Major RICHARD BOWER BRISTED, O.B.E.
Royal Engineers

by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis
Ó 2015.  All Rights Reserved.

 1.  INTRODUCTION

             Unless otherwise noted, the details of Bristed’s military service supplied in this narrative were extracted from the officer's service papers (WO339/39297) obtained from the Public Record Office at Kew, Richmond, Surrey and from the

 unit war diaries listed in the Reference section of this narrative.  Other primary sources include census and electoral registers for New Zealand and England and Bristed’s handwritten notes on his applications for membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers. 

1.      EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

 Richard Bower Bristed was born on the 8^th of July 1856, the eldest son of Henry Richard and Anna Mary Bristed (née Bower) of Tower Hamlets, Middlesex.  Henry R. Bristed worked as a bonded Caretaker and Warehouseman for a buttons

 and trimming firm located in Middlesex.[1]  The 1861 Census of England provides the following data with regard to the Bristed family:

 The Bristed residence at 19 George Street, Tower Hamlets appears to be located in an area of London now known as West Ham.  The present day George Street is a short street, one block long, running east to west and connecting
Victoria Dock Road with Silvertown Way.  The street lies close to the River Thames between the East India Dock and the Royal Victoria Dock.

Richard Bristed received his general education at Christ’s Hospital in London from 1864 to 1876.  He then completed a course in scientific engineering at King’s College, London from 1876 to 1877.  Following his studies at King’s College he emigrated to New Zealand where he worked a period of pupilage with two firms; Dennison & Grant Civil Engineers in Oamaru, a town on the east coast of the south island of New Zealand located to the south of Christchurch, from 1878 to 1885 and Edward Dobson, M.I.C.E. in Christchurch from 1885 to 1886.[2]  Edward Dobson was a prominent civil engineer in New Zealand at the time that Bristed worked for him.  Dobson was responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of many important public works, having been appointed provincial engineer in 1854.^[ He designed a system of railways for the province, and by the time he retired, the Canterbury Great Southern Railway had reached Lyttelton and advanced as far south as the Selwyn River.  For his outstanding achievements, Dobson was awarded the Telford Medal.[3]

Edward Dobson, M.I.C.E.                               The Telford Medal

While employed by Dennison & Grant he worked as an assistant to the principals of the firm, and during the years of 1881 to 1885 he worked on survey work dealing with triangulation of South Island, New Zealand.  He also was involved with bridge work, railway surveys, the Oamaru Water Works and with general engineering practice.[4]  In 1885 he resided on Severn Street in Oamaru.[5] 

His work with Edward Dobson from 1885 to 1886 involved the survey of the Midland Railway of New Zealand.  In 1886 he married Constance Robinson (born in 1859), a young lady from Liverpool who also was living in New Zealand.[6]

During the year 1886 Bristed left the employ of Edward Dobson and went into private practice as a civil engineer where he mainly worked on roads and bridges throughout New Zealand.  He continued in his private practice until 1889 when he took a position with the New Zealand Government Engineering Staff as the District Engineer in North Island.  His work entailed surveying, opening up roads in new forest country and the subdivision of land into blocks for settlement.  In 1888 he had become a Member of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors.[7]

In 1890 the Bristeds were living on Hawkestone Terrace in Wellington and 1891 he was living in Napier, Hawkes Bay, a town on the east coast of New Zealand located to the north of Wellington.  It would appear that his work as a government engineer and surveyor kept him and wife moving around New Zealand quite frequently.  By 1891 they were back in Wellington where their first child, Geoffrey Thornborrow Bristed[8] was born in the 16^th of January 1891.  The Bristeds were residing on Hawkestone Street at the time.

      The Bristeds had two additional children while they were living in New Zealand; Phyllis, who was born in 1893 and Joan who was born in 1895.  In 1896 he terminated his employment with the New Zealand Government Engineering Staff.  His wife and children left New Zealand in 1896.  They sailed from Lyttleton on board the SS “Gothic” and arrived in London in August.[9] 

      During 1896 he applied to become an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (I.C.E.) located at Great George Street, Westminster, London S.W.  His application for membership in the I.C.E. was prepared on the 16^th of July 1896 and was considered by the I.C.E. Council for the first time on the 9^th of February 1897.  It should be noted that most of the information regarding Bristed’s work while in New Zealand was taken from his I.C.E. application form.  He was elected an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (A.M.I.C.E.) in 1897.  Bristed signed agreeing to abide by the Royal Charter of the Institution on the 17^th of February 1897.  He was residing at that time in Marton, New Zealand. 

      Bristed left New Zealand in 1897 and took a position with Sir W. Shelford[10] & Son in Lagos, Nigeria.  He worked there under Mr. William Gee, Resident Engineer on the Lagos Government Railway until 1898 when he moved to the Gold Coast.  On the Gold Coast he worked as a District Engineer under Mr. J.G. Napier, the Resident Engineer for the Gold Coast Government Railway until 1900.  His subsequent assignment, starting in 1900, was as the District Engineer in charge of Headquarters in Sekondi, Gold Coast where he worked on the construction of workshops, buildings and the Sekondi Pier.  His immediate supervisor at Sekondi was Mr. William Bradford, the Resident Engineer.

      Richard Bristed seemed to have developed an attachment to Africa much like he had to New Zealand.  Following his work on the Gold Coast Government Railway he was employed by the Royal Engineers from 1902 to 1903 on the geodetic survey of the Gold Coast under the command of Major Watherston, R.E.  A rigorous survey of the Gold Coast Colony was rendered necessary in 1901 on account of the large number of gold mining concessions taken up by companies.  These concessions were for the most part indifferently demarcated by private surveyors, a great deal of overlapping of boundaries occurred, and a considerable amount of litigation ensued.  In the middle of 1901 Major Watherston brought out a small party of Royal Engineer officers, non-commissioned officers and sappers and laid down several long traverse lines on which to base the survey of the concessions and cut one or two concession boundaries in order to obtain a basis on which to determine fair survey fees for boundary cutting.  In October 1902 a large party of Royal Engineer officers and men and Queensland and New Zealand surveyors landed at Sekondi to undertake the survey of the concessions under Major Watherston, the Director of Surveys. During the three seasons 1902-3, 1903-4 and 1904-5 upwards of 300 concessions were cut and the country covered with a network of long traverses.  Richard Bristed performed survey duties during the first of these seasons.

