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Remembered Today:

15th July 1916 16th K.R.R.C. High Wood


Audax

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ted Hughes uncle Walter Farrar took part in the KRRC attack on High Wood, where he was severely wounded.

Hughes writes about this experience in the poem 'Walt' with the subtitle Under High Wood.

Thanks to Ken Foster for helping with service record

David

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Should have said...Senior lads and girls wear a green tie and green shoulder flashes with the shirt uniform and a green polo shirt with the optional sweatshirt uniform.

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Does anyone have a trench map of High Wood for this period, as I'm researching a chap who dies on the 21st in the High Wood Area, as a side note I was in the Church Lads and Church Girls Brigade for about 4 years, and my mum was a CO the uniform still has the green from the rifle brigade KRRC.

Nick

From January 1916 ...

post-20192-0-16953400-1396964908_thumb.j

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I never knew there was a polo shirt option, it was all shirt and ties when I was a member, though it was 20yrs ago.

Nick


Thanks for the trench map.

Nick

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Nick...in recent years the polo shirt under a sweatshirt has become more common. Same with a lot of organisations. The Ulster Regiment Officers wear the shirt uniform but all the children wear the sweatshirt with a different coloured polo shirt denoting their section...yellow Martins, blue Y Team, red JTC, green Seniors. Have a look at the Ulster CLCGB website.

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  • 3 weeks later...
QUOTE (Audax @ May 9 2010, 11:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
R Warks,

Thanks for sharing this info.

There are a number of Gravestock's comrades remembered on the Croxley Green War Memorial Croxley Green War Memorial

A

Thanks and no problem Audax, I am very keen on finding medals to the CLB, sparked off from the day I first owned Cecil's medals and started researching them. The Brigade magazines and volumes from the War years are a fine source for research and are as much a challenge to get hold of as the medals themselves, I am currently working on an index to record all the entries of the soldiers detailed within the pages of the editions I have.

The Croxley Green Memorial is indeed very interesting, as you point out several of Cecil's comrades are listed there, very low service numbers amongst them. I imagine there were quite a group of pals together who stood inline waiting to sign up, all from Croxley Green, paints a very emotive and typically patriotic picture of those heady, early months.

Cheers Rob.

Cecil Gravestock was my Uncle (my granddad's brother) so I was really interested to read your post and to see the pictures of him and his medals. If you have any other info I would love to hear/see. Any chance that you want to sell the medals?

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  • 3 weeks later...
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  • 2 months later...

C-16 PTE C.Gravestock Kings Royal Rifle Corps - 16th Battalion. K.I.A. 15/07/1916

Cecil Gravestock was born in 1896. In 1911 he worked at a local paper mill and was a member of the Church Lads Brigade company number 1810, Croxley Green, Herts, which was part of the 3rd Battalion St.Alban's diocese.

He attested on the 17th September 1914 at Watford, and embarked for France on the 16th November 1915.

Cecil was wounded in action on the 18th February 1916, GSW right arm and right thigh is recorded as his injuries which sounds quite nasty but his record states that he returned to duty only 7 days later on the 25th of the same month.

Leave was granted to Cecil in May, from the 7th to the 31st inclusive. He was definitely back in the ranks by the 12th July 1916 when he was reported for an "Improper remark on parade", his punishment is recorded as 28 days field punishment No.1.

Only 3 days later, on the 15th July 1916, the 16th KRRC where heavily involved in the attack on High Wood. Cecil was killed during the attack along with many of his fellows and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.

I am the current proud guardian of Cecil Gravestock's medal pair along with quite a few more 16/KRRC medals. Below is an image of his medal pair and his picture is shown top right on a page from "The Brigade".

Hi Rob

We are members of the Church lads and girls brigade and we are currently doing some research on the CLB members from WW1. Could you tell us what the names are on the brigade magazine page. I cannot zoom in on the picture.

Kind regards, Karen Cory

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Hi Rob

We are members of the Church lads and girls brigade and we are currently doing some research on the CLB members from WW1. Could you tell us what the names are on the brigade magazine page. I cannot zoom in on the picture.

Kind regards, Karen Cory

Karen,

You're picking up on a post made four years ago (this post with picture here) and the poster - rwarks - has not logged on since last April!

Screwing my eyes up and comparing the picture to the list of casualties, my guess is ...

Left Hand Side

Unsure

Rfn F.B. PICKERING, C/987, Death: 15 Jul 1916

Sgt? Lester ?GREEN, C/213, Death: 15 Jul 1916

Right Hand Side

Rfn Cecil GRAVESTOCK, C/16, Death: 15 Jul 1916

L/Cpl George Henry TRANTER, [C/]1119, Death: 16 Jul 1916

L/Cpl Thomas BIRKETT, C/939, Death: 15 Jul 1916

I stress however that this is a bit Hit And Miss, and I am certainly not confident I've got the correct men.

