Robert Head killed in action (1914)

Post date: Jan 23, 2014 4:4:23 PM

Extract from Parish magazine of February 1915.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

On Sunday, January 3rd, Special Intercession was offered for those engaged in the War in all the Churches of the Allies, and Collections were desired to be given to the Red Cross Fund. In our Parish, the Collections amounted to £11 16s. 6d., which sum was forwarded to the British Red Cross Society. With the receipt, there has been sent a letter from the Secretary, expressing the Committee's thanks on behalf of the sick and wounded soldiers and sailors.

The Secretary of the Indian Soldiers' Fund acknowledges, with many thanks, the receipt of twelve flannel nightshirts from the Wateringbury Women's War Work Fund.

I am very sorry to announce that L.-Cpl. Robert Arthur Head¹, 6th Dragoon Guards⁵, who, as stated in a previous number of the Magazine, has been missing since November 1st, was killed in action upon that date. News only reached his relatives on January 23rd. A friend of his, Sergt. Towner, sent the news. At Messines⁷, in the early hours of November 1st⁶, Germans came up in enormous numbers to make an attack on the British lines. "The left flank of our forces moved back, leaving twenty-eight of the 6th Dragoon Guards to hold a position with a little detachment of the London Scottish (Territorials). The latter came up under a heavy fire and had to retire. Later, they came back and dug themselves in. The Germans came on in large numbers and the British were firing back to back in the trenches at point-blank range of five to ten yards. At 6 a.m., on November 1st, the British had to retire. . . . Later they were relieved by the 16th Lancers."

It was at some time during these terrible hours that L.-Cpl. Head "volunteered to leave the trench to try and find out if the Regiment were still in their position on the left of our trench. We knew afterwards that they were not. He had not gone twenty yards when a horde of Germans came up, hundreds in number."

Sergt, Towner continues in one of his letters—"I am so sorry that poor 'Bob' went, but he deserved the V.C. for the gallant duty which he performed."

For the future every Sunday evening the names of our people who are serving in Army or Navy will be read out at Evensong when we make intercession for our forces at the War. I shall be very glad if any names not yet upon the list will be brought to me. Let me also urge upon Parishioners the duty of coming regularly to our public services and joining humbly in our prayers and intercessions, and thanksgiving for the manv mercies vouchsafed to us, especially at such a solemn hour as this in our nation's life.

The Church bell is rung daily at 12 o'clock, this being the hour specially appointed for prayers for our troops.

The following is a further list of our people serving in the Army. It is still incomplete as I have not been able to obtain all the names yet.

Coldstream Guards: Arthur Jukes.

Grenadier Guards: Horace Pickett, Harry Bourne.

5th Lancers (D Squadron): Charles Cronk.

Royal West Kent Regt.: Henry Bingham Stevens, Victor Goodwin³, Frederick Latter, William Skinner, Alfred Smith, Albert Cheesman, David Mace.

Army Service Corps: Ernest Alfred Bannister, Norman Latter, George William Tompsett, Ernest Mace.

West Kent Yeomanry: Thomas Martin, Roland Palmer.

Motor Ambulance Corps: Leonard Latter.

Motor Transport: Arthur Leonard Monger, Frederick Leney, Harry Woolgar.

Royal Army Medical Corps: Harold King, Alfred Randall.

Royal Engineers: Walter Curd, George Brooks, Arthur Brooks, William Eversfield.

Royal Flying Corps⁴: George Benfield, Charles Davenport King, Harry Stringer.

9th Hants Cyclist's Regt.: James Eversfield.

I wish to remind Parishioners that the Bishop will hold a confirmation in our Church at 3 p.m., on March 31st. Classes will shortly be formed, and I hope that intending candidates will send in their names to me as soon as possible, as the time at our disposal is very short.

HENRY ANDERSON.

There passed away on January 23rd, at the age of 59, Henry Anderson, who had been Parish Clerk at the Church for thirty-one years. He had been in failing health for the last few years, and more than once he had expressed a wish to retire from his position, but it was thought to be fitting that after his lengthy service he should, if possible, hold it until the last, and so it came about that he was still Parish Clerk when the end came, although the duties of his office had for some time been carried out by others. Towards the end he suffered great pain and then God mercifully took him. Preaching at the Church on the Sunday evening after his death, Mr. Crawford referred to his loss and spoke of him as a communicant, as a careful performer of the duties connected with his office, as a man of a singularly peaceable disposition and universal respect, and as one whose life of service has surely merited the great words of commendation, " Servant of God, well done ? " [COMMUNICATED.]

