Act 32

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen

Field Marshall the Viscount Montgomery (“Monty”) inspects the Troop of Lieutenant Farndale in 1950

The Farndales who took up arms from the army of Henry V to the Gulf War

The Military Farndales Podcast This is a new experiment. Using Google’s Notebook LM, listen to an AI powered podcast summarising this page. This should only be treated as an introduction, and the AI generation sometimes gets the nuance a bit wrong. However it does provide an introduction to the themes of this page, which are dealt with in more depth below. Listen to the podcast for an overview, but it doesn’t replace the text below, which provides the accurate historical record.

The Battle of Arras, Spring 1917 Personal accounts of the offensive.

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Scene 1 - Medieval Soldiers

You might recall, in another age, in Act 10 of our Story, that we met John de Farendale who served under Harry Hotspur and others with an expeditionary force into Scotland in 1384, and that he was later joined by his probable brothers Henry Farendon and William Faryndon, in another flurry north in 1389.

Then we met Richard Farendale of Sherifhoton who served in the Hundred Years War in Brittany in 1380 and was part of another expeditionary force to Scotland in 1400. He served in the army of Henry V, perhaps in the Agincourt campaign and certainly afterwards, at Harfleur and the Siege of Mantes. When he died he left an impressive catalogue of military equipment including a horse, saddle and reins, and armour, comprising a bascinet, medieval combat helmet, a breast plate, a pair of vembraces, armoured forearm guards and a pair of rerebraces, armour designed to protect the upper arms, with leg harnesses.

His three daughters witnessed the Wars of the Roses from the heart of the Neville homeland.

10 – Medieval Warfare Tales of archers and men at arms who fought with Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V and an observation post in the home of the Nevilles and Richard III from which to view the Wars of the Roses

The History of Sheriff Hutton to 1500 A history of Sheriff Hutton which will take you to the lands of the Nevilles and Richard III during the Wars of the Roses

Scene 2 - The War of Jenkins Ear and death on the Spanish Main

We have also met Able Seaman Giles Farndale, who served with the Royal Navy from 29 June 1740 until he died at sea in the Caribbean on 9 May 1741. He was press-ganged at Whitby, when he would have been 27 years old. He was posted to the HMS Experiment, a brig with a compliment of 130, as No 101 Able Seaman.

He almost certainly took part in the War of Jenkins’ Ear in the Spanish Main under Admiral Vernon and was probably involved in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741. No circumstances are recorded of the reason for his death, but he probably died in the aftermath of the disaster at Cartagena, when soldiers and sailors were crammed on ships, rife with disease.

Giles Farndale

1713 to 1742

Press ganged into the Royal Navy, Giles served on HMS Experiment in the Spanish Main during the War of Jenkins Ear where he died and was buried at sea

Scene 3 - The Crimean War

Private John George Farndale saw service between 1853 and 1856 possibly first with the Coldstream Guards and then with the 28th of Foot.

He served in the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855. From the Heights of Sevastopol, he wrote We then started for Sebastopol, and reached it after eight or nine days’ march; we had to go a great way round. As soon as we got in front and settled, we commenced throwing up batteries and breast works, under fire of the enemy. We finished them after about five days and nights’ hard working, and opened fire on them on the 17th of last month, and have been battering away ever since, and are likely to continue doing so for some time to come. We have greater opposition than we expected. There was a faint attack made on our rear army a few days ago, which cut up our cavalry fearfully, but were defeated in the end. Our loss is not so great, considering all the circumstances of the case. I have escaped as yet, thank God! I have had a narrow escape: one morning, as we were relieving guard, two privates and a sergeant were shot close by me with one ball. I have been laid up in my tent with frost bitten feet nearly all this month, but I am better again and fit for duty. The siege is progressing very slowly but I think we will soon open a new siege. Things begin to look a little better. We have received the winter clothing and are getting provisions a little better. We want the wooden houses next, although I think as we have done so long without, we could manage without them altogether. However I hope that before you get this, Sebastopol will be ours and then we will be thinking about returning to old England again. If I live to see it over and get back to old England again, which by the blessing of God I hope to do, I will tell you tales that will make your hair stand on end!

The Crimean War

Read the full story of John Farndale’s experiences and his reports home from the Crimean War

The Grenadier Guards

John Farndale was discharged from the Grenadier Guards on 25 July 1872. He received £10 compensation. He had served for 3 years and 323 days. This was most likely to have been John Farndale of Clerkenwell London.

The Grenadier Guards spent most of the late nineteenth century on garrison and ceremonial duties in London, Windsor and Dublin. The years following the Crimean War saw changes to the uniforms and equipment and fundamental reform brought about mainly by two Secretaries of State for War, Sidney Herbert and Edward Cardwell. Flogging was phased out until it was abolished in 1881 and illiteracy was reduced by better education. The practice of enlistment for life was also phased out and the purchase of commissions ended in 1871. Military training was changed drastically and the guards were housed near training areas outside London, at Warley until 1877, then Caterham until 1959, and Pirbright from 1882.

This was the time of the Franco-Prussian War and the British Expedition to Abyssinia, a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 against the Ethiopian Empire. Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, often referred to as Theodore, imprisoned several missionaries and two representatives of the British government in an attempt to force the British government to comply with his requests for military assistance. The punitive expedition launched by the British in response required the transportation of a sizeable military force hundreds of kilometres across mountainous terrain lacking any road system. The formidable obstacles to the action were overcome by the commander of the expedition, General Robert Napier, who captured the Ethiopian capital, and rescued all the hostages. Historian Harold G. Marcus described the action as one of the most expensive affairs of honour in history.

Scene 4 - The Second Boer War

4505 Private N Farndale, served during the Second Boer War, with Second Battalion The East Kent Regiment, the Buffs. He was in action at Paardeberg and during the Relief of Kimberley. The war lasted from 1899 to 1902 and N Farndale was listed on a Roll at Balmoral on 20 August 1901, as having taken part in the campaign, so he had returned from South Africa by then.

