2/Lieut Leonard Charles Garment, Kia 21/3/18, 10th Bn Lancashire Fusiliers

[Old Owl]

Hi All,

 

I am looking for some biographical details relating to the above officer, Leonard Charles Garment, who came from St.Albans, Hertfordshire. and was age 21 when killed.  His younger brother Claude Henry Garment was also killed on 31/7/17, age 19, with the Hertfordshire Regt.

 

I have found them both in the WW1 National Roll for Luton, but the details are thin and probably wrong because their entries each show them being entitled to the 1914/15 Star which I believe in each case to be wrong.

 

I am hoping that there may be some more detailed information in the local newspaper but I am unable to access this source.

 

Any help much appreciated--fingers crossed.

 

TIA,  Robert

[PRC]

As you are probably aware, the additional information on the CWGC for Leonard is that he was the “Son of William and Annie Elizabeth Garment, of 37, Bernard St., St. Albans, Herts”

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1558034/LEONARD CHARLES GARMENT/

 

The same family information is shown against Private 266542 Claude Henry.

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/930469/CLAUDE HENRY GARMENT/

 

The birth of a Leonard Charles Garment was registered with the Civil Authorities in the St Albans District in the July to September quarter, (Q3), of 1896.

 

The birth of a Claude Henry Garment was registered with the Civil Authorities in the St Albans District in the April to June quarter, (Q2), of 1898.

 

The most likely marriage of their parents occurred in the St Albans District in the October to December quarter, (Q4), of 1893. This was when a William Garment married an Annie Elizabeth Potten.

 

The baptism of a Leonard Charles, born 30th August 1896, Claude Henry, born 14th March 1898, Thomas William, born 26th February 1894 and Kenneth Potten, no date of birth recorded, took place at St Albans Abbey on the 24th November 1901. Parents were William, a Painter, and Annie Elizabeth. The family lived at Bernard Street, St. Peter’s Parish.

https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5b1cf0c5f493fd967eca08ff/leonard-charles-garment-baptism-hertfordshire-st-albans-1901-11-24?locale=en

https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5b1cf0c5f493fd967eca0908/claude-henry-garment-baptism-hertfordshire-st-albans-1901-11-24?locale=en

https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5b1cf0c5f493fd967eca08f6/thomas-william-garment-baptism-hertfordshire-st-albans-1901-11-24?locale=en

https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5b1cf0c6f493fd967eca0911/kenneth-potten-garment-baptism-hertfordshire-st-albans-1901-11-24?locale=en

 

On the 1901 Census of England and Wales the 4 year old Leonard C. and the 3 year old Claude H., both born St Albans, were already living at 37 St. Bernard Street. This was the household of parents William, (aged 32, working as a Painter, born Tring, Hertfordshire) and Annie E?, (aged 32, born Aldenham, Hertfordshire). The couple also have a 7 year old William T, born St Albans.

 

(The birth of a William Thomas Garment was registed in the St Albans District in Q1 1894)

 

By the time the 1911 Census of England & Wales was taken on the 2nd April 1911, parents William, (42, House Painter) and Annie E. P., (42, now shown as born Caldicot Hill), state they have been married 18 years and have had 5 children, all then still alive. All five were also still living with them and shown as born St. Albans.

William T…….aged 17….Milkman

Leonard C……aged 14….Jewellers Assistant

Claude H……..aged 13

Kenneth P…….aged 9

Lilian G………aged 7

 

(The birth of a Kenneth Potten Garment was registered in the St Albans District Q3 1901.

The birth of a Lilian Grace Garment was registered in the St Albans District Q4 1903.)

 

The Medal Index Card for Second Lieutenant Leonard Charles Garment, 10th Lancashire Fusiliers, shows him originally as Acting Serjeant 4974 Hampshire Regiment.

The card itself also shows his 1917 TF renumbering as 206612, (or possibly 206672 !)

He is not however shown as going overseas until the 22nd August 1917.

There is no commissioning date shown on the MiC

As an officer his medals had to be applied for – in this case by his mother in February 1922. She gives her address then as 37 Bernard Street, St. Albans.

Entitlement was the Victory Medal and British War Medal – reflective that he hadn’t served in a Theatre of War until on or after the 1st January 1916.

 

An officer cadet, he was gazetted as a temporary Second Lieutenant into the Regular Forces, Lancashire Fusiliers, with effect from the 26th April 1917.

(Supplement to the London Gazette, 21 May, 1917).

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30082/supplement/4930/data.pdf

 

The 1918 Probate Calendar records that Leonard Charles Garment of 37 Bernard Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, a temporary Second Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, died 21 March 1918 in France. Administration was granted at the London Court on the 30th August 1918 to William Garment, decorator. The effects were valued at £189 8s 10d.

