Lt James Edward Tait VC MC in the Great War

The 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers) led by Lieutenant-Colonel James Kirkcaldy. Two Victoria Crosses (Lt Samuel Lewis Honey and Lt James Edward Tait), the only surviving quadruple-amputee (Curley Christian) and the HALLU EIGHT, only a few of their incredible stories.

Where is Lt James Edward Tait buried at Fouquescourt British Cemetery? Is he buried at Fouquescourt? Unfortunately, CoD records which would help to determine his battlefield burial location destroyed, but GRRF and CoG records for Fouquescourt remain. What do they tell us?

First Victoria Cross Engineer

The first Victoria Cross engineer Lieutenant James Edward Tait, 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers). Tait a civil engineer who had worked on the Hudson Bay Railway survey, and born in Dumfries, Scotland. His VC action preceded that of Canadian-born Captain Coulson Norman Mitchell VC MC by only two months.

A military award for valour in the face of the enemy never ‘won’. These (often posthumous) awards not a contest! Their individual stories behind them worth far more than what military collectors are willing to pay. For those counting though, Tait’s Military Cross action also preceded that of Captain Mitchell by seven months.

Military Cross Action of Lt James Edward Tait

18 May 1917

Trench Raid

One German prisoner brought in wounded by Lt James Edward Tait. The prisoner died before reaching dressing station.

Victoria Cross Action of Lt James Edward Tait MC

Evening of 10 August 1918

At 4:50 p.m. Kirkcaldy sent a message to all companies – “hold on to your present locations until Lt Kilborn reports, he is now making a reconnaissance of our front. I have sent my spare company out to try and fill the gap between the 38th and ourselves.”

Posts established well forward of the village in A.29.c and A.28.a. Battalion HQ at the northern end of Chilly, in the corner of an orchard. At about 7:30 p.m., Kirkcaldy observed the enemy in considerable numbers about 150 to 600 yards northeast of Chilly. The enemy engaged before dusk and forced to withdraw.

• B Coy 66D.G.3.a.90.50 to 66D.A.27.b.10.75
• D Coy 66D.A.27.d.40.50 to 66D.A.27.b.60.70
• C Coy 66D.A.27.b.60.70 to 66D.A.21.d.80.10
• A Coy 66D.A.21.d.80.10 to 66D.A.21.d.90.80

The 78th Battalion had a firm hold on Hallu. LCol Kirkcaldy called up for and received the active assistance of L.T.M.’s under the late Lt Taylor who was unfortunately mortally wounded on coming up to report is arrival.

Lt Tait Captures Two PoWs

Lt James Edward Tait MC, already famous for having captured a German PoW in May of 1917 during a trench raid. Tait sends a message to LCol James Kirkcaldy at 9:10 pm.

Lt Tait and his men at 66D.A.22.c.05.20 firing at the Cavalry Officer in the area of 66D.A.28.a.1.9.

The German artillery located in Bois d’Hallu, to the south towards Hattencourt, from whence the Cavalry Officer had made his charge. Tait and his men held the post through the night of 10/11 August 1918.

No 4 Post ‘C’ Company

At about 10 a.m., 11 August 1918, Private Slater 2199149 in duty at No. 4 Post, ‘C’ Company in Hallu at 66D.A.22.c.15.35. Manning a Lewis Gun with Privates Noyes and Noar, in a cellar alongside the post. The enemy began shelling the village at 8 a.m., and the barrage intensified from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., following which the Germans started to come over.

Machine gun fire forced the men into a shell hole. Private Noyes was hit. Along with Privates Kleven and Codd the group came upon about ten Germans who ordered them to lay down their weapons. The Canadians brought a little further back into the village and placed in a shell hole. A German shot and wounded Private Kleven in the ear. Private Codd had his arm broken.

As the Canadian barrage opened-up about half an hour later, the men noticed the Germans did not come back for them, and after waiting about three hours, made their way back to the line and reported to Captain Bryan they had been, for a few hours at least, Prisoners of War. Besides the one German that had shot at them, they were not mistreated.

‘D’ Company call for Reinforcements

At 11:45 a.m., Captain McLauchlan commanding D Company in a reply for a request for reinforcements. “You must fight every foot and if you are forced to retire you can fall back on the line of the railway.” At noon, D Company fell back to the railway line, sending a message to Major Linnell, who by this time was dead (fell instantly to a sniper’s bullet).

At 12:55 p.m., all companies instructed to fall back to the line held by the 72nd Battalion. In trenches west of the railway line, the 72nd and 78th Battalions awaited the German advance (which never came). The Germans busy burying the dead strewn about the village. The trenches made makeshift graves, and the Germans found time to erect crosses over the graves, in particular, those which contained an officer. At least 13 graves made, for the cross over the grave of Lt Clifford Abram Neelands had the number 13.

