Description
WW1 pair – 1/5th battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, Killed in Action 26th October 1917 (Passchendaele)
British War and Victory Medals, 241402 Pte S. CarlineNorth’d Fus.
Samuel Carline was born on the 12th November 1888 in Matlock, Derbyshire.
His MIC confirms his entitlement to a pair only.
Death Presumed on 26th October 1917 and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial
Condition – GVF
The 1/5th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers—a Territorial Force unit hailing primarily from Walker and the surrounding Tyneside area—was mobilized in August 1914. Designated as part of the 149th (Northumberland) Infantry Brigade within the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, the battalion landed in France in April 1915 and was almost immediately thrown into the desperate fighting of the Second Battle of Ypres. There, facing the first large-scale German poison gas attacks, the unit established its enduring reputation for steadfast courage under devastating conditions.
Throughout 1916, the 1/5th Battalion saw heavy engagement during the Battle of the Somme, distinguishing itself in the bloody actions for Flers-Courcelette and Morval. In early 1917, after enduring a brutal winter in the trenches, the battalion fought across the mud-caked battlefields of Arras, suffering severe casualties while breaching heavily defended German positions along the Scarpe.
Later that year, the unit moved north to the Ypres Salient to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). Following restructuring in early 1918, the battalion was reconstituted as the 5th Battalion and reassigned, continuing to serve with distinction through the catastrophic German Spring Offensives—where it fought desperate rearguard actions—and during the victorious Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately secured Allied victory in November 1918.
Actions on the 26th October 1917
On October 26, 1917, during the Second Battle of Passchendaele, the 1/5th Battalion took part in the 149th Brigade’s assault near Poelcapelle and Houthulst Forest. Attacking in the center of the brigade line through knee-deep mud and torrential rain, the battalion advanced at 5:40 a.m. toward fortified German pillboxes. The troops encountered devastating machine-gun fire and snipers, while the shrapnel artillery barrage failed to penetrate the concrete structures. Disorganized by impenetrable mud and drowned crater-landscapes, the assault was checked with catastrophic losses: 12 officers and 439 men were killed, wounded, or missing.
