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4688 Sapper
JOHN BYDAWELL, ISM
Royal Engineers
(later 69281 Sergeant, Royal Engineers)  

and his son  

27105 Sapper
LEONARD SAMPSON BYDAWELL
Royal Engineers  

by

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MInstRE
Ó 2020.  All Rights Reserved.  

1.  INTRODUCTION  

            The principal references used in the preparation of this narrative were from a number of sources.  They include census records, official registries in the United Kingdom, medal rolls, family trees, Army Lists, soldier’s service papers 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 John Bydawell and his son.

            The Bydawells were a military family.  In addition to John and Leonard Sampson Bydawell, two other sons of John Bydawell served during the Great War of 1914-1918.  Their names were Edgar Robert Bydawell, who served in the 19^th London Regiment and the Royal Army Medical Corps, and Horace William Bydawell, who like his father and brother Leonard, served in the Royal Engineers.  Their military service will be discussed in somewhat more detail later on in this narrative; however, emphasis will be placed on the lives and service of the two main characters whose medals are in the author’s collection.

            John Bydawell was a man dedicated to serving for King and Country.  He served in both the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902 and in the Great War from 1915 to 1918.  His story makes up the greater part of this narrative as his papers were available for his service in both of these conflicts.  Four pages of his service documents were located in War Office files WO 97 at the National Archives.  Twenty-six pages of his documents were found at the National Archives in War Office files WO 363, the burnt records files.  His Great War documents were fire and water damaged resulting in the loss of legibility in many cases.  Careful study was made of the recovered documents to extract as much information as possible from them.  An interesting aspect of his service in the Great War is the fact that he lied about his age to enlist.  He was 54 years old when he enlisted, but he claimed to be only 45 years old.  Perhaps the recruited officer simply made a convenient transposition of the digits?       

2.  EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION  

            John Bydawell was born in 1861 in Upton on Severn in Worcestershire.  His father, also named John Bydawell, was a farmer.[1]  No detailed information regarding his father or his grandparents could be located during the course of this research.  The first 26 years of his life remain a mystery.  Based on the entries in his marriage certificate it may be assumed that he lived in Oxford and worked in the post office as a telegraphist during that period.

            John Bydawell married Annie Randall Sampson (1864-1936) at the Wesleyan Chapel on New Inn Hall Street in the District of Oxford in the Counties of Oxford and Berkshire on the 2^nd of April 1888.[2]  He listed his address at the time of his marriage as 1 Bridewell Square, St. Aldates, Oxford.[3]  This is also the address shown for him in the 1888 Electoral Register.

Figure 1.  Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia)

            John Bydawell listed his occupation on the marriage certificate as “telegraph engineer” and his father as a deceased farmer.  Annie was 24 years old at the time of their marriage and she was residing in her parent’s home at 93 Friars Street[4] in Oxford.  Her father was Robert Sampson, a tailor. 

            Within about three years after their marriage John and Annie moved from Oxford to 16 Totteridge Road in Chipping Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.[5]  In May of 1889 Annie gave birth to their first of four sons, Leonard Sampson Bydawell in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.  Early in 1891, prior to the 1891 census taken on the 5^th of April of that year, Annie gave birth to their second son, Percival John Bydawell (1891-1968), also in High Wycombe.

1891 Census of England and Wales

             On the 11^th of January 1892 John Bydawell was rated as a Skilled Lineman, without competition,[6] while he was employed at the post office in London.  The Bydawell’s third son, Edward Robert (1893-1960), was born in 1893 and on the 6^th of March 1896 their fourth son, Horace William (1896-1981) was born, both in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.[7]

            When the war with the Boers broke out in South Africa in 1899 John Bydawell, with a wife and four small boys at home, decided to join the forces as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers.  He enlisted on the 6^th of June 1900.

            While he was away at war another census was taken of the population in England and Wales.  The results of the 1901 census of the Bydawell household are shown in the table below.  The family had by this time moved to a new address.  According to the Electoral Register of 1901 the Bydawells must have moved to this address sometime between 1891 and 1901, but they probably made the move before John enlisted in June of 1900.

1901 Census of England and Wales

NOTES:

1)      The middle initial of each person was omitted on the census form, but has been included in brackets [ ] above for clarity.

2)      Although John Bydawell was not present at the time of the census and Annie was the head of the household when the census was taken, she is still listed as “Wife” and not “Head.”

3)      Annie’s age is off by two years in this census.  If she were 27 in 1891 she would only be 37 in 1901.  It appears that she would have been only 37 in 1901 as the Steward family tree gives her year of birth as 1864.