He was still in Sussex on 22 August 1899 when, at a cricket match, the local team’s opponents on Thursday were the Buffs, who, batting first, knocked up 151. The Buffs, Private Farndale, caught Allen, bowled G A Hammond, 6 runs.

The Second Battalion saw action during the Second Boer War with Captain Naunton Henry Vertue of the Second Battalion serving as brigade major to the 11th Infantry Brigade at the Battle of Spion Kop where he was mortally wounded in January 1900.

The phrase Steady the Buffs! was popularised by Rudyard Kipling in his 1888 novel Soldiers Three. The origin of the phrase came from Adjutant John Cotter during garrison duties in Malta, who encouraged the men of the 2nd Battalion with Steady the Buffs! The Fusiliers are watching you as he did not want to be shown up in front of his former Regiment, the 21st Royal Fusiliers.

The Battle of Paardeberg or Horse Mountain, was fought between 18 and 27 February 1900, during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. It was part of the Relief of Kimberley. Lieutenant General Herbert Kitchener, had taken overall command of the British force. Kitchener ordered his infantry and mounted troops into a series of uncoordinated frontal assaults against the Boer laager, although frontal assaults against entrenched Boers had cost the British time and again in the preceding months. The British were shot down in droves. It is thought that not a single British soldier got within 180 metres of the Boer lines. By nightfall on 18 February 1900, some 24 officers and 279 men had been killed and 59 officers and 847 men wounded. It was the worse reverse of the war and became known as Bloody Sunday.

Canadian Troops at Paardeberg

Following the end of the war in South Africa in June 1902, 540 officers and men of the Second Battalion returned to Britain on the SS St. Andrew leaving Cape Town in early October, and the Battalion was subsequently stationed at Dover.

Sergeant William Leng Farndale was a Sergeant in the Northumberland Imperial Yeomanry (Hussars) in 1902. They had served in the Second Boer War, and it is likely that he also took part in that campaign.

The Hussars parade through Rothbury, William’s home town in Northumberland, in 1900

The Yeomanry was not intended to serve overseas, but due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899, the British government realised they were going to need more troops than just the regular army. A Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in the Second Boer War. The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of about 115 men each for the Imperial Yeomanry equipped as Mounted infantry. The regiment provided 14th (Northumberland) Company, 5th Battalion in 1900; 15th (Northumberland) Company, 5th Battalion in 1900; 55th (Northumberland) Company, 14th Battalion in 1900, transferred to 5th Battalion in 1902; 100th (Northumberland) Company, 5th Battalion in 1901; 101st (Northumberland) Company, 5th Battalion in 1901; 105th (Northumberland) Company, 5th Battalion in 1901 and 110th (Northumberland) Company, 2nd Battalion in 1901.

The mounted infantry experiment was considered a success and the Regiment was designated the Northumberland Imperial Yeomanry (Hussars) from 1901 to 1908.

William Leng Farndale continued to serve with the Yeomanry until about 1907, regularly organising social balls. He later became Rothbury’s brewer.

There was an F A Farndale-Williams who was a second lieutenant with the Moulmein Volunteer Rifles on 30 March 1907 who appeared under Indian Army Orders.

Scene 5 - First World War

The members of the family who happen to have been male, and born between about 1880 and 1900, were, in all probability, destined for the horrors of industrial war in the second decade of the twentieth century. Forty members of our family served in the First World War.

Private (later Lance Corporal) George Weighill Farndale served with 15th Battalion (1^st Leeds), The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), known as the Leeds Pals. On the first day on the Somme, on 1 July 1916, the Leeds Pals were shelled in their trenches before Zero Hour at 07.30 hours and when they advanced, they were met by heavy machine gun fire. A few men got as far as the German barbed wire but no further. The battalion casualties, sustained in the few minutes after Zero Hour, were 24 officers and 504 other ranks, of which 15 officers and 233 other ranks were killed. Private A.V. Pearson, of the Leeds Pals later wrote, the name of Serre and the date of 1st July is engraved deep in our hearts, along with the faces of our 'Pals', a grand crowd of chaps. We were two years in the making and ten minutes in the destroying. George was wounded in July 1916, presumably in the Somme offensive. He seems to have been relatively lucky but what horrors he witnessed can only be imagined. A year later he was Killed in Action, aged 30, during the Third Battle of the Scarpe, part of the Arras offensive, on 3 May 1917.

The Arras Offensive

G333852 Private George Farndale was sent to France on 8 April 1917. Waiting for embarkation at Folkestone, he wrote I got a very decent breakfast here and had an extra tea before we left Catterick. From France on 19 April 1917, he told his sister, I wrote to the Girl on Sunday so I am expecting to hear from her anytime. On 24 April 1917, he wrote I am just sending you a line to tell you that I am in a draft and expecting to go out any day. If you haven’t wrote and sent the things I asked for don’t trouble, as I may be gone before they arrive and I sharn’t be able to take them with me. If I should be here over the weekend I will write you again on Sunday if not I will try and send you a line before I leave. I have got all my kit ready for going but I don’t think I shall go before Saturday or Monday. Well be sure and don’t worry about me and tell Father not to, as I shall be alright, and I must say before I go that you and Father have been very kind to me as I never wanted for anything and I must say you have done more than your duty towards me. A month after writing to his sister, on 20 May 2017, George was involved in an attack when we went over and took the German front line trench, which we held for 2 days and then were relieved. He was with his mate, Private R Sellers that day. George was killed in action a week later on 27 May 1917, aged 26, in the same Arras offensive that had killed his kinsman George Weighill Farndale twenty four days earlier.

George Farndale

On 19 April 1917, the Girl, who, it turns out, was called Dolly, wrote to George’s sister. I am deeply grieved on hearing from you yesterday morning that dear George has been killed in action, and all at Shingle Hall including myself wish to express our deepest sympathy with you all in this dark hour of sadness. It was an awful blow to me dear, and is one that I shall never forget. He was such a nice quiet and gentle boy and was very much liked by all who knew him in Sawbridgeworth, and no fellow could not think so much of a girl as your dear brother did of me, and had he been spared to come back safely we intended getting married. I don’t know if he ever spoke about it to you.

