Historic Records Men of 1914

Arrived overseas: 17 August 1914. Connection: Interviewed in 1981. I met William Pink on 1st October 1981 when I was 19-years-old and he was 86. At that time, he was one of a dwindling band of Chelmsford Old Contemptibles, although he was originally from Hampshire and had been born in Southampton on the 10th December 1895. Prior to enlisting on 10th May 1912, he had worked as a groom. I took out my note pad and jotted down what he told me. "When war was declared we were immediately shipped over to Boulogne and went straight to Mons from there. There was a lot of troop movement all sorting themselves out because the Germans were heading straight for the Belgian Front. I fought at First Ypres and then la Bassee and there was no sign of an armistice although everyone expected the war to be over within a few weeks. "All of a sudden we were retreating and the might of the German Army was just behind us. We were impeded by the Belgian refugees fleeing in front of us; famili...

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: 20 August 1914. Connection: A series of eight postcards. When Sidney Clark attested with the Royal Engineers at Dover on the 17th February 1908, he was a 22-year-old carpenter. He signed up for three years with the colours and nine years on the reserve, all of that colour service being undertaken with 56 Field Company.  Three years to the day after he had attested, Sidney was transferred to the Army Reserve, to all intents and purposes a civilian again. His conduct was reported as "Very good. No offence in whole service of three years. He is sober, hardworking, reliable, and thoroughly satisfactory." He was also rated a "superior carpenter." On 5th August 1914, Sidney was mobilised with his old company, arrived in France on the 20th August, and was promptly captured three days later. He would spend the rest of the war as a Prisoner of War. He's in this photo somewhere, almost certainly one of the corporals on the back row, and would have been a...