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Remembered Today:

3rd Lincolns


jim_davies

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The 3rd Lincolns were a reserve battalion and remained in the UK for most of the war. I'm interested to know where they would have been in Jan 1915, Aug 1915 and June 1917.

Initially I though Lincoln, but have since seen references to Grimsby and Ireland.

I know that reserve battalions were primarily engaged in training new recruits for service abroad, and that wounded men were often posted to them on recovery. What type of function did recoverying men do when posted to reserve battalions ? I mean were they used as instructors, or were they basically sent there to be whipped back into shape after a stay around too many nurses and clean sheets !

Thanks,

Jim

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Jim,

"British Battalions" just gives very brief details - Lincoln until late August 1914 and then to Grimsby until early 1918 and then to Cork.

Bob.

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The Regimental History says:

"THE MOBILISATION OF THE 3RD (RESERVE) BATTALION, THE TERRITORIALS, AND RAISING OF THE SERVICE BATTALIONS OF THE REGIMENT

The task of training and despatching drafts to the battalions serving overseas of the regular and new armies, to replace the wastage of war, devolved on the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Regiment, formerly militia, commanded by Lieut-.Colonel W.V.R. Fane. The battalion was stationed at Grimsby, its war station, from August 1914 to November 1917. Whilst at Grimsby it shared with the 3rd and 4th Battalions Manchester Regiment the duty of guarding the coast defences on the south side of the Humber, and furnished detachments from time to time at Killingholme Oil Tanks, Immingham Docks and Waltham Wireless Station.

The Wireless Station was frequently the object of attack by German aeroplanes, but escaped injury. A number of the 3rd Battalion Manchester Regiment, however, billeted in a school at Cleethorpes were killed by bombs.

In November 1917 it was decided, in consequence of conditions obtaining in Ireland, to replace Irish Special Reserve battalions serving there by English, Welsh and Scotch battalions, and the 3rd Lincolnshire moved to Cork, where it was quartered in Victoria Barracks, with a battalion of the King’s Liverpool Regiment, and one of the Welsh Fusiliers.

In February 1918 the 3rd Lincolnshire sent a detachment of twenty-eight officers and four hundred and twenty other ranks to Tulla, in Co. Clare, where the Sinn Feiners were setting law and order at defiance. The detachment was recalled to Cork on the news of the German offensive of the 21st March, and soon afterwards the battalion sent a draft of every available man to replace casualties.

The work both at Grimsby and Cork was difficult and complicated; in the early days of the war, officers and men remained long enough with the Battalion to be fairly well trained, and to acquire some feeling of esprit de corps. But as the war progressed, and the number of battalions at the front as well as the casualties increased, the training of officers and men had to be perpetually hastened and intensified, and when time permitted training at home was supplemented by training at base camps at Etaples and elsewhere in France, before sending the drafts to the front line.

Captain M.G.H. Barker (Colonel Barker, D.S.O., A.A. and Q.M.G., Eastern Command) was Adjutant of the Battalion for the first five months; he was succeeded by Captain E. James (Lieut.-Colonel James, D.S.O., M.C., E. Lanes. Regt.), and he by Captain H. Disbrowe, invalided from France. Captain and Quartermaster T. Hammond served with the Battalion throughout the war.

The following figures for 1914 and 1915 are of interest. The 3rd Battalion sent to the 1st to replace casualties in 1914, in less than five months’ fighting, 1,336 men. In 1915 the 2nd, 6th, 8th and 7th needed reinforcements, as well as 1st Battalion, and the numbers sent out during the year were

To replace casualties.

1st Battalion ... 1,430 ... at Ypres, first attack Bellewaarde.

2nd “ ... 1,100 ... at Neuve Chapelle, Aubers and Bois Grenier.

6th “ ... 1,082 ... at Gallipoli.

8th “ ... 461 ... At Loos.

7th “.. 59 ... Early days in the trenches.

Total ... 4,132

No “conscientious objector” came to the 3rd Battalion from Lincolnshire; but three men from another county gave a good deal of trouble in this connection. After a time more than half the men posted to the battalion were men from the Expeditionary Force, sent home on account of wounds or sickness, and some of these returned to the front with three or four wound stripes.

Simpson, The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914-1918 (pp47-48)

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Bryn,

Thanks for all the great info on the battalion.

My G-G-uncle was posted to the battalion on three separate occassions.

1)-Jan 1915 after being wounded 16 Nov 1914. Remained until Feb 1915.

2)-Aug 1915 after being wounded 16 June 1915. Remained until Jan 1916.

3)-June 1917 after being evacuated with Trench foot. Stayed until sent back to France, April 1917.

Unfortunately George was KIA on Sept 29, 1918. He was an original member of the 1st Battalion, landing on 13 Aug, 1914. During the war he served with the 1st, 6th and 8th battalions.

During his final stay with the 3rd batt, there is a reference to "occupational index board", I would be interested to finding out more about.

Regards,

Jim

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