Poelcapelle, Belgium. Greaves won his VC in brutal, hellish conditions

Here is a first hand account of Cpl. Fred Greaves actions on October 4th, 1917. It makes for both inspiring and humbling reading.

“It was an exceedingly critical position we were in. Our force ran into one of the enemy blockhouses or ‘pill boxes’ and we were also caught between the fire of two groups of machine-gun posts. The officers and non-coms. went down with the exception of Greaves. The men suffered most severely, and, left without a leader, they were wavering.

Greaves saw what was required. Shouting to the men not to mind, he went forward with some bombs in his hand…They seemed to be running through bullets. Greaves got round the pill box, after dodging death from snipers many times…. He made his way inside and brought out four machine guns in succession. That saved the day for us.

The effect on our advance was felt all over the field of battle, and our troops were able to gain their objectives with comparatively trifling losses.

Later in the day the position was once again critical. The officers were knocked out, and the command fell to Greaves. He proved equal to the responsibility, which was greatly increased by the fact that a sudden enemy counter-attack swept away the infantry holding the adjoining lines. The Foresters were hard pressed, and were on the point of being forced back in their turn when Greaves saved the day once more….He went forward into the thick of it,… and generally making it clear to both our chaps and the enemy that there was a chap on the job who knew enough of the business to make it impossible for the enemy to get the best of us.

The enemy attacked in masses. Greaves went about among the men, encouraging them and spurring them on by his example of cheerfulness and courage. Again and again the enemy attacked. Each time they were flung back, in spite of overwhelming forces they had at their disposal. The example of Greaves and his band of Sherwoods was infectious. OUr men gradually recovered the ground given up, and the enemy was sent rolling back in disorder once more. That this result was achieved was due entirely to the brilliant leadership and courage of Greaves..

He is a fine comrade, ready to anything for his mates, and never thinking of himself at all. Before the acts that won him the Cross, Greaves had already come under the notice of his superiors for his coolness and dash under the most trying circumstances. On one occasion before he rushed a machine-gun post single-handed, and one another occasion he risked his life to bring a comrade out of action. How he kept going on the day he won the Cross I do not know. He was everywhere, and seemed to know just what to do at the proper time. The men soon gained confidence in his leadership, and would have been content to follow him anywhere he chose.”

Has there ever been a  more fitting candidate to receive a posthumous Freedom of the Borough from the town of his birth than Fred Greaves?

Greaves VC Steak & Stout Pie

I had the idea for a commemorative pie early in 2010 and needed to find a suitable baker who fitted my criteria. The baker had to be Chesterfield based, produce a product of the highest quality and use local ingredients wherever possible.

After I had trawled the local area for a suitable company, Jackson’s stood out as being best placed to produce a pie worthy of the occasion. Jackson’s, a local company are a highly regarded family bakers who have been putting bread on the tables of Chesterfield folk since 1944. They won a highly coveted bakery award for their traditional steak pie in 2007 so I knew I would be in safe hands to produce a pie worthy to carry the name of our local hero Fred Greaves.

The road to creating the perfect pie has been a fun and there have been a few versions before settling on the pie which you will find on sale today. Product testing has never been so moreish!

The pie is made from chunks of Derbyshire steak, field mushrooms, caramelised onions and a rich gravy made with stout brewed in Chesterfield, in addition to some special secret ingredients. Before you ask, I cannot divulge the recipe as I am not one of the privileged people who know it.

The pies are baked fresh every day and have sold out each day since launch. They are priced at £1.75 each and 20p from the sale of each pie goes the The British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

They will remain on sale until Saturday, 13th November. Grab one while you can as they really are selling like hot cakes (groan).

For more information on Jacksons the Bakers, please visit: www.jacksonsthebakers.co.uk or email me at: greavesvc@gmail.com

Trevor Jackson and Margaret Swift launch Fred's charity pie

Award winning bakers, Jacksons of Chesterfield,have crafted a special limited edition Steak & Stout pie  to commemorate the life of Chesterfield Victoria Cross holder, Fred Greaves, with a donation of 20p being made to the British Legion for every pie sold in the run up to Remembrance Day next Sunday.

Jacksons was approached by a local businessman with the idea for the themed pie which would raise money for charity, increase the profile of a local hero and showcase the excellence of local independent producers on our high streets.

The pie is made from Derbyshire steak, field mushrooms and caramelised onions, in a rich gravy made from a stout brewed locally by Spire Brewery.

