Group 70 Labour Corps. 1917 to 1919.

[ChrisJohnCoops]

Hello roots chat.
Does anyone have information of any sort of the activities or whereabouts of the Group 70, Labour Corps from 1917 to 1919. My interest is that my grandfather Charles Cooper's unit 704 Company, Labour Corp might have been in this group. His regiment No was 292040, rank private.
He was enlisted in France in August 1917 after his immediately previous RE 5th Labour Battalion was dispersed while on active service in France. I have his War Diary for this Battalion in which he served as Pioneer 11665 in C. Company.

[hanes teulu]

Have you checked his record on Find My Past (Ancestry also?)

[ChrisJohnCoops]

Hello Hanes,
I have through Ancestry got his Service Records which are for his Service time 1915 to 1919 and the War Diaries for his RE 5th Labour so I know his activities up to August 31st 1917. It's his time with the 704 Company Labour Corps that I know nothing about apart from the details on his Service Record
Chris

[jim1]

5/Batt. RE became the 704th. LC mid 1917 on the formation of the Labour Corps that year.
No war diaries were kept by the LC.
They appear to remain with the RE for the duration.
As you have 5/Batt's diary you will know which Div. they were attached to. Where they were is about as close as you will get I'm afraid.

[ChrisJohnCoops]

Hello again jim1, Are you saying that on enlisting into the 704 Company Labour Corps that they were still under the RE until 1919.

[jim1]

Regimental Labour Batts. were amalgamated into the newly formed Labour Corps in 1917.
5/Batt. RE became 704 Coy. Labour Corps but were still attached to the RE.
At this point the men were re-numbered with those allotted to the Labour Corps.
No re-enlistment was necessary.

[ChrisJohnCoops]

Thank you jim1. I know the regiment numbers and that 5th Labour Bat became 704 etc. But reading the diary it gives no details of the change over only that the Diary finished abruptly on 31st August, so that's very useful info that they simply were given new numbers and had a rank change to Private from Pioneer and still under the RE. but amalgamated with others freshly joining the 704 Company.
Chris

[jim1]

At the time of the changeover Only 5/Batt. RE would become 704/Coy. rather than joining other Labour Coys. to form the 704th. In the same way that 4/Batt. RE became 703/Coy.

[MaxD]

Chris 

Found a trail for you to follow.  A Coy 5th Labour Bn RE was redesignated 704 Coy Labour Corps on 1 August 1917 in No 2 Labour Group (source WO 95/4173-2 the HQ diary which includes No2 Group).  As you will see when you download that diary it will tell you almost nothing about the doings of 704.  That diary ends 31 Oct 1917 and 704 is still part of the group as there is a record of a 704 officer and 119 men moving to Le Treport.  However, to follow the company thereafter you will need to be prepared to download other diaries from the National Archives.  I think this list covers them all http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_aq=labour%20group&_ep=headquarters&_nq1=medal&_or1=army&_or2=lines&_or3=Diaries&_cr=WO&_dss=range&_ro=any&_p=1900&_st=advbatch .  While I haven't seen a diary myself, you will recall that elsewhere I found a listing with 704 in 70 Group in Sep 1918.

As before, your problem is finding out which group 704 was in after 31 Oct 1917 (they were not in 70 Group before that date as the diary above shows).  Although if you manage to find someone who has tracked a 704 man through the Groups.........

That's given you another 3 months of your man's service!

Good luck

maxD