16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps

   16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps was raised at Denham, Buckinghamshire on the 19th of September 1914 by Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, Commandant of the Church Lads Brigade, from current and previous members of this organisation. After inital training close to home they moved to Rayleigh in March then returned to Denham in May. They joined 100th Brigade, 33rd Division at Clipstone Camp in June 1915 and moved to Perham Down for final training in August. They proceeded to France on the 17th of November landing at Le Havre. 33rd Division concentrated near Morbecque, being strengthened by the exchange of 98th Brigade for the experienced 19th Brigade from 2nd Division. In 1916 they were in action in the Battles of the Somme. In 1917 they took part in the Arras Offensive, The actions on the Hindenburg Line, the Operations on the Flanders coast and the Third Battles of Ypres. In 1918 they were in action in the Battles of the Lys, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy. At the Armistice the Division was in a peroid of rest in the Sambre valley near Leval Demobilisation took placr throughout the first months of 1919 with Divisional HQ moving to Le Havre on the 28th of February.

4th Nov 1915 Orders

5th Nov 1915 Exercise

6th Nov 1915 Advance Party

7th Nov 1915 Advance Party

8th Nov 1915 Inspection

8th Nov 1915 Orders

16th Nov 1915 On the Move

17th Nov 1915 On the Move

18th Nov 1915 On the Move

19th Nov 1915 On the Move

20th Nov 1915 Training

21st Nov 1915 Training

22nd Nov 1915 Training

23rd Nov 1915 On the March

24th Nov 1915 In Billets

25th Nov 1915 Into Billets

26th Nov 1915 Training

27th Nov 1915 Training

28th Nov 1915 Training

29th Nov 1915 Training

30th Nov 1915 On the March

1st Dec 1915 Training

1st Dec 1915 Reliefs

2nd Dec 1915 Training

2nd Dec 1915 Poor Conditions

3rd Dec 1915 Training

4th Dec 1915 Instruction

4th Dec 1915 Quiet

5th Dec 1915 Instruction

6th Dec 1915 Instruction

6th Dec 1915 Bombardment

7th Dec 1915 Instruction

7th Dec 1915 Artillery Active

8th Dec 1915 Trench Work

9th Dec 1915 On the March

8th Dec 1915 Mine Exploded

9th Dec 1915 Wet Day

10th Dec 1915 In Billets

10th Dec 1915 Moves

11th Dec 1915 Training

11th Dec 1915 Reliefs

12th Dec 1915 Training

12th Dec 1915 Flooding

12th Dec 1915 Training

13th Dec 1915 Orders

14th Dec 1915 Training Facilities

15th Dec 1915 Reliefs

15th Dec 1915 Training

17th Dec 1915 Instructions Issued

19th Dec 1915 Instructions

20th Dec 1915 Reorganisation

21st Dec 1915 Storm

22nd Dec 1915 Conference

23rd Dec 1915 Orders Issued

24th Dec 1915 Flooding

26th Dec 1915 Flooding

27th Dec 1915 On the March

28th Dec 1915 Reliefs

30th Dec 1915 Reliefs

31st Dec 1915 Shelling

8th Jan 1916 Hot Machine Guns

2nd Apr 1916 Enemy Active

21st May 1916 Reliefs

22nd May 1916 Bombardment

14th Mar 1918 Reliefs

22nd Mar 1918 Orders

24th Mar 1918 Reliefs

30th Mar 1918 Reliefs

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Want to know more about 16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps?

There are:5298 items tagged 16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps available in our Library

These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Those known to have served with
16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps
during the Great War 1914-1918.

