Ernest Hudman, 2 Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.

[odbsmith]

Ernest edward Hudman was born 16th March 1889 in Tywning Gloucestershire.
Enlisted with 3 South Wales Borderers 14th March 1905 (claiming to be 18)
I have a copy of his enlistment and it notes he was transfered to Worcs Regt 28th May 1905.

I believe his record of service in the 2 Worcestershire regt may have been in the "burnt records" His brother Tom served in same regt and they were in India at the same time, his record survives.  I found Ernest's disembarcation date for France as 27 Aug 1914 and I recently found a newspaper article of wounded from the Worcestershire Regt ( Bromsgrove and Droitwich Messenger 14 Nov 1914) and Ernest was listed as wounded.

 I know he was at Tregantle, Cornwall sometime in 1915. He had a friend George King who was in France and George's family lived in Plymouth. George had obviously given Ernest their address, so he visited them to see if they had any news of George.  There he met and fell in love with George's sister Harriet Ellen (Nellie, My Grandmother) and they wanted to marry. Ernest had to get permission to marry and as there nearly 9 years difference in age, permission was refused.
 Ernest went absent and was listed as a deserter 19 Dec 1915. However, on the 23 Dec 1915 Ernest was in Cardiff enlisting into the Army as driver in the Army Service Corps, with their wedding already planned for Jan 12th 1916.
 Ernest was released due to illness Jan 1919 and I have an idea of where he was during his time with the ASC due to notes in his pension documents.

I would love to know more about Ernest's service in the Worcestershire Regt and how or where he was injured, I feel I never will, but someone reading this may have a suggestion. Unfortunatly Ernest died relatively young (53) before my parents had even met. Any help or
 suggestions gratefully recieved!!!

[Ashtone]

I have a copy of his enlistment and it notes he was transferred to Worcs Regt 28th May 1905.
I would love to know more about Ernest's service in the Worcestershire Regt.

Was Ernest also in the 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regt in May 1905?

This Worcestershire Regt website (below) is rich in detail with nice photos. There's even a "Battalions" menu with timelines - which is very helpful.

Example: Here's the link for the website's 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment (1881-1913) page.

http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/bat_2_1881_1913.php

Some of the website is still under construction, particularly the section covering unit War Diaries.

[jim1]

The war diary will tell you where they were & what they were doing.
It can be downloaded from TNA free.
You need to join & then go through the process as if you are paying
but you will then get £0 to pay.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7351976

[jim1]

Added:
Also on Ancestry but from Oct. 1914.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01rf7/
As he was mentioned wounded in Nov. 1914 it's probably from here on in you should be looking.

[odbsmith]

Hi, yes I am a frequent visitor to this website. I have not found anything useful here for Ernest. When I first started my family History I paid for a search, which was not very enlightening.
 (There are a lot of family members that served in the Worcester Regt)
 As far as I know he was in the 2nd Battalion, He def was at the 1911 census in India, also his brother Tom. On the list for the 1914 Star, 2 Battalion Worcesters, Ernest is listed as disembarking 27-8-14.
 I did downloadmthe 2 Battalion War diaries from NA yesterday. I do know from that where/ when they suffered casualties but they list names of officers and senior ranks not privates. I dont know what the time scale was for the newspaper to list them, so would have to guess a date. i might note the name of officers mentioned in newspaper and see if I can find them in diaries.

[jim1]

Other Ranks are rarely mentioned in diaries but at least you know where he was & what he was
involved in.
At this time news came back relatively quickly so I would say within 2-3 weeks.

[AllanUK]

Looking at his attestation papers for the South Wales Borders, the last page notation reads 'Joined Regular Army (Worcester Reg) 28.3.05' - if this date is correct, he was only in the SWB for 14 days.

His WW1 medal rolls entry and medal card shows that he was in France from the 27 August 1914 -- this conflicts with the war diaries for the 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment (part of the 2nd Division, 5th Infantry Brigade) which shows that the Battalion were based in Aldershot when, on the 4 August 1914, they received orders to mobilize and the diaries go on to state that the Battalion disembarked at Boulogne on the 14 August 1914.

The Battalion were involved in the following battles:

Battle of Mons and subsequent retreat -- late August 1914
Battle of the Marne -- 6 to 12 September 1914
Battle of the Aisne -- 12 to 15 September 1914 (followed by the Actions on the Aisne Heights)
1st Battle of Ypres -- 19 October to 22 November 1914

As he was reported as wounded in the Bromsgrove and Droitwich Messenger (14 Nov 1914), it looks as though he may have been wounded during the 1st Battle of Ypres.

Have you considered reading the battalion's war diaries? These would give you a good idea of what the battalion were going through. The war diaries can be obtained from the National Archives free of charge at the moment -- you only have to register with them no card details are asked for. I have attached an image of what you should look for.

ADDED -- got called away to answer a phone call and posted this without realising that there were several replies to your post.

[ShaunJ]

According to the The Tewkesbury Register and Agricultural Gazette of 6 February 1915 (page 5) he was then serving with 1st Battalion

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0002217%2f19150206%2f111&stringtohighlight=ernest%20hudman

[odbsmith]

Thanks Shaun , perhaps he was transfered to 1 battalion.