16th Btn Derby & Notts (Chatham Rfls)

[Guest]

Evening,

 

Researching one of the Gt Uncles who enlisted 9th (Sherwood Foresters) then at some point after Gallipoli, when on the Western Front, transferred/re-inforced 16th D and N. I know there's a £££ book on the 16th and I may yet have to raid the wife's shoe fund to buy it ?, but as a long shot does anyone know of any timings of significant drafts of men from other units into the16th?

Cheers, Al

[sotonmate]

Welcome to the Forum !

It's Chatsworth Rifles and Notts and Derbys  ! Can you post the name/number of your soldier as it might lead to more specific info being found, viz. the Medal Rolls may show a series of soldiers transferred from 9th to 16th which might lead to defining in war diaries when such drafts/transfers happened.

Later: meant to mention that 16 Battalion was reduced to cadre strength (usually by battle casualties) in May 1918 and brought up to strength around June 1918. 9th Battalion was moved to France from Egypt in June 1916.

Later still: now see that the Battalion was gearing up around May 1918 to train some US troops and there were other transfers to Etaples for re-allocation.(War Diary WO95/2587/1).

In respect of 9 Battalion there are 15 sections of War Diary from it's first arrival in France, so a great deal to look at to find when drafts were made.

Edited 1 August , 2017 by sotonmate
reduction in size of 16 Battalion

[Guest]

Thanks - ah yes - researching men in RMLI too hence Chatham in my head and miss-type. The soldier is 22920 L/Cpl John Thomas Johnson. Can't find attestation papers for him, but he shows up in SWB roles as serving in both 9th and 16th. I know that he served in Gallipoli in 9th with his brothers Albert (also 9th) and Robert William RMLI, but therafter his movements unknown apart from SWB entry enlisted 2/2/15 discharged 18/7/18. I have John Morse's book on 9th which details when drafts arrived, but apart from the officers'  there are no details on the originating units of the draftees. That's an interesting thought about potential medal roll evidence for movement of a series of soldiers. Cheers, Al.

 

[sotonmate]

Looking at some N&D Medal Rolls there isn't a block of transfers around this number 22920, the next similar is 23025. In between there are a few who moved from 9th to 15th,17th etc but just singly here and there, so no real basis for my suggested solution !