CHISELDON CAMP, WILTSHIRE- a.k.a. DURNFORD?

[Guest]

I have a local casualty Pte. Cyril Alic Page, 1st East Surrey attached 1/23 London  Regiment, kia 1st September 1918.  His family donated a few scraps to my local heritage library, including a pic. of him at a training camp on which is written "Durnford  Swindon".   I note a place called Upper Durnford just to the south of Swindon- and a Durnford Road leading (presumably) from Swindon to Durnford.

 

    Would this be the same as the more sprawling Chiseldon Camp also south of Swindon or is it a different beastie entirely??

 

[DavidOwen]

I can't find a mention of Durnford Camp at TNA or anywhere else for that matter. (Probably just my poor search skills)

3 references to Chiseldon including a site plan now held at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_dss=range&_ro=any&_p=1900&_q=Chiseldon+AND+Camp

 

[Guest]

Thanks David- There is a fair bit on Mr. Google's Apparatus about Chiselden from it's local history site.  I suspect it is the same place. My chap was in 101 Training Reserve and the platoon he was pictured with has 2 Lewis guns in front- which suggests strongly that he was there for basic/graduated training in trench warfare on the Witshire Downs.

 

   Thank you for looking

[Moonraker]

I've never come across a Durnford Camp in Wiltshire and have no record of the 1/23rd London Regiment or 1st East Surreys being anywhere in Wiltshire during the war. The 2/23rd was at Chisledon from November 1917 to July 1918.

 

One could think up various reasons why Page could have been in the Swindon area, even though his units appear not to have been.

 

You say "training camp"; does your card show huts or tents? Except for very early in the war, I can't think of many concentrations of tents in the locality. Postcards of tented camps are usually bland (one lot of tents looking very much like the other), but some of the huts at Chisledon were quite distinctive.

 

Perhaps Page's service record may give further clues?

 

Moonraker

 

 

[Guest]

Thanks MR-  I thought you would come to my help. Page's service file has not survived but there is a picture of him with a platoon at:

 

Messages and Meanings: Words of War Private Cyril Page's Field ...

 

https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/.../private-cyril-pages-field-service-postcard

 

(Regret I have not managed to copy the pic. to GWF).  The pic. shows typical huts and my local man has marked it. Again,I suspect it was part of Chiseldon and may have been for end of training practice on trench work and Lewis guns.- The pic. could well be 2 Lewis Gun crews.

One for your scrapbook

 

Many thanks for responding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Moonraker]

I couldn't get your link to work, but searched the website and found

 

this

 

(Nice project, by the way.)

 

The photo in question doesn't give any clues, sadly, though it doesn't scream "Chisledon" to me.

 

Nor could I locate an Upper Durnford south of Swindon, though there is Great Durnford, 35 miles to the south, between Amesbury and Salisbury. But for your having found Upper Durnford "just to the south of Swindon" I might have ventured that Durnford was the name of the photographer or publisher. (I wonder if the original was a postcard?)

 

(Nor were there any army huts that I know of at Great Durnford.)

 

Moonraker

Edited 21 February , 2019 by Moonraker