British and World Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War ‘Battle of Langemarck’ M.M. group of three awarded to Private George T. Preedy, 1/2nd Battalion London Regiment

Military Medal, G.V.R. (233310 Pte., 1/2 Lond. R.); British War and Victory Medals (7522 Pte., 2-Lond. R.) mounted for wear, slight edge bruising and contact marks, good very fine (3) £300-350

M.M. London Gazette 18 October 1917.

George T. Preedy came from Bermondsey, London and joined the 1/2nd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment. The Battalion was initially posted to Malta on 4 September 1914 but was transferred to France in January 1915. Initially part of 6th Division and then the 24th Division, on 9 February 1916 the battalion was transferred to 169 Brigade, 56th (London) Division.

As part of the 56th Division they fought at Gommecourt, the Somme, Neuve Chapelle and Arras but their hardest fight was the Battle of Langemarck on 16 August 1917.

The objective of the 56th Division was Polygon Wood. On the night of 15 August in preparation for the attack, the 1/2nd London Regiment were subjected to continuous and heavy bombardment and the Assembly Area became a swamp with shell holes brimful of water, described in the Regimental History as a ‘Nightmare’. The attacking companies had to lie out in the wet mud until Zero Hour at 04.45 hrs and then, following an artillery bombardment, moved forward through heavy mud at a pace of 100 yards in 5 minutes. The attack of the 1/2nd initially went well and four concrete dugouts were captured. The advance continued until the two leading companies reached the edge of Polygon Wood, here they bumped into a line of strong posts from which came heavy and accurate machine gun fire. Undeterred they pressed on into the wood and were never seen again - ‘No survivor returned’. The second and third waves of the 1/2nd then encountered severe fire from parties of German machine gunners who had hidden in shell holes and now emerged to enfilade the Londoners. It was a hand-to-hand battle that continued all day. At nightfall the remnants of the Battalion formed a line of posts just 100 yards in front of the original Start Line before being relieved and taken by lorry to Patricia Camp near Abeele. It had been a day of very heavy casualties. The 1/2nd Battalion London Regiment went into action slightly over 400 strong and came out with barely 100. The total loses were 329.

In the Regimental History it is stated that Private G. T. Preedy was awarded the Military Medal ‘In connexion with the fighting of the 16th August’.

With copied m.i.c. and gazette extract.