Bowers Family Tree

Thomas Edwin Hill 1986 to 1939 the story so far.......Family History

2011-12-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Tracing a relative - Thomas Edwin Hill

Thomas Edwin Hill was my grandfather and through documents I have I can try an illustrate what you can achieve with tracing his life.
I was lucky as my mother kept a few documents, so I started with looking for his death certificate. That told me what he died of, where he died and his age and date of birth. I needed to confirm his date of birth so I went looking for his birth certifcate, which I didn't have. I looked on the internet for our local Births, Marriages and Deaths, which in my case was Staffordshire BMD. I found a likely record and applied via , the internet for a copy about 7.50 GBP. The birth certificate came through, with an exact match, and it gave his mothers name, (Maiden) and fathers name. He was born in 1886.
So where to go next.........

Moving on from getting the Birth Certificate

1886 - Thomas Edwin Hill ( My Granddad ) is born on 28th August 1886 at 13 Garden Place, East Vale, Caverswall, Stoke on Trent. East Vale is now Longton.
His parents are shown in the 1891 census.......
1891 CENSUS - His parents moved to Wain Lea, Harriseahead, but his dad has a new job as a coal miner. William now aged 17 becomes a coal miner. Mary and Annie are at school, but there are 2 more family members, Thomas, aged 4 years (Grand-dad) and Alice aged 1.
1901 CENSUS - The family have moved to 27 South Street, Ball Green, Stoke on Trent. Thomas has now gone back to farming, Annie has become a Bosson, young Thomas, now 14 has become a miner. There is a new family member Miriam aged 9 years. William has now married and lives at 7 High Street, Mow Cop and has a 1 year old daughter Mary E. and son James 3 months
In 1901 Thomas is now 14, so you can presume that in a t least 5 or even 10 years time, he may be getting married ! - There are no more census details available

Does he get married ?

Well not quite, he joins the British Army, which means you now may be looking at developing your research further.
1904 - Thomas Edwin Hill - now Soldier 20841 Signs up for 3 years in the colours and then 9 years in the reserve on 8.9.1904 to report to Lichfield barracks on 9.9.1904 at 10am.
He leaves the Army and is now a reservist for a further 9 years....
There is a marriage and I have the marriage certificate, which has more information on it...
1908 - The Parish Church, Norton in the Moors, on 5th July, sees the marriage of Thomas Edwin Hill a 21 year old collier to Elizabeth Ellen Fallows, 18 years. Witnesess were Alice Mary Hill, Willian Henry Hill and Richard George Fallows

1911 Census Now married for 2 years and living at 7 South Street, Ball Green, Norton in the Moors. It has 4 rooms, which would be know as 2 up, 2 down. Thomas is still in the mining industry. They now have a family,Thomas Richard Hill, 2 years and Edwin Arthur Hill, 2 months.

1914 - 113 Heavy Battery, RGA formed at Woolwich on 26 Sept 1914 and was armed with four 4.7" Quick Firing Guns. It went to France on 3 Oct 1914 and landed at Havre on 4 Oct 1914. On arrival it was attached to II Corps Heavy Artillery. It came into action on the Neuve Chapelle front and took part in the battle of La Bassee, opening fire on 26th October 1914, exactly one month after its date of formation. It remained in that area until the end of November 1914. II Corps then moved to the Ypres front and the battery was transferred to the Indian Corps.

1915 - The 7th Division was formed during September and very early October 1914

Thomas Edwin Hill - World War One

Thomas served in the Royal Garrison Artillery from 1904 to 1907, when he went on the reserve list for 9 years. He was a reserve gunner in the RGA at the commencement of World War One and went to France in August 1914. He sent postcards home and below is an example of an embroidered one. It was stuck in an album, so hiding the writing on it, i.e. the second example.
These cards capture the mood at the time and it is dated 1916

Card sent during World War One

Where does Thomas Edwin Hill go at the start of World War One

Well I have been trying to find out for a long time, as his pay book seems to suggest that was in he Royal Garrison Artillary, at Number 9 Stationary Hospital, which I know was at St Nazaire in France in 1914. He wasn't injured, so why was he at the hospital..I think he was staioned at the hsopital to guard it, n his role as a gunner.
I hav ebeen done to my local library and found his medal record on the internet and in 1914 he was attached to a statioanary hospital, not injured, I'll keep looking...

Medals Record for Thomas Edwin Hill 1914

In 1916 does he think things are getting a bit bad, and as a result makes a will:

What it does tell us is where the family are niow living, and that is 19 South Street, Ball Green, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. He does survive the war as this document shows:

The story so far - Looks like they are at Ball Green in 1920 and there is a gap until they move to 1 New Bulidings, Black Bull, Knypersley and buy the house which has a shop....

