100 Coy Labour Corps

[Andy Wade]

Hello Everybody,

This is such an excellent forum and web site! Well done Chris!

I'm looking for any information about the Labour Corps, more specifically 100 Company, which my Grandfather served in from 24th June 1916 to 23rd February 1919. He died of natural causes in 1970 when I was 12 years old.

I've attached a copy of his 1919 discharge papers to this post.

I have seen Ivor Lee's web site about the Labour Corps:

http://www.geocities.com/labour_corps/index.htm

I would appreciate anyone's thoughts about any other information other than the national archives at Kew.

Many thanks in advance.

[Graham Stewart]

Andy,

You already have a puzzle just looking at the Discharge Certificate. He enlisted on the 24th June 1916 for the Labour Corps and yet the Corps wasn't formed until February 1917, so who was he with for the seven months prior to the formation of that Corps?

Graham.

[KONDOA]

Royal Engineers at a Guess.

Roop

[Graham Stewart]

Roop,

All the best for 2006. Here is a similar Discharge Certificate, for a lad who was employed with a Chinese Labour Coy, Labour Corps and all previous units are listed. I actually collect Discharge Certificates and have to admit the posted one is the first I've seen with no reference to any other units on enlistment. So it would appear that some bone idle clerk to make his job easier has omitted to add further details and Wades Labour Corps number suggests a later enlistment/transfer to the Corps, so wonder if he was sent home and placed onto the Reserve due to his medical grade?

Graham.

Edited 2 January , 2006 by Graham Stewart

[KONDOA]

That is strange that no previous unit is mentioned. My own thought as that the RE units may be considered the same as the Labour unit. In this instance 100 Field Coy RE(possibly).

Happy New Year too Graham.

Roop

Edited 2 January , 2006 by KONDOA

[charlesmessenger]

Andy

Labour Corps and RE units were not the same, except that most RE labour units were transferred to the Labour Corps after its formation. The most likely explanation is that your grandfather was either medically downgraded and transferred to the Labour Corps, or was in a unit, possibly an Infantry Labour bn or coy, which was transferred to the Labour Corps.

100 Labour Coy itself was part of Fifth Army troops at the end of the war and was certainly formed from an Infantry or RE labour unit. Ivor Lee, who is a member of this forum but has not been active for some time, would be able to tell you 100 Coy's parentage and might even have your grandfather on his database. Suggest you contact him via his website.

Charles M

[Graham Stewart]

Charles,

The 99th and 100th Labour Coy's were actually formed from the 33rd Bn, Royal Fusiliers I.A.W. Appendix 106 of ACI 611. The new regimental numbers issued to these two Labour Companies were;- 99th Lab Coy numbers 58801-59400 and 100th Lab Coy numbers 59401-60000.

This ACI gives the complete schedule of new Labour Corps units formed and all of the new numbers issued from 1-186240.

Graham.

[charlesmessenger]

Graham

Excellent. Given his high army number, this establishes that Andy's Grandfather did not join the Labour Corps on its formation and must have joined 100 Coy at a very much later date. It looks as though Andy's best bet is to try to track down his MIC.

Charles M

[Stebie9173]

There are 3 Clement Wades on the MICs.

367047 Labour Corps only (as above)

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=3

346001 Clement G Wade Labour Corps ex 8486 Rifle Brigade

15401 Clement A Wade Dorsetshire Regiment, a Transport Sergeant.

The MIC would suggest that he did not see service overseas until with the Labour Corps.

These men also saw overseas service with the Labour Corps with similar numbers 3670xx

367067 ex Royal Engineers Harry Sidman

367046 ex RE WR 320254 Victoe A Sarttoris

367082 ex King's Kiverpool Regiment 204397 (TF)

367083 also RE 362254 Hilary Peart

367056 ex Cheshire Regiment 12577 (probably the Labour Battalion thereof)

367009 also RE 298144 and WR/41494

367017 also RE 51049 and King's Liverpool 75821

The other 20 Labour Corps numbers between 367000 and 367099 for men who saw overseas were Labour Corps only numbers. This suggests to me that they were in UK based Labour Battalions/Agricultural Companies (or pre-Labour Corps equivalent), etc. before serving overseas in the Labour Corps.

Steve.

[Graham Stewart]

Steve,

Discharge Certificates have the unique facility of listing all units that you served with some of which do not appear on your Medal Index Cards. I was involved in a post recently over a similar subject in which it was thought what you had on your MIC was the be-all-and-end-all as regards information. I attached at least three examples of Discharge Certificates which showed all the units that each individual served in since enlistment and in each case one or two units on the DC were not shown on the MIC. These were units that the men had enlisted into and transferred to while still in the UK and not the units they served overseas in, which are the only units shown on the MIC and Medal Roll Sheets. However were the Labour Corps different?

