Historic Records Men of 1914

Arrived overseas: 15 August 1914. Connection: 1914 Star. I was fortunate to be the high bidder on Adolphus Glaire's 1914 Star at auction in January this year. He appears to have gone by the name of 'Dofey' rather than Adolphus, but even so, his name is unique. He was born at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight in 1887, and along with two of his brothers, he was educated at Lowtherville School, Ventnor. He joined the 5th Dragoon Guards in April 1907, arriving overseas with his regiment on the 15th August 1914. Dofey Glaire served throughout the war and in 1919 re-enlisted with the Tank Corps, serving for a further 1 year and 321 days. His original Tank Corps regimental number was 33621 and this was subsequently replaced with the army number 392129. One of Adolphus's brothers, Charles Glaire, was an early casualty of the war, being seriously wounded in September 1914 at the Battle of the Marne, whilst serving with the 1st Hampshire Regiment, and subsequently dying of his wounds ...

Arrived overseas: 11 September 1914. Connection: Victory Medal. I paid the grand sum of £20 for George Thorpe's Victory Medal when it came up for sale on eBay in February 2022. George had enlisted with the RFA in February 1906 and although he arrived overseas in France on the 11th September 1914, he was back in England and getting married to Maud Eccersley in Wakefield at the end of the following year. A Wakefield man, George returned to France and was certainly a casualty in 1918. A surviving pension ledger entry gives his year of birth as 1887 and his date of discharge from the army as the 2nd February 1919. Neurasthenia, or 'shell-shock' is listed as the disability which caused his discharge, and he certainly received a pension as a result of this up to 1923. The 1921 census of England and Wales shows George living with Maud at her parents' home at 11 Harvey Street, Belle Vue, Wakefield, with George's occupation recorded as a coal miner at West Sherlaton colliery...

Arrived overseas: 14 August 1914. Connection: Army Challenge Cup photo, 1922. By the time that Harold Joscelin Baish posed for this Army Challenge Cup photo, he was a company sergeant major with 18 years' service under his belt. Born on the 28th January 1890 he had enlisted with the Wiltshire Regiment in 1904, and he arrived overseas with the 1st Battalion on the 14th August 1914. His service record almoste certainly still survives and, at the time of writing is either being accessioned by The National Archives, ior is being digitised by Ancestry prior to publication.  Harold Baish died in 1967, his death registered at Devizes, Wiltshire in the 3rd quarter of that year. He was 77 years old.

Arrived overseas: 13 August 1914. Connection: Postcard. The photo above was taken in September 1909 at Caterham and shows Coldstream Guards on the left, and Scots Guards on the right. Serjeant Archibald Tapster sits on the front row in the white jacket, fourth from left. Archibald - probably 'Archie' to those who were on familiar terms - was born on the 11th June 1882 and he enlisted with the Coldstream Guards on the 2nd February 1904. Five and half years later he was a serjeant; good steady career progress, and he arrived overseas as a serjeant with the 1st Coldstream Guards on the 13th August 1914. He appears to have survived those early hectic months unscathed and he was commissioned on the 23rd May 1917, ending the war as a second lieutenant. By the time the 1921 Census was taken he was still serving with the British Army but by now was a lieutenant with the Lincolnshire Regiment at the regimental barracks in Lincoln. Archibald married Marion Tapster - her maiden name was a...

  Arrived overseas: 5 November 1914. Connection: 1914 Star trio and Princess Mary tin. Sadly, Lorimer Headley ticks two of my collecting themes: men who arived overseas in 1914, and men who have a connection to July 1916. Lorimer arrived overseas on the 5th November 1914 and he was killed in action at Delville Wood on the Somme on the 15th July 1916. Later, this obituary was published in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, also enabling us to see a photo of the man. He was just 20-years-old when he was killed in action. RIP.

Arrived overseas: 14 August 1914. Connection: Postcard. David Lumsden is one of several Cameron Highlanders who I have identified as having served overseas in 1914, and I shall get to the others in due course. In this undated postcard photograph - which probably dates to about 1913 -  he is seated on the front row, second from the left. He was born in 1892 and enlisted in 1909, arriving overseas in France on the 14th August 1914. He had certainly become a casualty by October 1914 as he was reported to have been admitted to the 4th Northern General Hospital at Lincoln on the 6th of that month. David Lumsden, who hailed from Balvaird, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire, subsequently transferred to the Seaforth Highlanders (regimental number S/14604) and ended the war as a sergeant with the 1st Garrison Battalion. He was discharged from the army in 1919 suffering from malaria and orchitis, and appears to have been in receipt of a pension until at least 1927.

Arrived overseas: 14 August 1914. Connection: 1914 Star. Robert Holt enlisted with the Highland Light Infantry on the 18th May 1903, almost certainly signing up for three years with the colours, and nine years on the reserve. Unless he had extended his service to complete eight years with the colours, this would have meant that by the time he arrived in France on the 14th August 1914 he may not have soldiered for over eight years. He was certainly a casualty in 1914 and by July 1915 he had been discharged from the army as a result of wounds. No service record survives for this man and I would be interested to hear from anyone who can shed further light on him or his career. His 1914 Star was purchased from an auction house in January 2025.

