Who was Ricco

[roughdiamond]

Hi Folks

Currently reading and thoroughly enjoying "Old Soldiers Never Die" by Frank Richards of the 2nd Bn RWF, in it he refers to some people by nicknames, especially in the case of some Officers that he is critical of, one sticks out though, his mate "Ricco" who to get sent back to the UK for an Officer Cadet course applies for a Commission, Richards notes that Ricco's plan isn't successful and he's given a Field Commission in the Cheshire's while at the Base Depot, eventually ending up serving in the Cheshire's under Lt/Col Stanway who was Richards CSM at the outbreak of the War, this info he gets in a letter from Ricco, he notes however "I answered Ricco's letter and gave him all the news since he had left us, but from that day to this, I have never found out if he is alive or dead."

 

Does anyone who's maybe read the book and looked at the characters know who Ricco was and what was his fate?

 

Regards

 

Sam

[MaureenE]

There is an edition of "Old Soldiers Never Die" edited by Krijnen. H J & Langley. D E

 

It is similar in style to the Krijnen and Langley edition of Old Soldier Sahib which is reviewed in the following link

http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/book-reviews/101-armies/524-old-soldier-sahib.html

"Each page is annotated to give information on Frank Richards’s friends, his officers, the places where he served in  India  and  Burma , dates, events and the language"

 

If you don't receive a reply to your query, you could try a PM to Muerrisch

 

Cheers

Maureen

 

 

Edited 9 October , 2016 by Maureene

[John_Hartley]

Sam

 

If he served under Lt-Col Stanway in the Cheshires, then it was their 6th battalion. I've got information on every officer mentioned in the war diary or 1930s battalion history. I can't spot anyone with a surname likely to turn into a nickname of Ricco, nor do I have anyone with "other rank" experience with 2/RWF prior to being commissioned.

 

Muerrisch is The Man for 2/RWF.

 

John

[roughdiamond]

Thanks Maureen and John

Richards notes that on Ricco's Field Commission "A few days later he had been sent up country and joined a Bn of Cheshires. After the first action they were in he had been left 2iC of the Bn. Shortly after this it was disbanded and he was transferred to another Bn of the Cheshires, where he was agreeably surprised to find that his new Colonel was Stanway. I was delighted to hear my old CSM was still in the land of the living."

 

The chapter is titled "The Final Advance" and looking at the Cheshire's the best match for the disbanded Bn seems to be the 11th, disbanded 3rd August 1918, the history of the 1/6th Bn notes that on "17th June they absorbed men of the 11th Bn which was reduced to a Cadre" according to the LLT, would I be correct that Lt/Col Stanway was CO of 1/6th? If so it seems a perfect fit.

 

Sam

[HarryBrook]

British Regiments, 1914-18 by Brig. E. A. James, O.B.E., T.D.

In the entry for 1/6th Bn, Cheshire Regt. the following is stated - "17.6.18 absorbed 16 offrs. and 492 men from 11th Bn. which had been reduced to a cadre". So Ricco appears to be one of those 16 officers.

[Muerrisch]

From THE edition!

 

Corporal Thomas H. Richards 9332, MM, was commissioned on April 16th, 1918, and transferred to the Cheshire Regiment. Six weeks later he would be com­manding a company of the 11th Cheshires, not a bad career for an old sol­dier.

 

Second Lieutenant T.H. Richards, MM, commanded D Company of the 11th Cheshires in 75th Brigade, 25th Division, when the Germans at­tacked along the Chemin des Dames on May 27th, 1918. Losses were severe as 17 officers and 403 men of 11th Cheshires were killed, wound­ed or miss­ing in three weeks of continuous fighting, and the battalion was dis­banded in the middle of June.

 

Accept no substitutes! 

Edited 10 October , 2016 by Muerrisch

[roughdiamond]

Thanks HarryBrook and Muerrisch so Thomas Richards it is, I was right with the 11th connection then and he survived, I wonder if he got in touch when the book was published.

 

Sam

 

 

[John_Hartley]

Another one for my 6th Cheshires database - thanks, David.

 

Disappointingly, neither the 11th Battalion war diary, nor that of the 6th Battalion, mentions the names of the officers transferring. I only have details of those ex-11th men who later appear in either the war diary or the history, or appear in the 6th Battalion's pages of the monthly Army List.