104060 Private William Farndale was born in Tidkinhow, but had emigrated to Saskatchewan, where he was a butcher. He is my great uncle. He joined the Canadian Army on 19 April 1916. His younger brother Alfred, my grandfather, who he had consoled at their mother’s funeral in 1911, had already joined to British Army in late 1915, though strictly, he was a little younger than he should have been. His older brother, Jim, who had moved on from Canada to the United States, joined the US Army in 1917, shortly after the USA joined to conflict. Three brothers, served in three different armies, for a common cause.

William Farndale James, Alfred, William at Tidkinhow in 1911 (brothers in arms)

William was wounded in action at Vimy Ridge on 13 December 1916 while serving with the 28th Battalion. He took a gunshot wound in the right forearm. From December 1916 to March 1917, the Canadian Corps executed fifty five trench raids. Competition between units had developed with units competing for the honour of the greatest number of prisoners captured. The policy of aggressive trench raiding was not without its cost. A large-scale trench raid on 13 February 1917, involving 900 men from the 4th Canadian Division, resulted in 150 casualties.

He wrote from hospital to his sister Grace during the following month. Left hand of course. Jan 12. Dear Sister. I will try and write to you. I find I am doing fairly well but I have got a very bad arm. I was hit with an explosive bullet which made a hole through two inches wide and broke both bones. They give me very little hope of my arm being any good but I hope it will not be so bad. I had an awful hard time in France. I had four operations in two weeks. They could not get it stopped bleeding and I got so weak that I could not feed myself. But I am alright now, but not able to get up yet for two weeks or so. I may have to have another operation. Not sure yet. Going to have my arm x-rayed shortly. I want you to write a letter for me to Sister Armstrong, 23 CCS, BEF, France. Give her my address and tell her I am getting along alright. This is not a very nice hospital, but good doctors. If you send a parcel, send me a toothbrush and hairbrush. I expect I will be here three months. I tried to get into Yorkshire so you could come and see me, but this is as far as I could get. If my arm does not get better it is likely I will get sent back to Canada in the Spring, but I will never see France any more. I am awful sorry that Alf had to go. If ever he gets to France I will want to go back again.

He was discharged from the Army at Calgary on 18 February 1918. After his return to Regina, he used his car to take patients to hospital during the great influenza epidemic of 1918. He caught the ‘flu while still weak from his wound and died at Earl Grey, Saskatchewan, Canada, aged 25 years on 23 November 1918. He was buried in Earl Grey, Saskatchewan. William had been engaged to a girl in Earl Grey at the time of his death.

My grandfather Alf later recalled, the war came in 1914 and I was just 17. I wanted to join up so I ran away and joined up at the local recruiting office at Northallerton, somewhere in South Parade I think. I joined the West Yorks but my father found out and said I was under age, which I was. The CO wanted me to stay on the band, but father wouldn’t hear of it and I came out. I remember being very proud of my first leave in uniform. Then one day they called for volunteers for the Machine-Gun Corps and I stepped forward. We went to Belton Park, near Grantham for training. I joined 239^th Company MGC and we were attached to the Middlesex Regiment.

Alf Farndale Machine Gun Corps at Belton Park, Grantham in 1917 Ypres, France, 1917 (Alfred centre, rear)

I remember an incident on the Menin Road galloping up with two limbers of ammunition towards the gun positions at Hooge. I was a Private but I was giving a lift to Quarter Master Sergeant Zaccarelli. The Germans started to shell us. They could clearly see us. I had one horse killed and I managed to cut him free and I then rode the other. Zaccarelli was killed; it was quite a party when I reported it. My Captain asked if there were any witnesses but there were none, otherwise I might have got something. I remember an officer coming up to me when we were under bombardment at Ypres and saying “How would you like to be in Saltburn now, Farndale?” We saw some action at Zonnebeke, Ploegstraat and Arras.

Then suddenly we were ordered to Marseilles and got on a troopship for Basra in Mesopotamia. He then saw service overseas in Iraq and India from 14 October 1917 to 9 January 1920. His later service was recorded with 239 Company in Mesopotamia. After about 14 days we were in the Suez Canal and then the Red Sea. We landed at Basra and marched to Kut-el-Amara as part of a force under General Maud to relieve Townsend. About the middle of 1918 the Turks surrendered. We hung around for quite a while. I cut my thumb on a bully beef tin and it got poisoned. I was in hospital in Kut when 239^th Company left for England. There is a record of an accidental injury and in a separate statement, he wrote While opening a tin of canned beef on 2 February 1919 at Baiju Station with Jack Knife, the knife slipped and cut my right thumb. A Farndale.

His grandson, Nigel Farndale, later wrote For my grandfather, Private Alfred Farndale, who died in the mud of Passchendaele, and again seventy years later in his bed, every man died in that battle, even those who survived. For the dark, life-sapping shadow that descended on them all snuffed out a vital spark.

Herbert Farndale was born on 30 March 1892, into the Craggs Hall Farm family. On 1 July 1916, he was a Private soldier with the 10^th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment in support of the 31^st Division’s assault on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He was awarded a military medal for bravery that day, but the citation has not survived. Herbert was later commissioned.

Herbert Farndale

G/445 Lance Corporal George James Farndale (later Sergeant) served with the Second Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment and went to France on 31 May 1915. The Battalion took part in the Second Battle of Arras in August 1918. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery on 23 October 1918.

