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Lieutenant Colonel

VICTOR RICHARD THOMAS MENAGE

(Formerly 19260 and 1852472 Warrant Officer Class 1)

Royal Engineers

by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis

© All Rights Reserved, 2016

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Victor Richard Thomas Menage, R.E.

(Photograph courtesy of The Sapper magazine)

 

INTRODUCTION

 

            This research narrative tells the story of a long-serving soldier in the Royal Engineers and also the story of his father, two brothers, five uncles and five cousins who served in the Royal Engineers and other units of the British Army.  The research was initiated after I acquired the medals of Lieutenant Colonel Victor Richard Thomas Menage.  I also was fortunate to be able to acquire his military service record from the Ministry of Defense as well as the service records of his father, Victor Ernest Menage, and his cousin, Hector Donald Menage, both of which were available on the Internet through Ancestry.com.  These three sets of documents provided the source for the majority of military information contained herein. 

            Here is a list of the men that are included in this research and the corps and regiments in which they served:

The main character:       Victor Richard Thomas Menage, Royal Engineers.

 

His father:                        Victor Ernest Menage, Royal Engineers.

 

His Uncles:

                                          Ernest Joseph Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Bertram Eugene Menage, The King’s (Liverpool) Regiment and Labour Corps.

                                          Adolphe Menage, 5^th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry and 10^th Royal Hussars.

                                          Charles Frederick Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Louis Frederick Menage, Royal Engineers.

His Brothers:

                                          Ernest Leslie Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Frederick Charles Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                         

His Cousins:

                                          Ernest Leon Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Wilfred Joseph Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Hector Donald Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Maurice Eugene Menage, Royal Engineers.

                                          Ronald Adolphe Menage, Royal Indian Army Service Corps and Royal Army Service Corps

 

            The references at the end of the narrative provide further sources of information, many of which are official documents available on the Internet.  A significant amount of information, including photographs also was obtained from 23 issues of The Sapper magazine and from five issues of The Royal Engineers Journal.  I was able to retrieve this information easily because of the data base that I had created dating back to the nineteen seventies, first on 3 x 5 cards and later in a computerized data base, a data base that currently contains records for 101,380 men who served in the Royal Engineers and in the engineer forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth.

            The London Gazette was literally awash with entries for all the military members of the Menage family.  I found 33 Gazette entries for the 14 men of the Menage family who served in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 and/or in World War 2.  I was even able to find two entries in the London Gazette for members of the family who were in the Civil Service.

            I must express my thanks to Janet Menage and other members of the Menage family who have created family trees that are open to public view on Ancestry.com.  The greater part of the genealogical data regarding the Menage family has come from these family trees along with many of the family photographs. 

            I must also express my gratitude to Chris Baker, the creator of The Long, Long Trail web site.  Mr. Baker lives in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. He counts himself as a freelance military historian, researcher and author.  Many of the references to British units during the Great War of 1914 to 1918 were obtained from Mr. Baker’s web site, which can be found at http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk.

            Finally, I send my deep appreciation to a fellow medal collector and very good friend, Mr. Kim Lindsay of Hemmingen, Germany who carefully proofread this narrative and spotted my grammar and spelling errors.  Kim also assisted in identifying the cavalry unit in which one of the Menage uncles served.

* * *

PART I 

THE MENAGE FAMILY

      I found a good place to begin this research was with the family tree of the Menage family as shown below.

Figure 1.  The Menage Family Tree Beginning with the Grandparents of 
Victor Richard Thomas Menage, and His Father, Victor Ernest Menage.

 

            The construction of this family tree was due mostly to the efforts of Janet Menage and Angela Baker (née) Relf who have published data from their family histories in publically available family trees.  The works of Ms. Menage and Ms. Relf was crucial to putting so many branches and leaves on the tree.  I am indebted to them for their fine work, all of which can be found by searching for the surname Menage on Ancestry.com.

A.  The Grandparents of Victor Richard Thomas Menage

            The story begins with the grandparents of Victor Richard Thomas Menage, Ernest and Elizabeth Menage who were married in 1870.  The 1871 Census of England and Wales shows Ernest Menage, age 24, and his wife Elizabeth Louisa (née King), living at the time at 37 Wells Street in Marylebone, London.  Living with them was an unnamed child only 10 days old and a woman 45 years of age shown as a visitor and a widow, probably Elizabeth’s mother.           

The 1871 Census of England and Wales (The Family of Ernest Menage)

 

By 1881 Ernest and Elizabeth had three children and were living at 59 Clarendon Street in Dover, Kent.  Elizabeth’s mother was no longer living with them and their son Victor, who would become father of Victor Richard Thomas Menage, the subject of this research, was already 9 years old.

The 1881 Census of England and Wales (The Family of Ernest Menage)

 

* * *

 

B.  Lieutenant Victor Ernest Ménage, R.E, Father of Victor Richard Thomas Menage[1]

 

            According to his military service papers, Victor Menage had been born on the 28^th of March 1872 while the family was living at 16 Cambridge Terrace in the Parish of St. Peter in Islington.  He was baptized at St. Peters Parish on the 25^th of August 1872.[2]

            Victor’s full name was Victor Ernest Ménage.  On his enlistment papers when he joined the Army he placed an accent mark over the first letter “e” in his family name so that phonetically it would have been pronounced something like “meń-edge” rather than the French menage as in “menage à trois” meaning a “threesome.”  Victor Ernest assiduously used this accent mark throughout his military service.  Other members of the family were not so diligent in the spelling of Menage or Ménage, so it is found in different forms throughout this work.  I have attempted to use it when referring to Victor Ernest since he seemed so diligent in using that accent mark when spelling his own name.

            Victor Ernest Ménage enlisted in the Royal Engineers at Dover as a Boy Soldier on the 29^th of March 1888 and was given the Regimental Number 22771.  His period of enlistment was for 12 years with the Colours.[3]  He listed blacksmith as his occupation on his attestation form.  The following is a description of Victor at the time of his enlistment:

 

            Victor was examined at Dover Castle on the 29^th of March 1888 and was found to be fit for service in the Army.  His Certificate of Primary Military Examination also was completed on this date as was the Certificate of the Approving Field Officer for his enlistment. 

            On the 4^th of April 1888 Victor Ernest Ménage attestation papers were processed at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, Kent.  His work in school appears to have been well above average prior to enlisting in the Army, as he earned a Second Class Certificate of Education in September of 1888 without the need to qualify for a Third Class Certificate.[4]

            He spent over 9 years at Chatham and while he was there he must have received some basic training as an engineer soldier even though he was a Boy Soldier.[5]  Since he was 16 years old he probably was capable of engaging in this type of training almost to the same extent as an 18-year old who enlisted directly into the ranks as a Sapper.  When Victor attained the age of 18 years on the 28^th of March 1890 he was taken on the rolls of the Royal Engineers as a Sapper.

            On the 7^th of June 1890 he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.  The 1891 Census of England and Wales shows him as serving in “N” Company of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion at Chatham.

            Victor was promoted to the rank of 2^nd Corporal on the 1^st of July 1892, he earned his First Class Certificate of Education on the 31^st of October 1893 and was authorized Good Conduct Pay[6] at the rate of 2d; that is, 2 pence per day, in addition to his basic pay as a 2^nd Corporal on the 29^th of March 1894.  He obviously was performing his duties in an exemplary manner and his work and conduct were being recognized by his superiors.  There is no entry in his military service papers regarding his award of Good Conduct Pay at the rate of 1d.  This may have been an omission in his papers or he may have been issued the pay at 2d immediately, since he had been serving as a Boy Soldier.

            Early in 1894 2^nd Corporal Victor Ernest Ménage married a Miss Jennie Ware at Chatham, Kent.[7]  On the 7^th of September 1894 their first child, Victor Richard Thomas Menage was born in Chatham. 

            On the 1^st of June 1895 Victor Ernest Ménage was promoted to the rank of Corporal.  He passed the Foreman of Works course with the grade of “Superior” on the 24^th of October 1895 and was promoted to the rank of Foreman of Works Company Sergeant Major on the 11^th of January 1896.  One can only assume that his performance of duty had been so exemplary up to this point that he received an accelerated promotion, passing over the ranks of Sergeant and Staff Sergeant within his unit, which is thought to have been the Royal Engineer Services, later renamed the Establishment for Engineer Services.[8]  This organization will be discussed in more detail in the sections dealing with Lieutenant Colonel Victor Richard Thomas Menage’s military service.

            It appears that sometime after the birth of their son Ernest, Victor and Jennie may have separated or divorced.  The reason for this statement is that Victor appears to have married Jennie a second time on the 30^th of August 1896.  It may have been their second marriage or the first marriage might have been a civil marriage and the second one a church marriage.[9]  Another possible reason for this “remarriage,” and perhaps the most plausible, is that when they were first married Victor was only a junior non-commissioned officer and they did not marry with “leave,” that is, with the permission of his commanding officer.[10]  He may even have kept this first marriage a secret from the Army.  A soldier who married without leave did not receive the family benefits that he would have received had he married with the permission of his commander.  By August of 1896 Victor was a senior non-commissioned officer and was entitled to marry with leave.  He may have asked for permission at that time and after receiving it he went through the motions of “marrying” Jennie openly in order to receive the benefits to which they would then be entitled.

            Victor’s and Jennie’s second child, Ernest Leslie was born on the 4^th of September 1895 and their third child, Violet Emily L., was born on the 31^st of December 1896. 

            On the 7^th of October 1897 Victor re-engaged at Chatham to complete 21 years of service with the Colours[11] and on the 1^st of May 1898, while serving on the island of Bermuda, he elected to serve under the provisions of Special Army Order dated 2^nd April 1898, from the 15^th of May 1898.  Although the specifics of this Special Army Order are unknown, Army Orders such as this usually had to do with messing allowances and pay primarily for married soldiers.

            Victor and his family had embarked for service on the island of Bermuda on the 29^th of October 1897.  The 27^th Fortress Company, Royal Engineers was stationed in Bermuda at that time, so it is most likely that Company Sergeant Major Ménage was posted to that company.[12]  His wife Jennie died on the island of Bermuda on the 13^th of December 1899.[13]  Presumably his children Victor, Ernest and Emily were there with him.  While in Bermuda Victor was promoted to the rank of Foreman of Works Quartermaster Sergeant on the 11^th of January 1902.  Quartermaster Sergeant Ménage and his children arrived home from Bermuda on the 13^th of February 1902.

            From 1904 to 1905 Quartermaster Sergeant Ménage is known to have been living in Barracks on Albany Street in the Borough of St. Pancras, London.[14]   The unit to which he was assigned during this period is not known and his service papers do not shed any light on what he was doing at that time.

            According to Ménage’s military service papers he married again to one Henrietta Florence Fielding on the 13^th of March 1906.[15]  Family tree information regarding Victor Ernest Ménage that is available on the Internet has some confusing entries in it.  Numerous family trees have been constructed by many family members, but it appears that some of the data may not apply to Victor Ernest Ménage of the Royal Engineers and that some interpretations regarding dates of various events appear to be in error or contradictory.  Every effort has been made to corroborate dates and places with as many sources as possible during this research; however, some errors probably do exist.   

            On the 1^st of July 1906 Quartermaster Sergeant Ménage was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal after completing 18 years of service.[16]  His medal was authorized to him by Army Order 240 of 1906.

Figure 2.  The Edward VII Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 
of the Type Awarded to Quartermaster Sergeant Menage.

 

            Victor and Henrietta had a son, Horace Leon, born in London on the 24^th of March 1907.  Less than two months after Horace’s birth Quartermaster Sergeant Ménage was on a ship bound for Sierra Leone in West Africa.  He departed the United Kingdom on the 18^th of May 1907 and arrived in Sierra Leone on the 28^th of May.  The unit stationed in Sierra Leone at the time of his assignment there was the 36^th Fortress Company, Royal Engineers.[17]  He reported into his new unit on the 29^th of May and found that because of the very crude living and working conditions there, that his time in West Africa would count double towards his pension.  This must have been a pleasant surprise, although one wonders if it was worth it given the conditions he had to endure while he was there.  On the 23^rd of August 1907 Ménage was promoted to the rank of Foreman of Works Sergeant Major.

            While Sergeant Major Ménage was in Sierra Leone another tragedy struck.  His wife Henrietta died on the 9^th of March 1908.  Word must have reached him by telegraph and he applied for leave to return home.  At the time of her death Henrietta was living at 78 Shooter’s-Hill-Gardens on Westmount Road, Wellhall, a town believed to have been to the southeast of Glasgow, Scotland.  Sergeant Major Ménage embarked on the 10^th of March on board the S.S.Tarquah and arrived at Liverpool on the 21^st of March.

Figure 3.  S.S. Tarquah.

            Henrietta’s will was probated in London on the 11^th of April 1908 and Sergeant Major Ménage inherited her effects, which amounted to £128.  On the 12^th of June 1908 he boarded a ship to take him back to Sierra Leone, arriving back at his unit on the 28^th of June.  He served there for almost another year and on the 11^th of July 1909 he sailed home, arriving in England on the 22^nd of July.

