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7. Royal Naval Division
The Jack Clegg Memorial Database of Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War.
By Jack Marshall © 2005.
Background
The Jack Clegg Memorial Database of Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War
This database is a uniquely accurate and comprehensive register of the deaths of servicemen of the Royal Navy who served in the Royal Naval Division in The Great War, compiled from original service records and all other sources listing RND casualties.
As the title suggests, this database is dedicated to the memory of CH/19403 Private John (Jack) Clegg RMLI, 1st Royal Marine Battalion, RND, who was wounded and missing at the Battle of the Ancre 13/11/16. The author, Jack Marshall, is the great nephew of Private Clegg.
Definitive Roll of Honour for The Royal Naval Division
Originating from a desire to list the names of all those killed with Private Clegg in the 1st Royal Marine Battalion on the Ancre 13/11/16, this database has been compiled in order to set the record straight and provide a definitive Roll of Honour for the RND.
This database effectively rewrites the RND casualty lists, due to the great many errors and omissions discovered during research and compilation. Over the last six years, well over 100 cases were forwarded to the CWGC and the names of approximately 70 RND servicemen have now been added to their Registers.
The Royal Naval Division
The Royal Naval Division (RND) was a unique formation in World War 1, raised by the Admiralty to serve in their then traditional role as Infantrymen fighting shoulder to shoulder alongside their Army comrades in an emergency.
The Royal Naval Division originally consisted of three Infantry Brigades (two Naval and one Royal Marine) of twelve Battalions (eight Naval and four Royal Marine). As the war progressed, casualties and a lack of recruits forced the RND to steadily reduce their Naval personnel establishment.
Two Naval Battalions were disbanded in June 1915, the Royal Marine Brigade and two Royal Marine Battalions were disbanded in August 1915, two more Naval Battalions were disbanded in February 1918 and one Royal Marine Battalion in April 1918. At the war"s end the Royal Naval Division"s Naval strength maintained only two Brigades of five Battalions (four Naval and one Royal Marine Battalion).
The British Army and The Royal Naval Division
The Army supplied the shortfall in Battalions and Brigades to the establishment of the Division from July 1916 onwards.
The Royal Naval Division was regarded as an elite unit, tasked with the hardest nuts to crack on the battlefield. Its personnel were inspired by great British Naval traditions, a high reputation and a personal sense of pride in their Battalion and Division.
Their reinforcements were drawn exclusively from the pool of men at their Base Depot. Those recovered from sickness or wounds went back to their original units via the Base Depot/reinforcement camp, unlike the Army, who (except for the Guards Divisions) regularly dispersed men from one regiment to another via their Depots.
The branches of the Royal Naval Division
The list below shows all the branches of the Royal Navy that served in the RND:-
Royal Navy (RN)
Men with a Regular 12 year contract/engagement/duration of service, and Short-service Stokers with a 5 and 7 year"s contract of service (5 years Regular RN service and 7 years in the Royal Fleet Reserve).
Royal Naval Reserve (RNR)
Equivalent to the Territorial Army. Almost exclusively recruited from civil Seaman for 5 years volunteer/part-time service.
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR)
Equivalent to the Territorial Army. Recruited from any civil occupation for 3 years volunteer/part-time service (but expanded to period of war from September 1914).
Royal Marines (RM)
Short-service recruits specially enlisted for 3 years or duration of war engagement with the RND support/divisional units from September 1914 (Supply Train, Medical and Engineers Units, all issued with a Deal service number prefix).
The RM suffix was originally used only for Royal Marine officers commissioned from 1912 onwards. There was no single Corps of Royal Marines in 1914 as it was divided into two main branches, the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Marine Artillery.
In 1923 the RMA and RMLI were amalgamated to form the single Corps of Royal Marines which we know so well today.
Royal Marine Light Infantry (RMLI)
Men with a Regular 12 year contract/duration of service and from September 1914 Short-service recruits of 3 years or duration of war engagement.
Royal Marine Artillery (RMA)
Same as for the Royal Marine Light Infantry.
