Tag: Royal Army Service Corps

Edwin Tickner: A Royal Army Service Corps Motor Driver

Private Edwin Tickner, born on November 10, 1893, served in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War I as a motor driver. He died from pulmonary tuberculosis on May 26, 1918, at Keycol Hill Sanatorium in Kent. Buried locally, his story highlights the unseen impacts of war beyond the battlefield.

Private Edwin Tickner, M2/202840, Royal Army Service Corps, served as a motor driver during the First World War and died on 26 May 1918 at Keycol Hill Sanatorium, Kent, aged twenty-four.

Family report and wartime casualty record

Early Life and Family

Edwin Tickner was born on 10 November 1893 at Rodmersham, Kent, the son of Edward Thomas Tickner and Deborah Dunk.[file:168] By the time of the 1901 census he was living at The Green, Rodmersham, aged seven, and in 1911 he remained there with his family, then aged seventeen and working as a fruit farm worker.[file:168] These details place him firmly within the rural agricultural life of north Kent, where seasonal and manual work shaped the daily experience of many young men before the war.[file:168]

The family report later associates Edwin with 3 Albert Street, Whitstable, in 1915 and with Rodmersham Green again in 1918.[file:168] This pattern suggests movement between home, work, and military life during his early twenties, but it also shows how strongly his identity remained rooted in Kent.[file:168] No spouse or children are recorded, and the report notes no marriage, so his family ties remained centred on his parents and local community.[file:168]

Military Service

Edwin entered military service in 1915 in London, serving as a Private in the Royal Army Service Corps with the service number M2/202840.[file:168] His occupation in service was recorded as “Motor Driver”, an important clue to the type of work he undertook within the army’s transport and supply system.[file:168] The “M2” prefix in his number indicates Mechanical Transport service within the Army Service Corps, rather than horse transport or another branch.[page:1]

The Army Service Corps, later granted the title Royal Army Service Corps, was responsible for the British Army’s transport and supply system, excluding weapons and ammunition.[page:2] During the First World War it became one of the essential logistical arms of the British Expeditionary Force, moving food, equipment, fuel, and personnel from ports and depots towards the front line.[page:1][page:2] The Long, Long Trail notes that soldiers serving in Mechanical Transport usually had the letter “M” as a prefix to their number, directly matching Edwin’s recorded number and reinforcing the identification of his work as vehicle-based transport duty.[page:1]

Unit Context at the Time of Death

At the time of Edwin Tickner’s death in May 1918, the Royal Army Service Corps was one of the British Army’s indispensable support services, ensuring that millions of men in France and elsewhere were fed, equipped and mobile.[page:1][page:2] The National Army Museum describes the corps as the unit responsible for keeping the British Army supplied with provisions, while the Long, Long Trail emphasises that the ASC’s vast logistical system was one of the great organisational strengths by which the war was sustained and ultimately won.[page:1][page:2] Edwin’s role as a motor driver places him specifically within the army’s mechanical transport network, one of the most modern and strategically important elements of wartime logistics.[file:168][page:1]

Mechanical Transport companies and personnel were generally part of the Lines of Communication rather than front-line infantry formations.[page:1] Their work included moving supplies from ports and railheads, operating with motor vehicles over increasingly complex routes, and supporting the army’s ability to fight, feed and reinforce itself across large distances.[page:1] Even where an individual soldier’s precise company is unknown, a man with Edwin’s service prefix and trade can be securely placed within this broader world of wartime military transport.[file:168][page:1]

By 1918, however, military service also exposed men to chronic illness as well as combat danger.[file:168][web:177] Edwin died not from enemy action but from phthisis pulmonalis, the contemporary medical term for pulmonary tuberculosis, at Keycol Hill Sanatorium in Kent.[file:168] His story therefore belongs to the many wartime casualties whose health was broken by service conditions, infection, or physical debility, and whose deaths occurred at home hospitals or sanatoria rather than on the battlefield.[file:168][web:177]

Edwin Tickner served in the hidden but vital machinery of war: the motor transport network that kept the British Army moving, supplied and operational.