By 8 p.m. the German’s forced to evacuate the village as an artillery barrage opened up. The Germans had held Hallu for nearly 8 hours. After midnight, the 78th and 72nd Battalions moved north to a position in north of Chilly, never returning to Hallu.

Death of Lieutenant James Edward Tait MC

If Lt James Edward Tait killed by an enemy shell, then likely he died before noon during the barrage of 11 August, and just before his commanding officer Major Linnell fell.

Tait mortally wounded by a German shell, nevertheless, continued to give orders and rally his men until he died. Tait commemorated at Fouquescourt British Cemetery near the Somme, France. Unknown if his remains buried here. Today, Tait’s Victoria Cross is at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

Victoria Cross Citation of Lieutenant James Edward Tait VC MC

“For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in attack. The advance having been checked by intense machine-gun fire, Lt. Tait rallied his company and led it forward with consummate skill and dash under a hail of bullets. A concealed machine-gun, however, continued to cause many casualties. Taking a rifle and bayonet, Lt. Tait dashed forward alone and killed the enemy gunner. Inspired by his example his men rushed the position, capturing twelve machine-guns and twenty prisoners. His valorous action cleared the way for his battalion to advance.

Later when the enemy counter-attacked our positions under intense artillery bombardment, this gallant officer displayed outstanding courage and leadership, and though mortally wounded by a shell, continued to direct and aid his men until his death. ” – Fourth Supplement to The London Gazette of 24 September 1918. 27 September 1918, Numb. 30922, p. 11429

Believed to be Buried in this Cemetery

Note that Fouquescourt British Cemetery made after the Armistice when graves brought in from the battlefields in a wide area round the village of Fouquescourt and other burial grounds. Perhaps IWGC received information from the Germans Lt Tait buried in Hallu by the Alpenkorps (German Alpine Corps).

As the German Army retook Hallu, there was time on a very hot afternoon 11 August 1918 to bury casualties from the previous 48 hours. How did the inscription “Believed to be Buried in this Cemetery” come about?

Circumstances of Death File

Lt James Edward Tait’s CoD neither confirms, nor denies his remains had been brought into Fouquescourt.

Certain however, that a Memorial Cross erected – meaning his remains not below the marker, but perhaps buried elsewhere in the cemetery. If his remains had been brought into Fouquescourt, why was the IWGC unsure of his location?

CoG and GRRF Files

Examining CoG and GRRF files for the cemetery leads to the location of several Unknown Winnipeg Grenadiers by association with known 78th Battalion casualties. Eight identified members of the 78th Battalion later exhumed and buried at Fouquescourt from 11 August 1918. Each must be examined in turn.

• I.H.1. B W Brown 148772
  • CoG: 66E.F.30.c.3.4
  • Cross found over grave
  • Re-burial: 7 January 1921
  • Re-buried beside six British soldiers (from 1917) exhumed from Lihons French Military Cemetery
• III.F.10. T G Beattie 624915
  • CoG: 66D.A.28.D.2.8
  • No cross found over grave
  • Re-burial: 27 March 1920
  • Buried beside two UCS 78th Bn and Gough
• III.F.2. J W Carr 288690
  • CoG: 66D.A.21.d.2.9
  • No cross found over grave
  • Re-buried 28 February 1920
• C W Dalley 288580
  • CoG: 66D.A.21.b.5.4
  • No Cross found over grave
  • Re-burial: 27 March 1928
• IIIF.8. R H Gough 874365
  • CoG: 66D.A.22.d.1.1
  • No cross found over grave
  • Buried beside two UCS 78th Bn and Beattie
  • Re-buried: 2 March 1920
• III.F.1. Major A Grant
  • CoG: 66D.A.21.d.2.5
  • Cross found over grave
  • Re-buried 28 February 1920
• I.G.2 Cpl F Moore 147565
  • CoG: 66D.A.22.c.7.3
  • No cross found over grave
  • Re-buried: 2 March 1920
• Lt James Edward Tait
  • CoG: does not exist
  • Memorial Cross erected 19 August 1925
  • “Believed to be buried in this cemetery” as of 19 August 1925
  • Chaulines Germany Cemetery (Kipling Memorial)?

Recovery Locations

Good chance Lt James Edward Tait buried along with his commanding officer, Major A Grant.

Brown fell earlier, south of Chilly, and not marked above. Note the location of the HALLU 8, recovered by Fabien Demeusere in 2006/2007.

C’est un adolescent de 14 ans, Fabien Demeusere, qui a trouvé les corps, en 2006, dans la cour de sa maison du village d’Hallu.

Chaulnes German Cemetery Memorial

The reference to a Kipling Memorial for ‘Chaulines’ German Cemetery must apply to the three soldiers listed below Lt Tait above. Where are they found today?

