The following day was spent in the same position, manning a salient jutting into the German lines. The Bedfords dug in tight and watched an attack from the Northampton's halted by intense shell and rile fire just to their right. A further thirty Officers and men fell on the 11th but no more attempts to advance were made. Overnight the two front line companies dug a new trench at right angles to their existing ones, which were being heavily enfiladed from their open southern flank, resulting in one company facing east, the other south. That night also saw a company of the Scots Fusiliers brought into the line on their right, opposite the 'High Trees', but they were rushed early in the early morning mist and driven from the trench, leaving the Bedfords cruelly exposed.

At about 7am Major Denne (second in command) was organising a counter attack to regain the lost trench when he was wounded and had to be removed from the line completely, dying as a result some two years later. Captains Cumberledge and Baird took charge and led A Company in the attack, which was disastrous. Every last Officer and man was hit, many of them falling as they left the trenches and the regimental history remarks that those who made it into no man's land lay in a straight line where they fell. Only a handful of Bedfords actually made it into the German trenches, being Captain Baird (wounded), Sgt 9238 Woods (wounded), Pte 7072 Wareham (wounded), Pte 9446 Coxall (wounded), Pte 9957 Day (killed), Pte 8006 Hodson (wounded), Pte 6684 Richards (killed).

Captain Foss was his Adjutant but it seems that he was not satisfied with events and took control himself. Having considered the situation he suggested one of the newly raised bombing sections should attempt the assault but neglected to add that he intended to lead them himself. In his own words, he "was rather afraid that he [the C.O.] might not countenance his Adjutant going for a 'jolly' on his own, so I did not hint that I thought of joining the bombers". Having taken one such section from D Company, he led them from the front in a line through the trenches, intending to flank attack the German held line and placed himself at the front as the leading bayonet man.

Having moved through the 'veritable shambles' that the British trenches had become, overflowing with wounded and dying men as they were, Foss approached the end of the British territory and was faced with open ground between them and the German lines with flooded dykes running across their line of attack. As he describes in his own words:

"We then launched our attack. The words sound grand; but we felt very 'naked' and 'above ground' in the open field - at least I did. The dyke caused me some amusement - none of the bombers were inclined to get their feet wet and I thoroughly sympathised with them - wet puttees are so cold. So they 'covered' me while I ran and leapt, then I 'covered' them while they ran and leapt. What's more, we all cleared the dyke. This safely negotiated, we threw a few bombs … The bombs, the first I had seen go off in anger, frightened me with their noise and the mess they made of the local German. They also stirred the Germans into activity. They got up and crowded round us with their hands up. The bombers thoroughly enjoyed themselves, waving the bombs in their faces, making grimaces and ordering them to hold their hands higher. I had to shout to warn the bombers not to throw any more as they would blow us all up."

The tiny band of eight over zealous bombers and a single worried Officer overcame one German Officer and forty eight men in addition to those who were killed during their bombing assault. A Company moved in to take over and the salient was saved. Captain Foss' team, in the order they advanced in file, were:

Pte 9078 William Eade, DCM from Tottenham, who won the DCM and Russian Cross of St. George for his actions. He had enlisted into the Regiment in June 1907, served in Gibraltar, Bermuda and South Africa before arriving on the Western Front with the battalion on the 6th October 1914. He survived the First Battle of Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Loos and eighteen months of trench warfare before being accidentally killed in France on the 10th June 1916. William lies in Chipilly, south east of Albert on the Somme.

Pte 4/6215 Stanley Walter Scrivener who was born in Luton to Ebenezer and Sarah Scrivener, but lived in St. Albans when he enlisted in the summer of 1909, aged 18. Stanley was in the Reserve 4th battalion when war broke out and initially served in the 1st battalion on the Western front, arriving with them on the 8th November 1914. After being wounded in the First Battle of Ypres, he recovered and moved into the 2nd battalion early in 1915. Stanley was killed the day after his heroics that earned him a Mention in Despatches, on the 13th March 1915. He has no known grave but is remembered on the Touret Memorial to the Missing.

Sgt 9822 William Peggs from Stratford who was awarded the Cross of St. George but who was wounded assaulting Maltz Horn Farm on the Somme 31st July 1916 and died on the 9th August 1916 at CCS No.21. This notably cheerful man's photo and bio can be seen here.

Pte 4/7270 Phillip George Cogan who was born in Collingbourne Ducis, Wilts around 1888, the son of William and Louisa Cogan. Phillip lived in Furneux Pelham, Herts when he joined up as a boy in August 1902. Phillip arrived with the 2nd battalion in France on the 11th November 1914 and was killed with Stanley Scrivener on the 13th March 1915. Like his comrade Stanley, he has no known grave but is remembered on the Touret Memorial.

Pte, later Acting Sgt 4/6477 Herbert Smith. He enlisted in January 1911, was in the Reserve 4th battalion when war broke out and arrived in the same draft as Phillip Cogan (above). He served in the 2nd battalion through the First Battle of Ypres and Neuve Chapelle, apparently surviving the war, although I have been unable to learn more about him so far.

Pte, later Acting Sgt 9878 George Freshwater, MM was born in Harrow in 1889, the son of John and Sarah Freshwater, and lived in the Willesden area of Middlesex. He enlisted around September 1911 and was with the 2nd battalion in South Africa when war was declared. Arriving on the Western Front on the 6th October 1914, he served through the First Battle of Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Loos and the other minor actions his comrades fought in, before losing his life to the Battle of the Somme. George died of wounds on the 8th July 1916, aged 27. He lies in the St. Sever cemetery, Rouen, the site of the hospital in which he died.

Pte 4/5803 Joseph Lovett enlisted into the army at the end of June 1908. He was in the Reserve 4th battalion when war broke out and joined the battalion on the western Front 8th November 1914 as a replacement for their losses at the First Battle of Ypres. Joseph was discharged as 'time expired' in January 1916 but very probably went on to serve throughout the war in another capacity, although I have been unable to trace that information so far.

Pte 9797 Harold Barnett joined the regiment on the 1st July 1911 and was in South Africa with the 2nd battalion when war was declared. He landed in France in that battalion on the 6th October 1914 and survived the entire war.

Pte, later Sgt 16441 Frederick Brown joined the regiment on the 1st September 1914 from civilian life and may well have seen previous service before the war as he was one of the few to be posted into a Regular battalion after the most basic of training late in 1914. He landed in France two days after Christmas Day of 1914 and served in the trenches in the 2nd battalion throughout the first uncomfortable winter until the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. He won promotion to a Sergeant and went on to win a Military Medal for bombing his way along a German trench on the 12th and 13th October 1916, during the 2nd battalion's involvement in the Battle of the Somme that year. He survived the war but was discharged in January 1919 and returned to civilian life, his duty well and truly done.

An 'artist's impression painting of the event