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2^nd Lieutenant
ARTHUR LAW MARSHALL
Inland Water Transport, Royal Engineers 

by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, MSCE, BSAE, P.E., MInstRE
(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
(2017, revised 2025) 

Figure 1. 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall
(Image from the Marshall album) 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

            This research was started when the author obtained the Great War service medals of Arthur Law Marshall.  Marshall was not a long-serving officer nor was he a career soldier.  His civilian occupation as a Ship’s Broker served to have him commissioned on the Special List for duty with the Inland Water Transport of the Royal Engineers.  His family was from Sunderland, County Durham (now Tyne and Wear).  Many generations of the Marshall family were born and lived in Sunderland.  For the purposes of this research I have chosen to go only as far back as Arthur Law Marshall’s grandparents for the discussion of his antecedents.

            A large amount of the information contained in this research has been extracted from a book titled The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by Lieutenant Colonel L.J. Hall, O.B.E., R.E.  Additional information concerning the Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia can be found in my previous research on the service of 243837 Corporal Percival Charles, Cave, R.E. at http://www.reubique.com/243837.htm.

            The author is very much indebted to Mr. James Patience, a gentleman in the United Kingdom, who was in possession of a photograph album from Marshall’s days on active service.  Mr. Patience was kind enough to present the album to me to assist in this research.  The photographs in the album were very small in size, measuring about 1.6” by 2.5.”  They were taken by Marshall using an old camera so the original quality was not all that good.  In addition, the photographs are 100 years old and have faded considerably.   Fortunately, Marshall had kept the photographs in an album, although not on acid free paper, and he had written the subjects of the photos on the back of each one, including some dates.  It was therefore possible to use the photographs to reconstruct some of his movement between 1918 and 1919 while he was on active service.   The reader must understand that I have had to make some suppositions regarding facts when interpreting the photographs.  Hopefully I have not gone too far astray in some cases.

            I must also acknowledge the efforts of Mr. Stuart Gase, an ex-Sapper, a medal collector and a researcher, who was kind enough to search for Marshall’s service papers for me at the National Archives in London.  The papers were located in War Office file WO 374/46205 and consisted of 18 pages.  Stuart photographed each document for me.  These documents provided many of the details regarding Marshall’s service, including the dates and places described in the narrative.

2.  EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

The Marshall Family 

Table 1. 1881 Census Data.

            Table 1 above provides data regarding the grandparents of Arthur Law Marshall as recorded in the 1881 Census of England.  The address of the Marshall family in 1881 was 48 Ward Street in Sunderland.

            Septimus Marshall, the father of Arthur Law Marshall, married Margaret Myers in 1884.  Table 2 below provides data related to the parents of Arthur Law Marshall as recorded in the 1891 Census.

Table 2. 1891 Census Data.

            Family tree information found on Ancestry.com regarding the Marshall family indicates the following:

·         The family of Septimus Marshall was living at 2 Kensington Terrace, in Sunderland in 1891.  

·         Arthur Law Marshall was born on the 18^th of September 1885.

·         Jane Maud Marshall was born on the 29^th of March 1887.

·         Septimus and Margaret Marshall had another child, Hilda Margaret Marshall, who was born in Sunderland on the 9^th of July 1892.

·         Arthur Law Marshall’s brother, Herbert Myers Marshall, was born in Sunderland in 1896. 

            Number 2 Kensington Terrace is a town house and is now, in the year 2017, 37 Toward Road, Sunderland SR2 8JF.  The house is located near the intersection of Toward Road and Beaumont Street.  The photograph in Figure 2 below, taken from Toward Road with Beaumont Street on the left, shows the house in a state of disrepair and in need of some painting, not surprising given the fact that the structure is more than 126 years old. 

Figure 2.  2 Kensington Terrace, Sunderland.
(The house with the black door is 2 Kensington Terrace, the residence of the Marshall family in 1891)
(photograph from Google Earth Street View) 

Education

            Arthur Law Marshall’s application for a commission during the Great War of 1914-1918 shows that he attended James Hanna’s (Private) school from 1890 to 1899.  This school was formally known as Argyle House School and it was established in 1884 by its founder, Mr. James Hanna, M.A. who was its principal. He looked after the concerns of the school until he handed it over to his son James. James ran the school until he passed away in 1935.  The school was located at number 12 Thornhill Park area in Sunderland at the time that Arthur Marshall would have been in attendance there.

            The 1901 Census of England (Registration District of Teesdale) shows Arthur as a scholar residing as a boarder at the Northeastern County School in Barnard Castle, County Durham.  He was 16 years of age.  The school was located in the Civil Parish of Barnard Castle, Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Mary in the town of Barnard Castle. 

Figure 3.  The Crest of Barnard Castle School.
(image from Internet web site)

            The school can trace its origins to an endowment made by John I. de Balliol, then Lord of Barnard Castle, in 1229.  The school itself was established in 1883 when it occupied temporary premises in Middleton One Row, County Durham, while construction of the school was undertaken in Barnard Castle.  Initially there were 25 boarders and 10 day pupils, but by the end of 1884, there were 76 boarders.  Originally known as the North Eastern County School, as it was when Arthur Marshall was there, the main school building was completed on the 2^nd of February 1886 and initially housed 116 boarders and 12 day pupils.  The Bishop of Durham presided over the foundation ceremony.  The building was designed by Clark & Moscrop of Darlington in the Jacobean style, and is a Grade II listed building built with local Yorkstone and Lakeland slate.  

            The object of the school was to provide a liberal education, with fees a fraction of those charged by public schools.  This probably suited Arthur’s family very well as his father may not have been able to afford higher fees for his children’s education. Tolerance of non-conformist denominations such as Methodism and Roman Catholicism characterized the school's ethos, and the school has always remained independent of the Church of England.[2]  A strong sporting program was believed to have built character at Barnard Castle.

