Help with identification please

[FROGSMILE]

From the VickersMGblog:

31st Brigade Machine Gun Company

A Machine Gun Company was attached to each Infantry Brigade and their subsequent Division.

Brigade attached to:31st Brigade

Division attached to:10th (Irish) Division

Formed from the Machine Gun Sections of:5th Bn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
6th Bn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
5th Bn. Royal Irish Fusiliers
6th Bn. Royal Irish Fusiliers

The 31st Bde. M.G. Coy. was formed on 11 May 1916 from the Machine Gun Sections of the listed infantry battalions.

As a unit of the 10th (Irish) Division during this period, it will have taken part in the following battles and engagements.

1917

On the 18th August the 10th Division received orders to concentrate at Salonika; embarkation began on the 1st September and the first units of the Division reached Ismailia on the 5th; on the 22nd the first units left Moascar for Rafah, and by the 8th October all the units (except R.A. Hd. Qrs., LXVII Bde., R.F.A., and the D.A.C.) had left Moascar for the front. On the 16th October the Division completed its assembly at Rafah; 10th Division then joined XX Corps.

01 to 07 NovemberThird Battle of Gaza [XX Corps].

06 NovemberCapture of the Sheria Positions [XX Corps].

09 DecemberCapture of Jerusalem [on left of XX Corps].

27 DecemberDefence of Jerusalem [XX Corps].

1918

08 to 12 MarchTell ‘Asur [XX Corps].

Between April and June the 10th Division was Indianised.

On 07 May 1918, it was amalgamated with the 29th and 30th Machine Gun Companies to form No. 10 Battalion, Machine Gun Corps.

See also:

1.https://salonikacampaignsociety.org.uk/bsf/xvi-corps/10th-division/

2.https://www.ciroca.org.uk/first-world-war-links/infantry-divisions-1914-18/10th-irish-division/

3.https://www.nickmetcalfe.co.uk/nicks-books/blackersboys/the-evolution-of-the-regular-and-service-battalions-of-princess-victorias-royal-irish-fusiliers-1914-1918/

NB.  The troops in Salonika suffered dreadfully from disease, especially Malaria, including the 10th (Irish) Division.  There should in theory be a surviving War Diary for the 31st Coy MGC, although the details recorded are usually quite matter of fact and impersonal, they will give a broad idea of what was going on and can be cross referenced with the superior [Brigade and Divisional] War Diaries.

Edited 12 December , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

53 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

There’s something else very odd underneath that’s only partially legible:

List HG2228 Patagonia(?) adm St David H, Malta, ex Ghain Luffalia Camp (?)

Yes spot on.

A few lines below it says "Adm. Dysentry?"

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said:

Yes spot on.

A few lines below it says "Adm. Dysentry?"

That makes perfect sense now as Dysentery is specifically mentioned as one of the categories treated at the St David Hospital.

There is a good recorded account of a man who followed a similar path in the infantry and MGC here: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/tahistory/11629946.amp/

Edited 12 December , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[Pat Atkins]

Għajn Tuffieħa is a location on Malta where there was a military presence (as almost everywhere out here). The Għ is silent, but the ħ in Tuffieħa is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative so is pronounced like a rather rasping h. I give thanks every day for the almost universal excellence of Maltese English... This is the military camp in 1906, courtesy of militaryimages.net; as it happens I'm very familair with what's left, it's the start of a favourite walk in the countryside. In WW1 Għajn Tuffieħa was, I believe, primarily a convalescent camp, partly because of the good sandy beach nearby (a rarity on the island) which indeed used to be known as Soldiers Bay.

[Billy Robertson]

Thanks once again Frogsmile, and to you Dai Bach y Sowldiwr. All very interesting stuff. I was wondering what the significance of the POLITICAL stamp was. As regards possible hospitalisation, without wanting to kick the backside out of it, I have attached further pages from his service record, one of which mentions malaria. There are also a discharge papers and, what looks like, a telegram from the military seeking his re-enlistment. 

26 minutes ago, Pat Atkins said:

Għajn Tuffieħa is a location on Malta where there was a military presence (as almost everywhere out here). The Għ is silent, but the ħ in Tuffieħa is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative so is pronounced like a rather rasping h. I give thanks every day for the almost universal excellence of Maltese English... This is the military camp in 1906, courtesy of militaryimages.net; as it happens I'm very familair with what's left, it's the start of a favourite walk in the countryside. In WW1 Għajn Tuffieħa was, I believe, primarily a convalescent camp, partly because of the good sandy beach nearby (a rarity on the island) which indeed used to be known as Soldiers Bay.

Thanks for the info Pat. Very interesting. 👍 

[FROGSMILE]

59 minutes ago, Pat Atkins said:

Għajn Tuffieħa is a location on Malta where there was a military presence (as almost everywhere out here). The Għ is silent, but the ħ in Tuffieħa is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative so is pronounced like a rather rasping h. I give thanks every day for the almost universal excellence of Maltese English... This is the military camp in 1906, courtesy of militaryimages.net; as it happens I'm very familair with what's left, it's the start of a favourite walk in the countryside. In WW1 Għajn Tuffieħa was, I believe, primarily a convalescent camp, partly because of the good sandy beach nearby (a rarity on the island) which indeed used to be known as Soldiers Bay.

Thank you Pat, that’s excellent information and makes sense now of what I was trying to read.  Apparently the St David Hospital was created mainly from huts and was on, or very near to the beach that you’ve described.

Do you know what the first word, “Patagonia” (?) refers to, perhaps the name of a troop transport ship?

Edited 12 December , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[FROGSMILE]

25 minutes ago, Billy Robertson said:

Thanks once again Frogsmile, and to you Dai Bach y Sowldiwr. All very interesting stuff. I was wondering what the significance of the POLITICAL stamp was. As regards possible hospitalisation, without wanting to kick the backside out of it, I have attached further pages from his service record, one of which mentions malaria. There are also a discharge papers and, what looks like, a telegram from the military seeking his re-enlistment. 

Thanks for the info Pat. Very interesting. 👍 

Malaria was a pretty much an occupational risk for all the troops on Salonika and but few soldiers who served there escaped it.  Some suffered for the rest of their lives from its effects because apart from bed rest their didn’t seem to be any efficacious treatment for the recurring bouts of fever that were such a feature of the disease.

I agree that the Telegram appears to be a recall from the Reserve.  I can’t quite see the date fully, but it seems likely to be the call out of certain sections of the Army Reserve associated with the national Miners Strike of 1921.  They were only in service for around 9-weeks apparently.

Edited 12 December , 2022 by FROGSMILE