WW1 Army details.

[mobo]

 

PLEASE - WHERE CAN I FIND THE SERVICE RECORD FOR A WWI ARMY PENIONER FROM LANCASHIRE ??   

MOBO               

[JillJ]

They are kept at the P.R.O. in Kew, but there are only about 30% surviving - www.pro.gov.uk

You could try writing to:

Army Personnel Centre,
Historical Disclosures,
Mailpoint 400,
Kentigern House,
65 Brown Street,
Glasgow,
G2 8EX

I didn't get much joy from them, but you may have more information than me and may be lucky.

Jill

[booger]

Just had a thought last night. I wonder what my g.grandfather (Charles Arthur Cullen) was doing in 1914-18? Like I said in a previous post, I only have his death certificate and a newspaper article detailing the inquest into his suicide in 1936 (age then was given as 58-years). No info found on his place of birth or his parentage or, indeed, his earlier life. His death certificate and my grans birth certificate (1922) give his occupation as 'painter' and 'journeyman painter and decorator', respectively.

Does anyone know the best way to find out if he fought in the great war? Are there any registers? He didn't die in the war, so I guess the CWWG website won't be of any use.

Regards,

Kris.

[Swampy]

Kris,
The easiest method is to check the National Archives online database and see if he received any medals. This will tell you in which regiment or corps he served, medal entitlements, and whether he was wounded. The search page address is as follows:

http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse-refine.asp?CatID=10&searchType=browserefine&pagenumber=1&query=*&queryType=1

There are separate lists for merchant seaman, which unfortunately are not online. To inspect those, you'd need to visit the National Archives at Kew.
Good hunting.
Regards,
Swampy

[booger]

Thanks.

Kris.

[floridagirl]

I have my great grandfathers WW1 Army Papers, but can't find anything about him.
He was in the Royal Field Artillery and he was discharged in 1919.
I tried to find info about him by ordering the details (through the LDS) of all the Perrys that were listed. Nothing turned up.
Can anyone advise me how to track him down through the National Archives?
Every time I e-mail them for help, I seem to get the same message back.
The only time I received a different message was when I asked if they could advise me on hiring a professional researcher, I was inundated with names and addresses.
His date of birth on his army papers doesn't match his age on his marriage certificate in 1904, this doesn't surprise me as my ancestors seemed to be really good at hiding the truth
Any help would be appreciated.
Viv.

[Hackstaple]

Let me get this straight - you have his army papers you say. Then what more can you expect from from the National Archives on that score. You can download medal card, if you have not already done so but I cannot see how that would help.
If he was married in 1904 then it is unlikely he lied about his age when enlisting - as many really young lads did. You should make an assumption that that age is true, for argument's sake. Many lied on their marriage certificates - I have some difficulty in finding any of my ancestors who didn't.
So it seems to be relatively simple to make a search for free on freeBMD for his birth details. If that doesn't work it will cost you a little to find him on 1837online. From there you can carry on to get his birth certificate and so on. Then his age will be beyond doubt.

[floridagirl]

Hi Hackstaple,
I've searched for his birth on the St Caths Index and couldn't find him registered. I even checked a few years either side.
The papers I have are the original ones that have been passed down to me.
Never mind, I'll find him eventually.
Viv.

[Hackstaple]

In that case you are looking for a possible misspelt surname, pretty common!
Alternatively his mother may have remarried and the child simply assumed his stepfather's surname as his own - also rather common.
Nobody asked too many questions about men who enlisted to fight in the Great War - you were whoever you said you were.
It is quite possible, since he was married in 1904, that he also served in the Boer War and did not wish to carry some "luggage" from that period of service forward - or a  host of other matters.
The easiest thing to do is to post the details you have on this board and ask for help. Someone is likely to come up with something.