Royal Army Service Corps histories

Circumstances of Death

Private Edwin Tickner died on 26 May 1918 at Keycol Hill Sanatorium, Rodmersham, Kent, aged twenty-four.[file:168] His death certificate entry in the family report gives the cause as phthisis pulmonalis, or pulmonary tuberculosis.[file:168] This was a common and often fatal disease in the early twentieth century, and wartime strain could worsen or accelerate its course.[file:168]

His death in a sanatorium rather than a military hospital in France or a front-line casualty clearing station indicates that he had returned to Britain and was being treated in a specialist institution for long-term respiratory disease.[file:168] Keycol Hill Sanatorium, in the Milton registration district, served precisely that sort of medical purpose, making it a fitting place for a tuberculosis patient in the last year of the war.[file:168] Although Edwin’s service did not end in a dramatic battlefield death, his inclusion in war-dead records confirms that his illness and death were accepted as service-related for commemorative purposes.[file:168][web:169]

Burial and Commemoration

Edwin was buried on 1 June 1918 at St Nicholas, Rodmersham, Kent.[file:168] His burial in his home parish, rather than in an overseas military cemetery, reflects the domestic setting of his final illness and the possibility for his family to mourn him locally.[file:168] The family report also links to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry and a Find a Grave memorial, both of which preserve the official record of his death and commemoration.[file:168]

His entitlement to the Victory Medal, British War Medal, and Memorial Death Plaque confirms that he was formally recognised as a war casualty.[file:168] These awards and memorial items placed him within the same national system of remembrance as those killed in action overseas.[file:168] In that sense, Edwin Tickner’s grave in Rodmersham stands as both a family grave and a war grave, linking village memory to the wider losses of the First World War.[file:168][web:169]

Legacy

Edwin Tickner’s life joined together the agricultural world of Rodmersham and the mechanised transport arm of Britain’s wartime army.[file:168] He began as a fruit farm worker and ended as a motor driver in one of the most important support corps of the war, a transition that mirrors the movement of many rural working men into the new technical branches of military service.[file:168][page:1] The report identifies him as a third cousin twice removed to the researcher, ensuring that his story survives within family history as well as in official military commemoration.[file:168]

Sources and Further Reading

Remembering Lance Corporal James Wright: A Soldier’s Story

James Wright, born in 1903 in Dover, served as a Lance Corporal in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War II. He died on 7 February 1940 in France, potentially from non-combat causes. Wright’s vital logistical contributions exemplify the often-overlooked sacrifices made by support troops during the war. He is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery.

James Wright: A Detailed Biography

Early Life and Family

James Wright was born on 30 April 1903 in Dover, Kent, England, his birth registered in the June quarter of 1903 in the Dover registration district (volume 2a, page 1108). [1] He was the son of John William Wright and his wife Olive Ashman, a Kentish family firmly rooted in the Dover area. [1] James was baptised a few weeks later, on 7 June 1903, at Charlton-by-Dover, confirming the family’s Church of England connections and residence in the town’s northern suburbs. [1]

By the time of the 1911 census, the Wright family were living at 8 Lowther Road, Dover, a modest terraced street in a largely residential district above the town. [1] This address places James’s childhood within easy reach of Dover’s port and military installations, a setting that may have influenced his later decision to join the Army. The family’s home life was disrupted by the eventual death of his father, and by 1940 James was described in the local press as the “eldest son of the late Mr John Wright, of Edred Road, Dover,” indicating that the family had also lived in Edred Road at some stage. [1]

James does not appear to have married, and there is no evidence of any children. [1] His adult life was therefore likely focused on work and, ultimately, military service. Later residence information records a connection to Temple Ewell, a village just outside Dover, with James or his immediate family associated with 7 Church Hill, Temple Ewell by November 1949, when post-war records were compiled. [1] This reinforces the picture of a man whose life and family ties remained concentrated in the Dover district.

