abbrover Posted 12 August , 2009 Share Posted 12 August , 2009 I am looking for any information on, and hopefully a photograph of, Rifleman John W Hughes 3rd Batt. King's Royal Rifle Corps. He died on 22 May 1917 and is buried in Mikra Cemetery. I cannot find his MIC or anything else about him other than he was the son of Jospeh and Elizabeth Hughes of Bromborough. All help gratefully received thanks Judith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 12 August , 2009 Share Posted 12 August , 2009 Judith After cross referencing the name & cemetery, I found him on the CWGC site with serial number 9055...... listed as John William Hughes. That serial number does bring him up on the MIC on Ancestry, but as William Hughes........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 12 August , 2009 Share Posted 12 August , 2009 Soldiers Died cd entry also shows him as William Hughes together with his place of enlistment etc...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 13 August , 2009 Author Share Posted 13 August , 2009 Thank you. Why do these people have a first name and then use their middle name, was it just to confuse me!! I should have thought to look under W as I have two brothers myself that use their middle names so I shouldn't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 30 August , 2009 Author Share Posted 30 August , 2009 Can any experts in the KRRC give me any idea what was happening around the period that John William Hughes was injured and later died of his wounds. I am giving a talk on the war memorial at my local church on Saturday to raise funds for the church institute and I would like to say something on William and his brother George as they are both named on their mother's headstone which is close to the memorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 31 August , 2009 Share Posted 31 August , 2009 Judith, I'm afraid the 1917 KRRC Chronicle entries for 3rd KRRC are not very informative At this time 3/KRRC were occupying well engineered trenches near the mouth of the River Struma between Lake Tahinos and the sea. 3/KRRC & 2/KSLI were on the E (or enemy) bank connected to the rest of the Brigade, 4/RB & 4/KRRC, on the W bank by a road bridge, a Royal Engineers pontoon bridge, and a footbridge built on the ruined piers of a bridge that had been washed away. This latter was washed away in the winter floods of early 1917 however. These positions formed the extreme right of the Allied position in Macedonia. By this stage they were opposed by Turkish forces. The lines were thinly held and any advance inland was difficult as it extended their supply lines and took them further away from their only heavy artillery, which was in the form of naval guns on ships and monitors in the Aegean. Artillery bombardments were on a much smaller scale than in France & Flanders. The two front lines were about two and a half miles apart, but the terrain was mountainous and difficult and there was a lot of patrol activity and occasional large scale raiding (in mobile columns) by both sides leading to the majority of the battle casualties. Malaria however was a very serious problem and large numbers of men went sick. In the period leading up to 22 May 1917 there is mention of increasing patrol activity but nothing more specific and Rfn Hughes is not mentioned by name and there is no list of casualties ... or even casualty figures. I did notice a Rfn Hughes was a member of a party from 3/KRRC going on leave in the ship Princess Alberta which on 20th Feb 1917 tragically hit a mine off the Island of Mudros between Stavros and Salonika and quickly sank with heavy loss of life. This Rfn Hughes was one of those who survived. Unfortunately no Given Name nor Service Number is listed, so I cannot say whether he is our man. It is a common surname. I think you will need to get hold of the War Diary to get any more detail. Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 31 August , 2009 Author Share Posted 31 August , 2009 Thanks Mark, it gives me a rough idea of what he was doing. I am going to the NA at the end of September, I've never been before. I've looked on the website and I assume the document I want is WO95/4889? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 5 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 5 October , 2009 I visited the NA last week and the war diary says Rfn Hughes was injured on 4th May when 'he tripped over our bomb trap near the Drama Road'. Would I be right in assuming that if his MIC says he went to France on 20.12.14, he was a probably a regular in the army before war broke out? Don't hold your breath but I was told by a member of staff at the NA last week that the remaining service papers are due to go on ancestry in January Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 6 October , 2009 Share Posted 6 October , 2009 Would I be right in assuming that if his MIC says he went to France on 20.12.14, he was a probably a regular in the army before war broke out? Judith, His Service Number certainly indicates he was a pre-War regular. Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 6 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 6 October , 2009 Thanks Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 6 October , 2009 Share Posted 6 October , 2009 Would I be right in assuming that if his MIC says he went to France on 20.12.14, he was a probably a regular in the army before war broke out? Judith, Some more information for you. His Enlistment Date based on nearby 3rd Battalion Service Numbers would have been between 05 Nov 1908 and 11 Nov 1908. His Embarkation Date in France of 20 Dec 1914 is consistent with 3/KRRC's departure for France on 20 Dec 1914 and arrival at Le Havre on 21 Dec 1914. Prior to this, the battalion had been part of the Meerut Division in India, but had been detached and remained there as area troops when the rest of that Division had left. 3/KRRC left Bombay about 15 Oct 1914 arriving at Plymouth on 18 Nov 1914. The 4th Battalion travelled back with them. They then moved to Winchester were they were brigaded with 4/KRRC, 4/RB, 2/KSLI and the PPCLI to form 80th Brigade within 27th Division, embarking for France on 20 Dec 1914 as described above. See the Mother Site for details of 27th Division's history. Between Rfn Hughes' probable enlistment in Nov 1908 and the outbreak of the War, 3/KRRC were in Malta and Crete (1908-1910) then in India (1910-1914). Rfn Hughes is unlikely therefore to appear in the 1911 Census. HTH! Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 6 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 6 October , 2009 Thanks Mark I haven't found him on the 1911 census and now I know why. His older brother, Joseph George, is shown on the 1901 census as a soldier so it muxt have run in the family. George had become a postman by 1911 and was married but he must have enlisted again as soon as the war begain or even earlier in 2nd Btn Cheshire Regiment as he went to France in January 1915. Sadly he was killed on 5th May 1915 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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