Spoilbank Cemetery: Case #2 - Negro Corporal

[laughton]

This case comes from the Spoilbank Cemetery topic here: 

 

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/268686-spoilbank-cemetery-zillebecke/

 

I had this posted in the topic but have now removed it and placed it in its own topic. This case may have some merit!

 

 

I do have a candidate for the "Unknown Corporal Negro" that @Becstar identified in her early correspondence with me. For that period of late September 1917 there are 5 Corporals on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, only two (2) of which are British. One of them was Corporal F. C. Sully #11631 from the British West Indies Regiment (8th Battalion). I have yet to discover whether that group of war diaries is available online.

• Long, Long Trail
• Wikipedia
• It is Serjeant Sully on the Dominica Memorial (see photos of memorial and plaque): http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Overseas/dominica.html

Perhaps the other "Unknown Corporal" is the second British man from the RFA? That one we would never know.

 

I was not aware of the unit, however it was significant as 1,477 men of the regiment were lost in the Great War, 181 of them in Belgium (CWGC Link). Five (5) Corporals were lost in Belgium and only one (1) is an UNKNOWN (CWGC Link).

 

 

[Becstar]

Absolutely brilliant investigative work Richard. I volunteer on a page transcribing documents (although due to time constraints haven’t been able to contribute recently), it contains some Unit Diaries that could be of assistance. Quick check & nothing on 8th West Indies Regiment, only a few names (no Corporals) unfortunately. 

 

The website I referred to is :

https://wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/

 

 

[laughton]

Thanks Bec, but that is just an early guess! Sometimes it works out, sometimes not.

 

His full name was Frederick Charles Sully and he had a Medal Index Card. 

 

There is some background on the BWIR in this essay:

 

http://worldwarone.southernvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/British-West-Indies-and-World-War-One.pdf

Quote

In July 1916, the 3rd and the 4th Battalions, having only recently reached Egypt, had been suddenly ordered to return to France. Given the heavy losses which the British Army was suffering in France, the War Office had decided that in order to get the maximum number of its troops into the trenches, special labour battalions were to be recruited from across the British Empire to play vital roles behind the lines in ensuring that the necessary logistical and physical infrastructure could be maintained and moved forward whenever British army captured ground from the Germans. It was to this labour force that the 3rd and 4th battalions were added, despite the fact that they 13 had been trained as soldiers – and were being paid on the same terms as British troops. The same fate awaited the 6th through 11th battalions as these reached France. Whereas there had been perhaps 1,500 West Indian soldiers in France in 1916, this number rose steadily to over 6,000 during 1917. The West Indians found themselves unloading and loading ships at various ports, building roads, maintaining repair shops, undertaking postal duties, working in factories, driving ambulances, and, nearer the front, laying telephone lines, digging and repairing trenches, carrying shells forward for the artillery batteries, and acting as stretcher bearers for the wounded. Any activity near the front exposed the soldiers to German snipers, artillery and planes making strafing runs. And the casualties could be heavy; in 1917 during the allied offensives at Arras, Messines and Ypres, the BWIR lost 79 men killed and 453 wounded.

 

It does show early, that there were a lot of men with BWI heritage in the regular British army, so there may be many others that need to be checked. Some were apparently quite famous, such as Second Lieutenant Walter Daniel John Tull.

 

Looks like the BWRI should have war diaries under "Army Troops". I can't seem to locate that on the Ancestry site. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Army Troops. 8 Battalion British West Indies Regiment

Reference:WO 95/338/2

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/70f60903c0ea47719e8567a34fa15d1c

 

 

 

[laughton]

Interestingly enough, you can use the UKNA image viewer to get details of where the unit was and if patient to read the text.

 

• On 26 September 1917 the 8th Bn BWIR was at 27.R.11.c.9.7, which places them about 7,000 yards south of Poperinghe. The initial thought then is, they are way out of the area of where the remains were recovered. On that day seven (7) Officers and 150 Other Ranks were working for the 1st Anzacs and the remainder of the battalion was supplying parties for ammunition duties with "X" Corps Heavy Artillery. Four (4) men were sent to hospital. One casualty Pte. York #11800 was wounded. A Corporal Gas Instructor from Reinforcement Camp ABEELE (my note: looks like that is 27.L.25) instructing men, that were not on duty, on gas and fitting box respirator.
  
   
• On 27 September 1917, Captain Hobson and party, less 43 OR (? detained by 1st Anzacs ?), returned after marching 2 miles. Men unfit for work today. Battalion supplied parties for ammunition work with "X" Corps Heavy Artillery. Corporal 11594 ?Ronney? and Private ?1652 Samuel absent without leave. Casualties 4 killed, 14 wounded (other ranks). Two horses and No 295782 Driver Craig attached from RGA lines. Bombs dropped near camp; horses stampeded; search parties sent out, no results.

Going forward to 2 October 1917 we find that the battalion is to move camp to where "Xth" Corps is located at 28.I.25.b.1.6 which is close to where the remains were recovered, so this might link the case to those that went forward to assist "X" Corps Heavy Artillery. But why no mention of the casualty? Perhaps because he was not back at the 8th Bn BWIR location and they did not know of the casualty? Makes good sense! Looks like the first big group went out on 24 September 1917 to "X" Corps heavy artillery.

 

It looks like the answer may be in the war diary for the "X" Corps Heavy Artillery.

 

Now I have to plead "Canadian Ignorance"! Where do I find that unit? Is this it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Corps_(United_Kingdom)

 

 

[laughton]

Looks like it must be here, also not digitized on Ancestry if it only starts at:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/c140cef56abc47dd96d7c6972d1f4cdb

 

Quote

Source Information

Ancestry.com. UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.Original data: First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries. WO 95/1096–3948. The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England.

 

[laughton]

There were four (4) reported killed that day, probably those at base camp. They may not have known that Sully was missing if he was forward with the X Corps artillery.

 

The CWGC list to which I have added the TMC for the cemeteries where they were buried, three back at base but Severin must also have been at X Corps as he was buried in the square (28.I.26) adjacent to where the Negro Corporal was buried. That is the best evidence to date that Sully may have been in the precise area where the remains were found.

 

These were DIRECT BURIALS not concentrations, so we are not going to see COG-BR recovery data.

 

surname	forename	rank	#	cemetery or memorial	grave or panel	TMC Burial
AUGUSTE	JOSEPH	Private	'10458'	BUS HOUSE CEMETERY	I. 10.	28.O.2.a.4.6
GIBBS	CORNIBERT	Serjeant	'11163'	LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY	XXV. D. 19A.	27.L.22.d.6.3
PATRICK	J	Private	'11516'	LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY	XXIV. G. 15A.	27.L.22.d.6.3
SEVERIN	C	Private	'11626'	BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY	Enclosure No.2 I. E. 46.	28.I.26.a.90.25
SULLY	FREDERICK CHARLES	Corporal	'11631'	YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL	Panel 15A.	n/a

[laughton]

There is no date of death for the Negro Corporal so we need to use the others on the GRRF as indicators. The last one on the GRRF above is Private G. H. Vousden #G/17318 of the 11th Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment. The CWGC reports his death as between 24th and 27th September 1917. Note the numbering on the GRRF graves is in reverse order. Sully is reported to have died on 27 September 1917 which fits nicely with the list.

