InkyBill Posted 12 June , 2003 Share Posted 12 June , 2003 Hello there I have found a man S. Smith (no. 42230) killed 3/9/16 and buried at Caterpillar Valley. The CWGC lists him as being part of 1st Bn MGC, i thought that the MGC was not formed into battalions until 1918. Is this a mistake ? Can anyone explain ? Cheers Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 12 June , 2003 Share Posted 12 June , 2003 If I remember rightly the MGC were formed in 1915, so I presume they had battalions very early on. Paul Reed is involved with the MGC OCA (my membership has run out, blast!) and I'm sure he, for one, will know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 12 June , 2003 Share Posted 12 June , 2003 Interesting. Main site says 1st Bn MGC were formed in March 1918 Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Parker Posted 12 June , 2003 Share Posted 12 June , 2003 Bill I have found exactly the same thing as yourself. When I cross reference headstones that I've photographed with the CWGC to get individuals unit number, it frequently brings up such and such battalion, when they died in '16 or '17 and it should be such and such Company. I always assumed it was an error that occurred after the war when the records were created and mg battalions were then in existance. Lets see if someone's got a more sensible answer. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 12 June , 2003 Share Posted 12 June , 2003 Remember information in the CWGC registers was supplied by the Next of Kin, and not taken from Army records, so there are often many mistakes. With MGC men 'battalion' is often used for company and vice versa; I suspect your man were 1st Company MGC, which was part of 1st Brigade, 1st Division. They were fighting around High Wood in September 1916, so that fits in with the location of where he is buried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 12 June , 2003 Share Posted 12 June , 2003 This is a common problem with the MGC; it can make it difficult ascribing units. In simple terms - as per earlier posts - MGC Battalions formed (generally) in February and March 1918 when the Brigade MG Coys were centralised as Battalions and took the number of the Division in which they served. 1 Bn MGC - the Divisional MG Bn of the 1st Division - was indeed formed on 28 Feb 18. Thus, more likely to be a casualty from 1 Coy, formed 26 Jan 16 in F&F. I put it down to 'clerical error'. Conversely - seeing gravestones named to men of 'xx Coy, MGC' with post-Mar 18 dates are similarly wrong, as numbered companies translated to letters A, B, C etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InkyBill Posted 13 June , 2003 Author Share Posted 13 June , 2003 Thanks to all who responded to my question, with all of your help it looks like we have got to the bottom of it. Thanks Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now