Paton, Sharon <Sharon.Paton@southlanarkshireleisure.co.uk>
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 12:26 PM
to me
Dear Mr. Tongs
Thank you very much for contacting us regarding your uncle, 9786 Private William Tongs DCM. We read your email with much interest regarding your decision to look into the possible posthumous award of a VC to your uncle.
We hold the regimental museum collection of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) but we do not officially represent the regiment, which was formally disbanded in 1968 and the remaining Trustees were formally wound up as an entity in 2015. We do, however, have a part to play in promoting the history and maintaining the legacy of the regiment, the regimental collections being part of that legacy. One of our curators has looked into the award of the DCM to Private Tongs in some detail, and we hope you might find the following information of some interest, and possibly of use in helping you to fill in more information.
The war diary for the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles records the events of the battle of Neuve Chapelle in some detail. At the commencement of the battle, Major George Carter-Campbell was second in command of the Battalion. The Commanding Officer of 2nd Scottish Rifles was Lieutenant-Colonel W. M. Bliss, who was killed in the early stages of the attack on 10th March, at which point Major Carter-Campbell assumed command. Major Carter-Campbell was wounded later that day but remained in command of the Battalion. He was wounded a second time in the afternoon of 12th March, at which point he relinquished command and retired to the Regimental Aid Post. Command of the battalion devolved to Second-Lieutenant Somervail, the only officer of the battalion not killed or wounded (other than the Quartermaster and Medical Officer), such were the enormous casualties suffered by the battalion. On 17th March, Major Richard Oakley was posted from the 1st Battalion The Cameronians to commence the rebuilding of the shattered 2nd Battalion. One of the first duties Major Oakley undertook was to compile a list of names of officers and men who had distinguished themselves in the battle. As he himself was not a witness to such deeds, Major Oakley had to rely on the testimony and reports of the men who had survived to provide such detail. It is possible that Carter-Campbell was able to feed back his thoughts on those who should be recommended for awards as a result of their actions at Neuve Chapelle, but ultimately it was Major Oakley who made the submission; Carter-Campbell was in hospital recovering from his wounds. Your uncle is included in this list within the war diary, and of him is written:
“No 9786 Pt W. TONGS - Machine Gunner at the taking of the 3rd German trench. The Coy was heavily enfiladed & Pte TONGS got his gun into position & by opening fire reduced our casualties . It was done under a heavy fire & there was no officers to direct . On the 11th[possibly 12th] he helped to bring a number of wounded men of the Irish Rifles back under a heavy fire.”
At the end of the list, Major Oakley qualifies his findings with the following statement:
“As regards the whole of the names put forward - owing to the heavy casualties amongst the officers I have not been able to find out all I could wish - but all cases have been personally authenticated by me since joining the Battalion. I might add that apart from 13 officers killed & 9 wounded, 23 full Sergeants & 6 Lance. Sergts were killed or wounded, showing that all were doing their best.”
Major Oakley’s list makes no mention of which type of award he recommends for each individual. As it happened, four of the men named were mentioned in despatches, eight men (including Private Tongs) were awarded Distinguished Conduct Medals, an officer and the Regimental Sergeant Major were awarded the Military Cross, a single officer was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and two men were further awarded a foreign decoration (one to accompany a mention in despatches, one to accompany a Distinguished Conduct Medal).
It is notable from Private Tongs recording in the list, quoted above, that mention is made of gallantry in combating an enemy machine gun post and in helping rescue a number of wounded men from the Royal Irish Rifles. Both of these actions were submitted by Major Oakley and presumably both were taken into consideration when higher authorities decreed that the Distinguished Conduct Medal was conferred.
The war diary goes on to record against 18th April 1915 that: “The following N.C.O’s and men were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry at NEUVE CHAPELLE. No 6055 C.S.M W G. McBEATH, 8347 Sgt P MAYO, 9204 L/Cpl H.R.CANNON (killed in action), 9786 Pte. W TONGS, 10777 Pte. H. McCABE (killed in action, would have been awarded if he had lived.)”
