Robert William Pease
Company Sergeant-Major
1st Battalion- Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
Regimental Life
Every unit in the Empire took great pride in its performance, but few could rival the immense dedication of the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. In 1914, the battalion consisted of mostly Kent men who had eagerly volunteered to serve in the local regiment. Among their lot was Robert Pease, who had joined as early as 1907 at only 17 years of age (1). This was far from uncommon, in fact, the battalion took great pride in starting its recruits early and immediately taught them the unit’s history and began molding them into some of the best soldiers in the country (2). Robert already had a leg up on his fellow recruits in this regard as he was literally raised by the 1st Battalion, having been born while they were stationed in Malta in 1890. His father had also served with them his entire career and was a decorated veteran of the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882. This proud legacy pushed Robert to focus on his training and discipline, the youthful man quickly becoming a soldier worthy of praise within the unit. He spent most of his early years in Kent until he received his first posting to Dublin, Ireland. The famed city was on edge due to the Home Rule Crisis, which required guard duty to be pulled, but overall, it remained a calm posting (2). Though it was quiet, this did not mean the men were allowed to sit idly and they consistently drilled and practiced on the rifle range to ensure they remained top quality soldiers (2). It was this renowned discipline that made them a clear choice for mobilization upon the outbreak of war on August 4th, 1914. Robert, now a Sergeant, was gathered together with the rest in his company and informed they were to prepare to go over (2). There was a rapid reorganization that saw those too young to go overseas mustered out and the older reservists brought in from Kent to fill in the ranks (2). During this brief time, Robert rushed to marry his Irish sweetheart, Anna Doyle, on August 6th, only two days before they shipped out (2).
The excitement of going off to war was immense and those in the 1st Battalion received a grand farewell from the Irish Gals of Dublin (2). For those like Robert who had married, it was hard to bid goodbye to their beloved, but the prevailing thought was that the war would be over in no time at all. Few of those in the Battalion had ever experienced war, only a handful having served during the short Aden excursion in 1901 (2). Though inexperienced, they were well trained, and unloaded off the ship in Le Harve, France in good order despite being pelted with rain (2). They were shortly moved to positions in Northern France where they could drill and prepare for combat, though they were frequently mobbed by ecstatic French civilians (2).
The Retreat From Mons
Things began to get more serious when the battalion made a 17-mile march to Houdain on the 21st in sweltering heat (2). They continued the next day into Belgium and settled into a defensive line by St. Ghislain just slightly West of Mons (2). The unit was broken up with two companies posted to positions along the bridges on the canal and two near the town (2). The better part of the rest of the day saw Sergeant Pease and his comrades sweating as they dug trenches and prepared defensive positions (2). No assault came that night, but everyone in the battalion remained alert and a bit nervous at the prospect of their first combat (2). The one thing they knew they could rely on was their training and discipline, which they proved the following day, August 23rd (2). Rumor had spread that advanced German cavalry elements were nearby and A Company was moved up in support of some cyclist and cavalry units that went out on patrol near Terte (2). This small force was not prepared to meet an entire battalion of the German 12th Brandenberg Grenadier Regiment, which was advancing directly on their positions as part of a larger army (2).
As members of the British Cyclist and Hussar units retreated to escape the oncoming wave of Germans, A Company held firm and unleashed a hail of well-placed rounds upon their foe (2). The result was devasting casualties for the Germans who assumed that they must be facing multiple machine guns, even though neither of the battalions two were there (2). Though they managed to hold back the vastly superior ground elements, German artillery sprung into action and began decimating the ranks of the outnumbered company, forcing them to withdrawal, and resulting in the loss of both their officers and close to 100 men (2). Though it was a withdrawal, it was orderly, and Company A passed through the ranks of the rest of the 1st Battalion who began pouring fire on the advancing Germans at both bridgeheads (2). Robert and the rest of the battalion proved their shooting skill by ensuring the numerically superior German force never made it closer than 300 yards from their positions (2). The only issue was that the German artillery continued to operate unopposed as the only British guns had already been knocked out (2). Yet the fire fell accurately only on the buildings and a decoy trench the men had prepared, leaving the majority unwounded (2). Unfortunately, the Germans managed to overwhelm other bridges along the canal the following day and an advanced element began attacking D Company from behind (2). Yet they held their ground, and blew both bridges before retiring to the town of Wasmes in good order (2). They had proudly held their positions in the Battle of Mons despite incredible odds (2).
