1/4th Bn Cheshire Regt

[CTID]

Hi

Very interesting site. I'm just starting to look into the history of a namesake and would appreciate any help you can give.

1/4th Cheshires were TF / TA - I think

They mobilised on 2/8/14 - fought with 53rd Welsh Div Egypt, Gallipoli & Pallestine

From 31/5/18 they (and the rest of the 159 (Cheshire) Bde) transferred to 34th Div and fought in France / Belgium until the end.

Now the questions:

There appears to be no war diary for the 4th Bn - sorted thanks to Chris

The last listed action for 34th Div is 'The Action at Tieghem' - does anyone know anything about this - can't find anything more than the name of the 'Action' - BTW why was it not a battle?

The Chap I'm interested in (George Arthur Barrow) is buried at Terlincthun Cemetery, Wimille and died 11/11/18 so likely to have been wounded (or caught 'flu etc.) elsewhere and transported there - if it was as a result of wounds in Late October / Early Nov how long would casevac take to get him to Pas de Calais? and is this likely (presumably there were hospitals nearer the front?)

His Brother Harold was killed on 03/09/18 (3rd Worcestershire Regt)

Both appear on the Wallasey memorial and lived at 27 Naples Rd

Can anyone shed any light on this chap or 1/4th Bn Cheshire - particularly in late '18

Thanks for your help

Roger Barrow

[Chris_Baker]

Hello Roger, welcome to the Forum

The war diary does exist, and is held at the National Archives.

It is split up into sections. The document references are all prefixed WO95 and are 4323, 4628, 2462 and 1265.

[CTID]

Thanks for the info Chis I'll try and find it from the refs.

Would a war diary list casualties by name or would it be 4 x 'Other Ranks'? - sorry if that's daft question

Roger

[Chris_Baker]

It varies. Generally the war diaries do not mention ORs by name, but in quieter periods or if the Adjutant was minded to do so, OR casualties are sometimes given. Sometimes there are attachments or appendices, and these can include casualty and award lists. On the whole I'd say the chance of a given individual being named is about 1 in 50 - but you never know until you look.

[John_Hartley]

Roger

The CD Soldiers Died in the Great War records that your man died of wounds. This always makes it difficult to be certain when he might have received them. He may have arrived at hsopital within 24 hours or he may have been there for quite a while.

The History of the Cheshires records that the 1/4th's last major action was on 24 October 1918 but, of course, he may well have been wounded after that.

The archives at the Regimental Museum at Chester also has a copy of the war diary. I've recently been doing some fairly extensive reading there and you can be certain that he will NOT be mentioned by name. To put it mildly, the diary is NOT one of the most comprehesive I have ever read!

John