Tales from the Front (10)

Genealogical war memorials of Bournemouth’s fallen.

La Bassee: October 13th, 1914

Introduction

Tales from the Front (10) tells the story of Walter Henry Linham, a Bournemouth native who fought in the Great War. A sawyer, who served with the 1st Dorsetshire Battalion, he fell on October 13th, 1914, at La Bassee. The battalion had incurred substantial losses on the previous day, but, on the 13th, over fifty died, Walter among them.

Tales from the Front (10): Part 1

Skin crawl

The atmosphere along the La Bassée canal would have tried Linham in particular. In October, the 1st Dorsetshires fought on both sides of the water, where the canal created dank conditions and persistent mist. On 12 October, a dense white fog covered the area, lingering into the following morning. According to his service record, Linham had suffered from eczema in his youth, and such airless, moisture-laden conditions may well have aggravated the condition.

By this stage of the war, fighting had shifted from the mobile cavalry actions once celebrated in the press to static and punishing engagements in trenches and waterlogged ground, such as at La Bassee. In the patchwork of villages near the canal, days often began beneath curtains of fog which, once lifted, could reveal the enemy too close for comfort. For a man with physical vulnerabilities, these climatic and tactical conditions would have made Linham’s skin crawl. 

Tales from the Front (10): Part 2

Shoes, cabs

Walter’s grandparents lived in Street, Somerset. His grandfather cut stones; his grandmother made shirts. In the early nineteenth century, manufacturing concerns replaced the rural aspects of Street’s commerce. As part of this, the firm of C&J Clarke entered the shoe market. At least three of the Linham children, including Walter’s father, worked in the shoe trade. The Clarkes’ shoe firm may have employed them, either in the factory or as outworkers. During the 1870s, Walter’s father came to Bournemouth. He married a local woman, a gardener’s daughter, in Pokesdown (1877). In 1881, he worked as an outside servant, driving a coach. Ten years later, he became part of the expanding cab-driving business. During this period, at least five children came into the family, one of whom followed his maternal grandfather into gardening. Neither of the parents lived long. During the Edwardian period, Walter lost first his mother, then his father.

Logs

During his early life, Walter lived in Springbourne. For his early occupation, he ran errands. Later, he joined the ranks of local men who laboured for a living. In 1911, he worked as a sawyer, living as a boarder, both his parents by then dead. He enlisted with the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1904, then aged 18, serving with the colours for three years. After this, he transferred to the reserves. At enlistment, Walter listed his occupation as agricultural labour. He stood 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm) and weighed 110 pounds (50 kilos). Although the medical examiner considered his development good, these figures may indicate malnutrition. Early in his service, he needed hospital attention. Demobbed after three years, he fell afoul of the courts, jailed for fourteen days for false attestation. 39 days after mobilisation, following much fighting, he went missing in action at La Bassee.

Tales from the Front (10): Part 3

The sad day

The war diary commented: ‘The casualties on this day were terribly heavy’. During the night, the battalion received orders to advance eastwards from Pont Fixe. At 0530, some mist lay around as they headed for battle.  They moved into a killing ground lying between two villages. As it grew light, enemy resistance grew. ‘The Dorsets remained throughout the morning exposed to a galling crossfire from the south.’ Several officers became casualties. ‘ … a sergeant very pluckily climbed a tree to engage hostile riflemen lining the canal bank, but in his exposed position he was very soon killed.’ From about noon, the Dorset companies withdrew to Pont Fixe. A lieutenant-colonel, taken prisoner after becoming wounded, escaped and crawled back to Dorset lines by nightfall. The battalion incurred heavy losses during its abortive advance. Over 200 had gone missing; over 150 received wounds; over 50 died, among whom numbered Walter Linham.

Aftermath

Linham’s siblings, who survived childhood, continued to work in occupations common among labourers: postman, cabdriver, cleaner. Parts of the family remained in Bournemouth, while others moved elsewhere. His younger brother, Frank, however, enlisted with the same regiment. The war did not proceed for him beyond May 1915. He became an early victim of gas attacks perpetrated by the enemy on some scale.

The Dorsets came out of the line to recuperate after the action along the canal. Within a week, however, they had returned to the same area, losing more men at Violaines. Thereafter, they left here for the area of Armentieres. The diary noted this with relief. ‘All ranks were heartily glad to say goodbye to the Givenchy-Festubert area, with its sodden fields and heavy fighting, for the battalion had suffered terribly there.’ The regimental history emphasised the great mental strain that the men had undergone during this period.

Takeaway

Tales from the Front (10) has explored the life, world, and military service of Walter Henry Linham (1887-1914). An agricultural labourer, he served with the 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment, for three years, then joined the reserve. He became a sawyer, returned to the ranks on mobilisation, and came to France. He would have participated in several notable battles early in the campaign, but the disaster at La Bassee proved his final engagement. 

‘Tales from the Front’

A collection of personal stories honouring the Bournemouth natives who gave their lives on the battlefield and the regiments with which they served. Blending social and military history with genealogical insight, it explores their roots, families, occupations, and the ultimate sacrifices they made for their country.

Set against the backdrop of regimental war diaries and enriched by period media accounts, the series offers a powerful and intimate portrait of Bournemouth’s wartime heroes — a mosaic of personal courage within the broader sweep of history.

Serving as a companion and continuation of Victorian Bournemouth, Tales from the Front forms part of News from the Past: History for the Rest of Us.

References

For references and engagement, please get in touch. Main primary sources: here and here (subscriptions needed). For War Diaries, go here. See also here. The featured picture shows an imagined scene.