Friday June 28th, 1918
Dismounted guard 8:30. Got back to camp and packed up for moving away. Warned to leave at 4:30pm, left 4:45 for Sarigueul in motor wagons. Arrived Sarigueul 7pm. Pitched bivouacs.
Goodbye to the 22nd Division
A Division in the British Army in WWI was typically between 12,000 and 18,000 men, with each of its three Brigades comprising four Battalions.
Today the 13th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment is leaving the 66th Brigade of the 22nd Division of the XII Corps – and all three of its commanders have come out to say good-bye. Frank doesn’t mention this attention and seems more interested in the motor wagons that transported the Battalion to Sarigueul.
Major General John Duncan
The 22nd Division, of the XII Corps, was led by Major General John Duncan CMG, DSO (1872-1948).
John Duncan was a career soldier having joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1891 after attending the Royal Military College. He served on the North West Frontier in the late 1890s, in the Second Boer War (1899-1901) and then in Malta. During WWI he saw service in Gallipoli and Macedonia.
After the war he was posted to the Black Sea in 1919, appointed military attache in Rome in 1920 and in 1927 /28 commanded the Shanghai Defence Force (SDF) in China. The SDF was created in January 1927 to protect British citizens and interests in the International Settlement in Shanghai during the National Revolutionary Army’s attempts to unify China and expel foreign influences. The SDF started to withdraw in late summer when the situation calmed.³
Duncan retired from the Army in 1928, received a knighthood and served as chief commissioner of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade from 1931 to 1943.
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 28th June 1918 – Divisional Horse Show Ground, Cugunci
No fatigues. Operation Order No 39 (Appendix II) issued at 10:00hrs. The Battalion paraded in mass at 08:45hrs and were inspected first by Brigadier General FS Montague Bates DSO CMG commanding 66th Infantry Brigade who said ‘Good Bye’ in a short speech. At 09:00hrs the Corps Commander (Lt Gen HFM Wilson) and the Divisional Commander (Maj Gen J Duncan) arrived. The Corps Commander said ‘Good Bye’ and shook hands with all the Regiment’s Officers. The Divisional Commander also said Good Bye in a short speech after the Corps Commander had left. The Battalion moved to the Rest Camp Sarigueul in motor lorries. A Coy starting at 16:00hrs, the other Coys and HQ leaving hour intervals. Move completed 23:00 hrs. On arrival at Sarigueul, Battalion ceased to belong to 22nd Division and came under orders of Base Commandant.
References & Further Reading
¹ John Duncan (British Army Officer) on Wikipedia
² Shanghai Defence Force on the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment’s site
* Sir John Duncan by Walter Stoneman, bromide print, 22 March 1928, NPG x162839 © National Portrait Gallery, London
³ Various articles in The Guardian newspaper – January 27 1927 to September 1 1927