Attestation:
Patrick Connors joined the South Wales Borderers in 1904, when he enlisted for six years at the age of seventeen. His attestation at Bassaleg records that he was five feet eight in height, had brown hair and blue eyes and weighed less than nine stones. Prior to his attestation he had been working as a shoemaker. Scroll through the transcript or click on the images below to see the original
Service History:
Patrick received the 14 Star Medal and the Victory Medal. The first was awarded to soldiers who had fought from the very start of the war in 1914 and the second was awarded to all servicemen who taken part in the 1914-18 conflict at any point. The Military Service Record lists eight different postings during his service first in the South Wales Borderers and then in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. However, it does not include any dates or places, apart from one which mentions the Infantry Base Depot. Keith Finch, a volunteer at the Lives of the First World War project. has provided the following background information on the 9th Service Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers:
9th (Service Battalion)
09.09.1914 Formed at Wrexham as part of the Second New Army (K2) then moved to Tidworth to join the 58th Brigade of the 19th Division and then moved to Basingstoke.
Mar 19’15 Moved back to Tidworth.
19.07 .1915 Mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne and engaged in various actions on the Western Front including;
1915: The Action of Pietre; diversionary action during the Battle of Loos
1916: The Battle of Albert, The attacks on High Wood, The Battle of Pozieres Ridge, The Battle of the Ancre Heights, The Battle of the Ancre
1917: The Battle of Messines, The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle, First Battle of Passchendaele, The Second Battle of Passchendaele.
1918: The Battle of St Quentin, The Battle of Bapaume, The Battle of Messines, The Battle of Bailleul, The First Battle of Kemmel Ridge, The Battle of the Aisne, The Battle of the Selle, The Battle of the Sambre and the passage of the Grand Honelle.
11.11.1918 Ended the war at Eth west of Bavai, France.
He adds:
9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers was raised at Wrexham on the 9th of
September 1914 as part of Kitchener’s Second New Army and joined 58th Brigade,
19th (Western) Division. They trained at to Tidworth, spending the winter in billets in
Basingstoke, they returned to Tidworth in March 1915 for final training and
proceeded to France, landing at Boulogne on the 19th of July 1915. Their first action
was at Pietre, in a diversionary action supporting the Battle of Loos. ln 1916 They
were in action during the Battle of the Somme, capturing La Boisselle and being
involved in The attacks on High Wood, The Battles of Pozieres Ridge, the Ancre
Heights and the Ancre. ln 1917 they were in action in The Battle of Messines and the
Third Battles of Ypres. In 1918 They fought on The Somme during The Battle of St
Quentin and The Battle of Bapaume and in the Battles of the Lys at Messines, Bailleul
and The First Battle of Kemmel Ridge. They fought in The Battle of the Aisne and
during the Final Advance in Picardly they were in action in The Battle of the Selle, The
Battle of the Sambre and the passage of the Grand Honelle. At the Arrnitice were
in billets near Bavay. Demobilisation began in December 1918 and the final cadres returned to England on the 27th af June 1919. – See more at:
http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com
Discharge:
The date of Patrick’s discharge from the Army is unknown. He was still serving at the time of his marriage in 1919 but was a civilian when the 1921 Census was taken.
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