Name
Frederick Baines
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
23/10/1918
24
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
G/15609
Royal Sussex Regiment
8th Bn
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 (Mons) Star, British War and Victory Medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
HIGHLAND CEMETERY, LE CATEAU
IV. C. 9.
France
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Pirton Village War Memorial, St Mary’s Church Shrine, Pirton, Pirton Methodist Chapel Plaque, Pirton, Pirton School Memorial, 4 Co' Hertfordshire Reg' Territorials’ Memorial, Hitchin, St Mary's Church Roll of Honour (Book), Hitchin
Biography
It seems that he was known as Fred, but he appears as Frederick on the Village memorial and, as that is how they wished him to be remembered, that is how he appears here.
Frederick’s mother was Ruth Baines, the daughter of Edward and Annice Baines (although she appears as Annis and Anice in censuses before 1911). In 1891, aged sixteen, she was working as a general domestic servant in Hornsey, Middlesex. The date that she returned to Pirton is not known, but unmarried she gave birth to Frederick on August 12th 1894 and he was christened in Pirton. Four years later she married Charles Cooper of Pirton and Herbert Clarke, who features in the chapter ‘Should These Men be on Our Memorial’, and his wife Martha were witnesses. As there were four years between the two events it seems unlikely that Charles was Frederick’s father.
In 1901 they were living around Great Green with their three children; Frederick, who the census incorrectly records as Frederick Cooper, and half-siblings Arthur Charles and Dorothy May. By 1911 there were four more children, bringing the total to seven, but in fact one more, who is unnamed, had died(*1).
Frederick went to school in Pirton and when he left he first went to work on local farms before going to Bowman’s corn mill, which is still operating in Ickleford, near Hitchin.
Before the war he, like many of Pirton’s young men, joined the Hitchin Territorials. That was in February 1914 and when war came in August, like the rest of the Pirton men he was keen to fight and enlisted as Private 2365 in the 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment. As the Territorials were already partially trained they would have gone over to France earlier than most other recruits, so it is likely that he saw service with the Hertfordshires, probably in the defence of Ypres. At some later date, as yet unknown, he was transferred to the 8th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, who were one of the pioneer battalions. They were responsible for building many of the trenches along the Western Front, effectively part labour battalion, part fighting force. They supplemented the work of the Royal Engineers, but often operating in very dangerous areas close to the front line. They were trained and equipped as infantry and were required to down tools to fight when necessary.
Although the date when Frederick was transferred is not known, the report of John Parsell’s (another Pirton Biography) death in September 1916 confirms that it must have been before that date. That report quotes from the letter to John Parsell’s mother, which brought the news of his death, and which was written by Ted Goldsmith at the request of Corporal Harry Smith, both Pirton men. Harry seems to have been too affected by the death to write himself. Ted wrote that just before his death, John had been ‘very cheerful having seen Fred Baines and Arthur Odell of the Royal Sussex (other Pirton men, although different battalions) and George Thompson of the ASC (Army Service Corps)’ - all Pirton men. It goes on to confirm that John was killed by a shell and that literally at the time of his death he had been with yet another two Pirton men, George Roberts and Arthur Walker. Both were wounded by the same shell, Arthur later died from his injuries. Frederick was elsewhere by this time, but clearly was close to the action.
The Battalion war diary helps establish Fred’s likely experience of the war and, because we know that he was definitely with the 8th Royal Sussex in September 1916, the diary was examined from the beginning of that month.
Over the first three days they moved from Doullen to Acheaux by bus. They received orders to move to Forceville and then Aveluy Wood, where they bivouacked. The next day they began their manual labour, with various platoons working on Ovillers Road, a tramway extension at Ovillers and the sidings and light railway at Aveluy. Their work included general repairs, maintenance and new build and they remained in this area working in these and other locations until the 22nd. Their experience reads as just hard work until the casualties are listed and awards are mentioned; for example on the 10th, the day that John Parsell died, 1 man was killed and 3 were wounded and on the next day the Corps Commander awarded Military Medals to ten men from the Battalion for ‘gallantry and devotion to duty between the 1st and 14th July 1916’ – that would have been for more than just repairing roads and relaying railway lines!
There were three more medals awarded later in the month and up to the 22nd, when they moved to Headauville, twenty-eight more casualties. Some were due to premature shell explosions, but most were while the men were at rest on the night of the 20th when their camp was shelled; 1 man died and 18 were wounded. They were located at Pioneer Road and their work included cleaning up and repairing the trenches and communications across No Man’s Land.
While the Royal Sussex worked hard, the war diary records that their Division, the 18th, attacked and took Thiepval. This was their intermediate objective, the final one being the German fortified stronghold of the Schwaben Redoubt. This period lasted until October 7th. The orders to the 8th Royal Sussex were: 1) to make cart tracks from Crucifix Corner to Thiepval, 2) maintain the communication trench from Thiepval Avenue to Kilman Street and extend it across No Man’s Land, 3) repair the Authuille to Thiepval Road, and 4) maintain the tram-lines. In the remaining six days of the month another 32 men became casualties, 3 of whom died. The total from September 20th to October 15th was 77, of whom 5 died. They were mostly from shelling but some were from gas attacks.
