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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: BoslemBoy on Friday 15 March 19 09:08 GMT (UK)

Title: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: BoslemBoy on Friday 15 March 19 09:08 GMT (UK)
After years of trying, and failing to find, any record of my maternal grandfather's World War One service, out-of-the-blue I've now discovered (via Ancestry Fold3) a record from the Pensions Record Cards and Ledgers 1914-23.  The reference is certainly to my grandfather (age, home address) but the scan I was able to check was very blurred.  What I've discovered is:
Private Arthur Cornwall, Sherwood Foresters, Service No. 96555; date of discharge 13/09/19.
Unfortunately the first column on the left, on the scan I accessed, was not legible.  Would it have given clues to his enlistment, length of service, theatres of war?  Can anyone else read it?  [He was born in 1891 in Fenton, Staffordshire, and his surname at birth was Cornwell.]

Now that I have his regiment and service number, where else ought I to go looking for information?  Are there regimental records, for instance?

Thanks in anticipation

BB
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: MaxD on Friday 15 March 19 09:57 GMT (UK)
I haven't subscribed to Fold3 so regret can't answer the first part.

However, his medal card and medal roll record are easily found on Ancestry under Awards and Decorations of Honour.  It seems his service record must be among the 60% or so that were lost to bombing and fire in WW2.

The medal record tells us only that he served overseas with 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters and that he went overseas after the beginning of 1916.  1st Battalion served in 8th Division,  Their war is described here:
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/8th-division/

The medal records suggest he was with them throughout  although we don't know from when.  There is a war diary covering 1st Battalion's war WO 95/1721 which has been broken down into 4 parts each of which can be downloaded fron the National Archives :http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_aq=Sherwood%20Foresters%20diaries&_ep=1%20battalion&_dss=range&_ro=any&_p=1900&_st=adv

The diaries, all in one piece, are on Ancestry:

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/60779/43112_1721_0-00000?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fdbid%3d60779%26path%3d&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnBrowsing


MaxD

Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: BoslemBoy on Friday 15 March 19 10:02 GMT (UK)
Max

Thanks so much for your speedy response.  Your different leads are so much appreciated.  I'd looked at assorted medal cards over the years but until I had yesterday's link to a regiment and service number I was stuck.  Thanks yet again.
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: BoslemBoy on Wednesday 27 March 19 10:11 GMT (UK)
Perhaps as a footnote here I should add that my paternal grandfather's Pension Record Card / Record Ledger are now on the fold3 system (I have long had his other service documentation), and the scan is again only semi-legible.  Too much of the scan is blurred.  The central section looks to have been correctly transcribed, and I can recognise information because I know his address and much of his service details.  However, the left-hand column, which I suspect lists the service details on which the pension entitlement has been calculated, is effectively illegible.

It seems to me that the Western Front Association, whose records these are, should return to Ancestry and ask whether the scanning has been done to an acceptable, professional standard.     
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: MaxD on Wednesday 27 March 19 15:52 GMT (UK)
Might be an idea to contact WFA direct, not as a complaint about them but as an observation about the bad scanning.  They may have had other similar occurrences?



MaxD
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: BoslemBoy on Wednesday 27 March 19 17:34 GMT (UK)
Thanks for this Max.  A colleague in a local FH group has said the same.  Perhaps I'll get organised and do it instead of waiting for someone else to do everything for me (or hoping that someone from the WFA reads the forum).

The lack of response from other researchers seems to suggest that there is an unwillingness to pay for access to fold3 (as a costly addition to Ancestry):  I did see this discussed on RootsChat not long ago. 

BB
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: MaxD on Wednesday 27 March 19 19:21 GMT (UK)
While I haven't yet taken the step, a price comparison between the additional cost of Fold3 and membership of WFA would suggest the latter is a better bet.  But both give access to more than just the pension cards and in the case of the WFA membership there is the support of a worthwhile organisation and as always, it all depends on what you are looking for and how often.  It is thus not just an economic decision (except that it what usually drives most folk understandably).

MaxD
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: BoslemBoy on Wednesday 22 May 19 20:32 BST (UK)
My grateful thanks to Max D for his help.

I've now been able to see a 'clean' copy of both sides of the card.  As expected, the assorted numbers for the assessment of the pension are not that easy to understand, and they haven't helped me work out whether my grandfather was a volunteer or a conscript. 

BB
Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: MaxD on Thursday 23 May 19 09:20 BST (UK)
Looking around (again) for clues to attempt to answer the question about enlistment, I came serendipitously on your man's POW record.  Ancestry had transcribed his name as Corngall.

His record is here:
https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/841282/3/2/

If you enter each of the PA numbers in turn you will see three records from camps in Munster in May 1918, Gustrow in Jun 1918 and Lamsdorf in Jul 1918. Brief descriptions of each are on Wiki at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_Germany.

He was taken prisoner on 25 March 1918 at St Christ during the actions that followed the massive German offensive that began on 21 March.  The battalion war diary has an account of the Feb/Mar 18 time frame worth reading.  http://www.rootschat.com/links/01nu5/

I can add to this if you wish but later, granddaughter awaits collection from uni!

MaxD



Title: Re: Private A Cornwall of the Sherwood Foresters
Post by: MaxD on Thursday 23 May 19 15:39 BST (UK)
The splendid defensive action at the bridge took place on a frontage of about a mile from the bridge at St Christ southwards along the Somme.  Map and image here:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=14&lat=49.8540&lon=2.9327&layers=101465296&right=BingHyb

MaxD