Thomas FARRELL's service in World War 1

[saw119]

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=byu440&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&indiv=1&qh=AEvFtaTfK8GzHD%2BsCdwCdQ%3D%3D&db=MedalRolls&gss=angs-d&new=1&gsfn=thomas&gsfn_x=0&gsln=farrell&gsln_x=0&_F00061C3=royal%20army%20service%20corps&MSAV=1&uidh=284&rank=1&pcat=39&fh=0&h=3452581&recoff=9%2010&ml_rpos=1

[chinapaddy]

What regiment was he attached to?
there is a record for the Royal Scots Regiment for Thomas Farrell
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D2189844

[jim1]

There are about 60 MIC's for a Thomas Farrell & dozens more with middle names. He is undoubtedly one of these but with no additional information there's no way of knowing which.

[Johnf04]

How do you know for certain that one of the MIC's on Ancestry to Thomas Farrell aren't him?

Hi there - the details don't match. Thomas's father was Hugh, and his next of kin would have been his wife, Mary. Before the war, at least, he appears to have stayed in Stevenston. After the war, he moved to England - in the 1939 register he is living in Leicestershire. In 1949, he married Janet, whom he was living with in 1939. He died in Leicester in 1950

[saw119]

How do you know for certain that one of the MIC's on Ancestry to Thomas Farrell aren't him?

Hi there - the details don't match. Thomas's father was Hugh, and his next of kin would have been his wife, Mary. Before the war, at least, he appears to have stayed in Stevenston. After the war, he moved to England - in the 1939 register he is living in Leicestershire. In 1949, he married Janet, whom he was living with in 1939. He died in Leicester in 1950

Sorry, I must be being incredibly dense, but I still do not understand how you've eliminated all the Thomas Farrell MIC's as being your man.

[Johnf04]

Sorry - I was thinking of the military records there. The medal index cards don't have enough detail to identify them as Thomas. I know nothing more about his service, than that it's mentioned in his divorce.

[saw119]

Well, it's certainly possible to drastically reduce the number of MIC's to search and in my opinion would be a good idea.
Firstly, does Thomas have a middle name? If he doesn't eliminate all those.
Secondly, you need to go through assigning other men with service records to the remaining MIC's.
Thirdly, he wasn't KIA so you can eliminate all the Thomas Farrell's who died in WWI.
Fourthly, check the medal rolls of the remaining Thomas Farrell's as you never know what may turn up.
Fifthly, check the SWB lists. If he was still serving for certain in 1918 to there's a good chance anyone invalided out pre 1918 isn't your man.
Sixthly, did he continue in service after the war?

There's a good chance you won't find who you're looking for but if any other info turns up in the future to help you will have done your due diligence and be in a position of knowledge. Quite literally you never know when you might make a breakthrough. For example, just this week I've had a minor breakthrough with a victorian soldier I've been researching for years thanks to a throwaway Lin about an outbreak of enteric fever in the Sudan. So, my advice is to do he work and let it sit, at least you'll know you've done all you can for he moment.

[Johnf04]

Saw119 - thank you for your suggestions. Thomas had the middle name "Burns", and there is a medal card for Thomas B FARRELL for the Hampshire regiment. Is this a likely unit for a Scot to serve in? There is a Thomas B Farrell in the 1939 register, in Devon.....this is not my Thomas, who was in Leicester in 1939.

[jim1]

Thomas B Farrell of the Hants. had the middle name Benjamin.