More info on James Callcott (served ~1922-1934)

Hi, I'm looking for more info about my Grandad's service history.

In summary this is what I now know:

• His name was James (middle name maybe Joseph) Callcott (rank unknown) born in 1907 - there is some question as to whether he used that name which always makes it fun
• He joined the army at age 12 in Ireland (probably Dublin) around the end of WW1 (not sure at age 12 on what basis that may be)
• His father was possibly a Sergeant-Major in the Inniskillings or Irish Fusilers so he probably joined one of them.
• He switched to the Welch Fusiliers - I would guess after the disbandment of the 2 bn Irish regs in 1922
• He was a batman (don't know who to) and musician in the army.
• He spent time in Palestine and Malta before demobbing in 1934 at a base on Salisbury Plain.
• As he was deaf in one ear he was refused re-enlistment for WW2 and so joined the home guard.

I guess the first step is to confirm what regiment he was in and where he served. As this was the inter-war period I guess it gets missed a lot but if my grandfather was in the army for 16 years then I guess he was involved in all sorts of policing actions etc so I'd like to know more about them.


Hopefully these kind of records have survived so if anyone here has access to them (or can direct me to them online) then that would be great. I have tried ancestry.com without success.

Thanks

Welcome Batmancs.

I'm assuming the info you have is all based on family tales, which would normally mean some latitude on the accuracy of the info. For example I don't think either the 1st or 2nd Bn served in Palestine during the period 1922-39. However as a Bandsman it likely that he would have been involved in small one-off musical engagements, so he may have got there.

The musician role is most likely correct. Infantry regiments had "Bandboys" so that would account for him joining the military at a young age.

Our 2nd Battalion arrived in Ireland in 1919 remaining there until 1922 when it moved to Wales based at Pembroke Dock. They were the "Home" battalion, remaining in the UK and Germany until they commenced their foreign tour in 1931, setting sail for Gib where they were to remain until 1934. They then travelled to Hong Kong.

The 1st Battalion was the foreign service battalion immediately after the Great War spending their time in India and the Sudan during the period 1919-1932. They were involved in the Wazirstan Campaign in India during the period 1921-23.

The 1st and 2nd Bns both met up in Gibraltar in April 1932, whilst the 1st Bn was in the process of returning to the UK.

In 1934 the 1st Bn was based at Tidworth, which would fit in with your Gfathers demob on Salisbury Plain.

Do you have any documentary evidence of his service with the RWF. If you have his service number it would be fairly easy to obtain his service records.

:yes:

I've just spotted your other post, so that answers my question about documentary evidence. On small glimmer may be the Waziristan Campaign. If he received the medal bar for that campaign, his name would appear on the relevant medal roll. Although the timeline is quite tight. Hopefully one of our medal experts could advise?

To the best of my knowledge, 14 was the minimum age for boy soldiers.

John

Wow quick response thanks all.

Unfortunately I have no paperwork whatsoever so family stories is all we have. My parents emigrated to Australia the year before he died and my grandmother did not keep any of his effects. I get the impression that my grandad never really settled into civilian life after his 16 years in the army.

My dad specifically remembers him mentioning Malta and the middle east but he never heard him speak of India... but there again he never really spoke about the war. The implication though was that he spent quite a long time at a number of places overseas so maybe he was in the 1st bn as the 2nd only got to Gibraltar in this period. He would have been aged 14-16 during the Waziristan campaign so would he have received a medal in that case?

However my dad collected fag cards (cigarette cards) as a kid and he remembers him pointing out the Welch Fusiliers and saying that that was his regiment. He remembers the soldier on the card wore an apron and carried an axe which from 20 mins googling seems to imply the pic was of a pioneer soldier. I expect only part of a regiment are pioneers?

I thought that if he was a batman it would mean that he would move around to follow his officer up through the chain of command etc. My dad thought that he may have served a Brigadier General at some stage but again he's not sure - might be just wishful thinking. Would he still be attached to a regiment in that case? Also a batman would be at least lance corporal, higher if he was serving a Brigadier?

My great-grandfather <insert name here> Callcott was a sergeant major brought over to Ireland (prior to 1907) possibly from the Chester area to server in the Inniskillings/Irish fusiliers (my dad can't remember if it was one or both). He married a local Irishwoman and was involved in the siege of the post office in Dublin 1916. His son, my 9 year old grandad, apparently fetched fresh water for the troops. It might explain why the regiment would take him on at an early age and maybe not with the right name. Obviously he would have had to leave Ireland with the army about 1922 although I can't confirm dates. I have no further info on my great-grandfather although it would follow that he also returned with the RWF.

A great-grandad on my mothers side may have been inside the Dublin post office during the siege which is interesting.

Are there any surviving regimental records of sign-up and demobbing? As a batman I don't see him getting the opportunity to win bravery medals but if I could find the officer he was assigned to then maybe he wrote memoirs etc. Maybe there were group photo's where my dad could pick him out?

I'll pick my old mans brains for more info.. he's 74 now ;)

Thanks again.

I've had some luck with my family tree in the last few weeks. I can confirm that my grandfathers name was James Callcott and that he probably attended the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin as his brothers had also done so. This explains his entering the army at 12 in his words. I can guess that at least one of his brothers also joined the British army in Dublin.Jonathan (Jonas) Callcott (my great grandfather) was from Staffordshire and would also have served with one of the regiments in Dublin. He came to Ireland with the army sometime between 1881 and about 1895. The 1881 census record tells me he was in the RA in Devon at age 20. He was the caretaker of a military cemetery in Dublin in 1911 (I assume this was Arbour Hill Cemetery which was the chief British military cemetery). I don't know if he was still in the army in that capacity.I'm still searching for military records to get their service numbers. This regiment was definately mentioned as one of theirs.

Late on parade again, but I can confirm there is no man by the name of Callcott on the India General Service Medal roll for the Waziristan campaigns. Also, as Al has pointed out, RWF did no deploy to Palestine pre war, however around 40 men served on attachment to other Regiments, but again no trace of James.

However, it is not all doom and gloom, I believe James' service number to be 4183785.

Wow thanks a lot Richard. It begs the question how did you manage to find that number given the apparent info black hole or shouldn't I ask? ;)
Now what to do with the number hmmm. I cant relate it to anything on ancestry.com but I do have my grandfathers death certificate. I was going to apply to the MOD for his service records and that number will certainly help for that.

Based on that number are you able to confirm which units he served with? Would it be hard to check for a record for my g. grandfather Jonathan (or Jonas) Callcott as below? I have his death certificate coming from the UK so I'll send the two off to the MOD together.

I have found out much more about great uncles etc who served in WW1, generally in the RFA, RGA, North/South Staffs, and West Yorks/Lancs regt's so its frustrating that I can't find much on those closer to myself.

Anyhoo I'm not discouraged and I greatly appreciate all the help. :)