Inland water royal engineers, where to start looking for information

[Poppy Hill]

I have just found out that my great grandfather was in the Royal Engineers inland water transport courps. I found his enlistment page but nothing else. I have no idea where to start looking. His name is William Arthur Searle, regimental no. 233062, dob.abt 1877. He enlisted at Greenwich in 1917. I would love to know where he served and what he may have done.

[ShaunJ]

I found his enlistment page but nothing else

There are many pages to his army file which is viewable on both FindMyPast and Ancestry. Just click on the arrow at the side to move on to the next image.

[MaxD]

His record as you can see is mostly unreadable.  However, the military history sheet records him serving first in UK 9 Jan 1917 to 30 Mar 1917 then with the BEF (France/Flanders) 31 Mar 1917 to Feb 1918 when he was posted to the depot (that was in Kent). He entered Aberdare military hospital in Feb 1918 and died there 11 April 1918.
The unit he served with in France was No 1 Port Construction Company.  They do not seem to have left a war diary so initially you should look on the net for general info on the Inland Waterways and Docks element of the Royal Engineers who did much work on the French and Belgian ports and the canals.  (They are notoriously difficult to pin down!)

MaxD

[ShaunJ]

His record as you can see is mostly unreadable.

I disagree - there's a lot there - for instance about the accident that happened to him in France and the illness that killed him in Wales.

[MaxD]

True, I've read it all - I should have said "of which some is unreadable".  My guess was that it was worth highlighting some of it which Poppy may have been able to read but not necessarily "translate"

MaxD

[ShaunJ]

His entry in the "National Roll of the Great War" (which would have been submitted by his family) says that he was "blown up by shell explosion" and "invalided home with shell-shock and gas poisoning from the effects of which he unfortunately died ".  The army record does not mention any of that. It says that he hurt himself slipping on frost while attending to a crane as watchman on night duty on 26 December 1917. Admitted to hospital in Aberdare in January 1918 suffering from debility.  Cause of death in April 1918 was heart disease and malignant disease of the colon.

[philipsearching]

His entry in the "National Roll of the Great War" (which would have been submitted by his family) says that he was "blown up by shell explosion" and "invalided home with shell-shock and gas poisoning from the effects of which he unfortunately died ".  The army record does not mention any of that. It says that he hurt himself slipping on frost while attending to a crane as watchman on night duty on 26 December 1917. Admitted to hospital in Aberdare in January 1918 suffering from debility.  Cause of death in April 1918 was heart disease and malignant disease of the colon.

And another family legend goes up in flames!  It is sad but true that more than one family invented heroic exploits for servicemen who died during wars.  And an object lesson to us in separating myth from fact.

[ChrisJohnCoops]

This image might be of interest to you. A newspaper page depicting all that was known about the RE Inland Water Transport Company's HQ at Richborough in Kent. It looks a bit like a cartoon sketch but is in fact full of facts. I know equipment of all types was shipped across the channel then down the rivers and canals to places like Zeneghem ammunition Store purpose built on the junction of the river Aa and Calais Canal just above Watten.

[ChrisJohnCoops]

One more image for you.