I am asked to announce that the members of the Girls' School hope to give their annual Entertainment early in February, at the Church Rooms.

WATERINGBURY DISTRICT VOLUNTEER TRAINING CORPS.

Two preliminary meetings for the purpose of forming a V.T.C. for this village were held at the Schools on Jan. 13th and 15th. There was not a very large attendance at the first, but a goodly number turned up at the second. Mr. W. W Blest was elected Chairman and Mr. Walter H. Day (Hon. Sec. to the Maidstone Corps) kindly attended and explained matters. Mr. Henry White² wished to have the meeting adjourned to a later date and to a different place, but as no one seconded his proposal, it fell to the ground and the meeting proceeded. It was eventually decided to form such a Corps and a Committee was elected (with power to add to its number) to take the necessary steps.

On Wednesday, Jan, 27th, a further meeting was held at the Church Rooms, when again the number who attended was rather small, but after some discussion, especially of the War Office conditions and recognition, some 20 men gave in their names. It is proposed to hold drills at a Malthouse (kindly lent by A. Leney, Esq.) on Tuesdays and Fridays, from 7 to 9 p.m. For the present, owing mainly to the War Office conditions, it has been decided not to be affiliated to the Central Association. Mr. W. W. Blest has been chosen as Chairman of Committee, with Dr. G. S. Sander as Vice-Chairman, and Mr. Edgar C. Smith as Hon. Sec. [COMMUNICATED.]

Our Parish Nurse, Miss Keat, wishes through the Magazine "to thank everybody for their unexpected kindness " in giving her a present of £6 6s. in recognition of the unfailing sympathy and kindness shown by her at all times in the course of her ministrations. She has gone from us to join the Territorial Hospital at Lincoln, and we sincerely trust to see her back amongst us once more in due course. Meanwhile we are very glad to welcome Miss Broadway Williams, who has come to take the post Nurse Keat leaves for a time.

As the magazine goes to press Mrs. Livett hears that the Wateringbury Motor Ambulance is nearly complete for the front and that by a happy coincidence Mr. Fred. Leney has been appointed driver. He hopes to take it to Havre next week where we trust it will do useful work and we hope will help to lessen the sufferings of a few of the brave defenders of our Country.

F.M.R.

Rainfall during January 3-08 inches.

Notes:

1. Per Wateringbury People and Places Vol 2 Robert was born in Wateringbury 1890 the son of William and Bertha Head who in 1891 lived at the back of the Telegraph Inn, Bow Road. His name is on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, panel 5.

2. Henry White was Chairman of the Wateringbury Conservative Association and served on the Malling Rural District Council. His obituary is in the Parish Magazine of December 1917 (see Food Economy) .

3. Victor Goodwin was arrested in Wateringbury on 5th May 1915 for being absent without leave from 45th E. Park Reserve A.S.C. He was remanded to await an escort by Malling magistrates the following day. He had been awarded a good attendance certificate at school in 1906 and won three events at the sports held in connection with Empire Day 1906.

4. Royal Flying Corps (RFC) came into being in 1912 and at onset of hostilities deployed just 4 squadrons with 41 aircraft. The squadrons were ordered to assemble in Dover before flying to France.

5. 6^th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) was a cavalry regiment originally formed as a heavy cavalry unit in the 17^th century and which had served in the Napoleonic, Crimean and Boer Wars. The cavalry in the BEF, regarded by the French as a strong part of our contribution, was under the command of Lieutenant General Allenby, who later in the war commanded British forces in the Middle East. After the Boer War there had been pressure to disband the cavalry but instead doctrine changed to emphasise dismounted firepower (sometimes with the horse being made to lay down), with all cavalry men carrying rifles (as well as swords) and entrenching tools. The 6th Dragoon Guards had been one of the earliest british units, after the 4th Royal Dragoon Guards, engaged against the Germans: on 22nd August they had crossed the Conde canal to the west of Mons and according to the regimental history (quoted by Adrian Gilbert Challenge of Battle page 50) "Several succesful mounted attacks against German cuirassiers were carried out by A squadron, before the regiment withdrew across the two bridges [over the canal] at St. Albert.

6. Sir Max Hastings in “Catastrophe” regards this as “one of the bloodiest and -for the British –most dangerous [days] of the [Ypres] battle”.

7. Messines was a village 6 miles to the south of Ypres, Belgium (5 miles to the north of Amentieres, France) with a church, mill and a limehouse, usually inhabited by some 1,400 people