Arrived overseas: 12 August 1914. Connection: Large archive of medals and ephemera. I have dozens of items relating to George Anderson's service before and during the First World War, and also for his son, Lewis Anderson, who died as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during the Second World War. Despite the wealth of material, however, I can only guess at who George Anderson might be in the various photographs I have of him. He is possibly this man, who appears in a number of photos, but he could also be one of several other candidates who also appear multiple times: My hunch, however, is that this is the man in question. George was born on the 6th October 1879 and he enlisted with the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) in May 1905. He served in India and appears to have been an active member of the Old Contemptibles Association, appearing in a large group photo of OCA members taken at Aldershot in 1927. George served overseas in France from the 12th August 1914, later transf...

Arrived overseas: 31 Oct 1914. Connection: Interview in January 1982. Richard Edward Worrall, better known to his friends as 'Alf' or 'Bumble' ended the First World War as a sergeant, but he was a lance-corporal when he set foot ashore in France on the 31st October 1914. He was a Chelsea Pensioner when I interviewed him, and I note that on that cold January day there was a seventy-year age gap between interviewer and interviewee. He said "On August 4th 1914 until 24th August 1914, an army of 75,000 men, with all their equipment: guns etc, were shipped from England over to Belgium and they actually started fighting on the 22nd August 1914.  That was when the first shot was fired and that shot was fired by the big drummer of my regiment. Up at Mons, Jerry had got there with [160,000] men and he had got everything right up in the front; big guns and everything. "As British soldiers there was one God that we had and that was the Sam Browne belt which was worn ...

Arrived overseas: 15 August 1914. Connection: Nurse Oliver's autograph album. You can read a lot more about Horace Wood, Nurse Edith Oliver, and Chailey generally on my Chailey 1914-1918 blog . Horace was a career soldier who had joined the Royal West Kent Regiment in April 1910. He was an early arrival overseas and he would later be wounded on the second day of the Battle of Loos, 26th September 1915, returning to England nine days later on the 4th October 1915. In this undated photograph, which must however, date to post August 1916, two wound stripes can clearly be seen on his lower left forearm. You can read Horace Wood's story here on the Chailey 1914-1918 blog .

Arrived Overseas: 17 September 1914. Connection: Phyllis Robinson autograph album. Little could Phyllis Robinson have imagined, when she wrote her name and date in a small autograph album in 1914, that before the end of the year was out, the pages would be filled with the names of captured German soldiers, wounded Belgians, and convalescing British soldiers. Her name and the date - 5th July 1914 - are written on the inside front cover, but there is nothing eles to identify her. She was unmarried - one entry reads, "Phyllis Robinson is your name / Single is your station...") and was possibly a VAD nurse, one of several with her name.  Thirteen of the identifiable British soldiers in her album set foot ashore in France in 1914 and so I was delighted to win this at auction a couple of years ago.  In common with many of the men, 9367 Pte Joseph Quinn of the 2nd Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers, simply recorded his name, rank, regimental number and regiment. He'd ar...

Arrived Overseas: 14 October 1914. Connection: Victory Medal. Years ago I swore I'd never buy a single medal that had been disunited from its group. But I was young[er] and foolish then, and have since bought hundreds of single medals, and even re-united a couple. For those starting out on their medal collecting hobby, and even for grizzled old hoarders like me, the Victory Medal from the 1914-1918 War can offer hours of researching pleasure for a very modest investment and, besides which, like all British designed medals - and perhaps some from other countries too - it's an object of aesthetic beauty. This particular Victory Medal, which cost me £28 in March 2022, was once owned and earned by 54571 Gunner Edward Brown of the Royal Field Artillery. He'd joined the regiment on the 20th January 1909 under his real name of Milward, deserted in 1910, and then almost immediately re-joined under the alias of Brown. He served overseas with IV Bde RFA in the 7th (Meerut) Division f...

Arrived overseas: 23 August 1914. Connection: Victory Medal. Frederick Vincent Keen was technically still a boy - he was 17 years and 10 months old - when he attested with the Royal Field Artillery at Oxford on the 8th March 1909. He signed up for six years' service with the colours and six years on the reserve and so was still in uniform when Britain went to war in August 1914. He served in France from the 31st December 1914 and remained there until 1915. A detailed service history does not survive for this man but we know that he was in Salonika between 1915 and 1917 and then in Egypt from 1917 until 1919. He was discharged on the 7th March 1921, 12 years to the day since he had attested, and having been issued with a new army number, 1003005, in the interim. Notes in a Royal Artillery enlistment register record that his rank on discharge was that of corporal and that his character was rated as very good. There is also a note that prior to service as a career soldier, he had serv...

  Arrived overseas: 23 August 1914. Connection: Photograph. William joined the army on the 10th March 1913 and he was still in the UK, completing his training at Dover, when Britain went to war in August 1914. This photo of him is undated but probably dates to about June or July 1913. Wiliam set foot ashore on the same day that the BEF first engaged the German Army at Mons, and shortly afterwards, William too was in the thick of the fighting. He was an early casualty, reported wounded and recuperating in the 2nd Northern General Hospital in Leeds by October 1914. He did not return to France and was discharged as a result of wounds on the 24th July 1915. Nothing else is known about this man.

