Guest michael_ingram Posted 2 March , 2005 Share Posted 2 March , 2005 There is a fragment of a document in my father's army records headed IV Descriptive Report on Enlistment which mentions Tonbridge Wells and the date Dec 26 1914. I am assuming that he was sent to a camp at Tonbridge Wells. Does anyone have any information about the camp. He had enlisted in the Royal Engineers? I have attached a photo of an army camp dating from that time on Tonbridge Wells Common Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 2 March , 2005 Share Posted 2 March , 2005 I would imagine this was the location of a pre-war Territorial camp, namely one of the Kent Fortress Bttn, RE, and obviously pressed into service as a more permanent camp following the outbreak of war when the need to train volunteers etc arose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Maier Posted 2 March , 2005 Share Posted 2 March , 2005 That should be Tunbridge Wells. The location in the photograph looks like the lower cricket ground with Mount Ephraim in the background. I believe it was often used as a camp site during the war, by a variety of units. Your father could have been in the Kent (Fortress) Royal Engineers. This was a territorial unit set up in 1907-8. It consisted initially of five companies established at Tonbridge, Ashford and Chatham. A sixth company was raised in Southborough in 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westkent78 Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 That should be Tunbridge Wells. The location in the photograph looks like the lower cricket ground with Mount Ephraim in the background. I believe it was often used as a camp site during the war, by a variety of units. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You learn something new every day. I'd been blissfully unaware of this particular site's history when I grew up playing cricket there in the 80's. It's amazing how little the scene has changed in 80 years (minus the tents etc. of course) Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Heyvaert Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 I'm completely unfamiliar with this region, but I wondered if there is a lot of gardening going on in the area of Tunbridge Wells? Many British gardeners who worked in Belgium for the IWGC after the war seem to have come from the region Tunbridge-Wells... Sorry to hijack the original thread... regards, Bert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Maier Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 Bert, Tunbridge Wells was and is a town set in the countryside, but not more so than many other places. I am not aware of any specific connection between the town and gardening in general or IWGC in particular. Have you got any more you can tell us about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Heyvaert Posted 12 April , 2005 Share Posted 12 April , 2005 I checked my data again, and there aren't as many as I thought. 10 gardeners out of a total of around 500 to live in Ieper between the wars. This is still the largest concentration after London though. I have no idea if there is a reason for this, or if it is just coincidence. Maybe they spreaded the word in Tunbridge? They all seem to have arrived in early 1920's, some stayed till 1940, some left after a few years. A Thomas Goodwin from 'Newson's avenue (?), Tunbridge Wells' died in Ieper in 1929, and I believe he is buried in the Ieper town cemetery extension. Most gardeners seem to have come from around the south of England though. And given the fact that the Buff's -a kentish regiment- association had a pretty strong branch in Ieper beween the war, quite a few must have come from Kent (I do have the names of the villages they came from, but mostly I can't match them up with a specific region). regards, Bert p.s. Tunbridge Wells is in Kent if i'm not mistaken? Having only spent a day trip Belgium-boat-Canterbury-boat-Belgium' I haven't seen much of kent, but isn't it called 'the garden of England'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 12 April , 2005 Share Posted 12 April , 2005 Can everyone else see the photo? Perhaps it's something to do with my settings, but I can't get the picture to load. This happens to me quite frequently since the big changes recently. Sometimes they are there, sometimes not. I'm interested in this thread as the 9th King's were in training at Tunbridge Wells from Dec 1914 until they left for France in March 1915. Any ideas, Chris? Regards, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark A Posted 12 April , 2005 Share Posted 12 April , 2005 I can't see it either... but would love to. One of my earliest memories is my dad bowling tennis balls at me at that ground. He was captain of the club seconds... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westkent78 Posted 19 April , 2005 Share Posted 19 April , 2005 Can everyone else see the photo? Perhaps it's something to do with my settings, but I can't get the picture to load. This happens to me quite frequently since the big changes recently. Sometimes they are there, sometimes not. I'm interested in this thread as the 9th King's were in training at Tunbridge Wells from Dec 1914 until they left for France in March 1915. Any ideas, Chris? Regards, Ken <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ken, No, I can't see the photo either now. Seems that the ether has taken it. Wish I'd saved a copy. Bert, Yes, Tunbridge Wells is in West Kent, on the border with East Sussex. (Although the cricket team I used to play for actually has half of its pitches in Kent and half in Sussex!- not the one in the vanished photo) Kent is known as the "Garden of England" as a result of its long association with apple orchards and hop farms. I'm afraid I don't know why there would be such a grouping of gardeners, other than geographic proximity to Flanders might preclude those from outside the South East of England from taking these positions. Kent does have a fairly strong village tradition of gardening, but I would expect that to be the case in most rural areas of the UK. If you like I could have a go at matching up your village list with regions etc. Either pm me or post them here and I'm sure you'll get other willing volunteers. Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ste Posted 19 April , 2005 Share Posted 19 April , 2005 I can't see the photo either. I'm also interested in Tunbridge Wells because the 1/5 South Lancs were based there from October 1914 until departing for France on 14th February 1915, largely billeted in empty houses. Many of the potrait photos that subsequently appeared in the local press were taken at studios in Tuinbridge Wells. The officers and men wax lyrical in letters home about the beauty of the place in contrast to their native St Helens and surrounds. Cheers, Ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Maier Posted 19 April , 2005 Share Posted 19 April , 2005 I think the photograph has fallen victim to the rebuild of the forum but you can still see it in the archived version of the original site here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 19 April , 2005 Share Posted 19 April , 2005 Here is the photo again: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ste Posted 19 April , 2005 Share Posted 19 April , 2005 That's great, thanks Ken. I'll be posting some questions about Tunbridge Wells in late 14 early 15 in the next couple of weeks. I need some more context for writing about the 1/5 South Lancs stay there. Cheers, Ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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