Swedenborgians

[edwin astill]

5 hours ago, Ron Clifton said:

When my employers moved me from Lincoln to London in 1974 I was billeted temporarily in a hotel in Bloomsbury (the Regency, IIRC) and I passed the Swedenborgians' HQ every day on my way to Holborn Tube, so I have actually heard of them, though like other Pals I have little understanding of what they do or believe.

 

Were there any Nikkulseynites among the men of 30th Division?

 

Ron

 

I wonder if Nikkulseynites were to be found in the Indian Army at the time.

 

Edwin

[rolt968]

If there was a Scots battalion, I am surprised that there were not men who claimed membership of the United Free Church of Scotland.

RM

Edited 21 June , 2018 by rolt968

[Heid the Ba]

Probably all lumped in as "Presbyterian".

[Ron Clifton]

48 minutes ago, rolt968 said:

If there was a Scots battalion, I am surprised that there were not men who claimed membership of the United Free Church of Scotland.

RM

Possibly in a bantam battalion?

 

Ron

[rolt968]

As this thread has progressed I am amazed that no-one has posted one of two apocryphal church parade stories!

RM

[IPT]

As a member of the apocryphal church, I must protest.

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, IPT said:

As a member of the apocryphal church, I must protest.

 

   Protest all you want-you are going down as C of E

[rolt968]

24 minutes ago, IPT said:

As a member of the apocryphal church, I must protest.

You won't like your place of worship! (possibly three apocryphal stories then?)

RM

[Retlaw]

 

     Start posting the stuff!!    Knowledge not shared  is the old Bishop Berkeley conundrum about whether a tree makes any noise  when it falls over if there is no-one there to listen. Knowledge garnered but not shared is  dead scholarship.  So-for a start- were GD's 5 Swedenborgians  from 17th manchesters any of your men???  Do tell.

As I said no one is interested in Greater Accrington, and No none of those 5 were from my patch, people wanting info on Accrington usually visit that web site & think its the cats whiskers, well I have files on all the men, both original Accrington Pals 1684 who enlisted or served from Sept 1914 to 30th June 1916, and the 2581 men who were posted to the 11th to make up battle losses, after the Battle of the Somme,  I also have all there medal cards and over 1100 sets of service records. That web site had 100's of men missing, and quite a few that never served in the 11th, plus the obscuration he causes by quoting all the those fancy WO file numbers, thats a right load of bull, whose going to look to check. Bill Turner & I spent many many days at Kew, and now after over 30 years I know theres nowt left to find, I kept my promise to Bill just before he died and my eldest daughetr arranged a trip to France, when the mayor of Accy presented a book I created of the true casualties for the 1/2nd July 1916. All 638 of them, my only sorrow is I never got to show Bill, but his widow Ruth was delighted & wanted to pay me for all the work, that I could not accept. I promised Bill, I would do it, and they can't steal that off him.   

Any way  I know crap when I see it.  If the internet hat smellies, that web site would reek like a cow shippen

[Guest]

 

   Splendid stuff Retlaw.   To my shame, as a soft southerner (Devonshire actually)   I cannot place one tale of the 1st East Lancs-but from the Second Wolrd War. Some years ago "The Times" had the obituary of the former CO of that battalion ,who had led it in NW Europe 1944-45  Just after the war, it was alleged, that Montgomery and another major British commander were debating which had been the best organized and preforming infantry battalion-and the story was that both Montgomery and his chum independently wrote down "1st East Lancs".   Does this ring a bell with you???    

[Retlaw]

 

   Splendid stuff Retlaw.   To my shame, as a soft southerner (Devonshire actually)   I cannot place one tale of the 1st East Lancs-but from the Second Wolrd War. Some years ago "The Times" had the obituary of the former CO of that battalion ,who had led it in NW Europe 1944-45  Just after the war, it was alleged, that Montgomery and another major British commander were debating which had been the best organized and preforming infantry battalion-and the story was that both Montgomery and his chum independently wrote down "1st East Lancs".   Does this ring a bell with you???    

Sorry GUEST, never heard that story, but I can tell you one thing, if there was a battle going on then you can bet your clogs, men from East lancashire would be in the thick of it, and what shows how much our lads like a good scrap, is the number of young lads 15's 16's and 17 year olds who joined up under false pretences, and even when wounded, and hospitalised, they still didn't reveal their true age, and went on to fight again, and when you know what life was like in the trenches during that war, that takes guts.   Many of those lads ran away from home and gave false adresses to enlist, so their parents couldn't stop them.

[Guest]

   Retlaw- One of the things that make the British Army the wonder that it was (and still is,in many ways), was the strength of it's regimental ties to particular areas. Good for you for sticking up for East Lancs.  

   Now a small apology- I have tracked down the East Lancs ref. that I mentioned. Alas, it was not Montgomery. The East Lancs CO was Freddie Allen- here is the opening paragraph from his obituary in "The Times"  ,July 2005.  Given the regimental motto "Spectamur Agendo"-"Judge Us by Our Deeds", then high praise indeed. Hope that brings a small bolster of pride to their memory.

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Freddie Allen

Insurance man turned soldier who won two DSOs in fierce battles in the Ardennes and the Reichswald

December 30, 1912 - June 28, 2005

July 27 2005, 1:00am, The Times

THERE is a story that at the end of the war in Europe, Generals Dempsey, Horrocks and Ritchie were lunching together when the question arose of which was the best fighting battalion during the North-West Europe campaign. Each wrote the name of the unit he thought the best on the back of his menu, then turned it over to discover that all three had written “1st East Lancs”. Freddie Allen had commanded this battalion during the German Ardennes offensive and in the battle of the Reichswald, winning a DSO in each

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

3 hours ago, rolt968 said:

If there was a Scots battalion, I am surprised that there were not men who claimed membership of the United Free Church of Scotland.

RM

Or the Scotch Baptists, popular in...well... Scotland, and also in parts of North Wales, one of their adherents was quite well known:

Scotch Baptists