Find Ancestors

I have the following records from the National Archives and since my grt grandfather was not on these rolls - I thought it seemed a shame to have all this information just sitting in a file...so if your ancestor was a military person and you think they may have had this award, let me know their full name and regiment (from the list below) and I'll let you know if they are on there. Be patient though...I'm not on here 24/7 LOL.

Here are the regiments I can search 1901 - 1912 South Wales Borderers, Kings Own Scottish Borderers, Scottish Rifles, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, East Lancashire, East Surrey, Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry, West Riding, Border, Royal Sussex 1913 - 1919 Kings Own Scottish Borderers, Scottish Rifles, Inniskilling Fusiliers, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, East Lancashire, East Surrey, Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry, West Riding, Border, Royal Sussex, Hampshire, South Staffordshire, Dorsetshire, South Lancashire, Welsh Regards - Leah

Hi Leah, what a kind offer - many thanks! My g-grandfather was in the Worcestershire Regiment during WW1 - he was in the 1st battalion. He was Frank William Ashman, Cpl 29992 many thanks! William

Hi, this may seem a dopey question, but how do you find out what regiment etc. a person was in? I know my grandfather was in the army in ww1, but have no idea of regiment or rank, if any. All I know is that he refused to ever speak of his experiences to his son - my father - and that he refused to let my father be in the Cadet Force at Grammar school because of his own experiences in the army. My father had to be a Boy Scout. I have two of those embroidered postcards sent to my father - a small baby or toddler at the time - from 'somewhere in France' Grandfather lived in Guildford, Surrey, so may have been in some Surrey regiment, but his family were from Loughton and Epping, and he lived there until he married, I think, so may be he joined a regiment from Essex. I have looked a bit on the site for soldiers' medals, but there are a lot of men with the same name, and there is no clue as to where any of them came from Grandfather's name was George Sykes - no middle name - of Loughton, he married Clara May Littlechild of Epping, in April 1911, and his age on the marriage cert. is given as 26. He would therefore have been 29 at the outbreak of war. Although I have an old family Bible and other certs. of various kinds, there is no-where any mention of the war. Just would be interesting to know where he had been. It might give a clue as to why he would not speak of it. I never knew either of my grandparents on that side as they died during - but not because of - WW2. thanks Eileen

William - re Frank W Ashman - I have searched all the WORCS records but nobody of that name is listed, unfortunately. Remember, though, that in order to get a long service award they would need to complete 18yrs of service. Regards Leah

Eileen Wish I could help you but without any clue as to his regiment it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If he signed up at the start of war in 1914 he would probably have been drafted over to France to fight at Mons and then the rest of the battles over there (Ypres, Somme etc). Take a look at www(.)1914-1918(.)net (removing brackets) for lots of WW1 info. The majority of surviving Tommies didn't speak much of their war experiences but mostly tried to block it out, so your grandad was not unusual in keeping quiet in that respect. They witnessed such horrific things, it's no wonder they didn't want to keep being reminded of it all by speaking of it. I would have thought there would have been medals of his that may have been passed on to family members (are you aware of any?). I'm sure his medal card is amongst that huge list that is on the National Archives online database but like you say, there are so many with his name, how do you pinpoint which is him? I would tend to start at the address he was living at at the start of WW1 - which area was that? Where was your father born? He would have been born shortly before the war if his parents married in 1911. From there you could search for your grandfather's name under the regiment local to that area. A search at the National Archives at Kew could throw up his Attestation papers, when he joined up, and they list birthplaces, parents names, next of kin, occupation etc. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Leah

thanks Leah - I will try some of those things, I had not heard of Attestation Papers. There are odd medals about among odd boxes that have come down to me, I am only child, and so was my father, and his father too. Back to rumaging about I guess. Am about to move house so it might take a while as half the stuff from last move ten years ago is not unpacked. Eileen

Hi Leah, Please could you look for John Thomas Arthurs and Charles Albert Arthurs. I think they both served in Gloucestershire Regiments in the 1st WW. Thanks for the offer. Karen

Thanks Leah - I wasn't aware of the 18 years requirement. Kind regards, William

Karen - will have a search for you tonight when I get in as I have left the file at home today. Will get back to you later... Leah

Karen - sorry, neither of the two Arthurs chaps were on this list. Regards Leah

Hi Leah, Thanks very much for looking.Appreciate it. Best Wishes Karen

Eileen, I had a look also on the Nat Arc Doc online but as you say there are a lot of George Sykes. Did you say however that you had medals? If so find them look on the edge it will have your Grandfather army number and then your away. Good Luck Lester.

Hi there does the Long Service and Good Conduct Award come as one thing. I have a pvt. Percy C. Harris 14786 with the Royal Fusiliers who died WW1 but he joined up before the war started so wondered if he would be mentioned. Many thanks Irene

Hi Irene - sorry, he's not there. The only Harris I found on the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was a W.A. HARRIS Reg. No. 502 - in 1902. Sorry it wasn't any help to you. Leah

Thank you so much for looking for my Harris for me. I do appreciate your time. Many thanks Irene

Jacqueline Sorry, I can only do look ups if you know which regiment he was in - and if he was specifically in those mentioned above. Regards, Leah

Thank you Leah - can you please check on my: Frederick Michael BRYAN Royal Sussex Regiment 2nd Bn (kia 1915) Thank you - Valerie

Hello Leah, Could you please look for a William James Vowles b12/5/1869 in Westbury Somerset, He served in the Gloucestershire Regiment., also I can't find him in the 1901 census, though I have a photo of him in uniform with long service strips on his sleeve. Many Thanks Bill Vowles.