Bethune.
GOOGLE MAPS – Bethune
Bethune is a city about 50 kms south of Ypres and 35 kms north of Arras and was about 10 kms behind the British front line which ran by the villages Richebourg, Festubert, Givenchy and Cuinchy. the Royal Welsh History says of Bethune – ‘The town was of moderate size but it had shops and offered a variety of amusements not available in Laventie and Estaires’. Bethune remained largely undamaged until the Kaiser Offensive in 1918 when it was destroyed by shell fire. The other main actions fought in the Bethunen sector were during the Race to the Se in 1914, and in 1915 Battle of Festubert and Richebourg L’Avoue, 15 – 25 May and Loos Offensive 25 – 28 September.
King George V with Edward, Prince of Wales, and the royal party conversing with a military policeman, Bethune, 11th August 1916. The King decided to visit Bethune in order to see damage done in the market place by some 15-inch shells the previous week. (IWM Q 1113)
An Assistant Provost-Marshal (APM) on his tour of inspection, Bethune, 14th May 1918. The APM is standing in front of a door with a sign “OUT OF BOUNDS TO ALL TROOPS”. (IWM Q 3575)
1914
1914 Festubert 22 December 1914
1915
February 1915
May 1915
Battle of Festubert and Battle of Richebourg L’Avoue, 15 – 25 May 1915.
- Battle of Richebourg L’Avoue. 1/5 Bn King’s Liverpool Regiment. 5 – 16 May 1915
- Battle of Richebourg L’Avoue. 2 Bn South Staffordshire Regiment. 18 May 1915.
- Battle of Festubert. 1 Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers,16 May 1915
August 1915
Richebourg L’Avoue
September 1915
Loos Offensive. 25 – 28 September 1915.
- Loos Offensive. Vermelles. 1 Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers. 25 September 1915
- Diversionary action – Ypres. / Railway Wood. 5 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. 25 Sept. 1915
- Diversionary action – Bethune. / Neuve Chapelle. 6 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. 25 September 1915.
October 1915
Neuve Chapelle
1916
February 1916
April 1916
August 1916
1917
Les Brebis, Loos en Gohelle and Hulluch.
March 1917
1 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. March-April 1917.
June 1917
Bethune. Hulluch. 1 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. June 1917.
Bethune. Fouquieres. 1 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. 23 June 1917.
November 1917
Cite St August. 11 Bn Manchester Regiment. 21 November 1917
1918
February 1918
November 1918
END