14 December 2014

Essex Regiment - PoW Other Ranks 1914


The following list of 44 Essex Regiment NCOs and men has been transcribed from the Imperial War Museum's collection, specifically item B.O.2 1/181 which is a three-page hand-written (as well as faded and undated) list of Essex Regiment men who became prisoners of war prior to 25th December 1914.  My full transcription of this collection (not reproduced here) also contains home addresses for most of the men.

Although it is not explicitly stated, all of these men must have been captured whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment as this was the only battalion of the Essex Regiment that was on the Western Front in 1914.

The full transcription is available for sale as a download or CD for £10. Contact me if you would like to purchase a copy.

The roll:

10167 Private J Barry
8594 Sergeant E Binnie
10072 Private G W Bull
8250 Private W Claxton
8166 Private Sidney Crozier
7375 Private J Donnelly
10172 Private J Edwards
10203 Private G Eley
7929 Private D Elliott
8535 Private J Ellis
7771 Private H J Gillson
10199 Private George Arthur Graham
9432 Private H Groom
8938 Private A Grover
8897 Private H Guy
8183 Private F Housden
9465 Private E E Jennings



9920 Lance-Corporal Charles Ernest James (above)
8151 Lance-Corporal A Jordan
10733 Private H Kemp
8375 Private F W Manning
8472 Lance-Corporal G R Marshall
8885 Private F Medcalf
8127 Private E Minett



Above, Christmas 1915, a card sent from Doberitz by Tom Morris, below

7186 Corporal Tom Morris
10030 Private P T Powell
7903 Private C Pratt
8105 Private M Radford
8434 Private E C Reynolds
8305 Private W Rawlings
10126 Private W A Richer
8214 Private W Rogers
7823 Private W H Ryan
10107 Private J W Sims
7864 Private P Smith
9573 Corporal J J Smyrk
7808 Private G Tarbun
7527 Private H A Taylor
9321 Private G M Took
8738 Private H Walsh
9198 Corporal J R H Warner
7732 Corporal E Whitwell
7977 Private W E White
4155 CQMS E T West

Read more about this data source on my 1914 PoWs page. The image at the top of this post shows men of the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment in Norwich on the 10th August 1914. I will be happy to acknowledge the source of this image which is currently unknown to me. I am gratefu to Steve Nunn for permission to publish the photograph of his grandfather, Charles Ernest James.


Since publishing this post, I have been sent scans of a postcard which was sent back to the UK by one of the men listed above: 8250 Private W Claxton. His home address on B.O.2 1/181 is noted as 5 York Road, Barking and I presume that the Mr Lungley who he is writing to in Barking, is his employer. Private Claxton joined the Essex Regiment in 1904 and so had almost certainly been a reservist since 1911 or 1912 and was back in Civvy Street when Britain went to war in 1914. His medal index card records that he arrived in France on the 22nd August 1914. I am grateful to John Morgan for sending me the postcard images which I reproduce below.




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