Royal Marines Band (RMB)
Same as for the Royal Marine Light Infantry.
Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve (RNASBR)
Same as for the Royal Marine Light Infantry.
Royal Fleet Reserve (RFR)
The Royal Fleet Reserve was not a branch of the Royal Navy in its own right, but consisted of men from all of the various branches of the Royal Navy. A man had to be discharged from his regular Royal Navy service before he could enrol in the Royal Fleet Reserve (for a 5 year period).
Many Regular servicemen were discharged directly to the Royal Fleet Reserve, either by design, as in the case of the 5 and 7 year Short-service Royal Navy Stokers, or in times of surplus manpower. However, an ex-Royal Navy Rating could enrol in the Royal Fleet Reserve at any time following his Termination of period of Limited Engagement (aka Time Expired or Completed Term of Service).
The Royal Fleet Reserve were subject to immediate recall/mobilisation in an emergency and acted similarly to the Territorial Army.
There were two classes of Reservists:- Class A and Class B.
Class A Reservists (Naval Pensioners) had to have served 21 years in Regular Naval service (completed time for pension).
Class B Reservists had to have served in any branch of the RN for any period up to 21 years.
Royal Fleet Reserve service numbers
On enrolment in the Royal Fleet Reserve, the man received a Royal Fleet Reserve service number, which consisted of their home port/division (Ch, Po, Dev., or Ply.), their Reserve Class (A or B) and a number (e.g. Ply/B/1101).
The Royal Fleet Reserve number suffixed their original regular service number and their Royal Fleet Reserve service history was recorded on their regular number service sheet. However, this database only shows the Royal Fleet Reserve division if it was different to their regular home port/division as shown in the following examples:-
CH/6899(RFR/B/1102).
Royal Marine Light Infantry serviceman CH/6899, served 12 years and then enrolled in the Chatham Division Royal Fleet Reserve.
Ch/SS/105652(RFR/B/8892).
Royal Navy Short-service Stoker Ch/SS/105652, served 5 years and then enrolled in the Chatham Division Royal Fleet Reserve.
Po/120983(RFR/A/1308).
Royal Navy serviceman Po/120983, served 21 years and then enrolled in the Portsmouth Division Royal Fleet Reserve.
The Royal Fleet Reserve home port/division should always be the same as their regular service number prefix. However, sometimes men enrolled in a different RFR division, in which case the RFR division is shown:-
PO/5032(RFR/Ch/B/330).
Royal Marine Light Infantry serviceman PO/5032, served 4 years 1889-1893 and then enrolled in the Chatham Division RFR in 1902.
Any ex-serviceman of the Royal Naval Division up to 1926 is included
The Esprit de Corps engendered by service in the Royal Naval Division extends to this database. The brotherhood and pride felt by the men of the Royal Naval Division lives on today amongst their descendants and Naval enthusiasts alike.
As a result of this, the normal restrictions of World War One casualty rolls (cut-off-dates, cause attributable etc.) have been widely expanded and/or disregarded. The death of any ex-RND serviceman up to 1926 is regarded as premature, regardless of whether the man"s death was attributable to service, aggravated by service, or not attributable to service.
They lived only a short time to enjoy their hard fought Peace. Those who qualified for the 1914 Star with the Royal Naval Division are given particular attention in this respect, as they constituted the original establishment of the Royal Naval Division in 1914, but they are only part of nearly 500 unrecorded deaths of ex- Royal Naval Division men in the early post-war period (or within our stated limits) and all were thought worthy of note.
The Royal Naval Division Casualties records extend as far as 1942
In some instances of cause attributable to service, or of distinguished gallantry, the closure date has been extended as late as 1942. One prime example of this necessity are those men who entered Lunatic Asylums from service, suffering in their madness until death, the last dying in the Royal Naval Lunatic Hospital, Great Yarmouth in 1939.
The Royal Navy and The British Army in the Royal Naval Division records
The following categories of men are listed in the RND database:-
The Royal Navy
All Naval servicemen who died in Royal Naval Division service 1914-1919.