            In contrast to the largely classical education offered by many of the public schools of the time, the school always maintained a focus on scientific and technological education.  This focus on technology would help Arthur in his future career and probably was a significant factor in his being commissioned in the Army without any formal military training.   

            The school name was changed to Barnard Castle School in 1924, and it was at that this time one of the largest public schools in the north of England.[3]

Figure 4.  Barnard Castle School.
(photograph from Internet web site) 

            By April of 1911 Arthur Law Marshall was residing with his parents at 16, The Oaks East, Sunderland.  Table 3 below shows the details of the Marshall family as compiled for the 1911 Census of England and Wales. 

Table 3. 1911 Census Data.

            Notes in the census return indicates that Septimus and Margaret had completed “26 years in the marriage” and that they had had four children “born alive” and all four children were “still living.”

            Arthur’s occupation is shown as a Ships Broker.  A Ships Broker was an individual who provided a financial service as part of the global shipping industry. Ships Brokers were specialist intermediaries/negotiators; that is, brokers, between ship owners and charterers who used ships to transport cargo, or between buyers and sellers of vessels.  Since his father was a Ship Owner it would be safe to assume that he was employed by his father in the family business.

            Arthur married Nellie Johnson Blyth, age 27, in Sunderland in July of 1911.  Their first child, Mildred Blyth Marshall, was born in Sunderland on the 24^th of April 1912.

            On the 14^th of October 1912 Arthur was initiated in the Freemasons, Wearmouth Lodge (No. 2934)[5] in Sunderland.  He and his wife and daughter were still living at 2 Kensington Terrace at the time and it appears that they continued to live at this address with Arthur’s parents, probably until his return from duties in the Great War of 1914-1918.

3.  COMMISSIONING AND QUALIFICATIONS 

Commissioning

            Arthur Law Marshall submitted an application to an Officer Cadet Unit on the 10^th of December 1917 “with a view to appointment to a Temporary Commission in the Regular Army for the period of the War, to a Commission in the Special Reserve of Officers or to a Commission in the Territorial Force.”  He provided the following information on this application (Form M.T. 393 A):[6]

Table 4. Application for Commission.

             Some of the information contained in the application form repeats and confirms information previously provided, but the content of the form seems to be worth including if for no other reason than to comment on some of the questions asked of a potential officer candidate.  I find it curious that it was necessary to ask if the candidate was of “Pure European Descent” and to ask him about the “Nationality by Birth of Father.”  One could almost conclude that the British Army was seeking “ethnic purity” in its officer ranks by asking these questions.  We also learn that Marshall could ride a horse, although his degree of competence is not known, that in addition to his work as a “Shipbroker” he also was an exporter of coal, and that he did not know how to spell the word “preparatory.”

            In a separate document attached to his application for a commission we find that Marshall had knowledge of French and that he spent 12 months in the “Civic Guard.”  What he meant by “Civic Guard” is not known.  He also supplied the following work history with his application:

·   4 years Chartering Clerk in the Newcastle Office of Messrs. Speeding, Marshall & Co., Steamship Owners and Brokers.

·   2 years as Customs and Water Clerk with Messrs. Gebruder van Uden & Co. in Antwerp.  Note: A Water Clerk was a clerk from a ship owner's or agent's office, who boards an arriving ship.  His duties included meeting ships on their arrival to facilitate Customs and other related formalities.

·   3 years Manager for Messrs. Speeding, Marshall & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne.

·   6 years partner in the firm of Messrs. Speeding, Marshall & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne.[7]

            On the 21^st of December 1917 the Director of Inland Waterways & Docks (D.I.W. & D.) forwarded a note to the Military Secretary (M.S.1) at the War Office requesting that Marshall be commissioned as a Temporary 2^nd Lieutenant on the General List for duty with the Inland Waterways and Docks Section of the Royal Engineers, with effect from the 1^st of January 1918.  There is a stamp on this note in red ink that says SUBMIT TO KING/LG 7-1-18.

            At this point in the research of Marshall’s military service things become somewhat confused as to what happened and on what date it did happen.  The Supplement to the London Gazette of 8 January 1918, p. 459, indicates that Arthur Law Marshall was appointed a Temporary 2^nd Lieutenant on the Special List (not the General List) and was posted for duty with the Inland Waterways and Docks, a branch of the Inland Water Transport (I.W.T.) service of the Royal Engineers.  Although his temporary appointment stated in this edition of the London Gazetted is shown as the 1^st of January 1917, his application for the commission was not made until the end of 1917.  Here is the citation from the London Gazette showing his appointment as of the 1^st of January 1917:

Figure 5.  Extract from the London Gazette of 8 January 1918.
(image from London Gazette Internet web site) 

Needless to say these different dates cause much confusion.  Since his service papers clearly show that he made application for commission at the end of 1917 and that the D.I.W. & D. forwarded his application at that time, it can only be assumed that there was a typographical error in the London Gazette.  The stamp on the note of the D.I.W. & D. also indicates that the request was submitted to the sovereign for approval on the 7^th of January 1918, thereby making its publication in the London Gazette on the following day understandable.

            As part of his application for a commission Marshall had to undergo a medical examination.  This examination took place at the Duke of York’s Headquarters in London on the 10^th of December 1917.  Marshall indicated during the examination that except for bronchitis and antral disease[8] he had never suffered from any serious illness or injury, mental or bodily infirmity, he had never suffered from fits of any description and that his near and distant vision was good.  He did not wear eyeglasses.

            The officer of the Royal Army Medical Corps who examined him certified him fit for military service in the I.W.T., R.E. and indicated that his Medical Category was B1.  This category indicated that he was unfit for general service abroad but fit for base or garrison service at home and abroad.  His duties with the I.W.T. would be qualified as “garrison service abroad.”  The doctor commented that he suffered from bronchitis and antral disease.  Marshall was 69 inches tall, weighed 143 pounds and had minimum and maximum chest measurements of 33 inches and 36 inches, respectively.  Although Marshall was found fit for service in a garrison abroad, it will be seen how faulty this examination and the doctor’s conclusions were when Marshall’s ability to perform his duties are examined later on.

