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Regimental Sergeant Major

HARRY TRILL
(1139 and 518421 Royal Engineers, and 277138 and
1043088 Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers)

 by
Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis
Ó 2017.  All Rights Reserved.

1.  INTRODUCTION

            The principal references used in the preparation of this narrative came from a number of sources.  They include census records, official registries in the United Kingdom, medal rolls, family trees, army lists, and The London Gazette.  All sources are contained in the REFERENCE section at the end of the narrative and are cited throughout in the ENDNOTES.  Every effort has been made to accurately portray the life and military service of Sergeant Major Trill.  Where sources of information are not specifically cited, the information was obtained from Trill’s service papers or his unit’s war diary.

            I have attempted to cover his military service in the greatest detail possible given the fact that his service papers were obtained from the Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow.  As much detail as possible regarding Trill’s life and family also has been included as I think that if it is available it should be made known.  Some researchers might say that too much background material has been included.  I disagree, but then everyone has an opinion as to what should be included in a narrative of this type.  Suffice it to say that information regarding a person’s family, back as far as that information is available, cannot be considered to be extraneous.  A narrative of this type is not meant to be a lesson in history, at least to my mind it is not.  It is meant to be an in-depth account of the life of an individual who served his country and whose service is being honored by the person who is the custodian of his medals.  An in-depth look at the historical facts surrounding the man’s life would also seem to be important as they may bring to light many aspects of military history of which the reader may not be aware.              

2.  EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

             Harry Trill was born at Portsea Island, in Portsmouth, Hampshire on the 9^th of November 1896.[1]  Portsea Island is a small, flat, low-lying island just off the southern coast of England. The island is located within the traditional and

 ceremonial county of Hampshire and contains the vast majority of the city of Portsmouth.  The Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is located on Portsea Island.  It will be seen as this narrative progresses, that the Trill family maintained very close

 connections with Portsmouth throughout the life and military service of Harry Trill.

            Harry’s paternal grandmother was Mary Ann Trill (born in 1832) and his mother was Mary Ann Trill (born in 1860).  He also had a brother, Leonard Reuben Trill (born in 1895).[2] 
Harry’s father was John Frank Trill, who had been born in 1859 and died on the 30^th of March 1902.  At first some thought was given to the possibility that John Frank Trill might have died or been killed in the Boer War, however a search of the Ancestry.com listing of Second Boer War casualties only uncovered one man, a Lance Sergeant A.T. Trill, 5^th Lancers who was killed in action during this war.  Furthermore, it was later found that John Trill died at Portsmouth and not in South Africa. Little more than this is known about John Frank Trill other than that he married Mary Ann King and had two sons and a daughter by her.  It is not know why he does not appear in the 1901 census other than the fact that he was not living with his family at the time of the census.
            In 1901 young Harry was living with his grandparents as shown in the census return.[3]

             It should be noted that the 1901 census shows Harry Trill’s year of birth as 1897.  However his service papers show his birth date definitively as the 9^th of November 1896 and the Birth Registry for England and Wales also shows his

 birth registered in the fourth quarter of 1896.  It also should be noted that while Harry’s sister is shown as Maud Trill in the census, her name actually was Victoria Maud Trill.[5]

            The 1911 Census of England and Wales provides the following information regarding Harry Trill’s family.

NOTES:

1. The occupation of Colour Maker is thought to have been involved with the manufacturing of dyes for fabrics.  She worked at the Government Dockyard.
2. As a Blacksmith’s Striker young Harry probably worked as a blacksmith’s assistant.  The census shows that he worked at the Government Dockyard at Portsmouth in this capacity.
3. Leonard Trill worked as a messenger at the Portsmouth Dockyard Store.
4. Grandmother King’s birthplace is shown more definitively in this census as Milton, Hampshire.  Milton is a primarily residential area of the city of Portsmouth, on the south eastern side of Portsea Island, bordered on the east by Langstone Harbour.
5. Obviously, Thomas R. King had died between 1901 and 1911 since he is not shown in this census.
6. As previously indicated, John Frank Trill had died in 1902 and therefore did not appear in this census. 
7. The boys’ sister Maud (Victoria Maud) does not appear in the 1911 census because she had already married.  She married Robert Alfred Rands on the 9^th of July 1908 at Portsmouth.

Figure 1.  The Portsmouth Dockyard as it Appeared, circa 1911.