      From 1903 to 1904 Bristed worked on the alignment and construction of the Prestea Railroad on the Gold Coast for Tarbutt & Company.  Prestea is a town in the southwest portion of the Gold Coast about 50 kilometers north of the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies on the west bank of the Ankobra River, about 60 miles northwest of Cape coast.

      From 1905 to 1908 he worked on the Benguella Railway in Angola in charge of the alignment and later the construction of the railway under Mr. H.C. Colvin-Smith, the Resident Engineer.  Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name.

      Later in 1908 Bristed left Africa for South America.  He went to Rosario, Argentina where he worked on the preliminary design of a railroad line that had yet to be financed.  Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, in central Argentina. It is located 300 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River.  In June of 1909 he changed jobs to work on the Arica to La Paz Railway for Sir John Jackson[11] (Chile) Limited.  This work consisted of the relocation of a railway line through difficult terrain between Arica and the Bolivian border.  The improved line shortened the distance of the existing railway by 11 kilometers, thereby reducing the cost of construction.  While on this project Bristed worked for Mr. H.C. Wynne Edwards, the Resident Engineer.  Bristed was engaged on this project until June of 1910.

Sir John Jackson

(Richard Bristed’s work for Sir John Jackson (Chile) Limited would open a door some years later for his son Geoffrey Thornborrow Bristed who would also work for Sir John).

      Beginning in June of 1910 Bristed worked on the southeast section of the Longitudinal Railway of Chile from Cabildo to Capiapó, a distance of 619 kilometers.  This work was undertaken for a joint venture between Griffiths & Company Contractors Limited of London and Régie Génèrale de Ch. De Fer & Travaux Publics of Paris.  For this project Bristed acted as Agent and Chief Engineer.  The work involved the construction of a difficult railway line through mountainous terrain over about 200 kilometers.  The project included the construction of four tunnels the lengths of which totaled 4,651 meters.  Seven ports were utilized for landing of materials necessary to construct the railway.  The railway was a narrow gauge road consisting of one-meter track.  Various bridges also were constructed on the line.  The total cost of the work was approximately £4,000,000.  Bristed left the project in February of 1913 with about 6 months worth of work still to be done to complete the railway line.

      On the 21^st of May 1913 while he was still employed on the Longitudinal Railway of Chile, Richard Bristed applied to the Institution of Civil Engineers to transfer his standing in that organization from Associate Member to Member.  His application was read by the I.C.E. Council for the first time on the 18^th of November 1913 and was passed by the Council on the 9^th of December 1913.  Bristed signed agreeing to abide by the Royal Charter of the Institution on the 20^th of March 1914.

      There was no trace of Richard Bower Bristed in the 1871, 1881, 1891 or 1901 Census of England, obviously because he was living abroad at the time.  However, the 1901 Census of England does provide the information regarding his family, as shown in the table below.

 Prior to the Great War of 1914-1918 Richard Bristed returned to England.  He departed from Buenos Aires, Argentina aboard the Hamburg South American Line ship SS “Blucher” and arrived in Southampton on the 2^nd of December

 1913.  Upon his arrival in England his took up residence at 59A London Wall, London E.C., presumably with the rest of his family.  This address is located near Finsbury Circle to the northeast of St. Paul's Cathedral.

3. MILITARY SERVICE

Commissioning

            Bristed was 57 years old when the Great War broke out in August of 1914.  A year after the start of the war he offered his services to the War Office and, because of his age and experience as a civil engineer, he received a commission as a Captain in the Royal Engineers on the 21^st of August 1915.  Immediately upon commissioning he was assigned to the 2^nd Labour Battalion, Royal Engineers and proceeded to France.

Labour Battalion Organization and Mission 

To understand the organization and duties of the unit to which Captain Bristed was assigned, the following background material on the labour battalions is helpful.  During June 1915 both Royal Engineers and infantry labour battalions had been formed in England and sent overseas for work in army areas, mainly on road maintenance work.  These units were formed from men of the navvy[12] class and from men who were over military age.  The overage personnel were enlisted at a special rate of pay of 3 shillings per day.[13]^,[14]

For many months none of these battalions could be spared for the Lines of Communication (L. of C.), but about the end of 1915, the 8th Royal Engineers Labour Battalion was transferred to L. of C. work and was employed under the Director of Works (D.W.) on road making and forestry operations.  By the middle of 1916, two infantry and two Royal Engineers Labour Battalions were employed on road making, quarrying and forestry.

It was originally intended to form 16 battalions, but only 11 were actually formed, for work in France.  A battalion, designated the 18th, was raised in Ireland for work in Salonika, but owing to the difficulty of obtaining recruits it was sent overseas on a modified establishment.[15]

It was subsequently decided that the Labour Battalions in France should be replaced by Infantry Works personnel as casualties occurred.  The Labour Battalions were all absorbed by the Labour Directorate in January of 1917 and formed into the Labour Corps.  The Depot which had been formed at Southampton to deal with replacement personnel for the battalions was abolished.

