Group    From 14/10/1915  To 15/7/1922

Machine Gun Corps

Categories: Armed Forces

A corps of the British army. It was formed in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. It had four branches (Infantry, Cavalry, Motor and Heavy). The heavy branch was the first to use land tanks in combat, and subsequently became the Tank Corps and later, the Royal Tank Regiment. At the end of the war, the corps saw service in other conflicts, before being disbanded as a cost-cutting measure.

The corps served in France, Flanders, Russia, Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Salonica, India, Afghanistan and East Africa.  The last unit of the Corps to be disbanded was the depot at Shorncliffe.  The total number who served in the Corps was some 11,500 officers, and 159,000 other ranks of whom 1,120 officers and 12,671 other ranks were killed and 2,881 officers and 45,377 other ranks were wounded, missing or prisoners of war. That casualty rate, about a third, was very high and justifies the Corps' nickname: the Suicide Squad.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Machine Gun Corps

Commemorated ati

Boy David

Commissioned to create a WW1 memorial to the Machine Gun Corps Derwent Wood p...

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Machine Gun Corps memorial

The statue is of the boy David holding Goliath's sword (the clue is in the si...

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Other Subjects

G. Jowett

G. Jowett

Resident of Hendon who served and died in WW2.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Lance Corporal Charles William Jackman

Lance Corporal Charles William Jackman

Charles William Jackman was born on 16 November 1912, the elder son of Charles Jackman (1881-1937) and Marion Frances Jackman née Barnard (1888-1937), his birth being registered in the 4th quarter ...

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
F. Mathews

F. Mathews

J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. staff member who died in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
C. W. Upham

C. W. Upham

Co-partner or employee of the South Suburban Gas Company. Served but did not die in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW1
1 memorial
P. Herring

P. Herring

J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. staff member who died in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial

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Metropolis Chapel Building Fund Association

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Group, Philanthropy, Property, Religion

1 memorial
Bunhill Fields Burial Ground

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground

Nonconformists burial ground.  Enclosed with a brick wall by the City of London in 1665; gates added 1666. Closed in 1852 by which time it held more than 120,000 bodies.  In 1865, to preserve the ...

Place, Gardens / Agriculture, Religion

1 memorial
Sir Benjamin Hawes

Sir Benjamin Hawes

From British History Online: Master of the Haberdashers Company 1833-4 and leading force in the rebuilding of Aske’s Hospital 1826. We have found some links between this politician and the Haberda...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
George Leybourne

George Leybourne

N1, Englefield Road, 136

Greater London Council George Leybourne, "Champagne Charlie", 1842 - 1884, music hall comedian, lived and died here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Michael Egan

Michael Egan

United Kingdom citizen who died in the terrorist attacks in America on 11 September 2001. He was the brother of Christine Egan who also died in the attack. Michael Egan was born on 13 July 1950 i...

Person, Tragedy, Canada, USA

1 memorial