21st Battalion KRRC - the original Yeomen

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Thanks Andrew: yes, I have seen the Annals of the KRRC for 1917 but have only really read the section on Nieuport Bains properly (another wipe-out but for the 2nd Battalion) apart from the 21st Bn parts because two of 'my' men were there.

And thanks Chris - was this the first you knew, then, that Thomas Tudor Thorp had an Uncle Collingwood in the Yeoman Rifles, or had you found him?

Everything - well, nearly everything - has a Yeoman Rifles connection if you look hard enough; it's like 'the six degrees of separation'!

Liz

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Temporary Second Lieutenant (later Captain) George Frederick Howard

Wounded in 1916 – where?

G F Howard, standing between Eden and John M ('Darkie') Cole in the back row of the group photo, is the only junior officer who can be identified with Dennis's 'A Howard of Sheffield', attached to A Company (p.11). He lived in Sheffield later in life, but he was born on 18 October 1894 in Acomb, on the western outskirts of York, and was in Dacre House, Westbourne Road, Scarborough with his family, governess and four servants in 1901. I have not found George in the 1911 census records but his brother Richard was still in Scarborough.

His father, Frederick Compton Howard, was a Lt-Col in The Rifle Brigade, Hon. Colonel in the 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment and Justice of the Peace for the West Riding; his mother, Ann Augusta nee Hitchcock, was the daughter of a physician, born in Winchester – an army family too? The Howard family had been in India, where the two eldest children, Grace and Richard, were born in about 1878 and 1880. Evelyn and Helen were born in Scotland in 1884 and 1888, Dorothy in Winchester in 1890 and George in Yorkshire. They were staying with the Hitchcocks at Weeke, Winchester in 1881 and in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, in 1891, before moving to Yorkshire.

Lt-Col Frederick Compton Howard, though not titled, was extremely well-connected. His mother, Lady Fanny Cavendish, was the sister of the seventh Duke of Devonshire. His father's sister, Louisa Blanche Howard, had married Cecil George Savile Foljambe, 1st Earl of Liverpool and our Major the Hon.Gerald WFS. Foljambe's father (www.thepeerage.com). So we have here another officer in the Yeoman Rifles aristocratic network.

George Frederick Howard was commissioned into the Territorial Force, the Scarborough-based 5th battalion of Alexandra Princess of Wales' Own (Yorkshire Regiment), in early 1913, but stayed only a few months:

Times Mar 29 1913 quotes LG 28 March 1913

5th Batt Alexandra Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)

The appointment of the following Sec. Lieuts which was announced in the London Gazette of Feb 11, bears the date now state against their names:

…G.F. Howard (Jan 5)

Times 19 July 1913 quotes LG 18 July 1913

Sec. Lieut. G.F. Howard resigns his commission (July 19th)

I do not know what he was doing for the next three years. As he was in India in 1922, and his family had been in India, I wonder whether he came back from there – perhaps from an Indian Civil service post. (This would be similar to Hervey, who was in Fiji.) But this is just a guess: I haven't seen his record.

London Gazette 29474 of 11th February 1916, Supp. 14th Feb. p. 1669

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

…

The undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants, from a Reserve Battalion, to be temporary Second Lieutenants.

Dated 2nd February, 1916, but with seniority from the dates specified against their names: —

…

George F. Howard, 11th August, 1915.

Dennis puts Howard in A company, which fits his place of birth and residence. His date of entry to France is shown on his MIC as 5.5.1916, as expected for an 'original' Yeoman Rifles officer, and he is on the 21/KRRC casualty list for 1916 (KRRC Chronicle 1916) but I do not know where or how he was wounded. He seems to have been back with the battalion, but this needs checking.

I haven't found the LG entries for his promotions to Temp. Lieut. and Capt. He ended the war, like C F Thorp (previous page) in the 51st Bn KRRC.

LG 9082 supplement, 1 August, 1918.

K. R. Rif. C.

Temp. Capt. G. F. Howard, from a Serv. Bn., to be temp. Capt. 4 Feb. 1918, with seniority 15 June 1917.

LG 31321 3 December 1918 Supp 6 Dec

Temp. Capt. G. F. Howard (K.R. Rif. C.) to be Adjt., a Grad. Bn., K.R. Rif. C_

8 Sept. 1918.

London Gazette 31172 7 Feb 1919

K.R. Rif. C.

The undermentioned temp. Capts. are seconded for duty as specified against their names: —

15 Dec. 1918.

…

G. F. Howard, while empld. Adjt., 52nd Grad. Bn. K.R. Rif. C.

…

London Gazette 31321 29 April 1919

51st Grad. Bn., Yorks. L.I. 1 Mar. 1919.

Temp. Capt. G. F. Howard (K.R. Rif. C.(Serv. Bns)) ceases to be empld. as Adjt., 52nd Grad. Bn., K.R. Rif. C. 10 Mar. 1919

London Gazette 31953 11 March 1921

K.R.R.

…

Temp. Capt. G. F. Howard, relinquishes his commission on completion of service, 13 Feb. 1919, and retains the rank of Capt.

Captain Howard's MIC shows his address in 1922 as c/o Gwalior State Trust Ltd, Central India.

He married Jane Anne Scott Myrtle in Morningside Parish Church, Edinburgh in February 1929: the Times notice describes him still as Capt, 60th Rifles. Mr and Mrs GF Howard were living in Sheffield in 1946 (Times marriage announcement for their daughter) and he died in Sheffield on 18 May 1957, aged 62. (the Peerage website, Times digital archive and death record on Ancestry.)

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[Liz in Eastbourne]

The remaining officers in the photograph are men about whom I have not found a great deal or who seem to have spent relatively little time with the battalion, as far as I can tell. However, for the sake of completeness and because it might fill in a gap for someone else researching these officers, or someone else might be able to fill in the gaps for me, I'm going to mention what I know. EDIT This officer had more time with the battalion than I first thought.

