GREATWAR-L Archives

Archiver > GREATWAR > 2001-12 > 1008322800


From: (Bill MacCormick)
Subject: Re: [WW1] London Regiment 1916
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 09:40 +0000 (GMT Standard Time)
In-Reply-To: <3C193211.4EDA758B@ozemail.com.au>


In article <>,
(Anne Chambers) wrote:

> I have three questions arising from this information:
> 1. Where can I find details of the raising of the 20th Battalion ?
> 2. Was it normal practice to send a man to a different battalion after
> he had been commissioned ?
> 3. Is there any way to find out just how many men of the 1/4 Bn (and
> other battalions of the London Regiment) went "missing" on the 9th July
> during that one engagement ?

Anne,

My grandfather followed exactly the same path as your relative's: private
in the 20th Londons, promotion through 1915 and early 1916 then
commissioned into the 4th Londons in August 1916. They joined the 4th
Londons on the same day, 7th August 1916, along with four other officers
who had been in the 20th Londons. He too fought at Leuze Wood being
severely wounded on the 25th September. Fortunately he survived, dying in
1962, and he was awarded the MC. He went on to become a Major and was in
charge of a hospital at Osborne on the Isle of Wight attended by the
author Robert Graves. He is mentioned, though not by name, in 'Goodbye to
all that'.

The 1/4th Londons had suffered heavily in the abortive attack on
Gommecourt on 1st July 1916, a diversionary attack to the main thrust of
the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Most of the battalions in the
56th London Division suffered badly and experienced NCOs from other London
battalions as well as newly commissioned officers from home were sent to
the division in July and August as it recovered from the effects of the
attack.

If you are interested, I have the regimental history of the 4th Londons in
which 2nd Lt Mortleman is mentioned twice and there is a description of
the action in which he was killed. I can copy the relevant sections if
required.

I also have my grandfather's diary from late 1915 through to May 1916,
when he was in the 20th Londons, which covers the Battle of Loos in
September 1915, the battalion's first major action. Although there are no
mentions of a Mortleman, there are numerous references to a 'Charles'
which, though a common forename, carries on through the period when my
grandfather had been made a sergeant and when he would have more
likely socialised with other sergeants in the mess and elsewhere.

In addition, I have the diary of another 2nd Lt in the 20th which covers
the period from January 1915 to his death on 25th September at Loos.
Lastly, I have the 20th London's War Diary from August to December 1915.

If you were interested in seeing any of these items let me know and I can
email them to you.

Bill MacCormick

This thread: