Police from Northamptonshire serving in the Military

[Uptodat]

The following document started as an attempt to compile a Roll of Honour for the men from Northamptonshire County Constabulary to match one compiled by Northampton Borough Police after the War. In attempting to identify units, enough information was gathered to compile biographies of the men. Biographies were then also compiled for the Borough Police men and various omissions from the Roll were discovered, along with details of men from Peterborough (then in the County) Forces. This summary is simply to list names, numbers, units. Anyone seeking further information on their police / military ancestor listed need only ask. 

 

Policemen from Northamptonshire who fought in the Great War

 

 

 

Northamptonshire County Constabulary Officers.

 

This is an attempt to compile a Roll of Honour for the County Officers (Including the Liberty of Peterborough Constabulary, a Force sharing the Northamptonshire County Constabulary Chief Constable during WW1), similar to the Northampton Borough Police Version. It includes officers who resigned to join the Military but not those who joined the force after serving in the Military. Biographies of the men are in a separate document.

 

1. Abbott, John Henry Lance Corporal MMP P/2858.

2. Alley, William Percy Sergeant RAMC 65572 M.M.

3. Ayres, Horace Gunner RGA 86407 KIA

4. Baird, William Sergeant MMP P/4260 CdG Wounded or Disease

5. Barker, Herbert Stanley Barnard Lance Corporal MFP P/5311 Gassed.

6. Barnes, Albert George Gunner RGA 169253

7. Bates, Charles Samuel Private Northamptonshire R 4606

8. Beckenham, George Charles Sergeant N. Staffordshire R 6747 & Labour Corps. Wounded.

9. Benjamin, Percy Private Northamptonshire R 14690 M.M. KIA

10. Bignell, Reginald Thomas Gunner RGA 169252

11. Billing, William Thomas Corporal MFP P/1850 Died of Injuries.

12. Boswell, Robin Adair Driver RFA 32038

13. Brandreth, James Edwin Gunner RGA 169882

14. Brown, Frank Reginald Lance Corporal MMP P1237 MSM

15. Burdett, Harold Stanley Gunner RGA 111236 (Resigned from NCC)

16. Busby, Frederick William Guardsman 1 GG 11279

17. Butler, Harold Henry Serjeant GG 10530, Lt Royal Artillery.

18. Callow, Wilfred John Gunner RGA 169256 KIA

19. Cherry, James Alfred Gunner RGA 169258

20. Coley, Frederick John Gunner RGA 169254

21. Collier, William Frederick David Private CG 18155 Wounded

22. Cullup, Reuben Gunner RGA 169255

23. Culpin, Martin Gunner RGA 169257

24. Davey, Charles Henry Private Queen's Royal West Surrey R 203292 . Wounded.

25. Davis, Leonard Gunner RGA 169260

26. Day, William Allen Gunner RGA 169883

27. Dowding, Frederick George Lance Bombardier RMA RMA/1549/S

28. Edgar, John Gunner RGA 169881

29. Eyre, William Sergeant Instructor K.O.R.L.R. 8954

30. Foolkes, William Albert Private Northamptonshire R. 13996 Wounded

31. Frost, George William Private Northamptonshire R 14679

32. Furniss, Robert Private DOCLI. 7166 Service related disease.

33. Gardner, Thomas Arthur Gunner RGA 169261 Wounded.

34. Garlick, Frederick William Gunner RGA 169879

35. George, William Thomas Corporal Northamptonshire R 13346 Died of Wounds.

36. Green, William Henry Private GG 15210 Wounded.

37. Gupwell, William Private RAMC 120754

38. Harris, Joe Sergeant RFA 103119 Wounded.

39. Hazel, Victor Stanley Sergeant RASC RTS/8165 Service related Disease.

40. Heath, Wallace R.S.M. CG 1891, Middlesex Regiment, EKR, RDC. Wounded.