The following list indicates the controlling headquarters of various Labour Battalions during the Great War, as published in a series of articles known as Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers:[16]

1st Labour Battalion:              XIV Corps

2nd Labour Battalion:             4th Army, III Corps, XV Corps and 5th Army

3rd Labour Battalion:             3rd Army, VII Corps and XVII Corps

5th Labour Battalion:              2nd Army

6th Labour Battalion:              General Headquarters, 4th Army, 5th Army and XIII Corps

7th Labour Battalion:              2nd Army

8th Labour Battalion:              Director of Works

9th Labour Battalion:              5th Army

10^th Labour Battalion:[17]

11th Labour Battalion:            5th Army

12th Labour Battalion:            General Headquarters

13^th Labour Battalion:[18]

 A study of the casualty lists contained in Soldiers Died in the Great War indicates the following relationships between Royal Engineers regimental numbers and the R.E. Labour Battalions:[19]

1st Labour Battalion:              110000 - 111000 and 124000 - 125000

2nd Labour Battalion:             110000 - 112000

3rd Labour Battalion:             114000 - 115000

4th Labour Battalion:              115000 - 116000

5th Labour Battalion:              115000 - 117000

            6th Labour Battalion:              117000 - 118000

            7th Labour Battalion:              117000 - 119000

            8th Labour Battalion:              119000 - 120000

            9th Labour Battalion:              120000 - 123000

            10th Labour Battalion:            123000 - 124000

            11th Labour Battalion:            124000 - 125000

            12th Labour Battalion:            Not determined

            13th Labour Battalion:            124000 - 125000

While the correlation between the battalions and regimental numbers given above is not exact, the list shows pretty clearly that any individual with a regimental number in the series from 110000 to 125000 probably served in one of the R.E. Labour Battalions.  Numbers in the 113000 series are missing and may have been assigned to some other R.E. units.  The regimental numbers of men assigned to the 12^th Labour Battalion could not be determined.

France and Flanders (1915-1919)

            The 2^nd Labour Battalion, Royal Engineers arrived at the port of Le Havre, France on the 23^rd of August 1915 and was placed under the control of the General Headquarters (GHQ), British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.).  Captain Bristed was with the battalion at this time and it appears that he initially was assigned to the battalion headquarters as a staff officer. 

The battalion subsequently was transferred to the control of the British Fourth Army about eleven months after its arrival in France.  With the Fourth Army it took part in the actions at Pozieres between the 23^rd of July and 3^rd of September 1916 and it was present at the action at Flers-Courcelette from the 15^th to the 22^nd of September 1916.  The battalion was then transferred to the British III Corps for the battle at Morval between the 25^th and 28^th of September 1916 and then worked in support of the British XV Corps at Le Transloy from the 1^st to the 18^th of October 1916.  Captain Bristed was away from his battalion on leave twice in 1916, once from the 18^th to the 26^th of February and again from the 23^rd of May to 2^nd of June.  He was present in the field, however, for each of the major engagements noted above.     

            The 2^nd Labour Battalion was involved in routine works duties during the winter of 1916/1917.  Although the work was routine, the only fatality in the 2^nd Labour Battalion during the war occurred during this period.  111161 Acting Lance Corporal Charles Scrivens died of wounds received on the 5^th of January 1917.[20]^,[21]

Captain Bristed took advantage of the winter lull in the fighting to take leave on two occasions; from the 9^th to the 20^th of January 1917 and from the 9^th to the 20^th of February 1917. By this time the labour battalions were part of the Labour Corps and no longer part of the Royal Engineers, the change having been made in January of 1917.  It may be supposed that at the age of 60 Captain Bristed needed more rest and recuperation than other officers in the battalion.  For this reason his commander was probably more generous with Bristed's requests for leave than with the requests of other officers in the unit. 

            In April of 1917 the 2^nd Labour Battalion was placed under the control of the British Fifth Army.  At that time the battalion was at Bapaume, but on the 15^th of the month it moved to Fremicourt where it undertook road construction work.    From the 3^rd to the 17^th of May 1917 the battalion, still under Fifth Army control, supported operations at Bullecourt and Bristed was present with the unit in the field during this action.  From the 10^th to the 12^th of May the battalion moved from Fremicourt to Butte De Warlencourt.  Following the battle at Bullecourt the battalion was sent to the 58^th Group[22] within Fifth Army on the 25^th of May 1917.  Bristed was subsequently granted leave on the 23^rd of June and returned to duty from leave on the 7^th of July 1917.  During this period the battalion was engaged on light railway construction work.

            On the 1^st of August 1917 Captain Bristed was attached for duty to the 701^st Labour Company.  This company was part of the 2^nd Labour Battalion.  The company was still engaged in light railway construction work at this time.

            Captain Bristed was granted leave on the 13^th of September 1917, returning to duty in the field on the 24^th of September.  On the 3^rd of October the 701^st Labour Company was assigned to the British IV Corps.  On the 19^th of November half of the company moved from IV Corps to VI Corps in the British Third Army.  It is not known if Bristed was in the half that moved.  The half company remaining with IV Corps was stationed at Mory where it undertook light railway line construction.

            Despite the rear area nature of the work of the 701^st Labour Company, there was still enough action to cause casualties in the unit and for men to be decorated.  The company suffered one man wounded on the 3^rd of January 1918 while working on light railway construction.  290138 Sergeant B. Deeley of the 701^st Company was awarded the Military Medal on the 24^th of January 1918, the medal being presented to him by the VI Corps Commander.

            On the 8^th of February 1918 Richard Bower Bristed was promoted to the rank of Temporary Major.[23]  Although it is not specified in his service papers, it is most probable that Major Bristed assumed command of the 701^st Labour Company after his promotion. 

In March the 701^st Company made numerous moves while engaged in light railway construction.  The company moved from Mory to Achiet on the 21^st, then to Bucquoy on the 22^nd.  The 23^rd was spent at Bucquoy working on light railways and on the 24^th the German offensive began taking the 701^st Company under shellfire while the unit was engaged in maintaining a light railway line to the front.  The company was moved to Beaumetz on the night of the 25^th.  A non-commissioned officer of the company was awarded the Military Medal for the action at Bucquoy.

