Linda, It is difficult to say with any degree of certainty, but: If he was born on 1899 that is a good starting point. He should not have been eligible to go to France etc. until quite late in the war. Having said that, many lied about their age and did so. So, he shouldn't have got the 1914-15 Star. Gordon # 1 - Not unsusual to serve in three units as with this man. Often a transfer to Labour Corps was due to medical downgrading, i.e not fit for front line duty. Gordon # 2 - Royal Field Artillery TF (Territorial Force). The artillery recruited nationally, so a possibility. The RFA/163B is simply a reference to the Medal Roll containing his details, not his unit. Gordon # 3 - Possible to rise through the ranks very quickly but as you suggest, would probably have needed some particular skill to do so if he only joined the Army late in the war. Gordon # 4 - Served overseas in 1914, hence the clasp and roses. Unlikely due to his age. He would probably have had to be a pre-war soldier to get to the war so quickly and his age would be more likely to have been known as the recruiting offices weren't as hectic pre-war. Again the notations are only references to Rolls and pages, not units. If he joined the Army when he was old enough to serve overseas then he would have been very unlikely to have had a choice about his unit as conscription came in in early 1916 and you went where you were sent generally. It doesn't appear from a check of the Soldiers Died in the Great War CD that any Gordon Hunter was killed so we can't eliminate any of the 4 that way. You may need to have someone search for the service records of these four. If any survive you may be lucky to find your man, or at least to eliminate a suspect or two. I'm sure others will have more suggestions. Good luck, Ken -----Original Message----- From: greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of LINDA MARTIN Sent: 05 September 2006 19:35 To: GREATWAR@rootsweb.com Subject: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards I'm trying to determine which of the four medal index card (WW1)I found online may be my relative Gordon HUNTER. He was born 1899 in Sunderland, County Durham. Some questions....... Gordon # 1 - served as a Private in the Cheshire Regiment, Labour Corps and the Royal Engineers. Shows four different regiment numbers - why would he change from the Cheshire Regiment to the Royal Engineers, or are they one and the same? Gordon # 2 - served in the Royal Field Artillery, as a gunner. Under the Victory medal portion it shows a J or T F, what does that denote? Also shows RFA/163B, do I presume that to be the 163rd Battalion? Gordon # 3 - served in the Royal Medical Army Corps, sergeant. Would a man that young (b 1899) get to that rank that quickly, and serve as a medic? I'm presuming it to be a somewhat specialized area? Gordon # 4 - served in the Gordon Highlanders, Middlesex Regiment as a Private. He earned all three medals (Victory, British and Star), as well as a Clasp & Roses. The notations by the Victory and British medals show E/1/102B46, by the Star it shows G/1/7 - what would these mean? And again does this seem too much of an accomplishment for a very young man? Also I'm "presuming" just because you come from County Durham doesn't mean you'd join a local regiment i.e. Durham Light Infantry. Thanks for any help, and apologies for any "dumb" questions!! Linda ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Not all would have served. Some had restricted occupations, others did not want to go. Technically I suppose all healthy young men would have been eligible but as with everything there are always ways around the system. Men in the Territorial Force for instance had only signed up for home service and had to volunteer to serve overseas. (TF - Saturday Afternoon Soldiers) Steve -----Original Message----- From: greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of LINDA MARTIN Sent: 06 September 2006 01:38 To: greatwar@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards A huge thank you to all those who replied both on and off the list - you were all most helpful and I feel like I've made a bit of progress. One more question - do I safely "assume" that all young, healthy men would have served in WW1, or is that a wrong assumption? There is no obvious death registration for Gordon up to at least 1925, so I had thought this might be one way to trace him. Linda. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thanks Steve. Just wasn't sure what requirements there were, if any. So barring unusual circumstances, most would have served. Linda steve morse <morse@athomewithyourpc.net> wrote: Not all would have served. Some had restricted occupations, others did not want to go. Technically I suppose all healthy young men would have been eligible but as with everything there are always ways around the system. Men in the Territorial Force for instance had only signed up for home service and had to volunteer to serve overseas. (TF - Saturday Afternoon Soldiers) Steve -----Original Message----- From: greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of LINDA MARTIN Sent: 06 September 2006 01:38 To: greatwar@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards A huge thank you to all those who replied both on and off the list - you were all most helpful and I feel like I've made a bit of progress. One more question - do I safely "assume" that all young, healthy men would have served in WW1, or is that a wrong assumption? There is no obvious death registration for Gordon up to at least 1925, so I had thought this might be one way to trace him. Linda. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Linda This may not be of much help in this case but one way of tracing a particular soldier is by referring to the absent voter lists from the end of the war. If you know the soldier's home address in 1918 & 1919 it is worth checking to see if the absent voter list has survived. It it has it should give a service number and unit details Many have for County Durham but sadly the one for Sunderland has not been traced. If Gordon Hunter would still have been living in Sunderland this will not help, however if he moved elsewhere by the end of the war it might be worth following up. The surviving AVLs for County Durham are listed here: <http://www.durham.gov.uk/dli/usp.nsf/pws/dli_DLI%2B-%2BWorld%2BWar%2B1> Good luck Mike Shingleton -----Original Message----- From: LINDA MARTIN <lmmartin@rogers.com> Sent Subject: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards > I'm trying to determine which of the four medal index card (WW1)I > found online may be my relative Gordon HUNTER. He was born 1899 in > Sunderland, County Durham. Some questions....... > > Gordon # 1 - served as a Private in the Cheshire Regiment, Labour > Corps and the Royal Engineers. Shows four different regiment numbers > - why would he change from the Cheshire Regiment to the Royal > Engineers, or are they one and the same? > > Gordon # 2 - served in the Royal Field Artillery, as a gunner. > Under the Victory medal portion it shows a J or T F, what does that > denote? Also shows RFA/163B, do I presume that to be the 163rd Battalion? > > Gordon # 3 - served in the Royal Medical Army Corps, sergeant. > Would a man that young (b 1899) get to that rank that quickly, and > serve as a medic? I'm presuming it to be a somewhat specialized area? > > Gordon # 4 - served in the Gordon Highlanders, Middlesex Regiment > as a Private. He earned all three medals (Victory, British and > Star), as well as a Clasp & Roses. The notations by the Victory and > British medals show E/1/102B46, by the Star it shows G/1/7 - what > would these mean? And again does this seem too much of an > accomplishment for a very young man? > > Also I'm "presuming" just because you come from County Durham > doesn't mean you'd join a local regiment i.e. Durham Light Infantry. > > Thanks for any help, and apologies for any "dumb" questions!! > > Linda > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hello Do you have service number for each man. If so, you can check on www.cwgc.org to see if any of them died. The Cheshire Regiment were Infantry. The Royal Engineers are a Corps and cover many aspects of Military Engineering - Bridge building, demolition, bomb disposal, mining, combat engineering, Paras, Marines etc etc The Labour Corps came into being in the war as a non-combatant unit - although many died. Many thousands of Chinese 'volunteered' for the Labour Corps. You only have three and not four units, what was the other one? No 2. Are the RFA/163B next to the Victory medal? If so this is for the Medal Rolls held at Kew - usually more info and free. Each Medal has a number/letters to its right for medal rolls. Royal Field Artillery did not have Battalions - Batteries, Brigades etc - They are also a Corps. Doubtful that No 3 would be your man. You did not need to be specialised to carry a stretcher, drive and ambulance or be a ward orderly. It took time to get to Sgt though. No 4 Again letters/numbers by medals lead to Medal Rolls at Kew. Aged 15 he could have got the 1914 Star but would have had to be a regular soldier. Is sounds like the 1914 star. Men who joined up where if possible put in a local regiment early on - Pals Battalions etc. But once the allocation was full you could go anywhere. The losses on 1 July 1916 also showed that Pals Battalions were not such a good idea. many men from the same village or town dying on the same day was bad for moral at home. Have a look on www.1914-1918.net for lots more info. Hope that helps. Regards Steve -----Original Message----- From: greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of LINDA MARTIN Sent: 05 September 2006 19:35 To: GREATWAR@rootsweb.com Subject: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards I'm trying to determine which of the four medal index card (WW1)I found online may be my relative Gordon HUNTER. He was born 1899 in Sunderland, County Durham. Some questions....... Gordon # 1 - served as a Private in the Cheshire Regiment, Labour Corps and the Royal Engineers. Shows four different regiment numbers - why would he change from the Cheshire Regiment to the Royal Engineers, or are they one and the same? Gordon # 2 - served in the Royal Field Artillery, as a gunner. Under the Victory medal portion it shows a J or T F, what does that denote? Also shows RFA/163B, do I presume that to be the 163rd Battalion? Gordon # 3 - served in the Royal Medical Army Corps, sergeant. Would a man that young (b 1899) get to that rank that quickly, and serve as a medic? I'm presuming it to be a somewhat specialized area? Gordon # 4 - served in the Gordon Highlanders, Middlesex Regiment as a Private. He earned all three medals (Victory, British and Star), as well as a Clasp & Roses. The notations by the Victory and British medals show E/1/102B46, by the Star it shows G/1/7 - what would these mean? And again does this seem too much of an accomplishment for a very young man? Also I'm "presuming" just because you come from County Durham doesn't mean you'd join a local regiment i.e. Durham Light Infantry. Thanks for any help, and apologies for any "dumb" questions!! Linda ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

