Pte F Friend, 1/8th and 10th West Yorkshire Regiment, wounded in action circa December 1917-January 1918

Pte F Friend, 1/8th and 10th Bns, West Yorkshire Regiment, wounded in action

Frederick Friend served in the British Army as a Private under the regimental number 42845. He is probably identified with Frederick Friend, son of Frederick George and Annie Friend, born in Beaford, Devon, circa 1894, and in 1911 was a farmer’s son working on the farm at Ruxford Barton, Sandford, Crediton. From the 1911 Census record it appears that he was the middle child of five.  Possibly, like 42862 Pte Edward John Moore, who also served with the Leeds Rifles, he was posted to the West Yorkshire Regiment after a period of infantry training at home in mid-1917, going overseas around the end of July or beginning of August 1917. (By comparison Pte Moore passed through the Army Service Corps as a trainee driver and then the 83rd Training Reserve Battalion to train as an infantryman before he was transferred to the West Yorkshire Regiment and posted to the 1/8th Battalion with effect from 1 August 1917.  

Pte Friend served with the 1/8th (Leeds Rifles) and 10th (Service) Battalions, the West Yorkshire Regiment. He very possibly went overseas in time to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres, like the similarly-numbered 42847 Pte Edward Forrest and 42848 Pte William Hogg, who were both killed in action with the 1/8th on 9 October 1917, the Battle of Poelcapelle. The war diary of 146th Brigade, 49th Division (of which the 1/8th was a part) comments on the poor state of the ground, the thin British barrage and limited effectiveness of the localised explosions of the HE ammunition fired by the British artillery caused by the ground conditions, the very deadly sniping of the two Jaeger battalions opposite, and the success of the battalion in taking 30 prisoners notwithstanding the conditions. 

Not long after this, as F Friend, next of kin address Crediton, Pte Friend was Listed as Wounded in War Office Daily List No. 5484, report date 05/02/1918, suggesting he was wounded in December 1917 or January 1918. In November the 1/8th battalion was initially in billets at Steenvorde and later in the line before going into reserve at Walker Camp. 

It is possible that he was wounded at the same time as 3042/305880 Pte Frederick Vollans, also of the 1/8th, who appears on the same fragmentary report as suffering an SW to the back (recorded as ‘chest’ in some other records), although Pte Vollans appeared on an earlier War Office Daily List, No. 5456 Report Date 03/01/1918. Having been wounded on 29 November 1917, probably whilst in one of the working parties for which the battalion furnished 400 men whilst in divisional support, Pte Vollans passed through 2/1 East Lancashire Field Ambulance, 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital, and was posted home from France to the 91st Territorial Force Depot on 11 January 1918.  

Alternatively, Pte Friend may have been wounded somewhat later. A similar pattern of activity to November’s was observed by the 1/8th in December 1917, 19 other ranks being wounded in the month. In January 1918, the battalion went back into the line in the Zonnebeke sector on 8 January, in relief of the 1/7th Battalion. The brigade war diary comments on the activity of enemy artillery in the next three days and it is possibly in the course of this that Pte Friend was wounded.  

A fragmentary report indicates that Pte Friend’s wound was a SW  (possibly shrapnel wound) to the buttocks. The record confirms that he was serving with the 1/8th at the time. As such he was entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being met by being named in this list. At some point Pte Friend was admitted to the 14th Convalescent Depot (presumably the one at Trouville, opened September 1917). He clearly subsequently returned to the front, as at the Armistice, Pte Friend was with the 10th Battalion in 62nd Division. With them he caught Influenza and was admitted with two other men of the battalion circa 10 November 1918 directly to No.34 Casualty Clearing Station, then to No.8 Ambulance Train and presumably from there to a base or stationary hospital near the French coast. He was one of 14 men admitted to the CCS that day with influenza. At this time his regimental number was mis-recorded as 42843. This record gave his religion as Wesleyan (Methodist). 

Pte Friend was discharged to the Army Class ‘Z’ Reserve on 16 March 1919. He would have received the British War Medal and Victory Medal, being his full entitlement, some time after the end of April 1920.

The marriage of Frederick Friend to Frances A Lambert Growyn was registered in the last quarter of 1931 in Crediton, Devon. In 1939 Frederick Friend, born 7 July 1893, was living at Eastacott, Crediton with Frances A Friend, his occupation in the census register being recorded as Farmer. Frederick Friend of Eastacott Farm died at Crediton on 21 December 1972, leaving an estate of £9584.

Plaque & pair to 340485 Pte G H Booth, 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, killed in action 7 May 1918 at La Bassee

George Henry Booth was born circa 1896, in Woodseats just south of Sheffield, to John Booth and Hannah Maria Booth, of 18, Coldstream Place, Woodseats. In 1911 George Henry was a grocer’s errand boy, aged circa 15, whilst his father, John, by now aged 59, was a general labourer with the corporation highways department. George Henry appears to have been the youngest of six children, five of whom were still living in the family home, Ethel, Edith and Annie being servants and John Arthur, nine years George’s senior, being an engineer’s toolmaker in a steelworks (Annie, the third eldest, does not have an occupation recorded and possibly assisted her mother around the house).

Judging from the records of 340497 Charles Henry Moxon, Pte Booth may have been a ‘Derby Scheme’ recruit and spent some time on the Army Reserve before being mobilised – possibly around June 1916 – and then posted to the Northumberland Fusiliers. He may have had a 4-digit Territorial Force number (now unrecorded) before receiving the new 6-digit number with which he went overseas upon the renumbering of the Territorial Force Infantry in March 11917. His six-digit number is in the range for the 36th Battalion, a Territorial unit formed in January 1917. After enlistment, at some point George passed through the 1/4th Northumberland Fusiliers. This was possibly a paper posting; as 340485 Pte George Henry Booth by May 1918 he had been posted-on to the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, a Regular battalion serving with the 9th Brigade of 3rd Division. Judging by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Soldiers Died in the Great War entries of comrades with adjacent numbers, this may have taken place some time prior to mid-April 1918, thus putting him in line to fight in the Battle of the Lys.

The 3rd Division had taken part in the battles of the German Spring Offensive around St Quentin in the previous month (March 1918) and when the German Lys offensive (Operation Georgette) broke on 9 April 1918 was in reserve. The division was brought forward and deployed as part of the defence of Estaires on the Lys in the southern part of the battle sector and then dispersed, the 9th Brigade, of which the 1st Northumberlands was a part, being sent to assist the 55th Division in XI Corps successfully defending Bethune against attacks from the southern divisions of the German Sixth Army. Following this the latter half of April was spent slightly more quietly in and out of the line at La Lawe Canal. In early May the battalion moved from billets in Choques, where it had been reorganising, undergoing inspection, using the baths, practising on the rifle ranges, assimilating a draft of 100 other ranks and trench digging, to once more take up the line around the canal on the night of the 4/5th May. The battalion marched out at 7,30pm, ‘Y’, ‘X’, ‘Z’ and ‘W’ Companies and HQ proceeding to the Left Front, Right Front, Support and reserve positions, respectively. As narrated in the War Diary “The B[attalio]n had some difficulty in getting into position. In the first place there was a small concentration of gas at the guides rendezvous, and secondly the enemy was barraging the Canal bridges, which hostile liveliness developed into an attack at about 3.5am 5/5/18…” The next day had poor weather and quieter conditions except towards evening when there was a call for retaliatory fire on a German post, establishment of new posts and taking of German prisoners from the 25th Hessen Division (“friendly people” according to the War Diary). The 6th saw enemy aircraft more active, one flying low over the new outposts established by ‘Y’ Company on the east side of the canal, and concentration ‘crashes’ fired by Corps artillery in the late morning. Improving visibility in the afternoon led to both sides’ artillery becoming more active. Orders were also given for an inter-company relief, ‘Z’ Company to replace ‘Y’ in the Left Front, east of the Canal.

It seems likely that Pte Booth was a victim of German artillery fire, killed in the attempts to relieve ‘Y’ Company as the front-line company for the battalion’s Left Front on the nights of 6/7th or 7/8th May. As indicated earlier, German artillery appears to have had the Canal bridges well-covered, the war diary for the 6th commenting “some blue cross  gas shells on vicinity of only crossing with result that only 1 platoon of Y was relieved”. Then, on the 7th it noted “Artilleries fairly active during early afternoon increasing in volume until night when enemy maintained a harassing fire for the whole night, all calibres being employed, gas and H.E. being utilized, only 1 more platoon of Y was able to be relieved.” 5963 Sgt W Coates, also of the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, was killed on the same day and lies next to him in Choques Military Cemetery. Pte Booth was one of 25 men of the battalion killed during the month. His financial effects of £9 13s 4d, and War Gratuity of £8 10s, were paid to his father John in October 1918 and December 1919 respectively. A dependant’s pension was also claimed for his mother Hannah Maria, although the outcome of this does not appear to have been recorded. 

