Do I really have to subscribe for ONE document?

[jillruss]

I may have finally found something on the Forces War record site that may finally tell me how my grandfather was injured in WW1.

However, to get at it, do I really have to take out a subscription to the site? Do they not have a facility to purchase a one-off document? Its one of their newish Hospital Records  would it be on the National Archives site?

Jill

[KGarrad]

Most of the records on that site are available elsewhere!
Do a google/bing search.

Plenty of threads on RootsChat re the problems with Forces War Records!

[MaxD]

May I ask if that is the only record you have found for your grandfather on any site?

maxD

[jillruss]

May I ask if that is the only record you have found for your grandfather on any site?

maxD

Almost. As you probably know, most of the service records were destroyed and, because there was no one left to ask what my grandfather did in the war, I had absolutely no idea which regiment he joined. Nor did I have any clues as to how he got his eye injury (he was wearing an eye patch on his 1920 wedding photo and I assume (perhaps wrongly) that he'd been injured in the war).  I did make a big stride via the Bucks FHS website which has details of the Medmenham (his home town) war casualties (including injured) I managed to discover that he had joined the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and his reg no. was 17252 until he joined the Labout Corps - presumably following his recovery.

This matches a find on the Forces War records site so I was quite hopeful that I could discover more. However, there doesn't appear to be any way I can just purchase a download of this record but must subscribe and, even if I only subscribe for a month, its one of those sites where you have to give your card details up front and its up to you to cancel from month to month - and, quite frankly, I don't trust them! Been there, got the T shirt!! never again!

I tried following KGarrad's advice and googling it but the NA site usually has me beaten, its so damn complicated. It doesn't appear to have these records but I may well be wrong.

Jill

ADDED: Forgot - I did locate his medal card but it was pretty useless!

[jc26red]

Have you checked for a silver war badge yet? Records are on Ancestry.

[jillruss]

Have you checked for a silver war badge yet? Records are on Ancestry.

I haven't checked on Ancestry as I don't have a sub but I do know from the Medmenham church WW1 list that he was awarded the Silver War badge.

[KGarrad]

Check if your local library offers free access to Ancestry Library Edition.
Mine does!

[MaxD]

Presumably we are talking about Frederick William Russell?  He does not appear in the SWB lists on either of the two main sub sites and his medal card does not include a SWB reference so I don't follow the church reference  - perhaps they got the wrong Frederick William or have I got the wrong man?

His card and medal roll entry are not entirely useless but we need to know his battalion.  The date of entry to France 18 Sep 1915 could indicate the 8th Battalion who served in France until November but then went to the Salonika campaign.  From that one could go to the war diary but there is a step you might like to try first.  He appears on the database held by the Soldiers of Oxford Museum http://www.sofo.org.uk/soldiers/soldier/?initial=r&pagenum=244#searchresults

In the first instance an approach to the museum would seem worth trying, if nothing else, knowing his battalion is valuable info if they have it.

maxD

[jillruss]

I have used Ancestry before at my local Archives but it seemed to be very limited in what databases were available.

That's the right chap, maxD. Medmenham seems like a small place so I can't imagine there'd have been another Frederick William Russell. Perhaps his SWB wasn't awarded at the same time as the others on the list - otherwise I'm not sure why the anomaly.

I shall certainly try contacting the Soldiers of Oxford Museum to see if they can tell me his Battalion and any other info. I thought the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry was the battalion - not sure how the hierarchy worked!

I've browsed through a few Western Front war diaries online but they only seem to mention officers by name. This was when I was looking for info on my other grandfather who was in the Northumbrian Division RFA, but I had a head start with him as I had his war medals in my possession.  I've been researching FH now for over 10 years and like to think I'm pretty good at it but all this war stuff is very hard to find.

Thanks for your help.

Jill