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Auction: 6025 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 222

A Good 1915 Battle of Festubert Victoria Cross to Private W. Mariner, King´s Royal Rifle Corps, Who Crept Through the German Wire Entanglements and Twice Single-Handedly Attacked with Bombs a Troublesome Enemy Machine Gun Emplacement; He Survived Over an Hour in No Man´s Land, and Crawled Back Under Heavy Enemy Fire to His Own Trench; He Was Subsequently Killed in Action on 1st July 1916 Victoria Cross, reverse of suspension bar engraved ´Pte. W. Mariner, 2nd. Batt. K.R.R. Corps.´, reverse of Cross engraved ´22 May 1915.´, reverse of suspension bar cleaned, good very fine, together with a framed and glazed illuminated scroll presented by the County Borough of Salford to Rifleman William Mariner V.C. of the 2nd. Battalion King´s Royal Rifle Corps, and dated 13.8.1915. Estimate £ 70,000-80,000V.C. London Gazette 23.6.1915 No.2052 Private William Mariner, 2nd Battalion, the King´s Royal Rifle Corps. ´During a violent thunderstorm on the night of May 22, 1915, he left his trench near Cambrin, and crept out through the German wire entanglements till he reached the emplacement of a German machine-gun which had been damaging our parapets and hindering our working parties. After climbing on top of the German parapet he threw a bomb in under the roof of the German gun emplacement and heard some groaning and the enemy running away. After about quarter of an hour he heard some of them coming back again, and climbed up on the other side of the emplacement and threw another bomb among them left-handed. He then lay still while the Germans opened a heavy fire on the wire entanglement behind him, and it was only after about an hour that he was able to crawl back to his own trench. Before starting out he had requested a sergeant to open fire on the enemy´s trenches as soon as he had thrown his bombs. Rifleman Mariner was out alone for one and a half hours carrying out this gallant work.´ Private William Mariner, V.C. born Chorley, Lancashire, 29.5.1882 as William Wignall; after leaving school he moved to Salford, and worked as a miner before enlisting in the 2nd Battalion, the King´s Royal Rifle Corps in 1902; he served in India, where he became the Regimental lightweight wrestling champion. After seven years with the Colours he transferred to the reserves in 1909, and was discharged early 1914. As a civilian Wignall acquired a criminal record for breaking and entering, and on the outbreak of War re-enlisted in his former Battalion under the assumed name of Mariner, 26.8.1914. Rifleman Mariner joined his Battalion and served in the French theatre of operations from November 1914. Battle of Festubert On the 9th May 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, the Allies launched a counter-offensive to the south, in Artois. The British Fourth Corps attacked Aubers Bridge at Rougebanc, North West of Fromelles, and the British First Corps and the Indian Corps between Neuve Chapelle and Givenchy. Sir Douglas Haig´s plan involved a thirty minute artillery bombardment, beginning at 5:00am, with the forward companies going over the top at 5:30 am, and the main British assault beginning ten minutes later. The German positions were, however, considerably strengthened since March, and the number of German troops had been increased. As a result, the enemy troops holding the front line were not severely affected by the artillery fire, and were able to hold their line with relative ease. Consequently, neither attack was very successful, and the following day the British Fourth Corps withdrew from the Rougebanc trenches, and the attack was suspended. Casualties on the British side totalled over 10,800, compared to German losses of approximately 1,500. Following the Battle of Aubers Ridge Sir John French decided to mount a further offensive, and on the 15th May a fresh attempt was made at Festubert, two miles further south. The details of the attack were to be similar to the earlier aborted attempt, although the distance between the two parts of the pincer movement was to be much closer. The 2nd and Meerut Divisions would attack from the north whilst 600 yards to the south the 7th Division would attack from just north of Festubert. The artillery bombardment was stepped up from half an hour to ultimately 60 hours. The 2nd Battalion, King´s Royal Rifles Corps was responsible for holding the front line in the nearby Cuinchy/Cambrin sector, south of la Bassee canal, which had been the scene of much fighting in the preceding months. Severely inconvenienced by a German machine gun post, which had inflicted many casualties, Rifleman Mariner volunteered to silence the weapon and its crew, knowing full well that his chances of survival were slim. As night fell on the 22nd May, during a violent thunderstorm, he crawled through the British defences