3.  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

First Enlistment (June 1900)

            At the time of his enlistment in the Army in 1900, John Bydawell was 38 years and 7 months old. He was 5 feet 4-1/4 inches tall, weighed 133 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 34 inches (36 inches expanded). Bydawell had a medium complexion, brown eyes, and dark brown hair. His distinguishing marks included scars on the back of his head and moles on the back of his neck. He was a member of the Wesleyan church.  Bydawell was a linesman by trade and had been an Apprentice for seven years to a Mr. William Smith of Castlebroom in Ipswich, Surrey prior to taken a position with the post office.[8]

Second Enlistment (May 1915)

            When John Bydawell enlisted to serve in the Great War of 1914-1918 he was 54 years old, although he lied to the recruiting officer claiming that he was only 45 years old.  He was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 135 pounds.  His chest measurements were noted to be the same as they were in 1900 and his physical development was described as good.  His distinctive marks included a scar on the back of his neck and three moles.  His eyesight was tested and noted to be Right Eye, 6/6 and Left Eye, 6/6.[9]     

4.  ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING  

            John Bydawell had had no prior naval or military service when he enlisted in the Royal Engineers Telegraph Reserve on the 6th of June 1900.  His enlistment was for a period of one year or for the duration of the war in South Africa.  He was recruited for service by Sergeant Major W. Hoy of the 24th Middlesex (Post Office) Rifle Volunteer Corps.  It is probable that Bydawell and Hoy knew each other in civilian life since the 24th Middlesex was made up of men who worked for the Post Office, and the telegraph service in Great Britain was part of the postal service. As a telegraph engineer, John Bydawell probably worked in the post office with Hoy.

            Bydawell's enlistment was probably prompted by a desire to serve his country, coupled with a shortage in South Africa of the skills which he possessed as a telegraph engineer. It is a testimony to his desire to serve that John Bydawell, a married man 38 years of age, with four children, should decide to serve in the war in South Africa.

            Bydawell took the oath of attestation at London on the 7th of June 1900 and his attestation was certified by the Recruiting Staff Officer on the same date. He was examined and medically certified as fit on the 7th of June as well. The Chief Recruiting Staff Officer gave final approval to his attestation in London on the 9th of June 1900 and John Bydawell was appointed a Sapper in the Royal Engineers with Regimental Number 4688.

5.  ASSIGNMENTS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Service in South Africa (1900-1902)

            Sapper John Bydawell only remained in England for 14 days following his enlistment. As he was already a trained and experienced telegraph engineer, it was not necessary for him to receive any specialized training for the work he was to undertake in South Africa. His date of service in South Africa was reckoned from the 21st of June 1900. While in South Africa he served with the 1st Battalion of the Telegraph Division, Royal Engineers.

            The movements of the Telegraph Battalions are not well documented but what is known is that at the turn of the century there were two divisions, of which the first was sent to South Africa. Ordinarily it was stationed at Aldershot, employed in purely military work, and constantly being exercised, while the other division was attached to the Postal Telegraph Service, and had charge of a large district in the South of England.

            Each section of a Telegraph Battalion was supplied with twenty miles of line, part of it being air-line and part insulated cable. A two-horse cart carried the latter, and there were three six-horse wagons for the air-line, besides other vehicles for supplies, technical equipment, and baggage. During the Boer War the Telegraph Battalion laid 18,000 miles of telegraph and telephone cable. A total of 13,500,000 messages were handled in 4 years and the Battalion grew in strength from 600 to 2,500 men.

            The Telegraph Battalion was mobilised for the South African War and it was during this war that the Wheatstone Automatic Telegraph was successfully introduced. In the years 1895 – 1898, Marconi’s experiments in the field of wireless communications were closely watched and in 1899 a wireless system complete with operators was hired by the War Office for use in the Boer War. The equipment was heavy and clumsy; the engineers could not get it to work satisfactorily in the dry conditions of South Africa and so it was not taken into active service during the Boer War. 

            As a result of his service during the Boer War Bydawell was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps [CAPE COLONY] [ORANGE FREE STATE][TRANSVAAL].[10]   He also earned the King's South Africa Medal with clasps [SOUTH AFRICA 1901][SOUTH AFRICA 1902].  He received no wounds or injuries while serving in South Africa.  On the 7^th of June 1902 Bydawell was awarded Good Conduct Pay at the rate of 1d. per day.

Figure 3.  A Royal Engineers Telegraph Section in the Boer War, 1899-1902.
(Photograph courtesy of BritishBattles.com)  

            John Bydawell arrived home from South Africa on the 29^th of August 1902.  He had been appointed a Temporary Lance Corporal while in South Africa, but on returning home he reverted to the rank of Sapper and was posted to 3^rd Battalion, Telegraph Division at Aldershot.  Shortly thereafter he mustered out of the Army and returned to work at the post office.

            Between 1902 and 1907 the Bydawells moved to 74 Montague Road in Uxbridge

Figure 4.  The Bydawell Residence at 74 Montague Road in Uxbridge.
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)  

            On the 2^nd of April 1911 the Census of England and Wales showed the following information for the Bydawell family:

1911 Census of England and Wales

NOTE:  Annie is now three years younger than indicated in the 1901 census.

