3rd Middlesex Labour Corp. War Diary?

[Martin Lepley]

TASK:

I am trying to locate the war diary for the 3rd Middlesex Labour Corp. War Diary for July 1917.

 

WHAT I KNOW:

I know the 3rd Middlesex Labour Corp went to France on 14th March 1917.

I know war diaries are at the National Archive, but a search does not find this group.

 

WHAT I HAVE HEARD:

This Corp held non-combatants , many who may be related to enemy aliens.

It might be called by a different battalion name.

 

WHY:

I would like to find out more about how a person I am researching became invalided, and generally anything about his short duration in France.

 

NOTES:

I am researching a Richard Clement LOESCHER, who was born in Britain to a German Father.

He enlisted the 3/8th Essex Cyclist Battalion, Essex Regiment, on 15th June 1915. (Don't know when he left this Battalion)

The 3/8th Essex Cyclist Battalion, Essex Regiment, disbanded April 1916

He was in B.E.F. France - 14 March 1917 to 25th August 1917

July 1917 - Blown from one side of the room to another.

Invalided out 23-11-1917 3rd Middlesex Labour Corp. Discharged 18 Jan 1918    G/45634 Neurothemia (PTSD)

I think he was in the Middlesex (Depot) at the time of discharge. I assume on light duties as not to well.

Silver Badge reference 314 478

 

Changed his surname to LESTER to anglicise his name. 

 

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

[sotonmate]

The unit was,among others in a sequence for the Middlesex Regiment,called 3 Infantry Labour Company. I have no success either in finding a Diary. I have a feeling that I tried this before and finished up believing that these were all controlled by a higher echelon, but never discovered which, and I did try GHQ Labour Directorate which might have been home-based so no Diary.

Try this link for at least an inkling of what went on :

https://archive.org/details/combedout16355gut

an online readable account from the pen of one F A VOIGT from the Project Gutenberg site.

[Phil Evans]

In the July (and August) 1917 Order of Battle, the Company come under Army Troops (Infantry), Second Army.

 

Phil

Edited 7 February , 2018 by Phil Evans

[Martin Lepley]

1 hour ago, sotonmate said:

The unit was,among others in a sequence for the Middlesex Regiment,called 3 Infantry Labour Company. I have no success either in finding a Diary. I have a feeling that I tried this before and finished up believing that these were all controlled by a higher echelon, but never discovered which, and I did try GHQ Labour Directorate which might have been home-based so no Diary.

Try this link for at least an inkling of what went on :

https://archive.org/details/combedout16355gut

an online readable account from the pen of one F A VOIGT from the Project Gutenberg site.

 

Interestingly, I do actually have a couple of war diaries from Battalions who were home front battalions. So don't rule out their existence.

[Martin Lepley]

On ‎07‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 22:25, Phil Evans said:

In the July (and August) 1917 Order of Battle, the Company come under Army Troops (Infantry), Second Army.

 

Phil

 

Thanks for this information. What did it mean to become a composite detachment?

 

[Phil Evans]

I am guessing that composite detachment equates to a labour pool.

 

The 2nd Garrison Bn, Ox. & Bucks has a war diary in WO 95/247/6, which is available at the National Archives, but not, it seems, on Ancestry.

The 4th Canadian Labour Bn. diary is online at Library and Archives Canada, but the 3rd is not.

 

The 4th CLB were employed on railway construction.

 

I ran Geoff's Search Engine to check casualties. The two Canadian units reflect the dangers of railway construction work and camp life - between them, a total of about 25 killed during the summer of 1917. The three British units had only one death each in 1917, so they may have been kept back on other duties.

 

Phil