and the enemy wire to where the machine-gun was positioned, inched his way up the parapet, and threw right-handed a bomb into the gun emplacement. Despite inflicting a number of casualties, and forcing the survivors to retreat, after fifteen minutes the enemy started returning to the emplacement. Unperturbed, Mariner, who had remained on the enemy parapet, moved around to its other side, and threw left-handed another bomb into the gun emplacement. This time the result was decisive, but his actions brought down upon him heavy enemy artillery fire. Lying down close to the parapet, he was able to shelter himself until the fire subsided, before crawling back to his own trench. The danger was not yet over, for on the way back he was almost killed by a British sentry who thought that he was a German. For this outstanding example of pre-meditated bravery he was immediately recommended for the Victoria Cross, the third of seven V.C.s awarded to the King´s Royal Rifle Corps during the Great War. The overall gains of the battle were an advance of 600 yards along a front of approximately two and a half miles. Casualties on the British side were 710 officers and 15,938 other ranks, compared to German losses of approximately 5,000. More importantly, however, by diverting German front line troops, the French were able to make significant progress in the Arras-Vimy sector. Investiture Mariner returned to Britain in early August and was decorated with the Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 12.8.1915. As was the practice at the time, there was a careful avoidance of publicity surrounding the investiture; however, Mariner´s mother, Mrs. Wignall, his sister, and four friends had travelled up from Manchester to be there. At first they made their way to Windsor, having seen in the papers that the Court was at the Castle, arriving just in time to see the King departing for London. Undeterred by this, and fearing that ´if he had missed me when he came out he would have felt it more than anything´ they took a cab to Buckingham Palace, arriving in time to be the first to greet him when ´rather flushed and breathless, he came out wearing the medal on his tunic where the King had pinned it´. After the investiture Mariner returned to a hero´s welcome in his home town of Salford, and was presented with the illuminated scroll included in the lot, and a gold watch from the Mayor of Salford; he was also given a period of leave with instructions from Lord Kitchener to do some recruiting. V.C. An Absentee. Mariner enjoyed the fame and attention that his newly-conferred decoration gave him, and he had no trouble in recruiting more men for the front line; however, he was perhaps guilty of taking Lord Kitchener´s advice a little too literally: ´Corporal Wm. Mariner, V.C., who wore the coveted decoration, appeared at Clerkenwell today, charged with being an absentee from the 2nd Battalion King´s Royal Rifles. He admitted that he was two days overdue. "I have been messing about with Jack Johnson," he said. "I have been doing a bit of recruiting." Mr. Gill: "What, without leave?" Corporal Mariner: "Yes sir." Mr. Gill: "Well, take care not to bring that Cross into court again in such circumstances." The Corporal was detained to wait an escort.´ (Evening News 5.10.1915 refers) Death of a Hero Mariner was soon to rejoin his Battalion in northern France. At 9:15 pm on the 30th June 1916, on the night preceding the Battle of the Somme, ´B´ Company of the 2nd Battalion KRRC took part in a diversionary attack on the railway triangle, south of Loos. After the explosion of three British mines the Battalion moved forward, the German line was reached, and the ensuing action lasted over four hours. At this point, according to one of his comrades, Giles Eyre, Mariner ´lost his remaining senses, and ran in pursuit of the retreating enemy´. He was hit by a shell, whilst bayoneting a prone German, and was blown to bits. The survivors of Mariner´s company remained in action until 2:00 am, before returning to billets in Maroc. Mariner was one of 34 men of the Battalion listed as missing after the action. His body was never found, and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France, one of the very first of the 20,000 who were to fall on the 1st July 1916. Because of his alias, the Daily Sketch, when reporting the death in action of a V.C. recipient, was unable to find any relatives for him back in Salford, and portrayed him as a man whose only ´friends´ were the police. Although this made for a good story, there was also an element of truth in it. Scotland Yard were well aware of his activities, and had been keeping an eye on him since 1914. But the relationship did appear to be friendly, and the detective responsible was quoted in the Daily Sketch as saying ´We are proud to have known such a man.´

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£105,000