My Family in the Great War - Ancestors in
World War I
My grear-grandfather Richard Ernest Ray fought
and survived in the First World War. I am currently researching
him. One of my great-uncles, Arthur Rymill, also served and
survived.
Another of my great grandfathers, Walter Rymill (known within
the family as 'Pop Rymill' which helpfully distinguishes him
from his son of the same name) was born in 1883.
It was his younger brother Albert Rymill, my great uncle,
whose story really brought home to me the reality of the First
World War, how it drew in a whole generation and sent them
into oblivion. For this Remembrance Day in 2009, In his memory,
this is his story.
Albert Rymill : 1890 - 1918
Albert Rymill was born into late Victorian Liverpool,
around October 1890. His father, Frederick Rymill was a joiner,
born in Banbury and his mother Elizabeth was the daughter
of a Policeman from Ripon.
Baby Albert had a sister, four years older than
him, and a brother Walter, seven years older. The family lived
at number 8 Rupert Grove, a newly-built, typical terraced
street off Heyworth Street about a mile away from the city
centre of Liverpool.
Living in the heart of a maritime city which
was flourishing at the turn of the 20th century, it is not
surprising that after leaving school, Albert found employment
with a shipping company for whom he worked, at the age of
20, as a stationer. Similarly, his younger brother Arthur
became a 'Shipping Clerk'. Older brother Walter became a joiner
like his father, both of whom worked for a building company.
At the start of the decade that would see the
world change forever, this typical Edwardian family was living
at 67 Stanfield Road in Liverpool.
Signing Up
Three years later, and a thousand miles away,
on 28th June 1914, a Bosnian-Serb student called Gavrilo Princip
fired two shots at Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie,
killing them both. Within days, all the powers of Europe had
declared war on each other, including Britain upon Germany.
Three months on, in the old watch factory at
Prescot, the 17th (Service) Battalion (1st City) was formed
by Lord Derby. The '17th Liverpools' has the distinction of
being the first of the 'pals' battalions to be formed. In
April of 1915 this 17th Battalion was attached to 89th Brigade,
30th Division.
At some point during 1915, Albert Rymill ceased
to be a stationer for a shipping company, and signed up with
the 17th Liverpools. Not long after, and with no more military
background than me as I sit writing this account, the young
man, who had just turned 25, landed at Boulogne on 7th November
1915.
What must have gone through his head as he marched
through France? Did it seem a great adventure away from home?
Was he thrilled to be doing his duty? Or was he frightened,
homesick and tired? Either way, it was only the beginning.
Into Battle
The Liverpool Pals' first battle came during
the infamous 'Big Push' on 1 July 1916. The first day of the
Somme Offensive. The 89th Brigade, under the Earl of Derby's
brother Brigadier F.C. Stanley, comprised Albert Rymill's
17th Liverpool Battalion, plus the 19th, and 20th Pals.
In the opening phase of the Battle of the Somme,
the British and French fired 1.7 million shells during a 7-day
preparatory barrage at the Germans. But the shells were not
effective and the enemy waited it out.
The 'creeping barrages' were supposed to land
artillery fire between the advancing British troops and the
German troops, and then push the Germans back to their own
lines as the Allied troops attacked. However, faulty implementation
of this system resulted in the barrage starting on the German
lines and then lifting beyond, leaving the advancing British
troops to face unsuppressed defenders. XIII Corps which included
Albert Rymill's 30th Division abandoned the creeping barrage
altogether.
The southern flank of the British line was held
by XIII Corps whose objective was the village of Montauban.
The two assault divisions - the 18th (Eastern) and Albert
Rymill in the 30th Division, seized all their objectives.
They were one of the few divisions during the offensive to
claim such success but it came at the cost of over 3,000 casualties
each.
On 29th July 1916, after four deafening, bloody
and horrifying weeks of fighting in the Somme, when the fighting
abated, a photo was taken of the soldiers of the 17th Service
Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment praying during
a church parade before entering the trenches.
I have come across many interesting and thought-provoking
things whilst researching my family history, but few images
have had such an impact as this. To me, soldiers are a particular
breed of men. Those who feel capable, ready, tough and adventurous.
I am not saying that Albert Rymill wasn't all of these things,
but the only thing I really know about him was that a few
years before this photo was taken, he was just a young Rymill
with a desk job in an office in Merseyside. I find it hard
to reconcile that familiarity with this image. That same young
Rymill is suddenly a soldier, kneeling with his comrades in
a muddy field a very long way from home, praying they would
endure the next battle.
Having survived the Somme, Albert next fought
in the Battle of Le Transloy, including the capture of Eaucourt
l’Abbaye, Le Sars and the attacks on Butte de Warlencourt.
He fought at the First and Second Battles of
the Scarpe at Monchy le Preux and Guemappe in April of 1917.
He fought at the Battle of St. Quentin in March
of 1918, at the Somme corssing, and at the Battle of Rosieres.
Then, in April 1918, the Germans made their
'Spring Offensive' in an attempt to defeat the Allies before
the full resources of the United States joined the war. The
Germans' objective was to capture Ypres to force the Allies
back to the channel. Also known as the Third Battle of Flanders
or The Battle of the Lys, this was the war starting to reach
its conclusion.
A sequence of bloody battles were fought during
April which culminated, on the 29th April 1918, in the final
attack of the offensive. German forces were able to capture
the hill to the northwest of Mount Kemmel - the Scherpenberg.
It was on the 29th of April 1918, whilst defending
the Scherpenberg that Albert Rymill was killed, aged 27.
Shortly afterwards, French units re-enforced
the Allied position, and German attacks in front of Hazebrouck
were failing, which resulted in German High Command calling
off the offensive.
One month later, the 17th Battalion was reduced
to minimum strength and on 30th June 1918, two months after
Albert's death, the remaining men returned to England.
Albert Rymill is named on the Menin Gate, six
miles from where he fell.
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