All Naval servicemen who died after leaving the Royal Naval Division, aboard ship, ashore, or after discharge from Naval service up to 1926, with special dispensation in individual cases up to 1942.
The British Army
Although a large number of Army troops served in the 190th Brigade of the Royal Naval Division, this database deals only with personnel from the various branches of the Royal Navy.
The Soldiers Died in the Great War records provides quite adequately for the Army\"s losses in the 190th Brigade of the RND and as the same depth of research is not possible/available for the Army, there is consequently little scope for improvement of the standard/accepted details. It was therefore decided not to merely repeat information that can be easily accessed elsewhere.
There are exceptions to the Naval personnel only rule which allows the inclusion of Army service personnel as follows:-
Army troops who died whilst serving in an otherwise exclusive Naval Battalion or unit;
Ex-Naval/Royal Naval Division personnel who transferred for service in the Army or Air Force;
Army officers drafted/seconded to the Royal Naval Division for service, often in a senior capacity, with Naval and Royal Marine Battalions.
Acknowledgments
Deserving of Special Mention:-
Thomas S. Muirhead, in providing countless hours of reading, checking and research, thereby achieving the highest standard of accuracy, both in data and in the English language. Tom Muirhead is the son of Chief Petty Officer Jack Muirhead DCM RNVR, Hawke Battalion 1915-1919.
Neil York, in providing countless hours of research for 1000s of RND servicemen, thereby running up his phone bill and blood pressure, but nevertheless ensuring the great depth of detail provided in these cases.
Julian Sykes, in providing an initial database consolidating various sources, thereby saving me six months typing.
Mrs. Jan Keohane and the staff of the Records Section of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, the saviours and beating heart of Royal Naval Division records.
Also thanks to:-
Tony Froom ; Pat Gariepy ; The Imperial War Museum ; Don Kindell ; Andrew Marsh ; The National Archives ; Alan Osborn ; Capt. Chris Page RN ; Len Sellers ; William Spencer ; Capt. Roy Swales RN(rtd.) ; Kyle Tallett ; Ian Wilson.
SOURCES
The Imperial War Museum RND Rolls of Honour.
The Red Cross Wounded and Missing Lists 1915-1918.
The Cross of Sacrifice by S.D. and D.B. Jarvis.
With Full and Grateful Hearts by the RM Historical Society.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton.
The National Archives
R.N.D. Royal Naval Division, Antwerp, Gallipoli and Western Front 1914-1918. by Len Sellers.
The Globe and Laurel Royal Marines Journal 1915-18.
Nelson at War 1914-1918 by Capt. Roy Swales RN(rtd.)
The 1914 Star to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. by W.H. Fevyer and J.W. Wilson.
The Diaries of Pte. Horace Bruckshaw RMLI. by Martin Middlebrook.
Britain's Sea Soldiers, The History of the Royal Marines 1914-19. by Gen. Sir. H.E. Blumberg CB RM.
The Royal Naval Division. by Douglas Jerrold.
Command in the Royal Naval Division. by Capt. Christopher Page RN.
The Hood Battalion. by Len Sellers.
Gallipoli as I saw it. by Joseph Murray.
Call to Arms, from Gallipoli to the Western Front. by Joseph Murray.
Plus a countless number of private letters and diaries of RND servicemen.
Searching The Jack Clegg Memorial Database of Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War.
Explanatory notes on fields
Number
Service numbers were allocated only to NCOs and Other Ranks (Ratings in Royal Navy nomenclature). Officers were not allocated service numbers in World War One, but any officer's previous service number/s are also shown in this field, if commissioned from the ranks. The Navy employed a superior numbering system to the Army. Each enlisted man received a unique service number and from this alone one can deduce his enlistment date, regional origin (in many cases) and his term of service (12 years, 7 years, 3 years etc).
