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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

LABOUR CORPS UNITS


mutley

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Can anyone tell what the following Labour Corps units were and where they wer based?

629th HS Employment Company

304th Reserve Labour Coy

My grandfather was transfered to them from the Leinster Regt as a result of a GSW to the chest received on 2/9/16 at Guillemont with the 7th Bn. He was then invalided out of the army in April 1918.

His record shows him as a machinist group 33, not sure waht this means, I am presuming that group 33 has something to do with wood working machinists as this was his trade prior to the war.

Many thanks

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629 Company was stationed at Portsmouth.

As an H.S. (Home Service) Employment Company its main role was to service either a miltary base or establishment (like a hospital). The men in the company carried out basic labouring tasks including cleaning, clerical tasks, moving stores etc and, at times, more specialist tasks including plumbing, tailoring, bricklaying to name a few.

The bad news is that there are no War Diaries for the UK based Companies and virtually no reference to them in any remaining official documents.

304 Reserve Labour Company was stationed at Plymouth. Plymouth was the location of the HQ of Southern Command Labour Corps. 304 was a holding company where a man was trained before posting to another unit. It also acted as a support unit for the Command HQ.

What is interesting is that he was in an Employment Company and a Reserve Labour Company (rather than a Reserve Employment Company). Was he in 304 and then 629?

Could I have his name and regimental numbers for my database? Also the date of transfer to the Labour Corps, if you have it.

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Ivor,

can you tell me the connection between Labour Corps and Pioneer Battalions. Both of my maternal great-grandfathers were in a Pioneer Battalion - 11th Btn Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) (St Helens Pioneers). One of them has a Labour Corps number on his MIC. They were:

John Henry Sharratt - MIC gives disembarked France Nov 6, 1915 as Labour Corps 400561 Sgt. Cl. Z. 22-2-19. The 1914/15 Star reference is WO329/2846. The Victory Medal reference is WO329/1832 Labour Corp 400561 Sgt. 20311 Sgt. S. Lancs.

William Atherton - 20795 L/Cpl., k. in a.,23/3/18, buried at Ham. MIC gives disembarked France Nov 6, 1915. Ref WO329/1294 for the BWM and Victory Medal, and ref WO329/2735 for 1914/15 Star.

Were the whole battalion Labour Corps?

regards

Dave Risley

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Ivor

Many thanks for the information,

my grandfathers details are as follows:

388 Pte Bernard Sheerin Leinster Regt then on transfer to the Labour Corps he became 229945. His records are in the burnt series and are therefore very difficult to read but from the bits that I can decypher he was transfered to 629th HS Empolyment Coy on 1/12/17 and then on 14/12/17 he is shown as posted to SC Labour Corps and then on the same date it is annotated 304 Res Lab Coy. He was discharged after a medical board on 08 Apr 1918, this was held at Winchester.

He wnet back to southern Ireland, but then returned and settled in Plymouth for the rest of his life.

Thanks again.

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Dave

During WW1 there was no connection between the Pioneer Battalions and the Labour Corps.

The Pioneer Battalions were primarily fighting soldiers who were also pioneers.

The Labour Corps primarily comprised of men unfit for front line service who carried out labouring tasks.

The fact a man was transferred to the Labour Corps meant that he was either injured or ill and no longer able to serve in a Pioneer Battalion.

I see from the CWGC records that John Henry Sharratt died in 1920 and that he had been in 263 Company, Labour Corps.

263 was an Area Employment Company attached to III Corps. The bad news is that 263 did not keep its own War Diary and I have only seen two references to it in III Corps Diary.

September 1917 at Peronne.

February 1918 at Ugny Le Cay

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Mutley

Thanks for the information. It is really helpful as it gives me an exact date for his regimental number.

By the way SC Labour Corps was the Southern Command HQ which was located at Plymouth. So it looks as if he was transferred to 304 Company in order to help service the HQ.