Temporary Captain John A Thompson, later Major, of the Royal Sussex Regiment

Captain John A Thompson is sitting next to Feversham. He was adjutant according to the caption, but only Captain FOS Honey is mentioned as adjutant by Eden and Dennis. Thompson's own regiment is given by the London Gazette, which also confirms that he was adjutant:

London Gazette 29479 18 Feb 1916

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

Lieutenant (temporary Captain) John A.Thompson

(The Royal Sussex Regiment) to be Adjutant.

Dated 10th January,1916.

I am puzzled that he is listed as a temporary Captain when he was clearly a regular army officer.EDIT I have become unpuzzled after going back to the advice I was given in the recent thread on Temporary Promotions. He was a lieutenant as a career army officer with a promotion to captain as an officer in a New Army battalion.

From information from the West Sussex Record Office at Chichester, which keeps the Royal Sussex Regiment's archives, and from The History of the 7th (Service) Battalion the Royal Sussex Regiment 1914-1919,¹ a little of his career can be pieced together. I have had no luck at all with Ancestry searches.

He had been in India with the 1st Bn The Royal Sussex Regiment, and was home on leave when war broke out, so he was transferred to the new 7th (Service) Battalion, founded at Chichester on 12 August 1914. He was commanding officer of C Company when the battalion went to France in May 1915, but by August he had 'gone sick'. Presumably he had recovered by the time he was attached to the Yeoman Rifles, but I have found no more about his time with the battalion.

EDIT I have since found from an officer diary that he did go to France with the Yeoman Rifles but while they were at Plug Street he had an accident when his horse stumbled and so went back to England. Honey was however only Acting Adjutant: Eden's appointment as adjutant after Flers is recorded in the LG as taking over from Thompson. He came back to spend a brief period as 2i/c of the battalion after Gird Ridge.

There is a reference to him, as Captain J A Thompson, in the 1st Battalion Record of Service in 1921(RSR Ms1/1 p.190).

The WSRO has a group photograph showing him, with his wife, with the 2nd Battalion at Singapore at Christmas 1923 (RSR Ph 2/34 p. 58).

His death, as Major J.A. Thompson, is recorded in the regimental journal, the Roussillon Gazette, as occurring on 1 May 1979, but with no obituary².

¹Compiled by a Committee of officers of the Battalion, edited by Owen Rutter and published by Times Publishing Co 1934

²This information has kindly been provided by the WSRO.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[Liz in Eastbourne]

Temporary Lieutenant John Frederick Brodrick Ewen, later RFC and RAF

Ewen, on the far left of the middle row, is one of three officers in the photograph who ended the war in the RAF. He was born in 1893, and was the only son (or at all events the only surviving son, and possibly only child) of the Reverend John Norris Frederick Ewen, JP for Suffolk and Rector of Frostenden 1873 -90, and his wife Susan Isabella, who was from the Anglo-Irish Brodrick family of Co.Cork. The family lived in Reydon Hall, Wangford, Suffolk.

John Ewen's father died in 1908. In 1911 he was a 17-year-old student living with the Rev Cyril Henry Pritchard in Wiston Rectory, Steyning, Sussex, with one other boy, Bernard Antoine Jeffrey Chevalier Le Neve Foster (irrelevant, but I just can't resist the name) from Norfolk.

He was a Second Lieutenant (on probation) in the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), Special Reserve, when he was transferred to the Yeoman Rifles as a Temporary Second Lieutenant in 1915. His name appears with a large number of the other junior officer appointments, and he was quickly promoted Lieutenant with G.J.L. Burton, Leatham, Gregson, Sheardown and Thorp, who had all had some experience in other regiments.

London Gazette 29402 14 Dec 1915

The undermentioned temporary Second

Lieutenants to be temporary Second Lieutenants : —

…

Second Lieutenant (on probation) John

F. B. Ewen, from The Sherwood Foresters

(Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)

(Special Reserve). Dated 4th December,1915

LG 29426 31 Dec 1915

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

…

The appointments and transfers of the

undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants, notified in previous Gazettes, are antedated to the 29th September, 1915, but not to carry pay or allowances prior to the dates specified against their names: —

John F. B. Ewen. 4th December, 1915.

…

LG 29443 of 18 Jan 1916 Supp of 19 Jan p 818

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

The undermentioned temporary Second'

Lieutenant to be temporary Lieutenants: —

…

Dated 26th November, 1915.

John F. B. Ewen .

George D. Sheardown.…

After this date he may have served throughout 1916 with the Yeoman Rifles, but I have lost track of him until LG 29939 of 13 Feb. 1917. His name appears in a general list, not KRRC.

L G 29939 of 13 Feb 1917

The undermentioned temp. Lts. relinquish

the acting rank of Capt.: —

…

J. F. B. Ewen. 30th Oct. 1916

He has two MICs, one of which refers to Temp Capt J.F.B Ewen, General List - New Armies, being Mentioned in Dispatches

LG 29 May 1917

p 5315. His other MIC and the London Gazette show he was in the Royal Flying Corps before joining the Royal Air Force:

L G 30634 of 16 April 1918, Supplement 17 April, pp 4628-9

Flying Officers (Observers)

…

17th Mar. 1918…

With seniority from 30th Dec. 1917 : —

…

Temp. Lt. J. F. B. Ewen, Gen. List

After the war there are a few Times references to Mr JFB Ewen of Reydon Hall, Suffolk, but his occupation is not revealed. He gave the living of the rectory of Frostenden to the Rev D L Brereton, DSO in 1934, and in 1938 and 1939 he and his wife attended smart weddings in London.

He served in the RAF in the Second World War, with the service number 77381, from September 1940 (when he was almost 47), as Flying Officer and then Flight Lieutenant (LG 35065 of 4 February and LG35114 of 21 March 1941, LG 35618 of 31 July 1942).

