Author Topic: Which regiment did this man belong to?  (Read 5898 times)

Offline peterstarling

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #27 on: Wednesday 03 April 13 09:24 BST (UK) »
Another photograph of Robert Wilkinson. Two very basic question here but I want to be sure; his rank here appears to be sergeant but there is also a crown or something above his chevrons?  :-\Could someone please confirm his rank in this photo.

Also, in November 1917 he was mentioned in despatches as Company Sgt Major so presumably this photo is before then?

Offline alan o

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #28 on: Wednesday 03 April 13 09:43 BST (UK) »
He would be a colour sgt with a crown above the chevrons.

It is one rank below Warrant Officer 2 so would predate his MID.

Offline peterstarling

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #29 on: Wednesday 03 April 13 10:39 BST (UK) »
Thank you Alan

Offline peterstarling

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #30 on: Wednesday 03 April 13 21:29 BST (UK) »
This postcard was sent to Robert Wilkinson in 1917 whilst he was serving in Flanders. We have no idea who this soldier is. Any information on the uniform and rank would be a great help. We don't even know if he is British army!


Offline vivis

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #31 on: Friday 03 May 13 02:55 BST (UK) »
The head and shoulders photo of Robert Wilkinson (my grandfather) showing him with 'wings' was pulled from a larger photograph of several men in uniform so was not a separate portrait.  I'm not sure where the original is, but this reproduction was restored by my mother, Robert's daughter, sometime around 1980.  The original is probably still in the family ...

Offline P Wilkinson

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #32 on: Thursday 11 July 13 16:11 BST (UK) »
Hello dearest cousin Vivis!  I wonder if, from this, we could find out what happened to the lost Wilkinson brother, Frederick?  There were four Wilkinson brothers.  The three surviving brothers emigrated to New Zealand together in the early 1920's, and remained close throughout the rest of their lives.  There was a strong feeling of kinship between all their children, and that feeling of kinship continued into the generation which Vivis and I belong to. The four brothers were George, Robert, James and Frederick.  Frederick was a couple of years older than Uncle Bob and I was told by my father (Great Uncle Bob's nephew Bill Wilkinson) that Frederick died on the Western Front.  Dad did not know where he was buried.  Can we find him? I am new at this and I really would like to track down any information I can about him. I am assuming he would have been in the same regiment as Robert. We do not have a photograph of him, and nothing much is known about him apart from his date of birth which was 1 July 1887 in Salford and his date of death which was 19 April 1918 in France.

Offline vivis

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Re: Which regiment did this man belong to?
« Reply #33 on: Wednesday 17 July 13 01:41 BST (UK) »
Hello cousin P - Paula? Phil ? ?? 
I'm not the expert on the Wilkinson history but have followed recent developments about Robert quite avidly and am thrilled to have found a Belgian cousin. 
Your question may be better answered by cousin Peter who has done a wonderful job on the Wilkinson line on Ancestry.com.  I do suspect that Fred was also part of the Yorkshire Regiment which during WWI was known as Alexandra, Princess of Wales Own Regiment (the Green Howards post 1920).  Robert was a Company Sergeant Major in the 8th Battalion.  There is quite a lot of information on the web about the Regiment and its war activity.  I would imagine it would be possible to obtain Fred's record through the right channels.  Naturally, what fascinates me, is what become of his widow.
Hope that gives you a starting point.
All the best to you and yours ...
Viv