George Hicken RWR, RBR, Labour Corps & RFC

[Leonard68]

Attached is George Hicken's RFC Casualty Card.

[Leonard68]

Attached is George Hicken's Silver War Badge Record. His age is incorrect. He was 39 when he was discharged and 41 when he died.

[Leonard68]

Attached is George Hicken's Death Certificate. Notice that while it lists him as an Air mechanic with the RFC, it shows his Labour Corps service number.

[Leonard68]

Apparently, I can't send any more attachments as I have reached my file allowance capacity. Anyway, all I had left were the two CWGC files and The National Roll Of The Great War entry, which has some strange errors. Thanks to everyone who looks at this and can offer any clarification.

[headgardener]

Hi Leonard,

Thanks for all that info! Are you certain that George Thomas Hicken (R Warw Rgt) is the same person as George Hicken (RFC)? GTH's given age in 1916 appears to be 20 - that's an enormous discrepancy with GH's actual age at the time (39)....! I've heard of older men taking a few years off their age in order to join up, but that really takes the biscuit!

Is it at all possible that there was a George Thomas Hicken born around 1895-6 (or possibly a little later, just in case he added a couple of years to his age when he joined up). Alternatively, do you have any documentary evidence linking 10758 (R Warw R) to 126868 (RFC). I'm just trying to make certain that these 2 separate records definitely relate to the same man.

Apparently, I can't send any more attachments as I have reached my file allowance capacity. Anyway, all I had left were the two CWGC files and The National Roll Of The Great War entry, which has some strange errors. Thanks to everyone who looks at this and can offer any clarification.

The National Roll is notoriously inaccurate. Can you tell us what it actually says, though...?

[Leonard68]

I have no documentary evidence linking the two service numbers. I do have a 1915 photo of my grandfather in his uniform. The cap badge is the RWR badge. The Birmingham Daily Post's Roll Of Honour for October 16th 1915 lists a Pte. Hicken, 10758, 2nd Battalion RWR, as being wounded, although the first initial is incorrectly shown as "E". My grandfather was wounded by gas poisoning which fits in with the Battle of Loos. I could find no other MIC for a George Hicken in the RWR. Here's the National Roll entry.

National Roll Of the Great War

HICKEN, G. T., Pte., Royal Warwickshire Regt.

Volunteering in January 1915, he proceeded to the Western Front in the following March. There he took part in the Battles of Neuve Chapelle, Hill 60, Ypres and Festubert and was severely wounded in action at Loos in September 1915. He was invalided home, and in June of the following year was discharged as medically unfit for further service. He holds the 1914-15 Star, and the General Service and Victory Medals.

3 Court, 2House, Charles Henry Street, Birmingham Z4212

Here are the discrepancies.

In 1915, George’s Battalion participated in battles at Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert, Givenchy and Loos. It was not involved in battles at Hill 60 or Ypres as far as I could tell.

The Roll states George headed for France in March. However, his Medal Index Card indicates arrival in France was on the 8^th of June. I suppose it's possible that such delays were encountered. Anyway, all of the above mentioned battles were finished by the end of May, except for Loos.

No mention is made of the Silver War badge.

George’s address is incorrect. It should be 115 Park Lane Aston, Birmingham.

Here is a bit of information about the incorrect address that I found interesting. The address shown on the Roll is 3 Court, 2 House, Charles Henry Street, Birmingham. If the Court and House numbers had been inadvertently transposed when the record entry was made, then the address shown should have been 2 Court, 3 House, Charles Henry Street, Birmingham. Of course, this is still not the correct address for our George. But here’s the interesting part. There was a George Thomas Hicken living at 2 Court, 3 House, Charles Henry Street, Birmingham at that time. He was a young man, just 19 years old. On the 6^th of January 1915 he enlisted in the King’s Royal Rifles Regiment and given Regimental No. 8894. The poor fellow only lasted 5 days. He was discharged on the 11^th of January 1915 due to having an undersized chest measurement. So this is a George T. Hicken that was born around 1896, but his service record shows nothing beyond his initial rejection in January 1915.

[headgardener]

Just had a look at FMP's index - there's a George Thomas Hicken born at Aston in 1896 and died in 1953. This matches 10758 R Warw R.

If the Labour Corps number is accidentally listed on 126868 RFC's death certificate, then this would appear to confirm that the 2nd MIC and the AIR 79 belong to the same person. In which case maybe we're looking at 2 periods of service for 2 different people.....?

[headgardener]

We seem to have posted simultaneously....!

I'm wondering whether we are looking at 2 separate George Thomas Hickens. Regarding the National Roll, forget what it says about the various places that this man is said to have served, it's often inaccurate. The fact that the address doesn't match your man is interesting.

