1st Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment: William Barber (General)

by HarryBrook , Sunday, March 15, 2020, 10:37 (1713 days ago) @ agick

agick seems to have this sorted now but if anyone is curious – William Barber was born in quarter 4 of 1890 and his birth was registered in the Chepstow District as Willie Barber. He was also recorded as Willie in the 1891 and 1901 censuses at St. Briavels.

2461 Private William Barber landed in France on 13 February 1915 with 1st Battn. The Monmouthshire Regt.

On 25 April 1915 he was admitted to No.3 Casualty Clearing Station (C.C.S.) suffering from a gunshot wound (G.S.W.) to his right leg. No. 3 C.C.S. was stationed at Hazebrouck and Poperinghe during April and May 1915. The term G.S.W. was a general term covering gunshot, shrapnel and shell fragment wounds.

The war diary of 1st Mons. for 24 April 1915 recorded that the battn. was in trenches south of Zonnebeke, near Ypres and suffered a heavy bombardment by German rifle grenades. Apart from men killed the diary records that 13 O.Rs. (other ranks) were wounded. William Barber was probably in this number. The battn. was short of supplies and the diary recorded that ”it was most trying for the men as they had no means of reply”.

At some point William Barber was transferred to the Labour Corps and at the time of his discharge he had risen to the rank of Sergeant, service number 571058.

Medal rolls show that he was entitled to the 1914 -15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. The B.W.M. and V.M. roll notes that he was discharged on 14 March 1919.

Post war he claimed a disability pension. The pension record card gave his rank and number, etc. as Sgt. 571058 Labour Corps, address – 1, Bloomfield Terrace, Blackwood., year of birth 1891, and marital status (at the time) single. The card gave his date of discharge as 28 November 1918. He was assessed having 5% disability due to suffering varicose veins as a result of his service. He was paid a pension of 6 shillings and 6 pence per week until, as recorded on the card, 2 August 1921.