Frederick Wakely

[Gareth Davies]

Can someone shed a little light on Frederick Weekly's double identity? 

[charlie962]

Forename	Frederick John
Surname	Wakely
Born	London
Enlisted	London
Place of Residence	Wimbledon, Surrey
Service Number	38243 Formerly 70183
Rank	Private
Cause of Death	Killed In Action
Place of Death	France & Flanders
Date of Death	1st December 1917
Regiment	The Princess Charlotte of Wales' (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 2nd Battalion Formerly M.G.C.
Record Set	Soldiers Died In the Great War

[Gareth Davies]

Thanks Charlie.  Do you have his dates of service in the MGC (Heavy Branch)?

[charlie962]

His war Grat of 12/10s suggests enlistment April 1915.  But in what ?

 

Medal Roll says 2nd Bn MGC then 2nd Berks. No mention of 14/15 entitlement.

[Gareth Davies]

Very odd to have been a tankie and then transferred to the Infantry.

[charlie962]

Another man trf'd Hvy MGC to Berkshires AO204/1916 wef 17/9/17.  He is 38255 Everard Leonard Wm.  He had previous service in Gallipoli maybe Essex.

 

                

 

Perhaps the 2nd Bn Ref for MGC was a misreading because 2nd Bn doesn't seem to have existed until after Wakely's death.

 

Charlie

 

Edit--  The blanked out 'place of casualty' name- was it censored?

Edited 2 January , 2018 by charlie962

[charlie962]

Having looked at several Service records for 2ndBerks with close(ish) numbers, about the only conclusion that can be drawn is that there were compulsory transfers from various units to the 2ndBerks wef 27/9/17 when this range of Berks numbers were issued.

 

Here is another man  who also was trfd to Berks from Tanks  27/9/17.  Thomas Toby, 36268 .  Prev service RWF and SWB.  Extract:

                   

 

Charlie

Edited 2 January , 2018 by charlie962

[Gareth Davies]

Curiouser and curiouser.

Edited 2 January , 2018 by Gareth Davies

[Steven Broomfield]

2 hours ago, Gareth Davies said:

Very odd to have been a tankie and then transferred to the Infantry.

 

This isn't a joke, but I know, were I to try it, going anywhere inside a tank would play up old Harry with my claustrophobia. Maybe Private Wakely decided he'd rather be on his own two feet than cooped up in a metal box full of fumes.

[Gareth Davies]

Yes, it's entirely feasible that he wasn't suited to it, either in terms of competence/ability or his ability to cope with the conditions.  

[charlie962]

It is evident why 2nd Berkshires needed replacements at this time ie Sept 1917 . This from The Wardrobe :

 

         In August they took part in a major attack on Iron Cross Redoubt acting as the spearhead for the 8th Division.  After this action the battalion was reduced to 60 men. After this they remained in reserve until September. They came back to the Somme area on the 10th October and were in and out of trenches almost in constant contact with the enemy.

Edited 2 January , 2018 by charlie962

[charlie962]

Did the Tank Corps have a general tidy-up pre Cambrai, coinciding with the need for huge replacements in the Infantry due to Third Ypres ?

Edited 3 January , 2018 by charlie962

[delta]

Tank units were withdrawn from the Salient and undertook refurbishment and re equipping and some training before they deployed for the actions at Cambrai 

[johntaylor]

Hi Gareth, interesting that you raise this because Wakley's memorial card is on display in the the museum at Tyne Cot Visitor Centre - see photo attached.  When I saw this I thought there might be a connection with Lieut William Wakley, one of the early tank commanders in D Battalion whose life was saved (at Eaucourt l'Abbaye in October 1916) by Lance-Corporal George Foot, later killed in Deborah.  However I have been unable to find any connection between the two Wakleys, and have concluded the surname was probably just a coincidence.

 

The memorial card at Tyne Cot is the one shown in your posting, which is obviously taken from a book - could you tell me which one please?

 

I've come across other one other case of a soldier who transferred from the HBMGC to the infantry - this was Private Samuel Walker, the so-called 'tank corpse' of Cambrai, whose story I recounted in the 1917 special edition of 'Stand To'.  In his case he was originally in the Rifle Brigade before transferring (or more likely being transferred) into D Bn HBMGC.  His surviving service record shows he had some disciplinary issues and returned to his original battalion. He was killed on patrol in no-man's land with his old tank badge in his pocket, which led the Germans to suspect a tank attack was being planned there.  This was of course true, though Private Walker had no idea of the fact!

 

Anyway I'm sure many people who didn't meet the specialised requirements of the Tank Corps, or weren't deemed up to scratch, or didn't fit in for whatever reason, were moved out to other units.  Sadly we don't know the specific circumstances in the case of Frederick Wakley.

 

Cheers, John

Edited 6 January , 2018 by johntaylor

[Gareth Davies]

I am afraid I don't know which book it is taken from John, I was sent the photo.