Further medals researched - Baldwin, Ball, Finch, Leyden, Thompson

95633 Spr/Acting Corporal W Baldwin 131st Field Company, RE, Salonika

William Baldwin was born circa 1878. He served under the regimental number 95633 as a Sapper with 131st Field Company, Royal Engineers, part of 26th Division, the Field Company joining the division on or by 25 April 1915, and then, after assembling in the Salisbury area, landing in France in late September 1915. Spr Baldwin’s 1914-15 Star roll entry shows that he first went to France, landing on 23 September 1915, and was therefore entitled to the 1914-1915 Star. After a short period in the French theatre of war, the Company travelled to Salonika via Marseilles, landing on 23 November 1915. Its battle honours included Doiran 1917 and Doiran 1918. Field Companies undertook a variety of field engineering roles for their divisions including creating and maintaining trench systems, building concrete emplacements and divisional facilities, bridging, and wiring; for example the 131st Company was in action during the capture of Horseshoe Hill on 17 August 1916 using wiring material. Whilst in Salonika, at around the time of the Battle of Horseshoe Hill, William Baldwin was hospitalised with Dysentery. By this time he was a Lance Corporal with 1 year 3 months’ service (suggesting that he enlisted around May 1915) and 11 months service with the Field Force. He was admitted to No. 31 Casualty Clearing Station (presumably to the Isolation ward) with Dysentery on 10/08/1916, being transferred to Sick Convoy (Ambulance Train) on the following day, 11/08/1916. His medical record from this admission gives his Religion as Church of England and confirmed his unit as the 131st Field Company. Presumably recovering, Acting Corporal Baldwin was Discharged to the Army ‘Z’ Reserve on 11 December 1919. For his service he was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

 

44454 Pte A A R Ball Northumberland Fusiliers, wounded, 3rd Ypres or Cherisy sector, and Battle of Epehy

Arthur Alfred Romain (or Romaine) Ball was born circa 1882 (or 1884; records vary) in Newington, London to Jessie J Ball. By the 1911 census, aged 19 he was living with his widowed mother in Lambeth, and working as a carman. Arthur A R Ball married Katie Elsie Richardson on 15 February 1914 at Colchester, St. Giles, Essex. They subsequently had a child, Vincent Ramaine [Romaine] Ball.

Possibly a ‘Derby’ or ‘Groups’ Scheme volunteer, as 44454 Private Arthur A R Ball he served with the 10th, 26th, 1st and 12/13th Battalions, Northumberland Fusiliers. Probably, like 44434 Pte Arthur Burwood, he was mobilised in June 1916 and, after training, posted overseas to the British Expeditionary Force in early November 1916. This posting would have been ostensibly to join the 10th Battalion but whilst at base depot in Etaples Burwood was posted to the 26th (3rd Tyneside Irish) Battalion, joining them in the field on or around 21 November 1916; the same probably applies to Pte Ball. Of the seven men (including himself) identifiable as having numbers within the 44450-44459 bloc, six were killed in action or died on the Western Front. Pte Ball was Listed as Wounded in War Office Daily List No.5437, Report Date 08/12/1917. Considering the casualty records of the men in his bloc, this was most probably with the 26th Northumberland Fusiliers. The date would indicate that he was most probably wounded in late October or early November 1917, either in the line near Poelcappelle in the course of the Third Battle of Ypres (one of 68 men wounded during a tour of operations in flooded country between 17 and 22 October), or in early November in an otherwise quiet sector of the line at Fontaine/Cherisy, near Arras. Pte Ball was thereby entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being met by being named in this list. The List confirmed his Next of Kin Address as Colchester. It was probably after recovering from his wound, and possibly returning overseas again from England, that he was posted to the 1st Battalion; again, this may have been a paper posting with him spending little or no time with the battalion, instead being posted-on (this time to the 12/13th Battalion) fairly rapidly. He was again Listed as Wounded under the name “A Bell”, but with the same regimental details and next of kin address, in War Office Daily List No. 5696, Report Date, 15/10/1918, indicating that he was probably wounded again in September 1918 during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive; this was probably with the 12/13th Battalion, possibly he was one of 87 other rank casualties incurred in the battalion’s attack on 18 September on the Brown and Green lines at Epehy, the battalion being in the centre of the 62nd Brigade attack. The attack was launched at 5:20am and completed by 7:10am, and although taking place in a downpour, resulted in both objectives being taken plus 2 officer and 183 other rank prisoners plus war materiel.

Pte Ball was discharged under paragraph 392 xxviii of King’s Regulations (Discharge on demobilization), thus indicating that he was serving on a ‘duration of war’ engagement. This was presumably some time in 1919. For his service, his full entitlement was the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Ancestry.co.uk - UK, World War I War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920

44450 Morris or Maurice Isaac Wright killed in action 9 June 1917, 26th Northumberland Fusiliers

44452 Edwin Hope died 28 August 1918, 12/13th Northumberland Fusiliers

44453 John tom Burbridge died of wounds, 26th Northumberland Fusiliers 6 February 1917

44455 John Nussey killed in action 9 April 1917, 25th Northumberland Fusiliers

44457 Harry William Batchelor killed in action 28 April 1917, 25th Northumberland Fusiliers

44459 James Arthur Beckwith killed in action 13 April 1918 12/13th NF

 

54581 Pte J Finch, Royal Fusiliers and Labour Corps (61372), wounded circa December 1917

John Finch, a labourer from Bromley, Middlesex, was born circa 1895. Standing 5’ 6 ½” tall, and bearing a tattoo of a sailor’s head on the right forearm, he enlisted at Stratford on 19 June 1916. He served with the Royal Fusiliers as a Private under the regimental number 54581, and then the Labour Corps, also as a Private, under the regimental number 61372. The latter number is in the range associated with the 103rd Labour Company, which (along with the 104th) was formed in 1917 from the 35th (Labour) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, itself formed at Falmer, near Brighton. He may have gone overseas as a Royal Fusilier between June and December 1916, probably with the 35th (Labour) Battalion, which went overseas on 8 June 1916 and moved to Rouen where it was engaged in unloading from ships docked at the port. However at some point in his service career he appears to have passed through the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, absenting himself from their Labour depot at Purfleet on 23 December 1916 whilst still seemingly (from the regimental number given) on the strength of the Royal Fusiliers. In January 1917 (30/01/1917) he was reported as a Deserter or Absentee from His Majesty's Service (see: Police Gazette, Volume XXXIII No.3292) but clearly returned (or was apprehended) in time to undertake active service as a Private in the Labour Corps, to which he transferred in April 1917, most probably serving (at least initially) in the 103rd Company. The 450-man Labour Companies were employed all along the forward areas running behind the front lines on a range of labouring and other tasks ranging from road mending and ammunition loading to drainage, ditching and sanitation. Being constantly within shelling range at the very least, the job was often dangerous, 2300 men of the Corps being killed in action or dying of wounds between May 1917 and the end of the war. Men of the Corps also received nearly 500 decorations for gallantry during the First World War. As 61372 Private J Finch, Labour Corps, he was Listed as Wounded in War Office Daily List No. 5457, Report Date 04/01/1918, suggesting that he was wounded in late November or early December 1917. As such, he was entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being met by being named in this list. The List confirmed his place of enlistment as Stratford, E.

He was demobilised on 1 December 1919.  A subsequent request for a pension was rejected. His full medal entitlement was the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

 

8190 Pte John Leyden, 11th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), died of Dysentery, Salonika

John Leyden served as a Private under the regimental number 8190 in the Scottish Rifles. He was born circa 1874 to William Leyden and came from Greenock, Renfrewshire. He was a Presbyterian and brother to Mrs McBride of 17 Baker Street, Greenock. In civil life he was a moulder with Messrs Houston & Kerr, mechanical engineers and ironfounders, of Greenock.  Enlisting around September 1914, he may have been an early recruit to the 11th (Service) Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), which was formed in October 1914 at Hamilton. He first proceeded overseas to France roughly 11 months later, on 20 September 1915, with the 11th, as part of the 77th Brigade of the 26th Division. After landing at Boulogne-sur-Mer and spending a short period on the Western Front, he was subsequently posted, with his battalion, to the Macedonian Theatre. After having concentrated at Flesselles, the Division entrained for Marseilles from 9 December 1915 onwards, embarking for Salonika two days afterwards and beginning to arrive on the 23rd. The following month units moved from Lembet (north of Salonika) to Happy Valley Camp, completing concentration by early February at Happy Valley and joining XII Corps.

