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Key dates over April 1916

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Lives lost on this day: 15

5th April 1916 - 9th Battalion attack enemy front line

Rolling Casualty Count: 2863

At the Front:

2nd Batt: B and C Coys and the 1st 6th Scottish Rifles relieved the 16th KRR in Cuenchy Right Section. B was in support and C was in centre front line.

4th Batt: Batt Reserve training of 2 extra teams for Lewis guns commenced, also extra bomber and snipers. There is a very good field canteen at Leuvencourt.

9th Batt: Soon after midnight, preparations for the attack began. In the 39th Brigade, the 9th North Staffs were in the front line, 9th Royal Warwicks and 9th Worcs were in the 3rd line. Attack was at 5.00pm, when troops scrambled over the parapets in silence and into enemy front line. This was a successful surprise attack and the objective was easily taken.

The Worcs pushed into enemy 4th and 5th trenches. Four officers and 30 men were casualties.

On the Home Front:

The Budget - The first comment on Mr McKenna's budget statement was offered by the Labour Party and was to the effect that 'We are determined with all other classes in the community to bear our share of the burden necessary to win the war and to assist the government by all means in our power to secure victory for the allies'. Mr Wardle then protested against the tax on matches. Mr McKenna made no further attack on the three T's Trade, Tea and Tobacco, and no-one found fault with the cocoa and sugar tax. The railway ticket tax seems likely to meet with the most objection as facilities have been curtailed, cheap fares discontinued and few people now travel for pleasure.

Rev MacRae at home

The Rev J E MacRae, Rector of All Saints is home on short leave from the Front where he has been Chaplain for the past five months. He had a busy day on Sunday, addressing the soldiers at their special Cathedral Service at 9.30 and he spoke at the morning, afternoon and evening services at his own church on his experiences within the sound of the guns. He thanked his people who allowed him to go to the firing line five months ago for their generosity and kindness to him. He said that the first thing a chaplain had to do was be cheery as people there wanted to be cheered up and secondly he must be the servant of all. As to the religion out there he could assure them that it was absolutely real. He did not say that we had an army of saints, but it was an army of heroes. He then went on to describe services at the front, which may take part in a barn, a farmyard or an orchard, with a limit of 20 minutes a time.

Information researched by the WWW100 team.