William Ewart Stanley ROBERTS, medal roll help please

[FionaO]

Hi All, I'm looking into William Ewart Stanley ROBERTS on behalf of someone else and I need a bit of help interpreting his medal roll.
There are a couple of numbers quoted on the medal card:
Certif. or Dis. A. 358940 and RS2 No 359791
Do either of these numbers help find his military record number?  Although his full name should be helpful, when reduced to William E is it very hard to find his death cert/details (family tale is he died in WWI).
Many thanks, FionaO

[CaroleW]

If he died in WW1 there should be an entry for him on www.cwgc.org

[Annette7]

I see he was in the Merchant Navy - he definitely wasn't killed in WW1 as still alive (single) living in Durham on 1939 Register (taken in September 1939).    He died 2 years later - William E S Roberts bc.1898, died Dec.1941 South Shields.

Annette

[CaroleW]

Born Devonport 1898

[MaxD]

That is a Merchant Navy record. (as Annette says)

The dis number is the number of his discharge book which usually will show his voyages.  The RS2 number is his ID Cert number.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/merchant-seaman-serving-after-1917/ is the guide to researching a mercahny navy man.

MaxD

[FionaO]

Many thanks!
I checked the CWGC site but couldn't find him, which is not surprising if he was still alive in 1939! 
Ignoring that, can I ask if he died as an active seaman during war (even if assumed lost with the sinking of a ship), would he still be included on this site?

Out of curiousity, if the forces (in general) have him down with his full name, would his records always record him as William Ewart Stanley, or W E S (assuming he didn't re-enlist with another name)?  He was known in life as Stanley, and I know other types of records are sometimes flexible re first and second names, etc, but are the forces more consistent?

Also re "RS2 number is his ID Cert number" - does that mean it only relates to his medals?
Sorry to be dense (and keep asking questions) but military history is quite broad and I don't have much experience of it.
Myth busting seems to be an occupational hazard of family research .... though maybe he died in WWII? (Hmmm, quite old even for a sailor!)

Fiona

[CaroleW]

can I ask if he died as an active seaman during war (even if assumed lost with the sinking of a ship), would he still be included on this site?

His death was registered in Durham - buying a copy of the death cert will give you the cause of death.  I suspect you will find it was unconnected to any active service in WW2

If he died as a result of injuries sustained on active service during WW2 he would be entered on the cwgc site - no entry found

[CaroleW]

His parents married 1894 but by 1901 his mother was a widow living in South Shields.  Given the location of William's birth and that of his mother (Portsmouth) and one of his brothers (Hampshire) - I wonder if his father was also a seaman

His mother Annie was 50 in 1901 so assume father Harry was a similar age but no obvious death 1898-1901 in that age range.  He may have died at sea

EDIT - in 1911 Annie is 40??

[FionaO]

Many thanks, it's always good to know the extent of datasets - even if he did happily survive WWI.

And thanks for that link - I've found his CR10 which is great

Many thanks again, FionaO