The very fine Great War Battle of Cambrai Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Long Service and Good Conduct Medal casualty group to Captain William Paul, 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment who saw service on the Western Front from 8th September 1914, initially as a Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant before later being commissioned into the Battalion. Personally known by the Prince of Wales, who specially marked him out as a ‘grand type of man’, he would go on to be awarded the Military Cross in the London Gazette of 1st January 1917, and would later die of wounds on 1st December 1917 at Cambrai. In the preceeding days he had performed acts that led to the posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Order in the London Gazette of 5th February 1918, ‘for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When the enemy was seen from the battalion transport lines to be advancing about 400 yards away, he at once collected all battalion details, held back the enemy at close range, and held the position for four hours until relieved, thus enabling the units in rear to re-form. He was severely wounded, but refused to withdraw until relieved. He showed splendid courage and determination’. He would also be Mentioned in Despatches in the London Gazette of 23rd May 1918. He is now buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt.
Group of 6 plus Memorial Plaque and Scroll: Distinguished Service Order, GVR cypher, silver-gilt and enamels, complete with top bar, and housed in its Garrard & Co fitted presentation case; Military Cross, GVR cypher; 1914 Star with original loose 5th Aug-22nd Nov bar; (4306 R.Q.M. SJT. W. PAUL. 1/W.YORK.R.) British War Medal and Victory Medal; (CAPT. W. PAUL.) Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, GVR, this medal mounted on a pin for wear (4306 Q.M.SJT. W. PAUL. W. YORK. REGT.) Great War Memorial Plaque; with original paper cover and card outer folder; (WILLIAM PAUL) Great War Memorial Scroll named to ‘Capt. William Paul, D.S.O. M.C. West Yorkshire Regiment.’ In it’s card outer folder addressed to ‘Mrs A.S. Paul, 139 Stratford Road, Birmingham’
Condition: toned, Nearly Extremely Fine
Along with:
West Yorkshire Regiment cap badge
Forwarding letter for Memorial Plaque
Forwarding letter for 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal
William Paul was born in 1876 and a pre-war regular in receipt of a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, by the outbreak of the Great War would be serving as a Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant (No. 4306) with the 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. He would arrive on France on 8th September 1914 and would subsequently see service on the Western Front.
Colonel W.T.C. Huffam’s private diary relates that during the early part of 1916, the 6th Division was with the XIVth Corps in the Ypres Salient and it was during this period that the 1st Battalion first made the acquaintance of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. He soon took a great interest in the Prince of Wales’s Own and whenever the Battalion was in billets he would be sure to visit them. He expressed great admiration for the Transport, for which the Battalion always was famous; and he never failed to compliment the Quartermaster. Lieut. Butler, on his wonderful horses. Quartermaster Sergeant Paul was also specially marked out by His Highness as being ‘a grand type of man’. In this case, the ‘Royal Boy; showed that wonderful judgement of men, for which he is now famous, as Quartermaster Sergt. Paul afterwards received his commission, became Adjutant of the Battalion and won the D.S.O. and M.C. This gallant officer was unfortunately killed, whilst leading details of his Transport in the German counter attack after Cambrai, November 1917.
Commissioned in the London Gazette of 16th December 1915, and promoted to Second Lieutenant W. Paul to Adjutant and temporary Lieutenant on 16th June 1916, Paul would be awarded the Military Cross in the London Gazette of 1st January 1917. He would later die of wounds on 1st December 1917 whilst serving as a Captain with the 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s’ Own) and is now buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt.
The 1st West Yorkshires, on the morning of 30th November, were holding a line of support trenches about 1,500-2,000 yards east of Orival Wood ; these trenches had been taken over from the 2nd Coldstream Guards on 26th. When the German attack began the battalion was at work on the consolidation of the line and was not, apparently, engaged with the enemy throughout the day. Only the Regimental Transport fought the Germans and fought them to a standstill. So meagre, however, is the description of this gallant little affair, yet so necessary is it to preserve all the existing details, that the contents of the Battalion Diary and other documents describing the action of Capt. Paul and his gallant N.C.O.’s and men are given in full. The Battalion Diary thus relates the incidents of that stirring day: ‘‘At dawn the enemy commenced a heavy attack on the right base of salient near Masniéres, continuing it with a heavy bombardment on left side from north of Flesquiéres to Bourlon. The enemy broke through the 20th and 12th Divisions and, about 11-30 a.m., were seen advancing between Gonnelieu and Gouzeaucourt. Just outside the village were the Regimental Transport lines, whose first intimation of the attack was rifle and machine-gun fire into their midst. Capt. Paul, M.C. who had been sent back from the battalion for a few days’ rest after the opening battle on the 20th) at once collected ‘the Drums’ together with a spare Lewis gun and a few of the Regimental ‘ Employ ’—a total of about three officers and forty other ranks. With these men he held a low ridge in Q.30. outside the Transport lines, enabling the Quarter- master, Major E. G. Butler, M.C., to load up and get away without loss, the whole of the Regimental Transport and impedimental Capt. Paul, aided by an equal number of the 2nd Durham Light Infantry under their gallant Quartermaster, Lieut. Shea (who was killed that day) effectually prevented the enemy from debouching from Gouzeaucourt until the Guards Division, who had been brought up from Fins, passed through them to recapture the village.
