12 Battalion DLI

[toms]

My Uncle, William Henry Smith, was born 1 Feb 1900 in Sheffield. He migrated to Australia in the 1920s and served in the Australian Army during WWII. William's service record records he enlisted in the British Army in 1918 and lists his unit as 12th Battalion DLI. For the life of me, my search through Ancestry.com to track his service record has drawn a blank.

Is there somewhere else I can look?

Regards

Heather Smith

[majm]

Hi there Heather,

I don't know much about UK military records, but from the 23 pages of William Henry Smith's Australian Service Records, there's a possible clue ...

I cannot read it clearly, perhaps it will make sense to others here on the Armed Forces Records, so I have taken a small snip and attach it here.

Question 7 a asks the prospective enlistee basically what previous Military service?
Question 7b asks basically about that earlier service's discharge

http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch/index.aspx search as a guest for William Henry Smith.  His Australian number was N381214  (N denoting NSW)

Cheers,  JM

[km1971]

Hi Heather

As he was discharged in April 1920, if his records are not on Ancestry, they were destroyed during WW2 bombing.

There is what the 1914-18 site has on his battalion -

12th (Service) BattalionFormed at Newcastle in September 1914 as part of K3 and became part of 68th Brigade in 23rd Division. Moved to Aldershot in November. Moved to Willesborough (Kent) in February 1915 and went on in May to Bramshott.
26 August 1915 : landed at Boulogne.
Moved with Division to Italy in November 1917

And a link to his Division - http://www.1914-1918.net/23div.htm . You can research the fighting in Italy from here; and there may a copy of their war diary in Kew you can order.

I have to say I am suprised that Australia publishes such personal information about men who could still be alive. In the UK a person's right to privacy would not allow, for example, their medical records to be published. I bet when they volunteered they were not given that information.

Ken

[majm]

Hi there Ken,

Re privacy ... these WWII records are only digitised after someone requests them, and you need to certify that the person is deceased.  At least that's what happened when I sought to obtain my own late father's WWII records.   Thus I presume that whoever has digitised William Henry SMITH's records has certified that he is deceased (and I note he was born 1900).  There is a fee to have these records digitised.

There's many WWII personnel whose records are not digitised, but the files are held at the National Archives of Australia. 

Cheers,  JM

[majm]

Hi there,

I am struggling to read the details on the snip I posted,

Does it show he was in Italy until April 1920?  And would that mean there is no medal card in any online index?

Edit to add Does DLI indicate Durham Light Infantry perhaps.  And also, where would he have been Demobbed?

Cheers,  JM

[km1971]

He was demobilized in April 1920, probably at a demobilization depot somewhere in England. As he served in Italy there should be a medal card for him.

Yes, DLI = Durham Light Infantry. He would have been conscripted and therefore had no choice in the regiment he was assigned to.

The NA website has 130 medal cards for William Smiths who served with the DLI. You can ignore any with a middle initial other than H. You can look at the William H Smiths first; but you may have to move on to the plain Williams. You can also ignore any with a six-digit number as they were not in Service battalions. As he served late on he with have a high number - maybe this one - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=5495784&queryType=1&resultcount=130

Ideally you should try and find his service record on Ancestry, as this will give his age and place of birth.

Ken

[maidmarianoops]

http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

may help

sylvia

[toms]

Hi Ken,

Uncle Harry died in 1972. I was the one who certified he was deceased (but the govt had already recorded that) and paid for a digital copy of his records. Harry didn't marry and left no descendants.

Regards

Heather