A huge thank you to all those who replied both on and off the list - you were all most helpful and I feel like I've made a bit of progress. One more question - do I safely "assume" that all young, healthy men would have served in WW1, or is that a wrong assumption? There is no obvious death registration for Gordon up to at least 1925, so I had thought this might be one way to trace him. Linda.

Hi Linda I don't know a lot about WW1 but my grandfather, who was a miner from Easington in Durham, was initially an air mechanic in the Army Service Corps. Later he was transferred to the Northumberland Fusiliers. They have their museum at Alnwick Castle although WW1 records for the regiment are in London. His brother, also a miner, was in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Both were privates. So Durham Light Infantry didn't take all the locals. I was lucky, my father had inherited his father's discharge papers which give some details, but Kew had got his name wrong on the index so it took a while to tally them up. Don't know if this helps at all. Good luck. Diane > Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 14:35:08 -0400> From: lmmartin@rogers.com> To: GREATWAR@rootsweb.com> Subject: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards> > I'm trying to determine which of the four medal index card (WW1)I found online may be my relative Gordon HUNTER. He was born 1899 in Sunderland, County Durham. Some questions.......> > Gordon # 1 - served as a Private in the Cheshire Regiment, Labour Corps and the Royal Engineers. Shows four different regiment numbers - why would he change from the Cheshire Regiment to the Royal Engineers, or are they one and the same? > > Gordon # 2 - served in the Royal Field Artillery, as a gunner. Under the Victory medal portion it shows a J or T F, what does that denote? Also shows RFA/163B, do I presume that to be the 163rd Battalion?> > Gordon # 3 - served in the Royal Medical Army Corps, sergeant. Would a man that young (b 1899) get to that rank that quickly, and serve as a medic? I'm presuming it to be a somewhat specialized area?> > Gordon # 4 - served in the Gordon Highlanders, Middlesex Regiment as a Private. He earned all three medals (Victory, British and Star), as well as a Clasp & Roses. The notations by the Victory and British medals show E/1/102B46, by the Star it shows G/1/7 - what would these mean? And again does this seem too much of an accomplishment for a very young man?> > Also I'm "presuming" just because you come from County Durham doesn't mean you'd join a local regiment i.e. Durham Light Infantry.> > Thanks for any help, and apologies for any "dumb" questions!!> > Linda> > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail. http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=5d21c51a-b161-4314-9b0e-4911fb2b2e6d

