Help: Court Martialled & Missing in UK, Capt: Albert Edward Harrison AIF

[Craven-Harrison]

Redroger,


You said,



If there was Masonic influence from the Major General, then I think it is possible that he re-enlisted in the Australian Army as a 2nd Lt. likely under an assumed name:

Then, why all the subterfuge with the reference to the British Permanent Army?


You said,

I believe a Major General outranks a Lt. General, so had there been any comebacks, then Holmes could have pulled rank.

I'm a bit confused, Holmes died in battle between the time he wrote the reference and when the CM was undertaken, it was only his reference that was of future value to Harrison. Harrison used a replacement (duplicate copy) of the original in his CM, keeping the original for future use. This is why the prosecutor or someone mentioned that they were familiar with the signature. So who is the Lt General?


You’ve really got me thinking now!!!

Cheers

Ian

[Craven-Harrison]

Dear all,

Just a few notes for understanding the content of the previously attached documents:

1: MIC:  Medal Index Card:

the MIC has been the subject of numerous threads on numerous military forums and as yet still not completely understood by the experts and certainly not me!!

Campaign: BEF 1914 – I had always thought this to be an error or another lie and it could be!!! According to his records he joined the British Expeditionary Force in Alexandria March 18th 1916 however recent research suggests that this could be when he joined the AIF which was 12/12/1914 another aspect is that he was apparently with the Militia in Australia prior to the AIF and it is possible that this is considered the BEF??

ORG:  apparently means original and I have seen this on other MIC’s but I still don’t have an explanation of what Organisation means. ??

Australian Imperial Force:  what is this doing on a British MIC.  ??

Rank:  Capt, yes he was a captain in the AIF but he was initially a T 2L/t in the Regular forces of the British Army, so why is this saying a Captain and no mention of initial rank which all other MIC’s have initial rank described..   

Suspense list /17:  I understand this to mean he was to have no medals, suggesting that this MIC was definitely made after his GCM and that the list related to 1917, the word suspense (suspension ?) is not quite as bad as Forfeited, so maybe there is some way for him to get the medals later.

Forfeited /17  (crossed out) :  I’m guessing this means the same as above but superceded by the above Suspense list/17 (no medals) and I’m also guessing that the word is actually forfeited, if anybody else can see what it says please let me know

Disembarkation Date: I’ve seen this elsewhere on other MIC’s obviously there isn’t an entry.

There is nothing on the rear of the card so there was no medal exchange or correspondence regarding medals or applications for medals, no forwarding addresses which would occur if there was exchange or dialogue

So I have considered this card to be a record of an Australian Officer maybe seconded to the British Army, noting, there is no mention of a British unit, or for that matter, an AIF unit. What is this card and what is its meaning? It is really just saying if a man called AE Harrison a Captain in the AIF turns up wanting medals don’t give him any because he is on the Suspence list of 1917.



More questions and no answers???  Any ideas are welcome  (very, very welcome)…….?

2: Harrison Pay Card:

well obviously a messy document, lots of reference to Nora who should have been getting an Allotment (AL) interesting that there is a mention of Discharge in 1917 when as we know it wasn’t until 1918, so I guess this is really dismissed 1917….?.

You can see the business of the War Gratuity and lots of indecision and confusion surrounding whether to give it or not, Calculations regarding remaining pay etc for Nora’s purposes and if you check the dates it went on for years after the war

Ian

[Redroger]

Ian, Thanks for pointing out that Holmes had been killed between writing the reference and the court martial. Obviously he cannot have pulled rank unless the Masons have powers beyond our understanding. Regarding the medal car, I would suggest that the suspended entry was made around the time of the GCM, but before the outcome was formalized. Will keep you posted of anything I find tomorrow.
Roger

[Redroger]

Ian, Unless I'm totally confused the Lt. General was the Officer who confirmed the sentance.Think I have a solution to the reference to the BEF, i.e. the campaign against the Central powers in 1914 was run by the British Expeditionary Force, of which the AIF became a part.
Roger

[Craven-Harrison]

G'day Redroger,

I thought that the G'riders did have powers beyond our understanding...LOL

OK understood, on the definition and description of the BEF, I had made an assumption that the BEF hadn't started until the allies went into France and I had assumed this from an impression I got from reading lots of MIC's, therefore about 1916..  "I'm wrong again"

Regarding the Kew visit to check some records, I'm pretty keen for you and anybody else that might have a go at this to not waste their time and effort, due to the nature of this matter, possible dishonesty, possible red-herrings and the complexity. I am naturally extremely grateful for any assistance both in this IT medium and the harsh reality of physical research at Kew etc. Mindful of this, I'm trying as hard as I can to publish what I've already done, so these men can be discounted or regurgitated and possibly reinterpreted. "My dear wife for some reason says that I've been wrong before??!!