41. Holland, Walter John A/Corporal RGA 169262

42. Johnson, Charles Sergeant Northamptonshire R 8467, RDC Wounded.

43. Jowers, Elijah Edward Birch A/Corporal RGA 286016

44. Judd, Horace Allen Warrant Officer (2) RGA 17559

45. Kelly, Maurice Private CG 5577

46. King, Harry (LOPC) Corporal RE 149950

47. Knight, Albert Gunner RGA 169263

48. Knight, Alfred John Private Northamptonshire R 13987, MGC 71088 . DCM KIA

49. Knighton, George James Gunner RGA 282561 M.M. Service related Disease.

50. Lane, Sidney Charles Sergeant RFA 103121 KIA

51. Lattimer, William Anderton Serjeant RGA 11781 DCM.

52. Lawrence, James Gunner RGA 169264

53. LEACH, Albert Ernest Loveday Sergeant GG 11783 D.C.M., M.M. Wounded. Died as a result of Service.

54. Logan, William Sergeant GG 12013 Wounded.

55. Lovell, George Trooper Royal Bucks Hussars, Life Guards, Guards Machine Gun R 3206

56. Lymage, John William Private RWSRG/22716 (Resigned from NCC). Wounded.

57. Marlow, Frederick Gunner RGA 169265

58. Martin, Edward William Private, Scottish Rifles.19692 Wounded.

59. Martin, George Sergeant GG 12626

60. Michael, Albert Thornton Private CG 6176 Wounded.

61. Mobbs, George Private Scottish Rifles 19719 Wounded.

62. Norris, Albert John Sergeant GG 15369 Wounded

63. Norton, Frederick George Private Q(RWS)R 22085 Wounded

64. Packer, William Gunner RMA RMA/1479(S) KIA

65. Reed, Arthur Edwin Guardsman GG 20248 KIA

66. Riddle, George Henry Gunner RGA 169267

67. Robinson, Wallace Charles Gunner RGA 169877

68. Rogers, Walter Possibly Private Bedfordshire R 20721

69. Roughton, Harry CSM Northamptonshire R 7324 D.C.M., M.C. Wounded

70. Rowley, Charles Robert Private RFC, RAF

71. Sawford, Thomas Albert Serjeant, Scottish Rifles 19717 Wounded

72. Sharman, Albert Edward Gunner RGA 169268

73. Shaw, William Henry Private SG 6264 Died as P.O.W.

74. Shead. James Edward RGA 169878

75. Skeels, William Possibly Private Cambridgeshire Regiment No. N/K(Resigned from NCC).

76. Smith, Albert Edward Private 2 GG 14163 KIA

77. Smith, George Humphrey Corporal Royal Bucks Hussars 2363 MGC 165826

78. Stapleton, Albert RGA 169269

79. Stock, Harry Samuel Corporal GG 10617 Wounded

80. Street, Benjamin Lance Serjeant GG 12062 Died of Wounds.

81. Sturgess, Arthur John 2^nd Lt. RFA formerly 103120

82. Summers, William Edwin John Sergeant MMP P2859 M.M.

83. Surridge, Lionel Merlin Captain Northamptonshire R 14657 , Notts & Derbys R Wounded.

84. Swann, Leonard Samuel Lance Corporal GG 12794 M.M. Wounded.

85. Taylor, William Charles Corporal Northamptonshire R 17111 MGC156973 Wounded.

86. Townsend, John Sergeant 2GG10682 Wounded, P.O.W

87. Trundle, Thomas Alfred (Transferred to LOPC 1914) Gunner RGA 169270

88. Waring, Leonard RAMC 27664 Corporal MFP P6620 (Resigned from NCC)

89. Warwick, John Charles Lance Corporal No1 Company of the Household Battalion 3940 KIA

90. Webb, John Percival Corporal Tank Corps 75533 M.M.

91. Webb, William James Gunner RGA 169272

92. Welch, John Charles Gunner RGA 169271

93. Williams, Mark Harold Gunner RGA 169273

 

Main units RGA 32, GG 13, NR 9, MP (F&M) 5, CG 4, RAMC 3, SR 3.

 

 

Northampton Borough Police Officers.

 

The names are largely taken from the Memorial Roll of Honour now at Force Headquarters, but there are additional names and details. It includes officers who resigned to join the Military but not those who joined the force after serving in the Military. Biographies of the men are in a separate document.

 

 

 

