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Private Samuel Herbert Allsop

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Private Samuel Herbert Allsop Private Samuel Herbert Allsop 13th Company, 5th Division, Machine Gun Corps Regimental Number 45851 Samuel Herbert Allsop was born in Linton on 21st September 1892 to Sarah Ann (nee Litherland) and Isaac Allsop. He was baptised in Church Gresley on 30th October 1892 – surname spelt as Alsop. 1 Samuel was the fourth of seven children. According to the 1911 Census Isaac and Sarah Ann had nine children, but by 1911 two of them had died. Samuel’s siblings were Joseph Thomas Allsop, Isaac W Allsop, Percy Allsop, John J Allsop, Albert Henry Allsop and Horace Litherland Allsop. Their father Isaac was a Butcher by trade. 1 Ancestry.co.uk Derbyshire Church of England Baptisms 1813-1916 Alsop 1 | P a g e 2 Although there are currently no known photographs of Samuel, there are photos of his father Isaac and his brother Harry (Albert Henry) – Harry was listed on Samuel’s Enlistment papers as his next-of-kin. Father Isaac Alsop 3 4 Brother Harry Alsop 2 Family Tree courtesy of Jill Hempsall and Ancestry.co.uk user 1_juliehs (Alsop Family Tree creator on Ancestry) 3 Father Isaac Alsop – photo courtesy of 1_juliehs on Ancestry.co.uk 4 Brother Harry (Albert Henry Alsop) – photo courtesy of 1_juliehs on Ancestry.co.uk 2 | P a g e Samuel’s mother Sarah Ann died in 1898 at the age of 35 (when he was only 5 or 6 years old).5 Three years later, the 1901 Census shows him living with his grandparents Thomas and Annis at their farm in Eastcliffe, Great Longton near Bakewell. By this time he was aged 8. 6 5 Ancestry.co.uk England Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915 6 Ancestry.co.uk England Census Records - 1901 Census. 3 | P a g e By 1911 Samuel (then aged 18) was back living with his family at Woodside Farm, Linton – which at the time was in the Civil Parish of Netherseal. He was working on the farm with his father and brothers. 7 After Samuel’s father Isaac died in 1915 he moved to Coventry where, according to an Obituary written in the Burton Chronicle in October 1916, he ‘carried on business on his own account as a Greengrocer and Dealer in Coventry’. 8 In early 1916 Samuel enlisted and was posted to the Reserve Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Line Infantry Regiment on 24th May 1916, Regimental Number 19182.9 By 29th July 1916 he had been transferred over to the Machine Gun Corp – Regimental Number 45851, 13th Coy10, 5th Division MGC11. The WW1 Service Records show him as being 23 years and 130 days old, 5ft 6 5/8” in height and having a chest size of 38”. Although not in very good condition (because of fire damage caused by a German bomb hitting the War Office Repository in September 1940), the following photos are images of Samuel’s War Records. The Attestation of Short Service shows that Samuel attested (enlisted) to the Army Reserves on 11th Feb 1916 and answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘did you receive a notice and do you understand its meaning and who gave it to you?’. The notice referred to was Conscription, which was introduced in January 1916. Any single man from 18-41 was liable to be called up for military service unless they were widowed with children or ministers of religion. The act was extended to include married men on 25th May 1916.12 7 Ancestry.co.uk England Census Records - 1911 Census 8 Burton Chronicle 12/10/1916 Pg 4 Col 5 – courtesy of the Magic Attic records. 9 Ancestry.co.uk British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 Allsop; 10 Taken from Ancestry.co.uk British War Records Casualty Form. 11 www. longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps MGC Companies and Battalions. 12 www.parliament.uk 4 | P a g e 13 Enlistment papers – Short Service (for the duration of the war). 13 Ancestry.co.uk British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 Allsop 5 | P a g e 14 Description of Samuel on Enlistment and his named next-of-kin. 14 Ancestry.co.uk British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 Allsop 6 | P a g e 15 Statement of Services – where posted and when. 15 Ancestry.co.uk British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 Allsop 7 | P a g e 16 Transfer form listing the clothing that Samuel had when transferring from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment to the Machine Gun Corps. 16 Ancestry.co.uk British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 Allsop 8 | P a g e On 27th August 1916 Samuel embarked from Folkestone, disembarking at Bologne in France. He joined the Machine Gun Corps Base Depot at Camiers on 29th August 1916. The Casualty Form shown below details his movements for August/September 1916. 