Tournai, November 1918

The city of Tournai in western Belgium was occupied by German forces in August 1914. It remained under German occupation for the rest of the war.

With the British advance in October 1918, the Germans lines had fallen back to Tournai. By mid-October the 15th (Suffolk Yeomanry) Bn. Suffolk Regiment were in the line to the east of Orcq, on the outskirts of Tournai, the village being strongly held by machine guns. The British dug their own line of resistance, and the Battalion spent a few days in the trenches followed by similar period in billets. In the latter part of October these were at Marquain, just 2000 yards from the front line. When billeted the Battalion carried on with a certain amount of training with Lewis guns and in gas drill.

A British soldier
demonstrates a
small box respirator

In the early hours of October 29th about 600 gas and high explosive shells fell in Marquain, and the men were required to wear small box respirators. The chief target had been artillery batteries there. Intermittent gas shelling on the front and support lines continued through the day.

On the evening of October 30th the 15th Suffolks were relieved by the 10th Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, and they moved to billets in Haudion, south west of Marquain. 2nd Lieutenant T.B. Minshall 15th Bn. Suffolk Regiment may have come across some old pals at this time, having served with 10th Bn. KSLI in Egypt and Palestine, prior to his Commission and transfer to the Suffolks in December 1917.

The first few days of November were spent in training and working on the line of resistance – at this time Private Charles Sydney Stevens (No. 51856) 15th (Suffolk Yeomanry) Bn. Suffolk Regiment was killed from artillery fire. The Battalion was also sent to the baths at Baisieux on 3/4 November.

Sunshine and Tears

Frank Moore enlisted with the Cheshire Yeomanry in August 1914. Moving from camp at Eccleston near Chester, the Yeomanry arrived in Norfolk in September 1914 to take up coastal defence duties. This time was also occupied with training and Frank unfortunately had a fall from his horse, which hospitalised him for a short time. Whilst recuperating he was interviewed by the Chester Chronicle who published on 24 October 1914 Frank's description of life in camp in Norfolk. In a follow-up letter he wrote somewhat graphically about his experience in the Eastern General Hospital at Cambridge.

Chester Chronicle - Saturday 07 November 1914 LIFE IN A PRESENT-DAY MILITARY HOSPITAL SUNSHINE AND TEARS WOUNDED BELGIANS PLIGHT Trooper F. B. Moore, of the Crescent, Northwich, who is attached to the Cheshire Yeomanry, and has been invalided home consequent upon accident sustained under circumstances described in a recent issue of "The Chronicle," has written for us the following interesting impressions of life in a present-day military hospital. He says; "At 7 a.m. breakfast is served, consisting two eggs per man, with bread and butter and tea. Afterwards some of the men make their beds, and the nurses do it for these who are too badly wounded to do their own. "The hospital orderlies wash up the plates, etc., but are helped considerably by those men who are nearly better. The nurses then begin the dressings. This was my most unpleasant experience. Several men had been so badly hit that they could hardly bear being touched. Yet the nurses had to keep with the good work all the time the poor fellows were screaming. One man had a hole the back of thigh. I saw it myself, and I could have put two fists it easily. He was WOUNDED BY A SHELL bursting behind him. Had to dressed every hour, and it was Iike a murder each time. We ate our meals while it took place. Occasionally some one muttered 'Poor devil,' or 'He’s going through it,' but, as rule, we ate silently. "After dinner, some of the people of Cambridge who owned cars would call at the hospital and take a number out each day for a drive. Each sister of each ward would select a few, and they paraded at 2-30. It was very amusing see us arrayed in the hospital clothes of saxe blue, with all kinds, of coloured dressing gowns put over them. "I would like to mention that the doctors are very kind and spare no pains to make each man thoroughly fit and well. I myself saw a man who had the flesh blown from his leg from the knee to the thigh. His life was given up, and for the short time he was expected to live he had everything asked for. His slightest wish was law. The doctors and nurses between them managed to save his life, but thought the limb would have to be amputated because of gangrene. However, this evil was overcome and his life and leg were saved, and the man is doing famously. His name is Conway, ward 3B. This is only one instance of many marvellous cures. I have seen men there wounded in all manner places. One had bullet which had entered UNDER ONE EYE AND OUT UNDER THE OTHER; another had a bullet through his left ribs and out at the right shoulder. Many were in the legs, and one man had each lip divided by a piece of shell. I also saw a piece shell casing roughly about 2 inches square taken out man’s back. "From my own knowledge and asking each man, I know all these cases are doing splendidly. I watched them improving each day. You would notice a man walk better, another would have a little less bandaging on him, and so on. "I now come to the arrival of 150 wounded Belgians. These poor fellows had been through it from Liege till the fall of Antwerp. I got the hats from two of them, and a prominent Northwich tradesman has them in his window. Several of them could speak French, and I was able to have a little chat with them. One, a gunner, told that he had found his wife and three children murdered. They met their deaths in the burning and sacking of Louvain, and he himself found their mutilated bodies. Another one with tears in his eyes and in the saddest of voices said, "There is "NO BELGIUM NOW!" Others had had sleep for days, and told they did not want to sleep. I was struck by the restless look of some of them. They seemed to be at it again their mind’s eye. You could see that their thoughts were miles away. They are mostly very strongly-built men, and I venture to think that when they do get their own back they’ll get it four-fold. "When the Belgians arrived, we, still in our blue suits, greeted them with a few good old British cheers. We lit cigarettes for them and put them in their mouths, and it was grand to see the look of satisfaction on taking the first whiff. I would that the young fellows who are hanging back could have seen them. It would have stirred their small spark of patriotism into a burning flame, with strong desire to help them to get back what they have lost. "These Belgians think the world of the British soldier, and it was great to see them fraternising round the beds, laughing at the funny attempts explanation, the gesticulations, etc."