George Arthur Lumby (The attack on Lonely Trench)

The 9th Infantry Brigade (3rd Division) of which the 12th (S) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment was a part had been spared the debacle of the 1st July 1916 attack on the Somme (the darkest day in British military history). Since then though they had been engaged on and off throughout mid July and August in the attacks around Longueval, Bazentin Le Grand and Delville (Devils) wood.

By mid August the 3rd Division was holding a sector to the south of Guillemont and at 6:30 a.m. on 16th August the 12th West Yorks who had been in reserve moved into trenches. A and C Companies along with Battalion HQ were in Maltz Horn Trench, B in Swainson Trench and D in Jackson Trench in support of the Royal Fusiliers who were holding the front line in 'T' Trench to the Barrier. Some casualties were suffered due to heavy enemy shell fire resulting in One Officer sustaining shell shock, One O.R. (Other Ranks) killed, 14 wounded and One missing.

Lonely Trench was somewhere in this field.

Late on 17th August the Battalion received orders to prepare for another attack to capture Lonely Trench as a previous attack on the 16th had failed due to heavy shell fire, zero hour was set at 10:00 p.m. In conjunction with other Officers, Major Thomson and Lt Col Long (Commanding 10th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 76th Infantry Brigade) reconnoitred the positions to be attacked.

Copy of the original War Diary entry for the attack on 17th August 1916.


During the previous failed attack it became clear that Lonely Trench was a much more formidable target than had been anticipated, heavily held by infantry supported with machine guns and protected by barbed wire. It was irregularly sited, difficult to observe and could not be bombarded in it's most important parts due to it's close proximity to the British trenches which would have to be evacuated (Artillery fire at this time was not very accurate and many shells often fell short of their intended target).

A surprise night attack with Bayonet and bomb (Grenades) was decided upon. A and C Companies would lead the assault along with two companies of the 10th R.W.F. on their right. They would be supported by the other companies held back in reserve. Brigade Artillery would bombard the supporting German positions and just prior to the assault, Stokes mortars would shell Lonely Trench in order to keep the Germans heads down as our Infantry rushed forward.

Hand drawn map showing location of Lonely Trench from original War Diaries.


The attacking companies moved into the Assembly Trench at 7:45 pm and the supporting companies were in position in Edwards Trench by 8:45 p.m. Major Smythe (commanding 12th West Yorks) was informed by the Brigade Major that Lt Col Long (10th R.W.F.) was due to leave 76th Infantry Brigade HQ at 7:30 p.m. and meet him in trenches at the intersection of the two Battalions. Major Smythe arrived at Assembly Trench at about 8:30 p.m. and walked some distance along the trench due to be occupied by R.W.F. meeting their advance party at about 9:00 p.m.

The tape position for the West Yorks had been reconnoitred by 9:15 p.m. but Major Smythe was unwilling to place the tape until he received a report that the R.W.F. had arrived in their jump off positions. (Prior to an attack a white tape was laid out in advance of our trenches, as close to the enemy lines as was possible and the Infantry crawled forward and spread out along it. On zero hour they would then quickly rush forward and assault the enemy positions with a minimum of casualties).

At about 9:50 p.m. Major Smythe spoke to the Brigade Major and arranged for zero hour to be put back by thirty minutes allowing for the late arrival of the R.W.F. as he had still not received a report of them being in position. This change was passed to the awaiting companies. (there were no radio communications at this time so messages were delivered by runner which could take quite some time).

At about 10:01 p.m. Major Smythe eventually met up with Lt Col Long for the first time who informed him that it was zero hour and his men were already advancing (He was obviously not aware of the time change). As a result of this encounter Major Smythe had no choice so he ordered his men to advance as well.  A and C companies left Assembly Trench and advanced in the best formation that they could in the circumstances, this could only be done by passing the order from right to left along the line.

Without a preliminary bombardment the Yorkshire men advanced into a hail of bullets from heavy rifle and machine gun fire and the attack consequently failed. The Regimental History states that there was a british bombardment, however the Battalion War Diary (written at the time) clearly states that there was no British supporting bombardment. What should have been a quick dash from the taped jump off point into the German trench supported by artillery, turned out to be an irregular advance over a much longer distance without covering shell fire.

After it was clear that the attack had failed, Major Smythe ordered the attacking companies to hold a semi-dug fire trench in front of Assembly Trench with a view to reorganising. By now the British artillery were shelling the German positions, however many of the shells fell short onto the West Yorks positions, even falling short of Assembly Trench. This state of affairs continued for some considerable time after zero hour.

As a result of this failed attack the West Yorks suffered the following casualty figures from both enemy fire and the inaccurate British artillery bombardment:

3 Officers wounded
1 Officer shell shocked
1 Officer missing (he was later discovered dead)

15 Other ranks killed
135 Other ranks wounded
11 Other ranks missing

This was not the end of the attack on Lonely Trench though as once both the West Yorks and R.W.F. had reformed they launched another attack in the early hours of 18th August. This assault also failed with both Battalions suffering further casualties. The West Yorks were relieved at 11:00 a.m. by the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers and moved back into reserve at Talus Boise. Lonely Trench was eventually captured late on 19th August.

Thiepval Memorial to the missing on the Somme.


