Pte Albert James Monckton (204961), King's Liverpool

[M_O'Neill]

Thanks for the information, Wright - that's fascinating stuff!

 

Do you know if there is any way of telling whether a particular soldier made the journey with the battalion to Russia? At the moment it's unclear to me whether or not Albert was with the battalion to the end of the war or whether he was transferred to an unnamed regiment when the unit was reduced to cadre in May 1918.

 

Also, does his discharge date of August 1919 preclude service in Russia, given that the Brigade apparently left in September?

[wrightdw]

Most of the battalion had returned to UK by August so this ties in, by 10th August only a cadre of 76 officers and men of the Bn. remained at Archangel, shortly to return to UK.The final British evacuation from North Russia took place on 27th September 1919, 17th Liverpool's were gone by then.

[M_O'Neill]

Oh wow, so the dates actually match pretty perfectly. I suppose we'll never get 100% confirmation without his service records, but it seems highly likely to me that he did go to Russia after all. I read somewhere that the NREF was a mostly volunteer force (or was at least publicly so). Would the men of the 17th who went to Russia have volunteered or would it have been a mandatory deployment? I'm thinking especially of Craig's suggestion up-thread that men numbered in the same range as Albert may have been transferred to 17th K.L.R. in August of 1918.

 

Hope you won't mind the repeated follow up questions! 

[ss002d6252]

At least some of the men weren't given the choice.

Craig

[M_O'Neill]

Wow, that must have sucked - to have almost made it through the war to then be told that you're going to North Russia... in winter...

[wrightdw]

The 'volunteers' did not arrive until summer 1919, a single brigade, all other troops in North Russia 1918-19 were ordered there and had no say in the matter. See the mutinies in 6th Royal Marine battalion at Murmansk for the reaction by some of being sent to Russia after the Armistice.

[M_O'Neill]

I've been reading up on the North Russia Intervention (and also ordered a copy of your book, DW!). It's fascinating to me that this whole section of WW1 has fallen right off the map. I told my mother that she had a great uncle who likely fought in Russia, and she was extremely confused. She had no idea that British soldiers served there!

 

It's just such a shame that there seems to be no way of telling what company Albert served in.