{"id":311,"date":"2015-08-24T11:54:06","date_gmt":"2015-08-24T10:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/?p=311"},"modified":"2016-01-04T14:44:39","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T14:44:39","slug":"a-signaller-in-the-great-war-1914-1918","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/a-signaller-in-the-great-war-1914-1918\/","title":{"rendered":"A Signaller in the Great War 1914 – 1918"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike Gater<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is an account of Mike’s fathers service as a signaller in the great war, first published in the Royal Signals Amateur Radio Society Journal.<\/p>\n

Mike is G4ICC and served as an officer in the Royal Engineers in 1954<\/p>\n

\"Gunner<\/a><\/p>\n

64631 Gunner Gater RFA – 1911<\/strong><\/p>\n

My father\u00a0 joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery at Woolwich on the 17th<\/sup>\u00a0 February 1911 and as \u00a0Gunner \u00a0Gater \u00a064631 RFA he was trained\u00a0 in all aspects in the use of\u00a0 the 18 pounder field gun<\/a>, which included horsemanship.\u00a0 He also qualified as a signaller with flags (semaphore and morse ) and as a telegraphist.<\/p>\n

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Battery Organisation and Order of Battle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Six field guns made up a battery and each gun had a crew of ten, six to operate the gun and the remainder to look after the horses, assist with the supply of ammunition and to replace casualties. The 18 pounder could fire 30 rounds a minute. They were used in rapid deployment to support the infantry, which required them to be in close proximity to the front line and were often in exposed positions.<\/p>\n

Signalling<\/strong><\/p>\n

The detailed signaller would go forward with his officer to observe enemy positions and send back instructions to the guns using flags.\u00a0 These observation parties were very vulnerable to attack and many signallers lost their lives.\u00a0 Later on, when the opposing armies were established in systems of trenches the field guns were positioned in gun pits a mile or so from the front and messages from forward observation posts were passed using telephone or telegraphy.\u00a0 Miles of wire was run out and maintained by the signallers. This was a never ending task as the wire was frequently broken by enemy shelling, parted by our own vehicles moving to and from the front line or broken where it crossed a network of trenches.<\/p>\n

Battlefield Conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the autumn of 1914 the battlefield had been reduced to a wilderness with only the stumps of trees sticking out of a sea of mud and the remains of buildings reduced to rubble by constant shelling. The whole area was a quagmire with flooded shell craters making the movement of vehicles and guns a hazardous operation if they strayed off a recognized track.\u00a0 Horses, mules and men were drowned and guns lost in deep shell holes concealed by liquid mud.<\/p>\n

Tactical Signalling<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to pinpoint enemy strong points or guns, signallers had to go out into no man\u2019s land under cover of darkness, seek shelter in a shell crater and look for the flashes of enemy guns.\u00a0 Co-ordinates were sent back to the gunners by means of a buzzer.\u00a0 The connection was made with a single wire to the equipment and with a short spike to the earth to complete the circuit.\u00a0 In the quiet of the night the sound of the buzzer could be heard over a wide area and the drill was to send the message and withdraw as quickly as possible.\u00a0 Sometimes, enemy flares and bursts of machine gun fire made it impossible to return to friendly lines and it was necessary to remain hidden in the crater until it was safe to emerge.<\/p>\n

It was not unknown for the observer to spend the remainder of the night and the following day in a crater\u00a0 until he could return to his own lines under cover of darkness. Often the crater was occupied with the putrefying remains of dead bodies, both men and horses, and rats that infested the trenches and surrounding battlefield.<\/p>\n

Early Electronic\u00a0Countermeasures<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was discovered that the enemy were able to intercept messages sent by the crude system of signalling used in the early months of the war and the generals were dismayed when notes of British signals were found in a German trench by one of our raiding parties.\u00a0 Induction enabled signals to be intercepted and the use of the earth as a return was replaced by two wires twisted together (twisted pairs).<\/p>\n

Signalling Equipment Development<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

During the latter part of 1915 the Fullerphone<\/a> was invented by Captain (later Major General) A.C.Fuller, Royal Engineers and this was a great improvement over earlier equipment.\u00a0 Further developments were carried out on the original Fullerphone and by the end of the war these devices were in use by most units of the British Army.<\/p>\n

Historical Deployment<\/strong><\/p>\n

My father was in the British Expeditionary Force which landed in France on the 9th<\/sup> September 1914.<\/p>\n