Mrs Ewen was the daughter of Colonel Stanley Paterson of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, whose funeral she attended with her daughter in 1950. It appears from the Times engagement notice for Arthur John Stanley Ewen, son of Mr and Mrs JFB Ewen, in November 1965 that the Ewens had retired to Claremont, Cape Province, South Africa, as well as keeping a home at 9 Alexander Square, London.

(London Gazette, Ancestry, FindmyPast and Times Digital Archive.)

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[Liz in Eastbourne]

Lieutenant and Quartermaster George Edward Tarrant, later Flight Lieutenant and Quartermaster RAF

The second of the three men who went to the RAF, standing next to Potter in the back row, G E Tarrant looks older than many of the junior officers but I have found very little information about him. His MIC gives 6 April 1916 as his date of entry to France, suggesting that he did not remain with the Yeoman Rifles – unless he went a month early for some other reason. EDIT He did go to France for the Yeoman Rifles; he was with them at least until July 1916 when he is mentioned in another officer's diary, so possibly until the posting mentioned below.

The MIC also shows him as Lt and Quartermaster KRRC, and Flight Lt and Quartermaster RAF.

I have not managed to narrow down the George Tarrants in the Ancestry records to the right one, (I have now - see EDIT below) and this is the only Gazette entry I have found for him:

LG30151 26 June 1917

War Office,

26th June, 1917.

REGULAR FORCES.

GENERAL LIST

The undermentioned temp. Qr.-Mrs. and

Hon. Lts. to be temp. Qr.-Mrs. and Hon..

Lts.: —

…

G. E. Tarrant, from K.R.R.C.

Why is he a Temporary Quartermaster but an Hon Lieutenant?

The Times of 12 January 1921 quotes the previous day's Gazette listing of Lt G.E. Tarrant as unemployed, from the administrative list of the RAF.

His address in 1921 was 42 Durnsford Avenue, Wimbledon Park, London SW19. On 14 Sept 1939 his name appears in the legal notices as director of Henry's (Fruit) Ltd.

EDIT thanks to David's providing his birthdate I have now found that George was the son of a London coachman, Job Tarrant, and his wife Mary Ann, who in 1881 was having to live with another family as a nurse to their baby while five of her own children aged 5, 7, 10, 12 and 17 were at home with their father. In 1891 George was a merchant's clerk, aged 20, and I suspect that after this he joined the army and perhaps went overseas, as I haven't found him in 1901 or 1911.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

Ewen has an RAF service record online at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8214400 - this link may change as TNA are about to put higher res versions of the images up, but there's only four men with the surname Ewen. This suggests to me that he didn't have continuous service in the RAF, or his WWI record probably wouldn't be available. Without paying to download it, the only thing it tells us further is that he was born on 19 September 1893. I've noticed that WWI RFC officers were quite often actaully on the General List and attacehd to the RFC - there was probably some good (bureaucratic) reason at the time. As to his WWII service, if you page back to page697, you'll see his commission was in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch, so he wasn't flying (General Duties). I understand a number of WWI officers were employed as squadron intelligence officers and the like, briefing the pilots on missions and so on.

As to Tarrant, again an RAF record at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8304248, born 6 January 1871. Quartermasters were almost always promoted from the ranks, I think their commission was as quartermaster, and tehn they were given honorary rank (for pay purposes?), so you'd statr as quartermaster and honorary lieutenant, then get promoted to hon captain and possibly to hon major.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Many thanks for those helpful points, David. I'll be posting the third RAF man shortly. They are all quite different, and their cases made me wonder how these moves happened - whether the initiative came from the men themselves, or from the army.

EDIT Thanks for providing Tarrant's birth-date - it enabled me to find the right one in the ancestry records, so I've edited my original post, though I still can't find him in 1901 or 1911 and think he might have been overseas.

Do you know whether Tarrant as Quartermaster would have gone to France ahead of the battalion to deal with supplies etc? I just wondered if he could still have been with the 21/KRRC given his date of entry to France.

Liz

Edited 14 March , 2011 by Liz in Eastbourne

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Temporary Second Lieutenant Alexander Frederick Livingstone

(later Flying Officer and Captain, RFC, Flight Lieutenant RAF and MBE)

The third man I am discussing, but the first man to go to the RFC and RAF, was Alexander Livingstone, in the middle of the photo next to 2/Lt Jones.

He was born in Sydenham, Kent (outskirts of London) on 13 June 1885, the eldest son of Frederick Livingstone, East India Merchant, and his wife Ada. He had two younger brothers, Lionel and Stanley, and two younger sisters, Elsie and Mary. Alexander was a mercantile clerk in the 1901 (aged only 15) and commercial clerk in the 1911 census records. In 1911 his mother was widowed and he was working for a cattle-food company. They were comfortably off, with a cook and housemaid, but obviously not in the country-house/public school/Oxbridge league.

Alexander had been in the KRRC 1st Cadet Battalion, for how long I don't know:

LG 28612 28 May 1912

VOLUNTEER FORCE.

CADET BATTALION.

1st Cadet Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle

Corps.

The undermentioned officers resign their

commissions. Dated 29th May, 1912: —

…

Lieutenant Alexander F. Livingstone.

He may then have spent some years in Southern Rhodesia, as the only MIC in this name on Ancestry is a Sergeant in the 1st Rhodesian Regiment, served in SW Africa 21.12.1914, later Captain RAF. An OBE is mentioned rather than the MBE always attributed to 'our' Livingstone, and the KRRC is not mentioned at all. But this would make his early career similar to that of Richard CS Baxter, who served in the 1st Rhodesia Regiment in German SW Africa and like Livingstone joined the 21st Battalion in early 1916 with the large batch of junior officers 'from a reserve battalion' – it's been the 15th , in the cases where I know for sure, including Baxter's.

London Gazette 29474 of 11th February 1916, Supp. 14th Feb. p. 1669

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

...

