Cecil Herman Street
Corporal
72nd Siege Battery - South African Heavy Artillery
"Springboks"
The Empire's cry for volunteers reached even as far as the southernmost portions of Africa, ensnaring many youths in the bustling city of Cape Town with the promise of adventure and appeal of patriotism for the “mother” country. Despite culturally being almost a Boer on account of his mother and religion, this appeal still struck a chord with 19-year-old Cecil Street, who enlisted in August of 1915. The blue-eyed farmer had only ever known the rocky peaks and rolling plains of South Africa, his nearest relation to the old country being his grandfather who hailed from there but had passed long before his birth. Yet his loyalty remained to this unseen nation nonetheless as he sailed away into an uncertain world with his fellow comrades of the South African Heavy Artillery.
The United Kingdom soon became a familiar place to the fresh "Springboks" as they were dubbed, who trained and drilled in the Old Country for a period. Cecil would earn his rank as a gunner and was assigned to the 72nd Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery, an all-South African outfit. Under the efficient command of Major Alston, they were well prepared for duty and shipped off to France in April 1916 (1). Cecil’s boots first touched French soil on April 21st when he landed in the packed port of Le Havre. From here he and the Battery moved to their initial posting at Mailley-Malliet in the Somme region (1). For the first time Cecil helped man his crew’s 6” howitzer in delivering payloads upon the enemy. Yet they were limited in their capabilities due to a restricted supply of ammunition, which meant the guns would have to remain quiet for periods (1).
The United Kingdom soon became a familiar place to the fresh "Springboks" as they were dubbed, who trained and drilled in the Old Country for a period. Cecil would earn his rank as a gunner and was assigned to the 72nd Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery, an all-South African outfit. Under the efficient command of Major Alston, they were well prepared for duty and shipped off to France in April 1916 (1). Cecil’s boots first touched French soil on April 21st when he landed in the packed port of Le Havre. From here he and the Battery moved to their initial posting at Mailley-Malliet in the Somme region (1). For the first time Cecil helped man his crew’s 6” howitzer in delivering payloads upon the enemy. Yet they were limited in their capabilities due to a restricted supply of ammunition, which meant the guns would have to remain quiet for periods (1).
Ypres & The Somme
The relative peace of the posting in Mailley-Malliet was soon forgotten as the hardy artillerymen pushed their guns into position in the horrid hellscape of the Ypres Salient on June 3rd (1). The battery had been moved to help aid the Canadians who were taking a beating holding this remaining strip of Belgian soil. From their position, the gun crew dueled with German artillery and provided support to Commonwealth forces. The town of Ypres became no more then a pile of rubble as the opposing batteries blasted away at each other. Cecil became all the more aware of how dangerous his job was, as enemy artillery began to claim fellow gunners throughout their time spent in Ypres. Among those critically wounded was Major Alston, leaving the battery under the command of Captain Mullins. It was a trying operation for the gunners who paid dearly in both men and material.
Fresh orders would finally arrive for the beleaguered gun crew, which slightly lifted their spirits, they were returning to Maillet (1). Yet upon arriving, Cecil and the crew soon discovered that this portion of the front was to change drastically (1). A major operation was in the works, and they were thrown right in support of the initial bombardment (1). From June 24th to the 29th, a combined allied force lobed “1.7 million” shells at German positions (2). Cecil and his crew, though late to the party, helped contribute to this mass show of strength. Yet on the 29th, the day the attack was to begin, heavy rain fell and turned the landscape into a field of mud (2). The assault was postponed, and the overall offensive laid in the balance as the guns kept barking (2). Yet despite their dominance in sheer number of artillery pieces, this work was not without risk, with Cecil being slightly wounded that day. Perhaps it was his fortune that he was treated the day before thousands charged to their death and from which point the artillery never stopped.
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Cecil quickly recovered and returned to his crew, entering what would become an endless routine of loading and firing the howitzer. Each time the gun launched its projectile, the barrel flamed, and the recoil shook the earth as the gun rolled back. The loud belch of the gun slowly stole his hearing well the constant stress of enemy counterbattery fire took his youth. Yet he remained at the gun as the 72nd fought relentlessly. During the Somme they moved from Maillet to Englebelmer and eventually to Authuille, which was just down the road from the heavily contested Thiepval (1). For roughly eight months Cecil and the crew remained hidden behind steep banks here as they bombarded the Germans who stubbornly held onto this region (1). Finally, they were able to triumphally move the gun to a position in Thiepval, though the human cost to do so had been enormous.
To End All Wars
The following year, 1917, saw Cecil and his crew once again supporting the Canadians, first from positions in Berthonoval Woods from where they provided support for the famed assault on Vimy Ridge (1). After this success, he again helped move the gun to a position in Souchez, just to the left of Vimy (1). At the end of April, the exhausted South Africans were pulled off the frontline for the first time since landing in France and were sent to Houdain (1). The constant intense combat had long since eroded Cecil's fresh complexion and he now bore the look of a veteran soldier (1) The rest did them all some good but only lasted a short period after which they were formally attached to the 1st Canadian Heavy Artillery Group (1). Again, the veteran gunners manned their howitzers in support of Canadians who this time conducted an assault on Lens (1).
In October, he returned to the dreaded Ypres Salient where he had first truly learned what combat was (1). The landscape had somehow degenerated even further then when he had left, the years of endless shelling and combat over this piece of dirt creating a sort of muddy soup that absorbed debris, shells, and bodies (1). He helped settle the gun in a position “between Zillebeke and Observatory Ridge” from where they were pummeled for a solid day by the enemy (1). Within the first 24 hours he lost 12 of his fellow artillerymen, a devastating blow for a single Battery (1). By some miracle, he remained unscathed and kept the gun firing in support of the infantry who fought through the mud during what would become known as the battle of Passchendaele. The Battery was eventually pulled from the thick Flanders soup and allowed to refit, being reassigned from the Canadians to their own kin in the 50th South African Brigade (1). During this period Cecil managed to secure some leave to Paris and was able to once again see a piece of France that hadn't been obliterated by the war. Yet after a brief 7-day leave, it was back to the firing line, as the 72nd Battery continued to provide support throughout northern France. The guns ceaselessly belched, and shells exploded until one day on November 11th, when silence overtook the front and the artillery became dormant.
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After nearly 3 years overseas, a now 23-year-old Cecil, returned to the warm climate and bustling colonial streets of Cape Town. Here, thousands of kilometers from the front, nothing had changed. There was no thunder of artillery, no shell holes, and the city remained in one piece, life had gone on. And so it did for Cecil, who took the allowance for clothes that the army had provided him and returned to civilian life, remaining in the place that had been his whole world. Yet he now knew what lay beyond and understood better then most the price South Africa had paid to earn its place in the Commonwealth.
Sources:
(1) Buchan, John. The History Of The South African Forces In France. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1920. https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthaf00buchrich/page/n7/mode/2up
(2) Antill, Peter (8 January 2007), Battle of the Somme, June-November 1916: Day of Infamy for the British Army, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_somme.html
(1) Buchan, John. The History Of The South African Forces In France. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1920. https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthaf00buchrich/page/n7/mode/2up
(2) Antill, Peter (8 January 2007), Battle of the Somme, June-November 1916: Day of Infamy for the British Army, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_somme.html