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Messages - caimaver

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1
Armed Forces / Re: WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Thursday 29 December 05 19:55 GMT (UK)  »
Wow, thanks for all the help in trying to identify the medals! I was finally able to make a better scan of the photograph after visiting my parents house (this one is at 1200dpi). The medals and collar badges are more clear but I'm not sure if they help any!

The Valcartier medal looks like an excelent possibility. The only thing I'm not sure on is that in the photo of the medal posted by harribobs, the medal has a ring around it with spaces between the ring and the center. The medal in the photo doesn't seem to have those spaces but it could just be because of the poor detail in the photo. I asked my dad if he had any more information about the photograph and he said that he always thought it was taken as some sort of free mason thing and that maybe the extra medal had something to do with that. I think the Valcartier medal is a more likely choice.

The neck badges are more clear in this scan but I still can't make out what there supposed to be. Thanks again for all the help you've all given me, I've learned so much already!


2
Armed Forces / Re: WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Monday 19 December 05 18:36 GMT (UK)  »
Thanks for all the help in trying to find more info on Alexander Murray! Since Old Rowley discovered his attestation Papers and his regiment number, I have been trying to find any information on his medals but with no luck.

I would be willing to put money on it that the first medal is a British War Medal based on the photo. I'm not as sure of the second one but it seems likely that it's a Victory Medal. I still have no clue on that last one; I can't even find any WWI medals that have the same shape. I think I'll send to Canada for whatever other records they might have on Alex now that I have his regiment number.

I have a couple questions though. As I look through the MIC, it seems like most of the regiment numbers are much shorter than Alex's (2393598), is that because he is from a Canadian regiment? Does the MIC contain all of the Medals for Canadian regiments? Also, how do the badges on his collar relate to his regiment? Would they be symbols of his rank or of the regiment he belonged to or something else?

Thanks again for all the help, and for the photos!

- Cai

3
Armed Forces / Re: WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Monday 19 December 05 02:40 GMT (UK)  »
That's incredible!!! Thank you so much for finding that record old rowley! This record is certainly of my great-grandfather. I must say that I never would have guessed that the tartan in the photo (I looked up 48th Highlanders on regiments.org and found this: http://regiments.org/tradition/tartans/davidsn.htm).

Now I'm going to see if I can find Alex's medal records. I had no idea about the Refrewshire Territorials service, I wonder if that would explain the wierd 5-pointed medal at all? This also gives me some good information to go back and see if I can find any more information on his family in New Jersey in the 1920 census.

I can't say I'm too surprised that the information I have on Alex is off. It turns out that he didn't go to Scotland to join the military (although he joined a Scottish regiment) and he didn't join as soon as war broke out because he wanted to fight so bad. In fact, I'm a little confused about why he went to Canada to join since at that point, America had already gotten into WWI.

Thanks to everyone for the help. And old rowley, if there's anything I can do to return the favor, let me know!

Sincerely-
Cai

4
Armed Forces / Re: WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Monday 19 December 05 00:56 GMT (UK)  »
Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the 'facts' about Alex Murray are wrong. This particular branch of my family is known for telling some pretty wild stories. Family legend is that he went back to Scotland to join the army but it wouldn't surprise me if he went to Canada instead. You can read all of the information I have about him on my web site at www.caimaver.com/murray/ but I'll summarize it here:

- Alexander Murray born July 6, 1875 in West Arthurlie, Barrhead, Scotland
- Married Agnes Guild in 1897 in Glasgow and had many kids there.
- Alex traveled to East Newark, New Jersey about 1909. His other family members would join him one by one over the next couple years, the last being in 1914.
- Alex supposedly went back to Scotland to join the army but left his family in New Jersey.
- Alex returned to his family in New Jersey immediately after the war. I can not find him or any of the family members in the 1920 US Census but I have found them in the 1930 US census and it does list him as fighting in the World War.

I'm impressed that you noticed the lion rampant on the clasp, I have looked at this photo many many times and I had never noticed it. The first 'digit' on the collar definitely looks like an 8 but I'm not sure about the second; it looks kind of like an 'X' but with a curve going across the top two tines of the X. I can't wait to see the original again at my parents house next week.

Thanks again for all the help!

- Cai

5
Armed Forces / Re: WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Sunday 18 December 05 23:49 GMT (UK)  »
Here's the closest I can get on the medals and collar on the scan I have in case it helps...

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Armed Forces / Re: WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Sunday 18 December 05 23:45 GMT (UK)  »
Thanks for the help!

Someone on another mailing list suggested that he might be in the Royal Highland Fusiliers. From the few images I can find of their tartan on-line, it seems like it might fit. The only problem is that the photos I've seen of men in the Royal Highland Fusiliers show them wearing a checker-pattern on their cap and my great-grandfather doesn't have that so I'm not sure...

As I'm looking more and more on-line, I still can't find any WWI British medal like the left-most one that he is wearing. My parents are the ones who have the actual photograph, I only have the scans. I am going to try to identify the numbers on the colar when I visit my family for the holidays next week. If I am able to see the regimental ID, where could I go to look it up?

- Cai

7
Armed Forces / WWI Regiment Identification
« on: Sunday 18 December 05 22:09 GMT (UK)  »
Hello-

Someone recommended this site to me from a Scottish Genealogy mailing list. I am trying to figure out what WWI regiment my great-grandfather belonged to based on a photo I have of him in his military uniform.

My great-grandfather, Alexander Murray, is the one on the right in this photograph. The tartan looks pretty clear and you can see that he has three medals; the first one on the left looks like the British Service Medal, and the one next to it might be the Victory medal but I can't identify the last one at all which looks like a five-pointed cross if that makes any sense.

Alexander Murray was born in Barrhead, Scotland and moved to America in 1909. He actually went back to Scotland as soon as the war broke out because he really wanted to fight in it. Family legend is that he earned the nickname 'Red' during the war but he wouldn't say why.

If you can help me identify any more details from this photo, please let me know. You can e-mail me at "caimaver )at( yahoo [dot] com" if you'd like. I can also e-mail a higher-res version if it would help.

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