Photos from 2/Lt Leonard Brereton's album

Leonard Brereton was a keen photographer and his descendants (who were kind enough to provide his personal diary for the site) also have some of his photographs. There are some terrific photo's below and I hope you enjoy them as much as I have as each has it's own story! I have looked into the individuals noted below as "free" time whilst at the Archives has allowed and will explore the others in more detail as time allows. Please feel free to contact me if you can add or correct any information.

IMPORTANT:

Anne Chappel and her family own these photographs and the below are significantly reduced copies of them. As with his diary, please seek their approval before attempting to reproduce them or use them for anything other than personal use.

Please respect their wishes.

Thank you.

Leonard's Photographs from 1916

Below are (left to right) "Chirnside, Mander, Lt Oertling and 2/Lt Hucklesby":

Captain William Stuart CHIRNSIDE. He had already won a Military Cross when this photo was taken and was recovering from wounds picked up on Gallipoli with the 1st/5th battalion. He went onto win a second M.C. for his bravery at Oppy Wood at the end of June 1917 whilst commanding C Company of the 1st Battalion. He went on to temporarily command the 1^st battalion in 1918 and survived the war. A full bio of Captain Chirnside can be read here. Looking at his almost cherubic smile and comparatively small stature, one could be forgiven for not realising just what a superb combat leader he truly was! William is on more of the photo’s below.

2/Lt A.J. Mander was posted to the front line 1st/5th battalion on the 1^st December 1916 whilst they were in Egypt

Lieutenant Lewis John Francis Oertling was the son of Henry and Emily Oertling from Barnes in Surrey and served very briefly in the 5th battalion until transferred to become a pilot in the newly formed Royal Air Force. Sadly he died in 5th Squadron of the RAF on the 8th August 1918 and is buried n the Vignacourt Cemetery.

2/Lt Alexander George Hucklesby arrived in the 1st/5th battalion of the Bedfordshire regiment in Egypt on the 1^st December 1916 and served there until transferred to the Army Pay Corps where he served the rest of the war out and got through unscathed.

Halton Camp, 1916

Aston Lodge, 1916

Chirnside and Pinchin on Office steps

Above left are “G.R.Buck and Powell". These are Lieutenant G.R. Buck and 2/Lt Powell standing outside Aston lodge in the Summer of 1916.

Lieutenant C.F. Buck arrived in the 1^st/5^th battalion in Egypt on the 1^st December 1916 so trained AT Halton at the right time. He served the entire war in the unit, surviving BUT G.R. Buck, his brother, did not. The photograph notes say this is G.R. but we will never know for sure!

2/Lt Powell could be one of two Officers - Lt F. Powell or Captain ANW Powell but I suspect I will never be able to isolate which one is in the photo.

Above right are Captain Chirnside and 2nd Lieutenant Pinchin standing on the Office steps.

2/Lt George Harold Pinchin served in Egypt from the 14^th August 1917 but died from wounds received during the 3rd battle at Gaza. His biography can be seen here.

Below are a group of Officers who it seems just want to sleep and not be bothered by some fool with a camera! Left to right:

"Letchford" who was 2/Lt Charles Percival Letchford, who's biography can be seen here.
"W.S. Davis” was Lieutenant William Stanley Davis, whom Leonard Brereton seems to have had a special friendship with, including playing tennis with his Davis' sister Evadne and Leonard’s sister Eunice whilst at Bedford. He went to France to serve in the 4th Battalion and was killed on the 22nd March 1918, aged 22, during the German Spring Offensives on the southern fringes of the Somme. He was the son of Mary Rosina Davis, 7 The Embankment in Bedford, and the late Dr. William Davis.
"Strugnell" who was Lieutenant Milton Arthur Strugnell, who's biography can be seen here.

“Hucklesby” is 2/Lt Alexander George Hucklesby, mentioned above.

"C.F. Buck" is 2/Lt C.F. Buck who arrived in Egypt with the 1^st/5^th battalion 1^st December 1916 along with many others on this page. He survived the war.

Sleepy Officers at Halton Camp, 1916

Halton Camp, 1916

2/Lt Powell, Sept 1916

Above left - one can only assume the young Officers were being trained in sleeping outdoors or some similar activity! From the farthest away they are 2/Lt’s Powell, H.W.E. Smith and A.J. Mander

Above right is the very young looking Second Lieutenant Powell, although I cannot say which one for certain!

