Current Information:

SDGW-KETTERINGHAM

Enlisted-Blackheath

Third Battle of Ypres

This was a campaign fought between July and November 1917 and is often referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele, a village to the north-east of Ypres which was finally captured in November. It was an attempt by the British to break out of the Ypres salient and capture the higher ground to the south and the east, from which the enemy had been able to dominate the salient. It began well but two important factors weighed against them. First was the weather. The summer of 1917 turned out to be one of the wettest on record and soon the battlefield was reduced to a morass of mud which made progress very difficult, if not impossible in places. The second was the defensive arrangements of concrete blockhouses and machine gun posts providing inter-locking fire that the Germans had constructed and which were extremely difficult and costly to counter. For four months this epic struggle continued by the end of which the salient had been greatly expanded in size but the vital break out had not been achieved.

On 30th July, 1917, 141 Brigade of 47th Division moved forward from Ontario Camp to Ridge Wood in the Ypres salient.  Here they were in reserve for the attack on the following day, by the other two brigades of the division on the opening day of the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, which marked the start of Third Ypres. The 20th London battalion remained here for just over a week, providing working parties before moving to Quelmes, west of St Omer for training. On 17th August they returned to Ypres and on the following day moved into support positions on Bellewaarde Ridge where they remained until they relieved 18th London in the front line on 21st August. The battalion diary recorded that there were around 11 casualties during this relief which was always an extra dangerous time as the enemy often seemed to know when an inter-battalion relief was taking place opposite them and then did as much as they could to disrupt it. This meant targeting the approach communication trenches with their artillery and keeping up a high level of machine-gun and rifle fire. One of these casualties was Arthur Kitteringham.