A Sergeant and Major
Major Basil Haywood Royal Army Service Corps, Army Cadet Force and Special Constabulary
The Man Basil Haywood was born on 8th April 1895 in Grassmoor, Hasland, Derbyshire son of William, a Blacksmith Works Foreman and Lizzie. One of nine children, William R born in 1884, Bernard 1891, Hilda 1894, Winifred 1897, Kenneth 1899, Clement 1900, Phyllis 1904 and Mona 1909, his religion was Church of England and he was Baptised on 2nd May 1895 by Curate W J Rogers in the Parish Church of Hasland. In the 1901 census the family were living at 19 Grasshill, Grassmoor, and at the same address in 1911 with Basil, who had left school and now aged 15, following his Father and working as a Blacksmith’s Apprentice at the nearby Grassmoor Colliery, which operated on the site from the 1840s until its closure in 1967.
When the new Territorial Force came into existence in April 1908 it included fourteen Mounted Brigades, each including a Transport and Supply Column which was a mounted unit of the Army Service Corps. Each column was made up of a single company, a small unit consisting of 4 officers and 77 men. It was on 18th September 1912 aged 17, that Basil, clearly utilising his equine experiences as a Blacksmith enlisted and was attested into the Notts and Derby Mounted Brigade Army Service Corps (Territorial) with service number T/193. The Company being based at Chesterfield with drill stations at Chatsworth and Bolsover. On initial enlistment Basil was described as 5’.2’’ tall with a chest of 35½’’ and a good physical development. He served as a Territorial soldier for two years, until he was embodied for service on 5th August 1914, one day after the outbreak of World War I. On 24th November 1914 he signed an agreement to serve outside of the UK in the event of a national emergency and on 10th April 1915 Basil boarded the ill-fated Steamship Wayfarer which sailed from Avonmouth carrying 200 soldiers of the Warwickshire Yeomanry, their mounts and equipment heading as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force for Egypt.
Wayfarer was torpedoed the next day on 11th April, close to the Scilly Isles by U32, Captained by Kapitänleutnant Edgar Freiherr von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim. Basil survived the attack, where two men and five horses were killed, sailing again on 29th April from Devonport aboard the SS Haste Manitoba, arriving and disembarking in Alexandria, Egypt on 13th May 1915. Following a short time in Cairo he sailed again on 1st October 1915 to Salonica for service on the Macedonia Front, landing on 5th. He was attached to the 798th Company, and the 573 Company 10th Divisional Supply Train. During May and June 1916 Basil was twice absent from roll call and confined to barracks for two and one days respectively. On 1st September 1916 he was transferred into the Regular Army, 75 Company Army Service Corps with new number T4-246142, under the Military Service Act 1916. The same day he was fined three days pay for having a dirty rifle on inspection! On 13th he was admitted to hospital with diarrhoea and discharged on 26th only to be readmitted with the same problem on 4th October until 17th November. On 8th January 1917 he joined the staff of General Headquarters as a Groom but suffered from Malarial Fever having an attack in March 1917. This seems not to have been too serious as his subsequent claim for a gratuity was rejected.
On 3rd August 1918, he was granted furlough, returning to the UK via Southampton to marry Grace Hilda Watts who lived at 2 Common Road, Southtown, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. They were wed in the Parish Church in Southtown on 3rd September.
Basil returned to Salonica shortly after his wedding, landing on 17th where he remained until January 1919 then being posted to the Caucasus until 1st April 1919. He sailed for home on 2nd April arriving in the UK on 18th. He was disembodied on 15th May 1919 at Woolwich Dockyard and returned to his home address at 19 Grasshill with Grace. On release he was paid his bounty of £15.00 less £5.00 already credited. His sobriety was described as good and he was a reliable and intelligent Soldier. He had shown an especial aptitude during the war as a Carter - an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon - or a Groom. For his war service Basil was awarded the 1914-15 Star, 1914-18 British War Medal and Victory Medal and in 1920 the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal. Basil became a Baths Superintendent and during the late 1930s aged 44 joined Chesterfield Borough Police, which had been established on 7th January 1836 and later became part of Derby County Constabulary in April 1947, as a Special Constable No 39. He served in the Special Constabulary during World War II at home and was also Commissioned into the Army Cadet Force on 8th January 1943 as a 2nd Lieutenant in Derby Command with service number 272195. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 7th July 1944 and at the end of the War awarded the Defence Medal and Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. Basil remained with the ACF, being promoted to Major and on 4th April 1952 aged 57 awarded the Cadet Forces Medal. In later life Basil and Grace lived at 4 Alpha Road, Southtown in Great Yarmouth and he died on 27th May 1974 aged 79. He was cremated at Great Yarmouth Crematorium on 31st May and his ashes buried. Grace died 11 years later in May 1985 and was cremated at the same location and her ashes buried too.
