First shot memorial

About

The first shot memorial is the common name of a monument in Casteau, Belgium, marking the first British engagement on the Western Front of the First World War. The monument stands near to the start of a charge made by elements of C Squadron of the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, commanded by Captain Charles Beck Hornby, against cavalry scouts from the German 9th Cavalry Division on 22 August 1914. A number of Germans were saved and captured before the unit came under fire from a larger German force. The British mounted and returned fire, with Drummer Edward Thomas firing the first shot by British troops on this front of the war, before with drawing. The monument was designed by an architect from nearby Mons, Mr. Bertiaux, and was unveiled on 20 August 1939, just prior to the 25th anniversary of the action and the outbreak of the Second World War. The monument stands opposite one compensating the furthest advance by the Canadian 116th Infantry Battalion at the end of the war, 11 November 1918.

Action: The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, a British Army cavalry regiment, had arrived in France on 16 August 1914 and were almost immediately moved to the front. The intention...