On their way through, the Colonel of a Guards battalion shook hands with Capt. Paul, who was by then mortally wounded, and said ‘Thank God! There is a regiment left that can and will fight.’ For this very gallant and glorious affair Capt. Paul was granted a posthumous D.S.O. and Major Butler the Military Cross. “Two Distinguished Conduct Medals and two Military Medals, awarded to ‘the Drums’ and the Regimental Employ, show that the former at least had not forgotten the example set by their for- bears in 1789 at Famars, who won for the regiment its famous March Past of Ca Ira. It is worthy of note that the united service of the three responsible officers, Major Butler, Capt. Paul and Lieut. Shea, at that time totalled a matter of 75 years. The Guards took Gouzeaucourt and Gonnelieu and re-established the line as it existed before the operation. Second-Lieut. G. A. Robinson remained in reserve to the Guards Division at Q.30 with thirty officers, N.C.O.’s and men. Company brought up in reserve from Ribecourt to line south of Flesquit¢res. Casualties: Killed—Lieut. Macdonald and one other rank. Wounded—Capt. W. Paul, M.C., Second-Lieut. E. N. Evison and two other A staff officer of the 29th Division, however, sent in the following report to the Brig.-General commanding 18th Infantry Brigade, to which the 1st West Yorkshires belonged :— “To Brig.-General, commanding 18th Infantry Brigade. I beg to call your attention to the conduct on November 3oth of two Officers belonging to your Brigade. About 10 a.m. on November 30th I found the Transport lines of the 6th Division were unaware of the approach of the Germans. I saw two officers, one, I believe, of the West Yorkshire Regiment and the other of the Durham Light Infantry. I told them that the Germans were reported in Gouzeaucourt and that they were threatening the Fins-Gouzeaucourt road, from which direction shots were coming. These two officers, with the greatest promptness, got hold of some men and advanced south, the West Yorkshires taking up a position 200 yards north of the Fins-Gouzeaucourt road and the Durham Light Infantry 200 yards to their west—a Lewis or machine-gun came into action still further west. About the time they got into position the Germans crossed the road. Up to the time I left, the enemy had been successfully held. The officer of the West Yorkshires had been hit through the chest; his men remained in their position, firing under an N.C.O. It was undoubtedly due to the promptness and protection of these officers and the way they dealt with the situation that the enemy were held up in their advance at this point, the western end of Gouzeaucourt and the Fins road west of it.” The above letter was followed by another from the G.O.C., 6th Division, to the G.O.C., 18th Infantry Brigade: ‘ Major- General Sir H. de B. de Lisle, commanding 29th Division, has asked the Divisional Commander to convey his appreciation of the excellent behaviour and devotion to duty displayed by the Regimental Trans- port of the 1st West Yorkshires and the 2nd Durham Light Infantry when guided up to Gouzeaucourt to hold it on the 30th November aaa. By their gallant conduct they prevented the enemy from enter- ing Gouzeaucourt and thereby arrested what might have developed into a very serious situation aaa. The Divisional Commander congratulates most heartily the Transport of these two battalions, especially Capt. Paul and Lieut. Shea, on their soldierly conduct, which has been so distinguished as to attract the attention of the G.O.C. of another Division, and has reflected the greatest credit on themselves, their units, the 18th Brigade and the 6th Division.” As will be seen from the previous quotations this last message contains slight errors, for the Germans had already captured Gouzeau- court when the West Yorkshire’s Transport took up their position west of the village. But the combined Transport of the two battalions, numbering something less than 100 officers, N.C.O.’s and men, did hold up the advance of the Germans, vastly superior in numbers, and thereby added another splendid instance of gallantry to their Regimental History.
Posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the London Gazette of 5th February 1918, the citation was published in the London Gazette of 5th July 1918:
‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When the enemy was seen from the battalion transport lines to be advancing about 400 yards away, he at once collected all battalion details, held back the enemy at close range, and held the position for four hours until relieved, thus enabling the units in rear to re-form. He was severely wounded, but refused to withdraw until relieved. He showed splendid courage and determination.
Finally, Paul would be posthumously Mentioned in Despatches on 23rd May 1918.
