21st Battalion KRRC - the original Yeomen

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Tim, there is one former 21st Bn rifleman who provides an interesting comparison with your grandfather.

 

Thomas Storey, C/12597, a shoemaker from Redmire who attested at Leyburn on 17 November 1915, was killed with the 7th Bn on 21 March 1918.  He had been with them since 15 December 1916 after recovery from being badly wounded with 21st Bn, according to his casualty form admitted to a casualty clearing station in the field on 2 June 1916, and then to hospital in Etaples on 3 June.  

 

Could this mean he too was wounded on 1 June?  The form says ‘GSW’ (gun shot wounds) which I think could mean shrapnel from shells, which is what usually caused casualties there and certainly did so in the incident of 1 June. He was almost certainly in A Company, given his origins and date of enlistment, though his record has several pages that are barely legible so I can’t confirm that.  Whether it was the same incident or one not mentioned by Dennis the following day (Storey is not mentioned by Dennis at all), he and your grandfather might well have been on the same hospital ship, SS Brighton, from Etaples on 11 June.

Edited 29 May , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[Liz in Eastbourne]

On the other hand, the only other 21/KRRC man who was killed serving with the 7th Bn did transfer at the time when the 21st Bn was disbanded.  This was Albert Victor Pattrick,C/12222, of Scarborough, also in A Company.  He was killed on 25 March 1918 and had been with 7th Bn only about a week.  So this is a possibility, after all.  And it could be that your grandfather's continuing attendance at reunions suggests a longer time with the Yeoman Rifles than just the time of training plus a month in France.

 

Edited 29 May , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[MBrockway]

7 hours ago, Liz in Eastbourne said:

The form says ‘GSW’ (gun shot wounds) which I think could mean shrapnel from shells, which is what usually caused casualties there and certainly did so in the incident of 1 June.

 

Just to confirm Liz is correct here - "GSW" - gun shot wounds did definitely include wounds caused by artillery shrapnel shells.

 

[Tim Peters]

Liz,

 

Many thanks for these insights. The only medical issues that I am aware of were epilepsy and hearing in one ear, both suggesting a head injury. However I would have expected him to have been invalided out if his epilepsy had developed straight after the events of June 2nd 2016.

 

Attached is a digitised form relating to his admission to a field hospital in February 2017 - 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. This was for illness rather than another injury. I note that he is still with 21st Battalion at this time and has field service recorded as 10 months suggesting that he returned fairly quickly to active service.

 

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Hi Tim

Well, I dunno - there's you claiming to know nothing except that Eden was his commanding officer, and all the time you appear to have found his service record, and there's me claiming to be giving assistance and I couldn't find his service record on Ancestry!  Just the MIC (and I did subsequently see the medal roll entry Mark posted).

 

I agree, it looks as if he stayed with the 21/KRRC throughout and like Pattrick transferred to the 7th Bn when 21st disbanded, but was luckier than Pattrick and survived.I expect someone somewhere has worked out how many men did that. I've only listed the ones who were killed with the various battalions they went to. I can't see any reason why he would have gone back to C instead of A Company, when A Company had lost more men, I think.  

 

I have now checked back on my notes about your grandfather's  commanding officer in A Company, Richard Preston Graham , and find that he too went to the 7th Bn in March 1918 when the 21st Bn disbanded! I fear I'm a bit rusty as I did the bulk of this research six years ago... his brief biography is on this thread  here.

Graham was a cousin of the Earl of Feversham, and Eden's family were friends of  the Duncombes (Earl of Feversham's family). Eden and Graham were friends, I don't know how close: both were very young and straight from Eton, So your grandfather might have seen a bit  of Eden early on, though he was just a young 2/Lt in a different company, and then of course he would have known him as adjutant. 

 

Lots of men in the years following when Eden had become famous mentioned to their families that they had served with him and the story often got inadvertently embellished along the way by family members - could that have happened? 

Edited 1 June , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
to include link to post about Graham.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Apologies to everyone for the fact that this thread has been very much damaged by Photobucket removing all my photos, as has happened elsewhere.  I thought for a while they hadn't noticed me, but alas I've now been found out.  Luckily Mark and others have uploaded straight to the Forum.  I will try to repair the damage later.

EDIT

Mostly done now (a couple of missing photos to be tracked down) and I'll contact a couple of other members who used Photobucket to see if they are willing to upload the photos again, direct to the forum, now it's so much easier than it used to be.

 

Liz

Edited 14 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[75Chris]

My thanks to everyone who has made this thread such an interesting and informative source.

 

My interest in 21 KRRC has a curious beginning. In the 1990’s I was a History teacher and used to lead annual Battlefields trips. I always found that if you could focus on a few individuals then the significance of the graves and the conflict became clearer, so we used to trace the route of soldiers from the school who had served at the Front.