It is unclear if the actual Distinguished Conduct Medal would have been presented to the three surviving recipients on this date. I suspect it more likely they were issued with a length of ribbon or a ribband that could be worn on the uniform to denote such an award had been bestowed. The award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to Private Tongs has officially announced in the London Gazette dated 3rd June 1915, in which the citation reads as follows:
“For conspicuous gallantry at Neuve Chapelle on 10/03/1915, when he brought his MG into position under heavy fire and silenced a German gun which had been doing much damage. It was done under a heavy fire & there was no officers to direct. On 12/03 he rescued wounded men of the Royal Irish Rifles under heavy fire."
The wording of the official citation follows closely the original statement included in Major Oakley’s list quoted in the war diary.
Major Oakley is soon replaced as Commanding Officer by Lieutenant Colonel C. B. Vandeleur, who again was posted from the 1st Battalion to take over Command. On his return from hospital, Major Carter-Campbell resumes his role as second in command, and remains as such until the action of 9th May 1915. In this action, the Commanding Officer is again wounded, and Major Carter-Campbell assumes command. This of course is also the action which sees Private Tongs’ fatally wounded, succumbing to his wounds on 12th May 1915. The letter from Major Carter-Campbell, printed in the local newspaper, was written sometime following this action (we are unsure if the date is mentioned in the newspaper article). While it is not unheard of for a senior officer to write home to the family of a deceased soldier, often this was a duty taken on by a soldier’s platoon or company commander rather than the second in command or Commanding Officer. Major Carter-Campbell speaks openly in his letter about Private Tongs’ being awarded the DCM, and how in his opinion the medal was fully deserved. There is, unfortunately, no reference to the Victoria Cross.
In answer to your question regarding the amalgamation of regiments in 1881, you are quite correct that the 26th Cameronians Regiment was amalgamated with the 90th (Perthshire) Light Infantry, the two regiments becoming the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) respectively. By the time of the First World War there were very few officers or men engaged, or re-engaged, who would have served in either the 26th or 90th regiments pre-amalgamation. For a pre-1881 officer still to be serving he would most likely be of general officer rank (and so not actively serving at regimental level), or be on the half-pay/retired lists. Some of the latter were brought out of retirement for war-time service. In the case of other ranks, they would likely be reservists or time-served men who re-engaged for war service.
While at the time the amalgamation was generally unpopular within the regiments involved, by 1915 there were no officers serving in the 1st or 2nd Battalions who had started their service in the 26th or 90th regiments. Furthermore, since amalgamation, there had been a constant mixing between the two battalions by ways of drafts of officers and men in order to keep whichever battalion was serving abroad at overseas establishment strength. While the two battalions might still operate largely independently, there was growing awareness, acknowledgement, and acceptance that they were both part of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The formation of the Regimental Association in 1908 is just one such demonstration of this, and we can’t envisage or evidence any circumstances under which the amalgamation of 1881 would have any bearing on a soldier either receiving, or not receiving, a gallantry award in 1915.
You mention that Private Tongs was to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 9th May 1915. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) may be able to advise you further on this, but we understand that the document you enclosed relates to efforts by the War Graves Commission to check and confirm burial details in each cemetery prior to the erection of stone grave markers. The document appears to be dated August 1920 in the lower margin and doesn’t include a list of effects found with soldiers’ remains or directly reference a citation or recommendation for an award of the Victoria Cross. Perhaps the CWGC hold more information they could provide in relation to this document.
From the evidence that we are able to consult, your uncle’s actions at Neuve Chapelle were recognised and documented within the battalion, his name was duly submitted for consideration of formal recognition, and this was formalised by way of him being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second highest award available to enlisted men, but we are unable to find any more details than this.
I hope that this research of our archive may help inform your case for petition.
Kind regards,
Sharon
Museum Officer
South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture
Low Parks Museum
129 Muir Street
Hamilton
ML3 6BJ
T: 01698 452356 or 01698 452382
Email: sharon.paton@southlanarkshireleisure.co.uk