You might be better contacting the CLCGB Historical Group through the website (http://www.clcgb.org.uk/historical-group) - I believe they have a good archive of The Brigade. You might get copies of the original by that route.

Which CLCGB Company are you researching? A number of us specialise in 16/KRRC and we may be able to help.

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EDP

QUOTE (Paul Stephenson @ May 23 2007, 02:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Another to die on the 15th of July was my grandmmother's cousin.

Rifleman Christopher Rostron C/1405

16th Bn. King's Royal Rifle Corps

His name is listed on the Thiepval Memorial.

Lived at 17 Springfield Street, Darwen.

That would be the same Rifleman Rostron featured in this 2006 Newspaper story about a letter delivered to his family 90 years later?

Somme letter to finally reach family

From

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story....3A17%3A04%3A950

11 July 2006 07:30

It is a poignant reminder of the monumental tragedy wreaked by the Battle of the Somme.

This week, a letter intended for the family of a first world war solider will finally be delivered - 90 years after his “heroic†death in northern France.

For decades, the forgotten message of sympathy to the relatives of Rifleman Chris Rostron was in the possession of a Norfolk veteran and his family.

The letter, written by comrades of the 18-year-old soldier, from Lancashire, following his death from a machine gun bullet on July 15, 1916, was never sent because it had no address.

But, the message will finally reach its destination on Satur-day, following a lengthy research project carried out by former Thetford man David Stearne.

“It would be an emotional moment anyway, but it will be made even more poignant by the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and the 90th anniversary to the date and time when he was killed. It makes it all the more sad, but happy to pass it on, he said.

The family historian was trawling through the papers of his late grandfather Henry Stearne earlier this year when he came across the letter from Lance Corporals Frank S Jones and Tom J Bradley of the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

The note, dated July 26, 1916, expressed their 'great sorrow and deep sympathy' for the loss of Rifleman Rostron.

We hope it will comfort you a little to know that he died one of the most heroic deaths that I have seen. He died very quietly and just looked as though he was asleep. We feel his loss very much as he was one of the best & most generous chaps we had & the rest of the platoon have asked me to express their deep sympathy to you, it said.

Its keeper, Henry Stearne, lived in Thetford all of his life and served in the Great War from start to finish as a general soldier in the 4th, 8th and 20th Hussars. He was awarded the Mons Star, fought in the Battle of the Somme, and also served in the second world war before his death in 1955.

Mr Stearne, who now lives in Kent, said he could only speculate on why his grandfather had the letter.

Perhaps he found the letter on the battlefield, perhaps he was part of a burial party that found it on the body of another soldier, or perhaps it had been given to him. Either way, the letter was never posted, he said.

But after four months of detective work and a newspaper appeal, Mr Stearne tracked down David Bentley, from Wrexham, great nephew of Rifleman Rostron.

He will present the letter on Saturday to remember the 90th anniversary of the death of the young solider, who has no known grave, but is remembered with 73,000 others on the Thiepval Memorial, in France.

The family has always had the letter, but never known what to do with it. As a genealogist for the last 20 years, I felt the least I could do would be to try to trace any surviving descendant to whom I could pass on the original sad little letter and fulfil an obligation on my late grandfather, said Mr Stearne.

Hi, We are church lads brigage members, and we are looking into the history of those fallen in the great war. Do you have a photograph of Christopher Rostron?. Many thanks, Karen- CLCGB

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Karen,

You're picking up on a post made four years ago (this post with picture here) and the poster - rwarks - has not logged on since last April!

Screwing my eyes up and comparing the picture to the list of casualties, my guess is ...

Left Hand Side

Unsure

Rfn F.B. PICKERING, C/987, Death: 15 Jul 1916

Sgt? Lester ?GREEN, C/213, Death: 15 Jul 1916

Right Hand Side

Rfn Cecil GRAVESTOCK, C/16, Death: 15 Jul 1916

L/Cpl George Henry TRANTER, [C/]1119, Death: 16 Jul 1916

L/Cpl Thomas BIRKETT, C/939, Death: 15 Jul 1916

I stress however that this is a bit Hit And Miss, and I am certainly not confident I've got the correct men.

You might be better contacting the CLCGB Historical Group through the website (http://www.clcgb.org.uk/historical-group) - I believe they have a good archive of The Brigade. You might get copies of the original by that route.

Which CLCGB Company are you researching? A number of us specialise in 16/KRRC and we may be able to help.