            Victor Ernest Ménage married his third wife, Louisa Frances Mercer, on the 9^th of January 1910 and they had a child, Frederick Charles, born in Dover, Kent on the 28^th of November 1910.  The 1911 Census of England and Wales shows them living at 24 Nightingale Road, Buckland, Dover.[18]

The 1911 Census of England and Wales (The Family of Victor Ernest Ménage)

 

NOTE:

1.      A note in the census indicates that one child was born alive in the present marriage.  This obviously was Frederick.  Victor Richard Thomas, the son of Jennie, is not listed because he already had joined the Royal Engineers as a Boy Soldier.  Leslie is assumed to be Ernest Leslie.  Horace is the son of Henrietta Florence.  Young Horace died on the 28^th of May 1913 at the age of 6 years.

2.      It does not appear that the children used the form Ménage as their surname; that is, with the accent mark.  If they did, they did not use it consistently during their lifetimes.  It has been included in the table above by the author since Victor seemed to prefer it and certainly would have been using it at that time for his family members.    

 

            On the 29^th of May 1914 Sergeant Major Ménage was permitted to continue in the service for a further period until 22 August 1916.[19]  Presumably he did this voluntarily perhaps aware that his country might be going to war in the very near future.  If that was the case he was correct.  A little over two months later the Great War of 1914-1918 began.

            Sergeant Major Ménage was posted to the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) on the 24^th of November 1915 and was assigned to the District Office of the Royal Engineers (D.O.R.E.) in Port Said, Egypt.  On the 8^th of December 1915 he was posted to duties in Alexandria, Egypt and he returned to Port Said on the 3^rd of July 1916 where he served in the Royal Engineers Park until the 12^th of May 1917 when he returned to the D.O.R.E.  On the 6^th of July 1917 he was mentioned in the despatches of General Sir Archibald Murray for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field.[20]

 

Figure 4.  Card Showing the Mention in Despatches Received by

Sergeant Major V.E. Ménage.

 

            Sergeant Major Ménage was ordered home on the 12^th of September 1917 as his time with the Colours had expired.  He was then 45 years old and had served 29 years in the Royal Engineers.  En route home he stopped off at the General Base Depot at Mustapha on the 20^th of September and on the 27^th he embarked for the United Kingdom at Alexandria, returning home to England on the 15^th of October 1917.  On the 17^th of December 1917 he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.[21]  Four days later he was discharged on the termination of his fifth period of limited engagement in the Army.   

 

Figure 5.  Medal Card Indicating the Award of the Meritorious Service Medal to

Sergeant Major V.E. Ménage.

 

NOTE: The stamp EGYPT in the upper right-hand corner of the card indicates where he performed the duties for which the medal was awarded.  The word “Devotion” is meant to indicate that the medal was awarded for “devotion to duty” rather than for a specific act of heroism.  His rank is noted as Sergeant Major (Foreman of Works) and the London Gazette date shown is 17 December 1917.  The “Registered Paper” is the issue and page numbers of the London Gazette.

 

 

Figure 6.  The Meritorious Service Medal of the Type Awarded to 
Sergeant Major V.E. Ménage.        

            At the time of his discharge he was serving in “G” Company of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion at Chatham.  His total service was reckoned at 29 years and 268 days.  In addition to the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal, he earned the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service in the Great War.  On the 22^nd of December 1917 he was awarded the Silver War Badge (Badge No. 298,121).

Figure 7.  The Great War Trio of Medals of the Type Awarded to 
Sergeant Major Victor Ernest Ménage.

 

Figure 8.  The Silver War Badge.

Figure 9.  Silver War Badge Roster (Victor Ernest Ménage).

            The Silver War Badge was issued in the United Kingdom and the British Empire to service personnel who had been honorably discharged due to wounds or sickness from military service in the Great War of 1914-1918.  The specific reason for Sergeant Major Ménage receiving this badge is not indicated in his service papers or on the roster above.

            On the 8^th of January 1918 Victor Ernest Ménage was afforded the additional honor of being appointed a Temporary Quartermaster with the Honorary Rank of Lieutenant.[22]  He remained active in military social events by frequently attending the meetings of the Royal Engineers Old Comrades Association (R.E.O.C.A.) at Shorncliffe, Kent.  On the 12^th of October 1928 he attending a meeting and was called upon to toast the Secretary of the Shorncliffe Branch for his outstanding work in the association.  On the 7^th of November 1936 he attended the Eleventh Annual Dinner of the Shorncliffe and District Branch of the R.E.O.C.A. at Paddock House in Hythe.[23]  In the minutes of the dinner meeting he is listed as a Lieutenant, late R.E.[24]   His address in 1939 was 32 St. Winifred Road, Folkestone, Kent and he was living at that address when his son Victor Richard Thomas Menage was called to active service for World War 2.

            Victor Ernest Ménage was an active member of the Freemasons during his military career.  He was a member of many lodges during his time in the Army.  The following is a list of those lodges showing his initiation date in each one:

Broad Arrow Lodge, St. George’s Bermuda, 15 December 1897

Engineer Lodge, Ripley, Derbyshire, 17 May 1902

Earl Roberts Lodge, London, 5 February 1906

Military Jubilee Lodge, Dover, Kent, 24 May 1911

Thorncliffe Lodge, Sandgate, Kent 2 December 1921

            Victor Ernest Ménage died on the 13^th of March 1956 at the age of 87.  His residence at the time was 98 Surrenden Road in Folkestone, Kent.  His will was probated on the 19^th of March 1956 by his solicitor Joseph Kenneth Lawson, leaving a total of £3,210 – 1s -1d to his daughter Violet Emily Davies.

 

Figure 10.  Honorary Lieutenant Victor Ernest Ménage in his Later Years.

 

* * *

C.  The Uncles of Victor Richard Thomas Menage

            Information concerning the uncles of Victor Richard Thomas Menage was obtained by an Internet search through Ancestry.com as previously described.  His father had one sister, Emily Ernestine, but no information regarding her could be found except for her year of birth.  There was much more information available about the male members of the family.  The information regarding each of his uncles is provided in chronological order of their birth.  The narrative regarding the uncles of Victor Richard Thomas Menage will start with the family tree of Menage family again, this time with Ernest Joseph Menage as the center of the discussion as shown in Figure 11 below.

a.      Captain Ernest Joseph Menage, R.E.

Figure 11.  The Menage Family Tree (Principal: Ernest Joseph Menage).

 

            The Sapper magazine of May 1963 carried an obituary regarding Ernest Joseph Menage, the brother of Victor Ernest Ménage and the uncle of Victor Richard Thomas Menage.  The following is the substance of the obituary (in italics) with some additional information added.

            “Joe” Menage was born in Islington in 1873, the son of Ernest and Elizabeth Lessesa [sic] Menage.  He was one of the two well known brothers in the Corps, Victor and Ernest.  He enlisted as a Blacksmith and Fitter Trades Boy in 1887.  Upon reaching the age of 18 years he was taken on the rolls as a Sapper, Regimental Number 23646.  He later became a Brennan Torpedo and Sub-Mining Mechanist in which capacity he served in Queenstown, Isle of Wight, Hong Kong and Cliffe at Hoo.  He progressed up the ranks and later was posted to Gravesend and upon promotion in 1911 to Warrant Officer Class 1, he went overseas to Ceylon. 

The 1911 Census of England and Wales (The Family of Ernest Joseph Menage)

 

NOTES:

 

1.      Ernest Joseph and Mary Ann Clarke were married in 1894.

2.      The census form shows that there were eight children born alive and eight children still alive in 1911.  Only seven children are show in the census.

3.      There were seven sons in the family.[25]  Only five are shown in the census.    From the family photograph shown below (Figure 13) it is possible that two of his sons were Boy Soldiers and not living with the family.  Two of the boys are in uniform.  Cyril Michael died in Colombo, Ceylon on the 17^th of January 1916.

4.      Another son, Norman Phillip was born on the 9^th of December 1912 in Colombo, Ceylon and therefore he is not shown in the 1911 census.

 

 

Figure 12.  The Family of Ernest Joseph Menage in Ceylon, c. 1917.

(Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

Figure 13.  The Family of Warrant Officer E.J. Menage in Ceylon, c. 1917.

(Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

            Here the 1914-18 War intervened.  He was commissioned as an Honorary Lieutenant, Assistant Inspector of Royal Engineer Machinery on the 20^th of July 1917, with seniority dating from the 3^rd of June 1917[26] and was called back to England.  He and his family left Ceylon on the 3^rd of July 1917 and on the 26^th of July while en route aboard S.S. Mooltan they were torpedoed in the Mediterranean off Malta.

 

Figure 14.  S.S. Mooltan. 

            Whilst he and his family survived, all baggage and effects were lost.  After two harrowing days on the deck of a Japanese destroyer, and fed upon hard tack and rice, and jam water, the Ménage family were landed at Marseilles and continued overland through a war-scarred France to England.  Here “Joe” Ménage served as an Inspector of Royal Engineers Machinery in the Portsmouth Garrison Area.” 

            A daughter, Eileen Naomi, was born to “Joe” and Mary Ann on the 17^th of November 1917 in Hampshire.  Mary Ann was about four months pregnant with Eileen when they were torpedo aboard S.S. Mooltan. In 1921 he and his family were living at 28 Worthing Road in Southsea, Hampshire.   

            Lieutenant Ernest Joseph Menage served in the Royal Engineers during the Great War of 1914-1918 but did not see active service in any theatre of the war.  His service did qualify him for the award of the British War Medal.  He received the medal on the 21^st of February 1921.

Figure 15.  The British War Medal (obverse and reverse) of the Type Awarded to

Lieutenant Ernest Joseph Menage.

 

Figure 16.  The Great War Medal Card of Lieutenant Ernest Joseph Menage, R.E.

 

            Lieutenant Ménage was promoted Captain (I.R.E.M.) in 1925.  He retired as a Captain on retired pay on the 19^th of July 1928 upon attaining the age limit for retirement.[27]  For a few more years after his retirement he was re-employed under Commander Royal Engineers (CRE) Oxford.  “Joe” Ménage died at Portsmouth, Hampshire on the 22^nd February, 1963 in his 90^th year.” 

            An announcement of his death was published in The Sapper of April 1963 (page 264).  This announcement indicated that Ernest Joseph Menage died peacefully in a nursing home at Southsea.  In addition to indicating that he was an ex-Brennan Torpedo Mechanist it also stated that he was a “Winkle Diver.”[28]

            Six of his seven sons served in the Corps, four survive him, the last of whom to retire being Maurice, who attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and is now (1963) an A.W.O. in Germany.    

Figure 17.  Captain Ernest Joseph Menage, Royal Engineers.

(Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

* * *

b.      Corporal Bertram Eugene Menage, King’s Liverpool Regiment and Labour Corps

            Bertram Eugene Menage was born in Islington, London in 1877.  The 1891 census shows him living in Dover, Kent.  When the Great War broke out in 1914 he was 37 years old but he apparently enlisted to serve in the war.  His Medal Index Card shows that he served as a Corporal, Regimental Number 260184, in The King’s Liverpool Regiment and then was later transferred to the Labour Corps, Regimental Number 610025.  His transfer to the Labour Corps may have been the result of a wound, an injury or an illness.  Most probably his transfer to the Labour Corps was due to his age.  Formed in January 1917, the Labour Corps grew to some 389,900 men (more than 10% of the total size of the Army) by the Armistice. Of this total, around 175,000 were working in the United Kingdom and the rest in the theatres of war. The Corps was manned by officers and other ranks who had been medically rated below the "A1" condition needed for front line service. Many were returned wounded.  Labour Corps units were often deployed for work within range of the enemy guns, sometimes for lengthy periods. In April 1917, a number of infantry battalions were transferred to the Corps. The Labour Corps absorbed the 28 Army Service Corps Labour Companies between February and June 1917.  Labour Corps Area Employment Companies were formed in 1917 for salvage work, absorbing the Divisional Salvage Companies. In the crises of March and April 1918, during the large German offensive on the Western Front, Labour Corps units were used as emergency infantry. The Corps always suffered from its treatment as something of a second class organization; for example, the men who died are commemorated under their original regiment, with the Labour Corps being secondary.[29]  

            What specific Labour Corps unit or what specific work Bertram might have done in the Labour Corps is not known.  The only evidence available of his assignment to the Labour Corps is his Medal Index Card shown below.  The card shows that he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service.  Bertram Eugene Menage died in September 1954 in north eastern Surrey, age 77.

 

Figure 18.  The Great War Medal Index Card of Corporal Bertram Eugene Menage.

 

 

Figure 19.  The British War Medal and Victory Medal of the Type Awarded to

Corporal Bertram Eugene Menage.

 

           

 

Figure 20.  The Cap Badge of The King’s Liverpool Regiment.

 

* * *

c.       Lance Corporal Adolphe Menage, 5^th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry and the 10^th Royal Hussars

 

            Adolphe Menage was born in Islington, London in 1881.  The 1891 census shows him living with his family in Dover, Kent.  He married one Elizabeth Emily King on the 31^st of October 1909 in the Parish of St. Mary, Islington and the 1911 census shows them living in Islington.  When the Great War began in 1914 he was 33 years old and married, but he apparently decided to enlist to do his bit.  His Medal Index Card shows that he enlisted as a Private on the 29^th of May 1916 in the 5^th R.C.R., which has been interpreted to mean the 5^th Reserve Cavalry Regiment.  The individual who made the entry on the card transposed the initials of the unit.  It should read 5^th R.R.C. or 5^th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry.  His Regimental Number is shown as 31559.

