2li Posted 2 January , 2014 Share Posted 2 January , 2014 hi can any member help me with the regimental history for the 3/4th Battalion, Queens Royal West Surrey Regt I am trying to piece together the days leading up to the death of Private John Jones, (T/204965) a member of this battalion who died on the 23 June 1917, I would like to know if the Queens were in action on that date or in the trenches if any member with an interest in the Queens Royal West Surrey regt especeially the 3/4 battalion, and can help me with the days of the 22-23-24 June I would be most grateful many thanks Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 2 January , 2014 Share Posted 2 January , 2014 Hi Phil This link may help http://qrrarchive.websds.net/menu3.aspx Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2li Posted 3 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 3 January , 2014 Jim this link comes up as an error can you help further cheers PHIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeClarke Posted 3 January , 2014 Share Posted 3 January , 2014 http://qrrarchive.websds.net/menu1.aspx?li=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 3 January , 2014 Share Posted 3 January , 2014 Sorry Phil, not sure what happened there as I double checked it after I posted it for you ... maybe it times out. Luckily Graeme was there to square it away. Hope it helps your quest, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2li Posted 3 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 3 January , 2014 Thank you Graeme for the war diaries unfortunatly nothing for early June 1917 available on the index also thank you Jim any idear where to proceed from here cheers PHIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 3 January , 2014 Share Posted 3 January , 2014 You could try PMing 'Bootneck' on the forum, know he has been looking into the RWSR along with the East Surreys Got a feeling Richard Holmes mentions the war of 3/4th Queen's in his book 'Tommy', I will check later for you if you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2li Posted 3 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 3 January , 2014 Thanks Jim that would be great, thought I mention on the day of John Jones death he was one of two men killed with the 3/4 battalion on the 23 June this is from soldiers died so not a big attack maybe shell fire or sniper incidents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 3 January , 2014 Share Posted 3 January , 2014 Ah, was going to suggest this too http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Queen-Royal-Surrey-Regiment/dp/1843425394/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388779555&sr=1-1&keywords=royal+west+surrey+regiment But not sure if that will fit the bill either ... Surrey History Centre maybe able to advise you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2li Posted 4 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 4 January , 2014 cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambo Posted 3 February , 2014 Share Posted 3 February , 2014 Hi Jim In case you come across it I have a copy of the "unofficial history" of the three 4th Battalions, had a quick look but the only detail is two days before (21st June) when they lost their CO Colonel Hooke to shell fire while "proceeding to the front line near the ill fated chemical works at Rouex". He was part of a small group from C Company who sound like they were moving up for a recce prior to a stint in the trenches your man was killed in. Not much but hope it helps a little Best John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 4 February , 2014 Share Posted 4 February , 2014 Hi John, Phil was after the original info, but thank you very much, I never realised there was an "unofficial history" of the 4th Bn, is it readily available? Know a lot of them were originally Croydon men (my home town), and I finished my service time at their old barracks, so like to keep tabs on their war All the best Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambo Posted 4 February , 2014 Share Posted 4 February , 2014 I picked it up years ago but did see a copy on Turner Donovan's list recently. It reads like it was published for old comrades as there are lots of anecdotes, nicknames etc and it doesn't tend to dwell on the fighting too much. Covers all three battalions with a bit on the 2/5th. Written by Capt Ronald Bannerman MC published in 1931 by H.R. Grub of Croydon Hope you find what you're after All the best John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwan Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 Hope you don't mind me sticking my nose in - and please excuse my ignorance. I'm new to the forum and WWI, so be gentle! I'm trying to find out about the gent shown in my profile pic: George Charles Dwan. Unusual name so thought it might have stuck in the mind. Royal West Surreys, but I don't know which battalion or even how to find this information without making a trip to Kew. I do know from his Medal Card obtained from the National Archives a few years back his number (5805) and rank (corporal), and from information from another forum that he was at Loos, the Somme, Arras... He won the Military Medal and was later in the RAF.Not wishing to hijack the thread, I include a link to the one