Devonshire Cemetery in Mansell Copse - Somme Battlefield

1st July 1916, the 9th Devons, followed by the 8th Devons, [ 7th Divi ] were given the task of attacking German trenches below the fortified village of Mametz and in the direction of Fricourt. After leaving their assembly trench, the Devons were protected from the machine gun at the Shrine by the high bank on which Mansell Copse stood. Their route between the main road and the copse left them exposed to enfilade fire (i.e. fire that could rake a position from end to end) from the machine gun. This sector of the British front line was one of the few places where the German lines were overlooked. The British trenches ran along the top of a small hill and then down to Mansel Copse before going off at the end of the copse to slope down the hill at an angle and cross a main road. The front line trench occupied by the Devons ran behind Mansel Copse which was located on a long bank of chalk. The ground on the enemy side of the copse sloped down the road connecting Albert to Peronne. The Devons front line trench had been battered by German shelling before the attack so their start line was an assembly trench about 250 yards up the hill. Before the attack, one of the Company Commanding Officers, Captain D. L. Martin, had forecast that a machine gun, placed in the Mametz village cemetery by the enemy, could cause heavy casualties. Unfortunately, there was a machine gun in that very spot (called The Shrine') and it had survived the heavy bombardment which had preceded the attack. As the 9th Devons came past Mansel Copse into the valley along which they had to make their attack, they were caught by the machine gun fire. They did get into the German trenches but their attack was exhausted their attack though the 8th Devons were able to follow through and consolidate their gains. The Padre, Rev Crosse wrote to a wounded officer My Dear Babe, So our game of tennis will have to wait for a bit - never mind, the result was worth the delay....The Total loss is heavy. Martin, Hodgson, Holcroft, Rayner, Riddell, Adamson, Hirst, Shepherd have all gone to their long home...Nearly all the casualties were just by the magpies nest. I buried all I could collect in our front line trench. This was on the 4th of July. and it became The Devonshire Cemetery which contains 163 graves from the 8th and 9th Devons plus two RA men. Hodgson had written the following poem. BEFORE ACTION By William Noel Hodgson (&, x201c;Edward Melbourne&, x201d;) By all the glories of the day, And the cool evening&, x2019;s benison: By the last sunset touch that lay Upon the hills when day was done: By beauty lavishly outpoured, And blessings carelessly received, By all the days that I have lived, Make me a soldier, Lord. By all of all men&, x2019;s hopes and fears, And all the wonders poets sing, The laughter of unclouded years, And every sad and lovely thing: By the romantic ages stored With high endeavour that was his, By all his mad catastrophes, Make me a man, O Lord. I, that on my familiar hill Saw with uncomprehending eyes A hundred of Thy sunsets spill Their fresh and sanguine sacrifice, Ere the sun swings his noonday sword Must say good-bye to all of this:&, x2014; By all delights that I shall miss, Help me to die, O Lord. 1st July 1916, the 9th Devons, followed by the 8th Devons, [ 7th Divi ] were given the task of attacking German trenches below the fortified village of Mametz and in the direction of Fricourt. After leaving their assembly trench, the Devons were protected from the machine gun at the Shrine by the high bank on which Mansel Copse stood. Their route between the main road and the copse left them exposed to enfilade fire (i.e. fire that could rake a position from end to end) from the machine gun. This sector of the British front line was one of the few places where the German lines were overlooked. The British trenches ran along the top of a small hill and then down to Mansell Copse before going off at the end

Adamson Babe Battered Blessings Bombardment Buried Carelessly Casualties Catastrophes Cause Chalk Collect Commanding Connecting Consolidate Copse Crosse Dear Delay Delights Devons Devonshire Divi Done Endeavour Exhausted Exposed Familiar Fears Follow Forecast Fortified Fricourt Gains Glories Hirst Hodgson Holcroft Hopes Laughter Lavishly Lived Loss Magpies Mametz Mansel Mansell Maur Melbourne Mind Msfb16 Noonday Overlooked Padre Peronne Plus Poem Poets Preceded Protected Quot Rake Rayner Result Riddell Sacrifice Sanguine Sector Sheil Shelling Shrine Slope Sloped Somme Spill Stored Sunsets Survived Swings Task Wonders Worth Wrote X2019 X201c X201d Yards

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