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Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (3) Cape Colony, Transvaal, Orange Free State, unofficial rivets between second and third clasps (1791 Pte. D. Clutton, R. Welsh Fus:);
British War and Victory Medals (6488 Pte. D. Clutton. R.W. Fus.)

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (6026 Pte. E. Richards, R. Welsh. Fus:);
KSA (2) (6026 Pte. E. Richards. Rl: Welsh Fus:);
1914 Star (7254 Pte. E. Richards. 2/R.W. Fus.);
British War Medal 1914-20, naming erased; Victory Medal 1914-19 (7254 Pte. E. Richards. R. W. Fus.)

Edward Richards was born in St. Johns, Worcester, around 1878. He attested into the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and served in South Africa with the 1st Battalion during the Boer War. He re-enlisted into his old regiment and served during the Great War with the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front from 13 August 1914 and was discharged on 30 October 1915.

That is a particularly nice group, I do wonder if, by the evening of the 23rd of August 1914, whether or not Richards had considered his position and had taken a few moments to reflect upon re enlisting in his old regiment, the right thing to have done or not?
He was part of a rather thin line of khaki, less than ten infantry battalions that were facing down six enemy infantry divisions, of course, there is also the possibility that he might have have simply been enjoying himself, a number of old sweats certainly did.

djb wrote:

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (6026 Pte. E. Richards, R. Welsh. Fus:);
KSA (2) (6026 Pte. E. Richards. Rl: Welsh Fus:);
1914 Star (7254 Pte. E. Richards. 2/R.W. Fus.);
British War Medal 1914-20, naming erased; Victory Medal 1914-19 (7254 Pte. E. Richards. R. W. Fus.)

Edward Richards was born in St. Johns, Worcester, around 1878. He attested into the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and served in South Africa with the 1st Battalion during the Boer War. He re-enlisted into his old regiment and served during the Great War with the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front from 13 August 1914 and was discharged on 30 October 1915.

The full military paperwork covering the service in the ABW & Great War for 6026/7254 Edward Richards has survived although you do have to flip from FMyP to Ancestry to find both sets.

He originally attested on 3 July 1899 on a 7 years active + 5 in reserve contract.

Both sets of paperwork clearly show he was born in St John's parish, DUDLEY, Worcestershire. Childhood memories tell me that Dudley & Worcester were, and still are, some way apart - trips to Dudley with its castle/zoo were always looked forward to whereas Worcester with its cathedral not so much.

The family were still living in Dudley at 7 Bath Street when Edward attested in Worcester in 1899 except for his elder brother, Thomas who was in Bermuda with the 2nd Worcesters.

When Edward returned from South Africa he purchased his release on 30 September 1902. At first sight this appears to have been a costly mistake because exactly a month later he re-enlisted in the RWF, this time on a 3 active + 9 in reserve contract with a new regimental number. However, in February 1903 the army refunded his release money. He extended his service beyond 3 years so at the start of WW1 he was a serving soldier with nearly 16 years service to his credit.

I had not looked at Richards papers, but, he certainly was an old sweat, I hope he was as okay as he could be by the time he was discharged.

Smethwick wrote: The full military paperwork covering the service in the ABW & Great War for 6026/7254 Edward Richards has survived although you do have to flip from FMyP to Ancestry to find both sets.

He originally attested on 3 July 1899 on a 7 years active + 5 in reserve contract.

Both sets of paperwork clearly show he was born in St John's parish, DUDLEY, Worcestershire. Childhood memories tell me that Dudley & Worcester were, and still are, some way apart - trips to Dudley with its castle/zoo were always looked forward to whereas Worcester with its cathedral not so much.

The family were still living in Dudley at 7 Bath Street when Edward attested in Worcester in 1899 except for his elder brother, Thomas who was in Bermuda with the 2nd Worcesters.

When Edward returned from South Africa he purchased his release on 30 September 1902. At first sight this appears to have been a costly mistake because exactly a month later he re-enlisted in the RWF, this time on a 3 active + 9 in reserve contract with a new regimental number. However, in February 1903 the army refunded his release money. He extended his service beyond 3 years so at the start of WW1 he was a serving soldier with nearly 16 years service to his credit.

Frank wrote as regards 6026/7254 Edward Richards: “I hope he was as okay as he could be by the time he was discharged.”

Edward was discharged on the 13th Anniversary of his re-enlistment and according to the paperwork “on the termination of his period of engagement”. It all seemed to happen in extreme haste as his period of service with the BEF is given as 13/08/1914 to 28/10/1915, on 29/10/1915 he was posted home and on 30/10/1915 discharged. There are two pages of “Medical History”, the second is blank and the first has just two entries showing he spent 5 days in hospital in January 1905 and another 5 in October 1905 – on both occasions the cause was a sprained right knee caused by an off duty accident. So he might have had a dodgy right knee in his post army life, his mental state when he was discharged may have been affected by the death of his father in early 1914 & his mother in early 1915 (both were 76 when they died), and almost certainly the horrors of the Battle of Mons etc. Did any soldiers return from the Great War who were not damaged goods? Both my grandfathers entered a theatre of war in 1916, both returned without having suffered a physical wound but one had malaria and, based on the hidden books found in his bookshelves after he passed, was seriously considering joining the Communist Party, the other had a nervous breakdown three days before the war ended.

Edward can be found with certainty on the 1881 & 1891 Census returns for Dudley, the surprising thing is that he was 6 and 16 at the time which does not accord with the 1878 year of birth that can be calculated from both sets of attestation paperwork. Why make himself 3 years younger? I have seen this one suggested on this site before - he was sensitive about his height of 5 ft 4 inches (2 inches below the average at the time). Bath Street where the family lived in 1891 was not as posh as it sounds – the dwellings were arranged in “Courts” i.e. they were back to backs with communal toilets and washing facilities. His father was a shoemaker. I cannot find anybody on the 1921 Census to correspond to an Edward Richards born in Dudley in 1878 but I can find one who was born in 1875. He was lodging with a coal miner and his family in Netherton, immediately to the south of Dudley. He was still unmarried and working as a “bricklayer’s labourer”.