One year, after reading Lyn MacDonald’s Somme, I became fascinated by the character of the Earl of Feversham, and the circumstances of his raising his own battalion, so I made this the focus of the trip, and we attempted to follow the route of the 21st before and during the Battle of Flers. We ended the day at the Thiepval memorial, and while the children were looking around I idly looked through the register of names. I vaguely knew that my great uncle had served, and died, in the war, but (to my shame) had no idea where he was buried, what regiment he was in, or any other detail about him. To my surprise, and delight, I found him - 2nd Lt R.B. Nivison, killed 15th September 1916 at Flers, and to my even greater surprise, next to his name in the register was his unit – 21st KRRC – the very unit we had been following.

When I got back I tried to research his history, but in those days this was hard. His service records had apparently been destroyed during WW2 and we have nothing in the family, and after a bit I gave up. My interest has been re-awakened as my daughter is about to do a Battlefields tour with her school. I was fortunate enough to find your website and have been trawling it for information, but R.B. Nivison seems a bit of a forgotten figure. I wonder whether the account of his death would be of interest as it gives a few details, although these may be dubious given their intended audience:

 

2nd LIEUTENANT R. B. NIVISON

 

King's Royal Rifle Corps

Drurics o9 3 -i3' Aged 21 September 15th, 191 6

 

Youngest son of Sir Robert Nivison, Bart., of Branch Hill Lodge.

Hampstead, N.W., and of Lady Nivison.

 

2nd Lieutenant Nivison joined the Artists Rifles in September, 191 5,

and received a Commission in the King's Royal Rifle Corps in May,

1916.

 

He went to France in July, 191 6, and was killed on September 15th,

1916, whilst leading his men in an attack on Flers.

 

His Company Commander wrote to his father : —

 

" I was in command of A Company soon after your son came out to

France, and he and I were thrown much together. I came to have a very

great regard for him and found I could rely on him, and he was a long way

the best subaltern I had. Believe me — he made good.

 

"On the 15th September, after I was wounded, your boy was left in

command of the Company, and when I saw him last he was going ahead

quite quietly, leading his men admirably by his example."

 

His Platoon Sergeant wrote : —

 

" We started the attack about six o'clock on the morning of 15th Sep-

tember. We lost our Captain before we had gone two hundred yards, but

we pushed on under your son, who took command of the Company. After

taking the first line we pushed on to the second, but the barrage had not

lifted, and some of our men, thinking that it was the enemy's artillery,

rushed through it. Lieutenant Nivison, seeing the mistake, also rushed

through the barrage and succeeded in getting the men back again with a

few casualties, which was a very daring piece of work and deserved great

credit, and every man realized what he had been saved from. As soon as

the barrage lifted, your son jumped up and waved his men on, and every-

one answered the call. As we were taking the second line he fell. During

the advance he proved himself a brave man and a grand leader."

 

Another Sergeant wrote : —

 

" He was loved by every N.C.O. and man in our Company."

 

 

As I don’t have access to Gerald Dennis’ book, I wondered if there might be any reference to 2nd Lt Nivison in that?

 

One thing I’m grateful to the thread for clearing up is that he is listed in 1923 as being buried in the Guards Cemetery, but I now understand that this was just a memorial cross. This has cleared up something that was confusing me.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Hello Chris and welcome to the Forum.  That's a terrific coincidence, the way you discovered that your great-uncle had been an officer in the Yeoman Rifles after you had already followed in their footsteps on the Somme. I've had some coincidences of that sort and they send shivers down your spine.

 

I've got to leave sending you a better reply till tomorrow or Monday, but just wanted to say thank you for mentioning 2/Lt Nivison.  Sorry he seems forgotten on this thread: he gets passing mentions but until now no biographical information. He didn't get a 'brief biography' in the early part because he did not join them till July 1916, as stated in the account you quote, along with several other young officers, so of course he wasn't on the Aldershot officers'  group photograph.  In the beginning this thread was subtitled 'Looking for friends of Rifleman John Hardcastle'  (that got lost in a forum upgrade) and was intended to concentrate on the officers and men who joined in late 1915, trained together, went to France and fought at Flers.  

 

As time went on of course it expanded but I've never posted half the information I researched!  I have some info on him which may or may not be the same as yours - I do have the account in the Harrow Memorials of the Great War, which is where yours comes from, isn't it? Dennis doesn't mention him, as far as I can see - he wouldn't have been likely to know him, as he was in C Company until after Flers. Anyway I'll get back to you!

 

Best wishes

Liz

Edited 19 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[MBrockway]

Chris,

Robert Butler Nivison has an obituary in the KRRC Chronicle, which is near identical to what you've written above ... except that he was at Harrow, which you know since your text mentions his house, though of course it is 'Druries' rather than 'Drurics', and that he was born in 1895.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[75Chris]

Many thanks, Liz and Mark.