Below - taken at Musketry School in July 1916. From left to right, top row first:

Sergeant Rymer

2/Lt Harris, who must be 2/Lt A.S. Harris who went to one of the battalions in France.

Sergeant Reed

2/Lt James

2/Lt Reid

Sergeant Graver

2/Lt Leonard Brereton, the owner of this album!

None of the men appear to be 1st/5th battalion men and all of them apart from Leonard seem to have survived.

Musketry School, July 1916

Dugouts at Halton Camp, 1916

Buckland Range, August 1916

Two above - Lt. William Davis and 2/Lt. Leonard Brereton after what looks like a hard day's training.

Immediately above - taken whilst enjoying the sun on Buckland Range in August 1916:

2/Lt. Powell again, as in other photos.

2/Lt. C.F. Buck who is also in other photos.

Lt. George Harold Pinchin, also shown above.

2/Lt. Milton Strugnell who can be seen on several other photos too.

Below - a less formal snap of a group of Officer pals at Halton Camp in the summer of 1916. Many are on other photos but, from left to right, top to bottom they are:

2/Lt. Letchford, as shown above several times.

2/Lt. Hastings. Sadly I have no record if him so far.

2/Lt. T.N. Keith, who arrived in Egypt on the 1^st December 1916, along with the others already mentioned

2/Lt. Wilson, who could be one of three 2/Lt Wilson’s; W.O., R.C., or T.P. The latter, Thomas Percy, was killed as the 7^th battalion stormed the impregnable Schwaben Redoubt in September, one month after the photo was taken but arrived with them in July, suggesting this is not him.

2/Lt. William Davis, Leonard Brereton’s closest friend in the camp.

2/Lt. Waterton, as shown before

2/Lt. C.F. Buck, who has been on several photos already!

Halton Camp, August 1916

Mayfield Camp, 1916

Immediately Below

The three Officers posing as Meerkats on Buckland Range in 1916 and trying to look all serious are "Moxon, Hucklesby and Cookson". Hucklesby is mentioned at the top of the page and Cookson MAY be the later Major C.E. Cookson who served in the Gold Coast Regiment. Considering Leonard Brereton came from the African Campaigns, this may be possible but is nonetheless unconfirmed. Hugh Moxon is shown below.

2nd Lieutenant Hugh Cecil MOXON.

Hugh Cecil Moxon was born in October 1896, the son of the Reverend E. Moxon and Maud Moxon. His father was the vicar of All Saints Church in Newmarket so would have spent many hours with the 1st/5th Battalion as they trained between September 1914 and March 1915. Hugh Moxon of Rous Villa in Newmarket enlisted into the British Army on the 28^th January 1916 and was posted to the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps as Cadet 9147. He was 19 years and 3 months old.

2/Lt Moxon left Engand on the 30^th September 1916 and arrived with the 8th Battalion in France on the 4^th October 1916. He was a replacement for the casualties the battalion had sustained in the Flers-Courcelette battle during the Somme offensives. Hugh’s service until April 1917 was relatively quiet and, other than being held in support during the battle of Morval, was spent holding the lines around Bethune and Noyelles.

He was granted leave between the 3^rd and 13^th January 1917 and survived the bloody assault against the Cite St. Bierre, near Hill 70 (west of Lens) in April 1917. Hugh then spent the period from May in trenches around Loos.

Just as the battalion was being relieved on the night of the 19^th July 1917 from what would be their final spell in the trenches for 5 long weeks, German artillery caught wind of the relief and smothered the area with shells. Hugh was spotted by a sniper who caught him in the head and face and he died from wounds soon afterwards at 11.15pm whilst at 33 CCS at Bethune on the 19th July 1917. He was 20 years old and is buried in the Bethune Town Cemetery.

The photo below was taken on field operations in 1916. You can almost hear the Sergeants shouting "fall out" moments earlier! A lovely, impromtu snap of relaxed soldiers, just as they should be!

1916

Field Operations, Summer 1916

Leonard Brereton sporting Gas Mask

3rd/5th Battalion Mascot

Above left is Mr Brereton himself sporting riding breeches and a Gas Mask.

Above right is the 3rd/5th Battalion's mascot - a lovely photo!