Colour Sjt & CQSM Robert Hughes 265687 2/RWF & 6/RWF

[Jerry B]

A recent purchase still to arrive but the sellers pics are very good.

Colour Sjt & CQSM Robert Hughes 265687 2/RWF & 6/RWF

He appears to have enlisted circa 3rd to 5th October 1914 from his service number and he joined the 6th Bn RWF (Caernarvon & Anglesey) though it is likely he was from Flintshire and should have joined the 5th Bn RWF (Flintshire), though he might not be the man of this name on the 1911 census for Ewloe Place, Buckly, Flintshire, but more on this later.

He was entitled to a pair, both of which I have as he went to France with the 2nd Bn RWF though probably not until 1917 as if he had gone earlier he would have been renumbered with a regular Bn number, but instead kept his 6th Bn TF number. Thanks to a member on another forum for the information on the intricacies of the renumbering of TF Bn's.

Interestingly, he was a Colour Sergeant which strikes me as being somewhat unusual for a war time service man ,as normally the rank was an award to long serving men or as a reward for other actions for which he might have been MID'd or given a medal. This suggest that he probably was an older man and it is also likely that he had previous service either with a regular Bn or the Volunteer force or the Territorial Force. So far I cannot find any evidence for any earlier service, but if he was 36 in 1911 he would have been in his mid 20's at the time of the Boer War.

[BobS]

Jerry, have you read " The War the Infantry Knew", by Capt. J.C. Dunn, the 2nd RWF's highly decorated MO? A great read, and there were some real characters in that battalion.

BobS

[harryamb2]

nice find Jerry,same rank as 1 of my uncles WW2 royal west kents.KIA Libya 1943.

[Jerry B]

Jerry, have you read " The War the Infantry Knew", by Capt. J.C. Dunn, the 2nd RWF's highly decorated MO? A great read, and there were some real characters in that battalion.

BobS

Bob, indeed and in fact I am reading it for the third time at the moment, an absolute classic. And of course, Old Soldiers Never Die is also about 2/RWF and their WWI service in France. The fact that it was for a member of 2/RWF was part of the appeal in grabbing this pair as soon as I saw it even though I had been a bit spendy recently, it was too good to pass up.

[BobS]

Bob, indeed and in fact I am reading it for the third time at the moment, an absolute classic. And of course, Old Soldiers Never Die is also about 2/RWF and their WWI service in France. The fact that it was for a member of 2/RWF was part of the appeal in grabbing this pair as soon as I saw it even though I had been a bit spendy recently, it was too good to pass up.

I also read both of Richards' books; what a character! Wasn't Robert Graves in the 2/RWF, along with Siegfried Sassoon? It's been a long time since I read their books.

BobS

[Jerry B]

I also read both of Richards' books; what a character! Wasn't Robert Graves in the 2/RWF, along with Siegfried Sassoon? It's been a long time since I read their books.

BobS

Yes Bob, both Graves and Sasson were in 2/RWF, Graves was not well liked (not by Dunn anyway) and stood on the Bn officers pet cat and also another officer had it in for him. Sassoon was better liked but was wounded with them after winning his MC.