Army Ordnance Corps: Clues from 1916 photo

[thewideeyedowl]

Walter George EZARD, Pte 016866, served in the AOC from April 1916 to September 1919. These dates are engraved on the silver fob of his swagger stick, but otherwise no record survives apart from his Medal Index Card. He served in France and was awarded a British War Medal and a Victory Medal. As his service started in 1916, I think it is likely that he was conscripted. (Conscription was introduced by the Military Service Act, January 1916.) In civilian life, he was a bank clerk and played chess at quite a high level. He is one of the men in this photograph, which he annotated for his parents - not knowing then how helpful it would be to a researcher nearly a century later. The photo has just come to light:



You have to zoom in to decipher the fading annotations, but - left to right, they read:

1. My chess friend BEECH
2. 3rd man down is BOWLES.
Just beneath him is RILEY.
Our Capt is just below me.
3. 2nd man down is ROBINSON.
FAIRLEY, "you wee canny Scot as I call him"

I am guessing that this photo was taken quite shortly after these men were recruited/conscripted, because the way many are wearing their caps lacks ..er.. army discipline. (Some of those caps are on at a raffish angle, or pushed back, or squashed, or whatever!) WGE, though, was wearing his uniform very smartly, as befits a bank clerk who had to go to war.

So, these are my questions:
Would this have been a post-joining photo of a new intake? If not, please suggest the circumstances in which it might have been taken.

There are two officers near the middle of the seated row - the Captain and the (??), who seems to have some braid on his cap, so would have been more important. Is it possible to identify either of these men? If either could be identified, then it might be possible to work out exactly what this group of AOC men were. Perhaps there is a battalion war diary? But I would need to know the battalion.

Finally, this photo might be useful for anyone researching a BEECH, a BOWLES, a RILEY, a ROBINSON, or a FAIRLEY who served in the AOC.

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

I should, of course, have done some enhancing before posting yesterday. My apologies - I was so excited to have come across some interesting photos in a big box of stuff I have been entrusted to sort out. Have now cropped and enhanced the parts that show the faded written words:



Have marked Walter George Ezard with his initials. Have also run some very quick searches on Lives of the First World War to see if I could identify the few men whose surnames have been given. Well, probably not...BUT there was only one Fairley in the AOC: Private Thomas MacFarlane Fairley 013885, and he does sound as if he hailed from Scotland. Was he/wasn't he my grandfather's "wee canny Scot"?

The others are more or less impossible: 142 men called Robinson in the AOC, seven called Bowles, and I haven't checked those called Riley.

And then here is "my chess friend Beech":



This man Beech also features in another photograph with WGE. Possibly, the next job would be to investigate the archives of the Liverpool Chess Club?? But not today.

Swooping off.

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

Only one man by the name of FAIRLEY served in the Army Ordnance Corps during WW1. So I feel pretty sure that this is the "wee canny Scot":

Thomas Macfarlane FAIRLEY was born in Coatsbridge, Lanarkshire, in December 1881. He enlisted in Glasgow on 9 December 1915 and was discharged for medical reasons on 9 October 1917. He did not serve abroad and he was not wounded, so he did not qualify for a medal - his MIC is empty -or for a Silver War Badge. Some of his Attestation and Discharge papers have survived, in a very poor state, amongst the Burnt Records (WO364 Piece 1170).

At the time of enlistment, he was 34 and just over 5' 7" tall ("a wee Scot"?). In civilian life he was a Hydraulic Leather Presser. He was placed in the Reserve the day after attestation and finally mobilised on 4 June 1917. But the army then realised that he would be a liability because of "excessive myopia" and he was discharged as permanently unfit four months later. His commanding officer had reported that Fairley's sight problem was particularly bad in the dusk and at night-time.

This myopia was considered to be congenital, and so he qualified for a small gratuity. As well as his vision problems, he also had defective teeth, bad varicose veins in his right leg and was flat-footed (right foot only).

Aside: It makes me wonder how stringent the initial army medical was if none of that had been picked up. His short-sightedness, in particular, would have made him a liability.

This is the only man it has been feasible to research, because there are simply too many sharing the names of the others named in the photo. I had been hoping that the info on this man might have given me a lever to find out more about my grandfather's service - but, NO. Still at Square One when it comes to finding out what he did and where he was during WW1.

Owl

[breesy]

Dear Owl,

I was very interested to drop on your forum topic today as my grandfather was also in the Army Ordnance Corps (I think!) during the same years and I am desperately trying to find out more information about his military history.

We too have recently unearthed an original photo from April, 1919 showing 24 Corporals/Lance Corporals taken at the Ordnance Depot at Audruicq near Calais. My grandfather is in that photo and he is wearing the cap badge of the Lancashire Fusiliers. I have no idea how he gets to be at the Ordnance Depot.

