20 September 1917 was the opening of the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, the 3rd phase of the Third Battle of Ypres. 1/5th King’s Liverpool Regiment were part of 165th Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division, and were tasked, with 164th Brigade, with advancing east from St Julien, north of the Zonnebeke stream, and up the Zonnebeke spur. At the outset considerable confusion was caused by, and many casualties were suffered from, an intense German barrage which crashed on the assembled units at zero hour, and by a hail of bullets from machine-guns and rifles at close range which swept their ranks when they rose to follow their own barrage. After this unlucky start, the leading lines, handicapped by the mist, omitted to search a number of dug-outs and strongpoints; and soon afterwards Germans emerged from them armed with machine-guns and rifles. The supporting waves were checked, and the advance elements, hearing the firing behind them, either halted or turned back. Thus the barrage was lost and the first objective was not reached. This hampered the advance of the South African Brigade on the right, who came under fire from north of the Zonnebeke, where the 55th Division should have been. The Division had, however, struggled towards its first objective, and by 10am, 165th Brigade was around Gallipoli Farm, and the first objective had been gained by midday. By 5pm, the remainder of the divisional reserve (166th Brigade) had been committed and Hills 35 and 37, fire from which had held up the South Africans, captured and held. A strong German counter-attack from around Gravenstafel, directed against Hill 37 was crushed by the artillery barrage and by enfilade machine-gun fire. Somewhere in all this, John Ridgway was killed.
Stuart Lyon