rmtruby Posted 22 June , 2004 Share Posted 22 June , 2004 I am currently doing some research on my great uncle, Lance Corporal Ernest Samuel Timmins DCM (300115). He served with the 1/1st South Staffs Yeomanry in Egypt and was killed accidentally in Cairo in August 1918. He was from Bilhay Street, West Bromwich, and worked in K & J's on the High Street in West Bromwich before joining up. If anyone has any information whatsoever on Ernest, the South Staffs Yeomanry or on any related topic, it would be greatly appreciated. The attached photo is of Ernest, possibly taken in 1915. I'm not sure where it was taken, but it is most likely somewhere in the Midlands. I am also doing research on West Bromwich before and during the First World War. Thanks Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.wight Posted 22 June , 2004 Share Posted 22 June , 2004 Here's his citation from the London Gazette, 28 March, 1918 (Issue 30601), link. 300115 Pte. (L./C.) E. S. Timmins, Yeo. West Bromwich, Staffs.). For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He brought in a wounded man under very heavy fire. To accomplish this he had to dismount in the open and drive off a party of the enemy. He showed great courage and self-sacrifice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 22 June , 2004 Share Posted 22 June , 2004 My troop Sergeant in 1 Tp, B (Staffordshire Yeomanry) Sqn, Queen's Own Mercian Yeomanry (based Tipton) in 1979 was Sgt Timmins.... If I remember correctly, known as 'Archie..' Related?? PS Please, not the 'South' Staffs Yeomanry! (Confuses the Staffordshire Yeomanry - whole County - with the South Staffordshire Regiment, infantry...) Sorry to be picky, but the Staffs Yeo gets forgotten these days, not much mention of it in the D Day commemorations, for example... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Lewis Posted 22 June , 2004 Share Posted 22 June , 2004 Ray Welcome to the forum,go to the mother site and you will find some info on Staffordshire Yeomanry http://www.1914-1918.net/CAVALRY/staffsyeo.htm Regards Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 25 June , 2004 Author Share Posted 25 June , 2004 Thanks for all of the responses so far. Could anyone fill me in on the kind of training that a new recruit would expect to receive in the Staffordshire Yeomanry in 1914 / 1915? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 2 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 2 July , 2004 A newspaper report from November 1918 described Ernest as a "Trooper". Does anyone know exactly what this refers to in terms of the structure of the Staffordshire Yeomanry? I know that Ernest was in "D" Squadron. Am I right in thinking that they recruited in Wolverhampton? I am also trying to find out what kind of training a volunteer would expect to receive. I do know that Ernest spent some time in Brome near Eye, in Suffolk, possibly in the winter of 1914/15. Does anyone know whether there were barracks there, or some kind of training facilities? Thanks Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Lewis Posted 2 July , 2004 Share Posted 2 July , 2004 Ray Squadrons Headquarters - Stafford A Squadron - Walsall B Squadron - Stoke-on-Trent C Squadron - Burton-on-Trent D Squadron - Wolverhampton Regards Doug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 7 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 7 July , 2004 Can anyone help me find out a comprehensive list of all the men who served with the Staffordshire Yeomanry, especially in 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry, 'D' Squadron? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoch beard Posted 7 July , 2004 Share Posted 7 July , 2004 hello ray, did you receive my e-mail?,ive got to the L's so far in the west brom book and have found 22 men who served with the staff yeo enoch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewThornton Posted 7 July , 2004 Share Posted 7 July , 2004 Just to add some information to the previous postings. The peacetime drill hall for D Squadron of The Staffordshire Yeomanry was located at West Park in Wolverhampton, with a drill station at Himley. Recruits for the Staffordshire Yeomanry were generally sent to Stafford to be attested after August 1914, where the regiment's headquarters were located at Bailey Street. From there, they would be sent to the Reserve Regiment at Tixall, just outside Stafford, for basic training before (provided that they had volunteered for service overseas) being sent to the Service Regiment in Norfolk. When the 2/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry replaced the First-Line Regiment in Norfolk, the 3/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry took over this function until it early 1917 when it was absorbed into 3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment. The Reserve Regiment of The Staffordshire Yeomanry (later titled 2/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry) was formed in September 1914 at Tixall, but it was not until late into the following month that the first appeal for recruits was made. When Major Lovelace Stamer eventually made his appeal for recruits, not only did he need 300 men to bring the Reserve regiment up to establishment, but also 100 men were urgently required for the Service Regiment (later 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry) stationed in and around Diss. This delay was later attributed to a lack of recruits from agricultural backgrounds with the experience of riding and caring for horses and as a result recruits from all occupations were accepted. In response to criticism from Colonel P.R.S. Churchward, the Officer Commanding No. 6 District, who requested that only experienced riders should be recruited for mounted units, Lord Dartmouth replied that the recruiting of such men would continue as they could be trained. Despite the problems experienced with obtaining suitable recruits for the regiment, the Reserve regiment of the Staffordshire Yeomanry was only 42 men below establishment by 31 January 1915. The 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry and 1/1st North Midland Mounted Field Ambulance, which had its drill halls at 59 Soho Road, Handsworth and Swan Village, West Bromwich, did not form part of the North Midland Division and remained in England for over a year after their mobilisation. In September 1914, the two units were despatched with the 1st North Midland Mounted Brigade to Diss in Norfolk, where they carried out patrols along the coast watching for the approach of any German raiding force. During the summer of 1915, the Yeomanry were deprived of their horses and began training in an infantry role until their mounts were restored to them in September. The two Staffordshire units embarked at Southampton on 27 October and were originally destined to join the forces