Spencer Brown Pte 1344

[Sara2212]

Spencer Brown
b. 1891 Horwich Lancashire
Regimental No: 1344


I have found my g. uncle's MIC and would like some help in understanding it.  It tells me he was in the Machine Gun Corps as a Lieutenant, was this still with the Herts Yeomanry? My aunt tells me he was at Gallipoli where he was wounded. Can anyone tell me where he would have gone after Gallipoli?  The card also says he was discharged which is crossed out. Was he in the Yeomanry until 1925?  Sorry about all these questions but hopefully someone will be able to explain it to me and maybe give me a bit more information.

He was born in 1891 in Horwich, Lancashire.

[mmm45]

If you can crop the Medal Index Cards and put the Remarks bit with all the writing on here ill try and decypher it for you.

Ady

[forester]

For us paupers Ady, this looks like the man:

http://www.rootschat.com/links/0fcz/

His service record is held at Kew in WO 339/66644

From the WO 338 entry it looks like he was commissioned into the 9th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry, then on to the MGC.

Phil

[forester]

I've found one LG entry so far, but unfortunately nothing as simple as under Spencer Brown:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31041/supplements/14196

Phil

[Sara2212]

Thank you Phil and Ady for your replies - The medal card you found at the NA is the right one and I'll put a bit more info down below. 

The LG entry looks like him going from the Res Cav to the MGC - does this mean that once in the Reserve Cavalry he was no longer with the Herts Yeomanry? 

What does the 'with seniority 28 November 1916' mean?

Here is the MIC entry text:

Herts Yeo  Pte              1344 

ErrorSPAM REPORT THIS POST AS SPAM (Use 'Report to Moderator'). DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THIS POST. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS PERSON.]         "                                     
Res. Cav.   2nd Lieut  [/color]           
M. G. C.     * Lieut
                  on R & F Roll cc/140 B/21

Medals:                                  Remarks * ErrorSPAM REPORT THIS POST AS SPAM (Use 'Report to Moderator'). DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THIS POST. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS PERSON.]Comm Auth cc/14B

Victory  MCG *  OFF  227  262  ) [/color]DISCHARGED
British                                     ) IVX 445 df 17.7.25 NW/1/3859
15 Star  CC/14B 4

Theatre of War first served in (3) EGYPT
Date of entry therin      5 - 11- 14     ErrorSPAM REPORT THIS POST AS SPAM (Use 'Report to Moderator'). DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THIS POST. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS PERSON.]NW/1/3859

E. F. G.  Retd.  Dt  29.7.25 [/color]

Any more information would be much appreciated.  I'd assumed he left the army following the end of the war, but it doesn't look like it.  If you could direct me as to where he may have been stationed/active once he left Gallipoli I'd be grateful.  (I know that Brown is not an easy name to work with!!)

Sara

[mmm45]

Hi Sara the 1925 stuff deals with his application for medals...looks like they were issued in that year.Officers had to apply for theirs,other ranks had them sent to last known address.
Best thing for you to do is apply to Kew for a copy of his file...tracing him through the LG maybe difficult due to been a common surname.
Am unsure how much a copy of his file will be but it should have your answers in it.

Ady

[Sara2212]

Hi Ady,

Thank you for clearing up the 1925 question.

His service record is held at Kew in WO 339/66644

I thought his service record had been destroyed as I couldn't find it on Ancestry.  Does Phil's reference above mean I can get hold of it?

Would you know if the Reserve Cavalry and the MGC were part of the Herts Yeomanry or were they separate regiments?

Sara

[mmm45]

Yes Phils reference looks like its there...officers records were at a different place so didnt suffer the same damage.
Its possible that the cavalry and yoemanry are the same but MGC macine gun corps was a Regiment in its own right.

He was originally a territorial soldier.There are a couple of books on the herts yeomanry available.

Ady

[forester]

Sara,

Here is a direct link to the NA Catalogue entry for his service record:

http://www.rootschat.com/links/0fdb/

Officers records are extremely variable as to what they contain, but generally, for men commissioned from the ranks, their previous service record is there.

If you are going to search the London Gazette, you will have to search under S. Brown (limited to WW1). I got over 200 hits and trawled through about half of them. Unfortunately, my broadband connection has been slower than dial-up for the last couple of weeks, so I had to give up.

Phil