He too received the same two medals which are inscribed withe rank Private, although he is clearly wearing the Corporal stripes in the photo. Another puzzle !

Do you have access to any records ion which my Grandfather may appear ? His name was Willie Taylor and his service number was 57424.

Many thanks for any help you can give.

Richard

[christanel]

Hello Richard and welcome to the British-Genealogy forums.

Your grandfather's Medal Roll Index Card has only the one service number 57424, rank - private in the Lancashire Fusiliers BUT his entry in the WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls clears up his wearing the uniform with the stripes

Willie Taylor
Military Year: 1914-1920
Rank: Acting Corporal
Medal Awarded: British War Medal and Victory Medal
Regiment or Corps: Lancashire Fusiliers
Regimental Number: 57424
Previous Units: 17th Lan Fus 57424 Pte

Christina

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi Richard, and welcome...

This battalion was initially formed in 1914 as a Bantam Battalion, i.e. it was for rather short men (5' 3" or under), but later in WW1 they ceased being 'bantams' when the height restriction was lifted.

In January 1919 some of the Units were deployed to Calais to help quell rioting: https://www.wartimememoriesproject.co...iers-17btn.php. So that was why Grandad was there!

You can find out more about this Bantam Battalion in the dedicated website: https://lancs-fusiliers.co.uk/tourspo...rsPostings.htm.

And to get an overview of what all the different Lancashire Fusilier battalions were doing, check out The Long Long Trail: https://www.1914-1918.net/lancsfus.htm.

Hope this can get you started. If you are happy to post the photograph, some of the military experts may be able to give some constructive help. (I'm just good with a mouse!)

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

Once the war was officially over (Nov 1918), there was growing discontent among the troops: they wanted to be demobbed so that they could get on with their own lives back home. This resulted in a wave of mutinies in army camps in France, the largest and most successful at the Val de Lievre Camp, Calais, in January 1919. The 'mutineers' were from the Army Ordnance Corps and Mechanical Transport sections (from the Army Service Corps????); initially, just a few thousand but the numbers swelled at an alarming rate (to over 20,000 and counting). Troops - including the 17th Lancashire Fusiliers - were sent in to quell the mutiny, but in fact many went over to join the mutineers. Things fizzled out but the authorities had been given the fright of their lives. You can read about it here: https://libcom.org/history/1919-the-calais-mutiny.

As a result of this mutiny, and the general unrest back in the UK, demobilisation was speeded up. By the end of 1919, there were only 900,000 soldiers under arms. (In November 1918, there had been about 3.8 million.)

So - this is what your grandfather was involved in, in some small way and would help to explain why the photo you have was taken in the Ordnance Depot at Audruicq. Can you post the photo?

My AOC grandfather might/might not have been involved and so too my ASC grandfather (who was in a Mechanical transport section). The AOC and ASC both had a huge complement of men, hence 'might/might not'.

Owl

[breesy]

Hello Christina and Owl,

Many thanks for all that fascinating information. I am flabbergasted ! I never know what my Grandad did during the war and this information is a revelation. I'm still trying to absorb it all. Between you both you have explained how he came to be in both the LF and photographed with the AOC - so he wasn't part of the AOC, it seems he was there to keep the peace during the riots.

I'm now going to work my way through the links you included. I love the note about the Bantam Battalions - he was indeed a man of small stature, certainly less than 5'3".

Grandad was obviously not confirmed as Corporal - was this perhaps a temporary promotion to give him some 'clout' during the riots ? I am a little surprised at your information that he was in the forces from 1914 - 1920. He was born in 1899 and would have only been 15 in 1914 (I can't believe he could lie about his age). Also, he did not receive the 1914-15 Star. Would I be able to have sight, or better still, copies of these Index entries some way ? How ?

I am happy and proud to post the photograph. 'Corporal' Willie is front row, second from the left.

Regards,
Richard

[christanel]

Hello Richard
Medal Roll Index Cards are free to view on ancestry until the end of the year however the WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls aren't. ancestry is a pay per view site but they do have free versions at many local libraries so yours may have it.
Another way to take a look at all records is to join up for their free 14 day trial but you will have to give a credit card number. To avoid them automatically charging you for a 12 month sub you must remember to cancel a few days before the trial is up. You will still be able to access records for the last few days.

Christina

[simmo1]

Hi

That record that is quoted from Ancestry - Military Year: 1914-1920 , is a general reference, not the time he served.
His medal index card only shows the - Medal Awarded: British War Medal and Victory Medal , no star
Also there is no reference to when he entered a theatre of war which suggests he did not do so until after 1915.

regards

Robert