Grandad's Wound

Taking advantage of last weekend's free access to FindMyPast, I found an entry in the weekly War Office casualty for January 1919, in which Grandad Walter is listed. This proves that he was indeed wounded, as suspected, probably during the Battle of the Sambre.

It usually took quite a while for such events to appear in the casualty lists, so it's not always easy to pinpoint the actual date of occurrence, but once again Pte. Henry Atcherley, whose records we have already used to help date Grandad's war service, comes to our assistance as he is also listed.

Atcherley's pension and medical records still exist, which show that he was wounded by shrapnel around the 7th or 8th November 1918, during the aforementioned battle. Considering that shrapnel was later found in Grandad's leg, it's reasonable to assume that he was similarly wounded at that time.

I've updated Grandad's entry accordingly.

More photos of William Clark

I'm very happy to have been contacted by one of William Clark's granddaughters in Australia!

Thanks very much Rhonda for sending me some great photos and documents, which confirm that the previous photo I had found is indeed of Will.

His page has been updated with some of the new photos and information.

Is This the Face of Billy Clark?

For ages I've been looking for photos of my Australian great uncle, William Thomas Clark. I was idly searching for photos of his original regiment, the 1st Australian Light Horse on the Australian War Memorial website when I came across two photos of the regiment's second in command, Major Hugh Venables Vernon.
I was amazed to see standing next to him, none other than one Trooper Clark, batman. Now as far as I can ascertain, there was only one batman named Clark in the HQ section of the 1st Australian Light Horse at that time, and that was my great uncle!
So I'm pretty sure that the photos are of him! See below for the photos.

Rosebery, NSW. 1914. Major Hugh Venables Vernon, second in command, 1st Light Horse Regiment (New South Wales Lancers) and Trooper Clark, batman, of the same regiment.

Rosebery, NSW. 1914. Three members of the 1st Light Horse Regiment (New South Wales Lancers) with their horses. Left to right: Trooper Clark (batman), Trooper Murphy (groom), Major Hugh Venables Vernon (second in command).

Grandad's KSLI connection borne out

I'm extremely lucky to have been given an original list of members of the Home Guard for Withington (which I hope to transcribe and put online).

Grandad is listed in this book, which gives his previous military experience as 'KSLI, Great War' (although the year of his birth is incorrect).

This provides us with more proof that Grandad was with the KSLI at some point in WW1, and I have updated his page accordingly.

Updates to Frederick Jones and Walter Price

Some long overdue updates!

I have discovered Great-Uncle Fred listed in the 1919 editions of the Absent Voters Lists. The entries not only give his regiment and service number, but also the date of his demobilisation.

However, far from making things clearer, this actually muddies the waters, for, while this has led me to find a medal card for an FS Jones with the same service number, the regiment is completely different.

I'm only partially certain that this is 'our' Fred Jones, as the AVLs could be quite inaccurate, and it could also be a huge coincidence, so as of yet proof is not conclusive. The information is presented on his page.

Regarding my Grandad, I have found a nice sketch of the lock at Landrecies, that the 9th Devonshires had to get past during the battle of the Sambre.

Grandad - major questions answered!

A visit to the Herefordshire Archives and Records Centre has yielded some fantastic results in the shape of the Absent Voters Lists!

The lists for 1918-1919 confirm that Grandad was indeed conscripted into the 3rd KSLI, that he was posted to the Devonshires at the end of October 1918, and that he was subsequently posted to the 1/5th DCLI after the Armistice - demobbing November 1919.

Grandad's page has been updated as a result.

(Note that, while this latest update answers a lot of questions, I have still detailed the research I carried out beforehand in the hope that it will be of use to other amateur researchers!)

William Thomas Clark Update

I'm indebted to the volunteers at the Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, ACT, for providing me with not only a nice photo of Duntroon Military Academy, but also the three honour rolls that William is listed in, plus some of his final resting place. A selection of these have now been put onto his page.

Grandad - Starred.

Another trawl of the Herefordshire History website has revealed that Grandad was originally in a 'starred' occupation - basically, as a skilled agricultural worker (a wagoner in his case), he was initially exempt from being called-up.

This was to change with the introduction of conscription in 1916, and the removal of his 'starred' status in April 1916.

Cross referencing

Of the approximately 150 men who I believe to have transferred to the 9th Devonshire Regiment, only one service record survives. However it is still possible to view their entries on the medal rolls, and the smattering of Silver War Badge entries. Additionally, one among their number subsequently joined the RAF, and has some service details also available to view online.

Cross referencing this gives us a little more information, but also throws into question my assumption that Grandad was initially in the KSLI before being transferred to the Devonshires. I have factored all this into his entry.

Grandad at the Sambre

After downloading the war diary of the 7th Brigade from the National Archives, I've found a map of their section of the Battle of the Sambre, 4-8th November 1918, which shows the dispositions of the battalions (including the 9th Devonshires).

Comparing this with the 9th Devonshires' war diary gives us a better idea of their part in the battle, so I've put a copy up on to Grandad's page.

Grandad in 1919

Thanks to the National Archives I now have a copy of the diary of 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry for 1918-19.

Assuming I'm right in believing that grandad joined this battalion in 1919, this enables me to get a picture of his duties during his stint in the Army of Occupation.

I have updated his page accordingly - http://myfamilyww1.blogspot.co.uk/p/walter-th.html

Grandad and the Sambre

A quick update to Grandad - Walter Thomas Price's page, with a summary of the 9th Devonshires' actions during the battle of the Sambre (04/11/1918), shortly after the time I believe he joined the battalion.

William Thomas Clark

A new page up today, highlighting the family connection to Australia in the shape of William Thomas Clark, husband of my great aunt, Lily Jones (who he met during the Great War).

You can read about his, ultimately tragic, history by clicking the link to the right.