German Airmen Brought Down On The 26th January, 1917, Fregicourt Secto

[Chris Noble]

Good evening.

The War Diary of the 10th (Service) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps records that on the 26th January, 1917, one Corporal Usher brought down a German aircraft, pilot subsequently captured.

Who was this German airman?

Best wishes to all.

Chris.

[Loader]

Was Cpl. Usher decorated for this act? Must've been a Lewis Gunner or very lucky with a rifle! Hope you can find more info to share. Seems at least to merit a MM.

[r gannon]

Hi Chris

I think the answer is Vflm M Winkelmann of Jasta 5, an attached naval flyer, who is recorded as being forced down Allied side near Sailly [saillisel?] due to AA(?) fire. Taken pow.

Cheers Russ

[Chris Noble]

Loader, there appears to be no award of any kind granted.

Russ, Winkelmann would appear to fit the bill.

Best wishes to you both.

Chris.

[Loader]

If that action didn't earn one I wonder what would? A divisional card of honor would be something but not sure they'd be listed on a MIC. Frankly it amazes me he did not receive an award for this. Since he was named as the victor he must've done it by himself. I could understand if 10 others had fired on it too & nobody sure who got it then who'd be decorated. But singled out seems conclusive. No award sets the bar rather high!

[josquin]

Cpl. Usher may have been:

C/384 George Usher, Acting Corporal with KRRC. His Medal Index Card is at the National Archives at WO 372/20/130894.

Trelawney

[Chris Noble]

Good evening Trelawney.

Just had a look at Usher's Card, no mention of an award, however, this is not uncommon in this Card Index. London Gazette, of which I have not expanded my search criteria, may prove to be conclusive.

Best wishes.

Chris.

[josquin]

Greetings Chris.

There is a thread about Vz.Fl.Mst. Max Winkelmann on The Aerodrome Forum site ("Vfmst Max Winkelmann--Jasta 5" 10 November 2012)

that includes a photo and some service details, but no mention of the events of 26 January 1917. Winkelmann was a navy pilot with

KEK Ost prior to being attached to Jasta 5. He was promoted to Vz.Fl.Mst. on 27 June 1916. An incident of great interest, surely--I hope

more of the story is forthcoming.

Best regards,

Trelawney

[MBrockway]

No record of any award to Cpl. Usher in the KRRC sources.

The KRRC Chronicle records

'The star performance of the month was the "grassing" of a Boche plane in our lines by Corporal Usher and his Lewis gun team; the pilot was made a prisoner - a good performance.'

Good markmanship was of course de rigeur in a rifles regiment, hence why no special award perhaps ;-)

During this period 10/KRRC were either in the front line or Bronfay Farm or in support at Fregicourt.

[Loader]

Mentions a Lewis Gun Team. So maybe as I said before since a team involved they wouldn't decorate all of them so chose to do none of them. Still sad, what a boost to morale if Usher had been awarded a MM as an honor tot he whole team for the action. Still in my view to bring down an enemy aircraft seems to merit an award if done by infantry with no special AA training. At least he got written up in the journal.

[MBrockway]

Surely the Lewis Gun School courses would have included AA training?

I think in the KRRC would have regarded "grassing" a Boche plane as a skilful feat of arms, but front line 'Business As Usual' rather than a demonstration of exceptional gallantry meriting an MM.

Seeing a Boche plane downed and the pilot captured would have been in of itself a morale boost to the whole battalion.

[MBrockway]

Cpl. Usher may have been:

C/384 George Usher, Acting Corporal with KRRC. His Medal Index Card is at the National Archives at WO 372/20/130894.

Trelawney

Trelawney,

How have you arrived at C/384 George Usher being the right man?

We know a Corporal Usher from 10/KRRC lead the Lewis Gun team that "grassed" the enemy plane.

C/384 George Usher has a service number typically indicating 16/KRRC and his MIC Embarkation Date of 16 Nov 1915 is also that of 16/KRRC. His MIC has him ending the war as Acting Corporal.

