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Medals

60. Pte. Percy Little

PERCY LITTLE 1899 – 1918

81297 Private Percy Little, 15th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry was killed in action 27 May 1918, aged 18 years.  He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, France[1] and the St. Helen’s Colliery Memorial Cottages.

Family Details

Percy Little born 19 September 1899 [2] at St. Helen’s Auckland, Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham was the son of William and Margaret Little.  There were at least 4 children:

  • Elizabeth born c.1883
  • Ernest born c.1885
  • Phyllis born c.1890
  • Percy born 1899 [3]

In 1901 and 1911 the family lived at the Square, St. Helens, at Whitwell Terrace.[4]  William was employed as a coal miner (a shifter) and as Percy was only 11 years old, it is assumed that he was still at school. [5]  In March 1915, the family lived at 10 Whitwell Terrace, St. Helens[6] then 3 Oakley Street, West Auckland.[7]  Sometime later, the family lived at 10 Maude Terrace, St. Helen’s Auckland. [8]

Given that Percy was a member of St. Helens Colliery Institute football team 1909-10, it is assumed that he worked at St. Helens Colliery, see photographs below.

  1. HELEN’S COLLIERY

Given that the team photo was probably taken during the 1909-10 season, he would only have been 9 or maybe 10 years old.  Other members of the team such as Wylam Blenkin were 19 or 20 years old.  There can be little chance of mistaken identity given the true likeness between this and 2 other photos of Percy.  In today’s world, it would seem strange that a 10 years old boy would be playing a team game with 20 years old adults.

HELENS COLLIERY INSTITUTE F.C. 1909/10


MAUDE TERRACE, St. HELEN’S AUCKLAND


OAKLEY STREET, WEST AUCKLAND

Service Record

Percy Little joined the Army aged 15 but was discharged, 30 June 1917. [9]  He had served 1 year 91 days “under age”, enlisting into the Territorial Force, 6th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry (6/DLI) 1 March 1915, being given the regimental number 3483. [10] At that time, the family lived at 10 Whitwell Terrace, St. Helens.

19 September 1917: 

Percy Little legally enlisted 19 September 1917 on his 18th birthday.  He stood 5’7” tall and weighed 130lbs (9st.4lbs).  At that time the family lived at 3 Oakley Street, West Auckland. [11]

26 September 1917: He was posted to the 2nd Training Reserve Battalion then to the 51st [Graduated] Battalion DLI then transferred to the 53rd [Young Soldier] Battalion 1 October 1917 and given the regimental number 7757.[12]

31 March 1918: Private Percy Little entered France.

3 April 1918:  He was transferred to the 15th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and was given the new regimental number 81297. 

4 April 1918:  He was “in the field”

Between 27 and 29 May 1918:  Private P. Little was recorded as “missing”. [13]  He served a total of 250 days, 194 at home and 56 in France. [14]  81297 Private Percy Little, 15th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry is recorded as being killed in action 27 May 1918.  He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, France.[15] 

The 15th (Service) Battalion was formed at Newcastle in September 1914 as part of K3 Kitchener’s New Army and came under orders of 64th Brigade, 21st Division.  It landed in Boulogne 11 September 1915. [16] The Division saw action in 1915 at the Battle of Loos, 1916 the Battle of the Somme, 1917 the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the Arras Offensive and Passchendaele then in 1918 during the German Spring Offensive, the Battle of St. Quentin and the First Battle of Bapaume, The Battles of the Lys, the Battles of the Aisne, Albert and the Second Battle of Bapaume, the Battles for the Hindenburg Line and the Battle of the Selle, a phase of the Final Advance in Picardy.  The Division ceased to exist 19 May 1919.

The following units served with the 64th Brigade: [17]

  • 9th Battalion, the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
  • 10th Battalion, the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
  • 14th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (left November 1915)
  • 15th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry [15/DLI]
  • 1st Battalion, the East Yorkshire Regiment (joined November 1915)
  • 64th Machine Gun Company
  • 64th Trench Mortar Battery

The German Offensive, Spring 1918: an overview [18]

3 March, Soviet Russia made peace with Germany and her allies by virtue of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.  As a result, Germany could now transfer troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front.  More importantly, these Divisions included the original elite of the German Army – the Guards, Jagers, Prussians, Swabians and the best of the Bavarians. In all, 192 Divisions could be deployed in the West.  The Allies could field 178 Divisions.  A single division numbered about 19,000 men.  Ludendorff could call upon about 3,650,000 men as opposed to the Allies 3,380,000.  Thus, the Germans now held superiority in numbers.  

The German High Command needed victory to be gained before the American Forces arrived in Europe in huge numbers.  America entered the war 6 April 1917 and in the July, Pershing General of the Armies of the United States asked for an army of 3 million men.  The first of her troops arrived in France 26 June 1917.  The training and build-up of troops obviously took time but eventually by June 1918, the Americans were receiving about 250,000 men a month in France.  This amounted to 25 divisions in or behind the battle zone and another 55 in the United States ready to join the action.

