London Regiment, but which Battalion?

[kizmiaz]

Hi

I have a photo of my great-grandfather, (453219 Rifleman) James William Scully, who is listed on the CWGC site as dying on 2nd November 1917 in Gaza as a member of the 11th Battalion London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles).

The only other relevant information I have for him is that he was born in Shoreditch in 1891, and married in Islington in 1915. His father was also James and his mother was Elizabeth.

What is puzzling me is that the picture below clearly shows him wearing a cap badge of some battalion other than the Finsbury Rifles. Having a look around, it would seem to be one of the following; 8th Bn (Post Office Rifles), 17th Bn (Poplar and Stepney Rifles), or 19th Bn (St Pancras).

Not having any clue about the location of the bases for these battalions, would anyone know which would be the most likely candidate for his cap badge? Was it common to move around battalions or did soldiers tend to stay with one particular one?

Thanks for any help

Glen

[liverpool annie]

Hi Glen!

He has a medal card - 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=5261759&queryType=1&resultcount=1

Annie

[mickgall]

Hi Glen

the best place to ask is on the Great War Forum,try the link below, lots of WW1 experts on there who should be able to help you.
Mick
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/

[trystan]

Mick,

We should ask them to come over here too   

Trystan

[liverpool annie]

Trystan!

You'd be surprised how many come over here!

Annie 

[kizmiaz]

Hi Annie

I've just found the same thing and downloaded his medal card which shows he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal (No surprises there!). It has a reference which looks like (Roll) JP11/101 B2 (Page) 193. Would this have more information about his regimental background and movements?

Hi Mick

Thanks for the link. I've signed up and will be posting the same question there.

Glen

[manmack]

glen,annies right,you will be surprised how many of us come over here from the great war forum,dont panic,you are correct,he was killed while serving with the finsbury rifles,he was originally private S/24379 james.william scully,rifle brigade,he lived in highbury at the time and enlisted in london,thats the cap badge of the rifle brigade,regards mack

[mickgall]

Hi Glen

the reference you found is from the medal rolls books, from which the medal index cards were made, you can sometimes get information on the No of the battalion the soldier was in and it sometimes shows his movements eg for one of my gt uncles it shows he was first in the 3rd Norfolks, then 7th Norfolks then attached to 169 coy Royal Engineers, so they are worth a look.
Unfortunately they are not available on line so you would have to go to the National Archives at Kew to look at them.

Hope this helps.
Mick

[kizmiaz]

Thanks Mack and Mick

I did worry that just possibly he may have been a different James Scully when I got his picture and couldn't match the badge, but now I know why. Next time I have some spare time I'll pop up to London and see if I can find anything else at Kew.

Just a thought, but would there be any regimental pictures online of the Rifle Brigade which may (with any luck) include him?

Thanks again

Glen