Qualifications

            Since Marshall had been a Ships Broker in civilian life, and given the duties that he was to perform in the Army, it seems likely that he did not require or receive any military training prior to or after his commissioning, except perhaps for the correct way to wear his uniform.  His commission on the Special List (or General List)[9] indicates that he possessed certain skills that the Army required and was able to obtain a direct commission from civil life without any additional training.  The short period of time between his commissioning and his embarking for overseas service also bears out the fact that he received little if any military training.

            The fact that a note was sent to the War Officer from the D.I.W. & D. requesting that Marshall be given a commission appears to be clear evidence of a number of things.  First of all, Marshall’s father’s firms Speeding, Marshall & Co. and Speeding & Marshall Shipping Co. may have been well-known to the Ministry of Defence and Septimus Marshall may have known the D.I.W. & D. (Major-General A.S. Collard, CB, CVO) personally.  Having worked in the shipping business himself for 15 years it is possible that Arthur Marshall may have been personally acquainted with Major-General Collard and surely these 15 years of experience must have been credited to him by the Army in order for him to receive a direct commission at the age of 32 into a specialized branch of the Royal Engineers.  In other words, Marshall may have been considered to have the necessary attributes and skills needed for the type of assignment which was to receive.

            In his book The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia (pp. 208 and 209), Lieutenant Colonel L.J. Hall, OBE, R.E. describes the necessary attributes for an officer serving in Marshall’s capacity as follows:

The administration of an organization such the I.W.T. in Mesopotamia demands officers with unusual experience.  It is necessary for them to possess sufficient education for ordinary official business, they must have a thorough grounding in seafaring knowledge, which can only be learnt at sea, they should also be accustomed to discipline and the handling of men, and have general knowledge of ship construction, dockyard organisation, rivers and their conservancy, surveying, stevedoring, construction of wharves and bridges, and a knowledge of the world. 

            Apparently Marshall was deemed to have the necessary experience as described above in order to obtain his appointment as an officer in the I.W.T.   His work as a Ships Broker in his father’s firm certainly would have provided some of this experience.  Since his father was a Ship Owner, Marshall probably had acquired quite a bit of seafaring knowledge including ship construction, dockyard organization and stevedoring.   It must also be remembered that at the North Eastern County School (Barnard Castle), the school always maintained a focus on scientific and technological education.  Hence, Marshall could have obtained a good foundation in surveying and some knowledge of wharf and bridge construction.  

4.  SERVICE DURING THE GREAT WAR

Overview of the Inland Water Transport and Docks Section, R.E. 

            The Inland Water Transport and Docks Section of the Royal Engineers was originally formed in December of 1914 to deal with and to develop transport on canals and waterways of France and Belgium.  The Section at first operated under the Director of Railways, but, owing to the rapid development of Inland Water Transport, a special directorate was formed in October of 1915. 

            In the summer of 1916 all non-transport work in Mesopotamia became a part of the Inland Water Transport Directorate’s responsibilities, and during 1917 its scope was extended to cover Inland Water Transport and Dock Working in Egypt, in Salonika, and in other theatres of war.

            These extended responsibilities entailed large increases in establishments.  Up to December of 1917, some 1,100 officers and nearly 30,000 men transferred to or enlisted in the Inland Water Transport Section.  During 1917 over 600 officers and 8,000 men were drafted overseas to theatres of war as indicated in the table below:

Table 5. Strength of the Inland Water Transport Section, Royal Engineers.

(*) Lines of Communication. 

            The European personnel in Mesopotamia were supplemented by over 42,000 native personnel from India, Egypt, West Africa and China.  At the end of the Great War of 1914-1918 the total personnel in the Inland Water Transport and Docks Service amounted to 1,666 officers and 29,436 other ranks.

Senior Commanders, Inland Water Transport, Mesopotamia 

            The following officers made up the senior command of the I.W.T. in Mesopotamia and were men with whom 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall would have worked for, albeit, indirectly:

Figure 6.  Major-General the Hon. Sir A.R.M. Stuart Wortley, K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O.
(photograph from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall) 

            As Director of Movements at the War Office, Major-General Stuart Wortley raised and formed the Inland Water Transport.  He subsequently became the Deputy Quartermaster General in Mesopotamia.  He may have been the individual who recommended Arthur Law Marshall for his commission.

Figure 7.  Major-General A.S. Collard, C.B., C.V.O.
(photograph from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall)           

            Major-General Collard was the Director of Inland Waterways and Docks at the War Office when the Inland Transport was first organized in Mesopotamia.

Figure 8.  Brigadier-General R.H.W. Hughes, C.S.I., D.S.O.
(photograph from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall) 

            Brigadier-General Hughes was the Director of Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia from May 1917 until the end of the war.  Marshall would have been serving under him during his time in Mesopotamia and they quite possibly could have met.

Organization of the Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia

            The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia consisted of a number of departments, each having a specific mission to perform.  These departments included the following:-[10]

• Transport Department: responsible for the movements of all vessels up or down the river along with the supply and distribution of coal and fuel oil.

• Dockyards Department: responsible for the repairs needed by vessels.

• Construction Department: responsible for construction of facilities at I.W.T. bases to include building, quarters and other required structures.

• Up-River Works Department: responsible for construction of wharves, oil tanks and the running of repair workshops up river.

• Personnel Department: responsible for the maintenance of records and supply for all Eastern races employed, as well as rations, clothing and other items of personal equipment.

• Vessels Department: responsible for the inspection and upkeep of vessels other than engine rooms or machinery.  This department also was responsible for the administration of deck personnel.

• Marine Engineering Department: responsible for the inspection and reporting on engine room conditions and coordination with the Dockyards Department for the necessary repairs. 

• Accounts Department: responsible for the finance of all departments and all payments.

