Three Mawbey brothers in World War One

[katrinamawbey]

Hi everyone, Im not exactly sure where to start with researching military records but ive given it a go!

I recently found on ancestry that 3 of my great uncles were participants in the first war. Their names are Joseph Mawbey (born 1888 Glamorgan), Walter Mawbey (born 1890 Westmorland) and Arthur Mawbey (born 1893 Totley, Derbyshire).

The records found for Joseph show that he entered the war in Feb-March 1915, with the 18th Battalion i think for middlesex? One of the records shows his advancement through the ranks, but as im not from a military background, i can only pick out the obvious promotions.. I think he went from private through to sergeant then to a ''R2MS''?? (im sorry i have no idea what that might have been). The note below this says that he was a candidate for commision and the next rank he received was a Quartermaster Sergeant. I do know that he received 5 medals through the war and saw through to the end. After that, i am unsure as to what happpened to him, whether he stayed in the army and took part in WW2 or left. 

For Walter, i know very little. Other than he was KIA. He died on the 7th of July, 1915. He has a gravestone in the Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery, Heuvelland, West Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot/Row/Section J grave 45.

Arthur... well again, i dont know much about his involvement. The records found for him show he was in the Labour Corps. I think he was originally in the Yorkshire Light Infantry as on his record, it has been crossed out. There is also a note saying 'Malaria Base, not available for a theatre of war where malaria is prevelant. His number for the Yorkshire light infantry was 20983 and for the Labour Corps it was 389197. He also joined in January 1915. There are some other records attached to Arthur, but i am finding it difficult to read them.


My reasoning for posting is i am hoping that someone might be able to point me in the direction where i can actually find out which engagements they took part in, where they went and what exactly happened to Walter. Any help with these three will be greatly appreciated. As i said, im not from a military background so i apologise if i have made any mistakes in my research.

Thanks in advance!!

[mmm45]

Hi
Heres Josephs units brief outline.

18th (Service) Battalion (1st Public Works Pioneers)
Formed in London on 19 January 1915 by Lt-Col. John Ward MP. Moved to Alexandra Palace, going on in May 1915 to Rayleigh.
July 1915 : moved to Clipstone Camp and attached to 33rd Division as Pioneer Battalion. Moved in August to Salisbury Plain.
15 November 1915 : landed at Le Havre

He was a RQMS Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant....responsible for all the equipment,weaponry etc of the unit and he was promoted to Warrant Officer.
18th batt were Pioneers ie they dug trenches,dugouts and emplacements for other troops frequently under fire from artillery.
What background did he have? the PW prefix on his number is for Public Works battalion.

He MAY be mentioned in the unit war diary as he has a top ranking within the unit RQMS/WO2 were mentioned often.The War Diary is at Kew.
Wherever 33rd Division Fought you would find the Pioneers in same area.

Does Arthurs medal index card( if you have it?) mention the word " list"......I think he would have been with KOYLI and maybe caught Malaria so was moved to the Labour Corps away from frontline fighting but still employable if it says list anywhere it means he was discharged to pension.


Walter was also KOYLI

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=155387

I would think that the closeness of the KOYLI numbers that Arthur and Walter ( 20981,20983)enlisted together in Doncaster early in the war

Hope this helps

Ady

[mmm45]

Walters entry on Soldiers Died In Gt War has following:
Born Staveland Westmoreland,Enlisted Doncaster 1st Batt KOYLI
 Pte 20981  KIA 7/7/15

Only 3 Lads were KIA that day so it may have been a shell?
Pte John Higgins 12322
Pte Charles Hogg 3/420
and Walter

Again the war diary will let you know what they were up to on the day he was killed.

Ady

[mmm45]

http://www.1914-1918.net/33div.htm

This will give an outline of 33rd Divs war.There is a book on the history of 33rd Div

Ady

[ainslie]

W. Mawbey's headstone at Kemmel has been photographed by the War Graves Photographic Project and you can get a copy by email or on paper, for a small fee, via their website: just enter the name in the search box on the main page.
http://www.twgpp.org/contact.php
You can then click on the name to see more detail, probably taken from the CWGC  Register.

[katrinamawbey]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies!!!!

I dont think i have Arthurs medical card... i just seem to have bits and pieces related to him. There are a couple of correspondances though that does suggest he contracted malaria as suggested by mmm45.

One is a message to the commanding officer at the Labour Corps in Ripon saying:

the following extract of letter BLK/AL/18116 dated 26/7/18 from A.A.G. G.H.Q. B.S.F. is forwarded for your information

''It is notified for your information that the undermentioned left Salonika en route for England on 24/7/18 under authority of war office cablegram 46784 A.G.L. dated 29/11/17

Medical classification :- Malaria case -  not available for a theatre of war where malaria is prevalent

389197 L/Cpl. Mawbey A. 818th Company (with his address at the time)
Kindly have this mans A.F.B. 103 and A.F.B. 178 endorsed accordingly

[katrinamawbey]

Also, thank you for finding out the information, I dont suppose there is any easier way to getting hold of information held at Kew as i am not able to get down to london to view the records..

All three brothers were involved with the railway tunneling and mining so i can see how Joseph advanced quite easily thoughout the war. As far as i am aware, people who worked in these areas werent forced to join the military were they??

[mmm45]

You will be able to get Medal Index Card info from Ancestry if you can get access?
Also  most surname "M" Surviving records have yet to be put online at Ancestry so may be a case of waiting out.
You can order copies of war diaries online at the NA Docs online site.

818 Divisional Employment Company was formed in September 1917 with Labour Corps.

Ady

[katrinamawbey]

Hi again, thanks for the reply Ady,

I did try to find the war diary on the NA... however i must have been having a very blonde moment and paid for the wrong battalion I ended up with the second Battalion instead of the first.

Unfortunately i just cannot get to grips with the national archive lol! I was just wondering if it was possible for someone to send me a link directing me to the correct battalion?? I would really appreciate it!!

I also contacted a living relative of Joseph and they kindly told me why Joseph received the Croix de Guerre. Apparently he saved the King of Belgium's horses from a blazing stable. I was rather impressed with that! Just thought i would share it with you all!