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Sgt. Grigg Francis Epsly MM &2 Bars.
British Army 5th Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment
from:West Ham, Essex
(d.5th April 1918)
From the records that have survived we know that Uncle Grigg Epsly joined the Army Special Reserve on the 17th March 1913, then the Regular Army on 19th August 1913, his age in August was noted as 17 years 11 months. His previous occupation was shown as a carman.
He was sent to France with the BEF on 17th of December 1914 until 29th of January 1915 when he was admitted to hospital with severe frostbite and was sent back to the UK to a convalescent home until 22nd of June 1915.
He returned to the front line on 23rd of June 1915 and served until he was wounded in the right thigh and knee at Armentieres on 5th of October 1915. He was sent home for treatment from 11th of October 1915 until 1st of September 1916, returning to front line duties in France on 20th of January 1916.
During action in trenches to the north west of Pozieres between the 7th and 9th August 1916 the Germans, using flamethrowers, attacked British trenches several times and each time were repelled. During this action Grigg was awarded his first Military Medal, he was quoted in the Reading Mercury later as saying 'It was for a bit of work I did in the trenches'.
On 17th if March 1917 Grigg (who was now a Corporal) led a group of 3 men in a bombing squad which was part of an operation involving 9 officers and 200 men to raid the German trenches near Arras. The objectives were to capture prisoners and identify the enemy regiments entrenched, and destroy dug outs and machine gun and trench mortar emplacements. Every man involved had to empty their pockets and remove all badges and identity discs in case of capture.
After this action one of the NCOs involved told the Reading Mercury "Corporal Epsly, who received a bar to his Military Medal, deserved a lot more recognition than he actually got. He put a whole machine gun section out of action by charging them single handed with bombs. He simply did it 'on his own' while we were waiting for the wire-cutters to cut the wire so our troops could get through". All objectives were achieved and the raid was over within 25 minutes, the war diary notes that 2 musical instruments were taken on the raid and were played in the German trenches! Casualties were 2 officers and 6 men killed, 3 men missing and 21 men wounded.
Between the 20th and 30th November 1917 British troops supported by tanks, attacked the German trenches near Gonnelieu, Grigg was awarded a second bar to his Military Medal during this action. The attack successfully achieved its objectives but the Germans mounted a sustained counter attack on the 30th November and re took most of the ground they had lost. Grigg was wounded on the 30th but it wasn't serious enough to require hospitalisation.
On the 5th of April 1918 Grigg and the 5th Royal Berkshire Regiment were in the trenches near Bouzincourt when the German Spring Offensive began. The attack was severe and sustained and Grigg was reported Missing In Action presumed killed, one of many casualties on that fateful day. His body was never identified and therefore his name is one of those inscribed on the walls of the British Cemetery at Pozieres. He was just 22 years old.