In 1947 he buys the house and shop for £ 485.00, having rented it from a Mr A Laws for 14/6 a week (73pence)

Connections through the internet and new family members found

2011-12-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

You never know what the power of the internet has to offer - Last week I had an e-mail from a Marion McAdam and then a Facebook message. She was wondering if she was related. Well turned out she was and in the process we managed to establish that her father now had a brother and sister he never knew about. Within 24 hours I had connected her via Facebook to her new relatives in America and yesterday, Sunday through the power of Skype they managed to talk to each other, Henley on Thames to Oregon in the Untied States.
I got this message from Marion,'We had the wonderful experience today of meeting Lynn, Dad;s half sister. Phew - very emotional. And you are the one we have to thank. SO THANK YOU Nigel, you have made us all very happy and it was really wonderful for my dad to meet his sister. They got on really well and the resemblance is there for all to see, I hope that my dad will be able to make the trip to Oregon before he is too much older so he can see where his dad lived. All very emotional but wonderful. Dad is going back to Somerset so hopefully you should hear from him by the end of the week x'
Great news = Merry Christmas to Marion, John and Liz

Albert Bowers - Royal Navy World War Two - H.M.N.Z.S. ACHILLES - BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE

2011-12-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Through the power of the internet and the web site www.nigelbowers.co.uk I have been in touch with some more relatives. This has inspired me to do some more research, so I have been back to thge local library at Congleton, Cheshire, United Kingdom and looked up the article featured on the left about Albert Bowers.
It was on microfish, bit of a strain to read, but here goes:

It is from the front page of the Congelton Chronicle, Incorporated with the Congleton and Macclesfield Mercury.....

---------------------------------------------------------------

IN THE RIVER PLATE

---------------------------------------------------------------

BIDDULPH MAN ON H.M.S. 'ACHILLES'

One of the heroes of the River Plate, Albert Bowers, son of Mrs and the late James Bowers of 140 Brook Street, Brown Lees, Biddulph. As a hospital attendent he was in the engagement as a member of HMS 'Achilles' which played a leading role in forcing the 'Graf Von Spee' to take to refuge in Montevideo Harbour and eventually scuttle her.

S.B.P.O. Bowers, as a youth worked at Black Bull Colliery and is remembered in the district as a keen sportsman and regular church attender. When aged 17 he was on the Primitive Methodist Church Plan in Biddulph. He joined thr Navy as a young man of 20 and has now served eleven and a half years. Following a period in the marines, he was transferred to HMS 'Achilles' and promoted Leading Sick Berth Attendent. His fondness of sport has found ample expression in the Navy and in peace time he was a regular member of the Royal Navy Hospital team, winning many medals. He is an excellent swimmer. He has a wife and baby who look forward to seeing him at their future home in Gillingham, Kent.

Brief history HMS then HMNZS Achilles

Some more info on HMS Achilles

Whilst I was at the library I had a browse of the paper and if you fancied a night at the pictures you could go and see:

At the Premier

Hound of the Baskervilles

Starring Basil Rathbone

At the New Cinema - Royle Street, Congleton

The Magnificent Fraud

Starring Akim Tamiroff and Lloyd Nolan

Howver if you wre ill and suffering from influenza doctors, according to the advert were recommending OVALTINE....

The power of the internet - New family member found

2011-03-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Just got an e-mail from June Jones nee Bowers from Nottingham. She saw the web site ~: http://www.nigelbowers.co.uk and e-mailed me. I think she is going to be a wealth of information and I must try and go to see her. Here is the e-mail:

'Hi Nigel,just looked on family tree and thought l would drop you a few lines,l am Reginalds daughter..l remember your grandma and grandpa well,from the days when we visited Brown Lees to see grandma Bowers(your great grandma)l loved her to pieces so it was a joy to come over.

l remember not only Uncle Jim and Aunty Hannah but ..Bill,Albert,Frank,Jack and Aunty Harriett.

Have you managed to contact young Frank?(Frank's son) l would love to hear of him or from him as we used to go and stay at Uncle Jack and Aunty Minnies pub in Cresswell,during school holidays.

l think you may have been in touch with my son Mark from Shropshire at sometime as he was interested in tracing the family..until took up all his time.

l have lived in Nottingham all my life and still live only four miles from where l was born.

