Research request

[Mr Grimsdale]

Hello there!

I'm trying to trace the movements of Albert Henry Capsey during the Great War.

From his medal roll it seems he was initially attached to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Regimental number 26901), before transferring to the Monmouth Regiment (Reg. no. 292198), and then the Machine Gun Corps (Reg. no. 152367) before joining the London Regiment (after the war I believe).

I would appreciate advice on locating which battalion of the RWF he would have served in, the date he initially joined, the date he transferred to the Monmouth Regiment, why he would have transferred from one regiment to another etc.

I'd also be interested to know why he initially joined a Welsh regiment when he was born and brought up in London.

I believe he may have been underage when he joined.

Thank you in anticipation.

[Baconwallah]

Some answers:

Pte 26901 Capsey joined the 18th Bn Royal Welch Fusiliers, also known as the 2nd London Bn RWF. It was raised in Feb 1915. The Bn was reformed as a local reserve Bn on 01/09/1916, which was probably the reason all able bodied men (possibly including Pte Capsey, although the six digit number would indicate a transfer after Feb 1918) were transferred to other (fighting) battalions. The transfer to the Machine Gun Corps was probably in April-May 1918 (I have a transfer date of 28/02/1918 for 149126 Baker and a transfer date of 30/07/1918 for 166118 Jones).

Hope this helps.

John

[Mr Grimsdale]

Many thanks for the response John. Very helpful indeed - Not to mention quick!


Regards,
Gary

[Hywyn]

Re the underage issue.
1911 Census has an Albert Henry Capsey aged 12 at 78 Cambridge Rd, Camberwell. (Father same name, mother Elizabeth)

Assuming (and its very likely) he's your man then London Baptism has him as baptised 15 6 1898 when their address was 120 Wells St, Camberwell.

Enlistment for this RWF number as John points out is Feb/March 1915.


Medal card for 26901 has him going to France 7 1 1916 so he is 17 going over.

Age enlisting/going to theatre is beyond me. i.e whether an 16 yr old could join the Regulars but not the Service Battalions etc (the 18th was a Service Bn). Maybe one of the others could comment. He wasn't far off 17 at enlistment given he may have been born some weeks before the baptism.

His brother Frederick was Pte S/15255 in the Rifle Brigade (extant papers)

Hywyn

[Mr Grimsdale]

Hywyn

Thanks for the additional info. You have the right man alright - my grandad actually. I had the medal list for him outlining the regiments he served with but not the when and where of signing up or the likely dates of moving between the regiments, so you and John have been very helpful on that score.

I did know about Frederick, who wasn't quite so lucky, and I have had the opportunity of visiting his grave amongst the many others in a cemetery adjacent to Delville Wood as part of a WW1 tour. A sobering experience. On a more positive note I was constantly impressed by the ongoing good work carried out by the CWGC.

Thank you again.
Gary