 

I'm trying to get permission to investigate the Harrow records, so will see if that throws up anything before he joined.

 

Do either of you know the exact starting point of the battalion on the morning of the 15th? I'm guessing Delville Wood, or just to the east. I'm trying to get a more exact idea of locations. The Wikipedia entry on Flers has quite a good trench map, and a general idea of timings for the 124th Brigade as a whole, but nothing on positions of units.

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris

[David_Underdown]

Some of his papers survived the bombing (two parts of officers' records were destroyed, the third often survives), WO 339/56411 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1110262. Officers' papers have not been digitised so can only be seen at Kew

[Liz in Eastbourne]

19 hours ago, 75Chris said:

Many thanks, Liz and Mark.

 

I'm trying to get permission to investigate the Harrow records, so will see if that throws up anything before he joined.

 

Do either of you know the exact starting point of the battalion on the morning of the 15th? I'm guessing Delville Wood, or just to the east. I'm trying to get a more exact idea of locations. The Wikipedia entry on Flers has quite a good trench map, and a general idea of timings for the 124th Brigade as a whole, but nothing on positions of units.

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris

 

Chris

Have you been able to look at  all the rest of the thread?  I think on page 4 I transcribed the war diary for September with extracts from Eden and Dennis.  Also here I gave extracts from the diary of Lt Meysey-Thompson (5 Platoon, B Company) relating to the beginning of the action - though not as precise as you might wish. It was as you suggest in Delville Wood - 'we are in a line of trenches just north of Delville wood, with the wood behind us and open rolling country in front', as M-T says.

 

Liz

 

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Chris

If you look back to the post I linked to there, you'll see reference to the men getting ahead of the barrage, which is of course an important part of your great-uncle's story as mentioned in the Harrow Memorials and KRRC Chronicle obituaries.  In that earlier post I commented that I was interested because my man JT Hardcastle was in Meysey-Thompson's platoon in B company.  However, on re-reading the longer section in his diary I am reminded that he said the night before 'I have been put in rear of the battalion to whip in' so of course he was making a general comment about the men of the battalion there, not just about his own men.  As we know, Nivison was in A Company.

 

As has been sorrowfully noted several times on this thread, all the Appendices which might have elaborated on the skimpy War Diary are missing, or were when last enquired about.  

 

Liz

Edited 21 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[75Chris]

Liz and David,

 

Many thanks for pointing out this extract, which I had missed previously. That makes things much clearer, as does a trench map I found at: http://www.ossett.net/WW1/John_Pickles.html . This gives me a good start for further investigation, and for understanding the shape of the advance. I'll also investigate his records at Kew.

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris 

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Chris, I thought it would be useful to give an account of the officers in A Company where R B Nivison spent his two months in the Yeoman Rifles. It was as you know the company rooted in the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire and its two original senior officers came from there. It was also the company that had the most changes in its officers in the period between May and September 1916.  This was mainly just chance through promotion on one hand (Lloyd-Greame) and illness on the other (Worsley).  
.

A Company started for France with its two senior officers, both temporary Captains and both from the Green Howards, Philip Lloyd-Greame (he seems to have used the spelling Graeme) from Hull and Edward Marcus (Eddie) Worsley, his 2-in C, from Hovingham, North Yorkshire.
Lloyd-Greame left some time in July 1916, I think, and was promoted Major and made a Brigade Major in September: Meysey-Thompson said he was ‘lent to Worsley’ on 1 August as A Company was short of officers, so Worsley was by then in command.  Worsley was evacuated with bronchitis before Flers. So neither of them was the Company Commander who wrote to Nivison’s family.

 

Lt RWR Law, who had been senior subaltern in command of no. 1 platoon, then became company commander and was made acting Captain as from 8th August, not shown in the Gazette till 10 November. He was wounded at Flers, and Temporary Lieutenant GF Howard, commanding no 2 Platoon, who had  been kept out of the action at Flers, took over the company.

 So when Benton, Nivison and Yateman arrived with the battalion in July they were needed as platoon commanders in A Company, two having been promoted to fill the gaps at the senior level.  One (Graham) was I think kept out of the line at Flers - like Eden, he was very young, 19, but both fought three weeks later at Gird Ridge and Graham was wounded then.  Benton and Nivison were as you know both killed at Flers, and Yateman very badly wounded and shell-shocked. Howard, the only remaining original officer of the company, then became commanding officer.  

