Died as he would have wished, but still lives in the hearts of his men
Dedicated to the memory of the late Major Thomas Duncan John Ringwood, Officer Commanding 60th Battery, CFA, Killed-in-Action, 10 August 1918.
Early Life
The late Major Thomas Duncan John Ringwood was born at Enniskillen, Ireland, on 5 December 1886, survived by his mother, Mrs. Castle, of Salt Spring Island, B.C., she having married a second time on his father’s death. Bent on a military career, the late Major entered the Royal Military College of Canada as a cadet. He passed with honours. In due course, Ringwood placed on the Reserve of Officers and afterwards received an appointment in the Permanent Force.
T.D.J. Ringwood at the outbreak of war, a Captain in the Canadian Field Artillery. Then, one of the few officers of the Canadian Regular Forces able to get to the front. However, in 1914, Ring occupied the important position of Chief Artillery Instructor to the Dominion. And, until resignation in 1916, practically every artillery officer in the new army of Canada passed through his hands. A total of over 1,600 men.
Training
The Petewawa and Chalk Rivers form a boundary round Camp Petewawa. The further banks were out of bounds, and anyone found there ran the risk of official displeasure and punishment. To counterbalance this, the area provided fine swimming as can be found between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. An advantage understood by anyone who has experienced the heat of Petewawa during a Canadian summer.
At Camp Petewawa, some of the members of the battery met Major Thomas Duncan John Ringwood for the first time. Firstly, a fatigue party had gone to Petewawa in advance of the main body to prepare the Camp. One of this party was busy driving in tent pegs. Then, the Major (then Captain) rode up and introduced himself in characteristic fashion. With a cheery greeting, he dismounted, and started to help the gunner in his task. As officer and gunner were working together, the former spoke.
Do you know who I am?
Captain T.D.J. Ringwood
The reply came without the “Sir” demanded by Army Regulations. The 60th Overseas Battery still on familiar terms with command.
No.
A gunner.
Silence for a moment. Then, as the perspiring Captain continued with his work, he re-addressed the gunner.
They call me that Bastard Ringwood. You may think I’m all right now, but just you wait until I get you on parade a few times!
Captain T.D.J. Ringwood
Discipline
The remainder of the Battery introduced to Captain Thomas Duncan John Ringwood when he gave them a lecture, immediately upon their arrival. Discipline the topic. Like all his lectures, it combined sound sense with flashes of humour and keen satire. His advice probably still remains in the mind of every man that heard it. As the days and weeks went by, lectures were given on horses, harness, equipment, and gunnery.
Then came the first lessons in horsemanship. After which, the men glad to crawl to their tents. And, in the cool of the evening dwell in retrospect on that weak moment when they had decided that their period of service to the Empire would be spent in a mounted unit. Mounted parades followed. With much strenuous work in Section Gun Drill, the training completed by firing on hostile batteries with live shell. In addition, parades and more parades.
Resignations
Ring’s service prior to his Kingston appointment included long periods with the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery (R.C.G.A.) at Halifax and Quebec. Ring serving at the Halifax station at the outbreak of war in 1914. His general knowledge of both posts profound, which merely revealed his outstanding powers of observation, intelligently used. Early in 1915, Ring given the important post of chief instructor at the Royal School of Artillery at Kingston, Ont. During his tenure at the school, over 1,630 officers and innumerable N.C.O.’s passed through his hands. Though he realized his position, Ring not satisfied, and repeatedly tendered his resignation in order to proceed overseas.
After many refusals, his persistence eventually rewarded. And, on the acceptance of his resignation in the early summer of 1916, Ring appointed adjutant of the 15th (Western) Brigade, C.F.A., which was then in Petewawa. Gunner Richard Francis Walshe, the author‘s grandfather, among the 1,000 men in the Brigade.
In 1916, Major Ringwood resigned from his position. The object of seeing active service in France and sailed for England in September of that year. In England, Ring firstly Adjutant of the 14th Brigade of Artillery. But, later made O.C. of the 60th Battery, and went to France in that capacity. Finally, he took part in all the actions of the Battery until the Battle of Amiens. He was killed on the second day of the battle, 10 August 1918. The sad circumstances of his death, referred to in another place.
Wanted to See Service in France
Although Major Thomas Duncan John Ringwood made such a success of his duties as an instructor his real ambition was to take part in the struggle in the war zone. But, the fact that for some time he was unable to obtain his desire, if anything increased his determination. Ring used his ability by concentrating all his experience and knowledge in producing officers capable of upholding the reputation of the school when put to the test in the field of action.
Great Man
Captain Ringwood very far from being the man-eater the slackers had described to me. Captain Ringwood a great man. One of the most valuable assets that the British Empire has in Canada at the present time. Keen as mustard to get to the Iron. But, his work as head of the Royal School of Artillery is so amazingly efficient that they won’t let him go. In eight weeks he turns raw recruits into artillery officers. Giving them a course of training which ordinarily takes a year.