As I have already stated, it is perfectly possible he transferred from 16/KRRC to 10/KRRC later in the war. This could easily be checked by a look up of the BWM/VM medal roll which will show his KRR battalions.

However there is also R/2742 John W Usher.

His MIC shows him ending the war as a Serjeant and his 21 Jul 1915 Embarkation Date suggests he went out with 10/KRRC or 11/KRRC.

How have you eliminated R/2742 John W Usher from being the Corporal i/c of the 10/KRRC LG team?

There are a few other Ushers in the KRR's ...

R/37229, Charles Edward Percival Usher, 16/KRRC - KiA 13 Apr 1918

A/202679, Francis Robert Usher, 10/KRRC, later 13/KRRC - did not arrive in France until 08 Sep 1917

3933, Frank Usher, 6/KRRC (Special Reserve), enlisted as a Regular into 2/York & Lancaster Regt in Jan 1912

C/1043, William Usher, probably 16/KRRC - discharged 29 May 1916 with SWB, due to sickness

R/39602, Almen J Usher - embarked after 31 Dec 1915, no further info

Cheers,

Mark

[Chris Noble]

Now thats a good point Mark. Without looking at any notes, I do believe the War Diary of the 10th K.R.R.C. mentions many men, presumably, posted to this, i.e. the 10th after previous service with the K.R.R.C.. If memory serves me well ."A Good Lot Who Had Been Out Before.."

Best wishes to you Mark, as always.

Chris.

[josquin]

Mark and Chris,

I did not eliminate John W. Usher as a candidate for downing Max Winkelmann. In post #6 above, I stated that the "Cpl. Usher" mentioned in the War Diary

may have been George Usher. My reason for asking for more information from those knowledgeable about the K.R.R.C. was partly to learn whether others

were possibilities, as well. George Usher was the only Usher for whom I located a K.R.R.C. MIC, but I suspected there were others. Indeed, there were--

without service records, this may not be a problem we can sort-out. Again, I appreciate the clarifications and the additional information.

Best regards,

Trelawney

[MBrockway]

Apologies - I came into this interesting incident via the other thread - Acting Cpl. George Usher---King's Royal Rifle Corps - where the identification of "Corporal Usher" as C/384 A/Cpl George Usher certainly appeared more conclusive.

Re-reading the other thread with more of a grasp on how the research has unfolded, you have not actually said categorically that C/384 George Usher is the correct man, only that you were after further detail on him.

I have read through the whole of the 10/KRRC Battalion War Record in the 1916 and 1917 editions of the KRRC Chronicle in the hope of finding another reference to "Corporal Usher" where his forename is given - no luck, so no shortcut to the answer there!.

With hindsight it were better perhaps to have asked for KRRC specialists to volunteer info on all Ushers in the KRR's

I found six MIC's on Ancestry for USHER in the KRR's ...

#1 - USHER, Almen J, Rfn, R/39602
#2 - USHER, Charles Edward Percival, Rfn, R/37229
#3 - USHER, Francis Robert, Rfn, A/202679
#4 - USHER, George, A/Cpl, C/384
#5 - USHER, John W, Sjt, R/2742
#6 - USHER, William, Rfn, C/1043

Also a service record for ...

#3a - USHER, Frank, 3933, 6/KRRC (Special Reserve)

Our goal is to match one of these with a Corporal Usher who was in 10/KRRC on 26 Jan 1917.

#3 - USHER, Francis Robert, Rfn, A/202679 can be eliminated as he did not arrive in France until 08 Sep 1918, long after the date of the action against the German plane on 26 Jan 1917.

I investigated #3a - USHER, Frank, 3933, 6/KRRC (Special Reserve) - as I considered he might be the same man as #3 - USHER, Francis Robert, Rfn, A/202679. The A/ prefix early in the war was used for returning reservists whose number had been re-allocated. 3933 Frank Usher enlisted into the Special Reserve with the KRRC's 6th Btn in 1910, but after 18 months decided the army life suited him and he converted to a Regular re-enlisting into the 2nd Btn York & Lancaster Regt on 24 Jan 1912. He went out as an Old Contemptible and was reported MiA on 18 Oct 1914 and officially presumed dead in March 1916. Definitely not our Corporal Usher.