 

There are 203 Corporals listed by the CWGC in Belgium for this 4 day period (CWGC Link). Of these 140 are UK, 62 Australian and 1 Canadian (Chapman #123017 7th Bn CRT). For my interest, Corporal Chapman died at No. 61 CCS from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He has a known grave. His attestation papers also note he had a fair to medium complexion.

 

Of the 140 UK Corporals dead, 87 are listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial and 2 on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (CWGC Link - Cooper and Sully). Generally the Tyne Cot Memorial lists those casualties after 16 August 1917, but the CWGC does say "with some exceptions". Clearly Cooper and Sully are two (2) of those exceptions. Immediately one has to ask if the other Unknown Corporal is Robert Frank Cooper #382552 from the 294th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, 26 September 1917. Corporal Cooper was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. The LTT tells us that the 294th went to France on 23 March 1917. There are no additional details and it would appear the war diaries are not on Ancestry. There is a list of those at the UKNA (see here) and yes it has the 249th Siege Battery (WO 95/226/6) for March 1917 to January 1918. Page 20 of 42 has the date but the column for "Battery Position" has no entry. All I can discern is that during that week they were firing rounds into sector 28.K.31.c, which is on the Ypres-Menin Road about 3,500 yards southeast of Gheluvelt (10,000 plus yards due south of Passchendaele).

 

Of the 62 Australian Corporals, 35 are on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (CWGC Link). The CWGC might insist that we check all these to see if any were "Aboriginal". I have no idea if Aussie aboriginals served in the AIF, MGC or Engineers. I picked the first one to see what was available and that tells me Corporal Donald Herbert Odo Hopkins #2678 was born in Wales and of fair complexion when examined in Brisbane (Ancestry page). I believe these records are also available on the Australian War Memorial - hold it - they have a list of the 1,073 Indigenous Service Men (AWM Link). Wikipedia tells me those would be "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia". I can compare that to the CWGC list - a not to difficult task: (none are indigenous)

 

surname	forename	death	regiment	unit	#	local information	Indigenous ?
BORGER	MICHAEL CASSIN	26-09-17	A.M.G.C.	12th Coy.	'4628'	Aldavilla, Kempsey, New South Wales.	X
BROWN	WILFRED LIONEL	26-09-17	A.I.F.	5th Bn.	'3042'	Native of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.	X
BUTTERWORTH	RUPERT GODFREY	26-09-17	A.I.F.	56th Bn.	'2126'	Pine St., Hay, New South Wales.	X
CAMERON	ERIC ALLAN	26-09-17	A.Eng.	13th Field Coy.	'595'	Victoria, Australia. Born at Traralgon, Victoria.	X
CAWSE	FRANCIS WILLIAM	26-09-17	A.I.F.	57th Bn	'3047'	Native of Melbourne.	X
COATS	THOMAS ALAN	27-09-17	A.I.F.	50th Bn.	'3101'	Native of Adelaide.	X
COLLEN	HENRY JOHN WILLIAM	27-09-17	A.I.F.	45th Bn.	'2580'		X
COMMELIN	ANTON ADOLF CONSTANT	26-09-17	A.I.F.	55th Bn.	'2603'		X
CORK	ELLIS ERIC	26-09-17	A.I.F.	31st Bn.	'2472'	Native of Jamberoo.	X
D'ANGRI	NORMAN	26-09-17	A.I.F.	31st Bn.	'1132'	Native of Ballarat, Australia.	X
DAVIS	FRANK	27-09-17	A.I.F.	14th Bn.	'4954'	Ballarat Fast, Victoria.	X
DYER	GORDON WILSON	26-09-17	A.M.G.C.	13th Coy.	'2842'	Native of Adelaide, South Australia.	X
GRANT	EDWARD	25-09-17	A.I.F.	54th Bn.	'3055'		X
HOPKINS	DONALD HERBERT ODO	26-09-17	A.I.F.	49th Bn.	'2678'	Native of Swansea, Wales.	X
HUNTER	FRANK CHARLES ERNEST	26-09-17	A.I.F.	14th Bn.	'1960'	Native of Preston, Victoria.	X
JACKSON	EDWARD FREDERICK	26-09-17	A.I.F.	31st Bn.	'1615'		X
KIRWAN	ANGUS	26-09-17	A.I.F.	31st Bn.	'2355'	Native of Hamilton.	X
MITCHELL	ERNEST	26-09-17	A.I.F.	49th Bn.	'638'		X
McALISTER	DAVID LINDSAY	26-09-17	A.Eng.	15th Field Coy.	'4054'		X
McKINLEY	ALEXANDER WARICK	27-09-17	A.I.F.	60th Bn.	'3205'	Native of Northcote, Victoria.	X
NEWTON	ARTHUR LESLIE	24-09-17	A.M.G.C.	4th Coy.	'3400'	Native of Sydney.	X
NOWLAND	FREDERICK ERNEST	25-09-17	A.I.F.	55th Bn.	'1954'	Native of Cootamundra, New South Wales.	X
PLASTO	WILLIAM	25-09-17	A.I.F.	58th Bn.	'3607'	West Melbourne	X
REYNOLDS	MARTIN MARY	27-09-17	A.I.F.	15th Bn.	'2372'	Murwillumbah, Tweed River, New South Wales	X
ROBINSON	LESLIE HENRY	26-09-17	A.I.F.	54th Bn.	'1973'		X
ROOS	FREDERICK JOHN	26-09-17	A.M.G.C.	13th Coy.	'3105'	Native of Brussels, Belgium.	X
ROWLAND	REGINALD	26-09-17	A.I.F.	31st Bn.	'3624'	Native of Bundaberg, Queensland.	X
RUSSELL	HERBERT IVERS	26-09-17	A.I.F.	59th Bn.	'3910'	"The Pines", Lang Warrin, Victoria	X
STONE	LAURENCE JOHN	26-09-17	A.I.F.	51st Bn.	'4934'		X
STORE	LEO	26-09-17	A.I.F.	49th Bn.	'3115'		X
TOOTH	FREDERICK WILLIAM	26-09-17	A.I.F.	59th Bn.	'2816'	Native of Sydney.	X
TREEBY	FREDERICK	27-09-17	A.I.F.	15th Bn.	'25252'		X
TROMPP	JOHN FREDERICK	25-09-17	A.I.F.	53rd Bn.	'5472'	Native of Goulburn, New South Wales.	X
WATSON	DAVID	26-09-17	A.I.F.	14th Bn.	'4628'	Native of Roo Wee Rup, Victoria.	X
WILCOX	JAMES GILROY	27-09-17	A.I.F.	53rd Bn.	'3453A'	Native of Croydon, New South Wales.	X

 

That still does leave the 89 Corporals from the UK to check!

 

Update 13 May 2019: I also checked those from 28 to 30 September 1917 for the report and there are no Indigenous Corporals with no known grave:

• 14 on Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (CWGC Link)
• no Australian Corporals on the Tyne Cot Memorial

 

 

 

 

Edited 14 June , 2019 by laughton
Cooper and Sully are exceptions to CWGC rule; updated 13-05-2019 My error, Cooper was 294th Siege Battery - fixed 14 June 2019

[Becstar]

Richard, I can run a check on the possibility of Australian Indigenous Corporals tomorrow. Our Personal Service Records can contain quite politically incorrect detailed information ‘half caste’, ‘native’ or just description of skin as being dark. 

It’s late here so I’ll send you this picture (it’s dark so I can’t help the shadow). Unfortunately on the IPad unable to make it smaller.  Until tomorrow when I have a look at Unit Diaries to see where the Aussie boys were, this may help for now.

