Coldstreamer Posted 18 August , 2011 Share Posted 18 August , 2011 Why would a staff officer be awarded this medal - cant thing what service to agriculture he would be involved in or am I barking up the wrong tree Man in question is Lt Col Darell Coldstream gds cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Riley Posted 18 August , 2011 Share Posted 18 August , 2011 Possibly co-ordination of BEF labour (both Labour Corps and 'resting' troops) to assist in farms bereft of their French workforce or later with the positive effort to grow food in the rear areas. There was a Director of Agricultural Production at GHQ in the BEF under Brigadier-General the Earl of Radnor from January 1918. They managed to set up nearly 5000 acres of farmland for cultivation that vanished in the path of the German Spring offensive; tractors retiring at speed were apparently fired on mistaken for German tanks. The Directorate appears to have co-ordinated efforts that successfully raised vegetables on 7496 acres around base camps and assisted in harvesting 18133 acres of French farmland within areas threated by German fire. Some of the harvesting was by night very close to the front line. There was another big farm near Corbie after the Armistice of 20000 acres. There was also the Forestry Directorate under Brigadier-General Lord Lovat (425 officers, 11000 ORs and 6000 POWs). Source: GHQ (Montreuil-sur-Mer) by "GSO" pp 135-141 This does not answer your question specifically for Lieutenant-Colonel Darell but there was plenty of opportunity for the agriculturalists to interface with the French in the BEF Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeignGong Posted 19 August , 2011 Share Posted 19 August , 2011 Hi Coldstreamer As Ian states it was / is awarded for services to Agricultural & there were approx 152 X 3rd Cl awarded for WW1 of which 146 were Officers & 6 were senior NCO's I doubt if there will be a recommendation or citation available for this award, Very difficult to get them for foreign awards. In case you do not have it this is his LG for the award http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31586/supplements/12410 Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 19 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 19 August , 2011 Thanks - I have seen it written it as a 4th class award but logically it is 3rd class was there a 4th ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeignGong Posted 20 August , 2011 Share Posted 20 August , 2011 No only the 3 classes 1st Cl 11 2nd Cl 52 Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 20 August , 2011 Share Posted 20 August , 2011 Is your man William Henry Verelst Darell? If so he was DA&QMG IV Corps from 24 December 1916 to the end of the war. As QMG he would doubtless have contact with French agricultural sources when organising the food supplies for the Corps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 20 August , 2011 Share Posted 20 August , 2011 There are some details in our GWF Pal, Ivor Lee's book 'No Labour, No Battle,' which indicate that there was a great deal more to this programme than just the 5,000 acres mentioned by 'GSO' in his book. See page 141: "…in January 1917 with the attachment of Agricultural Officers (AOs) to each Army and Corps Headquarters. Chosen for their knowledge of agriculture, the AOs consulted local farmers and officials to decide what help was required. The AO then organized working parties from men in the area whilst ensuring their normal training was not affected." Neither was this scheme confined to the Western Front. At Salonika in July 1918, "…816 Company issued 8 tons 15 cwt of maize all of which had been grown on land adjacent to Divisional Headquarters by the company" (see page 169) regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 20 August , 2011 Share Posted 20 August , 2011 There are some details in our GWF Pal, Ivor Lee's book 'No Labour, No Battle,' which indicate that there was a great deal more to this programme than just the 5,000 acres mentioned by 'GSO' in his book. See page 141: "…in January 1917 with the attachment of Agricultural Officers (AOs) to each Army and Corps Headquarters. Chosen for their knowledge of agriculture, the AOs consulted local farmers and officials to decide what help was required. The AO then organized working parties from men in the area whilst ensuring their normal training was not affected." Neither was this scheme confined to the Western Front. At Salonika in July 1918, "…816 Company issued 8 tons 15 cwt of maize all of which had been grown on land adjacent to Divisional Headquarters by the company" (see page 169) regards Michael Would they have come under the control of the Corps QMG? If so that might explain all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 20 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 20 August , 2011 Is your man William Henry Verelst Darell? If so he was DA&QMG IV Corps from 24 December 1916 to the end of the war. As QMG he would doubtless have contact with French agricultural sources when organising the food supplies for the Corps. i believe this was his brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 20 August , 2011 Share Posted 20 August , 2011 i believe this was his brother It would help if you gave us the full name of your man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeignGong Posted 21 August , 2011 Share Posted 21 August , 2011 It would help if you gave us the full name of your man. If you click on the LG link above , he is the very first name shown. Guy Marsland Darell Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 21 August , 2011 Share Posted 21 August , 2011 If you click on the LG link above , he is the very first name shown. Guy Marsland Darell Peter Aha -it was the Lt Col in the OP that was confusing - he wasn't given this rank until his retirement in 1920. A name much associated with Crufts and Golden Retreivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 21 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 21 August , 2011 Aha -it was the Lt Col in the OP that was confusing - he wasn't given this rank until his retirement in 1920. A name much associated with Crufts and Golden Retreivers Yes, I was suprised how easy it was to find a picture of one of his dogs rather than a picture of him. Luckily I have a pic from the early 1900s. He had a similar roll to that of his relative - perhaps being wounded in 1914 and 1915 meant he had another roll to fulfill Only didnt put his full name as a general question but anything specific on him would be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now