The pie is dedicated to Chesterfield’s greatest hero, Fred Greaves, a miner born in 1890, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in October, 1917. At a pivotal moment of battle when it looked like he and his comrades would be annihilated, Fred rushed a German machine gun fortification silencing the machine guns whilst dodging sniper fire. Fred’s heroism is even more amazing because he was rejected by the Army in 1914 due to his leg injuries sustained in an mining accident which broke his legs and pelvis. It was only through his determination that he was allowed to enlist in 1915 and the rest is history.

Fred epitomised all that is good and great and in many ways encapsulates the very best of what it means to be from this area. He truly deserves to be honoured and remembered. I urge people to buy a pie, support the poppy appeal and support your local high street.

Trevor Jackson of Jacksons Bakery said, “We are delighted to have been asked to help celebrate the life of our town’s hero as well as play our part in raising important funds for such a worthy charity.”

Fred Greaves’ daughter Hazel of Chesterfield said. “He was a very modest man and would be more than a little embarrassed by all the fuss being made of him, but would be really happy to support the poppy appeal.”

There will be a service at Chesterfield Parish Church (Crooked Spire) from 2.30pm followed by a parade to the war memorial on Rose Hill, with wreath laying at approx. 3.15pm.

A full list of Remembrance events can be found in The Derbyshire Times, or on their website:

http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/chesterfield/Tributes-to-fallen.5795035.jp

Ex- Servicemans Club, Glumangate, Chesterfield – Remembrance Sunday

The Ex-servicemens club will be open at 12 noon until 3pm. The club will then close for the service and parade and then reopen at 4pm until 7pm. Snacks will be laid on and anyone who would like to donate towards the cost of the snacks can do so and all your donations will go to the Poppy Appeal.

For those wishing to find out more about the memorial unveiling last weekend here are two websites were you can view pictures of the ceremony and unveiling of the memorial to the Sherwood Foresters at Tyne Cot, Belgium on 24th October, 2009.

Army Cadets - http://www.derbyshireacf.com/ and look under ‘Latest News › Tyne Cot 2009

There are also an excellent collection of photographs on this Flemish website.

http://www.wo1.be/ned/evenementen/erbij/2009/oktober/passendale2410/body1.htm

For more information on Tyne Cot Cemetery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_Cot

Many thanks to the Chairman of the Memorial Committee, Major John Cotterill MBE for providing me with additional information on the memorial.

“On Friday, October 30th at 10.30am, Local hero, Fred Greaves VC will be remembered when there will be a unveiling of a bench next to the War Memorial (opposite The Town Hall) in Chesterfield town centre, dedicated to his memory.

Fred, who won his VC in October 1917 in the mud of Passendaele, for single-handedly taking out a pillbox containing 4 German machine guns, is the only Victoria Cross holder from the area and one of only a handful from Derbyshire.

Fred who died in 1973, was never been honoured by his town, Chesterfield, and this is part of a campaign for greater recognition of his contribution by means of a road named in his honour, a memorial and be awarded a posthumous Freedom of the Borough.

Local press and radio coverage of the recent beer named in Fred’s honour (Greaves VC) has created a real buzz in the town and there is expected to be a healthy turnout for the cutting of the ribbon on the bench as local residents want to pay their respect to this great man.

Attending the event, will be:

Hazel Greaves – Fred Greaves’s daughter

Paul Holmes MP for Chesterfield

Major Cotterill of the Mercian Regiment.

Representative of Sherwood Foresters Association (TBA)”

Please pop along for the cutting of the ribbon. You will also have the chance to meet Fred’s daughter, Miss Hazel Greaves who will be attendance and I am sure would love the opportunity to say hello to you.

If you require more information, please email me at mail@fredgreavesvc.com. I will be happy to try and answer your questions.

Hope to see you on Friday!

On Monday, May 10, 1938, an underground explosion occurred at just after 5.30am. There were more than 170 men working on the Blackshale seam, some 690 yards below ground. The seam had been worked since the mid-1920s.

By 5.30am, most of the nightshift men who worked at the coalface were on their way to the pit bottom. Two minutes later, there was a noise “like a heavy bump”, and a cloud of dust “like a blue wave” knocked them down. The disaster had been caused by a coal dust explosion.