            On the 27^th of March 1918 the 701^st Company was at Fosseux and on the 29^th it moved to Lucheux where it was involved with forestry work.  On the 31^st the company returned to Fosseux to continue its light railway work.  The company moved from Fosseux to Herissart on the 18^th of April to undertake forestry work once again and to work on the construction of defensive positions in the area.  On the 14^th of May the company moved from Herissart to Louencourt where it continued work on defensive positions.

            The London Gazette dated 21 May 1918 published a mention in despatches for Major Bristed for valuable services rendered in the field.  On the 14^th of June 1918 Bristed was granted 15 days leave.  He returned to his company on the 29^th of June while the unit was still at Louencourt engaged in work on light railway construction and maintenance in the IV Corps area.  The nature of the work must have been difficult, as the Corps War Diary indicates that four men of the company were injured; one each on the 1^st , 13^th , 15^th and 22^nd of July.

            The 701^st Company left Louencourt on the 7^th of August 1918 and moved to Puchevillers where it continued its light railway work.  As company's work progressed it moved to Coigneux (20 August), Bouquoy, Larbret and Saulty (22 August), and Aveluy (27 August).  At Aveluy the company was given bridging and road construction tasks to perform.

            On the 12^th of September 1918 the 701^st Labour Company was nominated to maintain the General Headquarters Defence Line during the winter since it was a unit composed of older men who had been too long in the forward area.  This could be well appreciated by Major Bristed who was now 61 years of age.  On the 19^th of September the company moved from Hamel in the British V Corps area to Marieux and Saulty in the Third Army area.  The company then moved on the 12^th of October from Marieux and Saulty to Nergnies in the British XVII Corps area and on the 14^th of October to Awoingt where it was assigned rear area railway work with the company headquarters established at Rieux.  It remained in this area until the Armistice on the 11^th of November 1918.

            Major Bristed was granted leave from the 9^th of December 1918 to the 6^th of January 1919 while his company worked on railway construction and maintenance in the Army Area.  He remained with the 701^st Labour Company until the 6^th of April 1919 when he was appointed to command the 707^th Labour Company.

            The 707^th Labour Company was located in No. 1 Area in Valenciennes, France.  Major Bristed assumed command of the company on the 21^st of May 1919 and on the 3^rd of June 1919 the London Gazette published his award of the Order of the British Empire (Officer), Military Division "for valuable services rendered in conjunction with military operations in France."[24] 

            At about the same time as his award of the O.B.E., Bristed was granted leave and proceeded to Calais en route to England.  He returned to Calais on the 18^th of June 1919 where he remained to continue his duties.  Bristed received his second mention in despatches in the London Gazette on the 10^th of July 1919.  On the 31^st of July 1919 he reported for duty to the Mons Sub Area and on the 13^th of August he was posted to the 127^th Labour Company of the Labour Corps as the Officer Commanding.  He assumed command of his new company on the 16^th of August.

            Major Bristed was graded a Field Engineer, Class "FF", for pay purposes on the 13^th of September 1919 and was posted to Headquarters of No. 1 Area in Valenciennes.  On the 10^th of October he relinquished his Class "FF" grading in preparation for demobilization.

            Bristed's Protection Certificate (Army Form Z. 3) was prepared on the 12^th of November 1919 while he was still in France.  The certificate indicates that his effective date of demobilization was the 14^th of October 1919, yet he was still in uniform.  The certificate contained the following items of information:

·         Dispersal Area No. VIII.

·         Theatre of War: France.

·         Regiment: Royal Engineers.[25]

·         Unit with which last serving: Royal Engineers.

·         Place of rejoining in case of emergency: Aldershot.

·         Occupation in Civil Life: Civil Engineer.

·         Medical Category: Not graded.

·         Married.

·         Service Category V.

Bristed's demobilization papers were prepared at Duisans, No. 1 District, France on the 13^th of November 1919.  On that date he ceased employment as a Field Engineer and was granted independent passage home due to ill health.  On the 14^th of November he embarked at Calais and crossed the Channel to Dover. His address after demobilisation was 3 Waverley Grove, Southsea, Hants.  There is no entry in his service records to indicate whether his wife was living at this address while he was serving in the war; however, it appears to be his residence for a short while after leaving the Army.

The details of his demobilisation seem to have raised a question with someone in the War Office. Major Bristed received a letter from the War Office dated the 11^th of December 1919 from the Military Secretary.  The letter read as follows:

Sir,

With reference to your demobilisation, I am directed to request that you state the date of disembarkation at Dover.

Your reply should be addressed as soon as possible to the Secretary, War Office (M.S.6), Bridgewater House, Cleveland Square, St. James, London, S.W.1.

Bristed wrote back on the 12^th of December from his address in Southsea with the following response:

Sir,

I have today received from the Military Secretary, War Office, Whitehall, memo dated 11.12.19 No. 106478/3 (M.S.6) instructing me to report to you the date of my disembarkation at Dover.

I crossed from Calais on 14.11.19 & disembarked at Dover on 14.11.19.

My demobilisation papers were made out at DUISANS, No. 1 District, France, on 13^th November and I was granted an independent passage on found of ill health.[26]

This letter was Major Bristed's final contact with the Army.

4.      AWARDS AND SERVICE MEDALS

In addition to the Order of the British Empire, Major Bristed was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal with mention in despatches oak leaf for his service during the Great War of 1914-1918.  All of the last three medals are named to him with impressed block capital letters as follows:

1914-15 Star: CAPT:R.B. BRISTED

                                                                                                                                                                        R.E.