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Ivor

I have some medals in my collection to memwho served in the Labour Corps and have listed the details below, I'm still researching them and if I can identify transfer dates I will let you know.

51849 Pte Stanley B Corke Devon R to Labour Corps Number 103328

58904 Pte Oliver Coggins Devon R to Labour Corps Number 104508

60119 Pte James J H Chandler Devon R to Labour Corps Number 1050600

6519 Pte Stephen Fisher 1 Wilts R to Labour Corps Number 315095

10518 Pte William G Gear Devon R to Labour Corps Number 462438 Discharged 13/4/19

53216 Pte FH Grant Devon R to Labour Corps Number 102153

40788 Cpl Albert Harwood Devon R to Labour Corps Number 91807

290429 Pte James T Henley Devon R to Labour Corps Number 642813

20751 Pte H Lee Devon R to Labour Corps Number 101103

58676 Pte Thomas E Reeve Devon R to Labour Corps Number 104153

33661 Pte CC Tudball Devon R to Labour Corps Number 373320 then to R Fusiliers

45611 Pte JH Warren Devon R to Labour Corps Number 592145

292094 Pte Frederick A Worley Devon R to Labour Corps Number 103634

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Ivor,

thanks for that. John Henry Sharratt did indeed die in 1920. He is buried in St Helens with a military headstone. I have been told he died from kidney failure due to being gassed. Perhaps that is what rendered him unfit.

regards

Dave Risley

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Guest Ian Bowbrick
51849 Pte Stanley B Corke Devon R to Labour Corps Number 103328

58904 Pte Oliver Coggins Devon R to Labour Corps Number 104508

60119 Pte James J H Chandler Devon R to Labour Corps Number 1050600

53216 Pte FH Grant Devon R to Labour Corps Number 102153

20751 Pte H Lee Devon R to Labour Corps Number 101103

58676 Pte Thomas E Reeve Devon R to Labour Corps Number 104153

292094 Pte Frederick A Worley Devon R to Labour Corps Number 103634

Were all members of the various Devonshire Regiment Infantry Labour Companies who were transferred to the Labour Corps in April 1917. These Units were formed in Early 1917, trained at Exeter and departed for overseas in March (?) 1917. They went overseas as Regimental Infantry Labour Companies and not Labour Corps hence their medals are inscribed with their Devonshire Regimental details.

Their Labour Corps Units on transfer were:

103328 Corke - 173 Coy

104508 Coggins - 175 Coy

106060 Chandler - 177 Coy

102153 Grant - 171 Coy

101103 Lee - 169 Coy

105153 Reeve - 176 Coy

103634 Worley - 173 Coy

Ian

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Ian

I have no idea I bought the medals as I collect medals to the Devon's and as yet have not researched them other than to get their MIC I will try to find this out the next time I go to the PRO. Thanks for the info about the different Labour Corps Coy's.

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Guest Ian Bowbrick
40788 Cpl Albert Harwood Devon R to Labour Corps Number 91807

Was a member of the 154th Coy Labour Corps and previously 14th Bn Devonshire Regt.

Ian

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Ian

thanks again for the info, do you mind me asking where you got it from? Do you have a book that shows them or something??

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Mutley

A.C.I. 611 of 1917 (Formation of a Labour Corps) gives the details for Labour Corps men with numbers up to about 200,000.

This includes the title of the new Labour Corps unit, the unit it was formed from and the Labour Corps regimental numbers.

The relevant sections for the Devons are:

Labour Corps

Company

Number Original Unit Labour Corps

Regimental Numbers

152 12th Bn Devonshire Regt 90601 - 91200

153 12th Bn Devonshire Regt 91201 - 91800

154 14th Bn Devonshire Regt 91801 - 92400

166 1st Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 99001 - 99600

167 2nd Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 99601 - 100200

168 3rd Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 100201 - 100800

169 4th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 100801 - 101400

170 5th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 101401 - 102000

171 6th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 102001 - 102600

172 7th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 102601 - 103200

173 8th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 103201 - 103800

174 9th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 103801 - 104400

175 10th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 104401 - 105000

176 11th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 105001 - 105600

177 12th Infantry Lab Coy Devonshire Regt 105601 - 106200

Once you get above 200000 it is more difficult to link a man to a specific Company. In the case of the other men on your list I have had a look at the records but am afraid cannot match them up accurately.

