The Royal Naval Division, made from men whose presence wasn't needed onboard ships, fought with distinction during WW1, from the defence of Antwerp in 1914, through Gallipoli, and onto the Somme in 1916. It was during the fighting for the village of Beaucourt that the men of the Hawke Battalion paid a heavy price, with only 20 men surviving from the 400+ who went into battle.
In this episode, we look at the Royal Naval Division, its history, and the actions of the 13/14th November 1916. Immediately prior to the fighting at Beaucourt, the Divison had lost its beloved commanding officer Major-General Archibald Paris, who was replaced with the much-loathed Major-General Cameron Shute. Shute, obsessed with cleanliness and much frustrated by the naval traditions, found himself lampooned in a vitriolic ditty composed by one of the Divisional officers.
We hear about Bernard Freyburg VC, who was awarded his Victoria Cross for exemplary bravery during the fighting at Beaucourt, and look at the sad story of one of only three British officers to be executed during WW1, Sub- Lt Edwin Dyett of the Nelson Battalion, who lies now in Le Crotoy cemetery on the French coast.
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