Corps Cyclist Battalions

[Nick1]

a relative was transferred to the Cyclist Bn from the 1st/4th Bn East yorkshire regiment. his details fron the CWGC website are below

Name: DIBNAH Initials: W A

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private Regiment: Army Cyclist Corps

Unit Text: XI Corps Cyclist Bn.

Secondary Regiment: East Yorkshire Regiment

Secondary Unit Text: formerly (1868) 1st/4th Bn.

Age: 21

Date of Death: 28/09/1917

Service No: 14296

Additional information: Son of John William Dibnah, of 10, Rayleigh Avenue, Cornwall St., Hull, and the late Henrietta Dibnah.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: I. D. 8.

Cemetery: CEMENT HOUSE CEMETERY

i have tried to find info on the X1 Corps Cyclist Bn but have not located anything that would tell me why he would have transferred or in what engagement he died any information to help me in my research would be very welcome.

[Mitch Williamson]

Hello

By tracking down the cemetry we can locate this:

http://www.silentcities.co.uk/cemeteryc/Ce...-Vlaanderen.htm

Langemark is located north of the town of Ieper off the N313. From the Markt take the Korte Ieperstraat, at the end turn right into Boezingestraat, past the first turning on the left and the cemetery is 100 metres on the left hand side.

Langemark has given its name to the Battles of 21-24 October 1914 and 16-18 August 1917. The village was in German hands from April 1915 to August 1917 and from April to September 1918. Commonwealth, French and Belgian forces have in turn defended and attacked it. "Cement House" was the military name given to a fortified farm building on the Langemark-Boesinghe (now Boezinge) road. The original Cement House Cemetery (now Plot I, an irregular group of 231 graves) was begun here at the end of August 1917 and used by the 4th and 17th Division burial officers, by field ambulances and by units in the line until April 1918.

Which enables you to narrow down the timeframe and geography.

"Cement House" was the name given by the army to a fortified farm building on the Langemarck-Boezinge road. The cemetery was started at the end of August 1917 and used until April 1918. It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of burials from the surrounding battlefields and now contains almost 3,000 burials of which some two-thirds are unidentified. The majority of the burials are those of officers and men who died during the Third Battle of Ypres in the Autumn of 1917.

I hope that helps.

Best Wishes

Mitch

[Wienand Drenth]

Nick,

Please find some details on XI Corps Cyclist Bn:

XI Corps Cyclist Bn: Formed 10 May 1916 in France with coys from 33rd Div, 35th Div, 38th Div.

As for your relatives transfer, I can only guess. The 5th Bn, The East Yorkshire Regt was a cyclist bn. As this battalion didn't go overseas, it's personnel may have been used as cadre for newly formed divisional cyclist companies, like the ones for 33rd, 35th and 38th Divisions. Perhaps this is how your relative ended up in XI Corps Cyclist Bn.

Hope this is of some help.

Regards,

Wienand

[Nick1]

Thank you both for the information, it has pointed me in another direction for me to search. I suppose because of the sheer weight of losses it is very hard to pin point why and when many of these events took place.

Thanks again

Nick