As I said, the stories about the ferocity of Captain Ringwood and the other instructors absurdly exaggerated. The slackers and weaklings hate Captain Ringwood. But the men whom he has trained worship him. The training school of artillery officers can’t be conducted by drawing room methods, you know. The purpose of training is to teach a soldier to be fearless under fire, to bear fatigue cheerfully. And, to know that to surrender while any force to resist remains is disgraceful. That’s where Captain Ringwood comes in. That’s what he drives into the minds and hearts and souls of his men.
The Germans define discipline as the art of making troops fear their officers more than they fear the enemy. I rather think that this is Captain Ringwood’s idea too. At the Royal School of Artillery the men taken out for fourteen-mile rides. For the first few miles their legs ache. Then they smart, then they feel as if they had cramps. They come back with the blood running down the inside of their legs and into their shoes.
Coningsby Dawson
The essence of the man
A man will fall off his horse and lie on his back in the road. Looking up at the horse’s belly and hoping he won’t get a hoof in the face. Captain Ringwood will call out to him as he gallops by, Who the devil told you to dismount? And the man will have to clamber back on his horse and ride on.
Coningsby Dawson
England
The 15th Brigade C.F.A. left Halifax on 13 September 1916. The line of transports as follows: H.M. Cruiser DRAKE, Transports NORTLAND, SCANDINAVIAN, CAMERONIA, and METAGAMA. Shortly after arrival in England, Ring appointed to the 60th Battery as O.C. From the outset of his direct oversight of Battery activities, he applied all his knowledge to bring it to the highest possible state of efficiency. And, to Ring, in great degree, may be given the credit for any good work, which the Battery may have done in France.
As commanding officer, he quickly made himself familiar with the components of his Battery down to the slightest detail. He knew every officer, N.C.O. and man thoroughly. This thoroughness was often a source of great worry to his subordinates. His powers of observation were almost uncanny. Ring trusted his officers and N.C.O.’s to do their work. Having well thought out the question of their ability before he recommended them for their positions.
In the course of instruction, officers and men alike soon came to dread his incisive tongue. As and when he deemed its use necessary. He always backed his officers and N.C.O.’s, but never permitted them to take undue advantage of their privileges. His way of disposing of cases brought before him was often unique, but quite characteristic. An instance of this, when two men of the Battery were hauled before him charged with fighting. Having made himself familiar with the details of the affair, he ordered the men to fight it out in a certain place. And, refereed the bout himself!
The Spit and Polish Battery
A fine horseman, he had naturally a keen eye for a horse. And, his first thought was always for the animals. His insistence upon smartness of personal appearance and cleanliness of horses, harness and vehicles, soon earned for his unit the title of The Spit and Polish Battery. It was in France, however, that his men really got to know him. The mere camouflage of the military man slipped away gradually. Revealing a fine officer and gentleman, whose thought became more and more for the safety and comfort of his men. And, he never lost an opportunity of standing up for them when necessity arose.
A Soldier
No man ever made a charge (be it ever so trivial) against any of them without a challenge. At all times, he was jealous of the reputation of his Battery. Every day he was proving to be true what a sterling friend of the Battery once said of him: He doesn’t realize half the good there is in him. He was ever ready to learn, even with his many accomplishments. He willingly granted what was demonstrated as the best, whether the demonstration was made by an officer or a gunner. Nothing was too small a matter for encouragement or appreciation.
Though he was above all a soldier, ever ready to act and demanding action from others, he showed such varied and splendid qualities under many conditions, that he strengthened the admiration and esteem all ranks felt for him. Small need for wonder, then, that when a mounted officer brought back the information that the Major had been killed in Rouvroy village, there fell an unmistakable gloom on all, with the realization of the full extent of their loss.
Death of Major T.D.J. Ringwood
MAJOR RINGWOOD, T. D. J., killed at Death Corner, Rouvroy-en-Santerre, on the afternoon of 10 August 1918, during the Battle of Amiens. The Major at the time making a reconnaissance for a battery position. The infantry had been held in front of Fouquescourt and Parvillers by hostile machine guns in the old German trench system. In view of this, Major Ringwood enquiring from the infantry the tactical situation and had ridden his horse very far forward. On returning, a 5.9 in. shell exploded almost under his horse’s head. A splinter passed through Ring’s heart, killing him instantly.
His body removed to a trench. Recovered the next day by a party of eight from the 60th Battery, and buried at Beaufort Military Cemetery, map location 66e.k.5.d.2.7 (300 meters from the church in Beaufourt-en-Santerre). The party included Gunner Bertram Howard Cox. Unknown if the residents of Rouvroy-en-Santerre, or the 14th Brigade CFA, erected the pictured memorial to Major Ringwood.
Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery
Beaufort Military Cemetery was about 300 metres North of Beaufort Church. Made in August, 1918 (after the capture of the village by the 1st Canadian Division) between the existing German Cemetery and a farm track, and it contained the graves of 56 Canadian soldiers and two from the United Kingdom. Later, Ringwood reburied at Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery.
