Great War>Allied Army

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.     Site Home     Great War Home     Search     Add Stories & Photos     Library     Help & FAQs  Features     Allied Army     Day by Day     RFC & RAF     Prisoners of War     War at Sea     Training for War     The Battles     Those Who Served     Hospitals     Civilian Service     Women at War     The War Effort     Central Powers Army     Central Powers Navy     Imperial Air Service     Library     World War Two  Submissions     Add Stories & Photos     Time Capsule  Information     Help & FAQs     Glossary     Volunteering     News     Events     Contact us     Great War Books     About Advertisements World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

69th Company, Machine Gun Corps    The 69th Machine Gun Company was formed Grantham, Lincolnshire on the 4th of March 1916 and joined 69th Brigade, 23rd Division at Frensham in September, as the winter set in, the Division moved to Aldershot. At the end of February 1915 they moved to Shorncliffe, Kent then to Bordon, Hampshire at the end of May for final training. They proceeded to France in the third week of August, landing at Boulogne and concentrating near Tilques. On the 5th of September 23rd Division became attached to III Corps, moving to the Merris-Vieux Berquin area, for trench familiarisation under the guidance of the 20th (Light) and 27th Divisions. They took over front line sector between Ferme Grande Flamengrie to the Armentieres-Wez Macquart road in their own right on the 14th. They fought alongside the 10th Btn. and 11th Btn. Northumberland Fusilers, the 12th and 13th battalions Durham Light Infantry and the 69th Trench Mortar Battery. During the Battle of Loos CIII and CV Brigades RFA were in action attached to 8th Division. With 23rd Division holding the front at Bois Grenier, they were relieved from that sector at the end of January 1916 and Divisional HQ was established at Blaringhem with the units concentrated around Bruay for a period of rest. On the 3rd of March they returned to the front line, taking over a sector between the Boyau de l'Ersatz and the Souchez River from the French 17th Division, with the Artillery taking over an exposed position between Carency and Bois de Bouvigny where it was subjected to heavy shelling. In early March a Tunnelling Company was established and men with a background in mining were transferred from the ranks to the Royal Engineers. In Mid April they returned to Bruay area for rest until mid May when they again took over the Souchez-Angres front, just before the German Attack on Vimy Ridge on the 21st. The brunt of the attack fell on 47th (London) Division, to the right of 23rd Division and the 23rd Divisional Artillery went into action in support of the 47th. On the 1st of June the Artillery supported 2nd Division as they undertook operations to recover lost ground. On the 11th of June the 23rd Division Infantry moved to Bomy and the artillery to Chamblain Chatelain and Therouanne to begin intensive training for the Battles of the Somme. They were in action in The Battle of Albert including the capture of Contalmaison, The Battles of Bazentin Ridge, Pozieres, Flers-Courcelette, Morval and The Battle of Le Transloy including the capture of Le Sars. In 1917 they fought in The Battle of Messines, The Battles of the Menin Road, Polygon Wood and the The First and Second Battles of Passchendaele. In November 1917 the Division moved to Italy concentrating between Mantua and Marcaria before taking over the front line at the Montello on the 4th of December. On the 1st of April 1918 the Company joined with the other MGC's of the Division to become No 23 Battalion, MGC. 24th Dec 1917 Reorganisation 21st Jan 1918 Course 5th Feb 1918 Course Ends 13th Feb 1918 Personnel 21st Feb 1918 Reorganisation If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 69th Company, Machine Gun Corps? There are:5235 items tagged 69th Company, Machine Gun Corps available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 69th Company, Machine Gun Corps during the Great War 1914-1918. Baker William Ingram. (d.7th Jun 1917) Davies MM.. Robert William. Pte. Fulbrook Frederick George. Pte. (d.7th Jun 1917) Grant Robert William. Pte. (d.7th Jun 1917) Newton J.. Pte. (d.8th Jun 1917) Pain Major William. Pte. (d.7th Jun 1917) Stewart Donald. Pte. (d.7th Jun 1917) Symes MC.. George William. 2nd Lt. All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of 69th Company, Machine Gun Corps from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. 246272 Pte. Robert William Davies MM. 69th Coy. Machine Gun Corps Robert Davies was my grandfather, he died in 1981 in Stockton on Tees, Co Durham. During the attack of the 69th Brigade on the Hill 60 Sector on 7th of June 1917. He was wounded in the wrist and was awarded the Military Medal for his actions. Later in the War my Grandfather was taken prisoner by the Germans, he finally arrived home on Stockton on Tees around March 1922. I am still in the process of trying to find more details of his history between 1917 and 1922. John Davies Add to this record. 224140 2nd Lt. George William Symes MC. 69th Company Machine Gun Corps George Symes was awarded the Military Cross and later the bar. Citation details: "69th Machine Gun Company - 2nd Lieut. George William Symes. During the attack on Le Sars on 7th of October 1916 this officer advanced along a communication trench and single-handed captured 20(twenty) Germans. After taking off the equipment of the prisoners he sent them back to our lines, while himself remaining alone to guard the trench. This officer also handled the guns with marked ability and has frequently made bold and valuable reconnaissances. Throughout the operation at Le Sars this officer has done work which only his great powers of physical endurance could have sustained. His coolness, judgement and courage have been of the utmost value to the Brigade." Lt Colonel, A A & 0 M G 23rd Division 69th Company, Machine Gun Corps. "2nd Lieut. (temp. Lieut) George William Symes, M.C. Has carried out his duties with unfailing courage, ability and cheerfulness since February 1916, showing great gallantry at all the actions in which the Brigade had taken part. Throughout one battle he commanded his section with conspicuous ability. Meeting suddenly a hostile party when alone with his servant, he went straight at them, killing two with his revolver, and wounding and scattering the remainder who were afterwards captured. He again commanded his section with conspicuous success and gallantry in a subsequent Battle. Awarded the Bar to Military Cross, January 1918." March 1918, Brigadier General, Commanding 69th Infantry Brigade. Anne Young Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

Links Suggest a link

The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers. This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. Hosted by: The Wartime Memories Project Website is archived for preservation by the British Library Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV - All Rights Reserved - We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.