Woodroffe - Medal Roll Abbreviation

[Reiver]

I have the image of the Medal Roll Card for Joseph Froude Woodroffe. He was born in Salford in 1882.

In the Medal Roll box on the left side appears to be SW B hist   with ASC and a number to the right (ASC = Army service Corps').   But what does SW B hist stand for, please?  Above it are Victory and British and 15 Star.

It is fairly clear that he was in the (Royal) Army Service Corps as both ASC and RASC appear.  Can anything be obtained from the Regimental Numbers?
Against Corporal the Reg. Number is T2SR/01563
and then against Sergeant the Number is SE/SR 01563

Regards
Reiver

[manmack]

the T2SR means horse transport,special reserve,SWB means he was either wounded or no longer fit to serve and awarded a silver war badge,special reserve means he was already serving before the war started,he would have been 32 years oldat the time,son of joseph+sarah,born broughton,lived moss side,occupation,accountants clerk,his father was a bookkeeper,he was the eldest and only son,and had two younger sisters,lillian and may,mack

[Reiver]

Many thanks Mack

I had hoped that the various abbreviations may have given aditional clues and one of them at least has.  You have confirmed his parents and sibling details. Lillian (his sister) was my (wife's) grandmother.

The abbreviation SR means he was already serving before the war started. We have a photo of him in a soldier's uniform in the early 1900s.  He was born 1882.  He subsequently went to explore parts of South America.  The internet shows references to him and provides the rank Colonel Woodroffe while in South America.  His two books were published pre WWI in 1914 &1915.

Could the Colonel rank have been honorary?

I have information from post WW1 in 1918 that he had been affected by gas. The SWB abbreviation that you explained certianly bears this out. The same source that said in 1918 he had 'chest pains from gas' also said he worked at the War Office.

Are there any ways that these additional military activities could be discovered /explained, please? As you say he lived in Broughton before he joined up.  We live about 10 miles away.

Regards
Reiver

[liverpool annie]

Hi Reiver !

Don't know if you know this person but somebody else is looking too !

About 1880 Sarah FROUDE m Joseph WOODROFFE. They had children named Joseph
and May. (possibly others)
May married Tom STODDART and they had a son, Thomas Geoffrey about 1916.
All this from a letter my Grandfather wrote when he visited in the
Manchester area, after WW 1

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/LANCSGEN/1997-12/0882169493

Annie 

[manmack]

wasnt colonel woodroffe involved in the rubber trade along the amazon,i think he also had some connection to colonel fawcett who disappeared in south america on one of his expeditions to find the lost tribes of south america,col woodroffe spent about 10 years in south america in the 1900s,mack

[Reiver]

Thanks Annie

The Joseph Woodroffe / Sarah Froude mentioned in the LANCSGEN List were the parents of Joe Woodroffe (the current subject) and Lillian and May.  I have been in touch with him and given him some info about the Woodroffe side.  'Uncle Joe' (the subject) has always been a bit of a mystery so I thought I'd seek some help from the military experts 

I have been on a website recently where there was reference to Colonel Woodroffe and Colonel Fawcett, as mack mentioned, meeting and disagreeing about something.  As I said previously photographs suggest he joined the army in the early 1900s.  He subsequently goes to Lagos, Nigeria (we have a photo of him there), he goes 'up the Amazon' where he is referred to as a Colonel.  He comes back to England, has two books published about his South American travels in 1914 and 1915.  He marries in London in 1914. He rejoins the army apparently as a Corporal in the ASC. 

From a military point of view has anybody any suggestions how I can find out more about his military career?

Regards
Reiver

[Arfur Mo]

Hi Reiver,

Are you able to post the pic that you have of Joseph Woodroffe in uniform? There might be some clues that a fresh pair of eyes could pick up on.

I think that your search for information regarding his time in South America has been tricky because there were two men,both called Woodroffe, involved in the expeditions at that time.

The Colonel Woodroffe refered to is (I'm sure) a refrence to an officer of the Royal Engineers,who, as Mack pointed out, was well known to the mysterious Colonel Fawcett, and was head of the Peruvian Frontier Delimination Commission which sailed for South America on January the 4th 1911 and was due to meet up with Colonel Fawcett's party in May that year.

Colonel Arthur James Woodroffe (RE) was commisioned into the army on the 13th Feb 1891 and in 1906 was Superintendent of surveys in South Nigeria.

Joseph Woodroffe, from what I can gather from the following article in the Times of Nov 25th 1913, was a civilian.

Hope this helps,

Arf

[Reiver]

Hi Arf
Thanks for your input.  This gets curiouser and curiouser

Unfortunately I can't send the pic of JFW in his uniform as I do not have the technology.  However I may have a work around but it depends on what my son can do

We know JFW was born c1882 in Salford.  Therefore he cannot be the Colonel Woodroffe who was an officer in the RE and was commissioned in February 1891 and was in South Nigeria in 1906.

BUT . . .
There is a website www.phfawcettsweb.org/Legend.pdf which provides a 'bookj' entitled Making of A Legend:  Colonel Fawcett in Bolivia   by Rob Hawke.   Page 27 shows Colonel J A Woodroffe as Head of the Peruvian Commission.  On page 28 there is a note (78) which is expanded at the bottom of the Page as follows:-
"78 Fifer (1), 147.– Interestingly Joseph Woodroffe was employed by Arana in Peru, a company accused of slavery and torture. He later wrote “the rubber Industry of the Amazon” in 1915. Taussig, 54."  JFW wrote the book in question.  On the basis of your knowing the early career of Colonel A J Woodroffe and the reference on Page 27 to Colonel J A Woodroffe it would appear that the author of the Making of a Legend may have got his Woodroffes mixed up.

There is an abbreviation (SR) on the Medal Card  of JFW which I understand he was in the army before the war started.  There are obviously more things to find out.

Many thanks again
Reiver

[Arfur Mo]

  it would appear that the author of the Making of a Legend may have got his Woodroffes mixed up.

Yes, I think so too, easily done I suppose, it took me a while to work out that there were infact two men called Woodroffe, both involved with the rubber industry, and both in the same part of the Amazon at the same time..

Good luck with the rest of your quest,

Arf