            On the 3^rd of January 1913 John Bydawell was rated as a Skilled Workman without competition.[11]  This rating probably paved the way for his promotion to Postmaster in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire some years later.[12]  A look at the census for 1911 clearly shows that the Bydawell family was closely associated with work at the post office, the sons probably following in their father’s footsteps with regard to employment.  On the 24^th of July 1915 Percival John Bydawell, like his father, was rated as a Skilled workman, without competition.  However Percival had left High Wycombe and was working at the Rutherglen Sorting Office in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Great War of 1914-1918

Leonard Sampson Bydawell

            Leonard joined the Royal Engineers of the Regular Army as a Sapper and was assigned Regimental Number 27105.  He was posted to one of the Royal Engineers Field Companies in one of the first divisions to be deployed to France.  His Medal Index Card shows that he went to France on the 15^th of August 1914.  Unfortunately Leonard’s service papers were not found at the National Archives.  They had either been lost or destroyed by the German bombings of the Army Records Office in London during World War 2.  The Royal Engineers medal rolls for his Great War medals also could not be located.  His Medal Index Card did survived and shows that he was entitled to the 1914 Star and bar with rosette[13] (otherwise known as the Mons Star), the British War Medal and Victory Medal.[14]

            The 1914 Star was awarded to all members of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) that went to France between August of 1914 and the 22^nd of November 1914, inclusive.  Unfortunately this included 76 units of the Royal Engineers ranging from company and troop to section size.  Without Sapper Bydawell’s service papers it is impossible to know in which unit he served.  What may be assumed, based on the history of the Corps of Royal Engineers, is that Bydawell was in France when the B.E.F. was involved in the following actions:[15]

·         The Battle of the Mons and the Retreat from Mons

·         The Passage of the River Mons

·         The Passage of the River Aisne

·         The First Battle of Ypres

            Presumably Leonard Sampson Bydawell was demobilized at the end of the war and he returned to civilian life and his duties at the post office.  It is possible that he remained in the Army, but no evidence has been uncovered to verify this.

John Bydawell

            John Bydawell enlisted at Hounslow in west London on the 27^th of May 1915 to serve in the Great War of 1914-1918.  He was enlisted by a non-commissioned officer by the name of G. Adams in the Royal Fusiliers.  His Short Service Attestation form contains the following information:

   NOTES:

1)      He lied about his age.  He was really 54 years old at the time.

2)      This also was untrue.  He was married and had four sons.  However, because none of his sons were minors he may have considered it more prudent to say that he did not have any children (at least at home).

            His physical description on enlistment was as has been described in Section 3 above.  His next-of-kin was listed as Mrs. Annie Bydawell, 74 Montague Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex.  He swore the Oath of Attestation on the 27^th of May 1915 at Uxbridge and it was certified on that same date by Major W.R. Lyle, presumably an officer in the Royal Fusiliers.  The Certificate of Approving Officer for his enlistment was Captain R.L. Pearson of the 35^th Divisional Signal Company, R.E. at Reading.  This certificate was signed on the 28^th of May and he became 69281 Sapper John Bydawell, R.E.  Immediately upon his enlistment he was rated as a “Skilled” Telegraphist, no doubt due to his years of experience in the post office.

Figure 5.  A Bantam Sapper.
(Postcard in the author’s collection)

            John Bydawell normally would have been rejected for military service because he was only 5 feet 4 inches tall.  However, his unit, the 35^th Division was known as a Bantam unit; that is, it was composed of men who were under the required height for enlistment.  The 35th Infantry Division was an infantry division raised during the war as part of General Kitchener's fourth New Army. Its infantry and some other units were originally composed of Bantams; that is, soldiers who would otherwise be excluded from service due to their short stature.  Men enlisted as Bantams had to be at least 5 feet 3 inches tall.  The normal requirement for a Sapper in the Royal Engineers was a minimum height of 5 feet 6 inches, but Bydawell’s skills as a telegraphist were much needed and his short height was easily overlooked.

            As a telegraphist Sapper Bydawell was assigned to the 35^th Divisional Signal Company.  Other units of the Royal Engineers assigned to the 35^th Division were the 203^rd , 204^th and 205^th (Cambridge) Field Companies.  Other field engineering support was provided to the division by the divisional Pioneer Battalion, the 19^th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers.

            Sapper Bydawell spent the next 13 months in England preparing to go on active service with his unit.  On the 25^th of July 1915 the 35^th Divisional Signal Company left Reading and arrived at Fearby Camp in Yorkshire and then went on to Chisledon in Wiltshire.  Chisledon Camp had been set up as a training base for up to 10,000 troops at a time before they were sent to the front.  After training at Chiseldon Camp the company returned to Fearby Camp near Ripon where the units of the 35^th Division were assembling.

            In 1914 a divisional signal company consisted of a headquarters and four sections.  No. 1 Section was made up of three cable detachments, each possessing 10 miles of cable and capable of establishing three telegraph offices (‘base’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘travelling’), as well as the staff which manned the divisional signal office. Also possessing four mounted orderlies, eight cyclists and nine motorcycle despatch riders, No. 1 Section had the primary responsibility of establishing communications between divisional and brigade headquarters, and between neighbouring divisions. Sections 2, 3 and 4 were each allocated to the infantry brigades, charged principally with connecting brigade and battalion headquarters to one another, and each comprising 1 officer and 26 other ranks. In all, the divisional signal company totaled 5 officers and 170 other ranks.

