Worcestershire Regiment

recently been given letter regarding my great uncle , about release of prisoner of war on 23/11/1918 . Not sure how to find any more information on him wondered if anyone could help . Many thanks .

There is a good deal of information about the 9th Btn from the links at the top of this site's homepage. That should help piece together what your Great Uncle was up to.

Does the letter indicate from where he was released?

In 1915 the 9th were in Gallipoli - Turkey and later when withdrawn from there found themselves in the Middle East in what is now Iraq.

Thank you for your reply this site is very interesting and does contain a lot of information.
The letter said he was released from general hospital Baghad as prisoner of war on 23/11/1918 .
His brother Albert Davies was in the 11th Battalion of worcesters there is another note saying he came home due to Malaria in 1919 but i have no number for him .

Hi Bettina,

Private Ernest Davies (22315) 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment entered the theatre of war on the 14th September 1915. After the war he was transferred to the Z army reserves.

Private Albert Davies of the 11th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. His army number was 16257. He entered the theatre of war in France on the 22nd September 1915. After the war he was transferred to the Z army reserves.

Hope this helps a little.

Louis (webmaster)

Hi Bettina
Sounds like your two great uncles shared the same experiences as my Granddad and great uncle.
My great uncle Jesse Thornett was in 1915 with the 11th in France then Salonika - Greece and was taken prisoner at the battle of Dorian in 1917. He was held throughout the rest of the war.
When interviewed in 1974 for the local paper this Boer War veteran reintegrated his reports when he got home in 1919/20 of the conditions they suffered as 'rotten'. Having read the book Under the Devils Eye - about Britain’s lost army in Salonika, 'rotten' is a gross understatement. Force-marched without food, or boots, wounded and dying left behind (some it was said 'dispatched early') their conditions were horrendous. Jess suffered with poor feet for the rest of his life after those forced marches, his boots having been taken by one of the Bulgarian enemy. Both Jess and your Great Uncle were the lucky ones.

Ernest being with the 9th would in 1915 have been in Gallipoli and most likely fought at the 'Farm' a position at the foot of a steep incline and overlooked by Turkish troops on three and a half sides. The CO of 9th Lt Col Nunn died there and is one of only a handful of marked graves at the Farm, the rest have no known grave. A beautiful spot today, I was there last April, but then one could only imagine.

Hi Bettina

I have found 2 references to your Great Uncle in the Worcester Herald.

27 May 1916 edition
22315 Pte E. Davies - Birmingham - Wounded

3 March 1917 edition
22315 Pte E. Davies - Birmingham - Wounded

Regards Allan