Klr - Wales ?

[vic1]

I have been shown a gold (?) medalion by My Mum which belonged to her grandfather  it is inscribed " The Great War" on  one side with like a clasped  design around outside. other side reads " presented to A.O. Jones  43491 KLR
citizens of newbridge. We know  he was in the army. We have a " swagger stick  which belonged to him. My Mum says he was in ireland  but he never went abroad. i googled KLR  and got the Kings liverpool regiment -  which has thrown me  as he lived  in herefordshire  and  the newbridge on the medal  was believed to be in Glamorgan  where he met my great Gran - the local regiment  did serve in ireland. nothing seems to tie up  so have i got the right result for KLR.   He survived the war   and died ironically on an army base locally serving with the ministry of supply .  Does anyone else have a medal  and why is dated  1914 ? did the klr recruit from this area or  was he possibly seconded to it  - if any one can shed any light  i 'd be grateful.

[manmack]

hiya vic.
43491 albert,oswald jones
enlisted 9-12-15 in the royal welsh fusiliers,at cardiff
aged 26
occupation.grocer
married miss mary francis,at the babill chapel,swansea,on 27-2-16
resided.33 manor rd,marselton,swansea
father,john resided at castle wood,Llandeffley,brecon
served on home service,from 29-3-16 till 1-7-18
posted to 12th labour batt,kings liverpool regt,on 1-6-16
27-4-17,posted to 1st batt,labour corps
30-6-17,sent to ireland and posted to the irish command,labour corps.
discharged as physically unfit,on 1-7-18.

mack

[km1971]

I have not come across the 12th Labour Battalion of the KLR before. There were two Works Battalions, the 23rd and 24th, which were formed in May/June 1916 which fits. The 23rd became the 1st Labour Battalion, prior to the creation of the Labour Corps - http://www.1914-1918.net/labour.htm

There does not appear to be a medal card for him, which confirms he did not go overseas. You will therefore have to wait to see if Ancestry publish his service records when they get to the Js. The medallion must be a private purpose purchase, maybe so that men who did not get medals had something to show for their efforts. Although I am surprised he was not awarded a Silver War Badge as he was invalided out of the army.

Vic...As the war progressed men could be transferred to any regiment.

Ken

[vic1]

ken thank you for your  input  the gentleman above is definitely talking about my g grandfather.
i had thought that  he'd probably been transfered but knew he the local regiment had been to ireland. so presumed it was with them.explains why i found my partner grandfather  but not him   he wasn't there any way i can now persue this and see what else i  can discover  OH this far too addictive   many thanks  vic

[Wendi]

mack !!! I'm going to have to run my welsh rellies past you at some point 

presented to A.O. Jones  43491 KLR citizens of newbridge.

 

Hi vic1, it's possible Newbridge struck it's own medal for citizens who served "at home" during the conflict.  The local history society may know more.

Wendi 

[manmack]

I have not come across the 12th Labour Battalion of the KLR before. There were two Works Battalions, the 23rd and 24th, which were formed in May/June 1916 which fits. The 23rd became the 1st Labour Battalion, prior to the creation of the Labour Corps - http://www.1914-1918.net/labour.htm

There does not appear to be a medal card for him, which confirms he did not go overseas. You will therefore have to wait to see if Ancestry publish his service records when they get to the Js. The medallion must be a private purpose, maybe so that men who did not get medals had something to show for their efforts. Although I am surprised he was not awarded a Silver War Badge as he was invalided out of the army.

Vic...As the war progressed men could be transferred to any regiment.

Ken

hiya ken.
its probably a mis- transcription.its more likely that he was in the 12th labour company in one of these battalions.
his pension record is on ancestry

mack

[vic1]

guess its time to subscribe to ancestry  then. As I've got several in the services i want more info on. for my OH  i got medal info  from  A2a -  but im already knew he had been mentioned in dispatches and had medals I guess the service side of things is going to teach me lots more.