3.  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

            Harry Trill was not a big man.  At the time of his enlistment in the Army in the spring of 1914 he was only 5 feet 6 inches tall.  His chest measurement, when fully expanded, was 33½ inches, with a range of expansion of 2 inches.  His vision and physical development were noted to be good.[7]

            After the Great War when he was discharged from the Army he measured 5 feet 6½ inches tall and weighed 144 pounds.  His expanded chest measurement had increased to 36½ inches and the range of expansion of his chest had increased to 3½ inches.  In 1941 he was described as being 5 feet 8½ inches tall.

            Harry Trill had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and brown hair.  Unfortunately a photograph of him has not yet been found.

4.  ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING

             Harry Trill enlisted in the Royal Engineers Territorial Force at Portsmouth on the 6^th of April 1914.  The territorial unit in which he enlisted was the Hampshire Fortress Royal Engineers based in Portsmouth.  His regimental number was 1139.

            The headquarters of the Hampshire Fortress Royal Engineers in April of 1914 was located on Commercial Road in Portsmouth.  The officer commanding the unit was Lieutenant Colonel W.H. Fry, R.E., TD.[8]  There were six companies in the Hampshire Fortress Engineers at the time located as follows:

            No. 1 Works Company, Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth

            No. 2 Works Company, Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth

            No. 3 Works Company, Eastleigh, Hampshire

            No. 4 Electric Lights Company, Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth

            No. 5 Electric Lights Company, Freshwater, Hampshire

            No. 6 Electric Lights Company, Gosport, Hampshire

            Harry’s enlistment prior to the Great War of 1914-1918 is likely due to his families need for a steady income and to have one less mouth to feed given the circumstances of having no males in the family earning substantial wages.  By 1914 his brother Leonard was 19 years of age and probably not earning much as a messenger boy.  His mother by that time was 54 years old and probably was not earning enough to support herself, her mother and two sons.  No information could be found regarding the pension of Mary A. King, but it likely was not that much.  Leonard may also have had some physical disability that precluded him getting a higher paying job.  This assumption is based on the fact that he apparently did not serve during the Great War.[9]  At 19 years of age Leonard certainly would have been eligible to serve, so if he did not it had to be because of some physical disability.

            Harry Trill’s attestation documents indicate he was born in the Parish of Southsea, near the Town of Portsmouth, in the County of Hampshire.  He was a British subject and his age on enlistment was 17 years and 5 months.  He indicated that he had been employed as a Blacksmith at His Majesty’s Dockyard (Portsmouth).  He gave his address as 51 Cumberland Road, Southsea.[10]   Harry indicated that he had never been an Apprentice, that he was not married, that he was not a member of His Majesty’s Naval or Military forces and that he had never previously served in the Naval or Military forces.  He had never been a cadet and was never rejected for service.  He stated that he was willing to attest for 4 years with the Hampshire (Fortress) R.E. and his oath of attestation was certified by Lieutenant F.H.E. Webber, R.E. an officer in No. 1 Works Company at Portsmouth.  The responses that Harry gave were to the typical questions asked of a recruit upon attestation.

            On the day of his attestation Harry was given a Certificate of Medical Examination that found him fit for service in the Territorial Force.  His medical certification was made by Major B. Emmett, R.A.M.C.  His Certificate of Primary Military Examination, issued by the recruiting officer, Lieutenant Webber, found him fit for service in the Hampshire (Fortress) R.E. and his attestation was certified by Major T.W. Mead, the officer commanding No. 3 Works company.  Major Mead was the second highest ranking officer in the Hampshire (Fortress) R.E. at that time and probably was the unit’s acting commander on the date of Trill’s attestation.  All this was done in one day.

            Sapper Harry Trill was present for his unit’s annual training during the summer of 1914.  On the 5^th of August he was embodied for active service and joined the 2/2^nd Hants Fortress Company, Royal Engineers for service in the Great War.  His company appears to have remained at home during for more than a year while the war in France and Flanders got well underway.  During this period the company must certainly have built up its strength, received equipment and training and prepared itself for active service.[11]

 5.  ASSIGNMENTS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

The Great War, 1914-1919

            The 2/2^nd Hants Fortress Company embarked for France on the 15^th of September 1915.  On the 22^nd of September Sapper Trill was transferred to the 1/2^nd Hants Works Company to complete that unit’s establishment.  This company would subsequently be re-designated as the 560^th (Hants) Army Troops Company and was assigned to the British Fifth Army.  When the non-commissioned officers and other ranks of the company first went to France they retained their four digit Territorial Force regimental numbers.  The regimental numbers of the men later were changed from their four-digit Territorial Force numbers to six- digit regimental numbers in the series 518XXX.[12]