Arrived overseas: 12 August 1914. Connection: Victory Medal. Extensive paperwork survives for Gordon Henry Bridger in series WO 363. This shows that he was born in Eastbourne, Sussex and enlisted with the Worcestershire Regiment at Brighton on the 7th June 905 aged 18 years and two months. He stood five feet, seven inches tall and weighed 115 lbs, which is 8.2 stone or 52kg, and seems incredibly light by today's standards. Gordon served with the 3rd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment until he was transferred to the Army Reserve in July 1911. Three years later, on the 5th August 1914, he was mobilised and, despite not having served in the army for three years, found himself in France a week later. He was diagnosed with VDH (Valvular Heart Disease) in March 1916, re-diagnosed with DAH (Disordered Action of the Heart) five days later, and returned to the UK. He remained in the UK until November 1916 when he was transferred to the Royal Engineers and sent back to France. He was wounded...

Arrived overseas: 6 August 1914. Connection: QSA and 1914 Star trio, plus father's Afghanistan and army LSGC medals. Frederick Gris was the son of Thomas and Louisa Gris and was born in Ranikhet, India on the 3rd December 1879. Thomas Gris was a farrier sergeant serving with the 6th Dragoon Guards, and in due course, on the 28th January 1898, Frederick would also join the regiment.  Frederick served overseas during the Second Anglo-South African War (Boer War), earning the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast and South Africa 1901. By 1911 he was still serving with the regiment, still a private, and stationed at Orange Free State, South Africa. He had almost certainly re-engaged to complete 21 years with the colours by this stage and he returned to England with the regiment in January 1913. The regiment was stationed at Canterbury when Britain went to war, and a day after being mobilised on the 5th August...

Arrived overseas: 23 October 1914. Connection: 1914 Star trio. George Hogg had an interesting army career service in the First World War, enlisting with the Royal Scots as a Special Reservist on the 23rd September 1914. He was then 42 years old and had previously served as a career soldier with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, serving for 12 years. His earlier regimental number, 1717, suggests he joined the Argylls as a 14-year-old boy in 1886, almost certainly signing up in the band. Boys always enlisted for 12 years with no reserve service, and this prior military experience may help to explain why George, with precisely one month's service with the Royal Scots under his belt, found himself disembarking in France on the 23rd October 1914 as part of a draft for the 2nd Battalion. George served with the Royal Scots until November 1915 when he was discharged with "early locomotor ataxy". Not one to be put off by the small matter of muscle control, George re-enliste...

Arrived overseas: 7 November 1914. Connection: 2nd Middlesex Regiment football team photo 1912.  John Ainger was a corporal when this photo was taken of him in 1912, but he'd been tried by a district court martial later that year and reduced to the ranks. Surving papers show that his 'crime' was "Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline - being in the corporals' room during prohibited hours". He'd been in the army for six years by then, and undeterred by his demotion, in 1913 elected to extend his period of colour service to complete 12 years with the colours. He landed in France as a corporal on the 7th November 1914, having been promoted to that rank just two days earlier. John Ainger was killed in action on the 23rd December 1914. He was 26-years-old, the son of Christopher and Kate Ainger of 14 Sothern Road, King's Road, Fulham. He is buried in Rue du Bacquerot No 1 Military Cemetery in Laventie. His grieving parents paid to h...

Arrived overseas: 15 August 1914. Connection: Postcards (x3). These two photos of Private George William Clarke of the 2nd Suffolk Regiment were taken when he was incarcerated at Chemnitz PoW camp. Born in 1888, George had joined the Suffolk Regiment in 1906, and in the photo on the left, you can clearly see the three good conduct chevrons on his lower left arm which indicate at least 12 years' service. As the photo dates to 1918 this ties in perfectly with George's 1906 enlistment. It also confirms that men's GC badge entitlements were updated, even when they were prisoners of war. George had arrived overseas on the 15th August 1914 and he was captured at Le Cateau on the 26th August 1915. His Chemnitz PoW number can clearly be seen above his left jacket pocket, whislt the number 12 on his collar his an anachronistic nod to the 12th Regiment of Foot which would become the Suffolk Regiment in July 1881.

Arrived overseas: 7 October 1914. Connection: Postcards (x2). You could be forgiven for thinking that this man was serving with a Scottish regiment. Nothing of the sort. Charles Hulbert, an infantryman with an English line regiment, has swapped his uniform with a Scottish PoW and posed in what would have been novelty dress for him. Charles's regimental number indicates that he joined the Wiltshire Regiment on about the 20th January 1910, and he was stationed with the 2nd Battalion in Gibraltar when Britain went to war with Germany in August 1914. The battalion returned to England on the 3rd September 1914, and a little over a month later, on the 7th October 1914, the men, 1100 strong, disembarked at Zeebrugge. Seventeen days later, on the 24th October, Charles was captured. By now, the battalion strength had now been reduced to 450 of all ranks, with just two officers, and by the end of the month, shellfire would reduce the total by a further 200 men. The location and date of this ...