• Stores Department: responsible for the maintenance of supply and issue of all stores.

• Bouyage and Pilotage Department:  responsible for marking of the river for navigational purposes.

• Native Craft Department: responsible for the supply, maintenance and operation of native craft utilized on the river.

            The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia operated on the Tigris, Shatt-el-Arab and Euphrates rivers as well as the tributaries of the Tigris to include the Diyalah, the Shatt-al-Hai and the Karun.[11]

The Duties of 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall

Entry on Active Service

            Arthur Law Marshall’s commission as a 2^nd Lieutenant became official on the 1^st of January 1918.[12]  The Army decided that Marshall’s talents could be well utilized in Mesopotamia.  To get to his duty station he embarked at Southampton on the 14^th of February 1918 aboard S.S. Monas Queen[13] with stops at Alexandria, Egypt and Suez.[14] 

Figure 9.  S.S. Monas Queen.
(photograph from Internet web site)

He appears to have spent some time in Sidi Bishr just outside of Alexandria, changing transports to take him to Mesopotamia.  He subsequently embarked on A.T. Varna for the final leg of his trip.

            A photograph of him in a tent city in Sidi Bishr (see Figure 11 below) shows that he did spend some time there and he even had time to visit Alexandria and snap some pictures.

After what presumably was a short stay in Sidi Bishr, Marshall embarked for the final leg of his journey to Mesopotamia, again presumably aboard A.T. Varna.  He traveled passed Port Said into the Suez Canal and down to Suez city where he disembarked for a short period.

            Fortunately for a married, 32-year old man, the ship did not stop at Port Said, so he was not forced to resist the temptations of that town.  In 1899 Rudyard Kipling wrote of the place that:

“There is iniquity in many parts of the world, and vice in all, but the concentrated essence of all the iniquities and all the vices in all the continents finds itself at Port Said.”

The Light That Failed, Chapter III  

Figure 10.  Map of Marshall’s Route to Suez.
(map from Internet web site) 

Figure 11.  2^nd Lieutenant Marshall (seated) and an Officer Named Bowden in Sidi Bishr.[15]
(photograph from Marshall’s album) 

            Acting like a tourist, Marshall snapped numerous photographs of everyday life in Suez during his free time, the photographs below being typical. 

  
Figures 12 and 13. Photographs from the Suez.
(Images from the Marshall album)

            After leaving Suez his ship took him into the Gulf of Suez, out into the Indian Ocean and ultimately to his duty station at Basrah in Mesopotamia.

Basrah, Mesopotamia

            Marshall disembarked at Basrah on the 16^th of April 1918 .On his arrival in Basrah Marshall was posted to the Inland Water Transport for service under the Deputy Assistant Director Dockyard (D.A.D. Dockyard Basrah).  This organization consisted of a camp commandant and two officers.[16] 

            The Basrah Dockyard was located on the Shatt-al-Arab between Ashara Creek and Khandak Creek.  The officers’ area within the Dockyard was located along Khandak Creek and consisted of officers’ quarters and an officer’s mess (see Figure 14 below). 

Figure 14.  The Inland Water Transport Dockyard, Basrah, Showing the Intersection of the Shatt-al-Arab and Khandak Creek.
(map from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall)

            The Dockyard had been significantly enlarged and improved by the time that Marshall arrived there early in 1918.  Slipways had been constructed that were capable of dealing with all probable requirements.  The material for building up the foundations for the slipways had been obtained from a borrow pit by excavating a wet basin in the rear of the Dockyard.  The borrow pit then was converted into a dock where vessels under repair could be berthed, instead of lying in the stream.  This construction had improved operations of the Dockyard by at least 25 per cent by having the vessels in close proximity to the workshops instead of having to ferry men and materials out to them in midstream.

            Shortly after Marshall’s arrival at Basrah, the Dockyard Department took over control of all upstream workshops as they were completed by the Construction Department, thereby making the personnel of the Dockyard Department responsible for the maintenance and efficiency         of these workshops in addition to those at Basrah.  One can assume that Marshall’s may have required him to travel from his home station in Basrah to these outlying upstream workshops to carry out some of his duties, although given the poor state of his health shortly after arriving at Basrah he may not have done any traveling.

            The Basrah Dockyard was a complex organization under the command of Lieutenant Colonel H. Robertson, C.M.G., R.E.  It consisted of many departments and workshops with a large amount of machinery.  These sub-elements of the Dockyard consisted of the following:

·         Dockmaster’s Department

·         Electrical Workshops

·         Power House

·         Electric Motors Workshop

·         Carpenter’s Shop

·         Foundry

·         Machine and Fittings Shops

·         Boiler and Machinery for Workshops Driving

·         Boilermaker’s Shop

·         Blacksmith’s Shop

·         Acetylene Welding Store

·         Slipways[17]

·         Pumping Station.

Figure 15.  A Seagoing Tug on No. 1 Slipway in Basrah.
(Could the man in the photograph be 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall?)
(photograph from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall)

            Co-located with the Basrah Dockyard was a Motor Repair Dockyard under the command of Major D.P. Lamb, R.E. that was an organization separate from the Basrah Dockyard with its own officers.  It is apparent from the list above that many trades were working in the Dockyard Department at Basrah and as such the Dockyard officers were required to have a least a working knowledge of the operations of each department or workshop in order to provide overall supervision for the work undertaken.  Again, Marshall’s technical and scientific education and his work as a Ship’s Broker probably would have been valuable in this regard had he stayed around long enough to perform any duties.  His poor state of health, as will be described shortly, essentially made him non-effective upon his arrival at Basrah.  

Figure 16.  Headquarters Building, Inland Water Transport, Basrah
Decorated for the Armistice in 1918.[18]
(photograph from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall) 

            The Basrah Dockyard area was approximately 40 acres, much of which had been constructing by filling operations adjacent to the river.  The Dockyard consisted of wharves, slipways and jetties that were equipped in a thoroughly up-to-date manner for the time, rendering it capable of expeditiously and efficiently dealing with repairs of any kind.  The average daily number of steam vessels at the Dockyard under repair was about 40 and due to the improved conditions and greater facilities over 100 vessels per week were sometimes repaired in 1918 during the time that Marshall was assigned there.

