Updated**South staffs regiment ww1

[Asmiththoms]

I need your help, urgently please,  is there anyone who can help me trace a private from the south staffs regiment  who served and survived ww1,  and family legend that he received the military medal.  My brilliant daughter has been chosen to go to the ww1 battlefields to complete a project to take to primary schools, but unfortunately there are no relatives to give us the information that we need.  We need this by the 30th September... I know short notice !! 

The only information we have at the moment is
John W Kendall also known as Jack,  born 1/11/1894
Possibly born in walsall
Died 1955 walsall
He married Mabel Susannah 11/10/1893 died 1980 Walsall
Address was 31 Checkett Street walsall.
We believe he was in the south staffs regiment in WW1,  he received the military cross for taking a machine gun post and that he was gassed.  It would be great to make my daughters trip personnal,  so any help is greatly appreciated.

[philipsearching]

Greetings, and a warm welcome to Rootschat.

If you give us the information you have we will do our best.

Name, date and place of birth, and parents' names would be good.  Battalion and service number (if known) would be very useful.  If there is more, post everything - every little helps.

Philip

[MaxD]

Got him I think.   Military Medal (not Cross) published in the London Gazette 12 March 1918 to L Cpl (Acting Cpl) JW Kendall (from Walsall) Machine Gun Corps.


Back in a mo.

MaxD

[MaxD]

5121 John W Kendall.  First served in the South Staffs with service number 12990, transferred to the Machine Gun Corps.  Final rank Acting Sergeant.  Discharged March 1919.

His service record appears to be one of the 60% or so lost to bombing in the second war so further detail would be difficult if not impossible to find. Check the local newspapers for possible write up of the award in the latter half of 1917. 

Bit more digging may find his date of transfer to the MGC, first indications are that his four digit number indicates one of the first transfers which were men already trained as machine gunners.  We may not find his date of joining the S Staffs but his medal record shows he didn't go to France until after 1915.

More in due course.

Max

[MaxD]

Looking at records that do survive for MGC men with numbers near to him, I find no pattern so far that would give us an idea of when he transferred. Similarly I find no pattern to his first S Staffs number.  That means that I can't find the battalions he served in with any certainty.  There will be no citation to be found for the MM, if we knew his MGC battalion there might have been a mention in the war diary.

That said, others may have more luck?

Background reading though should include the pieces on the South Staffs and perhaps with more emphasis the MGC both in :
  https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/

MaxD

[medpat]

I can't see any mention of him in the Walsall Observer covering just before and after the award.

It was up to relatives to inform the paper so either he didn't let people know or they didn't put his name forward.

I used to have a friend in Chekkett St and I used to go to play there. It was after John W Kendall had died but she may have known him.

[mckha489]

1939 he is an Iron Moulder - Heavy Work

Married in 1919  Mabel S BOUCHER   

3 children inferred from 1939 register

[Asmiththoms]

Wow,  thank you so much for all of your reply's and hard work,  I wouldn't of known where to start,  my daughter will be so excited to have this information and hopefully gather more. 

[MaxD]

Don't hesitate to come back if the info so far prompts further queries.
Campaign medal reading (he has British War and Victory Medals (Mutt and Jeff) as well as the Military Medal)
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/medals/ww1-campaign-medals.htm

MaxD