Victor Perkins

Victor the eldest of four brothers was born in Mortlake, Surrey on 13th April 1897 and baptised in Christs Church, East Sheen on 9th May 1897. Edmund followed three years later. With the move to Leverstock Green, brothers Arthur and Tom were born. Their parents had in 1904 taken over the running of the Three Horseshoes public house, using the ground at the rear of the property to grow vegetables to sell in the attached grocery store. Rooms in the pub were also let out to boarders.

Parents Tom from Newnham and Mary Elizabeth nee Barns, from Daventry in Northamptonshire married in late 1894, Toms father ran his own farm of over 100 acres and Mary was a cook in domestic service. On the 1901 census Thomas is a market gardener living with the family at Orchard Cottage in Mortlake.

Thomas was summoned for selling inferior goods at the shop, as this from the Herts Advertiser in August 1906 shows.

A New Cheese. Tom Perkins, a shopkeeper in Leverstock Green, was summoned to the County Sessions at St Albans on Saturday for a breach of Food and Drugs Act selling “margarine cheese" as cheese, had admitted that he was ignorant of the existence of the inferior article of food.—William Grasswell Rushworth, the county inspector, said on July 12th he was at the shop kept by the defendant. He asked the defendant’s wife, who was in charge of the shop, for pound of cheese, for which he paid seven pence, Witness told her he had purchased for the purpose of analyse, and divided the into three portions, leaving one with the defendant's wife. He had received a certificate from Mr. Ekins. The public analyst, which showed that article produced was margarine cheese, not possessing the fatty substances found in cheese. The defendant’s wife said the “cheese” was purchased from a firm in London, who came round with a cart delivering goods to small customers. He showed witness the invoice which said “cheese purchased 6d. lb.” This was sold at 7d. On the next visit of the London firm with their cart witness took sample of their cheese and butter, but on that occasion it turned out good —The defendant informed the Bench that did not know of the existence of margarine cheese. It was bought for 6 lb. and sold for 7d.—The Chairman of the Bench (the Hon. F. W. Anson) said "the public must protected in such cases, although the defendant seemed to have been taken in.”—He had to pay 20s. Including costs.

Victor attended the village school and was a member of the boy scouts before starting work as an apprentice at the Dairy Outfit Co Ltd, situated off Lawn Lane in Cornerhall. This company manufactured items such as milk churns, ladles along with other utensils for the dairy industry and known locally as “the old tin can” Victor also played in the football team.

Victor had tried previously on a number of occasions to enlist, but due to bad eyesight had been refused, he was also under age at 18 years old. Finally succeeding by March 1916 to enlist into the Bedfordshire regiment with the number 23762.

Victor’s army records were destroyed during the Second World War and it is not possible to know his service after completing basic training, only he died whilst serving in the 7^th Battalion Bedfordshire regiment, 54^th Brigade, 18^th Division.

Major General Ivor Maxse had made the 18th division a formidable fighting force that was regarded by many as the best of the 30 new divisions in the army, winning 11 Victoria Crosses, but sustaining 46,503 men killed wounded and missing.

The 8^th battalion, Bedfordshire regiment was disbanded in February 1918 and 200 soldiers were transferred to the 7^th battalion. Both battalions served in the 18th division and it is not known which battalion Victor had served in.

The build up to the German Spring Offensives of 1918

1917 saw the 7^th Battalion strengthen their already solid reputation during their front line involvement in offensive operations in March, May and August of that year as well as constant trench raids. Their final offensive operations of the year was a series of four raids against German positions between the 8^th and 12^th of October, which saw them congratulated once again by several Generals.

1917 had been a shaky year, The French army almost mutinied, refusing to go onto the offensive as they were tired of such massive losses of life and a small uprising even happened in the British training areas around Etaples; the only one of the entire war. The British army took the offensive role away from their exhausted French ally and went into action around Arras, Cambrai and Ypres. The Third Ypres offensives finally ground to a bloody halt in the thick, cloying mud of the Passchendaele Ridge that November and the year ended with the final collapse of the Eastern Front and Russia’s demise from the Alliance.

In turn this released the substantial veteran German forces, buoyed by their success, to man the Western Front opposite their British and French foes. Having spent seven gruelling months on the Ypres salient and surrounding areas, the 18^th Eastern Division were ordered to take over a new section of the British line from the French. The Division were moved from the furthest northern positions of the British section of the Western Front to the furthest south, around Noyon and St. Quentin in the Aisne region of France. The move was completed on February 10^th 1918 when the troops found themselves in comparatively comfortable surroundings near Salency which included dry billets in an area not devastated by shell fire. However, the enemy greeted the Bedfords the day after their arrival with an air raid which destroyed a barn billeting a platoon, killing ten and wounding eight in the process. A second bomb fell within 150 yards of the Chateau which housed the Battalion HQ, creating a little excitement but causing no casualties. The same day saw almost 200 men arrive from the 8^th Bedfords following their disbandment.

The next day saw the 12^th Middlesex disbanded in line with the sweeping changes to the British army structure, making the vaunted 54^th Brigade a three battalion unit. Two days later the Brigade moved again, with the Bedfords HQ being positioned at Remigny, having moved via Caillouel. A month of hard digging and extensive training followed as the army prepared for the offensive that everyone knew would come their way as soon as the weather allowed, despite them being unsure exactly where the hammer blow would fall.