Hi Linda, No question is dumb, in fact by asking these questions you will learn - if you don't ask you will never know, okay. By the way in Gordon 3 you ask about initials J or T F, I would hazard a guess that it is TF for Territorial Force which later became known as the TA - Territorial Army, many soldiers after recovering from illness or wounds found that their unit had moved on away, so these newly fit soldiers would be posted to a unit that had just been depleted by killings, woundings, illnesses & the missing, this was the most popular reason for the changing of Corps or Regiments during WW1. Alan T... [East Midlands UK] Please visit our personal websites at http://forefathers.homestead.com/ -----Original Message----- From: greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of LINDA MARTIN Sent: 05 September 2006 19:35 To: GREATWAR@rootsweb.com Subject: [GREATWAR] Medal index cards I'm trying to determine which of the four medal index card (WW1)I found online may be my relative Gordon HUNTER. He was born 1899 in Sunderland, County Durham. Some questions....... Gordon # 1 - served as a Private in the Cheshire Regiment, Labour Corps and the Royal Engineers. Shows four different regiment numbers - why would he change from the Cheshire Regiment to the Royal Engineers, or are they one and the same? Gordon # 2 - served in the Royal Field Artillery, as a gunner. Under the Victory medal portion it shows a J or T F, what does that denote? Also shows RFA/163B, do I presume that to be the 163rd Battalion? Gordon # 3 - served in the Royal Medical Army Corps, sergeant. Would a man that young (b 1899) get to that rank that quickly, and serve as a medic? I'm presuming it to be a somewhat specialized area? Gordon # 4 - served in the Gordon Highlanders, Middlesex Regiment as a Private. He earned all three medals (Victory, British and Star), as well as a Clasp & Roses. The notations by the Victory and British medals show E/1/102B46, by the Star it shows G/1/7 - what would these mean? And again does this seem too much of an accomplishment for a very young man? Also I'm "presuming" just because you come from County Durham doesn't mean you'd join a local regiment i.e. Durham Light Infantry. Thanks for any help, and apologies for any "dumb" questions!! Linda ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I'm trying to determine which of the four medal index card (WW1)I found online may be my relative Gordon HUNTER. He was born 1899 in Sunderland, County Durham. Some questions....... Gordon # 1 - served as a Private in the Cheshire Regiment, Labour Corps and the Royal Engineers. Shows four different regiment numbers - why would he change from the Cheshire Regiment to the Royal Engineers, or are they one and the same? Gordon # 2 - served in the Royal Field Artillery, as a gunner. Under the Victory medal portion it shows a J or T F, what does that denote? Also shows RFA/163B, do I presume that to be the 163rd Battalion? Gordon # 3 - served in the Royal Medical Army Corps, sergeant. Would a man that young (b 1899) get to that rank that quickly, and serve as a medic? I'm presuming it to be a somewhat specialized area? Gordon # 4 - served in the Gordon Highlanders, Middlesex Regiment as a Private. He earned all three medals (Victory, British and Star), as well as a Clasp & Roses. The notations by the Victory and British medals show E/1/102B46, by the Star it shows G/1/7 - what would these mean? And again does this seem too much of an accomplishment for a very young man? Also I'm "presuming" just because you come from County Durham doesn't mean you'd join a local regiment i.e. Durham Light Infantry. Thanks for any help, and apologies for any "dumb" questions!! Linda

I have managed to locate & obtain the personnel record for an uncle who was in the 28th Reinforcements as a gunner, left NZ in the first draft (July 1917). His name was Leslie Cochrane LOGAN. On his papers it has a section for Theatres of Operation. The only one not crossed out is Western European. Within the file, I can only read 'France" as a certainty as to where he was involved in 'skirmishes' & obtained injuries. My query is, does that cover only France as an area he would have been involved in or where else? Many thanks for any help. Barbara D Auckland, NZ

unsubscribe-- ---Original Message----- From: greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:greatwar-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of greatwar-request@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, 2 September 2006 9:12 PM To: greatwar@rootsweb.com Subject: [S] GREATWAR Digest, Vol 1, Issue 1 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.7 - Release Date: 29/08/2006

In Memory of Rifleman C/4269 William Francis PATTEN 17th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps who died this day 1916. Buried in Ancre British Cemetery near Beaumont-Hamel. Geoff Foster _www.thinblueline.org.uk_ (http://www.thinblueline.org.uk)

Hello Each Whilst on R&R I came across the War Graves of some 93 NZ men, 1 Canadian, 1 Aussie, 3 UK and 3 Unknown Belgians. I will be shortly be adding the details to my website but if anyone had a man at Brockenhurst NZ Military hospital in the Great War, I may be able to help you. Regards Steve Researching 9th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) 1914-1919 www.ypressalient.co.uk People ask me my religion - My religion is kindness.