• Harry Pickup 204025
  • Chaulnes German Cemetery Memorial 4, Fouquescourt British Cemetery.
• J Davies 10785
  • Chaulnes German Cemetery Memorial 3, Fouquescourt British Cemetery.
• E G Osborne
  • Chaulnes German Cemetery Memorial 2, Fouquescourt British Cemetery.

“To the memory of these British Soldiers, who died in 1918 as Prisoners of War, and were buried at the time in Chaulnes German Cemetery, but whose graves are now lost.” Who is buried in Chaules German Cemetery Memorial 1 and 5? They appear to be Unknowns. These are all Special Memorials on the wall opposite Tait’s Special Memorial.

Chaulnes Germany Cemetery

The village of Chaulnes immediately north of Hallu. CHAULNES COMMUNAL CEMETERY GERMAN EXTENSION (known as the New Military Cemetery by the Railway Station), contained the graves of 201 German soldiers and three from the United Kingdom (the PoWs above) who fell in April and May, 1918.

Was Lt James Edward Tait exhumed from the German cemetery at Chaulnes? The German Army erected a memorial to the 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment and to the 117th Infantry Regiment of Hesse at Chaulnes, and also maintained at least one cemetery at Chaulnes.

Desecration of Graves and Memorials

Chaulnes already destroyed before the Battle of Amiens. Communal cemeteries not exempt from shellfire – destruction of graves commonplace. Wanton desecration of graves rare during the war. This would not be the case when villagers returned to find German soldiers buried in their cemeteries.

Very likely any German cemetery destroyed not by shellfire, but by the locals returning to their homes in 1919/20. The German memorials that remain today guarded in the first few years following the Great War to protect them from destruction.

141st Infantry Regiment Cemetery, Punchy

Punchy immediately east of Hallu, and the German Army may have brought some remains here from the Battle of Amiens.

Examining UCS at Fouquescourt

If Lt James Edward Tait’s remains are at Fouquescourt, they must be under the headstone of an Unknown Canadian Soldier (UCS). But which one? There are a staggering 130 Unknowns buried here, along with 376 identified burials.

Major Alexander Grant DSO’s body recovered on 28 February 1920. Sheet 66D.A.21.d.2.5 – just west of the railway in Hallu. Grant KIA 11 August 1918. Buried in the first grave of Row F in Plot III.

Major Henry Rupert Linnell had returned to the railway line by noon on 11 August 1918, and died here with Major Grant. Unfortunately, the opportunity to recover his remains over by early March 1920 following the work of the recovery teams. The French also suspended exhumations from June to October 1920 due to warmer days.

Graves 7-10 in Row F contain a UCS (78th), Pte R H Gough 874325, another UCS (78th), and Thomas Grant Beattie 624915. Gough recovered from same location as the first UCS (66D.A.22.d.1.1). The second UCS at 66D.A.22.d.4.5 and Beattie at 66D.A.28.a.5.9.

HALLU EIGHT

Beattie’s location only meters away from the eventual recovery of the HALLU EIGHT by Fabien Demeusere. How was it the HALLU EIGHT were missed by the recovery teams on 2 March 1920?

Other Winnipeg Grenadiers in Row F include Carr 288690 (66D.A.21.D.2.9), C W Dalley 288680 (66D.A.21.b.5.4), and a UCS (78th) in Grave 6 (66D.A.22.c.1.9). All these men recovered north-west of Hallu.

Plot I Row G

Following completion of Row F in Plot III, the exhumation teams proceeded to Plot I, Row G where they buried a UBS from 66D.A.22.D.2.8 later identified as Second Lieutenant Charles William Woodend, and then Cpl F Moore 47566 recovered from 66D.A.22.c.7.3.

Two UBS along with a Winnipeg Grenadier at 66D.A.24.b.3.8 buried in Graves 6-8 respectively. Both UBS should be considered as Winnipeg Grenadiers.

Plot I Row H

The last Winnipeg Grenadier buried at Fouquescourt William Brown Bertie whose cross had been located at 66E.F.30.c.3.4. He likely fell on the way up to Hallu, as his body quite a distance to the rear. Reinterred on 8 March 1920.

CoG-Br Binder

The CoG-Br Binder for Fouquescourt includes 59 pages of exhumations. Where are/were the UCS of the 78th Battalion? These are locations of the 78th known to be buried, or likely of the 78th Battalion buried at Fouquescourt.