Taken from the book, The Great War, by Les Carlyon.

Included pic of Battalions made up of 4th & 5th Divisions. Easier to take pic instead of write them down. May help narrow the search.

Hope it helps! 

 

[Becstar]

Oops, late night last night just realised that you’ve checked already.

[laughton]

On 05/01/2019 at 07:26, laughton said:

Now I have to plead "Canadian Ignorance"! Where do I find that unit? Is this it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Corps_(United_Kingdom)

 

Back to investigate this further and to try and figure out "X Corps" so I can determine if the BWIR was in the correct area when the Corporal was lost.

 

If Wikipedia is correct (this link) for the Battle of Pilckem Ridge (due north of Ypres) then we have X Corps in the Second Army, as it appeared from the first link. That points me to the 29th or 30th Division. In Flanders the 29th in 1917 would have been in the battles of Langemark (due north of Kitcheners Wood), Broodseinde (due east of Zonnebeke 28.D.28.c) and Poelcapelle (due north of Gravenstafel Ridge). If 30th Division it is only Pilkem Ridge.

 

More tomorrow - this is over my pay grade apparently!

[laughton]

Drats! the 29th Divisional Artillery war diary jumps from June 1917 to October 1917 (war diary page 211 of 663). The first page of October 1917 is Map 20 SW of Belgium, so they had moved, and are in the vicinity of Langemark (20.U.22.c.8.2). It appears this is the same map that is in the war diary:

 

[Yser River Region, Belgium : 3rd Battle of Ypres]

 

Once the text of the war diary starts for October, HQ is a "J" Camp at 28.A.8.b.1.5 and they are continuing preparations for the advance.

 

Same results if we go to the 17th Brigade RFA, the war diary skips from June 1917 to October 1917. Maybe they spent the summer on the move from France to Belgium? How about if we skip to just the 29th Division? They are still in the Somme sector in June 1917 and in northern France (HerZeele) by the end of July.

 

Looks like we are into the Battle of Polygon Wood (3rd Ypres Autumn 1917) from September 26th to October 3rd. That would place them in 28.J.9, due east of Ypres. That is depicted on the map that Bec put in Post #8 above.

 

Closer, but I still need that critical piece of information that ties the men lost from the BWIR. Where exactly was "X" Corps Heavy Artillery on 27 September 1917?

[Becstar]

I’ll get the maps out! 

[Becstar]

That’s just a general look but there’ll no doubt be plenty of more information as well, with detailed maps. Am onto it 😀

[laughton]

You should be able to "click" these images to see them in full scale.   The RED BOX on the McMaster Map below shows the are marked in Bec's Map. Also noted are some of the key reference points.   There were 635 Australians lost in the 3 day period from the 27th to 30th (CWGC Link).     Spoilbank Cemetery is in the lower left corner, just north of the canal and perhaps 100 yards west of Chester Farm.   I did notice an Australian (Pte. H. Turner) who is buried in Spoilbank as well, whose remains were found at 28.J.14.a.3.4 so they were concentrating from that area (COG-BR 1832591). It would appear there are a number of other "known" Australians from the "Red Box" as well as "Unknowns".

Thanks to Becstar we have a map of the area where the forces are shown in Sectors 28.I and 28.J. The X CORPS mark is in 28.I.30. The Negro Corporal is in Spoilbank Cemetery in 28.I.33.

 

Updated May 26, 2019:

 

Just to keep the components together, this additional bit of detail was on the website of the Australian War Memorial when I searched that site for any reference to "X Corps" (Battle of Polygon Wood).

Quote

The battle of Polygon Wood was the I ANZAC component of a larger British and dominion operation staged as part of the third battle of Ypres. This operation was the second of the "Plumer battles", a series of well-planned, limited advances supported by large volumes of artillery, masterminded by the British general Herbert Plumer. The name "Polygon Wood" derived from a young plantation forest that lay along I ANZAC's axis of advance.

 

Scheduled to begin on 26 September 1917, the attack was almost derailed by a German attack on the British X Corps to the south of I ANZAC. A day earlier, Australian troops of the 15th Brigade, preparing for their attack, took part in fending off the Germans; however, their advance the next day began with continuing uncertainty as to the security of their flank. 

 

The British and dominion advance began on schedule at 5.50 am on the 26th, with the 4th and 5th Divisions, on the left and right respectively, taking the lead in the I ANZAC sector. The infantry advanced behind a heavy artillery barrage - the noise of this was compared to a roaring bushfire - and they secured most of their objectives without difficulty. To the south, the 15th Brigade, which after its efforts the previous day had been reinforced by two battalions from the 8th, secured not only its own objectives but those allocated to the neighbouring 98th British Brigade. The Germans launched several counter-attacks but these were thwarted by the heavy defensive artillery barrages used to protect the infantry consolidating on their objectives; this was a feature of the Plumer battles. The battle cost 5,770 Australian casualties.

 

From that, I thought it wise to check the war diary of the 15th Australian Infantry Brigade for that period. Starting at page 70 of 156 there are a number of narratives of the different battalions that detail the events. The details provided in these narratives are incredible!

Edited 26 May , 2019 by laughton
May 26, 2019: added bottom text from Australian War Memorial

[laughton]

For those interested in those that served from the Caribbean, this article (booklet) can be read online.

 

Caribbean Soldiers on the Western Front - 2016

Researched and written by John Siblon

African Heritage Forum www.africanheritageforum.com

email: africanheritageforum@gmail.com

 

There are several mentions on the men working as ammunition carriers, which it appears was the role of Corporal Frederick Charles  when he was killed:

 

Quote

Page 23: From 1916, the shortage of manpower in Europe needed to be addressed urgently and recruiting was recommenced in the Caribbean. All successive Contingents of men thereafter would be sent to France and Belgium. Lt. Colonel Wood Hill has suggested in his Notes that men from the 3rd,4th and 6th Battalions were concentrated on ammunition work whereas later Battalions were mostly labour Battalions.26  A reading of the WarDiaries of the 3rd, 7th and 8th Battalions of the BWIR is helpful in providing information as to where men from the Caribbean served on the eastern Front and what sort of tasks they were employed in. It appears that all BWIR Battalions that served on the Western Front were involved in ammunition work

Quote

Page 24: The 8th Battalion arrived in Brest in July 1917 and,after a period of recuperation due to an outbreak of fever and bronchitis, were able to carry out drills and training. In September 1917, the Battalion supplied parties for ammunition work for 10 Corps of the Heavy Artillery. Some men were sent to Abeele, in Belgium, where they were employed to fill box respirators. There they regularly faced bombs from aeroplanes and shell-fire. (My Note: Corporal Sully of the 8th Battalion was KIA on 27 September 1917.)

Quote

Page 25: A reading of the War Diaries suggests that all of the Battalions who served on the Western Front, in Northern France and Belgium,served mainly supplying shells and ammunition to the Artillery and Front Line troops whilst also being asked to carry out some labour duties. (8th Battalion, British West Indies Regiment, July 1917–December 1917: France 2 Army Troops’, the National Archives (UK), WO 95/338/2)

 

I was able to track down the contact information for the author, so I will make contact. It appears he is on your side of the pond here. Perhaps he has more information that will assist the file, or can help us acquire that information from the UKNA? The 8th Battalion war diary perhaps, as it is not available to me in Canada or via my Ancestry links.

