Genealogical war memorials for Bournemouth’s fallen.
Battle of the Marne: September 10th, 1914
Introduction
Tales from the Front (6) tells the story of Victor Talmash, a lance-corporal serving with the 1st Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Born in Bournemouth (1896), Victor had already enlisted by 1911. The census for that year records him in Winchester barracks. The 1st Battalion fought with the 6th Brigade, part of the 2nd Division, 1st Corps. Victor will have fought at Mons and during its retreat. He fell as the Battle of the Marne came to its close.
Tales from the Front (6): Part 1
The turning tide
Victor may have found the last three weeks disconcerting. He already knew about professional soldiering, but he may not have seen any action. Subjected to constant artillery fire, watched by hostile aircraft crawling across the sky, these weeks had taken him far from the parade ground. Furthermore, with others, he may not have understood why the BEF retreated every day, despite stout efforts in several actions. Now, without warning, the tide had turned, as Kitchener announced to the House of Lords. The Allies attacked. They succeeded in pushing the enemy in the opposite direction. Crossing the Marne River occurred with little difficulty. The KRRCs had crossed at Charly early on the morning of September 9th. The next day, however, the situation changed. Victor had advanced around 20 kilometres when reports came in of an enemy column heading their way. At 1000, the BEF deployed and launched an attack.
Tales from the Front (6): Part 2
A troubling father
Victor’s family had resided for several generations in the tiny parish of Wonston, a hamlet five miles from Winchester. The menfolk often worked as bricklayers, but Victor’s father, Clement, became a painter. After receiving a reasonable education (IV), Clement followed his elder brother to Bournemouth. Here, he acquired a wife, the daughter of an engine driver. They may have lived with Clement’s brother on Wyndham Road when Victor and his sister arrived. By 1901, however, they returned to Wonston. Soon after, another daughter arrived. Clement may have lost his way at this point. He began a lawless career: house-breaking, theft, assault. In 1905, he received six weeks’ hard labour at Winchester. By 1911, Clement, his wife, and two daughters had moved to Southampton, some distance from Winchester. A similar process happened in 1912. By 1917, he had developed a sickness. A stay in Greenwich Union’s hospital provided temporary ease.
Military haven
The records fix Victor’s birthdate as the first quarter of 1896. In 1911, however, the census gave his age as 18. As this translates to 1893 as his birth date, the 1896 record may refer to his baptism. Otherwise, Victor did not give his correct age when he enlisted, joining at 15. His service record has not survived, so no physical characteristics, for example, height, remain. The army’s attraction may have consisted of providing a stable alternative to his life at home, perhaps rendered turbulent by his father’s activities. Although born in Bournemouth, Victor did not live there long. His orientation may have inclined towards Winchester, Wonston’s nearest town. This may explain his decision to enlist with the King’s Royal Rifles, as they had a barracks there. Victor will have received a strong grounding in army life by the time his unit took the ferry from Southampton to France.
Tales from the Front (6): Part 3
The sad day
At 1000 on Thursday, September 10th, Victor and his colleagues prepared, once again, to do battle. An artillery battery came up to pour fire on the enemy, now in sight. They formed up along a road which ran through a cutting, a natural trench. The KRRC deployed its companies across different locations on the battlefield. The men advanced over an open, stubble field. It offered no cover whatsoever. At some point in the action, friendly artillery fire from the rear brought trouble to the battalion. The HQ suffered a direct hit, the blast injuring several men. After over an hour’s fighting, the Germans hoisted a white flag and surrendered. In this action, the British took hundreds of prisoners and many rifles. That day, the KRRCs suffered over 60 men wounded, as well as several missing. 10 men fell in the action, including Victor, who may have suffered a mortal wound.
Aftermath
Clement lingered on until 1923 but succumbed to a social disease that year, once again in Greenwich Union’s hospital. His wife remained in Southampton, supporting herself (1921) as a music teacher, a new fact about her. She and her two daughters had lodgings. The census recorded one, Myrtle, as an invalid. The daughters would marry. Victor may have known his uncle Albert, a bricklayer, when living on Wyndham Road, Springbourne. By 1910, however, Albert, now a mason, lived near Newark, New Jersey, with his family.
With little delay, the KRRCs joined the battle of the Aisne, crossing the river on October 14th. That day, they lost the most men killed during all of 1914, 27. They remained in the area, engaged in desultory action until early October, when they removed to the Ypres salient. The last week of October proved very difficult. They lost over 70 men in action.
Takeaway
Tales from the Front (6) has followed the life and military service of Lance-Corporal Victor Talmash (1896-1914), a Bournemouth native, who served in France with the 1st Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps. A restless father, an occasional criminal, may have made family life difficult. Victor had chosen to become a professional soldier by 1911, while a teenager. He must have shown initiative, for he received a promotion. The battalion formed part of the lengthy strategic withdrawal after Mons. Victor’s time with his military companions ended at the Battle of the Marne.
‘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
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