Almond Albert. Pte. (d.20th Jul 1916)
Bedson Albert Clarence. Rifleman (d.20th May 1917)
Bowman Henry Frederick. Rifleman (d.23rd Apr 1917)
Brinn Felix John. Rfm. (d.17th Apr 1918)
Chappell William. Pte. (d.31st Jan 1916)
Cobden William James. Sgt (d.23rd Apr 1917)
Deadman Frank. Rflmn. (d.25th October 1917)
Dunn James. Pte
Everritt Albert Victor. Rflmn. (d.21st Dec 1916)
Hill George. Rfm (d.3rd Mar 1916)
Ledbrook Wilfred Oliver. Rflmn. (d.24th Dec 1916)
Marchant Joseph John. Rfm (d.24th Aug 1916)
Rose Horace L.. L/Cpl. (d.13th April 1918)
Savill Stanley Rust. Rfn (d.27th Sep 1917)
Shall Joseph James. Rflmn. (d.8th October 1918)
Surry Norman Frederic. 2nd Lt. (d.12th Oct 1918)
Wain David Noel. Pte. (d.21st July 1916)
Williss James Henry. Rfmn. (d.2nd July 1916)

All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of 16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps from other sources.

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Rflmn. Wilfred Oliver Ledbrook 16th Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps (d.24th Dec 1916)

On the day of his death, Wilfred Ledbrook was supposed to be on leave. He was single and gave his leave up to a friend (name unknown) so that the friend could be with his wife and family at Christmas.
I was born in 1947, and his sister (my grandmother) insisted that I be baptised Wilfred Oliver, in memory of her brother. I was always very close to my late Nan.
Wilfred Oliver James Puffett

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Rfmn. James Henry Williss 16th Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps (d.2nd July 1916)

James Williss was my Great Uncle who died before I was born. All I know is that he was born and grew up in Rugeley, Stafford shire.During WW1 he served with 16th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps. His duty location was France and Flanders. James died 2nd of July 1916 and is remembered on the Loos Memorial in France. I have added a photo of his headstone memorial which is located in the Wolsley Road Cemetery in Rugeley.
Zoe Steadman

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Rfm George Hill 16th Btn King's Royal Rifle Corps (d.3rd Mar 1916)

George Hill was my grand uncle; brother of my maternal grandfather James Hill.
George was born at the beginning of 1900 in Rugeley, Staffordshire. George had two brothers and a sister, and wanted to follow his elder brother Arthur to war. At 15, he was too young to enlist, yet lied about his age and joined up against his family's wishes.
He enlisted in the "Church Lad's Brigade", the 16th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, and was sent to France.
George's father, Francis Hill, was enraged and wrote to the Regiment to have his son returned, but by the time he was found, George had passed 16, the age to enlist. Though still too young to serve at the front, George retained his position in the Regiment and was stationed at Bethune, France, for training.
George was killed in an explosion during a training accident in Bethune, along with Rifleman George Henry Gibben C/1357 and Lance Sergeant John Turnbull C/345, with whom he is buried.
Mark Beard

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Rflmn. Joseph James Shall 16th Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps (d.8th October 1918)

My great uncle was Joseph Shall (my maternal great Uncle). He may have been captured during The Defence for Neuve Eligais in April 1918. His sister (my grandmother) lost two brothers, Joseph who died 8th of October 1918 in Lizbark Heilsberg 39 POW camp and Henry Charles Shall killed in action in 1917.
I would love to find any more information about either Joseph, or his 16th Btn (Church Lads Brigade) or the Heilsberg Prisoner of war camp.
David Irwin

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Pte. David Noel Wain 16th (Church Lads Brigade) Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps (d.21st July 1916)

The Death Plaque for Private David Wain is on display at the Loughborough Carillon Tower & War Memorial Museum. His brother, John Arthur also died in WW1.
Mel Gould

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Rflmn. Frank Deadman 16th Btn. King's Royal Rifle Corps (d.25th October 1917)

Frank Deadman is buried in Wimereux Communal Cemetery.
William Norton

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Rfm Joseph John Marchant 16th Bn Kings Royal Rifle Corps (d.24th Aug 1916)

