On Tue, 7 Nov 2006 20:36:36 -0000, "Derrick Parsons" <derrick.parsons@btinternet.com> wrote: >In response to replies to my earlier question about information on a MM winner, I'm trying to trace the exploits of Serjeant Nathaniel Lobb MM, 5818, of HQ Special Brigade, Royal Engineers. He died on 10th March 1917 and is buried at the Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery. Researching Military Medals can be very difficult. With a very few exceptions (which wouldn't relate to this soldier) citations were not listed in the London Gazette, although it will at least give you the date of award. Steve has already given you details of how to find that. However, in the case of Sgt Lobb, you have some very interesting research ahead of you, and I think the chances of you finding out why he was awarded the MM is quite good. The Royal Engineers Special Brigade, which had companies lettered from A to Q, specialised in gas warfare, and these troops looked after the gas canisters (both poison gas and for smoke screens) on the battlefield. There was also Z Company which specialised in flame projection, a type of warfare which was still very experimental, but which had become much more common by WW2 with the use of flamethrowers. A very interesting account of the history of Z Coy is at http://www.powell76.freeserve.co.uk/LewisGrey.htm The title "Special" was used for security reasons. There are two standard books on the subject, and even if they don't mention him by name, they will make very good background reading. The first is "'GAS!' The Story of the Special Brigade" which was published in 1934 and has been reprinted by the Naval and Military Press (note the mention of St Omer in the review below). The second is "Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War I" by Donald Richter. This dates from 1994 and is available on the second-hand market. I have given details of both books at the end of this message and you should have little problem finding them. War Diaries can quite often give details of awards, but in this particular case I think they would definitely be worth checking for mention of Sgt Lobb. Unlike an infantry battalion, these Special Brigade units were pretty close-knit, and officers and men are often mentioned by name. A few years ago I checked the War Diary of Z (Special) Company for (co-incidentally) a Sergeant who was awarded the MM and who later died of wounds, and found lots of references to him by name. These included his postings, promotions, reversions, the award of the MM, and his eventual death. The War Diary of the Headquarters of the Special Brigade is under WO 95/120 at the National Archives at Kew. The details from the catalogue at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp give this entry: -------------------------- WO 95 War Office: First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries Subseries within WO 95 PART I: FRANCE, BELGIUM AND GERMANY Subsubseries within WO 95 GENERAL HEADQUARTERS TROOPS WO 95/120 General headquarters troops Headquarters Special Brigade Royal Engineers Covering dates 1916 Jan. - 1919 May -------------------------- There are also other records relating to the Special Brigade in the catalogue, many of which are in the WO 142 series, including this one: -------------------------- WO 142 Ministry of Munitions, Trench Warfare and Chemical Warfare Departments, and War Office, Chemical Warfare Research Department and Chemical Defence Experimental Stations (later Establishments), Porton: Reports and Papers Subseries within WO 142 CHEMICAL DEFENCE ESTABLISHMENT, PORTON DOWN: MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS1 WO 142/337. Report on activity of Special Brigade between 1915 and 1918, by Brig-Gen C H Foulkes RE, with OS maps showing areas of SB operations: includes extract from Royal Engineers Journal dated March 1921 on work of RE in European War 1914-1918. Covering dates 1918-1921 -------------------------- War Diaries are explained in the leaflet at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=20 I hope you have an interesting time researching Sgt Lobb! Forrest Here are details of the two books: --------------------------------------------------------- http://www.naval-military-press.com/catalogue/military-books/5255.htm "GAS!" The Story of the Special Brigade by Maj-Gen C.H Foulkes The author of this book was a junior major in the Royal Engineers, stationed at the Depot in Chatham when war broke out. He went to France in October 1914 to 3 Base, Boulogne, but some three weeks later, 8th November, he was sent forward to 2nd Division where he took over 11 Fd Coy RE at Zillebeke.The C-in-C has therefore appointed Major Foulkes RE for this duty. He has no pretence to technical knowledge, as far as I know, and it is not considered that he need have very much. But he has had much experience at the front, and can explain generally what we need and how we can perhaps best use it." In this fashion did Charles Howard Foulkes, a complete novice in the science of chemical warfare, become GHQ's Gas Guru, responsible for the conduct of gas operations of the British Army in France and for planning, organising, raising and training what came to be known as the Special Brigade - part of the RE. .He certainly didn't have much time to create a new unit and train it in a new aspect of warfare; the Battle of Loos, in which the British would first use gas, was only four months away. Volunteers with a knowledge of chemistry were sought among universities and colleges at home, as well as from the ranks of the BEF, with immediate promotion to corporal - chemist corporal. A suitable base was found at Helfaut, a village four