1/4th Seaforth Highlanders move south to the Somme area; attacks on High Wood; Reggie meets Donald

1/4th Seaforth Highlanders move from the Arras area south to the Somme. They are involved in attacks on High Wood just a few miles from where Donald is fighting in the Battle of Delville Wood with the South African Scottish.

  • 4 July
    Billets in Étrun
  • 10 to 13 July
    Trenches in L1 sector
  • 13 July
    Relieved by the 2/23rd London Regiment and marched to Louez

  • 14 July
    Louez
  • 15 July
    Villers-Brûlin
  • 16 July
    Le Souich
  • 17 July
    Prouville
  • 20 July
    Robert Graves wounded at High Wood fighting with the 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers
  • 21 July
    Méaulte
  • 23 July
    1 & 4 companies moved into support of the 4th Gordon Highlanders in High Wood. At 9.30pm 2 & 3 companies relieved the 4th Gordons 
  • 24 July
    1 & 3 companies relieved front line of 5th Division
    Attempted raid on German line at S.4.b failed due to unforeseen circumstances
  • 25 July
    Line pushed forward during the day in the wood
    Empty concrete M.G. emplacement occupied without opposition. Captured 1 M.G.
    Established a post near the M.G. emplacement which came under shell fire. Lt. Phillips killed
    Attack on N.E. corner of High Wood under Lt.Ross failed completely. Lt. Ross killed.
  • 26 July
    Quiet day in the wood
    Relieved by 9th Battalion Black Watch 
    No.3 company under heavy fire on way out near Mametz Wood
    Bivouac at Méaulte
  • 27 to 31 July
    Méaulte
    The 1/4th Seaforth Highlanders won the Brigade Tug-o’-War competition on the 29th

Over the 5 days that the 1/4th Seaforth Highlanders were in action in High Wood, they suffered casualties as follows:-

Killed Wounded Missing
2/Lt. Ross Capt. R.H.H. Hill  
2/Lt. Phillips 2/Lt Clark  
  2/Lt Mills  
  2/Lt Addison (at duty)  
  2/Lt Cowan  
16 ORs 161 ORs 9 ORS

It is very possible that Reggie met Donald in Méaulte around this time. In Reggie’s memoirs he recalls  :-

We met again by sheer luck, he [Donald] just out from the Hell of Delville Wood, I from Townes Wood ½ a mile away. Those two woods were not comfy places for a quiet stroll.

I think that, in fact, Reggie was not in Townes (actually, Trônes) Wood. As described above, he had been at High Wood with the 1/4th Seaforth Highlanders between 22nd and 26th July. High Wood is only a 1.5 miles away from Delville Wood and 2 miles from Trônes Wood. They had both been in the vicinity of Méaulte on the 22nd/23rd July 1916.