Labour corps

[dawnyowl]

Pte 28333 Arthur cox. Labour corp.

I am interested as to where he received his terrible injuries and later died. 

He was born in Tipton 1887, and joined the a.r m. Is that the reserves on 12.12.1915. But was transfered to 48th labor corp and mobilised to  S W France between 29.03.1917 until 13.09.1917. Where would he have been, and I didn't think soliders in Labour corp were near the front lines.

He died 12.07.1918 in England. I don't know if he went home to Wolverhampton or died in hospital.

I feel sad, to think he may be forgotten. Their are no references to family trees of the geneoly sites. Fmp and anc. Thank you

[jay dubaya]

No trace I can find on CWGC nor SDGW so a likely case for IFCP.

[dawnyowl]

Thank you, I just had a quick look at IFCP, I didn't know what it was. I will certainly do a bit more for him. As I said he doesn't seem to be remembered any where, and to think he suffered like that. 

[Allan1892]

45 minutes ago, dawnyowl said:

and joined the a.r m. Is that the reserves on 12.12.1915

He was first in the Lincolnshire Regiment with service number of 46189 (as per his entry in the Medal Rolls)

[dawnyowl]

I put that then crossed it out, did he enlist with them in 1915. Because I can only see ARM 1915 then transferred to 48th labor corp Lincoln regt 

[Allan1892]

Looking at his attestation papers on Find My Past, he enlisted (service number of 46189) with the Labour Company Lincolnshire Regiment on the 12 December 1915.

His service history shows that he was placed into the reserves on the 13 December 1915; mobilised on the 13 March 1917 and placed into the 9th Infantry Labour Corps Lincolnshire Regiment on the 20 march 1917; transferred in to the 48th Company Labour Corps on the 14 May 1917 and given a new service number of 28333 (the book 'No Labour, No Battle' on page 327 shows that service numbers 28201 to 28800were allocated to the 48th Company for men that were originally in the 9th ILC Lincolns Regiment.

[Allan1892]

He was laid to rest on the 17 July 1918 at Alexandra Road Cemetery, Tipton. His residence is recorded as38 Hanacre Lane, Deepfields.

[brianmorris547]

The Register of Soldier's Effects just records 12/07/1918 After Discharge.

Two deaths were registered in July 1918 for Arthur Cox. One in Dudley and one in Leeds.

Brian

[dawnyowl]

Oh great you found him, yes thats his address. He did probably go home then. 

OK  so he was first in the reserves, if he was transfered to Lincoln Labour  orp, does that mean he was always uniform to join up

[FROGSMILE]

19 hours ago, dawnyowl said:

Oh great you found him, yes thats his address. He did probably go home then. 

OK  so he was first in the reserves, if he was transfered to Lincoln Labour  orp, does that mean he was always uniform to join up

Dawn it’s easy to get confused by the ‘labour’ designations.

Put simply, in the first 3-years of the war it was quickly realised that three parts of the Army had a continuous need for organised labour.  They were the Royal Engineers (engineering tasks), the Army Service Corps (supply dumps and logistics handling) and the infantry (general duties in the rear areas, the headquarters, and the training schools).

Accordingly, labour companies were established for all three elements and, in the case of the infantry, a number of specified county regiments were ordered to raise labour companies, each identified by a number, from suitable men entering the army.  They were often older, and / or with relevant experience likely to make them suitable.  The Lincolnshire Regiment was one of these, but there were numerous others.

Labour continued to be a vital task, with much of the army clamouring for labour support, and by 1917 it was realised that a more efficient and effective labour effort could be achieved if the disparate labour companies were organised under a single new corps with a coherent management structure.  This was duly effected by merging the many companies into a single, unified Labour Corps, in August 1917.  As well as units in France and Flanders labour companies were also organised at home in Britain, and all these labour companies of the Labour Corps rapidly became destinations for men who were either older, less fit, or who had been wounded elsewhere and, although recovered, not returned to a fitness level sufficient for the frontline.

It seems as if your subject volunteered for enlistment in 1915, was processed and categorised for labour duties by the Lincolnshire Regiment, but then because of his age and perhaps family status (?) was sent home to await call up when his particular category (age group, etc.) was needed.  From what you’ve said he then reported for and completed his training in 1917, and was swept up by the Labour Corps as it was forming.  I hope that helps a little with your understanding.

NB. The takeaway from this is to be careful to differentiate between ‘company’ and ‘corps’, they are words with very different meanings.