The undermentioned temporary Second

Lieutenants, from a Reserve Battalion, to

be temporary Second Lieutenants. Dated

2nd February, 1916, but with seniority

from the dates specified against their

names: —

…

Alexander F. Livingstone. 9th September, 1915.

However he did not go to France with the Yeoman Rifles. Ancestry has the file card of his GB Royal Aero Club aviation certificate and a photograph, which confirm this is the right man. He took his certificate on a Maurice Farman Biplane at the Military School, Thetford, on 9th June 1916, as 2nd Lieutenant, 21st KRRC (when the 21st KRRC were in Ploegsteert Wood before their two battles on the Somme).

LG 29715 of 18 August 1916

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 19 AUGUST, 1916. pp 8251-2

ROYAL FLYING CORPS.

Mil. Wing.—The undermentioned appts. are

made:

Flying Officers. -

…

21st July 1916.

…

Temp. 2nd Lt. A. F. Livingstone, K.R.Rif. C., and to be transfd. to the Gen. List.

LG 30315 of 28 September 1917

 

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 1 OCTOBER, 1917.

ROYAL FLYING CORPS.

Mil. Wing.—The undermentioned appts. are made: —

...

14th Sept. 1917.

…

Special Appointments.—

…

(Graded as Equipment Officers, 1st Cl., whilst holding special appts.).—

…

Temp. 2nd Lt. A. F. Livingstone, Gen.List, from a Flying Officer, and to be temp. Capt. whilst so empld. 7th Sept. 1917.

LG 31784 of 17 Feb 1920

The undermentioned are transferred to the unemployed list: —

…

Capt. A. F. Livingstone, M.B.E. 26th Dec. 1919.

He married in Edinburgh in April 1918. If my surmise that he is the same man whose MIC shows Rhodesia experience is correct, he returned there after the war, as the MIC gives his address in October 1922 as Wannock Glen Farm, GO Eldorado, S.Rhodesia.

In the second World War he returned to the RAF in October 1939 at the age of 55, presumably in an administrative role, (Times 11 October, quoting the London Gazette of 10 Oct), remaining for just over three years:

LG35858 of 8 Jan 1943

Flt Lt A F LIVINGSTONE, M B E (72697)

resigns his commn and retains his rank 21st Dec 1942.

From the Times forthcoming marriage announcement for their son Captain Dermot Alexander Livingstone of the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1948, it appears that the Livingstones retired to Seal, Sevenoaks, Kent.

.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

If Tarrant were already serving in 1911, even overseas, he should be on the census. However, he could have been based in Scotland, for which census info is not released until next month, or in Ireland, which is online separately (and freely) at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ - however I gather other ranks often only have initials given (including for surname), so it can be hard to track them down. The idea of him being aprt of an advance party seems plausible, the answer will probably be in WO 339/15070 his army officer's service record (this will probably contain his original attestation papers as an OR, and some info on his career in the ranks too).

I've now had a quick look at his RAF record, a lot of the detail is difficult to read at the moemnt, but should be improved once the high res version is available. What is readable is the last entry "Awaiting trial by GCM - misappropriating £150 - 27.11.20". However, it looks like he was ultimately just allowed to resign his commission, he was transferred to the unemployed list as you've previously noted, the record gives the effective date as 15 December 1920.

Ewen of course also has an army record, WO 339/27464.

Livingstone, RAF record, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8240852, born 13 June 1885. Army record probably WO 339/42122. The RAF record reveals he was wounded 26 September 1916 (a mention of his name in the "War in the Air" section of the forum may elicit more detail on this. "Mentioned for valuable services in connection with the war 22-1-19", mil MBE LG 3.6.19 p 7029 (I read this as 4029 initially) http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31378/supplements/7029. He also seems to have had some professional difficulty, "Censured by Air Council" undated, and no further detail. The record also confirms his identification with the man of the 1sr Rhodesian Regiment, and also records he was a [something] and tobacco planter between 1912 and 1914. Address at time record sheet started (19 April 1918) is 33 Queensborough Terrace, Hyde Park, NOK his wife, Mrs Livingstone, address subsequently changed to Ashley Court Hotel 199/200 Queen's Gate (also near Hyde Park). Again some of the other detail will be easier on the high res version when that's available.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Fascinating. I agree, parts of these stories could be pursued on the Air sub-forum, and for other parts I need to check the records later. You must have paid money to get some of this, David, didn't you? I really appreciate your help. Thank you for the tip about the Irish census records: I didn't know about them being freely available online.

I am going to tear myself away from the RAF men for the moment, otherwise I shall never finish 'doing' the 21/KRRC officers in the 1916 group photo (by Christmas, I said! by Easter would be closer), and other significant officers in 1916 who weren't in it, and then get back to the non-commissioned riflemen.

More coming up shortly...

Liz

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Lieutenant Frank Milburn McCausland, 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots (later Major)

In the front row of the 21/KRRC February 1916 officers' group photograph, on the left.

I have found no evidence in the London Gazette of Frank McCausland ever being officially attached to the 21/KRRC; I may of course have missed it, but the KRRC is not on his MIC either. Forum member John Duncan kindly checked his battalion's war diary but found no mention of an attachment. He also confirmed that the uniform McCausland is wearing is that of the Royal Scots, though the trousers instead of breeches are dress wear rather than standard service issue.

As he is included in the photograph, however, I suppose he must have been there to assist with training? Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Frank Milburn McCausland was born in Deal, Kent, in July 1896, and in 1901 was living in the Royal Marine Barracks at Alverstoke, Hants, with his father, Lt-Col Edwin Loftus McCausland, mother Georgina, sister Marjorie aged 16 and brother Henry aged 12, with a 'nurse', presumably his nanny. He seems to have had a regular (not temporary) commission in 1914, which is not surprising given his background. His elder brother had followed his father into the Royal Marines (1911 census record) but perhaps there were other family connections with the Royal Scots.

