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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Cpl. Alexander John Richardson
British Army 1st Battalion, D Company Notts & Derby Regiment
from:Welbeck, Worksop
Alexander, originally from Paddington, England, was employed as a motor driver at Welbeck for at least a year before the outbreak of the first World War. At 18 yrs old, he enlisted at Worksop on Sept. 2, 1914 and was posted to the 4th Battalion Notts & Derby for his basic training, which I believe was at Sunderland. Alec landed in France on Jan 4th, 1915 and was posted to the 1st Battalion Notts & Derby, joining the battalion on Jan. 22, 1915. He was wounded in the abdomen by shrapnel on Feb 25, 1915 while in the line, but stayed in France and returned to the battalion. It is unknown how long he was recovering, but I assume he luckily missed the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.
Alexander joined the Tank Corps on Dec. 28, 1916 because of his mechanical abilities, originally with "A" battalion, 77047. He was a driver in action during the June 7th, 1917 Battle of Messines. Shortly after, he became part of the "Hush Operation", a plan to land on the Belgium coast with troops and tanks. According to my grandfather's notes this plan was "duly washed out" and his group returned to England to become the core of the 16th battalion, Tank Corps. He was an instructor (including bayonet and physical training) during The Tank Corps build up in the first half of 1918.
The 16th battalion, Tank Corps landed in Sept. 1918 and took part in the Battle of the Selle, driving the Germans back. Alexander was wounded when his tank was hit by a shell on October 5/6, 1918 in the Ramicourt valley during the Battle of Montbrehain. He stayed in France and rejoined his battalion after recovering, promoted to Sgt. on Nov. 30, 1918. He survived the flu in late Dec. 1918 and was sent to the UK on Jan 30, 1919 for demobilization.
His notes state the he worked with the Air Ministry, assisting in the return of parts to Leyland motors for a year. Alexander sailed to Canada in April 1920, started a family, and lived until 1981.
I remember him talking about his war experiences around the dinner table only when asked. He remembered mostly being "cold and wet". My father told me he saw many horrible things, lost close friends and would wake up at night screaming.
I ask my teenage children, who watch their TV's, chat and text on their phones, listening to the Ipod's and wear the name brand clothing, "can you imagine going to war at 18 years old, living in water filled trenches all year round with lice and rats, always hungry, being shot at, shelled, bombed, watching your comrades be blown apart or shot, dieing in front of you for almost 5 years".
They can't.
Pte. Alexander Lester Richardson
British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
Cpl. Alexander Richardson
British Army Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
from:Alnwick, Northumberland
Alexander Richardson was a signaller with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Cpl. Alfred Reginald Richardson
British Army 8th Btn Bedfordshire Regiment
from:Bedford
(d.20th Dec 1915)
Albert Reginald Ricardson was 31 years old, he was my Great Uncle and he died in the field Flanders Ypres. Albert Left a wife Amy and 5 year old son Edward. Based on his service number, Albert enlisted very early in September 1914. This was during the huge rush to answer Kitchener’s famous ‘call to arms’ that created three new armies of 100,000 men each in September. After being posted to the 8th Battalion, he trained around Brighton, Reigate and Blackdown, and was involved in building what were called the London Defences. He went to France on 30 August 1915, along with his battalion when they were mobilised for foreign service. His were one of the very few units to be engaged in the Battle of Loos in September, before his division had even been into the trenches. After a few months of trench warfare, Albert was killed during the Gas and artillery attack on his battalion’s section of trench north-east of Ypres. The bulk of the artillery was thrown at them 19 December so Albert was either killed in the shelling as it continued, or he died from wounds or gas the following day. This was also the first use of Phosgene gas in history, which was a particularly nasty and effective gas when first released. As he is remembered on the Menin Gate memorial, his body was either not found or his grave was lost during the fighting that continued in the area for 3 more years.
Car Richardson
Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detchament
My Great Aunt, Car Richardson, was an artist who worked as a VAD nurse and sketched many of her charges. Records show she worked at Wainfleet, Boxmoor House, Boxmoor and Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital, The Old Place, Lincoln.
You can see the sketches at this link. Any further information about the soldiers particularly welcomed.
Pte. Douglas Andrew Liston Richardson
British Army 7th (Merioneth & Montgomery) Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Bdr. Ernest Richardson
British Army 26th Battery Royal Field Artillery
from:Folksworth, Peterborough
(d.21st September 1917)
Bdr. Fred Richardson
British Army Royal Field Artillery
from:Darlaston, Staffordshire
(d.22nd Dec 1917)
My great grandfather served with the Royal Field Artillery from 1914 to 1917 when he died. He was Fred Richardson, Bombadier 31944. He was sent home and died 22/12/1917. He is buried at James Bridge Cemetery in Darlaston.