1 Adnitt, John Carter, Corporal 7th Northamptonshire R 20049 KIA

2 Afford, William Hine, 2nd Lieutenant 7th Northamptonshire R 20048 DCM

3 Allen, Herbert Clifford, MMP P2548, 2nd Lieutenant, South Staffordshire R

4 Ashton, Percy Richard, Sergeant, MMP P/2544 Wounded. MiD

5 Bennett, Walter James, Guardsman, 1st Provisional Battalion, GG 32476

6 Bignell, Horace, Bombardier, RGA 59156 KIA

7 Burditt, Alfred, Sergeant, MFP P/2538

8 Burns, Owen Richard, Guardsman, 5th Battalion, GG 32480 Wounded
9 Cameron, Thomas, Gunner, RGA 159495

10 Cawley, Harry Frederick Jeffs, Lance Corporal, MFP P/2542
11 Chadwick, John, Sergeant, 7th Northamptonshire R 20050 Wounded
12 Clipston, Arthur, Gunner, RGA 159489
13 Coates, Henry Thomas, Lance Corporal, MFP P/2540
14 Coles, Albert William, Lance Corporal, MFP P/2541
15 Crisp, Robert, Gunner, RGA 159479 Wounded
16 Freeman, Richard, 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Northamptonshire R formerly 20051
17 Freestone, Frank Walter, Northamptonshire R 7446 then CSM Instructor, Army Gymnastic Staff
18 Gardner, Walter Harry, Gunner, RGA 159486 MM Wounded
19 Garner, Alfred John, Lance Corporal, MFP P/2543 Service Related Disease
20 Ginns, Horace, Lance Corporal, MMP P/2550
21 Goodwin, Frederick, Gunner, RGA 159492 Service Related Disease
22 Granger, Ernest Joe, Gunner, RGA 159487 Wounded
23 Harlow, Vivian, Guardsman 1st Battalion, GG 14349 Wounded
24 Harris, George William, Corporal, 1st Provisional Battalion, GG 34381
25 Harris, Thomas Edgar, Guardsman, 1st Provisional Battalion, GG 32822
26 Harrod, George, Corporal, MFP P/2552 Service Related Disease
27 Harrod, Robert Henry, Bombardier, RGA 159664
28 Hyde, Percy Charles, Lance Bombardier, RGA 159488 Gassed
29 Jeffcott, William Hedley, Bombardier, RGA 159491 (later KPM) Service Related Disease
30 Jenkins, Albert Harry, Corporal, MMP P/2254
31 Jones, Alfred, Gunner, RGA No. NK
32 Laughton, Horace Cornelius, Gunner, RGA 159483
33 Leatherland, Frank, Colour Sergeant, Northamptonshire R 14625 MM, M.i.D.
34 Lock, Harry Arthur, Corporal, 1st Provisional Battalion, GG 32837
35 Lovell, Walter Ellis, Lance Corporal, MMP P2551
36 Manning, Charles Archibald, Gunner, RGA 159570
37 Packer, Charles Harry, Corporal, MMP P/2549
38 Page, Stanley William, Lance Corporal, MMP P/2546
39 Powell, Harry, Corporal, 1st Provisional Battalion, GG 32938
40 Read, Harry, Gunner, RGA 159490 Service Related Disease
41 Rouse, Alfred, Lance Bombardier, RGA 74353
42 Rudkin, William Ernest, Lance Corporal, MMP P/2553
43 Sharpe, George, Lance Corporal, MMP P/ 2545
44 Shattock, Oscar Henry Harold, Gunner, RGA 159659
45 Spence, Arthur Harry, Sergeant, 7th Northamptonshire R 20047 (Later) BEM
46 Symonds, Frederick Charles, Corporal, RGA 159481

47 Walmsley, Alfred Ernest, Serjeant, Northamptonshire Yeomanry 145483 CdG (Italian.)
48 Walters, Sam, Trooper, Royal Horseguards 2427, GMGR 5914

49 Whittle, Owen William Eric, Private, Northamptonshire R. 18891 Wounded, then KIA.
50 Wooding, Frank, Lance Corporal, MFP P/2539 MiD Service Related Disease
51 Wright, William, Corporal, MMP P/2547 MiD

 

Main Units: RGA 17, MP 16, Northamptons 7, Grenadiers 7.

 

City of Peterborough Police Officers

 

Drake, William Frederick, Sergeant, MFP P/3475

Honeyball, Alfred, Lance Corporal, MMP P/5461 Service related disease.

Summerlin, Amos Thomas Acting Lance Corporal, MFP P/6238

Head, Charles Manning, Private, Welsh Regiment 47756 KIA

 

Lincolnshire Constabulary

Tasker, George, Lance Corporal, MMP P/3023 Wounded.

 

Note: known details of wounds and illness have been indicated but it is possible that others of these men were also wounded or made ill by their service; as is noted in individual biographies, several were disabled and others died prematurely.

 

Acknowledgement. These details build on earlier research by the late Richard Cowley, then Derek Jones, Mark Holland, Simon Taylor and in particular Jane King, for her continuing work.

 

Any errors that remain are mine and I would welcome any corrections or additional information of these men, especially in regard to NCC 75 whose Unit remains uncertain & NBP 43, whose biographical details are incomplete.

[Mark1959]

Excellent Effort. Well done.

[Coldstreamer]

nice you remembered Peterborough wasnt always in Cambs

 

Im not surprised no Coldstreamers - Ive found very few from round this way

[TwoEssGee]

Excellent work, well done.

 

Regarding Sgt Leach DCM, MM of the Grenadier Guards (NCC 53) ...do you have a date of death by any chance? He's not coming up on the CWGC site.

 

Thanks.

[Uptodat]

13 hours ago, TwoEssGee said:

Excellent work, well done.

 

Regarding Sgt Leach DCM, MM of the Grenadier Guards (NCC 53) ...do you have a date of death by any chance? He's not coming up on the CWGC site.

 

Thanks.

After the Armistice, Albert remained in the Army. He was transferred to the 1^st Battalion Grenadier Guards, which was later stationed at the Tower of London. Ironically, having survived the War, he was serving in that Battalion when he contracted influenza in the post-War pandemic that decimated populations weakened by four years’ privation during the conflict. Having then developed pneumonia and nephritis, Albert died on 10^th March 1920 at Bermondsey Military Hospital in London.