            The mission of an Army Troops Company was much like that of a Division Field Company of the Royal Engineers operating in division areas in that it performed general engineer works on the battlefield, only it performed these functions further behind the front line in the corps and army rear areas.  The Army Troops Company was organized in a manner similar to a Division Field Company.  It consisted of a Major in command of the company, a Captain as second in command and four Lieutenants (or 2^nd Lieutenants) each in command of a section.  There were about 25 non-commissioned officers and 190 other ranks assigned to the company along with attached personnel such as men of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

            Harry Trill and the men of the 560^th Army Troops Company moved many times during the war and took part in a number of significant actions.  The following is a chronology of the company’s moves and service as taken from its war diary. [13]

24 September 1915:   The company was at Sailly-Labourse in the Pas-de-Calais, France under the control of British I Corps.

 25 September 1915:   The company moved to Vermelles to hold a captured German line north of Hulluch Road during the Battle of Loos.  Six men of the company were wounded by shell fire during this action.

 Figure 2.  The Vermelles-Hulluch Areas, September 1915.

26-27 September 1915: Two men of the company were killed in action, eight men were wounded and four were gassed.        

1 October 1915:         The company was transferred to the control of General Headquarters at Bethune.[14]

9 March 1916:           The company, still under General Headquarters control, was at Mazingarbe.

The Somme Offensive, 1916

8 July 1916:                1173 (later 518450) Sapper Edward Tollervey died of wounds. 

31 July 1916:              907 Lance Corporal John William Mandry was killed in action and 1235 Sapper William Faulkner Cover died of wounds.

9 August 1916:           894 (later 518243) 2^nd Corporal William Meakin, 1182 (later 518457) Sapper Francis N. Conrad and 893 (later 518242) Sapper Cleil J. Mewett were wounded in action.

28 August 1916:         The company was located at Bethune, still under the control of General Headquarters.

1 September 1916:     The company is placed under the control of the 32^nd Division at Bethune.  This move certainly put Sapper Trill and his mates much closer to the action at the front, although from the number of                                                                               casualties that they suffered in July and August it would appear that the company saw quite a bit of action on the Somme.

5 March 1917:           The company was located at Boyeffles. 

9-14 April 1917:         The company took part in the Battle of Vimy with British I Corps. The British I Corps area was located immediately to the north of the Canadian Corps, the corps that took the brunt of the fighting at Vimy                                    Ridge (see map below).

Figure 3.  The Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 1917.

 16 April 1917:            The company was at Maroc.

 23 April 1917:            The company was at Aix-Noulétte.

 3-4 May 1917:            The company took part in the action at the First Battle of the Scarpe under the control of the British First Army.  1237 (later 518501) Sapper Frank Grant was wounded in action.

 The Battle of Messines, 7-14 June 1917

 7 June 1917:               This was the worst single day of the war for the 560^th Army Troops Company.  The following men were casualties on this day:

                                     1000 (later 518314) Sergeant William P. Goulding, killed in action.[15]

                                    2322 (later 519428) Sapper Edwin E. Johnson, killed in action.

                                    459405 Sapper Alfred W. Brown, MM, died of wounds.[16]

                                    1628 (later 518822) Sapper Frederick Ayling, wounded in action.

                                    1265 (later 518522) Sapper Sidney L. Hinks, wounded in action.

                                    1122 (later 518408) Sapper Lewis A. Payne, wounded in action.

                                    1054 (later 518353) Sapper Richard Sennet, wounded in action.

                                    Sappers J. Neal, J.H. Shotter and H. Woodman, wounded in action.

                                   The unit war diary does not give details regarding these last three men other than they were wounded.  They probably were later replacements assigned to the unit and not part of the original                                                                                Territorial Force unit.

Figure 4.  The Battle of Messines, June 1917.

1 July 1917:                The company was at Noyelles.

9 July 1917:                The company was at Fosse 2.

16 July 1917:              The company was at Labourse.

17 July 1917:              The company returned to Noyelles.

15-25 August 1917:   The company took part in the Battle of Hill 70 under the control of British First Army.  The capture of Hill 70 in France was an important Canadian victory during the war and the first major action fought by                                     the Canadian Corps under a Canadian commander.    The battle gave the Allied forces a crucial strategic position overlooking the occupied city of Lens.

10 October 1917:       Sapper Trill departed from France on leave to the United Kingdom. By this time all the original men assigned to the company had had their regimental numbers changed to the six digit 518XXX series.

12 January 1918:       518586 Sergeant Thomas W. Finch and a Lance Corporal Coltharp were wounded in action on this date.

3 February 1918:       Sapper Harry Trill was accidentally injured on this date while not on duty.  No details are provided in his service papers with regard to the cause or nature of his injury.

