My Grandfathers Alfred (Bill) Cooper record

**Baconwallah** · 18-08-2011, 23:51

On further reflection the Wm Cooper with the ASC was not the man we are looking for. The search continues...

John

**Baconwallah** · 19-08-2011, 00:31

I could find only three service or pension records for men named William Cooper in the Royal Welch. out of ten listed in the Medal Index Cards. None of the three fits the description: one was younger, one was much older, one was discharged medically unfit the same day he attested.

No luck at all, Martin.

As a last resort you could ask Brian Owen, the RWF Museum curator. The e-mail address is on the Museum website. Another possible source of information is Graham Knight in Birmingham, who knows a lot about the Brummies who went to war. You can probably reach him through http://www.rwfphotos.co.uk/ or through his son Pete at http://www.oldcontemptibles.com/

If you find out more about your grandfather, please share it here with us!

John

Birmingham Fusilier · 17-09-2011, 18:21

Hello John,

Pete here. I have just picked this thread up via a backlink to my website. I will have a look and see what we can do I will pass the details on to Dad (Graham Knight). I would find it highly unlikely that the Cadbury record would be incorrect. Their archives are very methodical. I think there is a copy of their records in Birmingham University Library. I will check when I am next there.

Hope you are keeping well John?

Regards
Pete
http://www.oldcontemptibles.com

**Baconwallah** · 17-09-2011, 20:07

Good to hear from you again, Pete! It's been too long...

Any help with Wm Cooper would be appreciated. The Cadbury archives were very likely right, but lacking a service record it's impossible to say which Wm Cooper of the ten or so in the MIC index they mean. Martin doesn't have a clue.

How's the univ work going?

John

Birmingham Fusilier · 18-09-2011, 20:36

Hello John,

I will speak to Brian Owen. I was down at the archives at Wrexham a couple of weeks ago the Archives have now been completely moved and from what I saw a good job of it too!

The Uni work is nearly over I just have the dissertation to write up. I have set myself a bit of an impossible task I think. The Question I have chosen in the end was Were the 2nd Battalion RWF an "elite" fighting unit. They are certainly qouted a such in several books notably Ashworth's Live and Let Live and Paddy Griffith's Battle Tactics. Most who qoute the 2nd as being "elite" often refer back to Graves. I have looked for any other evidence other than Graves to support this but have turned up nothing. I have managed to get a line from Stockwell's Diary but otherwise nothing else.

The UNi felt there was not enough mileage in doing a dissertation on Frank Richards which was a bit disappointing but he will feature strongly as I want to use the original manuscript to sign post why Graves should not be trusted with the history but I haven't started on the journey yet. I need to pull my finger out as I only have 5 weeks left to do the 12,000 words.

Best regards

**Baconwallah** · 18-09-2011, 20:57

Yes, Brian told me you were his first researcher at the King's Mill.

Was 2 RWF an elite unit? What, to begin with, made an elite unit?

I don't think 2 RWF was an elite unit in the way some Australian and Canadian units were elite. They were an ordinary infantry battalion, perhaps a shade better than most others, but does that make them elite? With the variable quality of the replacement officers, and the questionable reinforcements with double hernias in 1918, it would have been very difficult to be more than just average, I think.

Best regards, also to your parents,

John