started on my behalf by the lovely 'liverpool annie' way back, when I wasn't able to register. All the details are there. http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35533#entry2035721Many thanks in advance for helping point me in the right direction,Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 Hi Vic, John (Hambo) will be able to direct you better no doubt, but with Loos, Somme and Arras rings awfully like 2nd Bn, 22nd then 91st Bde, 7th Div or 6th Bn, 37th Bde, 12th Division to me. The Medal Roll would indicate. All the best with your search Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwan Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 Thanks so much, Jim. Much appreciated. I need to dig out some CDs to check the National Archives PDF I downloaded a few years back, as all I have to hand at the moment are scribbled notes. But I can add that he volunteered in May 1915, was twice wounded (on one occasion, he lost a finger), served in the retreat and advance of 1918 - and I left St Eloi, Vimy Ridge and Bullecourt off the above list. All the best to you, Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 Ah, with his wounds he may have been sent to different battalions of the Queen's on recovery, so the Medal Roll would be the best bet, won't give you dates of the moves between Bns (if there were any), but will tell you which Bn, Vic What a brave man, you must be very proud All the best with your search, I hope you find all you seek on him Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwan Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 Very proud. He was my great-grandfather and he was fortunate to live to a ripe old age, passing away in 1984. Tragic, though, that after all the horror he'd experienced in WWI and such tremendous loss of life all around him, he'd lose two sons in WWII (one serving in the RAF, one killed during the Blitz). What must he have thought? And what a list you have there! So many killed in action; just boys, many of them, I imagine. Heartbreaking, isn't it? My thanks again for your help (and apologies for my continued hijacking of this thread), Vic... looking for that CD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 15 February , 2014 Share Posted 15 February , 2014 Just thought Vic, have you seen this, has a link to Queen's war dairies http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/index.shtml All the best, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwan Posted 16 February , 2014 Share Posted 16 February , 2014 Thanks for thinking of me, Jim! Funnily enough, I've been going through the diaries today. I'd love to know why/when George won a MM, but I still don't know which battalion he was in. I found my CD and looked again at his medal card, but there's no battalion mentioned and no MM either, although I have seen the announcement in the London Gazette. Am I missing something obvious, other than requesting his service records from the MoD, if I can? I'm puzzled because the information provided about where he served came from someone helping me on another forum several years ago and, come to think of it, I don't know where they got this information. I can find nothing at the British Newspaper Archive. Fingers crossed that Hambo will be interested in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Evans Posted 16 February , 2014 Share Posted 16 February , 2014 Doesn't Discovery make it hard these days! It used to be so easy to pick out the MM MICs (which are not on Ancestry) from the campaign medal cards. This is his MM MIC, I believe - click here Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 16 February , 2014 Share Posted 16 February , 2014 Vic, Think you need to refer to the Medal Rolls at Kew and using the reference from the Medal Index card to track his Bn (or Bns) that way, then you will know how to proceed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 16 February , 2014 Share Posted 16 February , 2014 Doesn't Discovery make it hard these days! It used to be so easy to pick out the MM MICs (which are not on Ancestry) from the campaign medal cards. This is his MM MIC, I believe - click here Phil Nice one Phil, brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 16 February , 2014 Share Posted 16 February , 2014 Just dug up his MIC, Vic, looks like he did not deploy to the front until after 1915, so he was not at Loos I'm afraid Vic (well not the Sept/Oct 1915 battle, may have served in trenches there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwan Posted 17 February , 2014 Share Posted 17 February , 2014 Thanks to you both. I vaguely remember there being two medal index cards available when I started researching a few years back. I thought it must have been an error or useless duplicate that would add nothing. Looks like I paid to download the one I can now view for free at Ancestry via the library. Typical! I'm waiting on the National Archives to tell me how much it will cost to digitise these for download, as I can't get to Kew just yet and it could well be quicker and cheaper than visiting, considering the cost of train fare these days. Back to my scribbled notes, I believe he volunteered in May 1915. Thanks again, Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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