Edited 22 May , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[dawnyowl]

I need to reread it several times. So he joined Labour corp Lincolnshire reg, infantry. And general duties for 2 years until he was called and went to france.

Edited 21 May , 2023 by dawnyowl

[FROGSMILE]

Just now, dawnyowl said:

I need to reread it several times. Thank you

That is entirely understandable.

[FROGSMILE]

14 minutes ago, dawnyowl said:

I need to reread it several times. So he joined Labour corp Lincolnshire reg, infantry. And general duties for 2 years until he was called and went to france.

No.  He joined the Lincolnshire Regiment in 1915, was ‘categorised’ for a Labour company (if what you’ve outlined is correct) and was almost immediately (within days) sent home to await call up for training.

Two years later he was called up, completed his training and sent to the then newly formed Labour Corps in 1917.  He carried out duties with that Corps until seriously wounded with a fractured skull.

This is all if I have interpreted what you’ve said correctly.

Edited 21 May , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[dawnyowl]

Why did he not go with the army Lincolnshire,s as a solider. And thank you for taking the time

[FROGSMILE]

7 minutes ago, dawnyowl said:

Why did he not go with the army Lincolnshire,s as a solider. And thank you for taking the time

I don’t know for sure without seeing his enlistment documents, but it’s likely because of his age and family status in 1915.  It had been agreed that men who volunteered themselves in 1915 would be placed in categories according to their age and family status and then sent home and called up in a priority order, with young, single men first, and older men with family commitments later.  One element of this process is that at the time the army’s training infrastructure was being swamped and overwhelmed.  It was unable to cope.  The new system slowed things down to a manageable rate.

Edited 21 May , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[dawnyowl]

OK that makes sense, he was only just married in 1915, I assume it's his age then. So then he would have waited, been called up before he was mobilised to france  March 1917 . 

 

[FROGSMILE]

Just now, dawnyowl said:

OK that makes sense, he was only just married in 1915, I assume it's his age then. So then he would have waited, been called up before he was mobilised to france  March 1917 . 

 

Yes I agree. This was common and the system working as intended.

Edited 21 May , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[dawnyowl]

And how long would he have had trying before he left. 

[FROGSMILE]

Just now, dawnyowl said:

And how long would he have had trying before he left. 

I don’t understand your question.

[dawnyowl]

I don't either ***

How long before he was called up and left for France would he have had some training. In general

[FROGSMILE]

15 hours ago, dawnyowl said:

I don't either ***

How long before he was called up and left for France would he have had some training. In general

It was the two years that he waited between his initial enlistment in 1915 and being called up in his category (with men of similar status) in 1917.

Training was usually conducted in three parts by that stage of the war, but not conducted until the call up:

1. First, basic training of around 12 weeks (marching, physical fitness**, how to look after his kit and equipment and skill at arms (marksmanship training with rifle)).

2. Second, Platoon weapons and ‘fieldcraft’ training of around 6 to 8 weeks depending on age (grenades, Lewis machine gun, and how to move tactically).  This phase would have been shorter and different for Labour Corps men, focusing instead on their likely duties in the rear areas.

3. Third, In-theatre acclimatisation training in France.  (Varying between days, or weeks depending on circumstances).  Basically preparing men for what to expect in the trenches and encouraging aggression (e.g. bayonet fighting).  In emergencies men might be rushed forward very quickly with at best cursory briefing and training.

** physical fitness training and sport (especially football) was continuous and a part of most day’s routine throughout all three stages. 

 

Edited 22 May , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[sadbrewer]

3 hours ago, Allan1892 said:

He was laid to rest on the 17 July 1918 at Alexandra Road Cemetery, Tipton. His residence is recorded as38 Hanacre Lane, Deepfields.

I think it's Havacre Lane.

[Mark1959]

As he died in the UK you will be able to get a copy of his death certificate for under £10 from the government record office. This will give location and cause of death. IFCP will only consider him if his death in mid-1918 was related to/caused by his service. Given the damage to his brain that caused regular fits - see his papers - this may well be what did for him in the end. But the only way to know is to order the death cetificate.

[dawnyowl]

I will do that now, I looked at the site. 

[sadbrewer]

7 minutes ago, dawnyowl said:

I will do that now, I looked at the site. 

I don't know if it's of interest but his wife Mary remained at the 36 Havacre Street address...she married an Alexander Bona in early 1921. They had no children...she died in 1969.