Army Service Corps
Robert James Dowdeswell was born on 24 May 1892 in Shaw Green, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire the eldest child of Frank and Ellen Hannah Dowdeswell (née Keen), and his siblings were Frank George and Esther Lavinia Mary.
His paternal Grandparents were Robert and Mary Dowdeswell, and James and Esther Keen were his maternal Grandparents.
Robert, a Farm Labourer (Carter), was enlisted on 18 July 1915 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire to the 56 Remount Squadron, Army Service Corps (ASC), based in York. He gave his age as 23 years and 10 months, and his height as 5ft 6⅜ins. He served for 219 days, and was discharged on 7 March 1916 as being no longer fit for war services, having been diagnosed with Ametropia (Myopia) – short-sightedness.
The Remount Service was responsible for the provisioning of horses and mules to all other army units. It was not a large part of the ASC, amounting to only four Remount Squadrons in 1914 that ran four Remount Depots in the United Kingdom. Each Remount Squadron was commanded by a Major, and consisted of approximately 200 soldiers who obtained and trained 500 horses. At the peak in December 1917, these facilities were training a total of 93,847 horses and 36,613 mules.
At peak, the ASC, known as Ally Sloper’s Cavalry (from Ally Sloper, a character in pre-war newspapers), numbered an incredible 10,547 officers and 315,334 men. In addition were tens of thousands of Indian, Egyptian, Chinese and other native labourers, carriers and stores men, under orders of the ASC.
Robert was seriously injured in a road accident whilst driving a lorry near Dover, Kent. He died of pneumonia in Shorncliffe Royal Military Hospital on 20 April 1917, age 24, and was buried on 26 April in the grave of his cousin and brother-in-law, Frederick Branch, near the North Gate of St Mary’s Churchyard, Prestbury Cheltenham.
Robert’s mother, Ellen Hannah, survived him but his father died two months prior, on 9 February 1917.
He is commemorated on the Prestbury War Memorial, the Prestbury (St Mary’s Church) War Memorial and on the Order of Oddfellows Roll of Honour (located in the Register Office, Old Memorial Hospital, Sheep Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire).
Researched by Baden Russell February 2016
(Additional Note: According to his Pension Record Card discharge from the Army was on 4 April 1916 and his service number was R4/111836. The circumstances and location of his death may indicate that he was later re-engaged into the ASC as a driver and given the service number T/312437 – Graham Adams)