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Garment&yearOfDeath=1918&page=1#calendar

(He was probably on the establishment of the 3rd Battalion, attached 10th Battalion).

 

The Medal Index Card for Private Claude Henry Garment shows him originally as 4830 Hertfordshire Regiment and then again probably a Territorial Force renumbering at the start of 1917 to the Bedfordshire Regiment 266542, (possibly should be the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment?). Entitlement is Victory Medal and British War Medal only.

 

The Government Probate Service holds a soldiers will for 266542 Claude Henry Garment who died 31 July 1917. May not say more than I leave everything to my mother\father, and that bit may even be typed, the quality may be low and it will cost you £1.50 but at least it should have his signature on it.

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Wills?Surname=Garment&SurnameGrants=Garment&YearOfDeath=1917&YearOfDeathGrants=1917&IsGrantSearch=False&IsCalendarSearch=False#soldiers

 

Hope that gets you started,

Peter

Edited 14 January , 2021 by PRC
Typos

[Old Owl]

Many thanks Peter for your efforts--very impressive and very comprehensive.

 

Hopefully I can now build on these details--I have been told that there are service papers available for Leonard Charles. so I shall have to try and track down these in the hope that they may clarify his o/r service prior to him being commissioned.

 

Many thanks for your assistance,

 

Robert

[PRC]

1 hour ago, Old Owl said:

I have been told that there are service papers available for Leonard Charles.

 

Sorry - forgot to include link to the officer file at the National Archive.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1139653

Strangely he is listed as Captain Leonard Charles Garment, Lancashire Fusiliers.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1139653

 

As with all officer files you'd need to visit Kew to see it or arrange for a copy to be taken, but under the current lockdown it may be sometime before either option is available.

 

Both Leonard and Claude look to have been renumbered as part of the Territorial Force renumbering at the start of 1917.

Leonard became either 206612 or 206672 in the Hampshire Regiment. The number block 200001 to 240000 was allocated to the 4th Battalions of the Hampshire Regiment.

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/renumbering-of-the-territorial-force-in-1917/renumbering-the-tf-infantry-in-1917/

At that point it was the 1/4th (in Mesopotamia), 2/4th (in Palestine) and the 4th Reserve. However struggling to see how those units would have provided over 6,000 men to be renumbered, even allowing for men who were still then officially missing or known to be prisoners of war.

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/hampshire-regiment/

 

Claude became 266542 Bedfordshire Regiment. The number block 265001 to 290000 was allocated to the 1st Battalions of the Hertfordshire Regiment, (part of the) Bedfordshire Regiment.

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/renumbering-of-the-territorial-force-in-1917/renumbering-the-tf-infantry-in-1917/

At that point in time there was a 1/1st, a 2/1st, a 3/1st and a 4/1st Battalion.

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/hertfordshire-regiment/

 

Both Leonard and Claude have entries in the National Roll of Honour. This was a commercial publication which invited submissions from servicemen, or in the case of those who had made the supreme sacrifice, from family and friends. No vetting seems to have taken place, so the contents need to be validated from other sources. This may however be the source of the information that they were both entitled to the 1914/15 Star.

 

GARMENT, C.H., Pte., 1st Hertfordshire Regt.

He volunteered in April 1915, and in the same year was drafted to the Western Front, where he saw considerable service. He was in action at Ypres and the Somme, and was wounded. After his recovery, he took part in an engagement at St. Julien, where he was killed on July 31st, 1917. He was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, and the General Service and Victory Medals.

37, Bernard Street, St. Albans.

 

GARMENT, L.C., 2nd Lieutenant, A/Captain.

Hertfordshire Regiment & Lancashire Fusiliers.

He volunteered in May 1915, and in the same year was drafted to France, where he saw much heavy fighting. He took part in the Battle of Ypres, the Somme and Arras, and was wounded. After his recovery he fought at St. Quentin, and was killed in action on March 21st, 1918. He was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, and the General Service and Victory Medals.

37, Bernard Street, St. Albans.

 

So did the clerks make a mistake with Leonards unit on the MiC. Should he have been "Herts" rather than "Hants" Regiment. The 1917 Service number would certainly make a bit more sense. But I tried various combinations and could not find a second MiC for either man covering the award of the 1914/15 Star. Some parts of some record offices did do a separate card for each medal roll, and usually those for the 1914 Star and the 1914/15 Star have just initials plus surname, but that doesn't appear to apply in this case.  Looking at the entries on the National Roll, the dates of enlistment for both of them means they missed the 2nd Battle of Ypres, and while there were local actions around the Ypres salient, there were no set piece battles there until Messines, Vimy and Passchendaele in 1917.

