| The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (32nd & 46th Foot) Regimental Museum is located at: | The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regimental Museum is located at: | ||
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The Keep Bodmin Barracks Bodmin Cornwall PL31 1EG Tel: 01208 72810 |
The Wardrobe 58 The Close Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 2EX Tel: 01722 414536 |
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| 4 August 1914 | At 23:00 Britain is at war in Europe |
| August 1914 | The 14th Division [Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry] formed at Bodmin and sent to Aldershot as the 43rd Brigade |
| 29 August 1914 | William enlists in the Sixth (Service) Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (Private, regimental no. 4573) |
| 14 September 1914 | 14th Division renamed the 14th (Light) Division |
| 26 September 1914 | 14th (Light) Division inspected on Queen's Parade by HM the King |
| 1914 | The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) engaged at Mons |
| 1914 - 1918 | The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) engaged at Ypres |
| November 1914 | 14th (Light) Division billeted in the Guildford and Godalming district |
| 22 January 1915 | 14th (Light) Division inspected on Hankley Common by Earl Kitchener |
| 18 February 1915 | 14th (Light) Division sent to Stanhope Lines, Aldershot |
| 11 May 1915 | 14th (Light) Division warned to proceed overseas |
| 18 May 1915 | Entrainment of 14th (Light) Division begins |
| 22 May 1915 | William as part of 14th (Light) Division arrives in Boulogne, France |
| 30 July to 22 September 1915 | William, as part of the 14th (Light) Division, engaged at Hooge (German liquid fire attack) & Bellewaarde |
| 6th (Service) Battalion, DCLI was raised at Bodmin in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's First New Army and joined 43rd Brigade, 14th (Light) Division. They trained at Aldershot and spent the winter at Witley, returning to Aldershot in February 1915. They proceeded to France, landing at Boulogne on Saturday, 22nd May 1915. They fought in the action of Hooge, being the first division to be attacked by flamethrowers. They were in action in the Second Attack on Bellewaarde. In 1916 they were on the Somme seeing action in the Battle of Delville Wood and the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. In 1917 they fought in the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the first and third Battles of the Scarpe at Arras, the Battle of Langemark and the first and second Battle of Passchendaele. On Wednesday, 20th February 1918 the 6th DCLI was disbanded in France. | |
| 1916 to 1918 | The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) engaged at Neuve Chapelle, Loos, Somme |
| May 1916 | 10th (Labour) Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment formed in Portsmouth in May 1916 |
| 19 May 1916 | William is transferred to the 10th (Labour) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment |
| 20 June 1916 | Moved to France |
| April 1917 | Transferred to the Labour Corps as the 158th and 159th Labour Companies |
| 13 May 1917 | William is transferred to the 158th Labour Corps (Sergeant, regimental number 94210) |
| The 10th (Labour) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, was formed in the latter part of 1915 under Colonel J. H. Balfour as a Labour Battalion. It was based at Cambridge Barracks in Portsmouth and was formed of men who were deemed not suitable for front line duties. After October 1915 large numbers of conscripts began arriving and those classified as "for labour service" were initially allocated to Headquarters Works Companies but these were then formed into the 10th (Labour) Battalion. They were brought back briefly to Reading over the Christmas of 1915. On Sunday, 7th May 1916 they were mobilised and on Friday, 19th May 1916 William was transferred to the 10th (Labour) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. On the night of Sunday 18th/19th June 1916 the 10th (Labour) Battalion embarked for France after having been delayed by influenza. They went to no 3 Labour camp at Rouen where they were employed on loading and unloading supplies from trains. On Saturday, 12th May 1917 the 10th (Labour) Battalion was transferred to the Labour Corps as the 158th and 159th Labour Companies of the newly formed Labour Corps and virtually severed all links with the rest of the Regiment. | |
| 11 November 1918 | Armistice is signed at 05:00 in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne in Northern France and hostilities cease six hours later at 11:00 |
| 26 March 1919 | William is assigned to Class Z Reserve (most fit soldiers were transferred to this category) - Serial # ZR 47/R/99 |
William James Ramsdale
United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920 (3 records)
https://www.familysearch.org
| Name: | William James Ramsdale |
| Event Type: | Military Service |
| Event Year: | 1914 |
| Residence Place: | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
| Age: | 20 |
| Military Company/Regiment: | Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry |
| Military Regiment: | 4573 |
| Military Battalion: | 3rd Battalion |
| Birth Year (Estimated): | 1893 |
| Birthplace: | All Saints, Warwickshire, England |
| Name: | William James Ramsdale |
| Event Type: | Military Service |
| Event Year: | 1914 |
| Residence Place: | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
| Age: | 20 |
| Military Company/Regiment: | Royal Berkshire Regiment |
| Military Regiment: | 24493 |
| Military Battalion: | 10th Labour Battalion |
| Birth Year (Estimated): | 1893 |
| Birthplace: | All Saints, Warwickshire, England |
| Name: | William James Ramsdale |
| Event Type: | Military Service |
| Event Year: | 1919 |
| Residence Place: | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
| Age: | 26 |
| Military Company/Regiment: | Labour Corps |
| Military Regiment: | 94210 |
| Military Battalion: | 158th Labour Company |
| Birth Year (Estimated): | 1893 |
| Birthplace: | All Saints, Warwickshire, England |
Order of Battle 14th (Light) Division C June 1916 France
The 14th (Light) Division came into existence by Army Order No.324, issued on Friday, 21st August 1914, authorising the formation of the six new Divisions of K1 comprising the First New Army. Kitchener's Volunteers (known at the time as "K1" or the First One Hundred Thousand) was formed of volunteers under the care of the War Office. Each Division consisted of three Brigades each of four infantry Battalions. The 14th (Light) Division was the junior formation of K1 and was originally numbered the 8th (Light) Division, but as more Regular Army units became available to create a Division, they were given precedence, and this was renumbered as the 14th (Light) Division. Initially without equipment or arms of any kind, the recruits were judged to be ready by May 1915.
