Machine Gun Corps 50th battalion

[asdarley]

Looking to expand my knowledge of 139649 Pvt Walter Darley MGC KIA 25/04/1918 buried Pont Du Hem Military Cemetery. He is one of 15 MGC burials in the cemetery and I know at leasy one was with the 50th Battalion.

Would this mean the other 14 would be from the same unit?

Would this MCG Battalion have been attached to another Regiment?

How would I find out what Walters original (if he had one) Regiment have been? He was a Doncaster lad. Any help would be appreciated.

[delta]

Check out the mother site, by cliicking on the "Long Long Trail at the top of the page. There is a wealth of details on the MGC

[Wienand Drenth]

Goodevening,

50th Bn MGC was formed 1 March 1918 from the machine gun companies in 50th (Northumbrian) Division. The battalion served with the division until armistice.

These mg companies were the 149th, 150th, and 151st Coys, and the 245th Coy. The former three were formed in February 1916 from the machine gun sections of the infantry battalions. These sections, in turn, were an integral part of the battalions. So anyone serving from before 1916 would be have joined one of the infantry battalions of the divisions. In case of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division this were battalions from the Northumberland Fusiliers, The East Yorkshire Regiment, The Green Howards, and the Durham Light Infantry. So far as for your battalion question, I hope you find this useful.

As for the question on the other 14 burials of the MGC. Yes, they could be from the same battalion of course. If all men died on the same day, or in a short timespan, the chances would be higher. But at the website of CWGC I read the cemetery was a union of several smaller ones. From this I may deduct that some would have been in the same battalion, but not all.

On your last question. If Walter Darley joined after the start of the war, he was free to join any regiment. Being from Doncaster, the East Yorkshire Regiment, or even the Green Howards, seem the most logical. If he joined before the war, and we suppose he joined the part-time Territorial Force, neither of these regiments seem logical. That is because Doncaster was in the area of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and joining one of that regiment's battalions would be more logical.

Not many concrete answers I am afraid, but I hope it helps you to start with.

Cheers,

Wienand