When the new Territorial Force came into existence in April 1908 it included fourteen Mounted Brigades, each including a Transport and Supply Column which was a mounted unit of the Army Service Corps. Each column was made up of a single company, a small unit consisting of 4 officers and 77 men. It was on 18th September 1912 aged 17, that Basil, clearly utilising his equine experiences as a Blacksmith enlisted and was attested into the Notts and Derby Mounted Brigade Army Service Corps (Territorial) with service number T/193. The Company being based at Chesterfield with drill stations at Chatsworth and Bolsover. On initial enlistment Basil was described as 5’.2’’ tall with a chest of 35½’’ and a good physical development. He served as a Territorial soldier for two years, until he was embodied for service on 5th August 1914, one day after the outbreak of World War I. On 24th November 1914 he signed an agreement to serve outside of the UK in the event of a national emergency and on 10th April 1915 Basil boarded the ill-fated Steamship Wayfarer which sailed from Avonmouth carrying 200 soldiers of the Warwickshire Yeomanry, their mounts and equipment heading as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force for Egypt.
Wayfarer was torpedoed the next day on 11th April, close to the Scilly Isles by U32, Captained by Kapitänleutnant Edgar Freiherr von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim. Basil survived the attack, where two men and five horses were killed, sailing again on 29th April from Devonport aboard the SS Haste Manitoba, arriving and disembarking in Alexandria, Egypt on 13th May 1915. Following a short time in Cairo he sailed again on 1st October 1915 to Salonica for service on the Macedonia Front, landing on 5th. He was attached to the 798th Company, and the 573 Company 10th Divisional Supply Train. During May and June 1916 Basil was twice absent from roll call and confined to barracks for two and one days respectively. On 1st September 1916 he was transferred into the Regular Army, 75 Company Army Service Corps with new number T4-246142, under the Military Service Act 1916. The same day he was fined three days pay for having a dirty rifle on inspection! On 13th he was admitted to hospital with diarrhoea and discharged on 26th only to be readmitted with the same problem on 4th October until 17th November. On 8th January 1917 he joined the staff of General Headquarters as a Groom but suffered from Malarial Fever having an attack in March 1917. This seems not to have been too serious as his subsequent claim for a gratuity was rejected.
On 3rd August 1918, he was granted furlough, returning to the UK via Southampton to marry Grace Hilda Watts who lived at 2 Common Road, Southtown, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. They were wed in the Parish Church in Southtown on 3rd September.
Basil returned to Salonica shortly after his wedding, landing on 17th where he remained until January 1919 then being posted to the Caucasus until 1st April 1919. He sailed for home on 2nd April arriving in the UK on 18th. He was disembodied on 15th May 1919 at Woolwich Dockyard and returned to his home address at 19 Grasshill with Grace. On release he was paid his bounty of £15.00 less £5.00 already credited. His sobriety was described as good and he was a reliable and intelligent Soldier. He had shown an especial aptitude during the war as a Carter - an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon - or a Groom. For his war service Basil was awarded the 1914-15 Star, 1914-18 British War Medal and Victory Medal and in 1920 the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal. Basil became a Baths Superintendent and during the late 1930s aged 44 joined Chesterfield Borough Police, which had been established on 7th January 1836 and later became part of Derby County Constabulary in April 1947, as a Special Constable No 39. He served in the Special Constabulary during World War II at home and was also Commissioned into the Army Cadet Force on 8th January 1943 as a 2nd Lieutenant in Derby Command with service number 272195. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 7th July 1944 and at the end of the War awarded the Defence Medal and Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. Basil remained with the ACF, being promoted to Major and on 4th April 1952 aged 57 awarded the Cadet Forces Medal. In later life Basil and Grace lived at 4 Alpha Road, Southtown in Great Yarmouth and he died on 27th May 1974 aged 79. He was cremated at Great Yarmouth Crematorium on 31st May and his ashes buried. Grace died 11 years later in May 1985 and was cremated at the same location and her ashes buried too.
The Story The medals awarded to Basil Haywood were acquired from the Dix Noonan Webb auction on 10th December 2019. This was the first time a group medals were acquired, together with Sergeant Ernest Leslie Firth, using the live online auction system, and assuming reliable internet connection, not the last. The medals were initially pointed out by Birmingham Medal Society Librarian, John Scott, who himself is not averse to the odd treble long service group, and it was for this reason they were bid on with the combination of the Territorial Force Efficiency, Cadet Forces and Special Constabulary Long Service Medals. Interestingly the medals had been auctioned previously at DNW in July 2017, but no research appears to have been undertaken as following a cursory search on Ancestry.UK, Basil’s World War I service papers were available! These coupled with the London Gazette and a general search allowed a fairly comprehensive biography to be pieced together.
Medal Details:
- 1914-15 Star: T-193 DVR. B.HAYWOOD. A.S.C.
- 1914-18 British War Medal: T-193 DVR. B.HAYWOOD. A.S.C.
- Victory Medal: T-193 DVR. B.HAYWOOD. A.S.C.
- Defence Medal: Unnamed as awarded.
- Territorial Force Efficiency Medal: T4-246142 DVR. B.HAYWOOD. R.A.S.C.
- Cadet Forces Medal: MAJOR. B.HAYWOOD
- Special Constabulary Long Service Medal: SERGT BASIL HAYWOOD
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This page last updated 29 Jan 20