#6 - USHER, William, Rfn, C/1043 can be eliminated as he was discharged with a Silver War Badge due to sickness on 29 May 1916.

Of the other Ushers, I could not find anything which conclusively eliminated them, so we have to fall back on the balance of probabilities ... pending someone doing a BWM/VM medal roll look-up at Kew..

#2 - USHER, Charles Edward Percival, Rfn, R/37229 was a mid war recruit who went through the Training Reserve at Seaford indicating enlistment after Aug 1916 and making it unlikely (but not impossible) that he would be a Corporal leading a Lewis Gun team in January 1917. I do not have an embarkation date, but he was killed in action with 16/KRRC on 13 Apr 1918 with rank of Rifleman. I cannot be certain he did not spend some time in 10/KRRC before he was KiA with 16/KRRC, nor that he was not demoted before he was killed, however I feel 90% confident R/37229 Charles Usher is not our man.

I could only find an MIC as evidence for #1 - USHER, Almen J, Rfn, R/39602. He had no 1914-15 Star entitlement so he went out after 1915. His R/39602 service number would indicate a mid war enlistment similar to #2 Charles Usher. He ended the war as a Rifleman. That's pretty much all I can glean from his MIC alone. The medal roll will show his battalion. On grounds of a probable 1916 enlistment and his rank at the end of the war, I'm 60% confident he is not our man.

That leaves #4 - USHER, George, A/Cpl, C/384 and #5 - USHER, John W, Sjt, R/2742. I could find no service record for either of them and they both survived the war, so until someone looks up their BWM/VM medal roll entries at Kew, their MIC's are all we have to go on.

#4 - USHER, George, A/Cpl, C/384. Has 1914-15 Star entitlement with a Qualifying Date of 16 Nov 1915, which matches when 16/KRRC went out. He has a C prefix service number in the range allocated to 16/KRRC and 384 is early in the range suggesting he is likely to have been a former member of the Church Lad's Brigade. He ended the war as an Acting Corporal.

#5 - USHER, John W, Sjt, R/2742 also has 1914-15 Star entitlement and a Qualifying Date of 21 Jul 1915. This matches the 59th Brigade, 20th (Light) Division battalions - 10/KRRC and 11/KRRC. The service number sequence indicates he was an early Kitchener volunteer. He ended the war as a Serjeant.

It is entirely possible that C/384 George Usher transferred to 10/KRRC from 16/KRRC before January 1917 and R/2742 John W Usher is equally as likely to have been in 11/KRRC as 10/KRRC, but on the grounds that we are seeking an NCO who was in 10/KRRC in Jan 1917, my vote goes on R/2742 Sjt John W Usher being our "Corporal Usher"

If someone can do a British War Medal/Victory Medal roll look-up of the four Ushers we cannot eliminate so far, then we will get their KRRC battalions and that's likely to narrow it down considerably and possibly even identify the man conclusively.

The roll is in Service Number order as follows and I've added the roll reference & TNA catalogue references with links for convenience.

#4 - C/384, USHER, George, A/Cpl - M/101B/4 p.512, TNA Ref WO 329/1518: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=C4436736
#5 - R/2742, USHER, John W, Sjt - M/101B/19 p.2448, TNA Ref WO 329/1525: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=C4436743
#2 - R/37229, USHER, Charles Edward Percival, Rfn - M/101B/33 p.4119, TNA Ref WO 329/1530: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=C4436748
#1 - R/39602, USHER, Almen J, Rfn - M/101B/34 p.4255, TNA Ref WO 329/1531: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=C4436749

Cheers,

Mark

[MBrockway]

Best wishes to you Mark, as always.

Chris.

Likewise Chris :-)

[josquin]

Mark,

As you said, rightly, I should have asked about ALL the KRRC Ushers PRIOR to making assumptions about who brought down Winkelmann.

A good lesson for me, as you tactfully suggest!