It would be nice to hear from you,let me know about you and yours,must dash as l sing in a choir and it's practice night,

Bye for now,

June'

A look at RAF Rivenhall where 295 Squadron flew from in WW 2

2011-02-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

This is where 295 squadron flew from - my Uncle Ern was a rear gunner in the Stirling Bombers

RAF Rivenhall

Time for some video footage off Youtube Battle of the River Plate

2011-02-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Albert Bowers, is born 14.6.1908 -
Information from uncle Harry about Albert Bowers. He was a Chief Petty Officer sick berth attendent on HMNZS Achilles, which became famous in 1939 as it was involved in the Battle of the River Plate,
link : http://www.historybecame famouslearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_the_river_plate.htm
I also found out that after the battle all the ship's crews were given a victory parade. As HZMNZS was a New Zealand ship it went back to New Zealand. Pathe New filmed the home coming and it was seen his sister Harriet as she worked as an usher at the pictures in Tunstall. Guess what I have found that clip on Youtube;

Free access to Military Records at Ancestry

2010-11-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Our relatives who bravely served their country made sacrifices most of us can never fully comprehend. It’s vital these sacrifices are never forgotten. That’s why, for Remembrance Week 7th-14th November, we’re letting all of you learn about the war heroes in your family, by making our most popular military records absolutely free for seven days.

Check it out HERE

Update on 295 squadron - Ernest Hill

2010-09-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

RAF Rivenhall north of Witham, Essex.

RAF Sqadrons operating from Rivenhall -

No.295.
Arrived Rivenhall 11 October 1944 - Disbanded Rivenhall 21 January 1946 - Stirling IV.

No.570.
Arrived Rivenhall July 1944 - Disbanded Rivenhall 28 December 1945 -Stirling IV.

Letters on planes the fuselage, No.295 Squadron's code was 8Z

Gunner Thomas Edwin Hill mention in War Diaries No 9 Stationary Hospital

2009-10-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

My thanks go to Alan Hulme who supplied this fantastic information. The connection is too close not top be my grandfather....Further information at my Hubpage:

My Hub Page

Here is the extract for Thomas Edwin Hill and Gunner Hulme

WAR DIARY EXTRACT thats mentions my granddad Gunner Hill

No. 21354

Gn. T. Hulme

1st Siege Battery

B.E.F.

Daily Diary

War declared August 4th,

August 5th I left Sandbach station by the 12:30 p.m. train and arrived at Great Yarmouth at 1 a.m. August 6th, and at once went through the usual formalities of passing the doctor afterwards going to 2 M.S. store to get my kit, after fitting my clothes I was sent to a barrack room for my nights lodging, this was about 3 a.m. and I lay down for a sleep on the floor with one blanket, rather a change after a comfortable bed, but I could not expect any luxury at such a time as this, anyway I have a sleep, but at 5 a.m. the next morning I get a rude awakening from the orderly sergeant. I get up and look around myself and find plenty of men of all countries but all inclined to be chums, and all in the best of spirits although my head feels rather heavy, so breakfast is served to us this consists of one biscuit a piece of cheese and 1 pint of tea, 6 a.m. we all parade for C.G.s inspection and fitting clothes, afterwards we have an hour's instructions on rifle work, the rest of the day is spent looking around us and wondering what is going to become of all of us, during this time I meet many of my old chums of the days in the colours and many are the greetings that passed between us, 3 p.m. the barrack orderly comes round and warns 8 of us for duty with an hospital so we have to be ready to embark on the 6 p.m. train for Colchester, it is during this train ride that I began to find my pals. The first one I find out is a Gnr. Hill, he comes from the potteries, and the next one comes from Crewe, so I am landed now that I have some of my own countrymen for mates, we arrive at Colchester about midnight, and of course nobody will own us but eventually we get bundled into a room all in darkness and have to make the best of it, but we are glad to get inside for a rest as we are all tired out and we don't mind roughing it a bit although our thoughts are far away with the dear ones we have left behind. The next morning finds us in the same plight so we have to find out who we belong to, eventually we find ourselves at No. 9 Stationary Hospital and here we get a better reception and are given a good breakfast, afterwards we wander about barracks where we like, as the Hpl is awaiting orders. During all this time we are all confined to barracks which is rather disappointing.

August 11th we are told that we are under orders for active service in the field and all must be inoculated as a protection against fever, so we undergo this operation, which causes many of us much pain although I myself am not affected so much as some of the others.

Aug 13th about 6 p.m. we receive orders to be in readiness to move off at any minute although we are all told that this will be about 2 a.m., the rest of the night is spent in the canteen, making merry and singing all kinds of songs, when the canteen closed we went to our rooms and prepared for our move.