Regarding the other George Thomas Hicken's service record, the fact that he was rejected as bring medically unfit didn't mean that he couldn't have walked into another recruiting office on the same day and been accepted - I've seen it in one mans service papers, of which there were 2 separate sets, the next-of-kin details confirmed they were the same person. The fact that the other GTH's address is almost the same as the man on the National Roll says to me that this is the same man (I.e. not your GTH).

I've got to hit the sack now, will comment further in a.m.

[headgardener]

Hi Leonard,

I'm in no doubt that we are looking at 2 separate people here, with 2 separate periods of service, and that 10758 R Warw R is not your grandfather.

We know that there were 2 people called George Thomas Hicken; one born in 1876 (let's call him GTH/1), the other born in Aston in 1896 (let's call him GTH/2).

We know that a George Thomas Hicken enlisted in the KRRC in Jan 1915 - he was 19 years old (therefore born approx 1896). He was discharged after 5 days. A George THomas Hicken then enlisted in the R Warw Rgt less than 3 weeks later, was wounded in France in about September 1915, and was discharged in 1916 aged 20 (therefore born about 1896). Service details of a George Thomas Hicken were published in the National Roll - his service details broadly match the man who enlisted in the R Warw Rgt, and his address is essentailly the same as the George Thomas Hicken who enlisted in the KRRC. The man who enlisted in the KRRC must be the same man who subsequently enlisted in the R Warw Rgt, and he must be GTH/2. The relatively minor inconsistencies in the National Roll entry are common to that particular publication. The National Roll was compiled from information supplied by the family, or by the man himself, rather than from official sources.

That leaves GTH/1. We know he died in 1918. His death certificate lists him as serving in the RFC but also gives his number as 363901. This Labour Corps number appears on the medal card and service record of George Hicken, whose next of kin is listed on AIR 79 as being your grandmother. If we accept that the Labour Corps number is correct then there's no reason to suppose that the R Berks R number listed on both the MIC and the service record is incorrect. This George Hicken is your grandfather, not the man who served in France with the R Warw R in 1915.

You have a photo of your grandfather taken in 1915. That doesn't mean that he went overseas in 1915. Only overseas service will be included on the MIC's (although there are a few exceptions to any rule, of course). I gather that you've been told that your grandfather was gassed, so I can understand how you may have assumed that he must have served in France in 1915. I'd suggest that he may have rejoined the R Warw Rgt in 1914 or 15 and served at home in a National Reserve unit or something similar that went under the same badge as the Warwicks, and that he then transferred to the Berks, and from there to the Lab Corps and RFC. I wonder whether the bout of bronchitis that he suffered so soon before he died may have somehow become translated into him having been 'wounded', the most logical lung injury coming from exposure to gas.

Does this all make sense?

[headgardener]

I have checked the Royal Berks records and the only G Hicken we have was transferred from the Royal Warwicks to the Royal Berks 1st Garrison Battalion 26/1/1917.as 34188. The regular number 8310 belonged to G F S Hague who enlisted 24/8/06 and died at Zonnebeke 26/10/14. I do not have a holder for a Territorial number 8310 and the highest number I have recorded is 7941. The only other series is the Special Reserve but that was finished with by early on in the war and should have been preceded by 3/.

There was a lot of traffic between all the regiments of Southern Command which included both the RBR and the RWF but the Garrison Battalion never went overseas

So I have to cast considerable doubt on what has gone before. Where did his Royal Berks reference come from?

John

John.

The RBR 8310 number is on the RAF Medal Roll & MIC, as are the Labour Corps and RAF numbers. I agree that it is odd that he has such a low number, having re-enlisted in 1915.

There is no mention of the RWR on either record. There might be further references on the RAF records that Leonard has.

Steve

Can you guys shed any further light on a R Berks R Special Reservist with the number 3/8310? i.e. when he may have joined up, whether there were any transfers from the Warwicks, etc?

Leonard:

Any chance of posting that pic that you have? Always nice to put a face to the name, and we may be able to pick up a few clues from his uniform.

[headgardener]

I have checked the Royal Berks records and the only G Hicken we have was transferred from the Royal Warwicks to the Royal Berks 1st Garrison Battalion 26/1/1917.as 34188.

John,

Do you also have anything else on this man by any chance....?

[Leonard68]

It now appears very likely that my grandfather’s role in WW1 was not what I first thought. In short, he most probably did not serve with the 2^nd Battalion of the RWR in France in 1915 and therefore was not wounded by gas poisoning at the Battle of Loos. There were certain discrepancies in my grandfather’s records pertaining to name, age, home address and regimental numbers that needed to be resolved. With tremendous help from members of this forum and further research on my part, I pieced together the following information.