3758 and 201065 Private Richard Farndale joined the colours in May 1915, at the age of eighteen and enlisted into the 1/4th Battalion, the Princess of Wales’ Own Yorkshire Regiment, also known as the Green Howards. The Battalion served with the 150th Infantry brigade. On 11 January 1917 the Battalion moved to the front line at Hexham Road. It was on the front line from 30 January to 11 February 1916 at Genercourt. The battalion moved to Proyart on 19 February 1917. Richard died at 21st Casualty Clearing Station of broncho-pneumonia on 25 February 1917. He was presumably badly wounded at Hexham Road, Genercourt or Proyart and evacuated to the Casualty Clearing Station at La Neuville, where he later died of pneumonia. Richard is buried at La Neuville Communal Cemetery, Corbie, Somme and commemorated on the war memorial at Coatham.

131820 Lance Corporal William Farndale of Great Ayton joined the Royal Engineers. He was promoted to Corporal in March 1917 and was wounded in a gas attack in April 1917 when he was transferred to England to 2 General Hospital. 204344 Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant Henry Farndale of the Royal Field Artillery was admitted to Catterick Military Hospital on 14 January 1918 after severe gas poisoning. 151907 Gunner John W Farndale was evacuated after a gas attack in September 1918. He was on the casualty list as a result of being wounded by a gas ‘B’ shell sev, which may have meant severe. He was admitted to Rouen on 16 September and later to the General Hospital at Leicester on 22 September 1918.

Graham Price

The younger brother of Florence Farndale, Rev William Edward Farndale’s wife, Lieutenant Graham Price, was a World War One pilot of the Royal Army Flying Corps, killed in action, in a duel with a German aeroplane at 8,000 feet. He had written a letter to his parents shortly before he died, If anything happens to me do not grieve, but feel thankful that you had a son to give to the country. In another letter, seeming to foresee his fate, he had written I would not have been without my experiences for anything in the world, Au Revoir. His commanding officer wrote This letter is in confirmation of the telegram of yesterday’s date notifying you of your son’s death. It happened in a flight in which he was observing for one of our batteries over enemy lines. His machine was attacked by a German aeroplane and after fighting for fifteen minutes at a height of 8,000 feet, your son received a direct hit in the heart and was killed immediately. It was a wonderfully plucky fight against heavy odds, and although the result was fatal for him, I know that this was the end that he would have chosen for himself, to die fighting, hot headed, in a great fight in the greatest of all causes. He was a very fearless and gallant officer, so dead keen on his work and so thoroughly efficient. I feel that his loss is irreplaceable. The Chaplain had written Your son put up a most glorious fight, and has sacrificed himself for his country and friends. Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

15271 Private (later Corporal) William Farndale served with the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), having enlisted on 12 October 1914, soon after the outbreak of the war. In October 1915, in a letter to friends at Great Broughton, he jocularly remarks that, now he has gone, he has got the Germans on the run.

18981 and 577701 Private Harry Farndale was from Stockport, but had been a cleaner with the United States Cotton Company, Foundry Street, Central Falls, Rhode Island, USA shortly before the first world war. He served with the 7th Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment. Harry enlisted on 15 February 1915 at Liverpool. He sailed from Plymouth to France on 25 and 26 May 1915. He served in France and Belgium from May 1915 to July 1916 and from May 1917 to April 1919. He took a bullet wound to his left ankle on 1 July 1916 and was taken to Brook War Hospital and Garden Hurst Hospital. His arm was out of place caused by a broken arm, which didn’t trouble him until it twisted out of place in 1917 by a fall at No 2 Rest Camp while playing football.

2216 Private Alfred Farndale, 9th Lancers worked on a splitting machine in Leeds before the War. He served with the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers who landed in France as part of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division in August 1914. The Regiment participated in the final lance on lance action involving British cavalry of the First World War. On 7 September 1914 at Montcel à Frétoy Lieutenant Colonel David Campbell led a charge of two troops of B Squadron and overthrew a squadron of the Prussian Dragoons of the Guard.

1813 and 475088 Private William Claude Farndale worked Norwich, in a saw mill and later as a tinsmith. He was attested into the Army on 16 September 1913, aged 17. He served with the 1/2 East Anglian Area Field Ambulance Company, Royal Army Medical Corps who served in Gallipoli. After the initial stalemate at Gallipoli, in August 1915 additional regiments arrived from Britain, mainly raw recruits from Kitchener’s New Armies. William’s Medal Records show he served in the Balkans from 16 August 1915, which almost certainly meant he served in the Gallipoli campaign, as part of the August reinforcement.

88th Field Ambulance manhauling an ambulance wagon off 'W' Beach, Cape Helles, Gallipoli, 27 April 1915

The First World War Soldiers The full story of the many soldiers from the family who took up arms in the First World War

The First World War The context of the First World War to the Farndale Story

Scene 6 - The Inter War Years

543695 Charles Farndale was born at Huttons Ambo and became a groom. He enlisted into the Royal Tanks Corps on 9 May 1924. He attested at Winchester. He served with the 13/18^th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary’s Own) and 15th/19th The King’s Royal Hussars in 1924 and 1925. The 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment formed by the amalgamation of the 13th Hussars and the 18th Royal Hussars in 1922. It spent three years at Aldershot. Lord Baden Powell was Colonel of the Regiment. The Regimental Riding School ran a very popular musical ride and Cossack display, and Sergeant Mennell won the All Arms at the Royal Tournament at Olympia in 1924. The Regiment moved to Edinburgh in October 1925, to Redford Barracks, which may have been when Charles transferred to the 15^th/19^th Hussars. The 15th/19th The King’s Royal Hussars had amalgamated in 1922. At some stage he joined 4^th Battalion, the Royal Sussex Regiment who he represented in football in 1934.

Scene 7 - The Second World War

Only twenty one years after the end of the First World War, the nation called upon its population to take arms again, this time against the aggressive Nazi war machine. Many of those who had witnessed the horrors of the first war at first hand, became witnesses to a second period of total war. A few took part in both wars, but generally it was the sons of the Great War veterans who were called upon to serve their country this time.