Pte Leyden would have probably taken part in the Battle of Horseshoe Hill, South West of Dojran, on 10/08/1916, Horseshoe Hill being one of a series of crests overlooking Doiran. Having been taken ill on or before 29 August, he was transferred to hospital (No. 28 Casualty Clearing Station) on 29/08/1916, and placed in ward MY1. At the time he was serving with the 1st Company of the 11th Scottish Rifles, He died of Dysentery at No.28 CCS, Salonika at 11:15pm on 2 September 1916, aged 42. At the time of his death he had 2 years’ service, including one year with the Field Force.

Pte Leyden was buried, and is commemorated, in Salonika Anglo-French Military Cemetery, (Lembet Road, Salonika). His financial effects of £4 11 2 and War Gratuity of £9 were split between his sisters Ellen/Helen, Sarah and Mary, his 1914-15 Star being issued in the latter half of 1919 (reissued, with a correction to the regimental number impressed, in 1920), whilst his British War Medal and Victory Medal issued some time in 1921.

 

44798 Pte W G Thompson, Manchester Regiment and East Lancashire Regiment, wounded 13 October 1918

William Graham Thompson was born circa 1885 (1883 according to some records) and married Isabella Walton on 10 July 1912 at the Parish Church Lamesly, County Durham. The couple had a son, George Graham Thompson, born in May 1915. A master butcher from Gateshead (in 1915 living at 3 Essex Gardens, Gateshead), and standing 5’ 7 ½” tall, William first attested his willingness to serve under the ‘Derby’ Scheme on 12 December 1915. After a period on the Army Reserve, he was approved and appointed for general service with the 21st (Local Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry in July 1916, under the regimental number 37272, joining at Newcastle. He also passed through the 4th (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, being posted there on 1 September 1916. Here he gained 1st Class proficiency pay as a 1st Class Shot; he was qualified as a stretcher bearer. After a period in Brighton Grove Military Hospital, Newcastle, he was initially posted to the BEF (11th Durham Light Infantry) via Folkestone on 2 June 1917. However, on 22 June 1917 whilst still at infantry base depot he was transferred to the Manchester Regiment and then posted to the 2/9th Battalion, the Manchester Regiment, joining the battalion in the field on the same day. After a couple of periods in hospital for a skin infection to his thumb in November 1917 and a sprained ankle and concussion in March 1918, upon his recovery in June 1918 he was transferred again to the East Lancashire Regiment under the regimental number 31773 and posted to the 2nd Battalion. After a period of UK leave in late August, he was wounded with the East Lancashire Regiment (Gun Shot Wound to the thigh) on 13 October 1918 and admitted to 23 Casualty Clearing Station, his wound being recorded in War Office Daily List No.5739, Report Date 04/12/1918. This was in the course of the final advance in Artois. This List gave his Next Of Kin Address as Gateshead. He was accordingly entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being met by being named in this list. After being medically examined at Enghien, he was sent to the UK for demobilisation on 7 February 1919 (having been selected for early dispersal by reason of having a guarantee letter – presumably of employment in his trade of master butcher), and transferred to the Army Class ‘Z’ Reserve 1 month later.

For his service he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal, receiving them in April 1922.

UK, British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920 - Ancestry.co.uk

Plaque, War Medal and Victory Medal to M2/101899 A-Cpl W. Innes A.S.C. (717 MT Coy) attached 153rd Siege Bty RGA, DoW at No.2 CCS of bomb wounds incurred at Locre

FIRST WORLD WAR PAIR AND MEMORIAL PLAQUE TO THE A.S.C./HEAVY ARTILLERY. A Great War pair comprising War Medal and Victory Medal named to M2/101899 A-Cpl W. Innes A.S.C. The plaque to William Innes, cast at the Woolwich Ordnance Factory by Worker 91 some time after December 1920. 

Acting Corporal Innes was born circa 1888, the son of Joseph and Mary Innes of Colwall, Herefordshire and husband to Cicely/Cecily Mary Innes (later of 182 Norwood Road, West Norwood, London). A former coachman, he served in the Army Service Corps as a motor transport driver. Probably, like M2/101894 Pte Sydney John Heath  from Folkestone, a motor driver, he enlisted on or about 31 May 1915, with his enlistment being approved at the MT Reserve Depot, Grove Park, between 3 and 5 June 1915. Unlike Pte Heath, however, there is no evidence to suggest that he went overseas in 1915; possibly he was retained at home for training purposes, or due to sickness. By October 1917 he was attached to X [possibly a mistake in CWGC records for IX] Corps Heavy Artillery (153rd Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery). This battery went overseas to France via Avonmouth and Southampton on 29 August 1916 (the mechanical transport, of which Cpl Innes may have been a part, proceeding from Aldershot and joining the advance party and guns of the battery at Stockcross on 26 August) and was subsequently equipped with 6" howitzers. Possibly he was with 717 MT Company, ASC, formed 20 June 1916 and by September 1917 the Corps Siege Park for IX Corps, Second Army (the 153rd Siege Battery, as part of 9 Heavy Artillery Group [later 9 Brigade], was with IX Corps at this time). In late May 1917, the 153rd battery moved up to the Ypres sector* and by June/July was emplaced near Hollebeke. By late September it was engaged in supporting attacks, undertaking counter-battery fire (including concentration fires), and responding to S.O.S. calls, principally on the Zandvoorde and Tenbrielem areas. Meanwhile, 717 Company HQ was at Mont Rouge with lorries standing at various locations including Locre, near Mont Kemmel, south of Ypres (about ten miles distant from Hollebeke). The 717th Company's war diary for 30/9/1917 notes '[Night of 30th September] German plane drops bomb on [9th] Brigade Lorry Park, killing 12, injuring another 17, some of whom died of wounds later". Cpl Innes received a bomb wound to the face at Locre on or about 1 October, almost certainly,  given the location and circumstances, in this incident. 

As transcribed and shared by Great War Forum user 'Dai Bach y Sowldiwr', the IX Corps Senior Motor Transport Officer's War Diary provides further detail on this incident, as follows:

"Mont Noir 30/09/17,

A/Captain S.W.BURDITT ASC, was killed by a bomb dropped by hostile aircraft at Headquarters Heavy Artillery. Large number of enemy aeroplanes over IX Corps area from 8.0pm until about 2.0am. Siege park standings on the Bailleul-Locre road at M.28.b.6.3 bombed. One bomb dropped at 8.0pm parade, 12 killed, 5 wounded. 4 lorries set on fire and completely gutted, 1 car destroyed. Office and mess blown up. Owing to prompt evacuation of the standing, the fire did not spread.

 

E.H.Blamey Lt.Col

SMTO IX Corps"

Cpl Innes died of wounds at No.2 Casualty Clearing Station on 30 September or 1 October 1917 (records vary) and is buried at the Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul near the border with Belgium. Outtersteene is a village about 5 kilometres south-west of Bailleul, and about seven miles south west of Locre. In August 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, the 2nd, 53rd and 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Stations came to Outtersteene, and the first and last of these remained until March 1918. His headstone reads R.I.P., the inscription being chosen by his wife. He was 29 years old. His financial effects, in two instalments of £6 6d and £9 16s 11d, went to his widow, as did his War Gratuity of £11 10s.

*Ypres 036.9.7 sheet 28

M2/101893 Pte William Henry Shearing from Oxford, enlisted 28 May 1915. Overseas to Egypt March 1916.

M2/101894 Pte Sydney John Heath  from Folkestone, a motor driver. Enlisted 31 May 1915, enlistment approved at the MT Reserve Depot, Grove Park, on 5 June 1915. Overseas circa July 1915.

M2/101896 Pte Arthur Frederick Ince, a motor driver, from Camberwell. Enlisted 31 May 1915. Overseas to France 20 July 1915.

M2/101897 John Russell Thomas, a chauffeur, from Worcester. Enlisted 29 May 1915, approved at Reserve MT Depot, Grove Park 3 June 1915

WW1 medal pair 4405 Pte Henry James Hicks 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade), Wounded in action, Somme, circa 8 October 1916

WW1 medal pair 4405 Pte Henry James Hicks 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade), Wounded in action, Somme, circa 8 October 1916

Henry James Hicks was from East Finchley. Probably a volunteer under the 'Derby' scheme of deferred enlistment, he served with the 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) under the Regimental Numbers 4405 and, later, 302628. The former number, within the London Rifle Brigade sequence would suggest (per Paul Nixon's Army Service Numbers blog) that Pte Hicks joined the 5th battalion between mid-March and late April 1916; at this time the 3/5th Londons (5th (Reserve) Battalion) was at Fovant, on Salisbury Plain. By comparison, 4402/302625 Reginald Frank Gordon attested his willingness to serve on 1 February 1916 at Folkestone; after forty days in the Army Reserve his Attestation was approved by the Approving Officer at 130 Bunhill Row on 23 March 1916; he was appointed to the 5th City of London Regiment that day and posted to the 3/5th Battalion. He was recorded as sent overseas on 13 July 1916, subsequently to be attached to 169 Trench Mortar Battery. By contrast, 4427/302638 Henry James White attested on 8 December 1915 at Hackney and after just under 4 months in the Army Reserve was mobilised and joined on 27 March 1916; a sprained ankle on the obstacle course at No.4 Camp, Fovant whilst with the 3rd London Rifle Brigade (3/5th Londons) on 14 June probably prevented him going overseas in July 1916 with his fellows.

