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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: Tim Fellows on Monday 24 March 14 08:12 GMT (UK)
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Hello
My great uncle James Whittaker of the Sherwood Foresters won the Military Medal in WWI. I would love to find out more about his military background and what he did to get the medal.
As a miner, I think he may have volunteered for service but I don't know when that was. I have his birth date if that helps.
Can anybody help with a good process for getting more information?
Thanks
Tim
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morning tim
yes a birth year and place may well help , as to the mm as so many were given out they rarely have citations as well but you should be able to find a mention in the London gazette [ if you can navigate it ] otherwise the best you can hope for is a trace of where his regt were in ww1 .
also have you any idea what battalion of the Sherwood foresters he was in that should help a lot as well .
regards
trevor
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Hi, I've just put the name into the National Archives site and there looks to be a couple of hits for James Whittaker Nottinghamshire and derbyshire regiment
4008 Private
201297 Private
That's just 2 out of quite a few possibles, further information would be needed as mentioned.
Regards always.
Frank.
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Nothing in the Gazette.
The 2nd. on Frank's list transferred to the RE.
Both joined 1915.
There's another a James W Whittaker also in The Notts. & Derbys.
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Found service docs. for a James Whittaker 14503 Sherwood Foresters. Joined Sept. 1914 aged 19.
NOK mother Sarah.
Could this be him ?
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My Uncle Jim was born in 1889 in Stretton, Derbyshire
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There are no services doc's for him so my advise would be to contact the Regimental Archive.
It costs £15 for a search.
http://www.wfrmuseum.org.uk/archives.htm
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Found service docs. for a James Whittaker 14503 Sherwood Foresters. Joined Sept. 1914 aged 19.
NOK mother Sarah.
Could this be him ?
His mother was Sarah and there is a medal record for that name and service number at Kew. It could be that the age is just wrong.
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Found service docs. for a James Whittaker 14503 Sherwood Foresters. Joined Sept. 1914 aged 19.
NOK mother Sarah.
Could this be him ?
They're not coming up on Ancestry for me! Where/how did you find them, pls? Do I need to improve my searching technique?
STG
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Hi, I've just put the name into the National Archives site and there looks to be a couple of hits for James Whittaker Nottinghamshire and derbyshire regiment
4008 Private
201297 Private
That's just 2 out of quite a few possibles, further information would be needed as mentioned.
Regards always.
Frank.
Frank
Just heard back from my mum - we think that his number is 201297 as it, and his name, is on his Military Medal.
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Hi, I've just put the name into the National Archives site and there looks to be a couple of hits for James Whittaker Nottinghamshire and derbyshire regiment
4008 Private
201297 Private
That's just 2 out of quite a few possibles, further information would be needed as mentioned.
Regards always.
Frank.
The medal card on Ancestry for him quotes both those numbers (i.e. two numbers, one man), but nothing's coming up for any service/pension records. :(
STG
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The medal card on Ancestry for him quotes both those numbers (i.e. two numbers, one man), but nothing's coming up for any service/pension records. :(
STG
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Hi, no, I can't find any either :-\ looks like they were part of the 60% that were destroyed during the blitz.
Frank.
ADDED, Didn't Jim find his records?
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The medal card on Ancestry for him quotes both those numbers (i.e. two numbers, one man), but nothing's coming up for any service/pension records. :(
STG
Hi, no, I can't find any either :-\ looks like they were part of the 60% that were destroyed during the blitz.
Frank.
ADDED, Didn't Jim find his records?
[/quote]
Apparently, the one Jim found is the wrong James Whittaker :(
STG
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Thanks to everyone for their help. The main thing is, we have the medals and my mum is having them re-ribboned and mounted. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do at this time.
If anyone has any more info, I'll happily take it. I might talk to the regiment and see if they have anything about deployments etc. that could be useful in giving us a more detailed picture of where he served.
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If memory serves the 4 digit no. was replaced by a 6 digit no. in 1916.
The docs. I found were for James Whittaker b. Brassington.
jim
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If memory serves the 4 digit no. was replaced by a 6 digit no. in 1916.
Presumably that was in response to the numbers of men requiring to be given a number.
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Response to new Battalions being created.
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http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=D6293447
Here's his MM medal card its not on ancestry. He was a Territorial soldier went to war Nov 1915.
So he would've served with either 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th or 1/8th battalion going out as a casualty replacement in late 1915.
Ady
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http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=D6293447
Here's his MM medal card its not on ancestry. He was a Territorial soldier went to war Nov 1915.
So he would've served with either 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th or 1/8th battalion going out as a casualty replacement in late 1915.
Ady
Thanks, found it and ordered it.
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Hopefully it will give you a schedule number and gazette issue so we can narrow it down further.
No citations for MMs survive they were burned but sometimes war diary and local papers can shed light.
Ady
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SmallTownGirl found the Gazette entry for me. Details on the card are:
Date of gazette: 12/6/18
Registered paper: 68/121/539
Schedule: 167543
The Corps looks like 15th Bn N+Derby R if that makes sense.
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Awards for 2nd half of March 1918 including March offensive.
Some awards for Fremicourt and Wietje Ypres for 18th March most awards 21-26th March 1918
Source: williamson great war medal collectors companion.
Hope that helps.
Ady