The Great War

Army Cyclist Corps

John Eccles volunteered for military service on 5th April, 1915, nine months before conscription was introduced. He enlisted in the 36th Division's Army Cyclist Corps (ACC, #6372).

15th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles

On May 20, 1916 he was transferred from the cyclist corps to the 15th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles: Lance Corporal John Eccles (#15/9602), B Company, 15th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, 107th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division.

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For more info: 15th Battalion's engagements.

The War Diaries for the 15th Royal Irish Rifles - Oct, 1915 until demobilisation in 1919 - are available on Amazon, Kindle and print.

Info on history of Royal Irish Rifles

Info on 36th (Ulster) Division

Basic Training at Ballykinlar

The 15th Battalion (North Belfast) Royal Irish Rifles had been formed in September 1914 from the north Belfast members of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

There is no indication as to why John went to north Belfast to sign up. We can find no trace of any previous connection to the area. Up to this point in his life he had been involved exclusively with gardening at large country estates.

The Rifles battalion came under the orders of 107th Brigade in 36th (Ulster) Division, and moved to Ballykinlar, located between Newcastle and Downpatrick, County Down, for basic training. With its open fields, sandy beaches and dunes, the sparsely inhabited region was ideal for shooting practice.

The new recruits may have started off living in tents, but a massive building scheme was undertaken across all of the United Kingdom constructing temporary camps for the millions of new soldiers who would be trained for the trench war in France.

As the war continued, the camp was used to hold German POWs. After the war, Ballykinlar (or Abercorn Barracks, as it came to be known) was used as an internment camp to house captured Irish Republican insurrectionists during the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence.

Seaford, East Sussex

In July, 1915, John moved with his battalion to Seaford, East Sussex along with the rest of the 36th (Ulster) Division.

Lord Kitchener and Sir Edward Carson visited Seaford to inspect the troops and Lord Kitchener later remarked to Carson “your Division of Ulstermen is the finest I have yet seen”.

Another inspection by King George V took place on 30 September, just days before the Division deployed to France.

After three months of intense military training, the 36th Division began moving men and equipment to France.

10-minute BBC audio report on the WW1 training grounds at Seaford

Private McClure's personal experiences at Seaford

South Camp, Seaford

Seven Sisters Cliffs, Seaford, East Sussex

Deployment to Boulogne, France

During the first week of October, the Division moved to France. Their artillery came from England a few weeks later. According to his records, John arrived in France 3 October.

The Ulster Division initially concentrated in the area around Flesselles, ten miles north of Arras, and was attached to the regular army 4th Division to become familiar with trench warfare conditions north of the River Ancre, near Albert.

On 21 October, the Division moved away from the fighting area towards Abbeville, where it spent most of the winter of 1915-16 training for the battles ahead.

The whole Division finally took over a section of the front line on 7 February, 2016 between the River Ancre and the Mailly-Maillet to Serre road. Division HQ was at Acheux.

In the first week of March, the Division extended its front, taking over the sector south of the Ancre at Thiepval Wood.

The Somme, 1 July, 1916

More than three million men fought in the first battle of the Somme, which lasted 141 days, from July to November, 1916

Over a million soldiers were either killed or wounded, making it one of the deadliest battles in all of human history. John Eccles was wounded twice during these months and had shrapnel in his body for the rest of his life.

Few soldiers returning from the horrors of the battles in World War 1 wanted to talk about their experiences, and John was no different. They saw so many things that they just wished to forget. Constant bombardments, the ever-present threat of sniper and gas attacks, and the trauma of hand-to-hand fighting in deep, muddy trenches led to an untold number of 'shell-shock' victims and tens of thousands of combatants undoubtedly suffering from PTSD, which had yet to be identified as a consequence of such intense warfare.

Grandad Eccles, nevertheless, had a couple of stories that he felt comfortable talking about. One was about something that happened on the very first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July, 1916.

Even though the allies had fired 1.7 million shells at the German defences, the bombardment had failed to break the thick lines of barbed wire in front of the German trenches.