Hicks' highest rank was Acting Lance Corporal. He served with the 1/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade) in the France & Flanders theatre from 14 July to 13 October 1916. The battalion (often known as the 1st London Rifle Brigade) served with the 169th Brigade of the 56th (London) Division. Pte Hicks was most probably sent out on 13 July as part of a draft to make good the 569 casualties reported as a result of the 56th Division's failed diversionary attack at Gommecourt on 1 July 1916. Possibly joining the battalion whilst it was alternating time in billets out of the line at Bienvillers or in a rear part of the line at Hannescamps, between approximately 17 July and 21 August, this would have put him in line to hear a bayonet-fighting lecture from the famous bayonet instructor Major Campbell and practice working with tanks. Subsequently he would have been able to fight with the 1st London Rifle Brigade on the Somme, at Ginchy on 9 September 1916, at Bouleaux and Leuze Woods on 15 and 18 September and at Combles on 26 September.

On 1 October 1916 the 1st London Rifle Brigade/1/5th Londons was in the trenches near Guillemont, supplying working and burying parties, prior to relieving the Queen Victoria Rifles and Queen's Westminster Rifles in the trenches opposite Lesboeufs the following day. After occupying an enemy trench (subsequently named 'German Trench') 100 yards to the battalion's right front at dusk on 3 October, the battalion was in turn relieved by the London Scottish that night, spending the next three days in trenches between Bernafay and Trones Woods.

Meanwhile, as 4405 Private H J Hicks, London Regiment, he was Listed as "Wounded" on the Casualty List issued by the War Office, Report Date 27/11/1916. He was therefore entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being met by his naming in this list. The List gave his Resided Town [upon enlistment] as East Finchley, London N.

Given the date of the List and the dates given for his overseas service on the London Regiment medal roll, he was most probably wounded in early October 1916, possibly on 8 October 1916 at Lesboeufs during the Battle of le Transloy, and rapidly evacuated to the United Kingdom for treatment. In support of this inference, the battalion was relieved in the front line on 9 October and remained out of the line for most of the rest of the month. Between 28 October and 3 November it was in the line at Richebourg L'Avoue; no casualties were recorded in the war diary for this period.

In this attack, the battalion, as part of 169th Brigade, was given the task of capturing Hazy Trench after the failed effort of the 167th and 168th Brigades to take it and the associated systems the previous day. This was part of a general effort (along with the 20th Division and the French) to establish a line on the forward slope of the le Transloy ridges to allow observation of the le Transloy trench system and (in the 20th Division's sector) provide a jumping-off point for a further assault. Attacking at 3.30pm on the 8th, the London Rifle Brigade reached Hazy Trench but was forced to withdraw due to a lack of support on its flanks that night, being taken out of the line the following day.

The following extract from The History of the London Rifle Brigade 1859 -1919, shared on the Great War Forum by user chrrip, gives an account of the action:

"Section 25 : 1st Battalion - Les Boeufs 6 – 9 October 1916

The respite from the fighting was all too brief as the Battalion was ordered to occupy old German trenches at Talus Bois near Guillemont which it did on 29 September in pouring rain. Little was known about the whereabouts of friendly troops let alone the enemy as no maps or aerial photographs were available. For two days both the LRB [London Rifle Brigade] and Q.W.R. [Queen's Westminster Rifles] pushed out patrols to find the French and German positions and they, along with working parties that were fired upon, eventually discovered the enemy positions. The Germans were manning a line of shell holes, trenches and old gun pits well protected by their artillery which was particularly effective, inflicting heavy casualties on the working parties.

On 2 October the Battalion took over the portion of the line which ran in front (east) of the village of Les Boeufs. The appalling weather made any troop movements extremely difficult and even simple reliefs were a nightmare. The incessant rain, the few tracks and paths deep in mud and heavily cratered, led to the cancellation of several attacks. On 7 October the London Scottish were ordered to capture Hazy Trench and were nearly wiped out. At 11 p.m. the Battalion was ordered to relieve them. The state of the ground, the congestion on the few passable tracks, and the continuing appalling weather delayed the relief into full daylight so that the troops were clearly visible to the enemy who held their fire, choosing to wait for the forthcoming attack.

‘A’ Company occupied Aeroplane Trench, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Shamrock Trench and ‘D’, in reserve, eventually occupied Fluffy Trench. ‘A’ and ‘B’ were ordered to attack Hazy Trench which was about 600 yards from them, ‘C’ was to follow closely with ‘D’ in support. ‘D’ Company was instructed to use every officer and man to bring up tools, ammunition and equipment to the front line presenting a target the German gunners could not resist, inflicting heavy casualties. The preparations for the attack on the forward slopes in front of the village were in full view of the enemy so that the inevitable occurred; the first waves were met by a murderous barrage as soon as they left their trenches. The shell fire was so heavy that the troops could not see the British creeping barrage. The first two Companies pressed on nevertheless and came under heavy machine gun fire from the disused gun pits. These machine guns were the same ones which had inflicted heavy casualties on the London Scottish and had not been destroyed by the British barrage as expected. A few men from [text missing?] may have reached the German lines where they died fighting, but both ‘A’ and ‘B’ were wiped out.

‘D’ Company moved up as planned but as soon as it appeared on the ridge it ran into an even heavier barrage. The men advanced to a line of shell holes passing all the officers of the other three Companies lying dead or wounded. Here they dug in along with a few survivors from ‘C’ company. The Company Commander Capt. Crews, one of the two officers left in action, sent out patrols to find the French on the right and the Q.V.R. [Queen Victoria's Rifles] on the left. One patrol only encountered parties of Germans, the other did not return. Lewis gun teams beat off several enemy counter attacks and prisoners were taken, including the machine gunners who had caused so many deaths. By 9.30 p.m. it was clear that the French were not in touch and that the Q.V.R. had been pinned down in their trenches for the whole day. The 80 or so LRB survivors fell back in small parties, taking many of their wounded with them, covered by the Lewis gun teams. By 10.30 they were back in their jumping off trench.

11 officers were dead – the highest number killed in a single day in the war and another 9 were wounded. One young officer, disabled by MG bullets in both legs, was callously shot dead by a German soldier as he lay helpless in a shell hole. In contrast a German prisoner, a stretcher bearer, undoubtedly saved several LRB lives by carrying many wounded men to safety. The casualties in the ranks had been very heavy. On 9 October stretcher bearers stayed behind and spent all day looking for the wounded despite the heavy shelling directed at them, and brought in many London Scottish men who had been lying out since the 7th. Only two stretcher bearers and Capt. Crews survived out of all the parties."

After treatment and convalescence Pte Hicks does not appear (from the evidence of the medal rolls) to have gone overseas again, but the fact that he also has a six-digit Territorial regimental number (302628) within the number bloc allocated to the 5th Battalion would suggest that he remained on the strength of the London Regiment until after March 1917.

Presumably being discharged some time in 1919, he would have received his British War Medal and Victory Medal, being his full entitlement, some time after October 1920. The Regimental Code given on the medal roll also confirms that the 5th Londons represents the unit he last served with (and through whose record office - in this case London - his medals were issued). 

There also seems to have been an application made for a pension for him, however the details are no longer recorded.

1/5th (City of London) Battalion (Rifles)

04.08.1914 Stationed at Bunhill as part of the 2nd London Brigade of the 1st London Division and then moved to Bisley and then Crowborough.

Nov 1914 Mobilised for war and embarked for France leaving the 1st London Division arriving at Havre.

17.11.1914 Joined the 11th Brigade of the 4th Division and engaged in various actions on the Western Front including;

1914

The Battle of Le Cateau, The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne, The Battle of Messines 1914.

1915

The Second Battle of Ypres.

19.05.1915 Transferred to the G.H.Q. Troops forming a composite battalion with the 1/12th & 1/13th Battalions.

11.08.1915 Resumed its identity.

25.10.1915 Transferred to the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Division.

10.02.1916 Transferred to the 169th Brigade of the 56th Division;

1916

The diversionary attack at Gommecourt, The Battle of Ginchy, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval, The Battle of the Transloy Ridges.