            As a telegraphist, Sapper Bydawell would have been posted to No. 1 Section of the company and an exceptional telegraphist he must have been.  He was appointed a paid Lance Corporal on the 12^th of August 1915, less than three months after his enlistment.  Then on the following day he was promoted to the rank of 2^nd Corporal.  But this was not the end of his rapid promotion cycle.  He was promoted Corporal on the 19^th of October and then appointed an Acting Sergeant on the 1^st of November 1915.

            The 35^th Division move to Salisbury Plain for division exercises on the 19^th of November 1915 and on the 18^th of January 1916 it embarked for France.  Some delay was involved in getting the 35^th Divisional Signal Company ashore in France, as Bydawell’s service papers indicate that he did not land until the 29^th of January.

            By the 31^st of January Bydawell’s unit was in a reserve position at Chateau de Nieppe and units of the division were in the front line trenches by the 9^th of February1916.  During the summer of 1916 the division saw its first major actions in the Battle of Albert (1 to 13 July) and the Battle of Bazentin (14 to 17 July).  Albert, of course, was the horrendous British offensive on the Somme where the British suffered more than 50,000 casualties on the first day. 

            The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the Great War on the Western Front. More than three million men fought in this battle and one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.  During this horrendous battle the  company provided communications support to the 104^th, 105^th and 106^th Infantry Brigades and to the division’s Royal Artillery units and Division Troops.  At Bazentin Ridge the British Fourth Army under General Henry Rawlinson made a dawn attack on the 14^th of July, against the German 2nd Army in the Braune Stellung from Delville Wood westwards to Bazentin le Petit Wood. 

            The 35^th Divisional Signal Company suffered one casualty during this period, but oddly enough it was not in either of these battles.  In fact it was not even in France.  30855 Sapper Charles Frederick Lovegrove, a member of the 35^th Divisional Signal Company died on the 23^rd of July 1916, but he died of disease in Mesopotamia.  At the time of his death he was attached to another unit.  Lovegrove was from Birmingham.  He originally had enlisted at Maidenhead, Berkshire in the 12^th Royal Lancers (Regimental No. 4750).  So not only was he unlucky enough to be transferred to the 35^th Divisional Signal Company from the 12^th Lancers, but he also was unlucky enough to be attached to a unit in Mesopotamia where he contracted a fatal illness, probably enteric or typhoid fever, the main cause of death by illness in that area of the war.  Sadly, such are the fortunes of war.[16]

            On the 2^nd of June 1917 Acting Sergeant John Bydawell was transferred to the Royal Engineers Signal Service Depot at Abbeville for employment as an instructor.  This posting undoubtedly was due to his experience as a Skilled Telegrapher.  He returned to his company on the 23^rd of July 1917.

            Bydawell was with the 35^th Divisional Signal Company when it took part in the Battle of Passchendaele between the 26^th of October and the 10^th of November 1917.  The company lost two men during the battle and two more subsequently died in late November, perhaps due to wounds received in the battle.  These casualties are shown in the table below. 

Casualties of the 35^th Divisional Signal Company, October and November 1917

NOTES:

1)      Sapper Wright either died of disease or was accidentally killed.

2)      The total number of company fatalities may be found in Addendum No. 1

Figure 6.  Map of the Battle of the Somme, 1916.
(Map courtesy of Wikipedia)  

            Acting Sergeant Bydawell remained with the company until the 7^th of January 1918 when he was transferred to the U.K.  His age and perhaps a physical disability appear to have been the reason for this transfer.  Upon his arrival in the U.K. he was attached to “A” Depot of the Royal Garrison Siege Artillery at Catterick Camp in North Yorkshire, although he was still on the muster roll of the 35^th Divisional Signal Company while he was at Catterick.   He served there until January of 1919 when proceedings were started to demobilize him.

            On the 9^th of January 1919 he received a medical examination to evaluate his claim of an injury received while on active service.  He complained of an injury to his left knee (presumably a torn cartilage).  A medical board convened and the board judged that he suffered from an occasional locking of his knee which rendered him incapacitated for a short time with no swelling “after becoming deranged.”  However, this was just the start of a series of examinations and medical boards to final adjudge his claim for a service-connected disability.

            On the 19^th of January 1919 John Bydawell was transferred from “A” Siege Depot, RGA to the Class “Z” Army Reserve.   He was demobilized on the following day at Dispersal Unit No. 1 at the Crystal Palace in London.  On the 17^th of February 1919 Bydawell was awarded a Provisional Pension due to internal derangement of his left knee as the result of an accident in training at Reading back in June of 1915.  This pension was to expire on the 19^th of August 1929; however, within a year it would be reviewed to consider if it was a valid award.

 6.  MEDICAL HISTORY

            Since no military service papers could be found for Leonard Sampson Bydawell, no medical history can be provided for him.  John Bydawell’s military records do present some interesting aspects of his medical history.