4 February 1918:       Trill was admitted to hospital for treatment of his injury.

13 February 1918:     Harry Trill was returned to duty by the 33^rd Field Ambulance, a unit of the 11^th (Northern) Division.

12 April 1918:            The company was at Verquigneul.

18 April 1918:            The 560^th Army Troops Company took part in the Battle of Bethune, part of the Battle of Lys, with the British I Corps.  The I Corps was located in the southern part of the battle area, as shown in the map                                       below.

Figure 5.  The Battle of Lys, April 1918.

12 June 1918:             The company was at Hesdigneul.

26-30 August 1918:   The company took part in the Second Battle of the Scarpe (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) under the control of the British First Army.

17 October 1918:       The company was at Bauvin.

19 October 1918:       Sapper Trill began 14 days leave in the U.K.

28 September – 10     The 560^th Army Troops Company took part in the pursuit of the November 1918: German forces to Mons under the control of the British Fifth Army. The company was at Carvin on 25 October. 

                                    Harry Trill returned to his unit at Templeuve on 1 November. 

                                    The company was at Moulde on 8 November and at Antoing on 10 November.

11 November 1918:   Harry Trill and his company were at Antoing on the day of the Armistice.

10 December 1918:    Sapper Harry Trill was absent from roll call on this day, perhaps still celebrating the Armistice or perhaps an early Christmas celebration.

11 December 1918:    Harry Trill received punishment for his absence from roll call.  He was confined to barracks for three days under open arrest.

24 December 1918:    The company spent Christmas eve in Wattignies.

21 February 1919:     The company was at Templeuve.

            During its time in France and Flanders the 560^th (Hants) Army Troops was actively engaged in a number of battles and moved repeatedly across and around the battlefield.  The unit war diary provides many details regarding the tasks that the company performed.  There are so many entries in the diary that it would take up much too much space to list them all separately.  The following is a summary of the types of tasks undertaken by the company in many of the areas where it was located.  The list is not presented here in any particular order, either chronological or in order of importance.

·         Trench construction and drainage of trench networks.

·         Bridge building across both wet and dry gaps.

·         Railway shed construction along new and existing rail lines.

·         Light railway construction for movement of men and supplies to forward areas and for the evacuation of casualties.

 ·         Road construction, primarily in rear areas.

 ·         Construction and repair of fascine roads constructed of bundles of brushwood or of logs.  These types of roads are sometimes called corduroy roads.

 ·         Construction of redoubts along defensive lines.

·         Laying of barbed wire obstacles along defensive lines.

·         Preparing machine gun emplacements on defensive lines.

 ·         Construction of observation posts for infantry and artillery units.

·         Construction of hutments or other types of living accommodations in rear areas.

·         Construction of rifle ranges in rear areas for musketry training.

·         Ballasting of light railway tracks.

·         Construction of water supply pipelines.

·         Construction of water pumping stations.

 ·         Construction of signal stations.

·         Construction of ammunition dumps.

 ·         Construction of officers’ messes in rear areas.

 ·         Construction of theaters in corps rear areas.

Post War Service, 1919-1920

             Sapper Harry Trill returned to the U.K. from France on the 11^th of June 1919.  On the 10^th of August 1919 his total service was reckoned at 5 years and 6 days with 4 years and 270 days of that time counted for pension purposes.

 On the 11^th of August Trill was disembodied from the Army at Chatham and he gave his intended residence as 1 Wilson Road, North End, Portsmouth.

Figure 6.  Trill’s Home at 1 Wilson Road, North End, Portsmouth.
(This building is located at that address now, in 2017.  It may not be the same building in which Trill lived, or it may have been substantially renovated since he lived there.)

 Returning to the Colours, 1920

             Harry Trill either liked military service or he saw it as an opportunity to earn a living when jobs were scarce in post-war England.  Whatever the reason, he expressed an interest in returning to the Colours and on the 8^th of January 1920 he presented himself to Captain E.C. Hopkins, R.A.M.C. at Portsmouth to obtain a Certificate of Medical Examination for reenlistment.  Captain Hopkins found him to be fit for service in the Army and indicated that his medical category was A.1.  In this medical category Harry Trill was fit for dispatching overseas, as regards physical and mental health, and training. 

