Let’s see if we can help John Branston, who writes:
” I wanted to let you know that I have spent some time over recent years compiling a detailed history of the 1st Wessex Field Company of Royal Engineers (1908-1920).
The ‘1st Wessex’ was a Company of ‘territorials’, formed in 1908 and headquartered in Bath; it was a prominent local military unit at the time. The Company took skilled workers from the Bath area into its ranks as ‘Saturday Night Soldiers’.
Many men who worked for the neighbouring Stothert & Pitt company found a natural home in this volunteer unit. Indeed, the 1st Wessex Drill Hall was located on the Upper Bristol Road, directly across the Victoria Bridge from S&P’s Victoria Works.
Following the outbreak of WW1, the Company was among the first territorial units in the country to agree to disregard the ‘Home Service only’ element of their initial commitment; they were quickly mobilised with a newly-formed Division of the regular army and sailed for France in December 1914.
After spending 1915 on the Western Front, they were then posted to the Salonika Front (Greece/Macedonia) for 1916-17 and thereafter to the Caucasus in Southern Russia, where many men served until the summer of 1919.
I have finally got the research to a point where it is ‘up together’ and can be shared. I hesitate to use the word ‘complete’, as I’m hopeful that more sources and information will be forthcoming in future.
If anyone out there had a family member who served with the 1st Wessex Field Company in WW1 and would like to have a better understanding of their activities, then I will be delighted to share the research with them. I also have a ‘work-in-progress’ list of names of men who served with the unit.
I’d be especially interested if anyone has artefacts or photographs relating to the Company.
I’m sure there must be items in family archives that would add important detail to the story of one of Bath’s notable military units in the WW1 era. I’d love to see these and discuss any information that has been passed down.
I’ll be grateful if you can give this any coverage! Thank you!”
Hope it helps, John.
