Lance Corporal Ernest Bunce 70098 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry d/w 18th November 1917

[AndrewFrench]

On Armistice Day 2020 and to commemorate the death of Lance Corporal Ernest Bunce 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry and to supplement the research carried out by a member of 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron,

 

Ernest Edward Bunce 2^nd son of Mr & Mrs W.R. Bunce of The Laurels, Burghfield Common, Near Reading, Berks. Born and lived in Burghfield Berks, enlisted Reading aged approx. 22 years.

 

On Mobilisation on August 5th 1914 the Berks Yeomanry quickly filled up to its war establishment mostly with former members re-joining.  Potential recruits kept applying though and a list of names was kept at Yeomanry House Reading, and when a reserve regiment of Berks Yeomanry was authorised in early September, the men on the waiting list were enlisted. 

We know from his original number that Ernest Bunce was taken on strength of the unit with a regimental number of 2072 on the 11th September 1914. Once attested, signed their Imperial Service obligations and kitted out at Yeomanry House, men were issued with a railway warrant and instructed to report to the Regimental Orderly Room at Churn Camp, where they would be posted to squadrons forthwith and start their recruit training. 

With each Squadron recruiting each from a different part of Berkshire, every effort was made to place men in the appropriate Squadron and Troop. It is highly probable that Pte Bunce was posted into the B (Reading) Squadron and quite probable in the 4th Troop (most men in this troop came from the Englefield, Pangbourne, Theale, Tidmarsh, etc areas).  Meanwhile the Berkshire Yeomanry was training hard for overseas service.

 

I will post more tomorrow . . . .

 

 

Edited 11 November , 2020 by AndrewFrench
spelling errors

[AndrewFrench]

The next sight we have of Ernest Bunce is from Roll of Honour on page 5 published in the Reading Standard of the 26th September albeit a rather random selection of both men newly recruited and others having served for several years.  It is a pity we do not have a Burghfield Roll of Honour for 1914 or more details of the Bunce family from the 1911 Census. We know from the Kelly's Directory for Berkshire of 1915 that Ernest's father William Robert Bunce owned and ran a grocery business in Burghfield. We have no known image of Ernest, but should we find one of his brother(s) we might make a might and identification through brotherly similarity. 

There are several Bunce's pictured in "Berkshire and the War". - oh for a copy of the 1911 Census

 

 

If we were to take a guess as to which Troop of B Squdron he served in it would be No.4

 

No.4 Troop - B (Reading) Squadron - probably one of these men is Trooper E.E. Bunce 2072

 

Next mention of Tpr E.E. Bunce is his leaving the UK from Avonmouth on 8th April 1915 on the HMT Menominee and disembarking at Alexandria on 21st April 1915.

 

Thanks to WO2 Dalgleish for starting this subject

 

More to follow tomorrow . . . .

 

 

 

[PRC]

On 11/11/2020 at 20:59, AndrewFrench said:

signed their Imperial Service obligations

 

That was normally pre-war. The declaration signed in the early months of the war was that:-

“subject to the conditions stated overleaf, to accept liability, in the event of national emergency, to serve in any place outside the United Kingdom, …..”

It is possible that a man could sign up for Imperial Service only at that time - I've just never come across it

 

48 minutes ago, AndrewFrench said:

or more details of the Bunce family from the 1911 Census.

 

Soldiers Died in the Great War records him as born and resident Burghfield, Berkshire.

 

The birth of an Ernest Edward Bunce was registered with the Civil Authorities in the Bradfield District of Berkshire in the April to June quarter, (Q2), of 1892 – making him 25 when he died. The Bradfield Civil Registration District included the civil parish of Burghfield. It looks like he has a twin sister Elsie Sophia – her entry shows the mothers’ maiden name as Brown.

 

On the 1901 Census of England & Wales the 9 year old Ernest E. Bunce, born Burghfield, was recorded living at The Common Shop, Common, Burghfield. This was the household of his parents William R., (aged 44, a Grocer, born Tilehurst, Berkshire), and Ellen E., (aged 33, born Reading). As well as Ernest their other children living with them are:-

William A….aged 15….born Burghfield…Grocers assistant

Ethel M…….aged 10….born Burghfield

Elsie S………aged 9…..born Burghfield

Arthur J…….aged 3……born Burghfield

Hubert….aged 9 months…born Burghfield

Also in the household is William R’s sister in law, (and presumably Ellens’ sister), the 22 year old unmarried Mary Brown, a mothers help, born Goring, Oxfordshire.

 

By the time of the 1911 Census of England & Wales the family are simply recorded living at Burghfield Common, Burghfield. Father William Robert, (54, Shopkeeper & farmer) and mother Ellen Elizabeth, (43, Assisting in business), have been married 22 years and have had 8 children, of which 6 were then still alive.  Five of those children were still living with them, including the 19 year old Ernest Edward, (Assisting on Farm) and his twin Elsie Sophia, (19, Assisting in home), along with Arthur John, (13), Hubert, (10) and new addition Kathleen Emma, (8, born Burghfield). Completing the household was William Roberts’ mother-in-law Mary Ann Cane, (82, born Burghfield).