I am trying to find out which battle he was injured in, which hospital he was treated in England and as yet I have no photographs of him. If anyone can help in any way I would be so grateful.
Pte. Frederick William "Fred" Richardson
British Army 18th Btn. London Regiment
from:London
My father, Frederick William Richardson, was born the eldest of 12 in South London on 27th Sep 1899. He served in the the 18 Battalion, London Irish Rifles. He landed at Le Havre in France and on 27th August 1918 was severely wounded in the head by shrapnel from a bursting shell. He was unconscious in the field hospital after rescue and had an operation to remove some of the shrapnel. My father was repatriated and operated on (trepanned) but not all the shrapnel could be removed as it was in the brain and adjacent. He convalesced at Roehampton as a bluecoat.
His father was also serving in France. Same name aged 39 (He had been a boxer, champion of England)in his youth and gave exhibition boxing bouts to the troops.) He was notified of my father's injuries and had to hitchhike to the field hospital.
He married my mother in 1927 but suffered all his life from the brain injury and the shrapnel which moved from time to time. He suffered from Jacksonian epilepsy all his life regularly fitting and eventually received a 100% disability pension. When I was 17 he had 101 consecutive epileptic fits and from then on was hospitalised. He was in Headington Hill Hall, Oxford and later the Queen Alexandra nursing home for service personnel in Worthing. He died aged 70 in 1969, with little memory left. A sad end to a brave volunteer infantryman, so young at his enlistment. I feel he was ill served during his life and my mother had to work to support the poor pension and to care for him as he became more and more dependant.
George Richardson
British Army
Pte. George Richardson
British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
Pte. George Richardson
British Army 6th Btn. East Yorkshire Regiment
from:2 Clock House, Bebside Furnace, Northumberland,
(d.1st Oct 1918)
Pte H R Richardson
British Army 19th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers
(d.26th Jul 1917)
Richardson, H, R. Private, 47910, Died on 26th July 1917.
Buried in Tincourt New British Cemetery, in grave I. C. 7.
From the 19th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers Roll of Honour.
I. Richardson
British Army 10th Btn Royal Irish Rifles
(d.1st Jul 1916)
Pte. J. Richardson
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Durham City
J Richardson was wounded in 1916
Pte. J. Richardson
British Army 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Choppington
J Richardson was wounded in 1916
Pte. James Richardson
British Army 6th Btn. Yorkshire Regiment
(d.22nd Aug 1915)
L/Cpl. James Henry Richardson
British Army 22nd Btn. Durham Light Infantry
from:Southwick, Sunderland
(d.26th Mar 1918)
James Richardson was the son of Henry and Isabella Richardson of 4 Varna Street, Southwick, Sunderland. He was the only of eight children to survive into adulthood. He worked for some time in Wearmouth Colliery but later became an operator in a local cinema. He enlisted into the Durham Light Infantry on 10th December 1915 at the age of 21. He served until his death, aged 24, on the Somme. He is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial in France.
Piper. James Clelland Richardson VC
Canadian Expeditionary Force 16th Btn. Canadian (Manitoba) Regiment
(d.9th Oct 1916)
Jimmy Richardson was killed in action on the 9th of Octover 1916, his remains were discovered in 1920 and buried in the Adanac Military Cemetery in Somme, France.
An extract from the London Gazette No. 30967 dated 18th Oct. 1918 records the following, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, prior to attack, he obtained permission from his C.O. to play his company 'over the top'. As the company approached the objective, it was help up by very strong wire and came under intense fire, which caused heavy casualties and demoralised the formation for the moment. Realising the situation, Piper Richardson strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness. The effect was instantaneous. Inspired by his splendid example, the company rushed the wire with such fury and determination that the obstacle was overcome and the position captured. Later, after participating in bombing operations he was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and prisoners. After proceeding about 200 yards, Piper Richardson, remembered that he had left his pipes behind. Although strongly urged not to do so, he insisted on returning to recover his pipes. He has never been seen since, and death has been presumed accordingly owing to lapse of time."
The mystery of Jimmy Richardson's Bagpipes
Richardson's bagpipes were believed to have been lost in the mud of the Somme for almost 90 years until 2002, when the Pipe Major of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) responded to an Internet posting. He discovered that Ardvreck preparatory school in Scotland had possession of a set of bagpipes with the unique Lennox tartan on them, the same tartan used by the pipers of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion. A British Army Chaplain, Major Edward Yeld Bate, had found the pipes in 1917 and brought them back home after the war to a school in Scotland where he was a teacher. The pipes were unidentified for several decades, and served as a broken, mud-caked, and blood-stained reminder of an unknown piper from the Great War.