Following orders, most British forces climbed from their trenches after artillery fire had ceased, walked across No Man's Land, and tried to get through the barbed wire. They were mowed down by strategically placed machine guns which had been protected by strongly fortified bunkers along the German lines.

Apart from a couple of isolated places, British troops were being repelled all along the front line.

The soldiers of the Ulster Division used a different tactic. One book on the war described the relatively successful actions of the 36th like this:

The men of 15th battalion, Royal Irish Rifles launched their assault from Thiepval Wood and made their way across No Man's Land just north of Thiepval village towards the Schwaben Redoubt on the German lines. Their objective was St Pierre Divion.

During this attack, John was accompanied by one of his comrades, a Scotsman called Jock.

Unlike most commanders, the CO of the Ulster Division did not order his men to wait until the British artillery had stopped firing before leaving their trenches.

He did not want to give the Germans the 10 minutes they would need to recover from the bombardment, so the men of the 36th raced across No Man's Land as fast as they could towards their objectives, catching the Germans somewhat off guard.

However, it did not take long for the enemy to climb the 40 feet from the bottom of their trenches to return to their firing positions, and within minutes the Ulstermen were coming under a hail of machine-gun bullets and sniper fire. But they had already made good progress and continued to move forward.

Thiepval Wood looking towards the Schwaben Redoubt

As John was running towards the German lines, he noticed that Jock was crouching in front of him, with one knee on the ground. Jock was holding his rifle firmly with both hands and was looking straight ahead. John shouted at him to get up and to keep moving.

As he came closer to Jock, he slapped him on the shoulder, encouraging him to move, but Jock fell over onto his side and remained still on the ground.

He was dead.

The 36th Division put up a great fight on that first day of the battle, and had achieved their goals, but it was all to no avail.

Even though they had captured their objectives, the divisions on their flanks had not been able to break through the German lines, so the 36th had become isolated and was taking fire from all sides.

As darkness fell, the courageous Ulstermen were surrounded by Germans and were forced to leave their dead comrades and begin the struggle back to their starting positions in the woods. A few remained until the next morning in the nearby German trenches.

It was a massive disappointment for the Division after having displayed such tenacity and having sacrificed so much to accomplish the task given to them.

When relieved by the 49th Division the following day, the 36th Division listed over 5,000 casualties. The dead numbered 2,069, including Jock.

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Summary of entries in 15th, Royal Irish Rifles War Diary from midnight:

Thiepval, 1 July, 1916

12.15 AM - arrived assembly trenches, 583 all ranks.

7.30 AM - Zero time

7.45 AM - A Company reach German A line

7.50 AM - B Company reach German A line

7.55 AM - German B line captured

8.15 AM - attacking German C line

8.15 AM - C & D Companies capture German A line left (north)

Casualties very heavy. Called for reinforcements, but none available. Captured large number of prisoners, maps, etc.

10.00 AM - German C line captured, penetrated D line

Incoming German machine gun fire from both flanks (as 29th and 32nd Division attacks have failed) causing heavy casualties, and bit by bit drove us back.

8.30 PM - Only 8 NCOs left, almost half the men killed, wounded or missing.

Short of ammunition and being attacked from all sides. Men moved back to German A line, then to start position in Thiepval Wood.

Total casualties: 316, including 15 officers.

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(The Royal Irish website gives an account of the actions of the 36th Division on 1 July 1916.)

Wikipedia: Capture of Schwaben Redoubt

First page 15th Btn, RIR War Diary for 1 July, 1916

A Christmas Celebration

My Grandad also told another gripping story about what took place one Christmas Day in the Flanders region of Belgium.

The soldiers at the front had been given some extra rations, so everyone had enjoyed a good Christmas meal. When they had finished eating, someone appeared with a quantity of beer, and the men began to drink.

My grandad didn’t want any of the alcohol, so he decided to go for a walk in the surrounding forest.

