Current Information:

Enlisted-London

Laventie Military Cemetery, La Gorgue. France

The Race to the Sea   September-October 1914

By the middle of September 1914, the Aisne battlefield had stagnated into trench warfare and in order to break this impasse, both sides tried to outflank each other in a general movement northwards. Moving up through Picardy, Artois and Flanders the race was over by 19^th October when the North Sea was reached. The Western Front, a line of trenches stretching from Belgium to Switzerland, was now a reality. Initially it was the French army that conducted this movement whilst the British Expeditionary Force remained on the Aisne but by 6th October British reinforcements were needed to help beat off German attacks around Lille. They moved north and along with reinforcements from Britain, they took up new positions in Flanders, on the left of the Allied line and much closer to the Channel ports.

The Battle of Armentières  12th October-2nd November 1914

The official History pinpoints the battle of Armentières to a series of battles that took place between the river Douve and a line between Estaires and Foumers. It was part of the Race to the Sea and it determined the line of the Western Front in that sector. It was fought by III Corps which at that time consisted of 4th and 6th Divisions plus 19 Brigade.

On 22nd October, the 1st Middlesex battalion of 19 Brigade took up a defensive position between La Boutillerie and Rouge Bancs. Here they remained for the next six days, subjected to continuous sniping and shelling. Inevitably there were many casualties including Henry Stokes who was killed on 23rd October.