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Messages - scrimnet

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 ... 689
1
World War One / Re: WW1 soldier identification
« on: Friday 14 March 25 16:35 GMT (UK)  »
Have you a name for him??

I have an original complete run of the Army Lists for ww1

2
Armed Forces / Re: My father
« on: Friday 14 March 25 16:30 GMT (UK)  »
Thank you Shaun. I have attempted to search in TNA. There are so many entries it will take me ages to sift through the results.
I need patience.
Marian,
You say in the first posting that you have your father's Army number. If you search the National Archives using just his number and surname, that will narrow down the search as Army numbers for this period (post 1920) are unique. Often with TNA's Discovery it is better to include fewer details in an initial search. For instance putting his forenames may result in the entries which just refer to his initials not showing up in the search results.


They are mostly unique,  some numbers are repeated.
Army Order 338 of 1920 gave block allocations if numbers to each regiment.
These were then superceeded in 1942 by the General Service Corps Army Numbers which have no regimental affiliation

3
Armed Forces / Re: Home Guard uniforms, 1942
« on: Friday 14 March 25 16:24 GMT (UK)  »
They are most definitely officers.

The opening of the collar and wearing of a tie wasn't allowed for other ranks in the regular forces until Aug 1944.

The HG other ranks never wore collar and tie.

The Khaki Field Service Cap was only worn by the HG after 1942 as the regs went into berets, Caps GS and Coloured Field Service Caps

4
Another update

The National Archives/Ancestry/MOD have lost 34 Regiments and Corps worth ofWW2 Medal  Cards.
These lost records are a problem, as only those who applied for medals ir were issued them whilst still in service will be traceable.
Also, when the individual applied they are now deemed to have been 18 at time of application and as such address details are censored/redacted for the next 72 years. Thus, my father who applied in 1998 is now deemed to have been born in 1980!
They also claim to have the post 1920 and  records of the Corps of Army Music...odd as that corps wasn't founded until 1994
The are 32 miles of records to digitise and they are doing the army first, as its the largest amount.
For further information pse see my articles in Family Tree Magazine


5
Armed Forces Resources / Society of Genealogists Military Talks 2023/4
« on: Wednesday 24 May 23 20:17 BST (UK)  »
Just a quick heads up.

I have been engaged by the SoG to give a series of talks on identifying and dating military photos and badges.

https://members.sog.org.uk/events/6464b5df4f22ce000af23ea9/description?ticket=6464b5df4f22ce000af23eab

6
Armed Forces / Re: Cap Badge Query - unknown time period
« on: Wednesday 24 May 23 20:14 BST (UK)  »
7th City of London regiment is a much better fit with a narrower flame.

I totally agree...Most certainly NOT a woodentop (Guardsman) of any shape or form. The bracket at the bottom of the flame of the 7th is quite patent.

Most certainly the 7thbn London Regt...

Confusingly after the latest MOD shake up, all the remaining old London TA bns are now know as the "London Guards" and their full dress is now scarlets with bearskins!!!

7
Armed Forces / Re: OUTRAM BARRACKS, LUCKNOW, INDIA BETWEEN THE WARS
« on: Wednesday 24 May 23 20:02 BST (UK)  »
The 20 year period between the end of the first world war and the start of the second means that around 10 to fifteen infantry battalions could have been rotated through the Lucknow Garrison during the period. The rank of Rifleman helps to narrow things down a bit as only certain types of Infantry call their private soldiers by this title: mainly they are the Rifle Brigade, the Light Infantry and regiments whose title ends in Rifles, eg th Royal Ulster Rifles.

A quick check through some of the likely candidates for his unit shows that the 2nd Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry were stationed in Lucknow in 1930, although their overall stay in India spanned the period 1923 -1934. The 1st bn the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry were in Lucknow in 1927, and 2nd bn the Durham Light Iinfantry were in the North West of India during the period 1920-1936 so could have spent time in Lucknow. There are no records I am aware of which list the occupants of the individual barracks within the Lucknow District. Around 1927 - 30 the 6th Lucknow Brigade consisted of 4 infantry battalions at any one time.

As Cathy has already mentioned there is a death entry in the Army Overseas Death Returns in the period 1931-35 for an Edward T Richards aged 27 who died in 1932. The place recorded is Calcutta, but that may have been where he was in hospital after the incident. You can get a copy of the death certificate from the GRO to see if this gives further details which might confirm if this was your man. I would expect there to have been a Board of Inquiry into his death. This is somewhat similar to a coroner's Inquest in civilian life. Nothing comes up immediately on a TNA search for his name.

In the period 1921 to 1942 one can always find a soldiers unit by his number.

The KRRC had the number block 6837001 to 6905000 allocated to them.
Its always easy to find the unit thus... ;)

8
Armed Forces / Re: Minimum Age to join the british Army in 1886 ?
« on: Wednesday 24 May 23 19:34 BST (UK)  »
Boy soldiers could also buy themselves out during training up until VERY recently.

Adults were always allowed to do it, but the cost was VERY prohibitive.

The reasoning behind it is that each boy (Junior Soldier/ Junior Musician) would cost a lot to train and if they sign up for an extra number of years (6, open 22...ie 6 years with an option to do the full 22 year service) they get extra pay for commitment and that has to be recouped to the public purse.

A false attestation is clearing defined in Kings /Queens Regulations and is an offence under the Army Act...ergo as a Parliamentary Act its the law of the land and is very bad news...ergo the reported 17 year old flogging as per above.

You could be jailed in a civilian jail after being dishonorably discharged. Stating an untruth in the army (lying) is one of the biggest no no's you could commit.

As bad as stealing another mans rations or stealing money from your comrades. In the 1980s if you were caught stealing from your comrades, you fingers would beheld over a table edge and a broomstick brought down upon them...Heavily...Very heavily. This was done by his comrades, usually unbeknownst to the chain of command. A form of army aversion therapy

9
Armed Forces / Re: Help to reveal regiment WW1
« on: Wednesday 24 May 23 19:20 BST (UK)  »
I cannot see enough of the shoulder titles, so this could either be Royal Artillery or Royal Field Artillery.

Its definitely Royal Artillery. Its the identification of which branch its is. Sadly as mentioned the shoulder titles are not visible

It could be

Royal Field Artillery
Royal Garrison Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery.

There were separate badges for the RHA until much later after the war.

But his spurs and puttees we can tell he has a mounted role of some sort, but as the British Army was not fully mechanised until 1937, the world and his wife used horses, even the infantry.

The bandolier is not indicative or any branch or arm in any photo. There was indeed a mounted version of this item of kit, but...the indicators are x4 more pouches on the rear, so sadly its never a help.

The 1903 pattern bandolier equipment was for all arms and branches of the infantry, and indeed the belt and bandolier were still being made in ww2 even though they had been superseded by the 1908 and 1937 web equipments. The full kit included ammunition pouches on the belt and various other items included the mounted and dismounted bandoliers.

Prior to 1908 the Volunteer Artillery units wore silver badges...It MAY be that that he is a pre war Territorial who is wearing his old badge



 


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