206607 L/Cpl Albert Arthur Wykes British Army 2nd Btn. Black Watch from:West Ham (d.18th Jun 1917) Albert Wykes was a 2nd Cousin of my wife. It would appear he served in the Royal Field Artillery No 99081 and also the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) No s/10238. He is shown as having died from his wounds. Can anybody explain why he would have served in 3 different Regiments? I understand that some men who had been wounded or were unfit for Front Line Duty transferred to the Labour Corps, but I am unable to work out in which order he served in the RFA and the Royal Highlanders and how would a cockney come to be in the Black Watch, any suggestions please.
Editor's Note: As Albert's record on CWGC shows him as being with the Black Watch, and transferred to the 13th Coy Labour Corps, it is reasonably safe to assume that he was with the Artillery as his first unit. It is quite common for men to serve with more than one unit, if injured and taken out of the front line for treatment, their place in the regiment would have to be filled by another man to maintain unit strength. On returning to duty they would be assigned to which ever unit required additional personne, so the regional identity of the regiments soon became muddled. Or a man with specialist skills might be transferred from one unit to another if there was a shortage of skilled men in another unit. The Labour Corps was largely made up of men who were not fully fit for front line fighting, so it is possible that Albert was injured or taken ill whilst with the Black Watch and transferred to the Labour Corps for a period of recovery.
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