Suffolk Regiment - Battalion conundrum!

[SFayers]

Hi folks,

I don't know if any of the Pals might be able to shed some light here.

My late step-mum's uncle (Launcelot Andrews - see my signature below) died of wounds on 17th October 1917 and is buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery. As far as I'm aware his service records no longer exist (well, at least they're not among the 'Andrews' service papers currently available on Ancestry).

So here's my problem:

According to the CWGC he was with the 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment. This makes some sense as at the time the 11th Suffolks were based in the Proven area carrying out road maintainence tasks in the Ypres salient. Here they lost a number of men due to shelling and machine gun fire.

The SDGW, however, states that Launcelot was in the 2nd Battalion! Was the 2nd Battalion involved in the 3rd Ypres? Could it be that he was transferred from either battalion to the other, or could one or the other CWGC / SDGW entries be incorrect?

As far as I can gather, Launcelot's service number seems fairly consistent with later 1916 / early 1917 replacements who went into the 2nd, 1/4th, 7th, 9th and 11th Battalions (that's from comparing with men with similar service numbers who also died) - of course there may have been other Battalions. So either 11th or 2nd Battalion is a possibility!

I only recently came across Launcelot's SDGW entry, so now I'm mightily confused!

Any thoughts or suggestions, as always, greatly appreciated!

Best regards

Steve

[Steven Broomfield]

Looking at the Regimental History, it seems the 2nd Battalion left the Salient at the end of September, after a nasty do on the Ypres-Roulers railway on the 26th, moving down to the Bullecourt area.

The 11th Battalion were, as you say, in the Proven area.

My money would be on the 11th Battalion; he might have been wounded, I suppose, with the 2nd on the 26th September, though!

[SFayers]

Thanks for that Steven,

Very useful info and much appreciated! I would guess if he had been wounded on the 26th he'd have been further back down the the casualty evacuation chain than Dozinghem by the time he died on the 17th October (3 weeks later) - but not impossible I suppose. As you say, the 11th Battalion seems a better bet!

I wonder where the 2nd Battalion reference on the SDGW came from?

cheers

Steve

[Stebie9173]

My great-uncle Percy Brooksbank was wounded with the 11th at Proven on 9-10-1917.

He was treated at 61 CCS at Dozinghem - which buried to the cemetery that your relative was buried at. I think it more than likely that he was with the 11th and not the 2nd.

Also, the service records for 45090 Charles Henry Bendell, show him called up from Reserve after attesting in December 1915. Mobilised on 3-1-1917, he was posted to the 3rd Suffolks on 5-1-1917. Posted back to the Depot on 20-3-1917, he went to France on 21-3-1917 to 15 infantry Base Depot, Beaumaris, and was transferred to the 11th Battalion on 20-4-1917. He joined the 11th battalion "in the Field" on 23-4-1917 - along with great-uncle Percy.... I wonder if Launcelot was with them. It seems a decent chance that he might have been.

If you find out whether the Draft joined the battalion before or after the 23-4-1917 attack on Rouex, I will be pleased to be informed!

Steve.

[SFayers]

Hi Steve,

That's interesting info, thanks very much. I wonder if a whole bunch of the '45000' men were posted to Beaumaris at the same time, and from the Base Depot there sent onto the different Suffolk Battalions? Certainly if Charles Bendell was mobilised at the begining of January 1917, I'd think it likely my man was mobilised about the same time.

If I do discover anything else (my fingers are always crossed!) I'll let you know!

cheers

Steve

[Stebie9173]

My great uncle seems to have been destined to join the 9th battalion before diverted at the Base Depot to the 11th Battalion (he arrived in France on the 29th March 1917). I assume that some of the 45000 men would be fairly new recruits and getting some extra training at the Base Depot before being allocated to a battalion.

I would think that it was likely that Launcelot was mobilised at about the time that Bendell was (or at least transferred to the Suffolk Regulars - he would have changed numbers if transferred from a T.F. Suffolks battalion, or indeed a different regiment).

And excuse my thickness - the attack on the Chemical Works at Rouex was on the 28th of April, not the 23rd, so they would probably have been in action there.

Steve.

[SFayers]

Thanks again Steve,

I'm pretty sure Launcelot went out as a recruit - I've found no evidence so far to suggest he was previously in another Suffolk Battalion or other regiment.

cheers

Steve