4460826 Private James Farndale was born in Stockton in late 1916 and enlisted into Second Battalion The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales Own) Regiment. In March 1941, he deployed to East Africa in the operation to retake British Somaliland from the Italians. Keren was the last Italian stronghold in Eritrea and the scene of the most decisive battle of the war in East Africa in early 1941. Guarding the entrance from the western plains to the Eritrean plateau, the only road passing through a deep gorge with precipitous and well fortified mountains on either side, Keren formed a perfect defensive position. On these heights the Italians concentrated 23,000 riflemen, together with a large number of well sited guns and mortars. The Battle of Keren took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941.

At 07.00 hours on 15 March 1941, the British and Commonwealth troops of 4th Indian Infantry Division attacked the Italian defenders from Cameron Ridge. The 2nd Highland Light Infantry led the attack on the lower features, known as Pimple and Pinnacle. They were pinned down, suffering casualties, and without supply until darkness provided the opportunity to withdraw. By moonlight that evening, there was a two battalion attack on Pimple and Pinnacle, with a third battalion ready to pass through and attack a fort which had become an Italian stronghold. The capture of Pinnacle that night by the 3/5th Mahratta Light Infantry led by Lieutenant-Colonel Denys Reid, with the 3/12th Frontier Force Regiment less two companies under command to take Pimple, was called one of the outstanding small actions of World War II, decisive in its results and formidable in its achievement.

In the early hours of 16 March 1941, the Italians counter-attacked Pinnacle and Pimple for several hours. The defences at the fort were depleted and during the counter-attack, the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment made their way over a seemingly impossible knife-edge to surprise the defenders at their fort, which was captured after a determined defence by 06.30 hours, with 40 prisoners taken. James died of wounds on 16 March 1941 in Eritrea, aged 24. That is all we know, but it presumably occurred during this assault. He is buried at Keren War Cemetery in Eritrea.

1824896 Sergeant Bernard Farndale married Muriel Glenys Picton Swales in 1933 in Merthyr Tydfil and their son, Brian Picton Farndale, was born in 1934.

By 1944, Bernard was a sergeant with No. 115 Squadron RAF, operating from RAF Witchford near Ely.

The Squadron was equipped with the Avro Lancaster Mark 1 and took part in a series of raids over Germany in August 1944. Bernard was a flight engineer.

On the evening of 29 August 1944 nearly six hundred RAF bombers flew over Denmark on bombing raids to Königsberg and Stettin. Bernard was the flight engineer on LAN ME 718. The aircraft bound for Stettin in particular were attacked by German night fighters, when they were passing the northern part of Jutland and the Kattegat. Bernard’s aircraft, the Avro Lancaster I LAN ME718, was hit over Denmark when it was attacked by a German night fighter and caught fire. At about 1 am, it crashed near Ove northeast of Hobro, killing all onboard. The bomb load exploded when the Lancaster hit the ground spreading wreckage and the remains of the crew over a wide area. After being hit the Lancaster flew for a moment through the air before it crashed like a burning torch at Ove, north of the Mariager Fjord in Denmark. All of the bomb load exploded on impact. All of the crew were killed.

The Germans did not want to collect the remains of the crew and left them in the field. The locals were appalled and collected the remains in wickerwork baskets. The Wehrmacht ordered the Danes to hand the baskets over, and these were thrown in the crater at the crash site and covered. When the Germans had left the area, the locals opened the crater and placed the remains in a coffin, which was driven to Ove church. On 4 September 1944, unknown to the Wehrmacht, the airmen were laid to rest in Ove cemetery. Vicar A. Bundgård officiated at a graveside ceremony. The coffin was decorated with flowers, but there were only a few mourners. Apparently the German Wehrmacht knew nothing of this funeral.

The Crew of ME 718

Bernard Farndale

1912 to 1944

The full story of Bernard Farndale and the fate of flight LAN ME 718

19199623 James Noel (“Jimmy”) Farndale enlisted into the Army on 15 December 1942 and served with the US Army Air Corps in World War 2 in USA and in Europe. He received his basic training in Fresno, California, and received his radio trading at Scott Field, Illinois. He was assigned to the ferry command in May 1944 and was then engaged in delivery of aircraft to various theatres of war.

Jimmy Farndale 15 April 1945, Taken at the Derby Club, San Francisco 22 April 1945, Taken at the Derby Club, San Francisco

On 8 August 1944 and 16 October 1944 he flew missions for Air Transport Command from Casablanca to La Guardia Airport, New York. He was a Private and 21 years old, but promoted to Corporal by October 1944. On 14 November 1944, he flew a mission from Prestwick in Scotland to New York. Serving as a radio operator aboard planes being delivered to all parts of the world, Corporal James N Farndale of Las Vegas has touched every continent in the globe except Australia in the past six months, and made a forced landing in India. Corporal Farndale has been spending a furlough in Las Vegas with his parents, State Senator and Mrs James Farndale, 922 S 2nd St, and was scheduled to report back for duty today with the 4th Ferry Group at Memphis, Tennessee.

The crash landing occurred on a flight to India some time ago, but the pilot got the ship down safely without injury to any crew member. The landing was made in a small clearing in the jungle, near a native village, Corporal Farndale stated in an interview here. “We camped right in the plane, and natives brought us food, including breadfruit, bananas, coconuts, melons and water. Everything was free except eggs, and we had to pay for them,” he said. A holiday was declared in the village school so the children could see the plane. From daylight to dark the natives crowded about the plane, just standing staring at the big machine. The crew stretched ropes around the plane to hold the crowds back, because they kept inching forwards closer and closer to the big ship. The children behaved well but were very curious he said. “We visited one day in a native home,” Corporal Farndale said. “An old man who had been reared in a missionary school and spoke English very well was our host. He was a landowner and very proud to show us all the things he raised on his land. Almost everything grew bountifully there. The children of the household were very well behaved,” he said. After three days in the grounded plane, the crew was reached by a rescue party composed of American and British soldiers, who led them back to camp.

