22nd Battery Machine Gun Corps (Motors)

[abowell97]

A few other photographs:

Terrible quality, but an important event.

"Armistice day"

I believe 'Shabash India' would essentially mean 'Bravo India'.

 

"Barracks"

 

Unsure of who those two men are, I don't recognise them from any other photos.

Edited 27 February , 2019 by abowell97

[pjwmacro]

11 hours ago, abowell97 said:

an important event.

"Armistice day"

Alex, thanks for posting.

Interesting that there doesn't appear to be much celebration. Of course it would take a while for the men to actually get home - and many had to fight the Third Afghan War before they did so.

The barracks photo is reminiscent of the barracks photos (at Kuldanna) posted by Jim.

I don't recognise either of the two in the third photo - when I get more time I`ll try and back track all the way through and do some more summaries. I was reminded just earlier this evening that one of Jim's very first posts was of a 3 section group - and I still at present only have my grandfather, Cpl Ernest Warburton (whom with don't have an identified photo for) and Gunner Walton as named members of No 3 Section. Much still to do!

 

Regards, Paul

[pjwmacro]

At about this time 103 years ago in 1916, the SS Beltana, passed through the Suez Canal as she carried the officers and men of 22 Motor Machine Gun Battery to India. Whether the men were allowed to go ashore at either Alexandria or Port Said is not recorded, although having been onboard for 2 weeks since sailing from Devonport on 26 February, it would be nice to think they had the chance to stretch their legs. At least the Beltana was a modern, oil fired ship, so the troops were spared the misery of coaling ship which would have been inflicted on previous generations of soldiers trooping out to India. 

[pjwmacro]

Around this time 103 years ago, late March 1916, 22nd Motor Machine Gun Battery arrived in their new home, Cambridge Lines, Rawalpindi. We know the Beltana docked on 20 March. Gunner John Manton Travell Gough later recalled that " On landing at Bombay we were met with the information that we had four days railway journey to Rawalpindi. We arrived safely, but before there was time to settle down we were called out for inspection, very shortly afterwards proceeding on a tour of the N.W. Frontier".

 

I will continue the story of 22 Battery, as far as I know it, in the blog section of the Great War Forum. Please feel free to comment and contribute on the blog: 

 

[pjwmacro]

Having arrived in Rawalpindi in late March 1916, 22nd Motor Machine Gun Battery were not given much time to settle in. Despite the heat they were soon out on a month long 1000 mile familiarisation patrol on the North West Frontier. The Battery Mechanic Sergeant was Sgt Alfred Fielder. He recorded in a subsequent letter to the Motor Cycle magazine that the Battery left Rawalpindi on 5th April and drove/rode to Nowshera, a distance of eighty miles. On the way they passed Attock, the confluence of the rivers Indus and Kabul. Fielder records that they "had a decent journey, except for the dust, which was awful." He also records that the Battery stopped at Nowshera for 6th April, before on the 7th moving to Chakdara Fort, up on the frontier. 

[abowell97]

It has probably been covered, but is anyone aware of any records of how some battery members left, between 1918-19? - Whether those that rotated out actually left the country soon after or simply left the region.

 

As very few of my photos are dated, all I have is the 'armistice day' photograph showing W Patrick was in Delhi, almost certainly 1918, but maybe the 1919 anniversary (though unlikely).

Edited 19 April , 2019 by abowell97

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear abowell97,

Yes, I agree that 1919 would be unlikely. 

I should think that very few people made a song and dance of the first anniversary of the Armitice.

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[david murdoch]

Looking at the battery spreadsheet  the majority demobbed late in 1919 - only one or two earlier. I have war diary records from Mesopotamia from the same period which mentions the demob process there for the MGC(M) in this it's clear the first to get demobbed were to be "1915 men" as an when they could be replaced  - in their case having to train up their own replacements. Obviously these men would also have attested and signed up for "duration of the war". There is specific mention there of an order that the demob process was suspended when things started going  sideways and so the same probably holds true of the units in India. Also the fact that they moved four more MMG batteries from the western front out to India at the beginning of 1918 and based them in different locations indicates they were already  intending using their mobility  as a cost effective means to "police" large areas  with mobile firepower and less manpower. So the powers that be probably had no intention of letting these men go right after the war ended. 

Regards 22nd MMG  only Allan Gilmour got home in 1918 but that was due to injury. As the majority are all December 1919 or early 1920 it's  likely all demobilisation was put on hold  in 1918 or early 1919 prior to the NWF turning bad. The other batteries also demobilised in groups in the same manner and  in the same timeframe. I'd imagine most of them would not hang around! I have one member from another battery demobbed January 1920 and six weeks later was immigrating from UK to Canada with his family. The journey through India and sea voyage back would have taken 5 weeks minimum. If the photo was taken in 1918 then more likely Walter was on leave at that time. 

