Isle of Wight

[chrisharley9]

Just wondering if any one can advise me what there is of Great War interest on the Island - I have already got the CWGC register for the island

Chris

[T8HANTS]

Hi

It depends on what you find interesting.

The Solent was the worlds most heavily defended stretch of water at the turn of the last century, so we have gun sites a plenty.

We have Golden Hill Fort where Harry Patch was stationed at the wars end, and was a Depot for the DCLI.

We have a hotel that has a bar paneled out with paneling from the Aquitania, which served as a troop and hospital ship.

We have a sea wall built by C.O.'s

If you go diving there are wrecks a plenty.

We had our own Battalion the Isle of Wight Rifles, that was part of 163 Brigade's debacle where the Norfolk's apparently were lost.

We had at least two P.O.W camps, but to my shame I cannot find their locations.

We have Osbourne House that was used as a nursing home for Officers, and Quarr Abbey that was used by French Officers.

Parkhurst Barracks was used as a depot, by the Northumberland Fusiliers, and the Warwickshire Regiment, Where in the under visited CWGC cemetary there rests those lads who died at home, and one who hung himself.

That said the sites are often derelict, private, changed by time, or not even known, and I haven't found the all myself yet.

Gareth

[Moonraker]

...We had at least two P.O.W camps, but to my shame I cannot find their locations...

Gareth

I've glanced down the list of PoW camps in Prisoners of War in British Hands during WWI by Graham Mark and can't see any references to camps on the Island, but that's not to say that there weren't a few small working parties. But Graham does describe several internee and PoW ships being moored off Ryde early in the war; the SS Uranium, for example, had 743 inmates, including 300 merchant seamen from the Cameroons. The book illustrates Ryde postal marks used on mail for and/or from these ships: Ascania, Lake Maintoba, Tunisia and Uranium.

Moonraker

[chrisharley9]

Gareth

thanks for your reply - having visited the island before I was aware of the many gun sites - I have been to the Needles Battery & the Golden Hill fort, but was not aware of the Harry Patch connection.

Thanks for the tip about the Parkhurst cemetery - I will keep that in mind for a visit

Chris

[Charles Fair]

If you havent seen it already the memorial to the IOW Rifles in the chapel at Carisbrooke castle is well worth a visit. Their drill hall still stands in Drill Hall Road in Newport (here) and the badge above the door is in a good state.

There is also the Willis-Fleming Shrine at Havenstreet: click here and here.

There is an excellent site on other IOW memorials here.

There is a lot of good material on the IOW fortifications such as maps and plans on the website of the Palmerston Forts Society here.

[mike13]

My G/Father Frederick was born at the Parkhurst Garrison in 1884 the son of James Feeney 1st Seaforth and went on to join the Kings in 1903

[chrisharley9]

Thanks everyone for the wonderfull info - will have to get a bus rover ticket

Chris

[jhill]

There was a Red Cross Hospital at Northwood House.

[Alan Tucker]

From the Long Long Trail...

Royal Warwickshire Regiment

12th (Reserve) Battalion:

Formed in Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, in October 1914 as a Service Battalion of K4 and attached to 97th Brigade, original 32nd Division.

April 1915 : became a Reserve battalion.

September 1916 : absorbed into battalions of 8th Reserve Brigade of Training Reserve.

13th (Reserve) Battalion:

Formed in Golden Hill, Isle of Wight, in October 1914 as a Service Battalion of K4 and attached to 97th Brigade, original 32nd Division.

April 1915 : became a Reserve battalion.

September 1916 : converted into 33rd Battalion of 8th Reserve Brigade of Training Reserve and lost regimental affiliation.

[chrisharley9]

once again thanks for all the info

Chris

[Moonraker]

I don't want to sidetrack this thread, and it's something that I ought to know, being aware of non-Wiltshire battalions forming in that county, but exactly what does "formed" mean in Alan's thread above? I'm very aware that in the war units increasingly lost relevance to the counties whose name they bore, but did the 12th and 13th Royal Warwickshire have many recruits from that county - or (m)any from the Isle of Wight itself? Did their recruits have a short time at the Royal Warwickshire depot before travelling to the Island? Did a few officers and some NCOs establish themselves - and accommodation - on the Island and then receive a flow of recruits from all over the place?

I appreciate that it might not be possible to give specific answers about the Island, but I would be interested in how units were "formed" away from their regimental depots.

Moonraker