            The Dockyard was a self-contained installation comparable to any that existed in India in the early twentieth century.  In addition to the workshops it had numerous other building such as a headquarters building, a time office, post office, guardroom, pump house, boat building shed, power house, hospital, heat stroke station (probably much needed), drinking water posts, a ration store, cookhouse, dining rooms, canteens, and quarters for all personnel.

            On the 27^th of December 1917, shortly before Marshall’s arrival in Mesopotamia, the Basrah Dockyard personnel strength was 34 Officers, 201 British Other Ranks and 3,588 Eastern Races.[19]  When the Armistice was declared on the 11^th of November 1918 the strength of the Basrah Dockyard was 39 Officers, 202 British Other Ranks and 3,585 Eastern Races.[20]  As can be seen there was practically no change in the strength of the organization after one year.

Figure 17.  The British Other Ranks Staff of the Basrah Dockyard.
(photograph from The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia by L.J. Hall)

2^nd Lieutenant Marshall’s Work in Basrah

            Specific details of Marshall’s activities while at Basrah are not known, although they could not have amounted to much as he was only on duty there for 24 of the 48 days that he spent in Basrah..  One can surmise that he would have been involved in the general activities of the Dockyard as described above.  This type of duty was not as spectacular as that of the frontline troops in France and Flanders or in other areas of Mesopotamia, yet the duty was vital to the operations being undertaken in the area.  Although it was “behind the lines” duty it is interesting to note that 34 officers of the Inland Water Transport died while serving in Mesopotamia along with 103 British Non-Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks.  Among the non-British personnel (both European and non-white) serving in the I.W.T. there were 69 deaths.  Death by disease and drowning seemed to be the major causes of the casualties.[21] 

            Despite the rear area nature of the I.W.T. work there were numerous awards and decorations given to personnel serving in Mesopotamia.  The table below summarizes these awards.[22]

Table 6. Honours and Awards to Personnel of the I.W.T., Mesopotamia.

NOTES:

1. The awards in bold type in the table above were made for gallant conduct in the field, indicating that some men of the I.W.T. were engaged with enemy forces.

2. 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall was not one of the recipients of any of these awards.  

            From the photographs contained in his album, Marshall appears to have spent some time in the Ashar Creek area near the Basrah Dockyards.

Figure 18.  Ashar Creek Looking Towards Shatt-al-Arab.
(photograph from Internet web site) 

            His photographs also indicate that he worked on the repair S.S. Abbassiah after its collision with another vessel in Suda Bay.

Figure 19.  The Damaged Hull of S.S. Abbassiah in for Repair at Basrah Dockyard.
(photograph from Marshall’s album)

            During his free moments Marshall spent time in the city of Basrah with his camera and was able to record the Bazaar, many street scenes and boatmen on the rivers and creeks in the city.  These photographs are too numerous to include here and their quality, given that their age of over 100 years, is poor.

            Marshall was reminded that there was a war in progress not far from his location when Turkish prisoners of war began to arrive at Basrah for further disposition and internment.  These prisoners, photographed by him, were sent to camps in Egypt and some were even sent to India, as Marshall was soon to learn.

Figure 20.  Turkish Prisoners of War at Basrah.
(photograph from Marshall’s album) 

Health Problems in Mesopotamia

            Marshall’s Casualty Form – Active Service (Army Form B. 103) shows that his health was not all that good while he served in Mesopotamia.  The following table indicates the difficulties that he encountered: 

Table 7. 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall’s Medical Record in Basrah.

Figure 21. No. 3 General Hospital, Basrah.
(photograph from Internet web site)

Figure 22. Bett Naman Officer’s Hospital, Basrah.
(photograph from Internet web site)

Nasik, India

             Based upon his poor health record, 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall was invalided to India immediately upon his release from the Bett Naman Officer’s Hospital.  He left Basrah aboard S.S. Varna[23] on the 2^nd of June 1918, some five months prior to the Armistice being signed.  His stay in Mesopotamia had only lasted 48 days, of which 24 days had been spent in hospital.  His destination was Bombay, India.  Upon arriving at Bombay he disembarked and moved to the British encampment at Nasik (Nashik). 

Figure 23.  Map Showing the Location of Nasik, India.
(map from Expedia Maps.com) 

            Nasik appears to have been a temporary holding area for officers and men who were bound for home and were awaiting a troopship to take them there.  Marshall was assigned a bungalow as his living quarters (transient quarters) and as seen in the photograph below it was anything but luxurious.  The bungalow appeared to consist of two rooms, perhaps one being a sitting room and the other a bedroom.  As the photograph shows, the furniture was rather crude.  The crudeness of construction of Marshall’s bungalow and furniture would reinforce the idea that he was an officer in transit rather one assigned to Nasik.  He might have had to share this bungalow with another officer, but surely he (or they) would have had an Indian servant or two to see to their needs. 

Figure 24.  2^nd Lieutenant Marshall’s Bungalow in Nasik, India.
(photograph from Marshall’s album) 

            Fortunately for Marshall and the others officer waiting at Nasik for transport home there was an officers’ mess where they could pass some time.  This photograph of the mess shows it to be somewhat better appointed than his bungalow.

Figure 25.  The Officers’ Mess at Nasik, India.
(photograph from Marshall’s album) 

            Since presumably Marshall had no duties to perform at Nasik while he waited for a medical board and a troopship to take him home, he did a lot of touring of the countryside in and around the town.  Again, he was very active with his camera taking photos of street scenes, religious festivals, temples and the river flowing through the city.