 

John Siblon

Department of History, Classics and Archaeology
Birkbeck, University of London
Room G10, 28 Russell Square
London, WC1B 5DQ

 

John also has another article online:

 

Negotiating Hierarchy and Memory:African and Caribbean Troops from Former British Colonies in London's Imperial Spaces

The London Journal, 2016, 1-14

 

The notes to the article indicate that he is a History Teacher in Islington, London.

 

John answers to question as to the correct terminology in his notes to the above article:

 

Quote

10. I have used Black to describe African and Caribbean troops in place of colonial which was used to describe all subject peoples of the British Empire but which later came to mean just those from the dependent territories. In colonial times, the term native or negro was used to describe Black Africans and coloured to describe Caribbeans.

 

[laughton]

Looking at Bec's map, it would appear that I jumped the gun assuming that Corporal Sully was supplying information ammunition to "X Corps" when I quoted from the war diary:

 

Quote

On that day seven (7) Officers and 150 Other Ranks were working for the 1st Anzacs and the remainder of the battalion was supplying parties for ammunition duties with "X" Corps Heavy Artillery

 

It could have been that he was one of the 150 ORs that was working with the 1st ANZAC. I will have to ask Bec for some clarification here as the map does show "1st ANZAC and then the DIVISIONS. If I understand correctly, 1st ANZAC was the original group with the 1st and 2nd Divisions (agrees with the map) and 2nd ANZAC was the new 4th and 5th Divisions. Doesn't appear there was an Australian 3rd Division - but it is shown as one of the Reserves with the "X"? The 2nd ANZACS were there as well, attached to the 1st ANZACS for this particular battle.

 

I don't think this changes the facts of the case that Corporal Sully was in that area working with one or more of the groups on the battle for Polygon Wood.

Edited 13 May , 2019 by laughton
information = ammunitiion

[laughton]

There is evidence of men from the Caribbean serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, integrated into regular battalions. Two examples came to light from the War Memorial in St. Mary's Jamaica:

 

http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/images2/StMaryMemorial.htm

 

You will notice at the bottom of the memorial, the last two entries are serving with the CEF. These just happen to be two that were KIA so I have to assume there were others. They are not candidates for this case, as neither was a Corporal, (also KIA France 1918) but it does show that the case must consider others that were not serving with the British West Indies Regiment.

 

Sergeant RUDOLF, OSCAR ROYSTON Service Number 234995 Died 02/09/1918 44th Bn. Canadian Infantry

Private FADIL, H A Service Number 2528359 Died 02/10/1918 58th Bn. Canadian Infantry

 

The big question for this case is "Were there Afro-Caribbean men serving in the regular or territorial British Army in the Great War"?

 

Certainly the answer was yes, as we know that three (3) made it to the Officer Ranks:

• Lieutenant David Clemetson, Pembroke Yeomanry (KIA)
• Second Lieutenant George Bemand, Royal Field Artillery (KIA) - if I have the right man!
• Second Lieutenant Walter Daniel John Tull, Middlesex Regiment (KIA)

I was hoping that a Grad Student had researched this topic for a thesis, but so far I have not found a resource. There are some historic research papers but none so far that I can see cover the Great War.

[Becstar]

From memory the Burial Return doesn’t contain any other information such as ‘Unknown Australian/British/Canadian/South African Soldier’ as is the majority of cases. I think that it in itself could be relevant. Maybe the uniform wasn’t familiar to the grave unit, a quick look reveals that the BWIR uniform didn’t include shoulder or collar badges (I may be wrong), BWIR were issued only with a cap badge? 

Edited 15 May , 2019 by Becstar

[laughton]

Once it gets to the Headstone Register, the word Negro is dropped and it just says UNKNOWN BRITISH CORPORAL. Many Canadians and I assume Australians are marked as UNKNOWN BRITISH, many examples found over time.

click me

 

Edited 16 May , 2019 by laughton
added HD-SCHD image

[laughton]

Looking at some options to try and find any other Afro-Caribbean men that may have served other than in the British West Indies Regiment. The process to do this may be of interest to other researchers, particularly the step to import the Ancestry data into Excel.

 

I have now edited this post to insert additional information related to possible candidates.

 

OPTION 1 - ANCESTRY SEARCH

Using Ancestry.ca to search for: Born: 1890 plus or minus 10 years In: Country Death: 1916 plus or minus 2 years In: Belgium All Collections   Method to import Ancestry or similar data to an Excel Spreadsheet: https://www.mkrgenealogy.com/searching-for-stories-blog/spreadsheet-magic-importing-data-from-ancestrycom#   The question was how to find all the Afro-Caribbean that may have served in the British Army that were not in the British West Indies Regiment, so first I have to find them all and then look for Corporals that were in Regiments   Unfortunately this is not perfect as the process failed to pick up Corporal Frederick Charles Sully, as the record did not contain his date of birth or in which country he was born. Also, when I removed the birth date from the records for Jamaica, the count went up from 18 records to 22 records. I will check why and adjust the process. I also need to check each list for those that DO NOT belong, for example in Jamaica it has picked up men from Manchester? Those are in the "De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour", not "Find a Grave".   WIKIPEDIA: The territories that were originally part of the British West Indies are (date of independence, where applicable, in brackets): The Bahamas (1973) Barbados (1966) Belize (formerly British Honduras) (1981) Bermuda (British overseas territory) British Leeward Islands Anguilla (British overseas territory) Antigua and Barbuda (1981) British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory) Dominica (1978) Montserrat (British overseas territory) Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983) British Windward Islands Grenada (1974) Saint Lucia (1979) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979) Cayman Islands (British overseas territory) Guyana (formerly British Guiana) (1966) Jamaica (formerly Colony of Jamaica) (1962) Trinidad and Tobago (1962) Turks and Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)

 

JAMAICA:

Ancestry Link   Results 1-18 of 18   RecordsCategories     Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Driver Walter George Birkett Birth 19/12/1890 Jamaica Death 25-08-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Lance Sergeant Leonard Cecil Leicester Sutton Birth 14/04/1890 Jamaica Death 02/06/1916 Belgium Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Caleb Samuel Reynolds Birth 05/12/1891 Montego Bay Saint James Jamaica Death 29/07/1917 Belgium Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Ralph Manly Davis Birth 06/05/1893 Kingston Kingston Jamaica Death 04-06-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Pvt Percy Davis Birth 29/03/1893 Jamaica Death 02-06-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Douglas Roy Manley Birth 25/10/1895 Porus Manchester Jamaica Death 26-07-17 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Adolph Aymar Orrett Birth 04/06/1894 Jamaica Death 02-06-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Aaron Washington McDermott Birth 10/07/1892 Saint Ann Jamaica Death 13/09/1917 Belgium Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private George Cardoza Birth 14/11/1892 Kingston Kingston Jamaica Death 22-04-15 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Henry James Davidson Birth 04/06/1893 Linstead Saint Catherine Jamaica Death 25/09/1917 Belgium

 

The process missed this one for Jamaica as he was born in 1876: (I will adjust the process)

 

Private William Smoker
23/11/1876 Jamaica
02-06-16

 

BARBADOS:

