The Crypt School and Old Cryptians in the Great War from 1914 -1916

At the outbreak of the Great War the Crypt School and grounds were at Friars’ Orchard, an idyllic location in the centre of Gloucester situated between Brunswick Road and Southgate Street. They were behind the original Schoolrooms, erected in 1539, and St Mary de Crypt. The Headmaster Dr J.H.E. Crees (1911-19) was just twenty eight years old and had gained a Double First in the Classical Tripos at Cambridge University. The future looked bright for those 150 Cryptians, scholars and fee payers and their eight masters, as they looked forward to their summer holidays in 1914.

The defeat of France by Germany in 1870 led to the humiliating loss of Alsace and Lorraine. By the turn of the century a firm economic and military alliance was in place between democratic Republican France and autocratic Tsarist Russia. Germany felt surrounded and had real concerns about the growing population and economic power of Russia. It could only count on the Austria-Hungarian Empire with its many diverse nationalities in the Balkans as an ally. After the controversial incorporation of Bosnia-Hercegovina into the empire in 1908, the Serbian military secretly supported armed terrorists with the full support of the influential Russian ambassador. From 1912-13 the growing tensions of the remaining territories of the declining Ottoman Empire erupted into two Balkan Wars. The result was the defeat of the Turkish forces and the increase in the size of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and the creation of an independent Albania. The Austrians felt threatened by the concept of a Greater Serbia for the Slavs. During the years leading up to 1914 the military leaders in Paris, Berlin, Vienna and St Petersburg felt that war was inevitable at some stage and created plans to ensure that they would not be surprised and they had the full support of their allies. The pressure on the political leaders by the military was intense. The instability in the Balkans created a tinderbox atmosphere.

  On June 28^th, the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the nephew and heir to the ageing Emperor Franz Joseph (1948-1916), at Saravejo in the disputed Bosnia-Herzegovina, set in motion the events that led to the outbreak of war a month later. On July 6^th Kaiser Wilhelm and the German Chancellor responded positively to to an appeal for military support from Vienna in the event of war against Serbia. In effect they were given a “blank cheque” by Berlin. At a meeting in St Petersburg in the third week of July France eagerly supported the Russian foreign policy in the Balkans. On July 23^rd Vienna delivered the infamous ultimatum to Belgrade and demanded a response in 48 hours. These three decisions in effect started the countdown for war. On July 28^th Vienna declared war and bombed Belgrade across the river Danube. The Tsar was persuaded to mobilise his huge conscripted armed forces. The Liberal Government led by Herbert Asquith and the Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey had been occupied by the threat of civil war as a result of the controversial Home Rule Bill for Ireland. They now instigated a series of Cabinet meetings to decide on their policy in response to the Balkan crisis. Initially they were divided as to how to support their Entente French partners. On August 1^st Germany and France mobilised. On August 4^th three huge German armies invaded neutral Belgium who resisted valiantly. Their ambitious plan was to first attack France and needed to sweep through Belgium in order to envelope Paris and force a quick surrender before they had to face the Russians who would take over a month before they were fully ready. They felt that the UK would not react and if they did it would be too late. However, the Cabinet under pressure from the Tory opposition and the influential right wing press, felt they must support Belgium and could not allow the Germans to control the Channel ports.

