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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: thehearns on Monday 03 June 13 01:09 BST (UK)
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My great uncle, Lionel Charles Carrier, was killed in action on 6 April 1918. His name is on the Pozieres memorial.
But I cannot find out where they were fighting, or his service record. Can anyone help, please?
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This is probably why you can't find his service record.
In 1940 there was a World War Two bombing raid on the War Office in London where the records were held. During this raid, a large portion (approximately 60 per cent) of the 6.5 million records was destroyed by fire. The surviving service records have become known as the ‘Burnt Documents’.
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1219
Stan
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A good site to use is The Long Long Trail http://www.1914-1918.net/royalfus.htm.
It says of 13th Battalion:
Formed at Hounslow on 13 September 1914 as part of K3 and attached as Army Troops to 24th Division.
March 1915 : came under command of 111th Brigade in 37th Division.
Landed at Boulogne on 30 July 1915.
If you follow the links on that site, you can see that in 1918 the 37th Division took part in:
The Battle of the Ancre, a phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of the Albert, a phase of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Havrincourt++
The Battle of the Canal du Nord++
The Battle of Cambrai++
The pursuit to the Selle++
++ the battles marked ++ are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of the Selle^
The Battle of the Sambre^
^ the battles marked ^ are phases of the Final Advance in Picardy
As the Battle of Ancre (1918) commenced on 4th April 1918, this would be the most likely place where he fell?
http://www.1914-1918.net/bat22.htm
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Looking at the diary, it seems possible (likely?) that he was actually kiled on the 5th.......
If you send me your email address via my web site (below), I'll send you the images from the diary (toto large to attach here)
It may be this evening before I send them.......