Early Life and Family (Local Connections)

Dover in James Wright’s youth and adulthood was a heavily militarised town, with coastal defences, barracks, and a strong tradition of service in the British Army and Royal Navy. [2] Growing up in this environment, especially through the First World War, James would have witnessed troop movements, air raids and the constant presence of the armed forces. It is reasonable to infer that such surroundings contributed to his own eventual enlistment in the Army Service Corps (later Royal Army Service Corps). [1][3]

The Dover Express of 9 February 1940 carried a notice reporting “the death, whilst on service in France, of Lance-Corpl. James Wright, R.A.S.C., eldest son of the late Mr. John Wright, of Edred Rd., Dover.” [1] This short announcement shows that his service and sacrifice were recognised at home and that his death resonated in the local community. It also confirms his regimental affiliation and theatre of operations, linking his personal story to the wider British Expeditionary Force (BEF) campaign in France. [1][2]

Military Service

James Wright served in the British Army during the early stages of the Second World War as a member of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). [1] His rank was Lance Corporal and his service number was T/16219, the “T/” prefix denoting service in a transport role within the corps. [1] The RASC was responsible for the vital work of transport and supply, ensuring that front-line units received fuel, ammunition, rations and other necessities, often operating in dangerous conditions close to the fighting. [3][2]

According to his service notes, James was serving with the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940, with his duty location recorded simply as “Expeditionary Force.” [1] The BEF was deployed to France from September 1939 to support the French and Belgian armies in the event of a German attack and consisted of several infantry divisions with attached corps and divisional troops, including RASC transport companies. [4][2] By early 1940, the BEF had completed its deployment along the frontier, and RASC units were heavily engaged in establishing supply lines, depots and transport routes in anticipation of more active operations. [5][2]

The RASC units within the BEF were motorised and played a crucial logistical role, maintaining the flow of supplies across congested French roads under blackout conditions and, later, under enemy air attack. [3][2] Though James’s exact company is not specified in the surviving summary, his status as a Lance Corporal suggests that he held a position of some responsibility, likely supervising a small team of drivers or acting as non-commissioned support within a transport or supply company. [1] His work would have been essential to the functioning of the BEF, even before the German offensive began in May 1940.

Circumstances of Death

Lance Corporal James Wright died on 7 February 1940 in France, at the age of about 36–38 (records suggest a birth around 1902–1903). [1] This date places his death several months before the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940, during a period often referred to as the “Phoney War” when active ground combat on the Western Front was limited, but military preparations were intense. [2] His death was reported to the War Office Casualty Section and appears on Casualty List No. 123, covering the 24 hours ended at 12:00 on 9 February 1940. [1]

The casualty record describes his fate simply as “Died” rather than “Killed in action” or “Died of wounds,” which may indicate death from illness, accident, or other non-combat causes while on active service. [1] Unfortunately, surviving public records give no further detail about the precise circumstances, and many such early-war non-battle deaths among BEF support troops went undocumented beyond official notifications. The Dover Express notice confirms only that he died “whilst on service in France,” reinforcing that his death occurred in the course of his duties with the RASC and the BEF. [1]

Whatever the immediate cause, his death removed a trained non-commissioned officer from the BEF at a critical stage of its deployment, months before the desperate retreat to Dunkirk and the loss of so many men and much equipment. [2] James’s early death in France illustrates that even during quieter phases of the war, service overseas carried serious risks, from disease and accident to exposure, vehicle incidents or air activity behind the lines. [3][2]

Burial and Commemoration

Lance Corporal James Wright is buried at Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, Pas-de-Calais, France. [1] His grave is located in Plot 19, Row A, Grave 7 (also recorded as “Row A Grave 7”), and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him under service number T/16219, Royal Army Service Corps. [1][6] Terlincthun British Cemetery lies near Boulogne and Wimereux and was originally established in 1918 for First World War burials from nearby base hospitals; it later received a smaller number of Second World War graves, including those of BEF soldiers who died in France in 1939–40. [7][6]

The cemetery contains more than 4,300 Commonwealth burials from the First World War and around 149 from the Second World War, along with some graves of other nationalities. [7][6] James’s grave is therefore part of a much larger complex of commemoration spanning both world wars, and his headstone would bear the standard CWGC design, with his name, rank, number, regiment, date of death, and age (if known), together with a religious emblem and, in many cases, a personal inscription chosen by the family. [7][6] His Find a Grave memorial (ID 55977609) also records his burial location and provides a digital point of remembrance for descendants and researchers unable to visit Terlincthun in person. [1]