My Great Uncle George Arthur Lumby was 25 years old when he was killed during this failed attack on Lonely Trench leaving a wife and young daughter to mourn his death. His body was never recovered which indicates that he was either killed in the initial assault or was one of the missing. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing on the Somme. The above account is his brief story, one of many who went off to war and never returned.

Placing a cross for George at the Thiepval Memorial.

Battle Abbey

Not far from my little house is somewhere that I have wanted to visit for ages, the site of probably the most famous battle to take place on English soil. It is the Abbey in the town of Battle located on a narrow ridge a few miles north of Hastings in East Sussex.

Battle Abbey was built on Senlac Hill which is the real site of the Battle of Hastings where in the year 1066 Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold of England to take the English Crown. This was the last time that this country has been successfully invaded by a foreign power, although the French, Spanish and Germans have attempted to recreate this feat on several occasions since, without success.

Duke William (The Conquerer) ordained that an Abbey should be built on the actual site of the battle to commemorate all the dead from each side. However the site was totally unsuitable for large scale construction projects as it was situated on a steep hill with marsh land in the valleys on either side. So the Monks and builders began to construct the Abbey on more suitable flatter land a few miles away. When William heard of this he was extremely angry and ordered them to build on the original site.  To do this they had to level out the hillside and make a flat terrace on the summit, so today the actual slope of Senlac Hill is shallower than it was in 1066.

The actual Battle was a near run thing for the Normans who were in danger of losing several times throughout the day. In the morning King Harold's Saxon Army (who were tired out after a forced march from Stamford Hill near York) formed up their shield wall on the summit of the hill and awaited the attack.

The Norman infantry tried several times to break the shield wall without success and after fierce fighting fell back in disarray. The Saxons seeing this retreat broke up their shield wall and pursued the enemy, unfortunately for them the Norman cavalry then attacked them in the open inflicting many casualties.

Although the shield wall was rebuilt, William attacked again and after a short fight, feigned retreat, tricking the Saxons into pursuing his infantry for a second time. Once again the Normans caught the Saxons in the open with their cavalry inflicting serious losses on them. William also sent in a  hit squad of his best knights to hunt down and kill Harold. On seeing their King being butchered and being unable to reform the shield wall the Saxon army began to retreat but were ruthlessly cut down by the Norman cavalry.

Battle Abbey which is maintained by English Heritage is well worth visiting, there is an excellent visitors centre and you can also follow a trail around the site of the battle with an audio device explaining all about the battle and the building of the abbey.

My Camino de Santiago (Carrion de los Condes)

This time last year I was walking with some of my camino friends through Galicia on our final few days into Santiago de Compostella. I have very recently had a reunion with two of our camino family and wives during which we drank and ate too much and swopped stories of our experiences and quite probably bored our wives silly. So it is time to update my Spanish pilgrimage on this blog. Okay where were we................

Our Albergue in Fromista was very basic and did not even have a kitchen but luckily it was situated next door to a small hotel with a bar and restaurant. That evening Jacques and I drank a couple of beers and dined on pizza before attempting to get some sleep which was frequently disturbed by loud snoring from one of the other inmates.

The following morning we set off bright and early and after a few kilometres stopped at a small bar for a breakfast of cafe con leche and a French omelette which was served the Spanish way in a sandwich of dry bread. For some peculiar reason it is almost impossible to get butter on your bread in this part of Spain.

Everywhere along the dirt paths we came across small craters with holes in the centre made by black ants which were about the size of wood ants that you find in pine forests in the UK. I always found these ants fascinating and quite often stopped and stared at their behaviour for several minutes at a time, any old excuse for a rest.

We had a choice of routes this morning, the direct one alongside the busy road or the longer but prettier path hugging the banks of a tranquil slow running river. We chose the latter and followed the river to the small village of Villacalzar de Sirga where we visited the church of Santa Maria la Virgen Blanca which houses the tombs of nobles and royalty. The carving above the main door was quite impressive and the church also contained a wooden frieze depicting the life of St James and how he came to be in Spain.

Our path now rejoined the primary route which we followed for several kilometres alongside of the main road to the town of Carrion de Los Condes. There are several Albergues in the town, the one that we selected was next to the church and run by an order of Nuns who were extremely welcoming to peregrinos. While we were queuing to sign in they served us with cups of tea and offered us sweets.

After taking a shower and washing our dusty clothes, Jacques and I took a stroll into the main square past a bronze statue of a medieval pilgrim. There we found a delightful little bar which sold a local delicacy; a delicious apple cake made just for sharing along with the usual beers. The town even had an outdoors shop where I was able to buy a pair of walking trousers to replace the pair that I had left in Logrono. Whilst walking back to our albergue we bumped into Amy and Lucy who were staying in a different hostel we all arranged to meet up later that evening for dinner.

Upon arriving in our albergue we had another pleasant surprise as Pablo had arrived after he had been wandering aimlessly around Northern Spain as usual, probably looking for lost possessions.
I could also hear the voice of the 'Whinging Pom' coming from the next dormitory, still sounding as if he was upset by something or other. I must have audibly voiced by annoyance at his whinging, as an Australian pilgrim who had just arrived found this quite humorous.

At 7:00 pm our group all met up at a local hotel where we ate dinner which was one of the best peregrino's meals that I had eaten so far. As we were finishing our dinner a German woman at another table stood up on her chair and serenaded us all with songs from the opera Carmen. She was very good and made several encores to rapturous applause from all the diners. It was an excellent evening all round.