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Herbert William Preen was born in Church Stretton, Shropshire in 1891. He was the Son of Charles and Mary Preen (nee Gough) and he was also my Great Great Uncle. Herbert was born at Buxton Cottage at All Stretton - just outside Church Stretton on September 10th 1891. He was educated at St Laurences School in Church Stretton and after leaving scholl he worked for a Mr A Hanbury-Sparrow. There is an odd connection with the Sparrows and The Preens that entwine over the decades. Church Preen is a small hamlet near Chruch Stretton - and I assume this is where Herbert's side of my family took their name from. There is a large english manor house and hall in Church Preen, not suprisingly Called "Preen Hall". Whilst looking at the list of owners of Preen Hall when I visited the place, the name of Sparrow came across many imes as owners. So some centuries before the Sparrow and Preen family connection was apparent. After working for Mr Hanbury-Sparrow, Herbert worked on the railways for the L & NW railway (London and north Western Railway) at Abergavenny in Wales - he was the Head Brakesman. Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914 - less than two weeks later Herbert had joined the 1/3rd Monmouthshires - until recently it had been a puzzle why Herbert had joined the Monmouthshires (having lived some distance away in Shropshire - but now I have found out he worked in the area, joining with his "Pals" on the railways seems logical. Herbert served with the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in France from January 1915. He was promoted to Sgt in November 1915 - a month before he died. His Commanding Officer, Captain L.D. Whitehead wrote: That they (the 1/3rd) had been four months without a casualty. Then in the last hour at camp before leaving for a month's rest the Germans had fired 4 large shells. Causing 71 Casualties. Sadly Herbert was one of those Casualties and suffered terrible head wounds. He died a few hours later without ever regaining consciousness. |
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Herbert joined the Monmouthshire Regiment at the outbreak of war. Monmouth is a area of Wales which borders Shropshire - where Herbert was brought up (along with My Great Gran). The Monmouthshire Regiment had been formed in 1908 as the Territorial Army unit for the county and was made up of three Battalions drawn from different areas of the county. Abergavenny was the headquarters of the 3rd Battalion (“3rd Mons”) which included two companies from Abertillery, one each from Blaina, Sirhowy, Tredegar, Ebbw Vale and Cwm and one company from Abergavenny. War broke out on August 4th 1914 and the order to mobilise the 3rd Mons was received at 6.10 p.m. on the same day. Throughout the night of the 4th, the companies from the various towns and villages mustered and caught trains to Abergavenny and the whole battalion gathered outside the Market Hall at dawn on August 5th. Later, they marched on to Bailey Park, where they were given tea.
Late that night, the battalion travelled by train to Pembroke Dock where they joined up with the rest of the Welsh Border Brigade - the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment and the 1st Herefords. They stayed at Pembroke Dock for four days before being moved to Oswestry to complete their training. By August 31st, the whole brigade had been billeted in Northampton.
In November, after a fortnight digging trenches in East Anglia, the battalion was ordered to prepare for service in India. On November 18th, their Indian equipment arrived - duly followed by the cancellation of the original order! The Battalion returned to East Anglia and spent Christmas there before being transferred to Cambridge on January 10th, 1915. It was now reorganised into four double companies (Companies A, B, C and D) of about 200 men each.
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At the end of January, orders were received for service in Flanders and the battalion sailed from Southampton on the S.S. "Chyabassa" on the night of February 14th, 1915. Wulverghem
After a gruelling journey by train and forced march, the battalion reached billets at Steenworde. Here they were to stay for the next ten days for their final training in the techniques of trench warfare. A detachment of 40 men under Lieutenant Lancaster was sent to Ypres to join up with men from the 1st Battalion to form a new unit - the 171st Tunnelling Company which first saw service at the infamous "Hill 60".
Meanwhile, having been transported to Bailleul (ironically this is the place where the NMBS stayed in 2006 - 91 years after Herbert had stayed in Bailleul, his Great Great Nephew stayed in the same village) in a fleet of 100 London omnibuses, the rest of the unit was posted to the 83rd Brigade of the 28th Division under the overall command of Major General Bulfin on March 6th.