They then moved to Usna Valley where they stayed until December 20th. Their work was concentrated more on the maintenance and construction of trenches and in this period the number of casualties was 82 men, including 4 killed. They received a large draft of 147 recruits, replacing those lost, and moved on to Le Plessiel where they were billeted, rested and could bathe. There was no work on Christmas Day and a Divisional sports day was organised on Boxing Day.
In 1917, they moved to huts near Aveluy and from there, between January 16th and March 13th they supported operations on the Ancre – the sector near the River Ancre. This was a relatively safe period for the men with only twenty-nine casualties. The more notable events included supporting the attack launched from near Miraumont on Boom Ravine in mid-February, the capture of Irles on March 10th and, between March 14thand 20th, they worked to support the advance as the Germans began their strategic withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line.
In the middle of April they marched to Bully Grenay - the name of the railway station near Grenay village, not far from Lens. Here they worked repairing roads and suffered relatively few casualties until April 24th when, in one incident, 1 man was killed and 15 were wounded. Having noted in the diary that the roads were now in good order, between the 26th and 29th they marched about twenty miles to Pernes, then another twenty-one miles to Lattre St. Quentin - noting that the roads were dusty and the weather hot, and then about twelve miles to a camp south east of Beaurains. They spent a day resting and improvising a camp before starting day shifts on more road repairs.
On May 3rd the 18th Division attacked as part of the Second Battle of Arras. The role of 8th Royal Sussex was to provide and maintain the infrastructure, but the Germans counter attacked so fiercely that they could not work and were ordered to take up positions to prevent the counter-attack spreading. The diary is not clear whether, or how much, they fought, and certainly by the 4th they were back working on roads and digging trenches. This period was hectic and dangerous and it was several days before they could detail the casualties; May 3rd, 6 men wounded, 4th, 1 man wounded, 5th, 4 men killed and 20 wounded, 6th, 9 men wounded and on the 7th, 2 men wounded – a total of 42. Later in the month they moved to a position just South of Mercatel and then to Henin sur Cojeul. They stayed in this general area until June 17th and then marched to Couin, where they rested until the 21st before beginning their journey to Belgium. They moved from Saulty Labret to Hopoutre Station which is south of Poperinge and began work moving Nissen huts, repairing roads and digging trenches and again they were relatively safe with few casualties until the 29th, when 1 man was killed and 11 wounded.
Their diary rapidly becomes a list of names of names where they continued their physically demanding and often dangerous work. Some, such as Yser Canal Bank, which was north of Ypres, are well-known names and can be found on modern maps. Others, such as Virginia Water, Pioneer Farm, Wellington Crescent were named by the army for convenience and security and yet more, such as Shrapnel Corner, were named for self-evident reasons. Generally the casualties are recorded in twos and threes, but the entries are occasionally punctuated with more depressing numbers; July 31st 45 casualties, including 2 killed and 2 more who died of their wounds; August 8th, 7 casualties, with 1 killed and 1 dying later of his wounds; August 12th, 9 wounded and so it continued.
Sometimes, even when resting, they were not free of danger. In September they were given rest in Poperinge, which was well behind the front lines, but the shelling reached even there, and when a shell exploded, 5 men were wounded and another was recorded as missing - there may have been no remains left to find. They moved to Nortkerque where they were given a prolonged period of rest and training - presumably required due to the intense work and the conditions in which they had been operating. When reading the war diaries, especially when the casualties are named, which in unusual, it seems wrong not to record the men, but the purpose of this book is to document the men of Pirton, not the history and detail of their Battalion. Given the numbers of casualties named it would be impossible for Frederick not to have known at least some of them – he probably knew many of them. Although there is no evidence, he surely must have seen horrific injuries and death and probably he too experienced ‘close calls’.
Their experience in Belgium to November 1917 was as part of the Third Battle of Ypres, when the British Army tried to break out of the salient which they had been defending since 1914. The Royal Sussex and Frederick were operating to support that bloody action. What is missing from the description given in the war diaries are details of the conditions in which they had to work. The fact that the soldiers knew this as the Battle of Mud speaks volumes. In early August, the worst rainfall for thirty years came, it turned the soil into a quagmire and eventually the mud was so deep that men and horses drowned and were lost. The simple descriptions of Frederick’s work, such as repairing roads, digging trenches or simply erecting huts is completely inadequate.
They remained in Belgium operating from Murat Camp, Turco Huts and Cambridge Camps, all for fairly extended periods. This ended on February 5th 1918 when they, and the entire 18th Division, moved back to France to the area around Noyon, Oise and then, later in the month, to Autreville, where they began general works on the defensive line. On the 28th the Battalion were warned to ‘Prepare for an attack’. The 8th Royal Sussex Companies were ordered into various reserves, but later that day the word came ‘Practice over – resume normal condition’. It is not clear whether this was a routine practice (no previous examples were seen in the diary), but around this time it was becoming clear to the British Army that the Germans were planning an offensive.