            The both times that John Bydawell enlisted for service in the Royal Engineers (1900 and 1915) he was not found to be suffering from any illnesses or physical defects.  In 1915 he was inoculated against typhoid fever, receiving the first vaccine dose on the 3^rd of June and the 2^nd dose on the 15^th of June.  On the 27^th of September he was vaccinated against smallpox with his record showing “3/3.”  Presumably this meant that he received a third vaccination in 1915, having received the initial vaccination and re-vaccination back in 1900 when he enlisted.  John Bydawell’s service records do not indicate that he was hospitalized due to any disease or injury during his time in the Army, during either enlistment.  The first indication that he had any medical problem occurred in January of 1919 in preparation for his discharge, when he submitted a “Statement as to Disability” with regard to a knee injury incurred while in the Army.

            As previously indicated, he was demobilized in January of 1919 and was granted a Provisional Pension.  However, early in 1920 his disability claim came under scrutiny.  On the 13^th of January 1920 a medical board convened to review his claim. His service papers show that he was considered to be serving in the Royal Garrison Artillery at the time of his discharge and that he was claiming a disability for an injury received while on duty and on field service.  His claim was that he suffered a severe derangement of his left knee while in training at Reading in 1915 and that he had been treated at Wantage Hall (Military Hospital) in Reading.  After examining Bydawell’s claim the medical board concluded that there was no documentary evidence to support his claim and that he was not found to be disabled in any way.  On the 11^th of February 1920, as a result of the board’s findings, his disability claim was rejected and his pension was cancelled from the date of the last payment made to him.  Apparently he had not been required to pay back any of the disability pension payments made to him up to that time.

7.  PROMOTIONS

Leonard Sampson Bydawell           

            Leonard Sampson Bydawell received no promotions during his time in the Army and was demobilized as a Sapper.

John Bydawell

            John Bydawell received the following promotions during his time in service, including his service in both wars:  

 8.  MILITARY TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS  

Leonard Sampson Bydawell

            Leonard Sampson Bydawell would have undergone typical recruit training for a soldier in the Royal Engineers following his enlistment.  This training most certainly would have included infantry drill, musketry and field engineering at a minimum and probably took place at Chatham, Kent.

John Bydawell

            Military Training: During his first enlistment, for service in the Boer War, it appears that John Bydawell did not receive any military training.  He enlisted on the 6^th of June 1900 and embarked for South Africa on the 21^st of June.  It appears that the Army considered his civilian experience as a telegrapher sufficient for the duties that he was to perform on active service.  For his enlistment to serve in the Great War it appears that he did undergo a period of training prior to going to France.  From the time of his enlistment in May of 1915 until the time he embarked for France in January of 1916 he was engaged in training with his company and on division exercises.  Given his perceived age (45 years) and his experience as a telegraphist, his training probably consisted mostly of working as a telegrapher and training others in telegraphy.  

            Qualifications:  Bydawell earned the following qualifications during his time in service.

9.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS  

John Bydawell

            John Bydawell received the following medals, awards and decorations during his time in service:

NOTES:

1)      This medal is the second issue with “ghost date” and is in the author’s collection.

2)      The whereabouts of these medals is unknown.

3)      This medal is in the author’s collection.  He would have completed 25 years of service with the post office in 1913 if he began work in 1888 and his 14 months in the Army counted as time with the post office.  If his time in the Army did not count towards the required 25 years of postal service, then he would have been eligible for the ISM in 1914.  No medal roll or London Gazette citation has been found for the award of this medal, so the date of award remains a mystery.

            Post Office employees were recognized as civil servants and could be nominated for the Imperial Service Medal.  To be eligible, civil servants had to be established members of staff with at least 25 years pensionable service, or 16 years if serving in “unhealthy climates abroad.”[17]

Figure 7.  Medal Index Card of 69281 Sergeant John Bydawell, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)  

Figure 8.  The Medals of Sergeant John Bydawell, R.E.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)

Leonard Sampson Bydawell

            Leonard Sampson Bydawell received the following medals, awards and decorations during his time in service.  These medals are in the author’s collection.

            The 1914 Star medal is named in impressed upper case letters as follows:  

27105
SAPR: L.S. BYDAWELL.
R.E.  

The British War Medal and Victory Medal similarly named as follows:  

27105 SPR. L.R. BYDAWELL. R.E.  

Figure 9.  The Medal Index Card of 27105 Sapper Leonard Sampson Bydawell, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)  

Figure 10.  The Medals of Sapper Leonard Sampson Bydawell, R.E.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)[18]  

10.  RELEASE FROM SERVICE  

John Bydawell

            As John Bydawell served in the Royal Engineers in two wars he was released from service twice, as shown in the table below.

 Leonard Sampson Bydawell  

            The only date of L.S. Bydawell’s service that is positively known is the date of his enlistment on the 15^th of August 1914.  His Regimental Number and date of enlistment indicate that he was in the Regular Army and not in the Territorial Force.  He went to France with the original British Expeditionary Force sometime between the 6^th of August 1914 and the 22^nd of November 1914.  As he was in the Regular Army he may have served beyond the end of the Great War; however, no record of his service beyond the war has been uncovered.  His service papers are not in the National Archives, but if he did serve beyond 1920 they may be in the Army Personnel Centre at Glasgow.  To attempt a search for them would require a copy of his death certificate.  His date of death is not known.  

