Army Records

[zetlander]

Pte. Philip  (poss T.P) Dorrington 82791 2/7 was in the Durham Light Infantry.   Born in 1900 not sure of dates of enlisting or of discharge.

Would his army record give details of what he did - if he received a pension - his date of death etc AFTER he had left the Army or do Army Records end when the soldier is discharged ?  Thanks.

[jim1]

Generally speaking a man's record will end at discharge unless there is
information regarding that man & relating to his service that occurred post discharge.
What it won't tell you is if he received a pension or what he did only who (& where) he served with.
His pension record/ledger card will give date of death.
I'm not seeing a Medal card for him.
This is where the 2/7 DLI were during the war according to the LLT:
10-13 October 1914: returned to Ravensworth Park.
18 November 1914: to Gateshead to join a composite brigade. Men billeted at Bentinck Road Schools, Newcastle.
19 November 1914: to Town Moor at Newcastle, and digging trenches near Cox Lodge Station.
1 February 1915: men moved to billets in Hudson Road Schools and James William Street Schools in Sunderland.
9 February 1915: formally named as 2/7th Battalion.
8 March 1915: began to form defences of Sunderland docks. Next day, HQ moved into Hendon Street Schools.
16 May 1915: except for a detachment at the docks, moved to Leam Camp (Heworth near Felling on Tyne).
22 October 1915: moved to Gateshead, HQ being in Redheugh Schools.
26 November 1915: moved to Doncaster.
22 July 1916: moved to camp at Catterick Bridge.
30 November 1916: movedto Andover.
Record same as 2/6th Bn but did not sail on 1 May 1918.
September 1918 : became a Garrison Guard Battalion.
5 October 1918: left Colchester for Glasgow. Embarked onto the ship “Goentoer”.
7 October 1918: sailed for service in North Russia and landed at Bakaritza on 24 October. 17 officers and 576 men.
26 May 1919: moved to Smolny. Began to demobilise during June 1919. Final cadre returned home late August 1919.
His overseas service was with the International Expeditionary Force sent to fight the Bolshevics.
Often referred to as the forgotten war. No medals were struck for this campaign.
It might be worth mentioning that the 2/7 DLI was a Territorial Btn.
All TF were re-numbered in 1917 with a 6 digit number & your man doesn't have one.
So he was out before this happened or he has a 6 digit number that you're not aware off
which begs the question where has your info come from?
Later:
Fold3 has a pension ledger card for him but I can't give details as I don't have a sub
however these are his numbers:
53753, 4602534, 82791
You can tell from this that he has a 7 digit number
which he would have been issued with post 1920.
You will also notice he has another 5 digit number this is from his transfer
to the (Duke of Wellington's) W. Riding Regt. This would have happened prior to
the issue of the new TF numbers.

As AndyJ2022 says his records will therefore be with the MOD.

[Andy J2022]

As he was born in 1900 he couldn't have joined up before 1917 unless he lied about his age. His regimental number also indicates an enlistment late in the War but certainly before August 1920 when the new Army numbering system was introduced. Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate any reference to him using the details you gave. That doesn't mean that no records of his service exist. However I would have expected, at the very least, to find a medal index card for him since all of these have survived, unlike about two thirds of the individual soldier records which were destroyed by fire in WW2. An MIC was created for any soldier who saw service outside the UK. It is possible that if he remained in the UK then he wouldn't have been entitled to any medals, hence no MIC.
There is an MIC for a Pte Phillip T Dorrington Durham Light Infantry but with the wrong regimental number. Indeed the number of that soldier is 38802 which indicates that he joined up well before 1917, so almost definitely isn't your man.
Have you found him in the 1921 census? And have you looked at the absentee voter lists in the electoral rolls for 1919-20 in the area where he lived? If he served on after January1921 his service record will still be with the MOD and you can apply for it here: https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records

[Daisypetal]

Hi,

There is another record for him transcribed as DERRINGTON at Anc. same number as the one found by jim1,


Philip DERRINGTON
Rank:  Pte
Record Type:  Disability
Residence Place:  Sheffield
Military Service Region:  Yorkshire, North East
Discharge Date:  08 Dec 1921
Service Number:  53753
Corps, Regiment or Unit:    West Riding Regiment


Unfortunately this is also at fold3 and I can't view that.


Regards,
Daisy

[MonicaL]

Hi Zetlander

Could Philip have left the UK after his service?

There is a marriage in Ontario Canada

Philips Thomas Dorrington
Age: 29
Birth: abt 1903 Leeds England
Marriage 2 Apr 1932 St. Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario
Father: John Thomas Dorrington
Spouse: Barbara Henderson

Not clear what you have for him already. Is this his birth?

DORRINGTON, THOMAS  PHILIP  (  mother's maiden name THOMASON)    
GRO Reference: 1901  M Quarter in HUNSLET Yorkshire West Riding  Volume 09B  Page 213

Wondering also if this could be him in 1911 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWKH-2Q2

And 1901 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9RQ-XSF Philip's age has been indexed as 4 yrs. It should read 4 months.

Monica

[MonicaL]

Possible shipping entry for him in 1926 heading to Canada www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWKH-2Q2 Occupation showing here as that of miner.

He gave a sister as contact in Ontario (Mrs Cyril Brook) and another sister as contact in the UK (May V Severs, Oxford St, Sheffield).

Philip may have been in Merchant Navy as there are a number of crew shipping lists that could relate to him (not enough detail to be certain).

Voters Lists in later years show him with his wife Barbara in Lincoln Ontario (1949 and 1957). His occupation is given as Engineer.

Monica

Added: Names were ringing a bell  www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=867373.0