In March they moved to Vieville Wood near Remigny and began routine work, improving camps and shelters, digging infantry posts and cable trenches. This continued until the 20th when they were ordered to prepare to take up battle positions. The next day the Germans launched their Spring Offensive. The Royal Sussex were moved around the area to positions where they might be needed and, but for the odd note, such as ‘repulsed attack at dusk,’ the ferocity and success of the German attack might go unnoticed, at least until the list of casualties is found; between the 21st and the 28th, 98 men were wounded, 8 killed and 9 missing. Four of those wounded died of their wounds within this period. Toughened through their experiences and shear hard work they also proved themselves in battle.
In April, while the chaos caused by the Spring Offensive continued, the 8th Royal Sussex were moved back to repair roads and keep the men and supplies moving. The Germans over-reached their supply lines and the attack, although initially hugely successful, petered out. As it did so the casualty rate in Frederick’s Battalion eased and what was considered normality returned. They spent most of May around Baisieux, June and half of July at Hénencourt and Warley and then they moved to Crouy. On July 31st they moved again, to the area around Heilly, then Contay and back to Hénencourt around mid-August. At the end of the month the diary records them working in the areas of Mametz Wood and Trones Wood, both the subject of terrible and famous battles earlier in the war, which the British lost. But now the Allied forces were planning their own offensive, one which would eventually, lead to the end of the war.
The war diary and its appendices reflect the effort and planning which was going in to the preparations for the offensive, with pages and pages of secret orders. The 8th Royal Sussex had their own role; one Company was to build tracks ’suitable for horse transport, as soon after ZERO as possible.’; two Companies were in the Divisional Reserve to ‘reconnoitre, and repair, main traffic lines through ALBERT and ALBERT – La-BOISELLE – CONTALMAISON, and the ALBERT – BECORDEL roads, as ordered.’
The offensive was launched as planned on August 8th and Frederick’s Battalion did what they were called upon to do. Following a frantic start, they settled to a hard slog: sometimes working to improve trenches and shelters, but more commonly filling in shell holes, clearing roads of debris (and probably worse) and generally repairing, maintaining and constructing roads and tracks to keep the supplies and men moving. In September, while the work was much the same, the workload appeared to have eased. However, the handwriting changes so it is possible that the new writer was just being a bit more circumspect. There are some more routine items mentioned, such as inspections of clothing, rifles, box respirators (gas masks) and also foot inspections, which would be indicative of very damp conditions. Other more unpleasant duties were also recorded; six hours spent digging graves and collecting and burying the dead men and dead horses on the 10th and the same again for the following four days. Between the 11th and 14th they collected and buried 33 British soldiers, 26 Germans and 24 horses or what was left of them - some may have been lying dead for weeks if not months.
At the end of September the Battalion moved to Combles and to what again seems to be a quiet time. Elsewhere the army was fighting and in September and October the Germans were pushed back and the battles of the Hindenburg Line, the German’s last line of defence, were fought. After their period away from the front line, Frederick’s Battalion returned to the forward area. On the October 8th by bus and route march, they moved from Vandencourt to St. Emilie and were soon back to normal duties.
The final advance was getting close and the front line troops advanced in Picardy between the October 17th and the 25th 1918, in the Battle of the Selle. Meanwhile the 8th Battalion was working in companies in the area around Le Cateau. On the 23rd, the date of Frederick’s death “A” and “B” Companies were clearing and repairing roads and “C” Company was clearing mud from roads and filling in a mine crater. There is no mention of shelling or any other event during their work, but the diary records the names of the casualties on that day; 8 men were wounded and 10 men died, one of them being 15609. PTE Baines F.
According to the Hertfordshire Express report on December 28th 1918, Second Lieutenant G Bannell wrote to Mr and Mrs Cooper, telling them of Frederick’s death ‘he was killed in his sleep by a direct shell’ . . . ‘with several of his chums’. There was a night battle going on at the time so whether they were asleep is perhaps debatable, but at least in this case death was probably instant and not just kind words written to give comfort to the men’s nearest and dearest.
‘Direct hit’ or not, his body was found and buried close to where he died. Later, after the war, he was moved the Highland Cemetery, which is half a mile or so from Le Cateau and that is where his body now lies. It is both poignant and appropriate that the men whose names are listed next to his in the war diary lie either side of him; two of the ‘chums’ he died with.
The Highland Cemetery lies at the top of a gentle rising hill alongside a busy ‘B’ road. The town can be seen in the distance at the bottom of the hill and fields lie on three sides. It contains the bodies of 624 men, 560 of whom are named.
(*1) Frederick Cooper (b 1894). Half-siblings; Arthur Charles (b 1898), Dorothy May (b 1900), Ernest (b 1903), George (b 1905), Annie (b 1908) and Frank (b 1910).
Additional Information
Text from the book: The Pride of Pirton
Acknowledgments
The Pride of Pirton book – www.pirton.org.uk/prideofpirton Chris Ryan / Tony French / Jonty Wild
