South Staffs experts, please

[Ken Wayman]

I have a Walsall lad who enlisted in the South Staffs, arrived in France on 28 November 1914. 

Sergeant Tom Wilkes MM, regimental number 6062. Does anyone have any idea when he might have enlisted (he did so at Whittington Barracks, Lichfield).

Thanks lads

Ken

[Michelle Young]

Paul Nixons site says #6202 joined June 1901. 

[PRC]

1 hour ago, Michelle Young said:

Paul Nixons site says #6202 joined June 1901. 

@Ken Wayman

In which case many of the contemporaries of Tom Wilkes, signing up for a 12 year short service, would have been time expired before Britain joined the Great War. Any who have surviving service records would therefore be found in the WO97 series.

There is actually a surviving set of records in the WO97 series for a 6062 South Staffordshire Regiment - but that is in the name of James Reede. Aged 18 years and 7 months he was serving with the 3rd Militia Battalion when he attested in the Regular Army at Walsall on the 12th December 1900 for a short service enlistment of 12 years, split 7 years in the colours and 5 in the reserves. He reached the Depot at Lichfield on the 14th, and then or shortly afterwards his regiment service number would have been issued. The handwriting of the clerk who added the service number to the paperwork is rather"flowery" in that the zero could possibly be an eight, but a service number 6862 doesn't tie in with that date of issue. The formation of the zero also ties in with the way the double zero is written when adding the year date (19)00 to the initial entries in the statement of services. The service number is repeated on two of the surviving four pages, but as it appears to have been written on both at the same time it could just be the same mistake repeated twice. James Reede was discharged with ignominy in 1902.

For Tom Wilks to have been liable for service \recall when Britain joined the Great War under that original service number he would have to have been either a 21 year long service man, a short service, (all in the colours) man who was allowed to extend for a further period in the colours, or a time expired short service man who was permitted to serve for an additional four year man as a Section D reservist.  The first two of those would have seen him still in the colours at the time of the 1911 Censuses - has his whereabouts there been accounted for?

The other alternative is that he was a Special Reservist and any prefix has been dropped from his service number - something that is all too common.

The 2nd Battalion had been in France since August 1914, while the 1st Battalion, returning from Garrison duty in South Africa, landed at Zeebrugge on the 6th October 1914. So whichever Battalion Tom went to it was part of a replacement draft. It would seen likely that the initial pool of Regular Army Reservists would have been used up by then, along with the Section D men - unless health was an issue. I would tend to suggest he might therefore be a Special Reservist - either 3/6062 or 4/6062. There are no alternative candidates for those numbers that I could readily identify. Unfortunately other than stating it was some point after the start of September 1908, (Special Reservists signed up for six years), I couldn't be more specific as to date of enlistment.

Cheers,
Peter

[Ken Wayman]

That is incredibly detailed, Peter, thank you so much. Tom would have been 24 in 1908. He was definitely living in Walsall at the time of the 1911 Census so that likely rules out being a regular; he would have had to enlist at 16 to be time expired just pre-war. Like yourself, I favour Special or Extra Reserve service, especially since there is no number that clashes with his 6062. Just out of school  Tom was employed as a brass dresser in a foundry, and this is repeated later on, so Special Reserve makes most sense.

I'd just reached the last of the Staffords who were killed in Delville Wood (28-29 July 1916) and unravelling Tom's situation seems to have been one of the most difficult tasks I encountered.

Many thanks Peter.

 

[PRC]

I don't have subscription access to the British Newspaper Archive, but from the snippets they show in response to queries, his mother posted a death notice in the edition of the Walsall Observer dated Saturday, August 26, 1916. That would suggest it was the families preferred paper and so if they had provided infomation about his death and service that would be the place to look. Local newspapers relied on such family & friends contributions in my experience for much of their local war news. I suspect they also weren't above following up on those placing death notices to gather more information and possible a photograph, so could be worthwhile checking through not only all the pages of the 26/08/1916 but the next couple as well. Of course the information usually needs to be taken with a pinch of salt but at least it might confirm whether he was a recalled regular or a mobilised special reservist.

What was gnawing at me was it seems such a high service number, even if potentially the Special Reserve and the Extra Reserve shared a common numbering range. One possibility was that he was originally militia and transferred late into the Special \ Extra Reserve but was allowed to retain his old militia service number. But from what you've now posted even that seems unlikely.

Cheers,
Peter

[kenf48]

Previously researched by @Ken Wayman

As an aside L/Cpl 6060 William Caddick 2nd Battalion died of wounds on November 14 1914.  He was a reservist and in 1914 an employee of the North Stafford Railway. His obituary stated  ‘He had served 12 and a half years in the Army including a lengthy period in India and he went through the South African Campaign’. Birmingham Mail 24/11/1914.

The only William Caddick I have found in the Boer War Records served in the Loyal North Lancashire Regt may be a coincidence but there was a T. Wilkes in the same regiment.

[Ken Wayman]

Hi. That info is fascinating and I will have to give it some thought. Many thanks for your efforts.

Ken

[Ken Wayman]

Hello Peter

Thank you for the further info. I do have access to the Walsall Observer microfilm so I will spend some time there. Again, thank you for your time, interest and expertise.

Ken

[kenf48]

 

15 minutes ago, Ken Wayman said:

Hello Peter

Thank you for the further info. I do have access to the Walsall Observer microfilm so I will spend some time there. Again, thank you for your time, interest and expertise.

Ken

His wife and son put In Memoriam notices in the Walsall Observer 2 August 1919

[kenf48]

Assume you have seen his MM in the Gazette

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29953/supplement/1761/data.pdf

19 February 1917

 

[Ken Wayman]

12 minutes ago, kenf48 said:

Assume you have seen his MM in the Gazette

 

 

Thank you - I had not found the appropriate edition. 

Ken

31 minutes ago, kenf48 said:

 

His wife and son put In Memoriam notices in the Walsall Observer 2 August 1919

Thank you - I will have a look and see if there was anything else in subsequent years

Ken

[kenf48]

 

15 hours ago, Ken Wayman said:

That info is fascinating and I will have to give it some thought.

Always the caveat of relying too much on one record but I have limited time.  It is an extensive and fascinating record - note on FMP halfway through it says NEW FILE but continues on and frankly that's the best bit.  

Well here goes:-

6056 Rogers is shown as enlisting on the 8th November 1900. His number is prefixed 3/ on one document.

He enlisted on the 27th November 1900 at Lichfield.  He declared previous service with the militia. He was aged 18 years and 11 months

His terms of engagement were 7 years with the colours 5 years on reserve.

He served in South Africa 1902 and was awarded the Orange Free State Clasp to his medal I don’t know if Wilkes would be on the same Roll  You will need a medal person for that.

He re-engaged for one year 24.01.11.

Continued on the  ‘B’ Reserve 29.01. 12.

Re-engaged ‘D’ 17.07.12

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/enlisting-into-the-army/british-army-reserves-and-reservists/

Mobilised Lichfield 5th August 1914 and posted to 2nd Battalion.

To BEF 12 August 1914

He was posted to the Depot 5.10.1914

He was later posted to the 7th Battalion.

His address on demobilisation was 200 Wattville Road Handsworth Birmingham Married, in 1921 he was a Bridgeman on the G and K Railway.  Not sure but I think in 1911 he was listed as a railway clerk. So there is theat railway connection again.

 

 

 

[Ken Wayman]

Again remarkable, thank you. Much to ponder.

Ken