When he returned about an hour later, he discovered that the shelter in which the men had gathered had been obliterated by a direct hit from a German artillery shell, and all his comrades were dead.

Battle of Messines, June 1917

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'And if perchance we do advance
To Wytschaete and Messines
They'll know the guns that strafed the Huns
Were wearing o' the green'

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On the opening day of the battle, the 16th (Irish) Division and the 36th (Ulster) Division cooperated in the capture of Wytschaete: Irishmen from both parts of the island fighting together against the Kaiser.

John Eccles was awarded the Military Medal for bravery at the Battle of Messines and his name appeared in the London Gazette a couple of months later to mark the fact.

The objective of this week-long battle (7–14 June, 1917) in Flanders, Belgium was to capture the German positions on the ridge at Messines and deprive them of the high ground.

The battle began with the detonation of around 20 large mines beneath the German front position, devastating it and leaving huge craters. Tunnels had been dug by army miners and engineers, and high explosives, adding up to almost 1 million pounds, were planted directly beneath German strong points. The explosions killed approximately 10,000 German soldiers in the first couple of minutes of the battle.

The 36th (Ulster) Division attack was supported by three mines at Kruisstraat and one, about half a mile further north at Spanbroekmolen. The Division quickly captured two woods and Bogaert Farm after finding that the artillery fire had cut the masses of barbed wire and destroyed many strongpoints.

To the left of the 36th, the 16th (Irish) Division advanced through the remains of Wytschaete wood and Grand Bois.

The ANZAC 25th Kiwi Division, on the southern right flank of the 36th, advanced to Lumm Farm, but struggled to capture it. It was eventually taken with assistance of the 36th (Ulster) Division troops. Helped by two tanks, the rest of the 36th (Ulster) Division advanced to the right side of Wytschaete village and captured a German battalion headquarters. Two battalions of the 16th (Irish) Division overran the German survivors on the left side of the village.

Meticulously planned and well executed, the attack exceeded its objectives in less than twelve hours. The British took 7,354 prisoners and large quantities of German weapons and ammunition. The Germans counterattacked, but failed to retake the ridge.

The British 2nd Army now prepared to move on to its next objective deeper into Flanders: Ypres.

Spanbroekmolen, one of many craters left behind by mines planted under Messines ridge

Video (16 mins) of attack on Messines ridge

Video (6 mins) of Messines by Somme Museum

Video (2 mins) of the pond left by the Spanbroekmolen mine

Royal Irish website account of the Battle of Messines

Promotions and awards

John began his military service with the Army Cyclist Corps on Easter Monday, 1915.

On 16 May, 1916 he was transferred to the 15th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, with whom he spent most of the war in France and Belgium.

Following a major reorganisation of the 36th Division in early 1918, he was attached to the 4th Battalion, RIR. His unit was moved to Camp Durrington in Salisbury, England, just a couple of miles from Stonehenge.

John Eccles MM was demobilised in March, 1919, sixteen days short of four years of military service.

Promotions

Army Cyclist Corps

Private - 5 April, 1915

Lance Corporal - 1 August, 1915

Royal Irish Rifles

Corporal - 8/6/17 (typically in charge of a 10-man Section in an infantry battalion) Promoted to Corporal right after winning the Military Medal for bravery

Lance Sergeant - 5 July 1917 - Promoted 4 weeks after being promoted to Corporal

Sergeant - 24 September 1918 (typically in charge of a 32-man Platoon in an infantry battalion)

Transferred to Class Z Army Reserve (Demobilised) - 20/3/19

Awards

1914-15 Star, Victory medal, British War medal

Military Medal (for bravery in the field - Messines, 7-14 June, 1917)

Military Medal (M.M.)

The Military Medal was awarded to warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the British Army and Commonwealth Forces to recognise acts of bravery in the field.

Recipients of the Military Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "MM" and awards were notified in the London Gazette, usually within four months of the action, however, citations were very rare.

John Eccles' name is recorded in the London Gazette, 16 August, 1917.