Forum Eerste Wereldoorlog

[Yvonne]

Story:
"The British 91st Brigade had no casualties in WWI Col. Whittlesey an American said that the reason there was no casualties was because the men and commanders of the 91st Brigade quoted the 91st Psalm daily. It is said that other similar units had very high casualty rates."

This story has been challenged to be an urban legend because the booklet of the 91st Psalm by which was distributed to the soldiers made the mistake of calling it the US ARMY 91st Brigade which had many casualties in WW1 and started the confusion about the credibiltiy. Older sources from the 50's acknowledge that it was a British, not American unit.

We would greatly appreciate any help on finding any source pertaining to this event. If you have any information please contact me at sandichaibrown@yahoo.com


The following is our trail that we have researched for months all of which have produced nothing tangible:

We have all looked at sites which have the WW1 story. MOST INTERNET stories with this WW1 example give no documentation.

The documentation that we have to this point:

I. Katherine Pollard Carter: Mighty Hand of God book by Whittaker House:
She contains the WWI story with a reference in her Bibliography. KPC was a journalist for years and kept excellent notes and had strong bibliographies.
KPC has some sources or files that are somewhere in her estate because she was working on her research to be used as a TV documentary.

KPC names American Weekly, 21, February 1958 and the writer as Will Ouhsler (Oursler?) as her source for this story.
1. American Weekly, 1958 Hearst Corporation publication. Vol 21
Tracing down this issue. Would it source the story?
2. Will Ouhsler we assume is Will Oursler
We have ordered 2 books by him to see if he quotes it in that source.
Both were dead ends.
3. We have not been able to get our hands on this American Weekly 1958 story. Libraries, Hearst Foundation, Ebay have been our trails.

The American Weekly was a supplement to the Sunday newspapers published by the Hearst Corporation. It was published from 1 November 1896 to 1963. The publication featured popular illustrators on its cover, including the work of Edmund Dulac, Will Pogany and Jose Segrelles.

Katherine quotes Margaret Lee Runbeck for several stories.
Perhaps MLR carried the WW1 story since much of KPC is inspired by her. MLR does not have a bibliography in her book the Great Answer, but has other stories we need documented and is a powerful writer about God and the war. Margret wrote 30 years before KPC on this subject. I read this book and it was very good and highly recommend it, but did not have this story--it was mostly testimonies from WW2.

II. KPC says that many periodicals on both sides of the ocean carried the WW1 story of the protection of the men in the 91st Brigade who stood on Psalm 91.
So we have a 1970's book with the story in what we assume as the correct form:
(British unit) saying that she had many sources to choose from and that the documentation span both America and Britian.

F.L. Rawson, and the name of the book is called LIFE UNDERSTOOD. In it he wrote about the British 91st brigade. . I only hoped that he would have a strong bibliography--which he doesn't.
In the book they said he wrote another book called, "How to Protect the Troops". Can't find a copy of this second title book.

We ordered an antique postcard carrying this story and we cannot read the date. It tells the story as a British regiment, quotes FL Rawson, a noted engineer and great scientist and says that their book, "There is a safe place to Hide" we could read about these soldiers and could be purchased for a $1. (We have not located the book as of yet.) The Address for the book is Merit Publications, Dept. S-7, 300-4th Ave., New York 10, NY. The card was written to Edna Baird, Box 36, Doniphan Nebraska--with a one penny postage stamped card.

Businessreform.com has the story contested as an urban legend. However, several in the past years say that the confusion regarding the story is the cross-over of the British regiment being changed into an US Army unit.

Robert H. Reid, pastor who contradicted the urban legend claim on the internet site (above) seems knowledgeable and have facts we don't. What is is source? There are 85 Robert H. Reids in Georgia and Alabama alone. Larry Klass refuted it as an urban legend and this is Robert's rebuttal following:

Reviewed by Pastor Robert H. Reid on July 8, 2006 Regarding Larry Klass's comments about there was no 91st brigade; this is true if you are referring to the U.S. Army. However, the 91st Brigade was a British unit. The 91st Brigade was a composite brigade put together in England . The story is true and it refers to a British unit and not an American!

British Documentation:
A. Secular/Military Research
The 7th division was a Regular Army division formed after the start of the war It contained 20th, 21st ,22nd, and 91st Infantry brigades.
91st Brigade was made up of four battalions. 1/South Staffords,2/Queens, 21 / Manchester and 22/ Manchesters.
The Brigade was to advance on a battalion front . 1/South Staffords was to take the Red Line and then 22/Manchesters would move through to attack the Blue Line. 21/Manchesters was in support and 2 /Queens was in reserve.
Just before zero hour the Germans fired a defensive barrage designed to break up potential attacks. Fortunately it fell between the front and rear battalions. The brigade joined from the 30th Division in December 1915, swapping with the 21st Brigade. A number of battalions swapped to the brigade from other 7th Division brigades during the transition.

http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=387&m=1231973&t=348694
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De enige echte

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[derwisj]

Raar verhaal, maar ik geloof er niet echt in...tenzij die brigade nooit aan het front geweest is...en nopoit aan enig offensief deelgenomen heeft...maar dat lijkt mij ook onwaarschijnlijk...
pascal
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http://www.feitelijkverenigd.be/wp-content/uploads/2005/08/banner-CTIDK-bovenaan.jpg

[derwisj]

Misschien valt dat wel na te gaan als iemand de soldiers died...CD rom heeft, ik dacht dat je daar op eenheid kon zoeken?
pascal
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http://www.feitelijkverenigd.be/wp-content/uploads/2005/08/banner-CTIDK-bovenaan.jpg

[Aurel Sercu]

Eigenlijk hou ik me al enige tijd van de Mystiek-sectie vandaan. Maar kom, als het voor het goeie doel is ...

SDGW
Aantal gesneuvelden / overledenen (heel de oorlog en dus tot even erna)
1st Bn. South Staffords : 1240
21st Bn. Manchesters : 694
22nd Bn. Manchesters : 629

Sorry, 2nd Bn. Queens vind ik niet zo meteen. Maar misschien hoeft het niet meer ?

Aurel

[Yvonne]