            Nasik lies in the northern part of Maharashtra state at 2,300 feet above mean sea level. The river Godavari originates from the Brahmagiri Mountain, Trimbakeshwar about 24 km (15 mi) from Nashik and flows through the old residential settlement, now in the central part of the city.

            Nasik is an ancient holy city known for its links to the “Ramayana” epic poem. On the Godavari River is Panchavati, a temple complex, which Marshall seems to have taken an interest in. Nearby, Lord Rama was thought to have bathed at Ram Kund water tank, today attended by Hindu devotees. Shri Kalaram Sansthan Mandir is an ancient shrine to Rama, while Rama and Sita are said to have worshipped at Sita Gufaa caves.

            Marshall spent a good deal of time roaming around Nasik and took a good number of photos of the various temples and statues of Hindu gods, two of which are shown here.

   
Figures 26 and 27.  Hindu Temples in Nasik.
(photographs from Marshall’s album) 

            In close proximity to the camp at Nasik was the British camp at Deolali. Deolali is located in the Western Ghats of India, about180 kilometers northeast of Bombay. It has a long military history, with the first cantonment being established by the British in 1861. The Deolali cantonment was a transit camp for soldiers from the days of the British Raj until after the Second World War, acting as both a training camp for newly arrived soldiers and a point of embarkation for those returning home. Soldiers arriving in Bombay were transported to Deolali by train. Acclimatization began almost immediately with route marches, physical training and close order drill. Depending on the operational requirements, troops remained at the camp for anything from a few days to several weeks and were then dispatched throughout the continent. 

            In the nineteenth century, the trooping season operated during the winter and spring only.  This had little effect on reinforcement drafts, but for ‚time-expired-soldiers at the end of their tours of duty, this limited season could have disastrous consequences. Soldiers posted to Deolali to await repatriation after the end of the trooping season in March would have to wait until the following November for the first troopship home.  This may have been the situation with 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall; that is, his stay in the Nasik-Deolali area may have been a long one.  One can only imagine Marshall’s disgust at being trapped in this area because he was required to appear before a medical board prior to his return home.  Perhaps he was given some type of duty while he was there or perhaps he was just classified as an invalided officer without any duties to perform.  Whatever his status, he could not have been happy with his situation.

            Deolali was not the most pleasant of places to be stationed and Marshall probably was fortunate that he found a place in Nasik.  Nasik is one of the holiest places for Hindu worship in India, with numerous temples and ghats lining the banks of the river Godavari. However, it was also famous for its gin parlours and brothels, which inevitably attracted the bored soldier. Syphilis and other venereal diseases were rife, and in severe cases, required hospitalization. 

Simla, India

            A photograph from Marshall’s album, dated the 21^st of July 1918, indicates that he was in Simla on this date.  Simla was the site of the British government offices in India during the hot summer months.  It was a town located in the mountains and where the summer palace of the Viceroy of India was located; that is, it was the summer capital of India.  Many British officers would go to Simla during the summer months to get away from the heat of the lowlands.  Marshall appears to have been given the opportunity to do so for the purpose of appearing before a medical board.  Two photographs in his album show a scene of the town and British subjects on the streets of Simla.          

 
Figures 28 and 29.  A View of Simla (right) and British Leaving Services at Christ Church in Simla.
(photographs from Marshall’s album) 

Figure 30.  Christ Church, Simla, as it Appears Today.
(photograph from an Internet web site) 

            While at Simla he appeared before a medical board on the 19^th of August 1918.  The board president was Colonel W. Molesworth, C.I.E., V.H.S., I.M.S.  Board members consisted of Captain G.N. Smyth, R.A.M.C. and Captain J. Irvine, R.A.M.C.  The board determined that 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall exhibited “Regular” habits, that he has an “Equable” temperament and that his disease consisted of “Inflammation of accessory sinuses of the nose.”[24]  The board’s detailed description of his ailments was as follows:[25]

“History of asthma and bronchitis every year at home.  Arrived Mesopotamia 18-4-18 from England.  Two days later was admitted to No. 3 B.G.H. Basra suffering from asthma discharged on 29^th April. On May 23^rd went sick with sand-fly fever again admitted to No. 3 B.G.H.  Has suffered from antral disease for over 15 months (see Endnote 8).  The antrum was syringed daily through a sinus in the left upper jaw.  Transferred to India 9-6-18, operated on a Colaba War Hospital, 1^st left premolar tooth extracted also molar tooth cavity scraped and found to open into the antrum of

[?].  Chest nothing definite except that the breath sounds are somewhat harsh at both apices.[26]  No cough or sweats at night.

Present condition

The sinus is washed out regularly after every meal but is still discharging noticeably the morning.  During the period this patient was in Mesopotamia he was in Hospital practically all the time.  In view of the doubtful condition at the apex of his lungs and the chronic discharging atrial sinus it will perhaps be advisable that he should not return to Mesopotamia.  He is fit for duty in India.”

Board Findings

In condition as described [above] we consider that this officer is fit for service in a temperate climate but that it is inadvisable for him to remain in the tropics.

Board Recommendations

The Board recommends that he proceed to England for duty.  He is fit for duty with troops on board ship, route immaterial.”

            The Board’s recommendations were followed and on the 2^nd of September 1918, 2^nd Lieutenant Marshall boarded R.M.S. Archangel at Bombay and sailed for Southampton, having been found “unfit for duty in the tropics, but fit for duty only in England.”

Figure 31.  R.M.S. Archangel.
(photograph from an Internet web site) 

            Just prior to his Arthur’s medical board in Simla, tragedy had struck the Marshall family in the form of the death of Arthur’s brother.  It is not known whether Arthur Marshall was made aware of this tragedy while he was in India or whether he learned about it when he returned to England.