[pjwmacro]

On ‎19‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 21:38, abowell97 said:

but is anyone aware of any records of how some battery members left, between 1918-19?

Alex

The place to check is on the medal rolls - which list the discharge date. The only two I am aware of are David Summers (May 1919) and Edward Walton (April 19), aside from Alan Glimour who was discharged wounded (SWB) in Jun 18. David Murdoch has expanded above, I`ll email you the spreadsheet.

 

Regards, Paul

[abowell97]

19 hours ago, pjwmacro said:

Alex

The place to check is on the medal rolls - which list the discharge date. The only two I am aware of are David Summers (May 1919) and Edward Walton (April 19), aside from Alan Glimour who was discharged wounded (SWB) in Jun 18. David Murdoch has expanded above, I`ll email you the spreadsheet.

 

Regards, Paul

Thanks for that Paul.

 

As a lot were discharged on 1/1/1920, would they have returned to the UK prior to being demobilised, or demobilised somewhere in India and sent home soon after?

Odd that the battery was seemingly split up around 1918-19, with some remaining on the NWF for the 3rd Afghan War and others being sent elsewhere in India.

 

Regards, 

Alex 

[pjwmacro]

On ‎21‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 18:34, abowell97 said:

As a lot were discharged on 1/1/1920, would they have returned to the UK prior to being demobilised, or demobilised somewhere in India and sent home soon after?

Alex

So far as I can work out (and there is plenty of guesswork here) - the battery ceased to exist in autumn 1919 - and the men did not return to UK in one group - it may have been a few groups, but they did not ship as a single battery as they did on coming to India. I think formal demobilisation/discharge only took place in UK - again with one or two exceptions such as Gnr JMT Gough who discharged locally in India.

 

On ‎21‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 18:34, abowell97 said:

Odd that the battery was seemingly split up around 1918-19, with some remaining on the NWF for the 3rd Afghan War and others being sent elsewhere in India

I don't think they were deliberately split - some went for commissioning, some for RAF training, others (presumably) to Tank Corps/Armoured Motor Batteries. But there were still 3 sections and about 50 persons in the battery present in Parachinar during the Third Afghan War.

 

Regards, Paul

[david murdoch]

15 hours ago, pjwmacro said:

Alex

So far as I can work out (and there is plenty of guesswork here) - the battery ceased to exist in autumn 1919 - and the men did not return to UK in one group - it may have been a few groups, but they did not ship as a single battery as they did on coming to India. I think formal demobilisation/discharge only took place in UK - again with one or two exceptions such as Gnr JMT Gough who discharged locally in India.

 

I don't think they were deliberately split - some went for commissioning, some for RAF training, others (presumably) to Tank Corps/Armoured Motor Batteries. But there were still 3 sections and about 50 persons in the battery present in Parachinar during the Third Afghan War.

 

Regards, Paul

Far as I know the same sort of demobilising process took place with the (MGC)M men in Mesopotamia. They would be released and taken off unit strength to go home  - this was supposed to be on a first in - first out basis, but did not work out that way for many. My grandfather has a discharge date of 28/11/1919 on his medal roll and apparently on return from Mesopotamia had to go all the way up  to Fort Augustus (Inverness) in the depths of winter to be formally demobilised. His final "settlement of account" on demob was paid out by postal draft dated 4/2/1920.

The demob dates on the medal rolls are the formal end of service dates so if discharged in UK after  travelling back from India they would probably leave the unit five or six weeks prior.

Checking an unrelated MMGS man with a surviving record confirms medal roll date is actual discharge date on his record.

[pjwmacro]

6 hours ago, david murdoch said:

this was supposed to be on a first in - first out basis, but did not work out that way for many.

All of which makes sense - but the priority was given to those serving on the Western Front rather than units overseas in locations such as Mesopotamia and India.

[david murdoch]

24 minutes ago, pjwmacro said:

All of which makes sense - but the priority was given to those serving on the Western Front rather than units overseas in locations such as Mesopotamia and India.

Paul. Yes for sure - it shows up in the medal rolls  - those serving on Western Front got home months or up to two years ahead of those in far flung places. I mean amongst those there was supposed to be some order of demob. In the case of those in Mespot the unit's were not being disbanded like in India  so it was more a case of train up your replacement then you can go! In the L.A.M.B Brigade war diary which is nicely typed there are various references to demob of the "1915 men" who were all ex MMGS.

[pjwmacro]

On 27/04/2019 at 23:08, david murdoch said:

In the L.A.M.B Brigade war diary which is nicely typed there are various references to demob of the "1915 men" who were all ex MMGS.

