• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

fenn royal warwickshire regiment 202106

K

kathryn

Guest
i am trying to find out more about my great granddad edwin e fenn he was a private (202106) royal warwickshire, in ww1 who died 31/05/1917 his grave/memorial is in the cemetery dar es salaam .
in the cwgc he is listed as 5th battalion, but he is also listed elsewhere as 9th battalion i would like to find out whether he was in one or both at some point and what his battalion did.
his medal index lists: roll L104 B12 page 2445 does anyone know whether this will give me more info and how i get it?
i would like to know how he ended up dead in tanzania, maybe there is a battalion diary that lists what battles they fought in may '17
if anyone knows anything it would be v much appreciated
yours kath
 
Hi Kath,

It is the "Soldiers Died Great War" record which records him in the 9th Battalion:

Name: Edwin Fenn
Rank: Private
Number: 202106
Regiment etc: Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Battalion etc: 9th Battalion
Born: Birmingham
Enlisted: Handsworth, Staffs
Residence: Birmingham
Died Date: 31 May 17
Died how: Died
Theatre of War: British East Africa

This link may help answer some of your questions.

Doug
 
This is very mysterious as he was one of only two Royal Warwicks who died in modern day Tanzania. The other one is easy to understand as he was a captain attached to the Arab Rifles. 16 others from the 1st Garrison Bn died in the Sudan and were buried at Khartoum. How many more were there - we do not know. I douby whether the war diary of the 9th Bn will help as they were heading Baghdad against Johnny Turk at that time. Incidentally he died from dysentery.
 
There is one possible answer to why a Royal Warwickshire soldier serving with the 9th Bn is buried at Dar es Salaam Cemetery. Tanzania being on the East Coast of Africa may have been on a shipping route for troopships taking soldiers to Mesopotamia (Iraq). He may have took sick aboard ship then and took ashore to a hospital where he died.

Terry
 
The medal record card gives no more detail than you already have, unfortunately.
 
he is listed in the cwgc memorial as 5th battalion is there any chance that he swapped battalions before taking sick? does anyone know if the 5th were in the vicinity?
 
Handwritten 5's and 9's can look similar, I wonder if a hurried transcriber has made a mistake? Just a thought.
 
that sounds most probable just wish i knew more about what happened to him
the 9th went; avonmouth-gallipoli-mudros-egypt-suez-basra so the closest to tanzania was when they embarked at suez 1916 still a long way away and could someone really be ill with something so fatal for so long?
do you think there would be an archive somewhere that might have more info?
kath
 
frank G thornhill
after edwin fenn (my nans dad) died in 1917, his wife (nans mum)harriet remarried in 1924 to frank g thornhill .
like edwin frank was in the royal warwickshire regiment. 15136. i found franks medal card on ancestry and it shows he was also in the labour corps and r.a.f.
frank was about 9 yrs older than edwin. would they have soldiered together?
when i look for franks name on any ww1 related sites he is not listed (some of course only list casualties but i cant find him in any regimental lists)
can anyone tell me which battalion frank g thornhill served in?
yours with hope
kath
 
hello Kath
here is info from The Birmingham Weekly Post 30th June 1917

Pte, Edwin Fenn, Warwicks (28) fell in German East Africa on May 31. He leaves a widow and two children at 4 The Elms, Marroway Street, Ladywood, Birmingham.
 
this is all amazing. it is incredible i didnt actually think id get to see all this thanks for the hard work. i wish i could visit dar es salaam myself but this may be as close as i can get. one of the two children left behind was my gran, i will be passing this on to my dad and aunts. thankyou very much
 
Seeing the RWR mentioned quite a lot in different threads I wonder how of our members served as Warwicks in the army cadet force? I joined in 1943 at Cateswell House in Hall Green and continued until I enlisted in the Coldstream Guards.Bernard67 Arnold.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top