Jayuubee Posted 1 February , 2020 Share Posted 1 February , 2020 I'm searching for any details on the following brothers Harold Braybrook My Granddad Wounded and lost his leg (known as "Ladders" due to being on crutches! Francis Braybrook Died 23 Oct 1916 EW Braybrook Died 06 Jan 1917 Noel Braybrok no detail I've done the usual searches ie CWGC, Unit museums etc but losing 60% of WW! records in WW2 isn't helping as I'm coming to a lot of dead ends! any advice or help would be great thanks JWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 1 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 1 February , 2020 This is as much as I know on the brothers! With little more detail. BRAYBROOK Brothers.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 1 February , 2020 Share Posted 1 February , 2020 (edited) Welcome Noel has some surviving papers. 1/4 Lincs. Territorial enlisted in 1913. To France March 1915. Bad thigh wound 6 Jan 1917 - same day as EW's death. Previously wounded Oct 1915. On FMP see https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM%2FWO363-4%2F007287391%2F00446&parentid=GBM%2FWO363-4%2F7287391%2F28%2F446 1881 later 202212. Address on discharge was 7 Stanley St. On ancestry https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1219&h=58676&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=iSJ8&_phstart=successSource Edited 1 February , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 1 February , 2020 Share Posted 1 February , 2020 (edited) Harold 4965 Lincs 27120 Royal Warwicks At time according to medal roll. 1/4 Lincs, 2 Warwicks, 14th then 2nd again and then 10th. Taken prisoner at Bapaume 24/3/18 whilst with 10th Warwicks https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/4729596/698/36485/ Red Cross record. the "schussfraktur" means Gunshot fracture "obershenkel" is thigh. So one assumes his leg was amputated by the Germans. He had a previous wounding with 2nd Warwicks in early Oct 1917. Shrapnel wound knee and hand. Admitted 11 Casualty Clearing Station on 8/10/17. The 11 CCS admission states 2 year service and 16 months in field force - so went overseas mid-1916 and service began late 1915 There is also a pension card for him. This shows discharged due to GSW Left Thigh amputated and otitis media. Discharged 9/1/20. He appears on a war office list on 6/1/19 as a POW returned from Germany. So would have come home in the days proceeding that Will look further tomorrow to see if there is anything more I can find on the brothers Edited 1 February , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 1 February , 2020 Share Posted 1 February , 2020 Think you might be missing George Edward. Born 1888. Think he is Rifle Brigade and also a POW. Hopefully confirm tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 2 February , 2020 Share Posted 2 February , 2020 (edited) George Edward like Ernest William was born in Melton Mowbray He is with the family in 1891 and 1901 censuses. In 1911 it looks as if he is the George living as a boarder in Kingston-Upon-Thames. He is a draper's assistant. His surname shows with an e at the end but he did not fill the return There is mail order clerk (drapery) George E living in Ealing in 1939. Dob 23/2/1888, That leads me to a death in 1980 in 2nd Quarter of 1980 of man with right name and DoB. Died aged 92 Then looked at military records and 2 Red Cross records popped up https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/3136968/698/18146/ https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/3136968/698/19446/ These are for 1761 George Braybrook serving with C Company, 10th Battalion Rifle Brigade and tells us this man was born Melton 23/2/1888 and the NoK were in Stamford. He was taaken prisoner at Cambrai on 30/11/17, At one stage he was at the POW Camp at Dulmen The medal roll shows he served with 16th RB before the 10th. He has the British War and Victory medal only and this tells us he did not serve abroad pre the start of 1916. It gives his number as P/1761 He too was wounded. He was admitted to 11th Casualty Clearing Sation on 3/9/16 suffering from a gunshot wound to his right leg. At thiis time he was with the 16th Battalion Rifle Brigade. This transcribed record usefully says he had seved for 1 year and been overseas 6 months. So served from the later half of 1915 and was overseas from Feb-March 1916 if that is correct. The longlongtrail the mother site for the GWF shows the 16th landed at Le Havre on 8/3/16. SO fits in perfectly with the medical record. Most POWs returned between Nov 1918 and Jan 1919/ He appears on a War Office missing list on 18/1/18. NoK address is Stamford. So one to add to your list .. a definite brother. Edited 2 February , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 2 February , 2020 Share Posted 2 February , 2020 (edited) Francis Has surviving service papers. Start on ancestry here Shows he enlisted in 2/4 Lincs (Territorials) on 11/11/14. This seems to be at or near his 18th brithday. Number 3304. In UK he was in 2/4 and then 1/4 Lincs. He gets transferrred to the King Own Royal Lancasters as 27217 on going to France. Arrives France 4/9/16. Joins C company 1st Battalion on 22/9/16. He is reported wounded and missing on 23/10/1916 and presumed dead. Looking at the War Diary it is noted that 370 men from the Lincs arrived on 22/9/16. So he was part of a large draft being transferred to 1st KORL. They moved to the front on the Somme in the days following. There were several small actions from 10/10/16. The 1st were part of an attack near Lesboeufs (South of Bapaume) on the Somme on 23/10/16. The attack wwas delayed due to fog and they went over the top at 1430. The diary describes heavy machine gun fire from the Germans. It is mentioned in his docs that he joined C company. They led the assault with D with A and B following on 10 minutes later At the start of the assault the unit numbered 11 officers and 435 other ranks. By the end of the day 4 officers had been killed and 2 wounded. Of the men 26 killed, 118 wounded and 43 missing. Francis would be in one of the latter two totals. Edited 2 February , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 2 February , 2020 Share Posted 2 February , 2020 The War Diary for 1/4th Lincs for 6/1/17 is very interesting as it records only one incident where there were casualties They were in the trenches at Fonquevillers (north of Beaumont Hamel on the Somme). The entry states "The battallion relieved the 5 Lincs in Y1 sector. At 11am as No 3 platoon was proceeding up CRAWL BOYS AVENUE a 77mm shell hit the side of the trench and killed 3 men also wounding 7 O. ranks (other ranks)" So Ernest was killed and Noel wounded on 6/1/17 whilst both were with the battalion. This is the only incident worthy of mention on the day. The obvious conclusion is the boys were with each other and this was the incident that killed one and wounded the other, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 3 February , 2020 Share Posted 3 February , 2020 (edited) Awaiting feedback from poster before researching further Edited 3 February , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteStarLine Posted 5 February , 2020 Share Posted 5 February , 2020 Mark has certainly done a lot of research on this and I'm sure the OP will return shortly. Rat's Alley has a "Crawl Boys Lane" near Fonquevillers, in the area denoted by a square: On 03/02/2020 at 02:58, Mark1959 said: No 3 platoon was proceeding up CRAWL BOYS AVENUE Spectrum Trench is north of Lesboeufs in the 34.b square: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 5 February , 2020 Share Posted 5 February , 2020 (edited) Looking at CWGC there were only 3 Lincs Regiment men killed on 6/1/17 - all 1/4th men. EW Braybook, Albert Cash and Harry Enderby. Matches the number killed referred to in the war diary. So I think these were the 3 men killed by the 77mm shell. The 3 rest side by side in Foncquevillers Military Cemetery. Enderby in grave I.G.23, Braybrook I.G.24 and Cash in I.G.25. Edited 5 February , 2020 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 13 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2020 Mark 1959 & White Star Line, you my friends are diamonds! Thank you so very much for all your work! Just so you know, I'm serving and Quartermaster at RA Barracks Woolwich, London, If your ever in the area and would like a history tour, please let me know! Thanks Again JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 13 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2020 Gents A picture of me at Ernests Grave, Sept 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 13 February , 2020 Share Posted 13 February , 2020 Lovely photo JB. Probably next thing to do is look at the War Diaries. Can send the links if you wish? They are gone but not forgotten! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 14 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 14 February , 2020 You my friend are a star, Many Thanks JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 28 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 28 February , 2020 On 01/02/2020 at 20:11, Mark1959 said: Think you might be missing George Edward. Born 1888. Think he is Rifle Brigade and also a POW. Hopefully confirm tomorrow. It comes to light this morning, George enlisted as a regular soldier, unsure if that is true as it's a family rumour! Regards JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travers61 Posted 2 March , 2020 Share Posted 2 March , 2020 (edited) On 28/02/2020 at 12:42, Jayuubee said: It comes to light this morning, George enlisted as a regular soldier, unsure if that is true as it's a family rumour! Regards JB If this man is 1761 Rifle Brigade he could be a pre war regular as it fits into this number sequence used by the regular battalions only: 1472 joined on 20th January 1906 1831 joined on 1st January 1907 2459 joined on 7th November 1907 The Territorials, Special reserve & Service Battalions used different series. https://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/2009/09/rifle-brigade-regular-battalions.html He would have usually retained this number for initial WW1 service if he was in the army or on the army reserve at the outbreak of war. Although a twelve year engagement from 1906 (5 plus seven on the reserve from 1907) should have meant he was still in service on the 1911 census. Edited 2 March , 2020 by travers61 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 2 March , 2020 Share Posted 2 March , 2020 JB - sorry I have not sorted the war diary links for you yet. I will get on to it at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 3 March , 2020 Share Posted 3 March , 2020 (edited) George Braybrook in the Rifle Brigade was P/1761, 16th, 10th & 10th RB. Listed as missing in action 30/11/17. As per Marks 6. 1761 Regular numbering was Ernest Furlonger of the 2nd going overseas with them in November 14. Andy Edited 3 March , 2020 by stiletto_33853 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 3 March , 2020 Share Posted 3 March , 2020 (edited) So almost certainly captured during the German counter-offensive at Cambrai on 30 Nov 1917. The bulk of the 59 Bde, 20th (Light) Division POWs were from 10/ and 11/KRRC who were in the front line, but 10/RB were in Support in a ravine about 500m S of LES RUES VERTES and also lost heavily. 10/RB were surrounded with almost no warning and fought to a standstill early in the day. When an attempt to rally the battalion was made later, only 4 officers and 20 ORs were found. The divisional history does not give detailed casualty figures. All the division's battalion were at very low strength having taking part in the Battle of Cambrai earlier in the month. Andy and I have done several topics elsewhere on the Forum about the 30 Nov 1917 Cambrai German counter-offensive. A search should lead you to them. A P/ prefix Rifle Brigade Service Number would strongly suggest he had NOT enlisted as a Regular. It was mostly used for 16th RB (St Pancras) raised as part of K5, but as always with Rifles service numbers there are some anomalies! The other Mark's dates for George and rationale in Post #6 higher up look 100% sound to me. Mark Edited 3 March , 2020 by MBrockway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 3 March , 2020 Share Posted 3 March , 2020 Mark, Divisional War Diary confirms that of the 10th KRRC did not have many killed or wounded (5 & 44) but 395 missing, 11th KRRC 24 Killed 147 wounded & 323 Missing. 10th RB 31 killed, 193 wounded & 199 missing. There is a description of events 30/11 to 3/12 in the Apps, you have access to it. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 3 March , 2020 Share Posted 3 March , 2020 Re George's wounding on 03 Sep 1916, 16/RB and 17/Notts & Derbys (the Welbeck Rangers) were the assaulting battalions of 117 Bde forming the Left half of the 39th Division attack in the ANCRE VALLEY to the S of BEAUMONT HAMEL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 6 March , 2020 Author Share Posted 6 March , 2020 Gents Thank you, this family story is becoming epic for us now! Many Thanks JWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayuubee Posted 7 March , 2020 Author Share Posted 7 March , 2020 On 03/03/2020 at 23:00, MBrockway said: Re George's wounding on 03 Sep 1916, 16/RB and 17/Notts & Derbys (the Welbeck Rangers) were the assaulting battalions of 117 Bde forming the Left half of the 39th Division attack in the ANCRE VALLEY to the S of BEAUMONT HAMEL. Mark & Andy OMG I was there Sept 19, I remember the hairs on the back of my neck going up........... Thanks for your help, and guidance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 9 March , 2020 Share Posted 9 March , 2020 (edited) The 16/RB 03 Sep 1916 attack took place approx 1km to the ESE of the Caribou Monument seen in your photo. Assembly was in GORDON TRENCH (the British front line) and in ROBERTS TRENCH (the British Support Line). The attack was launched from GORDON TRENCH between 57D.Q.17.d.1.9 and 57D.Q.17.d.5.6. Mark Edited 9 March , 2020 by MBrockway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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