            Seventeen Reserve Regiments of Cavalry were formed by the British Army on the outbreak of the Great War in August of 1914.  These were affiliated with one or more active cavalry regiments, their purpose being to train replacement drafts for the active regiments. In 1915, the 3rd Line regiments of the Yeomanry were also affiliated with the Reserve Regiments of Cavalry.[30]  The 5^th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry was formed in York in 1914 and consisted of the following affiliated cavalry regiments:  the 1st Dragoons, the 2nd Dragoons, the 3/1^st  Northumberland Hussars, the 3/1st Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons, the 3/1st Yorkshire Hussars and the 3/1st East Riding Yeomanry.  In 1917, the regiments underwent major reorganization, being reduced to ten in number.  The 5^th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry was then located in Tidworth and was affiliated with the following cavalry regiments: the 10th Hussars, the 14th Hussars, the 18th Hussars, the 20th Hussars, the 3/1st Northumberland Hussars, the 3/1st Yorkshire Hussars, the 3/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry, the 3/1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and the 3/1st Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars.

            It would appear then that when Adolphe Menage joined the 5^th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry in 1916 he was stationed in York.  In 1917 when the aforementioned reorganization took place, he moved to Tidworth and at some point he was posted to the 10^th Hussars.  This has been determined by an examination of the top of the Medal Index Card which indicates that he served as a Private (or perhaps a Lance Corporal) in the 10^th Royal Hussars and the “X” to the left of the “10^th Hrs” notation indicates war service with that regiment.  At the time that Adolphe Menage joined the 10^th Hussars (probably in 1917), the regiment was serving with the 8^th Cavalry Brigade in the 3^rd Cavalry Division in France and Flanders.  He may have been engaged in the First Battle of the Scarpe (from 9 to 12 April, a phase of the Arras Offensive) and the attack on Monchy le Preux (from 10 to 11 April, a phase of the Arras Offensive).  These two actions would have qualified him for the war service notation on his Medal Index Card. 

            Although nominally cavalry, many of the cavalry units ended up being converted into infantry in order to satisfy the manpower demands of trench warfare.  The card shows that he was discharged on the 27^th of September 1917 after having served approximately one year and four months.  There is no indication as to why he was discharged before the end of the war other than the notation “Para 2 a 1”.  His age may have been a primary factor.  His service did qualify him for the British War Medal and Victory Medal. 

Figure 21.  Cap Badge of the 10^th Royal Hussars.

 

 

Figure 21a.  Shoulder Title of the 10^th Royal Hussars.

 

Figure 22.  The Great War Medal Index Card of

Lance Corporal Adolphe Menage.

 

Figure 23.  The Great War Pair of the Type Awarded to

Lance Corporal Adolphe Menage.

 

            The London Gazette of 10 February 1933 (p. 923) announced the appointment of Adolphe (spelled Adolph in the L.G.) to the position of Clerk in the Customs and Excise Department of the Civil Service Commission.  He died in September 1941 in Croydon, Surrey.

* * *

d.      Sapper Charles Frederick Menage, R.E.

Figure 24.  Charles Frederick Menage as a Young Man.

(Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

            Charles Frederick Menage was another brother of Victor Ernest Ménage and uncle of Victor Richard Thomas Ménage.  He was born in Dover, Kent in 1883 and married Adelaide Whitehouse in Rye, Sussex on the 2^nd of July 1904.  Charles and Adelaide had three daughters.  Charles served as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers during the Great War of 1914-1918, Regimental Number 159014.  His Regimental Number falls within a group of numbers issued to men who served in the 126^th Field Company, R.E., one of the field companies of the British 21^st Division.[31]  This Division was established in September 1914, as part of Army Order 388 authorizing Kitchener’s Third New Army, K3. The units of the division initially concentrated in the Tring area in Hertfordshire, spending some time in camp at Halton Park before winter necessitated a move into local billets in Tring, Aylesbury, Leighton Buzzard, High Wycombe and Maidenhead. The division artillery was located at High Wycombe and Berkhamsted, the units of the Royal Engineers were located at Chesham in Buckinghamshire, and the Army Service Corps units at Dunstable.

            In May 1915 the infantry moved to huts at Halton Park, the artillery went to Aston Clinton (one brigade staying at Berkhamsted) and the Royal Engineers to Wendover. Rifles were received by men of the division in late June 1915 and after firing their first course the infantry moved on the 9^th of August to Witley Camp. Lord Kitchener inspected the division on the march on the 12^th of August 1915.

            Advanced parties embarked for France beginning on the 2^nd of September 1915 and the main body began to cross the Channel five days later. Units moved to assemble near Tilques, completing concentration on the 13^th of September. The division’s first experience was truly appalling. Having been in France for only a few days, lengthy forced marches brought it into the reserve for the British assault at Loos. General Headquarters (GHQ) planning left it too far behind to be a useful reinforcement on the first day, but it was sent into action on the 26^th of  September, whereupon it suffered over 3,800 casualties for very little gain.

            The division served on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, taking part in many of the significant actions.  The 126^th Field Company, Royal Engineers was present at the following actions, since it had joined the division in March 1915:

1915:  The Battle of Loos (25 September to 5 October)

1916:  The battles of Albert, better known as The Somme (1 to 13 July), Bazentin Ridge (14 to 17 July), Flers-Courcelette (15 to 22 September), Morval (25 to 28 September, in which the division captured Geudecourt), and Le Transloy (1 to 18 October).

1917:  The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the first battle of the Scarpe (9 to 14 April), the third battle of the Scarpe (3 to 4 May), Menin Road (20 to 25 September), the battles of Polygon Wood (26 September to 3 October), Broodseinde (4 October), Poelcappelle (9 October), the second battle of Passchendaele (26 October to 10 November) and Cambrai (20 November to 3 December).

1918:  The battle of St Quentin (21 to 23 March 1918), the first battle of Bapaume (24 to 25 March), the battle of Messines (10 to 11 April), Bailleul (13 to 15 April), the battles of Kemmel (17 to 19 April and 25 to 26 April), Scherpenberg (29 April), and the battles of  the Aisne (27 May to 6 June), Albert (21 to 23 August), the second battle of Bapaume (31 August to 3 September), the battles of Havrincourt (12 September), St Quentin Canal, Cambrai (29 September to 2 October), Cambrai (8 to 9 October), the Selle (17 to 25 October 1918) and the Sambre (4 November).

            When the Armistice came into effect on the 11^th of November 1918 the units of the division were halted around Berlaimont. The next day they moved to Beaufort, moving between the 12^th and 20^th of December to the area to the west of Amiens. Demobilization began and by 19^th of May 1919 the division ceased to exist. In all the 21st Division had suffered the loss of 55,581 killed, wounded and missing.[32]^,[33]

            In addition to the 126^th Field Company, the following units of the Royal Engineers also served in the 21^st Division:

The 85th Field Company, which left the division in January 1915,

 

the 86^th Field Company, which left the division in February 1915,

 

the 97^th Field Company,

 

the 98^th Field Company, and

 

the 21^st Division Signal Company

 

            The service papers of Sapper Charles Frederick Menage were not available for study when this research was being conducted, however, his Medal Index Card was available.  The card shows that he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service in France and Flanders (see Figure 25).  Since he did not receive the 1914-15 Star it must be assumed that he was not assigned to the 126^th Field Company until sometime in 1916 or later.  If he joined the company early in 1916 and stayed with it until the Armistice, he could have participated in 28 of the major battles of the Great War of 1914-1918.   Unfortunately his card does not show his date of entry into the theatre of the war as was common for most Medal Index Card.  His card provides only a minimum amount of data to include his name, the Corps in which he served, his rank, his Regimental Number and the two medals that he received for his service and the medal rolls on which they are listed.  It is known that he survived the war.  He was 36 years old when the war ended. 

 

Figure 25.  The Great War Medal Index Card of

Sapper Charles Frederick Menage, R.E.

 

 

Figure 26.  The British War Medal and Victory Medal Roll Showing the Award of the Medals to 
Sapper Charles Frederick Menage, R.E.

 

            Figure 26 above shows the award of the British War Medal and Victory Medal to five men of the Royal Engineers.  Their Regimental Numbers range from Menage’s 159014 to 159020 for Sapper John J. Wilson.  By virtue of the sequence of the numbers, this roll indicates that the men were serving in the same company and substantiates the study made by the author regarding Regimental Numbers and units to which men were assigned.

            Charles Frederick Menage married Adelaide Whitehouse in September 1904 when he was 22 years old.  The couple had four daughters; Florrie Kathleen (1906 – 1985), Gladys Evelyn (1909 – 1994), Ruby Lillian (1915 – 1998) and Doreen (1923 – 1991).  Three of the daughters were born before the Great War, one during the war (although Charles probably was not serving at the time) and one after the war.  Each child had been born in Dover, Kent where Charles and his wife appear to have lived for most of their lives.  

            During World War 2 Charles served as a Sergeant in the Home Guard.  At the start of that war he would have been 56 years old.  In Figure 28 below he is shown (seated, second from the left) with a corporal and six privates of the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

 

Figure 27.  The Cap Badge of the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

 

In Figure 28 below Charles is wearing his Great War ribbon bars. 

 

Figure 28.  Sergeant Charles Frederick Menage with Men

of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. (Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

 

Figure 29.  Sergeant Charles Frederick Menage (center) as a Member of the Home Guard 
during World War 2. (Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage)

            In Figure 29 he again is seated with men of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, but in this photograph he and the men are wearing Home Guard arm bands on their right sleeves. The Home Guard (initially "Local Defence Volunteers" or LDV) was a defence organization of the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 until 1944, the Home Guard was composed of 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those too young or too old to join the services, or those in reserved occupations – hence the nickname "Dad's Army". Their role was to act as a secondary defence force, in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany and their allies. They were to try to slow down the advance of the enemy, even by a few hours in order to give the regular troops time to regroup. The Home Guard continued to guard the coastal areas of the United Kingdom and other important places such as airfields, factories and explosives stores until late 1944 when they were stood down, and finally disbanded in December 1945.  In Charles’s case he was too old by this time to serve in the Regular Army.[34]  The Home Guard units were associated with Regular Army regiments, in this case the Royal Berkshires.

            It appears that Charles lived out the remainder of his life in Dover.  He was fond of gardening and grew some prize flowers in his later years.  Charles Frederick Menage died on the 2^nd of July 1996 at Buckland Hospital in Dover at the age of 84.  His doctor listed his causes of death as: 1a) right lumbar pneumonia and 1b) ventricular failure and carcinoma of the prostate.

Figure 30.  Charles Frederick Menage after World War 2.

(Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

Figure 31.  Charles Frederick Menage with His Prize Chrysanthemums.

 (Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

* * *

e.   Sapper Louis Frederick Menage, R.E.

            Victor Richard Thomas Menage’s uncle Louis also served in the Royal Engineers during the Great War.  He appears to have served in a Territorial Army unit prior to the war as his Medal Index Card shows that he was a Sapper with Regimental Number (T.) 1471.  Later, with the buildup of the New Armies his number was changed to 560131 when he was called to active service.  He was awarded both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service during the war (see Figure 32).

 

Figure 32.  The Great War Medal Index Card of

560131 Sapper Louis Frederick Menage, Royal Engineers.

 

            His Regimental Number, 560131, falls within the block of numbers issued to men of the 2^nd Division Signal Company, Royal Engineers.  The 2^nd Division was one of the first British infantry divisions to go to France at the start of the Great War of 1914-1918.  It was one of the “Old Contemptible” divisions that arrived in the theatre of war in August of 1914.  However, as Louis’s Medal Index Card does not show him being awarded the 1914 Star or the 1914-15 Star, it must be assumed that he joined the unit in 1916 or later.  From 1916 until the Armistice in 1918, the 2^nd Division Signal Company took part in the following major actions:[35]

1916:  The battles of Delville Wood (15 July to 3 September) and Ancre (13 to 18 November).

1917:  The battles of Scarpe (9 to 14 April), Arleux (28 to 29 April), Scarpe (3 to 4 May) and Cambrai (20 November to 3 December).

1918:  The battles of St. Quentin (21 to 23 March), Bapaume (24 to 25 March), Arras (28 March), Albert (21 to 23 August), Bapaume (31 August to 3 September), Havrincourt (12 September), Canal Du Nord (27 September to 1 October), Cambrai (8 to 9 October), Selle (17 to 25 October) and Sambre (4 November).

            The service papers of Sapper Louis Menage could not be located during the course of this research.  He may have served beyond 1920, in which case his records would not be in the public domain, or his records may have been destroyed by the German bombings of London in World War 2.  From family tree records available at Ancestry.com, it appears that he never married and that he also lived most of his life in Dover.  Louis Frederick Menage died in October of 1973 at the age of 87.