then arriving at Salonika until these orders were changed during the voyage. The Staffordshire Yeomanry and 1st/1st North Midland Mounted Field Ambulance eventually disembarked at Alexandria on 9 November 1915 would remain in the Middle East until the end of the war. The records for The Staffordshire Yeomanry are located at The Staffordshire Record Office, Eastgate Street, Stafford, Staffordshire and can be found catalogued as: D1300 Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen’s Own Royal Regiment) 1794-1951. There are some Orders that contain names, but unfortunately no comprehensive nominal roll. I happen to have about 40 photos, mostly of D Squadron, taken at various camps and training in Norfolk between 1909 to 1915. If you are interested I can post some scans. I also have a copy of the regimental history: P.K. Kemp, The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Q.O.R.R.) in the First and Second World Wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 (Aldershot: Gale and Polden Ltd., 1950) Trooper is equivalent to a Private in the Infantry (or Gunner/Sapper/Driver etc. in other arms and services). However, during the Great War, the rank of Trooper was the preserve of the Household Cavalry and Private was used in the Line Cavalry and Yeomanry, although Trooper was a popular unofficial term. Trooper was not authorised for the rest of the cavalry until after the war, I think in 1920 but someone can perhaps provide the exact AO/ACI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoch beard Posted 9 July , 2004 Share Posted 9 July , 2004 hello ray, heres the list of men in the west brom book who served in the staff. yeo. blencone william c. tpr 300112 broome alfred tpr 300836 bynion william tpr 3414 carter frederick e. tpr 301561 church frederick cpl 300651 cropper edwin s/sgt mr 301034 crump paul o. tpr 300831 dalgleish howard a. sgt 300116 deeley frederick c. tpr 300898 evans harry tpr 143996 farmer charles tpr 36075 freeman ernest r. cpl 2439 greenway howard m. tpr 300910 grice harry c. tpr 300915 griffiths william tpr 300770 horton ralph tpr 3527 humphries thomas s. tpr 300893 johnson john tpr 300792 jones james a. tpr 300772 jukes eli tpr 300941 knight william tpr 300750 law felix tpr 300820 lea arthur tpr 300829 leppard kenneth s. tpr 300047 lowe harry w. tpr 300813 mason john e.t. tpr 300166 moore george tpr 3565 parsons sidney tpr 300776 pearson s. harry tpr 300001 peters william t. tpr 244 piggott john tpr 300771 pitt joseph t. tpr died simcox george h. tpr 301004 skidmore herbert tpr 300757 smith bertram c.j. tpr 301581 smith herbert tpr 300944 spooner william h. tpr 300767 stanley tom sgt 300043 taylor william h. l/cpl 300114 thomas william tpr 300707 timmins ernest l/cpl 300115 dcm killed 1918 waterfield william tpr 300827 watson harry tpr 300795 whitehouse daniel cqms 300668 williams arthur tpr 300758 winston albert tpr 3728 i hope this will be of some help! enoch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewThornton Posted 12 July , 2004 Share Posted 12 July , 2004 Here is a photo of D Squadron, No.3 Troop in billets in November 1914: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewThornton Posted 13 July , 2004 Share Posted 13 July , 2004 Here is another photo, this time of Private Harry Tudor, from Wolverhampton, with his horse Caesar: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewThornton Posted 13 July , 2004 Share Posted 13 July , 2004 And another photo of members of D Squadron on exercise in Norfolk, May 1915: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 24 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 24 July , 2004 This photograph of Ernest was most likely taken at a similar time to the others. By the way, thanks to everyone who has contributed so far to this line of research. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 24 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 24 July , 2004 Before the war Ernest worked at K & J's, on West Bromwich High Street. This is a photo of their football team, taken in 1914. He isn't on the photo, but the photo does feature Bert Sower - second from the right on the back row. I believe that Bert's brother, Harry, was later the Mayor of West Bromwich. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 24 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 24 July , 2004 This photo was taken shortly after Ernest had enlisted. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 24 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 24 July , 2004 This photo was taken in Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich, in 1912. Ernest is on the right. His brother, Joe, is on the left. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 24 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 24 July , 2004 This photograph is of Daniel Timmins, Ernest's father. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 24 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 24 July , 2004 This photograph is of Harriet Timmins, Ernest's sister. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 26 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 July , 2004 As part of my research into my great uncle, I'm also trying to build up a picture of the West Bromwich connection with the Staffordshire Yeomanry. Pte. W. H. LOWE, (300813), 1/1st, Staffordshire Yeomanry, is buried in ALL SAINTS CHURCHYARD EXTENSION, West Bromwich. He died on Wednesday, 29th June 1921. Age 27. Grave Reference: Old. NG. 1211. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 30 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 30 July , 2004 I've just checked all the names of the West Bromwich men in the Staffordshire Yeomanry on the CWGC website. It appears that the only West Bromwich men who died were Ernest Timmins, in August 1918 and W. H. Lowe on 29th June 1921. Can anyone help confirm whether this is true or not? Thanks Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 31 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 31 July , 2004 I believe this postcard was from someone in the Staffordshire Yeomanry to his home. It mentions a stampede at the camp. I was wondering whether the evidence in the postcard corroborates with the evidence in the regimental diary. Can anyone varify whether this postcard was in fact from an SY soldier? Thanks Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 31 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 31 July , 2004 This picture is of the other side of the postcard. Thanks Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtruby Posted 31 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 31 July , 2004 This is a new and more detailed scan of a picture I posted a few weeks ago. Thanks Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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