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Posts Tagged ‘ World War 1 ’
Ask the Expert – Wiltshire regiment
Our military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.
From Veronica Scarborough:
‘I am trying to find out where and when my grandfather joined the army. I always believed he joined while in South Africa as he was working there on the railways when WWI started but on his records it says he enlisted in Gravesend, Kent. All I know about him are the following details: his name was James Barrett, born in Highworth, Wiltshire in 1867. He was a corporal in the Wiltshire regiment and died in France in September 1915. I would also like to know where in France he was serving. Where can I find this information please?’
Paul says:
’7073 Cpl James Barrett of the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regt, died of wounds on 28 September 1915. He was born in Highworth, Wiltshire and was living at Gravesend, Kent when he enlisted. He joined the Wiltshire Regiment at Swindon in the second half of 1904. He arrived in France on 20 October 1914 and is buried in Chocques Military Cemetery in France. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that, ‘Chocques was occupied by Commonwealth forces from the late autumn of 1914 to the end of the war. The village was at one time the headquarters of I Corps and from January 1915 to April 1918, No.1 Casualty Clearing Station was posted there. Most of the burials from this period are of casualties who died at the clearing station from wounds received at the Bethune front.
War diary entries for the 2nd Wiltshires around this time read:
“27th – France, trenches
Early in the morning the Comdg Offr Major CD Forsyth was given to understand that the 1/4th Cameron Highrs needed immediate support, and at once ordered the Battn across the open to reinforce the 1/4th Cameron Highrs. This was done under heavy rifle & machine gun fire, and the Battn again suffered heavy losses. Capt EC Mudge & Capt WM Geddes were killed, also 2/Lt E Schultz, who had got safely into the 1/4th Cameron Highrs trench got out again to give directions to some men coming on behind and was shot in the head. Major CG Forsyth was wounded in the thigh, but remained in command. The morning was misty, and several men of each Coy took the wrong direction. These Major CG Forsyth collected in the trench we had vacated. In these positions the Battn remained until dusk, when it was possible to reorganise. The men collected by Major CG Forsyth in the trench by HULLOCH ROAD were ordered to remain. The men who had succeeded in reaching the trench held by the 1/4th Cameron Highrs were collected together in companies and placed on the Camerons left.
28th – France, trenches
We remained in our positions all day with nothing to report other than fairly heavy artillery duels. The nights became cold and wet.”
It would appear likely that Corporal Barrett died as a result of wounds sustained on the 27th, although the absence of a surviving service record makes this difficult to prove with certainty.’
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Ask the Expert – Dad’s Army
Our military expert Paul Nixon, pictured, answers your questions.
From Jan Coupland:
‘I’d like some information about 4th V Bri.York Reg. a volunteer force during World War I. Was this the WW1 ‘Dad’s Army’?’
Paul says:
‘The role of the Volunteers during WW1 is a generally over-looked topic – not surprisingly really considering the momentous events that were happening elsewhere in Europe. KW Mitchinson has written the definitive volume about the Volunteer Force, formerly the Volunteer Training Corps, in Defending Albion – Britain’s Home Army 1908-1919 (Palgrave Macmillan, £50).
If there was a WW1 Home Guard equivalent, the Volunteer Force was certainly it. Members of the Volunteer Force (who were usually time-expired old soldiers) wore a brassard with the initials GR (Georgius Rex) emblazoned upon it. This led to them somewhat unfairly being dubbed ‘Georgeous Wrecks’ or ‘God’s Rejects’.’
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Ask the Expert – Dad's Army
Our military expert Paul Nixon, pictured, answers your questions.
From Jan Coupland:
‘I’d like some information about 4th V Bri.York Reg. a volunteer force during World War I. Was this the WW1 ‘Dad’s Army’?’
Paul says:
‘The role of the Volunteers during WW1 is a generally over-looked topic – not surprisingly really considering the momentous events that were happening elsewhere in Europe. KW Mitchinson has written the definitive volume about the Volunteer Force, formerly the Volunteer Training Corps, in Defending Albion – Britain’s Home Army 1908-1919 (Palgrave Macmillan, £50).
If there was a WW1 Home Guard equivalent, the Volunteer Force was certainly it. Members of the Volunteer Force (who were usually time-expired old soldiers) wore a brassard with the initials GR (Georgius Rex) emblazoned upon it. This led to them somewhat unfairly being dubbed ‘Georgeous Wrecks’ or ‘God’s Rejects’.’
If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account.
Ask the Expert – Italian ancestors
Our expert Stephen Rigden, pictured, answers your questions.
From Victoria Hopkins in Norwich:
‘I’m trying to discover what happened to my stepmum’s grandfather Vasco Agolini (born c.1882) and his wife Elena Agolini (nee Gawlowska, born c.1885). The only papertrace I can find of them in the UK is the births of their two children, one in Cardiff (Yolanda b.1913) and one in Southport (Elenora b.1914).
