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Author Topic: Last clue to Grandfather's WW1 service  (Read 466 times)

Online Top-of-the-hill

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Last clue to Grandfather's WW1 service
« on: Thursday 14 April 22 22:56 BST (UK) »
  His service records are among those which are lost, but I know he was in the Army Service Corps, and from previous help on this forum, that he was in Motor Transport and joined in 1916. I now have 2 pieces of what I suppose might be called trench art which I remember from childhood in his house. One is a brass matchbox holder(?) with his name on one side and Onnaing Nov. 1918 on the other. I have recently had the other item returned to me - a paper knife engraved on one side 1914 France, and on the other 1919 Valenciennes.
   I have established that Onnaing and Valenciennes are very close together, so wonder if that was where he was in Nov 1918, though I guess that A.S.C. Motor Transport could have been all over the place! The only other thing known to the family is that he stayed in France for about a year after the war, some of the time in Wimereaux. Clearing up?
Pay, Kent
Codham/Coltham, Kent
Kent, Felton, Essex
Staples, Wiltshire

Offline jim1

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Re: Last clue to Grandfather's WW1 service
« Reply #1 on: Friday 15 April 22 14:20 BST (UK) »
What you have are probably souvenirs bought locally to where he was stationed.
Your assumption is probably correct.
Warks:Ashford;Cadby;Clarke;Clifford;Cooke Copage;Easthope;
Edmonds;Felton;Colledge;Lutwyche;Mander(s);May;Poole;Withers.
Staffs.Edmonds;Addison;Duffield;Webb;Fisher;Archer
Salop:Easthope,Eddowes,Hoorde,Oteley,Vernon,Talbot,De Neville.
Notts.Clarke;Redfearne;Treece.
Som.May;Perriman;Cox
India Kane;Felton;Cadby
London.Haysom.
Lancs.Gay.
Worcs.Coley;Mander;Sawyer.
Kings of Wessex & Scotland
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www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Offline Crumblie

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Re: Last clue to Grandfather's WW1 service
« Reply #2 on: Friday 15 April 22 15:04 BST (UK) »
I have a distant cousin who was taken prisoner in 1915, sent to a German POW camp and repatriated in 1918. He was demobbed in 1919 and immediately re-enlisted for 1 year to go to France with the War Graves teams. I have no idea if he felt some guilt at having survived, as I know some other solders did, or if he wanted to help give families some closure but I do admire him for going back. It cannot have been an easy job to do.

Offline IAFC55

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Re: Last clue to Grandfather's WW1 service
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 05 May 22 17:16 BST (UK) »
Hi Crumblie

I am involved with the Dublin WFA, one of our recent Zoom meetings was a lecture entitled "Uncovering the Dead 1918-1939". This was about the clearance of the bodies from the battlefields of the Western Front after the end of the Great War, the lecture was recorded and if you would like a link to it, send me a PM with you email address.

Regards

IanC 
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