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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Royal Engineers Railway Company


themonsstar

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No1  CQMS's Hemphrey, Crooks & Ryland next to a German Wagon

No2  Lt MacKenzie & CQMS Alway, and a portion of American wagon erected at Audruicq.

No3 A "Cock & Hen" Lorry trip from Audruicq at Bergues.

RE Railway unit.JPG

RE Railway unit No2.JPG

RE Railway unit No3.JPG

RE Railway unit No4.JPG

RE Railway unit No5.JPG

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No6 The Crowd at Armentieres.

No7 Ruins of the Church at Bailleuil

No8 General view of old yard.

No9 General view of the new yard

RE Railway unit No6.JPG

RE Railway unit No7.JPG

RE Railway unit No8.JPG

RE Railway unit No9.JPG

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No10 One of the Locos built at wagon shop & depot.

No11 Some of the bits that wagons are repaired with.

No12 More American wagon erection.

No13 A corner of the spare parts stores, showing derrick at work.

RE Railway unit No10.JPG

RE Railway unit No11.JPG

RE Railway unit No12.JPG

RE Railway unit No13.JPG

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No14  A camouflaged peashooter.

No15  American wagon erection track.

No16 Interior of machine shop.

No17 Generator supplying lighting power on CinC's Train.

RE Railway unit No14.JPG

RE Railway unit No15.JPG

RE Railway unit No16.JPG

RE Railway unit No17.JPG

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ROD 855 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia between December, 1917 and March 1918 and arrived in France in early 1918.  70 of these locos were built and all went to Etat Belge after the war and then to the SNCB/NMBS on its formation.  2 were lost during WW2 and the class survived until 1964.  Baldwin also built another 50 of this type for Sinai Military Railways, and the last working steam loco on Israel railways as No. 901 in 1950.

 

Excellent set of photos.  However, where are the ferry boat, and the photo on a boat with a hill in the background?

 

Julian

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REJ reports the following wagon erecting Coys serving on 11th Nov, 1918: 16,17, 18 66, 67, 70

 

There are no War Diaries for the Wagon Erecting Coys at either PRO or Chatham

 

C.Q.M.S. Alway is possibly James G.B.G WR/256048

C.Q.M.S Hemphrey Frederick J, WR258164 formerly 189710

Crooks no record found of a C.Q.M.S. with a WR number

Walter E Ryland 

Army Service Corps Private SS/21685
Royal Engineers Private WR266450
Royal Engineers Private 247280
First Name:
W E
Surname:
Ryland
Rank:
Company Quartermaster Sergeant
Service Number:
WR/266450
Gallantry Awards:
Mentioned In Despatches
Gazette Info:
Gazette issue 31437. Mentioned in Despatches.
Gazette Date:
04/07/1919
Gazette Page:
8556
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Always might be James Charles B G, born Barton Regis Glos, 2nd quarter 1889, dies Bristol March, 1963, marries Bristol Oct 1907,

 

Frederick James Hemphrey, born 18th August, 1891, living in Clapham on enlistment, trade is clerk, born Rochester or Chatham, depending on which bit of record you find, had been employed on South Eastern and Chatham Railway, joined TF, Surrey Yeomanry in 1920 for 1 year, on 27th July, 1918 he joined 18 Wagon Erecting Coy from HQ Carriage and Wagon Superintendent.

 

I, therefore, suspect that all men are 18 W.E. Coy

Edited by JulianR
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Walter E Ryland entitled to 1915 Star, BWM, VM, enters France on 9th Nov, 1915, cannot find service record.  There are two possible men born in the right time frame, but unless we known dob etc., cannot find out more.

 

I have not bothered with Lt. MacKenzie, too many possibilities

 

Julian

Edited by JulianR
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Julian 

Thank you for the research once again you have come up trumps not sure about the ferry as there was nothing written with the photographs. 

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The ferry looks rather like one I sailed on in Burma, I was thinking Middle East, Mesopotamia. and the one on the boat with the hill in the back ground strikes me as Italy for some reason.

 

Thinking about Alway, he is a Bristol man and assuming that he was a railwayman before WW1 there are four possibilities as to his place of employment in Bristol.  I wo;; aslo assume that the Sappers put a round peg in around hole.

1) He was employed in the Bristol carriage and wagon shops of the Great Western Railway at Bristol.

2) He worked at Bristol Railway Carriage and Wagon Works, and when enlisted carried on his civilian job.

3) He worked at Avonside Engineering

4) He worked at Peckett and Sons

 

I think 1 or 2 are the most likely given that he was in Wagon Erecting Coy, but  both 3 and 4 built steam locomotives so are still a possibility

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For Crooks

 

WR/326898, Albert,  but I cannot decipher his rank

WR256930 Charles, Sapper

Edward H WR284279 Spr

Edward L, WR287064 Rank?

Frederick A, WR254110 rank?

George, WR320190, Spr

 

I cannot find a C.Q.M.S. in the Sappers with a WR number

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  • 3 months later...

Very interesting information on Audruicq Facility. The first time I see photographs of US gondolas erected at Audruicq. Along with the information I have from US sources, few hundreds of US railcars were erected there (around 500). It would be interesting to get more details on that : only high-sided gondolas or other types (boxcars, tank cars, refrigerators ?)

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