John Potter

[yekepa]

Looking for any Military Service information on John Potter Born Risby, Suffolk 1892 son of Alfred and Rose Potter. also born Risby.
 ( served WW1)

 Please note I have all the family information all I am hoping to find is Military Service.
Thank you.

[CaroleW]

Over 60% of WW1 Service records were burnt in the WW2 blitz.  Those that remain are on the subscription sites such as Ancestry or FindMyPast

Have you looked for a Medal Roll Index (MRI) card for him on either of the above sites?

Looking at Suffolk births 1891-1892 in the Thingoe RD would suggest he was John William not just John mmn Smith & mother was Victoria Rose

Which regiment did he serve with?  If it was the Suffolk Regiment - there are 2 MRI entries for a John W Potter.  If he served with a different regiment there are too many entries

[AllanUK]

John William Potter born Risby, Suffolk on the 4th May 1891.

Looking at the Army Medal Rolls for WW1 I find that there are 5 John W Potter entries, none depicting a regiment local to Suffolk. A further look at the Medal Rolls shows that there are 37 John William Potter entries. There is 1 who was in the Suffolk Regiment, details:

Private 14488 Potter, John William of the 8th Battalion later transferred to the 2nd Battalion. He was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal

It is possible that this is your man. If it is, I'm afraid that his service record was destroyed during the bombing of London in WW2

[CaroleW]

See my reply above - there are 2 MRI entries for John W Potter in the Suffolk Regiment

The other has 2 regimental numbers 290744 & 78781

[AllanUK]

I always look at the Medal Rolls records as I find that these often reflect a little more info than the MICs. An example is the one that shows his full name of John William and that he transferred from the 8th Battalion to the 2nd Battalion -- this is information that isn't shown on the MIC. I must admit that in this case, the MIC shows that he was overseas by the 25 July 1915, this isn't shown on the Medal Rolls. Both records in this instance give a fuller picture.

The MIC for John W Potter shows that he was in the Suffolk Regiment and then transferred to the Durham Light Infantry. This man died on the 19 October 1918. The CWG entry shows that he was born in Liverpool and his parents were Frederick John and Rose Ellen. We can discount this man.

[CaroleW]

That’s great.  So assuming he served with the Suffolk and no other regiment, the one you mention above could well be him

[jim1]

( served WW1)

What information do you have that he served in WW1?
Did he survive?

[yekepa]

Thank you all for information

Jim1
In reply to your question - the only information I have is a hand written note that the Vicar at the time of WW1 wrote giving the names of men in the village who served in WW1 and yes, he did survive.