TOPIC:

Does anybody know if there is a memorial, with names on it, to the 2nd Worcesters in Worcester Cathedral? If so, does anybody have a photo?

The Worcestershire Regiment write-up on the Forum only mentions the 1st & 2nd Battalions but the 6th Battalion were also involved as I have four definites on my Smethwickian database. They all have the same SA service dates 21st December 1901 to 9th October 1902 and the same two clasps to their QSA - Cape Colony & South Africa 1902. The four pages of the medal roll I have downloaded show at least one deceased - Pte 5340 A G Riddle - so there could be a brass plate in Worcester Cathedral to the 6th as well.

I have visited Worcester Cathedral many times to photograph the Boer War memorials and to look through the Rolls of Honour from the first and second world wars, in the course of researching men of the regiment. As far as I am aware there is no memorial plaque within Worcester Cathedral to commemorate the fallen of the 2nd or 6th battalions of the Worcesters.
Men of the 2nd battalion can be found on memorials such as Dudley and Birmingham, so it is most likely the same scenario for the 6th.
Sorry, I cannot be of more help.

I find it very strange that the fallen of the 2nd Worcesters should be commemorated in Worcester Cathedral but not the fallen of the 1st & 6th - especially as the 1st made the biggest sacrifice in numbers. Just flipped through the October 1902 QSA medal roll for the 6th and 6 out of about 550 are listed as "deceased".

The 4th Battalion were also involved and this is all the Regimental website has to say about the 6th & 4th:

"6th Battalion (Militia)
On the 18th December 1901 the men of the 6th Battalion (Militia) Worcestershire Regiment embarked at Southampton on the troop ship and headed for the war in South Africa. On the 18th January 1902 the Battalion disembarked at Cape Town."

"4th Battalion
The 4th Battalion were not involved in any fighting and were sent to South Africa towards the end of the war to guard prisoners. On the 18th February 1902, 16 officers and 411 men of the 4th Battalion Worcesteshire Regiment boarded the Harlech Castle to sail to South Africa."

They also provide a photo of the 6th which they have borrowed from the Roll-of-Honour website:



The caption reads "4th Battalion men on board the Harlech Castle"

Here are "my" 26 Smethwickian Worcesters - Pritchard appears on the Birmingham memorial & Carrington on the Dudley memorial because that is where they were born. At the time of their deaths their nearest and dearest were living in Smethwick and the time they both lived in Smethwick would have been very short. Incidentally they are the only two who can be found on the ABW Forum Name Search.

Private 4594 John Allmark, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 2482 Joseph Barnes, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 3367 Charles Busby, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Private 2735 Joel Foster, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment - Discharged with ignominy and imprisoned on return to GB - medals forfeited.
Private 5130 Charles Leonard Goodwin, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment - Discharged with ignominy and imprisoned on return to GB - medals forfeited.
Private 1013 James Hadley, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps)
Private 5067 William Jones, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Corporal 2479 Henry Reed , 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 2348 Ralph Tittley, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Private 1736 William Webber, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 2332 William Williams, 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 3832 John Ball, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 4203 John Carrington, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 1 clasp) - Killed in action at Worcester Hill, Slingersfontein 12/02/1900.
Private 1580 Henry Harrison, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 3665 Joseph Jackson, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 5 clasps)
Private 2910 Thomas Jones, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 3265 William Mallin, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 3 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Corporal 4232 John Harry Pritchard, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 1 clasp) - Killed in action at Worcester Hill, Slingersfontein 12/02/1900.
Private 4118 Arthur Smith, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 1 clasps, KSA 2 clasps)
Private 6112 Frederick Snelus, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 4 clasps)
Private 5049 Thomas Turley, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Private 4405 Joseph Walker, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Private 5446 Walter Bonehill , 6th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Private 6373 Frederick George Cross, 6th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Private 5872 Samuel Johnson, 6th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps)
Colour Sergeant 9175 William Ray, 6th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. (QSA 2 clasps) - Mentioned in Despatches (Gazetted 23/06/1902).

I think this list shows up a shortcoming of the medal protocol for the ABW - the two who paid the ultimate sacrifice are the least honoured by their medals. There was at least one published letter to the Smethwick Telephone during the war expressing this point of view.

Yes, it does seem rather remiss of those powers that be, that the fallen of the 2nd and 6th battalions were not officially commemorated by the regiment in the city.
Particularly as the action at Slingersfontein (Worcester Hill) had the dubious honour of the highest number of men killed in action in a single battle for the Worcesters.
As you know, they were all 2nd battalion men.
One wonders if there is any appetite today within Worcester's movers and shakers to perhaps erect a plaque in an appropriate location within the city?
It does seem to be a glaring gap to me!
Perhaps it was a question of finance at the time, and I wonder how much a simple plaque might cost today.

And thank you for putting all of the Smethwickian Worcesters in a single list.
I have checked the names and sadly do not have the QSA to any man named thereon within my collection.

Steve - Going back through this post and consulting the Worcester Chronicle of the time. The Memorial outside the Cathedral, considered one of the finest war memorials in the UK, was erected at the behest of the Lord Lieutenant of the County and other “County Magnates” who I suspect paid some of the costs although there was also a public subscription. It was erected in memory of the “Men of Worcestershire” which would include a lot who were nothing to do with the Worcestershire Regiment. Berenice tells us that the brass plaque inside was “commissioned and installed by the officers and men of the 1st battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment in memory of their comrades who lost their lives”. There is an article in the Worcester Chronicle of 1903 reporting on the 2nd Worcester Volunteers holding an event at Helwell Park during which their commander reports they had collected £20 towards their war memorial fund which was to be split between the County war memorial fund and a home for disabled soldiers.