 

No obvious Soldiers Will or Civil Probate for Ernest Edward.

 

A quick look on FMP for military records for surname “Bunce” associated with Burghfield brings up one possible family member:

 

Hubert Bunce: RAF service record - 142967. Born 5th June 1900 at Burghfield. Enlisted 13th April 1918. Next of kin was father William Robert Bunce of The Laurels, Burghfield Common.

 

Hope that helps,

Peter

[AndrewFrench]

The next sight we have of Ernest Bunce is from Roll of Honour on page 5 published in the Reading Standard of the 26th September albeit a rather random selection of both men newly recruited and others having served for several years.  It is a pity we do not have a Burghfield Roll of Honour for 1914 or more details of the Bunce family from the 1911 Census. We know from the Kelly's Directory for Berkshire of 1915 that Ernest's father William Robert Bunce owned and ran a grocery business in Burghfield. We have no known image of Ernest, but should we find one of his brother(s) we might make a might and identification through brotherly similarity. 

There are several Bunce's pictured in "Berkshire and the War". - oh for a copy of the 1911 Census

 

 

If we were to take a guess as to which Troop of B Squdron he served in it would be No.4

 

No.4 Troop - B (Reading) Squadron - probably one of these men is Trooper E.E. Bunce 2072

 

Next mention of Tpr E.E. Bunce is his leaving the UK from Avonmouth on 8th April 1915 on the HMT Menominee and disembarking at Alexandria on 21st April 1915.

 

Thanks to WO2 Dalgleish for starting this subject

 

More to follow tomorrow . . . .

 

Many thanks Peter

That's all very helpful.

 

IN regard to the Imperial Service Obligations - after the return was sent to the War Office around the 21st August that at least 80% of the strength of the Regiment was willing to serve overseas. However no ISOs were filled in and signed between the 12th and 13th October. We have about thirty or so men serving with the regiment whose records show this. Once the regiment was filled up to war establishment recruiting ceased until the 8th September, by which time the reserve regiment was authorised. From then all recruits were enlisted and attested from Yeomanry House Reading. These men at the same time signed their ISO. The adverts put in the papers refers - see below

RECRUITS  wanted  AT ONCE  for this  Regiment.   ..Must be  good riders, accustomed to Service rifle, and willing to  go  on  Foreign  Service. Those with previous  mounted  experience preferred.  Age 17-35. - Apply O.C. Depot  Berkshire Yeomanry, Yeomanry House, Reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In regard to family detail that's very informative. I will now see if I can find a photograph of his older brother. Once again many thanks.

 

Andrew

 

 

 

[PRC]

22 minutes ago, AndrewFrench said:

However no ISOs were filled in and signed between the 12th and 13th October. We have about thirty or so men serving with the regiment whose records show this. Once the regiment was filled up to war establishment recruiting ceased until the 8th September, by which time the reserve regiment was authorised. From then all recruits were enlisted and attested from Yeomanry House Reading. These men at the same time signed their ISO. The adverts put in the papers refers - see below

RECRUITS  wanted  AT ONCE  for this  Regiment.   ..Must be  good riders, accustomed to Service rifle, and willing to  go  on  Foreign  Service. Those with previous  mounted  experience preferred.  Age 17-35. - Apply O.C. Depot  Berkshire Yeomanry, Yeomanry House, Reading.

 

Andrew,

 

Possibly we are talking at cross-purposes. They were signing a declaration that they were willing to go, as the newspaper says and as I quoted above, on Foreign Service, i.e. any place outside the United Kingdom.

 

That is a very much wider obligation than Imperial Service, covering as it does potentially the likes of France, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, Turkey, etc, etc.

 

However the declarations I'm used to seeing are those signed by pre-war Territorials of the Norfolk Regiment and the Norfolk Yeomanry, although given the format I have always assumed these were standard pro-formas. The fact that I've not seen an Imperial Service only obligation signed after the declaration of war doesn't mean it didn't happen, so would be intrigued to know if there are examples with the Berkshire Yeomanry.

 

Cheers,

Peter

 

Edited 13 November , 2020 by PRC
Typo

[AndrewFrench]

Hi Peter I will put as example up on this posting for you tonight

 

In the meantime to continue Ernest Bunce's story

 

Having landed with the 1/1st Berks Yeomanry in Alexandria on 21st April 1915, the regiment was briefly encamped on the outskirts of the city before being sent to Kasr el Nil Barracks in the centre of Cairo in early May 1915, here to carry out garrison duties such as mounting guards on banks and embassies, escorting Turkish PoWs through Cairo and all the while looking after their horses.

 

In July the 2nd Mounted Brigade of which the Berks were a part swapped with the 3rd Mrd Brigade., and were sent to Abbassia Barracks outside the city to carry out training.

 

IN early August the regiment was warned that they would shortly be sent to Gallipoli as dismounted troops. This meant reorganisiing from three mounted Squadrons into two stronger dismounted squadrons with a weak squadron remaining at Abbassia to look after the regiment's horses. 

