Labour Corps info

[charliec]

I have just discovered my Grandfathers discharge document from the Labour Corps in 1919.

It appears he was attached to 646 Agricultural Company and his number was 544548.

 

I have previously posted for info about him possibly being gassed in Salonika after transferring from France with the Royal Engineers,, number 90176.

I'm now presuming he was declared unfit for normal service and therefore was transferred to Labour Corps?

 

Does anyone have knowledge of where these units were stationed or attached to, replies much appreciated

Thanks in advance

 

Charlie

[Matlock1418]

24 minutes ago, charliec said:

Does anyone have knowledge of where these units were stationed or attached to, replies much appreciated

For the Labour Corps.

Starling & Lee's "No Labour, No Battle" is probably the best general source on the Labour Corps and makes some references to Agricultural Companies and such activities I seem to recall.

:-) M

 

P.S. If you still want more specific info on your GF it is probably best put/kept on your other thread

 

 

Edited 23 February , 2021 by Matlock1418
typo

[Gardenerbill]

Due to difficulties with supply, the British Salonika Force began growing a lot of it's own food, so as it's an agricultural company you are interested in, there are two possibilities. First, extensive market gardening was carried out around the city of Salonika and secondly hay making to supply the huge numbers of horses and mules was carried out in the lower Struma valley. There may be other possibilities that I am not aware of. To find out more you would need to start by searching the Army and Corps HQ war diaries for references to Labour Corps units. Unfortunately the Salonika war diaries have not been digitised so this would entail trips to the National Archives at Kew when it re-opens.    

Edited 23 February , 2021 by Gardenerbill
Information not relevant (see below)

[FROGSMILE]

646 Agricultural Company (AC) was raised directly (as opposed to converted from an Employment Company (EC)) in Autumn 1917 for employment on the farms around Oxford.  As with all the Labour Corps discrete Agricultural Companies it was a Home Service unit operating in Britain and Ireland only.  The other AC operating in that area was 396.

 

It seems likely that your Grandfather was downgraded at some point and posted to the Labour Corps (LC) and an AC.  Prior to the autumn of 1917 LC units had been posted to support existing, non LC ACs just for the period of harvesting, and then returned to their other duties.  In Autumn 1917 existing AC were all absorbed by the LC, some LC EC converted, and new units created, in order to form a permanently dedicated force.  I suspect this was in part to counter some of the effects of the trans-Atlantic U-Boat war then raging.

 

Information from notes courtesy of Lt Col (Retd) John Starling, a former colleague.

Edited 23 February , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[Gardenerbill]

As Frogsmile says 646 were home service, should have checked my copy of 'No Labour No Battle' before posting.

[charliec]

Thanks to all

 

The Oxfordshire posting info fits the bill as on his discharge document there is an address for Nuneham Coutney, Oxfordshire.

I presumed this was his discharge address, but could well have been living there whilst in service?

He was born & raised in Garsington, Oxfordshire, so would have known the area very well.

Would like to find a casualty list to prove he left the RE as unfit and transferred to LC

[FROGSMILE]

17 hours ago, charliec said:

Thanks to all

 

The Oxfordshire posting info fits the bill as on his discharge document there is an address for Nuneham Coutney, Oxfordshire.

I presumed this was his discharge address, but could well have been living there whilst in service?

He was born & raised in Garsington, Oxfordshire, so would have known the area very well.

Would like to find a casualty list to prove he left the RE as unfit and transferred to LC

It’s unlikely that he would have been allowed to live at home Charlie.  Instead he would have been travelling around with his company from farm to farm and then returning to allocated accommodation with his comrades each evening.  He would have been allowed home on leave though. 
Only a very few specimen casualty records have survived.  Your best bet to find any details of his wounding or sickness and evacuation would be a local newspaper report.

Edited 24 February , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[charliec]

I didn't presume him to be living at home either, but he would have been very familiar with the area and a bonus of not having to travel far for any leave entitlement.

Thanks again.

[FROGSMILE]

17 minutes ago, charliec said:

I didn't presume him to be living at home either, but he would have been very familiar with the area and a bonus of not having to travel far for any leave entitlement.

Thanks again.

You posed the words “living there whilst in service” as a question, so I thought not unreasonably that that’s what you’d meant Charlie.  Good luck with your research.

Edited 24 February , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[charliec]

Hi again, sorry for not explaining myself clearly, but what I meant was that the Nuneham Courtney address was possibly the one he was residing at when discharged and maybe also when on leave, as his home address with Parents  was originally Garsington. I need to look at 1921 Census (when available) to see where he was just after the war.