George Arrowsmith Herefordshire Regiment Service 1914-1919
George is Tony's Grandfather (Grancher)
Georges Service Records were 'burnt' in WW2 - I have put his service history together from available sources featuring the Herefordshire 1st/1st Regiment - see below.
1915 Star Medal War Medal Victory Medal
1914 - 1919 George Arrowsmith (Grancher) in 'B' Company the 1st/1st Herefordshire Regiment
Herefordshire Regimental No: 1676
Army Service No: 235377 (Herefordshire Regiment - issued 1917)
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1939 - 1945 George Arrowsmith (Grancher) in Army Cadet Force Herefordshire Regiment
Army Service No: 235377 (Special List)
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10th August 1914 - Volunteered for and joined the Herefordshire Regiment
August 1914 - Trained with 2nd Battalion on Castle Grounds (until uniforms available)
August 1914 Transferred to 'B' Company of the 1st/1st Battalion of the Herefordshire Regiment
August 1914 - Mobilised with
'B' Company of the 1st/ 1st
Battalion Herefordshire Regiment
(158 Infantry Brigade of 53 Welsh Division)
- Pembroke Dock then Oswestry (Park Hall Camp site)for training
September 1914 - December 1914 - Billeted at Irchester and Rushden Northamptonshire
January 1915 - Battalion based in Cambridge area
27th March 1915 - Welsh Division Cross Country at Cambridge. Private G.Arrowsmith came 147th out of 250
April 1915 - Promoted to Lance Corporal
5th April 1915 (Easter Monday) - Lance Corporal G.Arrowsmith
competed at Newmarket in the 1st/1st Herefordshire Battalion Eastertide Sports.
Coming
second in the Battalion 220yds event and 1st in the Open 220 yards event.
19th April 1915 - Battalion transferred to North Wales Brigade (158th)
4th May 1915 - Route March from Newmarket to Cambridge (on way to Bedford)
5th May 1915 - Route March from Cambridge to St Neots
6th May 1915 - Route March to Bedford
13th May 1915 - Route March to Irchester (Country Park?), Rushden, Nr Wellingborough
19th June 1915 -
1-14 July - Brigade training at Colchester
3rd July 1915 - receive orders to prepare for service in the Mediterranean
15th July 1915 - by train to Devonport
16th July 1915 - Embarked on "HTS Euripedes" at Avonmouth to proceed to Alexandria - 29 Officers and 969 Other Ranks
16th July 1915 - sailed for the Mediterranean
20th July 1915 - Gibraltar short stop - no shore leave
24th July 1915 - Malta - arrive 6am - no shore leave for other ranks - departed 03:00am on 25th July 1915
27th July 1915 - 28th July 1915 - Arrive Alexandria - Disembarked
29th July 1915 30th July 1915 - Exercised ashore in early morning
30th July 1915 - Sail for Port Said
31st July 1915 - Arrive at Port Said
- Lance Corporal G. Arrowsmith included in a list of 1st/1st Herefordshire that appeared in the Hereford Times
- Distinguishing mark of the Battalion ordered to be worn on each shoulder strap - Strip of cloth 1 inch wide , half Black, half Green
4th August 1915 - Depart for Lemnos - 25 Officer and 750 Other Ranks escorted by Russian Battleship "Askold"
6th August 1915 - Arrive Mudros Harbour, Lemnos - "HTS Euripedes" grounds on Sandbank
8th August 1915 - Transferred to "SS Straefell"
9th August 1915 - Arrive "A" Beach Sulva Bay
- Transferred to trawlers and sail to "C" Beach Sulva Bay where they land
10th August 1915 - Battle of Sulva - Herefordshire's in Anzak
Dere Line - Retreat to Chocolate Hill
The Divisional
Commander speaks with appreciation of one freshly landed battalion of 53rd
Division, a Hereford battalion, presumably
1st/1st Herefordshire which attacked with
impetuosity and courage between Hetman Chair and Kaslar Chair, above Azmak Dere
on the
extreme right of the line.
11th/12August 1915 - Supporting Sherwood Foresters during retreat from Chocolate Hill
13th August 1915 - 24th September 1915 - Dug in on Sulva Beach working on defences
25th September 1915 - Admitted to 21st General Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt with slight Dysentry
26th November 1915 - Lance Corporal George Arrowsmith received, at the Hampton Grange
Voluntary Aid Detachment
(VAD) Hospital, Hereford
- VAD Hospitals were used for convalescence - George was recovering
from Dysentry.
Between December 1916 and
April 1916 - once Lance Corporal Arrowsmith had recovered he was transferred to
the 3rd Battalion at
Oswestry for training awaiting his return to the Herefordshire 1st/1st Regiment
in Egypt
25th -30th November 1915 - Heavy Rain and
Snow - many freeze to death or drown
- 2 officers and 77 other Ranks are left
7th December 1915 - Regiment digging Trenches Lala Balba (strength 130 - following return of men from Hospital)
11th December 1915 - Under cover of darkness Herefordshire evacuate Gallipoli via a 'Beetle' on the same beach they had arrived on 18 weeks before - only 77 of 775 who landed are left!
"This dark December night, slinking away, weary, dirty, blasé, disillusioned"
12th December 1915 - Regiment embark on "SS Elkahira" (a very dirty Greek ship) for Lemnos from Beach 'C' by Beetle
13th-14th December 1915 - Regiment camp on Lemnos (2 miles in direction of Kondia from Turks Head)
15th December 1915 -Regiment embark on "SS Tunisian" at Lemnos
18th-21st December 1915 - Sailing for Alexandria
22nd December 1915 - Regiment arrive Alexandria and entrain for Wardan
23rd December 1915 - 25th March 1916 - in Camp at Wardan (native village on the east bank of the Nile 20 miles north of Cairo)
25th March 1916 - 25th May 1916 - Wadi Natrum Camp
Friday 21st April 1916 - Lance Corporal G.Arrowsmith under
Lieut. C.D.G Pilkington with a Draft 149 other men left the 3rd Battalion of the
Herefordshire Regiment at Oswestry to return to the 1st/1st Battalion in Egypt.