  The declarations of war were received with patriotic fervour in St Petersburg, London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. There were claims that that it would all be over by Christmas. The regular, well trained but small peacetime army consisting of six divisions, approximately 120,000 troops, was mobilised. This Expeditionary Force crossed the Channel and arrived in France on August 14^th. The Kaiser called this the “Contemptible little Army”. Lord Kitchener, the Minister of War, appealed for 100,000 volunteers to enlist by the use of the famous poster: “ Your Country Needs You”. The response was tremendous. The Second Master, D.E. Griffiths ( 1900-1936) formed the School Cadet Force which used the rifle range. Most reservists in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (RGH) joined up to serve abroad. The Gloucestershire Regiments, the Glosters, added seven more battalions in the next few months. By December, 109 Old Cryptians had enlisted. By the spring of 1916 there had been a ten fold increase in the army. The first setback for the Germans occurred on August 23^rd at the Battle of Mons in southern Belgium. The BEF, including the 1^st Battalion of the Glosters, had marched 170 miles in nine days and arrived in time to support the French and slow down their advance. The Allied forces fell back 85 miles south in good order to the River Marne, 60 miles east of Paris. They were now closer to their supply lines and Marshal Joffre secretly transferred reinforcements west by rail to protect Paris and outflank the Germans. Six German armies arrived after an exhausting march of 250 miles. However, the coordination of their armies had broken down. General Moltke remained in Luxembourg and was showing the strain. The plan to encircle Paris was unrealistic and they now planned for a victory on the Marne. At dawn on September 6^th nearly a million French and British troops attacked 750,000 Germans in a free flowing mobile battle. After a few days the Germans feared they may be encircled and decided to retreat in order to control the higher ground where they dug in. Their gamble of a swift victory in the West had failed They now had to fight on two fronts. Both armies tracked each other northwards in what was termed the “race to the sea” and opposing trench lines were formed with the notorious “no man’s land” separating the forces. Finally these lines, protected by barbed wire, stretched over 300 miles from Switzerland to the Belgium coast. The opponents had failed to outflank each other and the armies faced each other at Ypres in Flanders. From now on the mobile warfare was over and the cavalry units were cutback. The Battle of Ypres, 40 miles from the Channel ports, consisted of a series of advances and counter attacks which lasted from October 19^th to November 22^nd. A triple line of trenches were protected by extensive barbed wire and deadly machine guns, howitzers and artillery. Those on the defence had clear advantages. The Germans almost broke through in November but were repelled four miles from the city. Frederick Smith (1904-09) joined the Crypt aged thirteen and paid no fees. He later worked as a pupil-teacher in the Junior School and received tuition. He joined the Glosters and was a reservist as war broke out. He fought at the Battles of Mons, Marne and later at Ypres. John Goring was born in 1889 and was a regular soldier with the Royal Dragoons. He served in India and South Africa and fought in these early battles. By December over 250,000 casualties had been recorded and no significant ground had changed hands. Both sides were by now exhausted and a deadly stalemate followed as both sides dug in for the winter. Since August, two thirds of the Expeditionary Force were casualties, but their role had been critical in checking the German advance. It was clear that this was going to be a bitter and protracted struggle and that a huge expansion of troops and armaments production was necessary. Fifty new, large factories were hastily opened across Great Britain which produced heavy guns and artillery shells. A huge complex was constructed at Quedgley which employed 6,000 workers, mainly women. Gloucester factories such as the Wagon Works and Fielding and Platt Engineering on the Bristol Road were converted to support the war effort. Sam Fielding (1893-90) was a director of this company.

  In the spring of 1915, the Germans attacked the Allies in front of Ypres. Their aim was to breakthrough and seize the Channel ports. The city and defences were shelled heavily. On April 22^nd they used chlorine gas shells for the first time. One part of the French front collapsed but the Canadians filled the gap and after fierce fighting the city defences held. The Second Battle of Ypres carried on until May 25^th. The Germans did not mount another serious offensive in this area for three years. Lieutenant Francis Ballinger (1901-12) entered the Junior School, which charged fees, aged eight. He became Head Monitor and was Editor of the School Magazine, which had been introduced in 1907. Information before this time is very difficult to find. He captained the 1^st X1 soccer and cricket teams. He was awarded the Townsend Scholarship at Pembroke College, Oxford. He volunteered and was commissioned into the King’s Regiment which was attached to the Indian Corps. He was killed in action on May 22^nd a few days before the battle ended. He was the first of 58 Old Cryptians who died in the Great War. Private Frederick Draper (1906-11) and Frank Norville (1900-07) both volunteered and fought in this battle. Private John Goring died later in November on this front.

