Sapper Tertius Benjamin Bales 121336 R.E.

[researchingreg]

I am trying to get information on the above soldier born 2 July 1898 in Cambridge and served in the Royal Engineers. He has not showed up on WW1 Service or pension records I have only found him on an MIC, which only shows the standard victory and war medals. So he must have served abroad. However on the MIC there is no date of entry abroad. As he has an very unusual christian name, I thought he would be easy to find. Has anybody any Ideas? He has not turned up on the posts for 'Royal Engineers sick and wounded 1916'.

He was the son of Benjamin Baldwin Bales a music teacher in Cambridge. His older brother Sapper Cyril Baldwin Bales (REG NO. W.R. 203534) born in 1896 in Cambridge was also in the Royal Engineers in a Railway Troops Depot and he enlisted 19 July 1916 and was discharged 28 Feb 1919 and had a silver war badge B133648 and had previously served in the following units London Regt. 5030., Middx Regt. 422764., Labour Corps. 163848., Royal Engineers. 282840. Spr.

 

 

[wandererpaul]

Nothing extra written on the Medal rolls either......

 

If it’s him, he travelled to Africa quite a bit, Kenya, Nigeria & Tanzania, little else service wise though on FMP or Ancestry.

[Terry_Reeves]

His number shows he attested in late September /early October 1915. Men with these numbers appear to have gone to a variety of different units.

 

TR

 

 

Edited 5 May , 2018 by Terry_Reeves

[MaxD]

Not that it adds anything but the lack of entry date means he served overseas after the end of 1915, the date entry was related to the 1914 or 1914/1915 Star entitlement.

 

Max

[Stebie9173]

I checked the MOD list in case he had service in WW2 but he his name isn't listed. His brother is, though.

 

Account: 11001

ItemCode: AOP000242753

Object: File

Service Number: P310644

Service Number: NULL

Name: BALES CB

UDF2: NULL

UDF4: NULL

Date of Birth: 1896-01-02

Section of MOD file download: 1 of 8
 

Cyril served as an officer with the Army Cadet Force between 1944 and 1945 according to the London Gazette:

 

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36457/supplement/1604

 

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37376/supplement/5935

 

 

Steve.

 

 

[researchingreg]

On 6 May 2018 at 11:51, Stebie9173 said:

I checked the MOD list in case he had service in WW2 but he his name isn't listed. His brother is, though.

 

Account: 11001

ItemCode: AOP000242753

Object: File

Service Number: P310644

Service Number: NULL

Name: BALES CB

UDF2: NULL

UDF4: NULL

Date of Birth: 1896-01-02

Section of MOD file download: 1 of 8
 

Cyril served as an officer with the Army Cadet Force between 1944 and 1945 according to the London Gazette:

 

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36457/supplement/1604

 

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37376/supplement/5935

 

 

Steve.

Thanks for the information on his brother. Tertius became a civil servant and was in the colonial service during the 1930's and was in Africa in WW2 and in the 1950's. I think he became head of the post office in Kenya, before retiring. His wife Audrey (who was brought up with my father) shared digs with my mother for some time when she was driving for the Air Ministry in WW2. I was interested in his WW1 service.

Thanks Geoff

 

 

 

[Guest]

Sorry I'm late, but Tertius was my Great Grandfather. His son Michael Graham Bales is my grandfather (only child).

Tertius ended up living in Kenya (I think) and predeceased his wife by a few years - I think he possibly died in the late 60's or 70's.

 

Benjamin Baldwin Bales was the organist in Norwich. I have relocated to the area and if you have nay information of him then I would be very grateful

[researchingreg]

19 minutes ago, S41nT said:

Sorry I'm late, but Tertius was my Great Grandfather. His son Michael Graham Bales is my grandfather (only child).

Tertius ended up living in Kenya (I think) and predeceased his wife by a few years - I think he possibly died in the late 60's or 70's.

 

Benjamin Baldwin Bales was the organist in Norwich. I have relocated to the area and if you have nay information of him then I would be very grateful

i remember meeting Tertius (He was known as Turfy to us) His son Michael Graham was known as Graham to us and I have a short movie of Graham, my sister and myself in my Grandmothers garden in Shelford. Tertius's wife Lily Ellen Audrey Fordham (Known to us as Audrey) was brought up by my Grandparents William and Lily King as an older sister to my father, as her father (one of my Grandmothers brother's by the name of George Frederick Fordham your Great Great Grandfather, who was a private M2/114315 in the ASC). He was invalided out of the Army in 1916 and his wife (Audrey's mother ) Ellen Rose Gibson died in 1917. So he could not cope with his only daughter. 