(Transferred to the corps of the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) on 7 July 1916)

2/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade)

Sept 1914 Formed London and then moved to Haywards Heath to join the 174th Brigade of the 58th Division.

May 1915 Moved to Norwich and then Ipswich.

April 1916 moved to Foxhall Heath, near Ipswich and then Sutton Veny.

3/5th Battalion

26.11.1914 Formed at Bunhill Row.

April 1915 Moved to Tadworth and then Sutton.

Jan 1916 Moved to Fovant.

08.04.1916 Became the 5th (Reserve) Battalion.

01.09.1916 Joined the 1st London Reserve Brigade.

Image: Troops of the 1/5th Battalion (London Rifle Brigade), London Regiment, in a reserve trench in Chimpanzee Valley between Hardecourt and Guillemont, 6 September 1916.

Ww1 Medal Trio Pte James McNaught Boyce 4277 2nd and 12th Royal Scots

Ww1 Medal Trio Pte James McNaught Boyce 4277 2nd and 12th Royal Scots

James McNaught Boyce was born on 4 November 1882 to William Boyce, a China merchant, and Isabella Boyce (later Burnett). Growing up, from at least 1891, he lived with his mother and stepfather Charles Fuller Burnett, a Clerk & Inquiry Agent, and numerous siblings and step-siblings in the Newington district of Edinburgh. By 1901 the 18 year old James was working as a tailor and living at 22 South Clerk Street. He was subsequently married to Margaret [McKean?].

Possibly like 4279 Robert Barclay (an old soldier, enlisted for service in the United Kingdom only), James  was a Special Reservist with the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). If so, he may have enlisted at Edinburgh around 28 September 1914, initially for service in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion. As 4277 Pte J McN Boyce, he went to the 2nd (Regular) battalion as a reinforcement on 27 December 1914. (By comparison, 4275 Pte John Berry, also an old soldier, who enlisted for 1 year around 25 September 1915, and was also of the 3/Royal Scots, went overseas on 4 January 1915 as part of the 12th Reinforcement, joining an unrecorded battalion - but probably the 2nd - in the field on 31 January). At the former time the battalion was in the Ypres sector. He lost one brother, Alexander Boyce, with the 1st KOSB at Gallipoli, and a stepbrother, Cecil Lawrence Burnett, with the 1st Seaforth Highlanders in the Persian Gulf. James himself appears as wounded on a War Office casualty list for 5 May 1915 (published in The Scotsman, 22 May 1915), suggesting that he was wounded the previous month; at this time the battalion was in the line at Ypres, near the Rossignol, and suffered a steady stream of casualties, mainly from shelling, throughout the month.

At some point he was posted to the 12th Battalion, part of 27 Brigade of 9th (Scottish) Division, serving with 'D' Company. It is quite likely that this took place after the abovementioned wounding. A notional posting date of some time towards the end of 1915, possibly missing the September 1915 Battle of Loos, would have put him in line to fight with the battalion on the Somme, at Arras and in the Battle of Passchendaele.

With the 12th Royal Scots, Pte Boyce went missing some time after the commencement of the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. By this time he was with 'D' Company and captured, according to the International Commission for the Red Cross records, on 23 March at Nurlu.

At this time the battalion, having been in GHQ Reserve, moved to Divisional Reserve in Dessart Wood and, after a spell in the line at Gouzeaucourt wiring the line and creating strongpoints, had returned to Dessart Wood when the offensive commenced.

Pte Boyce was wounded when taken; possibly he was either left behind when the Battalion withdrew from the Green Line at Nurlu, or was one of the men enfiladed by enemy fire from Moislains whilst trying to cross the Canal du Nord by Riverside Wood.

He was reported as missing on War Office Daily List No.5576 of 27/05/1918. This confirmed his place of residence as Edinburgh.

After capture, Pte Boyce was taken from the West-Front to Cassel, and then to Limburg; in September 1918 he was reported as having arrived at Limburg from Cassel.

He featured on War Office Daily List No.5751 of 18/12/1918 as Released Prisoner of War from Germany, arrived in England.

He was discharged to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 10 April 1919 and subsequently lived in Edinburgh. His pension ledger entry gives his address as c/o Kean, 6(?) Salisbury Street (confirmed as Mrs McKean, 7 Salisbury Street on his ICRC Record Card). It indicated that he suffered from Neurasthenia - stammering due to active service. He appears to have been given a provisional pension of 13/8 weekly upon discharge.

 

Subsequently apparently a tailor in civil life, James McNaught Boyce died on 9 January 1950 and was cremated at Edinburgh on the 12th.

Pte C J Cooper, 1st Suffolk Regiment, France and Salonika

12318 Pte Charles Cooper, 1st Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment

Charles Joseph Cooper served with the 1st battalion, the Suffolk Regiment as a Private, initially under the regimental number 12318. Probably, like 21310 Herbert Richard Phillips, 12311 Harry Brewer, 12314 William John Parker, 12315 Horace David King and 12317 William Friend, he enlisted for three years’ service around 31 August 1914, being posted to the Suffolk Regiment depot at Bury St Edmunds the following day and around this time receiving his regimental number. Possibly like both men he was initially posted to the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. Then, after approximately 11 months training (possibly interrupted by sickness or injury), he was sent to France on 27 July 1915, probably as part of a replacement draft to the 1st battalion which, having been stationed at Khartoum at the outbreak of war, had been in the France theatre since 18.01.1915, landing at Le Havre. He may have been sent out to replace one of the 400 casualties incurred by the battalion in the course of the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April-25 May 1915). After a likely part in the Battle of Loos (25 September-8 October 1915), in the absence of any evidence of service with another battalion or regiment, he would have embarked for Salonika from Marseilles via Alexandria as part of the move of the parent 28th Division to the Salonika Front and there engaged in actions against the Bulgarian Army including (during October 1916) the occupation of Mazirko and capture of Barakli Jum'a and (in May 1917) the capture of Ferdie and Essex Trenches near Barakli Jum'a, and the capture of of Barakli and Kumli in October 1917. In September 1918 the battalion engaged in the Battle of Doiran (18-19 September), and following the retreat of the Bulgarian Army, the pursuit to the Strumica valley (22-28 September), culminating in an armistice on 30 September 1918. At some point he continued his service with the 1st Suffolk Regiment, still as a Private, under the new regimental number 51234. Possibly, like 51238 Stanley Arthur Willis, he did a spell with the Labour Corps before being transferred back to the Suffolk Regiment (in Willis’ case, on 24 November 1917 for service with the 2nd (Garrison) Battalion). 

For his service Pte Cooper was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He also has suggested service with the Labour Corps, although his service number is not recorded. Pte Cooper was discharged to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 25 April 1919. He was pensioned at 5/6 weekly from date of discharge until 2 September 1919. Although the condition for which he was pensioned was not recorded, the endemic Malaria in the Salonika theatre seems a good possibility. After the war he lived in (Clipperley?), Fleggburgh in Norfolk. He died on 8 June 1927.

Identifying a man's service number (British Army)

 Identifying a man's service number 

If a man's army/regimental/service number is not already known, it is likely to involve some research into surviving WW1 or 2 records and correlation with known family history to achieve an identification.

The majority of WW1 personal service records are now accessible online via subscription sites. Focusing on the British Army, in particular:

The 40% of other ranks' service records which survived the WW2 Arnside bombing are available to view and download from Ancestry UK and Find My Past.

Similarly, the pensions records (service records retained for pensions purposes, which cover fewer men, but are more complete) are available on these sites.

Of the two, FMP has substantially better indexing of these records. Both sites require their second-tier subscription to view these records although some libraries offer the facility to their members to access their Library Editions for free, either on- or off-site.

Army officers' personal files are accessible only via The National Archives, either in person or via a researcher or via a paid-for copying service (quotations will be required for the two latter, or a membership costing £5 and a trip to Kew for the former).

The pensions index cards and ledger records (not the same as the pensions records mentioned above, much briefer but covering many more men) are available to view in full (including images) on the Ancestry subsidiary Fold 3. There is a surcharge for joining this site, alternatively members of the Western Front Association can view for free. A limited transcription (but no image) is accessible via a second-tier Ancestry subscription.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website offers a freely-searchable resource for WW1 (and WW2) casualties.

All the foregoing are important records if the regimental/Corps number of the men in question is not known, they do not have a unique name, or their other service details are not with the family. This is because these types of record are likely to have details of next of kin/dependants/home addresses, etc which can help link-in a man (and his regimental number) to known family history and confirm an identification. 