Though the fight had gone well for the 1st Battalion, it was a different story for the British Corps overall, which was in a full-blown retreat (2). The Kent men would discover this when asked to hold the town of Wasmes with several other units as a rearguard (2). The Germans swarmed into the town and violent street to street fighting took place (2). Yet again the accuracy of the British rifle fire proved too much, and they held for a sufficient time (2). The order to withdraw was once again given and the battalion resumed marching in the dreaded heat (2). By the time they arrived near Le Cateau on the 25th, they were exhausted and starving, having not eaten a meal since the 23rd (2). A small amount of emergency rations were handed out along with the some generous donations of food from French civilians, which kept the beleaguered soldiers functioning (2). Their position was finally in the rear, though the German assaults broke the frontline and resulted in the battalion once again fighting a rearguard action well under constant deadly artillery fire (2). They again resumed the march until reaching positions just outside of Paris, the journey having been made arduous on account of the roads being choked with men and material (2). The battalion was by this time greatly reduced in number, Sergeant Pease, being among those wounded and presumably placed on one of the trucks reserved for casualties (2). The 1st had proved its dependability, but had been decimated by constant combat, leaving many fallen comrades behind in the care of the Angel of Mons (2).
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Invicta - Unconquered
Robert was among those transferred back to England where he received treatment at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley. The intensive care of the British medical staff there ensured he made a full recovery, and he was able to return to duty. The battalion saw fit to promote the now veteran soldier to a Company Sergeant Major and it appears he served in England for the rest of the conflict, perhaps recruiting (1). He continued serving well after the war, working in the headquarters of the territorial component in Kent in 1926 and later serving in Guernsey in the Channel Islands in 1929 (1). The military had been his entire life, but he now had 6 children with his beloved wife and had developed quite an affection for the town of Tonbridge (1). Here he found a new career as the “Schools Attendance Officer” and was usurpingly most effective in that position (2). Though a strict disciplinarian he also had a heart of gold and would help acquire “shoes for the poor children of the town so that they could attend school” (1). He was of course a great father and was most proud when his son, Robert Jr., joined the 1st Battalion of the Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment as he had (1).
Yet the similarities of the two’s experiences did not unfortunately stop there as Robert Jr. was shipped off to France with the battalion upon the outbreak of the Second World War (1). Like his father, he experienced a fighting retreat and was evacuated via Dunkirk (1). Robert’s life was once again consumed by war, only it was his sons doing the fighting, 4 taking up the call during the conflict (1). Yet there was no Angel of Mons to turn the tide this time and England itself was now officially under threat (1). The danger was such that Robert, now in his 50’s, once again volunteered for service (1). He became a member of the Home Guard as well as an Air Raid Warden in Tonbridge (1). His military posting was to the local Prisoner of War compound in the town, though there was very little risk associated with it (1). In fact, he would invite the Germans to dinner and occasionally loaned them some clothes for when they were permitted to travel (1). Though seemingly a bit odd, it was heavily promoted to become acquitted with these men, likely an attempt to win them over to the side of Democracy (1). Regardless, it demonstrated Roberts great character in that he never mistreated them even when the Germans were bombing his country and threatened the lives of his 4 sons in the service (1). Apparently, the family luck was passed down to the boys as every one of them returned from the war in one piece (1). Robert was finally able to retire permanently from the military at end the end of the war, though his pride in having been part of the 1st Battalion no doubt remained (1). To say the Pease family had been of great service to the 1st was an understatement and it is likely that 3 generations serving in it was close to a record (1).
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Sources:
(1) “Robert William PEASE RSM 1890-1950 Tonbridge School Attendance Officer - Tonbridgepeopleandancestry.” Tonbridgepeopleandancestry, 2014, sites.google.com/site/tonbridgepeopleandancestry/home/robert-william-pease-rsm-1st-bn-royal-west-kent-regt.
(2) MOLONY, Charles Vandeleur. "Invicta." with the First Battalion the QUEEN'S Own Royal West Kent Regiment in the Great War. by Major C.V. Molony. with Maps and Portraits. London, 1923.
(1) “Robert William PEASE RSM 1890-1950 Tonbridge School Attendance Officer - Tonbridgepeopleandancestry.” Tonbridgepeopleandancestry, 2014, sites.google.com/site/tonbridgepeopleandancestry/home/robert-william-pease-rsm-1st-bn-royal-west-kent-regt.
(2) MOLONY, Charles Vandeleur. "Invicta." with the First Battalion the QUEEN'S Own Royal West Kent Regiment in the Great War. by Major C.V. Molony. with Maps and Portraits. London, 1923.