What Battalion

[Guest Russell.Gore@crawley.gov.uk]

I am researching a Casualty,by the name of A.J.Gentry who was KIA on 24.08.18..The problem that i have is that i am unsure of what Battalion or Regiment he was serving with.The CWWGC have him listed as serving with the 12th Londons (Rangers) and SDGW have him serving with The K.R.R.C. but AFFILIATED to the London Regt.I have his MIC and he is again shown as serving with The K.R.R.C.,its all getting a bit confusing for an old Chap like myself,so any bits of info to clear up this problem will be most welcome.Also any info as to the Action in which he was killed would be invaluable in my attempt to build up a profile of this Man......

[Bill Braham]

Russell,

This is a bit long winded but hopefully it helps with your dilema.

The army obviously considered your man to be parented out of the KRRC, hence the MIC, if you consult the actual roll you may be able to get his battalion number. Obviously at the time he was KIA he was attached to the Rangers.

It seems likely that he may have been one of the draft of 227 (or 229 the war Diary has both figures) KRRC men who were reinforcements to the Rangers on 19th August 1918. The War Diary comments that most of the reinforcements were two or three year men.

At least some of these were from the 17th KRRC which was reduced to cadre in May/June 1918 and was transferred to 60 Division. Some (if not all?) of the surplus

rank and file of the 17th KRRC were drafted to the Rangers arriving on 19th August 1918. My grandfather L/Cpl W Braham was one of these men.

His service record (which fortunately survives in the 'Burnt Record') shows how misleading just having to rely on the MIC can be. The 'Burnt Dcument' shows that he was a 'Derby' volunteer in Dec 1915, was called up in Feb 1917 and mustered into the 15th Londons (Civil Service Rifles). After 90 days training he was posted (18 May 1917) to the 1/15th London Regt (CSR) just before the Messines offensive. He may not have served with the 1/15th as on 8 June 1917 he was posted to the 17th KRRC with whom he soldiered until 18 August 1918 when he was posted to the Rangers. He was wounded and became a POW on 12 Sept 1918. On repatriation in Decmebr 1918 he was posted supernumary to the CSR depot prior to discharge as unfit for further service (he was an amputee) in October 1919. In the MIC he appears under the 15th London Regt (Civil Service Rifles) BUT apart from basic training it was probably a regiment with which he saw little or no service. Just going on MIC I would have assumed that he was with 1/15th throughout his service!

Basically by analogy I suspect A.J. Gentry was a draft from the KRRC the greatest probablity being that he was one of the large reinforcement that the Rangers received on 19th August (there were some others 2s and 3s of indeterminate provenance before that) which is commented on in the Rangers War Diary. He was with the Rangers when he was killed but the Army considered him to be a KRRC man hence the MIC entry. Not incontravertible fact but reasonable supposition?

On the night of 23/24 September the Rangers were attached to 47 Division and with 142 Brigade successfully attacked at Tailles Wood sustaining heavy casualties of which A J Gentry must have been one.