  In the East the armed forces under Tsar Nicholas, were under serious pressure from the Germans in the north after the humiliating defeat in Prussia at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914 and the Austrians further south. In October, Turkey declared war against the allies and attacked Russia in the Caucuses. In February 1915 Turkish forces crossed the unforgiving barrier of the Sinai Desert. However, they failed to cross the Suez Canal. The result was that 70,000 British, Australian and New Zealand forces, the Anzacs, arrived in Egypt. The heavy casualties and stalemate on the Western Front had shocked everybody. Lord Kitchener, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty and Admiral Fisher persuaded the War Cabinet that for political and strategic reasons, France and the UK should open up a second front in the Mediterranean. The aim was for a combined British and French fleet of eighteen battleships, destroyers and minesweepers to penetrate the narrow Dardanelles in March, thus threatening Constantinople with bombardment and a force of 70,000 troops. This would support a beleaguered Russia and allow for vital wheat exports from the Ukraine. Almost everything that could go wrong did. Five battleships were hit by mines and the shore batteries were not destroyed and the fleet withdrew. After this failure it was decided to make an amphibious landing, always very difficult, on the Gallipoli peninsula and capture the fortresses from behind. There were no maps or intelligence on the size and distribution of the Turkish forces. The small beaches were overlooked by steep, rocky cliffs. This was a high risk strategy. The Anzacs and British landed on separate beaches on April 25^th. The delay enabled the Turks to strengthen their forces. They were well trained by German officers and quickly moved to the landing sites. Those troops which scaled the cliffs were checked on the heights by the defenders. They were forced to dig in and for the following three months they endured constant shelling and fire from snipers. In one last desperate effort to make a breakthrough reinforcements arrived in August from Egypt at Suvla Bay north of the Anzac beachhead. Troopers Cary Carter, aged 20 and Karl Fowler, aged 21 of the RGH were killed on August 21^st as was Sergeant Frederick Smith of the 7^th Battalion of the Glosters, who had been wounded at Ypres. L.A.Beddis (1908-13) and Lester Fennel (1906-11) served with the RGH. After eight months of fighting the troops were evacuated. It was a humiliating defeat and there were 250,000 casualties on both sides for no gains and led to the resignation of Winston Churchill.

  After the stalemate at Ypres, the French placed enormous pressure on the British government to prepare a joint offensive which went ahead against the advice of Sir John French and General Haig. The British targeted the German lines 25 miles further south in the Artois region at Loos. The volunteer army was arriving after training. The French were to attack the formidable Vimy ridge nearby and to initiate a major offensive in the Champagne region near Rheims. Both these actions failed. On September 25^th  after the usual artillery bombardment which included gas shells, the British, including the 10^th Battalion of the Glosters, advanced from their trenches. The aim was to breakthrough and force the Germans to fall back to protect their rail supply depots. However, the German lines were on higher ground and the coordination between the artillery and infantry was poor. Sergeant William Thomas (1895-99) entered the school aged thirteen and joined the Glosters in 1914. They achieved their objective but the reserves including the 1^st Battalion did not reach them before a concerted counter attack forced them back. He was killed leading from the front aged 32 in this action on September 25th. It proved to be a disaster, no ground was gained and another stalemate ensued. Sir John French was blamed for the failure and resigned later. It was clear that after the huge casualties that had accrued in the last year the UK would have to enforce conscription like all the other combatants. In January 1916 legislation was passed and single men aged 18 to 41 were liable to be recruited and married men from May. By the end of the year one million were in training.

  In April 1916, British cavalry battalions advanced across the Sinai Desert to secure two critical oases and to prepare communication lines and water stations for future actions. On April 23^rd at Katia, 40 miles east of the Suez they were attacked by 3,000 Turkish infantry. Trooper Lancelot Williams (1906-08) entered the Crypt School aged thirteen. He volunteered and joined the Worcestershire Yeomanry. Initially the 420 troopers refused to surrender and he was killed in hand to hand fighting before they were forced to surrender. Lieutenant Hugh Walwin (1902-08) was one of five brothers who attended the school. He joined the RGH which was based in Egypt after the Gallipoli campaign. He became a prisoner of war and spent the rest of the war in appalling conditions in Turkey before returning to Gloucester. In the autumn of 1915 an overambitious offensive was launched in Mesopotamia. By November an Anglo-Indian force had marched 200 miles up the River Tigris. However, they were forced to retreat and were besieged at Kut. In April 10,000 surrendered and became prisoners. Corporal John Smith a trainee mechanic joined the Royal Flying Corps in March 1915 and was sent to Mesopotamia. He contracted malaria and later typhoid fever and was sent home to the huge Netley Hospital near Southampton. On June 26^th he died aged 28.