On 15/3/1920 he was buried with military honours in plot 788 at Weedon Cemetery in Northamptonshire. The Northampton Daily Echo reported on 17/3/1920 that, in addition to family members, attendees at his funeral (jointly conducted by the Chaplain of the Tower of London and the Vicar of Weedon) had included many of his comrades from the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Battalions Grenadier Guards and Yeomen Warders from the Tower of London.

In 1919 Albert had received his 1914-15 Star medal. In April 1920 his widow Alice was sent his British and Victory medals. (When Alice subsequently married Andrew Lawrence Markham at St Matthew’s Church in Hammersmith on 25/10/1921, her address was recorded as 93 Rayleigh Road, Hammersmith).

The inscription on Albert's grave reads: “In loving memory of 11783 Sergt Major Albert Ernest Loveday Leach D.C.M., M.M., King’s Company Grenadier Guards, beloved husband of Alice Leach. Died March 10^th 1920 aged 33 years”.

Whilst the First World War ended when the Armistice came into effect on 11/11/1918, the subsequent death of many armed forces personnel was attributable to their War service. In recognition of this fact, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates members of the Commonwealth armed forces who died between 4/8/1914 and 31/8/1921 “from wounds inflicted, accident occurring or disease contracted, while on active service”.

As a World War 1 veteran who died on active service in 1920, Albert Leach appears to meet the criteria for commemoration by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, yet they currently have no record of him. His details have therefore been submitted to the Commission, requesting that consideration is given to including him on their First World War Casualty Register. (The decision is currently awaited).

[Uptodat]

13 hours ago, Coldstreamer said:

nice you remembered Peterborough wasnt always in Cambs

 

Im not surprised no Coldstreamers - Ive found very few from round this way

It is a Grenadier Guards recruiting area but there are a few Coldstreamers: Collier, Heath, Kelly, Michael; Welch had been a Coldstreamer in the South African Wars.
I didn't specifically research the Peterborough Police Forces but came across these men by chance. There are doubtless others I missed.

 

[tullybrone]

Hi,

 

I note a group of consecutive numbers for men who served in RGA.

 

I researched a friends grandfather a few years ago. He was in a North Wales Police Force and was one of 5 men from his force who joined RGA on “special enlistment” terms in December 1915. Likely the same route for the group of Northants officers.

 

Steve

[TwoEssGee]

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply. Great level of research.

 

I hope Sgt Major Leach gets the recognition and commemoration he so richly deserves.

[Uptodat]

24 minutes ago, tullybrone said:

Hi,

 

I note a group of consecutive numbers for men who served in RGA.

 

I researched a friends grandfather a few years ago. He was in a North Wales Police Force and was one of 5 men from his force who joined RGA on “special enlistment” terms in December 1915. Likely the same route for the group of Northants officers.

 

Steve

Yes the consecutive numbering as the men from County & Borough enlisted in the RGA under the Lord Derby scheme, sometimes in alphabetical order, helped the research considerably. Similarly in the Military Police & Northamptonshire Regt earlier in the War.

[Uptodat]

22 minutes ago, TwoEssGee said:

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply. Great level of research.

 

I hope Sgt Major Leach gets the recognition and commemoration he so richly deserves.

Indeed. I only replied with the latter part of his biography. Here is the rest:
 

Albert Ernest Loveday LEACH was born in 1887 in Weedon. He was the second child of Sarah Anne nee Loveday and Bombardier William Thomas Arthur Leach of the Royal Artillery, who had married in Weedon on 26/7/1884. In 1901 he was living with his parents in Upper Weedon, working as a newspaper boy.

On the 1911 census Albert’s parents were living at 14 Oak Street, Weedon; Albert himself was by then a Lance Sergeant in the 3^rd Battalion Grenadier Guards, based at Pirbright Camp in Surrey. (Unfortunately his Army service file has not survived, so the exact date he enlisted is unknown. However, as he was assigned the regimental number 11783, it appears he had joined the Grenadiers during the summer of 1904).
On 6/9/1911 he married Alice Elizabeth Craghill at St Philip’s Church in Battersea; the marriage register recorded his home address as 27 Broughton Street and his occupation as “Soldier”. On 14/12/1911 he joined Northamptonshire County Constabulary and was posted to Wellingborough Police Station. They had two children: Thomas born on 7/6/1912 & Richard born 24/5/1914 & lived at 49 Palk Road.

At the start of World War 1, Albert was called up from the Army Reserve and re-joined the 3^rd Battalion Grenadier Guards. The Medal Rolls record that on 23/11/1914 he went to France. There he joined the 2^nd Battalion in the field.

The 2^nd Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel W.R.A. Smith, had landed at Le Havre on 13/8/1914 and joined the 4^th Guards Brigade in the 2^nd Division. The Battalion’s War Diary records that it suffered its first fatal casualty on 25^th August, at Landrecies. By the time Albert joined it that November, it was in billets at Meteren, just south of the Belgian border. On 22^nd December it marched to Bethune; it proceeded the next day to Essars. At 3:30pm it took over the line at Rue de Cailloux, where it came under continual sniping and mortar-fire from the enemy. On 24^th December it suffered 57 casualties. It suffered a further 26 casualties before it was relieved late on 25^th December. For the next two days it was in billets at nearby Le Touret, where 22 of its men were hospitalised for frostbite. On 27^th December it returned to the trenches at Rue de Cailloux).