He went to France on 23rd November 1914 to join the 2nd Bn Royal Scots on the Western Front. I have not found the details of his wartime career apart from these two Gazette entries. He could have spent 1916 with the Yeoman Rifles, but I think it would have shown up somewhere if he had.

LG 29310 of 28 Sept 1915

INFANTRY.

The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment).

…

The undermentioned Second Lieutenants,

to be Lieutenants: —

…

F. M. McCausland. Dated 13th May, 1915.

Dated 10th June, 1915

LG 30969 22 October 1918 Supp. 23 Oct 1918

Lt. (actg. Capt.) F. M. McCausland, R.Scots, to be secd., and to retain his actg. rank (with pay and allowances) whilst empld. as an Instr., Pioneer Depot. 15th Oct. 1918.

In 1920 the Times of 5 July 1920 reported that, during a visit of the King and Queen to Holyrood Palace on 3 July, 'The Palace Guard of the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots (Lothian Regt) under the command of Lieutenant F.M. McCausland was mounted at Holyrood Palace.' In 1932 he was a Captain, in India with his battalion; he gained his Machine Gun Certificate on a summer course for squadron and company commanders at Ahmednagar Wing of the Small Arms School.

Major Frank McCausland died of pneumonia in 1933 in Sibi, Baluchistan and his grave is at Quetta. His mother paid for a window in his memory in St Faith's Church, Lee-on-Solent, as well as one to her late husband, who had died in 1923: there is a picture on the church website.http://www.stfaithslee.org/history.htm

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

Father's RM record http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8554880 (rose to rank of Lt-Gen, promoted 21 June 1915), first commisioned 1 September 1876.

Brother's http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8555644, born 13 July 1888, commissioned 1 September 1907, rose to Colonel 2nd Commandant. Served on Bellerephon or Conqueror (record contradicts itself) at Jutland (and MiD), died 10 May 19159 at Haslar. Spent some time in Naval Intelligence. Retired March 1939 recalled in 1940, initially Superindent of the RM School of Music before becoming a GSO1 and retiring again in October 1944.

There's also a record for an Eric Marcus McCausland, RN, born 17 December 1895, joined 15 September 1908. Father's name not given, but given Frank's DOB, presumably not a brother.

Frank himself continued serving after 1921 so his record is still with the MOD. A quick rummage through the Army List gives his only war time extra-regimental posting as with 6th South Wales Borderers, and that not until 1918.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Thanks again, David. The precise nature of McCausland's service to the Yeoman Rifles remains unknown, then. My next officer was also attached from another regiment, and his 21/KRRC service is also unclear but is at least recorded on his MIC.

Second Lieutenant Oliffe Meaburn Fry, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment: later MC and Lieutenant-Colonel.

Seated on the ground at the front in the photo, second from right.

It's lucky I didn't have to guess his given names, as I did(n't) with Collingwood Forster Thorp. (Would they have called him Ollie?) He may have been with the 21/KRRC throughout their battles on the Somme, but that isn't clear without the record.

He was born in Woolwich on May 17 1896, son of Herbert Meaburn Fry, stockbroker, son of an auctioneer, and Edith. In 1901 they were living at 59 Kidbrooke Park Road, Blackheath, Kent (south-east London). Oliffe's sister Phyllis was 8 and he was 4. In 1911 the family were at the same address, while Phyllis Meaburn Fry was visiting friends or relatives, the Dixons, in Chelmsford and Oliffe Meaburn Fry was a pupil at Clifton College.

Fry was a Sandhurst cadet in 1914 (like Coates), and although he is shown as a 'supernumerary' in the Territorial Force just after war broke out (what does that mean, exactly? I know what the word means of course but don't understand its significance here), he is listed in December as a Gentleman Cadet proceeding to the Royal West Kents.

LONDON GAZETTE 28879, 26 August, 1914. 6708-9

20th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich) .

…

The undermentioned to be Second Lieutenants. Dated 26th August, 1914 : —

…

Oliffe Macburn [sic] Fry. (To be supernumerary).

LG 29015 of 22 Dec 1914 pp 10927-8

War Office,

22nd December, 1914.

The undermentioned Gentlemen Cadets

from the Royal Military College to be Second

Lieutenants. Dated 23rd December,

1914: —

REGULAR FORCES.

…

INFANTRY

…

The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent

Regiment), Oliffe Meaburn Fry.

His MIC shows that he was in the 1st Bn as a Second Lieutenant and in the 2nd Bn as a Lieutenant. This promotion is shown in November 1916:

LG 29829 of 17 November 1916 Supp. 18 Nov

R. W. Kent R.—2nd Lt. O. M. Fry to be Lt.

11th Oct. 1916.

I wonder therefore if he spent 1916 with the 21/KRRC until after Gird Ridge and then went back to his regiment with a promotion. His MIC lists 1st RW Kent, 2nd RW Kent and then 21 KRRC, but I do not know if that order is significant. I have not found a London Gazette mention of his attachment – unlike Coates and several others.

There was, incidentally, an Edward Meaburn Fry, MC, killed in action on 23 August 1918 with the RFA, who must surely have been a relative but was certainly not his brother.

Oliffe Meaburn Fry himself won the Military Cross but after WW1, in Iraq:

LONDON GAZETTE 33094, 20 October 1925

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the undermentioned rewards in

recognition of valuable and distinguished service rendered in connection with operations in Kurdistan, in May, 1924:—

Awarded the Military Cross.

Captain Oliff [sic] Meaburn Fry, The Royal West Kent Regiment and 2nd Battalion Iraq Levies.

In 1954 Lt-Col. Oliffe Meaburn Fry, MC, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment married Margaret Hylda, daughter of the late Major DK McK Herapath. He died in 1977 in Devon. (Times Digital archive.)

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

I think supernumerary in this instance means in addition to the number of officers formally allowed for in the establishment of the battalion (it may also have meant that he wasn't assinged to command a platoon).

