Mechanist Corporal Alexander Mason, regimental number 30263

[fortmap2]

Hello,

I am wondering whether anybody can help me with any more information about this British WWI soldier of the Royal Engineers:

Mechanist Corporal Alexander Mason, regimental number 30263.

In particular, I am wondering if it is possible to find out whether he was part of 'B' Corps Signal Company.
In fact, any ideas about what a Mechanist Corporal would have done would be very interesting too.

Any help at all greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

[hanes teulu]

Is it "Mechanist" rather than "Machinist"? Newspaper advert Oct 1915 -

196th and 197th Land Drainage Compnies
ROYAL ENGINEERS
Wanted at once, for enlistment in the above companies, MACHINERY MECHANISTS, FITTERS, METAL TURNERS, BLACKSMITHS, ....
Sergeants 5/6 per day, Corporals 4/- per day, Sappers 3/- per day

[fortmap2]

Hello,

Thanks for the correction, you are quite right!

"Mechanist Corporal".

Maybe it is what we might call a mechanic these days.

[MaxD]

One of the (many) idiosyncrasies of the Royal Engineers were its ranks http://www.reubique.com/ranks.htm 

I note that on the relevant 1914/1915 Star medal roll, the MC has been crossed out on all the MC/Cpl entries while on the later British War and Victory Medals roll the ranks are plain Corporal suggesting that at some stage the prefix MC was dropped in the rank title. I shall enquire!

Note also that the National Archives has transcribed the MC as both Mechanic and Machinist depending on the whim of the transcriber.

As to his unit.  A brief look at records where they exist for men with near numbers shows four who are all with signal companies but all different.  B Corps Signals Company doesn't sound right. While a few corps had names, the majority were numbered, none were lettered.  Could the B be a badly written 13 ie 13 Corps Signals Company??


MaxD

[fortmap2]

Hello,

Thanks for your time and interesting information.

It's definitely "B".

I was trying to connect this Alexander Mason with "B" Corps Signal Company because I thought that he might have been my grandfather's WWI comrade.

I have some photos of the Mason that I am looking for, with my grandfather.
But, I only have the 'Mason' surname, written by hand on the photos, and nothing else to go on, except for the names of some other men with him, like 'Holmes', 'Stewart', and 'Thompson'. They were all despatch riders, dealing with messenger pigeons in France from 1915 onwards.

I have a copy of a certificate awarded to my grandfather, where "B" Corps Sig.Coy. is printed nice and clearly at the top, so it's 100% "B".

It seems from all this as if Alexander Mason probably isn't the man I am trying to find.

Perhaps a better way to approach finding the Mason that I am after is to look at regimental numbers near to my grandfather?

[MaxD]

The B Corps is indeed correct although I have lost my notes relating to lettered Corps !

I don't think the near numbers will work.  Those I went through in a different batch re Mason and in a near batch for your man) simply turned up men in different units.

I don't see the date of the certificate but I know he was mentioned in despatches in 1918.  What we don't know is whether he was in the same company throughout.

Tantalisingly, a RE MC/Sgt by the name of W E Thompson, with the number 74959, was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1917.  Frustratingly, the citation does not give his unit or any detail that would identify what he was doing!  Equally frustratingly, although numbers 74964 - 65 - 66 and 69 all went to France on the same day as your man, Thompson went 4 months later.  All that really shows is they may have joined about the same time, it can't be extended to say they served together for any length of time.

Need a bit more work which may yield other lines of attack. 

MaxD

[MaxD]

Does the certificate have a date of issue on it?

I note now that he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in June 1918 and a Mention in Despatches in Dec 1918.

I have also (with help) established that B Corps was another way of identifying II Corps and thus the war diary of II (also written as 2 Corps) Signal Company would be the one to look at where he may get a mention.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_aq=signal%20company&_ep=2%20corps&_dss=range&_ro=any&_p=1900&_st=adv

Whether he was in the same unit from the beginning only his vanished record would tell but you may wish to look at the diaries anyway?



Thes

[fortmap2]

I searched manually on the National Archives for nearby numbers, and made this list:

74956 Bamford, Henry J.          Corporal
74957 Fowles, Arthur             Corporal Mechanic
74958 Melville, Frederick E.     Mechanist Corporal
74959 Thompson, William E.       Mechanist Serjeant
74960 Mahoney, Phillip           Mechanist Corporal
74961 Keeling, William E.        Corporal
74962 Wansbrough, Reginald       Corporal
74964 Drew, Oswald F.J.          Corporal
74965 Braun, George I.           Corporal
74966 Edmonds, Frederick P.O.    Mechanic Corporal ... Serjeant
74967 Dallison, Robert Victor    Corporal
74968 Salter, Henry C.           Corporal
74970 Pruen, E. Tristram         Corporal
74971 Agg, Albert J.             Corporal 2nd
74972 Hunter, George             Sapper
74973 Dougherty, Alfred          Lance Corporal


You mentioned 74969, which I couldn't find.
Do you have the name/rank for that man?


74963 is also missing from my list.


W E Thompson is William E. Thompson.
A Sergeant Ted Thompson appears frequently in my grandfather's WWI photos, so I think that the E. stands for Edward.

[fortmap2]

The mention in despatches is for William Ernest Keeling, my grandfather, who I actually know quite a lot about now. The despatches certificate says 8th November 1918.
 
My sister got copies of the war diaries too. WO-95-664-5 and WO-95-664-6.

Unfortunately, they don't mention Keeling by name, or any of the other men that I am interested in who are named in Keeling's photos.