Ancestry Link Results 1-7 of 7 RecordsCategories   Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Second Lieutenant Humphrey Stanley Reece Birth 16/02/1892 Barbados Death 02/04/1916 Belgium Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Private Clarence F. Webster Birth 01/01/1891 Bridgetown Saint Michael Barbados Death 24-04-15 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Corporal John Stephen Carter Birth 06/11/1886 Bridgetown Saint Michael Barbados Death 13-06-16   Corporal John Stephen Carter #457028 is named on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial for service with the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry. Although born in Barbados, he is reported to have a fair complexion (link).He served with the Barbados Volunteer Force and the U. S. Army, listing his profession as "soldering". He was killed in action on 13 June 1916 near Sanctuary Wood and had no record of burial. He is not a candidate due to his racial characteristics.   Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Private Michael Theodore Orme Roett Birth 05/07/1892 Saint Michael Barbados Death 08-05-15 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Corporal Richard Eyare Leslie Hollinsed Birth 01/10/1887 Barbados Death 23-04-15   Corporal Richard Hollinsed #10918 served with the 4th Battalion Canadian Infantry and is memorialized on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (CWGC link). He was killed in action on 23 April 1915 in the attack near St. Julien. Corporal Hollinsed meets the racial characteristics, as he is reported to have a dark complexion and black hair (link). The date and location of his death removes him as a direct candidate for the Unknown Negro Corporal.   Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Second Lieutenant Alfred Fitzhardinge Berkeley Birth 26/03/1896 Barbados Death 07-06-17 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information. Name Private Frank Rupert Rock Birth 25/01/1894 Saint Andrew Barbados Death 08-05-15

 

BERMUDA: (some have to be deleted, as per Jamaica example)

Ancestry Link   Results 1-5 of 5   RecordsCategories     Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Sergeant George Samuel Tucker Birth 17/07/1893 Flatt's Village Smith's Parish Bermuda Death 13-06-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Alexander Ewing Tucker Birth 01/11/1896 Flatt's Village Smith's Parish Bermuda Death 03-06-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Lieutenant Robert Lightbourn Birth 02/11/1894 Bermuda Death 26-07-17 UK, Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919 Casualties   Record information.   Name Edwin Herbert Hulston Birth location dd/mm/year Death dd/mm/1918 UK, De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919 Casualties   View Image   Record information.   Name Colin Charles Horton Mother given name surname Father given name surname Birth location dd/mm/year Death location dd/mm/1917 Military mm/year   Corporal Colin Charles Horton #5064 was killed near Zillebeke on 20 September 1917 (link), which makes him a candidate if the racial characteristics match. The CWGC reports he was "Son of William Henry and Elizabeth Mary Horton, of 3, Poplar Avenue, Palmerston Rd., Sparkbrook, Birmingham" (link). He is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial. He served with the 10th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. It appears he was born in Birmingham, so there is no reason for his name to have appeared on this list - as noticed with others picked up in the Ancestry search?

 

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

Ancestry Link   Results 1-3 of 3   RecordsCategories     Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Sgt Wellesley Seymour Taylor Birth 14/07/1890 Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago Death 01-05-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Sydney George Syder Birth 15/08/1893 Trinidad and Tobago Death 26-01-16 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private Arthur John Duff Birth 25/11/1895 Trinidad and Tobago Death 16-11-17

 

TURKS & CAICOS:

Ancestry Link   Results 1-1 of 1   RecordsCategories     Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Corporal Evan Stuart Cameron Birth 21/09/1893 Turks and Caicos Islands Death 21-04-15   Corporal Evan Stuart Cameron #25931 was killed in action near St. Julien sometime between the 21st and 27th of April, 1915. His body was not recovered for burial and he is named on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. At the time, he was serving with the 14th Battalion, Canadian Infantry.The CWGC reports (link) "Son of Sir Edward J. Cameron, K.C.M.G., and Lady Cameron, of 15, Springfield Place, Bath, England. Educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton (Head Boy)." His Canadian Attestation Papers confirm that he was born in the Turks Islands (link) and that he had a dark complexion with black hair (link). His father was a white British Subject who was Commissioner of the Turks & Caicos at the time of his birth and Governor of Gambia (Africa) at the time of his attestation (link). Curiously, Evan Stuart Cameron does not appear on Ancestry as a child, particularly to his father's wife (Australian), Eva Selwyn Isaacs (link).There are also references to a number of "half siblings" on sibling pages (link) and others on his own page (link). One of these brothers was killed in France in 1916, with the same listed mother and father. He was a Lieutenant in the Cameron HIghlanders (CWGC link). Lieutenant Francis Blake Cameron also attested in Canada to the 14th Battalion and was reported to have a fair complexion (link), although he to was born in the Turks & Caicos on 14 October 1894. Another brother by the name of Guy Fremantle Cameron is linked to both Evan Stuart Cameron and Francis Blake Cameron (link). Guy was reported wounded in action in France but survived the war, however I could find no record of his service.   It would appear that Corporal Evan Stuart Cameron may have been a son by other than Lady Cameron. His death in 1915 and the location at St. Julien removes direct linkage to the Unknown Negro Corporal in the Spoilbank Cemetery.

 

ST. VINCENT & GRENADINES:

Ancestry Link   Results 1-1 of 1   RecordsCategories     Web: Canada, Virtual War Memorial Index, 1900-2014 Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Record information.   Name Private George Granderson Gill Birth 17/12/1893 St. Vincent, British West Indi Death 13/06/1916 Belgium

 

NO RECORDS FOUND:

 

Guyana

Cayman Islands

Saint Lucia

Grenada

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Montserrat

Dominica - Corporal Sully *

British Virgin Islands

Antigua and Barbuda

Anguilla

Belize

The Bahamas

 

* Corporal Sully should have shown up under Dominica.

 

There were 181 men of the British West Indies (BWI) Regiment that were killed in Belgium (CWGC link), which raises some question as to the validity of the Ancestry search. One has to presume that the majority of those men were born in one of the listed countries in the BWI. However we do know that only five (5) of those men were Corporals and that only Corporal Sully has an unknown grave. None of the men of the BWI Regiment are listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

 

There has been no additional information recovered in this process that removes Corporal Sully as the logical candidate for the Unknown Negro Corporal in the Spoilbank Cemetery.

Edited 25 May , 2019 by laughton
added orange text to update the post

[laughton]

Three cheers for @Becstar who discovered the linkage between the ANZACS and the BWIR, providing the proof that the Unknown Negro Corporals regiment was indeed working with the ANZAC and X CORPS Heavy Artillery.

 

Here are the main war diary pages linking the groups, with the notations of the BWIR men being wounded. There is no statement that they were deceased at that time. Some remained at duty, others did not, perhaps being sent back to a Field Ambulance or Casualty Clearing Station. That would be the link to deceased and direct burial in a nearby cemetery (Spoilbank). We are not at that stage yet.

 

 

Back in the War Diary of the Administrative Headquarters, we find the related records of the placement of the units that were working in the area and receiving the assistance from the men of the British West Indies Regiment:

 

 

ANCILLARY INFORMATION:

 

Although not of direct importance to the case at hand, I was looking into why some of the men were direct burials and others were concentrations, or to make sure that those that did not have COG-BR records were always direct burials. It was unknown as to whether the direct burials were deceased and taken to the site for burial or were taken to an aid station near that cemetery, where they then died. Finding the Field Ambulance or Casualty Clearing Station associated with specific cemeteries usually answers that question.

 

It would appear that the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery would be a logical place for most of the wounded and deceased to be found. The cemetery is located southwest of Poperinghe at 27.L.22.d.6.3. The CWGC website tells us:

 

Quote

During the First World War, the village of Lijssenthoek was situated on the main communication line between the Allied military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front, but out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a natural place to establish casualty clearing stations.