Was my grandfather’s name George Hicken or George Thomas Hicken? When I started seeing records with a “T” or “Thomas”, I just assumed he had adopted this middle name later in life since this was the given name of his grandfather.

My grandfather’s name is listed as George Hicken on: his birth certificate; his 1896 enlistment record; every census, including the 1911 one that he completed himself; both of his daughters’ Baptism records; his RBR/Labour Corps/RFC Medal Roll Index entry and the associated Medal Index Card; his RFC Casualty Card and his Death Certificate. All his CWGC records list him as G. Hicken as does his RFC Service Record. So none of the documents that are positively associated with my grandfather show the middle initial “T” or the middle name of Thomas.

There are several records that pertain to a George T. Hicken or George Thomas Hicken who served with the RWR during WW1. These include the Victory Medal/British War Medal Roll Index record for a George T. Hicken, Regimental Number 10758 of the RWR 2^nd Battalion; the Medal Index Card for a George T. Hicken, who was a Private in the 2^nd Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment having Regimental Number 10758; the National Roll of the Great War entry for a G. T. Hicken who served with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1915 and whose address was listed as 3 Court 2 House Charles Henry Street Birmingham; the Silver War Badge Roll Index Record for a George Thomas Hicken, Regimental Number 10758 of the RWR and whose age was 20.

The last 2 items in the above paragraph provide additional evidence that G. T. Hicken was not my grandfather. Looking at the National Roll of the Great War entry, the address shown is not my grandfather’s. He lived at 115 Park Lane, Aston, Birmingham. However, there exists a Short Service Record for a George Thomas Hicken who resided at 2 Court 3 House Charles Henry Street Birmingham. This is the same address as in the National Roll entry except that the Court and House numbers are switched around, an easily made transposition error. This George Thomas Hicken, at the age of 19, attempted to voluntarily enlist with the King’s Royal Rifles Corps on January 6^th 1915 but was rejected due to an undersized chest measurement. He would have been 20 in 1916, the age shown on the above mentioned Silver War Badge Record. This information seems to make it probable that this man was the one listed on the Medal Roll Index Records and Medal Index Card as George T. Hicken, Regimental Number 10758, 2^nd Battalion, RWR. It is quite likely that George T. Hicken, having been rejected by one recruiting office, simply went to a different one a couple of weeks later and was accepted. There is evidence that other men had done this. Unfortunately, there are no surviving British Army WW1 Service Records for either a George T. Hicken or a George Hicken assigned to the RWR to provide conclusive proof, but there really is nothing to link any of the 10758 RWR records to my grandfather.

There is a 1915 photo of my grandfather wearing a military uniform and an RWR cap badge. There is no information regarding which RWR Battalion he was assigned to, or where he served in 1915 and 1916. He was likely not overseas since there is no Medal Index Card for him in this timeframe. However, for 1917-18, there is an RFC Service Record for my grandfather. It is linked to him by the information on the next-of-kin section which correctly listed my grandmother’s name and address. It states: he served in France with the Royal Berkshire Regiment, Regimental Number 8310, from the 21^st of April 1917 to the 6^th of September 1917, during which time he suffered from a gastric ulcer; he served with the Labour Corps, Number 363901, in France from the 7^th of September 1917 to the 23^rd of October 1917, during which time he suffered from bronchitis; he served with the RFC, Number 126868, beginning on the 8^th of January 1918. There is a Medal Roll Index Record and Medal Index Card that agrees with the RFC Service Record regimental units and numbers. He died on the 3^rd of February 1918 from a perforated gastric ulcer operation and a pulmonary embolism.

There was concern from one member of the Great War Forum that RBR Regimental number 8310 was incorrect because it was much too low for a number assigned in 1917. He suggested it could be 3/8310, which would indicate a transfer into the RBR Special Reserve. He also found a record of a George Hicken who transferred from the RWR to the RBR on January 26^th 1917 but to RBR Regimental Number 34188.

At this point it appears as if there is no further documentation pertaining to Numbers 3810, 3/3810 and 34188. So George’s RWR Battalion and his service location in 1915 and 1916 remain a mystery, as does the certainty of his RBR Number and Battalion in 1917. Also, there is no documentary evidence that he was overseas prior to 1917 or that he ever fought in a battle or was wounded in WW1. Perhaps somewhere along the way, George’s “perforated gastric ulcer”, “bronchitis” and “pulmonary embolism” were misinterpreted and passed on by family members as “gas poisoning”. Unless anyone on this forum can provide any further information on George’s service record, his story will remain as told here.

I would like to thank all forum members who provided input to this post, with special thanks to headgardener and purley.