It moved north into Belgium to support the French Army in the area of Mons, but had to retreat due to superior German forces which had broken through the French lines.\u00a0 The BEF covered over 200 miles in 13 days and their retreat ended at the River Marne.\u00a0 After a short period of rest the BEF withdrew from the line and moved to Ypres.<\/p>\n

From October 1914 until the end of the war, Ypres was never more than seven miles from the front line.<\/p>\n

Conditions on the Front Line<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the fiercest battles of the war were fought in this part of Flanders. The first gas attack was made by the Germans on the 22nd<\/sup> April 1915.\u00a0 Both sides made small gains at various periods and extensive networks of trenches were established by the opposing armies. The whole area became a quagmire of mud, shell craters, barbed wire entanglements, broken equipment, stumps of trees and ruined buildings.<\/p>\n

No man\u2019s land, the ground between the front line of opposing armies, varied in width from about half a mile to as little as 50 yards and was an area of total devastation littered with shell craters filled with water or liquid mud, the decomposing bodies of men whose temporary graves had been exposed by further shelling, dead horses and barbed wire entanglements.<\/p>\n

It was relatively quiet during the day, but could be a hive of activity under the hours of darkness with both sides sending out patrols to reconnoitre and probe for weak points in enemy positions and working parties reinforcing the barbed wire defences.\u00a0 Patrols were sent out to take prisoners in an attempt to discover enemy plans which might be revealed under interrogation.\u00a0 All those entering no man\u2019s land were given specific instructions regarding the precise position where they were return to the trenches.\u00a0 Failure to do so could result in them being fired on by their own men as they could be mistaken for a German patrol.<\/p>\n

As a gunner, my father served with the 38th\u00a0 <\/sup>Brigade\u00a0 and Canadian 6th<\/sup> Brigade, but he spent most of the war\u00a0 in the Ypres salient.\u00a0\u00a0 Hellfire Corner and Hill 60 saw some of the fiercest fighting although neither side gained much ground.\u00a0 He used to tell me about the conditions in the trenches which became the homes of the fighting units.\u00a0 The front line trenches were deep enough to hide any troop movement from the enemy and had stepped firing positions at various points for sentries.\u00a0 Crude periscopes were used to observe the German lines.\u00a0 Dugouts were cut into the sides of the network of trenches to provide living accommodation for the troops.\u00a0 Some were quite extensive and the sides and roofs were strengthened with any suitable material that was available.\u00a0 Most were strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a mortar, but a heavy shell from a German howitzer would destroy the whole bunker and any troops inside.\u00a0 Beds were made from wire netting stretched over timber frames and rough furniture was made from boxes. At night the entrance to each dugout had to be covered by blankets.\u00a0 Lighting was provided by candles or hurricane lanterns and spirit stoves were used for cooking.\u00a0 The atmosphere inside the dugouts was fetid from the combined smells of candles, tobacco and sweat.\u00a0 The smell from latrines and the odour of putrefaction added to the general discomfort.\u00a0 Trenches were flooded quite frequently and duckboards were provided to bridge the liquid mud in an attempt to keep feet dry, but many soldiers suffered from trench foot and trench fever.\u00a0 If a man slipped off the duckboards during the night he risked drowning in the mud before his comrades could retrieve him.<\/p>\n

German Battle Positions ad Tactics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the German trenches were extremely elaborate and connected to underground shelters 40 feet or so deep.\u00a0 A heavy artillery bombardment preceded and indeed gave notice of a forthcoming attack and the German troops merely took refuge in their deep shelters until the bombardment ceased, which indicated that our infantry were about to advance.\u00a0 Then the Germans emerged and manned their machine guns which caused wholesale slaughter of our troops.<\/p>\n

Trench Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

The whole network of trenches was infested by rats who found ample food from corpses of horses and mules and those of men buried in temporary graves in the trench sides and in no man\u2019s land.\u00a0 Rats could be killed quite easily, but the living quarters were infested with lice that bit their victims and caused sores and blood poisoning.\u00a0 They lived in the clothing of their victims and although disinfectant was used when troops were given leave and able to visit the bath houses set up behind the lines they were a constant problem.\u00a0\u00a0 The eggs could be killed by running a candle flame along the seams of garments, but it was impossible to get rid of them all.\u00a0 Swarms of blow flies added to the discomfort.<\/p>\n

