Do I really have to subscribe for ONE document?

[MaxD]

Jill

The SWB thing is a bit more than an anomaly.   The badge was awarded to soldiers discharged due to wounds or sickness from war service.  The medal card for 17252 Frederick William Russell records his normal discharge to the Class Z reserve on 23 April 1919.

There are other Frederick William Russells or FW Russells on the SWB lists and it is perfectly possible that finding one in the Ox and Bucks made someone think that 17252 must be your man because he lived/came from Buckinghamshire.  The local connection was not as true as is often thought. 

I would think it worth checking what evidence did the good folk of Bucks FHS have that said that the Frederick William of Medmenham was definitely 17252 FWR and not one of the FWR who was awarded a Silver War Badge? 

maxD

PS  Do you have any photographs  of grandfather in uniform?

[jillruss]

No photos, I'm afraid.

The information about FWR came from Medmenham church via the FHS so I'm confident its the right man. As I said before, I'm almost pretty sure he was injured in the eye. I know Medmenham is right - its where my dad was born and brought up and the family lived there for a couple of generations.

I think the next step is for me to contact the Museum and ask for help. I'll let you know if they come up with anything.

Thanks,
Jill

[PanzermanNFW]

First Name:    F W
Surname:    Russell
Age:    26
Index Number of Admission:    Tr 9597
Rank:    Private
Service Number:    17252
Years Service:    1 year 8 months
Months With Field Force:    11 months
Ailment:    Gunshot wound II (1) face & right ??
Date Transferred to Other Hospitals:    25/08/1916
Number/Designation of Ward:    D1
Notes written in the Observations Column:    Hospital Ship Dunluce Castle
Religion:    Church of England
Regiment:    Oxfordshire And Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Battalion:    8th Battalion
Other unit info:    A Company

I hope this help ?

[jillruss]

It certainly does. Thanks everso for finding this. Could that ?? under 'ailment' be right eye?

This pretty much proves my suspicions of an eye injury. I shall still contact the Museum in case they can tell me any more - and also try to find out about the Hospital Ship Dunluce Castle and also the 8th battalion.

Thanks again. Brill! 

[ThrelfallYorky]

I tried tracing an ancestor, where I had a service number, who  was with a Machine Gun Corps, according to the engraving round the edge of his medals, but was given the impression that they were moved about quite a lot more than most lots, and weren't an real group? I even heard that the service numbers were not actually always the same throughout? That seemed very odd.
That put me off trying to go any further, and the only records I could find on Ancestry for his exact, not very usual name and age were evidently NOT him from the physical description, spouse named ( he was unmarried at the time, living with his parents) and job pre-enlistment!

[MaxD]

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7360722

[PanzermanNFW]

It certainly does. Thanks everso for finding this. Could that ?? under 'ailment' be right eye?

This pretty much proves my suspicions of an eye injury. I shall still contact the Museum in case they can tell me any more - and also try to find out about the Hospital Ship Dunluce Castle and also the 8th battalion.

Thanks again. Brill! 

Not a problem, happy to help.
FWR have done around 1 million MH106 records out of a 'possible' total of 1.4 million records and this is only 3-5% of the TOTAL collection, the rest was destroyed.

I understand the the National Archives, Kew are looking to transcribe these records in the near future, though this project will take them a 'few' years and the handwritting on these records can be a real bugger to transcribe/read.! 

[MaxD]

ThrelfallYorky

Sounds a little as if you have been given the odd steer in the wrong direction.  The Machine Gun Corps was as much a "real group" as any other regiment although they are a bit more difficult than others to research.  Three relevant pieces here http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/?s=machine+gun+corps.

Service numbers did change, one example is the 1917 re-numbering of the Territorial Force http://www.1914-1918.net/renumbering.htm.  Changing regiments also occasioned a new number, The MGC was not formed until October 1915 so if your man was already serving, his transfer into the MGC would change his number.

Acknowledging that 70% of those service records that show parentage/addresses were destroyed in the second war there is still a reasonable amount that can be squeezed out of medal records for example.  If you aren't completely put off, why not start a new thread with the details you have on him and see what transpires?

Edit - just looked at your 2014 thread.  In some ways simple in that your man served from post 1915 (medal record) until discharged normally in 1919 (medal roll), overseas only in the Machine Gun Corps (medal roll again) and his records have unfortunately not survived. The difficulty in finding where he fought is not knowing which sub unit of the MGC he served in.
maxD

[ThrelfallYorky]

Yes, I suspected that someone I had a long telephone conversation with was not quite as helpful as he might have been, MaxD.
Thank you for taking the trouble to check out the small amount I managed. I suspect he was probably from one or two other bits of family history, both in France and possibly somewhere like Turkey? - but he never mentioned anything at all about "his" war when alive, and like many others, I never knew him when I was old enough or interested enough to ask.
I might pick him up again some time, although I suspect there are no other records extant, but I'm following another line at present.
TY