The new “elastic defence” concept was introduced, resulting in a “Forward Zone” designed to hold any attack up whilst the units behind got into position. Next came the “Battle Zone” in which the main battle would be fought and incorporated mutually supportive fields of fire. Finally came the “Rear Zone” holding those units ready for counter attacks and allowing their positioning wherever needed as the battle developed. The concept itself was sound, but in hindsight too complex for troops who were trained to blindly follow orders without question, and it was introduced too near to the German offensives that were coming their way to allow the men to get to grips with it. In addition, tape marked the rear areas and trenches that were yet to be built and many of the main battle zone gun pits and defensive positions were incomplete. At the end of February, the Brigade moved into the Divisional reserve, becoming the counter attacking Brigade and the Bedfords were posted around Rouez Camp. The entire front was noted as being incredibly quiet throughout February and March so the British troops made the most of the lull. Digging and training intensified throughout March as the British army did all they could to give themselves a fighting chance of holding against the inevitable German attack. Although no one was certain where the blow would fall, a German prisoner captured on the 19^th gave his interviewers such detailed information as to the preparations of the German Army in front of St Quentin that he could not be ignored. Nevertheless, British General Staff still refused reinforce Gough’s seriously overstretched Fifth Army in their position, so General Gough could do nothing but ponder his predicament and his Fifth Army sat and waited.

Finally at 3pm on the 20^th March 1918, the “Prepare for attack” message was issued as the Bedfords were in reserve at Rouez, 12km south-south west of St. Quentin. The 10,000 men of the undermanned and overstretched 18^th Division set about readying themselves for what everyone knew would be a massive battle, even in Great War terms.

Operation Michael; 21st March 1918.

“Operation Michael” opened at 0440 on 21 March 1918, with the largest concentration of artillery ever assembled (6173 guns and 3532 trench mortars) opening fire along a 50 mile front. At 0915 hours, 59 divisions stormed British defences, such as they were; tape still marked where 1st and 2nd line trenches were to be dug. The 16 overstretched and badly undermanned British divisions stubbornly held their defensive positions‘to the last’ in many cases, but held nevertheless. The ‘Essigny redoubt’ on the St Quentin road was taken by 1200 hours and the whole garrison of the 12th Irish Rifles were destroyed to the man. Yet a company of 180 men from the 3rd Rifle Brigade held ‘Cookers Quarry’until 2000 hours, before the 11 wounded survivors withdrew safely.

The German assault developed as the day wore on with the weight of the attack falling onto the 14^th Division to the north and the 58^thDivision to the south. All attacks on the 18^th Divisional front were repulsed but still two of the three battalions in the 53^rd Brigade who stood on the left flank of the 18^th Division were wiped out. That afternoon the Bedfordswere moved in buses to support positions as their comrades further east fought a stubborn defensive battle. By 7.30pm the 54^th Brigade had been moved from a 2^nd Line ‘Reserve Position’ to positions around Montescourt. A small counter attack was required to drive forward enemy units from Montescourt but the town was retaken with very few casualties. Once in position, the Northampton’s and Fusiliers held the front lines and the Bedford’s C and D Companies were in Support of the Royal Fusiliers, with A and B Companies in support of the Northampton’s.

At the end of the day British reserves were either engaged or covering the remnants of the withdrawing Divisions, and the 54^thBrigade were ordered to cover the retirement of the 14^th Division to their northern flank then withdraw to behind the Crozat Canal between Jussy and Mennessis by midnight.

The Crozat Canal; 22nd March 1918.

The day was broken into dozens of separate, often isolated engagements as the Germans pressed forward and the British held their posts, often not knowing who was to either side of them due to the thick fog that did not burn off until early afternoon. Brigades and Battalions did not count for much that day. It was a day of stubborn and often heroic actions by platoons, sections and even individuals isolated from their comrades by the fragmented nature of the battle and lack of visibility. The 7^thBedfords started the second day moving into a defensive position between Mennessis on their southern flank, and the intact La Montagne Bridge on their northern flank. Despite the urgent necessity to destroy the bridge. Exploding trench mortars and various other ingenious methods were tried to bring the bridge down, all without success, leaving the Bedfords no option than to set their defences carefully and wait. By 7am they were in position, having spent the night marching, then digging in. They waited, peering through the thick fog which reduced visibility to between twenty and fifty yards at best, unsure what was about to be thrown at them. Visibility beyond the opposite canal bank was impossible so they lined the western bank and waited for whatever was to come at them out of the fog. The 11^th Royal Fusiliers took up position between Jussy and north of La Montagne Bridge with the 7^th Bedfords holding from the bridge to the northern fringes of Mennessis, within sight of the village cemetery. The Northampton’s were kept in Brigade reserve and sheltered in the woods and copses to the west as well as the cover would allow.

Pozieres Memorial

The Memorial encloses Pozieres British Cemetery which is a little south-west of the village on the north side of the main road, D929, from Albert to Pozieres. On the road frontage is an open arcade terminated by small buildings and broken in the middle by the entrance and gates. Along the sides and the back, stone tablets are fixed in the stone rubble walls bearing the names of the dead grouped under their Regiments.The Memorial covers the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.

Edmund was 18 when he enlisted into the army but the war finished before he was sent overseas. His brother Arthur was tragically killed in World War 2 whilst working in Brocks firework factory making munitions. The factory was situated along the Redbourne Road now built over with the Woodhall Farm housing estate. During the 1920s a taxi service with Edmund as driver and petrol pumps were added at the front of the premises, later a tea room was established and the pub became the local motor car garage, keeping the Three Horseshoes name.

Many thanks go to Mary Cole for her help with photos and family information on Victor.