Lieutenant Douglas Edward Gosling, R.E.

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, BSAE, P.E., MinstRE
(September 2026)

Figure 1. Lieutenant Douglas Edward Gosling, R.E.
(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

This is the story of a young officer of the Royal Engineers who joined the Territorial Force as a young man and who was sent to fight his nation’s enemy at the age of 20. With less than two years of service he sacrificed his life in an attempt to save the life of a fellow soldier in a trench on the Western Front.

2. FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Douglas Edward Gosling was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 16 June 1894. He was the son of Howard Gosling (1856-1927), a packing case maker, and Helena Emma Gosling, née Thomas (1860-1942).[1]

As a child, Douglas resided with his family at 22 Wellington Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham.[2] Figure 2 below shows the current house at this address. It appears that this structure may be too modern to have been the Gosling residence in 1901.

Figure 2. 22 Wellington Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham (circa 2026).
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

In January 1907 Douglas entered King Edward’s School, an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. While at KES he was an enthusiastic athlete. In 1908 he place second in his heat in the 100 Yard Flat Race and in 1910 he was second in his class in gymnastics. He excelled in Latin and English, but less well in French and Science.[3] During his time at KES he participated in the Officers Training Corps (O.T.C.), Junior Division and achieved the rank of Cadet Lance Corporal.[4]

By 1911 the family was residing at 12 Oxford Road in Moseley, Worcestershire.[5] When completing his studies at King Edward’s School, Douglas worked in the family business for a while. From the look of the family residence in Figure 3 below, it would appear that the Gosling family was well off financially and that his father’s packing case business was doing very well.

Figure 3. The Gosling Residence at 12 Oxford Road, Moseley, Worcestershire.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

As a result of his participation in the Officers Training Corps program while at school, Douglas was able to obtain a commission in the North Midland Division Engineers Territorial Force. On 17 July 1912 he was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the R.E. (T.F.).[6]

Presumably his O.T.C. training was sufficient for him to receive his commission. He probably received further training by participating in monthly drill sessions and annual training exercise with his Territorial Force unit.

In August 1913 Gosling was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant while serving in the 1^st (North Midland) Field Company, North Midland Divisional Engineers, R.E.[7] Following the declaration of war in August 1914, his company, then redesignated the 1/1^st (North Midland) Field Company, was called up and on 26 December 1914 it joined the 28^th Division.[8]

At the beginning of May 1915 Lieutenant Gosling’s section was with the 1/5^th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment[10] in the trenches when the noises made by German tunnellers became quite evident. A counter-mine was hastily started with the aim of tunnelling out into No Man’s Land to locate the German mine gallery and explode a camouflet charge with the hope of detonating the enemy mine before it could reach the British trench.

The Officer Commanding the 1/5^th Lincolns, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Sandall, and his Second-in-Command, Major Stevenson, had been inspecting the trench line moments before the explosion of the German mine on 20 May 1915. The men holding the trenches to the rear were rushed forward to stop a possible attack, but were soon forced to attempt a rescue of the men buried in the debris. According to Private Harry Wordsworth of the 1/5^th Lincolns:-[11]

“. . . then we were banging in rescuing the poor lads. It was awful to see them, poor chaps, and to hear their cries, and the German devils were shooting our men down as they were trying to get the buried out. I didn’t feel very happy seeing them carry out all the lads one knew. Poor old Priestley. He and the R.E. Officer were the first up and they were both shot down like dogs, but I am pleased to say that the lad did his duty. I was working there all the afternoon and I hardly know how I missed it, but I am pleased to say I am no worse for my experience. Our Colonel and Major were there working like men, helping to get the wounded out and building the trench up again. I think our Colonel is a toff . . .”[12]

The first men to react after the initial shock of the explosion and the flying debris had settled were Lieutenant Gosling, R.E. and Private George Priestley of “D” Company, 1/5^th Lincolns. Gosling had been supervising the improvement work in trench E1 opposite Spanbroekmolen.[13] Both men rushed the short distance between the two trenches over open ground and under heavy rifle fire. They immediately found Private Harry Gibson buried up to his neck in what remained of the parapet, his head protected by a mound of earth. The Germans opposite, anticipating a rescue attempt, were also quick to react, the men who had exposed themselves being easy targets for the German riflemen. Gosling[14] and Priestley were shot dead the moment they started to try to dig Gibson out. Private John Smalley of the Lincolns was in a reserve trench when the explosion occurred. On 24 May his father received a letter describing what happened:[15]

“Young Gibson, who was buried up to the neck, kept shouting ‘Come on the 5^th!’ One R.E. Officer [Lieutenant Gosling] and also a Sergeant got killed trying to rescue him during the day, but later in the evening he was got out, and I saw him smoking a ‘cig’ about two hours after he had been dug out. Our Colonel and Major were digging as hard as could be when I went up about two hours later, trying to get the men out. Many of them have not yet been found, and some of them will not be, as they are under the parapet.”

The “Sergeant” mentioned by Smalley was Sergeant John William Basford. Basford was ordered by an officer to take command of and to consolidate the gap caused by the explosion. He was later killed by a rifle shot.

Harry Gibson endured his dangerous position for nine hours before he was finally rescued. The experience must have been terrifying, as Harry Wordsworth saw that ‘one poor lad was buried in the parapet. He had his head and shoulders and one arm out. Poor fellow, his cries were awful and those rotters were firing at him all the time.’ Harry Gibson died the following day, so Lieutenant Gosling had died for nought.

Lieutenant Douglas Edward Gosling, R.E. was buried in the Dranouter Churchyard Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. He also is commemorated on the St. Mary’s Church Memorial in Moseley, Worcestershire. He was 20 years old when he died.

For his service during the Great War, Lieutenant Douglas Edward Gosling was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. A search of the London Gazette could not uncover the award of the Military Cross or even a Mention in Despatches for his actions in the trench at Spanbroekmolen described above.

PRIESTLEY, R.E. Breaking the Hindenburg Line: The Story of the 46^th (North Midland) Division. T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., London, 1919.

Periodicals

Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers. The Royal Engineers Journal. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.

[1] Ancestry.com: Gosling Family Tree by Helen Brooks.

[2] 1901 Census of England.

[3] King Edward’s School and the Great War.

[4] The London Gazette, 20 September 1912, p. 6939.

[5] 1911 Census of England.

[6] The London Gazette, 20 September 1912, p. 6939.

[7] Great War Forum.

[8] The Long, Long Trail.

[10] 138^th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade, 46^th (North Midland) Division.

[11] Great War Forum.

[12] Lieutenant Colonel Sandall was later awarded the C.M.G., but he did not appear to have been awarded for his action at Spanbroekmolen.

[13] Spanbroekmolen was a strategic location on the Messines Ridge in Heuvelland, Belgium, featuring British front-line trenches designated as Trench E1 (including E1 Left and E1 Right) located near the massive Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater, which is known today as the Pool of Peace.

[14] Gosling was shot in the head by a German sniper and death must have been instantaneous.

[15] Great War Forum.

[16] The medals shown above are not those of Lieutenant Gosling. They are presented here for illustrative purposes only.