British War Medal: MAJOR R.B. BRISTED

Victory Medal: MAJOR R.B. BRISTED

5.  POST SERVICE LIFE

            Nothing is known about Major Richard Bower Bristed after he left the Army except where he and his wife lived at different times.  He resided at 3, Waverley Grove in Southsea, Hampshire for a short time after his return from Argentina.  He and his wife resided at 12/18 Inverness Terrance and later at 16 Inverness Terrace in London from 1922 to 1928.  They subsequently moved to 69 Upper Berkeley Street, London W.1 and between 1929 and 1938 they resided at 68/70 Queensborough Terrace and later at 60/62 Queensborough Terrace in London.  On the 18^th of November 1941 Bristed relinquished his membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers by failing to pay his annual subscription.  The last address that the Institution had for him at that time was c/o 10 York Terrace, Regents Park, London, NW1, suggesting that this was a postal address rather than a residence.[27] 

            No record could be found of Richard Bristed engaged in any business affairs following his demobilization from the Army in 1919, however at age 63 he probably had retired from any active engineering practice.            Constance Bristed died in Tonbridge, Kent in March 1947 at the age of 87.  Richard Bower Bristed died at St. Leonards-On-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex on the 6^th of October 1947. 

ADDENDUM NO. 1

111863 Pioneer
JOHN SAVAGE
Royal Engineers
(later 290517 Private, Labour Corps)

by
Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis  

NOTE:  John Savage served with Major Richard Bower Bristed, R.E. in the 701st Labour Company during the Great War of 1914-1918. 

John Savage was born in 1869.[1]  On the 15^th of July 1902 he married Miss Annie Cane in the Parish Church in Edmonton, London.[2]  No information has been found to indicate that John and Annie had any children.  

Although he was a married man well into his forties, Savage attested for service in the Royal Engineers at London on the 17^th of August 1915.  His was a Short Service Attestation for the duration of the war.  In response to questions put to him by the enlisting officer at the time of his attestation Savage indicated that:[3]

            His home address was 5 Junction Road in Lower Edmonton.

            He was a British subject.

            He was 46 years of age.

            His civil trade was Labourer.

            He was married.

            He had never previously served in His Majesty’s Forces.

            He was willing to be vaccinated.

            He was willing to enlist for General Service.

            His wife’s name was Annie Savage (née Cane).

He was given a medical examination at the time of this enlistment and the following information was noted in his Medical History (Army Form B. 178):  

            Height: 5 feet 6 inches.

            Weight: 136 pounds.

            Physical development: Good.

            Chest, fully expanded: 38 inches.

            Range of chest expansion: 2 inches.

            Distinctive marks: Small scar below the right breast; small scar on the left kneecap.

            Vision: Right eye, 6/18; Left eye, 6/24.[4]

Based on the medical examination Savage was found fit to serve in the Royal Engineers for the duration of the war.  

On the 18^th of August 1915 John Savage was called up for service.  He was posted to the 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. as a Pioneer, Regimental Number 111863.[5]  Within a few days of his joining, the battalion sailed for France, arriving at Havre on the 23^rd of August.  

 The War Diary of the 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. (701^st Labour Company) contains no information regarding the movements or work of the battalion for the remainder of 1915 except an entry indicating that the unit moved from Havre to Doullens on the 28^th of August.  The only mention of the unit in 1916 indicates that on the 2^nd of September the battalion was working under the supervision of General Headquarters in France and Flanders.  It may be assumed that the battalion was working on general engineer works, railway construction and railway maintenance in the rear area.  On the 5^th of January 1917 the 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. lost its first and only man.  He was 111161 Acting Corporal Charles C. Scrivens who died of wounds.[6]  

John Savage was transferred to the 701^st Labour Company in the newly formed Labour Corps in early January of 1917.[7] This Corps was manned by men who were either ex-front line soldiers who had been wounded or taken ill or men who on enlistment were found to be unfit for front line service because of ill health or because they were too old.  Savage certainly qualified based on his age of 46 years at the time of his enlistment.  With this new posting his rank was changed from Pioneer to Private and his regimental number from 111863 to 290517.  

The War Diary of the 2^nd Labour Battalion, 701^st Labour Company, picks up in detail on the 15^th of April 1917 showing the movement and work of the unit as follows:

 On the 7^th of February 1919 Private Savage was posted home to the London District Labour Centre.[8]  He was admitted to hospital on the 14^th of February with lumbago.[9]  He obviously was suffering from pains in the muscles and joints of the lower back, undoubtedly due to the strenuous work he was required to perform at age 50.  He was released from the hospital on the 22^nd of February in preparation for demobilization.  

Although he had just been in hospital, he was required to undergo a medical examination in preparation for his demobilization from the Army.  This medical examination was performed in London on the 5^th of March 1919 and his medical category was determined to be B1.  Medical category B1 indicated that he would be able to march 5 miles, see to shoot with glasses, and hear well.  Based on the visual acuity test given to him when he enlisted and this medical category, it may be assumed that Savage wore glasses.  

His Protection Certificate issued to him during the month of March 1919 prior to demobilization contained the following entries:  

            Regiment or Corps:  London District Labour Centre.

            Pay Office:  Nottingham.

            Theatre of War or Command:  London. (This, of course was his last unit and not the one    that he served in during the war).  

            Year of Birth: 1869.

            Medical category: B3.  (Medical category B3 indicates that the soldier was only suited        for sedentary work.  This appears to have been a re-evaluation of his physical condition based on his problem with lumbago).  

            Place of rejoining in case of emergency: Luton, Surrey.

            Dispersal area:  Crystal Palace.  

On the 8^th of April 1919 John Savage was assigned to the Class “Z” Army Reserve on his demobilization.  He was demobilized at Nottingham, the Headquarters Depot of the Labour Corps.  His character on leaving the Army was rated as “Very Good” and his intended place of residence was given as 5 Junction Road, Lower Edmonton in London.  This is the address that appears on many pages of his military service document and probably was the address where his wife lived while he was on active service.  

