A Superb Gallantry 'Military Medal for Bravery' Aug-Nov 1914 Mons Star Medal Group of WW1, For 2nd South Lancs Regiment. Of One of the 'Old Contemptables'

The British Expeditionary Force which served in Flanders within range of the enemy mobile artillery between 5 August and 22 November 1914. At the first battle of Ypres their stand against a force of ten times their number prevented the German advance against the Channel ports.The B.E.F. of 1914 consisted of a cavalry division and several infantry divisions. Its commander was Field Marshal Sir John French. The troops of the Force were later joined by re-inforcements from Canada and India. The first battle was at Mons on 23rd August 1914, from where the great retreat was made in order to maintain an unbroken line with allied forces being pushed back by superior numbers. The retreat halted on the Marne and the counter-attack culminated in the first battle of Ypres.

South Lancashire Regiment during the Great War. Having been mobilised at Tidworth, the Battalion formed part of the 7th Brigade, 3rd Division and moved to Southampton on 13 August. Arriving at Le Havre on the S.S. Lapwing on 14 August 1914, they moved through the lines and billeted at a railway station on 22 August. Moved forward to Ciply on 23 August, they took up defensive positions on a low ridge between Ciply and Frameries, being assisted by Belgian civilians to dig in for what would be their first engagement of the war. Little did they know, they were facing an advance from an entire German Division the next morning.
Captain von Brandis, 24th (Brandenburg) Division takes up the story in Military Operations - France and Belgium 1914:

'Our artillery is to prepare the assault. A continuous stream of gun and howitzer shell thunders out, hurtling and howling over our heads, and bursting in dust and smoke on the edge of the village Frameries. No human beings could possibly live there. At 7am six companies of the regiment advance to the attack. We remain impatiently in reserve.

If we thought that the English had been shelled enough to be storm-ripe, we were fairly mistaken. They met us with well-aimed fire.'

It was exactly that resolve displayed by the men of the South Lancs. who gamely took to the open to beat off the advance. Whilst British troops fell back all around under the immense weight of an attack by an entire German division, the South Lancashires gave fight.

Military Operations - France & Belgium 1914 further states:

'The 7th Brigade held on...the South Lancashire were enfiladed by machine-guns from the slag-heaps about Frameries and lost between two and three hundred men before this Brigade was also withdrawn towards Genly.'

The 1st Loyal
North Lancashires were engaged in the epic First Battle of Ypres from 23rd Oct, when they made a most gallant and successful bayonet charge
at the Kortekeer Cabaret, and throughthe desperate crisis of the battle around Gheluvelt on Oct 31st, remaining in action until 14th Nov. the 2nd South Lancs also joined in the Ypres fighting, withstanding
repeated attacks at Nonne Boschen 11th-13th Nov. the British Regular Army fought almost literally to the death, constantly attacking, withdrawing
and counter-attacking. The line held, but at terrible cost, both Lancashire battalions being reduced to barely company strength.

In August 1914, German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II allegedly issued an order or made a remark telling his forces to concentrate on destroying “General French’s contemptible little army” (referring to Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the BEF). (Though historians note there is no written proof the Kaiser actually said those exact words), the phrase leaked or was reported in British newspapers.Rather than feeling demoralized, the out-numbered, highly skilled British soldiers took the insult as a badge of honour, embracing the title "Old Contemptibles" to define themselves

To officially qualify as an "Old Contemptible," a soldier had to have served with the BEF in France and Flanders between August 5 and November 22, 1914, and generally qualified for the 1914 Star (often with the clasp for serving under enemy fire during those dates). This group was distinct from the later mass-conscription armies (such as "Kitchener's Army") because they were professional, long-service soldiers and experienced reservists.

The Battle of Mons (August 23, 1914): The BEF's first major engagement against the advancing German army. The rifle fire of the British regulars was so fast and accurate that the Germans famously mistook it for machine-gun fire.Outnumbered and forced to retreat hundreds of miles alongside French forces, the BEF helped halt the German advance at the Battle of the Marne and the Aisne, ruining Germany's plan for a quick victory The BEF held the line against overwhelming odds through brutal conditions, effectively shattering the original regular army as heavy casualties exhausted its ranks by late November 1914.

The Angels of Mons is a famous World War I urban legend that claimed divine, supernatural entities intervened to protect the outnumbered British Expeditionary Force during the Battle of Mons on August 23, 1914

A fictional short story titled "The Bowmen" written by Welsh author Arthur Machen. Published in the Evening News on September 29, 1914, the story described phantom medieval English archers from the Battle of Agincourt—led by St. George—summoned to help British troops.

Code: 26415