps. The 'Weston Comrades' joined the rest of the battalion here in November and were posted to D Company.
Some of the battalion's best men were already being posted away, for officer training for example, and on 30 November the War Office authorised the recruiting committee to raise a fifth, reserve company (E Company); F Company was raised as a further reserve in April 1915. Old rifles had been issued to the battalion for drill purposes, with just a few modern Lee-Enfield .303 SMLE rifles for musketry training. Uniforms were finally received in December 1914. In March 1915, the battalion began field training by companies at Chipping Sodbury.Marks, pp. 22–31, 40–51, 69, 71.Bristol at Drill Hall Project.
The locally raised units to form K5 were assigned to brigades on 10 December 1914: the Bristol Battalion was brigaded with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Birmingham Pals (later 14th, 15th and 16th (Service) Battalions, Royal Warwickshire Regiment). The brigade was initially numbered 116th Brigade in 39th Division, but in April 1915 the War Office decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units to train reinforcements for the K1–K3 units, and on 27 April the K5 divisions were renumbered to take up the designations of the K4 formations. The short-lived 39th Division thus became 32nd Division and 116th Brigade became 95th Brigade.Army Council Instruction No 101 (10 December 1914).Becke, Pt 3b, Appendix I2Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 21–28.Marks, p. 64.
In May 1915, the brigade was to have gathered in Shropshire, but the ground selected at Prees Heath proved unsuitable for brigade training and on 23 June the 12th Gloucesters left Bristol to join 95th Brigade at Wensley, North Yorkshire. The two reserve or depot companies joined those of the Birmingham Pals at Sutton Coldfield to continue training. Brigade training started in earnest at Wensley, and 12th Gloucesters was finally adopted by the War Office on 23 June 1915. Previously, most of the shooting had been on miniature ranges with .22 ammunition; now the men began weekly musketry courses (12th Gloucesters at Whitburn, County Durham) although many of the rifles were worn and defective. In August, 32 Division gathered on Salisbury Plain to begin final battle training, with 12th Gloucesters in camp at Codford.Marks, pp. 79–89.
The battalion's strength at this time was about 1550, or more than 50 per cent over establishment; during August a large number of skilled men were transferred to other arms, others went to officer cadet training units, and older or unfit men were sent to the 15th (Reserve) Battalion at Sutton Coldfield into which the depot companies had been absorbed. Now that the battalion was almost ready to go overseas, the 59-year-old Lt-Col Burges was ordered to remain in the UK. He was succeeded in command by Lt-Col Martin Archer-Shee, a former Regular Army officer who was now Member of Parliament for Finsbury Central.Marks, pp. 89–90, 95.
Service On 11 November 1915, 32nd Division was ordered to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front and 12th Gloucesters landed at Boulogne on 21 November. By 28 November the division had concentrated round Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher, north of the River Somme. For its initiation into trench warfare with experienced units of 5th Division, 12th Gloucesters moved into a section of trenches thick with mud at Maricourt on 6 December. A Company was with 1st Bn East Surrey Regiment for instruction, and B Company with 2nd Bn Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 95th Brigade was exchanged with a brigade from 5th Division on 26 December as part of a policy to even-up experience levels between formations. The Pals battalions were scattered among 5th Division's brigades; although 12th Gloucesters remained with 95th Brigade, it was now brigaded with three Regular Army battalions that had been fighting since the beginning of the war.Grist, pp. 97–8.Marks, pp. 95–106.Becke, Part 1, pp, 65–71.
Somme 5th Division moved to the Arras sector in mid-February 1916, and 12th Gloucesters took over dry, well-made trenches with deep dug-outs, and lived in cellars in Arras when out of the line.Grist, p. 100.Marks, pp. 111–5. Steel helmets began to be issued to British troops early in 1916, but there were great shortages: Lt-Col Archer-Shee used his position as an MP and own observations in the trenches to ask embarrassing questions of the Under-Secretary of State for War.
The battalion's first real taste of offensive warfare came during the Battle of the Somme. The offensive had begun on 1 July, and 5th Division took over part of the line in the Delville Wood sector near Longueval between 18 and 20 July, where 95th Brigade was to deal with German strongpoints in the orchards. When the commander of 95th Brigade, Brigadier-General C.R. Ballard, was wounded on 20 July, Lt-Col Archer-Shee took temporary command until Brig-Gen Lord Esme Gordon-Lennox arrived to take over.Marks, pp. 118–9.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 106–7, 141. From 23 to 26 July the battalion was in the front line and was heavily shelled, with high explosive, shrapnel and gas, suffering many casualties. It went back into Longueval on 28 July, when the line was advanced to 'Duke Street' without opposition, but shelling was heavier than ever. At 15.30 next day, 95th Brigade attacked to complete the capture of Longueval in support of the main attack (the Battle of Delville Wood). 12th Gloucesters put in two companies on the left of the brigade after a half-hour bombardment, and they successfully advanced the line some beyond Duke Street. The battalion held these positions until relieved next day.Grist, pp. 140–1.Marks, pp. 119–27.Miles, 1916, Vol II, p. 160.
The phase of the offensive that began on 22 July culminated in the Battle of Guillemont. The village of Guillemont had withstood repeated British attacks, but 5th Division made a new attempt on 3 September. The bombardment began at 08.30 and the attack began at 12.00, with the men advancing behind a creeping barrage (a recent innovation) moving at a minute; the men were instructed to keep within of the bursting shells. However, a flanking position at Falfemont Farm, which should have been captured in the morning, was still in enemy hands and threatened 95th Brigade's advance. The two leading companies of 12th Gloucesters took their first objective, a sunken lane, and found the dugouts beyond to be unoccupied. But then they came under enfilade fire from a machine gun off to the right in the Falfemont direction, which caused numerous casualties before A Company eliminated it. At 12.50 the battalion moved on to its second objective, the German line between Wedge Wood and the south of Guillemont village, which was taken without too much trouble. It then moved on at 14.50 to the third objective, a sunken lane running north from Wedge Wood towards Ginchy. Amidst the devastation of the battlefield C Company mistook Leuze Wood for Wedge Wood, got too far ahead and were caught by their own artillery fire. Although no enemy could be seen at Leuze Wood, the battalion was ordered to halt and consolidate its position rather than push into an awkward salient.Grist, pp. 151–3.Marks, pp. 132–40.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 252–4; Sketch 32.
The 12th Gloucesters was now only 300 strong and took no active part in the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (18–22 September), though the battalion was later awarded it as a battle honour. Although the battalion had been told that it would not have to go back into the line, it received a draft of 116 reinforcements and was given a role in 95th Brigade's next attack, the Battle of Morval on 25 September. The battalion was in support while 1st Bn Devonshire Regiment and 1st Bn East Surreys suffered heavy casualties taking the first and second objectives. 12th Gloucesters and 2nd King's Own Scottish Borderers then moved through the village of Morval itself and dug in on the far side. The battalion's casualties were 12 killed and 61 wounded. The next night the battalion was relieved and went into camp in Happy Valley.Marks, pp. 146–8.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 373–5.