Elsewhere in the Alliance, the French were able to draw on a new annual class of conscripts after a year of inactivity but the British were worn down by continuous fighting during the summer of 1917 with major offensives at Arras, Messines, Passchendale and Cambrai.  The strength of the British infantry had fallen from 754,000 in July 1917 to 543,000 in June 1918 producing a manpower crisis.

21 March 1918:  the German Offensive was launched.  There were 5 phases:

  • 21 March – 5 April: Operation Michael, against the British, the Battle of Picardy (otherwise known as the First Battle of the Somme 1918)
  • 9 – 11 April: Operation Georgette, against the British, the Battle of Lys sector near Armentieres
  • 27 April: Operation Blucher-Yorck, against the French sector along Chemin des Dames, the Third Battle of Aisne
  • 9 June: Operation Gneisenau, against the French sector between Noyan and Montdider, the Battle of the Matz
  • 15 – 17 July: Operation Marne-Rheims, the final phase known as the Second Battle of the Marne.

The Germans enjoyed spectacular territorial gains particularly during the initial phases of the offensive.  23 March, the Kaiser declared a “victory holiday” for German schoolchildren.  The cost in manpower was enormous:

  • Between 21 March and 10 April the 3 main assaulting armies had lost 303,450 men – 1/5th of their original strength.
  • The April offensive against the British in Flanders was eventually computed to have cost 120,000 men out of a total of 800,000.

The German High Command calculated that it required 200,000 replacements each month but only 300,000 recruits stood available taking into account the next annual class of 18-year olds.  There were 70,000 convalescents available from hospitals each month but even counting them, the strength of the German Army had fallen from 5.1 million to 4.2 million men in the 6 months of the offensive.  It could not be increased on the estimated scale required. To add to this dilemma, in June 1918, the first outbreak of “Spanish Flu” laid low nearly 500,000 German soldiers.  This epidemic was to reoccur in the autumn and wreak havoc throughout Europe and the wider world.

 

German troops suffered from poor diet, battle fatigue, discontentment with the military leadership, social unrest at home and a general realisation that their great effort was beginning to wane.  As a result, the Allies counter attack in mid-July began to seize the initiative.  Sweeping victories over demoralised German forces eventually led to the resignation of Ludendorff 27 October, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II 9 November, and the signing of the Armistice 11 November 1918.

The Third Battle of the Aisne: 27 May – 6 June 1918

The general area of the offensive was to the north east of Paris and to the west of Rheims around the town of Soissons. French and British forces held the sector between Bouconville and Bermericourt. The 21st Division and the 50th (Northumbrian) Division which comprised the Territorial DLI battalions were heavily involved. The German attack was launched by 4,000 guns across a 40km front against 4 Divisions of the IX Corps.  There was a heavy concentration of British troops in the front line trenches and casualties from this bombardment were severe.  In fact, the IX Corps was virtually wiped out.  The bombardment was accompanied by a gas attack after which 17 German infantry divisions advanced through the gaps in the line.  Rapid progress was made and the Germans broke though the reserve troops (8 Allied Divisions – 4 British and 4 French) between Soissons and Rheims.  By the end of the first day, the Germans had passed the Aisne and reached the River Vesle, gaining 15km of territory.  By the 3rd June, they had come within 90km of Paris and captured 50,000 Allied soldiers and 800 guns.  French casualties were heavy, with 98,000 losses.  The British suffered 29,000 casualties.  The German attack succeeded in pushing the Allies across the Aisne down as far as the Marne at Chateau Thierry, capturing the towns of Soissons and Le Fere-en-Tardenois.  But by the 6th June, the German advance had run out of steam.

The War Diary for the 15/DLI has not been examined.  The following details are taken from Capt. W. Miles’ book [19] and Ward’s regimental history: [20]

“Large drafts of young soldiers were received at Volkerinckhove and on May 4th the battalion entrained at St. Omer.”

It is assumed that Private Percy Little was amongst the contingent of soldiers. 

6 May: the 15/DLI was billeted in the region of Olizt et Violaine:

“Training was proceeded with apace…the battalion consisted largely of young soldiers with no experience in warfare.”

13 May: 15/DLI relieved the 6th battalion 299th (Bayard) French Regiment in the line, 1mile north of Loivre on the Aisne & Marne canal to Berry-au-Bac. 

21 May: relieved and withdrew to a support position near the main road to Rheims.

22 May: in reserve at a camp at Chalons-le-Verguer. 

On the morning of the 27 May, 15/DLI and 3rd Dragoon Guards were at Cauroy-les-Hermonville in reserve to the 64th Brigade.  At 1.00am: heavy bombardment of mustard gas shells came down upon the camp.  15/DLI moved off in respirators to Cauroy:

“At 10 am C company were sent forward to reinforce the 9/KOYLI but the Yorkshiremen had had to give ground and the German infantry were already on the main road….B company pushed out on the left of the line and it was hoped to hold the Boyau de la Somme….D company occupied the strong points Bon de la Cuve, Bon de la Lavoir, Redoubt Nord and Redoubt Central.