Casualties between April 22nd-May 8th had been horrendous. Of the 1020 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion the Monmouthshire Regiment who had arrived in France in February 1915, only 134 were left alive on the morning of May 10th. On May 14th, what was left of the battalion was moved to the village of Winnezeele in France for a period of rest and re-organisation.
The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment had also been virtually wiped out at Ypres and, on May 22nd, orders were received for the remains of the three battalions to amalgamate under the command of Major W. S. Bridge.
On May 24th, the Germans launched a fresh bombardment and infantry attack on Ypres and the battalion again found itself in the front line - this time at the infamous "Hellfire Corner". They were relieved the following day and returned to Vlamertinghe. They were joined by the 2nd Monmouths on May 27th and the official amalgamation of the battalions took place on May 28th. |
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Dickebusch and Kemmel
By June 12th, the amalgamated regiment was back in the front line - this time at Bois Carre near Dickebusch to the south of Ypres. Here they remained until June 19th. The battalion history records that "this part of the line was a pleasant change, but was unfortunately not free from casualties". Before they were relieved, the regiment had lost 7 killed and 32 wounded, mostly during severe shelling of B Company on June 17th. The regiment had two more spells in the front line before leaving this area, from June 26th-July 3rd and July 11th-14th. Fortunately, casualties were lighter - 2 killed and 8 wounded.
On July 19th, the battalion were sent for the first of two tours in the front line at Kemmel - July 19th-22nd and July 28th-August 2nd. Here the regiment took part in the successful counter-mining of a German mine directly under the front line. On August 2nd Capt. Walbeoffe-Wilson, who had only joined the battalion on July 26th, was shot through the head as he peered over the parapet. The regiment was then relieved and marched to billets at Locre.
On July 5th the first steps had been taken to reform the original three battalions of the regiment. The 2nd Monmouths were detached on July 24th and the 1st and 3rd Battalions parted company on August 11th. The newly re-formed 3rd Mons were organised into four new companies under Lt. J. M. Jones, Capt. H. G. Tyler, Lt. L. D. Whitehead and Lt. H.A.Hodges. They were also re-attached to the 83rd Brigade and returned to the front line at Kemmel on August 22nd-28th.
On September 2nd, the 3rd Mons received orders to join the 49th Division as one of the new Pioneer Battalions.
The Yser Canal
During 1915, it became clear that the digging of fire trenches and communication trenches and the construction of light railways and bridges required specialist skills and knowledge and that there was a need for specialised units to do this work who were also fully trained infantrymen. It was soon recognised that units raised in mining areas had all the necessary experience and skill to fulfil this role and so the idea of the Pioneer Battalions took shape. All three battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment became the pioneer battalions for their respective divisions.
At the beginning of September 1915, the 3rd Mons were sent to the Yser Canal front just north of Ypres. They set up their battalion headquarters in Elverdinghe Chateau which stood among a largely undamaged forest of "splendid oaks".
The canal and the front line were below sea level in this area and flooding and mud was a constant problem. The battalion set about the construction of a series of drainage ditches to ease the problem. On September 21st, B and D companies moved out from the chateau grounds to "Dunbarton Dug-outs" on the west bank of the canal and started work. A and C companies remained at Elverdinghe and the two groups relieved each other every six days.
Work was carried out at night and the conditions were terrible. The Germans occupied Pilckhem Ridge to the east and the whole area was constantly shelled and swept by machine-gun fire. To cross the canal, soldiers had to use small temporary foot bridges, described by the battalion's historians as "very unhealthy, as they were open to enfilading machine-gun and shell fire from the German positions". There was a constant stream of casualties. Added to this, the ground was boggy; men often sank up to their waists in mud and had to spend weeks in wet clothing in bitter cold without hot food.
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| Herbert's Final resting place - Ferme Olivier Cemetery, Near Ypres - Belgium.
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On the morning of December 19th, the chateau and canal came under heavy shell fire followed closely by a gas attack. All four companies moved into the trenches to reinforce the front line against the expected German attack. The attack never came but the battalion was shelled all day and all the following night and had 40 men killed or wounded. Lance-Corporal Dixon and Private Moore were later awarded the D.C.M. for rescuing wounded men and bringing them in through wrecked trenches and over the rickety wooden bridges across the canal.
