William Henry Rushton

He served with 'D' Coy.Capt. W Harry Rushton The Retford Times 6/10/1916News has just reached Mr W H S Rushton of 213 Woodborough Road, Nottingham that his only son, Capt. W Harry Rushton of the Lincolnshire Regiment was killed in action on September 25th. Capt. Rushton who was only 19 years of age, was educated at the Nottingham High School and Worksop College and was an enthusiastic member of the Cadet Corps. At the outbreak of the war he in was training with the Nottingham University OTC and immediately volunteered for active service. He received a commission on December 19th 1914 and was promoted Lieutenant a year later and was made a Captain July last. Although he had been at the front for over a year except for a brief interval during which he was invalided home with fever.The young officer was a fine specimen of an athlete standing 6’ high and weighing over 14 stone.

The following extract is taken from the History of the Lincolnshire Regiment in the Great War:-THE BATTLE OF MORVAL : 25TH-28TH SEPTEMBER J THE CAPTURE OF GUEUDECOURT Bad weather set in during the close of the battle of Flers- Courcelette, and it was the 25th of September before the next attack could be undertaken. On that date a general attack was launched on the whole front from the Somme to Martinpuich. On the British front the objectives were Morval (5th Division), Les Boeufs (6th and Guards Division), Gueudecourt (21st Division) and a belt of country about one thousand yards in depth, curving round the north of Flers to a point about mid-way between that village and Martinpuich : the latter was the objective of the 55th, New Zealand and 1st Divisions. The 62nd Brigade of the 21st Division was in Divisional Reserve during the operations, but the 1st Lincolnshire were attached to the 64th Brigade, the attacking brigade. Major H.M.C. Orr, temporarily commanding the 1st Lincolnshire, received orders for the attack on the 20th of September, whilst the battalion was resting at Fricourt Camp. Three objectives were allotted to the 64th Brigade (i) portions of Gird Trench and Gird Support south of Gueudecourt, (ii) a track running south-east of the village, and (iii) a portion of the line of the Gueudecourt-Le Transloy road east of the former village. The 10th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on the right and the 1st East Yorkshire, on the left, were to carry out the attack of the 64th Brigade on the first objectives. The 1 st Lincolnshire were to capture the second objective, and the two first-named battalions were to pass through the Lincolnshire and capture the third objective. The battalion moved from Fricourt Camp at 1 1 a.m. on the 24th to Pommiers Redoubt, arriving at 1 p.m. A hot meal was served and at 5 p.m. the battalion moved again, and an hour later arrived at Switch Trench, where 64th Brigade Headquarters were established. Here, after rest, hot tea and rum were served just before 10 p.m., when the march to the assembly trenches began. By 11.30 p.m. the battalion was disposed in the following positions : A and C Companies in Gap Trench (support) ; B and D Companies, the Battalion Bombers and Battalion Head- quarters in Switch Trench (second support). Throughout the night the artillery bombardment, which began on the morning of the 24th, continued without abatement. As Gird Support Trench (part of the first objective) had been almost entirely demolished by our shell-fire, the first two waves of the attacking infantry received orders to dig in one hundred and fifty yards beyond it. Zero hour for the attack was fixed for 12.35 P- m - on t ^ ie 2 ^' Two minutes before zero bayonets were fixed and the battalion " stood to " ready to go over the parapet. Each man carried an extra bandolier and a Mills bomb in addition to the complement of bombs carried by the Battalion and Company Bombers. As the hands of the watches touched zero Captain J. Edes and Captain J.E.N.P. Denning, commanding A and C Com- panies respectively, followed by their men, sprang over the parapet of Gap Trench and advanced in quick time in two lines with a frontage of two platoons each company, fifty yards between the two lines. A Company was on the right, C on the left. 192 THE 1st LINCOLNSHIRE [sept. 25TH , 1916] Both companies had advanced about fifty yards when they came into the enemy's artillery barrage from the right and machine-gun fire from the right front. In spite of heavy casualties, there was no wavering until the brigade front line was reached. Instead, however, of finding the trench empty and the attacking troops of the 64th Brigade on their way to the first objective, the two units still occupied the trench. Apparently they had attacked the enemy but had fallen back to their original position. By this time Captain Denning and all the senior n.c.o.s of C Company had been wounded, and it was found necessary to re-organize in the front line. Captain Edes, however, at once decided to pass over the front line with A Company and advance towards the first objective. An officer of the 4th Grenadier Guards, on the right of the Lincolnshire, asked Captain Edes to help him in an attack on a strong point (No. 91) in the German front line. A Company was therefore directed up Gas Alley, which led to the strong point. But by now the casualties were heavy and the company was unable to reach it. It was, there- fore, decided to consolidate on the ground gained. While this was being done touch was obtained on the left with a party of the 9th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, which had succeeded in occupying a line of shell-holes, which they had connected. To this the Lincolnshire joined up their line and the whole was consolidated. Meanwhile, B and D Companies, supported by the Battalion Bombers and Battalion Headquarters, left Switch Trench as A and C Companies advanced from Gap Trench. But they also had hardly left their trench when a terrific barrage fell on the advancing line. Nevertheless, led by Major Orr, these com- panies went forward as if on parade. Although all round them shells were bursting and tearing gaps in their line. 1 • These two companies advanced for a distance of about one thousand five hundred yards. " Officers and men falling every minute. The barrage advanced with the line and the further the line advanced the more intense became the barrage." It was 1 p.m. when B and D Companies, with Battalion Head- quarters, arrived in the original front line trench, greatly depleted in numbers. The losses of the whole battalion at this period were as follows : A Company — one officer wounded ; B Com- pany — one officer killed, two wounded ; C Company — the Company Commander and two other officers wounded ; D Company — Company Commander killed and two officers . " The Guards on our right watched us go across and they said that they had never seen a regiment go into action so well ; in fact, they chaffed us and said they thought we were on peace-time training."