I'm in the background at the present building a couple of tables which I hope will morph into some type of matrix containing all the Records, London Gazette and Medal Index cards that I possess,

I have downloaded quite a few over the last couple of years and as I received them discounted them because of conflicting information. I have since decided that this wasn't a robust method of comparison due to the nature of Harrison's behaviors and possible motives "read- honesty" and so nothing could be as it seems.

I'm beginning to believe that there are serious anomalies between the three important record groups, and as my list improves and increases this impression grows. I'm beginning to see that the MIC's just don't have enough information to make a suitable judgment about identification and only aids to build a case for or against a suitable candidate.

At this stage it's looking like the service record with the man's personal history is the only way to properly determine his past, notwithstanding Harrison's possible interest to throw us off the track

So, back to Kew and searching for AE Harrison's there a couple of these as Officers and a large quantity of Privates. I haven't done much of the enlisted men and I've done about 20 Officers without success. The AE's have been an Alfred Ernest with the Beds and Herts who went on to the Army of Occupation in Germany who has impeccable English history and also another who was with the RMAC and I believe a doctor, although I'm not sure why a doctor was a L/t and I'm still working on him without success, but I did find a mention of him in the LG as a man having a MD

There is an A Harrison DSO who was a possible but I have discounted him also and another in the 130 Bulchas, I found a fellow last night, a JAE Harrison and thought this would be an ideal way to change your name.  Just add a "J" to all your original documents and hey-presto you're in the door and a new man with an entire history, so I will do this fellow for sure

There is another Harrison on an MIC who doesn't have any Christian names and I'll do him as well and it goes on and on.

I'll have these lists done ASAP and publish the lists and outcomes here when I have a sensible appearance and result........LOL

Good hunting, thanks again

Ian

[Colin Cruddace]

Hi Ian,

The crossed through entry on the MIC looks to be something like Special List/ 17, but the Special doesn't quite look right.

I suppose you have noticed that on his Paycard1 there was reference to the initials being A L in Sept 17. Could this be a clue to a name change or just another Red Herring?

Regards,
Colin

[Craven-Harrison]

G'day Col,

I've had many thoughts on the crossed out word in his MIC also, I reckon you might be right, special meaning in big trouble does anybody know what a special list means on an Medal Index card?

I also chased the "A L" thing for a while thinking it was a clue and I now believe it to be a code of sorts for Allotment which is consistant with the subject of pays and Nora's quest to get hold of the remaining allotment, at least that is my take at the moment.

I wish I had more clues on both issues, I've thought of looking for A L Harrison's but haven't done so yet!

Ian

[jds1949]

Dear Ian,

went to Kew today - not much to report and all negative I'm afraid.

There were twelve Harrisons listed as Lieutenants in the Army List [Gradation List] published in April 1918. None of them had the first names Albert Edward in any combination; most had come through the ranks of the British Army or were commissioned before your man was court martialed.

I then looked at the Army List for January 1920 - which actually has a name index - and there is no officer listed with the right initials at any rank that I could see.

I think it is unlikely that A E Harrison was serving in the British Army as a Lieutenant of any kind in the spring of 1918 - at least not under his own name. 

I think that it is equally unlikely that he was serving in January of 1920 - again under his own name.

There are, as you know, a number of officers' files under A Harrison, some of which I understand you have seen. As I go to Kew on a fairly regular basis I'm quite happy to have a look at some of those, but as I don't know which ones you've looked at I'm unsure where to start. If you have the references for those you have looked at and can let me have that, then I can try and look at some of those that you have not yet seen.

Regards,

jds1949

[Redroger]

Colin: I read the card as "Suspense list" Ii.e. the award was suspended dependent on the outcome of the GCM.
Ian: I went to Kew yesterday and found the following from the army list, don't know whether you already have it, or whether it's another red herring or useful, but here goes:The Army list for August 1917 shows Capt. A.E.Harrison (AIF) ( date of promotion to rank 4.9.16)as supernumery, not allocated to a unit, similar entry for September, I assume the list was always in arrears. Then the Octoberf list shows AEH as Captain (4.9.16) with the 19th batt NSW whose CO was CRA Pye DSO (19.3.17)
Then it got interesting: There is an A.Harrison 2nd Lt (29.8.17) the day following the GCM  shown in the Aug 1918 List in the East Kent Regiment "The Buffs"  Significantly I felt he is NOT mentioned in the list for either Aug or Sept 1917, so far as I could see this was his first appearance. On the noticeboard at Kew there is a researcher's website which might be worth checking out, address:mick@the-buffs.com Hope that lot is some use.
Roger