Arthur Wesley ALLCHURCH was born in Hampshire in 1891 the son of Elisha and
Emma ALLCHURCH. His father was a
Corporal with the Somerset Light Infantry and in November 1891 was posted to
Gibraltar. Arthur and a younger sister
were both baptised in Gibraltar. On
return to the UK in 1895 the family were based in Dover where Elisha attended
the School of Musketry. In 1900 he was
promoted to Quarter Master Sergeant and in July 1905 was discharged from the
army. It was noted that he was a good
clerk with special knowledge of musketry clerical duties. The family settled in Hounslow where Elisha
died in 1910.
At the age of 20 his son Arthur joined the Metropolitan
Police, was issued with warrant number 100320 and posted to L Division as
PC76. Towards the end of 1913 he
volunteered for duty with the Hong Kong Police and resigned from the
Metropolitan Police on 22 December. Five
days later he left UK aboard P&Os “Nile”
bound for Hong Kong.
On 4 August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany and our
boys in Hong Kong wanted to play their part, however, it was to be a whole year
before permission was granted for them to volunteer. The first group of 12 departed in July
1915. In November a larger group,
including Arthur, was ready to leave.
A farewell dinner was held at the Astor House Hotel. Mr. T.H. King A.S.P. proposed the toast and
wished the men “God speed”.
“The men who were
going Home would have lots of adventures but he (Mr King) could not say it
would be a holiday. But whatever
happened they had their most sincere wishes and he said most heartily on behalf
of the force that the good wishes of them all went with them. Wherever they were he was sure they would maintain
the traditions and name of the Hong Kong Police Force (cheers) and they would
make those Germans run (renewed cheers).”
The following day the men, wearing their Hong Kong Police
uniforms and carrying their guns, marched from Central Police Station to Blake
Pier accompanied by the pipe and brass bands of the 74th. Punjab Regiment.
Many hundreds turned out to cheer them on with greetings being waved
from balconies all along
the route. The band gave a selection of
music on the pier and played “Auld Lang Syne” as the tender cast off to the
accompaniment of rousing cheers.
The recruits sailed in the ss Nallore from Hong Kong to
Colombo where they transferred to ss Mongolia for the voyage to Plymouth.
Their arrival in UK deserved special mention in the
newspapers:
“A picturesque group of recruits arrived in Whitehall yesterday having
travelled 12,000 miles to take part in the defence of the Empire.
In neat blue uniforms
with white facings and large helmets the men were a centre of interest to the
public. They comprised 21 police
officers, 5 warders and 5 members of the HK Royal Naval Dockyard Police – also a
sanitary inspector and a railway guard.
The majority had not made
up their minds what regiments they should join.
They were not fastidious about it – infantry, artillery, anything would
do. “We did not come here to twiddle our
thumbs” remarked one stalwart recruit. The
Scotsmen found no difficulty in deciding what they should do. Their anxiety was whether they should be able
to join a Highland regiment in London. “Nothing
but the kilt for me” said a brawny lad whose home is Dundee. “I’m joining the Black Watch”.
The recruits are to be
allowed a fortnight’s leave to allow them to visit their homes before joining
the colours”
Arthur joined the Kings Royal Rifle Corps as Private R/17759. Six months later on 1 July 1916 Arthur
died in action - he is remembered on the Arras Memorial.
The register of soldiers effects shows that his mother received £3.