* * *

D. Lieutenant Ernest Leslie Menage, R.E, the Brother of Victor Richard Thomas Menage   

 

            Ernest Leslie was the second son of Victor Ernest Menage.  As previously indicated, he was born in London on the 4^th of September 1895.  He enlisted in the Royal Engineers as a Boy Soldier at the age of 15 on the 14^th of September 1910, following in the footsteps of his father and his older brother.  In September of 1913 after attaining the age of 18 years he was taken on the rolls as a Sapper, Regimental Number 20534.[36]  He went to France on the 13^th of December 1914 to serve during the Great War and was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service (see Figure 7).  He remained in the Army after the war and in 1920 his Army Number is listed as 1852643.[37]

 

Figure 33.  The Great War Medal Index Card of 20534 Sapper Ernest Leslie Menage.

 

            By 1924 Ernest was a Sergeant and on the 11^th of November of that year he was posted to Egypt.[38]  On the 7^th of April 1929 he was promoted to the rank of Engineer Clerk Staff Sergeant in the Establishment for Engineer Services (E.E.S.).  Ernest was promoted to the ranks of Warrant Officer Class 1 (Sergeant Major) on the 7^th of April 1932.[39]

            Ernest Leslie Menage served in World War 2.  He was commissioned a Lieutenant, Inspector of Royal Engineers Machinery (I.R.E.M.) on the 25^th of December 1941.[40]  His Army Number upon commissioning was 221775.[41]  On the 23^rd of May 1946 Temporary Captain Ernest Leslie Menage was mentioned in despatches for “gallant and distinguished services in the Mediterranean Theatre.”[42]

            Ernest Leslie Menage died on the 13^th of October 1972 at the age of 77 years.[43]

* * *

E.  Lieutenant Frederick Charles Menage, R.E., the Half-Brother of Victor Richard Thomas Menage

 

            As previously indicated Frederick Charles Menage was born in Dover on the 28^th of November 1910.  He was too young to serve in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 like his brothers Victor and Ernest, but he did serve in World War 2.  He was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on the 4^th of June 1943.[44]  His Army Number was 278343.  On the 16^th of May 1946 he was granted the Honorary Rank of Lieutenant and released from active service on account of disability.[45]  The reason for his disability is unknown.  No information could be found during this research regarding his life after leaving the Army or his date of death.  It appears that he lived most of his life in London.

* * *

F.   The Cousins of Victory Richard Thomas Menage

a.   Sapper Ernest Leon Menage, R.E.

            Ernest Leon Menage was born in 1895 in Gillingham, Kent, the son of Ernest Joseph (“Joe”) Menage and his wife Mary Ann.  The 1911 census for the Royal Engineers Barracks at Chatham shows that Ernest Leon Menage was a 15-year old Boy Soldier at that time.

 

Figure 34.  The 1911 Census at the Royal Engineers Barracks, Chatham, Kent.

 

            Three years later, at the start of the Great War of 1914 to 1918, Ernest would have been 18 years old and old enough to serve in the ranks as a Sapper.  Unfortunately, no record of his service in the Great War could be found nor is there any record of him being a casualty during the war.  It is possible that he may have been discharged from the Army for medical reasons; hence, his records would not be available.  An entry in the Supplement to the London Gazette of 27 October 1959 shows that Ernest Leon Menage was a War Office Store Superintendant.  This could explain why there are no military records to be found on him besides his service as a Boy Soldier in 1911.  He may have suffered some disqualifying injury or ailment while in the Army that prevented him from serving further in the military.  It appears, however, that he maintained contact with the military by taking a civilian position with the War Office.

            The Menage family tree gives no information regarding his death.

* * *

b.   Sapper Wilfred Joseph Menage, R.E.

            Wilfred Joseph Menage was the son of Ernest Joseph Menage and his wife Mary Ann.  Wilfred was born on the 15^th of November 1896 at Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland.  He enlisted in the Royal Engineers, Regimental Number 21940, and was posted to 131^st Field Company, a unit of the British 26^th Division.  The 131^st Field Company was commanded by Captain F.H. Budden, R.E. at the beginning of the war and from 1916 by Major C.C. Phipps, R.E.

            The 26^th Division was established in September 1914 as part of Army Order 388 authorizing Kitchener’s Third New Army, K3. The units began to assemble in the Salisbury Plain area from September 1914. Khaki uniforms and equipment were not made available until February to April of 1915 and in the meantime everything in the division’s units was improvised.

            Embarkation of the division for France began in September 1915.  Sapper Menage’s Medal Index Card indicates that he went to France on the 7^th of September 1915 under the command of Captain Budden.  The concentration of the division’s units at Guignemicourt (west of Amiens) was completed before the end of the September; however, the division was not destined to remain on the Western Front, because in November 1915 it moved to Salonika.

On the 2^nd of November 1915, the division concentrated at Flesselles and moved to Salonika via embarkation at Marseilles. On the 26^th of December 1915, units began to move from Lembet to Happy Valley Camp and all units were in place there by the 8^th of February 1916.  The 26th Division remained in the Salonika theatre for the rest of the war, taking part in the battle of Horseshoe Hill from 10 to 18 August 1916 and Doiran from March to May 1917.  Wilfred Menage was an Acting Lance Corporal in company under the command of Major Phipps when he died of wounds received in action on the 6^th of March 1917 near Doiran.  He was buried at Karasouli Military Cemetery, row E, grave number 1112.

            The Commonwealth War Graves Commission indicated that at the time of his death he was the “Son of Lt. E.J. Menage (Royal Engineers) and Mary Ann Menage of “Erinholm,” 28 Worthing Rd., Southsea, Hants.  Native of Gravesend.”  Wilfred was the only member of the Menage family to die as a result of hostile action in either of the World Wars (as far as the author has been able to determine).

Figure 35.  Karasouli Military Cemetery, Greece.

 

Figure 36.  Graves Registration Form Showing the Entry for

21940 Acting Lance Corporal Wilfred Joseph Menage, R.E.

            For his service in the Great War Wilfred Joseph Menage was awarded the 1914-15 Star (for that portion of his service in France), the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

 

Figure 37.   The Great War Medal Index Card of Acting Lance Corporal Wilfred Joseph Menage, R.E.

            The 26th Division had suffered casualties of 8,022 killed, wounded and missing during the war but vastly larger numbers sick with malaria, dysentery and other diseases rife in the Salonika theatre.[46]

* * *

c.   Sapper Hector Donald Menage, R.E.

            Hector Donald Menage was the son of Ernest Joseph Menage and his wife Mary Ann.  Hector was born on the 27^th of February 1900 at Gillingham, Kent.  He enlisted in the Royal Engineers at Colombo, Ceylon on the 29^th of January 1915 as a Boy Soldier.  His Short Service Attestation papers show that he did not have a trade when he enlisted and that he was residing in his father’s house at the time of his attestation.  Hector further indicated that he was not and had never been an Apprentice nor had he ever been imprisoned and was not then a member of His Majesty’s forces.  He did, however, indicate that he had served in the Ceylon Engineers Volunteers (probably as a Bugler) and that he was willing to enlist in the Royal Engineers for a period of 9 years.  Hector was recruited by one Superintending Clerk of the Royal Engineers by the name of Phillips.  The following is a description of Hector upon his enlistment:

 

            Hector had been examined at Colombo on the 10^th of January 1915 and was determined to be fit for service in the Army by Captain R.G. Meredith, Royal Army Medical Corps.  His Certificate of Primary Military Examination was signed on the 29^th of January 1915 at Colombo and he was found fit for service in the Royal Engineers.  The Colonel of the Ceylon Engineers Volunteers issued his Certificate of Approving Officer on the same date.

            Upon the approval of his attestation, Hector was posted to the 31^st (Fortress) Company, Royal Engineers on Ceylon.  From the 28^th of June 1915 to the 15^th of January 1916 he attended a course of instruction to be a Fitter in the 31^st Company.  During this period he was granted 7^th and 6^th rate of pay while under instruction.  He was transferred to the 48^th (Fortress) Company, R.E. on the 15^th of January 1916.

            On the 19^th of January 1916 he was promoted to Bugler in the company and on the 14^th of June 1916 he extended to complete 12 years of service with the Colours.  On the 30^th of that same month he was granted 5^th rate of pay as a Fitter.  On the 29^th January 1917 he was granted Good Conduct pay at the rate of 1d per day and on the 1^st of February 1917 he was granted 4^th rate of pay while still serving with the 48^th Company.

            Hector was posted from Ceylon to the United Kingdom and on the 9^th of June 1917 he joined “G” Depot Company, Royal Engineers at Chatham, Kent.  He attained the age of 18 on the 27^th of February 1918 and was posted to the ranks as a Sapper (Regimental Number 34537) with a trade as a “Proficient” Fitter.  On the 11^th of October 1918 he joined the 415^th (Lowland) Field Company, R.E., a field company of the 65^th (2^nd Highland) Division.  This division was disbanded soon after Hector joined the company.

            After his field company was disbanded, Hector was posted to the 4^th (Fortress) Company at Gosport in Hampshire.  On the 15^th of August 1919 while in that company he was appointed a paid Acting Lance Corporal.  On the 23^rd of December 1920 he was posted to the 6^th (Fortress) Company at Belfast where he served until he was discharged from the Army.

            Since he served during the Great War of 1914-1918 but saw no active service in any theatre of the war, Hector only was awarded the British War Medal (see Figure 15).

 

Figure 38.  Great War Medal Index Card of Sapper Hector Donald Menage, R.E.

            While serving with the 6^th (Fortress) Company, Hector was promoted to Lance Corporal on the 18^th of July 1920 and appointed a paid Acting Corporal on the 1^st of January 1921 and soon after he was appointed a paid Acting Sergeant (Army Number 1855082).  His final substantive rank was Corporal, a promotion he received the 26^th of June 1921. 

            Hector Donald Menage was discharged from the Army on the 25^th of March 1922 for being “no longer fit for War Service.”  The nature of his disability was listed as malaria.  His malaria was first noted by an Army doctor in January 1919.  The doctor also indicated that he “appears slightly anemic, heart and lungs sound.”

            Hector’s military character upon discharge was noted to be “Exemplary” and that he was “sober and punctual.”  His address after his discharge was noted to be 9 Foster Road, Portsmouth and his permanent address, as listed on his Army Form Z. 22, was listed as 28 Worthing Road, Southsea, Hants.

            Hector’s Military History Sheet indicated that he received a Second Class Certificate of Education on the 25^th of February 1916 and a First Class Certificate of Education on the 6^th of April 1921.  His total service was reckoned as follows for a total of 7 years and 56 days:

Ceylon:  29 January 1915 to 27 July 1917

Home: 28 July 1917 to 25 March 1922

 

Figure 39.  Sergeant Hector Donald Menage, R.E., September 1968.

(Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

* * *

d.   Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Eugene Menage, R.E.

            The author was fortunate to find the following write-up regarding the service of Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Eugene Menage in The Sapper magazine of April 1957.  The article is reproduced below in its entirety (in italics).

Figure 40.  Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Eugene Menage, MBE, R.E.

(Photograph courtesy of the Institution of Royal Engineers).

 

            One Sapper’s Life

“LAST OF A LINE”

“THE RETIREMENT OF LT.-COL. MENAGE ENDS FAMILY’S 70 YEARS ASSOCIATION WITH THE CORPS”

            “With the retirement of Lt.-Col. M. E. Menage, the name of “Menage” disappears from the Corps after 70 years of continuous service.  The father and five brothers of “M.E.” all served with the R.E., as did Uncle Victor and his three sons.

 

            The family motto – “Fear nobody except God – always be natural” – stood Lt.-Col. Menage in good stead during his progress through every rank – except 2/Lt. – from boy to Colonel.

 

            Maurice Menage was born in 1901 in the Isle of Wight, the son of a Brennan Torpedo and Sub-Miner Mechanist who was afterwards to become Captain (I.R.E.M.) E.J. Menage.

            Maurice enlisted at Colombo, Ceylon, in September 1916.  He served in Ceylon, Chatham and Plymouth as a Bugler, and in 1919 joined No. 6 Party at Training Battalion, R.E.  Then to “B” Company, T.B.R.E. as Orderly Room Corporal, a Drill and Field Works Instructor at Chatham, and Senior Education Instructor in S.M.E. Schools.

 

            A Staff-Sergeant (M.F.W.) on E. for E.S. at Bordon, he later served as a Clerk of Works in Tidworth, Guildford, Egypt and Jamaica.  It was in Jamaica in 1938 that he was promoted to W.O. 1 and a year later he went with the B.E.F. to France, in the first month of the war.  He was then with A.A.S.F., C.R.E. being Lt.-Col. Graham-Carter.  In France he was commissioned as Lieutenant (G.E.),[47] and returned in the evacuation of June, 1940.[48]

 

 

Figure 41.  Staff Sergeant M.E. Menage and the R.E. Staff at Bordon, c. 1929.

(Menage is seated on the far left.  He was promoted from Lance Sergeant to Foreman of works Staff Sergeant on 15 February 1928 while serving in the 26^th Field Company, Royal Engineers.  (Photograph courtesy of The Sapper magazine).

 

            Life became extra varied from then on.  Lt. Menage served as Garrison Engineer, Adjutant and D.C.R.E. with C.R.E. (Aerodromes).  In March 1942, he took a unit to the Faeroe Islands as C.R.E. when the original C.R.E. became a casualty.  He was awarded the M.B.E. prior to leaving the Faeroes for duty with the 1^st Army in North Africa.  He served in Tunisia and Italy in varying capacities as Major,[49] until the end of the war in Italy, when he was called to A.F.H.Q. under General Coxwell-Rogers to G.E.A.D.W. (Works).

