Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request relative served ww1

anyone know where i can gain information on my grandfathers war service, tried ancestry no luck not having much information does not help at all,he was a birkenhead lad. would old wirral newspapers help, he was wounded,is there much information in birkenhead library.

Hi you should be able to get his medal card on ancestry!
Do you have his service number or any medals?
do you know which regiment?

let me know what info you have and we will take it from there.

If it's WW1 then you will get the stuff on ancestry but a lot of the records were destroyed during WW2.If you look at most of the stuff it looks burnt. A lot of my great grandafathers stuff is missing. If you can find his regiment then the regiment hold some records, the stuff I was searching for were held by the RWF and I even found out how he died from the regiment war diary. If it's WW2 onwards then you have to apply to the records office of the army ( type WW2 army records on google) explain who you are and they will find his records, they will make a charge for the search, £20-£30,but only they hold the records, the more info you can give them the better . If he is still alive, then the search is free but he has to apply. You must be NOK ( Next of Kin) child, grandchild etc)

If he was from Birkenhead I imagine he would probably have enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment.

The Cheshire Regiment Museum down in Chester may be able to help you. They have a very good website with lots of useful links & general info.

Link for the above.

http://www.cheshiremilitarymuseum.co.uk/

Have you got any photographs of him in uniform? Might be able to see what unit he belonged to.

Most guys joined the Cheshires from around here but equally a lot joined the Kings or Artillery Regiments etc.

you could look in Birkenhead Library at the absent voters books, if its first world war, but you would need an address or you will have to go through all the books.
Alan

M&FG Military and Family Genealogy
Peter Threlfall and Judith Beastall
[email protected]
They are on the Wirral and will find out all the info that is available on your Grandad. They researched for me and only charged £15. Highly recommend their service. I have their phone numbers too if you have no luck with the email.

Peter is a mate of mine. Good lad and knows his stuff on WW1.

Yes he is A really nice guy and genuinely loves his work!

as i have already said i have no possitive information at all, he was samuel mason born tranmere 1898,i know for sure he was wounded, i do have information on a man from the royal welsh fusiliers,he has two army numbers 11354 and 202583. i have his medal card but no way of knowing if this is the right person, thats why i was wondering, if he was wounded would it be mentioned in the local press at the time.

Plenty of good people on here to help you Stevie, if i may make a suggestion, have a lay down in a darkened room and when you wake up, take up Airfix model making.

He could be mentioned in local papers,but a lot were also reported in the local papers where maybe they had barracks.

Have you not got medals or a picture,also silver war badge was given to wounded soldiers and can be looked up at the national archives.

If my memory serves me right, one number would be his regimental No and the other his Battalion No.

Not so Bert. He obviously served with two different Regiments. Unlike today when your army number follows you everywhere (unless you get a commission) in the first war, each Regiment had its own numbers. Confused? You will be.

Peter can tell a lot from those numbers anyway. I think he has a full list of men who served in the Cheshires or at least certain battalions of the Cheshires, Best ring him. He is very approachable.

Just a thought, if he was wounded then he might after recovering have been sent to a reinforcement depot and remustered to another Regiment hence the number change. It is even possible his first battalion was so decimated in the action he was wounded in that they may have been disbanded and survivors spread amongst other Regiments. Happened a lot.