On December 27th, the battalion was taken out of the front line and received orders to leave the Yser Canal. At 2.30 p.m. on December 29th, the whole battalion paraded in the grounds of Elverdinghe Chateau prior to moving out. As the men fell in, "an ominous sound was heard, like an oncoming railway train" and 17 inch shells began to burst among the ranks. In a few seconds, 39 men were killed and 30 wounded. Among the dead were many of the men who had survived the slaughter of Ypres. Herbert William Preen was one of those 39 killed by the German shell attack. Herbert was 23 when he died.
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The cemetery was used continuously between 9 June 1915 and 5 August 1917, with the 62nd, 16th, 9th, 11th, 129th and 130th Field Ambulances successively having dressing stations close by. Throughout this period, the village was just within range of the German artillery. The cemetery contains 408 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 6 of which are unidentified, and three German war graves. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield. |
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Above is part of the last letter Herbert ever wrote home. Herbert was killed on 29.12.1915 - the date on this letter was 27.12.1915 and ironically was postmarked 29.12.1915. The letter was written to his sisters - Flo (Florence, my Great Great aunt) and "Ciss" (the nick name he gave my Great Grandmother) Below is a transcript of his last letter home..... My dear Flo and Ciss I hope that this will find you both in the best of health as this leaves me. I have been having a pretty hairy time as the Germans have been using gas - but they had a warmer time than they expected! We are on our way from the front for a good rest, so I will be able to write to you often. Not heard from Will neither from Leon (This is Leonard, My Great Granfather - who also was serving at Ypres and died as a result of being gassed by the Germans - although he died some years after the war because of the complications the gas attack had on his lungs.) but I pressume that they are both keeping well. I will write to them as I have their address. I have just received your letters, thanks very much for the cards and also the good wishes. I hope that you both have a happy new year. What sort of xmas did you have? I expect it was very quiet with everyone around Ironbridge (The part of Shropshire where he lived) but hope it will be over by next xmas. Please remember me to Mr & Mrs Wright and Mr & Mrs Jones and all at home and to Patty and her husband. I have not heard from them. It is a lovely day today - it does not seem like xmas weather. I hope that it will continue fine for the sake of those who have taken our place in the line (front line). I hope that little Gwennie and babs are both well and give them my love. I don't think I have anymore for this letter, so I will close with my dearest love to the both of you. I will close. I remain your ever loving Brother. Herbert xxxxxx |
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Finding information and details of Herbert became a quest for me. I had my first chance to see his Grave as I travelled to The Somme. The Cemetery is just outside Ypres and on the way down towards the V2 sites we visited. Below are pictures of me laying flowers that I had brought from Manchester at Herbert's Grave. It was pleasing to see that (as always) the CWGC had kept the Cemetery immaculate. Herbert was buried with his friends who died that day in December 1915. Like Kevin before me when he visited Tommy Stubbs Grave in Holland it was a moving and proud moment for me. |
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Not content with just visiting Herbert's Grave near Ypres, I had to visit his birth town and the place where he grew up. I had to see the War Memorial with his name on. Church Stretton is in Shropshire - the country where my Mum's family come from on her mum's side. They were based around Ironbridge, Church Stretton and the small villages around like Church Preen and All Stretton. Below are the two memorials where Herbert is mention. The top one with the cross is the main one in Church Stretton and his name is listed on the granite block the cross is raised upon, a picture of his name surrounded by poppies is below too. I went the weekend after Rememberence Sunday. The bottom two pictures are of the memorial at All Stretton, the little hamlet where Herbert lived (Church Stretton is about 2 miles away and is the main town). Sadly the memorial is in stark contrast to the care that Church Stretton's (or 99% of the countries memorials are) It was a forgotton memorial, no flowers, no poppies and little care. The only nice thing about this memorial is that his name was scribed in beautiful slate. |
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I really want to thank Mr Martyn Gibson for all his help and support he has given me with helping find, locate and just understand the Life and Death of Herbert Preen. I will always be in debt to his help and I hope that I can repay the favour one day. Martyn's wonderful website is listed below. |
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Martyn Gibson's wonderful factual and historical site. Use link below. |
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