Pte. Jimmy Lamont

Private James Lamont 48611 Formerly 18629
Machine Gun Corps-10th Irish Division

Extract from M.O.D Military service Record for 48611 formerly 18629 Private James Lamont

Date of birth 12/3/1891

07/01/1915 Enlisted at Dublin into Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Short Service Engagement as Private 18629

07/01/1915 Posted to 6th Battalion
16/06/1916 Transferred to Machine Gun Corps
26/09/1917 Posted to 31st Company
24/06/1918 Posted to 2nd Reserve Battalion
25/09/1918 Posted to 100th Battalion
31/01/1919 Discharged to the Army Reserve on Demobilization
Service with the colours: 07/01/1915-31/01/1919

Overseas Service:
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force 11/07/1915-01/10/1917
Egyptian Expeditionary Force 02/10/1917-24/05/1918
British Expeditionary Force 25/05/1918-23/06/1918
France 17/09/1918-01/01/1919




6th Service Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers formed in August 1914 as part of Kitcheners New Army, and formed part of 31st Brigade, 10th Irish Division. Mobilised in Dublin, quartered there in Richmond Barracks then in April moved to Basingstoke for initial training.
28/5/1915 10th Division inspected by the King but 31st Bridgade absent due to musketry training at Aldershot.

1/6/1915 Division inspected by Lord Kitchener
5/7/1915 Ordered on active service and embarked for Mudros by way of Alexandria
07/08/1915 Battalion disembarked at 'C' Beach, Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, and at once advanced towards Lala Baba Hill. They were heavily shelled by shrapnel and there were many casualties but the men pressed on through heavy scrub, amid heavy sniper fire and land-mines towards Chocolate Hill. Finally a bayonet charge captured the hill at nightfall. There was by this time a great scarcity of water but the hill was held for the next two days.

10/8/1915 The 6th Battalion was then withdrawn to the North. Casualties were Officers 8, Other ranks 92.
11/8/1915 6th Battalion moved to Kiretch Tepe Sirt
15/8/1915 In reserve for attack on Kiretch by 5th Battalion.
16/8/1915 6th Battalion in heavy fighting in support of Munster Fusiliers
17/8/1915 After two days fighting with neither food or water 6th Batt relieved
19/8/1915 Battalion in Corps reserve at Chocolate Hill where they suffered heavy casualties from shell-fire

22/8/1915 Relieved units in front-line trenches
October/1915 Withdrew from Gallipoli and moved to Salonika front same month
Nov/1915 Moved to Allied section of front east of Doiran Lake. During service on this front J.Lamont transferred to the Machine Gun Corps.

23/11/1915 Severe blizzard with temp at 30 below. It was impossible to dig trenches in these conditions so troops built stone sangars for protection. At this time there was no fighting for some months so troops were engaged in road-making and building defences
On 16 June 1916 J. Lamont transferred to Machine Gun Corps
July/1916 Moved to River Struma- Intense summer heat of 108 degrees, troops again engaged in building roads and defences
Sept/1916 As a tactical move a 'Demonstration' crossing of the River Struma was carried out. Troops were then withdrawn with great difficulty due to a sudden flood. They were then engaged in the dull routine of trench-warfare and road-making with much tedium and hard work and where the greatest enemies were malaria in summer and the fierce cold in winter

 

Sept/1917 On the 26th J. Lamont was posted to 31st company of Machine Gun Corps and transferred to Palestine and saw action at Gaza and Jerusalem.
October/1917 Battle of Gaza
1/11/1917 Captured Abu Irgeig, the first village in the Holy-Land to fall to the Regiment
5/11/1917 Batt. formed part of left guard of XX Corps at Beersheba
7/11/1917 Attacked Hareira redoubt and succeeded in face of heavy machine-gun fire
December/1917 Road-making
25/12/1917 Wind and rain
27/12/1917 Attacked Kefr Shiyan on line covering Jerusalem. Batt was involved in heavy hill fighting where they were swept by machine-gun fire whilst pulling each other up steep slopes raked by enfilade fire
Jan/Feb/1918 Road-making

24/6/1918 Batt now back in Egypt on way to Western Front via Italy. J. Lamont was again transferred, this time to 2nd Reserve Battalion, probably as a result of illness or a wound.
25/9/1918 J.Lamont Posted to 100th Battalion which at this time was attached to the 25th Division (XIII corps) in France and he almost certainly saw action with it during the Battle of the Beaurevoir Line which was in the rear of the Hindenburg Line, and in the pursuit of the Germans to the Selle in October 1918.

5/10/1918 Extract from British Official History of the Battle of the Beaurevoir Line - At 3.15pm orders had been issued by the 25th Division for the 75th and 7th Brigades to attack again in the evening at 6.40pm. They were to have the co-operation of every available machine-gun, including the attached 100th Machine Gun Battalion, and a barrage which would open at 6.15pm Simultaneously with a re-bombardment of Beaurevoir by the heavy artillery. The Germans were surprised and the 7th Brigade captured the cemetery, but could get no farther.
10/10/1918
above contd.. The XIII Corps had at 5.30am sent forward the 74th and 75th Brigades of the 25th Division and the 199th Brigade of the 66th Div., each followed by a field artillery brigade, the right protected by 100th Machine Gun Battalion, whilst on the left the 198th Brigade started three-quarters of an hour later. The objective was the ridge east of Le Cateau, and at first progress was rapid and easy…





31/1/1919 Discharged and released to Army Reserve
Medals Issued:
1915 Star
Victory Medal
British War Medal
Age on enlistment: 22 years
Address: 4 King Street
Bellshill, Lanarkshire.
Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Chest measurement: 38 ½ inches
Range of expansion: 2 ½ inches
Martial status: Single
Civilian occupation: Miner
Next of kin details: Father- James Lamont of Lissrodden Portglenone, Ireland
6th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Omagh, August 1914, as part of K1
August 1914 : attached to 31st Brigade, 10th (Irish) Division.
2 May 1918 : left the Division and moved to France.
7 June 1918 : transferred to 43rd Brigade, 14th Division
18 June 1918 : transferred to 103rd Brigade, 34th Division
29 June 1918 : transferred to Lines of Communication.

 

16 July 1918 : transferred to 151st Brigade, 50th Division
Jimmy Lamont:

When experimenting with explosives at home when he as a teenager, his brother was knocked unconscious. His mother found Jimmy carrying water in his cap to try and revive his brother.

On troopship en-route to Dardanelles at start of his overseas service a cook was uncovered as a German spy. The cook was trying to poison the troops' food and Jimmy was the soldier who reported this to his C.O. Whatever then happened Jimmy was almost court-martialled for his efforts, but the cook was eventually tried and shot!

During action in Gallipoli Jimmy and a badly wounded comrade were stranded for 2 or 3 days in a shell-hole. Jimmy stayed with comrade trying to keep him alive by venturing from the shell-hole to bring back water in his metal helmet.

During his service here he contracted malaria which his dogged his health for the rest of his life.

After joining the Machine-Gun-Corps and moving to Egypt Jimmy was wounded in action.

On the last day of WW1 he met a Campbell (uncle of Jack Wilson) from Portglenone during the day's action. Some time later that day, and after the armistice was signed, this man was killed in action.

After the war Jimmy funded and helped to build the Apostolic Church in Portglenone.

For refusing to have his children vaccinated against smallpox, Jimmy was convicted and served one month in prison.