THE LATE O.C.
By the death of Major Thomas Duncan John Ringwood, Canada lost her leading Artillery Instructor; the Battery lost an invaluable and esteemed commanding officer and father, and a loving mother lost a dutiful son, barely past the threshold of a promising military career, in the full vigour of manhood.
A Great Artilleryman
In the death in action of Major Ringwood, son of Mrs C. C. Castle, of Ganges, Salt Spring Island, Canada lost her leading artilleryman. As chief instructor in the School of Artillery in Kingston, he trained some 1600 officers and non-commissioned officers from the outbreak of war until he himself went overseas, and his ability to transform raw material into finished artillerymen won for him an empire-wide reputation. Indeed, his very success in this vitally important work militated against his urgently expressed desire to go overseas during the first two years of the war.
It is impossible to overestimate Major Ringwood’s contribution to the success of his country’s cause. We may be sure that the training and instruction so efficiently imparted by him at Kingston have played a big and possibly a determining, part in many a Canadian success, and that many recipients of honours and promotions for gallant and skillful services will remember with gratitude how much they owe to the master artilleryman who has just crowned his fine record with the supreme sacrifice on the field.
Coningsby Dawson
Ringwood’s contribution already recognized in England when he posed for his official photograph in 1917.
Famous Novelist Speaks in Glowing Terms of Deceased Officer
Captain Ringwood is a great man. He is one of the most valuable assets that the British Empire has in Canada at the present time. The slackers and weaklings hate Captain Ringwood, but the men whom he has trained worship him.
Coningsby Dawson
These sentences culled from an interview with Coningsby Dawson at the time Major Ringwood was holding the rank of captain and in charge of the Royal School of Artillery at Kingston. The Major was at that time as keen as mustard, to go to France, but on account of his efficiency as an instructor of artillery officers the Government refused to release him for service in the fighting zone.
Since then the Major has obtained his desire, and made the supreme sacrifice for his country, which he served so well on the battlefield. Major Ringwood was an Irishman, and every inch a soldier.
Coningsby Dawson
Asset to the Empire
That Major Ringwood made a big impression on the novelist, shown from extracts in his article, which will give a good insight into the character of the officer who has helped to win for Canada the reputation she holds of providing officers and men made up of that military efficiency and fighting ability essential to winning wars. Not only has he rendered his country inestimable service on the field of battle, but in the less exciting but equally necessary branch of warfare. In the training of officers, he has won a name that will be handed down in military .records as a credit to the service to which he was so able a member.
Estimated over 1600 officers received their initial instruction under the command of Ring, as he was known among the men in his command. After leading up to the circumstances which led to his becoming an officer under Major Thomas Duncan John Ringwood, Coningsby Dawson writes.
Fe-fi-fo-fum
And after I got into Canada when I said I was going to the Royal School of Artillery at Kingston I heard nothing likely to cheer me up. Everybody said, Good heavens! Are you going to be under Captain Ringwood? Why, he eats two Englishmen for breakfast every morning! A longhaired poetical-looking cuss like you will be a perfect feast for Captain Ringwood!
His motto is Fe-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. They told me all sorts of jolly stories about Captain Ringwood and the Royal School of Artillery. Stories which were picturesque, although they were without exception lies. They told me that he took an awkward squad of men out one morning, made them run without stopping for eighteen miles through the snow. Then, lined them up half dead against a wall and said: There, you Sons of guns, I hope you all get pneumonia and die! And ran home by himself.
Well. I found that all these fables were just lies told by the slackers. By men who were afraid to enlist, or who had been up with Captain Ringwood and couldn’t stand the gaff. They told me that my literary reputation would offend Captain Ringwood, and that my long hair would drive him mad. I trusted to luck about the literary reputation, but I bad my hair cut close. What I took off my head I put on my face.
Coningsby Dawson
Lieutenant Coningsby William Dawson
Instructed by Captain Thomas Duncan John Ringwood in Kingston, Ontario. Coningsby William Dawson was an Anglo-American Novelist and Soldier, Canadian Field Artillery, born at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. He graduated at Merton College, Oxford, in 1905. He spent a year taking a theological course at Union Seminary but decided on a career as a writer.
In the same year he went to America, where he did special work for English newspapers on Canadian subjects, traveling widely during the period. He lived at Taunton, Massachusetts, from 1906 to 1910, when he became literary adviser to the George H. Doran Publishing Company. In a house in Taunton, Massachusetts, he wrote poems, short stories, and three novels: Garden Without Walls (1913), an immediate success, followed by The Raft and Slaves of Freedom. Once employed by Herbert Hoover.
Lieutenant Coningsby William Dawson wounded 2 September 1918, GSW to the head, (previously wounded in arm on 26-6-17), serving with the 3rd Artillery Brigade. He retired in the British Isles on 30 June 1919.
More
Please subscribe to CEFRG to be notified by email when there are new posts. Subscription is free, and your email kept confidential.