 

 

Figure 42.  MBE Medal of the Type Awarded to

Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Eugene Menage, R.E.

 

           

            Major Menage was the last C.R.E. (C.R.E. Venice) to leave Italy, with the exception of the enclave in Trieste.  That was in December 1947.[50]  From there he went to West Africa as S.O.R.E. II, and eighteen months later became C.R.E. Bedford.[51]  In February, 1952, he was abroad again, as S.O.R.E. I and officiating C.R.E., Central Malaya.  Three years later he was with B.A.O.R. as C.R.E. Minden, which appointment he held until retirement in February 1957.

 

            Lt.-Col- Menage holds twelve medals, including the M.B.E., M.S.M. and L.S.& G.C. Medals and was mentioned in despatches[52] twice (B.E.F. and Malaya).[53]

 

            He holds many cups, medals and spoons for shooting, and represented the Corps at Bisley on seven occasions – five times in the Army 100 and twice in the Army 50.  He has also been successful as the Individual Champion Jamaica Command, Runner-up Aldershot Command, Egypt Command and R.E.R.A. Silver Medallist (Abroad).

 

 

Figure 43.  Staff Sergeant Menage at Tidworth Shooting in the Southern Command Rifle Meeting in August of 1932. 
(Photograph courtesy of The Sapper magazine).

 

            A unique distinction was achieved by Lt.-Col. Menage in being a C.R.E. only two years from the date of first being commissioned.  He is a Life Member of the Royal Engineers Association, which he originally joined in 1919.”

 

            The Royal Engineers Journal of August 1988 carried the Memoir of Lieutenant Colonel Menage on the occasion of his death.  That Memoir is presented here in its entirety (in italics) and while it contains some of the information presented in the April 1957 edition of The Sapper, it also provides some additional information regarding his service.

            “Maurice Menage served for more than 40 years in the Corps.  He was, as a Senior Officer in the Corps wrote when he left the Corps ‘small of stature but large at heart, unswerving of principle but with a great sense of fun and humanity.’

 

            Maurice was born at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, the fifth of eleven children.  His father was a conductor in the RAOC [?] and two of his brothers reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the RAOC [?] and RASC.[54]

 

            At the age of 15, Maurice enlisted as a boy soldier, and sailed from Colombo with elder brother Horace to England via South Africa.  He was stationed at Plymouth until at 18 he was old enough to join the regular Army.  Next he was based at Chatham where he met and married his wife Eva in 1921.  The couple lived later in Jamaica and Egypt, and three weeks after World War II broke out Maurice was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force.  He was evacuated from Dunkirk and narrowly escaped travelling on a ship which was sunk on the passage home.  His wife was told her husband had been posted missing, but he turned up on the doorstep on the same day the official War Office card arrived.

 

            The next stop was the Faroe Islands where Maurice was made an MBE for gallantry.[55]  He and a colleague rowed out to rescue a pilot of a ditched plane when lifeboat crews said it was too dangerous to put to sea.  He served later in North Africa where his jeep was blown up by a mine and his driver killed.

 

            War service ended after pursuing the retreating German Army through Italy.  He was mentioned three times in dispatches.  Other postings after the War included the Gold Coast, Malaya and West Germany.  He was also the C.R.E. in East Anglia.  JHF remembers him then building with great speed and efficiency in 1951, a camp for a whole infantry division, wielding a mixed task force of sappers, direct labour and contractors.  The occasion was the call-up of the “Z Reservists” who were to train in the Stanford Battle Area. 

 

            Having come up the hard way, he was the scourge of the idle clerks of works, garrison engineers and DCs RE – but he made allowances for enthusiasm and initiative.  He was a most kindly and considerate commander.

 

            In civilian life Maurice worked as a civil engineer with the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works.  He and his wife lived in Highcliffe, Dorset from 1966 where Maurice became Branch Chairman of the Conservative Association for 8 years, Vice President from 1976 until his death.

 

            As a younger man he was a keen sportsman, playing tennis, cricket and hockey.  He was also a marksman – winning the Cairo British Rifle President’s Cup in 1932, the Jamaica Command Rifle Championship 1936 and the Malaya Rifle Championship 1952.

 

            Maurice was an active member of the REA Bournemouth branch and also a member of the Dunkirk Veterans Association. 

 

            He is survived by his wife, Eva and his daughter Pat.  Their son Geoff died aged 14 while at the Army Apprentice College Chepstow in 1938.”

CRW JHF[56]

 

            The 1935 National Rifle Association Prize List and some additional entries in The Sapper magazine provided additional information regarding Lieutenant Colonel Menage’s shooting skills. He was a Quartermaster Sergeant when he shot in the National Rifle Association Bisley Meeting in 1935.  His name appears on the Prize list for “His Majesty the King’s Medals” for the best shots in the Regular and Territorial Armies at Home.  He scored a total of 156 points out of a possible 185 points.  He also shot in the competition for “Her Majesty Queen Mary’s Prize” and scored a total of 154 points winning a prize of 1£. 

            While serving as the C.R.E. Minden, Lieutenant Colonel Menage shot on a team under the Captaincy of Major A.L. Carruthers.  The team entered the Lubbecke District Minor Units Rifle Competition and won the minor units team champion’s cup and the challenge cup.  Besides Menage and Carruthers, the other team members from the office of the C.R.E. and D.C.R.E. were 2^nd Lieutenant C.E. Hammond, 2^nd Lieutenant J.R.C. Jones, a Staff Sergeant Condach and a Corporal Spencer.[57] 

            It should be noted that although Maurice Menage was not serving in the ranks during the Great War of 1914 to 1918, as a Boy Soldier during that war he was entitled to the award of the British War Medal (see Figure 15).  His Medal Index Card indicates that as a Sapper, Regimental Number 39610, he was awarded this medal in 1919.

            The London Gazette of 26 February 1957 noted that Major M.E. Menage, M.B.E. (125668) relinquished his commission of service on the 9^th of February 1957 and was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Figure 44.  The Great War Medal Index Card of Sapper 
(later Lieutenant Colonel) Maurice Eugene Menage, Royal Engineers.

 

            The October 1997 Supplement to The Royal Engineers Journal noted that Eva Menage, wife of Lt. Col. Maurice Menage, MBE, R.E. died on the 6^th of August 1997.  She was survived by her daughter Patricia Menage.

e.       Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Adolphe Menage, R.I.A.S.C. and R.A.S.C.[58]

            Ronald Adolphe Menage was born at Cliffe at Hoo, Kent on the 30^th of January 1907, the son of Ernest Joseph and Mary Ann Menage.  He married Mildred Ruth Shurman in 1936 and they had three children.  According to a Menage family tree found on Ancestry.com, Ronald’s and Mildred’s marriage took place in Alexandria.  It has been assumed that this was Alexandria, Egypt while Ronald was serving there.  The wedding photograph below shows Ronald as a sergeant and other men of his unit in the wedding party.  The unit in which they are serving has not been identified, however the white shoulder belts may be a clue to the identity of the unit.  The proficiency badge that Ronald is wearing over his stripes is a Scout Proficiency Badge, usually made of brass and very elaborately engraved for Sergeants.

 

Figure 44a.  A Close-Up of the Scout Proficiency Badge 
of the Type Worn by Sergeant Menage in Figure 45 below.

 

             This was one of the most difficult of all proficiency badges to obtain. Scouts were highly trained reconnaissance soldiers who could estimate distance very well and draw maps and sketches of terrain in the field.  They were good at field craft and could move in close to the enemy without being seen or getting caught. Ronald must have had some skills to be awarded this badge. Typically Scouts were found in all corps and regiments of the British Army. Sergeant Menage probably used his skills to find roads and trail routes through difficult ground for the movement of equipment and supplies.[59]

Figure 45.  The Wedding Photograph of Sergeant Ronald Adolphe Menage and Mildred Ruth Shurman 
in Alexandria, Egypt [?] in 1936. (Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage)

 

            At some point prior to or during World War 2, Ronald Adolphe Menage was commissioned in Royal Army Service Corps.  The Royal Army Service Corps (R.A.S.C.) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and domestic materials such as clothing, furniture and stationery and the supply of technical and military equipment.

            At some point, probably during the war, Ronald was promoted to the rank of Major and was posted to India where he served in the Royal Indian Army Service Corps.  In Figure 49 below his shoulder titles can clearly be seen with the initials R.I.A.S.C. surmounted by a crown.  His collar badges also are clearly visible in the photograph.

Figure 46.  Soldiers of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps Shoeing a Mule. 
This is the Typical Field Uniform Worn by Men of This Corps in World War 2.

 

 

Figure 47.  Shoulder Title of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps.

Figure 48.  Officers Collar Badge of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps.

            During the First World War the function of the Army Service Corps described above were performed by the Indian Supply and Transport Corps.  This corps became a permanent component of the British Indian Army and was renamed as the Indian Army Service Corps in 1923. In 1935 the corps was allowed to use the prefix “Royal” and was known as Royal Indian Army Service Corps.  After Indian Independence in 1947 the prefix “Royal” was dropped by the Indian Army; hence, Ronald must have served in the unit sometime between 1935 and 1947.  In Figure 49 below Ronald is shown wearing the rank of Major.  He was appointed a Lieutenant in the Army of India Reserve of Officers on the 20^th of July 1939 with seniority from the 4^th of December 1934.[60]    He resigned his commission as a Lieutenant in the Army of India Reserve of Officers on the 27^th of March 1940, presumably to accept a commission in the Royal Army Service Corps (Army Number 366108), an Emergency Commission that he received as a 2^nd Lieutenant on the 11^th of August 1940.[61] 

 

Figure 49.  Major Ronald Adolphe Menage, Royal Army Service Corps, while Serving 
in the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, c. 1940.  (Photograph courtesy of Janet Menage).

 

            Although the London Gazette shows him resigning his commission in the Indian Reserve of Officers there is some confusion as to just when he did this.  The Supplement to the London Gazette dated 19 July 1945 shows him receiving a Mention in Despatches for gallant and distinguished service in Burma.  He is listed in that Gazette as being a Temporary Major in the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, so apparently in 1945 he still was serving in the Indian Army.  This issue of the London Gazette puts him in the same company as many of the heroes who fought the Japanese at Imphal and in the bloody actions at Kohima.  The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 during the Second World War. The battle was fought in three stages from the 4^th of April to 22^nd of June 1944 around the town of Kohima in Nagaland in northeast India. From the 3^rd to 16^th of April, the Japanese attempted to capture Kohima ridge, a feature which dominated the road by which the besieged British and Indian troops of IV Corps at Imphal were supplied. By mid-April, the small British and Indian force at Kohima was relieved. From the 18^th of April to 13^th of May, British and Indian reinforcements counter-attacked to drive the Japanese from the positions they had captured.  The Japanese abandoned the ridge at this point but continued to block the Kohima–Imphal road. From the 16^th of May to the 22^nd of June, the British and Indian troops pursued the retreating Japanese and reopened the road. The battle ended on the 22^nd of June 1944 when British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, ending the Siege of Imphal.  It is not known whether he was directly involved in either of these battle, but to receive the MID for his service in Burma he surely saw active service in that area.

            The Supplement to the London Gazette dated 9 April 1948 (page 2260) shows his promotion to War Substantive Captain with seniority as of the 1^st of August 1938.  This notice was made as a substitute for the notice published in the London Gazette Supplement dated the 30^th of August 1946.

            The 1949 Army List shows that Ronald was promoted to the rank of Major on the 1^st of July 1946 and that he graduated from the Junior Wing of the Army Staff College in 1939.[62]  He has no medal ribbons on his uniform.  Since he did see active service during the war, he would have at least been entitled to the 1939-45 Star, the Burma Star, the Defence Medal and the 1939-45 War Medal.  The London Gazette of 20 February 1948 indicates that for his service in the ranks prior to commissioning, he also received the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (GVIR).

   

Figure 50.  The 1939-45 Star, the Burma Star, the Defence Medal and the 1939-45 War Medal of the Type 
that May Have Been Awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Adolphe Menage.

 

 

Figure 51.  The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (GVIR) of the Type that 
Would Have Been Awarded to Ronald Adolphe Menage for his Service in Ranks.

 

            He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Army Service Corps on the 1^st of April 1951.[63]  The London Gazette of 4 April 1952 published a Mention in Despatches (MID) from Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Menage for gallant and distinguished service in Malaya during the period from the 1^st of July to the 31^st of December 1951. 

            The Malayan Emergency for which he received the MID was a Malayan guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army, the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 until 1960.  For his service in Malaya, Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Menage would have been awarded the General Service Medal 1918 with a clasp for [MALAYA].

Figure 52.  The General Service Medal 1918 with Clasp [MALAYA] of the Type 
that Lieutenant Colonel Menage would have been Awarded.

             The Supplement to the London Gazette dated 2 April 1954 indicates the Lieutenant Colonel R.A.M. Menage, RASC on completion as a Regimental Lieutenant Colonel was to remain on full pay effective the 1^st of April 1954.  Somewhere along the way the London Gazette began to publish his name with the initials R.A.M., but the name beginning with the letter M has not been uncovered during this research.