The photograph below shows the buildings that exist in the area of 5 Junction Road in 2019.  Number 5 is probably the building with the blue shop front.  The structure appears old enough to have been there in 1919.

 The Savage home at 5 Junction Road, Lower Edmonton, London.
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)

Map of Lower Edmonton Showing the Location of 5 Junction Road.  
(Map courtesy of Streetmap.co.uk)

 The Savage home in Lower Edmonton was located near the intersection of Junction Road and Croyland Road near the cross above the letter E in the word LOWER.  

John Savage was issued the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service during the Great War of 1914-1918.  His 1914-15 Star is in the author’s collection.  He received this medal on the 18^th of November 1920.  The medal is named as follows in impressed upper case lettering;

111863  
PNR. J. SAVAGE  
R.E.  

The medal receipt form shows his Labour Corps regimental number 290517, but the medal shows 111863 and Royal Engineers.  

Savage received his British War Medal on the 28^th of February 1921[10] and his Victory Medal on the 26^th of October 1921.[11]  The whereabouts of both of these medals is unknown.  

 The Medal Index Card and 1914-15 Star Medal of 290517 Private John Savage, Labour Corps (formerly 111863 Pioneer, Royal Engineers.  
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com) (Medal from the author's collection)

ADDENDUM NO. 2

111069 Pioneer
WILLIAM JOHN COALEY
Royal Engineers
(later 290225 Private, Pioneer Corps)

NOTE:  William John Coaley served with Major Richard Bower Bristed, R.E. in the 701st Labour Company during the Great War of 1914-1918. 

The Coaley Family

William John Coaley was born in April of 1866 at Stoke Goldington, Buckinghamshire, the son of William John Coaley (1828-1891) and Elizabeth Coaley [née Haycock] (1840-1913).  William John was the first born of William and Elizabeth Coaley, but the Coaleys had seven additional children.  William John’s siblings were:

Ellen Coaley (1869-1904) born in Stoke Goldington.

Charles Coaley (1871-?) born in Stoke Goldington.

Arthur Coaley (1871-?) born in Stoke Goldington.

Charles and Arthur probably were twins who died at birth or in infancy.

Walter Henry Coaley (1873-1904) born in Stoke Goldington.

Jesse Coaley (1875-1938) born in Stoke Goldington.

Ada Elizabeth Coaley (1877-?) born in Clifton Reynes, Buckinghamshire.

Mary Amelia Coaley (1881-?) born in Horton, Northampstonshire.

The Residences of William and Ellen Coaley

As a young man William John Coaley lived with his parents in Stoke Goldington, Buckinghamshire and Horton, Northamptonshire until the 26^th of October 1885 when he married Ellen Tyso Pettitt (1862-1954), a spinster, in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.  William apparently did not have much of an education or training to allow him to work in a particular trade, so he became a general labourer.  This line of work caused him and Ellen to move numerous times in order for him to go where the work was to be had.

From 1886 to 1887 they resided in Newport Pagnell where they were married.  They probably lived with Ellen’s family. 

In 1889 they were living in Horton, Northamptonshire, in 1891 they were residing in Olney, Buckinghamshire, and by 1893 they were back in Newport Pagnell.

Sometime before 1896 they left Buckinghamshire and moved to Middlesex where they lived in Perivale, in Brentford in 1900, in Ealing in 1901 and back to Brentford in 1904.

In 1907 the Coaleys were back in Buckinghamshire in the town of Wendover, but by 1911 they were back in Middlesex, residing in Harrow on the Hill.  They had made eleven moves in 24 years - an unusual number for the average English family, but perhaps not that unusual for an itinerant labourer.  Their move to Harrow probably resulted in some stability for the family, as it will be seen later in this narrative, where William apparently landed a more permanent job with a gas works. 

The Children of William and Ellen Coaley

Movement to many different towns between 1886 and 1907 did not seem to prevent the Coaleys from raising a rather large family, much like William’s mother and father had.  Ellen Coaley gave birth to nine children between 1886 and 1907!!!  Their first child, Maud was born in Newport Pagnell in 1886.  Maud does not appear in Pioneer Coaley’s military service papers in 1915 as she was 29 years old by that time and probably married.  Harriet also was born in Newport Pagnell, in December of 1887.  She would have been 28 years old in 1915 and like her sister she does not appear in Coaley’s service papers, probably because she had married by then. 

The Coaley’s first son, Alwin George C. Coaley was born in Horton, Northamptonshire in September of 1899.  Unfortunately young Alwin only lived to the age of 11 years.

Violet Rose was born on the 28^th of September 1891 in Olney, Buckinghamshire, and like her older sisters she does not appear in Pioneer Coaley’s service papers, probably because she was 24 years old and married by 1915.   Winifred May was born in July of 1893 in Newport Pagnell and again, like her other sisters, she does not appear in Coaley’s papers.

The next four children are listed on Pioneer Coaley’s Descriptive Report on Enlistment and except for one their exact dates of birth are listed.  His name sake, William John Coaley was born in October 1896 at Perivale, Middlesex. He died in December 1965 at Brent, Greater London. Henry Thomas Coaley was born on the 6^th of August 1900 at West Ealing.  He died in Paddington, London in March of 1922.  Florence Ellen Coaley was born on the 22^nd of March 1922 at Brentford, Middlesex and their last child Alice Isabel Coaley was born on the 6^th of January 1907 at Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire.

Military Service

Perhaps out of a sense of patriotism, or perhaps because it was difficult to find work as a general labourer and support his family, William John Coaley decided to join the Army about one year after the start of the Great War of 1914-1918.  On the 3^rd of August 1915 he attested for short service at London for the duration of the war.  He was 46 years of age at the time.

