Herbert Ewart Abbey





Totteridge Avenue(picture from SWOP website)

Memorial plaque for Herbert Ewart Abbey in High Wycombe Cemetery





Herbert Ewart Abbey 1886 - 1917

I am Herbert Ewart Abbey, born in 1886 to James, a paper maker, and Emma Abbey. I had a whole host of siblings; Emily, George, and Amy were older than me, and Edith and Norah were younger. We all grew up at 54 Totteridge Avenue in High Wycombe, and that was where I still lived when I joined the army.

I signed up to the army soon after the war began, giving up my job as a cabinet maker in the local factories. I enlisted in Aylesbury, joining the 1/1st Bucks Battalion as a private in the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry. The next few months were not that exciting; we remained at Aylesbury, training for the war as part of the South Midland Brigade. Later we moved to Writtle, near Chelmsford. Eventually we shipped off, and on 30th March 1915 we landed at Boulogne, France, now in the 145th brigade of the 48th Division.

During 1916 my battalion took part in a number of battles, pushing the Germans back and regaining scraps of territory. Our division was there for the opening of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, although we were in reserve in Couin Woods. For seven days beforehand there had been an artillery barrage the likes of which had never been seen – or heard - before. When it stopped, we knew that our boys had gone over the top. Word came back to us that Serre had been taken, and that lifted our morale at the time, even though it later proved to be false. As the day went on we became increasingly aware of the slaughter that had taken place. That afternoon our brigade was chosen to raid the enemy trenches; we readied ourselves, but ten minutes before zero hour, the order was cancelled and we stood down.

Our battalion saw plenty of action in the weeks which followed. We took part in the Battle of Pozieres Ridge, crawling out across no man’s land at 2.30am until we were just 175 yards from the German lines. The enemy was nervous, sending up plenty of flares. At 2.45am a red flare shot up, and their machine guns opened fire. Losses were heavy, and with the Division in bad nick we were withdrawn on 26th July.

Attack after attack did eventually lead to the retreat of the Germans to the Hindenburg Line in early 1917; we carried out a particularly successful assault at night, in the pouring rain, at Tambois Farm. I was very pleased with this and felt lucky to be able to fight on, especially after losing many of the members of my battalion.

We were moved north-east into Belgium into an area near the city of Ypres, just ready for the Third Battle of Ypres. The 1/1st Bucks Battalion was in the centre, with the 1/5th Gloucestershires on our right and the 1/4th Ox and Bucks on our left. The Germans held a line of fortified houses and shell-holes along the ridge, with good views over the ground we had to cover. Speaking of that ground, there was mud like you wouldn’t believe. So much mud in fact that the tanks which were due to support us could not do so. The battle began on 16th August 1917. Our artillery put down a creeping barrage, hitting one area intensely for a few minutes before lifting and moving on to the next point. Unfortunately, the mud made the going very tough, and the barrage lifted off the enemy lines before we could get near them. That was when the machine guns opened up on us.

On 12th October 1917 I was reported missing. On 7th December of that same year a telegram reached my family at 54 Totteridge Road saying much the same. However I had been killed, my body fell victim to the infamous Passchendaele mud, as had happened to so many others. Years after the war my name was added to the Tyne Cot Memorial, along with 34,887 others with no known grave.



Researched by Neill George, Gill Evans, and the girls of Wycombe Abbey School

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