  In 1916 the Western Front was dominated by two major offensives. In February the Germans launched a huge offensive along an eight mile front in the east against the ring of forts at Verdun on the river Meuse. There were 25,000 casualties on both sides on the first day. This horrific slaughter continued into the autumn. General Haig decided that the British offensive would take place in the River Somme area in Flanders. This would help the French at Verdun and prevent Germans being sent to the Russian front. Thirteen divisions of volunteers were considered ready for operations. The conscript army was still in training. Private Stanley Dancy (1904-07) joined the school aged eleven and volunteered in 1914. He was killed on patrol by shrapnel from an explosive shell in April.

  As the British were assembling at the Somme and the slaughter at Verdun continued the German Naval High Command had decided to be more aggressive in the North Sea. The aim was to ease the blockade of German ports. The plan was to lure the British battle cruisers from the Firth of Forth into an engagement against the full German battle fleet which were waiting. However, the trap was detected by the Admiralty cryptographers. Admiral Jellicoe’s main fleet of 28 dreadnoughts stationed at Scapa Flow set off for the danger area off the north Denmark coast. The Battle of Jutland involved 250 ships and 100,000 sailors. On May 31^st in the initial battle two British cruisers were sunk but the arrival of the main fleet surprised the sixteen German battleships and after intense shelling they broke off the engagement. The British declined to risk further losses and also withdrew but critically the German fleet did not emerge again in the war. The British lost fifteen ships with the loss of 6,000 sailors. The Germans lost one battle cruiser and nine other ships and 2,500 sailors. Frederick Bayley was the eldest of three brothers all educated at the Crypt. They had not far to go as the family owned a wine merchants shop in Greyfriars Lane next to St Mary de Crypt. Fred served in the Royal Navy and was at this battle as were a number of unknown Cryptians.

  At the Somme the Germans had been constructing an extensive series of defensive lines on the chalk ridges that overlooked the British and French lines in the valleys below. In the spring, clearly aware of the British intentions they intensified their efforts. The trenches were protected by thick barbed wire which stretched back four miles to the artillery batteries which targeted no man’s land and all the roads and tracks. The trenches were linked to deep thick concrete bunkers, cellars of ruined farms, villages and fortified woodlands and quarries. Entrenched in this formidable defence system were eleven German divisions. On July 1^st 100,000 troops consumed their rum ration, scaled their ladders and went over the top at 7.30 am. The Germans had suffered the biggest bombardment of the war for a week but many shells proved to be duds and unsuitable for the task. Haig was convinced that this would destroy the thick barbed wire and concrete bunkers. However, this assumption proved false and they were met by withering machine gunfire and artillery. The British suffered 57,000 casualties in the first hour, 19,000 of which were killed. Captain John Abell (1900-06), a graduate of Durham University and schoolmaster volunteered in 1914. He was commissioned into the Cheshire Regiment and was killed on July 3^rd whilst leading from the front aged 27. Lieutenant Gwilliam Ross (1903-08) was a scholar and became a pupil-teacher. He volunteered and was commissioned into the 8^th Battalion of the Glosters. He was one of five officers and 86 other ranks killed in a ferocious fight to gain a trench on the same day aged 26. Three offensives took place for two weeks from July 13^th involving four fresh divisions. A creeping barrage had more effect on a smaller three mile front. However, the German counter attacks regained most of the lost ground and their strong points still held out. There were heavy casualties in all these attacks and no breakthrough was made in these areas for three months. Corporal Rowland Hill (1907-08) also served as a pupil-teacher. He volunteered and joined the 1^st/5^th Battalion of the Glosters and moved to Flanders in 1915. On July 20^th he was killed aged 26. Lieutenant William Fream (1906-11) was Head Monitor and lead actor in the school plays. He was awarded an Open Scholarship to Trinity Hall, Cambridge and became the President of the student Law Society. He joined the 5^th Battalion in 1912 and was duly commissioned. He was killed in another frontal attack on the 21^st. Lt Colonel J.H. Collett commanded this battalion which consisted of about 30 officers and 1,000 men. He was an Old Cryptian and later became the Sheriff of Gloucester. Corporal Melville Lewis (1909-13) volunteered and also joined the 1^st/5^th Battalion. He was killed on July 23^rd aged 20. His parents received news that his brother, Thomas, an ex-pupil of St. Thomas Rich’s, had been killed two days earlier. Lieutenant Raymond Knight (1900-05) was Head Monitor and captain of football and cricket. He was awarded the Townsend Scholarship and captained the Oxford Cross Country Team and gained his Blue. He volunteered in 1914 with his brother Archie who joined the Royal Flying Corps. Raymond moved with the 1^st/5^th Battalion to Flanders where he received the Distinguished Conduct Medal as a corporal at Ypres. He was commissioned and was killed on July 26^th aged 29. The casualty rate for infantry officers at this time was six weeks.