The Anzac Corps fought on the Western Front in France and Flanders in 1917-18; Flanders includes Belgium (e.g. Ypres). LGS

Jeff, Assuming (from your email address) that your grandfather served in the Australian forces in WW1 try : http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/defence/conflicts/ww2/ww2.htm This will get you the correct National Archive page to apply for the dossier. Regards, Dave Kathy & Jeff Footer wrote: > Hi List, > > Im looking for my grandpas service records from WW1 who do I contact,I know alot got destroyed but fingers croosed his didnt. I also know you have to be next of kin my mums still alive will that do.Any help please I would be most grateful. > Thankyou > jeff footer > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

> Tinned meat and veg! Was horrible Most survivors who attempted to eat is claimed it contained neither ingredient. My father talked about WW2 where the British canned Bully Beef (corned beef) and the American's SPAM were greedily swapped by the Allies. Both sides swore they were getting the better half of the deal. Years later Dad spotted a new can of SPAM on a store shelf and rushed home to try it. Loving memories of "Fried Spam" rushed though his head and he talked of how lucky he had been to get an occasional can from an American soldier in trade for the revolting "Bully Beef.". The look of horror and disgust on Dad's face was priceless when he took his first mouthful of SPAM in 20 years. A Russian soldier a survivor of the siege of Stalingrad wrote of his finding a large container filled with butter amongst the ruins in a darkened basement. He spoke if his great enjoyment of the butter and how good it tasted to a man who had not eaten in days. The next morning he looked at the empty can in the sunlight. It was Axle Grease! I can only imagine what M&V was like in WW1. "Biscuit' or Hard Tack was the exact same stuff the Royal Navy ate in Napoleon's day. Probably made about the same time according to those who ate it, weevils and all. "Fresh meat" usually meant horse/mule or donkey. With the occasional dog, cat or German thrown in to add some flavour Nelson Denton

Tinned meat and veg! Was horrible At 11:37 02/09/2006 +0100, Laffey wrote: >Hello > >I have come across another abbreviation, this time in the War Diary of the 21st Division Senior Supply officer. In April 1917 he writes: > >70% fresh meat, no bread but biscuit. M&V in lieu of bacon, figs in lieu of vegetables > >Can anyone translate M&V for me?? > >Thanks > >Sue Laffey > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > Regards George. George Smith <airforce@localdial.com> Home Page: http://web.localdial.com/users/airforce LRFHS Page: http://www.lrfhs.org.uk Jersey Island Page: http://www.jerseyvirtual.net Jersey Insight http://www.jerseyinsight.com Jersey Centenary Battle of Flowers: http://www.localdial.com/users/airforce/battle.html

Sue - M&V = meat and vegetables, tinned, ration of. regards - Tom Tulloch-Marshall WW1 Military Research website > http://www.btinternet.com/~prosearch/index.html

Hello I have come across another abbreviation, this time in the War Diary of the 21st Division Senior Supply officer. In April 1917 he writes: 70% fresh meat, no bread but biscuit. M&V in lieu of bacon, figs in lieu of vegetables Can anyone translate M&V for me?? Thanks Sue Laffey

If anyone is searching for info in newspapers for their returning Canadian soldier after WW1, try The Great War Returned Men at http://www.rootsweb.com/~abwcobit/Data/WW1/ReturnedMen/RETURNEDMEN.htm . This database lists the names found in Alberta newspapers (for Calgary and Edmonton) often listing the names of soldiers from across the country. The sidebar gives a list of names that each page starts with. Once you find the name of the soldier you are researching, it gives you a direct link to the page that they mentioned on in the online Alberta newspapers. Annette