Aug 14th about 2 a.m. we are ordered to put our equipment on and fall in outside, the strictest silence being observed, so in silence we marched off to the railway station where a train is in readiness for us, no one knows where we are going so secretly is everything done. When everything is loaded up the train steams out and by daylight we find ourselves many miles away from Colchester wondering where we are bound for, but we have not long to wait for about 10 a.m. the train steams into Southampton docks, and first thing we saw was a big liner converted into a Government transport and on her bows were the words S. S. Caledonian so we knew this to be our boat, well we had to buckle in and get our hospital on board, this done and all the troops on board which numbered between 2000 and 3000 we sailed out of Southampton under sealed orders nobody knew our destination. About eight hours sailing brought us to Havre a port on the French coast and here we disembarked to await further orders, although I may mention we were fortunate in landing as we narrowly escaped disaster at the hands of a German mine which we missed by 100 yards, at any rate we shake hands with ourselves for landing safe and wonder what else is in store for us, anyway we sleep on the docks all night and the next morning Aug 16th we proceed to Montivilliers a distance of 10 miles out in the country, well we enjoy this journey very much as we glide through the country in tram cars and the French peasants cheer, and almost worship us for coming to their aid. On arriving at Montivilliers we find it a fine place, and we are quartered in a big college which we soon turn into a Hpl, afterwards we pitch another Hpl of marquees and have everything ready by Aug 27th when we have orders to be ready to receive 300 wounded but instead of the wounded, about 4 a.m. Aug 28th we received orders to pack up and clear out as soon as possible as the Germans had broken through our lines and were close behind us, this is what is known as the famous "Retreat of Mons", so we packed everything up and about 2 a.m. the next morning found us marching back to Havre which was not very nice after a hard day's work but we had to put up with it and arrived at Havre about 4.30 after many thrilling encounters from the French Sentries in which my mate Hill, narrowly escaped being bayoneted, Anyway we arrived at the Docks in safety where we stayed until September 2nd when we embarked on the S.S. Victorian for an unknown stn the first night on board we slept on top deck for it was a beautiful night and we enjoyed it, at 5 p.m. the next day we sailed out under sealed orders and three days later found ourselves at St.Nazaire in the south of France, after disembarking our hospital we proceeded to a rest camp to await further orders. The first night we slept in an open field. It was a splendid night and we all enjoyed it but the second night was just the reverse for after working all day and having nothing to eat for all rations had been left behind on the great Retreat we got down for a sleep and everyone was tired out, but alas our sleep was very short for about 11 p.m. a terrific thunderstorm broke over us and we were all soaked to the skin, and had to walk about the rest of the night to keep ourselves warm and praying for morning to come while our clothes dried on us, At length morning came and we looked a sorry lot, so we set to and pitched a Camp for ourselves. 8 a.m. the same morning two Highlanders were shot for committing a rape on a French woman.

Sept 9th a German Spy caught in Camp dressed in a British Officer's uniform, he is sent to England along with 185 German prisoners captured at the front.

Sept. 14th we pitch our hospital on a piece of waste ground which means working day and night until it is finished which lasted about two days and a night. Sept 16th we receive 300 wounded and I saw some awful sights, some had a leg off, some were arms short, and others were blind or shattered about the body, anyway they resembled a sorry picture, nevertheless they kept their spirits up. My duties with this Hpl were many for I had to go out with a native driver to fetch rations in and once or twice they took me to Nantes a distance of 50 miles up country, on these occasions I had a splendid trip up the river Loire. On September 28 and I got a clean change of washing the first time for seven weeks.

Sept 29th there was a small naval engagement outside the Harbour in which the Germans were defeated and driven off.

Oct 22nd we received orders to pack up and clear out, this was about 6:30 a.m. and we had to be on the train by 1.30 p.m. which meant there was some work to be done, however we managed it and at 1:30 p.m. we started on a journey of 800 miles through country and back again to Havre and here I stayed until Nov 5th when all men belonging to R.G.A. were recalled to join their own units. I joined my unit at a place called Lanvic, afterwards moving to Graville, where I enjoyed my greatest hardships for we were camped in small bell tents on a field that had grown mangolds, and with the continual rain and the troops walking about on it the mud it was up to our knees, but we got no sympathy for we were starving, practically getting nothing to eat and out working with the engineers in all kinds of weather when our clothes and were wet through we had to stick it and scarcely got a wash more than once a week for it was dark when we left camp and dark when we returned and the water tap was about 200 yds away so we were not in much of a mood for splashing through the mud after being among it all day, so we had to make the best of it and everyone was fed up anyway I stuck it until Jan 14th when I was ordered to hold myself in readiness for the front and I was not sorry to think that I was getting out of a living grave, so Jan 15th saw me on the train flying towards the firing line and on Jan 16th I joined the First Siege Battery and it was here that I first tasted a bit of real warfare as I and my comrades who had come with me were approaching the Battery we were greeted by a big German shell which burst close by us. However we had to get used to this sort of work so we didn't pay much heed to that one, the remainder of that day was a rest for me which I needed after travelling for the last 36 hours.

1911 Census is Now online and available

2009-01-15T05:58:00.001-08:00

A bit early, but what the hell, get your researching done. But hang on aminute, it is not on Ancestry. It has a designated web site at www.1911census.co.uk. Went on to have a look, but you haev to buy credits to view the entries in full, so I paid for my 30 credits for access to one census page The Bowers Family. Very interesting as it i wriiten bythe householder, in this instance Emily and includes more details than the other census records. One I found fascinating was she had 10 children and declared to have had 3 that had died......