Rank
The Royal Naval Division were also unique in their application of naval ranks within the army system. From July 1916, when the Royal Naval Division came under War Office control and became the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, the equivalent army chevron type rank was required to be displayed.
Able Seaman, Stokers or Seamen were the equivalent of the army Private soldier and required no such distinction. The NCOs were those chiefly affected and were required to wear their naval badge of rank on one arm with the corresponding chevron army rank on the other.
However, they retained their naval rank titles within their units and in administration. The ranks given in this column are therefore the naval version. The Royal Marines were exempt from all this, as they already employed the same rank structure as the army.
Able Seaman = Private
Able Seaman Higher Grade = Lance Corporal
Leading Seaman = Corporal
Leading Seaman Higher Grade = Lance Sergeant
Petty Officer = Sergeant
Chief Petty Officer = Company Sergeant Major
Sub Lieutenant = 1st Lieutenant
Lieutenant = Captain
Lieutenant Commander = Major
Commander = Lieutenant Colonel
One naval rank appears to have been unique to the Royal Naval Division, that of Battalion Sergeant Major (again this excludes the Royal Marines, who already employed the army equivalent Regimental Sergeant Major along with Colour Sergeant and Quartermaster Sergeant). Battalion Sergeant Major was a singular title/promotion unique to the Naval Battalions (not the RM Battalions), although a Royal Marine serving with a Naval Battalion could also hold this particular rank.
A rank with a Brevet prefix allowed an officer to hold a higher rank than that for which he was actually paid. A Brevet rank was awarded for distinguished service and applies only to the Royal Marines in the Royal Naval Division.
A Temporary prefix to an officer's rank indicates that he was given a temporary commission, one which would usually be terminated at the end of the war. Officers without this prefix are deemed regular officers from the pre-war establishment of the Navy.
In many instances where an Acting rank is shown, the man's substantive rank is given in brackets.
Forenames
All forenames are given in full, with very few exceptions. However, the forenames given are those the man enlisted/signed as and not necessarily the man's full given forenames at birth.
Lots of chaps preferred to drop their middle names or adopted an alias when signing up.
Partly to keep faith with their original wishes as regards their service name and how they were known to their comrades and to maintain continuity with contemporary diaries, but mainly to conform to the official service records, their enlisted name is that shown. However, all such cases are cross-referenced to their true or full given names.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) often record extra middle names provided by their next-of-kin and many Bronze Memorial Plaques also carry names which differ both from their enlisted name and that recorded with the CWGC. This is thought to be the result of the next-of-kin forwarding the man's birth certificate to the Plaque issuing authorities, as the name anomalies observed on Royal Naval Division Memorial Plaques always concur with their birth certificate.
Surname
As above for forenames, the surname given is that they enlisted under, but all are cross-referenced to their true or full given name.
Awards
All awards for gallantry, distinguished, or meritorious service are given in the standard abbreviated format.
Service Branch
Indicates the branch of the armed services to which they belonged.
Unit
For those who died on active service, the unit in which they were serving (or were last serving in the case of men who died of wounds) is shown. Many errors in official records have been corrected in this field, particularly the men on attachment or detached to the Trench Mortar Batteries and Machine Gun Companies, but numerous other unit attachments were also found.
Listed here, also for the first time, are the correct unit designations for the Royal Marine Medical units (1st, 2nd, 3rd, which later became the 148th, 149th or 150th RN Field Ambulances) and the Royal Marine Divisional Engineers (1st, 2nd or 3rd Field Companies).
For those who died after returning from active service, there are two categories: - those who died in service in the UK and those who died after their discharge from service.
Those who died in home service are given the unit (usually a Reserve designation) to which they belonged at the time of their death. However, if their subsequent death was considered attributable to active service, then they are recorded with their former active service unit.
Many men died as a direct result of their active service and are therefore counted amongst their comrades who succumbed on the occasion of their wounding in any given battle or action.
Those who died after discharge from service are usually listed with their last active service unit. Whilst many men died after discharge from causes attributable to active service, many did not, but it was felt to be incorrect to give the last home service or reserve battalion, due to experience of the wishes of the next-of-kin in similar cases recorded by the CWGC.