On a second tier of usefulness, the Army Medal Office's Medal Index Cards (free to view on Ancestry) sometimes - very rarely for Army other ranks but generally for officers - contain address details, which can be useful as set out above. Images of these cards (both sides) are freely available to view via Ancestry. Partial transcriptions are available via Find My Past and Forces War Records (subscription service) but are (in my opinion) of very little use. The black and white scans of the front sides of the cards (only) which are hosted on the fee-paying The Genealogist website are better than the transcripts but still not helpful for identification purposes as the address details are to be found on the uncopied backs of the cards.

Similarly, the daily and weekly casualty lists (images available via The Genealogist and Find My Past, transcriptions on Forces War Records) can be of some use as depending upon the date of publication they may give a casualty's place of residence, enlistment town, or residence of next of kin. Alternatively, the National Library of Scotland (freely searchable via the internet) contains the weekly casualty lists from 1917-on. Casualty lists were reprinted in a range of newspapers and these can be viewed via the British Newspaper Archive (subscription or pay per view), although the ability to gain information is very dependent upon the indexing, which is again dependent on the quality of the print which was scanned for the Optical Character Recognition.

(The Times Digital Archive also contains the casualty lists but its Optical Character Recognition or search function, or both, are too poor in my opinion to really be useful.)

Certain other records/sources will not be useful for associating a man with his regimental number but could be invaluable for filling in details of his service if his service record documents do not survive. These include the medal rolls and battalion/unit war diaries (both Ancestry), medical hospital admission/discharge registers (transcripts on Forces War Records, images on Find My Past)*, and, of course, newspaper articles (British Newspaper Archives). Finally, if a man remained serving in the Army past a certain point in 1921/22, his service records will have been retained by the MoD, where they can only be accessed by request and upon payment of £30. Men to whom this applies are listed by name and number on Ancestry and Forces War Records.

*these records may also give a man's age

In terms of WW2, for all services, far fewer records are in the public domain and those which are, such as casualty and PoW and RAF enlistment and Royal Artillery tracer card records (all available by transcription on Forces War Records except the latter, which is on Ancestry) are unlikely to help connect a man and his service number. The main exception, as noted above, are the records in the care of the CWGC, although these cover only fatal casualties.

More positively, however, the MoD does offer a service for tracing information about WW2 servicemen. No fee is payable for specified next of kin, otherwise £30. See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-records-of-deceased-service-personnel . 

For former Coldstream and Scots Guards, records are accessible from the RHQ: 

 http://www.theguardsmuseum.com/Family-Research

NB some of the WW1 records are available via The National Archives website. Normally £3.50 a download, it is currently free to signed-in users whilst access to the physical archive is restricted, so might be worth exploring. Also, most of the websites offer some sort of free trial.

A World War One 1914 - 15 Star and Victory Medal To 9405 Private Peter Willis, PoW who served with the 7th Battalion Suffolk Regiment

A World War One 1914 - 15 Star and Victory Medal To 9405 Private Peter Willis, PoW who served with the 7th Battalion Suffolk Regiment.

Peter Willis was born on 23 November 1880 and was from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. The 7th (Service) Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment was a New Army battalion formed at Bury St Edmunds in August 1914 as part of K1. It came under command of 35th Brigade in 12th (Eastern) Division. Peter Willis entered the France theatre via Boulogne on 30 May 1915 on the strength of the 7th. He remained with the 7th until captured on the Somme at Albert during the German Spring Offensive 1918. According to German records this took place on 25/03/18, although this is almost certainly a mistake for 26th or 27th March, when the battalion went into the line to hold the advancing Germans east of Albert. By March 1918 he was serving with 'B' Company. 

On 24 March 1918 the battalion was in billets at Cantrainne, having marched there overnight from Estaires. At 11:45pm they embussed out, eventually arriving at Senlis the following day (25/03). That afternoon, they headed towards Fricourt, getting within 1 mile by 10pm but then being ordered back.

On the morning of the 26th the battalion was deployed initially to defend a line east of Albert, but was forced to withdraw through the town in the face of the advancing enemy. It then took position to defend the general line of the railway by Albert, 'B' Company on the left , 'A' on the right, 'D' in reserve and 'C' forming an outpost line, later pulled back once the bridges were destroyed, having inflicted some casualties on the enemy and then put to fill a gap in the line along the railway south of 'A' Company. In the face of enemy pressure, 'A' was forced back under strong enemy enfilade fire but 'B' and the right flank Company were holding. 'D' Company became engaged after the houses west of the railway line were taken, taking casualties and repelling enemy bombing attacks through the night. After being temporarily forced back around 10:30pm the overall line was regained by counter-attack and held overnight ('D' prolonging the line to the left of 'A' Company) until 11am on the 27th when 'B' Company were forced by heavy shellfire and withdrawal by a neighbouring battalion to fall back to the reserve line held by the 9th Essex in support. The war diary notes that this withdrawal was accompanied by considerable confusion and that only 53 out of 133 other ranks of 'B' rejoined the battalion after relief early the following day (28/03) at Henecourt; it was presumably at this point on the 27th that Pte Willis was separated from his Company and captured. When the defence was reorganised at 2pm on the 27th, 'C' occupied the high ground south of the Amiens Road, with one platoon in the area between the Millencourt-Albert track and Bouzincourt Road and another in Reserve, 'A' holding the immediate vicinity of the road, 'D' Company in part was put in the line with part of 'A', guarding the high ground up to the crucifix on the Millencourt Road. Relief took place on the 28th. By the end of the action the war diary reported 38 other ranks killed, 110 wounded and 96 missing.

Pte Willis was incarcerated at Althurst until repatriation, being listed in War Office daily list 5723 as 'reported as a prisoner of war in lists received from the German government', on 15 November 1918. Meanwhile, on 19 May 1918 the battalion was reduced to cadre strength and subsequently rebuilt, serving with the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division to the end of the war. Pte Willis was listed as  released prisoner of war from Germany, returned to England, in War Office daily list 5777 of 21 January 1919; he was subsequently demobilised by transfer to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 9 April 1919.

7th (Service) Battalion

Formed at Bury St Edmunds in August 1914 as part of K1 and came under command of 35th Brigade in 12th (Eastern) Division.

30 May 1915 : landed at Boulogne.

19 May 1918: reduced to cadre strength. (Subsequently rebuilt and served with 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division 

Troops of the 7th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, in the ruins of the church in Tilloy [near Arras], 18 October 1917. Imperial War Museum image Q6097

41435 Pte F H Sawyer, 11th and 7th Suffolks, Prisoner of War March 1918

41435 PTE FH SAWYER 11th and 7th Battalions, The Suffolk Regiment (PoW)

Frank Henry Sawyer was from Tunstall, near Woodbridge in Suffolk, born 30 April 1898. He attested his willingness to serve on 9 August 1916, aged 17 years 11 months, and was immediately posted to the Army Reserve until he became of age. A gamekeeper in civil life, he was mobilised on 20 or 21 February 1917 on posting to the 261st Training Reserve Battalion under the regimental number 6782, then 'B' Company, 262 Infantry Battalion. He was posted to the BEF on 18 September 1917, and transferred, probably whilst still at Infantry base depot, to the Suffolk Regiment on 23 September and then posted to the 11th battalion the same day.

He served overseas with 'C' Company of the 11th Suffolks (18/9 to 24/11 1917), being admitted to 104th Field Ambulance with ICT (inflammation of the connective tissue or skin infection) to his left knee on 9 November 1917; he then went to 20 Casualty Clearing Section to have it dressed on 16 November, followed by referral to No.10 General Hospital for ulceration over the patella and fluid in the right knee joint (synovitis). After returning to the UK for treatment and being placed on the strength of the Suffolk Regiment depot, he was discharged to duty from Eastleigh Hospital on 19 December 1917, joining the 3rd Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment on the 28th. 

On 15 February 1918 he was posted overseas to 'L' Infantry Base Depot and there joined the 7th battalion, the Suffolk Regiment four days later. (12/2 to 4/4 1918). He served with 'D' Company.

He suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his right wrist, and was  made a Prisoner of War in March 1918, being recorded on his service record and on ICRC records as captured at Albert on 30 March 1918 (this is interesting as, from the battalion's war diary, the Albert operations took place on 26-28 March and on 30 March the battalion was out of the line reorganizing at Henecourt; possibly Pte Sawyer was separated from his unit and attached to another, or evading capture alone until taken by German forces two days later). 

On 24 March 1918 the battalion was in billets at Cantrainne, having marched there overnight from Estaires. At 11:45pm they embussed out, eventually arriving at Senlis the following day (25/03). That afternoon, they headed towards Fricourt, getting within 1 mile by 10pm but then being ordered back.