Coaley was living at 28 Parkfield Road in Roxeth, South Harrow, London at the time of his enlistment.  At the time of his attestation he answered the following questions that normally were put to a new recruit:

·         He was a British subject

·         He was a Labourer.

·         He was married.  His wife’s name was Ellen Tyso Coaley and he had four children, listing the four noted in the last paragraph of the previous section.

·         He had no prior service in His Majesty’s forces.

·         He was willing to be vaccinated.

·         He was willing to enlist for General Service.

·         He was willing to serve for the duration of the war.

The Coaley Home at 28 Parkfield Road in Harrow (house on the right).
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)

On the same day as his attestation he was given a medical examination.  As a result of this examination he was noted to be 5 feet 9½ inches tall, with a chest measurement of 36½ inches when full expanded and a range of chest expansion of 2 inches.  His attestation papers also show that his religion was listed as Church of England.

The results of his medical examination indicated that he was fit for service in the Royal Engineers, although overage for assignment to a front line unit.  On the 6^th of August 1915 he joined his unit at Southampton, “A” Company of the 2^nd Labour Battalion, Royal Engineers.  His assignment to this unit was undoubtedly due to his age and maybe his experience as a labourer.

During June 1915 both Royal Engineers and infantry labour battalions had been formed in England and were being sent overseas for work in army areas, mainly on road maintenance work. These units were formed from men of the navvy class and from men who were over military age or from men who, because of wounds, injury or illness, were no longer fit for front line combat service. The overage personnel were enlisted at a special rate of pay of 3 shillings per day.  William John Coaley certainly qualified for service in one of these battalions.

The 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. departed from Southampton and landed at Havre, France on the 23^rd of August 1915.  Coaley’s Medal Index Card (MIC), shown below, does not indicate the date of his entry into the Theatre of War as it normally did for men who served abroad.  Another error in the card is the omission of his award of the 1914-15 Star Medal, which is listed in his service papers, and which he did indeed receive.

The Medal Index Card of William John Coaley, R.E. and Labour Corps.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Coaley acknowledged receipt of the 1914-15 Star as shown in this correspondence with the Labour Corps Record Office dated 9-12-1920.

Coaley’s Receipt for the 1914-15 Star.
(Image from the National Archives, London)

Omissions of this type, while not common, frequently can hamper research efforts when trying to obtain accurate data regarding the service of a solider during the Great War.  

Coaley’s service papers contain an entry indicating that he was absent without leave during the period from the 21^st to the 22^nd of September 1915 while his unit was near Doullens.  He was placed in open arrest, but no details beyond this are contained in his papers.  

The War Diary of the 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. (701^st Labour Company) contains no information regarding the movements or work of Coaley’s battalion for the remainder of 1915 except an entry indicating that the unit moved from Havre to Doullens on the 28^th of August.  The only mention of the unit in 1916 indicates that on the 2^nd of September the battalion was working under the supervision of General Headquarters in France and Flanders.  It may be assumed that the battalion was working on general engineer works, road construction and road maintenance and railway construction and railway maintenance in the rear area.  On the 5^th of January 1917 the 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. lost its first and only man.  He was 111161 Acting Corporal Charles C. Scrivens who died of wounds.   

Coaley was transferred to the 701^st Labour Company in the newly formed Labour Corps in early January of 1917.  As with the Labour Battalions of the Royal Engineers, this Corps was manned by men who were either ex-front line soldiers who had been wounded or taken ill or men who on enlistment were found to be unfit for front line service because of ill health or because they were too old.  Coaley certainly qualified based on his age of 46 years at the time of his enlistment.    With this new posting his rank was changed from Pioneer to Private and his regimental number from 111069 to 290225.  

The War Diary of the 2^nd Labour Battalion, 701^st Labour Company, picks up in detail on the 15^th of April 1917 showing the movement and work of the unit as follows:

 On the 20^th of October 1917 Coaley was authorized leave to England.  He returned to his unit in France on the 27^th of October.  While he was at home he apparently made some overtures to a local gas works in an attempt to get released from active service to take up employment with that firm.  His wife’s health, after having nine children, also may have had something to do with this action.  The manager of The Harrow and Stanmore Gas Company wrote the following letter to the Labour Corps headquarters in support of Coaley’s desire to leave the Army:  

The Harrow and Stanmore Gas Company

Office – Gas Works, Harrow

Middlesex

CHAS. CHAMBERS

Engineer and Manager

December 4^th., 1917

The Officer in Charge

Labour Corps Records,

Nottingham

Dear Sir,

            I understand that Mrs. Coaley is in delicate health and is anxious for her husband to be released from the Army.  I think you have had the application forwarded from Chatham.

            I should like to say that if it is possible for this man to come back I shall be very glad to employ him.  He worked at this Works for some years before joining up, being, I believe over-age and not engaged on any important duties, you may find it possible to release him.  If so, I can assure you that he can resume his old employment.

            His name is J. [sic] Coaley, 290225.

Yours faithfully,

Charles Chambers

This letter sparked a good deal of War Office correspondence related to Coaley’s release from the Army and assignment to the Class P or P(T) Reserve.  These reserve classes were for men whose services were deemed to be temporarily of more value to the country in civil life rather than in the Army.  Given Mrs. Coaley’s ill health, Coaley’s age and the fact that he was to be employed at a gas works all worked in his favor.  On the 18^th of March 1918 his transfer to the Class P Reserve was approved and the War Office sent a request to the Deputy Adjutant General, General Headquarters, 3^rd Echelon, France to release Coaley to work at The Harrow and Stanmore Gas Company.  On the 14^th of April 1918 Coaley was posted to the London Corps Labour Centre from his unit that was at that time at Boulogne.  On the 28^th of May he was transferred to the Class “P” Reserve and was discharged from the Army at Nottingham on the 30^th of January 1919.