 

Lijssenthoek was the location for a number of casualty clearing stations during the First World War. The village was situated on the main communication line between the Allied military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front, but out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a natural place to establish casualty clearing stations.

 

Lieutenant Stephen Slade of the 13th Australian Light Horse, mentioned killed on the 25th is buried there.

 

Huts Cemetery is another logical location, located southeast of Poperinghe and southwest of Ypres at 28.H.27.c.6.4. This cemetery was primarily for gunners, such as Lieutenant W. R. Scott killed on the 29th and so recorded in the war diary:

 

Quote

This cemetery takes its name from a line of huts strung along the road from Dickebusch (now Dikkebus) to Brandhoek, which were used by field ambulances during the 1917 Allied offensive on this front. Plots I to X and XII to XIV were filled between July and November 1917. Plots XV and XI followed. Nearly two-thirds of the burials are of gunners as many artillery positions existed nearby.

 

There are four (4) known Australian men buried in the Spoilbank Cemetery for the period 25-30 September 1917. I have not made note of the unknown ANZACS at that site but I expect they are numerous. There are 10 known Canadians, all in 1916, and a number of unknowns.

 

The first on the Australian list is Thomas Francis Chambers (Service Record). Interesting that he had a dark complexion and black hair, although he was a Private. He was initially reported wounded on the 27th and then wounded and missing. Odd that they wrote to his mother on 20 November 1917 indicating that his wound is not stated to be serious? One of the documents (a letter to his father) dated 12 December 1925 notes that his remains were recovered during the course of exhumation work in the neighbourhood of Westhoek, Belgium.

 

 

Interesting that the file contains the records of others exhumed at that time, one of which is Private G Perez, also on the CWGC list. Armstrong and Auhl were not on my list as their death was the 24th, but he is confirmed. They show up on the expanded list (CWGC Link). Some appear on COG-BR 1832591:

 

 

Corporal Sully was not on any of the exhumation records, which earlier led us to believe he was a direct burial at the time of his death, however we have not yet determined in he was wounded and death occurred at an aid facility.

Edited 26 May , 2019 by laughton

[laughton]

Thanks to @Becstar for finding the Caribbean Roll of Honour, particularly as it is for men from the Caribbean that served in REGULAR ARMY UNITS and not the British West Indies Regiment! This has resolved a huge problem with this case.

 

http://caribbeanrollofhonour-ww1-ww2.yolasite.com/army-ww1.php

 

If you do a search for the word CORPORAL it returns 17 hits and from that it was easy to look at those that were listed with the CORPORAL RANK in the Great War and eliminate those with a casual reference to CORPORAL (as in a prior militia role, Lance Corporal, etc.). I have sorted those into FRANCE and BELGIUM and excluded those deceased elsewhere (i.e. Canada, ENgland). In some instances, such as the first one for Corporal Bain, there is a photograph attached, thus revealing the racial characteristics. If they were served in a Canadian unit the race could be checked on their attestation papers. If they are in a KNOWN CEMETERY, they can be eliminated. I listed those for FRANCE here, just to be sure it was not someone listed on the wrong memorial - that has happened in more than one case.

 

 = possible candidate (reason)

 

 = eliminated (known grave)

 

 = eliminated (other reason)

 

BELGIUM

(dark complexion, black hair) HOLLINSED, RICHARD EYARE LESLIE Initials: R E L Nationality: Canadian Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment) Unit Text: "C" Coy. 4th Bn. Age: 27 Date of Death: 23/04/1915 Service No: 10918 Additional information: Son of Eyare Leslie and Dora Hollinsed, of Fifth Avenue, Belleville, Barbados, British West Indies. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 18 - 24 - 26 - 30. Memorial: YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL, BELGIUM lost in the attack at St. Julien 28.c.12.c which is well out of the area where remains recovered casualty occured in April 1915 and our Unknown Corporal Casualty was in September 1917 the Unknown Corporal was a direct burial, not an exhumation OLIVER, ALFRED HOOPER Initials: A H Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: Rifle Brigade Unit Text: 12th Bn. Age: 39 Date of Death: 17/04/1916 Service No: S/14401 Additional information: Son of Richard John and Mary Ann Oliver, of London. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: VI. C. 9. Cemetery: LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY, Belgium -  Royal Rifle brigade, 14th Batt. Transferred to the 12th. WIA. Died of wounds 17/4/16. First Merchants Contingent. Late head Male Attendant, St Anns Asylum, Trinidad. FYB1919 Commemorated on Port of Spain Cenotaph.    (date is possible, will check war diary for location) PURDUE, EDWARD COLSTON Initials: E C Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: Lincolnshire Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn. Date of Death: 25/09/1915 Service No: 10376 Additional information: Husband of Mrs. H. S. Bleecker (formerly Purdue), of Hill Cottage, Dock Hill, Devonshire, Bermuda, B.W.I. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 3. Memorial: PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL, BELGIUM LLT says 2nd Bn in Bermuda and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in August 1914 England 3 October 1914 and in 25th Brigade, 8th Division War Diary on Ancestry is "scrambled" but here is August to December 1915 (page 757 of 848) They were in Fleurbaix, that is why he is listed on the Plogsteert Memorial

 

FRANCE

(white in photo)  BAIN, WILLIAM Initials: W Nationality: Trinidad Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: London Regiment (London Scottish) Unit Text: 1st/14th Bn. Age: 25 Date of Death: 01/07/1916 Service No: 3548 Additional information: Son of J. P. Bain, of "Ortinola," Maracas Valley, St. Joseph, Trinidad, British West Indies, and the late Mrs. M. R. F. Bain. Born 10/8/1890 He was the first British civilian who left Trinidad to join Kitchener's Army, having sailed on ss Oruba on 29/9/1914. Cpl in the 1st London Scottish Regt and fought at Loos, where half of his battalion was lost and all but nine of his platoon were killed. He fought at Hulluch where half of the Brigade was lost. He also fought at Vermelles. He was killed by a shot through the head at the battle of the Somme, in the 3rd german trench, where the regiment advanced through a triple barrage of fire. Fifteen minutes afterwards those that were left were ordered to retire. His body was never recovered. FYB1919. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 9 C and 13 C. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, France -   Commemorated on Port of Spain Cenotaph. Click on surname for photo.   HAZELL, WILLIAM HUBERT Initials: W H Nationality: St Vincent Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: Northumberland Fusiliers Unit Text: 1st Bn. Age: 30 Date of Death: 04/05/1918 Service No: 59631 Additional information: Son of Marion J. Hazell, of "Windsor," St. Vincent, British West Indies, and the late John Gregg Hazell. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 20 to 22. Memorial: LOOS MEMORIAL, France    (15th Bn at Vimy on that date)  HONEY, FRANK KIRTLEY Initials: F K Nationality: Canadian Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment) Unit Text: 15th Bn. Age: 32 Date of Death: 17/04/1917 Service No: 799306 Additional information: Son of the late Thomas and Clara Honey, of Jamaica, British West Indies. News clipping courtesy Elaine Archer. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Memorial: VIMY MEMORIAL, FRANCE    MATTHEWS, HARRY GEORGE SEARLE Initials: H G S Nationality: British Guiana Rank: Corporal Regiment/Service: Royal Field Artillery Unit Text: "A" Bty. 122nd Bde. Age: 34 Date of Death: 01/11/1918 Service No: 160579 Additional information: Son of the Rev. and Mrs. G. W. Matthews, of Demerara, British West Indies; husband of Mrs. Wyone Matthews, of 57, Tisbury Rd., Hove, Sussex. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: B. 13. Cemetery: FOREST COMMUNAL CEMETERY, France

 

Since we know that SULLY was listed as a CORPORAL by the CWGC and as a SERGEANT (SERJEANT) elsewhere, we also checked to see if there were any of the higher rank listed, which we can them check further. There was one SERJEANT and one LANCE SERGEANT, neither of which are relative to this case, as they both have know burial locations.