On the morning of the 26th the battalion was deployed initially to defend a line east of Albert, but was forced to withdraw through the town in the face of the advancing enemy. It then took position west of the town, to defend the general line of the railway by Albert, 'B' Company on the left , 'A' on the right, 'D' in reserve and 'C' forming an outpost line, later pulled back once the bridges were destroyed, having inflicted some casualties on the enemy and then put to fill a gap in the line along the railway south of 'A' Company. In the face of enemy pressure, 'A' was forced back under strong enemy enfilade fire but 'B' and the right flank Company were holding. 'D' Company became engaged after the houses west of the railway line were taken, taking casualties and repelling enemy bombing attacks through the night. After being temporarily forced back around 10:30pm the overall line was regained by counter-attack and held overnight ('D' prolonging the line to the left of 'A' Company) until 11am on the 27th when 'B' Company were forced by heavy shellfire and withdrawal by a neighbouring battalion to fall back to the reserve line held by the 9th Essex in support. The war diary notes that this withdrawal was accompanied by considerable confusion and that only 53 out of 133 other ranks of 'B' rejoined the battalion after relief early the following day (28/03) at Henecourt. When the defence was reorganised at 2pm on the 27th, 'C' occupied the high ground south of the Amiens Road, with one platoon in the area between the Millencourt-Albert track and Bouzincourt Road and another in Reserve, 'A' holding the immediate vicinity of the road, 'D' Company in part was put in the line with part of 'A', guarding the high ground up to the crucifix on the Millencourt Road. Relief took place on the 28th. By the end of the action the war diary reported 38 other ranks killed, 110 wounded and 96 missing.

Fortunately Pte Sawyer was able to send his next of kin a post card, dated 18 April, to confirm that he was a prisoner of war. He was shown as missing on War Office Daily List No. 5585 of 06/06/1918. War Office Daily List No.5641, Report Date: 12/08/1918 advised that he had been Reported as Prisoner of War in lists received from the German Government.

Pte Sawyer was repatriated to Britain via Hull and returned to Ripon Camp.

He later served in Egypt. He was posted to the 1/5th Suffolks on 11 May 1919 and then, with effect from 3 October 1919, compulsorily transferred to the Middlesex Regiment and posted to the 2/19th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (St Pancras) under the new regimental number 623391. At some point he was appointed Lance-Corporal. His military character was given on his Conduct Sheet as 'Very Good'. Prior to discharged he was medically examined at El Kantara and found to have a 20% disabling impairment to his right wrist. He was demobilised in 1920. He had one dependent, his mother, Mrs E Sawyer, and was pensioned at 8 Shillings a week after the war, for one year. His medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal,  being his full entitlement) were issued off the London Regiment roll.

Recent medals researched

WWI. - BRITISH VICTORY MEDAL. - TO: 12044. PRIVATE. W. DUNCAN.  HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY

William Duncan served as a Private in the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. Almost certainly serving in India on the outbreak of war, he entered the France theatre, via Marseilles, on the strength of the 1st Battalion on 30 November 1914. This would have put him in line to take part in the battles of La Bassee, 1st Messines and Armentieres in 1914 and Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert and Loos in 1915, before moving to Mesopotamia in December 1915. He was Listed as 'Wounded' in the Casualty Lists issued by the War Office from 8 and 9 April 1916, thus suggesting he was wounded some time in March 1916, possibly in the attack on the Dujaila Redoubt on the march to Baghdad. In this List his rank was given as Lance-Corporal.

He was sent to the Section "B" Army Reserve on 15 November 1919. For his service he was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, receiving these in the latter part of 1922.

------------

WWI. - BRITISH VICTORY MEDAL. - TO: 4182. PRIVATE. W. H. EDMONDS.  3rd. LONDON REGIMENT.

William H Edmonds was born on 20 March 1883 (or '86, sources vary) in Chelsea, London, where his next of kin were also resident. He served with the 2/3rd (City of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) as a Private, first under the regimental number 4182 and then 251629. 

He went overseas to the France and Flanders theatre on 23 January 1917. He was captured circa 21/22 March 1918 at Quessy and made a Prisoner of War. At the time he was serving with 'A' Company. He was incarcerated in camps including Stendal.

He was listed in War Office Daily List No.5744, Report Date 10/12/1918 as a Released Prisoner of War from Germany, arrived in England. This List gave his Next Of Kin Address as Chelsea, S.W.

For his service he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

-----------

42756 Pte Lewis Musson Tyler, 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment, wounded 1918

Lewis Musson Tyler was born on 30 July 1899 at Ingoldsby, Lincolnshire. He was the son of William Musson Tyler, farmer (died 1909) and Eliza Tyler. An apprentice motor mechanic, he enlisted on 31 August 1917, aged 18 years 1 month. Passing through the Leicestershire Regiment (possible regimental number 15837) and Training Reserve (as TR/6/31439) - with some possible unrecorded service in the King's  Royal Rifle Corps - he served as a Private with the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment under the Regimental Number 42756. Given his age he is unlikely to have gone overseas before the end of March 1918, when the minimum age was lowered from 19.

As L M Tyler he was listed as Wounded on War Office Daily List No.5592 of 14/06/1918, suggesting he was wounded in late April or early to mid May 1918. Possibly this was during the battalion's part at Riez-du-Vinage in the First Battle of Kemmel Ridge, 17-19 April 1918, or whilst in the line close to Busnettes, near Bethune, in Mid-May, where there appears to have been a steady stream of casualties. The war diary comments that there was "Much wiring and digging to be done. Front line is a series of posts and support line only dug in places. Wire bad". In the period in the front line from 12-20 May there were about 15 other ranks wounded and 2 killed. Pte Tyler was entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of the 6th July 1916, the terms of this award being named on this list. The list gave his Next Of Kin Address as Grantham.

Pte Tyler was discharged ftom Essex Regt at Warley on 4 October 1918, aged 19, under Army Order VI of 1918 paragraph 2a, and paragraph 392 xvi of King's Regulations.

He received Silver War Badge Number B20307, which he would have been issued shortly after discharge. He was pensioned at 16/6 weekly for one year from 5 October 1918. His postwar addresses were Wilford House, Huntingtower Road, Grantham and 50 Sherland Road, Twickenham.

His British War Medal and Victory Medal, although later returned for adjustment, would have been issued some time from June 1920 onwards. Subsequently he lived in Spelthorne, Surrey. In later life he may have served as a motor driver, being a member of the Morris Commercial Drivers Association, and joined the Royal British Legion (associated badge is numbered 216593). He died in 1975.

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PTE. THOMAS. B. PARTRIDGE. 88464. KINGS LIVERPOOL REGIMENT, Neurasthenia £47 posted

Thomas Benjamin Partridge was from Sileby and was employed as a shoe hand. He was born about 1881 in Syston, Leicestershire. On 21 October 1906 at Sileby he married Rachel Ward. In 1915 his residence place was 26, The Banks, Sileby, where he loved with his wife and son, Harold William Partridge.

Thomas Benjamin was also known in some sources as Benjamin Partridge.

He attested his willingness to serve on 8 December 1915, aged 34 years 1 month and was posted to the Army Reserve. From there he was mobilised and embodied into the 2/5th East Surreys, Kingston on Thames on 12 February 1917. After approximately seven months training he was posted to France for service with the 12th battalion, East Surrey Regiment on 15 September. However, within less than a week, he was transferred to the King's Liverpool Regiment and posted to their 2/7th battalion, then in the Ypres Salient. He was possibly one of a draft of 130 other ranks who joined from 38th Infantry Base Depot, arriving at 1.45pm on 21 September 1917, or the further draft of 50 which arrived on 24 September, both whilst the battalion was at Estree Blanche. By the beginning of October the battalion was at a total strength of 45 officers and 981 other ranks, fighting strength 37 officers and 923 other ranks. On the 20th October the battalion moved by 'bus to Proven and then marched to Plumstead Camp. This was followed by a move to Bridge Camp, Elverdinghe four days later and then to Soult Camp on the 25th, being caught by enemy bombing of the area that night, and then to Marsouin Camp in the support area on the 26th/27th. During this time the battalion was detaching men for various duties, forming working parties and supplying stretcher bearers, etc. On the night of 27/28 October the battalion suffered 24 other rank casualties from a gas shell bombardment and moved in the afternoon of 28 October to Eagle Trench to relieve the 2/6th Battalion. Relieving them in the front line at 5.30pm on the 30th, the 2/7th then remained there until 9.35pm on the 1st. During this time the battalion endured a 2 hour gas shell bombardment from 10.30pm on the 31st; in total 7 other ranks were gassed, 7 otherwise wounded and one killed. Meanwhile the portion of the battalion remaining at Bridge Camp suffered two bombing raids on the night of the 31st, with two other ranks killed and eight other ranks and two officers wounded. A further other rank was wounded on 1 November, location unspecified.

Amidst this, Pte Partridge served two months before being invalided home on 16 November. His S.N.B. [poss. Special Neurological Board] prior to discharge gave him the diagnosis of 70% disabling 'Neurasthenia' (one of the group of conditions often labelled 'Shell shock') dating from 1 November 1917, aggravated by active service.

