Author Topic: Hello, what a great site...I’m looking for some advice! James Edward Riley 1/7th  (Read 1980 times)

Ccawley

  • Guest
Hi all,

Trying to unravel some family history.  I am researching James Edward Riley. He was in the 1\7th Battalion Manchester Regiment, joining originally c1908. I have his military record for WW1, which has the first page dated 1916, but it also references that he was at Dardanelles to Egypt 1915; en route to Egypt 10/9/14 to 25/9/14 then 29/9/14 to 2/5/15 1/7th Bat 4 A then 3/5/15 1/7th Bat 2B to 30/12/15.  He lived at 33 Corporation St, Ardwick.  At some point he got tuberculosis. So having read about the regiment and his record, I’m trying to work out if there is a point where he may have returned to barracks in Manchester to train/ support with some of the later recruits...or even if he may have become sick, which would have seen him return to Ardwick before returning.  This would see him returning home in Q1=15. Any advice most welcome. Thank you. Caroline

Offline mack

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,722
hello caroline
I don't know what info you already have so I will post what I have for you

1261 james,edward riley
enlisted 10-8-1910
1/7th manchesters
born 1887
grey cloth warehouseman
33 corporation st,ardwick
married Elizabeth,ann Hargreaves st wilfreds church,hulme 11-1-1908
he served all the way through the gllipoli campaigne until he was sent home on 30th December 1915,discharged 4-2-16 as a time expired soldier,time expired means he had served the 5yrs 172 days of his service,he re-enlisted on 24-7-16,1/7th manchesters,army number 275463.
transferred to royal engineers as a first class signaller with the rank of corporal,posted to signal squadron,3rd cavalry division,army number 341781
embarked for france 27-7-18 till 31-3-19
demobbed 29-4-19
his wife Margaret died in the Spanish flu epidemic on 13th November 1918 after going into premature labour
in 1924,james was living at 14 bank st,hulme

mack

Offline charlie

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,704
Hi Caroline, welcome to the forum.
Further to Mack‘s reply, he was transferred from the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, at the time in Scarborough, to the RE‘s. So at some point he moved from the 7th Bn to the 3/5th Bn. I doubt that he served with the 1/7th Bn after his re-enlistment, more likely the 2/7th or 3/7th, as the 1/7th was overseas and his service was all in the UK till he went back to France with the REs in 1918.

Charlie

Ccawley

  • Guest
Thanks both...so looks like he would definitely have been away all 1915 then..his wife is my great gran...my gran was born dec 1915 and given up to the people that then formally adopted my gran in 1927..James returned in 1916 and continued life with Elizabeth who as you rightly say died 1918 in the Spanish flu epidemic, whilst pregnant.  I couldn’t see how her family and his family who lived all around them could have hidden the 1915 pregnancy of my grandmother...but looks like there’s no way he was the father, as it’s be unlikely he came back from Alexandria and then Gallipoli until it was over.  Thanks again