1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment

Conclusion.

It is unnecessary to follow in close detail the numerous battalions of the Middlesex Regiment from the moment the Germans laid down their arms - a beaten and broken enemy - to their return to England and demobilisation. But history demands a brief reference to their subsequent movements after the Armistice.
The 1st Middlesex from Sassegnies marched to Sarbarras on the 12th of November to Vendegies on the 15th, and Caullery on the 16th, where billets were occupied until the 10th of December. Then came a series of moves which eventually brought the Battalion to Avesnes until the end of 1918. (The records do not go beyond 1918, but several battalions of the Middlesex Regiment eventually served on the Rhine as part of the Army of Occupation; others returned to England in '919 and were disbanded.)
The 2nd Middlesex, who had moved to Ghlin after 11 a.m. on the 11th of November, marched to Mazieres on the 12th, thence on the 17th to Taitignies, where they remained until the 17th of December. They were at Ath when the New Year was ushered in, and their records state that: "The majority of the Battalion stayed up to see the Old Year out."
The 3rd Middlesex, having sailed from Salonika on the 17th of November, reached Constantinople, where they were still garrisoned at the fall of the year.
In Caudry the 4th Middlesex stayed until the 1st of December, when they marched to Haussy, and on the 2nd to Vilers-Pol. On the 14th a series of moves began which brought the Battalion to Beves; here the remainder of the year passed quietly.
The 1/7th Middlesex moved from Harveng to Bougnies on the 12th of November, thence on the 26th to Quevy le Grand, where they were billeted until the 28th of December. The Battalion then moved to Mons for the remainder of the year. The 1/8th Middlesex, whose Headquarters were at Chateau de Warelles on the 11th of November, moved to Quevy le Petit on the 15th, and, with the 1/7th Battalion, marched into Mons on the 28th of December.
The 1/9th Middlesex from the Lesser Zab finally arrived at Sharqat on the 23rd of November, where the remainder of the year was spent. The 13th Middlesex remained at Le Louvion until the 17th of November, when, by route-march stages via Warnies le Grand, Rouvignies, Auberchicourt and Lecelles, the Battalion reached La Glanfries on the 26th and remained there throughout December until the New Year dawned. The 18th Middlesex (Pioneers), who were at Berlaimont when the Armistice was signed, remained in that village until the 16th, then by route march they moved to Malincourt, which place they reached on the 19th and were billeted until the 11th of December. A series of moves then took them to Fricamps, and by the end of the month they were at Havrincourt. The 19th Middlesex (Pioneers) at Berchem, bridging, on the 11th of November, continued their work for two or three days, then they also took the road, and at the end of 1918 were at Bas Oha. From Warcoing the 20th Middlesex marched to Tourcoing on the 13th of November and stayed there until the end of the year. This Battalion's Diary closes with the words : "A merry New Year all round." They deserved it! From Kleinberg the 23rd Middlesex moved via Hoogstraat, Grammont and Thollenbeek to Ghoy, where they arrived on the 21st. On the 13th of December they again set out by route march for Latinne and saw the New Year in that village. The 26th Middlesex (Pioneers) have already been mentioned as being at Batoum when 1918 ended.
Thus, so far as the records show. Into all the details of the Regiment's activities as part of the Army of Occupation in Germany, or in working on the old battlefields of France and Flanders, or the duties of other battalions which were further afield, in other parts of the War area, it is not proposed to go:
"By the long road they trod with so much faith and with such devoted and self-sacrificing bravery," (from the Official Despaches) they had arrived at Victory.
From Albuhera, 1811, to the Somme Battles of 1918 was a far cry, yet the spirit of the Regiment remained the same, always the same. The now-famous death cry of Colonel Inglis at Albuhera
-" Die hard, 57th, die hard ! "-was echoed at Ypres in 1915 by that gallant young subaltern who encouraged his men with words which have a sacred place in the hearts of all members of the Regiment-" Let us die like men, like Die-Hards ! " ; and yet again on the Somme in 1918, when almost surrounded, the CO. of a battalion of the Middlesex, which had fought its way out only after a fierce and bloody struggle, wrote in his narrative of the operations the words: "Thank God! the Regiment did its duty."
In that spirit the Die-Hards fought, in that spirit they died. But those who gave their gallant and brave lives are not forgotten. The blood-red poppies of the Flanders fields bloom and wither away, but in the spring they bloom again, and yet again-the eternal promise of the Almighty. So in men's hearts the memory of dead comrades who have gone before never dies, but springs afresh each year:

"They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old,
Time shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We shall remember them."

This very famous quote is taken from a poem by Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

For The Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

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