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Remembered Today:

Gap in information between landing in France and arriving at the front line.


Dawn W

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George Leacy was part of the 1/KRRC and landed in France on 8th April 1915.  I've worked out that he probably sailed into Havre on the Marguerite or Empress Queen at 3:30am on the 8th April (Base Landing Officer Diary) and that these reinforcements are also noted in the Havre Base Commandant Diary.  From the KRRC diaries a draft arrived on the 11th April - presumably he was among them.

 

My question is how did he reach the front line?  There is nothing noted in the 6th Infantry Brigade HQ or the HQ Branches & Services (General Staff) Diaries.  Presumably this march/transportation would have been recorded somewhere in the diaries?

 

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

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4 minutes ago, Dawn W said:

 

My question is how did he reach the front line?

In the vast majority of cases the only reference to drafts is something like 'Lt Atkins and draft of 30 men arrived from base'. What happened with the draft on the way was not something that they'd record in the battalion war diary (in most cases) as the diary was for the use of the battalion's day to day activities at the front. Higher diaries also rarely record more than the same level of information.
 

Craig

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Thanks for your swift answer.  I was assuming that, given the amount of detail in all the diaries I've read, that this would recorded somewhere.  Just being hopeful.

 

Dawn

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f you read the WD from beginning it may give details of what happened on landing to original battalion.The base depot may be named.

Edited by johnboy
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The original battalion arrived in Rouen (via Havre) and went to a rest camp outside Rouen - presumably a base depot?  They then moved by train to the frontline.  I'm assuming that train was possibly not an option in Apr 1915 and that this draft would have walked.  I'm surprised that no one was keeping tabs on which draft was moving where and when.

 

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On 22/07/2020 at 17:04, Dawn W said:

The original battalion arrived in Rouen (via Havre) and went to a rest camp outside Rouen - presumably a base depot?  They then moved by train to the frontline.  I'm assuming that train was possibly not an option in Apr 1915 and that this draft would have walked.  I'm surprised that no one was keeping tabs on which draft was moving where and when.

 

 

1/KRRC was with 2nd Division, who seem to have been around Neuve Chapelle / Givenchy in April 1915. This is about 250km / 150mi by foot from Le Havre, assuming he went direct and didn't go via a base depot somewhere. Given this, I think "by train, at least most of the way" is the most likely answer for the 1915 draft, if it only took three days?

 

Andrew.

 

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I'm assuming that train was possibly not an option in Apr 1915 and that this draft would have walked. 

 

 

\Why?

 

 

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