11.  ADDITIONAL FAMILY INFORMATION  

Percival John Bydawell (1891-1968)  

            John Bydawell’s son Percival was born in early 1891 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.  There is no record of his having served in the Great War of 1914-1918 although he would have been of military age (23 years old) in 1914 when the war began.  He may have been ineligible to serve due to a physical disability.  It seems unlikely that he would have evaded service given that his father and three brothers all served.  Percival died in Chichester, Sussex in February of 1968.[19]

            Percival and his wife had a son, Leonard Robert John Bydawell, who served in the Royal Navy during World War 2 (P/MX 54996 Electrician 4^th Class).  Leonard was killed aboard HMS Royal Oak on the 14^th of October 1939.

            HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the Great War of 1914-1918. Completed in 1916, the ship first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, at Home and with the Mediterranean fleets, more than once coming under accidental attack. Royal Oak drew worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialed, an event which brought considerable embarrassment to the world's then largest navy. Attempts to modernize Royal Oak throughout her 25-year career could not fix her fundamental lack of speed and, by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suitable for front-line duty.

            On the 14^th of October 1939, Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47. Of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 835 were killed that night or died later of their wounds.  Leonard Robert John Bydawell was one of these casualties and the ship remains his grave.

            The wreck of Royal Oak, a designated war grave, lies almost upside down in 100 feet (30 m) of water with her hull 16 feet (4.9 m) beneath the surface. In an annual ceremony marking the loss of the ship, Royal Navy divers place a White Ensign underwater at her stern. Unauthorized divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

Figure 11.  HMS Royal Oak, c.1939.

(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

Edgar Robert Bydawell (1893-1960)

            John Bydawell’s son Edgar enlisted for service in the Great War and went to France on the 1^st of June 1915.  Edgar served as a Private in the 19^th Battalion of the London Regiment (Regimental Nos. 51047 and G/57224) and also as a Private in the Royal Army Medical Corps (Regimental Number 615122).  He was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service.[20] 

Figure 12.  The Medal Index Card of Private Edgar Robert Bydawell.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)  

            Edgar’s Medal Index Card indicates that there was some confusion regarding the issuance of his 1914-15 Star.  The medal first appeared on the roll of the Royal Army Medical Corps prepared at Woking on the 3^rd of November 1919.  His name is struck off this roll with the comment that the medal had been returned.  His name then appears on the roll of the 19^th Battalion, London Regiment, prepared in London on the 27^th of November 1919. The issue by the R.A.M.C. was then struck off the card.  

            Edgar died in Wandsworth, London on the 5^th of September 1960.[21]  

Horace William Bydawell (1896-1981)  

            John Bydawell’s son Horace William also enlisted for service in the Great War.  Like his father he joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper, Regimental No. 86823.  His Regimental number would seem to indicate that he enlisted shortly before his father.  His Medal Index Card indicates that he went to France on the 14^th of August 1915.  His Regimental Number falls within the range of numbers issued to men in the 136^th Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers, although this cannot be verified from his service records, which were not available for study.  Army Troops Companies were established similar to Field Companies, but for behind-the-lines military engineering work.  Normally they operated in the Corps and Army areas behind the divisions.  Horace W. Bydawell’s card shows that for his service in the war he was awarded the 1915-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.  He was transferred to the Class “Z” Army Reserved on demobilization.

Figure 13.  The Medal Index Card of Sapper Horace William Bydawell.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)  

            Horace died in Eastbourne, Sussex in November of 1981.[22]

12.  POST SERVICE LIFE  

            John Bydawell and his wife were residing at 74 Montague Road in Uxbridge in 1924 and in 1926 they were living at 60 Montague Road.  As can be seen by the photograph below, this latter address was much more humble than their previous address (see Figure 4).  While the structure in Figure 4 may not be the original one at 74 Montague Road, there is little doubt that the small stucco-faced building in Figure 13 dates back to 1926.  This more modest home may have resulted from a loss of income due to his retirement from the post office and his lack of an adequate pension to maintain the larger home.

Figure 14.  The Bydawell Residence at 60 Montague Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex.
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)  

            John Bydawell died, aged 68, on the 9^th of April 1929 in Uxbridge.[23]  The probate of his will took place in London on the 8^th of June 1929.  The Probate Calendar for that year shows that his residence was 60 Montague Road at the time of his death, but that he died at The Institution Infirmary in Hillingdon, Middlesex.  His effects, amounting to £665 0s 5d, were given to Frederick Gibbins, a Postmaster and Frank Charles Fleming, a civil servant (probably associated with the post office).  His estate amounted to about $61,000 in 2020 US currency.  It is interesting to note that his wife was not mentioned as one of his heirs. 

            Annie Randall Bydawell died, aged 72, in Middlesex on the 10^th of April 1936.  At the time of her death she was living at 32, The Quadrangle, Du Cane Road, Hammersmith, Middlesex.  She died at Paddington Hospital on Harrow Road in Middlesex.  The probate of her will took place in London on the 18^th of May 1936 with her effects going to her sons Leonard Sampson Bydawell and Percival John Bydawell, both civil servants, again probably both post office employees.  Annie’s effects amounted to £208 17s, or almost $24,000 US in 2020 currency.