Hi,

Thank you. That information is useful. We are from the Charnwood Batallion and in 2016, we plan on taking our brigade members to Highwood to hold a service and parade in respect of those fallen. We plan on visiting as many of the burial/ memorial sites as possible. If we can find as much information as possible about any CLB members that would be brilliant. We have researched not only our local war heroes, but those as far as Ireland. We are trying to build little profiles on as many as we can. Kind regards, Karen - CLCGB

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Hi,

Thank you. That information is useful. We are from the Charnwood Batallion and in 2016, we plan on taking our brigade members to Highwood to hold a service and parade in respect of those fallen. We plan on visiting as many of the burial/ memorial sites as possible. If we can find as much information as possible about any CLB members that would be brilliant. We have researched not only our local war heroes, but those as far as Ireland. We are trying to build little profiles on as many as we can. Kind regards, Karen - CLCGB

If you have a chance to break your journey in London, then a trip to Westminster Abbey to see the CLB's St Martin's Banner would also be worthwhile.

See Johnny Conn's topic on the banner here: Church Lads Brigade 16th KRRC

The banner is a very important of remembering the 20,000 former CLB members who fell in the Great War.

:poppy:

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Here are some 16/KRRC casualties who have family links with Leicestershire on CWGC.

It's by no means complete - I just searched on the text 'LEIC' or 'LOUGHBO' in the Additional Information field.

SN		rank	surname		forename		Age	Date of Death	additionalinformation
'A/200358'	L/Cpl	AINGE		EDGAR			24	12/10/1918	ONLY SON OF FRANK M. AND E. A. AINGE, OF "GRACE DIEU," STAFFORD ST., MELTON RD., LEICESTER.
'A/201209'	Cpl	BRADDOCK	CHARLES ROBERT		34	08/10/1917	HUSBAND OF EMMA ELIZABETH BRADDOCK, OF 40, STOUGHTON ST., LEICESTER.
'45173'		Rfn	CLARE		H.E.			24	24/09/1918	SON OF MRS. L. CLARE, OF FRISBY-ON-THE-WREAKE, LEICESTER.
'C/854'		Rfn	COOPER		LEVITT GEORGE		19	15/07/1916	SON OF GEORGE E. AND CATHRINE COOPER, OF 195, SHERIDAN ST., AYLESTONE PARK, LEICESTER.
'R/32802'	Rfn	CROSS		RONALD ALBIN		19	20/05/1917	SON OF CHARLES AND ELLEN CROSS, OF 94, NORTH ST., HUGGLESCOTE, LEICESTERSHIRE.
'A/200226'	Rfn	FAULKS		LEONARD			27	15/04/1918	SON OF WILLOUGHBY FAULKS, OF 22, HIGH, EARL SHILTON, LEICESTER.
'C/212'		L/Cpl	FORSTER		HORACE JABEZ		22	26/06/1916	SON OF WILLIAM AND EMILY FORSTER, OF 20, THAMES ST., ARCHDEACON LANE, LEICESTER.
'C/579'		L/Cpl	MOORE		ALFRED			19	13/04/1918	SON OF THOMAS WILLIAM AND ANNIE ELIZABETH MOORE, OF 119, LANSDOWNE RD., LEICESTER.
'R/19431'	Rfn	OVERTON		ERNEST DAVID		19	25/08/1916	SON OF ERNEST AND CATHERINE OVERTON, OF 13, CURZON ST., IBSTOCK, LEICESTERSHIRE.
'C/987'		Rfn	PICKERING	F.B.			20	15/07/1916	SON OF MR. C. W. AND MRS. F. B. PICKERING, OF 235, HUMBERSTONE RD., LEICESTER.
'C/851'		Sjt	TUNNICLIFFE	FRED GUSTAVUS		32	23/04/1917	HUSBAND OF MARION GRACE TUNNICLIFFE, OF 17, BASLOW RD., LEICESTER.
'C/853'		Rfn	WATSON		GEORGE WILLIAM		21	15/07/1916	SON OF CHARLES AND CATHERINE WATSON, OF 51, HUGHENDEN DRIVE, AYLESTONE PARK, LEICESTER.
'C/1307'	Rfn	WESTON		JOSEPH FREDERICK	20	09/08/1916	SON OF WALTER GEORGE AND CHARLOTTE MARIA WESTON, OF 11, LAW ST., BELGRAVE RD., LEICESTER.
'R/18805'	Rfn	WRIGHT		BENJAMIN THIRLBY	25	07/11/1916	SON OF THOMAS AND MARY WRIGHT, OF 158, HIGH ST., IBSTOCK, LEICESTER.
'R/18804'	Rfn	WRIGHT		WILLIAM THIRLBY		29	13/04/1918	SON OF THOMAS AND MARY WRIGHT, OF 158, HIGH ST., IBSTOCK, LEICESTER.

