Teresa Eade Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Good afternoon, I’ve just joined this forum so forgive me if I get my post wrong. I’m hoping to find out some more information about my great grandfather Frank Jabez Meades who was killed on 4th July 1915. He was part of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps 7th Battallion. I’ve had a look through some war diaries and on that date he would have been around Bellewarde Farm, Ypres. The story in the family is that he was killed by a sniper. If anyone has any information about him I’d be very grateful. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 21 January , 2023 Admin Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Welcome to the forum. As you posted on a pretty old thread, I’ve split this into a new one to hopefully get some more attention. With any luck, @MBrockway might see this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 R/7964 he has pension card and effects records on Fold 3 and service on Ancestry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan1892 Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 (edited) His record exists on the subscription site, Find My Past - his attestation form shows that he enlisted on the 7th December 1914. His Medal Index Card shows that he was in France from the 19th May 1915 and was awarded he 914-15 Star Medal, the British War Med and the Victory Medal. I have attached images of his attestation (courtesy of Find My Past) and his MIC (courtesy of Ancestry) in case you don't have them. Edited 21 January , 2023 by Allan1892 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 7/KRRC war diary for 04 Jul 1915: Trenches opposite BELLEWARDE FARM, E of YPRES Casualties 2 killed 14 wounded. Germans continued to make much use of trench mortars. No mention of riflemen by name I'm afraid nor anything about sniper casualties. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 21 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Thank you for your help, I’ve been on ancestry so I’ve managed to find some paperwork. I was really hoping to find out what actually happened to him and also if there are any photos of his regiment at that time would be great. thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Just sorting you some maps of the position occupied by 7/KRRC at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 21 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2023 That would be fantastic thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 (edited) 7/KRRC were part of 41 Infantry Brigade of the 14th (Light) Division. At the period we're looking at, the 14th Div sector ran from 28.I.18.a.5.7 just N of the MENIN ROAD near HOOGE northwards to a point 50 yards N of the YPRES-ROULERS RAILWAY at 28.I.11.b.7.9. The division was holding the front line with one of its three infantry brigades (41, 42 and 43 Inf Bdes). Here's the position as at 15 Jul 1915, which was substantially the same as at 04 July ... The British trenches are in black, the German in red. The Menin Road and the Roulers railway are pretty easy to spot. On the night of 29/30 Jun 1915, 41 Inf Bde (including 7/KRRC) relieved 43 Inf Bde in the front line. 41 Bde HQ was established on the YPRES RAMPARTS and its battalions deployed with 8/Rifle Brigade (RB) in the N, 7/KRRC in the centre and 7/RB in the S. 8/KRRC were held in reserve back in YPRES. I haven't got definitive info on where the battalion boundaries fell, but 7/KRRC would have been directly opposite BELLEWARDE FARM around WITTE POORT FARM. The series of parallel trenches in a slightly bowed shape just to the E of WITT POORT FARM is the trench known as CAMBRIDGE ROAD. Here's the daily report from the 14th (Light) Division General Staff war diary: "D7" and "D8" can be seen on the map immediately E of WITTE POORT FARM. Mark Edited 23 April by MBrockway 23 Apr 2024 - corrected attached images broken in Forum software upgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 21 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Hi Mark, Thank you so much for all that information it’s amazing. It’s good to know where he actually was and the weather forecast too! thanks again Teresa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Hi Teresa, The 'concentration' sheet in his CWGC record indicates that Frank was originally buried in the Ecole de Bienfaisance British Cemetery at map reference 29.I.9.c.7.5 before being moved to his current resting place. That location is likely to be close to where he originally died, and is indicated by the blue marker on the map (albeit from 1918) that opens up from this link - you can use the transparency slider to see how that fits in with an aerial view of the modern landscape. If you would like an image of his headstone, it looks like British War Graves (link) would be able to send you a decent quality one, on a FOC basis. