Hi Bill, My mother's brother enlisted in the South Staffs in October 1914 ( he was 16 years of age) where he met my father's brother. They began their training at Himley Hall near Kingswinsford and eventually were both trained as signalmen and became members of the 2/6th South Staffs regiment. This regiment was where recruits were sent to be trained and then to provide replacements for the 1/6th South Staffs. Came Easter of 1916 when the 2/6th were sent to Dublin to help quell the Sein Fein riots, after which they remained in the Dublin area until they were sent to France in March of 1917 where they took part in the fighting in and around the Cambrai area in France. In November of 1917 my mother's brother was gassed in Bourlon Wood during the battle where tanks were first used en-masse and is known as The Battle of Cambrai. He was evacuated to England to a hospital near Blackburn where he met a nurse who he married in 1921 and emigrated to the US. My father's brother had become engaged to my mother in 1917 but was killed in March of 1918 during the last German offensive. His name appears on the wall of the memorial at Arras together with the names of most of his colleagues who died with him at the same time. Three of the four companies of the 2/6th South Staffs Regiment were totally annihilated and their bodies were never found. I tell you this because last April my two sons and I followed the steps of the 2/6th South Staffs guided by a professional who had researched the 2/6th and their daily activities and was able, from the trench maps, the regimental diaries and the present day maps on which the trench maps were superimposed, locate the exact position of the trench in which my mother's fiancé, my father's brother was killed. It is now a ploughed field. My mother and father married in February of 1923. After all this I would suggest that your grandfather was a member of the 1/6th South Staffordshire's. I say this because I subsequently purchased , after my return from our pilgrimage, a CD "The War history of the 6th Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment" that is a Facsimile Reproduction of the original book that is to be found in the Dudley Public Library. The CD is published by the Midlands Historical Data to be found at www.midlandshistoricaldata.org I have read part of the history of the 1/6th and have found that they gathered together when war was declared and as they were a territorial regiment they had to be trained for warfare before they were sent to France. They received orders to go to France in February 1915, which falls in with the date you have for your grandfather was first sent to France. I have no idea where you live but certainly a visit to the South Staffordshire museum would held ( I can vouch for the staff there as I visited there last September to give them a copy of my mother's brother's memoirs.) or to the Dudley Library of to purchase a copy of the CD from MHD. This of course is assuming that he was in fact in the 1/6th Battalion. Take care, and let me leave you by telling you of an inscription we found during our visit, on an a headstone for a 19 year old who was killed in 1915. IS IT WELL WITH THEE? IT IS WELL. John Favill, Brookfield, Wisconsin, USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "William longmore" <w.longmore@onetel.net> To: <greatwar@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 6:39 AM Subject: [GREATWAR] South Staffs. > Hi Listers, A very happy new year to all. > Where or how would I get to read the War Diaries of the south > Staffordshire > regiment. > My grandfather Joseph Longmore 14794 enlisted 1914 and was sent to France > 3-9-1915. As there were no Battalion movement at that time he must have > been > sent as part of a draft of replacements. As a result I don't know which > Battalion he was in. He was wounded (I think at the Somme) and shipped > back > to the UK and after recuperation was sent to the 6th Training Reserve > Batt. > of the Notts & Derby Regt. with the number TR6/13091 and discharged as > medically unfit 13-12-1917. > Any help would be appreciated > Talk to you soon, > Bill > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi John, Happy new year. Thank you for your reply, it is fascinating. The training at Himley Hall sounds about right as he was born and raised in Brockmoor, Kingswinford. He went to France in October 1915. There was no Battalion movement at that time so I think he was sent with a draft of replacements to bring a company up to strength again. I will go through this Midlands Historical website, and see what I can get. I live in Co Antrim in Northern Ireland and my dad came from Kingswinford and I hope to get a trip there soon. Thank you again John, your info has given me a lot to do, Best regards Talk to you soon, Bill