13th May 1916 - Draft from
England under Lieut. C.D.G Pilkington, including Lance Corporal G
Arrowsmith, rejoined the 1st/1st
Herefordshire
Battalion at Wadi Natrum.
25th May1916 - moved by train to Wardan Camp
25th May 1916 - 28th May 1916 - Regiment at Wardan Camp
29th May 1916 - moved by train to Zeitoun Camp, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt (School of Instruction)
29th May 1916 - 21st June 1916 - School of Instruction, Zeitoun Camp, near Cairo (Victory/War Medal Roll)
21st June 1916 - moved by rail to Moascar to rejoin the division
22nd July 1916 - entrained for Rumani
4th August 1916 - 14th August 1916 - Battle of Rumani (Suez Canal)
August 1916 - December
1916 - at El Ferdan on east bank of Suez Canal
- Promoted
to Corporal?
11th November - Reinforcements arrived including 5 old first line sergeants
25th December 1916 - Christmas at Rumani
4th January 1917 - 8th January 1917 - marched across desert to Mahemdia on shore of the Mediterranean
21st/22nd January 1917 - continued march to Khirba and Bir el Abd
29th January 1917 - 3rd February 1917 - continued march to El Arish
4th February 1917 - 23rd February - southern section of outpost line at El Arish
25th February 1917 - 8th
March 1917 - advance via Sheik Zowaiid, covering construction of railway
line along the coast to Rafah
- arrive El Rasin on 8th March 1917
8th March 1917 - 21st March - right sector of the outposts at El Rasum
March 1917 - May 1918 - Palestine Campaign 
- Sergeant G. Arrowsmith was pictured in Palestine with his brother in law Sgt A.Phillips
26th March 1917 - 1st Battle of Gaza - Herefordshire's at Whadi Ghuzzi
17th April 1917 - 2nd Battle of Gaza - Herefordshire's on the Es Sire Ridge (Samson's Ridge)
31st October - 7th November 1917 - 3rd Battle of Gaza - Herefordshire's at Beersheba
25th December 1917 - Christmas in Jerusalem
1st June 1918 - Having been replaced by the 2/22nd Battalion London Regiment the Herefordshire's marched off to Sura
16th June 1918 - Entrained for Kantar - thence on to Alexandria
17th June 1918 - Embarked at No 20 Quay, Alexandria on "HMT Kaiser-I-Hind" for Tarant, Italy
18th June 1918 - 22 June 1918 - at seas - Escorted by a Japanese Destroyer
22nd June 1918 - Landed in Taranto, Italy
23 June 1918 - 22:30 hrs - entrained for France ( 2 Passenger Carriages & 29 Goods Trucks )
24th June 1918 - 30th June - Travelling on Train
30th June 1918 - Arrived in Proven, France - part of 102 Infantry Brigade of 34 Division - marched to Oost Capel, Les Cinq Chemins
Billeted in Barns and hutments
7th July 1918 - Route marched to training at Schools Camp, St Jan ter Beisan
18th July 1918 - Second Battle of the Marne in French Soissons-Rheims Sector
18th July - 30th July 1918 - at Bois de Reugny
1st August - 30th August 1918 - at Bucy le Bras Ferme
1st September 1918 - St Omer - transferred to Battle of Ypres - Entrained at Lumbres.
Detrained at Abeele and marched to Scherpenberg.
September 3rd to September 7th - On Frontline
4th September 1918 - at Mount Kemmel
5th September 1918 - Postcard Home from George and Allan ( Borman Phillips) ' I am quite well'
28th September 1918 - at Vierstraat
1st October 1918 - at Wytschaete
14th-16th October 1918 - at Menen
25th October 1918 - at Moen
29th October 1918 - at Harlebeke.
11th November 1918 - Armistice signed.
12th November 1918 - Brigade Games - Herefordshire's won Tug-of-War, 220 sprint and long Jump
17th November 1918 - at Lessines
8th December 1918 - Postcard Home - 'I am quite well'
18th December 1919 - at Chatalet - Colours arrived from England
11th December 1919 - at Fosse
22nd December 1918 - Demobilisation of the Batallion began
January - April 1919 - Sieburg, Nr Bonn (Allied Forces of Occupation)
17th January 1919 - Moved to Sieberg, Nr Bonn right sector of the Cologne Bridgehead
- Company Sergeant Major G.Arrowsmith (Manu Forti Page 81)
February - 23rd May 1919 - Demobilisation of Battalion
1919 - Sailed from Rotterdam on SS Stockport for England (Mess 23)
20th April 1919 - Company Sergeant Major George Arrowsmith 'Disembodied' (Discharged?)
23rd May 1919 - Battalion Colours returned to Hereford - Final return of the Regiment to England
24th May 1919 - Herefordshire Regiment Disbanded
George was only 1 of 25 who were still serving in the 1st/1st Battalion from the original 770 members of the Battalion who landed in 1915 in Gallipoli.
My thanks to the Ross Gazette (Georges Obituary of the 9th February 1967 issue), Hereford Journal, Hereford Times, the many Web sites, the book MANU FORTI (A History of the Herefordshire Regiment 1860 - 1967) and Colonel Andy Taylor of the Herefordshire Regimental Museum for the information that allowed me to compile this page.
Tony Arrowsmith