Archangel

[Guest pc99]

Hello Folks,

I had an uncle who served with D.L.I. at Archangel can anyone suggest where I might obtain further information.

tks.

[AlanCurragh]

Welcome to the forum - can you please post your uncle's name and battalion in the DLI and hopefully someone will be able to help...

Alan

[KJames]

If you go to the Naval and Military press website HERE and enter Archangel into the search field you should get a list of 6 titles dealing with Archangel.

Ken

[MichaelBully]

In my research into Great War casualties from Hove, I noticed a report in the Sussex Daily News ( 14th November 1925) concerning Robert Woodward Curteis DSO being charged with 'obtaining money by worthless cheques'.

Have found an entry in the London Gazette, which mentioned the Allied Lake Flotilla and that Curteis was honoured for services in Russia in 1919. I am trying to find the ship that he would be attached to. Advice welcome. Thanks & regards, Michael Bully

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31748/supplements/948

[bushfighter]

PC

Greetings

You may be interested in freely downloading this book:

http://www.archive.org/details/armyevacuationof00greauoft

The Regimental History:

Faithful, The Story of the Durham Light Infantry by S.G.P. Ward says these few words:

ARCHANGEL 1918-1919

The 2/7th (battalion), like the 2/9th (battalion), had formed part of the 190th Brigade of the 63rd Division when that division was broken up in the summer of 1916. The brigade was not broken up until 4th December, but the 2/7th had already left on 29th November to join the 214th Brigade at Andover. The brigade was taken out of the 71st Division to join the 67th in the Colchester and Ipswich area on 12th February 1918.

At the end of September the 2/7th left the brigade and on 7th October it embarked for North Russia as a garrison battalion, disembarking at Bakaritsa, opposite Archangel, on 24th October. Neither the depressing conditions of an Arctic winter nor the conflicting and discouraging tasks with which the Archangel force was entrusted need emphasising; and since the Battalion appears never to have had even the satisfaction of serving with the part of the force that was active in the interior, it is unnecessary to enlarge upon the melancholy fate reserved for this battalion except to observe that it was present in this theatre.

You can purchase two soft-back books on the Archangel action

here: http://www.naval-military-press.com/archangel-1918-1919.html

and here: http://www.naval-military-press.com/bolos-and-barishynas-archangel-1919.html

the latter book focuses on the role of the Royal Fusiliers.

If you go onto the London Gazette Advanced Search webpage at: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/search

and type into the WITH ALL THE WORDS box words like Archangel Despatch then you can obtain useful information such as this:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31850/supplements/4107

Finally the DLI Museum is a good one and it may help you, see:

http://county.durham.gov.uk/sites/dli/Pages/MuseumHomepage.aspx

Good Luck Harry

[Staffsyeoman]

A quiet urging of caution on the Ironside book - written long after the event (1953) - and without the official records publicly available to contradict it, he seems to be engaged in the settling of some scores with his critics and is also very unreliable as a source in some key areas. As I usually advocate at this point, the best modern work on the post-war campaigns in Russia (also in the Far East and the Transcaucasus) is Clifford Kinvig's 'Churchill's Crusade'.

[MichaelBully]

That is most appreciated guys, thank you for the responses. Given me useful leads. Much appreciated. I may post some more on Robert Woodward Curteis' trial.

Regards, Michael Bully