The Plugstreet Archaeological Project The 56th Machine Gun Company, MGC

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The 56th Machine Gun Company. MGC, was formed Grantham, Lincolnshire and joined 56th Brigade, 19th (Western) Division. At the Battle of Messines the Company was part of the main attack near the Hollandscheschuur crater on the 7th of June 1917.

Those who served with The 56th Machine Gun Company at The Battle of Messines Allison William Pte. d.7th Jun 1917

History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918 F.W. Bewsher The Highland Division was one of the pre-war Territorial divisions. Its HQ was in Perth with brigade HQs in Aberdeen, Inverness and Stirling. On mobilization the division moved down to its war station in Bedford where it remained, carrying out training till embarking for France in May 1915. During this period six of its battalions were sent to France, three in November 1914 and three in the following March, replaced by two Highland battalions and a brigade of four Lancashire battalions; it is not clear whether the latter were required to wear kilts. They were transferred to the 55th (West Lancashire) Division when that division reformed in France in January 1916 and were replaced, appropriately, by Scottish battalions. It was in May 1915, just as the division arrived in France, that it was designated 51st and the brigades 152nd, 153rd and 154th; by the end of the war the 51st (Highland) Division had become one of the best known divisions in the BEF. More information on: History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918

History of the 9th (Scottish) Division John Ewing The division’s record is graphically described in this history - what Field Marshal Lord Plumer in his foreword referred to as “a record of wonderful development of fighting efficiency.” There are useful appendices giving the Order of Battle, command and staff lists with the various changes; a table showing periods spent in the line, with locations; a table of battle casualties and the VC citations. The maps are good with adequate detail for actions to be followed. More information on: History of the 9th (Scottish) Division

Machine-Guns and the Great War Paul Cornish More information on: Machine-Guns and the Great War

Mud, Blood and Bullets: Memoirs of a Machine Gunner on the Western Front. Edward Rowbotham It is 1915 and the Great War has been raging for a year, when Edward Rowbotham, a coal miner from the Midlands, volunteers for Kitchener's Army. Drafted into the newly-formed Machine Gun Corps, he is sent to fight in places whose names will forever be associated with mud and blood and sacrifice: Ypres, the Somme, and Passchendaele. He is one of the 'lucky' ones, winning the Military Medal for bravery and surviving more than two-and-a-half years of the terrible slaughter that left nearly a million British soldiers dead by 1918 and wiped out all but six of his original company. He wrote these memoirs fifty years later, but found his memories of life in the trenches had not diminished at all. The sights and sounds of battle, the excitement, the terror, the extraordinary comradeship, are all vividly described as if they had happened to him only yesterday. Likely to be one of the last first-hand accounts to come to light, Mud, Blood and Bullets offers a rare perspective of the First World W More information on: Mud, Blood and Bullets: Memoirs of a Machine Gunner on the Western Front.

With A Machine Gun To Cambrai George Coppard First World War memoir of George Coppard who served as a private soldier from 1914 until he was wounded at the end of 1917. More information on: With A Machine Gun To Cambrai

Mud, Blood and Bullets: Memoirs of a Machine Gunner on the Western Front Edward Rowbotham Mud, Blood and Bullets is a useful and still rare addition to the ordinary soldier's experience of the Machine Gun Corps in World War I. --War Books Review Likely to be one of the last first-hand accounts to come to light, this book offers an ordinary soldier's viewpoint of WWI. --Best of British Magazine Product Description It is 1915 and the Great War has been raging for a year, when Edward Rowbotham, a coal miner from the Midlands, volunteers for Kitchener's Army. Drafted into the newly-formed Machine Gun Corps, he is sent to fight in places whose names will forever be associated with mud and blood and sacrifice: Ypres, the Somme, and Passchendaele. He is one of the 'lucky' ones, winning the Military Medal for bravery and surviving more than two-and-a-half years of the terrible slaughter that left nearly a million British soldiers dead by 1918 and wiped out all but six of his original company. He wrote these memoirs fifty years later, but found his memories of life in the trenc More information on: Mud, Blood and Bullets: Memoirs of a Machine Gunner on the Western Front

If you know of anyone who served with this unit at the Battle of Messines, please complete the form below so that they can be remembered. Required fields are marked *                      Surname:             * Of the veteran.. First Name:          Middle Name(s): Nick Name:        Rank:                  Galantry Awards: DSO, MID etc. Service Number: Service:               * British Army/AIF/NZ/RFC/Civilian. etc. Unit:                     Regiment/Squadron etc. Sub unit:              Battalion/Section/Flight/etc. Home:                 prewar address/town/village Date of Death,     if during the war. Web Link,           If you have a webpage about your relative please provide the address. Please tell us about your relative: name of submitter:* Your name. email:                   @ Please type in the code shown here:   If you are unable to read the code please click here. If you have any photographs please scan or digitally photograph your orginials and send a copy by email attachment. NB. All entries are checked manually before appearing online to prevent spam and inappropriate content. There will be a delay before your submission appears on the website.