            On the 13^th of January 1920 Trill was discharged from the Royal Engineers Territorial Force.  He was living at the Wilson Road address previously mentioned and his discharge sheet that his Military Character was “Very Good.”  The regimental number 4624 also appears on his discharge papers.  The author can only guess as to the origin of this number.  When he first joined the Hants Fortress Engineers (T.F.) he was given regimental number 1139.  When his unit became the 560^th (Hants) Army Troops Company his regimental number was changed to 518421.  After being disembodied from that company in August of 1919 he was again placed on the rolls of the Territorial Force and presumably he was issued the number 4624 for the short period prior to his re-enlistment.  For his service during the Great War he was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.  Oddly enough each of these medals is named to him as 1139 Sapper H. Trill. 

            On the 14^th of January 1920 Harry Trill enlisted in the Royal Artillery (Royal Field Artillery) at Winchester for the “normal period of 6 years.”  No reason is given in his service papers to indicate why he chose the Royal Artillery rather than continue his career in the Royal Engineers.

            Upon his enlistment he indicated that his trade was Hammer Man and that he lived in Southsea, Portsmouth.  He gave his age as 23 years and 2 months.  As usual he was required to respond to numerous questions upon his enlistment as he had been back in 1914.  He indicated that he had had previous service in the Royal Engineers, regimental number 518421, from 23-3-1914 to 14-6-1919 when he was demobilized.[17]  Harry indicated that he was willing to enlist in the Royal Regiment of Artillery in either the Royal Horse Artillery or the Royal Field Artillery.  He also indicated that his next-of-kin was his sister, Mrs. V. Rands of 2 Till Cottage, Cosham, Hampshire.[18]  As described in Section 2 of this narrative, his sister’s real name was Victoria Maud Rands and she was the wife of Robert Alfred Rands.  Victoria and Robert had two sons at the time that Harry enlisted in the Royal Artillery; Harold Rands, born 30 October 1911 at Portsmouth and Robert A. Rands also born in Portsmouth in the first quarter of 1914.  Both of Harry’s nephews would have been of age to serve in the Second World War.  A search of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission web site did not locate either man as a casualty in that war.

            Trill’s attestation was certified on the 14^th of January 1920 at Winchester by the Recruiting Officer of the 37^th Recruiting Area.  He also was given a Certificate of Primary Military Examination on this date by the same Recruiting Officer and was found fit for service in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (R.H.A. or R.F.A.).  He was given the rank of Gunner and regimental number 277138.  Shortly thereafter, when the Army did away with regimental numbers and began issuing army numbers, Trill was issued number 1043088.

            The following is a description of Harry Trill when he enlisted in the Royal Artillery:

Training in the Royal Artillery, 1920

                Gunner Harry Trill joined No. 3 Depot, Royal Field Artillery at Hilsea, Portsmouth[19] on the 16^th of January 1920.  Presumably he was assigned to the depot for preliminary processing.  On the 22^nd of January he was posted as 277138 Gunner Harry Trill to the 505^th Battery, III Reserve Brigade, R.F.A. at Exeter, Devonshire.  This posting presumably was for training, although as a soldier who had served in the Great War he probably only would have needed training in the skills of an artilleryman.  In less than two weeks he was posted again, this time to the 12^th Brigade, R.F.A., arriving there on the 3^rd of February 1920.  

            The 12^th was a howitzer brigade, comprising numbers 43, 86 and 87 (Howitzer) Batteries, had come under command of the 6th Division during the Great War and went with the division to France in September 1914.[20]  Trill probably continued his training as an artilleryman with the 12^th Brigade because he was reposted to the III Reserve Brigade at Hilsea on the 24^th of April 1920 for further reassignment.

 Service in India, 1920-1933

            On the 4^th of June 1920 Gunner Trill embarked for service in India and was posted to the 68^th/88^th Field Battery, R.A.   Both the 68^th and the 88^th Batteries were in the 14^th Brigade R.F.A. along with the 39^th Field Battery.  It is presumed that the dual designation 68^th/88^th in Trill’s service record may indicate that at the time the strengths of both of these batteries in all ranks might have been so low that the two batteries were amalgamated for some period of time until their individual strengths could be increased.

            Trill remained in the 14^th Brigade for about a month.  On the 1^st of July 1920 he was posted as a Gunner in the 94^th Field Battery, 18^th Brigade, R.F.A.  He was appointed a Lance Bombardier in the 94^th Field Battery on the 31^st of January 1922 and on the 20^th of December 1922 he was appointed to the rank of Bombardier in the 94^th Field Battery.