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 21 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Hi Chris, Thank you for all that information, we knew where Frank was buried but didn’t realise that he’d been moved, I suppose that happened a lot. Thanks again, Teresa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 (edited) If I remember correctly, the Ecole was the location of the Main Dressing Station for this sector. Edited 21 January , 2023 by MBrockway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 I think the location of the ECOLE DE BIENFAISANCE is 28.I.9.c.7.5, not 29. It was on the Menin Road just outside Ypres, close to the Menin Gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Hi, 6 minutes ago, MBrockway said: I think the location of the ECOLE DE BIENFAISANCE is 28.I.9.c.7.5, not 29. Thanks. My mistake - many apologies. Adjusted marker on map - link Alternatively... Image sourced from tmapper Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 21 January , 2023 Share Posted 21 January , 2023 Apologies the Ecole de Bienfaisance was in fact an Advanced Dressing Station by this time, not a Main Dressing Station. Here's a diagram of the medical evacuation chain in place for the attacks towards Bellewarde undertaken in Sep 1915 as part of the Battle of Loos, but is nevertheless accurate for the start of July 1915. The Ecole is the ADS immediately E of YPRES. The 14th Div's MDS was at POPERINGHE using the Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) at REMY SIDING. The three small crosses marking the RAPs lie roughly on CAMBRIDGE ROAD, which was the front line trench at the end of June. I've been hunting for a detailed description of the medical arrangements (including burial of the dead) in the various higher echelon diaries, but they are all disappointing. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 22 January , 2023 Share Posted 22 January , 2023 This is from the current 1:20 000 map Poperinge - Ieper. Sheet 28 1-2 to compare with the map above. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadbrewer Posted 22 January , 2023 Share Posted 22 January , 2023 This may be of interest from the British Newspaper Archive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 22 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2023 Thank you for the article on Frank Jabez, I had seen that before, his family continued living at the house for many years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 14 December , 2023 Author Share Posted 14 December , 2023 Good afternoon, Would anyone be able to confirm that this is Frank Jabez Meades in his uniform, it would be great to get confirmation, thank you, Teresa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 14 December , 2023 Admin Share Posted 14 December , 2023 I’d say that is either KRRC, or 6,9,11 London Regiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Eade Posted 14 December , 2023 Author Share Posted 14 December , 2023 Hi Michelle, That’s very promising, thanks again, Teresa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 14 December , 2023 Share Posted 14 December , 2023 Assuming you have discovered this picture through family sources, I agree: it may well be a KRRC rifleman. Without that context and provenance however, your image as posted is unfortunately too blurred to be conclusive. If you have the original and it's clearer, then examine the cap badge as closely as possible. If the Maltese Cross cap badge has lots of small inscriptions within each of the cross arms in 5 rows per arm, then it's most likely King's Royal Rifle Corps, the inscriptions being the regiment's many battle honours; whereas if the cross arms are empty or contain less and larger writing in a single row per arm, the badge is more likely to be either one of the London Regiment battalions with KRRC connections, or one of the various county regiment TF battalions with strong Rifles traditions that used the Maltese cross badge rather than that of their parent county regiment (e.g. 1st Bucks Bn, OBLI, 6th East Surreys, 6th DLI). The inscriptions here are either the South Africa 1900-02 battle honour, or a battalion motto. Some less likely possibilities, included for completeness, are the KRRC's 1st Cadet Battalion based at Sun Street, Finsbury Square, London, and the KRRC's pre-1908 Militia battalions. Cap badges used by these units did not list all the KRRC battle honours, so look more like the badges seen worn by the London Regiment and other TF battalions. Lastly there are the various Maltese cross Church Lads' Brigade cadet badges - ruled out in this case on (a) the subject's apparent age, and (b) the lack of any upper arm CLB cadet unit flash - and, as a long shot, the Rhodesia Regiment, which could easily be eliminated if you can give more detail on where you sourced your photo. HTH Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBrockway Posted 14 December , 2023 Share Posted 14 December , 2023 On 22/01/2023 at 19:13, sadbrewer said: This may be of interest from the British Newspaper Archive. Can you tell us which newspaper this came from and its publication date please? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 14 December , 2023 Share Posted 14 December , 2023 6 minutes ago, MBrockway said: which newspaper this came from and its publication date please 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