 The Death of Herbert Myers Marshall

            On the 10^th of August 1918 his brother Herbert Myers Marshall was killed at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.  Herbert was serving as a dental surgeon in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve aboard His Majesty’s Hospital Ship (H.M.H.S) China.  The ship hit a mine and four lives were lost, including Lieutenant Herbert Myers Marshall who was aged 23 years. Herbert Myers Marshall had only recently obtained the L.D.S. (Licentiate in Dental Surgery). It is thought that the ship was moored in Scapa Flow, presumably at a safe anchorage, and the four who were killed had gone fishing in a whaler when it struck a mine.  In his memory Lt Marshall’s parents, Septimus and Margaret Marshall, provided money to built the Marshall Memorial Hall in Sunderland.[27]  His memorial plaque is pictured below.

Figure 32.  Lieutenant Herbert Myers Marshall Memorial Plaque.
(photograph from an Internet web site) 

            In addition to this plaque, the service and death of Lieutenant Marshall are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial at Chatham, Kent.

Figure 33.  The Chatham Naval Memorial.
(photograph from an Internet web site)

           Some members of the crew of H.M.H.S. China are shown below.  

Figure 34.  Crewmen of H.M.H.S. China.
(photograph from an Internet web site) 

Figure 35.  More Crewmen of H.M.H.S. China.
(photograph from an Internet web site) 

2^nd Lieutenant Marshall Returns Home 

            Marshall left India early in 1919 and according to a photograph in his album he reached Taranto, Italy in February.[28]  Another photograph in the album shows him standing alongside a train in France with two other officers; one named J.S. Dawson and the other named J. Sproule.  I have identified Dawson as being a Lieutenant in the 2^nd Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners.  Dawson and Marshall probably met while they both were at Nasik.

            The photographs provide two possibilities with regard to Marshall’s trip home from India.  He may have taken the photograph of Taranto as his ship passed the Italian coast and then went on to land him at Marseilles, or he might have disembarked at Taranto and traveled by train into France.  In either case he eventually ended up in France and from there he proceeded by train to the coast and thence to England. 

            According to the Army Records Centre he relinquished his commission on the 31^st of January 1919 on completion of his military service.  The Army Records Centre letter cited in the References of this narrative is very specific with regard to the date of his leaving the Army.  However, this date is at odds with the entry in Marshall’s photo album where he indicates that he still was aboard a ship en route home off the coast of Italy in February of 1919.  One must assume that the termination of his commission and his military service was backdated from the date of his arrival home.

            Marshall’s Protection Certificate (Army Form Z. 3) shows that he originally was assigned to No. 2 Dispersal Area, Shorncliffe and then to Dispersal Area No. 5A in Richborough where he was to rejoin the forces in case of emergency.  His Medical Category is shown as C.III indicating that he was unfit permanently for General Service or for Garrison Duty Abroad, but that he was fit for Home Service and Light Duty.  The certificate shows his permanent address as 2, Kensington Terrace, Sunderland and his occupation in civil life as a Ship Owner.

            During his time in service, Arthur Law Marshall did not receive any promotions.  He was demobilized in January of 1919 as a 2^nd Lieutenant.  He did, however, receive two medals issued for his service as shown in the following section of this narrative.

            The question has arisen in this author’s mind as to whether or not it had been prudent to commission Arthur Marshall in the first place.  I would guess that he probably wanted “to do his bit” for the war effort and to that end he applied for the commission.  He was 32 years old, his health was not all that good, so one wonders why the Army would have taken him in the first place.  I suspect that either he or his father had friends in the I.W.T. Section of the Royal Engineers and when Arthur indicated a desire to serve, these friends mobilized to recommend him for a commission giving his experience as a Ship Broker as sufficient reason to grant his request.  When one looks at the fact in retrospect, Marshall served so little time on active service as to make his commissioning a complete waste to time, effort and money.  In Section 6 below, his SUMMARY OF SERVICE, this fact will be clearly demonstrated.

5.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS 

            2^nd Lieutenant Marshall Major Douglas received the following medals during his time in service:[29]

Table 8. The Medals Awarded to Arthur Law Marshall.

(NOTE: These medals are in the author’s collection) 

Figure 36.  The Medals of 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall.
(Left to right: British War Medal, Victory Medal,
Special Constabulary Long Service Medal)
(photograph from the author’s collection) 

Figure 37.  The Great War Medal Index Card of Arthur Law Marshall.
(image from Ancestry.com)

6. SUMMARY OF SERVICE 

            The table below provides a summary of the service of 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall:

Table 9. Summary of Service of 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall.

           The dates shown in the table must be considered to be approximate due to the discrepancies noted between his service papers and the notes he had written on his photographs.  There also are discrepancies between the dates shown on his Medical Board report and in other parts of his service papers.  However, the table gives a reasonable summary of his service and shows that of the one year and 26 days that he served, only 48 days were spent on station in Basrah and according to the Medical Board half of those days were spent in hospital.  He spent 139 days simply traveling.  To be sure, the Army did not get their monies worth out of 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall.  What makes it even more ridiculous is that his ailments were known for the most part when he applied for his commission.  It was these ailments or some related form of these ailments that ultimately caused him to be found unfit for the duties in geographical area to which he was assigned.

            Marshall’s service abounds with wasted time.  It took him 60 days to get from England to Mesopotamia with stops and delays in Alexandria and Suez.  These delays probably were not of his doing, but they certainly were not very productive periods of time for the I.W. & D. Branch of the Royal Engineers.  Next, 42 days in India simply awaiting a medical board seems like a colossal waste of time.  There is no explanation in his records to show where he spent the last 119 days in the Army between his return to the United Kingdom and his demobilization.  In short, it appears that commissioning Arthur Law Marshall was a waste of time for the Army and also was detrimental to his health. 

7.  POST SERVICE LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

            Arthur Law Marshall was demobilized after the Great War and presumably he returned to the business of Ships Broker.  Initially he returned to his home at 2 Kensington Terrace in Sunderland.  In 1932 his residence was listed as 29 Thornholme Road (Beechcroft) in Sunderland.

