RNPS

The British Fire Service annual visit to Ypres on Remembrance Weekend 10 - 12 november 2011.

By Paddy Grayell

This visit has taken place for the last 27 years. A mixture of personnel and bands from throughout the Fire Service attend principally organised by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Ceremonial Unit.

The combined bands this year were made up from Devon and Somerset, West Yorkshire Fire Service Band with pipers and drummers from Tyne and Wear, North Devon, The Royal Navy and The Royal Air Force (well, that’s what it said in the programme!). The Royal navy was represented by the RNPS with Kate Daglish, Irene Robinson and Paddy Grayell.

The coach set off from Plymouth at some ungodly hour picking up along the way. Irene was found on the A303 and a large party from the North joined at Ashford. Two coaches and numerous transit vans then take all the kit and personnel to the town of Kortrijk in Belgium. The Parkhotel near the station has hosted this gathering for a number of years and the staff are used to the assortment of people. The entire hotel is virtually taken over at this stage!

An evening ceremony is the first event and took place on the 10th at the Menin Gate in Ypres. The whole ensemble marched down through the town to music from the massed bands. At the gate, we were joined by the Ypres Fire Service buglers and the local Yprianna Pipe Band as well as a local brass band. The service is fairly short and after the Last Post, Lament and Reveille, all the bands marched off again.

The following day was a long day starting again with the parade of the bands. Other groups appeared, Belgium Military along with British Military and there were infinitely more people congregating. The guest to mark the 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month and 11th year was Princess Mathilde, the wife of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant. The Last Post was played for the 28,662nd time since 1928. The ceremony was very moving, many wreaths were laid by all nationalities and groups and then the poppies felll from the three openings in the top of the gate. On completion, all marched off for a bite to eat before all the musicians (pipers included!) assembled to play a concert in the cathedral. This was well attended and over-subscribed.
After the concert the final evening march to the gate took shape for the last of our three ceremonies. The gate was a sight to behold, with the names of the dead chiselled into each wall. Then back to the hotel for some refreshment.

The following day there were trips to the battlefields, cemeteries or to Brugges. Tyne Cot cemetery is by far the biggest cemetery in this part of the world. Row upon row, mostly named but with a lot inscribed “A soldier known only to God”. A moving experience.

The party that night in the hotel comprised of a formal dinner followed by a fancy dress party. Some people party on until the morning, when it’s time to pack up and return home.

It is well worth considering joining this group, not only to play at the Menin Gate (Irene played one of the solos) but also a sombre reminder of the sacrifice that a lot of people made at that time to ensure our freedom.

Remember that the Navy fought at Ypres. At the declaration of the war on 4 August 1914, there was a surplus of some 20-30,000 men of the reserves of the Royal Navy who would not find jobs on any ship of war. It was recognised that this was sufficient to form two Naval Brigades and a Brigade of Marines for operations on land.

The Royal Marine Brigade was formed at once and was moved to Oostende on 27 August 1914, although it returned four days later. On 20 September it arrived at Dunkirk with orders to assist in the defence of Antwerp. The two other Brigades moved to Dunkirk for the same purpose on 5 October 1914. In the haste to organise and move the units to Belgium, 80% went to war without even basic equipment such as packs, mess tins or water bottles. No khaki uniform was issued. The two Naval Brigades were armed with ancient charger-loading rifles, just three days before embarking. The Division was orginally titled the Royal Naval Division, and was formed in England in September 1914. At this stage, it had no artillery, Field Ambulances or other ancillary units.

RND units that managed to successfully withdraw from Antwerp returned to England, arriving 11 October 1914. Approximately 1,500 troops of the 1st Royal Naval Brigade crossed the Dutch frontier to escape from Antwerp and were interned in the Netherlands.

1915

After a lengthy period of refit and training (scattered in various locations, and still short of many of the units that ordinarily made up the establishment of a Division), the Division moved to Egypt preparatory to the Gallipoli campaign.

The deployment of the RMLI to Gallipoli

Gallipoli

1916

By the end of the Division's part in the Gallipoli campaign, very few men with sea service remained. The Division transferred from the authority of the Admiralty to the War Office on 29 April 1916 and was redesignated as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division on 19 July 1916. The Division moved to France, arriving Marseilles 12-23 May 1916, after which it remained on the Western Front for the rest of the war and took part in the following engagements:

The Battle of the Ancre, a phase of the Battles of the Somme 1916 (13-18 November 1916)

1917

The Operations on the Ancre (January-March 1917)

The Second Battle of the Scarpe (23-24 April 1917), a phase of the Arras Offensive, in which the Division captured Gavrelle

The Battle of Arleux (28-29 April 1917), a phase of the Arras Offensive

The Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October - 10 November 1917), a phase of the Third Battles of Ypres 1917

The action of Welsh Ridge (30 December 1917), subsequent to the Cambrai operations

1918

The Battle of St Quentin~ (21-23 March 1918)
The Battle of Bapaume~ (24-25 March 1918)
~ the battles marked ~ are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918

The Battle of Albert (21-23 August 1918), a phase of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918

The Battle of Drocourt-Queant (2-3 September 1918), a phase of the Second Battles of Arras 1918

The Battle of the Canal du Nord^ (27 September - 1 October 1918)
The Battle of Cambrai 1918^ (8-9 October 1918)
^ the battles marked ^ are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line

The passage of the Grand Honelle (5-7 November 1918), a phase of the Final Advance in Picardy

This unique Division was demobilised in France by April 1919. It had suffered over 47,900 casualties.