Speculating, TF battalions had a regular as an adjutant I think, maybe there was something about the particualr circumstances of this unit which meant he needed some assistance. Or, perhaps one of the officers who should have joined the battalion on mobilisation couldn't for some reason, sickness, speical circumstances that meant he needed more time to sort out his affairs, out of the country or whatever, and so Fry was sent to fill in, perhaps considered more valuable experience for him than the regular course at Sandhurst given the circumstances.

The Archives at Sandhurst have scanned and transcribed all the cadet registers, http://archive.sandhurstcollection.org.uk/view/5566/108598/ will hopefully take you to the basic info for Fry. Unfortunately it's £2.99 to dowload the high-res scan, but in this instance it may just shed some more light on what happened, and of course his main record will still be with the MOD.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

I think supernumerary in this instance means in addition to the number of officers formally allowed for in the establishment of the battalion (it may also have meant that he wasn't assinged to command a platoon).

Speculating, TF battalions had a regular as an adjutant I think, maybe there was something about the particualr circumstances of this unit which meant he needed some assistance. Or, perhaps one of the officers who should have joined the battalion on mobilisation couldn't for some reason, sickness, speical circumstances that meant he needed more time to sort out his affairs, out of the country or whatever, and so Fry was sent to fill in, perhaps considered more valuable experience for him than the regular course at Sandhurst given the circumstances.

A bit like work experience, or being an intern, then?

The Archives at Sandhurst have scanned and transcribed all the cadet registers, http://archive.sandh...ew/5566/108598/ will hopefully take you to the basic info for Fry. Unfortunately it's £2.99 to dowload the high-res scan, but in this instance it may just shed some more light on what happened, and of course his main record will still be with the MOD.

Thanks - this one I have discovered, when researching Coates earlier, but I've been too stingy to pay up, though I will eventually for those who seem central to the Yeoman Rifles' 1916 story - which might include both of them. Coates was wounded at Flers. Fry, as you see, I am less sure about. So I just checked to see that they were on the Sandhurst website.

David, many thanks again. You wouldn't fancy going right back to the beginning of my officer-photograph biographical endeavours to fill in my gaps, I suppose?! Ah, well...

Liz

[Liz in Eastbourne]

There is a fourth RAF man.

(Temporary?) Second Lieutenant Frank Graham McIntosh; later RAF.

Standing between Liddell and Sheardown on the right of the middle row in the photo.

The caption from the RGJ Museum gives his name as 'FG Mackintosh', the LG cited below has 'Frank McIntosh' and the aviation club card 'Frank Graham McINTOSH'. I assume this latter name is correct but any searches have to take into account possible variations. At all events, he didn't go to France with the Yeoman Rifles.

I missed Frank McIntosh when counting up the men who went into the RAF – I think the aviation club details have only been put on Ancestry quite recently.

He was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, BWI,on 29th April 1894, and in 1911 was at boarding school in Yorkshire. He was recorded on the census return for Lupton House, Sedbergh School, in the Yorkshire Dales, then in the West Riding but now (the postal address at least) in Cumbria. Sedbergh is an old public school in a rugged landscape and whether or not Frank's family were from Yorkshire this background would have given him something in common with many others in the Yeoman Rifles. What he did between leaving school and being commissioned I have not been able to discover.

Like Livingstone, he joined the 21/KRRC with the large batch of junior officers 'from a reserve battalion', probably the 15th.

London Gazette 29474 of 11th February 1916, Supp. 14th Feb. p. 1669

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

The undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants, from a Reserve Battalion, to be temporary Second Lieutenants.

Dated 2nd February, 1916, but with seniority from the dates specified against their names: —

…

Frank Mclntosh. 9th September, 1915.

After this I have only the aviation club details to go on – it has been exceptionally frustrating trying to find relevant details on the London Gazette website so any contributions would be welcome. As with Livingstone, the photograph they supply confirms that this is the right man. He was 2nd Lieut. King's Royal Rifle Corps (no battalion given) and took his aviation certificate on a Maurice Farman Biplane at Military School, Norwich on 30th May 1916.

He appears to have survived the war. There are Times personal mentions of a Mr FG McIntosh but these may or may not be the right man, and as his 21/KRRC career was so short I will be strict with myself and omit them.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

The RAF officer records on DocsOnline are now being upgraded to higher res scans, I'll check once they are available again.

Army record is shown by WO 338/13 to be in WO 339/55486. The index entry in WO 338/13 is, unusually, annotated "Dead 1975". Given the Port of Spain/Trinidad connection probably worth checking inbound and outbound passenger lists (US as well as he may have travelled via New York say) for some indication of what he did before and after the war.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Thanks, David. The Army records have to be checked at the NA, don't they? I shall have to upgrade my Ancestry subscription again for passenger lists and do them all in one fell swoop - though I think, given the RFC/RAF chaps defected form the 21/KRRC before they departed for the Somme, they are a small part of this particular story.

This man on the other hand is altogether mysterious, in terms of his background and what happened to him. EDIT see postscript.

Temporary Lieutenant William Gregson

Sitting on the ground at the front of the photo on the far right.

I've gathered information from the London Gazette about the early part of Gregson's military career, and some from his Silver War Badge card about the end of it, but very little else. He had been in the South Staffordshire Regiment, and joined the Yeoman Rifles before Christmas 1915, so presumably at Helmsley:

LG 29397 7 Dec 1915 p 12304

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

…

The undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants to be temporary Second Lieutenants : —

Dated 22nd November, 1915.

William Gregson, from The South Staffordshire Regiment.

…

LG 29426 31 Dec 1915

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

…

The appointments and transfers of the undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants, notified in previous Gazettes, are antedated to the 29th September, 1915, but not to carry pay or allowances prior to the dates specified against their names: —

….

William Gregson. 22nd November, 1915.

