THE PROVISION and MANAGEMENT of CASUALTY REPLACEMENTS for BRITISH INFANTRY UNITS on the WESTERN FRONT DURING the FIRST WORLD WAR By

THE PROVISION AND MANAGEMENT OF CASUALTY REPLACEMENTS FOR BRITISH INFANTRY UNITS ON THE WESTERN FRONT DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR by ALISON HINE A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History & Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Casualties during the First World War were far higher than had been anticipated in pre-war planning. They required rapid replacement in order to maintain operational effectiveness. This Thesis considers the provision and management of British Other Rank replacements for Infantry battalions on the Western Front. The initial influx of volunteers meant a much larger Army, which in turn required an increased number of draft-finding units and changes to reinforcement procedures for its maintenance. It has previously been assumed that these changes, together with the introduction of conscription, destroyed the previous cohesion of regiments. A chronological approach is used in order to trace the evolution of changes. Although predominantly pitched at the management level, implicit in this examination are the effects of political decisions together with the impact on battalions of changes in the drafting and reinforcement process. Amongst the conclusions reached are that there is little or no evidence that the Government actively withheld reinforcements. Analysis of details of soldiers of selected Infantry battalions from the English/Welsh Marches also indicates that, despite the growing scarcity of men, drafts continued to be provided to a large extent from Western Command even at the end of the war. Dedication To my long-suffering husband, Nigel, in grateful thanks for his love and support. Acknowledgements There are many people who have played a part along the path for this PhD. I would like to thank particularly both my supervisor, Dr John Bourne, for his direction and unfailing support during the whole process and Professor Peter Simkins who has so kindly read the Thesis chapters and has offered helpful comments and suggestions along the way. The journey started a long time ago at the then Chester College where Dr Ronald Barr supervised my MA Thesis. The groundwork laid under his guidance has undoubtedly helped in the research and production of the PhD Thesis. Many others have been most generous in answering queries and offering advice: the staffs of the archives of the Cheshire, RWF and SWB Regimental archives; Annette Burgoyne with her encyclopaedic knowledge of the KSLI; the Cheshire Record Office and Shropshire Archives; the curator of the AGC Museum; and the staffs of the IWM and the National Archives. I am particularly grateful to the Shropshire Library Service for their assistance in meeting my requests for books from all over the country. I would also like to thank Tim Lynch for sharing his work on KOYLI drafts with me and encouraging me to keep going when the work seemed never-ending. Finally, I have also been most grateful for the support and comradeship of fellow members of Dr Bourne’s PhD cohort: Nick Beeching, Geoff Clarke, Derek Clayton and Trevor Harvey. Contents List of Tables ii List of Abbreviations iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 – Planning and First Contact 10 Chapter 2 – 1915: The Realities of War 48 Chapter 3 – 1916: Into the Melting Pot 93 Chapter 4 – 1917: The ‘Man Question’ and Its Effects 163 Chapter 5 – 1918: Just Enough 228 Conclusion 280 Appendices 292 Bibliography 312 i List of Tables Table 1.1. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected Regular battalions who 45 were killed/died between 4 August – 30 November 1914. Table 1.2. Birth locations of soldiers of selected Regular battalions who were 46 killed/died between 4 August – 30 November 1914. Table 2.1. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions 87 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1915. Table 2.2. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions 87 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1915. Table 2.3. Birth locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions who 89 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1915. Table 2.4. Birth locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions who 89 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1915. Table 2.5. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 90 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1915. Table 2.6. Birth locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 90 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1915. Table 3.1. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions 156 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1916. Table 3.2. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions 157 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1916. Table 3.3. Birth locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions who 158 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1916. Table 3.4. Birth locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions who 159 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1916. Table 3.5. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 160 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1916. Table 3.6. Birth locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 160 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1916. Table 4.1. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions 216 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1917. ii Table 4.2. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions 217 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1917. Table 4.3. Birth locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions who 218 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1917. Table 4.4. Birth locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions who 219 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1917. Table 4.5. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 220 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1917. Table 4.6. Birth locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 221 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1917. Table 5.1. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions 287 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1918. Table 5.2. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions 287 who were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1918. Table 5.3. Birth locations of soldiers of selected English Regular battalions who 288 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1918. Table 5.4. Birth locations of soldiers of selected Welsh Regular battalions who 289 were killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1918. Table 5.5. Enlistment locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 290 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1918. Table 5.6. Birth locations of soldiers of selected TF battalions who were 290 killed/died between 1 July – 30 November 1918. iii ABBREVIATIONS The following formats have been used in referring to Regiments/Battalions: eg First Battalion The Cheshire Regiment is shown as 1st Cheshire, with its soldiers referred to as Cheshires. A Branch Administrative Branch dealing with personnel matters ACI Army Council Instruction (January 1916 onwards) AF Army Form AG Adjutant General A&Q Combined Administrative and Logistics branch at a Headquarters AO Army Order AOC Army Ordnance Corps APC Army Pay Corps ARO Army Routine Order ASC Army Service Corps BEF British Expeditionary Force Bde Brigade BOH British Official History CAB Cabinet CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff CinC Commander in Chief CO Commanding Officer Col Colonel CRA Cheshire Regimental Archives CRAO Chester Records and Archive Office DAG Deputy Adjutant General DAAG Deputy Assistant Adjutant General Div Division DGMS Director General of Medical Services DGNS Director General of National Service DMO Director of Military Operations DOW Died of Wounds DPS Director of Personal Services DRLS Despatch Rider Letter Service FM Field Marshal FSR Field Service Regulations Gen General GHQ General Headquarters GS General Staff GOC General Officer Commanding GOC-in-C General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Grad Graduated (as in Graduated Battalion) GRO General Routine Order HD Home Defence HE Home Forces HLRO House of Lords Record Office iv HMSO His Majesty’s Stationery Office HS Home Service IBD Infantry Base Depot IGC Inspector General of Communications IS Imperial Service ISO Imperial Service Obligation IWM Imperial War Museum KIA Killed in Action KR King’s Regulations for the Army KSLI King’s Shropshire Light Infantry LofC Lines of Communication LHCMA Liddle Hart Collection of Military Archives Lt Col Lieutenant Colonel Lt Gen Lieutenant General Maj Gen Major General MG Machine Gun MML Manual of Military Law MNS Ministry of National Service MT Motor Transport NCO Non-Commissioned Officer nd not dated N&MP Naval & Military Press

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