On 8/1/1915 the Northampton Mercury announced that Albert’s wife had received a letter from him:

“Sergeant A. Leach of the Grenadier Guards, who, before he went out to the front, was a police constable stationed at Wellingborough, writing home to his wife who lives in Palk Road, Wellingborough, states that he went into the trenches the night before Christmas Eve, and they were waist-deep in water. He spent Christmas Day in the trenches and expected to be there on New Year’s Eve. He had a rough Christmas – ‘plenty of mud and water’. He mentions that Sergeant Townshend*, also a constable at Wellingborough, is taken prisoner. He says that people have been good in sending cigarettes and states he has received a Christmas present from Princess Mary, which he hopes to send home”. (*John Townsend, taken Prisoner of War in the Battle of Mons, remained so until the Armistice – see his entry in later pages).

Albert’s letter to Alice evidently enclosed a souvenir, as on 9/1/1915 the Northampton Daily Echo reported that she had received “a piece of shell which went up the sleeve of his coat but did not hurt him”.

Albert wrote frequently to his wife, who often shared snippets with the local press. On 22/1/1915, under the strap-line “Cheerful always, in spite of terrible strain”, the Northampton Mercury reported that his latest letter had referred to the “arduous nature of the work in which our troops are engaged”, explaining: “He is now in the trenches, one day in and three out, because the strain of being in longer at a time was too much to keep up. The horrors of war, he says, cannot be fully realised in England, ‘but’, he adds, ‘the boys come up smiling every time to face the Germans’. The weather is so wet that the men have to have periods off duty in the trenches to dry their clothes by a big fire. When out of the trenches, they are billeted in houses which have, in the war zone, been vacated by the tenants, who have in most cases left their furniture behind. Many houses are completely shattered by shells”.

(Albert’s Commanding Officer later commented of the prevailing morale that the men were “marvellously cheerful in the circumstances, especially Sergeant Leach, a first-rate NCO who was in my Company in the 3^rd Battalion. He was roaring with laughter and making jokes and keeping all his men cheerful”).

On 16/4/1915 the Northampton Mercury reported that Albert had been wounded during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle but was now “sufficiently recovered to return to his home”. While recuperating from the bullet wound to his back and shoulder, he was assigned to the 5^th Battalion; he re-joined the 2^nd Battalion in September 1916. The award of his Military Medal “for bravery in the field” was published in the London Gazette on 11/10/1916. By then he held the rank of Acting Company Sergeant Major.

Albert’s courage and leadership skills while serving with the 2^nd Battalion Grenadier Guards were further recognised after a daring raid in spring 1918, which earned him a Distinguished Conduct Medal (published in the London Gazette on 1/1/1919). The citation for his award read:

“On the night of 5^th/6^th March 1918, on the Arras Front, north of the Scarpe, the battalion raided the enemy trenches. Under very heavy bombardment he toured the line continually, inspiring one and all by his utter disregard of his own personal safety. Later in the night the enemy succeeded in entering one of our front posts. He promptly organised and led forward a few men and bombed the enemy out of the post. He showed marked gallantry and initiative”.

The award was announced on 16/1/1919 in the Northampton Daily Echo, which reported that:

“Drill-Sergt A. Leach, of the Grenadier Guards (whose home is in Palk Road, Wellingborough), has been awarded the D.C.M. for conspicuous bravery in the saving of an outpost near Arras in the summer of last year. Sergt Leach is an old Guardsman, and when he was re-called to the Colours in 1914, he was a police constable at Wellingborough. He had previously won the Military Medal. He was rather badly wounded a year after the war started”.

[TwoEssGee]

Fantastic information, thank you.

 

What a shame that he made it all the way through the War as an NCO in a Guards battalion relatively unscathed, only to succumb to influenza. Tragic.

 

RIP, Sir.

 

(from an Ex- Guardsman and retired policeman)

[Coldstreamer]

do you have the service numbers for the Coldstreamers please?

[Uptodat]

1 hour ago, Coldstreamer said:

do you have the service numbers for the Coldstreamers please?

Collier, William Frederick David Private CG 18155 Wounded

Heath, Wallace R.S.M. CG 1891, Middlesex Regiment, EKR, RDC. Wounded.

Kelly, Maurice Private CG 5577

Michael, Albert Thornton Private CG 6176 Wounded.

Welch, John Charles Pte 1st Battn CG (South Africa) 2333
(Heath also served in other units but it is his CG number I noted). I can add biographical details of all.
 

