1 Bn., The Queen's (Royal West Kent Regiment) war diaries help

[Jacksun]

Hi, I had a Great Uncle who was in the 1 Bn., Royal West Kent Regiment. Service records show he landed Aug 15, 1914 with Btn., A Coy. He was KIA Oct 4, 1917 at France and Flanders.

I am having some trouble locating the correct diaries for the period. Can anyone help please?

I have attached his Casualty/active service form in case it helps.

Thanks,

Wayne

[Phil Evans]

Wayne,

For some reason the NA search will not accept Queen's Own, so you will have to sort Kent from Surrey out of this list: Click Here

Phil

[Jacksun]

Thanks Phil, got them sorted. Also found another list that may help others. Now just to see if the diaries are available anywhere except KEW as they are not digitized so they will cost several extremities to obtain from them.

Attached the file of the Queen's Own Royal West Kents WW1 battalion Information as the table formatting was lost just copying and pasting. War diary listing is on the last page of the file.

Note: document covers all RWK battalions, not just the 1st.

Cheers,

Wayne

1bn Royal West Kents.doc

[wally33]

I've just joined the forum but for some reason I'm not yet allowed to start a new thread, so I'm borrowing this one. I have recently found out that my paternal Grandfather was killed in WW1 on 7 November 1917 in Belgium. He was a serjeant in the 1st Bn Queens Own Royal West Regiment. My Dad (now passed away) never talked about his father, who was 24 when he died (my Dad was 4) and I'd I'd like to find out as much as I can about him. Unfortunately, as well as my access being restricted, the various guides on this site (eg researching a soldier) are also down at present, so I'de be grateful for any tips as to where to start.

Thanks.

[wally33]

The above should have read the Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment, sorry.

[KevinBattle]

Hi and welcome, I'm sure access will soon come to you for posting etc, but until one of our resident gurus arrives,

I think your GF is this chap..

NASH, ARTHUR JAMES. Rank: Private. Service No: 204486. Date of Death: 07/11/1917. Age: 24

Regiment/Service: Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). 1st Bn.

Panel Reference: Panel 106 to 108. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

Additional Information: Son of James and Caroline Nash, of 10, Rose Rd., Beaconsfield Rd., St. George, Bristol; husband of Ethel Nash, of 3, Bethel Rd., St. George, Bristol.

STREATFEILD, THOMAS BASIL MARYON. Rank: Second Lieutenant. Date of Death: 07/11/1917. Age: 19

Regiment/Service: Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). 3rd Bn. attd. 1st Bn.

Grave Reference: VIII. C. 3. Cemetery: HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY

Additional Information: Son of Thomas and Florence Ethel Streatfeild (nee Maryon Wilson), of 2, Manor Rd., Folkestone. Educated at Horris Hill, Newbury, Sherborne School and R.M.C. Sandhurst.

WALKER, FRED WOOD. Rank: Serjeant. Service No: S/8185. Date of Death: 07/11/1917. Age: 24

Regiment/Service: Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). 1st Bn.

Grave Reference: VIII. C. 2. Cemetery: HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY

Additional Information: Son of Richard and Mary Ann Walker, of Greenhithe, Kent; husband of Winifred Amy Walker, of 44, Stanhope Rd., Swanscombe, Kent.

There were only 4 ment killed that day, but one was a 2nd Lt so there should be a note in the War Diary about him (I believe the spelling is correct for the surname)

Hooge Crater was a concentration cemetery after the War and included bodies initially buried at various cemeteries, of which these may be relevant.

MENIN ROAD PILLBOX CEMETERY, ZILLEBEKE, between Herenthage Chateau and Gheluvelt, where 20 soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried in October, 1917.

PILLBOX CEMETERY, ZONNEBEKE, 500 metres North-East of Westhoek, which was used in October, 1917; there were buried in it 34 soldiers from Australia, 26 from the United Kingdom, two from Canada and one of the British West Indies Regiment.

SANCTUARY WOOD OLD BRITISH CEMETERY, ZILLEBEKE, within the wood and North-East of the present cemetery; there were buried in it, in 1915-1917, 50 soldiers from the United Kingdom (of whom 30 were unidentified) and four from Canada.

TOWER HAMLETS CEMETERY, GHELUVELT, between Gheluvelt and Bass Wood, on the West side of a row of "pillboxes" called Tower Hamlets; it contained the graves of 36 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in the winter of 1917-1918.

WESTHOEK RIDGE SMALL CEMETERY, ZONNEBEKE, in Westhoek village, "near the Area Commandant's pillbox and the A.D.S."; it was used in the autumn of 1917, and it contained the graves of 16 soldiers from Australia and six from the United Kingdom.

It might be worth an email request to the CWGC Debt of Honour enquiring if they have any further details such as original interment cemetery.

At that time the 3rd Battle of Ypres (better known perhaps as Passchendaele) was in full flow, but with "only" 4 casualties (albeit an officer and a Serjeant) they don't appear to have been actively engaged that day.

EDIT: It seems Arthur had some previous service, in the Norfolk Regiment, but only served in France after 1916 with the RWK

Name: Arthur James Nash. Birth Place: Bristol. Death Date: 7 Nov 1917. Death Location: France & Flanders

Enlistment Location: Bristol, Glos. Rank: Private. Regiment: Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

Battalion: 1st Battalion. Number: 204486. Type of Casualty: Killed in action. Theatre of War: Western European Theatre. Comments: Formerly 7623, Norfolk Regt

Medal entitlement British War and Victory medals.

[wally33]

Many thanks KevinBattle. My grandfather was Fred Wood Walker, the third entry you quoted. Interesting that you say 4 were killed that day. I hadn't read that anywhere. I have managed to find a photo of his headstone at Hooge Crater on the web, and I may now try to get more details of how he died. Interestingly, one of the sites referred to him having a daughter who died in infancy. This was news to me; I thought my Dad was an only child and orphaned at a young age. Thanks again for your help..

[kenf48]

Frederick Walker went to France 27 October 1914; the main body of the 1st Bn went out on the 15th August as part of 5th Division, in turn part of the original BEF and therefore taking part in the early battles of the war. http://www.1914-1918.net/5div.htm

In all probability Frederick was a Special Reserve, though he may have enlisted as a Regular, rather than a 'Kitchener' volunteer, as the 1st was a Regular Bn (New Army recruits/Bns did not go overseas until the following year)

As noted above the war diary may have more information on the death of the officer but Frederick was killed at 'Third Ypres' 2nd Battle of Passchendaele on what was a fairly quiet day, with no organised German attacks (the Battle officially ended on the 10th November). It's possible to speculate as two of the casualties have no known grave it was probably shell-fire (assuming they died together).

Ken

[wally33]

Many thanks for this OldSweats. Again, I didn't know that he went to France in October 1914 and so unlucky to have bought it a few days after the official end of the battle, particularly as he'd been there for 4 years. It is so interesting yet sobering piecing this together.