John D C Thorne

[Jackarmy1]

I've been in discussion and had some excellent advice from the beginners forum, Whilst researching my Grandfather, I have come across my Great Grandfather, whom I was unaware of up until very recently. I have his WW1 service numbers, 1 for the ASC and another for the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. Am i able to get records which show the dates of his service and also which battalion he was in, which will point me in the direction of where he was on the Western Front. As always many thanks for any replies - Richard

[MaxD]

His service record will have the information you are after.

However (there is always an however!) I see his medal record on Findmypast and Ancestry but no service record - likely therefore to have been among the 60% lost in bombing in WW2.

His medal roll entry shows that the KRRC battalion he served with last was 21st Battalion and prior to that that he had been in more than one ASC horse transport units, no unit numbers or time frames.
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/kings-royal-rifle-corps/
This link describes the outline history of 21 KRRC.  Their war diary is a bit of a mess but you could download it here for £3.50
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7354403
As his last unit was 21 KRRC and they were disbanded in early 1918, start at the end and work back to get a flavour of where and what.  Highly unlikely he would be mentioned by name.
ASC units - too many and no idea what units so nothing to be found there.
MaxD

[Jackarmy1]

Many many thanks Max , can I ask how you know he was in the 21st battalion. I have his medal card from Find my past but can't see anything regarding battalions on it. Also the medals he was entitled to. Sorry to ask so many questions but fairly new to this and the information out there can be overwhelming - richard

[MaxD]

Not at all.

Ancestry has not only the medal cards which are individual to each man but also the medal rolls for each regiment keyed to the last regiment a man served in.  The hieroglyphics on the card under medal/roll/page are the references to the rolls (one for the 1914/15 Star and one for the British War and the Victory medals) on which he appears.  The latter roll says 21st Battalion and because there are no other KRRC battalions listed one can assume he served only in that battalion.
Additional snippet from the former that he was discharged on 21 Mar 1919 so probably was back in UK after early 1918 given that 21 Bn was disbanded.  The date at the bottom of the card is the date he first set foot overseas 17 Sep 1915 which was before 21st Battalion KRRC was there so one could deduce that he was with the ASC until May 1916 at the earliest.
Questions always welcome.
MaxD

[Jackarmy1]

Wow , thank you , I just purchased the war diary you linked to , will take some working out but utterly fascinating. I know he joined the RIC in Nov 1920 but left within 12 - 18 mths. I had no idea the gentleman existed until fairly recently. Am I correct in saying I have no way of getting information on his son (my maternal grandfather) John J W Thorne unless I go through the MoD. As far as I know he served in the RAF during WW2 .  Thanks again Max

[MaxD]

First thing is to check whether he was actually in the RAF.

He would appear in the document you can download for free here:
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C15625802

You go through the buying process but there is no charge.  It is a record that just shows names and numbers.  If he doesn't appear then application to the MOD (RAF) may turn up a lemon.


Let us know how you get on with that first step - do check variations on the initials John JW, JJW, JW etc.

MaxD

[Jackarmy1]

That's great , think I got him eventually , is the number underneath his service number ? 1 digit is smudged but I think I can work it out. Also any idea what the large letter F is which is stamped on the top right of the card.

[MaxD]

I haven't downloaded that - it should have seven digits.  Don't know about the R but unlikely to change the price of fish.

Check out the process for getting his records here:

https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records

Note there is a RAF specific search form.

MaxD

[Jackarmy1]

Here's the card