HLI Chronicle 1915 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND LIGHT INJj'.i\.NTRY CHRGNICLE. 6~
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Wyndham Halswelle. None leaves a greener, 1: there.. The trench was not very deep, and.
serener memory. "Killed in action" the one could not walk upright with safety at
casualty list harshly announced. TJ:l.e French certain parts. Ten yards away from where I
have a finer way of expressing it. The soul of
honour, he has died" on the field of honour."
lay the Captain was .struck. His head had.
shown above the trench in walking, and ..a
We who scanned the lists anxiously from day sniper got him about the temple. He dropped
to day were disquieted. 1\lons, the Marne, unconscious immediately. Stretcher-bearers
the Aisne, and Ypres came, and Halswelle's were signalled for, and he was carried back to
fellow-officers withered away amid the conflict.
It seemed as if he were the only man -Edinhurgh Evening Dispatch, 15th May~
hospital, but he died half an hour afterwards.'~
to have escaped. Small wonder if he some­
1915.
times dreaded what might have seemed like
the approach of doom. But if he did, his
apprehension was not made apparent.
It was a man of his own Company-" A "
Company-who told the story of the last few
days of the gallant Captain's life-days, during
which he never ceased to cheer the hearts
of his men by his fine soldierly encouragement
and example on the eve of one of the most
critical moves of the campaign.
Captain Halswelle was an officer who got
right to the heart of his men. It is hackneyed
to say he was a popular officer, but he was I
everything that that often formal phrase
can be held to mean. "He was the best
officer in the Battalion," remarked the soldier
in question, with all a soldier's jealous desire
to uphold the man who enjoys his confidence.
" The men would follow him anywh,ere. And
it was always a case of following. I When h'8
led us out for a run in the old days at Gosport ~
it was a case o~ followi1!-g a long way behind! \'
I never 'saw hIm cheerIer than before Neuve .
Chapelle. We knew we were in for a big
thing, and when the time came for us to advance,
after our artillery had finished with the \
Germans, we followed him eagerly forward. \
"The air was thick with shrapnel and
machine gun fire, and we had not gone very
far before Captain Iralswelle was hit about the
forehead. 'It's not much,' he told one of the
lieutenants.. '~t's just a scratqh:' Bu~ he
was bleeding freely, and he was advised to get
back and have the wound dressed. He ran
back to the ·first-aid post; apparently hoping
to get a bandage on his head and return to the
fight. But the doctor kept him. He seemed
to have been hit by a piece of shrapnel, but
it had only grazed his .head. He did npt
reappear that day or the next, but he was
able to lead us back to the trenches a week
later, after our .rest.
" It was on the morning of the .second day
back in the trenches that he was killed. He
and Lieutenant Henderson were c'oming walking
along the trench, giving directions here and
ACCOUNT OF THE FIGHTING AT NEUVE
CHAPELLE.
COMPILED FROM LETTERS RECEIVED FROM
CAPTAIN·W. HALSWELLE, 1ST BN., H.L.I.
WE left our rather comfortable billets on the
7th with rumours of an advance by the Indian
corps, and marched some seven miles to --,
and to -- on the 11th, where the Germans
were trying to find one of our batteries with
high explosives,. They pitched them within
50 yards all round, and uncomfortably near
the cottages we were billeted in. We stayed
there from about 10 a.m. till 7 p.m. The
attack by the Indian corps had been very
successful, and had carried on beyond Neuve
Chapelle. There had been a tremendous
artillery bombardment of the front German
. trenches, which were carJ'.wd very easily,
though we had got fairly heavily· shelled
getting through the village. About 7 p.m.
on the 11th we left to take over some
trenches beyond the village, and, though there
was shelling all the way, no one was hurt.
We reached the village, where we found the
4th Seaforths, from whom we were to take
over. With some difficulty we found an
officer; and the C.O., Adjutant, and I went
with him to see the trenches. We were told
we had a whole line' of Gurkhas in front.
We got into the trenches, and proceeded to
dig and improve them. -The line of Gurkhas
was in front of us, and 150 yards in front of
them an unoccupied' trench, and in front
again about 150 yards a wood-the Bois de
Biez--occupied by the Germans. I was sent
for about 10-30 a.m. on the 12th inst., and told
that an attack was to be made at 11 a.m.,
and that " A" and ,r B" Companies would
lead, "C" and "D" following 300 yards
behind. At 10-45 the order came round that
the attack was postponed till 1 p.m. There
had been a tremendous artillery bombardment,
"and it seemed wonderful that anything could
live in the wood. About 11-15 a party of