Your excellent post (# 15) clarifies the possibilities considerably and makes a strong case for John or George as the likely candidates.

I agree that the details favor John. The BWM/VM medal rolls are the next step, as you say, so I hope a Forum pal visiting Kew can look

this up for us (I'm not in the U.K., regrettably).

Best regards,

Trelawney

[MBrockway]

I found six MIC's on Ancestry for USHER in the KRR's ...

#1 - USHER, Almen J, Rfn, R/39602

#2 - USHER, Charles Edward Percival, Rfn, R/37229

#3 - USHER, Francis Robert, Rfn, A/202679

#4 - USHER, George, A/Cpl, C/384

#5 - USHER, John W, Sjt, R/2742

#6 - USHER, William, Rfn, C/1043

For info, I have just cross-referenced this list with an MIC search on the TNA catalogue (Ancestry & TNA do not always match) and there are no additional candidates.

[josquin]

Mark,

C.E.P. Usher is listed in SDGW as "Charles Edward Percival Usher" but the BMD says "Charles Edwin Percival Usher" for a 1 Quarter 1898 birth

registered at Fulham, London. The 1911 Census lists a "Charles Percival Usher" born "about 1898" as living in Middlesex (London, Middlesex?).

A family tree posted on Ancestry.com lists "Charles Edwin Percival Usher" and lists the 1918 death in France. The reason I mention this, other

than to correct a possible naming error, is to suggest that his enlistment date may be somewhat later than August, 1916 if he became 18 years

of age around January, 1917 or late in the preceding year. Less likely, I suspect, that he would be leading a Lewis Gun team in France, in

January, 1917. Unless he misrepresented his age, of course. Thank you for posting a Medal Roll look-up request on the Forum--you beat me

to the task by a day!

Best regards,

Trelawney

[MBrockway]

#2 - USHER, Charles Edward Percival, Rfn, R/37229 was a mid war recruit who went through the Training Reserve at Seaford indicating enlistment after Aug 1916 and making it unlikely (but not impossible) that he would be a Corporal leading a Lewis Gun team in January 1917. I do not have an embarkation date, but he was killed in action with 16/KRRC on 13 Apr 1918 with rank of Rifleman. I cannot be certain he did not spend some time in 10/KRRC before he was KiA with 16/KRRC, nor that he was not demoted before he was killed, however I feel 90% confident R/37229 Charles Usher is not our man.

Mark,

C.E.P. Usher is listed in SDGW as "Charles Edward Percival Usher" but the BMD says "Charles Edwin Percival Usher" for a 1 Quarter 1898 birth

registered at Fulham, London. The 1911 Census lists a "Charles Percival Usher" born "about 1898" as living in Middlesex (London, Middlesex?).

A family tree posted on Ancestry.com lists "Charles Edwin Percival Usher" and lists the 1918 death in France. The reason I mention this, other

than to correct a possible naming error, is to suggest that his enlistment date may be somewhat later than August, 1916 if he became 18 years

of age around January, 1917 or late in the preceding year. Less likely, I suspect, that he would be leading a Lewis Gun team in France, in

January, 1917. Unless he misrepresented his age, of course.

Trelawney

I was careful to state "after Aug 1916" as this was when the Training Reserve was set up and SDGW lists his TR service number. Even if he had already been in one of the KRRC's training battalions on 01 Sep 1916, he must have passed out after 01 Sep 1916 making it unlikely (but not impossible) he would be a Corporal on the Front Line by January 1917,

If his birth was registered in Q1 1898, he most likely was born between Dec 1897 and March 1898 meaning he would probably reach his 18th birthday between Dec 1915 and March 1916. Not sure where you've got a Jan 1917 18th birthday from?

Whatever, I was already 90% confident he is not our man.

Cheers,

Mark

[josquin]

Mark,

I had meant to write his 19th birthday around January 1917, in view of the practice of not sending men overseas until they had attained the age of 19,

and how that made it unlikely that he was commanding a Lewis Gun team at the front at that time.

But perhaps that practice did not hold for those entering the ranks by this time, as well.

Best regards,

Trelawney