London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)

[dagian]

A relative was a POW in 1918. However I am unsure which Unit he was serving with at the time. I believe it was the 2/2nd but it could have been the 10th Bn as he served in both. He was 203471 Private Harry Sydney AGER. He first served in Egypt with the 2/2nd and later served in France. On the 23rd February 1918 he was Awarded the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field. On the 21 March 1918 he was reported as Missing In Action and later identified as PoW before being repatriated in December 1918. Great if anybody can help in identifying the action in which he was awarded the MM and details of the action in which he may have been taken Prisoner.

[Drew-1918]

It looks like he was with the 1/10th Londons first (No. 1747). They sailed for Gallipoli in August 1915, and then moved from Gallipoli to Egypt in December 1915. He may have been wounded at some time and been evacuated home. On his recovery it looks like he was transferred to the 1st London Regiment (No. 203471). They arrived in France in March 1915.
I am not an expert in this sort of thing, and may be corrected though.

Regards,

Chris

P.S. It looks like he was taken prisoner in the 'Great German Offensive' in the spring of 1918, which started on 21st March. Many people were taken prisoner then.

Edited 1 November , 2013 by Drew1918

[dagian]

The date would appear to be correct. Yes he was wounded - Lost little finger left hand (Shrapnel) but it was when taken POW 21 March 1918; he later received a Pension for it.

[Drew-1918]

So, I think he was with the 1st Londons when he was taken prisoner. But, you have some information which says that he was 2/2nd?

[dagian]

Service Records shows he was Posted to 2/2nd on 30 Jan 1918 as Lcpl Unpaid but entries thereafter are illegible.

[Drew-1918]

I see. Unfortunately, I do not have Ancestry at the moment, so I was looking at a transcript page for the Medal Card. Its possible that 2/2 was mistranscribed as 1st Bn. If so, apologies.

Some other points:

Many soldiers changed regiments on the 30.1.18, due to re-organisation of the territorials.

The London Gazette has him as L/Cpl on the 22nd February 1918, when he got the MM you mentioned.

Just had a thought- when the territorials were re-numbered in 1917, the 1st Battalion was given the numbers 200001 to 230000 and the 2nd battalion was given the numbers 230001 to 250000. Your relative's number is 203471, which would fit in with the 1st Bn. Perhaps he was 'transferred' to the 1st battalion, but then 'posted' to the 2/2 battalion. This might mean that he would still show up in certain places as officially 1st battalion, though actually with the 2/2 Bn. at the time. I have seen instances of this.

That's about where my knowledge runs out. Better leave it for someone more experienced!

Edited 2 November , 2013 by Drew1918

[jbw541]

Hello,

The Long, Long Trail shows the 1/1st Ldn Regt absorbed the disbanded 2/1st Ldn Regt and renamed the 1st on the 6 Feb 1918, if that helps. Harry is shown on the Silver War Badge Roll as 1st Ldn Regt (12/5/1920).

All the best.

[dagian]

Many thanks for all your help. Is there any way I can find the Citation for the award of his MM?

[Drew-1918]

I don't think a long citation with a detailed explanation always exists. You could try local newspapers or perhaps a regimental history? I have seen details in regimental histories before, though of course, its not assured.