 

The letter sent to Lt Nivison’s family and quoted in the Harrow obituary  must, I think, have been from Acting Captain Robert William Roland Law, later awarded the Military Cross for his bravery in a trench raid in July 1916, since it says he was in command of A Company ‘soon after your son came to France’ and says ‘after I was wounded, your boy was left in charge of the company’.  Law was older than most of the subalterns at 35, so could reasonably take this rather fatherly tone.

 

The KRRC obituary gets this part slightly wrong, saying the Captain commanding his company was killed.

 

Liz

Edited 23 August , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne
Add Worsley's place of origin. Amend statement re R P Graham, who may have been absent in July-August for some reason but was not wounded in the shell attack of 1 June.

[75Chris]

Thank you so much for this, Liz.

 

I was wondering who was company commander of A Coy during the attack, and had assumed it was Lloyd-Greame, but this clears up that matter.

 

Chris

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Glad that was useful, Chris - this thread has been running so long it was actually quite useful to me too to correct one or two old errors/omissions while I was looking the details up in my notes.  You'll have seen that there are many mentions of Law, including the account of the trench raid he led in July,  I'd just like to remind people that Colonel von Merveldt  of The Rifles paid this thread a visit to let us know that a number of items belonging to Law had been left to the Royal Green Jackets Museum in Winchester, including his Military Cross, in addition to items Law himself presented during his lifetime.

 

 Although I have put the photo back in my original post about Law, unfortunately I can't alter the post quotation which is now disfigured by a Photobucket payment demand.

 

Liz

 

[Eileen Clarke]

Hello everyone.

 

I have just found out that my grandfather served in the 21st Battalion. My father amazed us with grandads medals last year which we have had re-ribboned and mounted. Grandad died in 1928 and there is no known history of his service however we have since found out he was awarded the MM in 1916 but sadly the original was not with the others and dad doesnt know where it would have gone (dad is now 94). Grandad was Pte Alfred George Day R/16056 and if anyone may know of any further information we would be grateful to receive it. 

 

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Hello Eileen, and welcome to the forum.

 

Can you tell us anything about your grandad, in particular where he came from?  For the first time in years i haven't got an Ancestry or Findmypast subscription at the moment (it gets expensive!).  Also how did you find out he was awarded the MM in 1916?

 

I haven't got anything in my notes about him, but that is because he survived (it was easiest in the first instance to research people whose details were on the CWGC website) and he did not have an 'original' Yeoman Rifles service number.  I rely on one of the 'numbers' experts here to draw any further conclusions from his number.

 

Liz

 

[MBrockway]

Eileen,

I'm afraid I'm in the same boat as Liz: I do not have an Ancestry subscription just now and I don't have a downloaded copy of the medal roll volume which would contain his battalion details.  With an R prefix service number, it is possible he served in other KRRC battalions before joining the 21st Yeoman Rifles.

 

Re his MM, there is no mention of any A.G. Day in the list of MM recipients in the 1916 KRRC Chronicle, but Serjeant A.G. Day appears in the equivalent list in the 1917 volume.  The gazette date for his MM was 10 Dec 1916, so probably just too late to make it into the 1916 volume.  21/KRRC had an important action in the GIRD TRENCH area on the Somme on 07 Oct 1916 for which an officer was awarded the MC.  The gazette date for this was 11 Dec 1916.  It is likely several MM's were awarded at this same action.

 

I will do some further digging to see if I can confirm this.

 

Mark

 

Edited 24 September , 2017 by MBrockway

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Well, that's a brilliant advance, Mark - at least you've got the Chronicle!  As you say, the MM was probably for Gird Ridge.  

 

Eileen can at least find out about that  rather disastrous action, here and elsewhere. Eden has quite a bit on it.

 

Liz

[MBrockway]

Here is the London Gazette entry for his Military Medal.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29854/supplement/12044/data.htm

 

It is definitely R/16056 A.G. DAY, but he is listed as a rifleman (officially Private) rather than a Serjeant.  No confirmation of battalion however.

 

I'll continue digging.

Mark

 

[MBrockway]

That same LG MM list also includes C/12823 L/Cpl T.W. DENNISON, who was definitely in the Yeoman Rifles and was Killed in Action at the October 1916 GIRD TRENCH action.

 

See this post higher up this topic:

Strong corroboration that Sjt Day was there too.

 

Mark

 

 

Edited 24 September , 2017 by MBrockway

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Again, brilliantly deduced, Sherlock -  I wonder how many of Eileen's grandfather's friends are listed on the Thiepval Memorial?  Presumably he was promoted after that.

 

Liz

Edited 24 September , 2017 by Liz in Eastbourne

[MBrockway]

Not 100% guaranteed Liz, as there are other KRRC MM's in this LG list who were definitely NOT Yeoman Rifles.  On balance of probability, I'd say the case is strong enough though, until we get corroboration from Day's battalion history in the medal roll.

Mark