 

So something not quite right, but I don't know if the entries in the National Roll are part wishful thinking or whether there is an evidence source I am missing,

 

Peter

[Old Owl]

Hi Peter,

 

Many thanks again for all your efforts to solve the several anomalies which appear to exist in their records.

 

Like yourself I suspect that the entry 'Hants' should probably read 'Herts' as it would appear to be somewhat illogical for a young man in St Albans to enlist into a Territorial battalion of the Hampshire Regt., based in Winchester, unless of course he was working there at that time. I also suspect that the entries in the National Roll were to a degree generic, based on 'given' details which may have been open to misinterpretation. It is also probably unlikely that if these two enlisted in April and May,1915, that they would have been sent overseas during 1915--more probably the early part of 1916, would seem to fit better? I cannot imagine that they both would have been left off the roll for the 14/15 Star, particularly as they appear to have enlisted at slightly different times.

 

The 'Hants' entry on his MIC appears to have been added later, possibly because someone has queried the lack of a 1914/15 Star shown on the card. Someone has then managed to confirm from other records that he had no overseas service as an o/r. His date of proceeding overseas in August, 1917, would fit in quite well with his commission date in April,1917.

 

Indeed clerks did make errors occasionally--but the same, or similar errors on each brother is unlikely.  The surname is very uncommon with this surname being recorded only 4 times on CWGC registers for WW1.

 

I suppose that a newspaper article on either, or both brothers, may clarify their service details more accurately.

 

Many thanks again for all your assistance,

 

Best,  Robert

 

 

[Guest]

I hope you don’t mind me intruding on this, but Leonard Charles Garment is my husband’s great grand-uncle. I’m afraid I can’t offer much more information, but can confirm that all the family details set out above are indeed correct. 

Edited 18 May , 2021 by Little Bee
Repeating

[PRC]

Hi @Little Bee and welcome to the forum.

 

Always good to know that what I have found isn't just a whole lot of co-incidences - the perennial danger of genealogy!

 

Cheers,

Peter

[A Lancashire Fusilier by Proxy]

On 18/05/2021 at 21:07, Little Bee said:

Leonard Charles Garment is my husband’s great grand-uncle

Welcome to the Forum, Little Bee.

Claude Henry Garment, as the brother of Leonard Charles Garment, must also be your husband's great grand-uncle.

Currently, digitised Battalion War Diaries are free to download from the National Archives Discovery website if you register an account with them. The references for the War Diaries covering the battalions and periods of the Garments' deaths are WO-95-2012-1 (Leonard Charles, with the 10th Lancashire Fusiliers, the relevant page being 125) and WO-95-2590-2 (Claude Henry with the 1st Hertfordshires, the relevant pages being 6 to 8). You should be aware, however, that in neither of the War Diaries are the men mentioned by name when they were killed. Privates are very rarely mentiioned by name in the Diaries, while officers are often mentioned by name on the occasion of their death, but not in Leonard Charles' case, I am afraid. I have not looked through the earlier part of the 10th LF War Diary, but it is possible that he may be mentioned by name somewhere, for example when he joined the Battalion.

Leonard Charles died on the first day of the German Spring Offensive (21 March 1918). The description of that day's action involving the 10th LF in the regimental history, The History of the Lancashire Fusiliers 1914-1918 by Major General J.C. Latter, reads as follows:

At 8.15 a.m. on 21st March the battalion reported that it was being subjected to a very heavy trench-mortar and artillery bombardment, particularly on Hughes Trench. At about 9.30 a.m., as elsewhere, the German infantry advanced, attacking in this area on a front of 1,500 yards. In six consecutive waves they came, but each line was repulsed with heavy loss except in a stretch of about two hundred yards of Hughes trench held by "A" Company, where the enemy succeeded in gaining a foothold. Lieutenant-Colonel Torrens proposed to restore the line by means of a counter-attack, but was forbidden to do so by the Divisional Commander as it was not the policy to lose men in fighting to retain the forward trenches. The battalion nevertheless had the consolation of capturing a light German trench-mortar and securing an identification from a dead soldier of the 242nd Reserve Infantry Regiment.The situation remained unchanged during the afternoon and evening, though heavy shelling continued ...

Claude Henry died on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July 1917)

[Guest]

Thank you for sharing this, really interesting to read - I will register with the National Archives Discovery website to see more. My great grandfather died in July 1917 in Mesopotamia - he was in the Royal Field Artillery 222nd Brigade so will look for their war diaries as well. Thanks again!

[mandy hall]

@Little Beewelcome to the forum.

If you struggle to find the War Diary for your great grandfather, start a new thread requesting help to find it on The National Archives site and someone will come along with the answer.

War Diaries are not always easy to find on National Archives, especially for regiments like Royal Field Artillery.

 

Mandy