In the 14th (Light) Division all the regiments were of the fast marching rifle or light infantry regiments, hence the title "Light". The battalions in the 43rd Brigade were:
- 6th Battalion The Somerset Light Infantry
- 6th Battalion The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- 6th Battalion The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
- 10th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry
Whilst at Aldershot HM the King inspected the division on Queen's Parade on Saturday, 26th September 1914, and it was inspected by Kitchener on Hankley Common on Tuesday, 11th May 1915. The division crossed to France from Southampton to le Havre and by Tuesday, 25th May 1915 had concentrated around Watten, north west of St Omer.
The 14th Division served on the Western Front throughout the war and the 43rd Brigade were engaged in the following actions:
- Friday, 30th and Saturday, 31st July 1915 - Hooge (German Liquid Fire Attack)
- Saturday, 25th September 1915 - Second Attack on Bellewaarde
14th (Light) Division Sign: this sign had, contrary to general belief, no history and did not represent the 14th proposition of Euclid's Elements (Book 1):
"If with any straight line, and at a point on it, two straight lines not lying on the same side make the sum of the adjacent angles equal to two right angles, then the two straight lines are in a straight line with one another".
Green stood for the Light Division.
| General Officer Commanding | Major General V.A. Couper |
| General Staff Officer Class I | Lieutenant Colonel G.D. Bruce |
| Asst Adjutant & Quartermaster General | Lieutenant Colonel C.L.C. Hamilton |
| Commander Royal Artillery | Brigadier General W.B.R. Sandy |
| Chief Royal Engineer | Lieutenant Colonel J.E.C. Craster |
41st Brigade: Brigadier General P.C. B. Skinner
- 7th (Service) Battalion The King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 8th (Service) Battalion The King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 7th (Service) Battalion The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)
- 8th (Service) Battalion The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)
- 41st Brigade Machine Gun Company 4 1st Trench Mortar Battery
42nd Brigade: Brigadier General F.A. Dugeon
- 5th (Service) Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- 5th (Service) Battalion The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry)
- 9th (Service) Battalion The King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 9th (Service) Battalion The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)
- 42nd Brigade Machine Gun Company 42nd Trench Mortar Battery
43rd Brigade: Brigadier General P.R. Wood
- 6th (Service) Battalion The Somerset Light Infantry
- 6th (Service) Battalion The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- 6th (Service) Battalion The King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)
- 10th (Service) Battalion The Durham Light Infantry
- 43rd Brigade Machine Gun Company
- 43rd Trench Mortar Battery
XLVI, XLVII, XLVIII & XLIX Brigades, Royal Field Artillery
X.14, Y.14, Z.14 Medium and V.14 Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries
14th Divisional Ammunition Columns, Royal Garrison Artillery
61st, 62nd & 89th Field Companies, Royal Engineers
14th Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers
11th (Service) Battalion The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (Pioneers)
42nd, 43rd & 44th Field Ambulances, Royal Army Medical Corps
26th Mobile Veterinary Section 14th Divisional Train - 100th, 101st, 102nd & 103rd Companies, Royal Army Service Corps
43rd Brigade (prior to being reduced to Cadre)
- 6th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry, August 1914 to 18 June 1918. Reduced to Cadre on Saturday 27th April 1918. Cadre to the 16th Division.
- 9th Battalion Cameronians, Tuesday 5th February 1918 to Sunday 21st April 1918. To the 9th Division. 6th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Friday 7th June 1918 to Tuesday 18th June 1918. To the 34th Division.
- 6th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, August 1914 to Wednesday 20th February 1918. Disbanded, personnel to the 1/5th, 7th and 10th Battalions.
- 6th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, Wednesday 12th August 1914 to Tuesday 12th February 1918. Disbanded, personnel to the 16th Entrenching Battalion.
- 7th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, Saturday 2nd February 1918 to Sunday, 16th June 1918. Reduced to Cadre on Thursday 25th April 1918. Cadre to the 16th Division.
- 10th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, Saturday 22nd August 1914 to Tuesday 12th February 1918. Disbanded, personnel to the 16th Entrenching Battalion.
43rd Brigade (after being reconstituted)
- 12th Battalion Suffolk Regiment, Wednesday 19th June 1918 to Monday 11th November 1918. The Cadre of the Battalion joined the Division on Sunday, 16th June 1918 and was reconstituted by absorbing the 16th Battalion.
- 20th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, Monday 17th June 1918 to Monday, 11th November 1918. The Cadre of the Battalion joined the Division Sunday, 16th June 1918 and was reconstituted by absorbing the 34th Battalion.
- 10th Battalion Highland Light Infantry, Monday 17 June 1918 to Monday 11th November 1918.