Edward Owen Grocock

Edward Owen Grocock attested on 10th December 1915 in Nottingham and was placed into the reserves the following day. He was mobilised on 29th February 1916 and posted to the Sherwood Foresters on 3rd March 1916. He embarked from Folkestone on 11th July 1916 disembarking the following day at Boulogne. He was posted to 1/5th Battalion in the field on 22nd July 1916. Grocock was killed during ferocious fighting near Cité St Theodore. 1/5th Sherwood Forsters' War Diary (TNA WO95/2695/1), apparently written by the CO, records: 'At 2.47 am the battalion with 3 coys in line and 1 in support attacked the enemy's position west of Lens... Little opposition was encountered. An enemy counter attack was repelled with heavy losses from our Lewis Guns. After being re-inforced the enemy launched a strong counter attack at about 6.30 by bombing along the main trench, by advance across open ground and by bombing and advance over open ground from the south. The counter attacks over open ground were repelled but the success of the enemy was obtained by the bombers who drove wedges into our line. The southern party came actually behind our men in No Man's Land, the first wave of which was accounted for to a man by our Lewis Gun fire. The two wedges driven into our line by the enemy succeeded in cutting a number of our men off who (out of bombs) attempted to escape by crossing No Man's Land.' 1/5th's support company, joined by elements of 1/8th Bn Sherwood Foresters were unable to resist determined German counter attacks along trenches and across open ground and the enemy re-occupied thier line late in the day. The CO bemoaned 'the lack of time for preparation and reconnaissance, the length of my front and the depth of the objective having regard to the number of men at my disposal, the darkness of the night rendering it very easy for direction to be lost.' (These) were all factors which served to make the chances of a successful attack negligible if, as proved to be the case, the enemy had any real intention of holding this portion of the line.' 1/5th Sherwood Foresters had attacked on the morning of 1/7/1917 with 8 officers and 270 other ranks. 44 were killed (all ors CWGC). The War Diary records 13 killed, 62 missing and 81 wounded. 31 of the battalion's fatalities were almost certainly from the list originally posted missing because only 3 out of 44 killed that day have known graves. The remainder, like Edward Grocock, are commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Bay 7. David Nunn

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