Hello. Welcome to the April edition. We have an article from Steve who written an account for us of two RFC casualties whose stories he has uncovered. We also have a tale of an Austrian air ace. Keith has come up with a sobering tale on why it is not a good idea to have WWI ordinance at home. As ever, please send any items of interest to me or Fiona for future newsletters.
Trevor
The Programme for 2014, so far
5th April Peter Hart Bloody April (we think!)
10th May Tony Davies Tabley boys who never came back
7th June Bryn Hammond El Alamein – a First World War Battle?
5th July Liza Sentence The American First Nation in the Great War
2nd August TBC
6th September Nigel Crompton To be advised
Last month’s speaker – Neil Cherry
Neil Cherry, and daughter Claire, who came up to talk to us about the battle of Gommecourt (and in Claire’s case to be the projectionist)
Equality in Death
Steve and Nancy
On Friday 31st January, Nancy and I visited Bancourt Communal Cemetery as part of our cemetery Pilgrimage. From the cemetery location and burial dates, we realised that the burials were likely to include P.O.W’s, as the cemetery would have been behind enemy lines in 1916.
Our pre-research told us that there were eight First World War burials here, including seven airmen (one unknown) and one Australian commemorated by special memorial. A review of the cemetery history on the CWGC web-site, stated that six of the burials were Royal Flying Corps officers, buried by the Germans.
Sergeant Albert Clarkson
I had a preconception prior to our Pilgrimage that to be a Royal Flying Corps pilot required the serviceman to have a commission and (parents with) deep pockets. However with unsustainable casualties the R.F.C began to look to the ranks to maintain an active pool of pilots. This is the story of two of the R.F.C men buried in Bancourt Communal Cemetery. They are buried side by side with the same date of death which generally indicates they died in the same aircraft; one an officer, the other a Sergeant – both with different social backgrounds and varying routes in to the R.F.C.
Lieutenant Ernest Conway Lansdale was born in 1895 at Goole, East Yorkshire the eldest son of Ernest Esau Lansdale, Hawthorn Villas, The Grange, Ilkley, who ran a successful wholesale provisions business.
Young Ernest was educated at Ilkley Grammar School, and later joined the family business. On the outbreak of war, his father took an active roll in local recruitment and later went to France as a captain in the (Territorial Force) Army Service Corps with the 55th (West) Lancashire Division. His son Ernest was in Denmark when war was declared but returned to take a commission in the Army Service Corps (Territorial Force) and went to France on the 19th January 1916. In the coming months he was attached to the Royal Flying Corps and was gazetted as a Flying Officer (Lieutenant) on the 18th September 1916. Unusually there is no record of his pilot’s certificate.
Sergeant Albert Clarkson came from a working class background. He was born in 1894 in Burnley, Lancashire. On the 1911 census (aged 17) he his described as a warehouse boy (cotton mill) living with his parents at 24 Dugdale road, Burnley. By the outbreak of war he had completed an apprenticeship as an electrician at a local firm.
He enlisted in to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) on the 10th January 1915. His training included instruction in aeroplane construction and their covering, at Dartford. His Medal Index Card (MIC) states that he went to France on the 24th June 1915 with the rank of Air Mechanic 1.
His promotion to sergeant during the following months is undocumented. However, the local newspaper indicates that whilst in France Arthur had undertaken observer training and was flying operational missions.
The stained glass memorial window at the Parish Church in Goole, unusual in that it features the fallen officer’s portrait; one of only eleven examples throughout the churches of Great Britain. Ernest’s younger brother also became a pilot and was shot down, losing a leg whilst a prisoner of war
On the 30th September 1916, as part of 11th Squadron in a FE2B aircraft, Sergeant Arthur Clarkson with pilot Lieutenant Earnest Conway Lansdale took off from Izel-le-Hameau – east of Arras – to provide escort to bombing machines from 12th & 13th Squadrons. Several kilometres east of Bapaume they were intercepted by German Albatross D.11 machines from Jasta 2:
“After firing 200 rounds [their] shooting had stopped, I saw the machine flying uncontrolled. I left the crippled plane to select another target. I later observed the aforementioned machine pursued by another Albatross crash burning to the ground near Fremicourt. The machine was burnt to ashes.”
The above is the flight report of Manfred von Richthofen, claiming his third victory. It is later reported that he removed an unspecified souvenir from the aircraft.
Surviving records indicate that Lieutenant Lansdale fell into the hands of the Germans. However, he must have died very shortly afterwards.
The news of his son’s death reached his father whilst he himself was in hospital recovering from wounds. The family later paid for a stained glass memorial window at the Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Goole, Lieutenant Lansdale’s birth place.
Of Sergeant Clarkson, Flight Sergeant Helingoe wrote,
“He was a most experienced observer and was shortly to go to England to qualify for a pilot’s certificate. He had had 14 fights and brought down 3 Hun aircraft”.
By a cruel twist of fate, his father had died the following month. His mother received the telegram (“missing in action, presumed dead”) on the day of her husband’s funeral.
