Lieutenant Leslie Robert Schrader Gunson
31ST HEAVY BATTERY, ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY
THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME was ruled by one aspect of warfare that dominated the experience of almost every man who set foot on it: the artillery. The modern industrialised outlook of the Great War was overwhelmed by the destructive power of the guns and those who fought in it had to adapt to living with shellfire on a constant basis. Up to 800,000 men served in the artillery during the Great War, with the loss of some 50,000 of them, a testament to just how much of Britain’s available manpower was marked to keep the guns firing on all fronts. But it was not just in size that the branches of the artillery had developed rapidly since 1914.
The creeping barrage that Luther Cordin followed on 14th July at Bazentin Ridge was just one of dozens of innovations that would be introduced. To find their targets the gunners now relied on the co-operation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, as well as observation balloons. Identifying targets by the flash of the guns firing back at them and by sound ranging was also introduced. Meteorological assessments of factors such as wind speed and air pressure were used to help fire accurately once such targets had been identified. The design of the shells themselves had been revolutionised, whether it be by more sensitive fuses designed to blow away obstructions like barbed wire without the shell having to impact the ground, or by adapting them to deliver such modern nightmares as poisonous gas.
Howitzers on the Somme. (Authors’ collection)
One 21 year old experiencing this advancement and dominance over the battlefield was Leslie Gunson, from Whitehaven in Cumberland. Having been educated at St Bees School, in a bitter twist of irony for someone who was now expected to maim and destroy on a daily basis, Leslie was a medical student at Edinburgh University when war was declared. Having served in the University Officer Training Corps’ artillery arm, his progression into the Royal Garrison Artillery once given a commission in August 1914 was a logical one.
The British artillery had undergone much reorganisation before the commencement of the campaign on the Somme. Numbers of heavy artillery units, guns like Leslie’s, had grown rapidly since 1914: the number of batteries had more than quadrupled. In March 1916 they were redistributed at various levels to maximise their contribution to the Battle of the Somme. Their work had started early. There were approximately 400 heavy guns on the Somme and together they flung nearly 200,000 shells at the enemy’s defences in the run up to 1st July, pounding the villages fortified by the Germans, as well as strong points and trenches.
Panorama of the eastern end of Caterpillar Valley, where many British guns saw action during the Battle of the Somme. (Andrew Holmes)
Prior to 1st July one of the important jobs allocated to the artillery was counter-battery fire, i.e. silencing rival guns. On Leslie’s front they had paid more attention to this than most, and as a result the infantry attack on the opening day had been the most successful. But Leslie’s battery had been allotted to a group that had come to rest in a particularly unhealthy spot. In fact, he had already been lightly wounded at the onset of the battle. Caterpillar Valley, to the north of Montauban, was packed from end to end with guns of all types: field guns, big howitzers, monstrous 60-pounders and anti-aircraft guns, ‘which kept up an almost continuous roar’ at all hours. Fully overlooked by the enemy, the Germans promptly shelled it unceasingly.
There was hardly any cover for detachments, which were kept as small as possible to avoid losses, only holes dug in the ground covered with corrugated iron and earth, which afforded little protection against the ‘Caterpillar Valley Barrage’ that swept relentlessly down the Valley at intervals during the day and night.
On 18th July, as the troops in front struggled to take Delville Wood, Caterpillar Valley was once again under heavy fire and Leslie had gone out into nearby trenches looking for two men who had disappeared towards Longueval. After having no luck he was killed returning to his battery. Leslie Gunson was laid to rest at Quarry Cemetery, plot VI.D.4.