THE last day of July a century ago saw one of the greatest single losses of life ever suffered in Furness and South Cumbria as the Battle of Passchendaele began.

At least 18 men were killed as troops from France, Britain and its Empire advanced at dawn across fields which as the weeks passed by were to become a quagmire of mud and horror.

Many others would have died from serious injuries suffered on that first day of fighting, near the shell-wrecked town of Ypres.

Few of the bodies of the Furness men to be killed on July 31 were recovered, such was the effect of artillery and the confused nature of a mass advance of men and equipment.

Their memorial is the Menin Gate in Ypres - where the last post is played every evening for them and the other 54,000 with no known grave.

Of the 18 we have identified, 10 fought with the 1/4th or 7th Battalions of the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.

The dead of July 31 came from Barrow, Ulverston, Millom, Haverigg, Dalton, Newton, Rusland, Bowness, Lowick Green, Allithwaite and Haverthwaite.

There was an age range of 38 years to 17 – a Barrow lad technically too young to have carried a rifle into battle.

The men of the 1/4th King’s Own had marched through the ruins of Ypres on the early evening of July 30 to take up their position for the attack.

They were at Congreve Walk, between Potijze Road and Lone Street, waiting for zero hour.

The King’s Own joined the advance at 8.20am, passing through a German artillery barrage only to encounter German strong points, including concrete pill boxes.

It was here that Silecroft’s Thomas Mayson won his Victoria Cross – putting two machine-guns out of action single-handed and holding up a German counter-attack.

By 1.30am on August 1 they were back at the old British front line, with nothing to show for all their efforts.

Captain L. Crossley, who wrote the battalion history, noted: “Heavy rain rendered the old trench almost untenable and the task of reforming trench duties and taking round the rations was extremely difficult.”

The battalion was relieved by the 9th Royal Irish Rifles and by 5pm on August 2 was in the relative safety of Vlamertinghe for food, baths, clean clothes and a rum ration.

A total of 24 were dead, 154 wounded and 47 listed as missing.

People back at home in Furness knew little of this major battle – or of the casualties – for almost a fortnight.

The Barrow News on Saturday, August 11, gave the first indication that there was a major offensive in Flanders but said little about progress – except to counter German press claims that it had ground to a standstill.

A correspondent for the Barrow News noted: “No less than 10 enemy divisions have been withdrawn since the 31st July, which may be taken as a very fair criterion of the extent of the German losses.”

There was also news of the use by the Germans of a new type of poison gas at Armentieres, in Northern France, about two miles behind British lines.

It was noted: “The new shells contain neither powder nor gas but only a colourless liquid which spreads over the soil in streets, courtyards and gardens.

“As it evaporates, it produces a heavy gas, the odour of which is likened to that of pungent mustard.”

The effects took five or six hours and included coughing. fever, a burning sensation, swollen eyes and a loss of sight.

It noted: “In skin turns an earthy colour and in some cases death follows rapidly.”