In March 1945, his father, a US Senator for Nevada, wrote to his brother, Alf, two veterans of the last War. I don't know whether or not you have heard that Jimmy made one flight to England. He had your address but he said while he was in England they wouldn't let him out of camp long enough to even try to telephone or visit. He came over by way of Brazil, there crossed the Atlantic to the coast of Africa and up north across Portugal and then landed I think in the Land's End area, where they delivered the plane and then went through London and north to Scotland crossing back to the US by plane. He had a great trip but was naturally disappointed in being so close to you and yet not able to see you. But that is the way with war as you both know from our experience in the First World War. Jimmy made two flights to India, and was wrecked in the jungles near Calcutta I believe, was stranded among natives for two days, and they had to leave the plane. He has visited Cairo twice and has seen many of India's important points. He now is in the Pacific, but he is still back in the US. They make trips over into the various isles about every two or three weeks. He is sure getting experience and is seeing the world. He is not satisfied when he is not in the air. They are keeping him busy now.

521789 Corporal Henry Stuart Farndale was granted a commission as an Acting Pilot Officer on probation in April 1941, for the duration of hostilities. He had married Maria Pratchett in 1940 in Bradford, but she died, aged only 27, in late 1942. On 30 July 1943, he was a pilot under training with No 7 Elementary Flying Training School, a Royal Air Force flying training school at RAF Desford.

Instructor and pupil in front of a de Havilland Tiger Moth at 7 EFTS, Desford. Both wear 1930 Pattern flying suits

521789 Corporal Henry Stuart Farndale, a pilot under training, flying Tiger Moth T6910, died on 11 May 1945, aged 28. DH82A Tiger Moth T6910 collided with T5982 and crashed Elmdon 11.5.45 DBF.

Ronald Martin Farndale served with 6th Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps (“RAMC”) in Greece and Crete with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He was captured at Sidi Rezegh in 1941 and was a prisoner of war in Italy for the rest of the war. The Battle of Point 175 was a military engagement of the Western Desert Campaign that took place during Operation Crusader from 29 November to 1 December 1941.

4th and 6th New Zealand Field Ambulance at overnight camp, North Africa, 1 October 1942

Maurice Muir served as Regimental Stretcher Bearer with 24 Battalion and was captured at Sidi Rezegh on 1 December 1941 with Ronald Farndale. Maurice was awarded the Military Medal for protecting his Regimental Aid Post from friendly fire. They were transported by German Ship from Tripoli to Naples, then to Capua (Campo PG 66). In March 1943, the PGN 66 camp in Capua was described as a sorting camp with a capacity of 200 places for senior officers and 6,000 for non-commissioned officers and troops. It was made up partly of barracks and partly of tents. It began operating in April 1941. There is evidence of the ill treatment of prisoners there.

Camp 59, Servigliano

They were transported to Servigliano (Campo PG59), then to Chiavari (Campo PG52).

Camp 52, Chiavari, Italy, 1942. Photograph taken by W A Weakley. Note on back reads All beds and gear out for a search. Note where bed slats have been taken off to provide fuel for brewing tea.

Maurice Muir was later transferred to Lucca Hospital (PG202) in September of 1942, and repatriated to the UK in April 1943 along with 400 or so British and 14 other New Zealanders who had relatives in Britain. Ronald Farndale was with Maurice Muir.

New Zealand Prisoners of War on their repatriation in June 1943 Ronald Farndale

970929 and 292503 Private Raymond (“Ray”) William Stainthorpe Farndale served in 59th (Newfoundland) Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery. Ray later recalled that a large number of my friends chose the Army, as I did. The first contingent of volunteers from the West Coast left Corner Brook on May 12, 1940. I was not amongst them, because it seemed unlikely that I would pass the eyesight test. However, within two weeks I managed to pass, with the help of a young Doctor who coached me in the eyesight requirements. Ray left Halifax on 6 June 1940. He was on the passenger manifest of the Nerissa on a voyage from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Liverpool arriving on 6 July 1940. When they arrived in England, the new recruits were welcomed by their commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Nelson. Another recruit, Jack Wescott recalled that Nelson told them, You have listened to a lot of nice things being said about you. My message is different. You’ll work so hard that you won’t even hear the sound of the bombers when they fly overhead during the German air raids. The Newfoundlanders are said to have responded with heavy cheering.

In 1943, Raymond was chosen by his Commanding Officer J W Nelson to be a candidate for Officer training. He undertook training with 23 Office Cadet Training Unit in Yorkshire for six months from March 1943 and was then accepted for a commission and became a second lieutenant in September 1943.

Ray was posted to Tonbridge, Kent to join 23rd battery, 59th Newfoundland Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery. 20th and 23rd Heavy Batteries were given 155mm guns and 21st and 22nd Heavy Batteries were given 7.2-inch guns. The Regiment trained in Northumberland but by July 1944 it was at Worthing in Sussex.

59^th during firing practice in Britain

Ray landed at Juno Beach in Normandy on 5 July 1944, one month after D-Day. Jack Wescott recalled, the 59th hit the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, in southwestern France, better known as Juno Beach, on July 5, 1944. Within 24 hours the men were in action, firing their 7.2” howitzers and 155 mm ‘Long Toms’ with their respective 200 lb and 95 lb shells at a concentration of German tanks in a battle for a nearby airport. The men of the 59th would remain in almost continuous action for the rest of the war, often firing 24 hours a day in support of Canadian, British and American troops as the Allies fought their way through blasted out villages and ruins of towns in France, Belgium and Holland on the way to Germany.

The Regiment took part in the battles for Caen, when 23^rd Battery provided counter battery fire during the assault. The 59th took part in the grim action at Caen, in the fierce fighting at Falaise, in the historic battle for the closing of the gap (better known as the Battle of Bulge), at Esquay and Errecy, and its guns also covered the crossing of the river Odon and the crossing of the River Seine, wrote historian Allan M. Fraser. Batteries of the 59th were among the first soldiers to liberate the key supply port of Antwerp, where they were greeted by the city’s mayor who presented each of them with a bottle of wine and a pack of cigars. In many of the places they fought in Holland, the land was flooded and dry places to camp were scarce. The Newfoundlanders made a name for themselves by being able to cobble together the best shelters and for being able to navigate their guns and trucks over the worst of the mud clogged and troop packed roads as they shifted as much as 150 miles at a run to come to the aid of infantrymen fighting pitched battles against the Germans.