Check out the site:

1911 Census

World One History John Bowers

2008-11-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

It is now 90 years since the end of world war one. During November 2008 Ancestry.co.uk are offering free access to the World War 1 records, so you can research your relatives history; War Records - Medals - Pensions.

Does it work ?

Well it does and it doesn't. I have been trying to find out about Grandfather Thomas Edwin Hill, but failed. The majority of First World War records of service will be found in, however, the Soldiers' Documents, First World War 'Burnt Documents' (catalogue reference WO 363). These are the 'burnt documents' that survived the bombing in 1940, and consist of about 20 to 25% of the original total. These are not yet available in their entirety online although ancestry.co.uk have digitized and made available records for surnames between A-N.

What did I do Next....... John Bowers
I spent a couple of days looking through the records on www.ancestry.co.uk, and found nothing. I knew there was history available, so I looked at another branch of my family tree and decided to look at all members who may have been eligible for was service. So who was 18 years of age between 1914 and 1918 ?

I found John Bowers, born 1896 and then the work began........

HMNZS Achilles - Albert Bowers

2008-10-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

During my research into the family tree, I made contact with a distant relative from Oregon, USA, who was the daughter of Albert Bowers. During a recent chat with my Uncle Harry, he showed me a little book, where he had all his football results from the early 1940's. The article was from the Congleton Chronicle, so I went to the local library to trawl through the microfish, and found a front page entry, or Albert Bowers:
Well I also knew that after the Battle of the River Plate, Albert went withthe ship to NewZealand for a heroes welcome and the homecoming was captured on film and showed at the local cinema in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent. Well where do you go next, I though I would try YOUTUBE, and you guessed it. The clip was on the site, here it is:
1940 HMNZS Achilles returns Home

HMS Maine - Albert Bowers

2008-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Albert Bowers 1933 to 1939

The HMS MAINE Hospital ship,

HMS MAINE (1902) ex - Pacific Steam Navigation Company's 'PANAMA'.

Purchased 1920., converted 1921, Hospital ship Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Builder Fairfield Co. Govan, 1902., Displacement : 10,100 tons., Dimensions
: length 401ft 3in (p.p)., beam 58ft 4in., draught 23ft 6in/34ft deep load.
Machinery : 2 shaft reciprocating triple expansion, 2 x double ended
boilers, 2 x single ended boilers, I.H.P. 4,000 = 13knots., Coal : 1,360
tons., Complement ?., single funnel.,
Arrived 8th July 1948 McLellan, Bo'ness for breaking up.

Photograph of this ship in the 1939 Jane's Fighting ship listed below (also
in 1944/45 edition).

source info :

British and Empire Warships of the Second World War by H.T. Lenton.,
(1998)., Greenhill Books, Lionel Leventhal Ltd, Park House, 1 Russel
Gardens, London, NW11 9NN., ISBN 1 85367 277 7.

Ships of the Royal Navy (vol. 2) by J.J. Colledge., (1989)., Greenhill
Books, Lionel Leventhal Ltd, Park House, 1 Russel Gardens, London, NW11
9NN., ISBN 1 85367 028 6. (first published 1970 revised and expanded 1989).

Jane's Fighting Ships 1939, founded by Fred. T. Jane., (1971)., reprint by
David & Charles (publishers) Ltd. South Devon House, Newton Abbot, Devon.
ISBN 0 7153 5017 X.
(first published by Sampson Low, Marson, 1939).

No9 Stationary Hospital 1914

2008-02-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

My granddad Thomas Edwin Hill was one of the first soldiers to go to France, 21st August 1914, but according to his pay book, he spent some time at the No9 Stationary Hospital. I have been searching the internet and found some facts about the hospital. No9 stationary hospital would have been one of many hospitals, which were usually located near to the respective army groups. It does say 2 stationary hospitals per Army division, 400 casualties in each. No9 Stationary Hospital was located at St Nazaire from September 1914 to Le Harve from October 1914 to November 1914. Granddad Hill stated he was at the hospital, but I can not find out why. Was he injured or stationed at the unit.

Thomas Edwin Hill - Old Contemptibles World War 1

2008-01-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

The Old Contemptibles Association was a voluntary group of old soldiers who had served in the pre-war all-professional regular British Army that became the British Expeditionary Force of late 1914. They were that select band who served in France and Flanders between 5 Aug and 22 Nov 1914 and received the 1914 Star (the "Old Contemptibles" medal). The term comes from a reference to the B.E.F. by the Kaiser (or one of his generals) as "that contemptible little army". As is their way, the British soldiers inevitably took this as a reverse compliment and adopted it as their nickname.
The Association was disbanded some years ago when its members became too elderly and frail to continue their meetings and commemorative services.