The Germans came on in determined fashion, supported by a fierce bombardment and pushed B company back to Avancee de Cauroy.  The Durhams counter-attacked with bombs and a bloody struggle was waged in these trenches on the outskirts of the village until the German numbers prevailed.  During the afternoon the enemy occupied part of Boyau de Beau Sejour and bombed his way into Avancee de Cauroy so that in spite of their desperate resistance B and C companies were forced back to the sunken road east of Redoubt Sud.  At 5.30pm the 97th Field Company RE arrived from Hermonville and reinforced the left flank on the light railway west of the village.  Two hours later came another onslaught in overwhelming strength and the British line was obliged to draw back to the road behind the village but the Germans tried in vain to debouch from Cauroy and desisted in their attempts as darkness fell.  On the right, the 15th still held some advance posts but soon after midnight came orders to withdraw.  This was done in darkness without hurry or confusion, for the Germans did not seem to be aware of the retirement.”

28 May: 15/DLI at camp at Luthernay Farm (in the Brigade reserve) 7.30am the Germans attacked with machine gun fire.  15/DLI withdrew to a position south east of Prouilly which was occupied by mixed units of the 64th Brigade.

29 May: the position came under heavy shell fire, no infantry attack.  15/DLI relieved by French troops and moved back to Rosnay.  15/DLI consisted of a mere 6 officers and 40 men in a composite unit under the command of Lieut.-Colonel W.N.S. Alexander, East Yorkshire and the withdrawal continued into the next day.

30 May: 15/DLI moved back to Mery Premercy

31 May: camp at Chaltrait.

“In heavy fighting of May 27th and 28th, the Fifteenth had lost 456 men in killed, wounded and missing, the heaviest casualties of the brigade…It was largely owing to the efforts of these officers [names given in an earlier paragraph] that the Fifteenth succeeded in checking the Germans advance at Cauroy and had fought such a splendid rear guard action on the following day.”

15/DLI casualties amounted to 456 men killed, wounded and missing including 8 officers.  Later research confirms that between 27 May and the end of the month, at least 128 men of the 15/DLI were either killed in action or died of wounds: [21]

  • 27 May: 28 Other Ranks and 1 Officer
  • 28 May: 11 ORs
  • 29 May: 82 ORs and 1 Officer
  • 30 May: 1 OR
  • 31 May 4 ORs

Total: 126 Other Ranks and 2 Officers.

This “calamitous affair” was the final act of the war for the 50th Division.  Having suffered grievous losses in 3 massive German assaults during the Spring Offensive, on the Somme, the Lys and then the Aisne, it was broken up.  Although it was reformed, it contained none of the old battalions.  The 1/5, 1/6 and 1/8 DLI Battalions were reduced to cadre on 15 June and surplus men were distributed among other battalions.  15/DLI survived and was brought up to strength once more to return to the trenches on the Somme near Hamel, 17 July and it continued to serve until the end of the war. 15/DLI lost a total of 1508 men during the course of the war, more than any other DLI Battalion.[22]

18 years old Private Percy Little was recorded as “Missing” from 27 May 1918 and it was not until 25 June 1919 that it was formally accepted that he was dead. [23] His mother would have initially hoped that he had been taken as a Prisoner of War but after the Armistice when no news was heard then the sad reality of the situation was inevitable. 

Commemorations

The Soissons Memorial, France 

Private Percy Little is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial commemorates almost 4,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom who died during the Battles of the Aisne and the Marne in 1918 and who have no known grave.[24] 

The St. Helen’s Colliery Memorial Cottages 

Four cottages built near the Colliery Institute, St. Helen’s Auckland constitute the local war memorial.  2 were erected (at a cost of £4,200) by Messrs. Pease & Partners, owners of the colliery and 2 by subscriptions of the men employed there.  The formal opening took place Saturday 12 November 1921.  Mr. F. Chapman presided and mentioned that the men employed at the colliery had subscribed no less than £2,600 for the benefit of the wives of soldiers during the war and since and were continuing the fund for the benefit of the widows and children.  Mrs. R.A. Pease, Richmond and Mr. M.H. Kellett, Chilton, formerly manager of the colliery declared the respective pairs of houses open.  Memorial tablets on the front of each pair of houses bear the names of the fallen and these tablets were unveiled by Mr. J.E. Brown-Humes.  Mr. James Robson President of the Durham Miners’ Association made a few remarks.[25]

Photographs

3483 Private Percy Little was discharged 30 June 1916 after serving 1 year 91 days.  He initially enlisted into the Territorial Force 1 March 1915 being given the regimental number 3483,[26] when he was 15½ years old.   The photograph, below left, was published in the County Chronicle 6 July 1916 [27] when Percy Little was aged 16 years 9 months and followed his recent discharge from the Army.  He rejoined the Army on his 18th birthday, 19 September 1917.  The photograph, below right, is a family portrait.[28]