This week I thought it was appropriate to pause and reflect
on the centenary of the start of the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the
Battle of Ypres - one of the bloodiest of World War One.
Passchendaele was fought between 31 July and 6 November 1917
in the West Flanders region of northern Belgium. The allied objectives were to
narrow the front of combat in Belgium and also to capture the coast back and
deny the Germans access to the sea, where they had several U-boat bases, which
were causing havoc to shipping to the UK.
About 275,000 Allied troops and 220,000 Germans were killed,
wounded or went missing in this time, a loss of life that to me is beyond
comprehension. To put this into perspective almost as many people died as who
currently live in Cornwall today.
In the past I have written about former Member of Parliament
Captain Thomas Agar-Robartes, whose constituency encompassed much of the
present St Austell and Newquay constituency, and whose memorial in St Austell
has just been listed. Captain Agar-Robartes’ name is rightly remembered for his
heroic actions and death on the field of combat in the earlier Battle of Loos
in 1915.
However, many, many more people from Mid-Cornwall died
during the Great War.
While writing this column I came across the story of Edward
Saunders who was born in Mid-Cornwall in 1898.
It is likely that Edward was conscripted under the Military
Service Act which introduced conscription for all unmarried men aged 18-41 at
the start of 1916. Edward fought at Passchendaele from July through to October
1917. By the end of October the battle had broken down into a bloody stalemate with
massive casualties on both sides.
The battle fell into a daily routine with artillery
bombardment followed by skirmishes and then the main attacks. On 22 October, Edward
Saunders died in one of these preliminary skirmishes. He was 19 years old. Edward
had no known grave and because of this he joins 35,000 similar British
casualties incurred after August 1917 in the Battle of Passchendaele who are
commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial which today stands in the Tyne Cot
Cemetery in Belgium.
Looking back at the Battle of Passchendaele it is difficult
not to see this loss of life as anything but futile. While the front was
narrowed, the Germans kept their U-boat bases. Writing after the war, then
Prime Minister Lloyd George wrote,
"Passchendaele
was indeed one of the greatest disasters of the war ... No soldier of any
intelligence now defends this senseless campaign ..."
However these soldiers followed orders and fought and died
for their country. It is important that we remember the sacrifice of everyone
who fought and served in conflicts like the Great War, as their actions then
have allowed us our way of life today.
As always, my team and I are here to serve
the whole constituency and work hard to make a real difference to the lives of
everyone needing support. If there is an issue you would like my assistance on
then please contact me on either 01726 829379 or office@stevedouble.org.uk. Additionally, I hold regular, appointment only, advice surgeries
across the constituency. Dates of these can be found at: www.stevedouble.org.uk/events
