tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174929485671993677.post5904879888950918656..comments2024-02-27T10:59:06.623+00:00Comments on A Barnsley Historian's View: World War One Soldier's Story - William Huddlestone, his medals and his Police CareerBarnsleyHistorianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17706725823398288376noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174929485671993677.post-66671789232370342772015-11-11T20:20:54.017+00:002015-11-11T20:20:54.017+00:00The Yeoman Rifles were, I believe, the last Pals&#...The Yeoman Rifles were, I believe, the last Pals' battalion to be formed- to incentivise farm labourers and the like to join, the battalion was made part of the King's Royal Rifle Corps to give them a certain edge.<br /><br />It is likely that William Huddlestone became Quartermaster of the 16th Battalion, which would explain the connection. My knowledge of him comes from information from a friend about the 21st Battalion- Huddlestone was CSM of B Company, which was made up of recruits from the West Riding. His company commander, Captain Brooksbank, was given the Military Cross for the same event as Huddlestone- he was a fruit farmer from British Columbia (although originally from Tadcaster), who later died in Queensland (a well-travelled gentleman!).<br /><br />FrankLiberal-Toryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04789544196668813726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174929485671993677.post-88605240241274957052015-11-11T07:38:56.380+00:002015-11-11T07:38:56.380+00:00Thanks for reading my post and for your kind comme...Thanks for reading my post and for your kind comments.<br />I hadn't realised that so many of the individual battalions in WW1 were affiliated in this way. I know about the Miners' Battalion of the KOYLI and the Pals Battalions of course, but it seems there are many more.<br />LindaBarnsleyHistorianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17706725823398288376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174929485671993677.post-82665569491959304012015-11-11T04:02:40.207+00:002015-11-11T04:02:40.207+00:00William Huddlestone was not a Church Lads' Bri...William Huddlestone was not a Church Lads' Brigade man, he was a Yeoman Rifles man (21st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps)- quite possibly because of his being born in Rosedale, as many of its recruits came from round there. He served alongside Tory PM Anthony Eden and former Tory MP The Earl of Feversham, formerly Viscount Helmsley. As an ex-regular, he would have been a great asset to the Yeoman Rifles. Anthony Eden recorded in his book, Another World, which I highly recommend, that experienced men were hard to come by when the battalion was formed in late 1915. I guess that being a Policeman he may have felt he was already doing his duty, but come the formation of the Yeoman Rifles he might have thought "A battalion being raised where I'm from, I've got to join!". An excellent blog-post I must say :)Liberal-Toryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04789544196668813726noreply@blogger.com