Two words of warning with the details from ACI 611.

Experience has shown that the men from the Infantry Labour Companies were not always transferred exactly as shown above. In most cases the ACI is accurate but I have come across men who were in the Labour Company either above or below the one they should have been in.

Secondly this was the Company the man was initially in. Transfers to other Labour Companies often took place. Either to fill gaps in Companies or, as was often the case, where a man's medical classifiaction dropped and he was transferred either to a "less strenuous" Company or to a UK unit.

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Sorry the table has not transferred correctly.

The three columns should be headed

Labour Corps Company Number

Original Unit

Labour Corps Regimental Number

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Ivor

many thanks for the info, I will search through the others in my collection to see if any more of them were transferred across to the Labour Corps.

thanks again.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ivor,

without a man's service record is it possible to get an approximate date for transfer to the Labour Corps based on his service number?

regards

Dave Risley

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Guest Ian Bowbrick
Ivor,

without a man's service record is it possible to get an approximate date for transfer to the Labour Corps based on his service number?

regards

Dave Risley

Yes it can be done.

Ian

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  • 2 weeks later...

How would I go about it?

cheers

Dave

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Guest Ian Bowbrick

Dave,

Ivor Lee probably has the definitive database, but given a Labour Corps number you can pinpoint a month and year in which someone transferred or was conscripted into the Labour Corps. Individual units are a different issue though.

Ian :)

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  • 3 months later...

Thanks to all for the info. I now know he became Labour Corps in June/July 1917. my next question is would he have continued to wear Sout Lancs insignia or did the Labour Corps have its own?

regards

Dave Risley

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Gents,

As we are talking Labour Corps here I was hoping to be able to attach an excel spreadsheet of a transcription of the 1914-15 star roll for men of the Dorsetshire Regt who transferred to the Labour Corps, but unfortunately it seems I am not able to do so. If anyone was interested I would be happy to email them a copy.

Regards

Steve

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Guys

Can I ask a newbie type question? My Grandfather, Pte William Henry Sawyer went from the 17th LRB to the Labour Corps and from his MIC I get his Labour Corps number of 554715.

From this number, if I go to the PRO will it show a war diary type thing for him/them?

Thanks.

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Hi Ivor,

Reading the thread that Mutley started, I was interested to see your reply, I know my Grandad on Mums side was in the Labour Corp because thats on Mums birth cert', he was he was a Master Tailor and came from Hampshire, Droxford, could he have been in 629 Company with his background, as far as we know he did not go overseas. Sorry we do not have a service number.

Thanks

Colin

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  • 9 years later...

hi all, I'm researching a man who died whilst with the 89th Company along with 3 others on June 9th 1918. Wonder if anyone has the faintest idea what they were up to that day? Soldiers Died in the Great War has all four as being killed in action. They're buried in the Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension.

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  • 5 weeks later...

hi all, I'm researching a man who died whilst with the 89th Company along with 3 others on June 9th 1918. Wonder if anyone has the faintest idea what they were up to that day? Soldiers Died in the Great War has all four as being killed in action. They're buried in the Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension.

James Bosley is one of the four you mention - a family notice in his local paper (Newbury Weekly News - 20 Mar 1918) describes him as 'killed by shell'. I have not found any unit diary or anything else of use (though I have yet to check for an obit in the same paper - one of the few weeks where I don't have a copy of the relevant column). Presumably they were somewhere near Hersin?

As the Company was shelled that day it seems likely that all 4 died in that manner. But how much credence should be placed in a family's understanding of the event only a week or so later?

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