Reepham Benefice

Lynton W. White was the son of Sir Woolmer Rudolph Donati White (High Sheriff of Norfolk) of Salle Park Estate. Lieutenant White saw only two weeks of the war, finally succumbing to wounds received in the Battle of Néry on September 3rd 1914.

A graduate of Trinity Collage, Cambridge, Lynton joined the armed forces on 7th May 1905 as 2nd Lieutenant. When Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th 1914, Lynton was on leave in England. He was immediately attached to the Queen’s Bays (Cavalry) and deployed as part of the British Expeditionary Force and landed in France on August 22nd.

Those two weeks involved heavy and close fighting with the advancing German army. As the British Expeditionary Force withdrew to regroup, Lieutenant White was involved in a number of hard-fought rearguard actions. The Cavalry unit of the 2nd Dragoon Guards were employed throughout, slowing down the German advance in order to allow the heavy artillery units to withdraw.

Lieutenant White took part in the Battle of le Cateau, one of the principle opening battles of the war. On the evening of August 31st, White’s brigade (under the command of Brigadier General Briggs) was ordered to billet in the village of Néry on the left bank of the Oise where it was to be held in reserve. However, it was at this unremarkable village in France that one of the finest examples of artillery and cavalry (combined) tactics were employed to great effect, resulting in pushing back an overwhelming German force. Nonetheless, it was also the scene of carnage, butchery and misery. While classed as a victory for the British, it was won through the resilience and termination of a small number of men who were faced with insurmountable odds with a much larger and stronger Germany artillery, cavalry and infantry attempting to pummel them into submission.

On the night of August 31st, the 5th Dragoon Guards were billeted in the north end of the village, with their horses in the open air; the 11th Hussars were in the centre with all men and horses under cover; and so the Bays of ‘A’ and ‘B’ Squadrons were billeted in some houses along the village street with their horses in the open, while ‘L’ Battery and ‘C’ Squadron Bays were in a field to the south of the village.

The brigade spent a quiet night, but awoke at 4.30 a.m. to a dense mist, which delayed any start, so that many of the men stood down and started to cook breakfast. At 5 a.m. a patrol of the 11th Hussars came galloping into the village to report that they had been chased into Néry by German cavalry. However, despite their warning, it came too late. Almost at once shells began to fall in the village, with the German gunners concentrating their fire on the horse lines of the Bays and on ‘L’ Battery, with such deadly affect that the surviving horses stampeded in terror. Brigadier Briggs at once ordered the 11th Hussars to take over the defence of the north end of the village, and gave Colonel Ansell of the 5th Dragoon Guards freedom to act against the right flank of the advancing enemy.

In the meantime the officers (including Lieutenant White) and men of the Bays were improvising a firing line, while the Horse Gunners under Captain Bradbury, their second in command struggled to manhandle three of their guns into action. Major Sclater-Booth, the battery commander, had been wounded and blinded by a shell burst as he ran to his guns. Lieutenant Lamb, the machine gun officer of the Queen's Bays, was able to gather together some of his men and, covered by a low brick wall, bring two machine guns into action, aiming at the flashes of the German guns, which could by now be seen only 800 yards away. Under cover of this fire, ‘L’ Battery got its three guns into action against what proved to be eight guns of two German batteries, with a third battery shelling the village.

Colonel Ansell with two squadrons of the 5th Dragoon Guards moved out of the north end of Néry in the mist to attack the German flank, only to run straight into the 9th Uhlans and 3rd Cuirassiers. In the following exchange of fire Ansell was mortally wounded, and the 5th Dragoon Guards fell back before this overwhelming force, fighting all the way, but the mist also covered the British weakness, and the German cavalry halted their advance.

The 1st Cavalry Brigade had been caught by surprise, at close quarters, by the whole of the 4th German Cavalry Division who were in greatly superior numbers; but the Germans were not sure what confronted them. This enabled individual officers and men to improvise a firing line, while gunners served their 13-pounders in the open field, bringing up the ammunition from the limber across twenty yards of fire-swept ground. Lamb, smoking a pipe, kept his two machine guns in action, concentrating on the German guns, and filling the belts by hand to keep the guns supplied while the water in the jackets boiled. The Germans now switched the fire of their third battery against ‘L’ Battery and the Bays. Two of the three guns were quickly knocked out, the remaining gun being served by Captain Bradbury, Battery Sergeant Major Dorrell and Sergeant Nelson, who had already been wounded. Bradbury had both his legs blown off, and as he was carried back, dying, he said to Colonel Wilberforce, ‘Hallo, Colonel, they have been giving us a warm time, haven’t they?’ The lone remaining gun of ‘L’ Battery continued to fire until the last round had been expended.

As the mist cleared Wilberforce noticed that ‘by degrees these eight (German) guns ceased firing, and we could see the guns distinctly every time anyone came near them; Vickers and all the rifles we had slated them with fire until the Germans gave up all attempt either to serve them or get them away.’ Earlier in the day a small party of the Bays had managed to work forward to the right and occupy the sugar factory, from where they were able to check by rifle fire any German attempt to get around from that side. Eventually the Germans occupied some buildings to the east of the sugar factory, and Lieutenants De Crespigny and Misa launched a counter-attack with some fifteen men. They held the objective until De Crespigny was killed, and only three were left unwounded, Lieutenant Misa and two men.

Soon after 8 a.m. help arrived in the form of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, who coming upon the stampeded horses of the Bays feared the worst. As ‘I’ Battery’s guns came into action, however, Lamb’s machine guns prevented the Germans from bringing up their teams to withdraw their guns, and Major Ing took forward some of the Bays to capture the eight abandoned guns, the first to be taken by the BEF. By 9.45 a.m. the Germans had withdrawn.

Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to Bradbury, Dorrell and Nelson. Numerous other medals were awarded to individuals in recognition of their bravery. Indeed, one of the ceremonial gun carriages drawn by the horse-troop of the Queen’s Dragoons is called Néry. Although Lieutenant White survived the initial attack, he died three days later at the Chateau de Baron due to wounds received. Initially buried in the grounds of the Chateau, White’s body was reinterred in the local cemetery.

Born Salle, May 5th 1886- Died Néry, France, September 3rd 1914