This is the second example of a Labour Corps DC I've seen where no other units are recorded, but do know that you could be attested and then placed on the Reserve until you were called on. In my DC collection I have a similar Labour Corps one to 350027 Pte William Jolley and also his Service Papers. He enlisted at Wrexham on the 8th Feb 1917. His papers however show he was "Attested" on 8/2/1917 and transferred to the Army Reserve on or around the 9th Feb(date is feint). He then is "Mobilised" on 16/2/1917 for the 7th Infantry Labour Company and "Transferred" to the W.C.L.C. on the 30/6/1917 and discharged from the there on the 13th December 1917(KR Para 392). His documents also show that he served with the BEF from 26/2/1917 to 7/3/1917. Even his SWB shows only ex-7th Infantry Labour Company & W.C.L.C. and nothing else

These documents declare that he served 302days with the Colours of which 7days were spent with the Reserve. So I'm wondering if the same happend to Wade and that he spent nearly seven months on the Reserve, although I have my doubts.

Now here's a twist to Pte Jolley. Among the doc's is a copy of an MIC showing a Pte William Jolley 65858 Kings Liverpool Regiment. Then below it 350927 Labour Corps, which I'm sure is an error as all other references show 350027. Ironically 7th Infantry Labour Company, Kings Liverpool Regiment did exist which became the 72nd Labour Company, L.C., but apart from the MIC no mention is made anywhere else of this Kings connection on his paperwork.

Well after all of that I can't remember my conclusion. Back to the drawing board Dr.Watson!!!

Happy New Year to you all,

Confused of Darlington.

[Andy Wade]

Wow!

Well, I can't thank you enough for all this information chaps, I'm staggered at what you've all said, it's an eye opener that's for sure.

I've purchased the MIC for my Grandfather Clement Wade, there isn't much on it I'm afraid:

This is a smaller copy for the web, the writing on it which is not very legible reads:

Medal: Victory..... Roll: LC or LO/107 (possibly LC or LO/101) B122 Page: 12438(possibly 12436)

Under this there are lines in the boxes for Medal: British, which I assume means that the details for this medal are in the same Medal roll as the Victory medal.

One other thing (which I'll have to confirm with my Father), is that Clement was quite small in stature, partly because he suffered from rickets as a boy which left him with bowed legs. He was a weaver by trade in civvy street.

I expect that this may account for his medical rating B11 on his discharge papers (or is that B2?).

I wonder if he enlisted and was then sent home because of his medical rating, and only called back up later because eventually they needed everyone they could get, even small statured chaps with bowed legs?

My Father has said that Grandfather Clement told him he was in the trenches, so he did get to France at some time.

[KONDOA]

This particular MIC would suggest he did not serve overseas having only the single medal.

Roop

[Stebie9173]

Is that not a ditto for British?

I think it's for both a Victory Medal and British War Medal. No Star medal, though since we know his enlistment date in 1916 we would not expect one!

It looks to me like he served overseas.

Graham,

I was following up the possibility of the "idle clerk", but as you say it is entirely possible (or even probable) that he was on Army Reserve rather than serving in an actual unit. Seen that before myself.

Steve.

[KONDOA]

I stand corrected, eyes are not what they used to be.

Roop

[Graham Stewart]

Steve,

Thanks for the reply, and I think we're thinking along similar lines. I wonder if those who on attestation who were of Class 'B' medical rating were placed upon the Reserve for call-up at a later date. It just seems strange to attest men and not place them directly into either a unit or training establishment. As it is it only seems to effect men who are conscripts called up under the Military Services Act and Labour Corps. Hopefully Wades service papers may still exist, so that we can eventually get down to the bottom of it, as I'd love to know where he was for seven months.

Graham.

[Andy Wade]

Interesting, I also thought that the marks underneath were ditto marks.

Clement's medals were lost by his son, My Father, who used to go out to play wearing them. One day he was playing around on an old air raid shelter and he fell off, knocking himself out in the process. When he awoke, the medals were gone.

My Dad says there were three medals in all, including a star, which is very strange looking at the available evidence. I'll need to confirm that though, but I do recall seeing a WW1 star when I was much younger. I can clearly recall reading the 1914/15 bit on the front. The only other possibilty is that it belonged to my Mother's father, but that is something I'll have to investigate.