            On the 18^th of June 1955 Ronald Adolphe Menage left the Army on retired pay on account of disability.[64]  He must have become seriously ill about this time, as he died on the 30^th of July 1955, only a month and a half after his retirement, at the age of 48.  He died at Andover, Hampshire and is buried at the Tidworth Military Cemetery, Wiltshire.  His cause of death is unknown. 

Figure 53.  The Headstone of Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Adolphe Menage, R.A.S.C.

* * *

PART II

THE LIFE AND MILITARY SERVICE OF

LIEUTENANT COLONEL VICTOR RICHARD THOMAS MENAGE,

ROYAL ENGINEERS

 

            The details of the life and service of Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Adolphe Menage completes the information that the author was able to locate regarding the military service of the other men of the Menage family.  The following sections of this narrative cover the life and military service of the main character of this research; namely, Victor Richard Thomas Menage.

1.  PRE - GREAT WAR YEARS, 1909-1914

A. Enlistment in the Army

            Victor Richard Thomas Menage enlisted as a Boy Soldier at the age of 15 on the 7^th of September 1909.  He was recruited for his enlistment by one Sergeant F. Rogers of the 3^rd Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment.  His enlistment was for a term of 12 years with the Colours.

            Victor’s Certificate of Medical Examination was signed at Gravesend on the date of his enlistment by Major J.G.S. Hayes, Royal Army Medical Corps.  Major Hayes found him “fit” for Army service.  On that same date his Certificate of Primary Military Examination was signed finding him to be fit for service in the Royal Engineers.  On the 8^th of September 1909 the Certificate of Approving Officer was signed by an illustrious Sapper officer, Major Clifford Coffin (later Major General Clifford Coffin, VC, CB, DSO and bar).[65]

B.  Physical Description

            The table below provides a physical description of young Victor at the time of his enlistment in the Army in 1909.  His religion also is included in the Description on Enlistment.[66]

 

From the number of scars indicated in this description, Victor must have been a really clumsy youth or a real scrapper as a boy.

            Immediately following his enlistment Victor was posted to “A” Company of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion at Chatham, Kent.  Since he had attended school prior to his enlistment he was administered examinations and was awarded Third Class and Second Class Certificates of Education on the 17^th of September and the 21^st of October 1909, respectively.  On the 12^th of February 1910 he passed a swimming test and during his stay in “A” Company he surely was given additional basic training to qualify him as an engineer soldier when he reached the age of 18.  In the meantime he performed duties as a Bugler for the company.

            On the 25^th of November 1910 Victor was transferred to the 44^th (Fortress) Company, Royal Engineers on the island of Jamaica.  His commanding officer was Captain H.E.F. Rathbone, R.E.[67]  While serving in the 44^th (Fortress) Company Victor qualified as an Electrician while he was still a Boy Soldier.

            Victor received orders on the 19^th of December 1911 transferring him back to the U.K.  He arrived back in Chatham on the 13^th of January 1912 and was again posted to “A” Company of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion as a Bugler.  On the 7^th of September 1912, having attained the age of 18 years, he joined the ranks as a Sapper with Regimental Number 19260 and with the military occupation of Electrician, 4^th Rate.  His commanding officer was Lieutenant A.S. Cruikshank, R.E.  He would serve in the ranks for a period of 12 years and 41 days before being promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer.

            His qualifications as an electrician up to this point had been granted based on “on-the-job” training, primarily as a Boy Soldier.  His commanders must have noted that his service to the Army would be best served by his continuing in the field so in January 1913 he was sent to the Electric Lighting Course at the School of Electric Lighting in Plymouth, Hampshire.  Concurrently with his posting to the school he was reassigned to the 30^th (Fortress) Company, R.E. which was located at Plymouth at that time.  The course was an extensive one and he completed it on the 12^th of December 1913 and was qualified as a “Superior” Electrician.

            On the 9^th of January 1914 Sapper Menage was appointed a paid Lance Corporal in the 30^th (Fortress) Company and on the 19^th of June of that year he qualified as a “Very Superior” Electrician.

* * *

2.  THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1918

            On the 1^st of October 1914, two months after the start of the Great War, Lance Corporal Menage was transferred from the 30^th (Fortress) Company to the Royal Engineers Training Depot at Aldershot, Hampshire to perform Mounted Sapper Duties.  Unfortunately no information is provide in Menage’s military service papers to indicate what type of Mounted Sapper Duties, if any, he performed at Aldershot.

            Menage’s next promotion came on the 29^th of March 1915 when he was made a 2^nd Corporal in the Establishment for Engineer Service.   The term Establishment for Engineer Services (E.E.S.) or Royal Engineer Works Service had been used for a number of years in the 20^th century to describe the duties of the Royal Engineers in connection with building construction and the use of materials. This establishment dealt with the construction of fortifications, but by and large its greatest responsibility was in the area of the construction and maintenance of barracks. Other works undertaken by the Establishment included hospitals and Army Ordnance buildings. With regard to the latter, the work included not only the buildings themselves, but also the provision and maintenance of fixed machinery and the construction and maintenance of magazines and buildings for the storage of explosives, with special attention to precautions against fire and protection against lightning.

            The E.E.S. was also involved with other buildings in support of the Army Service Corps, to include bakeries, stores, transport sheds and workshops. Special facilities such as refrigeration plants were also provided at Gibraltar and Malta and at other tropical locations. Many other buildings, such as churches, schools, offices, quarters for Commanding Officers and certain Staff Officers, were also provided by the E.E.S. Other essential services of the Establishment included the charge of military cemeteries and burial grounds, the preparation of graves and the appointment and supervision of caretakers.

            In connection with all of the above works, there was an organization within the E.E.S. responsible for the control of "Military Lands." This term included the land on which the barracks and fortifications were constructed, along with roads, parades and recreation grounds. Closely allied to the control of "Military Lands" was the provision of rifle and artillery ranges.

            A special branch of the E.E.S. was the Mechanical Branch, with its responsibility for installation and maintenance of engines, boilers and machinery used with pumping and heating plant, and machinery used in Royal Engineer and Ordnance workshops. Other special branches of the Establishment were the Mechanical Transport Branch and the Railway Branch.

            A second of the special branches within the E.E.S. included the Electrical Branch which consisted of Defence Electric Lights, Telegraphs, Telephones, and Miscellaneous Electrical Services. The largest sub-element of the Electrical Branch was the Submarine Mining Service, which was responsible for the mine defences and also for the defence electric lights and electrical communications in the defended ports throughout the British Empire. Other miscellaneous electrical services included barracks lighting and protection of building against lightning.  Undoubtedly, by virtue of his training and experience, this is the special branch of the E.E.S. to which 2^nd Corporal Menage would have been assigned.

            The specific unit to which Menage was assigned during the Great War is not noted in his military service papers.  He was promoted to the rank of Corporal on the 1^st of April 1915 and his Medal Index Card indicates that he went to France on the 23^rd of May 1915.  On the 18^th of October 1915 he received yet another promotion to the rank of Mechanist (Electrician) Staff Sergeant in the E.E.S.  His accelerated promotion (skipping the rank of Sergeant) may have been due to his proficiency and very superior performance as an Electrician or it may have been due to the needs of the E.E.S. to fill vacancies in the organization during the war.  Again, his service papers give no indication of why he was promoted so quickly, but some possibilities are discussed below.

            To understand more fully how these promotions may have come about one must consider the organization of the E.E.S. at the time that Menage received these promotions.[68]  The following information is extracted from Addison, p. 26:

            Immediately prior to the War the supervising and clerical establishment for Engineer Services at home and abroad consisted of: -

Military –

Superintending Inspectors of Works and Inspectors of Works 48

Foreman of Works                                                                              269

Engineer Clerks, Draughtsmen and Ledgerkeepers                           250

Military Mechanists (Machinery) and Electricians                              213

                                                                        Total Military              780

 

 

Civilian –

Temporary Surveyors’ Clerks, Clerks of Works, Pension

Foremen of Works, Clerks, Draughtsmen and Ledgerkeepers           398

                                                                        Grand Total                1178

 

            A considerable number of the Military Staff were detailed to proceed overseas with the Expeditionary Force to France, but further heavy demands had to be met almost immediately, and these were drawn from the Home Commands, their places filled by appointing civilians.

 

            Before the end of 1914 it became necessary to provide officers for Works duties with the Expeditionary Forces, in order to release officers, R.E., for duties in the Field,[69] and to meet this a new grade, called Temporary Inspectors of Works, was introduced, with the rank of Lieutenant.

 

            These officers were appointed from lists of Civil Engineers who had a knowledge of the French language.[70]

 

            A large number of these officers were appointed from time to time and sent overseas, to meet demands as they arrived, and were also posted to home stations as Division Officers and Assistant Division Officers in order to release Royal Engineer officers.]

 

            Early in 1915, a demand for surveyors’ clerks was met by selecting a number of Military Foreman of Works who possessed all the necessary qualifications, and sending them to France, there being no military personnel graded as surveyors’ clerks.

 

            It soon became necessary to augment the permanent military establishment by the formation of a temporary establishment, and the personnel for this was found from the Corps, in the case of clerks, draughtsmen and ledgerkeepers, by men of low category.

 

            In April, 1915, the supply of clerks and ledgerkeepers could not be maintained in that manner, and it became necessary to specially enlist men, giving them the rank of Corporal.  This, however, was discontinued as soon as the necessary men were obtained from the Corps.]

 

            The personnel shortage problem in the E.E.S., as presented above, seems to concentrate primarily on draughtsmen and ledgerkeepers, however a shortage of Military Electricians also may have been experienced.  Military Electricians were required in France in Electrical and Mechanical (E. & M.) Companies and were assigned to each British Army in the field.  Military Electricians also worked for the Commanders Royal Engineers (C.R.E.) under the Director of Works on the numerous bases established in France.  These bases were located at Dunkirk, Calais, Ardres, Boulogne, St. Omer, Etples, Rouen, Havre, Trouville, Dieppe, Abbeville, Amiens, Abancourt, Paris and Marseilles, a total of 15 in all by the end of the war.  The work accomplished by the E. & M. companies and by the base E.E.S. personnel included:[71]

a.       The installation of mechanical and electrical equipment.

b.      Training of personnel for the operation of such equipment when installed.

c.       Inspection and advice to ensure full value being obtained from any equipment available, and

d.      Minor repair of the equipment when necessary.

            Each E. & M. company required two Mechanist Electricians (Sergeants or Staff Sergeants).  The Order of Battle of British Armies in France indicates that seven of these E. & M. companies, numbered 350 through the 356 were established during the war.  An eighth company, No. 1 (London and Tyne) E. & M. Company was formed by the Tyne Electrical Engineers.[72]  This company was actually the first E. &. M. company to be sent to France (16 November 1915).  The 350^th through the 356^th E. &. M. Companies were not organized until 1917.  The number of Military Electricians need at the various bases to work under the base C.R.E. probably varied depending upon the size of the base and its function.

            Additionally, Military Electricians also were needed in units such as Army Workshops (for repairs and maintenance of equipment) and Anti-Aircraft Sections (searchlight operations).  The need to fill the vacancies for Mechanist (Electrician) Staff Sergeants in any or all of these units could readily explain Menage’s rapid promotion from the rank of Corporal.  Since his unit of assignment is not specified in his service papers, it is not possible to know the exact nature of his work in France.[73]  In any case his service during the war did entitle him to the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal (see Figure 7).

* * *

3.  THE INTER-WAR YEARS, 1919-1939

            On the 21^st of August 1919 Mechanist Staff Sergeant Menage returned home from France and was posted to the office of the C.R.E. Guernsey and Alderney District on the Channel Islands.  Since the Channel Islands have two official languages, English and French, the idea that Victor was fluent in French must be considered.  His surname also strongly suggest French origin.

            On the 3^rd of November 1919 Victor re-engaged to complete 21 years of service with the Colours and in January of 1920 he was assigned Army Number 1852472 under the Army’s reorganization scheme.  Following in his father’s footsteps, in 1920 he joined St. Ann’s Lodge of the Freemasons at Alderney.

            The years 1921, 1922 and 1923 were busy ones for Menage and he did a lot of traveling during those years.  On the 8^th of March 1921 he embarked for duty in Mesopotamia for a period of 20 days.  On the 29^th of March he was posted for duty in Quetta, India and on the 2^nd of April he was in Basrah, Iraq with No. 1 Electrical and Mechanical Company, R.E.  Although not stated in his records he may have made these trips on an inspection tour of various units or perhaps he had some special expertise and visited these various places to train individuals or to solve problems that units were experiencing.  On the 18^th of October 1921, while serving in No. 1 E. & M. Company, he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2, Mechanist (Electrician) Quartermaster Sergeant.[74]  At this time he was serving under Lieutenant John M. Morris, an officer who had come up from the enlisted ranks.

            On the 14^th of January 1923, while still serving with No. 1 E. & M. Company, Warrant Officer Class 2 Menage departed Basrah en route to Port Said, Egypt arriving there on the 19^th of January.  On the 1^st of February 1923 he left Port Said, arriving in the U.K. on the 14^th of February where he joined “G” Company, Royal Engineers Depot Battalion.  He returned to the office of the C.R.E. Guernsey and Alderney on the 5^th of March and continued his activities with the Freemasons at St. Ann’s Lodge.

