From the Western Front to Salonika - Artillery war diaries

From the RFA war diaries of the 27th Division it was seen that there were two gas casualties recorded. These were incurred by the 67th battery which is reported to have disembarked on the 20th December 1914. The Times casualty list of 28th September 1915 lists 32 RFA personnel. If the disembarkation date for each man is determined then it should be possible to see which of them served with the 27th Division. If the only two gas casualties incurred by the 27th Division were indeed from the 67th battery then we should see no more than two men disembarking on 20th December 1914 and no others disembarking in late December 1914.

The casualty list of 28th September does not list all the RFA personnel gassed at Ypres, but it is by far the longest list published on a single day. It is difficult to know how many casualties there were altogether since there is no clear end date for all casualties to be reported. However, it looks as if the 28th September list probably contains about half the total.

The table below shows each man with the details as listed in the Times and the details I have obtained from the medal index cards. A disembarkation date in late December 1914 implies service with the 27th Division and it is these that are of most interest.

DETAILS FROM TIMES CASUALTY LIST			DETAILS FROM MEDAL INDEX CARD
Times Name	Times Rank	Times No.	Medal Name	Medal Rank	Medal No.	Disembarkation Date	Comment	Micro- fiche ref.
Allen, A	Cpl	90492	Alfred Allen	Bmdr, Cpl	90492	20-12-14 (1)		152
Bayles, H	Gnr	31516	Harry Bayles	Gnr	31516	19-8-14	42nd Bde	819
Beer, W J	Gnr	25841	William J Beer	Gnr	25841	25-5-15 (1)		891
Bertram, H	Dvr	34180	Harry Bertram	Dvr, Bmdr	34180	21-12-14 (1)		1014
Burt, J	Gnr	77559	Joseph Burt	Gnr	77559	19-10-15 (1)		1879
Chesterman, G	Gnr	30215	G Chesterman	Gnr	30215	23-8-14	32nd Bde	2309
Coleman, J	Act. Bmdr	60600	Ronald John Coleman	Act. Bmdr (1914-15 Star)	60600 (Star)	15-1-15 (1) (Star)	Could not find in medal index	-
Davey, A	Gnr	75930	Allen Davey	Gnr	15930	7-5-15	Trans. to RGA	3205
Davis, J E	L. Cpr	27446	James E Davis	Gnr, Bmdr	27446	19-8-14	5 DAC dis. 5-10-15	3305
Edwards, E	Gnr	32160	James Edwards	Gnr, Cpl, Bmdr	32160	19-8-14	28th Bde	3976
Essery, A	Cpl	45050	Arthur Leopold Essery	Cpl, Sjt	45050	20-12-14 (1)	Military medal	4110
Greenall, J	Gnr	70282	James F Greenall	Gnr (SWB)	70282	7-11-14	11th Bde dis. 9-3-17	5252
Halliday, H	Dvr	79709	Herbert Halliday	Gnr (SWB)	79709	20-12-14 (1)		5505
Haynes, W	Gnr	1904	William Haynes	Gnr, Bmdr	1904	17-1-15 (1)	UL 1-5-19 (RGA)	5851
Hearl, H	Gnr	72757	H Hearl	Gnr	72757	23-8-14	14th Bde	5917
Holton, A	Shoe. Smith	38878	Albert Holton	S. Smith, Cpl	38873	19-8-14 22-5-15	15th Bde (Two cards)	6322
Insh, J	Gnr	54780	James Insh	Cpl, Dvr	54780	27-9-14	181st Bde	6702
Johnson, D	Gnr	10689	Thomas Johnson	Gnr	10689	16-1-15 (1)		6969
McKusker, W	Gnr	79515	William McCusker	Gnr	79515	19-1-15 (1)		8179
Martin, J	Gnr	90525	John Martin	Dvr, Gnr (SWB)	90525	13-5-15 (1)	Dis. PU 6-11-17	8676
Mather, J	Sgt	29934	James Mather	Br, BQMS	29934	16-8-14	34th Bde	8733
Messenger, W P	Fitter	51415	William P Messenger	Ftr, Gnr	51415	16-8-14	44th Bde Dead 25-10-16	8878
Miles, W H	Gnr	57086	William H Miles	Gnr	57086	19-8-14		8918
Milson, H	Gnr	42262	Horace A T Milsom	Gnr	42262	11-3-15 (1)		8992
Palmer, A H	Bmdr	59778	Alfred H Palmer	A/Bmdr, A/Cpl	59778	10-2-15 (1)	Military medal	9859
Pennall, A	Gnr	40455	John A Pepall	Gnr	40455	22-8-14		10139
Pritchard, C	Gnr	31586	George Pritchard	Gnr	31586	2-1-15 (1)	Dis. 31-12-17	10514
Scott, A	Bmdr	70574	Alfred Scott	Gnr, Cpl	70574	21-12-14 (1)		11475
Smith, R	Gnr	7946	Robert Smith	Gnr	7946	21-12-14 (1)		12051
Spackman, J	Dvr	74889	John Spackman	Dvr, Gnr	74889	23-8-14	32nd Bde	13060
Thoday, G	Gnr	50194	George Thoday	Gnr, Sgt	50194	10-1-15 (1)		19077
Viney, H	Bmdr	41486	Harold D Viney	Trmptr	41846	14-10-14	13th Bde	24077

There are six men who appear to have served with the 27th Division and their names have been highlighted. Three of them disembarked on 20th December 1914 and three disembarked on 21st December. Therefore there is a problem since the war diaries show there were only two gas casualties amongst units that disembarked on 20th December.

It is possible to shed a bit more light on the situation by searching for the service records of these soldiers (except Herbert's which has previously been searched for). Up until recently only the soldier's next of kin could ask for a search, but starting from November 1996 the records are being transferred to the PRO. Due to the delicate state of the documents they are being microfilmed and released in stages.

As stated in "Research Aims", the service records were badly damaged in a bombing raid during 1940. However, there was a collection kept by the Ministry of Pensions that survived intact. Known as the "Unburnt Documents" they cover about 10% of those who served and are available at the PRO in class WO364. I have searched WO364 and have found three of the soldiers, Alfred Allen, Harry Bertram and Robert Smith.