Trying to understand cause of discharge records.

[Horsley2016]

So if he (he being John James Hessey)served with R Ches R - is this Royal Cheshire Regiment? Lists his regiment number as: 32045.

I'm just beginning to learn how to find out more about military records. Are there any sites you can think of that will help me find where he travelled to and what he 'did' from 1915 - 18.

Thanks
M

[MaxD]

His medal roll record which is on Ancestry shows the unit he served with overseas was 2nd Garrison Battalion Royal Cheshire Regiment.  He doesn't have a Star medal and therefore went overseas first after the end of 1915.
There is a short piece on 2nd Gar Bn here:
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/cheshire-regiment/

There is a war diary for (among others) 2 Garr Bn at the National Archives.  It has not been digitised so you'd need to visit Kew or have it copied.  https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4557597

I'm not sure I'd recommend spending money on the diary though.  A garrison battalion was not a primarily a fighting unit, they were for older, less fit men, their tasks consisted of guarding things, in his case in Egypt and Palestine, like installations, camps, army facilities, docks and the like relieving the fighting units for action wherever.

Max

[Horsley2016]

His medal roll record which is on Ancestry shows the unit he served with overseas was 2nd Garrison Battalion Royal Cheshire Regiment.  He doesn't have a Star medal and therefore went overseas first after the end of 1915.
There is a short piece on 2nd Gar Bn here:
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/cheshire-regiment/

There is a war diary for (among others) 2 Garr Bn at the National Archives.  It has not been digitised so you'd need to visit Kew or have it copied.  https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4557597

I'm not sure I'd recommend spending money on the diary though.  A garrison battalion was not a primarily a fighting unit, they were for older, less fit men, their tasks consisted of guarding things, in his case in Egypt and Palestine, like installations, camps, army facilities, docks and the like relieving the fighting units for action wherever.

Max

Max, thank you so much for that. Incredibly kind and thoughtful of you to do a bit of searching - much appreciated. It makes sense if he was in a garrison battalion - he was 42 when he enlisted. I'm guessing the death of his brother on HMS Bulwark in an internal explosion hit him hard. That happened late Nov and by May he had enlisted. He died in 1927 and I wonder if it was anything linked to that discharge for being medically unfit. At some point, I'll order the death cert but I can't afford to yet, need to prioritise!  I guess nothing in Army records would have given actual details of 'why?'

M

[MaxD]

You guess right.  Even if his record had survived, the fact that his discharge was "nothing to do with us Guv" would mean no reason being given.  It may be that his very presence in a garrison battalion meant he was categorised unfit (for front line service) from the outset.

MaxD