            Warrant Officer Class 2 Menage served on the Channel Islands for just short of 3 years, when on the 29^th of March 1928 he was posted to Gibraltar.  In December of that year he was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 (Mechanist Sergeant Major).[75]  His posting was to the office of the C.R.E. Gibraltar.  While at Gibraltar he applied for an extension of service and was permitted to continue beyond 21 years to complete 5 years in the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1; that is, until the 27^th of December 1933.

Figure 54.  Officers, Warrant Officers and Sergeants, Gibraltar c. 1933.

(Sergeant Major V.R.T. Menage is in the second row, 7^th from the left).

(Photograph courtesy of The Sapper magazine).

 

The officers shown in the photograph above, listed by rank in alphabetical order, are:

Lieutenant Colonel W.T. Fitzpatrick, DSO, MC, R.E. (C.R.E.)

Major R.S. Rait Kerr, DSO, MC, R.E.

Captain B.E.C. Dix, MC, R.E.

Captain A.G. Gadd, R.E.

Captain W.T. Sherman, R.E.

Lieutenant T.E. Abraham, R.E.

Lieutenant E.S. de Brett, R.E.

Lieutenant D.C.E. Grose, R.E.

Lieutenant C. Warren, R.E.

Lieutenant J. Watson, R.E.

 

            From January 1930 until December 1930 Lieutenant Colonel Fitzpatrick was the Commander Royal Engineers at Gibraltar with headquarters at King’s Yard, which also was the headquarters of the 1^st (Fortress) Company, R.E.  The officer commanding the company was Major H.G. Early, R.E., who also was the Officer-in-Charge of Electric Lighting at Gibraltar.  As a Mechanist Sergeant Major (Electrician), Menage would have dealt with Major Healy on a daily basis.  He also would have worked closed with two other officers; Captain E.A. Barclay-Smith, R.E. who was the Staff Officer Royal Engineers (E. & M.) and Lieutenant W.T. Sherman, R.E. who was the Inspector of Royal Engineer Machinery. 

            In January of 1931 Captain Barclay-Smith left Gibraltar and his position remained vacant until about April when Captain A.G. Gadd, R.E. took over the position of S.O.R.E. (E. & M.).  Major Early left the 1^st (Fortress) Company in about July of 1931 and the position remained vacant (with the Second-in-Command commanding it) until April of 1932 when Major Rait-Kerr took command.  No other changes in officer personnel took place while Menage was in Gibraltar.  

            In August of 1931 Sergeant Major Menage apparently took some home leave.  His name appears on the ship’s manifest for S.S. Ranchi, which apparently was bound for London from Bombay, India by way of Gibraltar.  On the manifest his permanent address is shown as 32 St. Winifred Road, Folkestone, which was the address of his father.  His name is lined through on the manifest, so apparently he did not sail on that vessel.  He did get to England on another ship that is not listed in his service papers, as the manifest for S.S. Maloja shows him as a Second Class passenger departing London on the 16^th of October 1931.  This ship was bound for Brisbane, Australia with a scheduled landing at Gibraltar.  The manifest shows his last address as Riduna on Cambridge Road, North Harrow, a suburb in the northwest of London.

Figure 55.  S.S. Maloja.

            On the 3^rd of March 1933 Sergeant Major Menage completed his tour of duty at Gibraltar and returned to England where he was posted to the Southern Command, Wessex Area (West) in the office of the C.R.E. at Didcot in Oxfordshire.  On the 28th of September 1933 he again was permitted to continue in service for one year until the 24^th of December 1934 and on the 21^st of September 1934 he was given permission to continue in service for one more year until the 24^th of December 1935.  These extensions of service undoubtedly were the Army’s way of recognizing the valuable service of a highly trained and efficient Warrant Officer, perhaps grooming him for a commission.  In fact, on the 26^th of November 1933 he had attended a course at the School of Military Engineering for Inspector of Royal Engineer Machinery (I.R.E.M.), successfully completing the course in March 1935, a course designed to qualify him for a commission.

            While serving in the Southern Command he worked for Lieutenant Colonel C.F. Nation, R.E. the C.R.E. and Lieutenant S. Osborne, R.E., the Inspector of Royal Engineer Machinery.  In October 1933 a new position was added to the office of the C.R.E., that of Officer-in-Charge of Electric Lighting, a position filled by Lieutenant A.F. Toogood, R.E. with whom Menage surely worked on a frequent basis.  In January 1934 Lieutenant Osborne was replaced by Lieutenant C.K. Farrow, R.E. and by March of 1935 when Menage left to accept his commission Lieutenant Toogood had been replaced by Captain H. Bainbridge, R.E.

            On the 16^th of April 1935 Mechanist Sergeant Major Victor Richard Thomas Menage was appointed a Lieutenant (I.R.E.M.), Army Number 65269.[76]  This appointment came while he was serving at Didcot in the Southern Command, Wessex Area at Portsmouth.  While at Portsmouth he was awarded the King’s Jubilee Medal on the 3^rd of May 1935.

            Lieutenant Menage was dispatched on an “Emergency Duty” assignment to Egypt on the 21^st of February 1936.  Upon his arrival in Egypt he was assigned to Headquarters, 5^th Division on the Western Frontier of Egypt as a Field Engineer at the Mersa Matruh Advanced Base.  His service papers give no clue as to the nature of the “emergency.”  It also was rather unusual the he was assigned as a Field Engineer as this was not the normal duty for an Inspector of Royal Engineer Machinery.  The assignment lasted just short of seven months and on the 12^th of September 1936 he arrived back in the U.K. and returned to duty at Portsmouth.

            His stay in the U.K. was short-lived and on the 22^nd of February 1937 he embarked for India and was assigned as the I.R.E.M. in the Southern Command, India. 

* * *

4.  WORLD WAR 2, 1939-1946

            When World War 2 broke out he was still serving as an I.R.E.M. in India.  He was appointed an Acting Captain on the 20^th of November 1940 and then an Acting Major while he was employed as a Staff Officer, R.E., Grade II (Electrical/Mechanical) in the Southern Command at Agra, India.  He received a promotion to the rank of Temporary Captain on the 24^th of February 1941 and then was promoted to the substantive rank of Captain (I.R.E.M.) on the 16^th of April of that year.  Eight days later he was promoted to the rank of Temporary Major.

            After a short stay in the British General Hospital at Agra, for an ailment not described in his service papers, he was transferred on the 3^rd of May 1942 to the Central Command, India where he again served as a Staff Officer, R.E.   He returned to the Southern Command prior to his departure from India and on the 1^st of October 1942 he embarked for the U.K.

            There is a rather large gap in the service papers of Captain Menage at this point as his whereabouts during all of 1943 and the first seven and a half months of 1944 are not described in his service papers.  He may have returned to the Southern Command at Didcot, or he may have spent some time on sick leave, as his health appeared to be deteriorating.  His records next show him on the 12^th of August 1944 being posted to the Royal Engineers Depot at Chatham and on the 11^th of November he was posted to the office of the Chief Engineer Southern Command for duty as an I.R.E.M.  Upon reporting to the Chief Engineer’s office he was immediately reposted for duty with the C.R.E. Berkshire with duties as the I.R.E.M.  On the 1^st of February 1945 Menage was appointed to the rank of Temporary Major as was assigned as the Deputy Commander Royal Engineers (E. & M.) at Berkshire.  On the 4^th of May he was posted to the office of the C.R.E. Oxford.  When World War 2 ended he received the Defence Medal and the 1939-1945 War Medal.  He had not served in an active theatre of the war, so he was not entitled to any of the campaign stars awarded for that conflict.

* * *

5.  POST WORLD WAR 2, 1946-1950

            On the 1^st of February 1946 Menage was posted to the office of the Chief Engineer Southern Command in the Adjutant General’s Pool.  In this assignment he simply was waiting for a vacancy to open before the Adjutant General could assign him to a permanent post.  Meanwhile, on the 1^st of July 1946 he was promoted to the substantive rank of Major (I.R.E.M.)[77] and on the very next day he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (I.R.E.M.).[78]

            A vacancy opened up from Lieutenant Colonel Menage on the 4^th of July 1946 and he was duly posted for duty as the Deputy C.R.E. (E. & M.) Shrivenham in Wiltshire.  On the 1^st of January 1947 while serving at Shrivenham he was elected an Associate Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers. 

            On the 1^st of April 1948 he was posted from the office of the Chief Engineer Southern Command to the Royal Engineers Depot at Chatham pending further War Office instructions.  These instructions were received almost immediately and he was assigned to the office of the C.R.E. Oxfordshire and Berkshire.  On the 26^th of April he was reassigned to the office of the Deputy Assistant Director for Engineer Services at the War Office pending an existing vacancy within the E.E.S.  He became seriously ill in November 1948 and was effectively in a non-duty status until the 23^rd of May 1949 when he was struck off the strength of the R.E. Depot at Chatham and posted to the office of the Chief Engineer Southern Command where he was immediately assigned to the C.R.E. Devon and Cornwall.  With his health failing, he was retained on the Active List until he retired on half pay on the 21^st of March 1950.

            When one looks at the number of assignments and reassignments that Lieutenant Colonel Menage had during the inter-war years and during World War 2, one can only ask the question – why so many?  Between the 28^th of October 1919 and the 21^st of March 1950 when he retired, he was assigned to seven different posts abroad and eleven posts at home.

Some of the assignments could be attributed to “emergency duty” assignments such as the one to Egypt in 1936.  Some of his other assignments abroad may also have been of an emergency nature and he was the likely candidate to send on these assignments due to his special knowledge and skills.  It may also be that the E.E.S. during this period was experiencing a shortage of qualified officer personnel to fill many of these posts and again his knowledge, skills and experience singled him out for these assignments.  Whatever the reason, he traveled to many parts of the world and the U.K. between 1919 and 1950 and served in many different capacities.

            The narrative presented in sections 1 through 5 above provides a chronological account of the military service of Victor Richard Thomas Menage.  The following sections, 6 through 12, summarize the major events in his career in tabular form so that the reader can have more ready reference to the various occurrences in his career.   

* * *

6.  PROMOTIONS, APPOINTMENTS, ASSIGNMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

A.  Promotions 

            Victor Richard Thomas Menage received the promotions and changes in rank during his time in service shown in the table below.

 

B.     Appointments and Assignments 

            Victor Richard Thomas Menage received the appointments and served at the locations shown in the table below during his time in military service. 

 

C.    Qualifications: 

 

            Victor Richard Thomas Menage received the qualifications shown in the table below during his time in military service. 

 

* * *

 

7.  MILITARY TRAINING AND EDUCATION

 

            Menage received the following military training and educational levels during his time in service:

 

NOTES:

 

1. His service record states that he received a new “First Class Certificate” but does not specify what type of certificate.  It has been assumed that it was a Certificate of Education.
2. Again, his service papers contain this entry without specifying the reason for the award of the certificate.

* * *

 

8. CONDUCT

 

            There is no mention of Menage’s conduct in his service papers during his time in the ranks or as a Warrant Officer.  It must be assumed that his conduct was “Exemplary” given the rapid promotions that he received, the approval that he received to serve well beyond 21 year and his ultimate appointment as an officer.  He was in possession of a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and surely deserved this medal as a result of his conduct throughout his time in the ranks.

* * *

9.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

 

            Lieutenant Colonel Menage received the following medals, awards and decorations during his time in service, named as shown in the table:[81]

 

            The medals shown below are in the author’s collection.  The medals are, from left to right:  The 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1939-45 Star, Defence Medal, 1939-45 War Medal, 1935 Jubilee Medal, 1937 Coronation Medal and the Long Service and Good Conduct Meal (GVR).

Figure 56.  The Medals of Lieutenant Colonel Victor Richard Thomas Menage, R.E.

Figure 57.  Medal Index Card for Service in the Great War of 1914-1918.

 

* * *

10.  SUMMARY OF SERVICE

 

             Lieutenant Colonel Menage retired from the Army on the 21^st of March 1950.  His total service in was reckoned as shown in the tables below:

 

 

* * *

11.  MEDICAL RECORD

 

            The table below provides information regarding Menage’s medical history while serving in the Army.

 

 

NOTES:

 

1.      His date of admission to the hospital and the nature of his ailment are not indicated in his service papers.

2.      The nature of his illness is not indicated in his service papers.

3.      The nature of his disability is not indicated in his service papers.

 

            The table below provides the physical profile of Menage compiled between February 1947 and January 1950.  This profile known as the PULHEEMS was (and still is) a system of grading physical and mental fitness used by Britain's armed forces.  Its purpose was to determine the suitability of individuals for posting into military zones. It is not a fitness test as such; rather, it is a test of suitability for purpose.  PULHEEMS is an abbreviation for the factors it is intended to test. These include, during the period of service of V.R.T. Menage:  Physique (P), Upper limbs (U), Lower limbs or 'Locomotion', as this includes the back (L), Hearing (H), Eyesight left (corrected / uncorrected) (E),  Eyesight right (corrected / uncorrected) (E), Mental function (M) and Stability (emotional)(S).[82]

           

            During the three year period shown in the table above Menage’s upper and lower limbs lost some strength and his hearing deteriorated slightly.  However, there was a sharp decline in his Physique (P), or physical capabilities.  As his cause of death ultimately was heart failure, this dramatic change might well have been the first indication of his coronary problems.