Service Support and Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n

Communication trenches connected the various sectors and were used to carry up ammunition, rations, including drinking water, parcels and letters from home, evacuate casualties to forward dressing stations and to enable the movement of troops to and from the front.\u00a0 The main communication trenches were built in a zig-zag shaped configuration in an attempt to safeguard it from the enemy shellfire, but with the increased use of balloons and aircraft for observation it is doubtful if it was very effective.<\/p>\n

Food was very basic.\u00a0 Bully beef and a hard almost inedible biscuit was the main source of sustenance.\u00a0 Bread was in short supply and often the men were obliged to eat mouldy loaves.\u00a0 Sometimes, pea soup containing lumps of horse meat was an alternative.\u00a0 During sustained periods of enemy shelling which could last for 24 hours or more, it was not possible to obtain fresh rations and forward troops had to rely on the hard tack biscuits. They were rendered edible by boiling them in water often obtained from a shell crater !\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes cart grease from the wagons was applied to make them softer.\u00a0 Food parcels from home were welcome additions to the basic rations and were shared amongst comrades.<\/p>\n

Yuletide<\/strong>
\n\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

All members of the BEF received a Christmas present from Princess Mary which contained a greetings card, tobacco and cigarettes.<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/p>\n

These were greatly prized and some soldiers kept them to give to their loved ones.\u00a0 I still have the one my father received.<\/p>\n

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\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

Rest and Recuperation<\/strong><\/p>\n

After their period of duty in the front line, units would be moved back from the war zone where welcome bath houses were provided and they could enjoy a brief time in fresh air and relax with the civilian population before returning to the trenches.<\/p>\n

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Continual Readiness<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the day the troops who were not on duty would sit outside in the trenches, but were always on call in the event of an enemy attack.\u00a0 Even during relatively quiet periods, there was the danger from mortars or the occasional howitzer shell.\u00a0 A direct hit could kill outright, but flying shrapnel could be just as lethal and caused many casualties.<\/p>\n

Maintaining\u00a0Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n

Communication wires were constantly being broken both by enemy shelling and by our own troops, horses and equipment and the signallers had to trace the breaks and carry out repairs under cover of darkness.\u00a0 At the beginning of the war, the wires were pegged to the sides of the trenches, but they were frequently broken and cables had to be buried to a minimum depth of 18 inches which was increased to three feet.<\/p>\n

Communications Security,\u00a0Accuracy and Timeliness<\/strong><\/p>\n

All messages to and from the trenches had to be treated as secret and signallers had strict orders only to reveal their contents to the officer designated to receive them.\u00a0 Accuracy was essential as errors could be very costly.\u00a0 Indeed serious errors could result in punishment by court-martial.\u00a0 Fast and accurate signallers were highly valued.<\/p>\n

252696 Sapper Gater \u00a0R.E – 1917<\/strong><\/p>\n

In April 1917 my father was transferred to a signal company in The Royal Engineers as a telegraphist and he became Sapper 252696 R.E.\u00a0 He was disabled near Ypres in July 1917 and sent home to England where he spent some time in various military hospitals.\u00a0 He stayed at Quarr Abbey on The Isle of Wight, part of which was used as a convalescent home.\u00a0 Robert Graves author of \u201cGoodbye to all that\u201d spent some time there and mentions it in his book.<\/p>\n

Returning to Civvy Street<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eventually my father was discharged with a pension and, in addition to his medals, was awarded the war badge which was given to all soldiers who were disabled and honourably discharged.\u00a0 In civilian life he qualified as a Chartered Secretary and worked for The BTH (British Thomson\u2013Houston Company) in Rugby where he was very much involved with the Company\u2019s Ex-service Association.\u00a0\u00a0 He served on the Committee for all his working life, both as Honorary Auditor and Vice President.<\/p>\n


\n<\/a>He used to tell me about his experiences in the war, but would never talk about the circumstances of how he came to be disabled as Sapper 252696 RE.\u00a0\u00a0 Indeed he never mentioned that he had served in The Royal Engineers when I was commissioned into The Corps in 1954 and it was only after he had passed away and I obtained his Service Record that I discovered this fact.<\/p>\n

\"Discharge<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike Gater This is an account of Mike’s fathers service as a signaller in the great war, first published in the Royal Signals Amateur Radio Society Journal. Mike is G4ICC and served as an officer in the Royal Engineers … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cNPB-51","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356,"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions\/356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reasignals.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}