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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

William Charles Caddock Evans - Military Foot Police 9841 & RA 70660


Thomas Jones

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1 hour ago, Provost said:

As you can see, we have yet another Regimental No to deal with - 265348.

 

The 6th Battalions of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers were part of the Territorial Force and so other ranks serving with them at the start of 1917 would have received a new six digit service number. At that stage there was only a 1/6th and 2/6th - the 6th Reserve was absorbed into the 4th Reserve in September 1916.

 

The number block allocated for use by the 6th Battalion ran from 265001 to 290000, so giving the relatively low number from that block that was issued to Charles it would tend to suggest he was 1/6th at that point.

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/royal-welsh-fusiliers/

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

 

Cheers,

Peter

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9 hours ago, Provost said:

yet another Regimental No to deal with - 265348.

Thanks Richard, thats great information from Corps Order Book!  If it wasn't for the p9841, I'd never know it was Charles Evans.  So he went into the 6th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers 20th April 1917. vSo is he an MFP in the 6th RWF?  I'm new to the workings MFP.  To be honest, never heard of it so this is a huge insight for me. From what I've read so far, MFP go in as L/Cpl? Would that be right? Best, Tom

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8 hours ago, PRC said:

Charles it would tend to suggest he was 1/6th at that point

Thanks Peter, that's vey detailed.  1/6th is another area for me to look up.  I wasn't aware that numbers changed so learnt a lot of things through Charles Evans. Cheers, Tom

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35 minutes ago, Thomas Jones said:

So is he an MFP in the 6th RWF?  I'm new to the workings MFP. 

 

The Military Foot Police are completely separate to the Regimental Police.

 

Tentatively it looks like he was with the 1/6th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers at the end of 1916 as he gets renumbered with a new six digit number - however some TF units allocated the numbers based on seniority rather than numbering everyone in the first battalion and then going on to the second battalion.

 

On the 20th April 1917 he transfers from a 6th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers into the Military Foot Police. That could be the 1/6th or the 2/6th.

If it's the 1/6th then he was out in France and so could have already been serving as part of the Regimental Police.

If it's 2/6th then possible he had been medically evacuated to the UK, (wounds \ accidentally injured \ illhealth) and on recovery had been posted to the 2/6th where an assessment would have been made about his fitness for front line service. It may have been at that point that a decision was made that the Military Foot Police was more appropriate.

 

Unfortunately in the absence of surviving records this is all guesswork - informed guesswork, but still guesswork :)

 

I'm still mystified as to why it's the Military Foot Police who issued his Silver War Badge although the date @Provost has so kindly provided would definately make sense of him appearing on the 1918 AVL with that regiment and service number.

 

Cheers,

Peter

 

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It looks as if he remained in the MFP from his transfer in 1917 (a number of men were transferred in as a result of injuries/wounds which would tie in with PRC's tentative identification as a possible casualty) until his 1919 discharge - hence his appearance in the SWB list along with other members of the Corps. His subsequent re-enlistment is not uncommon, as many soldiers from a variety of units re-joined for a 1 year period into the Corps as part of BAOR - it is less common for Military Policemen to join the Royal Navy.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard

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1 hour ago, Provost said:

His subsequent re-enlistment is not uncommon, as many soldiers from a variety of units re-joined for a 1 year period into the Corps as part of BAOR - it is less common for Military Policemen to join the Royal Navy.

 

Thank you again Richard for checking. I'd suggest a slightly different twist, given that the Labour Corps issued his service medals. Having seen out the war with the Military Foot Police and then honourably discharged on medical grounds in February 1919, he may have taken the bounty on offer to sign up with the Labour Corps, perhaps going back to France & Flanders for the messy job of clearing the battlefields. I don't know if a premium was paid to those in companys tasked with recovering the fallen, but given the high levels of unemployment at home, it may have seemed a lucrative alternative. His last unit prior to the issue of medals would therefore have been the Labour Corps, and makes for a more coherent interpretation of the available information.

 

When his time was up with the Labour Corps and with an uncertain job market, he may well have tried the Royal Navy as a way to give his family an income. Would be interesting to know if he crops up on the 1919 & 1920 Abesent Voter Lists and if so what unit is shown for him then.

 

Again - just informed speculation :)

 

Cheers,

Peter

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I've looked through the thread but probably haven't absorbed everything in it.

 

The AVL that he is in is the Autumn 1918 one. There aren't any subsequent AVL in existence that I know of.

 

Regarding the RWF numbers.

Separate documents give his battalion as 6th.

One gives 2831.

2832/265940 Owen Isaac Roberts 6th RWF enlisted 17 11 1914. A number of others around his number correspond to around this date.

Charles Evans' SWB Roll shows enlisted 17 1 1914. Either he served with someone else prior to the 6th RWF. Or a typo in the SWB Roll? January 1914 enlisments in 6th RWF would have numbers 10xx

 

The other document gives 265348. This presents a problem. In 6th RWF 1292/265348 is Leonard George Griffith. He has records showing these numbers. He enlisted 8 8 1914.

 

So.

2826/265937 Robert John Lewis

 

2831    Charles Evans

 

2832/265940 Owen Isaac Roberts.

I cannot readily account for 265938 or 265939 so I'd have put Charles Evans down for one of these.

 

 

 

 

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34 minutes ago, PRC said:

be interesting to know if he crops up on the 1919 & 1920 Absent Voter Lists and if so what unit is shown for him then

This is all amazing information for us. 

Thank you all for your input into Charles Evans and his many many regimental numbers :D  There's a lot to put together for him. Very Best, Tom

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On 30/03/2021 at 20:43, Thomas Jones said:

Thanks Richard, thats great information from Corps Order Book!  If it wasn't for the p9841, I'd never know it was Charles Evans.  So he went into the 6th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers 20th April 1917. vSo is he an MFP in the 6th RWF?  I'm new to the workings MFP.  To be honest, never heard of it so this is a huge insight for me. From what I've read so far, MFP go in as L/Cpl? Would that be right? Best, Tom

Hi Tom,

 

He was transferred as a Private, but was made up to an unpaid Lance Corporal - this gave him a higher rank than most of the people he would be dealing with. The next step would be paid Lance Corporal, and then on to Corporal (unpaid and paid). Today, once you pass out in the RMP, you are a Lance Corporal.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard 

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