From the Western Front to Salonika - Accuracy of disembarkation

Accuracy of disembarkation dates

According to his medal index card and 1914 - 15 Star medal roll, Herbert disembarked in France on 20th December 1914. Is this date accurate? Or more importantly, can this date be used to determine which battery he disembarked with?

British troops entrain at Le Havre
(Photograph courtesy of the
Imperial War Museum, London - Q60501)

An indication of the accuracy of this date can be determine by examining data from other servicemen. If their disembarkation dates match their unit's, it is reasonable to conclude the same for Herbert.

A method needs to be found of determining the names and regimental numbers of soldiers serving with particular units. This could be achieved by just randomly looking through soldiers' service records. However, it would be better to use RFA personnel from the 27th Division since any conclusions drawn are more likely to be accurate for Herbert.

During May 1915 the war diaries of the 19th and 20th brigades name some of the brigades' casualties. The information given varies and it is often difficult to accurately discern the name of the soldier. However, for the unfortunate individuals who were killed it is normally possible to find them in the "Soldiers Died in the Great War" CD by searching for part of their name or on a range of dates for their death. It is then possible to check the medal index cards for these soldiers to see when they disembarked. The table below lists some of the casualties of May 1915 along with their unit and disembarkation date. Also included are Alfred Allen and Harry Bertrum who were gassed at Ypres and John Gower whose diary is held by the IWM. All three served with the 1st Brigade.

Unit			War diary entry			Medal index card entry
Bde	Btty	Date battery disembarked	Name and rank	Cause of casualty	Date	Name and rank	Regimental no.	Remarks	Date of disembarkation	Micro- fiche ref.
19	95	20-12-14	A/B F Mackenzie	Killed	4 May	A/Bmdr John F C E Mackenzie	58575	Died	22-12-14	8338
19	95	20-12-14	Gnr W Kerr	Killed	5 May	Gnr Charles W Kerr	63812	Dead	22-12-14	7319
19	95	20-12-14	Dvr A Steele	Killed	5 May	Dvr Arthur Steele	81825	Dead	22-12-14	14099
19	95	20-12-14	Gnr E Campbel	Killed	9 May	Gnr Edward J Campbell	58633	Dead 9-5-15	22-12-14	2021
19	95	20-12-14	Sjt F Fisher	Killed	10 May	Sjt Francis H Fisher	31325	Dead 10-5-15	20-12-14	4376
19	95	20-12-14	Sjt W Manning	Killed	10 May	Sjt William R Manning	37507	Deceased 10-5-15	22-12-14	8567
19	95	20-12-14	Sjt W Webster	Killed	12 May	Sjt William R Webster	52215	Dead 12-5-15	21-12-14	24451
19	96	20-12-14	Sjt W Greymore	Killed	12 May	Sjt William Gwynne	30284	Dead	22-12-14	5407
19	131	20-12-14	Gnr F Whare	D of W	13 May	A/Bmdr Frank H Whare	51158	Dead	20-12-14	24541
19	131	20-12-14	Gnr A Leihane	Killed	24 May	Gnr Denis Lehane	29538	Dead	30-4-15	7759
19	131	20-12-14	Dvr A Foster	Killed	24 May	Dvr Albert Foster	94982	Dead	22-12-14	4516
20	99	21-12-14	Cpl Betts	D of W	15 May	Cpl John G Betts	59034	Died 16-3-15	22-12-14	1030
20	99	21-12-14	Gnr Potter	D of W	15 May	Gnr John Potter	84544	Dead	19-12-14	10398
20	99	21-12-14	Gnr Smythe	Killed	15 May	Gnr Alexander Smyth	29019	Dead	22-12-14	13009
20	364	21-12-14	75356 Gnr J York	Killed	3 May	Gnr John Thomas York	75356	Dead	21-12-14	25224
20	364	21-12-14	59574 Cpl B Venters	Severely wounded	13 May	Cpl, Sjt Bertie Venters	59574	-	20-12-14	24050
1	132	21-12-14	-	-	-	Bmdr, Cpl Alfred Allen	90492	-	20-12-14	152
1	132	21-12-14	-	-	-	Dvr, Bmdr Harry Bertram	34180	-	21-12-14	1014
1	BAC	21-12-14	-	-	-	Cpl John William Gower	1467	-	21-12-14

It can be seen that the date an individual disembarked is usually different from the date his battery disembarked. Also all three brigades had soldiers disembarking on the 20th December, the date Herbert disembarked.

A disembarkation date of around 20th December 1914 clearly indicates that an individual served with the 27th Division, but beyond this it seems dangerous to conclude that a soldier necessarily served with one of the batteries that disembarked on the same date.