World War 1 articles

2008-01-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

AndrewThorntonJul 20 2005, 10:29 AM
Unit histories and local newspapers are your best source for finding out about mobilisation and the impact this had. What sort of information are you looking for exactly?

Here are some notes that I have written based on the experiences of the four battalions of the Staffordshire Brigade (Territorial Force) that you may find useful:

Mobilisation

On the morning of Wednesday 5 August 1914, the four battalions of the Staffordshire Brigade were embodied for war service. The pre-war mobilisation scheme soon came into effect and at the various Drill Halls across the county, men reported for duty. The outlying company detachments then began to concentrate around their respective battalion headquarters. At Walsall, the 5th South Staffords were billeted at the Drill Hall in Bath Street, the George Hotel and the Town Hall. In Wolverhampton, the companies of the 6th South Staffords were dispersed to schools in the town. “A” and “H” Companies were posted at St Peter’s School, “B” and “C” Companies to Redcross Street, “D” and “F” Companies at Walsall Street, “G” and “E” Companies at Dudley Road, while the Band, Drums and Machine-Gun section were billeted at Old Hall Street. Schools were also used to accommodate the companies of the 5th North Staffords, which concentrated around the battalion’s headquarters in Hanley. At Burton-upon-Trent, the spacious environs of the Anglesey Road Maltings provided billets for the companies of the 6th North Staffords. For the civilians in these towns, the novelty of seeing armed sentries patrolling outside familiar local buildings was hard to resist and crowds surrounded the billets. The arrangements for accommodating the troops were not ideal and Captain C. A. W. Anderson, the Adjutant to the 6th North Staffords, complained that the arrangements proved detrimental to the enforcement of discipline.

All equipment was inspected, and deficient items were purchased locally. Officers were issued with £10 vouchers in order to procure items from local traders. The men were also given money to buy a set of underclothes, a shirt and a pair of socks, as not all of them had these items. However, the units often had great difficulty in securing regulation items of equipment in their immediate area. The 6th North Staffords at Burton experienced delays with the issue of blankets to the men as those bought in the town proved to be of mixed quality and were often too bulky. Troops were also provided with a “housewife”, which contained needles, thread and buttons so that soldiers could carry out their own minor repairs to their clothing. One soldier of the 6th South Staffords, on being issued with this item, remarked ruefully that: “I confess to a faint heart, when I think of myself darning my own socks in the off moments between battles”. More sobering to many of the Territorials were the distribution of field dressings, newly sharpened bayonets and the issue of identity discs, which they now wore constantly around their necks. The four battalions also had to requisition horses and wagons for their Transport Sections. In Wolverhampton, the Butler’s Brewery at Springfield provided their drays and horses to the 6th South Staffords, as well as the expertise of Frank Aulton, who immediately became the unit’s Transport Officer despite having no previous military experience. The equine recruits were to prove dangerous to many unwary soldiers in the coming days.

The Staffordshire Territorial Force Association held an emergency meeting at Stafford on 5 August 1914. Among several issues discussed at this meeting was the possibility of increasing the size of the Territorial Force in the county in light of the embodiment of the units for Home Service. Among the many ideas proposed was a suggestion from Lord Charnwood to create an organisation to give remedial military training to recruits, with a secondary role as an emergency reserve. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Waterhouse, the former Commanding Officer of the 6th Battalion, South Staffords, made a further recommendation of raising a “reserve division” for the Territorial Force and that he felt that, in Wolverhampton at least, this could be achieved at short notice by enlisting members of the National Reserve and new volunteers. Lord Dartmouth pointed out that the Territorial Force Association did not have the authority to raise any additional units unless given permission to do so by the War Office. Members of the National Reserve and the minuscule Territorial Force Reserve would meet any manpower requirements for the county’s units. Nevertheless, it was agreed by members of the Territorial Force Association to forward a proposal to the War Office that, in light of the large number of potential recruits in the larger industrial centres, the Territorial Force units in the county should be allowed to enlist these men and give them basic military training at unit Drill Halls.

Any moves proposed by the County Territorial Force Associations towards expanding the numbers of the Territorial Force were initially staunched with the appointment of The Earl Kitchener of Khartoum as Secretary of State for War on 5 August 1914. Having spent most of his career overseas, Kitchener did not have any real understanding of the Territorial Force and was sceptical of their military worth, reputedly referring to it as a ‘Town clerks’ army’. Instead of using the existing framework of Territorial Force units and the resources of the County Associations as a means of expanding the army, a function that Haldane had originally envisaged the force as performing in wartime, Kitchener decided instead to raise an entirely new force of 100,000 men to support the Regular Army. Kitchener made three further appeals for recruits during the remainder of 1914. This had a damaging effect on Territorial Force recruitment that would persist until the introduction of the Derby Scheme in November 1915, and the abolition a month later of direct enlistment into the Territorial Force. This duplication of recruiting efforts, and the resulting conflicts over limited resources was particularly damaging to the Territorial Force as County Territorial Force Associations lacked the experience in dealing with large numbers of recruits.

