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| Damaged railway line at Ypres |
In the first part on the history of my Grandfather in the First World War, I explained that I only had very limited information on his story during the Great war. To my surprise, when going into his military records, I discovered that he also took part in the South West African campaign from 1914 to 1915. This I discussed in Part 1 of this series. According to his records, he was discharged from the army after the successful completion, and defeat of the Germans in S.W.A. He was discharged on 31 August 1915. He was a train driver, so I presume he continued with his life as a train driver. I obtained some information from a family member that his brother, Joe Bragg (it was probably Joseph Bragg - as this was a family name at that stage), also came to South Africa with him as a train driver. I understand that he was killed in a train accident. There was a train crash in the Cape on 22 April 1911 in which 30 people were killed. Another fatal train crash in South Africa was recorded on 30 March 1902 (during the Bore War) between Barberton and Kaapmuiden in which 44 people died. Joe (or Joseph) Bragg is not mentioned in reports of either of these train accidents.
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| Light Railway moving troops forward at Ypres 13 January 1918 |
Many of the soldiers who would have served with Richard Bragg in S.W.A. remained in the service and went to France. From 15 July 1916 to 19 July 1916, the South African infantry entered Delville Wood where most of them were killed. Shortly after that, he joined up again. Did the tragic loss of so many South Africans at Delville Wood, many of which he probable knew, have any impact on him joining up again? We will never know.
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| South African monument at Delville Wood in 2016 (my photo) |
In November 1916, the No1 Railway Company was formed in Potchestroom under the command of Capt H.L. Pybus. The unit consisted of 3 officers and 266 men. There were 50 train drivers and 50 stokers or firemen and guards in the unit. According to the military history of Richard Bragg, he signed the volunteer documents to join the South African Expeditionary Forces on 5 November 1916. He was 24 years old when he signed up again. His posting was to No 1 Railway Company, as a train driver. So he was one of the 50 train drivers in the newly formed unit. On 8 November he was taken on the strength (in other words - listed on the roll call) of South African Railways Overseas Domination Section 1 with the rank of Private. On 11 November 1916, just 3 days after being posted, he was promoted to 2nd corporal, probably as a result of the fact that he had 11 months previous military service in South West Africa.
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| The horror of World War 1 |
In December 1916, No 1 Railway Company started to move to Bordon in England. On 29 January 1917, Richard Bragg boarded the SS Barambah in Cape Town for the trip to England. This was a ship which had been captured by the Australian in 1914 and was mainly used as a troop transport ship for the Australians during WW1. I guess that any ship on route from Australia to England at that time would have stopped in Cape Town. According to his records, he arrived in England on 3 March 1917. He was granted leave in England until 15 March 1917. According to the history of No 1 Railway Company, they departed from England and arrived in France in March 1917. There the unit was divided into two operating companies. These were called No 7 SA light rail operating company (O.C) and No 8 SA light rail O.C. I was delighted to discover the No 8 OC was posted to the Arras area. If you have been following this story, all I previously knew of the history of my Grandfather was that he was at Arras. Here, in the history of the unit that he was serving in, was the first mention of Arras. I love it when a plan comes together!
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| SS Barambah in Australia - Guess it stopped in Cape Town on its way to England. |
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| Light Railway moving shells forward |
Best laid plans of mice and men! When looking at his military history, he departed the UK from Southampton on 18 March 1917 and disembarked in Rouen, France on 19 March 1917. He eventually departed France again on 30 March 1919. So my Grandfather spent just longer than two years on the Western Front in World War 1.
As the No 8 OC was stationed close to Arras, and I understood that he was at Arras, obviously he was posted to the No 8 OC. No - according to his record, he was posted to No 7 SA light rail operating company. Arras was an important area of operation during WW1, but there were many other significant battlefields during WW1. One of the most significant of these battlefields was Ypres and the 3rd battle of Ypres. This battle is more commonly known as "Passchendaele" - or more correctly the battle for Passchendaele was part of the 3rd battle of Ypres. Every indication from the military record of my Grandfather indicates that he was probable at Ypres as the rail system during the 3rd battle of Ypres was operated by the South African operating company.
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| Trains at Ypres |
One may think that the railway was far behind the front lines, which might have been the case, but there were 33 recorded killed in action from the South African Railway Services and there were 11 Military medals (for bravery) awarded to this operating company. There was the wide gauge railway which would bring supplies to a "safe" area far behind enemy lines. The supplies were then transferred to the light railway system which move forward towards the font line. The trains were very popular targets for enemy artillery and planes. The trains would normally bring back the wounded when they made their way back from the front lines.
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| Damaged train |
In the next part, I will follow the movements of his unit during the two years that he was on the Western Front.
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| Troops on the light rail at Ypres 9 January 1918 |
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