Rescue teams were called out from Chesterfield, Mansfield and Ilkeston. The Chesterfield men reached Markham at 6.25am and were instructed to go to the stables. There Dr McKay treated a number of men, and then the rescuers proceeded further into the mine where they treated 35 men suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

At 7.30am, East Plane was entered, and a badly burned man was treated, and bodies of men were found along with a dead pony among damaged tubs and roof girders. More bodies were discovered, three alongside some derailed tubs and a fourth by the coalface. The Chesterfield rescue team were sent back to the surface at 8.40am and the search was taken over by the Mansfield men, who found more fires, smoke and more bodies. The rescue work continued until 10pm on Wednesday, May 12, 65 hours after the explosion.

All 79 deaths had the cause recorded as carbon monoxide poisoning. The fatalities ranged in age from an 18-year-old pony driver, Arthur Brown, to a 63-year-old shot firer, Herbert Brough. The list of the dead reveals the tragic fact that many were members of the same families, some being brothers and others father and son. Some of the women of North East Derbyshire had lost both a husband and a son. The whole community mourned.

Below is  a link to the only footage I have seen covering the Markham Pit Disaster from the British Pathé online archive.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=17709

For more information, please read “Memories of the Derbyshire Coalfields” by David Bell is published by Countryside Books, priced £7.99

During World War I, nearly 11,500 Sherwood Foresters were killed in action, the majority of them on the Western Front.

A monument was erected at Crich after the war to commemorate the fallen men of The Sherwood Foresters, but no permanent memorial had been erected on the Western Front.

An appeal was launch in 2008 to create such a memorial. Since its launch, the appeal has raised over for the £14,000 for the stone monument, which includes a £3,500 donation from the Sherwood Foresters Regimental Association. The monument has been sculptured from Derbyshire stone and then was shipped to Belgium to stand at the Tyne Cot cemetery, just outside Ypres.

The memorial was unveiled on Saturday, October 24th by Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire Sir Andrew Buchanan and his Derbyshire counterpart, Willie Tucker.

The delegation also visited The Passchendaele Memorial Museum in the nearby village of Zonnebeke, where the Sherwood Foresters Memorial Committee presented a stone plaque and planted an oak tree.

Photographs of the ceremony and monument will be published here when they become available.

The next meeting of the WFR Association will be held at the ex-servicemans’ club at Haig House, Glumangate, Chesterfield on October 28th at 19:30.

32nd Festival of Remembrance  - November 5th 2009

This will be held at The Winding Wheel, Chesterfield 19.30 hrs prompt. Tickets cost £4 each and there are a limited number tickets. If you require a ticket please contact Mick Giles, who can be contacted through the Chesterfield WFRA. You can find a link to the local WFR website under the Useful Links section of my homepage.

Hazel and David raise a glass. Image supplied courtesy of The Derbyshire Times

Proud brewers are toasting one of the region’s bravest war heroes and others from the armed forces after naming a new beer in his honour.

Spire Brewery, on Gisbourne Close, Staveley, was so impressed with First World War soldier and Victoria Cross medal recipient Fred Greaves, it has produced an ale called ‘Greaves VC’ to support the poppy campaign.

Managing director David McLaren said: “We were planning something for the Poppy Appeal and after learning about Fred we’d no hesitation in naming this special bitter after him.”

Spire Brewery were approached with the story of Mr Greaves’ past and this prompted Spire to produce the limited edition ale with 10p per pint sold going to the Royal British Legion for Remembrance.

Cpl Greaves, of the 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, received the Victoria Cross – Britain’s highest military bravery honour – after his platoon was pinned down in 1917 during the First World War Battle of Passchendaele, in Belgium.

He rushed a German stronghold and bombed the occupants to defeat the garrison and prevent heavier losses.

The miner, who fought at Gallipoli and The Somme, was born in Killamarsh, lived in Barlborough and Duckmanton and died in 1973. He also received service medals and the Cross of Jerusalem for helping Markham Colliery pit disaster victims.

Cpl. Greaves’ daughter Hazel, of Renishaw Road, Mastin Moor, said: “It’s very nice my father is remembered but he would have been embarrassed because he was so modest.

“He was teetotal but during the war he had rum for dysentery and later enjoyed the odd glass.”

Greaves VC is available to pubs and is on sale at Chesterfield’s Market Tavern, Derby Tup, Tupton’s Britannia Inn, The Real Ale Corner and will be at CAMRA’s forthcoming Market Beer Festival.

Source: Derbyshire Times (22nd October 2009)

Reproduced with kind permission of The Derbyshire Times