The ship’s manifest of the Demerera sailing from Liverpool in 1915 has Vasco’s name on it…but it is crossed through! Does that mean he didn’t board the ship? I thought maybe he was interned but I understand these records were lost in WW2 incendiary raids. I really don’t know where to turn next. ‘
Steve says:
‘Thanks for your question.
It is hard to know what to propose next, as I cannot tell from your email what else you know about Vasco and his wife Elena after WW1. There are so many options: Vasco may have remained in the UK but changed his name, or he may have emigrated, or he could have returned to his native Italy.
From your email, it seems likely that Vasco and Elena were very recent arrivals in England – particularly if you cannot find them on the 1911 census. It may also be the case that they were itinerant, which would add to the difficulty of tracking down documentary evidence of them.
The passenger list you refer to shows Vasco Agolini, aged 33, an Italian artist booked to travel 2nd class with a group of artists (presumably theatrical or music hall performers rather than fine art painters) on the SS Demerara from Liverpool to Buenos Aires in May 1915. He is on a page of the list for alien passengers, so had not naturalised at that time – he is still a subject of the Kingdom of Italy. The group were going on tour rather than intending to emigrate, as the last column of the list shows their ‘country of intended future permanent residence’ as England.
Other pages of the same passenger list show more artists, both alien and British, travelling to Buenos Aires, several of whom are struck out in pencil as is Vasco. I agree that this suggests that he did not sail – perhaps because he missed the boat accidentally, perhaps because of a deliberate change of heart given the conditions of wartime and the fact of his wife and young children.
An Italian such as Vasco would technically have been an enemy alien during WW1, irrespective of his personal politics, and, therefore, subject to internment. It is generally thought that very few records survive, although there are various series at The National Archives (which is always the first place to look for nationally significant records). See TNA’s helpful Research Guide on Internees for more details. Another online resource worth checking for the availability of records is Access To Archives, hosted by TNA – this enables you to check nationwide across the holdings of participating archives.
It might also be worth checking speculatively the local record offices and reference libraries in the Southport and general Merseyside region in case they hold anything on local enemy internees. The well-known internment camps on the Isle of Man would have been nearby but unfortunately there is very little individual name level information surviving – click here (PDF) for more information.
There are references to records held by the International Red Cross but I have no information as to whether these are searchable in practice. Finally, you should consider contacting the Anglo-Italian Family History Society in case they have any suggestions for you.’
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The Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920 is now on site
You can now find the complete World War I Campaign Medal Rolls for the Royal Marines on findmypast.co.uk.
The database contains the names of over 75,000 Royal Marine Officers, NCOs and other ranks, and provides a complete listing of all Royal Marines who served in WW1. Added to the transcripts of these records are service details for a large number of men, particularly those killed in action or died of wounds during WW1 and in many cases post-war deaths and WW2 deaths are noted.
The medals covered by the rolls are: the 1914 Star, the Clasp to the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Start searching for your Royal Marine ancestors today and have a look at our Royal Marine Medal Roll knowledge base page for fascinating, detailed information about these records.
Ask the expert – lost in World War One
Our expert Stephen Rigden answers your questions:
‘My great uncle Tommy Venables was a private in the Cheshire regiment in the First World War. It was stated that he was ‘killed at home’ in November 1916, but no explanation is given, although we believe he drowned. Where can we go to clarify what happened?’ Irene Hartless
Steve says: “Soldiers Died in the Great War shows that Private Thomas Venables died at “Home”. Where the theatre of war is given as “Home”, this usually means that the soldier died either while serving within the UK (for example, in a reserve battalion or in a home service garrison), or else died back in UK of wounds sustained overseas without having been discharged from the army.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website shows that he was buried in Toxteth Park Cemetery. If you have not already visited the memorial there, it is worth doing so in case a headstone gives more detail: however, it has to be said that this is unlikely unless the family met the cost (CWGC headstones are purposely standardised in design). The simplest way to find out the cause of death for a “Home” theatre of war casualty is to purchase a copy of the death certificate using the usual General Register Office (GRO) civil death indexes. Private Venables’ death appears to have been registered in the West Derby district in the March quarter of 1917. This delay (when registration would have been expected in the December quarter of 1916) may indicate that there was an inquest, which would be consistent with accidental death, such as drowning, which would require a coroner’s report. You can buy a copy of the death certificate for £7 online from the GRO’s website http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates or, if you live in Merseyside, you could visit in person the register office, which is located in Liverpool’s Cotton Exchange. The certificate may point you to a coroner’s report (if there was one: try Merseyside Record Office) and that, together with local newspapers, may fill in the background.”
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