Where to look know.

[pb58]

Hi can some one help me please iam trying to find out a bit more about my granddad who was in the 1 ww his name was Henry Robert Browning born 22.1.1892 Hornsey Middlesex .
He joined the rifle brigade his service no was 6/9383 it also say France 6.3.1915 15 star
m/1b 664 and a bit can not make out  list m/74 .  He was wounded in no man land
found some time later but gang green had set in and was discharged 3.4.1916 and moved to a military hospital at Headingley Leeds . I want to find his service rec etc .
regards Paul Browning.

[mmm45]

Paul
He PROBABLY served with 6th Battalion Rifle Brigade with the 6/ prefix.

Service Records are few and far between only 30% or thereabouts survive

He may have a Pension record on ancestry
The numbers etc on the card refer to actual medal rolls held at kew what you have seen is a Medal Index Card.

He looks like he was awarded 1915 star,British War and Victory Medals...also he would have had a SWB Silver War Badge to denote having served and been discharged
Ady

[pb58]

Thanks for that Ady so a trip to kew to look for the medal roles and service records would he have been the the war driers .

[anpefa1]

hi pb,

ady is correct in saying that ww1 records are scarce, if they are not on one of the three main websites they will not be at tna kew.

medal cards however are a different source and many are available.

let me check over the weekend and i'll get back to you before you make what may be a wasted journey.

tony

[mmm45]

The Ancestry MIC is mistranscribed he is 5th Batt not 6th!
This was a reserve and training unit so he wouldve been sent out as a Battle Casualty Replacement in early 1915 so wouldve served with 1st,2nd or possibly 3rd Rifle Brigade as the rest of the Battalions hadnt deployed until May 1915 at earliest the three mentioned were already there in March 15

His record doesnt seem to have survived.Maybe if you have access to his local papers of time there is mention of him been wounded.

Ady

[pb58]

Thanks for the help lads . the march date seems to fit in when he joind up.  How do i find out were he was wounded in the brigade was diaries our would the red cross have a records .
Paul.

[anpefa1]

hi paul,

war diaries seldom mention a person, unless perhaps something particular occurred such as an act of gallantry.

red cross records may deal mainly with prisoners of war but i've no knowledge of them being used for research purposes.

if nothing turns up in the main websites, that's usually it, however some "burnt records" records survive but they can range from scraps of paper to perhaps 80% of a page but you would be lucky if there was useful info to be found as not only were they damaged by fire but also by flooding when the remains were  were moved!

hold tight for now.

tony

[mmm45]

Local papers of time are your best bet if records dont survive...another option is to see if you can locate surviving records of a guy with similar number and see what his records say odds are that they PROBABLY served together

think the Times also published wounded lists but have never used that resource


Ady

[anpefa1]

paul,

this may be a complete red herring but i have h r browning born january 1892 died in sussex 1979 age 87 and on a passenger list from australia back to london in 1957 age 65, all giving his dob as january 1892!

tony