Military Chat

Does anybody out there have any info on the Battle of Hulluch, in 1916, World War 1. My grt grandfather William Dalton served with the 6/7 Battalion, Royal Scots Fusilliers. I know that this Regiment along with others defended the "kink". I am not very sure what this was. The Germans used gas in this battle. I believe my grt grandfather was a casualty of this gas attack and it caused his death in 1917. I know there were tunnels dug in this area and I wonder if my grt grandfather could have been one.of the tunnellers. Can anyone out there help me in my search or know someone who can.

Evelyn There is plenty to read on the Web but most is from the Irish perspective ...they lost over 500 men in the first gas assault

You could look at this link....covers the Royal Scots Fus.

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battles/battles-of-the-western-front-in-france-and-flanders/the-battle-of-loos/

for info

and service number

DALTON, WILLIAM

Rank:
Private
Service No:
20423
Date of Death:
27/04/1917
Age:
39
Regiment/Service:
Royal Scots Fusiliers

6th Bn.
Grave Reference:
Sec.O. Jeanfield Div. Grave 81
Cemetery:
PERTH (WELLSHILL) CEMETERY
Additional Information:
Son of the late Patrick and Mary Dalton.

British Army Service Records 1914-1920 Transcription

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First name(s) William
Last name Dalton
Age 39
Birth year 1875
Birth county Tipperary
Birth country Ireland
Service number 20423
Regiment Royal Scots Fusiliers
Unit / Battalion 3rd Battalion
Year 1914
Residence town Perth
Residence county Perthshire
Residence country Scotland
Series WO 363
Series description WO 363 - First World War service records 'burnt documents'
Archive The National Archives
Record set British Army Service Records
Category Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory First World War
Collections from Great Britain

brightsolid online publishing ltd.

Silver War Badge Roll Transcription (Find My Past) (also on Ancestry, Dalton on image)

First name(s) W.
Last name Dolton
Service number 20423
Rank Private
Badge number 392424
Enlistment date 01-Nov-1915
Discharge date 17-Nov-1917 (17-4-17 on image)
Regiment/unit R. Scots Fusiliers
Cause of discharge
Army Order II d/10/08/1917 Para 2 B I
Badge date of issue 24-May-1918


http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=royal+scots+fusiliers&discoveryCustomSearch=true&_cr1=WO+95&_col=200&_hb=tna

(War Diaries can be downloaded £3.45)


(also on below)

All UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920 (Ancestry)

Chris :)

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/wounded-perth-ww1-hero-william-8388994

(great article!)

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/the-royal-scots-fusiliers-in-1914-1918/
Battalions of the New Armies

6th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Ayr in August 1914 as part of K1 and came under orders of 27th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division. Moved to Bordon and in February 1915 to Bramshott.
11 May 1915 ; landed at Boulogne.
7 May 1916 : transferred to 45th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division and amalgamated with 7th Bn to become 6/7th Bn.
21 February 1918 : transferred to 59th (2nd North Midland) Division as Pioneer Battalion.
10 May 1918 : reduced to cadre strength.
18 June 1918 : transferred to 47th Brigade, 16th Division and returned to England, moving to Deal.
2 July 1918 : absorbed by 18th Scottish Rifles.

7th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Ayr in September 1914 as part of K2 and came under orders of 45th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. Moved to Aldershot and in November 1914 went on to Bramshott. Moved to billets in Basingstoke in February 1915 and in March went to Draycott Camp at Chisledon.
9 July 1915 : landed at Boulogne.
13 May 1916 : amalgamated with 6th Bn and ceased to exist.

Ancestry also has:
UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60779
and browse for Royal Scots Fusilliers then 15th Division

Welcome to the Community boards Evelyn.


(I'll let Evelyn know that she has replies to her query) :-)

Can I say a big thank you to everyone who contacted me with info regarding my grt grandfather William Dalton. The links will be very useful. Some of the information I did have. Some is new to me. Can I ask Chris what the Silver War Badge was? Was this given to everyone who served in the First World War. Still think that William may have been a tunneller. He was a slate quarryman in Tipperary and in quarries in Perthshire, Scotland. I found out recently that his younger brother Patrick who served with the Royal Dublin Fusilliers could have been at Hulluch defending the Kink at the same time as William. :-)

(taken from Ancestry, below info.)

Chris :)

About UK, Silver War Badge Records, 1914-1920

Historical Background
The British Empire lost more than 700,000 service personnel killed in World War 1. An even greater number were discharged because of wounds or illness. In September 1916, King George V authorized the Silver War Badge (SWB) to honor all military personnel who had served at home or overseas since 4 August 1914 and who had been discharged because of wounds or illness. The SWB was a small, circular badge made of sterling silver, bearing the king’s initials, a crown, and the inscriptions ‘For King and Empire’ and ‘Services Rendered’.

The SWB was not simply an honor; it also served a practical purpose. At the time, men of military age who were not obviously in the service were sometimes accosted or insulted by civilians presenting them with white feathers — a symbol of cowardice — for shirking their patriotic duty. The badge served as an outward symbol that the wearer’s duty to country had been honorably fulfilled.

Evelyn...Possible for Patrick...

Rank: Corporal
Service No:16101
Date of Death:16/08/1917
Age:32
Regiment/Service: Royal Dublin Fusiliers 9th Bn.
Panel Reference:Panel 144 to 145.
Memorial:TYNE COT MEMORIAL
Additional Information: Husband of Jemima Dalton, of Culdeesland, Methven, Perthshire.

The above was born Carrick-on-Suir

27th Apr 1916 Irish men under attack
8th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers along with the 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers came under heavy artillery and chlorine gas attack at Hulluch (Loos)on the 27th to 29th of April 1916, suffering heavy casualties.

A year earlier than the aboves death

Evalyn is right in thinking tunneling is not limited to mining, and the tunneling companies included men who had experience in constructing sewage, water and railroad tunnels. However, they nearly all did have tunneling experience, which one doesn't find in quarry work (nor certain types of mining, like open-cast and placer mining).

However, we know that William was discharged from the RSF, and his service record doesn't mention the REs, so he wasn't in a tunneling company.