The Regiment suffered its first injuries on 17 July 1944, when enemy fire wounded 12 men, causing one to lose a leg, and destroyed two guns. Following early Allied successes in August 1944, the 59th Regiment pressed east and continued fighting in Belgium and the Netherlands before proceeding on to Germany. The Regiment took part in the Battle of the Falaise Pocket from 122 to 21 August 1944 and Operation Market Garden in September 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge the four batteries of the 59th Regiment repealed the German drive to the River Meuse. In the Battle of the Bulge, which saw the Germans launch a desperate surprise attack to cut off the British army from its supplies and separate them from the American troops, the men of the 59th reinforced their reputation for accurate firing, devising the best camps in the worst conditions, and for manhandling their big guns and supplies over ice and snow blocked roads, all with “exceptionally high” morale. While some American soldiers froze to death in the harsh winter conditions, the men of the 59th gathered wood from the ruins of bombed out houses to line the floors and walls of their two men tents, jimmied stoves and heaters out of empty milk cans, and even, at times, rigged up electricity to light their camps. Frustrated by their accurate firing – in one instance a battery of the 59th snuffed out seven German observation posts in a row, landing 26 direct hits on one position – the Nazis would order bombing raids over the men of the 59th and their guns.

On 2 May 1945, the Regiment fired all of their batteries at the key Germany city of Hamburg, their last rounds of the war, two days before the city’s German forces surrendered. For the next 8 weeks, the Regiment helped in the administration and rerouting of refugees.

Winston Churchill with the Regiment’s howitzers

Raymond Farndale, RCA, 1943 Ray in about 1974

Ray continued to strongly support veterans’ affairs. He lived to be the oldest living member of the Farndale family. In July 2015, 101 year old Veteran, Raymond “Poppy” Farndale, sat with his medals and war scrapbook in front of his portrait at Guelph Public Library to support the Hundred Portraits and Hundred Poppies project. He said I thought it was an important project to remember those who have served in the military or had some association with the military. Not only do I feel strongly about the poppy and what it symbolizes, my 2 grandchildren (Christopher and Emily) call me “Poppy” so it is quite special to me. He added that I was remembering the people I met during World War 2. I am one of the few veterans left from my regiment and I felt I was representing all of the amazing men and women I worked alongside. He advised, While a lot has changed since I was born, 101 years ago, some things have remained the same. One thing I have always lived by, treat others as you would like to be treated. If you do this, you can never go wrong.

Wilfred Gordon (“Gordon”) Farndale was the grandson of John George Farndale who had fought in the Crimean War. He served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War 2 in Europe and later became an accountant. Clarence Edward Farndale was Gordon’s brother, who served with the Royal Canadian Navy. He served from 15 March 1939 to 17 August 1945 and then from 25 February 1947 to 12 August 1966.

Gordon Farndale, 1944 Clarence Farndale, 1960 Clarence and Gordon Farndale (Brothers in Arms)

36014559 Private Richard William Farndale joined the army on 28 March 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He was a Mechanic with the 43rd Division for 32 months in the Pacific. The 43rd Division was mobilised on 24 February 1941. The 43rd Division was originally sent to Camp Blanding, Florida where it was based before participating in the Louisiana Manoeuvres of 1941 and the Carolina Manoeuvres later that same year. The division relocated to Camp Shelby, Mississippi on 14 February 1942. On 19 February 1942, it was reorganised as a triangular division so that it had three infantry regiments. The division prepared for overseas operations at Fort Ord, California on 6 September 1942 and departed from San Francisco on 1 October 1942. The division arrived in New Zealand on 23 October 1942, before being committed to combat in the South West Pacific Theatre under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. It saw campaigns in New Guinea, Northern Solomons, and Luzon. Rendova was the major staging point for the assault on the island of New Georgia. The assault on New Georgia was met with determined enemy resistance. The Japanese fought fiercely before relinquishing Munda and its airfield on 5 August 1943. Vela Cela and Baanga were taken easily, but the Japanese resisted stubbornly on Arundel Island before withdrawing on 22 September 1943.

Soldiers of 4rd Infantry Division landing on Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands on 30 June 1943

Dick received his discharge from the Army in May 1945.

4272378 Cyril Ernest Farndale enlisted into the Royal Artillery on 30 August 1939 and served in 100 Anti Tank Regiment Royal Artillery.

Sergeant William Derrick Farndale was promoted to Sergeant and led the Withernsea Patrol of the East Riding Home Guard on the Holderness coast.

Cecil Farndale Phillips

Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier and Major General after the War) Cecil Farndale Phillips commanded 47 (Royal Marine) Commando during the assault in the Le Hamel area on 6 June 1944. After the War he was promoted to Major General and became Chief of Amphibious Warfare.

The Second World War soldiers, sailors and airmen The full story of the Farndales who took up arms in the Second World War

The Second World War Soldiers The context of the Second World War

Scene 8 - The Cold War years

General Sir Martin Farndale KCB joined Indian Army 1946 and was commissioned into Royal Artillery October 1948 from the first intakes at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He served Egypt, Germany, Malaya, Northern Ireland, and South Arabia. He was Commander in Chief of the British Army of the Rhine and commander of the Northern Army Group of NATO.

Martin Farndale started his military career in 80th Light Anti-aircraft Regiment in the Suez Canal Zone. In January 1949, he sailed by Troop Ship to Egypt with his great friends, John Ansell and Bill Nicholas. Soon he was selected for the elite Royal Horse Artillery and he joined First Regiment Royal Horse Artillery in 1950.