After 107 days treatment for 'Disordered Action of the Heart', he was discharged from the King's Liverpool Depot as 'permanently unfit' on 25 February 1918. His Proceedings on Discharge gave his character as 'Good' and described him as 'a steady man'.

Unusually he appears to have been issued two separate Silver War Badges, Silver War Badge number 338,174 dating to March 1918, and then Silver War Badge number 497526 dating to 1920.

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VM to 315191 Pte F J Rawlins

Frederick J Rawlins enlisted on 27 October 1914 and served as 5039.

He served with the 16th (Sussex Yeomanry) battalion, the Sussex Regiment in the Egyptian theatre, going overseas in February 1917.

This battalion was formed from the 1/1st Sussex Yeomanry and previously served at Gallipoli, then with the 3rd Dismounted Brigade on the Suez Canal defences and subsequently in the Western Frontier Force. On 3 January 1917 it converted to infantry, becoming 16th (Sussex Yeomanry) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, 230th Brigade, 74th (Yeomanry) Division.

Leaving Egypt on 30 March, on 7 May 1918 the battalion landed at Marseilles.

Pre Rawlins was gassed on 17 September 1918, during the Battles of the Hindenburg Line

Phase: the Battle of Epehy, 18 September 1918

Third Army (Byng)

IV Corps (Harper)

5th Division.

V Corps (Shute)

17th (Northern) Division

21st Division

38th (Welsh) Division.

VI Corps (Haldane)

Guards Division

2nd Division

62nd (2nd West Riding) Division.

Fourth Army (Rawlinson)

III Corps (Butler)

12th (Eastern) Division

18th (Eastern) Division

58th (2/1st London) Division

74th (Yeomanry) Division.

First Name:

F J

Surname:

Rawlins

Incident Details:

War Office Daily List No. 5701

Report Date:

21/10/1918

Rank:

Private

Service Number:

315191

Wound Stripe:

Entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916. The terms of this award being met by being named in this list.

Casualty Listed As:

Wounded

Next Of Kin Address:

Bognor

Service:

British Army

Primary Unit:

Royal Sussex Regiment

Invalided to UK 20 September.

After the War lived in 174 London Road, Bognor Regis. He was pensioned for gas poisoning.

Awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal which he would have received late in 1920.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1114/images/MIUK1914A_086376-00158?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=7fa04e9ef8ec3f10bd91ce5da612a771&usePUB=true&_phsrc=BhG7228&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_gl=1*1dyuyl7*_ga*MTE4NzgwNDk4NS4xNTc5MzUyMzA0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY1NTc1NzM3MS44OC4xLjE2NTU3NTk0NjYuNjA.&pId=571160

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1914 - 1919 British War Medal S4-038971 CPL . J. Geddes  A. S. C.

James Geddes. Served with the Army Service Corps as a Private, later Corporal, under the regimental number S4/038971. Possibly like S4/039004 Thomas Everitt Tillbrook and S4/039008 Herbert Cyril Hodson he was a baker, and enlisted in December 1914. All three men entered the France theatre on 19 May 1915, possibly on the strength of 14th Field Bakery (to which Tillbrook was posted in January 1915, later transferring to 26th Field Bakery and serving at Gallipoli and in Egypt) or the 15th, with which Hodson served. Both of these were later located at Calais.

Discharged to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 10 May 1919. Entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, which he would have received between late 1919 and mid-1920.

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WW1 Victory Medal M2/178163  PTE D. T. DASS  A. S. C.

Pte Divan (or Diwan) Tulse (Tulsi) Dass (1882-28 January 1953) served during WW1 as a motor transport driver in the Army Service Corps. Like M2/178160 Arthur Shuffle and M2/178167 Peter McNicol (a chauffeur) he may have been mobilised around 10-16 May 1916, going overseas to France any time from about June 1916 onwards, and most probably employed as a motor lorry driver. For his service he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. He may be identified with Diwan T Dass who in 1914-15 is shown in the electoral register as a taxi-cab driver and living in Aberdeen at 11 Bon-Accord terrace as a tenant and occupant. His story (as Diwan Tulsi Das) is further described on the website of the 'Making Britain' project:

"Diwan Tulsi Das taught Hindustani at the University of Aberdeen. Das arrived in Britain in 1900 as a student in medicine. He eloped with [Grace] the daughter of Dr Charles Maxwell Muller and settled with her in Aberdeen. He took up a number of professions, including taxi driving, and served in the army during the First World War, before being appointed Lecturer in Hindustani at the University of Aberdeen in the 1920s." (Source: https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/diwan-tulsi-das)

Diwan T Dass died in 1953, outliving his wife by seven years; both are buried, along with a number of their children, in Nellfield Cemetery, Aberdeen.

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BWM 57982 1AM B Bellchamber

Bertie Bellchambers was born in 1885, his father being a coachman, and mustered to the RFC on 25 January 1917, aged 32. His wife was Frances. Initially he was rank Air Mechanic 2nd Class, with his trade being Clerk (Tally Card). He served at No.1 Aircraft Depot, Royal Flying Corps, where he is also recorded as taking a turn at guard duty. After his transfer to the Royal Air Force he was ranked as Clerk 2nd Class, Clerk (Stores).

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BWM M/316575 Pte JJ Ellis ASC

John James Ellis was born circa 1898 in Hitchin. At enlistment (5 August 1916) he was an 18 year old fitter and lived at 15 Orchard Road, Baldock. He was mobilised between 21 and 30 April the following year. After training at tbe Army Service  Corps Motor Transport Depot at Grove Park, he served with various UK-based units until passing his "Learners" Test (Fitter) on 28 June 1918, whilst with No.1 Depot Company. From No 4 Mobilization Company he went overseas two months later on 26 August 1918 on posting to "76 Auxiliary MT Company (548 Coy)" (possibly 76 Company ASC, later 7 GHQ Reserve Motor Transport Company). He ended his overseas service with the 59th Division Motor Transport Company as a fitter and NCO, before being sent home for demobilisation in October 1919. He was transferred to the Army Reserve Class 'Z' on 24 November 1919. For his service he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. 

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70319 Pte R H Clark DLI BWM

Robert Harry Clark was born circa 1899 and enlisted on 12 September 1916. He appears to have been mobilised on 18 August 1917. After passing through the Training Reserve he served with the 22nd Durham Light Infantry as a Private, regimental number 70319.

He also served as 59766 in the East Yorkshire Regiment. At some point he suffered a gun shot wound to his thigh, and also (in 1918) gas poisoning, resulting in functional aphonia (loss of voice), judged to be 20% disabling.

He was discharged under paragraph 392 xvi a of King's Regulations on 1 September 1919 and entitled to the Silver War Badge, receiving badge number B301170. His postwar address was Briggs, Lincolnshire.

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4859 Robertshaw VM 

Jowett Robertshaw was born circa 1891. At the time of his attestation (6 December 1915) he lived at 12, School Street, Clayton, and worked for Aykroyd and Grandage as a dyer's labourer. Mobilised on 16 February the following year, he served as 4859 in the 3/5th and then 1/5th battalions, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, in 147th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division, joining the latter in June 1916. Whilst attached to the KOYLI he was listed as wounded in the Casualty List dated 13 November 1916, indicating he was probably wounded in mid-October 1916, probably on the Somme. This gave his town of residence as Clayton, near Bradford. At about this time he must have been evacuated home and placed on the strength fo the 90th Territorial  Force Depot. 

Subsequently, from 2 July 1917 he served as Pte 256887 in 298th Reserve Labour Company and spent a period seemingly in civilian employment as part of the Army 'W' Reserve. From 11 April 1918, when he was recalled, he also served as Private/Acting Corporal/Corporal 57586 in the 3rd battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) and, from August 1919, in G Company, the 2nd Yorkshire Regiment. 

He was demobilized by discharge to the Army Class 'Z' Reserve on 1 October 1919, classed as medical category B3. He was pensioned at 8/- weekly for one year for a gun shot wound to the back. He was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal, which he would have received in 1921.

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Great War Pair with Miniatures 293833 Private H S Smith Middlesex and Essex Regiments 

293833 Private H S Smith served with the Middlesex Regiment, 2/10th Battalion. He was listed as Wounded  in War Office Daily List No.5439, Report Date 11/12/1917, suggesting he was probably wounded in mid-November 1917. This List gave his Next Of Kin Address as Canning Town, E.

He also served under the regimental number 56206 with the Essex Regiment. He was again listed as Wounded in War Office Daily List No.5711, Report Date 01/11/1918 (probably having been wounded in late September or early October), and thus was entitled to wear two Wound stripes.