Help with Royal Field Artillery records please.

[Neil2004]

Hi,
I am trying to trace where my G-Grandfather served during WW1 or the unit he served in.
His name was William John Morgan & his RFA serial number was 671. He enlisted at Bargoed, South Wales on 11/01/15, aged 37 years and was a driver. He started his service abroad on 24/12/15.
I have contacted the Labour Corps as at the time of discharge in 1919 he was in the Labour Corps and discharged  as surplus as "Having suffered impairment since entry into the Service." His Labour Corps number was 407452. LC records are incomplete but they think he was transferred to them in 1917 due to injury received serving with RFA. He was awarded the 1914-15 Star with his RFA number 671 on it & his discharge papers state that he had "three blue chevrons."
He died at Bargoed Colliery in 1925. His obituary in the local paper states that he received "severe wounds" whilst serving in the RFA.
Can anyone point me in the direction of where I start searching for RFA records ?
Also, his Medal Roll Card shows : Theatre of war first served in : as "(1)". Does this indicate that he served in France ??
Any help or info would be appreciated.

[battiscombe]

Medal roll (1) does indeed indicate he served in France. His low number rather suggests he was in a territorial unit (each one had its own series of numbers so they are commonlyin the range 1-1000) in 1915 ... 3 blue chevrons indicated 3 years service in the field 1915-1916, 1916-1917, 1917-1918. The date of entry could realte to the date a new unit (his unit) went to France as a whole which could narrow down who he served with ..(but he could have gone as replacement to a unit already in France, which makes it impossible to track him..without his records) .. I think the 119th Brigade RFA may have arrived in France at about that date .. joining 38th Welsh Division

david

[Neil2004]

Thanks very much for the info David.
I've looked on Ancestry for his records but drawn a blank (apart from his Medal Roll Index Card).
I've trawled the local paper of the day to see if there is any mention of his injury or transfer to the Labour Corps (as many stories & photographs of injured & KIA soldiers appear) but nothing so far. I'll keep looking though !
I know I can go to London to access records & guess I'll have to have do that & see if anything survives there.

Thanks again though.

Neil.

[forester]

Hello Neil,

Geographically, the nearest Territorial unit to Bargoed would have been the 2nd Monmouthshire Battery of 4th Welsh Brigade, which was based at Risca. 1/4 Welsh Brigade became 268 Brigade.

Due to the lack of a six-digit service number on his MIC, I can't verify the above. It would also suggest that he transferred to the Labour Corps prior to the 1917 re-numbering.

Phil

[Neil2004]

Thanks Phil,
His discharge papers state that he enlisted at Bargoed in 1915 and his MIC & his medals, incl the 1914-15 Star show that his RFA number was 671 ( although it looks like 691 on the MIC ).
The Labour Corps think that he was transferred to them in December 1917 and they think he may possibly have been assigned to 375 Company, ( although they cannot confirm that) and state that it was almost certainly due to wounds received whilst serving in the RFA. Family stories & the report of his death in the local Merthyr Express neswpaper also state he received "severe wounds" whilst in active service.

In your post are you saying that the RFA was re-numbered in 1917, as he only had a 3 digit number with the RFA (671)as opposed to the 6 digit number with the Labour Corps. (407452).

Thanks for your time with this Phil.

Neil.

[forester]

Neil,

The 671 number would be his original. The Territorials, including the RFA were re-numbered late 1916/early 1917 with six-digit numbers. With the RFA it is possible to see which unit they were with at that time, although it doesn't distinguish between 1st or 2nd Line.

Normally, if a man saw service either side of the re-numbering, both would be on the medal index card. This is what led me to believe that William transferred to the Labour Corps earlier.

Phil

[Neil2004]

Thanks for the reply & info Phil.
As the Labour Corps are unsure of his date of transfer I will check the local papers for an injury sustained in 1916, as, if the report at his death states that he received "severe wounds" then perhaps these injuries kept him out of the line for some time, and he did not go back to the RFA but to the Labour Corps after recouperation.
I know he arrived in France on Christmas Eve 1915. The only thing that would puzzle me is that he received 3 blue chevrons, although perhaps if re-numbering occurred in early 1917 then perhaps this early date in 1917 was counted toward his "award".

Thanks again for your time Phil,
All the best,
Neil.