 

[Coldstreamer]

 cheers pal

[delta]

I will do some digging on Cpl John Percival Webb.  He won the MM with 4th Tank Battalion near Meaulte whilst commanding his tank in thick fog.  His service number indicates he originally served with the Army Service Corps. 

[Uptodat]

18 minutes ago, delta said:

I will do some digging on Cpl John Percival Webb.  He won the MM with 4th Tank Battalion near Meaulte whilst commanding his tank in thick fog.  His service number indicates he originally served with the Army Service Corps. 

Thanks. I'd be grateful for any additional information. My notes follow:
 

John Percival Webb was born in Welton on 4/11/1892, son of farm stockman John & Louisa. By 1911 he had left home, and as “Percival” Webb was working as a groom at The Stables, Egg Buckland, Leigham, Plympton, Devon (probably for George Vere Hugh Cholmondeley). He joined Northamptonshire County Constabulary on 4/9/1913.

John was stationed at Daventry when he enlisted in June 1915 as Corporal 8023 in the 40^th Divisional Cyclist Company of the Army Cyclist Corps. He later transferred to the Tank Corps as Corporal 75533. On 21/1/1919 the London Gazette published the award of his Military Medal, which he had earned while serving in the 4^th Battalion Tank Corps.

John returned to the Constabulary in January 1919. He married Martha Elizabeth Knight in Wellingborough in 1922. They had three children: Gordon born 1923, Roger born 1924 and Victor born 1929.

While stationed at Corby, John was promoted to Sergeant, as which he transferred to Wellingborough in 1926. In September 1939 he was living at 15 Bedale Road with his wife & their three sons. His retirement two months later was reported on 29/11/1939 in the Evening Telegraph (which omitted to mention his Military Medal):

“POPULAR POLICE SERGEANT RETIRES. Fourteen Years’ Service at Wellingborough. A well-known Northamptonshire police officer, Sergt. John Percival Webb, who has been stationed at Wellingborough for fourteen years, will retire from the County Force on Friday. Sergt. Webb, who has been a popular and well-liked officer, entered the Northamptonshire Constabulary in September 1913, and after receiving training at Northampton went to Daventry—his home district, as he was born at Welton. He joined the Army in July. 1915, serving with the Army Cycle Corps. In France he was transferred to the heavy branch of the Machine Gun Corps, which was the original name of the Tank Corps. He remained with this regiment until after the war had finished and re-joining the County Police Force he went in 1919 to Harlestone as a police constable, subsequently being stationed at Bugbrooke, Dallington, Welford and Corby, where he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. From Corby he came to Wellingborough. He will continue to live in Wellingborough at present.”

John’s wife Martha died on 27/11/1972. He himself died in Wellingborough on 27/3/1974. His address for Probate was 15 Bedale Road*. (*15 Bedale Road had been the home of Constable John Townsend in 1914).

[delta]

Thank you - the move from ACC also makes sense.  he would have joined D Battalion Heavy Branch MGC in Dec 1916/ Jan 1917. The Heavy Branch was later renamed the Tank Corps (Jul 1917) and D Battalion renamed as 4th Battalion in Jan 1918. 

He won the MC whilst serving with No 10 Company of 4th Tank Battalion. He was commanding a Mark V Male tank no 9190 - that he was commanding as a corporal was exceptional, the Tank Corps had only just been reorganised to allow SNCOs to command; this was in part to reduce the burden on the training organisation in the Uk which was concnetrating on forming new tank battalions.

 

The attack on 22 August was over an area well known to 4th Battalion - they had been stationed closeby in early 1918 before being pushed back by the Germans. Zero hour on 22 Aug 1918  was 4.45am - (around dawn); three sections (10 tanks) of No 10 Company to start at Z -15 mins and advance with 12th Division, two sections with 36th Brigade and one section with 35th Brigade.

 

"Webb's tank crossed the front line and went towards Brown Line (1st objective) finding no opposition (other than heavy gas barrage) until E24a.8.4 reached where enemy MGs were very active until silenced by tank. Tank reached Brown Line at 7:05am and then waited for barrage to lift. Once the barrage lifted the tank advanced with infantry towards Green Line (second objective)  silencing an enemy MG at Sand Pit E18c.5.3 which had been holding up the infantry on the left; and dealing with rifle fire from a point to the right of the Sand Pit. The tank reached the Green Line at 8:10am. At F13b.5.8 (or F13c.5.8 original unclear) an enemy MG was silenced as it was troubling the consolidating infantry. Once the infantry had consolidated the tank rallied at K2a.8.8 by 11:45am. The tank was In action for six hours, drove nine miles, fired ninety rounds 6 pdr ammunition and two hundred rounds machine gun ammunition." (all details from the tank;s battle history sheet)

 

The Military Medal citation states "This NCO was in command of a tank in action south of Meaulte.  When, owing to the heavy mist, direction was lost, this NCO guided his tank from outside although the tank was in action at the time at close range against many machine guns, It was due to his courage and resource that not only did not his own tank, but at least two others, were able to keep direction in the mist".