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, I want to share with you a letter received by my great-grandparents in October 1916. It was from a complete stranger who had buried their son's body. My great-uncle Joe was 20 years old when he died on the Somme on August 24th 1916. His sister (my lovely Nan - Violet Eames nee Marchant) was 5 years old the day the telegram arrived and, all her life, she told me how she could still remember her mother's screams coming from the kitchen. He was S/15523 Rifleman Joseph John Marchant of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He was one of 419, 654 British soldiers to die during the long battle. God bless every one of them. I'm so proud of him. The two letters found on him were to his parents and to his fiancee, Gracie Pennington. She grieved for him for over 20 years before she finally asked permission, of my great-grandparents, to marry.
From 1st Southern General Hospital, Kings Heath, Birmingham on 22/10/1916 P2078 Lance Corporal Ernest Norris of the Mounted Military Police writes "Dear Friends, Just a few lines to tell you that on the 9th inst whilst I was crossing the battle field in France I saw a dead comrade laid some distance from the firing lines and he had been missed by the burying party. I looked in his pockets for his pay book to find out what he belonged to and found he was 15523 Joseph Marchant 16 KRR 9 Platoon. There was also two letters which he had wrote ready to be posted. One was to Mr & Mrs Marchant 59 Cowper Road Stoke Newington London and one to Miss Pennington 145 West Green Road Seven Sisters Road Tottenham London. I thought I had better write to you as you may not know what had become of your son. I may say that I buried him at night and made him a good grave. He had some photographs but I considered to put them in the poor lads grave as they had been spoilt with the rain. He must have been killed about six weeks or two months ago by his appearance and the dates on the letters he had written in his pay book. I didn't bury him in a cemetary as there was not one near and it was a risky job as the Germans had a clear view but the nearest village to his grave is Flers on the Somme district. I got a bullet wound the next morning at 8am and have been sent to this hospital. Friends I trust I have not brought any bad memories back to you but thought it was best to write to you as you would be wondering what had become of the poor boy. You have my deepest sympathy at your great loss. I remain yours respectfully Cpl E Norris PS I will furnish you with more information if you require it"
What a wonderfully generous act of humanity and bravery to risk his own life to bury a stranger and then to take the trouble to write to his family. I wish with all my heart I could thank him. I have tried, many times over the years, to trace his family but to no avail. I would love them to know what he did for my great-uncle.
Penelope Anne Brayley

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Pte. Albert Almond 16th Btn. King's Royal Rifles (d.20th Jul 1916)

Albert Almond was born to Thomas Almond and Nanny Braithwaite Holt in 1884. He enlisted in the King's Royal Rifles in September 1914 and was sent to France, but returned to England to recover from wounds received in January 1915. He married Minnie Shaw in 1915 and returned to the front. He was killed in action on the 20th July 1916.
Grahame Morris

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Rfm. Felix John Brinn 16th Btn. King's Royal Rifle Corps (d.17th Apr 1918)

Felix Brinn is the brother of my great-granny, who died aged 21 near Ypres in 1918. He had married Gladys Allen the year before in Barnet. His body was never found and his name is on the Tyne Cot memorial.
In 2002 I went on a school trip to Belgium to visit the war graves. Those rows of graves and names on walls really illustrated the huge numbers of people killed and showed us the real lives that had been affected. Our bus driver played the bagpipes whilst our teacher read out the names of our ancestors that had been killed in the war. It was very moving and everyone was crying by the end, because although we were only 14, we had respect for these people who had to cope with unimaginable horrors and we were and still are grateful for the lives we live today.
Sophie Hawkridge

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Pte. William "Wallie" Chappell 16th Btn. King's Royal Rifle Corps (d.31st Jan 1916)

