5646 Lawrence Wright 2/8 Bn Royal Warwickshire Regiment

[Guest]

Hi there, this is my second post on here so be kind if I have worded the above wrong.

I am tracing Lawrence White 5646 Royal Scots att. then 3/8 R.W. Fus then wounded and died whilst in Royal Warwickshire Regiment. There is also a mention of 992 as a service number but it has been scored through?
I have been out to the Somme and visited his grave, I have some info from the Royal Warwickshire diaries in December 1916. I am wondering if anyone has the diaries for the Royal Scots from April 1916? I think he set sail for France in May 1916??
Any help is very much appreciated.

Thanks

[WilliamRev]

Looking at the his grave registration documents, one document (the handwritten one) says that he was serving with 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment when he died, the other (the printed one and the one that my instinct tells me you should trust) ,that he was serving with 2/8th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Reg. You'll have to work out which, perhaps by finding which battalion was fighting at that place on that date.

1/10th Royal Scots was a training battalion based at Berwick - men often train with one regiment, and then reappear serving on the Western Front with another, and I think that the 3/8th Royal Welsh Fusiliers is likewise a training unit. So I think that you need to concentrate on the two Royal Warwickshire battalions.

William

[clk]

My reading of it would be that 992 would have been his Royal Scots number. He didn't get a new number with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, as he was only attached to them, rather than being formally transferred. 5646 was his Royal Warwickshire Regiment (re)number.

In addition to the "final" CWGC record/commemoration*, both his Soldiers Died in the Great War record, and his Soldiers' Effects record indicate that he was a 2/8th battalion man when he died. Additionally, his medal roll record indicates that he only served in active theatre with the 2/8th battalion.

*Prior to the carving and erection of the permanent headstone, relatives were sent a verification form (albeit partially pre completed) asking them to confirm details. (They were also asked if they wanted a personalised inscription, for which a fee was due according to the number of letters - that is the sum shown in pencil under the column headed "line 4" on the headstone schedule). The details on the stone would therefore be as best know to them.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that he has surviving service papers. However, his SDGW record shows you that he was born in, and enlisted in Bo'ness, Linlithgow.; and the size of his war gratuity payment indicates that he signed up circa September 1914. Given that he was aged 26 when he died, he would have been about 24 when he attested. When he died, he left a widow (Janet) and children. Initially he served in the UK, and didn't go abroad before 1916, as he isn't shown as being eligible for the 1914 or 1914/15 Star medal. The 2/8th battalion arrived in France in May 1916 (see the LLT), so he might have arrived with them at that time, rather than being a reinforcement. If you were to look for Warwickshire Regiment men who have surviving records with near service numbers, you might be able to infer a date of when he joined the regiment.

The war diary for the 2/8th battalion is available from Ancestry (by subscription, or free 14 day trial), or from the National Archives (£3.30). It doesn't appear to mention him by name.

Good luck with your research.

Regards

Chris

[WilliamRev]

Hi Chris

Yes that all makes total sense. M3vert has started another thread on the same chap, but will hopefully find this one.

William

[Guest]

William and Chris may I start by thanking you both very much for taking the time out to research Lawrence for me. I had not seen the Soldiers Effects document before so have added that to my Ancestry tree on that site. I am off to the library as I have seen a mention of an article in our local paper mentioning him setting sail in May 1916 (which ties in nicely with what you said). It is starting to look like he only seen action with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 3/8th. I will update this thread if I find anything further. I have a link to war diaries for the casualty clearing station that I think he most likely died in, so fingers crossed I get a snippet of information from that, only time will tell!!!

Thanks once again it is very much appreciated.
​Regards
Richard.