Kitchener’s preference was to concentrate recruiting efforts towards his “New Armies” in the early weeks of the war, with Territorial Force units only being permitted to recruit up to their peacetime establishment and were therefore unable to tap into this initial “rush to the colours” for recruits. Kitchener was not reluctant however to use the local influence of the Territorial Force Associations to aid him in achieving his initial recruiting target. On 7 August, the War Office had issued a circular to all Lords-Lieutenant requesting their support:

It is intended to enlist as soon as possible 100,000 men, and I would ask you to use your great local influence and that of the Territorial Associations to secure these necessary recruits as soon as possible.

In common with the other Presidents of the Territorial Force Associations, Lord Dartmouth complied with this directive and made a public appeal for recruits within days:

As Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, I have received an appeal from the Secretary of State at War (sic) asking for help in raising 100,000 men to form an addition to the British Army. The Territorial Force in Staffordshire is practically complete in Officers and Men. The County of Stafford has always been in the front in every patriotic movement. I now ask that the whole County, while still giving its support to the Territorial Force, be devoted to secure a prompt response to the Government’s appeal…

Territorial Force units in Staffordshire initially limited their appeal for men with previous military experience to enlist. One example was an appeal for 100 trained men who had served with either the Regular Army, reserves or Territorial Force to report to the Drill Hall at Stafford Street in Wolverhampton on 7 August to re-enlist for the 6th South Stafford. Major A. Griffiths, the officer in charge of the depot of the 5th South Staffords at Walsall, made a similar request and around 30 former Volunteers and time-expired Territorials had rejoined the battalion within days.

The Battalions March to Burton-upon-Trent

On 11 August, three of the four Staffordshire infantry battalions marched to their concentration area at Burton. In Walsall, 23 Officers and 892 Other Ranks of the 5th South Staffords paraded at Bridge Street, where the Mayor, Alderman Peter Bull, addressed the assembled battalion. After listening to his speech, and a response from Lieutenant-Colonel Fiddian Green, the battalion marched through the town to the strains of “Tommy Atkins”, en route to Whittington. Several girls were reported to have run away from home in an effort to follow their sweethearts who were serving with the battalion. In Wolverhampton, the 6th South Staffords assembled for a civic farewell ceremony in St James’s Square. While waiting the arrival of the Mayor, one of the horses pressed into service as an officer’s charger threw an orderly, Private Fox, to the ground and careered into troops and onlookers, making towards the battalion’s band. Drummer Wilkes, on seeing that the horse had bolted, dropped his drum, grabbed the reins and managed to bring the loose charger under control. A number of people had been injured during the incident but none seriously. Despite the excitement, the 6th South Staffords had their farewell ceremony and were soon marching away from their homes towards Burton. The departure of the 5th North Staffords from the Potteries was far less dramatic. The Battalion paraded in Hanley Park and after another round of speeches Lieutenant-Colonel Knight gave the order to march off towards Uttoxeter.

By 13 August, all four battalions of the Staffordshire Brigade, together with the artillery, engineers and other services from the county that formed part of the supporting troops of the North Midland Division, had arrived at Burton-upon-Trent. The masses of troops were billeted in the Maltings of the many breweries in the town, while the local Post Offices were soon besieged with Territorials eager to cash their £5 Mobilisation Bounty. The halt at Burton was brief, as on 15 August the Staffordshire units began their move by rail to the Brigade’s concentration area at Luton, where they would join their fellow Territorials of the North Midland Division from Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Training at Luton

The North Midland Division now had the role of protecting the northern approaches of London from any German landing force, and stayed in the Luton area until November. Accommodation was rudimentary, with most of the troops billeted in public buildings and under canvas. Relations between the Staffordshire Territorials and the population of Luton and nearby Dunstable appear to have been, for the most part, fairly cordial. Nevertheless, the men were sometimes regarded with suspicion by civilians, who were wary of the reputation of soldiers as being of low moral standards. The Territorials themselves occasionally fell victim to unscrupulous traders, keen to make money from the new arrivals, but incidents between the two parties were few and far between.

Soon after arriving at Luton, the Staffords began their preparation for active service. Training took on a much more serious aspect than many of the Territorials had hitherto experienced. Drills, route marches in full marching order, field days and physical training were undertaken. The officers also became accustomed to carrying out regular inspections of their men’s equipment, rations and the mysteries of the administration of the Battalion Orderly Room and “internal economy”, all under the supervision of the regular Adjutants. The increase in administrative tasks that he had to deal with particularly annoyed Lieutenant-Colonel Gretton of the 6th North Staffords, who later complained that the increase in correspondence diverted his attention from more important matters. The Staffordshire Brigade also paraded for Lord Kitchener, who inspected the four battalions at Luton Hoo on 28 September 1914.