Sadly doesn't appear to be any equivalent record for 22 Bty. As I said in my post to Alex - I am guessing to a large extent. It may be that the rump of 22 Bty who were still together after the Third Afghan War did ship home in a single batch - but I have never found a shipping record that might support this (unlike the record of them shipping overseas in 1916). But if they did ship in one group then there is still a variation in discharge dates from 19 Dec 19 through to January and even February 1920 - which I don't think would be explained by different discharge locations around the country. 

But I am guessing! 

[pjwmacro]

My book Action at Badama Post has just been published. Further detail to follow in the Book Reviews topic.  I remain keen to establish contact with other descendants of 22 Bty MMG soldiers and officers.

 

Regards, Paul

[pjwmacro]

On the centenary of the action at Badama Post, a short and simple commemoration was conducted at the Machine Gun Corps Boy David Memorial, at Hyde Park Corner, London, UK.  The 22 Battery Motor Machine Guns nominal role of 85 names was read out loud for the first time in 100 years. Laid wreaths for all of 22 Battery, for A/Sjt Macro, for Maj Percy Dodd (Commandant Kurram Militia), the aircrew A/Capt G Eastwood and 2/Lt David Lapraik and also remembered Lance Daffadar Miru Mian, Kurram Militia, killed in action at Badama Post on 30 Jul 1919. Particularly special to have my father, John Macro, son of A/Sjt Bill Macro, and Angie Macpherson (nee Dodd), daughter of Percy Dodd, present and meeting for the first time, exactly one hundred years after their respective fathers climbed down into a ravine, under sniper fire, to salvage the wreck of the crashed Bristol Fighter.

[david murdoch]

On 22/12/2018 at 11:33, pjwmacro said:

It looks as Miriam was born Mary Grace Burton about 1885 ish. Looks as if she married Arthur George Chaffin in 1904 and had two sons, Albert and Robert, before Arthur died in 1911. Mary Chaffin then married William Cordwell in Q4 1914. It looks as if Mary Cordwell then died in Norfolk (Norwich) in 1924 - this may have been where she was from originally. I haven't yet established if Mary and William had children - but I am attempting to contact a tree owner on ancestry who looks as if the have links to the Chaffin side of the family.

Regards, Paul

Paul. 

Now established cause of death for William Arthur Cordwell. He died in Rawalpindi of heart failure 5/4/1918 aged 33 and buried the following day. The chaplain Cole noted on the record also appears on a death notice page  of a man from my home town with 222 Coy MGC who died in Abbottabad of Spanish Flu in November 1918. Looking at that list  222 Coy had a few flu victims within a few weeks in Abbottabad. It's surprising in fact 22nd Battery only had the one casualty and no flu victims - they were possibly fortunate to be in a more remote location at the time. William married Miriam Chaffin. One son appears on her pension index card. The other Robert appears to have died only a month or two old in January 1913. Albert Edgar Chaffin who is noted as being William's step son  - his details are on public family tree, but he also appears to have served in WW2 as a Lieutenant in Royal Engineers.

[david murdoch]

Looking up the Chaplain, he was the Reverend Alexander Barnet Farquharson Cole. Likely base chaplain at Rawalpindi. He was born Sanawur, Punjab in 1870 He later returned to UK and was the Reverend of Hutton, Weston super Mare, Somerset in the 1930's. He died in Hutton in 1947.He appears to have been a long term Military Chaplain as he appears on Harts list of 1901 based at Umbulla (Ambala),Ecclesiastical Establishment, Bengal.

[pjwmacro]

Update on Walter Rennie Kellet, one of 22 Bty's ASC Sgts - he appears in The Motor Cycle photo of 22 Bty Sgts, along with Fielder, Ward, Whitfield and Barton, accompanying Fielder's article about the North West Frontier familiarisation tour in Apr/May 1916. Thanks to David Murdoch and Martin Keys, for the research.

 

Walter Rennie Kellett [1880 - 1950]

Born 15 Fenruary 1880 in Lincoln (his father was a "Public Works Contractor")

All the family before Walter were born at Wyke in Yorkshire and those after him

at Ealing in Middlesex; so the family stay in Lincoln was obviously short-lived.

1881 Census - Living in Brentford Middlesex

1891 Census - Living in Brentford Middlesex (At School)

1901 Census - Living in Bromsgrove Worcs "Mechanical Engineer" - Head of household was

Angela Marsden (nee Mallinson) Wlater's Mother's sister.

1911 Census - Living in Yarnton Oxford "Electrical Engineer" - Head of household was John Halliwell

whose wife Sarah Halliwell (nee Kellett) was Walter's Father's sister.

1915 Army Enlistment at Bisley Surrey - Living at "Tollard" Bowes Road Walton on Thames Surrey

"Motor Engineer".

