A Good D.C.M. 1914 trio group, 11th Battery, Royal Field Artillery.(Famous for their engagement at Le Cateau 26th August 1914) D.C.M. For various actions between 25th February to 17th September 1918, especially for his actions at St Leger on 31st August.

A Good D.C.M. 1914 trio group, 11th Battery, Royal Field Artillery.(Famous for their engagement at Le Cateau 26th August 1914) D.C.M. For various actions between 25th February to 17th September 1918, especially for his actions at St Leger on 31st August. Distinguished Conduct Medal (Geo V) 49486 B.S.Mjr. A. Mills . R.F.A.; 1914 Star (5th Aug-22nd Nov 1914, bar) 49486 Gnr A. Mills. R.F.A.; British War and Victory Medals, 49486 W.O. Cl.2 A. Mills. R.A.; Trio ribbon bar and rosette. Distinguished Conduct Medal, London gazette 1st January 1919.: Citation: 49486 B/S/M/ A. Mills , 11th Bty R.F.A., T.F. (Attached 315th N’Bn)(Preston) (LG 3 Sept 1919) For devotion to duty during the period 25th February to 17th September 1918, especially on 31st August at St Legar, when the officer firing the battery was killed during the barrage. He carried on the barrage under heavy fire until relived by another officer, setting a splendid example to the men of his battery and showing the utmost contempt of danger. His M.I.C. confirms his entitlement to the 1914 trio and bar, an shows entitlement to the Silver War Badge. It also shows he entered a theatre of war on the 19th August 1914. Arthur Mills was born in 1890. Swoodford, Essex He enlisted on the 6th January 1908, serving at home to 18th August 1914, France to 28th August 1914, home to 26th November 1915, France to 5th September 1918, on furlough to 19th September 1918, France to 28th February 1918, home to 28th June 1919. With a good set of copied papers (More on Ancestry) The 11th Battery, Royal Field Artillery (RFA) entered World War I as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). At the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, the battery was stationed at Kildare, Ireland. It was organized alongside the 52nd and 80th Batteries under XV Brigade, RFA, which provided the core field artillery support for the British 4th Division. Armed with 18-pounder quick-firing field guns, the battery would endure more than four years of continuous combat across the Western Front, evolving from a traditional horse-drawn unit into an instrument of massive, industrial-scale barrage warfare. The 4th Division crossed the English Channel to France in late August 1914, missing the very opening actions at Mons but arriving just in time to reinforce the retreating BEF. The 11th Battery was thrown straight into the Battle of Le Cateau on August 26, 1914. Operating under terrifying conditions, the gunners unlimbered their pieces in the open field, firing over open sights at massed German infantry to protect the retreating British battalions. Exposed to overwhelming counter-battery fire, the battery suffered heavily but played a pivotal role in preventing the encirclement of the British left flank. Following the Retreat from Mons, the battery pivoted into offensive action, fighting at the Battle of the Marne and the Battle of the Aisne in September, helping to turn the German tide. By October, they were rushed north to Flanders, taking part in the brutal, First Battle of Ypres. As mobile operations froze into trench warfare, the 11th Battery adapted to the lethal technicalities of static artillery fire. In April 1915, they faced the historic horror of the first mass gas attacks during the Second Battle of Ypres. The gunners fought through choking clouds of chlorine, continuously firing to prevent a total collapse of the Allied line. By the summer of 1916, XV Brigade moved south to the Somme sector. On July 1, 1916—the catastrophic First Day on the Somme—the 11th Battery worked tirelessly to lay down the complex artillery screen for the 4th Division’s assault on the heavily fortified German strongpoints near Serre and Redan Ridge. They remained in the mud of the Somme for months, firing countless rounds in support of the grim, localized infantry actions that defined the campaign. 1917 brought no relief. The battery was heavily engaged in the spring during the Battle of Arras, providing devastating barrages for the captures of Roeux and the Chemical Works. Later that year, they returned north to the swamp-like carnage of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). Here, keeping the heavy 18-pounders stable on sinking wooden platforms required immense physical endurance under constant shellfire and mustard gas. When the German Spring Offensive shattered the British lines in March 1918, the 11th Battery faced defensive, mobile rearguard fighting reminiscent of 1914. They checked the German advance at the Battle of the Lys, holding their ground at all costs. During the triumphant Allied counter-offensive—the Hundred Days Offensive—the battery moved rapidly forward with the advancing infantry. On August 31, 1918, during the relentless Allied push “ the Hundred Days Offensive” , the village of St. Leger in northern France became a focal point of intense artillery activity. Following its recapture from German forces just days earlier during the Second Battle of Bapaume, the area was immediately utilized as a forward staging ground for British artillery batteries. On this day, heavy batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA)—including massive 8-inch and 6-inch howitzers—alongside mobile 18-pounders of the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), were positioned in and around the pulverized roadside ruins of St. Leger. Operating under choking clouds of chalk dust and continuous enemy counter-battery fire, these gunners were tasked with providing a crushing creeping barrage. Their primary objective on August 31 was to flatten nearby German strongpoints, such as St. Servin’s Farm, and suppress enemy machine-gun nests to allow the advancing infantry of the 3rd and 62nd Divisions to punch through toward the Hindenburg Line. The relentless, high-precision firing from the St. Leger batteries on this critical day successfully shattered the German rearguard resistance, securing the sector and maintaining the momentum of the Advance. They fired their final missions breaking through the Hindenburg Line and routing the retreating German army, serving with distinction right up until the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Condition – NEF NOTE: Sorry we cannot accept payment by PayPal for this item, We can accept payment by Credit / Debit Card, Bank Transfer or Cheque.