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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: djm on Friday 03 October 14 19:55 BST (UK)
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Evening all,
My grandfather was with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and I am currently trying to unravel his military records. On the 21st January he is at Shorncliffe where he is taken on strength of the Fort Garry Horse. But on the 29th January he is getting married in Falkirk as I have certificate and photographs. Then on the 1st February he is again noted in his military record as being in Shorncliffe! Is this possible? His military records do indicate when longer leave was granted (10 days and 14 days) but I am not sure whither shorter periods of leave were given. I am also unsure about the travel time from Shorncliffe to Falkirk would have been but I suspect it would have been the best part of a day.
Any comments, thoughts, etc are welcome. Also if anyone in the Manchester area can assist with helping me understand military records could the pm me.
Dave
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Are all these places in Canada or UK?
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I imagine he would have cadged a lift on army supply wagons travelling to depots between Kent in the south and Falkirk up north, especially for the return trip.
In case he travelled all the way, or part of the way, to Falkirk by train for his wedding you'll see from the link that Britain was well covered by railway lines.
http://www.bilderberg.org/maps.jpg
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In answer to the first question he emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1911 then joined the CEF in 1914 and hence was back in the UK! Shorncliffe was the military camp in Kent which was the staging post for troops going to France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorncliffe_Army_Camp) while Falkirk is in the central belt of Scotland some 500 miles away.
Thanks for the second reply. I know the rail system was much more extensive than today :) but my real surprise was that he was given any leave from Shorncliffe. Was there compassionate leave prior to going to France? PS according to Google maps even today the train journey will take over 6 hours!
Thanks to both of you
Dave
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hi,,im in Manchester,,,,why do you need someone from Manchester re military records ? :)
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Usually military personnel have to have the permission of their commanding officer to get married and also had to have permission to leave camp. They also had a limited number of free transportations per year so he'd have had to apply for a permit to travel.
This was still the case when I married in 1964 and if my husband couldn't get a (free) rail permit to travel he hitch hiked the 110 miles to my home.
I think others will say the same: there was a stampede to get married when war broke out so I'm not surprised.
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I thought some readers might be interested in seeing this jpeg, which is dated 1919, but I'm assuming that army/naval personnel of other countries had a similar document.
This Pass was given to Albert Bannister, who had been given permission to visit his home town due to there being an illness in the family.
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Rena,
Obtaining permission to get military leave was something I had expected as well. Longer leave time is certainly noted in his military records. He had been back in England since January 1915 and had signed up in Canada on the 29th September 1914. Given that he had emigrated to Canada from Falkirk in May 1911 I have to assume he had to have some time in 1915 when he got back to Falkirk and meet my future grandmother. He was hospitalised in July 1915 at Canterbury Military Hospital. I suppose he might have been was sent back to his parents in Falkirk to convalesce.
Thanks for your contributions.
Dave
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Today it takes about seven hours. Even adding 3-4 hours for stops to taking on water on his steam train and other delays he could easily do it in a day, and he had the 30th and 31st available.
http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/FKW/Falkirk/141014/0700/dep#outwardJump
He may have known her from before he left for Canada. The Railway Museum in York may have a timetable.
Rena...that is not just a pass. It is his proof of who he was when he went to collect his pay while he was in the Reserve. The 28 days is the time he is allowed to wear the uniform after leaving. This may have helped him find work.
Ken
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Interesting to see the use of the word Furlough.
James
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Rena...that is not just a pass. It is his proof of who he was when he went to collect his pay while he was in the Reserve. The 28 days is the time he is allowed to wear the uniform after leaving. This may have helped him find work.
Ken
Thanks for the correction Ken,
All I knew is that it didn't look anything like the family travel permit Bryan gave me in the 1960s which entitled me to ride on a train f.o.c.
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A bit of a coincidence,my g/father served with the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles in ww1.He was also in kent and in 1915 went to Ayr and married my g/mother.His family lived in Kilmarnock Ayrshire.He also had gone to Canada around 1911
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I am actually following four other distant relatives who all emigrated to various parts of the world but subsequently joined up in WW1. All survived, but at a cost.
I assume you have got your grandfather's military records as the Canadians have released them. They have also put an number of war diaries on the internet. They make very interesting reading.
Dave