or five miles due south of St Omer (where GHQ was located at the time), where it remained as the depot for the rest of the war. At first two Special Companies were formed but they had been increased to four by the time the Loos offensive opened on 25 September 1915. In 1916 the four companies were expanded into the 'Special Brigade' consisting of 16 'Cylinder' companies, one 'Projector' company (flame thrower) and four 'Mortar' companies, some 6,000 officers and men. This organisation remained unchanged to the end of the war,All this is described in detail as are all the operations involving the use of gas, the various inventions such as the gas shell, the Stokes mortar and the flame projector as well as the new types of gases, especially the deadly phosgene which proved to be our main battle gas for the remainder of the war, and mustard gas. According to Foulkes the total British casualties due to gas amounted to 181,053 of which 6,109 were fatal- but of course many lingered on after the war till they succumbed to the effects of gas poisoning. He remarks that the true total of German gas casualties was unlikely to be made known; to my knowledge no figure has been published. - 2001 N & M reprint (original 1934). SB. xv + 361pp with 21 b/w illus 7 maps and two graphs ISBN: 1843420880 Price: £25 Product Code No: 5255 --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- <http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=129730488&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26y%3D0%26tn%3D%2522chemical%2Bsoldiers%2522%26x%3D0> Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War I, by Donald Richter. The story of the British Special Brigade which was tasked with retaliating against German chemical warfare. Draws on official military records and includes personal anecdotes from diaries, letters and memoirs. Covers formation of the Brigade and the day-to-day life that followed. Also critically analyses the role of the Brigade's leader, Charles Foulkes. Bookseller: Alexander Fax Booksellers (Mawson, ACT, Australia) Book Price: US$ 43.00 Description: Hard cover dust wrapper 282pp b&w photos. Price clipped dw is a little worn on edges, now protected. Corners bumped else very good. Bookseller Inventory # 117341 ISBN: 0850523885 Publisher: Leo Cooper London 1994 1st UK edition. Publication Date: 1994 Binding: Hardcover Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included --------------------------------------------------------- -- Forrest Anderson, Edinburgh, Scotland. E-mail: forrest@military-researcher.com Website: www.military-researcher.com Forrestdale Research - Military Genealogical Researcher

Greetings, Another book, possibly available from your local library is GAS by Ian V. Hogg, Ballentines Illustrated History of the Violent Century. Weapons book #43. Regretfully, there are no indexes. Peter Forrest Anderson wrote: >On Tue, 7 Nov 2006 20:36:36 -0000, "Derrick Parsons" ><derrick.parsons@btinternet.com> wrote: > > > >>In response to replies to my earlier question about information on a MM winner, I'm trying to trace the exploits of Serjeant Nathaniel Lobb MM, 5818, of HQ Special Brigade, Royal Engineers. He died on 10th March 1917 and is buried at the Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery. >> >> > >Researching Military Medals can be very difficult. With a very few >exceptions (which wouldn't relate to this soldier) citations were not >listed in the London Gazette, although it will at least give you the >date of award. Steve has already given you details of how to find >that. > >However, in the case of Sgt Lobb, you have some very interesting >research ahead of you, and I think the chances of you finding out why >he was awarded the MM is quite good. > >The Royal Engineers Special Brigade, which had companies lettered from >A to Q, specialised in gas warfare, and these troops looked after the >gas canisters (both poison gas and for smoke screens) on the >battlefield. There was also Z Company which specialised in flame >projection, a type of warfare which was still very experimental, but >which had become much more common by WW2 with the use of >flamethrowers. > >A very interesting account of the history of Z Coy is at >http://www.powell76.freeserve.co.uk/LewisGrey.htm > >The title "Special" was used for security reasons. There are two >standard books on the subject, and even if they don't mention him by >name, they will make very good background reading. The first is >"'GAS!' The Story of the Special Brigade" which was published in 1934 >and has been reprinted by the Naval and Military Press (note the >mention of St Omer in the review below). The second is "Chemical >Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War I" by Donald Richter. This >dates from 1994 and is available on the second-hand market. I have >given details of both books at the end of this message and you should >have little problem finding them. > >War Diaries can quite often give details of awards, but in this >particular case I think they would definitely be worth checking for >mention of Sgt Lobb. Unlike an infantry battalion, these Special >Brigade units were pretty close-knit, and officers and men are often >mentioned by name. A few years ago I checked the War Diary of Z >(Special) Company for (co-incidentally) a Sergeant who was awarded the >MM and who later died of wounds, and found lots of references to him >by name. These included his postings, promotions, reversions, the >award of the MM, and his eventual death. > >The War Diary of the Headquarters of the Special Brigade is under WO >95/120 at the National Archives at Kew. The details from the catalogue >at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp give this >entry: > >-------------------------- >WO 95 War Office: First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries > > Subseries within WO 95 PART I: FRANCE, BELGIUM AND GERMANY > > Subsubseries within WO 95 GENERAL HEADQUARTERS TROOPS > > WO 95/120 General headquarters troops > Headquarters Special Brigade Royal Engineers > Covering dates 1916 Jan. - 1919 May >-------------------------- > >There are also other records relating to the Special Brigade in the >catalogue, many of which are in the WO 142 series, including this one: > >-------------------------- >WO 142 Ministry of Munitions, Trench Warfare and Chemical Warfare >Departments, and War Office, Chemical Warfare Research Department and >Chemical Defence Experimental Stations (later Establishments), Porton: >Reports and Papers > > Subseries within WO 142 CHEMICAL DEFENCE ESTABLISHMENT, PORTON > DOWN: MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS1 > > WO 142/337. Report on activity of Special Brigade between 1915 >and 1918, by Brig-Gen C H Foulkes RE, with OS maps showing > areas of SB operations: includes extract from Royal Engineers > Journal dated March 1921 on work of RE in European War > 1914-1918. Covering dates 1918-1921 >-------------------------- > >War Diaries are explained in the leaflet at >http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=20 > >I hope you have an interesting time researching Sgt Lobb! > >Forrest > > > > >Here are details of the two books: > >--------------------------------------------------------- >http://www.naval-military-press.com/catalogue/military-books/5255.htm > >"GAS!" The Story of the Special Brigade by Maj-Gen C.H Foulkes > >The author of this book was a junior major in the Royal Engineers, >stationed at the Depot in Chatham when war broke out. He went to >France in October 1914 to 3 Base, Boulogne, but some three weeks >later, 8th November, he was sent forward to 2nd Division where he took >over 11 Fd Coy RE at Zillebeke.The C-in-C has therefore appointed >Major Foulkes RE for this duty. He has no pretence to technical >knowledge, as far as I know, and it is not considered that he need >have very much. But he has had much experience at the front, and can >explain generally what we need and how we can perhaps best use it." In >this fashion did Charles Howard Foulkes, a complete novice in the >science of chemical warfare, become GHQ's Gas Guru, responsible for >the conduct of gas operations of the British Army in France and for >planning, organising, raising and training what came to be known as >the Special Brigade - part of the RE. .He certainly didn't have much >time to create a new unit and train it in a new aspect of warfare; the >Battle of Loos, in which the British would first use gas, was only >four months away. Volunteers with a knowledge of chemistry were sought >among universities and colleges at home, as well as from the ranks of >the BEF, with immediate promotion to corporal - chemist corporal. A >suitable base was found at Helfaut, a village four or five miles due >south of St Omer (where GHQ was located at the time), where it >remained as the depot for the rest of the war. At first two Special >Companies were formed but they had been increased to four by the time >the Loos offensive opened on 25 September 1915. In 1916 the four >companies were expanded into the 'Special Brigade' consisting of 16 >'Cylinder' companies, one 'Projector' company (flame thrower) and four >'Mortar' companies, some 6,000 officers and men. This organisation >remained unchanged to the end of the war,All this is described in >detail as are all the operations involving the use of gas, the various >inventions such as the gas shell, the Stokes mortar and the flame >projector as well as the new types of gases, especially the deadly >phosgene which proved to be our main battle gas for the remainder of >the war, and mustard gas. According to Foulkes the total British >casualties due to gas amounted to 181,053 of which 6,109 were fatal- >but of course many lingered on after the war till they succumbed to >the effects of gas poisoning. He remarks that the true total of German >gas casualties was unlikely to be made known; to my knowledge no >figure has been published. - > >2001 N & M reprint (original 1934). SB. xv + 361pp with 21 b/w illus 7 >maps and two graphs > >ISBN: >1843420880 > >Price: >£25 > >Product Code No: >5255 >--------------------------------------------------------- > >--------------------------------------------------------- ><http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=129730488&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26y%3D0%26tn%3D%2522chemical%2Bsoldiers%2522%26x%3D0> > >Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War I, by >Donald Richter. > >The story of the British Special Brigade which was tasked with >retaliating against German chemical warfare. Draws on official >military records and includes personal anecdotes from diaries, letters >and memoirs. Covers formation of the Brigade and the day-to-day life >that followed. Also critically analyses the role of the Brigade's >leader, Charles Foulkes. > >Bookseller: Alexander Fax Booksellers (Mawson, ACT, Australia) >Book Price: US$ 43.00 > >Description: Hard cover dust wrapper 282pp b&w photos. Price clipped >dw is a little worn on edges, now protected. Corners bumped else very >good. Bookseller Inventory # 117341 > >ISBN: 0850523885 >Publisher: Leo Cooper London 1994 1st UK edition. >Publication Date: 1994 >Binding: Hardcover >Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included >--------------------------------------------------------- > > > >