Throughout their time at Luton, many rumours circulated around the members of the Staffordshire Brigade about possible deployment overseas. Indeed, during October, a conference of senior officers of the North Midland Division was told to prepare to move to France at the end of the month, but this came to nothing. A number of Territorial units would be posted to replace regular units in garrisons around the British Empire from September 1914. The East Lancashire Division was the first complete Territorial Force division to deploy on foreign service, arriving in Egypt and the Sudan in September 1914. Infantry battalions and artillery from the 1st Wessex and the Home Counties Divisions were sent further afield, sailing in October 1914 to India to undertake garrison duties. These two formations were followed by the 2nd Wessex Division, which arrived on the sub-continent in December 1914. Battalions drawn from the Home Counties and 1st London Divisions moved to the Mediterranean, where they relieved regular troops on Malta and Gibraltar. The 1/14th County of London Battalion, The London Regiment (London Scottish), were the first Territorial Force troops to join the British Expeditionary Force in France, landing at Le Havre on 16 September. The London Scottish were followed four days later by 1/1st Battalion, The Honourable Artillery Company, while on 22 September the 1/1st The Oxfordshire Yeomanry disembarked at Dunkirk. More Territorial Force infantry, engineers, field ambulance units and Yeomanry regiments would be posted to the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front, though not as part of their parent Territorial Force formations.

One important factor that must be considered with regard to the recruiting requirements for the Territorial Force was the conditions of service under which pre-war members served. The period of engagement in peacetime had been for four years, but on the outbreak of hostilities this was extended automatically to five years. In addition, the primary role of the Territorial Force was that of home defence and consequently not liable for service overseas. Individuals could volunteer to do so in wartime under the terms of the Imperial Service Obligation. Prior to the outbreak of war, only around 18,000 members of the force nationally had volunteered to serve overseas if required.

On 10 August 1914 the War Office had requested units of the Territorial Force to volunteer for Imperial Service, and from the evidence contained in the published histories and contemporary newspaper reports, the commanding officers of the four Staffordshire battalions immediately accepted. Lieutenant-Colonel Knight of the 5th North Staffords received the telegram from the War Office on 11 August, while his unit had halted at Checkley en route to their war station at Burton-upon-Trent, and immediately responded. He received a further telegram accepting his offer when the battalion finished their day’s march at Uttoxeter.

However, the enthusiasm of commanding officers to volunteer the services of their units for overseas service was not necessarily universal, and the individual soldiers ultimately decided if they would sign for Imperial Service. On 21 August, those units in which at least 80 per cent of their members had volunteered were allowed to recruit up to their war establishment, but by 31 August this requirement was reduced to 60 per cent. It has proved difficult to determine the level of response across all of the four battalions of the Staffordshire Brigade to the requests to volunteer for overseas service except for isolated examples. Contemporary newspaper reports are generally positive in their descriptions of the response of Territorials serving with Staffordshire units to the call to volunteer for overseas service, but provide little evidence from which to make conclusions. Unit histories are also vague in their descriptions of the subject. The authors of the War History of the 6th Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment blandly recorded that when members of the unit were asked to sign on for “Imperial Service” at Luton in September 1914:

Every man in his turn, and in full knowledge of what he was doing, destroyed the old contract, whereby his services were limited to home defence, and signed the new one, whereby he might be called upon to serve the whole world over.

More information is available on the level of response within individual sub-units. By early September, it was reported that 75 per cent of the members of the Wednesbury-based “H” Company of the 5th South Staffords had signed the Imperial Service Obligation. Another report noted that 75 per cent of the men serving with the 6th North Staffords had volunteered for service overseas by early September 1914 and that one detachment, “C” Company based at Tamworth, had three officers and 104 other ranks volunteer to serve abroad by late September 1914.

Bowers family home 1901 - Peakes Lower Row

2007-08-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

From the 1901 census the Bowers family were living inPeakes Row, Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, from a little research I found the address on some old maps, and the house would have been off Watergate Street. The property looked as if it was owned by Thomas Peake who was a brick and tile manufacturer, hence the name of Peake appearing....... According to the info I have the area was redeveloped in the 1930's and all we have left are the factories of Johnson's tiles.

Relatives from Nottingham

2007-08-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

I rec'd an ineresting e-mail the other day from new relatives in Nottingham, researching Reginald Bowers. Well he is related and was my grand dad James Bowers's brother. This interested has got me looking into the family when it was living in Tunstall, Stoke onTrent at the beginning of the century. So much so I tracked down where they lived, or I should say, what was left. I bit 'moving' - but it has sent me on another quest and I will know more on Monday, after I have researched some maps.