Headstones from Martinpuich Cemetery, Martinpuich, France: for J. Reid of the Royal Field Artillery, died October 6, 1916, and R.E. Bullows of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, died November 11, 1916. Martinpuich was in the Somme sector. © 2013 John M. Shea
54766 DriverJ. ReidRoyal Field Artillery6th October 1916Known to be Buried in this Cemetery3009 Lance Cpl.R.E. BullowsRoyal Warwickshire Rgmt.11th November 1916 Age 22Greater love hath no man than this
"Why are tired men given no better resting-place than this half-flooded claypit? Why does our Army now leave its dead lying about anyhow? Why does it now leave its wounded in its midst behind, or bring them out only under lethal threats? Why are men being flung against an enemy in these appalling weather conditions?—and with with far less method than our shells are flung. Were we not told a month ago of the German line having been driven in so far that its flanks must be pulled back? — it doesn't look like breaking. Our total casualties these six days are 150."
Extract from the entry for November 8, 1916 from the writings — diaries, letters, and memoirs — of Captain J.C. Dunn, Medical Officer of the Second Battalion His Majesty's Twenty-Third Foot, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and fellow soldiers who served with him. The Battalion was then serving in the Somme sector, on the British right. In the preceding days Dunn's unit had been strafed by airplanes and soaked by rain. Unable to sleep, Dunn dried his clothes, cursed, and asked his questions.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 280, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
1916-11-08, 1916, November, Somme, Battle of the Somme