 

There is no mention of his being wounded, however in Jan 1919, he was on the held strength of the Depot at Catterick which indicates that he suffered either injury or serious sickness. 

 

 

 

. , 

 

Edited 18 November , 2019 by delta

[Uptodat]

Very interesting extra information. Many thanks Delta!

[grleyland]

What a great piece of work. Do you have any further information regarding Charles S Bates. He is a direct relative of my wife. We do know that he was the first PC in the country to be awarded the “King’s Police Medal” in 1920s. All previous awards were to senior police officers.

[Uptodat]

Here's the biography I did on PC Bates. Please alert me to any errors. Do you have any images of him please?

Charles Samuel Bates was born in Rothwell on 26/10/1878, the son of Ambrose & Sophia. He became a shoe finisher. He then served as Private 4606 in the Northamptonshire Regiment from 27/3/1895 to 21/6/1897, for most of which he was stationed in Jersey. A regular attender on sick parades, he was discharged with chorea (facial spasms), from which he had suffered before enlisting. He was working as a shoe finisher when he joined Northamptonshire County Constabulary on 14/7/1902.

Charles married Frances Walden at Wellingborough on 11/9/1902. He resigned on 20/3/1903, but re-joined the Force on 26/1/1904. His son Hedley Charles Walden Bates was born that year in Daventry. (He later became Sergeant 69 in Staffordshire County Constabulary.) Hedley was soon followed by siblings Doris, Claude & Phyllis.

In 1911 Charles was a Constable at Kings Sutton. In February 1915 he was made Acting Sergeant at Eastcote Camp, near Towcester, which was then an internment camp for German merchant sailors. (Later it became a P.O.W. Camp.)

Constabulary records indicate that Charles served in the Army from June 1915 to May 1919, but further details of his service have yet to be found. (It is possible he re-joined the Northamptonshire Regiment, or continued guarding duties at a POW camp such as Eastcote, but as a soldier rather than policeman).
Charles re-joined the Constabulary after the War. In 1921 he was transferred to Daventry Police Station from Kings Sutton, where he had been for about 12 years (& was replaced by PC Webb). The parishioners presented him with a leaving gift of a writing outfit.

At Daventry Charles had a reputation as a thief taker, and many of his arrests were reported in local newspapers. He also had the distinction of being the first Constable in the country to receive the King’s Police Medal, which was published in the 1926 New Year's Honours list.

In 1924 Charles received a cash bonus for his impressive arrest record, which was reported in the Northampton Mercury on Friday 31 October 1924 as follows:
"AN ALERT CONSTABLE. PRESENTATION TO P.C. BATES DAVENTRY. At a special parade of the Daventry Division of the Northants Constabulary, in the Police Court, Daventry, on Tuesday, a presentation of a cheque was made to P.C. Charles Bates. The cheque was for £10 and was awarded by the Standing Joint Committee for devotion to duty and conspicuous ability. Such awards are not frequently made. There were upon parade; Supt. Brumby, Inspector Butler, three sergeants and nine men. The Chief Constable, Colonel J. D. Kellie McCallum, was present. Upon the Bench were Sir Charles V. Knightley, Bt. (chairman), Mr. W Murland. Mr. C. J. W. Rodhouse, Mr. B. Hall, Mr. I. Johnson, Mr W. Douglas and the Mayor of Daventry (Councillor W. T. Wright).
Sir Charles, reading the report of the Chief Constable to the Standing Joint Committee, said that on August 26 P.C. Bates was on duty at the Cross Roads, Daventry. when he suspected two men upon a lorry and trailer. He stopped the lorry and questioned the men. Suspecting them of being deserters, P.C. Bates called "Attention!” and one man responded. The other escaped on a bicycle. Leaving the one held by a civilian. P.C. Bates stopped a passing motor car and went in pursuit of the other. The man threw the bicycle away and went across some fields. P.C. Bates pursued and captured him, and the men were convicted at Chester of a theft of bicycles and as deserters from the Army. On May 3, 1923, P.C. Bates was on duty and saw a lad riding a bicycle in the direction of Weedon. Suspecting him, P.C. Bates stopped him, took him to the Police Station and searched him. A purse was found upon him and the lad confessed that he had robbed his employer. He was afterwards convicted of larceny at Manchester and sent to Borstal. On November 16 and 27, under somewhat similar circumstances, P.C. Bates arrested bicycle thieves who were afterwards convicted. Upon none of these occasions had reports of the thefts been made. The arrests were brought about by the earnest devotion to duty, alertness, and acute observation of P.C. Bates.— Sir Charles hoped that the presentation would encourage not only P.C Bates but others to show the same zeal and ability.
P.C. Bates briefly thanked Sir Charles, the Chief, and the Standing Joint Committee, and said, ‘I only did my duty.’ "

On Friday 27^th February 1925 the Northampton Mercury reported:
"Police-Constable Bates, of Daventry, who received recognition recently for the number of bicycle thieves he has caught on the Watling-street at Daventry, has added another to his long list of successes. On Tuesday he arrested a man who had in his possession a bicycle which was subsequently found to have been stolen from Wellingborough two hours previously. This afternoon the man was taken before a magistrate at Wellingborough and remanded till Friday."

