matchbox cover of H S Bartlett

[Herbert Stephen]

I have a aluminium matchbox cover that I assume was made by my uncle Herbert Stephen Bartlett with the cap badge of RWF one side and his name H S Bartlett Pte 611405 on the other with Dunkirk on the spine . On his medal card he has RWF with num 235164 and Lab corps 611405 , is there any info out there as to why he was in these regts and why he has a lab corp num instead of RWF one and where does Dunkirk come into it
Thanks in advance
John

[Hywyn]

No Labour, No Battle (Starling and Lee) provides that the Labour Corps numbers 603700 to around 621000 were issued May to August 1918- mainly to Prisoner of War Companies. You could look records for numbers around his to firm this up e.g 611401 Edwin Joseph Berry transfererd in from Bedfordshire regt on 25 7 1918 & allocated to 14 PoW Coy. Berry had served some months on attachment to PoW Coys prior to the official transfer.

Regarding his RWF number of 235164. It is in a block of about 45 men who transferred to RWF from 2nd 8th London Regt on 23 6 1917. The scenario is that they went to France 30 5 1917 as London Regt men under a London Regt number. They went to 8 Infantry Base Depot and from there they were transferred to RWF 23 6 1917 and posted to 15thBn RWF initially. They were with the battalion in the field on 24 6 1917. Such transfers were commonplace by this stage of the war with blocks of men being allocated/rebadged from the various IBDs to wherever they were needed.

Unfortunately the Labour Corps did not list all previous units etc on their Medal Rolls so his London Regiment is unknown. I cannot offer any suggestion on the Dunkirk aspect only that he might have been at a PoW camp in that area (if there were such things there)

[Herbert Stephen]

Thanks for this, it makes sense regarding London Regt as he lived in London, Is it worth trying and where would I get his London Regt details as regards to to the Dunkirk part , I assume that he would have been guarding German pows rather than being a prisoner
John

[Hywyn]

John

Yes, PoW guard and not a prisoner.

From what you say in the opener the Dunkirk bit relates to his Labour Corps service and not London Regiment.

His London Regiment service will have been in the UK and for those few weeks in France before being transferred to RWF. He will not have served with a London Regiment fighting battalion in France. See the scenario I set for the other 45 men in his RWF number block.