DEDICATION

 To the Men of the
Royal Engineers Signal Service 
During the 
Great War of 1914-1918

ADDENDUM No. 1.

Fatal Casualties in the
35^th Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers
During the Great War of 1914-1918  

(Names listed by date of death)  

 TABLE NOTES:  

1. All men are recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and in Soldiers Died in the Great War.
2. Where Cause of Death is listed as “Died” the man died of disease or the result of an accident.
3. “D of W” indicates died of wounds received in action.
4. “KIA” indicated killed in action.

GENERAL NOTES: Number and percentages in red in the analyses below indicate the highest numbers in each category.  

1. Total Number of Fatalities (1914-1918): 13

2. Deaths by Rank: 1 Junior Non-Commissioned Officer and 12 Other Ranks.

a)      Corporals: 1 (7.7%)

b)      Sappers: 3 (23.1%)

c)      Drivers: 3 (23.1%)

d)     Pioneers 6 (46.1%)

            NOTE: In a Royal Engineers Field Company Sappers are the prevalent rank.  In a division signal company the majority of men are drivers and pioneers.  

3. Deaths by Years of the War:

a)      1916: 1 (7.7%)

b)      1917: 4 (30.8%)

c)      1918: 8 (61.5%)  

4. Causes of Death:

a)      Disease or Accident: 4 (30.8%)

b)      Killed in Action: 4 (30.8%)

c)      Died of Wounds: 5 (38.4%)  

ADDENDUM REFERENCES:

1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
2. Soldiers Died in the Great War.

ADDENDUM No. 2  

Articles from British Newspaper Archives  

“The Uxbridge Advertiser,” May 28, 1915

 “With his three sons already in the Army, Mr. J. Bydawell, the well-known Uxbridge post-office telephone engineer, has this week joined the telegraphists’   section of the Royal Engineers.  Mr. Bydawell has had an extensive experience in telegraph and telephone work, and prior to the outbreak of war had himself installed a wireless telegraph apparatus in his garden at Montague Road.  He served throughout the South African War, so this will by no means be his first taste of active service.”

“The Uxbridge Advertiser” c. October 1915  

UXBRIDGE MEN AT THE FRONT  

“Ptes. E.R. Bydawell, S.A. Brown, R. Ballinger, A. Giddens, B. Rouse, C. East, of Uxbridge, with the Red Cross workers in France, write to the “Advertiser” to express thanks for cigarettes sent from the Uxbridge “Weekly Tuck-Box,” and they describe experiences in France:-  

During the first three or four months we have been out here, matters were on the whole fairly quiet.  On a few occasions only have we been called to any great effort.  Of course, while on duty in the trenches we have not been free from danger, as a German sniper does not take the trouble to find out if the object he is firing at wears the brassard bearing the red cross, or not.  One of the tiresome things we have to contend with while in the pursuance of duty is the nasty spiteful whiz-bang – a small kind of shrapnel, which explodes almost the same time as the report from the gun is heard.  The Germans, from their observation posts, are always on the look-out for a party of any size leaving the trenches or coming in.  These artillery observers, on locating a party immediately communicate to the battery, and a few whiz-bangs are almost certain to come over.  If the Germans were good marksmen we should have undoubtedly lost more men than we have.  While the Saxons . . . “

 NOTE: The article above refers to the men as “Red Cross workers” probably because the writer mentioned the “brassard bearing the red cross” in the narrative.  In fact, it is known that Private Edgar Robert Bydawell was serving in the Royal Army Service Corps.  This article also clears up some of the confusion regarding the conflicting entries on Bydawell’s Medal Index Card.  It would appear that he first joined the R.A.M.C. and then transferred at some point in the war to the 19^th London.

“The Uxbridge Advertiser” c. 1915

 WEDDING OF MISS BEES  

“A wedding of much interest to Uxbridge Wesleyans took place at the Wesleyan Church last Saturday, when Miss Mary Bertha Bees, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Bees, of Tregothnan, Derby Road was married to Corpl. Leonard Sampson Bydawell, of the Royal Engineers, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Bydawell, of 74, Montague Road, Uxbridge.  The bridegroom, whose father also is in the Royal Engineers, and being on active service was unable to attend his son’s wedding, was mobilized in August last, and saw active service and France and Belgium.  He was invalided home about Christmas, and is now under orders to go on active service again, and expects shortly to leave for the Dardanelles.  There were a good number of friends present at the ceremony which was performed by the Rev. J.T.F. Smith, assisted by the Rev. G.T.F. Halligay.  The bride was given away by her father, and wore a travelling costume and carried a beautiful bouquet of white carnations, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bowles of Rayleigh.  Mr. F. King of Sudbury, was the best man, and Mr. C. Abbot of Hanwell, an old friend of the bride’s family acted as organist during the ceremony.”

 NOTE:    The context of the narrative is somewhat confusing. These two sentences need some interpretation:  

“The bridegroom, whose father also is in the Royal Engineers, and being on active service was unable to attend his son’s wedding, was mobilized in August last, and saw active service in France and Belgium.  He was invalided home about Christmas, and is now under orders to go on active service again, and expects shortly to leave for the Dardanelles.” 