• I.G.3-5. (3) UBS (78th Bn Canadians) 66D.A.28.a.2.5
  • Only I.G.5 mentioned as 78th on CoG,
  • but all three are 78th Bn on GRRF.
• III.F.4 UBS (Canadians) 66D.A.22.a.2.2
• III.F.6. UBS (78th Bn Canadians) 66D.A.22.c.1.9
• III.F.8. UBS (78th Bn Canadians) 66D.A.22.d.1.1
• III.F.9. UBS (78th Bn Canadians) 66D.A.22.d.4.5
• III.G.4. UBS (78th Bn Canadians) 66D.A.25.b.1.2
• III.G.6. UBS (Canadians) 66D.A.25.b.1.1

One location stands out which coincides with where Tait’s company had killed the Cavalry Officer. In fact, three Unknowns of the 78th Battalion recovered at 66D.A.28.a.2.5.

Best Candidate Grave

The description for I.G.3 of ‘An Englishman’ written on a cross would suggest one of the three buried at the location had received a special recognition, as in the case of Lt Clifford Abram Neeland’s who had also been buried by the Alpenkorps on 11/12 August 1918 in Hallu. The description does not elaborate that it was written in German, but most certainly was, and that a soldier in the ranks, i.e., a non-Officer, would not be referred to as an ‘Englishman’.

HALLU 8

In the HALLU 8 case, CEFRG discovered Lt Neelands and seven other men of the Winnipeg Grenadiers buried by the German Alpenkorps. A relative, Herbert Hunter of the Neelands’ family had visited the grave in late 1919 and discovered a German cross over the grave, with the writing, in German, of “A Canadian officer of the grenadiers’. The grave, and presumably several others, destroyed when the villagers of Hallu returned in late 1919, or early 1920. 14-year-old Fabien would discover them nearly 90 years later.

Without a Circumstances of Death Card, cannot conclude what led the IWGC to believe Lt James Edward Tait VC MC buried at Fouquescourt. Nor, can CEFRG conclude a Victoria Cross recipient buried in Plot I, Row G, Grave 3 at Fouquescourt British Cemetery. However, CEFRG would suggest there is at least a 1 in 3 chance this particular headstone lies over the remains of Lt James Edward Tait VC MC.

Conclusion

In conclusion, six of the 25 missing Winnipeg Grenadiers of 11 August 1918 found among the Unknowns at Fouquescourt Military Cemetery. However, no evidence to be found other than wishful thinking, that Lt James Edward Tait VC MC buried here. None of the Unknown Winnipeg Grenadiers positively identified as an Officer by rank, only the suggestion that an ‘Englishman’ is an ‘Officer’ buried in Plot I, Row G, Grave 3 at Fouquescourt British Cemetery.

The Missing – 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers)

Forty-three men of the Winnipeg Grenadiers fell on 11 August 1918. Twenty five of these soldiers (Missing) named on the Vimy Memorial. However, three of these Missing are buried among the Unknowns of the HALLU 8 in Caix British Cemetery. Most likely candidates in bold.

• Albert Edward AHMED
• Peter Thornton ANDERSON
• Thomas ANDREWS
• John AVISON
• Thomas Allan BENNETT
• LCpl James BRETT
• William BUNCH
• Ernest CHALLIS
• Marcus CHISHOLM
• Sidney Charles COULING
• Henry Victor COUSANS
• William Ernest DENT
• Thomas Basil GILES
• Frederick Ernest GOUGH
• Andrew Blair HOCKIN
• John Henderson IRVINE
• Sgt William Edward JONES
• Major Henry Rupert LINNELL
• Stanley LOUTIT
• Henry Farmer MILLICHAMP
• Clarence Walter NOYES
• Harry PARK
• Reginald SYMINGTON
• Benjamin Edward UTTING
• James Andrew WHITE

Private Benjamin Edward Utting

Private Benjamin Edward Utting born in Barking, East London, England, on December 19, 1894, to parents John Patterson Newby Utting and Sarah Maria (née Wanstall) Utting. The fourth of five children, with siblings Christiana, Sarah, John, and Miriam. Immigrating to Canada several years prior to the outbreak of the Great War, Utting took up farming in New Norway, Alberta.

Enlisting with the 223rd Battalion in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on December 23, 1916, Utting shipped for England on board the SS Justicia the following May. After several months spent training in England, he was sent to join the 78th Battalion in France in November of 1917.

Cappy Communal Cemetery Extension

The graves of Captain William Stanley Willshire MC of Broken Hill, NSW, killed in action 29 August 1918, and 5616 Private Thomas Edward Marriott MM of Ardrossan, SA, both of the 27th Battalion, killed in action 30 August 1918, in Cappy Communal Cemetery Extension. A soldier, 4210 Sergeant Henry Matthew Skinner MM, lays a wreath on the grave of each comrade. This image is one of a set of photographs of the original graves of some members of the 27th Battalion. The Battalion funded the purchase of the camera through its adjutant Captain (Capt) Southon for 5541 Pte G R Barrington to photograph the graves.

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