…

He was rapidly promoted:

LG 29443 of 18 Jan 1916 Supp of 19 Jan p 818

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

The undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants to be temporary Lieutenants: —

…

William Gregson. Dated 25th November,.1915.

.After that I have nothing: there are several William Gregsons on census records but none obviously the right one.

The Silver War Badge card application for Lieut W Gregson 21/KRRC, address Pen-Rhyn, Heaton, Bradford, Yorks, is dated 6.10.16. This suggests that he was wounded at Flers on 15 September, unless the date isn't really the application date but the date when he was wounded, which would have been at Gird Ridge.

Either way it is odd as he is not on the officers' casualty list in the KRRC Chronicle for 1916. That would apply if he'd been wounded earlier too.

The card says:

Action taken: Refusal List/24

Appeal against decision: 5.2.17 50360/6

A list 145

Any thoughts as to what this means? He wanted a Silver War Badge but couldn't have one? This is a record I'll probably have to see.

Liz

EDIT

I have now seen Lt Gregson's service record (ref given by David below) and the explanation is that he never went to France with the Yeoman Rifles at all and was never wounded in battle, so it this would preclude the award of a SWB - wouldn't it? He was however very genuinely unwell and there are reports of several medical boards showing that this dated from an abscess on the thigh in summer 1914 with 'bone trouble' shown by X-Ray so that he could not march long distances.

A War Office letter of 15 Sept 1916 (fateful date for those who had gone to France) states that there is no alternative but to Gazette him as relinquishing his commission on grounds of ill-health and this is said to have been done on 5.10.16 (I didn't find it). He was a farmer from near Manchester and had done a two-year agriculture course at Leeds University, so would have been a good choice for the Yeoman Rifles if he had been fit. He had 'light duties' at home during 1916.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

That does seem odd. Without wishes to cast aspersions, the only thing that springs to mind is to whether there was some doubt as to the provenance of the wound. Defintely sounds like one to check the record, which as you say are only available at Kew. His is WO 339/33293.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

That's helpful, David, thanks. My list of tasks for the next visit is lengthening.

Pressing on (have nearly accounted for the officers on the photo now - after this one only three, I think):-

Temporary Lieutenant Robert C Robinson

Sitting on the ground in the photo, at Feversham's feet.

I don't know what this officer's background is; though there are innumerable Robert Robinsons and many Robert C Robinsons in the military records, I have found only one KRRC officer's MIC, that of Robert Cecil Robinson, Lieutenant, post-war address Ayston, Uppingham. There is no one of this name and age (born 1890 + or -10) in the 1901 and 1911 census records and I couldn't find an obviously appropriate Robert C. Robinson either.

In any case he did not go to France with the battalion. He came from the Leicestershire Regiment with Captain C.A. 'Joe' Pitt and 'Yorkshire cricket' Claud Burton, but was transferred to the General List for duty at a Depot in March 1916.

LG 29389 30 Nov 1915

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

…

Temporary Lieutenant Charles A. Pitt, from The Leicestershire Regiment, to be

temporary Captain. Dated 19th November,1915.

Temporary Second Lieutenant Robert C.Burton, from The Leicestershire Regiment,

to be temporary Lieutenant. Dated 19th November, 1915.

Temporary Second Lieutenant Robert C.Robinson, from The Leicestershire Regiment, to be temporary Second Lieutenant.

Dated 19th November, 1915

LG 29426 31 Dec 1915

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

…

The appointments and transfers of the undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants, notified in previous Gazettes, are

antedated to the 29th September, 1915, but not to carry pay or allowances prior to the dates specified against their names: —

...

Robert C. Robinson. 19th November,

1915.

…

LG 29465 of 4 Feb 1916 Supp. 5 Feb. p 1459

The King's Royal Rifle Corps.

Temporary Second Lieutenant Robert C. Robinson to be temporary Lieutenant.

Dated 27th November, 1915

LG 29564 of 2 May 1916 p 4029

K. R. Rif. C.

Temp. Lt. R. C. Robinson is transferred to Gen. List for duty at a Depot. 25 Mar.1916

LG31848 of 30 March 1920 Supp 1 April 1920 p 4029

K.R. Rif. C.

Temp. Lt. R. C. Robinson relinquishes his commission on completion of service, 25 Feb.1920, and retains the rank of Lt.

So he could have spent the war entirely out of the front line - entirely in England, even?

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[Liz in Eastbourne]

Second Lieutenant Ernest Albert Gardner, later Lieutenant

in the back row between Tarrant and Leatham – is another rather shadowy figure so far (but less shadowy than I thought earlier today - I have just made a number of additions having found him on the 1911 census. Don't know how I missed him before. ) It is thanks to the MIC that I have his given names. This also gives an address in Southampton for 1920 and then 'East Coker, Yeovil, Somerset.' In 1911 Ernest Albert Gardner was a 24-year-old private in the 2nd Battalion The Gloucester Regiment, stationed at Verdala Barracks, Malta. He was born at Headington, Oxfordshire, and this information enabled me to find him as as the son of a carter on the 1901 census. He was like the Coles, Tarrant and Potter from a fairly humble background.

The LG entries I have found are all for 'E.A.'.He seems to have been with the KRRC from an unclear date before the photograph to the end of the war, but I have not found his commission, his original posting to the 21st Battalion or how long he stayed with them, so I don't know whether he was with them on the Somme in 1916. The first Gazette entry I have found shows him promoted to Lieutenant going from the Training Reserve to a Battalion:

LG 30257 of 28/29 July 1917 p.8972

INFANTRY.

Training Reserve.

Lt. E. A. Gardner (K.R. Rif. C.) is

apptd. to a Bn. 5 Aug. 1917, with seniority 25 Aug. 1916.

Then ten months later he was seconded as a temporary Captain:

LG 30700 21 May 1918 Supp 24 May p.6084

Lt. E. A. Gardner, K.R. Rif. C., to be Adjt., Linc. Vol. R., to be secd., and to be

temp. Capt. whilst so empld.

