10Div Posted 22 February , 2019 Share Posted 22 February , 2019 I am currently working with the London Irish Rifles Museum to research and write a book on the regiment during the Great War. I would be interested to hear from anyone who might have had a relative who served with regiment either before or during the War or any personal papers relating to either the 1st/2nd Bn. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleJoe Posted 23 February , 2019 Share Posted 23 February , 2019 Dear Sir, My grandfather George William Ireton served with the 1st London Irish in 1918. I have a photo of him in uniform with the cap badge of LIR, together with photocopies of two letters his mother received saying of him being wounded on 6th August and the 2nd when in a CCS suffering from shellshock in September. The battalion diary for the 6th August 1918 tells how a patrol had entered Albert with the Divisional photographer. The IWM picture archive has photos of the patrol ref Q6898 to Q6905. The battalion war diary tells how the patrol encountered a fortified house leading to one man being killed and two wounded. Later that night D Coy went on an operation to attack it. This resulted in an officer and 2 OR's being killed, 7 wounded and one missing. I also have further photocopies of letters from the railway company addressed to my grandfather serving in C Company in January 1919 whether he was with C or D company in August 1918 I do not know. I hope this information is of use David How Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 23 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 23 February , 2019 David Thank you for this. Useful information. I will look at the War Diary and IWM photos. Any chance of a copy of the photograph of your grandfather? Note your grandfather may have been serving with 1/6th City of London Rifles when he was wounded on the 6th August 1918. The battalion was disbanded towards the end of August 1918 and this may be when your grandfather was transferred to the London Irish. George William Ireton, 45655, 6th London Rifles,1/4/1918 - 26/8/1918; 602344, 1/18 London Irish Rifles, 27/8/1918 - 11/11/1918. Best wishes Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleJoe Posted 23 February , 2019 Share Posted 23 February , 2019 Hi Steve, I note your point that about the transfer dates and they may be right however I also have his Army Form W3636 Certificate that is completed before leaving the base camp of the 6th dated 29th March 1918. Inside is his Will which is Dated 11/5/18 1/18 London Regt. The Army FormB 104-81 from the Infantry Record Office to his mother notifying her of him being wounded on 6th August and dated 20th August has his regiment Royal Irish Rifles. I assumed it easier to swap Royal for London than Royal Irish for City of London. Obviously, someone has made a mistake I wonder is it reasonable to believe he was with the 1/18th but the paperwork didn't catch up due to the heavy losses and crisis following the German Spring Offensive? Could the later 27th August date be when he returned to his Battalion following his recovery. The January 1919 letter still uses his 45655 number. Sadly, the family never knew of the existence of these documents until 20 years after my grandfather's death. They were folded neatly in a wallet together with his redundancy notices he received in the 1920's. I shall of course forward a copy of the photograph. Good luck with your search David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleJoe Posted 23 February , 2019 Share Posted 23 February , 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleJoe Posted 23 February , 2019 Share Posted 23 February , 2019 Hi Steve, I found this on Wikipedia whilst it doesn't confirm anything it shows drafts were being sent to 1/18th London Irish Rifles. I'll have to see if the 1st or 2nd Battalion City of London Rifles sustained casualties around the 6th August 1918. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 24 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 24 February , 2019 Hi David The explanation for the Royal Irish Rifles on the Army Form B 104-81 is prior to the establishment of the Territorial Force predecessors of the the London Regt were attached as volunteer battalions of various regular regiments. On 1 July 1916 these linkages were reestablished with the London Irish Rifles becoming part of the Royal Irish Rifles (hence the reference on the Army Form B 104-81). It is possible that by the notification of your grandfather's wounding on 6th August 1918 was issued that he had transferred to the London Irish. Regards Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleJoe Posted 24 February , 2019 Share Posted 24 February , 2019 Hi Stephen Thank you for that information, being new to the forum I'm astounded by the depth of knowledge to be found here Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_guvnor Posted 15 March , 2019 Share Posted 15 March , 2019 Hi Steve My great uncle, George Alfred Nugus served in the London Irish Rifles - 1/18 London Regiment. Service Number 3514. He arrived in France on 22 September 1915. At some stage he transferred to 7th Battalion London Regiment as a corporal, service number 368063. He died of his wounds on 1st August 1918 and is buried at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery. He was the son of a soldier - his father had been in the Coldstream Guards - but he himself had been a butler prior to enlisting. I have a photo from the family collection. It was unmarked but the cap badge is definitely the London Irish Rifles (confirmed by some of the experts on this very forum) so I am sure it is him. regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 15 March , 2019 Share Posted 15 March , 2019 (edited) Great Uncle Jack Macey, 2238, later commissioned into the Essex Regiment, Adjutant of 9th Essex Edited 15 March , 2019 by stiletto_33853 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 15 March , 2019 Share Posted 15 March , 2019 (edited) Great Uncle Albert, 2234, later commissioned into London Regiment. Loads of other papers and pictures