On the Troop Ship to Egypt Field Marshall Montgomery (“Monty”) inspects Martin Farndale’s Troop, Fayid, Egypt

He joined the Gunner Staff of 17th Gurkha Division in Malaya from 1960 to 1962, where he saw active service during the final phases of the Malayan Campaign.

He was a Battery Commander in Aden during the Radfan Campaign in the arid mountains of the Protectorate.

From 1969 to 1971, Martin was given command of First Regiment. He was the first artillery commanding officer to take his regiment to Northern Ireland and to serve in an infantry role on the streets of Belfast. He was also the first Lieutenant Colonel to command a warship. Accommodation was sparse in those early days, so HMS Maidstone, which was destined for the breaker's yard, was instead sailed from Portsmouth to Belfast and acted as a maritime barracks for the Regiment. His command included a hundred sailors, the Maidstone's maintenance team.

In his role as Director of Operations at the Ministry of Defence Martin Farndale organised the disarming of guerillas in order to facilitate the creation of the new nation of Zimbabwe.

He was Colonel Commandant Army Air Corps. He learnt to fly a helicopter and built up a considerable log of flying time, particularly during his later commands in Germany.

Martin commanded 2nd Armoured Division as Major General from June 1980 to March 1983. He commanded the Division during Exercise Spearpoint in September 1980, during which the Division's 14,000 men and 150 tanks took the full weight of an enemy Orange simulated Soviet break-in. He also planned Second Division's Exercise Keystone in November 1982.

Major General Farndale meets a Russian General observer during Exercise Spearpoint 1980

He commanded 1st (British) Corps as Lieutenant General from March 1983 to 1985. This was the fighting component of the British Forces in Germany, still during the height of the Cold War. The Headquarters was at Bielefeld and he lived at Spearhead House. In those days, tests and demonstrations of ability to withstand an invasion from the east were critical to keeping the peace and winning the Cold War. In 1984, he devised and oversaw the vast Exercise Lionheart, a show of strength of the height of the Cold War, which involved 131,000 British troops, including tens of thousands or Territorials and Army Reservists and which extended over 3,700 square miles. During a second phase a further 6,300 German, 3,500 Dutch, 3,400 American and 165 Commonwealth (from Australia, New Zealand and Canada) took part. It was intended to test BAOR's reinforcement plans and was the biggest military exercise to be held since the Second World War. In September 1983, he showed the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, around his Corps during an exercise, during which now infamous photographs were taken of the later Lady Thatcher riding in a Chieftain tank.

With the Prime Minster, Margaret Thatcher                   With the Defence Secretary, Michael Heseltine

Martin then commanded the British Army of the Rhine, at the time 55,000 strong, and also commanded the Northern Army Group, an Army Group consisting of a British, Dutch, German, and American Corps, from its headquarters at Rheindalen. This was from 1985 to 1987. He implemented a revised concept of operations for the Northern Army Group. In the event of a Soviet invasion, the new plans would enable NATO forces to bide our time and then strike viciously, at the time of our choosing, at an exposed flank or sector. He invented a strategic concentration of force and firepower, known as the Farndale Cocktail.

The Farndale Cocktail

An explosive blend of Farndale firepower

These new plans were tested in 1987 during another major exercise, Exercise Certain Strike, which proved itself to be the largest and most complex field exercise of its type staged in Europe since the D-Day landings in 1944.

Martin became Master Gunner of St James' Park, an office dating back to the seventeenth century, the honorary head of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, on 5 November 1988. His principal duty as Master Gunner was to keep the Queen, the Royal Regiment's Captain General, informed of all matters pertaining to the Royal Artillery. He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Horse Artillery, Honorary Colonel of First Regiment Royal Hose Artillery and of Third Battalion, the Yorkshire Volunteers, his home county. He was Colonel Commandant of the Army Air Corps. He also had a close interest in the South Notts Hussars.

Martin was a passionate historian and as well as his genealogical work, he wrote definitive histories of the Royal Artillery, a task which he started early in his military career and continued until he died. He wrote the History of the Royal Artillery, France 1914-1918 (published 1987). He wrote the History of the Royal Artillery, The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base, 1914-1918 (published 1988). He wrote the History of the Royal Artillery in the Second World War (The Years of Defeat 1939-41) (published 1996). He wrote the History of the Royal Artillery (The Far East Theatre 1941-1946) which was published posthumously. He also wrote many articles for the British Army Review and the Royal Artillery Journal.

He was also Chairman of the English Heritage Battlefields Trust from 1993. The trust endeavours to preserve battlefields from being destroyed by new roads of buildings. Martin succeeded in saving the site of the Battle of Tewkesbury (1471) from developers.

Martin was described in an obituary as an innovative army commander whose leadership qualities took him to Malaya, Northern Ireland and NATO, unquestionably the most distinguished gunner officer of his generation. He had an outstanding career both in command and on the staff, but was never more at home than when among soldiers in the field. He was an example of what can be achieved with a combination of leadership, intellect, personality, charm and dedication.

Martin Farndale was an exceptional man, who lived an exceptional life. He was generous of spirit, an inspiring leader, a true comrade in arms and a firm friend. The world is poorer for his passing but his achievements will be remembered for many a year to come.

General Sir Martin Farndale KCB

1929 to 2000

The original author of this genealogy who led the British Army and Northern Command of NATO in the crucial years of the Cold War

Keith Alan Farndale was from New Zealand, and served as a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy.

James Henry Farndale served with 1st Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borderers. Gary R Farndale served with the British Army on The Rhine.

Scene 9 - Gulf War 1

Six hundred years after his namesake was enrolled into the army of Henry V, Richard Farndale was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1987 from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served in Germany, with the United Nations Forces in Cyprus in 1990, and as an artillery forward observation officer during the First Gulf War in early 1991. He was later Adjutant of First Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, and after retiring from the Regular army, a Battery Commander of 207 Battery, 105 Regiment (Volunteers) Royal Artillery equipped with Javelin air defence missile system. He was awarded the UN Medal for service in Cyprus, and the Gulf War Medal.

There are still Farndales serving in the armed forces today.

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