Seeking info - Labour Corps

[HornettM]

I am researching my wife's maternal grandfathers ( William Ernest Baker, from Camberwell, London) WW1 history and it looks like he moved several times between different units with a new service number on each move. He was originally in the KRRC (Service number 23424) until 23 Sept 1916 before moving to the Queens (Royal West Surrey) Labour Regt (Service Number 28474), initially in the UK then in Jan 1917 he went to France before moving across to the 2nd Infantry Labour Company (Service Number 65467). He was eventually evacuated to the UK and hospital in Feb 1918 before being released from hospital on 24 April 1919 as no longer fit for service and given a Silver Badge. I would really like to know where he served in France and what happened in early 1918 that sent him to hospital - was it just illness or was it something that happened in France. He apparently always suffered from a bad chest and poor eyesight so I do wonder if this was the result of a gas attack at some time, so hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction to try and understand what happened to him. 

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[GWF1967]

1 hour ago, HornettM said:

I am researching my wife's maternal grandfathers ( William Ernest Baker, from Camberwell, London) WW1 history and it looks like he moved several times between different units with a new service number on each move. He was originally in the KRRC (Service number 23424) until 23 Sept 1916 before moving to the Queens (Royal West Surrey) Labour Regt (Service Number 28474), initially in the UK then in Jan 1917 he went to France before moving across to the 2nd Infantry Labour Company (Service Number 65467).

 

Any help would be appreciated.

His Labour Corps number 65467 was issued in May 1917. ( 2nd I.L.C. became 110th Company, Labour Corps)

[HornettM]

Thanks you for that information - does anyone know if there is any documentation about the 110th Company where they were late 1917 early 1918 and what they were doing?

 

[kenf48]

Welcome to the forum

 

The Labour Corps Companies were Army Troops, few war diaries have survived.  They were employed on line of communications, a lot of their work was building and clearing roads for example.

 

I assume you have seen his service record which shows he was suffering from debility when evacuated to the U.K.  He was released from Hospital and posted to 389 Home Service Employment Company, Labour Corps on the 9th April 1918.  He remained with them until his discharge on 24 April 1919.

 

He enlisted and attested under the Derby or Group Scheme at Camberwell (Town Hall) on the  7th December 1915 and was mobilised to the KRRC on the 11 May 1916.  He was posted to the 14th (Reserve) Battalion.  We don’t have his medical classification but it seems he was unfit for active duty overseas.  He was discharged as a consequence of High—— (faded)  which was non-attributable to his war service so a pre-existing condition.  It could possibly be high astigmatism though there are two letters below the line (the word looks a bit long to be  high myopia) but I guess it was his eyesight which you referred to.

 

Suggest you look at the Long Long Trail link top right for hints on how to research a soldier.

 

The seminal work on The Labour Corps is ‘No Labour No Battle’ by forum pals Ivor Lee and John Starling.

 

 

[MaxD]

As Kenf48 has said, few Labour Corps Companies kept war diaries.  2nd ILC (Queen's) went to France with 1st and 3d ILC (Queen's) in early 1917 to replace ASC labourers at the ports although whether they remained at those tasks I don't know.   A large number of ILCs followed in Feb and Mar 1917.  Some of these kept diaries in the first one or two months, essentially until they became Labour Corps companies in April 1917..  As downloads are currently free, you might like to download one of two at the link below to give a flavour of the sort of work these companies were engaged in.  I do emphasise that these will be representative only, what work 2nd ILC (Queens) later 110 Company was engaged in can only be said to have been similar.

 

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_dss=range&_ro=any&_q=labour+AND+company+WO+267+army+troops

 

Max

 

 

[HornettM]

Thank you so much for the info - starting to understand. Have ordered  a copy of ‘No Labour No Battle’ by Ivor Lee and John Starling.

[MaxD]

I should have acknowledged that the info I gave  was mostly extracted from that splendid volume.

 

Max