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Navy question- Can anyone help me???
| Profile | Posted by | Options | Post Date |
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Janine | Report | 22 Apr 2006 10:00 |
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Hi everyone, My husband has just been given his grand fathers First World War medals. No-one in the family knows anything about his time at War but the inscription on the medals has intrigued us. They are inscribed J HEANEY BLK MFA After some digging we have discovered that the initials stand for Blacksmith Marine Fleet Auxillary. Now, maybe I am being stupid, but a couple of questions spring to mind. 1. Why doesn't he have a service number and 2. Would a blacksmith be on the ship or would he have been a civilian who worked on the ships to repair them? Sorry about being thick! I have tried google but can find no site to help me. Any help would be much appreciated.....Thank you.....Janine |
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Heather | Report | 22 Apr 2006 10:41 |
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Have you looked on the National Archives site to see if his medals card is on there? Heaney - its a Irish name, isnt it? Whats his first name? |
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Joe ex Bexleyheath | Report | 22 Apr 2006 11:04 |
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A blacksmith didn't only supply shoes for horses LOL he was probably a welder/shipwright of some desription on the ship. |
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Victoria | Report | 22 Apr 2006 11:29 |
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Don't forget how many horses were shipped overseas with the artillery battalions. Every mounted soldier had to have a horse - and every horse needed four horseshoes!! He would have been busy - quite apart from other duties. Victoria |
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Janine | Report | 22 Apr 2006 11:31 |
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Hi again, Thanks for the answers. I have checked the National Archives medal index section and can find no record of him anywhere. I am assuming that he was a civilian at the time of service. Not a lot is know about the man in question which is proving to be very frustrating. The older members of his family are no longer with us and we have been given 3 possible first names for him-Joseph, John and Jack which are very popular first names in the Heaney history. Still, I shall soldier (excuse the pun) on and see where I get. Thanks again....Janine Heaney |
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Heather | Report | 22 Apr 2006 15:02 |
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You need one of the military buffs on here, but what medals do you have - as they are normally ones which would give you an idea where he served (if youre lucky) John and Jack would be the same, so he would be recorded as John on service records. |
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Merry | Report | 22 Apr 2006 15:15 |
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Prob not really relevant, but every little bit helps sometimes..... A blacksmith doesn't usually shoe horses unless working in a small community where he would do everything to do with iron! A farrier makes and fits horseshoes. Merry |
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Janine | Report | 22 Apr 2006 15:52 |
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Hi, I have a Victory and a War medal for him. I cannot find any record of him and I have searched for an address to obtain his records but have had no luck either. What did the Mercantile Fleet Auxilliary become? Did they merge with the Mercant Navy? I have no knowledge on naval issues so this is causing me a massive headache. Thanks again everyone.....Janine |
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