1st/4th King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regt)

[RQSM Clark's g'son]

I am the Grandson of RQMS William Clark and trying to learn about his service with the above Regt.

[bruce]

May I refer you to

Kitchener's Men

by John Hutton

Although reticent at recommending the works of Tory MPs, this book is about the men from barrow and surrounding area, written by the MP who represents the constituency.

It is an interesting and informative read.

Bruce

[GraemeClarke]

Morning

Some tips here

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/research/index.php/find-your-soldier/

Regards,

Graeme

[IRC Kevin]

He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in June 1918, almost certainly for his good work as RQMS, which was frequently under fire. Unfortunately, his citation is one of the few missing from the Jeudwine papers for around that time, so I can't be 100% accurate about that, however, the one for the Orderly Room Sgt awarded at a similar time was for his efficient running of the Orderly Room, "often under heavy fire."

I currently have a book on the 1/4th in the early stages of the publication process with Fonthill Media and if you have a photograph of him in uniform I'd be delighted to include it in the book, as the photographs haven't been finalised yet.

[IRC Kevin]

I can also add that he enlisted on 9th September 1914.

[RQSM Clark's g'son]

Many thanks everybody.

Family lore says that he was previously in the territorials. We have a photo of him as a young (teenager?) man in King's Own uniform. Was the 4th Batt not a territorial unit? I am currently ploughing thro' the Wadham/Crossley book on the Regiment which says it was and that nobody took up the offer of enlistment at the outbreak of hostilities.

[IRC Kevin]

The 4th was a TF unit, formed in 1908 from the old 1st Volunteer Battalion of the King's Own. Men could leave the TF with three months notice, or once their period of engagement was over. All those who re-enlisted, that I've come across so far, retained their original number, so I'm reasonably confident that William Clark's enlistment on 9th September 1914 was his first enlistment and not a re-enlistment (unless he had been in the Volunteers prior to 1908). The first man to enlist after declaration of War was Thomas Edmondson on the 7th August. Between then and the 31st October a further 280 men volunteered to join them.

Battalion numbers were actually quite healthy, with them able to 'weed' out the less fit members towards the end of 1914. What rather put the spanner in the works was having several hundred men grabbed back by Vickers in February 1915, a problem compounded by men strategically employed not being allowed to enlist, though I don't think that Crossley actually said that "nobody took up the offer of enlistment." As a result of the problems recruiting in the Furness area due to Vickers Shipyards, Iron foundries and the iron ore mines, the Battalion were forced to recruit from a wider area, poaching men from Preston, Adlington and Chorley. In addition, the 5th Battalion actually had an excess of volunteers from the Lancaster, Fleetwood and Blackpool areas and some of these volunteered to be posted to the 4th (1/4th.)

[RQSM Clark's g'son]

Thank you all!

Kevin, family lore has it that he was in the Territorials before the hostilities commenced. We have a photo of him in the uniform of the King's Own with no indication of rank, so must assume he was a Private. Wadham in the Wadham/Crossley book on the 4th Batt. indicates that the 4th were a Territorial unit with very few if any answering the call to transfer to "line bettalions". The recomendation for his MSM is dated 1 March 1918 and a copy is in the Regt's museum in Lancaster (kolib0186/02-551

http://www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com/kolib0186-02medals.htm) which I have yet to visit.

[IRC Kevin]

Thank you all!

Kevin, family lore has it that he was in the Territorials before the hostilities commenced. We have a photo of him in the uniform of the King's Own with no indication of rank, so must assume he was a Private. Wadham in the Wadham/Crossley book on the 4th Batt. indicates that the 4th were a Territorial unit with very few if any answering the call to transfer to "line bettalions". The recomendation for his MSM is dated 1 March 1918 and a copy is in the Regt's museum in Lancaster (kolib0186/02-551

http://www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com/kolib0186-02medals.htm) which I have yet to visit.

Men from the TF had enlisted on the understanding that they would only be required for Home Defence. The "few answering the call" that Crossley is alluding to, was a request for men already in the 4th to volunteer to be transferred to other Battalions/Regiments, which not one man volunteered for- every man did however volunteer to serve overseas with the 4th, not wanting to be split from their comrades they were serving with. I don't know when your Grandfather became RQMS, but I think it was probably after Crossley had been invalided home and he would have served under his replacement Lt (later Captain) Phillip Powell, a former Sergeant major in the 1st Battalion, who arrived with them on 7th May 1917.

I'm aware of his recommendation in the archives in Lancaster, but one of my main problems has been nailing the curator down to a date when I can visit, (I am hoping, after three years of trying, to be able to do this in a fortnight) however I do know of people who have been able to get either a scanned or photocopied sheet of one of the citations from him.

I'd still very much like to have a copy of his photo to go in my book, but even if you're not willing for it to be published, to be able to see it as I have many newspaper pictures of the Battalion's time in the UK before they deployed to France and would like to see if I can recognise him on one of them. Could you also please let me have his year of birth and home town for my records?

regards,

Kevin

[RQSM Clark's g'son]

It turns out that my wife, Barbara’s grandfather was also in the 55^th, Private Percy Charles Warren of the Liverpool Regt.