            While he was stationed in India, Harry Trill spent most of his time in assignments in Kirkee, Poona, Belgaum and Hyderabad.  He qualified as an Instructor in Signalling, Class A.1 on the 14^th of April 1923 and was designated a Bombardier Signaller by the Office of the Army Signal School at Poona.  On the 8^th of December 1923, as a result of his qualification as an Instructor, he was posted as a Bombardier Signaller with the 38^th Field Battery, 14^th Brigade, R.F.A. at Hyderabad, Sind under the command of Major Edgar Carnegie Antsey, DSO, R.A.[21]

Figure 7. Brigadier E.C.Antsey, DSO, R.A. in Later Life.

             While serving in the 38^th Battery, Trill was confirmed in the rank of Bombardier Signaller on the 27^th of March 1924.  He was then appointed to the rank of Lance Sergeant Signaller in the 38^th Field Battery on the 5^th of January 1926.

            Lance Sergeant Trill apparently was convinced in 1926 that he would remain in the Army.  On the 31^st of May of that year he extended his service to complete 12 years with the Colours.  By March of 1927 Trill had been in India for almost seven years.  On the 4^th of March he was granted six months furlough to the U.K. and he departed from Karachi on that date aboard H.M.T. City of Marseilles. 

Figure 8.  A Postcard of the H.M.T. City of Marseilles.

            On the 15^th of March 1927 while on furlough or perhaps while still sailing home from India, Trill was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the 38^th Field Battery.

            While at home Sergeant Trill married Daisy Louisa Griffin,[22] a spinster, at the Parish Church of Waterlooville in Catherington, Hampshire.  Daisy was living with Trill’s sister, Mrs. V. Rands, at 2 Till Cottage in Cosham at the time of their marriage.  

            Upon his return to India with his new wife on the 19^th of January 1928, Harry Trill was posted to the 88^th Field Battery, 14^th Brigade, R.A.  A little over a year later, on the 26^th of February 1929, Harry re-engaged to complete 21 years of service with the Colours.  He was now in for the long haul.  About eleven months after his re-engagement, Sergeant Trill was back in his old unit, the combined 68^th/88^th Field Battery at Fort St. George in Madras.[23]  It is still uncertain how or why this combined unit was formed.  As previously mentioned, lack of personnel may have been the cause of temporary amalgamations of two batteries, the 68^th and the 88^th.

            Harry Trill was placed on the married roll of his unit on the 1^st of July 1929.  He was then eligible to live in married quarters with his wife and to have transport and travel expenses for her and his household paid for by the Army.

            Sergeant Trill’s military training continued during 1930 and 1931.  On the 30^th of August 1930 he completed a Gunnery Course at Kakul.[24]  On the 1^st of June 1931 he passed the Small Arms Course at Kirkee.  He was subsequently appointed Park Sergeant of his battery at Fort St. George on the 17^th of June 1932 and presumably he performed duties associated with the care and maintenance of the battery’s gun and other equipment.

            Trill’s final year in India was 1933.  On the 14^th of March of that year he was posted to the 8^th Anti-Aircraft Battery, R.A. at Muttara and was promoted to the rank of Battery Quartermaster Sergeant.  This posting represented a change in duties and experience for him as up to this point he had served exclusively in field batteries.  In April, having completed 18 years of service in the ranks, Harry Trill was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with bar [REGULAR ARMY] by authority of Army Order 175/33.  On the 21^st of November 1933 BQMS Trill was promoted to the rank of Battery Sergeant Major (Warrant Officer Class II) and was posted to the 42^nd Field Battery, R.A. in the United Kingdom and he returned home from India on the 30^th of November 1933 to join his new unit. 

            Harry Trill left the 42^nd Field Battery on the 1^st of January 1935 to join the 96^th Field Brigade, R.A. (T.A.) at Exeter, Devonshire as a Battery Sergeant Major.  He remained in this position until the 14^th of August 1939 when he was posted as Acting Regimental Sergeant Major with the 142^nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, R.A.[25] at Okehampton, Devonshire.[26]  RSM Harry Trill was serving with this unit when the Second World War started in September of 1939.  On the 1^st of December 1939 he was granted the War Substantive Rank as Regimental Sergeant Major of the 142^nd Field Regiment. 

            On the 16^th of July 1941 Harry Trill was admitted to 14 General Hospital at Basildon, Essex.  The reason for his hospitalization is not specified in his service papers.  He was released from hospital on the 6^th of August 1941 and on the 13^th of August he was posted to the Royal Artillery Depot at Woolwich.  The 142^nd Field Regiment appears to have moved from Okehampton, where Harry first joined the unit, to the depot at Woolwich, as Trill’s records show that he rejoined the 142^nd at Woolwich on the 21^st of August.  Apparently his reason for being in hospital was due to some illness or physical disability which precluded his further service in the Army.  On the 3^rd of October 1941 the Officer Commanding 142^nd Field Regiment completed the necessary paperwork in preparation for Harry’s discharge from the Army.