Sergeant Albert Clarkson was buried by the enemy alongside Lieutenant Ernest Lansdale at Bancourt Communal cemetery, just a few kilometres from the crash site. He was 22 years old, Earnest was 21. The fragility of a First World War pilot’s career is well documented, but it applied equally to the pilot’s gunner/observer!
Pilot Lansdale and Gunner/Observer Clarkson buried side by side at Bancourt Communal Cemetery
Sources
C.W.G.C
Ancestry.com
The Aerodrome.com
Attack out of the sun
Burnley in the Great War
Great War Forum
Goolefirstworldwar.com
Unexploded Ordinance
Keith Walker
When we visit the battlefields we are warned about the continual iron harvest that is churned up each year which exposes unexploded ordinance and are warned not to pick them up as souvenirs. This article may help to reinforce that message. In March this year, two builders were unfortunately killed and two are critically ill in Ypres after an explosion of a shell or hand grenade, which regrettably proves how dangerous this ordinance can be, even after 100 years.
Charlotte at Varlet Farm, near Ypres, with her unexploded ordinance waiting for the Belgium Bomb Squad
Unexploded Ordinance at Track X
While researching the names on the Broughton Memorial Gates, I came across the article below which deals with an early tragedy resulting from bringing home “souvenirs”.
Information about Pte J Bagnall 6738, 4th Battalion RWF.
Private J Bagnall was a pre-war enlisted man in the T.F. 4th Battalion. He enlisted on the 28th February 1911.
In August 1914, 4th Battalion R.W.F – Denbighshire Battalion – was in Wrexham as part of the North Wales brigade. It was moved immediately on mobilisation to Conwy and at the end of the month to Northampton. On the 6th November, it left the brigade and landed at Le Havre. On the 7th December 1914, it was attached to the 3rd Brigade in the 1st Division. On the 1st September 1915 it was transferred to the 47th (2nd) London division as a pioneer battalion.
Private J. Bagnall had been wounded about the 21st March 1915 at the second battle of Ypres.
After his accident at the Moss, he was transferred to the 5th Garrison Battalion before being discharged. Fifth Garrison Battalion was formed in Wrexham in August 1916. It was moved to Barrow-in-Furness to become the 12th Battalion Royal Defence Corps in August 1917.
Private J Bagnall was discharged on the 20th March 1916 due to sickness!? One of those strange army decisions!
Reference and Acknowledgements
Broughton District History Group
The Wrexham Advertiser
An Irish Austrian air ace?
In the branch of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin where the local WFA branch meets, there is a little exhibit on a WWI air ace. He was a descendant of the Irish who fled Ireland after the failed 1798 rebellion. In his case, his forbearers went to Austro-Hungary. His name was Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield, the “Banfield” part being Irish. The “Freiherr von” part is a rough equivalent to a knighthood, which he was awarded for his exploits, along with the Order of Maria-Theresa of which he was the last recipient, as Austro-Hungary ceased to exist shortly thereafter. During WWI, he was stationed in the Adriatic and flew seaplanes! (He was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian navy). He is credited with 9 confirmed and 11 unconfirmed victories, against Italian and French opposition.
A modern reproduction on Von Banfield’s Lohner seaplane – please note the paddle in the side of the fuselage
He survived the war, eventually staying in Trieste which had then become Italian. He took Italian citizenship and was also the honorary consul for France in Trieste. He died at the age of 96 in 1986 in Trieste. His medal, photo and a model of the Lohner seaplane are in the museum in Dublin.
Operation War Diary
Steve and Nancy
Have you ever ordered or downloaded a battalion war diary from the National Archives at Kew and been disappointed that it did not contain the information you were expecting, or worse still, your later research found that your “soldier” was elsewhere? Or what if you want to know which battalions billeted in a particular village? Well, a new project is underway to “tag” specific details within the battalion war diary’s collection at the National Archives.
They want volunteers to read the war diaries on-line and “tag” specific details including: places, times, soldier’s names, unit actions and activities. They are calling it “Citizen History”. You can do as much or as little as you like; one of the benefits is that you get access to the war diaries free of charge (although there is no search function).
To get involved just visit www.operationwardiary.com; there is a quick learn introduction and then it’s up to you. I cannot wait to see the outcome!
Canadian Service Records
From 2015 the Library & Archives Canada will follow the lead of the Australians and make available their Great War servicemen’s records on-line. Currently you are able to access the front and back cover of a serviceman’s service record or request copies for around 20 Canadian Dollars (plus postage). The records include around 640,000 servicemen and women and will be available free of charge www.bac-lac.gc.ca
Tail piece from Keith
2€ COINS
When travelling in Europe this year please be very alert when you get 2€ coins in your change. Evidently Turkey has issued a new coin (1 Yeni Turk Lirasi) which is at a glance the same as a 2€ coin. These coins have little or no value in the EU but are appearing in parts of France. They have the head of Ataturk on the obverse side and so can be mistaken for the Spanish, Belgian, etc…coins.
Trevor Adams trevormcmadams@gmail.com