Date of Death
Many errors have been corrected in this field and the date given is that which the author considers to be the true date.
Of particular note are the casualties of the Plymouth Battalion at Y Beach 25-26/4/15, the Portsmouth Battalion at Anzac Beachhead 3/5/15 and the Howe Battalion at Krithia 4/6/15.
Post-war deaths that occurred after discharge and where no exact date is known follow the format of the month quarter and year as given in the GRO indexes for civil deaths (e.g. 00/03/1922).
It was not possible to purchase death certificates for all, but the full GRO death certificate reference is given in most cases.
Cause of death
Shows all the known details of the man's death from original service records or the death certificate.
Service History
This field is intended to give a summary of the man's active service, but may also include enlistment date, home service and previous military/naval service.
e.g. Enlisted 12/8/15 ; Draft for MEF 5/12/15, joined Nelson Bn. 9/1/16-29/1/16 Appendicitis, Invalided to UK 21/2/16.
In the example given above, The man's enlistment date is given, followed by his Draft date, this being the date he actually left the UK for overseas service and if destined for the MEF or BEF. Next is the battalion/unit title and the date he first joined his unit, followed by a hyphen and the date his service terminated, along with the cause of termination.
When a man terminated his service on any given date with accompanying cause, the assumption should be made that the man passed into the medical chain and was absent from his unit until rejoining or invaliding back to the UK.
Primarily, only active service with their battalion/unit is shown, but in many cases the man joined his unit in the UK before going overseas with the original strength/establishment of that unit. In these cases no Draft date is given, only the battalion/unit title with the date he joined. e.g. Nelson Bn. D/698 15/9/14 (D/698 is the man's pay number and indicates the company to which he belonged on that date, i.e. Company.)
Burial
This column gives the burial (if known) and/or the relevant CWGC memorial for those with no known grave.
The old CWGC Cemetery Register number is given in brackets. Although these Registers have now been discontinued in favour of the CWGC online search facility, they contain valuable information that is not made available in the online CWGC database. The next-of-kin supplied details such as cause of death, location of their wounding and mentions in despatches, whilst the CWGC added many historical descriptions of their deaths, such as Killed in action with Turkish destroyer in the Dardanelles. The original CWGC printed Registers therefore remain a valuable source of information.
Notes
This field contains by far the most information. The following details may be found:-
Occupation, Next-of-Kin and home address, birth date, medal entitlement and issue details, promotions, award citations/London Gazette details, CWGC errors, omissions and distinctions, War Diary transcripts, Field General and District Court Martial summaries, witness statements (deaths, Courts Martial and Courts of Inquiry), summary punishments, newspaper extracts, company and platoon identification, GRO Death Certificate references, service papers (if missing or misfiled), original burial location/map references, local war memorial details, true name/birth details, siblings also served in the RND, and research notes.
National Archives references to document classes ADM, MH and WO
ADM (Admiralty), MH (Medical Histories) and WO (War Office) are The National Archives document classes which contain Royal Naval Division records.
In the main, the ADM class of documents were the most relevant, consisting of medals rolls, service records and the Admiralty's Register of Naval Deaths. The WO classes were used mainly in relation to Army troops, consisting of medal index cards, medal rolls and some service papers. The class used in this database refers specifically to:- the casualty admission books from one of the three RND Field Ambulances (2nd/149th RN Field Ambulance).
The two other Royal Navy Field Ambulances (1st/148th and 3rd/150th) were destroyed after the National Archives rejected them for preservation (only a representative 5 tons from 110 tons of Hospital admission books were preserved).
Readers will quickly encounter the use of after a given source title.
e.g. ADM/171 = medals not issued/claimed.
This is used to briefly convey the written term:- reports as or records details as.
It should not be automatically assumed that the given source is in error (although this is true in the majority of CWGC references). It may be reporting genuinely useful information, or it may corroborate information in the case of a corrected Royal Naval Division record.
