3rd Tynemouth

Frederick Greenacre

Founding Assistant Scout Master

Frederick Octavious Greenacre helped form the 1^st Chirton Scout Troop on the 17^th of May 1915 with his older brother George. He is named on the original Group registration form as being the Assistant Scout Master.

The First World War had broken out 10 months earlier and on the 17^th of November 1915, exactly six months after starting the Group, Fred joined the 5^th Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders at the age of 18.

The Battalion was in action in the trenches on the Western Front in France and he would have been involved in a number of the major battles of the war. The Division his Battalion belonged to was involved in the battle of Arras in April 1917 and the battle of Ypres in July 1917 and it is fairly certain that he would have been involved in both.

On the night of the 20^th of March 1918 his battalion moved back into trenches on the front line in the area of Gricourt and Fresnoy-le-petit. They had been in Marteville since the start of the month on a brief respite, although they still had to provide work parties for the Royal Engineers which involved small groups moving into the front line trenches at night to replace barbed wire fences, dig new trenches or repair existing ones and build new machine gun posts.

The battalion war diary describes how even though the British artillery was particularly active on that night, the German troops remained unusually quiet.

At 4.30am on the 21^st the British artillery began firing again and this time was met almost immediately by “a heavy hostile barrage which grew in intensity”. Visibility was extremely poor due to a heavy mist so no one could see anything unusual, including the battalion’s patrols.

The German shells, including some mustard gas ones, continued to hit the Highlanders trenches until mid morning. The war diary describes the barrage as intensifying to drumfire and soldiers all being stood in respirators waiting for an attack.

At 10am the battalion headquarters started to get numerous reports of strong enemy forces penetrating the British line all around their area, although they still couldn’t see anything due to the heavy mist and smoke. The war diary describes machine gun fire being heard on both sides of their position and a runner arriving from the Brigade headquarters, which was behind the Highlanders in the redoubt at Fresnoy (a sort of fort) saying they had been surrounded.

This was the beginning of a battle which was to last for days. This became one of the largest battles of the First World War and is now known as the spring offensive.

At some point during the first day, the 21^st of March, Frederick was taken prisoner by the Germans. The exact circumstances of his capture are unknown although his parents did put an announcement in the Shields Daily News telling how they had received a postcard from him saying he was well.

He was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Stendal, 77 miles west of Berlin, where he was held until his death on the 2^nd of July 1918, aged 21.

As with his capture, the exact circumstances of his death are unknown. It may have been the result of a wound he received during the battle and the post card sent to his parents was simply a way to stop them worrying about him, or it may have been through an illness such as the influenza that was sweeping the trenches at the time.

At then end of the war his remains were moved to the British military cemetery in Savy, France, a few miles outside of a town called St. Quentin, the place of his final battle and subsequent capture. This is where he is buried today.

It is worth noting that there is a photograph of the Chirton Troop taken some time in 1918 and Frederick is on it. It was most likely taken whilst he was on leave one or two months before his capture.

(Ritsons Own) Scout Group

Billy Mill Lane, North Shields, NE29 8LP

Frederick Greenacre

Founding Assistant Scout Master