Labour Corps WW1

[Artful Owl]

Hi Jim,
Sorry to have been a few days replying to your post.
I think you are most probably right about him being at Hill 60, certainly if he was still in the 10th Battalion. It fits all the criteria, gassing, shelling and close to Ypres.
 I've also looked up the Roll of Honour for the 10th Battalion and apart from one soldier falling in July 1916 most casualties are from 7th June 1917 onwards. Which does point to that being where he was injured, he had to be fit enough to be back in Yorkshire for late summer.
Could he have gone into the LC after his marriage?
Without realising the significance at the time I visited the area about 15 years ago. Was this the hill where the blast was heard back in England?

Thanks
Ruth

[jim1]

Was this the hill where the blast was heard back in England?

That's the one or I should 19. 25 were detonated but only 19 exploded.
It was alleged that Lloyd George heard it in no.10.
We'll never know for sure when he went into the LC but this was the usual route for recovered soldiers. Marriage before being posted was also very common.

[Devonia18]

I cannot find any military records of my grandfather WILLIAM BIBBY. On his son’s birth certificate on 1 May 1917, he was described as Private 14th King’s Liverpool Regiment Labour Batt. No 71511 (Grocer’s Traveller). On his marriage certificate 16 February 1916 he was described as Traveller, so I think he must not have joined up until after that date.
I do not know if he was in France, or why he was in a Labour Battalion. Would he have joined that as medically unfit? Or would he have been put in it after he became unfit?
I have his birth certificate, Preston Lancashire, from 1894, and his death certificate 1965.
I have tried Find My Past and Forces War Records. Does anyone know where I should go now please?

[MaxD]

The service number doesn't connect with the name Bibby or Kings Liverpool or Labour Corps and the name doesn't connect with any combination of the regiments on Ancestry (and FindMyPast which you've looked at already) or the National Archives (where there would be the original medal card for overseas service - there are 8 William Bibby none in KLR, none with 71511 none with Labour Corps (which the Labour Battalions later became.)

MaxD

[Devonia18]

Thank you MaxD. This is strange. The information is very clearly written on the Birth Certificate, no chance of me misreading it. My grandmother registered the birth, so the information would have come from her. Something is wrong somewhere!

[Devonia18]

I have looked up the 8 William Bibby records and have no way of knowing if any may be right. If I were to ask you to speculate, would you think he could have been evading military service? Or evading his wife? It seems strange he was not in the Army in February 1916, age 21. Or is that normal?
Thanks.

[jim1]

Firstly the 14th. KLR was a Service Batt. not a Labour Batt.
There were around 1.5 m. men of military age who were still civilians at the end of 1915.
Conscription in early 1916 was a result of that.
He may have married in Feb. of that year because he'd received his call up papers.

[Devonia18]

Interesting thought on timing of wedding.

[Devonia18]

There are 10 men with service number 71511. None of them is William Bibby. Is it usual to have 10 people with the same number? I know nothing of WW1 service numbers!