May 1916; at the front line of Vimy -
Men of the 8th Battalion Lancashire
Regiment, were taking part in fight
For objective; Broadmarsh Crater.
Time 7.30 p.m. one platoon under
Their Officer, Lieutenant Jones,
Were forced to shelter in defence
Of the gained crater - now cut off.
Having just turned 19, the month
Before, Lieutenant Richard Basil
Brandram Jones, set to encourage
Calm among the trapped platoon.
Young Jones, aged 17, had signed
Up for active Service, commissioned
Up for active Service, commissioned
In Oct 2 1914 - by 1915 Jones
Was in France
as a sniping officer.
In the fight for Vimy the Lancashires
Led by Lieutenant Richard Jones
Had made their way in the thick of
Battle, to
reach Broadmarsh objective.
In the chaos they found themselves
Separated as their own side retaliated;
While retaliation of the enemy's gas
And shells fell thickly all around them.
Then at 7.30 p.m. precisely, the enemy
Set off a mine, forty yards to their right.
A renewed barrage intensified over
The position, increasing their isolation.
All must have seemed against them,
As the men began to feel deserted.
The 19-year-old Lt. Jones, his voice
Lifting, reassured them it was not over.
The looming enemy infantry began
To charge - in the surge of example
Lt. Jones aimed his revolver by count
Of number, shot down enemy numbers.
1 2 3 4 5…15… the mens keen voices
Cheered their officer - now encouraged
They held their ground - when his gun
Clicked empty, Lt. Jones took a bomb.
Holding it as some cricket ball, he
Took a moment - then lifted himself
Up to make a better throw, but fell as
Some stray shot hit him in the head.
With the platoon left to fend alone, they
Did so - to fire and throw bombs until
All were gone - as the enemy charged
They threw ammo cases and stones.
As their numbers
slowly depleted,
The nine that
were left abandoned
Their crater -
leaving the dead and
Lt. Jones, his
body never to be found.
By Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1916. Nine
New V.C.'S - Thrilling War Stories - Lieutenant Richard Basil Brandram Jones
L.N. Lan. R. The Daily Telegraph, [online]
7 August 1916. P.9. Col.2. Available
at:
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12212488/Daily-Telegraph-August-7-1916.html>[Accessed:
8 August 2016].
Source: File: Lieutenant Richard Basil Brandram Jones VC.
Available at:
<http://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/lieutenant-richard-basil-brandram-jones-vc/>
[Accessed 8 August 2016]
Cave, N., 1999. Vimy Ridge. Pen & Sword
Military. Ch. 5
Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems
by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 8 August
2016).
#WW1
#WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone
#worldwaroneremembered #WW1Vimy
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