  The initial reports from the front were optimistic but as the telegrams and letters arrived and the casualty lists were published, it was clear that the huge number of casualties shocked the nation. By August the British and Canadian forces had only advanced one mile. Lieutenant William Johnstone had emigrated and joined the Manitoba Regiment and was wounded as was Private George Milner (1907-13) of the Nova Scotia Regiment. Despite growing criticism General Haig felt that there was no alternative but to continue with a policy of attrition which would lead to the collapse of the front. The French insisted that as long as Verdun was at risk the campaign must continue. In the absence of radio, the War Cabinet, for the first time, made the bold decision to release a documentary “The Battle of the Somme” to cinemas such as the newly opened Hippodrome Cinema in Eastgate Street. Despite the graphic images the vast majority of the British public remained committed to the cause. In mid-September, 50 British tanks arrived for the first time but they proved unreliable and only 25 reached the front line. They had a positive psychological effect on the attackers and initially panicked the defenders, however they made little operational impact. A series of offensives took place throughout September and October and eventually a number of strong points and woods were captured but at a heavy price. By November the Allies had advanced only seven miles, but the Germans still held their third line and their depots were safe. It was decided to make one last offensive in the northern sector where no progress had been made. On November 12^th three redoubts were attacked for a week and were captured but only half a mile had been gained. Private Oscar Walwin (1904-09) joined the Junior School aged eight. He volunteered in 1914 and joined the RGH but was transferred to the Worcestershire Regiment. He was killed in action on November 12^th. Private George Milner (1907-13) entered the Junior School aged eight in 1897. He emigrated to Canada in his teens and joined the Nova Scotia Regiment. He was in the front-line in this offensive and was gassed and entered hospital. Three million soldiers were involved in the Battle of the Somme over the six months. The British and Imperial forces suffered over 420,000 casualties, the French 200,000 and the Germans over 450,000. Some 70,000 Germans were captured. The Germans had already started to build even stronger defences, the Hindenburg Line, 30 miles further back. By now the French had regained all the lost ground at Verdun and all the fronts settled down for winter. The deadly attritional battles of 1914, 1915 and 1916 on the Western and Eastern Fronts had led to huge casualties on both sides.

  There had been growing criticism of the leadership of Herbert Asquith from the Tory opposition and influential press barons which was supported by the dynamic and ambitious David Lloyd George who replaced Asquith in December 1916. Some thought should be given to the tribulations of Dr Crees. Despite the difficulties the Crypt produced some excellent results. In these three years, ten of the very small Sixth Form obtained awards at Oxford and Cambridge. A shortage of teachers led to the appointment of the first female teacher. Miss Dorothy Ballinger, an ex pupil of Denmark Road School for Girls and brother of Lieutenant Francis Ballinger, taught French. However, his most harrowing task was to read out the deaths of former pupils at the daily assembly. There seemed no end to the conflict and the Roll of Honour would grow in 1917.

Charlie Hannaford