 The day following the 4th Battalion's gallant action at High Wood, the roll was called.
At that point, 3 officers had been killed and two wounded. 29 other ranks were killed and 102 were wounded. Missing at that time, were around 50 men, but this figure would rise in the days to follow as missing men failed to arrive or be accounted for. The Battalion was now reported to be at a third of its original strength since arriving on the Somme. When back in the Front line, the stories of how gallantly the Suffolks had fought, came out. Once story stood out of how Lieutenant Pawsey (above), shot through the neck by a German sniper, ran on directing his men all the way to the German lines, where he finally collapsed and died. He had run over 400 yards in this state refusing all aid. 4th Suffolk had acquitted themselves well. Again they had been forced to retire in the face of heavy enemy fire, and again, the inability to bring up reserves and a lack of communication, meant a retreat was inevitable. They had shown great courage in pushing onwards with the attack when all officers had been either killed or wounded and the senior NCOs who had commanded their men well in the face of fierce fire, were to be praised for their offensive spirit. Comments are closed.
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Welcome to our online 'chronicle' that charted the history of the many battalions of the Suffolk Regiment throughout their service during the Great War.
This record is now closed, but we have retained all our original posts here for you to search through and in the fullness of time, we hope to add to it as and where new stories come to light. It was at times, a challenging but rewarding endeavour which has helped many people in their research of the Regiment. If you know the specific month of an action of the Regiment, you can search for it in the list below: Archives
February 2025
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