7th May 1918.

LG 31973 9th July 1920 Supp p.7413

K.R. Rif. C.—Lt. E. A. Gardner is placed on the h.p. list on account of ill-health, contracted on active service. 10th July 1920

LG 31985 16/19 Jul 1920

Lt. E. A. Gardner, h.p. list, retires on ret.pay on 'account of ill-health contracted on active service. 10th July 1920.

An Ernest Albert Gardner died in Oxford in 1966.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
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[David_Underdown]

The only Robert C Robinson with a KRRC connection listed in WO 338/16 is Robert Cecil Robertson, though he's listed as 4th Battalion, but I'm not quite sure at what point these indices were drawn up. There's no-one on the General List either. So if it is this man his record is in WO 339/37946.

Gardner is WO 339/24104.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Captain (Dr) Neville Hood Linzee, Royal Army Medical Corps

 

Front row, second from right between Captain Honey and Captain Claud Burton.

Captain Linzee was presumably the battalion's doctor, although I haven't found his attachment to the 21st Bn KRRC in the London Gazette. Come to think of it I don't know how the system worked for medical officers, although I've just broken off to search the forum.

Linzee was born in Southampton on 19 December 1890, son of an American citizen born in Calcutta, Lewis Linzee (living on his own means at 32), and his wife Mary, born in Devon. The Linzee family had branches in the United States and England, and Lewis's brother John wrote a book about them in 1917, which is now online. Neville had an elder brother, John Inman Linzee, and sister Margaret.

In 1901 John and Neville were at boarding school in Southampton; in1911 the family were in Kingston, Surrey, John a bank clerk, Neville a medical student at London University. He qualified in February 1915, MRCS, LRCP, and was soon commissioned as Lieutenant (did doctors start on a higher rung?) and promoted to Captain:

LG 29143 of 23 April 1915 Supp. 26 April 1915

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.

The undermentioned to be Lieutenants (on probation) : —

…

Neville Hood Linzee, Ex-Cadet of the Officers Training Corps.

Dated 20th April,1915.

His MIC shows that he served in Gallipoli from 19 July. He was promoted in October.

LG 29360 of 9 November 1915 p.11053

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS

…

The undermentioned Lieutenants to be Captains:

..

Neville H. Linzee. Dated 20th October, 1915.

By June 1916 he had been replaced by a young Canadian, Alan Hart, described by Anthony Eden in his book. Linzee's military career after he left the Yeoman Rifles is not apparent from the MIC or LG entries, but he married on 25 September 1917 (court report, 12 April 1919,Times Digital Archive). He seems also to have been ill with TB at this time, certainly by mid-1918:

LG 30822 of 30 July 1918 Supp of 31 July p 9072

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL COUPS.

Capt. Neville Hood Linzee relinquishes

his commn. on account of ill-health contracted on active service, and is granted the hon. rank of Capt. 1st Aug. 1918.

His MIC refers to both his medals and his Silver War Badge. His evidence in the 'restitution' case of Linzee v. Linzee reported in The Times of 12 April 1919 was that he had been suffering from tuberculosis of the larynx and could not live with his wife.

A divorce must have followed, and perhaps too a complete recovery, for in 1920 he remarried at Ipswich, and congratulations on the couple's Silver Wedding appeared in the Times personal columns of 1945. He was practising medicine in Surbiton in 1927 (Medical register, online.)

He also had an aviation certificate, but for recreational purposes - on 28 June 1939, when his occupation is given as 'retired' and his address at Thames Ditton, he obtained his certificate on a BA Swallow, Cirrus, 90, at the London Air Park Flying Club.

Dr Linzee's death was recorded in Tunbridge Wells in 1980.

Edited 12 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[David_Underdown]

I think medics were directly commissioned as lieutenants if they were fully qualified (today all graduates are usually commissioned as lieutenants, compare the career of Prince William with that of Prince Harry).

Linzee's army record is in WO 339/25666. TNA also holds divorce records for this period, the papers relating to the wife's petition for the restitution of conjugal rights are in J 77/1403/3084 and those for the divorce proper, J 77/1538/7625. I think at this time a woman still had to show both that the husband had been unfaithful, and another ground e.g. desertion, to obtain a divorce (whereas as a husband merely had to prove his wife's adultery) - ah yes the research guide (section 3.2) confirms this TNA - Divorces after 1858 (though 3.5 on the restitution of conjugal rights muddies the waters slightly, implying that failing to return to the spouse after a restitution order had been made amy have been sufficient), so it would seem likely that the woman he married in 1920 was the "other woman", the decree absolute probably wouldn't have come through until 1920 either.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

I think medics were directly commissioned as lieutenants if they were fully qualified (today all graduates are usually commissioned as lieutenants, compare the career of Prince William with that of Prince Harry).

I have never thought to do that before!

<snip>ah yes the research guide (section 3.2) confirms this TNA - Divorces after 1858 <snip>

This is very interesting, thanks David (and for all your other research tips). I've come to think that researching a single service battalion is rather a good way of getting the entire social history of the time. In the column in The Times there were two other 'restitution of conjugal rights' cases decided against serving officers - the other two said more ungentlemanly things implying shortcomings in the wife, though! It struck me these decisions couldn't possibly have the effect they were theoretically supposed to have and I suppose they were all the first stage in a divorce. If failure to return was sufficient grounds on its own for a divorce, it would save a lot of other bother.

I've only got one more officer on this photo to do a thumbnail sketch of, apart from Feversham (lots already on this thread) and Anthony Eden (ditto, and he is a major source for it - everybody interested in WW1should get a copy of his Another World, 1897-1917, I think: small and beautiful). That will be coming up shortly. There are still some officers important to the Yeoman Rifles in 1916 who were not in the photograph or came a little later but I think there will have to be a pause first.

Liz

Edited 18 March , 2011 by Liz in Eastbourne