15th August 1917 On this day: 61st Bde prepare to attack   61st Brigade, 20th (Light) Division moved up to positions west of the Steenbeek in preparation for their assault on the village of Langemarck on the night of the 15th of August 1917. Engineers built bridges for the crossing. Naval Action   As part of the Imperial German Navy's U-boat campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare German U-boats had started to attack British trawlers. They had previously been protected by the 1907 Naval Convention in the North Sea. In response, fishermen had requested weapons for self-defence. Some trawlers had been equipped with deck guns and had gunners assigned to man them. These vessels were generally skippered by members of the Royal Navy Reserve and to act on their own initiative if attacked. On 15th of August 1917, a number of Lowestoft trawlers were fishing in the North Sea, off the Jim Howe bank. Among them were the armed smacks Nelson and "Ethel & Millie". Nelson, skippered by Tom Crisp, was armed with a 3-pounder gun while Ethel & Millie, skippered by William "Johnsey" Manning, carried a 6-pounder. At around 1415, Nelson came under fire from a U-boat, which had surfaced some 3,4 miles north-west of her position. Crisp cast off his nets, leaving them buoyed on the surface, and turned towards the U-boat to close the range. Nelson was hit several times as she returned fire, but her shots fell short of their target. Crisp was also hit and mortally wounded. Nelson began to take on water and sink. At this point, Crisp ordered the crew to abandon ship, which they did, taking to a lifeboat. During this exchange, Ethel & Millie had closed up from the south-east and, passing Nelson and her lifeboat, moved in to engage the U-boat. Manning proposed to stop and take on the survivors, but they refused. The trawler continued to close but she too came under fire from the U-boat and, after several hits, she was also left sinking with her crew also abandoning ship. Nelson's crew observed the men being taken from their boat and lined up on the U-boat's deck, but were unable to see more as their view became obscured by the haze. Nelson's boat pulled away to the southwest and escaped into the approaching dusk. Nelson's crew were at sea for the next two days being eventually rescued by HMS Dryad, a minesweeper assigned to fishery protection. Crisp’s actions were reported, and he was awarded the VC for the seamanlike and brave manner in which he had conducted himself. The Ethel & Millie's crew were not seen again. They were not reported as prisoners of war and none returned to Britain at the end of hostilities. The suspicion at the time and subsequently, is that they were disposed of by the U-boat crew, possibly being left to drown while the U-boat submerged. The U-boat which attacked the two boats has been identified as UC63 commanded by Karsten von Heydebreck. John Doran  Ongoing training  Communication Lost  On the March  Reliefs  On the Move  Thunder  Assembly  Into Assembly Positions  To St. Omer  Reliefs  In Billets  Quiet  Reliefs  Gas  Training  Training  Thirty Hostile Planes  New Squadron formed      Artillery in Acton  Concentrations Fired  Route March  Diary  On the March  Large scale mock attack  German Battery Silenced  Situation still very quiet.  Moved to forward camp.  Orders  Battalion left camp at 0030 hours and marched to Abeele Station  Training  Inspected in Fighting Order by the Commanding Officer.  Lying Up Positions at Oblong Farm and Juliet Farm.  155th Brigade relieving Can you add to this factual information? Do you know the whereabouts of a unit on a particular day? Do you have a copy of an official war diary entry? Details of an an incident? The loss of a ship? A letter, postcard, photo or any other interesting snipts? If your information relates only to an individual, eg. enlistment, award of a medal or death, please use this form: Add a story.

Killed, Wounded, Missing, Prisoner and Patient Reports published this day. This section is under construction.

Want to know more about 15th of August 1917? There are:36 items tagged 15th of August 1917 available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Remembering those who died this day, 15th of August 1917. Gnr. Alexander Edward Barras. 18th Brigade, 59th Bty. Royal Field Artillery Pte. Charles Peter Beedie. 7th Btn. Bedfordshire Regiment Sgt. George Brady. 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Regiment Read their Story. L/Cpl. Samuel Coffey. 12th (Central Antrim) Battalion Royal Irish Rifles Read their Story. Skipper. Thomas Crisp. VC DSC H.M. Smack Nelson Read their Story. Pte. John William Fielding. 10th Btn. (Alberta) Read their Story. Pte. Alfred Huxley. 11th Btn. Royal Fusiliers Pte. Charles Henry Lawrence. 9th Btn. Essex Regiment Read their Story. Rfm Thomas Matthews. 12th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles Read their Story. Pte. James Meldrum. 5th (London Rifle Brigade) Btn. London Regiment Read their Story. Pte. James Meldrum. 1/5th Btn. London Regiment Read their Story. Pte. James William Sawyer. 12th Battalion Kings (Liverpool) Regiment Read their Story. Pte. Thomas Ignatius Sumner. 8th Bn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Dvr. William Charles Todd. att. 1st/3rd (South Midland) Field Ambulance Royal Army Service Corps Read their Story. Add a name to this list.

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