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Obituary

 

       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.

                          Three of the British campaign medals: The 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.                    

                                                                                     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