The Liberation of Le Quesnoy
The text below is from a presentation the Rector, Mr. Bovey, made at a recent school assembly. Thank you to PNBHS Archivist and former Head of History, Mr. Dominic King, for collating this information.
"Next Saturday is 11 November – this day is called Armistice Day as it was on this day 105 years ago that the First World War came to an end.
However, tomorrow 4 November, 105 years ago saw an action in World War One that directly involved two old boys of PNBHS.
On 4 November 1918, the allies were advancing over a 100 kilometre front across Belgium and Northern France. The New Zealand Division was advancing steadily and gained 10 kilometres and captured 2000 Germans and 60 field guns. The attack cost the lives of about 130 New Zealand soldiers – virtually the last of the 12,483 who fell on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918.
Although the main force had gone past it, the fortress town of Le Quesnoy was still occupied by Germans and was a strategic threat to the advancing Allies. Therefore it had to be taken.
Le Quesnoy is a very old town – for over 1000 years people have lived there. In the 1600s, three rings of defensive walls were built to protect the town. These walls presented a problem for the New Zealand troops. These walls could have been quickly reduced by heavy artillery, but there was no plan for this.
This set the stage for one of the New Zealand Division's most spectacular exploits of the war which involved two Old Boys of this school. The 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade was given the task of taking Le Quesnoy. They were part of the 4th Battalion which was commanded by someone you have heard about - Brigadier Harold Barrowclough – a PNBHS Old Boy from 1908 to 1911.
In order to take the town, they had to get over the three rings of walls surrounding it. They reached the inner walls of the town about midday on 4 November, by scaling the complex network of outer ramparts with ladders which were supplied by the sappers (or engineers). But the inner wall was too high for the ladders until Lieutenant Harold Kerr noticed a narrow bridge. By placing the ladder on this bridge and two soldiers holding it in place, Lieutenant Averill was able to climb up to the top. He was followed by Lieutenant Harold Kerr and more soldiers. Averill quickly reached the top of the brickwork and stepped over the coping onto the grassy bank. Crouching behind it, he peered over. It was one of the most dramatic moments in the Division’s history. There was an instant crashing through some brushwood on the far side and Averill saw two Germans of the bombing post rushing away.“… He sent a revolver bullet after them. Kerr was now on the topmost rung. The two officers could see a pair of machine guns on the salient on their right, pointing into the moat but abandoned. They stood up and walked over the top of the grass slope and down the other side towards the boulevard. They were greeted by a great jabbering of German. Kerr fired a shot at the man who appeared to be leader, but missed. The whole enemy party bolted into an underground cavern under the rampart.“… By this time the remainder of the battalion was swarming up the ladder. They were led by Barraclough himself who took with him a signaller and apparatus in order to open communications with brigade headquarters and establish the 4th Battalion’s claim to the honour of the town’s capture.
Several hundred prisoners were taken, along with quantities of guns of all calibres. Only the break into the town triggered a mass surrender by the defenders and shortly afterwards the 2nd Battalion marched in through the Valenciennes Gate. They were greeted by cheering townspeople who appeared from behind closed doorways as soon as they saw the New Zealanders. A German prisoner proved helpful in locating those of his colleagues who were hiding underground and soon some 700 enemy soldiers were in captivity. Lieutenant Harold Kerr was also an Old Boy of PNBHS from 1909 to 1913. He is also the grandfather of Old Boy Mr Bruce Kensington and great-grandfather of Michael and Thomas Kensington who attended PNBHS in the early 2000s.
The medieval-like assault on Le Quesnoy captured the imagination of the townspeople, who were overjoyed at their release from a four-year bondage. Ever since, the town has maintained a strong connection with New Zealand.
New Zealand’s overall World War One cost in human terms was enormous for a country whose population only just exceeded one million. During 32 months of service in France and Belgium, the New Zealand Division was to incur in the region of 48,000 casualties. Over 12,500 men died in France and Belgium, the largest death toll of our people, in one time, than at any other period in our country’s history.
In 2010, the 1st XV went on a tour of Europe and visited Le Quesnoy where they were welcomed and entertained by the people of the town. They also visited one of the Commonwealth War graves in the area. 196 New Zealanders died taking Le Quesnoy."