• JEFFREY-SMITH, LESLIE COCHRANE Initials: L C Nationality: Jamaica Rank: Serjeant Regiment/Service: Royal Field Artillery Unit Text: "B" Bty. 180th Bde. Age: 23 Date of Death: 22/06/1917 Service No: 34898 Awards: Mentioned in Despatches Additional information: Son of Charles A. Jeffrey-Smith (Superintendent of Public Works, Jamaica) and Floretta Jeffrey-Smith, of Jamaica, British West Indies. Left Jamaica June, 1915. Enlisted in R.F.A. July, 1915. Went to France Feb.,1916. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: I. A. 13. Cemetery: LOCRE HOSPICE CEMETERY, Belgium
   
• CURRY, ALFRED KEDDIE Initials: A K Nationality: Canadian Rank: Lance Sergeant Regiment/Service: Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) Unit Text: 7th Bn. Age: 22 Date of Death: 03/06/1916 Service No: 16297 Awards: D C M Additional information: Son of Adolphus Henry and Evelina Falecia Curry, of Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas, British West Indies. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Enclosure No.4 VIII. B. 29. Cemetery: BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY, BELGIUM

[laughton]

BERMUDA

 

Two (2) GUNNERS of the Bermuda Garrison Artillery were killed in Belgium (CWGC Link), presumably they are two on the men in this photograph. They both have known burial locations so are not candidates. I would presume as well that Gunner's are Privates.

Gunner PLACE, CHARLES WENTWORTH

Service Number 1138

Died 02/11/1917

Aged 34

Bermuda Garrison Artillery

Husband of Rachel Place, of Princess St., Hamilton, Bermuda.

 

Gunner MUSSENDEN, J

Service Number 1152

Died 31/10/1917

Aged 21

Bermuda Garrison Artillery

Son of Frances Ann and the late John Mussenden, of St. Christopher, British West Indies.

 

Quote

Officers and NCOs of Bermuda Contingent, Royal Garrison Artillery, who served in France and Belgium in World War 1. Photographed in England prior to their departure to the front. One of those was William (Lanky) Furbert. British Army photo. http://www.bermuda-online.org/warveterans.htm

 

 

There were twelve (12) men of the Bermuda Militia Artillery lost in the Great War, all buried outside France and Belgium (CWGC Link: 11 Bermuda, 1 USA)

 

There were five (5) men of the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps lost, all of which have known burial locations in Bermuda.

[laughton]

JAMAICA

 

Both Corporals on the War Memorial have known graves, one in Belgium and one in France:

http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/who19_06.htm

 

Note that the RANK on the War Memorial does not match the rank shown on the CWGC database. The same applied to our candidate SULLY who was listed as a Sergeant on the Dominica War Memorial. Better to check and eliminate where possible.

 

These dates are in the correct time zone to be prime candidates, if they were in fact CORPORALS. However it does not matter, as both have KNOWN burial locations in FRANCE.

Lance Corporal ANGLIN, HERBERT

Service Number 7000

Died 26/09/1917

Aged 23

6th Bn. 
British West Indies Regiment

Son of Philip and Grace Anglin, of Beeston Spring, Bluefields, Jamaica.

Private WOOLERY, N

Service Number 3203

Died 22/09/1917

3rd Bn. 
British West Indies Regiment

 

Edited 29 May , 2019 by laughton

[aodhdubh]

As far as Bermuda is concerned, it is not in or near the West Indies, and was not originally grouped with the West Indies by the British government. It was settled as an extension of the Virginia Company's settlement in North America and was grouped with the continental colonies (as evidently was also the Bahamas, which is not in or on the Caribbean Sea, but certainly a lot nearer). After 1783, when the independence of thirteen continental colonies was acknowledged by the British Government, Bermuda was grouped with the rump "British North America" (the Upper and Lower Canada and the Maritimes...and ever so briefly, the Floridas and Oregon), especially Nova Scotia and Newfoundland (Bermuda being closer to Nova Scotia than to the Bahamas or the Carribbean colonies).

 

See: Wikipedia: British North America

 

The Royal Naval headquarters in the western North Atlantic/North American (at times merged with the West Indies and or the South Atlantic) region flitted back and forth after 1795 between Halifax, NS, and Bermuda before being placed permanently in Bermuda. Militarily, Bermuda's disproportionately large garrison, built up during the 19th Century along with the Royal Naval Dockyard, fell under the Lieutenant-General serving as Commander in Chief of the Maritimes. As most of British North America moved to confederation and dominion status (the Dominion of Canada, from which Bermuda and Newfoundland were esxcepted)  in the late 1860s, with the British Army handing military responsibility to the Canadian militia and abolishing its Nova Scotia Command, the Bermuda garrison was elevated to Bermuda Command, the Governor of Bermuda, who was the senior civil and military officer in the colony, had normally been a serving (usually Royal Artillery or Royal Engineers) Major-General (though sometimes a Lieutenant-Colonel or Colonel), but was thereafter normally a Lieutenant-General, designated General Officer Commanding. Although Bermuda maintained some administrative links (under the state Church of England) with Newfoundland into the 20th Century, it was from this point that the British government increasingly grouped Bermuda for its own convenience with the British West Indies, something that has always riled Bermudians (though there has been so much immigration into Bermuda from the West Indies during the 20th Century that you will now find wildly divergent views on Bermuda's links to the West Indies, depending on whom you stop in the street there to query). Bermuda is, in any case, a thousand miles at least from most West Indian colonies (or ex-colonies), with no direct transport or trade links, and its economy and history are starkly different from the West Indian territories, so its best treated as a separate subject. The West India Regiment did not recruit in Bermuda and was not normally stationed in Bermuda (although the Bermuda Command was often stripped of 'home' regiments during wartime and other units were temporarily posted to Bermuda...this included the West India Regiment during the Second Boer War, Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions during the First World War, and a Canadian Army unit during the Second World War.

 

