68TH DIVISION (2nd welsh)

[BIFFO]

part of my research involves the 68th division,when the 53rd left Northampton,68th moved in,as I understand they never went abroad,only did "home service"guarding east Anglia

my question is what is home service, docks,railway stations. What duties would they have performed ?

I have medals for a welsh man who enlisted when 35,he was considered  to old to join a fighting unit so he guarded Cardiff docks(not just him there were others),

any help is good

Biffo 

[jonbem]

9 minutes ago, BIFFO said:

I have medals for a welsh man who enlisted when 35,he was considered  to old to join a fighting unit so he guarded Cardiff docks(not just him there were others),

I thought they only got the medals if they had been abroad?

[BIFFO]

that's very true,he went abroad with the asc,came back to uk with acute arthritis, when fit enough as he was a Cardiff man kept there on guard

 

[BIFFO]

With all the knowledge on this forum no one has an answer ?????????????

must be me then

 

[clive_hughes]

Wish I could be more detailed Biff, but I'm not sure: originally the Second Line certainly had to train newer recruits ready to be sent off to their First Line units, while at the same time being generally available in case of an enemy landing.  During 1914-16 some of their personnel would have been Territorials who wouldn't sign up for the Imperial Service obligation; while others were maybe willing but not fit for front-line service.  After the second Military Service Act 1916 the first category was in effect forced to serve wherever needed, and some of the latter might have been hived off to the Royal Defence Corps, but I assume the formations still carried on training etc. 

 

Try something like K.W.Mitchinson, Defending Albion: Britain's Home Army 1908-1919 (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2005).  He has authored several excellent studies of the 1908-19 Territorials amongst other works.  Not a cheap read, unless you can get it through a library.   

Edited 26 January , 2018 by clive_hughes

[BIFFO]

Again thank you Clive 

as projects  base is in a library will see if they have/can get a copy

at least one member answered was getting a bit paranoid 

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Biffo

 

If you are going anywhere near Kew, file WO95/5464 has a number of War Diaries for 68th and 69th Divisions, mostly covering the period August 1915 to March 1916, after which units at home were no longer required to keep diaries. I suspect that they will tell you very little, but at least they should tell you where the units were, and possibly what they were doing.

 

According to Becke's Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2B, the division concentrated at Northampton in April 1915 before moving to Bedford in July and August to replace 53rd (Welsh) Division which was sent to the Dardanelles. The division had been allotted a position in the scheme for Home Defence, and in November 1915 it joined First Army, Central Force. By September 1916 it had moved into General Reserve, Home Forces, divisional HQ and one brigade remaining at Bedford and the rest spread around Suffolk. By May 1917 the division was transferred to Northern Army, Home Forces (HQ Norwich) and still seems to have been spread around Suffolk and Norfolk, where it remained for the rest of the War.

 

Ron

[BIFFO]

Top man Ron

,you wouldn't think that the numbers of men involved in 68th would be so hard to trace, would the diaries be on a well know family research beginning with A, if yes how do I find it ??

 

[Ron Clifton]

I don't think so, Biffo. They may have the corps and army troops for France by now, but I don't think Kew have got far beyond that in their digitisation. They seem to be concentrating on the overseas theatres, which I suppose is understandable. Home Forces are likely to be at the end of the priority list!

 

Ron

[BIFFO]