I came across a rather sweet postcard from this boy to his mother as he prepared to leave for war, and, so I decided to find out more about this soldier and from where he had come. William Chappell was born in 1896 in Batley, Yorkshire, son of Hannah Maria and Arthur Chappell. The Chappells lived in Ossett, near Wakefield with William, known as Wallie, his brother Joe (b.1894), sister Mary (b.1905) and his cousin Bertram Allsopp (b.1892, adopted son of the Chappells. By 1911, the Chappell household also included Arthur's mother Mary Chappell, 75.
Ossett was principally a cloth making town, but also employed many in the local coal mines around Wakefield. Arthur was a Stationary Engineer and had married Hannah Maria c.1891. Wallie's brother, Joe, was an apprentice blacksmith, and Bertram was a Mill Worker/Rag Maker, whilst Wallie and his sister Mary were at school in 1911.
Wallie joined the Church Lads' Brigade sometime around 1909 at the age of 13, and the boys were disciplined in rifle drills and various military style exercises. In 1911 the small movement became recognised by the War Office as part of the Territorial Cadet Force and when the call to arms came in the summer of 1914 they formed the 16th (Service) Battalion (Church Lads' Brigade) of the Kingâ€™s Royal Rifle Corps under Field Marshal Lord Grenfell at Denham in Buckinghamshire.
In early September 1914 the 18-year-old Wallie Chappell left his family and travelled first to London's King Cross, and then across to Denham. Wallie writes to his mother as soon as he arrives in Denham, on a postcard he bought at the Swan Hotel on the Village Road:
"Dear Mother, Arrived London 2pm. Came straight here. Can't say where or what we shall do. This place Denham is near Webridge. Don't worry shall be all right. Dont know my address yet. Love from Wallie." He adds one more line: "Am in this hotel on the photo while writing".
Wallie spent the next six months in Denham undertaking training and guard duties at local bridges and reservoirs, and two further months in Raleigh, Essex. In June 1915 the Lads moved to Clipstone Camp in Mansfield and attach to the 100th Brigade in 33rd Division and that summer on to Perham Down, a village near Salisbury Plain, and Andover. In November the Division received a warning order to prepare to sail for France, and the Brigade moved by train to Southampton with a total contingent of 30 officers and 994 other ranks, 64 horses and mules, 19 vehicles and 9 bicycles. Wallie and the 16th Battalion (Church Lads' Brigade) of the Kingâ€™s Royal Rifle Corps ended their journey into war with a night Channel crossing and landed on 17th November in the Haute-Normandie region of France at Le Havre.
The following is an account from records of the 16th Battalion:
From the Le Havre, the battalion moves first by train via Abbeville to Thienne on 19th November and then after a few days in Boesegham it marches on to Annezin by the 30th November. Various course and training continue while different parts of the battalion are giving some trench familiarisation in rotation. Others are attached to the 180th Tunnelling Company RE as working parties for mining activities. They move to St.Hilaire on the 12th December, where they remain until the 28th December. Christmas day 1915, passes without any special note and 28th/29th December they move to billets in Bethune. The Battalion gets the bath house on New Year's day, but there is no clean kit available.
On 2nd January 1916, the first Sunday of the New Year, the battalion moves into the firing line for eight days in trenches near Bethune. The battalion's position comes under an intense bombardment that lasts for hours. As the firing and shelling dies down, the damage has to be repaired. This work, together with digging out the buried men, goes for the next few days while the enemy continue to snipe, shell and machine gun. The battalion is relieved on the 10th January. Their losses for that first Sunday alone were 9 killed and 27 wounded.
It was at, or shortly after, this battle in Bethune that William 'Wallie' Chappell was wounded and died of his injuries. He was buried on 31st of January 1916 in Bethune Town Cemetery, Pas de Calais, and a headstone marks his burial. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission record his passing: "Chappell, W. Age 20. Son of Arthur and Hannah Maria Chappell of 6 Groudle Place, Broadowler Lane, Ossett Wakefield."
J Sullivan

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Rifleman Henry Frederick Bowman 16th Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps (d.23rd Apr 1917)

Henry was a member of Hertfordshire and Essex Flying Club, he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. His son Flt Lt. Henry Cyril Francis "Harry" Bowman DFC lost his life in the Second World War whilst flying with 129 sqd.
Jane Thyrza Bowman

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16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps

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16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps
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16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps

Want to know more about 16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps?

Those known to have served with16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corpsduring the Great War 1914-1918.

Can you help?

If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.

Announcements

Recomended Reading.

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The Wartime Memories Project
- 16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps during the Great War -

Those known to have served with
16th (Church Lads Brigade) Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps
during the Great War 1914-1918.