With a history of shipbuilding and seafaring, as well as being the headquarters and dockyard of the North America and West Indies Station, many Bermudians served in the Royal Navy or Merchant Navy during the First World War. Militarily, the Bermuda Militia Artillery (which had not been disbanded along with the Militia Artillery units in the UK in 1908, and, unlike the Volunteer Force artillery units, was not re-organised as a territorial until 1928...although its name was not revised to reflect this and it remained the BMA 'til its amalgamation in 1965) and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (re-organised as a territorial in 1921, and belatedly re-titled Bermuda Rifles in 1949) each sent two contingents to the Western Front (1916 and 1917, and 1915 and 1916, respectively), totalling respectively 263 officers and other ranks, and 126 officers and men. In the case of each unit, the second contingent it sent to the Front was merged with the first contingent on arrival. As the militia and volunteer terms of service were for home defence only, all volunteers for overseas service were re-attested as regulars for the duration of the war. The title of the BMA contingent(s) was the Bermuda Contingent of the Royal Garrison Artillery (BCRGA). Although the RGA was responsible for heavy artillery and mountain guns in the field, the drafts sent to the Front from coastal artillery batteries, including the Bermuda Contingent, were evidently mostly pressed into use in supplying ammunition to batteries in the field. This did not keep them entirely out of the way of enemy fire, but most of the contingents casualties were consequently from the flu and other illnesses. The first BVRC contingent was formed in December, 1914, at Warwick Camp, with Governor Lieutenant-General Sir George Bullock as Adjutant, for which reason it was nicknamed "Bullock's Boys". It trained over the winter and (numbering 1 officer and 88 other ranks) was sent to France by way of Nova Scotia and England, ultimately joining the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment, which attached it to one of its companies as two extra platoons. By the 25th of September 1916 its strength had been reduced to about two-dozen, and by the end of that day (at Guedecourt) about a dozen. The survivors were merged with the newly arrived second contingent (which had been trained and equipped in Bermuda as [Vickers] machine gunners, and all were re-trained and re-equipped as a dozen Lewis light machinegun teams attached to 1 Lincolns battalion headquarters for the remainder of the war. The BVRC restricted recruitment to whites (although some soldiers with a coloured parent who themselves were not obviously of non-European heritage were enlisted), and commissioned from its own ranks. Enlistment into the BMA was technically open to any British or dominion national, but recruiting coloured men meant whites, as far as I know, declined to enlist. As only whites were commissioned, its officers were a mix of permanent staff seconded from the regular army and local whites commissioned from the ranks of the BVRC or straight from civvy street. The Bermuda Contingent RGA spent much of its time broken up into detachments posted about the Front, and determining where any of the personnel were much of the time would be very difficult, or impossible. When Lieutenant-General Bullock, no longer Governor and C-in-C Bermuda but heading the Bermuda Contingents Committee, responsible for seeing to the welfare of Bermudians serving abroad, attempted to visit them in the field he was unable to locate them, only soldiers who had encountered them in past.

 

More than 80 Bermudians lost their lives in the First World War (not including those born, but not raised, in Bermuda with neither parent being Bermudian), including those killed in Bermuda (such as at the accident at the Royal Naval Wireless Station at Daniel's Head in 1915), although the list is still being updated as many Bermudians served in units other than the local reserve units.

 

I'll update this later after comparing more up-to-date lists, but this was what I had worked out about 20 years ago:

 

* Denotes a member of a BMA or BVRC contingent.
	Adcock, C.C.   Rfn.  Lincolnshire Regiment* 5 November, 1916     KIA Anderson, W.                Arnold, W.H. Rfn.  Lincolnshire Regiment*  11 April, 1917  KIA Baker, H.J.  L/Cpl. Linconshire Regiment*  4 October, 1917  KIA Bridges, H.F.  L/Cpl  Lincolnshire Regiment* 5 November, 1916     KIA Brown, E.C. Brown, W. Burgesson, A.  Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 6 June, 1918            Died of pneumonia. Burrows, J.F. Cannon, J.A.  Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment*  4 October, 1917   KIA Condor, W.A.  Gnr.  Royal Garrison Artillery* 28 June, 1917           Died of pneumonia. Conyers, W. Neville  Lieut.  3 Berkshire Regt. Cooper, J. Rfn.  Lincolnshire Regiment*  31 October, 1917 Died of wounds. Dean, S.G  Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 31 May, 1916 Died from pneumonia.. Dickinson, Percy E. Pte. Canadian Army Medical Corps  Died in Canada nursing influenza patients, 1918. Doe, A.E. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 15 July, 1917  Died of wounds. Easton, W.E. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 8 June, 1917            Died of wounds. Farrell, M. Patrick J. Sgt.  Lincolnshire Regiment* 11 April, 1917      KIA Frith, F.H., Jr. Godet, Lennock DeGraaf  Lieut. Royal Air Force 31 May, 1918  KIA Gorham, C.W. Harriott, N.B. Rfn.  Lincolnshire Regiment* 25 September, ? KIA Hollis, E.K. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 21 February, 1918 KIA Jackson, C.H. Joell, W. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 9 December, 1918 Died in hospital.  Kyme, W.R. L/Cpl. Lincolnshire Regiment* 27 April, 1918 KIA Lamb, A.F. Lightbourne, R. Marshall, F.G. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment*   Missing, reported wounded. Martin, W.G. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 5 November, 1916 KIA Millett, H.W. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 21 August, 1918  KIA Morris, L.W. Morton, C. Motyer, A.J.  Pvt. Mussenden, J. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 31 October, 1917 Died of wounds. Noble, H.S.** Sgt. Lincolnshire Regiment* 3 July, 1916 KIA     O'Connor, J.A. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 26 April, 1918  KIA Outerbridge, B.W. L/Cpl.  Lincolnshire Regiment*  3 October, 1916 Died of wounds Pawsey, Frank Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 22 October, 1915 KIA Pitcher, E.L. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 26 February, 1917  KIA Pitman, B. McN. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 4 January, 1918 KIA Place, C.W. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 2 November, 1917 KIA Platten, Andrew Richard Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment*  16 July, 1916 KIA Purdue, E.C. Richardson, W. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 2 December, 1918  Died in hospital in France. Robertson, C.G. 2/Lieut. Essex Regiment* KIA Robinson,C.Bryan, MC Capt. First Canadian Contingent 2 September,1918 KIA             Ryder, W.G. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 5 July, 1916 KIA Sheppard, A.L. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 18 October, 1915 Died of wounds. Simmons, H.D. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 6 June, 1919 Died of pneumonia. Smith, C.K. Smith, D.G. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 30 September, 1916 KIA Smith, F.L. Smith, K.N. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 10 October, 1915 KIA Smith, Edwin William Royal Navy, HMS Aboukir 22 Septtember, 1914 KIA Steele, E. Stollard, W.G. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 30 April, 1917 KIA Stowe, A. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 20 May, 1917 Died of wounds. Swan, S.S. Gnr. Royal Garrison Artillery* 17 November, 1917 Died of wounds. Symons, J. Tatem, P.A.  Cpl. Lincolnshire Regiment* 25 September, ? KIA Thiele, William CSM 6 East Yorkshire Regiment 9th August, 1915 KIA at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli Tite, W.J. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 16 July, 1916 KIA Trimmingham, J.L. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 13 September, 1915 KIA Trimmingham, Wenty.G. Lt. Lancashire Fusiliers* KIA Tucker, E.E. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 22 December, 1916 KIA Tucker, G.F. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 18 November, 1915 KIA Tucker, St. G.M. Rfn. Lincolnshire Regiment* 25 September, ? KIA Turini, B.L. L/Cpl. Lincolnshire Regiment* RG published notice with Sgt. Farrell. Vallis, A.H. Wadson, S.P. 2/Lt. Royal West Surrey Regiment* 9 August, 1918 KIA Ward, E.S.R. Watlington, H.Joseph 2/Lt. Royal Flying Corps* 6 July, 1917 KIA Wears, R.G.

 

For the BVRC overseas contingents, see: The Royal Anglian & Royal Lincolnshire Regimental Association LINCOLN BRANCH: "The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps The Royal Anglian Regiment and the Bermuda Regiment 1914 to 2014" (by myself)

 

There is a second photo of the (presumably First) Bermuda Contingent RGA in England, which looks to have been taken on the same day as the photo of officers and SNCOs already posted earlier in this thread. The second photo shows the entire contingent.

 

 

 

 

Edited 12 July , 2022 by aodhdubh
Inserted image from URL, removing link to image. Add images.