MGC LEADS REQUIRED

[Greg Bloomfield]

In attempting to research my village war dead I am in need of some help and/or advice on where to go for information on the following formations; MGC, Trench Mortars, RFA, Labour Corps and 28th Bn CEF. Do any of these units have a museum or any centralised records? Absolutely any help would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

Greg

[Guest irpashby]

In attempting to research my village war dead I am in need of some help and/or advice on where to go for information on the following formations; MGC, Trench Mortars, RFA, Labour Corps and 28th Bn CEF. Do any of these units have a museum or any centralised records? Absolutely any help would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

Greg

Greg,

New member myself interested in the MGC. Found this website, not sure how active they are.

www.mgcorps.ndirect.co.uk

Ian Pashby

[doogal]

If you haven't already, try www.1914-1918.net and go through the units & formations - there are sections on the MGC and Labour Corps.

[GrandsonMichael]

Hi Greg,

The online CEF War Diary references and entries for the 28th Canadian Infantry Battalion can be found here & here.

And you might be able to find more general information here concerning the CEF and the 28th Bn. in particular.

Cheers,

Michael

[Greg Bloomfield]

Micheal

Many,many thanks for the link to the unit's war diary, it threw up some invaluable information that I would have spent a lifetime attempting to find. With your help and the advice of others via e-mail within about twelve hours of posting I now even have a photograph of the lad in question, an outstanding result. Much appreciated.

Ian and Doogal, thanks also lads. I now have a few more leads to chase up and probably some more one fingered typing to hack my way through. Does anybody know if Jim Parker of the MGC Old Comrades Association is still active as the last dates on the web site are 2000-01 and I'm abroad at the moment and am unable to write to the stated adddress.

Thanks and appreciation to all.

Greg

[GrandsonMichael]

Hi Greg,

I'm delighted. A collective effort once more bears fruit.

Jim Parker can be reached, he is a member of this Forum, known as:

Jim.P.

Cheers,

Michael

[Greg Bloomfield]

Michael

Thanks again. I've sent Jim an e-mail and the way things have been going up to now I expect his reply is already blasting through the ether!

Cheers

Greg

[Guest Standtoo]

Hi my Great uncle Tom was in A coy 9 Bn MMG Corp there is a book of rembrance to all those that served in the MMG in Grantham church Linclon the people there are great and will get it out for you. If he was killed in WW1 and in the MMG he will be in there. Great uncle Tom was

Standtoo

[Borden Battery]

Here are two websites recommended by the CEF Study Group. The 28th Battalion statue is on the Legislative Grounds, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Borden Battery

Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War

- Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919, Colonel G. W. L. Nicholson, C.D., Army Historical Section

This is the classic reference text [the Bible] for any student of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The original text is very difficult to obtain, however, the document is now available in .pdf format directly from the historical section of the Canadian Armed Forces website. [Note: The pagination in the online document is different than the original document - therefore citations with page number references cannot be used.]

http://www.forces.gc.ca/hr/dhh/downloads/O...ories/CEF_e.PDF

*28th Northwest Battalion

The 28th (North-west) Battalion was recruited in 1914 from the Manitoba / Saskatchewan area of Canada. The battalion went overseas to Britain as part of the 'Second Contingent' in June of 1915. There it joined 6th Brigade, 2nd Division of the Canadian Corps. The last soldier killed on the Western Front was Private G. Price of the 28th, shot by a sniper while on patrol at 10:58 am, Nov. 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice. This website has a significant amount of research work within it including a detailed database.

http://www.nwbattalion.com

[Staffsyeoman]

there is a book of rembrance to all those that served in the MMG in Grantham church Linclon the people there are great and will get it out for you. If he was killed in WW1 and in the MMG he will be in there. Standtoo

Just to sharpen the focus a tad, the church is St Wulfram's, and indeed they are helpful with the book; but there are other copies around (Jim Parker has one). It is not utterly foolproof, as it was compiled in the 1960s when researching WW1 casualties and tables of organisation was a labour intensive task, and it was largely one man's work.

And on terminology; slight caution - it was the Machine Gun Corps - MGC; MMG means 'Medium Machine Gun' which was the Vickers itself. The Motor Machine Gun Service - MMGS - (which predated the Corps and was absorbed into it as the Machine Gun Corps (Motors)) was organised as Batteries - not Battalions, which stemmed from its origins as having been formed originally from personnel of the Royal Field Artillery.