Glossary
14 St. = 1914 Star
14 St.C. = 1914 Star & Clasp/Bar
AB = Able Seaman (Army Rank equivalent Private)
AB Higher Grade = Able Seaman Higher Grade (Army Rank equivalent Lance Corporal)
ADM/157 = National Archives reference for Portsmouth RMLI, RMA & RMLC Service papers
ADM/159 = National Archives reference for RM, RMLI & RMA Service Records
ADM/171 = National Archives reference for RM, RN, RNVR, RNR Medal Rolls.
ADM/188 = National Archives reference for RN Ratings Service Records
ADM/196 = National Archives reference for RM Officers Service Records
ADM/242 = National Archives reference for Roll of Naval War Deaths 1914-1920
ADM/337 = National Archives reference for RNVR service records
AFB.103 = Army Form B.103 Casualty Form Active Service
AFB.2090A = Army Form B.2090A Report of Death of Soldier, Sailor or Marine to War Office/Admiralty
AGRM = Adjutant General Royal Marines
AMC = Armed Merchant Cruiser
ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
b. = born
BEF = British Expeditionary Force
Bn. = Battalion
BW = Bullet wound
BWM = British War Medal.
C. = Clasp/Bar to 1914 Star
CF = Chaplain to Forces
CGM = Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
CH = Chatham
CWGC = Commonwealth War Graves Commission
DCM = Distinguished Conduct Medal
DD = Discharged Dead
Demob. = Demobilised
DoB = date of birth
DOW = Died of Wounds
DSM = Distinguished Service Medal
DSO = Distinguished Service Order
GOC = General Officer Commanding
GOC in C. = General Officer Commander in Chief
GRO = General Register Office (Indexes for Military or Civil Deaths)
GROS = General Register Office Scotland (Indexes of Civil Deaths)
GSW = Gunshot wound
H.E. = High Explosive
HMS = His Majesty's Ship
HMT = His Majesty's Transport
HQ = Headquarters
IC = used in ADM/171 Medal Roll entries: Indent Casualty (a reference for Pension Records)
ICT = Inflammation of connective tissue
IWGC = Imperial War Graves Commission
KIA = Killed in Action
MC = Military Cross
MEF = Mediterranean Expeditionary Force
MG = Machine Gun
MH/106 = National Archives reference for 2nd/149th (RN) Field Ambulance Admission Books
MM = Military Medal
MSM = Meritorious Service Medal
NCO = Non Commissioned Officer
ODGW = Officers Died in the Great War
PB = Permanent B Class (unfit for trenches)
PLY = Plymouth
PO = Portsmouth
POW = Prisoner of War
PRO = Public Records Office
RAMC = Royal Army Medical Corps
RFR = Royal Fleet Reserve
RM = Royal Marines
RMA = Royal Marine Artillery
RMB = Royal Marines Band
RMLC = Royal Marines Labour Corps
RMLI = Royal Marines Light Infantry
RN = Royal Navy
RNAS = Royal Naval Air Service
RNASBR = Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve
RND = Royal Naval Division
RNR = Royal Naval Reserve
RNVR = Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
RSO = Regional Sorting Office
SDGW = Soldiers Died in the Great War
SNLR = Services No Longer Required
SO = Sorting Office
St.V.B. = 1914-15 Star, Victory & British War Medal
SW = Shell or Shrapnel wound
TSTB = The Sky Their Battlefield
UK = United Kingdom (of Great Britain & Ireland)
V.B. = Victory Medal & British War Medal
VC = Victoria Cross
Vice = [Vee-say] In place of (by promotion in rank)
VG = Very Good
Vic. = Victory Medal
WO/95 = National Archives reference for RND War Diaries
WO/329 = National Archives reference for Army Medal Rolls & Silver War Badge Rolls
WO/339 = National Archives reference for Army Officers Service Papers
WO/363 = National Archives reference for Army Service Papers (burnt documents)
WO/364 = National Archives reference for Army Service Papers (pensions)