 

I have George Fordham's 1914-1915 Medal.

 

I hope this information is useful.

 

 

[Guest]

That is unbelievably informative, thank you!

 

Is there any way I could persuade you to send me that video? I am certain it would be about the oldest video existing of my grandfather and would interest him very greatly.

 

He still goes by Graham (or Gray) and lives in Howick, South Africa (an hour west of Durban). I have his father's medal from The War. He is the last living descendant of that line of Bales - Tertius had 2 brothers and two sisters; they had two boys between the two of them that died young. My grandmother (Elizabeth Ann Jenkins) and grandfather had a boy who died young too.

[researchingreg]

I have now found some more  information on Sapper Tertius Bales 121336 (my first cousin once removed) gained from his grandson. He joined the Army in 1915 at 17 Years old he was attached to the Royal Engineers Signals Corps and landed at Lindi in 1917. Later when the Germans crossed the River Rivumi into Portuguese East Africa, Sapper Bales went to Mozambique and trekked inland to Quelemane with the 2nd Kenya African Rifles, Fitzcol. On one occasion, when he was travelling with 100 African Porters who were carrying telegraph wire, signal lamps and other equipment, the party were fired on by a German rearguard. Bales hastily retired into the bundu with one native soldier and the two of them were lost for 48 hours. After walking in a complete circle, he finally arrived at the scene of the attack and found all the equipment still lying on the ground, but not a single porter was in sight: he continued his journey and caught up with the main column. He was given a thorough dressing down by his signals officer who threatened he would probably be shot for desertion. He was told to go back and retrieve the dumped equipment immediately which he wasted no time in doing! A severe bout of fever finished his service in that part of the country and he was invalided to a convalescent camp in Nakuru, where he stayed until the end of 1918, when peace was declared. Early in January 1919 he was in Dar Es Salaam in a camp situated opposite the entrance of the Harbour. At that time the Civil Administration was being formed in what was known as German East Africa to take over from the Military and Tertius Bales was offered a job in the P and T Department which he accepted, obtaining his immediate discharge from the Army. Towards the end of January 1919, he entrained with the first contingent of civilians to take over from the military, the post offices en route from Mogoro to Mwanza- his own destination being Tabora. He stayed in the post office and surveying services in various African countries until his retirement in 1949 including 24 years in Nigeria.

 

I do not know about WW1 in German East Africa can anybody point me in the right direction?

 

[Terry_Reeves]

Ron Clifton posted all the war diary references here a few years ago:

TR

[Chilverine61]

Hi we have a few photos in the family that we are unsure of who they might me. The only one with any clue is a military group with Cyril written on the reverse. The only Cyril in my tree is Cyril Baldwin Bales. The second photo is almost certainly the Lamb Inn Little Milton Oxford which means nothing to me but appears to have the same guy. Hes on the far right in both pics

[PRC]

Hi @Chilverine61 and welcome to the forum

Hopefully the uniform experts will be along shortly to confirm, but to me looks like the picture of the group of servicemen is WW2 at least and possibly later. Unfortunately that puts it outside the period covered by this forum.

If it does date to that period and you believe the servicemanr and the man in the picture of the Lamb Inn, Little Milton are one and the same then given the likely age difference you are probably looking at the latter picture being taken in the 1960's. The kerbstones and dress sense make that a possibility, but I'd be more inclined to date that to the 1930's.

So is it possible that man is the 1896 born Cyril Barlow Bales and the serviceman might be a son, given the slight resemblance.  And speculating a little bit more, could the young lad on the left end of the group in the Lamb Inn picture be that son. Have to admit there is more of a resemblance between the two in the Lamb Inn picture - particularly the nose shape -  than with the soldier but that may simply be down to the age gap, poor resolution on the photograph, and the angle at which the young boys' head is being held.

No new IP is claimed for the above and all image rights remain with the current owner.

@researchingreg last visited the forum in May this year, so hopefully that shout out will alert him of your interest.

Cheers,
Peter