Figure 38. 29 Thornholme Road, Sunderland.
(photograph from Google Earth Street View)

            Sometime during period from 1936 to 1952 Marshall was awarded the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal (GVIR).  The medal was awarded to Special Constables who were recommended by the Chief Officer of Police of the department in which they served so long as they have served for at least nine years, and willingly and competently discharged their duty as a Special Constable. Years of service during World War II from the 3^rd of September 1939 to the 31^st of December 1945 are counted as triple.  Arthur Law Marshall’s residence in 1939 was 2 Cedar Parks in Sunderland, therefore it can be assumed that his Special Constabulary service was performed in the Durham Constabulary.

Figure 39.  2 Cedars Park, Sunderland.
(photograph from Google Earth Street View) 

            On the 16^th of December 1942 Arthur’s son, Maurice Law Marshall, was lost at sea. His death is commemorated on his parent’s grave stone in Rothbury Cemetery, Northumberland.  There is no information to be found in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records to commemorate his death in any category including the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy or Civilian War Dead.  Maurice’s will indicates that he left his estate to his sister, Mildred Blyth Marshall, who was a spinster at the time of his death.

            Arthur’s father, Septimus Marshall, died on the 4^th of February 1945.  No record has been found of his place of burial, although it certainly must be somewhere in or near Sunderland.

            On the 14^th of February 1969 Arthur’s wife, Nellie Johnson Marshall, died in Rothbury in the registration district of Northumberland North Second.  She is buried in Rothbury Cemetery, Northumberland.

            Arthur’s sister, Jane Maud, died in Sunderland in 1970.  As Jane may have married, her married name is unknown; hence, her place of burial could not be found.

            Arthur Law Marshall died on the 4^th of April 1977 at Rothbury, Northumberland at the age of 91.  He is buried with his wife in Rothbury Cemetery.  His will was probated at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on the 23^rd of June 1977.  In the will his residence is shown as “Westholme,” Rothbury, Northumberland.  Despite all his ailments during the Great War, Arthur live to a ripe old age.

            Arthur’s sister, Hilda Margaret, died in 1977, location unknown.  As with Jane she may have married and since her married name is unknown her place of burial could not be found.

            Arthur’s last sister, Mildred Blyth Marshall was unmarried at the time of her death in 2002.  She is buried with Arthur and Nellie in the family plot in Rothbury Cemetery.

Figure 40.  The Marshall Family Plot in Rothbury Cemetery, Northumberland Unitarian Authority.
(photograph from Find a Grave web site) 

Figure 41.  The Gravestone of Arthur Law Marshall.
(photograph from Find a Grave web site)

REFERENCES 

Army Lists 

The Monthly Army List, June 1919, p. 2703a. 

Books 

1.      The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1918 (Miscellaneous), compiled by Colonel G.H. Addison, C.M.G., D.S.O., M.A., M.I.Mech.E.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1926.

2.      Blue Book of American Shipping, The Fenton Publishing Company, 1910, p. 355.

3.      Government Printing Office, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Navigation, Washington, DC, 1920, p. 244.

4.      HALL, L.J.  The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia,  Constable and Company, Ltd., London, 1921.

5.      Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1906-7, p. 824.

6.      LOCKIE, J. (ed.).  The Steamship, July 1897-June 1898, John Lockie, Leith, 1898., p. 237.

7.      TAPRELL DORLING, H. "Ribbons and Medals". Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1974, pp. 128 - 129.

Census Data 

1.      1891 Census of England.

2.      1901 Census of England.

3.      1911 Census of England. 

Correspondence 

Letter, Ministry of Defence Army Record Centre, Middlesex, dated 25 August 1977 to Mr. S. Holmes, London, Re: 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Law Marshall. 

Internet Web Sites

1. http://person.ancestry.com/tree/76587805/person/40354509786/facts

2. http://person.ancestry.com/tree/15452283/person/309560743/facts)

3. http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=422903.0

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_December_1942#16_December

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard_Castle_School#History

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipbroking

7. www.freemasonry.london.museum/tree/Chart_97.pdf

8. http://www.reubique.com/243837.htm

9. http://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2015/07/the-chinese-labour-corps-in-Basrah.html

10. http://archnet.org/collections/14/media_contents/5252

11. Marshall Memorial Hall: http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=10101 

London Gazette

Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 January 1918, p. 459. 

Miscellaneous Sources   

1. Naming on Medals 

2. Great War Medal Index Card 

Photographs 

1.      The Arthur Law Marshall Photograph Album.

2.      Camera Studies in Iraq Web Site. 

Registers
1.  England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915

2.  Register of Births in October, November and December 1885.
3.  Marriage Registry in July, August and September 1911.
4.  Freemason Registry, Wearmouth Lodge, 1912.
5.  Death Registry, April, May and June 1977. 
6 . Probate Registry, G11, 1977.

7.  Commonwealth War Graves Commission Registry.
8.  Probate Register for Maurice Law Marshall.
9.  Cemetery Register, Rothbury Cemetery, Northumberland 

Service Papers (WO 374/46205) 

1.      Protection Certificate, dated 31 January 1919.

2.      Protection Certificate, dated 19 January 1921.

3.      Minute Sheet, Relinquishing of Commission, 31 January 1919.

4.      Schedule of Correspondence, Letters to and from War Office, 14-7-1919 to 10-1-1921.

5.      Casualty Form – Active Service, Army Form B.103.

6.      Casualty Form – Active Service, Army Form B.103 (2^nd copy).

7.      Arrival and Demobilization Report, 22 October 1920.

8.      War Office Report of Medical Board, 22 October 1918.

9.      Proceedings of a Board of Medical Officers, 19 August 1918.

10.  Report of a Board of Medical Officers, 11 August 1918.

11.  Report of Arrival in the United Kingdom.

12.  Minute Sheet, Commissioning of A.L. Marshall, dated 21 December 1917.

13.  Application for Admission to an Officer Cadet Unit (Form M.T. 393A).

14.  Particulars of Next of Kin.

15.  Education Summary.

ENDNOTES