Figure 9.  The Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich.

             Trill’s discharge papers describe him as follows in 1941:

            The Lieutenant Colonel Commanding 142^nd (R.D.Y.) Regiment, R.A. (T.A.) wrote the following about RSM Harry Trill’s military conduct:[27]

“Has done some very good service during the years he has been under my command, and until his health failed has been trustworthy and efficient.  He is an excellent instructor.”

            Trill’s address on discharge was given in his service papers as 34 Raleigh Road, Exeter, Devonshire and the cause of his discharge was shown as permanently unfit for any form of military service.

Figure 10.  The Trill Residence at 34 Raleigh Road, Exeter, Devonshire.

            On the 7^th of October 1941 Trill’s discharge was confirmed.  His service completed on the day of his discharge was 21 years and 294 days with the Colours. His papers indicated that he had completed no service in the Reserve and that he was “permanently unfit for any form of military service” (health condition unspecified).  He was discharged on becoming non-effective under Paragraph 390(xvi), King’s Regulations.  His discharge from the Royal Regiment of Artillery actually took place on the 3^rd of November 1941 with his service towards his engagement reckoned at 26 years and 300 days.  His service towards pension was 26 years and 199 days.  His former service that was allowed to reckon towards pension (that is, his service in the Royal Engineers during the Great War) was 4 years and 270 days.  To complicate matters even more with regard to total service and date of discharge, his service papers indicate that his service for pension ended on the 13^th of January 1942.  Although he saw no active service in the field during the war, Harry Trill was awarded the Defence Medal and 1939-45 War Medal.

Re-Enlistment in the Royal Engineers (Territorial Army)

            We now come to a very interesting part of the Trill story.  After being declared “unfit for any form of military service” in 1941 Harry Trill was able to reenlist again in the Territorial Army!  He obviously had a penchant for military service, but one wonders how he was able to do this.  Had his health improved to the point where he was no longer unfit?  Were the Territorial Army officials not aware of his health problem?  Did Harry in some way conceal his health problem or did the T.A. simply turn a blind eye to the problem.  One might think that it was intended to assign him to duties that would not be affected by his health problem, but even that assumption contradicts the “any form of military service” statement in his discharge papers.  In any case, on the 16^th of May 1947 Harry Trill reenlisted in the Royal Engineers Territorial Army with his old Army Number, 1043088, and with the rank of a senior non-commissioned officer.  He served in the rank of Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant and on the 2^nd of January 1956 he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours.  No record has been located to indicate for how long he served as a SQMS in the Royal Engineers (T.A.), but it might be safe to assume that the award of the BEM coincided with his final discharge from military service.

6.  PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

a.  Promotions:  Harry Trill received the following promotions during his time in service:

 b.      Appointments:  Harry Trill received the following appointments during his time in service:

7.      MILITARY TRAINING AND EDUCATION

a.  Military Training: Harry Trill received the following military training during his time in service:

b.  Education:  Harry Trill received the following educational qualifications during his time in service.  

 8.      MEDICAL INFORMATION

The following medical information is shown in the service papers of Harry Trill during his periods of service in the Army:

 9.      CONDUCT

             It must be assumed that Harry Trill received at least one and perhaps more Good Conduct Badges during his long service in the Army.  There is no record of these badges being awarded in his service papers.  The following is recorded in Harry Trill’s service papers regarding his conduct while serving in the Army:

 10.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

 Harry Trill received the following medals, awards and decorations during his time in service:[28]

 The medals shown in Figure 11 below are, from left to right:  The British Empire Medal, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Defence Medal, 1939-45 War Medal and Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (GVR).  The authorization for his Great War medals is shown in Figure 12 below and also in the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Medal rolls.  The World War 2 Defence Medal and 1939-45 War Medal were earned by virtue of his service in the United Kingdom from 3 September 1939 to 13 January 1942.  The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was awarded to him by Army Order 175/33 of 1933 and his award of the British Empire Medal was published in the London Gazette of 2 January 1956.

Figure 11.  Harry Trill’s Medals

Figure 12.  Harry Trill’s Great War Medals Index Card.

11.  RELEASE FROM SERVICE

             Harry Trill was released from service for the final time probably in 1956.  His total service was reckoned as shown in the tables below:

 NOTE:  His total home service and total service are not exact since it is not known when he was finally discharged from the Territorial Army either late in 1955 or early in 1956.  He served in the Territorial Force during the Great War, in the Regular Army between the wars and in the Territorial Army after the Second World War.  What can be said of Harry Trill’s time in service is that it was impressive!