* * *

12.  POST SERVICE LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

A.  Retirement and Death

            Very little is known about the post service life of Lieutenant Colonel Victor Richard Thomas Menage.  After his retirement from the Army he became a member of the Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association and presumably remained active in the Institute of Electrical Engineers.  He appears to have settled in the North Western District of Surrey and on the 11^th of July 1952 he died in the Woking and District Hospital in Woking at the age of 57 years.  The primary causes of his death were listed as 1a) Congestive heart failure and 1b) Recurrent coronary thrombosis.  His heart ailment surely was the cause of his being seriously and then dangerously ill in November 1948 to January 1949.  The informant at his death was Joan A. Menage, his daughter, who resided at St. Catherines on West Hill Road in Woking.[83]

B.  Wife and Daughter

            Victor Richard Thomas Menage’s wife was named Irene Muriel.  No record of their marriage could be located, but based on the age of their daughter Joan Audrey who was born in 1926, it appears that they were married in 1925 or in early 1926.  This information is based on the entries in a number of ship’s manifest aboard which both Irene and Joan sailed while Menage was serving in Gibraltar.  The following is the information obtained from these manifests:

·         S.S. Kaisar-I-Hind sailed from London on the 13^th of September 1929 bound for Bombay with a port of call at Gibraltar.  Irene Muriel Menage is listed on the manifest as a 29-year old married woman traveling with her daughter Joan Audrey who was 3 years old.  This would make Irene’s year of birth 1900 and Joan’s date of birth 1926.

Figure 58.  S.S. Kaisar-i-Hind.

·         S.S. Ranchi arrived in London on the 25 of August 1931 having sailed from Bombay, India and having picked up passengers at Gibraltar.  Irene Menage is listed as a passenger, age 31, address: West Folkestone, Kent.  Her daughter, Joan Audrey Menage, age 6, of the same address is shown traveling with her.  This again would make Irene’s year of birth 1900 and Joan’s date of birth, in this case 1925.

Figure 59.  S.S. Ranchi.

·         S.S. Maloja sailed from London on the 16^th of October 1931 bound for Brisbane, Australia, with a stop at Gibraltar.  Victor Menage, age 37, Irene Muriel Menage, age 31, and Joan Audrey Menage, age 5 years are all shown aboard this ship to disembark at Gibraltar.  Again, Irene’s year of birth would be 1900 and Joan’s year of birth would be 1926 based on these manifest entries.[84]

            The Electoral Rolls for Kensington and Chelsea, London for the years 1951 through 1953 show that Joan A. Menage was living at 19 Spears Mews during those years and probably for some years before and after those dates.  The Marriage Register for the 2^nd Quarter of 1957 shows that Joan A. Menage was married to Norman L. Browse in June 1957 at Pancras, Middlesex.

            The United Kingdom Medical Register, 1959 lists Joan Audrey Menage of Alderney, Channel Islands as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, registered in England on the 12^th of March 1956 in England and on the 31^st of May 1957 in Alderney.[85]  The Register also shows her as a Member of the London Regional Cancer Program from 1956.  One may assume from this that her specialty was oncology.  Joan Audrey Browse died at age 63 in August of 1989 at Sheffield, Yorkshire.  Her husband, Norman Browse, died in May 2000 at Sheffield, Yorkshire.  He was 66 years old.

            The brothers of Victor Richard Thomas Menage were discussed in Part 1 of this narrative.  His sister Violet Emily L. Menage, born on the 31^st of December 1896, married one James A. Davies in the 4^th Quarter of 1919.[86]  Violet died at Shepway, Kent in September of 1983 at the age of 86 years.

* * *

REFERENCES

Army Lists

 

1. The Monthly Army List, October 1935, p. 333b.
2. The Army List, 1935, p. 2951.
3. The Monthly Army List, April 1938, p. 334a.
4. Services of British Army Officers, 1939-1945, Imperial War Museum, London, 1999 (Half-Yearly Army List, January 1946), p. 815.
5. The Monthly Army List, August 1949, pp. 604g, 604n and 1415a.
6. The Army List, 1953, pp. 604d and 1412a.
7. The Army List, 1956, p. 604d.

 

Books

   1.      ADDISON, G.H.  The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919: MISCELLANEOUS.  Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1926.
   2.      BAKER BROWN, W. The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Volume IV. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952, pp. 245-262. 
   3.  COLVIN, J. Not Ordinary Men: The Story of the Battle of Kohima.  Leo Cooper (1994)

   4.  GRIERSON, J.M.  Scarlet Into Khaki: The British Army on the Eve of the Boer War.  Greenhill Books, London, 1988. 
   5.      INSTITUTION OF ROYAL ENGINEERS.  The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919: WORK UNDER THE DIRECTOR OF WORKS (FRANCE).  Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1924.
   6.      PEROWNE, L.E.C.M.  The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers, Royal Engineers.  R. Ward & Sons, LTD., Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, 1935. 
   7.   SANDES, E.W.C.  The Royal Engineers in Egypt and the Sudan, p. 356. 
   8. SLIM, W.  (1956). Defeat into Victory. London: Cassell. 
   9. Watsonian War Record.

 

Census Data

 

1. 1881 Census of England and Wales.
2. 1891 Census of England and Wales.
3. 1911 Census of England and Wales.

 

Correspondence

 

1. Peter Bennett email dated 27 June 2016: Re: V.E. Menage.
2. Email from Peter Bennett dated 4 July 2016.  Re: V.R.T. Menage.
3. Email from Fred B. Larimore dated 9 September 2016.

 

Electoral Rolls

 

1. Electoral Roll, 1904-1905, County of London, Borough of St. Pancras.
2. Electoral Roll, 1951, Kensington, London.
3. Electoral Roll, 1952, Kensington and Chelsea, London.
4. Electoral Roll, 1953, Kensington and Chelsea, London.

 

Internet Sources

 

1. Ancestry.com Louisa Frances Mercer Family Tree.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PULHHEEMS
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Coffin
4. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/21st-division
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Guard_(United_Kingdom)
6. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/26th-division/
7. http://www.1914-1918.net/labour.htm
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kohima
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalry_Reserve_Regiments_(United_Kingdom)
10. http://www.1914-1918.net/cavreserve.htm
11. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/3rd-cavalry-division/

 

London Gazette

 

1. Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 July 1917, p. 6766.
2. Supplement to the London Gazette, 30 July 1917, p. 7776.
3. Supplement to the London Gazette, 5 November 1917, p. 11437.
4. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 December 1917, p. 13203.
5. Supplement to the London Gazette, 4 January 1918, p. 463.
6. The London Gazette, 20 July 1928, p. 4901.
7. The London Gazette, 10 February 1933, p. 923.
8. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 May 1935, p. 3221.
9. The London Gazette, 22 September 1939, p. 6429.
10. Supplement to the London Gazette, 5 April 1940, 1977.
11. The London Gazette, 6 September 1940, p. 5409.
12. Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 January 1941, p.134.
13. The London Gazette, 14 February 1941, p. 914.
14. Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 April 1941, p. 2164.
15. Supplement to the London Gazette, 23 January 1942.
16. Second Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1943, p. 12.
17. Supplement to the London Gazette, 19 July 1945, p. 3757.
18. Supplement to the London Gazette, 14 May 1946, p. 2333.
19. Supplement to the London Gazette, 23 May 1946, p. 2454.
20. Third Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 August 1946, p. 3929.
21. Supplement to the London Gazette, 20 September 1946, p. 4736.
22. Supplement to the London Gazette, 23 May 1947, p. 2298.
23. Supplement to the London Gazette, 20 February 1948, p. 1183.
24. Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 April 1948, p. 2260.
25. Supplement to the London Gazette, 20 July 1948, p. 4137.
26. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 March 1950, p. 1411.
27. Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 November 1951, p. 5707.
28. Supplement to the London Gazette, 4 April 1952, p. 1880.
29. Supplement to the London Gazette, 30 October 1953, p. 5772.
30. Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 April 1954, p. 1952.
31. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 June 1955, p. 3510.
32. Supplement to the London Gazette, 26 February 1957, p. 1281.
33. Supplement to the London Gazette, 27 October 1959, p. 6790.

 

Miscellaneous Notes

 

1. Norman Collett Catalogue Listing and Notes.
2. Record of Membership of Victor Ernest Menage, R.E. in the Freemasons.
3. Roster of Members of St. Ann’s Lodge of Freemasons, 1920 (V.R.T. Menage).
4. REGNUM.  A study of the Regimental Numbers of soldiers of the Royal Engineers conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis to determine the unit of assignment of soldiers based on their Regimental Numbers.

 

Official Documents

 

1. Service Papers of Victor Ernest Ménage, R.E.

a.       Long Service Attestation, Army Form B.257.

b.      Description on Enlistment.

c.       Statement of Services.

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

2. Service Papers of Hector Donald Menage, R.E.

a.       Short Service Attestation.

b.      Statement of Services.

c.       Military History Sheet.

d.      Description on Enlistment.

e.       Regimental Conduct Sheet.

f.       Statement as to Disability.

3. Long Service Attestation Papers of Victor R.T. Menage, R.E. (Army Form B. 267).
4. Statement of Services of Victor R.T. Menage, R.E. (Army Form B. 200).
5. Statement of Services of Victor R.T. Menage, R.E. (Army Form B199A).
6. Great War Medal Index Card (Victor Ernest Ménage).
7. Great War Medal Index Card (Victor Richard Thomas Menage).
8. Great War Medal Index Card (Ernest Leslie Menage).
9. Great War Medal Index Card (Hector Donald Menage).
10. Medal Roll, Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, 1906-1912 (V.E. Menage).
11. Medal Roll for the British War Medal and Victory Medal (V.R.T. Menage).
12. Jubilee Medal Roll, 1953.
13. Roll of Individuals Entitled to the “War Badge,” dated 22 December 1917.
14. National Probate Calendar, England and Wales, 1956.
15. Certified Copy of an Entry of Death, Victor Richard Menage, General Register Office No. 7510327-3, dated 7 July 2016.
16. RE Library and Archive World War One Unit War Diaries.
17. General Staff, G.H.Q.  Order of Battle of the British Armies in France (Including Lines of Communication Units), November 11, 1918.

 

Periodicals

 

1. The Sapper magazine, March 1925.
2. The Sapper magazine, October 1928, p. 89.
3. The Sapper magazine, November 1928, p. 116.
4. The Sapper magazine, March 1929, p. 227.
5. The Sapper magazine, August 1929, p. 24.
6. The Sapper magazine, September 1929, p. 53.
7. The Sapper magazine, November 1929, p. 116.
8. The Sapper magazine, December 1929, p. 133.
9. The Sapper magazine, December 1931, p. 139.
10. The Sapper magazine, January 1932, p. 168.
11. The Sapper magazine, June 1932, p. 306.
12. The Sapper magazine, October 1932, p. 64.
13. The Sapper magazine, November 1932, p. 101.
14. The Sapper magazine, January 1933, p. 161.
15. The Sapper magazine, January 1937, p. 146.
16. The Sapper magazine, August 1947, p. 20.
17. The Sapper magazine, February 1951, p. 129.
18. The Sapper magazine, November 1956, p. 150.
19. The Sapper magazine, April 1957, p. 263.
20. The Sapper magazine, May 1963, p. 289.
21. The Sapper magazine, January 1973, p. 829.
22. Supplement to The Royal Engineers Journal, October 1997, p. 117.
23. The Royal Engineers Journal.  Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1928.

 

Registers

 

1. Register of Marriages for London, 1870.
2. Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1872 (V.E. Menage).
3. Births Registered in July, August and September 1873 (E.J. Menage).
4. Births Registered in July, August and September 1894 (V.R.T. Menage).
5. Baptism Register, 1875 (E.J. Menage).
6. Marriage Registry, 2^nd Quarter, 1894 (E.J. Menage).
7. Marriage Registry, 3^rd Quarter, 1896 (V.E. Menage).
8. Marriage Register, 1^st Quarter 1910 (V.R.T. Menage).
9. Marriage Register, 2^nd Quarter 1957 (J.A. Menage).
10. England and Wales Marriage Register, 1916-2005.
11. Deaths Registered in July, August and September 1952 (V.R.T. Menage).
12. Deaths Registry, January, February and March 1956 (V.E. Menage).
13. Deaths Registry of England and Wales, 1916-2007 (E.J. Menage).
14. Probate Register, 1908 (H.F. Menage).

 

Royal Engineers List

 

1. The Royal Engineers Quarterly List, 1930 through 1932, Southern Command listings.
2. The Royal Engineers Quarterly List, 1933 through 1935, Southern Command listings.
3. The Royal Engineers Quarterly List, July 1935, pp. xiii & xxxii.
4. The Royal Engineers Quarterly List, October 1935, pp. xiii & xxxii.
5. The Royal Engineers List, 1943, pp. xiv & lvii.

 

Ship and Port Manifests

 

1.      Ship Manifest, S.S. Maloja, 16 October 1931.

2.      Ship Manifest, S.S. Ranchi, 25 August 1931.

3.      Ship Manifest, S.S. Tarquah.

 

ENDNOTES

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