Questions for those knowledgeable about 2 RWF [possibly Grumpy and/or

[J.J.]

First part: Are there any muster records available for soldiers who joined the Battalion circa 1900/1901, I am looking for Pte W Brown 7838.

Second part: Is there anywhere to find where the 'bulk' of the Battalions dead are buried battle by battle?

Thanks

JJ

[sotonmate]

One way that you could do it,but there must be easier,maybe HYWYN can help,I would go to Soldiers Died in the Great War on Ancestry UK and just enter 2 Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers and each year in sequence,or perhaps the month from Somme time onwards,and there will be a list of KIA DOW and Died. You would need to be sure where the 2 Bn casualties end as there is a tendency to go on to other Bns as well,but usually the Bn you ask for will be first up.

There is also a list on "Find my Past" but for all Bn casualties,numbering 9957 in all. Either way it will be hard work fixing it specifically to a battle as there are likely to be many casualties on a day to day existence between battles,as well as complications of when the DOW were wounded.

In relation to W Brown 7838,I took a peak at the Anglo-Boer War Medal Rolls and see that there are several W Brown entries for the RWF,but with numbers less than that you quote. I wonder if it is possible that 7838 was a later number,perhaps after he had done a 7 year stint and re-joined at a later date.

[Muerrisch]

I will come back tomorrow but, top of my head, 7838 enlisted far too late for Boer War [in which 2nd RWF played no part, being engaged in the China War].

Be careful .... 2nd RWF are addictive! Be sure you want to enter the brotherhood!

[sotonmate]

The other thing I forgot from up there in Post 2 is that there might be a SDGW just for the RWF. In my local Library there is one just for the Hampshires,and I seem to remember that it is in Battalion sequence. Now that would be easier !

[Muerrisch]

RWF numbers : series shared 1st and 2nd battalions:

6669 joined on 24th July 1901
7039 joined on 10th January 1902
7753 joined on 4th May 1903
8061 joined on 18th May 1904

from Paul Nixon's incomparable site.

[Muerrisch]

This is an extract from my Duty Done, in which the dead of the principal battles were listed and their graves identified. Each man is listed, and his CWGC location. I did similar ly with all the battles.

La Cordonnerie 22nd October 1914 to 14th November 1914

The dead of this desperate defensive action were all Old Army and are mostly exhumed and reburied at Pont du Hem, a most beautiful British Military Cemetery ‘We were told that there was to be no going back, we were to hold on at all costs’. ‘ ….. not even one of (our) sections had been dislodged or withdrawn’, says The War the Infantry Knew. Three officers and 62 other ranks were killed in action, and Lt TL Prichard died on 9th November of wounds received 27th October. The officers were Second-Lieutenant ERC Stone (25th October), Captain EN Jones-Vaughan (26th October) and Captain LL Stable (26th October).

[J.J.]

Gents many thanks for your assistance with these questions (sorry for misspellings)

Grumpy - we were under the impression that William Brown was a contemporary of Frank Richards as he too served in India. Also is 'Duty Done' still available? and what is the link to Paul Nixon's website?

JJ

[clk]

Hi JJ,

Another way to get a list of the dead, would be by going to the CWGC site, and selecting WW1 with a search of "Royal Welsh Fusiliers" only in the regiment field, generate and download the CSV file (10441 names in all), then apply filters to the columns to select the battalion/s you want, then sort by date or place of burial, etc

Regards

Chris

[Muerrisch]

Paul Nixon's site:

http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.co.uk/

FR in India c. 1902-1912.

PM me re. Duty Done please ..... still available.