On Friday 19 February 1926 the same paper reported:
"GOOD GOING. 24 Cases in Less Than 30 Minutes. A DAVENTRY HUSTLE. There was something in the nature of a hustle at Daventry Divisional Police Court, on Tuesday, when the magistrates, Mr Charles V. Knightley, Bart (chairman), Mr. J. W. C. Mr. E. Hall, and Mr. W. Douglas, disposed of twenty-four cases in less than half-an-hour. At the opening of the Court, the Chairman congratulated P.C. Bates upon the honour conferred upon him by H.M. the King in awarding to him the King's Police Medal. The medal had been given not for one particular piece of work, but for years of work and consistent devotion duty, it was an honour, not only to P.C. Bates, but to the whole of the force. The Clerk (Mr. H. Saxon Snell) associated himself with Sir Charles in his congratulations. The cases with which the Court had to deal were mainly for road offences."

Charles retired to police pension on 31/5/1928. In 1939 he was a hotel door porter, living at Flat 1a 17 Lewes Crescent in Brighton with his wife “Fanny” and their two younger children. They later returned to Northampton, where his wife died on 23/2/1944. Charles died on 3/7/1958; his address for Probate was 81 Stanley Street, Northampton.

 

[generalist]

On 13/11/2019 at 08:52, Uptodat said:

Yes the consecutive numbering as the men from County & Borough enlisted in the RGA under the Lord Derby scheme, sometimes in alphabetical order, helped the research considerably. Similarly in the Military Police & Northamptonshire Regt earlier in the War.

I might be missing something obvious, but is there a reason why so many went into the RGA? The others all make sense but I'm very curious about this one.

Was it a pure chance, or were they selectively encouraging recruitment of ex-policemen for some specific reason?

[Uptodat]

Cops to RGA? I agree with the suggestion that they were bigger, fitter & stronger than the average, literate, numerate, drilled & used to complying with instructions and reporting back. These qualities would be handy in operating the big guns. Also the opportunity to enlist together, perhaps in joint response to ads in the local paper -  
Eg from the "Daily Echo" in Northampton 26/10/1915:
"IN THE PRESENT WAR THE BIG GUN PAVES THE WAY TO VICTORY.
WANTED FOR THE ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY,
Stalwart MEN of sft. 6in. and upwards, chest not less than 35in., and good physique.
The Training will be done at Coast Defence Stations, and the actual Service with SIEGE and HEAVY BATTERIES with the EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.
APPLY TO THE RECRUITING OFFICER, THE BARRACKS. "

[kct]

Extra info on Charles S Bates KPM. He served during the Boer war, being awarded the QSA with clasps for South Africa 1901 and 1902, Transvaal, Orange Free State and Cape Colony with the 8th Company Imperial Yeomanry. WW1 service with the ASC, entitled to the 1915 trio. 

Edited 28 July , 2023 by kct

[Uptodat]

2 hours ago, kct said:

Extra info on Charles S Bates KPM. He served during the Boer war, being awarded the QSA with clasps for South Africa 1901 and 1902, Transvaal, Orange Free State and Cape Colony with the 8th Company Imperial Yeomanry. WW1 service with the ASC, entitled to the 1915 trio. 

Many thanks for  info KCT. I'll need to redo his biog. He obviously had a longer & more distinguished time in the Military than I thought. Following your pointer I can now see that according to his mic he was M2 /105753 in the ASC (should be M2/105750 - 753 was a Harry Warren). Apparently he featured in the "Police Review & Parade Gossip" paper re his KPM, & it referred to his service in Motor Transport 1915 to 1919, when he rejoined the County Constabulary.  As you say, in the SA Wars Charles Samuel Bates was Cpl 23576 in 8 (Derbys.) Company, 4 Battn  of the IY. At first I was not certain it was the same man. It seemed to me an odd move for a soldier who had been in the Northamptons,  his home County, but I found a report of the enlistment in the IY of Charles Samuel Bates of Kettering, in a Buckingham newspaper from February 1901.  
 

 

[kct]

Sorry I forgot to put his number, was trying to find the copy of the police review paper out, the picture in it is attached but cleaned up as the paper is close to 100 years old and in poor condition but still a good picture, more so edited by others! His mic and medal rolls shows number ending 750, which is what is on his medal trio. It’s odd that he states when enlisting in the IY at Buckingham in January 1901 he has no previous military service. I haven’t seen the previous service record you mention as can’t access it except the link to fold 3, but if they are one and the same he didn’t want the military to know for some reason. Does it mention his next of kin on the earlier records?