'C/361'         Rfn     WAIN            DAVID NOEL              19      20/07/1916      SON OF THOMAS POTTER WAIN AND MARY LILLIAN WAIN, OF 1, CHESTNUT ST., LOUGHBOROUGH.           

Only the 'C' prefix service numbers are likely to be CLB former members.

I see FB Pickering from rwarks photos from The Brigade appears here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all,

I'm the Great Grandson of C955 Sgt Richard Pilkington MM of 16/KRRC from Bolton.

I'm slowly putting together pieces, and wonderful threads like this help me get there. Thanks to all concerned!

GG Pilky became CPL on 16 July 1916, and it's only now I find out he was at High Wood.

He received his MM much later, I believe the day he was wounded, on 27.4.17. He's briefly mentioned in the Gazette on 14.12.17.

I'm still digging, but feel free to contact should you require, although I don't have messenger on here!

Thanks again,

Matthew

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Hi everyone,

It is some time since I posted, but I continue to follow the forum with interest. My Grandad Harry Hancock c990 was in 16th KRRC and with the help of members of this forum who gave me some vital information I have now put together a good picture of his time in WW1. Helped recently by the Red Cross publication of POW records which help me to fill in the period after May 1917 when he was captured.

Anyway my reason for posting concerns F B Pickering (Francis Bibby) C987 who is mentioned a few times in this thread. Like my Grandad, Frank was from Leicester and they appear to have joined up within days of each other, although given the proximity of their service numbers could it be assumed that this was on the same day? During my research a 'shoebox' containing additional information and photographs has been discovered by my cousin in Australia. This makes reference to Frank potentially saving my Grandads life by carrying him to the relative safety of a shell crater when he was wounded at Cuinchy (Quinchy) during the early hours of 2nd July 1916. As a result of this my Grandad kept a photo of Frank with him. This is the same photo that appears in a previous post so I can confirm that Frank is on the left hand side in the middle.

Although like many he didn't often talk of the war my Grandad did make reference to his 'good fortune' in being wounded before High Wood. But for fate and Frank I probably wouldn't be here contributing to this forum.

One photo in the 'box' is a picture of what is believed to be the Leicester contingent of 16 KRRC at Perham Down before embarking for France. I will post this later.

It would be good if one of the 16KRRC/CLB experts on here have an idea of how many recruits from Leicester signed up for the KRRC and also if it could be confirmed whether Frank Pickering was in the same Aylestone Park group of the CLB as Harry.

Many Thanks

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From the information I have this photo of presumably the Leicester contingent of the KRRC (16th Battalion) was taken at Perham Down not long before they departed for France in 1915. The Granby Street Picture Palace was located in Leicester.

My Grandfather, Harry Hancock is 2nd from the right on the front row. Frank Pickering is 3rd from the left on the front row.

post-57004-0-77366600-1416263277_thumb.j

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  • 5 months later...

my ancestor served with the krrc in sept 1916 at least that's what his newborn sons birth certificate says he was born and lived in Walsall and his name was harry hayes but I can find no trace of him anywhere

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  • 1 year later...

I have just found this forum. My husbands grandfather Thomas William Hastings was with the 16th Battalion KRRC and had joined up with the LADS from Rochdale at the beginning of the war. Very luckily I have managed to find his records in the NA and this wit lots of notes, letters and the war diaries have built areal picture of him and his war years. After the Somme he was gazetted as a second lieutenant and them was in India teaching rifle skills and in Salonika in the records section. On the 16th July he was injured. Does anyone have more detail of the involvement of the LADS brigades, did they go together?


I meant to add he was sent to Edinburgh Military Hospital after he was injured on the Somme. Shot in his leg

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Type church lads brigade rochdale into the search. There is a lot of info about 16th krrc, some about rochdale volunteers, and a picture.

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  • 2 months later...
Guest Corinne

Hello,

I am researching Rifleman E.C Phillimore believed to be Rifleman Edward Charles Phillimore c/293 16th Btn KRRC.  He was Killed in Action on 21/7/1916 aged 19  and is remembered at the Thiepval Memorial.  He is honored in the Book of Remembrance held at Chilvers Coton Heritage Centre and Nuneaton Museum.  Edward was born in 1897and lived in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. I am looking for information about how Edward would have joined the 16th Btn through the Church Lads Brigade. Would he have been affiliated to a local CLB? Thank you

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With a number like C/293 it is likely he was a former CLB member. There was a company at All Saints, Chilvers Coton which was formed in 1901. Another company at St Mary's, Nuneaton, formed 1912.

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