Andrew Winstanley of The Canadian Club and Pipe Major Roger McGuire were largely responsible for the investigative work into identifying Richardson's pipes. With the support of The Canadian Club and a group of patriotic citizens, Pipe Major McGuire travelled to Scotland in January 2003 to help identify the pipes that had been displayed at Ardvreck School in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, for over seven decades. Tomas Christie, a parent of students there and also a piper, initiated the search for the origin of the pipes.
Their collective effort led to conclusive evidence that identified the pipes as those played by Piper Richardson on that fateful day in 1916. An anonymous donor facilitated the purchase of the pipes on behalf of the citizens of Canada. In October 2006, a party of dignitaries visited Scotland and received the pipes from the Headmaster of Ardvreck School for repatriation to Canada. On 8 November 2006, the bagpipes were officially repatriated when troops from The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) placed them at the British Columbia Legislature as a reminder of a generation's valour. They are currently on public display. There is a statue of him on display at the museum in Chilliwack, BC.
Sgt. James Baker Richardson
British Army 15th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
from:Sunderland
Sargeant James Baker Richardson was born on 18th June 1875. He was my great grandfather. James served in the 15th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry during WW1. He had been career soldier and had fought in the Boer war. On leaving the army he worked in the shipyards (Doxfords I believe). When WW1 broke out he re-enlisted. He was 40 years old. He was reported missing presumed killed on 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The 15th DLI were part of 64 Division fighting in and around Fricourt. By early August my great grandmother received a postcard to say that he was in fact a prisoner of war. My great grandfather remained a POW for the duration of the war. My great grandmother died in 1917 at the age of 39, leaving eight children.
L/Cpl. James Andrew Richardson
British Army 247th Company Machine Gun Corps
from:Edge Hill, Liverpool
Pte. John Thomas Richardson
British Army 15 Battalion Durham Light Infantry
from:6 North Ter, New Coundon, Bishop, Auckland, Durham
(d.16th Sep 1916)
John Richardson was my great uncle. He joined the Durham Light Infantry in August 1915 as a volunteer. He was in the 6th Battalion (3769) and then went onto the 15th Battalion in July 1916. In September 1916 he was killed in action. His name is on the Thiepval Memorial.
I am looking for any information and photos that could tell me more.
Pte John George Richardson
British Army 19th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers
from:7, Castle Square, Morpeth, Northumberland.
(d.28th March 1918)
Richardson, John, George, Private 19/822, Aged 29 years, Killed in action on 28th March 1918.
Remembered on the Pozieres Memorial panel 16 to 18.
Husband of Jane Richardson, of 7, Castle Square, Morpeth, Northumberland.
From the Northumberland Fusiliers Roll of Honour.
Pte. John Elder Richardson
Brithish Army 6th Btn Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
from:Pontefract
(d.15th Sep 1916)
Pte. John Richardson
British Army 1st Battalion Royal Scots
(d.25th June 1915)
John Richardson of the 1st Battalion Royal Scots died of wounds and is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension.
Pte. John Richardson
British Army 14th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
from:Jarrow
(d.18th Sep 1916)
John Richardson enlisted in Jarrow and served in the 14th Battalion Durham Light Infantry. He died on the 18th September 1916 and is remembered at St. Paul's Church and on the Thiepval Memorial. His medal card records the award of the 1915 Star, War and Victory Medals also that he died. He was born in Jarrow.
Able.Sea. John Richardson
Royal Navy HMS Viknor
(d.13th Jan 1915)
John Richardson served in the Royal Naval Reserve and was on board HMS Viknor when she was sunk near Tory Island off the coast of Donegal with the loss of all hands. He is remembered at Palmer Cenotaph, St Paul's Church and the Plymouth Naval Memorial. He was a Greaser by trade.
Pte. John Asshell Richardson
British Army 10th Btn. East Kent Regiment
from:Farningham, Kent
(d.21st Sep 1918)
John Richardson served with the 10th Battalion, East Kent Regiment (the Buffs) and died on the 21st September 0918. He is remembered on the Vis en Artois Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.
Pte. John Henry Richardson
British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
S/Sgt. John Leis Richardson MID.
British Army Royal Army Medical Corps
from:County Durham
John Richardson was my father, gave wrong age. I own a notebook setting out where his ship was from May to January, troops carried, ports of call. No year is mentioned. For example.
- November. Allied Fleet sailed past on route to Constantinople. 45 ships.
- December 20 Sailed from Malta as Ambulance Transport
- December 22 Arrived Taranto.
Page 18 of 51
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