9th Essex - First time in trenches near 'Plug Street'
When the 9th Essex arrived in France on 1 June 1915 they undertook a period of training in trench warfare just behind the front line at Ploegsteert Wood near Neuve Eglise in Belgium.
By 10 July 1915 they were in the front line at a quiet time when the most serious problem was enemy snipers and bomb throwers.
Lt H E Griggs led a party of bomb throwers and four snipers into no mans land which at this point was 400 yards wide.
This patrol was repeated by a party consisting of 2nd Lt C R Brown, Sgt Coombes, Lance Cpl Barnes and Private H England who reached the German lines and gained valuable intelligence.
The success encouraged Sgt Day and Lance Cpl Man who made it to within 25 yards of the German trenches in broad daylight.
Daring patrols continued with Lt Sievers and Lance Cpl Chilvers followed by CSM Goldsmith and Sgt Day, 2nd Lt Henderson and Sgt Wilkinson, Lt Brown, Lt Noble and CSM Goldsmith, Lt Griggs, Lt Sievers and Sgt Barry and finally Lt Brown who detonated explosives close to the line that caused considerable damage.
One sad incident saw Captain Freeman go to repel what he though was a German near the British Trenches only to find that it was a British sentry. Both opened fire but Captain Freeman received wounds that were to cost him his arm.
This continued until September 1915 with periods of six days in the line and six days out of the line and their time at ' Plugstreet' provided a good introduction to the horrors that were to come.
September saw the battalion move to take part in the Battle of Loos.
