Poohnut Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 I have discovered some information regarding my great grandfather, but have many questions I would love answers to. The information I have is as follows: G/11587 Pte Capon Harold Richmond joined The Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) c. Nov 1915; served in France/Flanders with 6th Battalion; transferred to Labour Corps - new number 369864, 285 Area Employment Company. Capon died 04.10.18 and is buried at Villiers-Bretonneux Military Cemetary, Plot XIV, Row AA, Grave 5. Apparently there ia a 'gap' where no records of men who were wounded was recorded from May-Aug 1917 - at a time when 6th Batt/RWK suffered nearly 400 casualties. I understand men who were wounded often found themselves posted to the Labour Corps, which could explain his transfer. I have yet to visit Kew in the hope his service records have survived, but wonder if anyone knows how I can find out how he was injured and exactly why he was tranferred. My great grandmother always said Capon died in Amiens, but not as a result of combat. How can I find out exactly how he died? Lastly, How can I obtain a copy of his death certificate. Many thanks Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procat Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Hi Bev, Soldiers Died Great War records: Name: Richmond Capon Rank: L/Cpl Regt etc: Labour Corps Born: St Mary Cray, Kent Enlisted: Chatham, Kent Residence: Luton, Chatham, Kent Died: 4 Oct 18 How: Died Theatre: France & Flanders Notes: Formerly 11587, R.W. Kent Regt, For some reason he does not appear in the overseas deaths indexes. Unfortunately these indexes are not available to be searched by an individual name. You need to look at a range. If he was recorded under another surname this is going to involve trawling through the pages. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Hi Bev, I had a look online at Ancestry and I am sorry to say his service record does not appear to have survived. As you are probably aware the 6th Bn were involved in the fighting at Arras in the middle of 1917 - 3rd May being a particularly bad day for the bttn. The Bttn War Diary contained records of casualties up to about the Somme and then as a general rule fo thumb the practice was ceased due to numbers of casualties. I assume his wound led him to be physically regraded, hence his transfer to the Labour Corps. Do you have a photo of him by any chance? Regards, Jonathan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivor Lee Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Bev I will PM yoou the information there is on 285 Company. Not a great deal although the endtry for February 1918 will give you a good idea of the type of work the company did. Ivor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westkent78 Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Bev, Don't give up hope on his service file turning up. Ancestry doesn't have him, as Jonathan has stated, but they have only posted A-H so he may yet appear. Best regards, Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 23 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Hi Bev, I had a look online at Ancestry and I am sorry to say his service record does not appear to have survived. As you are probably aware the 6th Bn were involved in the fighting at Arras in the middle of 1917 - 3rd May being a particularly bad day for the bttn. The Bttn War Diary contained records of casualties up to about the Somme and then as a general rule fo thumb the practice was ceased due to numbers of casualties. I assume his wound led him to be physically regraded, hence his transfer to the Labour Corps. Do you have a photo of him by any chance? Regards, Jonathan S Hi Jonathan, Thank you for the information. I wasn't aware Capon fought at Arras, so I've learnt something new. I do have a photo of him, although it is not a formal one - but I wish it was. I also have a photo of a convalesent home in Sevenoaks which I presume he is in it as it belonged to my great grandmother. They are not on my computer at the moment but I will do it as soon as I can for you to have a look. Regards Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 23 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Bev, Don't give up hope on his service file turning up. Ancestry doesn't have him, as Jonathan has stated, but they have only posted A-H so he may yet appear. Best regards, Matthew Thank you so much Matthew. I must admit I sighed deeply when I read Jonathan's post as I am trying to hold on - and hope - Capon's records were some of the lucky ones to have survived. Now I can keep my fingers crossed! Regards Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Bev - thanks! Thats very kind of you. Regards, Jonathan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 23 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Bev I will PM yoou the information there is on 285 Company. Not a great deal although the endtry for February 1918 will give you a good idea of the type of work the company did. Ivor Hi Ivor I'm really sorry but I deleted the information you sent me by mistake. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to send it again please. Many thanks Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apwright Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 His death certificate reference from GRO WAR DEATHS ARMY OTHER RANKS (1914 to 1921), p. 3048: RICHMOND Capon, Pte, 369864 Lab Cps, Year 1918, Vol. M.2, Page 365 You can use this to order his death certificate, though someone else will have to tell you how - I've never done it! Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procat Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Sorry Bev, Adrian is correct. I confused his first and last name when I searched for him. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivor Lee Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Bev On its way Ivor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Bev On its way Ivor Thanks for that Ivor. I've got it this time. Regards Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 His death certificate reference from GRO WAR DEATHS ARMY OTHER RANKS (1914 to 1921), p. 3048: RICHMOND Capon, Pte, 369864 Lab Cps, Year 1918, Vol. M.2, Page 365 You can use this to order his death certificate, though someone else will have to tell you how - I've never done it! Adrian That's great Adrian. Thank you. Do you know by any chance who would know how I can get Capon's death certificate? Regards Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Hi Jonathan, Thank you for the information. I wasn't aware Capon fought at Arras, so I've learnt something new. I do have a photo of him, although it is not a formal one - but I wish it was. I also have a photo of a convalesent home in Sevenoaks which I presume he is in it as it belonged to my great grandmother. They are not on my computer at the moment but I will do it as soon as I can for you to have a look. Regards Bev Me again Jonathan, I've had a thought. I have a copy of Capon's Medal Card. As this exists do you think his sevice records would have too (she says with fingers crossed!)? Would they have been together? Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procat Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 That's great Adrian. Thank you. Do you know by any chance who would know how I can get Capon's death certificate? Regards Bev You can order it from the GRO Bev. Look on the right under 'Order Certificates' then select 'Order overseas certificates' Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procat Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Me again Jonathan, I've had a thought. I have a copy of Capon's Medal Card. As this exists do you think his sevice records would have too (she says with fingers crossed!)? Would they have been together? Bev The fact that a Medal Card survived does not mean that the service record also survived. They were not stored 'together'. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohnut Posted 25 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Hi Bev, Soldiers Died Great War records: Name: Richmond Capon Rank: L/Cpl Regt etc: Labour Corps Born: St Mary Cray, Kent Enlisted: Chatham, Kent Residence: Luton, Chatham, Kent Died: 4 Oct 18 How: Died Theatre: France & Flanders Notes: Formerly 11587, R.W. Kent Regt, For some reason he does not appear in the overseas deaths indexes. Unfortunately these indexes are not available to be searched by an individual name. You need to look at a range. If he was recorded under another surname this is going to involve trawling through the pages. Doug Hi Doug I've just noticed Capon was recorded as L/Cpl in the records you provided. I have only ever known him to be a Pte and born in Leeds, Yorkshire and not St. Marys Cray, Kent. Have you got any ideas why these two peices of information are different? Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procat Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Hi Bev, The records may have been confused when they were transcribed. or perhaps he had some family secrets. Here is the image from SDGW: Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now