A Sqn became 1st Squadron

D Sqn became 2nd Squadron

B Sqn SHQ remained with the shoesmiths roughriders, unift men etc forming the stay behind party. The remainder of the men including Trooper EE Bunce were split between the 1st and 2nd Squadron - but we don't know which one Ernest was sent to.

 

On the 14th August they sailed from Alexandria and after trans-shipping at Mudros, landed at Suvla Bay on the 18th Aug with the rest of the Second MOuted Division (14 dismounted yeomanry regiments in all).

 

On the 20th they were warned that they would be involved in the forthcoming action on the 21st August. This is well documented so I won't repeat the details here, but suffice it to say Trooper Ernest Bunce came though unscathed. We know this as SQMS Radnor compiled a register for every man that was there in the regiment.

 

25th September 1915

FRONT LINE TRENCHES  

Routine

The regiment spent the day preparing to move into reserve War Diary

Medical

Pte Bunce E. E. 2072 Invalided to Egypt with Diarrhoea. Radnor register

 

 

Embarked Avonmouth	April 8th 1915	Unless otherwise shown
Disembarked Alexandria	April 21st 1915	Unless otherwise shown
Embarked Alexandria	August 14th  1915	Unless otherwise shown
Disembarked Suvla	August 18th 1915	Unless otherwise shown

 

2072

Bunce E. E.

Pte

Inv

25/09/1915

Invalided to Egypt - Diarrhoea.

-         Lived in Burghfield

 

 

 

I will post my final entry on Ernest tomorrow which will mark the 103rd anniversary of his death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AndrewFrench]

Please see form filled in by regiment for service overseas 

 

[AndrewFrench]

Now for the final post on Ernest Bunce

 

We left him evacuated to Egypt to recuperate in late September 1915. Until he became a casualty we have no further record of him except for his number change in early 1917 from 2072 to 70098

 

Evacuated from the Gallipoli theatre and returning to Egypt and brought back up to strength, the Regiment campaigned during the spring of 1916 against the Senussi tribe in the Western Desert, before moving to Upper Egypt for the rest of the year. In the early part of 1917 the Berkshire Yeomanry crossed the Suez Canal as part of the British advance on Jerusalem. After two unsuccessful battles in March and April when the British and their allies failed to evict the Turkish Army from Gaza, the British forces were reorganised under their new commander General Allenby.

The 3rd Battle of Gaza was a notable success and the subsequent battles culminated in the capture of Jerusalem in December 1917. The Berkshire Yeomanry were involved in two cavalry charges: first, at El Mughar on the 13th November and, secondly, two days later at Abu Shushe.  On both occasions the enemy were routed and in the ensuing action the Regiment as part of the Yeomanry Mounted Division fought tenaciously and held the line against a greatly superior Turkish counter attack.  They were relieved out of the line at the end of November.

 

We know the now Lance Corporal E.E. Bunce died wounds on the18th November and he could have been wounded on any of the previous days, with the 13th 14th or 15th being most probable. Whatever action caused his fatal wounds he will have been mourned by his comdades family and friends as we mourn him today. 

 

13^th November – Battle of El Mughar. 1no officer & nil O/Rs k/a plus an unknown number of wounded for the regiment but in A Squadron there were seven.

 

14^th November – advanced and made contact with enemy.  At 0930 the regiment moved off as advance guard to Brigade via BIR GHUZLAN towards ABU SHUSHEH but after crossing railway was unable to advance further owing to heavy machine gun fire. Sergt (A/SSM) Percy Bishop mortally wounded & 3 ORs wounded. Held night outpost line and watered horses at AKIR during the night. A very wearing and telling day. Regt War Diary

 

15^th November – Battle Abu Sushe. "We had to gallop for about a mile under heavy shell fire, within 4 or 500 yards of the village where we managed to find cover for the horses. Here we dismounted for action,.. well we got the order to advance; I thought that we should never reach the village; there seemed to be machine guns firing at us from everywhere; but the boys were fine. I have never seen such coolness.. the boys did not trouble to run, they just opened out and walked up to the village as though they were on parade." Corporal Fred Marshall - A Squadron. Casualties had been very low. Those of the 6th Mounted Brigade were 37. One Officer only being killed. Regimental casualties were Lance Corporal F.G. Embling and Pte H.W .Chislett killed[1] and 6 O/Rs wounded. Captain W.H. Thomas and Lieutenant A.W.M. Budgett, both of D Sqdn, and 1 O/R were slightly wounded but remained at duty. (Total 9)

 

16^th November - Regiment in bivouac at RAMLEH. Moved to Outpost Line at 1100 East of Ramleh. Regtl War Diary

 

17^th November  - At 1200 the Berks Yeomanry was relieved on the outpost line by the Bucks Yeo at 1200 and moved back to RAMLEH to bivouac. Regtl War Diary

 

18^th November – At Ramleh - 6^th Mtd Brigade remained in bivouac all day resting with Bucks Yeo on outpost line.

 

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[1]   One man killed in D Squadron, which must be FG Embling. The CWWG has HW Chislett as B Sqdn  WH Sear Diary