 11.  POST SERVICE LIFE

             Nothing was uncovered about Harry Trill’s post service life during the course of this research.  When he finally left the Territorial Army in 1955 or 1956 he was about 60 years old and probably ready for full retirement.  He had been a blacksmith in his younger days, but he probably was too old in 1956 to consider this line of work. 
            In 1966 he and his wife were living at 16 Bayly Avenue in Portchester, a locality and suburb about 6 kilometers northwest of Portsmouth, part of the borough of Fareham in Hampshire.  Throughout his life he and his family had a very close association with the Portsmouth area, so it is not surprising that he would have settled there after leaving the Army

Figure 13.  The Trill Residence at 16 Bayly Avenue in Portchester.

             Harry Trill died in Gosport, Hampshire on the 22^nd of December 1966 at the age of 70.  His death certificate shows him as a Regimental Sergeant Major (retired), Royal Artillery.  Strictly speaking this is not correct as his last rank in the Army was Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant, Royal Engineer in the Territorial Army.  However, as his occupation was given to the registry office by his wife or another relative, they probably saw fit to give the highest rank that Harry held during his entire time in the Army.  The informant of his death was his wife, Daisy L. Trill and her residence was shown as the Bayly Avenue address given above.

            Harry’s cause of death was heart related and may have been an ailment that he had had for many years, including the time when he was declared “unfit for any form of military service.”  Specifically he was diagnosed with coronary thrombosis, ischemic heart disease and hypertension – arterial, right hemiplegia; that is, a stroke paralyzing the right side of the body. 

            Harry’s wife, Daisy Louisa (also known as Louisa Daisy) died Portsmouth on the 11^th of July 1973 at the age of 72.  She was still residing at the Bayly Avenue address at the time of her death.  Her estate was valued at £9,846.

REFERENCES

 Army Lists

 The Monthly Army List, April 1914, p. 852.

 Census Data
 

1. 1901 Census of England and Wales.
2. 1911 Census of England and Wales  

3.       Documents

1. Death Certificate.
2. (Hants) Army Troops Company, R.E. War Diary, January 1915 to March 1919.

Family Trees

Drew Family Tree: Ancestry.com

Internet Web Sites

1. findmaypast.co.uk. 1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription.
2. The Long, Long Trail.  http://www.1914-1918.net/re_fortress.htm
3. Wikiwand: 1^st Hampshire Engineers.  http://www.wikiwand.com/en/1st_Hampshire_Engineers
4. Forces War Records web site.

5. http://www.wikiwand.com/en/1956_New_Year_Honours 

6. Hazelwood School War Records (Edgar Carnegie Anstey).  http://www.hambo.or/hazelwood

7. Google Earth.

7.     Journals

 
Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers, The Royal Engineers Journal, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.

London Gazette

Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 January 1956, p. 29.

Medal Rolls

 
1.      Medal Index Card.

Official Documents

1.      1.  War Diary of the 560^th (Hants) Fortress Company, Royal Engineers.
2.      Certified Copy of an Entry of Death, General Record Office, DYE 164284, re: Harry Trill.

Registers

1.  Birth Registry, 4^th Qtr 1896.
2.  Death Registry 1^st Qtr 1915.
3.  Marriage Registry 3^rd Qtr 1927.
4.  Death Registry 4^th Qtr. 1966.
5.  Probate Register, 1973.
6.  Commonwealth War Graves Commission Register.

Soldiers Service Papers

Great War Period

 Attestation in the Territorial Force (Army Form E. 501). 4 years’ Service in the United Kingdom.
 a.   Description on Enlistment.
c.       Statement of Services.
d.      Military History Sheet.
e.       Casualty Form – Active Service (Army Form B. 103).

Inter-War Years and World War 2.

            a.    Short Service Attestation (Army Form B. 250).
b.      Description on Enlistment.
c.       Military History Sheet.
d.         Statement of Services (3 pages).
e.       Service and Casualty Form (Army Form B. 103-I)(4 pages).
f.       Discharge Document.

Royal Artillery Attestation.

APPENDIX 1

Chronological Outline of the Service of the 560^th (Hants) Army Troops Company, R.E.
in the Great War of 1914-1918  

 APPENDIX 2

Men Who Served in the 560^th Army Troops Company During the Great War of 1914-1918. 
(Medal Roll W329/478 – BWM & VM) and 1914-15 Star Medal Roll

 NOTE: The footnotes at the bottom of each page of Appendix 2 should not be confused with the narrative endnotes that appear at the very end of the Appendices.