The CWGC entry for James Wright can be accessed via the organisation’s website at https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280971/wright,-james/. [1] This record confirms key details: his rank (Lance Corporal), service number (T/16219), unit (Royal Army Service Corps), date of death (7 February 1940), nationality (United Kingdom), and burial in Terlincthun British Cemetery. [1][6]

Legacy

Within his extended family, James Wright is remembered as the eldest son of John William Wright of Dover, his connection preserved in genealogical records and local newspaper notices. [1] His death at 7 February 1940, well before the Dunkirk evacuation and better-known BEF actions, illustrates that the human cost of Britain’s commitment to France in 1939–40 included not only those killed in combat, but also those who died in earlier stages of the campaign in support roles. [1][2]

As a Lance Corporal in the Royal Army Service Corps, James participated in the essential but often under-recognised work of logistics and transport, enabling the BEF to operate effectively in France. [3][2] His service reflects the broader contribution of thousands of RASC personnel whose efforts sustained front-line units before and during the German offensive. Though his individual story is modest in the surviving record, his grave at Terlincthun and his CWGC and Find a Grave entries ensure that his name and sacrifice remain recorded and accessible for future generations. [1][7]

In the wider context of the Second World War, James Wright stands as one of many ordinary soldiers from towns like Dover whose lives were shaped and cut short by global conflict. The combination of parish records from Charlton-by-Dover, census addresses in Lowther Road, and burial far from home in northern France poignantly illustrates the journey that millions of men of his generation made from local communities to distant fields of service and sacrifice. [1][7]

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-James-Wright.pdf
[2] British Expeditionary Force (World War II) – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_II)
[3] Memories of World War II: Royal Army Service Corps – BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/32/a2057032.shtml
[4] British Expeditionary Force order of battle (1940) – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Expeditionary_Force_order_of_battle_(1940)
[5] BEF 1940 https://rapc-association.org.uk/pay-services-history/ww2/bef-1940.html
[6] Terlincthun British Cemetery – Wikipedia https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terlincthun_British_Cemetery
[7] Terlincthun British Cemetery ( Wimille, Pas de Calais) http://www.ww1-yorkshires.org.uk/html-files/terlincthun.htm
[8] The France and Flanders Campaign 1940 – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FranceandFlanders1940/
[9] The History of the British 7th Armoured Division – Desert Rats http://www.desertrats.org.uk/history.htm
[10] Mark William Wright GC https://www.lordashcroftmedals.com/collection/mark-william-wright-gc/
[11] Royal Indian Army Service Corps https://70brigade.newmp.org.uk/wiki/Royal_Indian_Army_Service_Corps
[12] James Wright https://www.southlincolnshirewarmemorials.org.uk/our-villages/morton/james-wright/
[13] Lance Corporal James Cartwright dies in Iraq https://www.gov.uk/government/fatalities/lance-corporal-james-cartwright-dies-in-iraq
[14] Men of the Royal Engineers buried at Terlingthun Cemetery … https://www.facebook.com/groups/415846245454101/posts/2446339652404740/
[15] My Fathers War Time Service. By Terry Wait – Italy Star Association https://www.italystarassociation.org.uk/history/my-fathers-war-time-service-by-terry-wait/
[16] E https://www.fepow.family/Research/British_Repatriation_Rolls/FEPOW/E/
[17] WW2 battle damage on a WW1 cemetery. The Villers – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theBattlefieldexplorer/posts/ww2-battle-damage-on-a-ww1-cemetery-the-villers-bretonneux-military-cemetery-fou/1467480325385326/
[18] ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS – WW2Talk https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads%2Froyal-army-service-corps.49075%2F
[19] Timeline https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/4898991
[20] The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) 2nd Battalion – WW2Talk https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads%2Fthe-buffs-royal-east-kent-regiment-2nd-battalion.108526%2F
[21] The Royal Indian Army Service Corps – Dunkirk 1940 http://dunkirk1940.org/index.php?p=1_412