Kinmel Camp Abergele

[warbuff1]

Found a photo in collection from my great Grandmother/father which shows 5 unknown individuals ( none my grandfather) wearing a mix of cap badges and at bottom it says Kinmel Camp nr Abergele N.W. What type of camp was this? Any pal have info on this place?

Wayne

[Bob Coulson]

Put Kinmel in the forum search, lot's of discussion about the camp.

Bob.

[Anthony Bagshaw]

Wayne,

Andrew Hesketh one of the mods, is researchin Abergele. I'm sure he will be along soon enough to answer your questions

[stevem49]

My Wife's Grandfather's brother (still with me) was there and the address him was given as-

59532 Pte F Fletcher

53 Y S Liverpool Regt.

D Coy, 17 Camp,

Kinmel Park

Nr Rhyl

North Wales.

So the Young Soldier Battalion of the Liverpool's was there.

It moved there on 27/10/1917. Previously it had been the 72nd YS Btn of the training reserve (formerly 21st Bn Lancs Fusiliers) . Before knowing this i could never understand why all of the brothers except him had been in the Lancs Fus's

sm

[John_Hartley]

Large training camp at Bodelwyddan - around Bodelwyddan Castle (now a Warner Breaks Hotel) - apparently practice trenches still exist in the hotel grounds.

Most notorious for a riot (or mutiny, if you prefer) by Canadian troops in 1919 which was put down by what some would describe as excess violence which resulted in the deaths of several men. The men (and others who died more normal deaths) are buried at the nearby church.

John

[warbuff1]

Cheers guys info. Can anyone identify which regiment these guys belong too? Are they Lancs Fusilers?

Wayne

[geraint]

Kinmel Camp was built during the end of 1914, early 1915 as a training and holding camp for the North Wales new army battalions rapidly coming into existence. Prior to Kinmel, the Morfa Camp at Conwy, and the Llandudno coast seemed to have been used by the RWF Territorial battalions' summer training camps. The Kinmel camp expanded rapidly, and became stomping areas for NW England battalions as well. By 1916, it consisted of 21 sub camps, each capable of holding a full strength battalion (1000 men). It was on a massive scale, and consisted also of a Tin Town or civilian provided shopping areas for the troops. It also had a brewery, and from reading through the local newspapers for the wartime period, local girls, "some from afar as Liverpool" were selling their feminine charms at the camp gates! There seemed to be a conflict of opinion between the Rhyl Police Superintendent, and the Camp's Provost as to who was responsible for the bawdy antics of the women and squaddies. By the time of the Riots - 25,000 Canadians were penned there awaiting troopships home from Liverpool.

The Camp remained in use after the war, and remained a National Service training camp during the 50s + 60s. It's now rapidly becoming a business park, but Cadw have slapped a preservation order on what remains. I don't think that there are Great War period huts there now.

Geraint

[jay dubaya]

Hi Wayne, with regards to the cap badges, I'd go for 3 Lancs Fusiliers and 2 Welsh Fusiliers,

cheers, Jon

[daggers]

The 'nearby church' mentioned earlier is commonly called the marble church because of its pale stone spire. From my short spell at KINMEL [not Kimnel] in the 1950s I seem to remember some form of memorial in the churchyard to Canadians, who may have been the mutineers, or some of them.

Daggers

[chrishope]

Actually, the 'marble' is not the spire - that's limestone ! Inside there are loads of different types of marble used to tile the floor; make pillars; the font; statues etc. It is a fascinating place to visit, and there are certainly some war graves in the churchyard.

Cheers

Chris