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5th london rifle brigard war diary


J w mims

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Hello everyone,

 

I am interested in resesrching a few ancestors that served in the Great War in the British Military so any help or advice is most welcome.

I am interested in a soldier of the London 5h rifle Brigade. His name is Harold Dickman Mims # 1118 served in the 5th London Rifle Brigade in France from Jan 24 1915  thur March 18 1916. Is there a war diary for the 5th LBR online or anywhere that i can find to follow his time with the 5th LRB?,,, also he was commissioned on Oct. 24. 1916 in the 4th Dorsetshire Battlalion and was KIA in France September 27 1918. Btw i found most of the above info from his medal card.

 

Thanks so much for your help,

James Mims

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Welcome to the forum

Can you provide any further information on the man as it will be necessary to establish it possible the battalion he served with. This is because there are a number of war diaries available https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=5+AND+London+AND+rifle+aND+diary&_dss=range&_ro=any&_p=1900

If you have access to Ancestry the medal rolls maybe of help.

 

If you haven't seen it already his officer service file is at TNA (please don't pay the archives to copy it, either visit or use an independent researcher) https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C718167

 

Good luck with your search.

 

David

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

1st Battalion LRB as 2nd went out in 17. Interestingly his service number suggests he enlisted in 3rd LRB in Dec 14 yet posted overseas to 1st the next month. He was obviously a trained pre war man; maybe rejoined LRB.

Subsequently noted he was 18 years old in 1914. maybe LRB Cadets or school OTC and he would have been posted to 2 LRB before being sent out as drafts to 1 LRB were from 2LRB until late 15

Edited by chrrip
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James,

 

There is a history of the LRB, by Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice, available from Naval & Military Press. You might pick one up a bit cheaper from

the Abebooks website. Good luck.

 

Ken

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There are some loose ends that need a bit of work (or checking in his file!).  His record, including the Commonwealth War Grave detail have his later battalion as 4 Dorsets.  None of the Dorsets 4th Battalions served in France.e

He is buried in a cemetery that is overwhelmingly occupied by Canadians (who started it in Sep 1918). There are 142 Canadians and 10 British with dates of death 27 Sep 1918.  The three Dorset Regiment men are two from 5 Battalion and Mims.  His grave registration details have 34 Inf Brigade HQ crossed out in favour of 4th Battalion Dorsets.

 

A tentative suggestion is that, as often happened, his posting details from 4th Dorsets at some time have not caught up with his documents and that he was with 5th Dorsets or 34 Bde HQ or even one of the Canadian battalions..  I have had a quick squint at the diaries of the first two with no success.

 

See later update

 

Max

Edited by MaxD
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Update.

 

The HQ 11 Division AQ diary records his death with 5th Battalion Dorsets in the list of those killed in September 1918  .https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/60779/43112_1794_0-00000?backurl=&ssrc=&backlabel=Return#?imageId=43112_1794_0-00758

 

That diary is good at recording officers joining and leaving and a trawl back from 27 Sep may show when he joined 5th Battalion.

 

The battalion war diary records him in the lists of officers from April 1918, earlier than that there are no lists and I don't see his arrival.  The war diary does not include him in the lists of officers who took part in the action of 27 September and his death is not recorded in the battalion diary.

 

Max

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James

 

I have just noticed that you had another thread for this man in which some of the queries I answered above have already been answered,  It would be a great help if you posted information you already have and links to other related threads to save nugatory work and not a little frustration.

 

Max

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