Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Alec John Rushen was born on 1 October 1905 in Rochford, Essex, the second son of James Charles Rushen and Caroline Roberts. He was baptised: 23 December 1906, St Mary’s Church, Runwell, Essex
His arrival came at a time of quiet rural life in the county of Essex, a region defined by its rolling fields, farms, and close-knit villages. His early years were spent in a growing family, surrounded by the gentle rhythms of the countryside.
The first arrival in the Rushen family was Ethel May Rushen born in 1898 at Hadleigh followed by Alfred William Rushen born in 1900 in Eastwood. In 1903 Eva Kathleen was born in Great Stanbridge.
His brother Arthur James Rushen was born in 1908 in Fairstead, followed by his sister Ada Mary Rushen in 1910 in Maldon. In 1911 the family were living in Hall Lane in Wickham Bishops.
Alec attended local village schools and was brought up with the strong work ethic and family values characteristic of rural Edwardian England.
He enlisted into the Norfolk Regiment at Warley Barracks, Brentwood on the 27th of December 1923 and was posted to the Depot. His Service Number was 5767868.
He was awarded with 3rd Class Army Certificate of Education on the 18th of February 1924 and was posted to the 2ndBattalion on the 20th of February 1924. Following his award of a 2nd Class Army Certificate of Education on the 19thNovember 1924 he was posted to the 1st Battalion in Bermuda on the 4th March 1925. Training was at Warwick, a charming camp near the sea. On the 6th May it was noted that he passed his swimming test. Each Company spent one month a year at Warwick camp, the remainder of the time was occupied in garrison duties at Hamilton.
With the tour of duties in the West Indies coming to an end the battalion was next ordered to Egypt. “C” and “D” Coys embarked at Bermuda on the troopship “Derbyshire” on September the 14th and proceeded to Jamaica, where Battalion H.Q. and “A” and “B” Coys joined the vessel. On the 19th the vessel sailed for Egypt, via Bermuda to embark the band on it’s return from Canada, reaching Malta on October the 8th and Port Said four days later.
Their station was Moascar Military Camp out in the desert alongside the Sweet Water Canal, some distance down the Suez Canal. The camp, situated near Ismailia, was a significant British military base, serving as a garrison and training area for British and Commonwealth forces. It had very few amenities, and the great heat of the desert, with mosquitoes and sandflies proved very troublesome. But in spite of the many disadvantages, it provided the battalion with its first opportunity of serious training as a whole since the ending of the war in 1918.
At the end of February 1926, the battalion moved to Cairo for Brigade training which lasted for three weeks. The last few months at Moascar – June to September – were very hot and uncomfortable and it was with a feeling of relief that the battalion was to move to Abassia near Cairo on September 26th. The barracks there, at Abbas Hilmi, were much more spacious and airier.
The second year in Egypt was a little more eventful than the first. The battalion moved out to Helouan for Brigade training and Command maneuvers, returning to barracks on March the 11th. In the middle of May the battalion provided a detachment for the Searchlight Tattoo in Cairo. As the hot season approached, training was modified, and the battalion concentrated on sport.
Christmas of 1927 was spent in Abbasia. Brigade training was again carried out in Helouan and in March it moved back to Maena to take part in maneuvers in the El Gizeh – Abu Sir – Sakkara district.
On June 14th 1928 information was received that the battalion would proceed to China during the next trooping season. The battalion sailed on the 11th October, a total of 22 officers, 5 warrant officers and 770 other ranks in the troopship “Somersetshire.”
Eleven days later it arrived in Colombo, Ceylon, where it was disembarked for a rout march in the island. Singapore was reached on the 28th, Hong Kong on November 2nd where another route march was caried out. Shanghai, China was reached four days later.
Arrival in Shanghai.
The battalion was fortunate while in Shanghai because of great efforts made by the British Community to improve the tedious and indifferent conditions under which the troops had to serve.
No specific mention is made in Alec’s service record, but we know from the attached photographs that he served with the military police. The Royal Military Police didn’t officially exist under that name until after WWII. Members of infantry regiments (such as the Norfolk Regiment) were often seconded to perform provost duties when official police were limited.
The hospitality extended to all ranks in Shanghai was almost embarrassing and it was with considerable regret that the battalion learnt in the autumn of 1929 that it was posted to India,
On November the 14th the battalion embarked in the transport “Neuralia”, sailing the following day for Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo and Bombay. The ship remained in Singapore for 24 hours and everybody on board was able to get ashore to stretch his legs.
On December 2nd the “Neuralia”, anchored in Bombay Harbour.
Troops were landed the following day and after three nights in a train, arrived at Dalowali in the Punjab. From there they marched to Sialkot cantonment.
Established in 1852, Sialkot Cantonment was a significant British military base in the Punjab region (now in Pakistan). By the 1920s, it served as a key garrison for British and Indian Army units. The cantonment featured extensive barracks, parade grounds, hospitals, churches, and recreational facilities. Its strategic location near the Northwest Frontier made it a pivotal point for military operations and training.
The winter of 1929 proved to be severe one and the nights were cold. The place seemed dull and quiet after the gaieties of Shanghai. After Christmas brigade training took place at Kasur, between Lahore and Ferozepore. On completion of training it is recorded that the battalion set out on the long march back to Sialkot a distance of one hundred and twenty miles which took nine days.
After two years in India Alec returned England on the 14th November 1931 and was posted to the Army Vocational Training Centre at Chiseldon to prepare for demobilisation. Whilst there he attended a bricklaying course. On the 14thMay 1932 he transferred to the Army Reserve on the expiration of his Colour Service of eight years and one hundred and forty days.
World War 2 was declared on the 1st of September 1939. Alec was Mobilized and posted to the Norwich Depot of the Royal Norfolk Regiment on the 2nd of September 1939 and relegated to the Army Reserve on the 10th of September 1939. He then joined the Colours and was posted to the Infantry Training Centre on the 30th October 1939.
Finally, he was discharged on the 17th of June 1941 as being permanently unfit for any form of Military Service.