William John Coaley received his 1914-15 Star on the 9^th of December while he was living at 28 Parkfield Road, Roxeth, South Harrow, London.  He received his British War Medal on the 28^th of February 1921 and his Victory Medal on the 25^th of October while living at the same South Harrow address.  Coaley’s Victory Medal is in the author’s collection.

The Victory Medal of William John Coaley.
(Photograph from the Author’s collection)

William John Coaley and his wife lived in Harrow from 1926 until his death in 1937.  He passed away in December of 1937 at Hendon, Middlesex.  His wife Ellen continued to live in Harrow where she died in September of 1954.

Parkfield Road in South Harrow, Location of the Coaley Home.

REFERENCES

 Books

 1. A Register of Admissions to King's College, Cambridge, 1797-1925.  John Murray, London, 1929.

 2.  Army Honours and Awards.  Reprint of the April 1920 Army List Supplement.  J.B. Hayward & Son, London.

 3. The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919.  Work Under the Director of Works (France).  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1924.

 4. The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919.  Miscellaneous.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1926, pp. 16 and 17.

 5. Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.  Part 4. The Corps of Royal Engineers.  J.B. Hayward & Son, Polstead, Suffolk, 1989. 

 Census

 1. 1861 Census of England, National Archives Reference No. RG9/274, Registration District: Whitechapel, Sub-registration district: Aldgate, Enumeration District No. 9, Folio 211, Page 49.

 2. 1901 Census of England, National Archives Reference No. RG13/3270, Registration district: Chapel En Le Frith. Sub-registration district: Buxton. Enumeration district No. 7. Folio 35, Page 14.

 Computer Software

 1. Officers Died in the Great War.  The Naval & Military Press Ltd., Heathfield, East Sussex, 1998.

 2. Soldiers Died in the Great War.  The Naval & Military Press Ltd., Heathfield, East Sussex, 1998.

 Correspondence

 Letter from Richard Bower Bristed to the War Office, dated 12 December 1919.

 Email from the Archivist, the Institution of Civil Engineers, dated 16 January 2015.

 Documents

 1. Casualty Form - Active Service.  Army Form B. 103.

 2.   Protection Certificate (Officer).  Army Form Z. 3.

 3.   Application for Associate Membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers (I.C.E.), dated 16 July 1896.

 4.   Application for Membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers (I.C.E.), dated 21 May 1913.

 5.   New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981.

 Internet

1.  Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

2.      Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT,     USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.  Ancestry.com. New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1954 [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.

3.       Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and
 Administrations), 1858-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com     Operations Inc, 2010.

4.      Ancestry.com. London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965 [database on-line].    Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

5.     Ancestry.com. UK, Civil Engineer Lists, 1818-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:  Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

6.    FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

7.       Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.  Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.

8.      Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.  Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Series BT26, 1,472 pieces.

9.      Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.  Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Series BT26, 1,472 pieces.

Periodicals

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

2. Fifth Supplement to The London Gazette, 8 February 1918, Number 30515, p. 1810.

3. Third Supplement to The London Gazette, 17 May 1918, Number 30686, p. 5840.

4. Supplement to The London Gazette, 3 June 1919, p. 6796.

5. Supplement to The London Gazette, 10 July 1919.

6. Fifth Supplement to The London Gazette, 27 November 1919, Number 31661, p. 14658.

7. Fourth Supplement to The London Gazette, 12 July 1920, Number 31976, p. 7432.

8. Monthly Army List, November 1917, p. 808d.

9. Monthly Army List, December 1919, p. 802b.

10. Monthly Army List, June 1920, p. 802b.

War Diaries

1. British General Headquarters War Diary.

2. British Third Army War Diary.

3. British Fifth Army War Diary.

4. British IV Corps War Diary.

5. British V Corps War Diary.

6. British VI Corps War Diary.

7. British XIII Corps War Diary.

8. British XVII War Diary.

9. 58^th Group War Diary.

ADDENDA REFERENCES (Coaley) 

1.      Short Service Attestation.

2.      Descriptive Report on Enlistment.

3.      Receipt for the Victory Medal (Army Form B. 5112).
(Map courtesy of Steetmaps.co.uk)

4.      Registered Post Parcel Envelope, 25 Oct 1921.

5.      Registered Post Parcel Envelope, 20 Feb 1921.

6.      Receipt for the 1914-15 Star.

7.      Receipt for the British War Medal.

8.      Letter from the Manager, Harrow and Stanmore Gas Company, Harrow, Middlesex to the Officer in Charge, Labour Corps Records, Nottingham, dated December 4^th 1917, re: Early release from the Army of W.J. Coaley.

9.      Notification of Transfer to Class P or P(T) Reserve.

10.  Statement of Services.

11.  Casualty Form – Active Service (Army Form B. 103).

12.  Classes of the Army Reserve – The Long Long Trail and Wikipedia.com

13.  Letter from the Director of Mobilisation to the Deputy Adjutant General, GHQ 3^rd Echelon, France dated 18^th March 1918, re: Request to Release Coaley to work in the Harrow and Stanmore Gas Works.

14.  1901 Census of England and Wales (RG13/1192).

15.  Death Index, 4^th Quarter 1965.

16.  Tomlinson Family Tree (Ancestry.com).

17.  Electoral Registers 1926 – 1937.

18.  1871 Census of England and Wales.

19.  1881 Census of England and Wales.

20.  1891 Census of England and Wales.

21.  1911 Census of England and Wales.

22.  The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919. Work Under the Director of Works (France). The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1924, p. 185.

23.  The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919. Miscellaneous. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1926, pp. 16 and 17.

24.  The Service of 111863 Pioneer John Savage, R.E. www.reubique.com/111863 Savage.htm

25.  War Diary of the 2^nd Labour Battalion, R.E. (701^st Labour Company).

26.  The Labour Corps of 1917-1918,  https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-labour-corps-of-1917-1918/

ENDNOTES