Bertie's War

Bertie was born on 9 November 1986 in St Anne’s, Lancashire. He was the eldest of four
siblings (two sisters and one brother). His father, William, was a caretaker at the local school,
who made extra money by collecting horse manure from the street and selling it (presumably as
fertiliser). His mother, Alice, worked in the kitchen of a boarding house. Although Bertie came
from a very modest working class background, he was able to attend King Edward VII
Grammar School in Lytham by obtaining a scholarship. There is no way his family could have
afforded to send him to school without one.

Bertie did very well in school; the family still has his school report cards from 1910-12, and he
performed well in every subject! After graduating from school, he joined The Oakfield
Manufacturing Company as a salesman. Just three years later, at the age of 19, he would
volunteer to fight in the First World War.

Bertie’s War:
1917:
Following the war, Bertie never spoke of his war experiences with his family. All he would share
with the family was that he was up to his waist in mud on his 21st birthday, and that he was
gassed on two separate occasions.

Thankfully, Bertie’s war records are relatively well-preserved, so we can get a clearer picture of
his time in service.

Bertie volunteered for the Armed Forces on 1 April 1915 and, after completing training, officially
joined the British Expeditionary Forces on 17 June 1916. Bertie joined the Duke of Lancaster’s
Own Yeomanry, which was predominantly a cavalry unit. We know that he loved horses, so this
no doubt influenced his choice of unit. However, due to the conditions at the Western Front,
cavalry units were becoming obsolete. The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry were assigned
to France in May 1917, and began training as infantry units, which eventually became the 12th
(DLOY) Manchester Bn.

The 12th (DLOY) Manchester Bn. was sent to the frontline at Passchendaele on 9 November
1917, the day of Bertie’s 21st birthday. Passchendaele was notorious for its horrendous
conditions; the fighting was fierce and the land became so boggy and waterlogged that the only
way to move around was by using narrow paths made out of wooden duckboards. Men who fell
from the narrow path often became stuck in the mud and drowned.

As the war had now been raging for three years, the German forces were now throwing
everything they had at the Allied lines: artillery, gas, and warplanes, all of which Bertie
experienced on his 21st birthday. As we can see from the day-by-day reports written by the
commander of the 12th (DLOY) Manchester Bn. (all of which are available online), Bertie and
his friends in B Company came under heavy artillery fire and sustained many casualties on 9 November 1917. C Company was the worst hit: late in the evening of 9 November, German
infantry stormed the C Company’s positions, capturing and killing many. On the left flank, while
Bertie was waist deep in mud, 20 German planes strafed their positions with machine guns,
shooting flares to mark targets for the artillery bombardment. The artillery rained down all night
and continued for several days. Conditions were so bad that mud clogged up the British rifles
and rendered them useless. The commander called up additional machine guns to account for
the loss of rifle fire.

This bombardment continued for several days, until the Battalion was pulled out on 14
November. On the journey back from the frontline, the Battalion was shelled heavily by gas in
the support lines, and warplanes fired at the narrow duckboards with machine guns and bombs.
Once finally off the line, there were many reports of trenchfoot, as the men had spent so many
days in the waterlogged mud.

Through December and over Christmas, the 12th (DLOY) spent their time reinforcing British
positions to prepare for a predicted German offensive.

1918:
Due to the heavy losses sustained by the 12th Manchester (DLOY) Bn. in November, the
Battalion spent a lot of time off the front line, reinforcing British positions with barbed wire and
helping artillery units. When preparing for the Spring Offensive, the 12th (DLOY)s were placed
on the flanks, where it was considered less likely to sustain heavy enemy attacks. Predictions
were wrong, and the German forces focused their attacks on the flanks.

The positions on the 12th (DLOY) were shelled with mustard gas and attacked by large German
raids, which were driven off. Other sections of the line were unsuccessfully defended, which
meant the 12th were ordered to retreat to Havrincourt and defend it. The German army mounted
multiple attacks, which became so close quarters that many grenades were thrown between the
two sides. The 12th repelled the attacks, and were later assisted by artillery, which inflicted huge
casualties on the German attackers. The brutality of this combat cannot be overestimated.
Due to the ongoing offensive and breakthroughs elsewhere, the 12th (DLOY) Battalion engaged
in a fighting retreat. The Battalion was continually ordered to fall back to new positions,
defending each before falling back again. Needless to say, losses during this time were
substantial.

From Bertie’s medical record, we can see that during the retreat on 26 March 1918, he was
taken off the frontline, after suffering a gunshot wound and one other injury (sadly, illegible on
his medical record).

Bertie spent several months in hospital, before being transferred to the Labour Corps to help in
a non-combat role. He remained in this role until the end of the war.

After the War:

After the War, Bertie was involved in several unsuccessful businesses. Due to his crippling
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), at the time known as ‘shell shock’, he did not have the
concentration or mental capacity to fully commit to the businesses. He did, however, have time
to pursue one of his passions: rugby. Bertie was one of the founding members of Fylde RFC,
appearing in all the teams between 1919-23. It is unknown how much of a role he played in the
formation of the Club, but the letter Fylde RFC sent to his wife Elsie, upon his death, suggests
that he was highly regarded within the Club.

Fylde RFC have also uncovered a local match report from 1919, which specifically singled out
Bertie’s strong performance in the face of defeat against Rossall. It is particularly notable
because Bertie played at fullback, despite usually playing as a forward! We all know a forward
who considers themselves a back, so I am glad that Bertie can offer them hope!

In 1929, he married his wife Elsie, and in 1931 had a daughter, Jean. Bertie adored his daughter
Jean, and helped her to learn piano, at which she was very talented.

In the 1930s, Bertie set up a slipper and shoe manufacturing business, Rothwell and Markus
Ltd, with a German Jewish refugee, with the last name Markus. From what we know, Markus
was very patient with Bertie and sympathetic to his PTSD, and did most of the running of the
business. Bertie tried to manage his PTSD by resorting to alcohol, to numb his distress. 'Shell
shock' was not something which was openly discussed at that time.

On 19 February 1948, Bertie complained of pain in his stomach. Eventually, after the problem
persisted, he was taken to hospital. Sadly, he was pronounced dead that evening from a
perforated ulcer.

Bertie suffered throughout his life with PTSD and subsequent alcoholism. Those who knew
Bertie said he would help anyone around him, and almost every condolence letter commented
on his infectious smile, and what a happy man he seemed. It is a tragedy that his struggle
remained hidden by his smile. Bertie did not die on the frontline in the trenches, but he was
certainly a casualty of the Great War.