Walter enlisted 14/6/1915 at Bisley and joined 15th at Grove Park. Presumably his intention was to join or be attached to MMGS, but he ended up as a member of the ASC. He was appointed Acting Sgt unpaid on 8/9/15 at Bisley and then Acting Sgt on 26/2/1915, and noted Indian Expeditionary Force (ie sailing with 22nd Battery). He shows examined and passed fit for foreign service on 22/2/1916. Commissioned in 1918, into the Indian Army Supply and Transport Corps, he was awarded the IGSM with the clasp for Afghanistan/NWF 1919 - so he was involved in the Third Afghan War, but presumably with a central workshop and not with 22 Bty. So he would not have been present at Badama post.

Walter discharged late 1919/early 1920.

1920 Marriage Certificate - Married Olive Short at Chertsey Surrey Registry Office. He was living at "The Shack" Crossways Walton on Thames Surrey and was a "Engineer Mechanical" she was living at the Ashley Park Hotel Walton on Thames (no occupation given but I expect she was on the staff). She had been born at Chobham Surrey in 1890 and her father was the Landlord/Licensee of the Sun Inn in Chobham High Street. The Sun Inn remained in the Short family for 50 years or so, from 1892). Olive was a "Barmaid" in Egham Surrey in the 1911 Census.

1922 Address on MIC reverse - 29 Val Plaisant, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands.

1924&1925&1926&1927&1928 Electoral Roll - Living at No 1 London Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire.

1929 Electoral Roll - Living at "Scobe" St George's Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire.

1930&1931 Electoral Roll - Living at the Red Lion Hotel London Road Cosham,,Portsmouth Hampshire

1939 Register - Living at the Red Lion Hotel London Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire.

1950 Walter Died 15 March 1950 - Gosport Registration District, Hampshire. The Probate Record shows that in 1950 he was living at 74 The Dale, Purbrook,

Hampshire.

1969 Olive Died December Quarter 1969 - Gosport Registration District, Hampshire.

Although he and Olive appear to have been childless, Walter was the 3rd youngest of 9 siblings. Of his is two younger brothers George Abram Kellett born 1882 served with Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex) Regiment and silver war badge due to sickness 29/5/1916 he has a surviving pension record. The other James Milton Kennett born 1885 was an architect and married in 1913 . So there may well be surviving great nephews and nieces for Walter.

[abowell97]

Been quite a while, but I thought I'd post a few more photographs. Still digitising the dozens of photos left over, and still going over the photo collection (even moreso now we're all stuck indoors). These images were fairly large, so had to be shrunk quite a lot to post.

"Hot Weather Garb"

Not sure who the two individuals are, but it looks possible it was taken at PT school due to where it was in the album.

Neither labelled, but looks like Gnr. Parker, who appears on quite a few No.1 Section photographs.

A pair of practice photographs. The left photo has Walter Patrick firing the SMLE with three I can't quite make out (on the larger version).

[pjwmacro]

11 hours ago, abowell97 said:

but I thought I'd post a few more photographs.

 

As always, thanks for sharing Alex. Love the rifle and revolver practice photos. Keep them coming, please!

 

11 hours ago, abowell97 said:

Neither labelled, but looks like Gnr. Parker,

 

Noting that Gnr Parker remains "unidentified" - he has not been located on the medal roll for the War Medal and the Victory Medal (the latter he probably wasn't entitled too). Nor has he been located on the IGSM roll - so, either he was among that portion of the Battery which for whatever reason, didn't deploy to the NWF during the Third Afghan War, or he was transferred to a different unit, potentially the Tank Corps. On the same theme - do we think these three pictures are all the same man?

[abowell97]

10 hours ago, pjwmacro said:

On the same theme - do we think these three pictures are all the same man?

To me they look like they're probably the same. I know the two pictures I posted are the same man though in different uniform on different days, it appears to be the same location.

It doesn't help that the more I look at them, the more I doubt myself...

The two I posted I think are the man from No.1 Section below;

Putting faces to names without actual annotations means it's probably all wrong!

 

Not sure of the person on the left, but the man on the right is Gnr. Laws.

Not annotated but was with another picture in a very similar location of Walter Patrick and Harry Laws labelled "Rocks at Gangal" so I'd assume it was there.

 

Only posted this one because of what he's reading - Walter Patrick reading a copy of the Momagu, beside a table loaded with 'The Motorcycle' magazines.

 

Edited 5 April , 2020 by abowell97

[pjwmacro]

9 hours ago, abowell97 said:

Putting faces to names without actual annotations means it's probably all wrong

I wouldn't go that far - but as I have said before, I am useless at seeing even family resemblances. That said - I agree the two photos you posted are probably the same man, and, based on the JPJ photo annotated as Gnr Parker - probably it's the same.

[pjwmacro]

10 hours ago, abowell97 said:

very similar location of Walter Patrick and Harry Laws labelled "Rocks at Gangal"

 

Gangal is a small village to the south of Rawalpindi - about 25 to 30 km, on the East bank of the Sawan River. Even today - it doesn't look very big.