23 April

Lonsdale Battalion events that took place on 23 April.
For events that took place elsewhere, see 23 April on The Great War wiki.

1915 (Friday)

"....the names of any men in their Companies who are specially skilled millwrights, fitters, tool-makers, turners, drillers, gear-planers, grinders, capstan hands, millers, profile universal and vertical planers, slotters, crossmillers, rifling machinists, lapping machinists, reamering machinists and chambering machinists desiring temporary release from the Army for employment in armament workshops." ^[1]

Contay Wood: Battalion in isolation camp (measles) involved in training and small working parties.^[a]
Private J.J. Tallentire (18130) writes to the Workington Star and Harrington Guardian: "Dear Sir, I take great pleasure in writing to let you know that I received your beautiful parcel of cigarettes, tobacco, etc., and I thank you very much indeed. Where we are you can’t get hold of a cigarette like Old Tom. I see the parcel has been to my Regiment: but I have got it all right. I hope you may have a good Easter. I haven’t much news for you, but if the sods do not give in before long, they will be made to, and they deserve all they get." ^[2]
H. Ward writes to the Workington Star and Harrington Guardian: "Dear Sir, having received the parcel of cigarettes you so kindly sent me, I wish to thank you for your goodness in thinking about the boys out here. The night that parcel arrived I shared them round to the Platoon, and not having had a fag for a day or two we lit up for an enjoyable smoke; but alas! Fritz must have smelt them and got angry, for he started bombarding us, and made an attempt to attack. It was pretty warm; but we are still smiling. Thanking you once more. Private W. Humes also wishes to be remembered to you."^[3]

In the Line: Heavy shelling of nearby sugar factory, otherwise day is quiet. Enemy found close to No.10 post.
At night C Company and D Company relieved B Company and A Company respectively.
Deaths: Maxwell Aiken (30133).

↑ Training continues for those who are able during the whole period of isolation.

Sources: Various sources contemporary to the war have been used to compile the Lonsdale Battalion on this day... (hover to read more)

Various sources contemporary to the war have been used to compile The Lonsdale Battalion On This Day. The majority of the events shown on this day (23 April), including any supplementary notes, enlistments and statistical data etc., have been primarily sourced from the Lonsdale Battalion War Diary (November 1915 to June 1918), Record of the XIth (Service) Battalion (Lonsdale) and abridged material from Timeline and Chronology of the Lonsdale Battalion (September 1914 - May 1915), which are sourced from the original DLONS/L/13/13 Lowther Estate Archives. Events from that chronology are reproduced here with kind permission of Jim Lowther (2016). They are identified and referenced separately by their unique DLONS numbers. Please do not publish these events without prior permission from the Lowther Estate. All casualty names, numbers, ranks, date of deaths and places of burial/commemoration have been sourced from Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19, Volume 39, The Border Regiment and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database respectively.