17 The Machine Gun Corps In 1914, all infantry battalions were equipped with a machine gun section of two guns, which was increased to four guns by February 1915. The experience of fighting in early clashes and in the First Battle of Ypres proved that the machine guns needed special tactics and organisation. Machine Gun Training Centres were set up in Wisque, France and Grantham, England. A single specialist Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was set up in October 1915 and the gunners from each brigade transferred to this new Corps – Samuel being one of these men. A base depot was established at Camiers in France. (Samuel was posted here on 28th August 1916). Shortly after the formation of the MGC, the Maxim guns they had been using were replaced by the Vickers Machine Gun. It weighed 28.5lb, was cooled by water held in a 17 Ancestry.co.uk British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 Allsop 9 | P a g e jacket around the barrel (weighing another 10lb) and fired from a tripod weighing 20lb. Bullets were held in a canvas belt holding 250 rounds and would last 30 seconds at the maximum rate of 500 rounds per minute. Two men were needed to carry the equipment and two for the ammunition. A Vickers machine gun team also had two spare men. This photo was taken during the Battle of the Somme, July 1916. It shows a British Vickers Machine Gun crew wearing anti- gas helmets. The gunner is wearing a padded waistcoat, enabling him to carry the machine gun barrel. The left hand soldier has a MCG badge on his shoulder. Photo IWMQ3995 Looking at the military records available on-line, it appears that Samuel’s Battalion – the 13th Coy of the 5th Division, was involved in numerous battles on the Somme in 1916. A few of the battles are detailed below.18 The Attacks on High Wood (Bois de Forceaux) the fight began on 14th July and went on until mid-September 1916. The Battle of Guillemont 3rd-6th September 1916. Men from both sides were cut down in their thousands. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette 15th – 22nd September 1916. The first time British tanks were ever used. The Battle of Morval 25th – 28th September 1916. Note: Samuel Allsop was killed in action on 13th September 1916. The Regimental War Diaries for the 13th Coy Machine Gun Corps are available on-line and the following pages show location and activities the days before and after Samuel Allsop was killed. 19 Samuel arrived in France on 27th August and joined MGC Base Depot at Camiers on 28th August. He joined 13th Coy in the field on 7th September. 18 www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/5th-division 19 Ancestry.co.uk WW1 Diaries (France, Belgium, Germany) 1914-1920. MGC 5th Div Piece 1559 13 Infantry Brigade 1916-1918 10 | P a g e 20 20 Ancestry.co.uk WW1 Diaries (France, Belgium, Germany) 1914-1920. MGC 5th Div Piece 1559 13 Infantry Brigade 1916-1918 11 | P a g e 12 | P a g e 13 | P a g e The diary entry for 13th September shows ‘Weather fine. Relief of Company by the 169th M Gun Company is commenced. 2 ORs killed and 5 ORs wounded, shell fire. 1 OR to Hospital sick’. The initials OR mean ‘Other Rank’, i.e. not an Officer (who would be named individually). It is believed that of the two killed, one was Samuel Allsop. 21 A London Illustrated News sketch of the assault on Falfemont Farm on 4th September 1916 Below is a map of the area where Samuel’s Battalion was based when he was killed. The Regimental War Diary mentions Wedge Wood, Falfemont Farm and Leuze Wood on 3rd and 4th September 1916 – as shown on the map. 21 stevesmith1944.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/falfemont-farm; 14 | P a g e 22 A total of 170,500 officers and men served in the Machine Gun Corps during WW1, of which 62,049 were recorded as killed, wounded or missing. “No military pomp attended its birth or decease. It was not a famous regiment with glamour and whatnot, but a great fighting corps, born for war only and not for parades. From the moment of its formation it was kicking. It was with much sadness that I recall its disbandment in 1922; like old soldiers it simply faded away“. So said former machine gunner George Coppard, in his epic autobiography “With a machine gun to Cambrai”.23 22 Map from www.wikiwand.com/en/Battle_of_Guillemont 23 www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/machine-gun-corps-in-the-first-world-war/ 15 | P a g e The local newspapers (Burton Chronicle, Burton Mail, Burton Observer) recorded the following details after Samuel was killed.
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