The man who “was mobilized in August last” refers to Leonard Sampson Bydawell.  His Medal Index Card indicates that he went to France on the 15^th of August 1914, thus dating this article to sometime in 1915.  Apparently he was invalided (perhaps wounded) in December of 1915 and returned home about Christmas.  Presumably he married Miss Bees while he was convalescing and before returning to active service.  His Medal Index Card indicates that he was a Sapper at the end of the war, so he may only have been wearing the chevrons of an Acting Corporal when the wedding took place.  The statement that he “expects to leave for the Dardanelles” is an interesting one.  Only his service papers would indicate to which unit he may have been assigned and if, in fact, he did go to Gallipoli. 

“The Uxbridge Advertiser” c. 1924  

OFFICE LINEMAN  

FINE RECORD OF MR. J. BYDAWELL  

After 36 years’ service with the Post Office Engineering Department, Mr. J. Bydawell, of Montague-road, Uxbridge, has retired.  Of the very man people who have seen this quiet, unassuming man, always with a pleasant smile, cycling about the district, few realized the nature of his work, and less still know anything about the many experiences that he has crowded into his life.  He has served with the army throughout two long campaigns, the Boer War and the European war.  He was the first to erect a wireless receiving station in Uxbridge (this in his back garden); he has lectured before the Duke of Connaught; he has saved a man from drowning and two ladies from serious injury through two startled horses.  But it is of his work as lineman for the Post Office that he will be long remembered by the department, for, as an Uxbridge official said, he knew the practical side of the work from A to Z, and was ever ready to use that knowledge, not only for the good of the department and of the public in general, but for the advancement of those serving with and under him.” 

REFERENCES  

Books  

History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume V.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, Chapter IX.  

Documents  

1. Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage, MB 236959, dated 23 January 1981.
2. Probate Calendar, 1929, p.548.
3. Probate Calendar, 1936, p. 632.
4. Probate Calendar, 1955, p. 1075.
5. Commonwealth War Graves Page, 1939; Leonard Robert John Bydawell, grandson.
6. London Electoral Registers, 1832-1965.

Family Trees  

Leonard Sampson Bydawell Family Tree by Kathryn Stewart

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/164114072/person/262139214119/facts?_phsrc=iWN2669&_phstart=successSource  

Internet Web Sites  

1. Imperial War Museum

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/691421  

2. The Postal Museum: The Imperial Service Medal

https://www.postalmuseum.org/discover/collections/ism/  

3. Wikipedia: HMS Royal Oak

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_Oak_(08)  

4. BritishBattles.com

https://www.britishbattles.com/great-boer-war/battle-of-modder-river/  

 London and Edinburgh Gazettes  

1. London Gazette, 15 January 1892, p. 263.
2. London Gazette, 3 January 1913, p. 50.
3. Edinburgh Gazette, 7 August 1914, pp. 927 and 928.

Medal Rolls  

1. WO 100/159: 1^st Telegraph Division, Royal Engineers, John Bydawell.
2. Medal Index Card: Edgar Robert Bydawell, 19^th London Regiment and RAMC.
3. Medal Roll, RAMC, 1914-15 Star: E.R. Bydawell.
4. Medal Roll, 19^th London, 1914-15 Star: E.R. Bydawell.
5. Medal Roll, 19^th London, British War Medal and Victory Medal, E.R. Bydawell.
6. Medal Index Card: Horace William Bydawell, Royal Engineers.
7. Medal Roll, Royal Engineers, 1914-15 Star: H.W. Bydawell.
8. Medal Roll, Royal Engineers, British War Medal and Victory Medal, H.W. Bydawell.
9. Medal Index Card: John Bydawell, Royal Engineers.
10. Medal Roll, Royal Engineers, BWM and VM: J. Bydawell.

Personal Communications  

Postmaster, High Wycombe, Buckinghamsire to the author, May 1981.  

Periodicals  

1. Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.  The Royal Engineers Journal.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.  
2. The Uxbridge Advertiser, 1915 and 1924.

Soldiers Service Papers (WO 97/4472)  

1. Short Service Attestation (Form B 111)
2. Description on Enlistment
3. Statement of Services
4. Military History Sheet.

Soldiers Service Papers (WO 363): Burnt Records Files  

1. Short Service Attestation: 69281 Sergeant John Bydawell, R.E.
2. Information Supplied by Recruit
3. Statement of Services
4. Description on Enlistment
5. Dental Examination Form (Army Form W. 3499)
6. Memorandum, Soldiers Awards Branch, 18 August 1919
7. Award Sheet – First Award
8. Renewal or Revision of Award
9. Medical Report on a Soldier Boarded Prior to Discharge (Army Form B. 179a)
10. Statement as to Disability (Army Form Z. 22)
11. Medical History (Army Form B. 178)
12. Casualty Form – Active Service (Army Form B. 103)
13. Cover for Discharge Documents (Army Form W. 3997)
14. Service and Casualty Form – Part 1 (Army Form B. 103-I)
15. Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity
16. Certificate of Trade Proficiency (Army Form B. 195)
17. Military History Sheet

 ENDNOTES