if you need them. Andy Edited 15 March , 2019 by stiletto_33853 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 15 March , 2019 Share Posted 15 March , 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 15 March , 2019 Share Posted 15 March , 2019 (edited) My Great Grandmother, all 4 sons serving. Wearing sweetheart broaches for the London Irish, Royal Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps. Andy Edited 28 May , 2019 by stiletto_33853 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 15 March , 2019 Share Posted 15 March , 2019 On 24/02/2019 at 16:36, 10Div said: Hi David The explanation for the Royal Irish Rifles on the Army Form B 104-81 is prior to the establishment of the Territorial Force predecessors of the the London Regt were attached as volunteer battalions of various regular regiments. On 1 July 1916 these linkages were reestablished with the London Irish Rifles becoming part of the Royal Irish Rifles (hence the reference on the Army Form B 104-81). It is possible that by the notification of your grandfather's wounding on 6th August 1918 was issued that he had transferred to the London Irish. Regards Stephen Stephen, This is not quite correct The re-affiliations on 01 July 1916 under AO 250 in fact restored the London Irish Rifles' historic affiliation to The Rifle Brigade. The affiliation to the Royal Irish Rifles did not happen until October 1916 under AO 325. See my post here where I have included the relevant sections from AO 250 and AO 325 ... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 26 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 26 May , 2019 Mark Thank you for this I seemed to have missed this in my research and I'm sorry it's taken so long to reply as I've been out of circulation for a while working on other projects. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 26 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 26 May , 2019 Andy Thank you for your kind offer of pictures and family papers I would much appreciate you help and I will contact you in the near future. Came across the attached photo during my research. I assume CQMS M Macey (on the left) and described as the father of AE Macey (on the right) is also a relative. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 The man on our left looks a much better match to Andy's photo of his Great Uncle Albert than the chap on the right. The man on the left is also in rifles buttons, though lack of rifle buttons does NOT imply the other soldier is NOT a rifleman. Can you possibly post a larger, better resolution image so we can check for CQMS vs CSM as well as the cap badges? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 (edited) Yes, thats my great Uncle Bert (Albert Edward) as WO II (CSM) on the left and Uncle Jack on the right taken at their home in Barkingside. Brothers, not father and son. Born 1893 for Bert and 1895 for Jack. Edited 28 May , 2019 by stiletto_33853 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 (edited) Not sure who detailed that photograph you found in your research but I can assure you that Albert Edward Macey is on the left of the picture and Jack is on the right. Very close brothers (as all 4 of them were) of 2 years difference not father and son. Here is another one for you, Albert Edward on the right this time and Jack on the left. Andy Edited 28 May , 2019 by stiletto_33853 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Lovely photos Andy - thanks for posting! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 28 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2019 The person who had captioned the original photograph was Lt Sydney Francis Major (formerly Rifleman 2522) who went to France with the 1st Battalion on 9/3/1915. Admittedly it may have been captioned some years after the war! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 No problem Steve, all the photographs I have of them are captioned by the family who knew them well, hence I am sorry to say the good Lieutenant is wrong. The 4 brothers were lets say mischievous and great practical jokers. Bert is buried in the family grave at St. Andrews in Hornchurch, another brother (my grandfather) is buried alongside the family grave with my grandmother. They all ended up working for Bert after the war. Len (RAMC) is the only one I personally do not have a photograph of, although my cousin has a few. He was seriously injured in Polygon Wood, losing half an arm, had a severe limp and his face was badly scarred hence he was not one for having his picture taken. If that picture is in the Regimental archives, please make them aware of the error. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 28 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2019 15 minutes ago, stiletto_33853 said: No problem Steve, all the photographs I have of them are captioned by the family who knew them well, hence I am sorry to say the good Lieutenant is wrong. The 4 brothers were lets say mischievous and great practical jokers. Bert is buried in the family grave at St. Andrews in Hornchurch, another brother (my grandfather) is buried alongside the family grave with my grandmother. They all ended up working for Bert after the war. Len (RAMC) is the only one I personally do not have a photograph of, although my cousin has a few. He was seriously injured in Polygon Wood, losing half an arm, had a severe limp and his face was badly scarred hence he was not one for having his picture taken. If that picture is in the Regimental archives, please make them aware of the error. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Bert in later life Jack in later life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Div Posted 28 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Andy Actually I came across the photograph in a copy of a book on the London Irish Rifles written by Lt Major held by the IWM. It was privately published in 1996 and a small print run and even the LIR Museum doesn't have a copy. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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