My grandmother left a notebook which stated that in Aug (1914) war broke out and that my grandfather went away Aug.5th. He was out in France until Feb.1915.When he came home he was stationed at Dover. He appears to have been stationed there until Jan. 1916 when he was then sent to Seaford from which place he was discharged to return to work. I know very little about my grandfather since his marriage broke up and no one spoke his name. There are two or three things which puzzle me. I have taught First World War and recruitment and understood that the army was very reluctant to allow soldiers to leave especially in 1916 when they brought in conscription. So why was he allowed to leave and return to work. Am I right in thinking he must have had some trauma during the first few months of the war. I don't think he was badly injured as some people were but then I don't really know. Grandmother doesn't mention anything about injuries. In fact she seemed to think he was making out he was ill. Taking bitterness into account this was not necessarily so. He went absent from barracks about three times before he was discharged. I simply want to get a more accurate picture of my grandfather. His records are not at Kew probably destroyed. Surely if he was among the Old Contemptibles he would have been in the standing army. Where might he have gone away to on Aug 5th? Why was he discharged at suvch a crucial time?I'd be grateful for any views on this. Maureen

Maureen Men could be discharged due to sickness or wounds, or they could be recalled if they were in what was later called (WW2) a reserved occupation. Your grandfather's medal roll entry may give some clue as to what happened. Kind regards Mike Shingleton -----Original Message----- From: Maureen Avery <maureen.avery@btinternet.com> Sent Subject: [GREATWAR] Help please > My grandmother left a notebook which stated that in Aug (1914) war > broke out and that my grandfather went away Aug.5th. He was out in > France until Feb.1915.When he came home he was stationed at Dover. > He appears to have been stationed there until Jan. 1916 when he was > then sent to Seaford from which place he was discharged to return to work. > I know very little about my grandfather since his marriage broke up and no one spoke his name. > There are two or three things which puzzle me. I have taught First > World War and recruitment and understood that the army was very > reluctant to allow soldiers to leave especially in 1916 when they > brought in conscription. So why was he allowed to leave and return > to work. Am I right in thinking he must have had some trauma during > the first few months of the war. I don't think he was badly injured > as some people were but then I don't really know. > Grandmother doesn't mention anything about injuries. In fact she > seemed to think he was making out he was ill. Taking bitterness into > account this was not necessarily so. He went absent from barracks > about three times before he was discharged. > I simply want to get a more accurate picture of my grandfather. His > records are not at Kew probably destroyed. Surely if he was among > the Old Contemptibles he would have been in the standing army. Where > might he have gone away to on Aug 5th? Why was he discharged at > suvch a crucial time?I'd be grateful for any views on this. > Maureen > > ------------------------------- > 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

Maureen It is very difficult to comment without a lot more facts, for example his dob, profession and regiment. The most obvious explanation is that he had been in the army for a considerable time before the war and had done his time with the Colours and was, in Aug 1914, part of the reserves. He would have been recalled and sent to France with the BEF but when his period of engagement was completed he would have been quite free to chose whether to re-enlist of return to being a civilian. The army were actually very strict at observing the terms of engagement and never coerced men to do further service when their obligations had been fulfilled. If he was older than usual his services as a trainer for new recruits would have been in demand and if he had returned from France with an injury his assignment as a trainer to see out his last year or so of obligation would be highly likely. Another reason could have been that he had a particular expertise or had been in one of the reserved occupations so that his civilian employment was seen as more pressing than active service in France. Typical occupations for such men were postman, munitions worker, local government officer, policemen, railwayman - all these were in great demand at home because so many men had volunteered and left for France leaving a huge labour crisis which could not always be filled by women - He could for example have been engaged in processing the call up papers for the millions who were being conscripted in Jan 1916. A further thought is that having been awol several times he had been charged, convicted and put in prison and given a dishonourable discharge. This is of course all supposition There are so many possible explanations regards John In message <001101c73376$9e983080$0200a8c0@acer684c9a655d>, Maureen Avery <maureen.avery@btinternet.com> writes >My grandmother left a notebook which stated that in Aug (1914) war >broke out and that my grandfather went away Aug.5th. He was out in >France until Feb.1915.When he came home he was stationed at Dover. He >appears to have been stationed there until Jan. 1916 when he was then >sent to Seaford from which place he was discharged to return to work. > >I know very little about my grandfather since his marriage broke up and >no one spoke his name. > >There are two or three things which puzzle me. I have taught First >World War and recruitment and understood that the army was very >reluctant to allow soldiers to leave especially in 1916 when they >brought in conscription. So why was he allowed to leave and return to >work. Am I right in thinking he must have had some trauma during the >first few months of the war. I don't think he was badly injured as some >people were but then I don't really know. >Grandmother doesn't mention anything about injuries. In fact she seemed >to think he was making out he was ill. Taking bitterness into account >this was not necessarily so. He went absent from barracks about three >times before he was discharged. > >I simply want to get a more accurate picture of my grandfather. His >records are not at Kew probably destroyed. Surely if he was among the >Old Contemptibles he would have been in the standing army. Where might >he have gone away to on Aug 5th? Why was he discharged at suvch a >crucial time?I'd be grateful for any views on this. > >Maureen > >------------------------------- >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 > -- John Chapman

Thankyou John At least you have given me food for thought. Trouble is I don't think he was in the army before 1914 but as I said before I don't really know. He was 27 in 1914 and according to various baptismal records of his children he was occupied in the smelting industry (gold and silver).Would this be among the reserved occupations? I have understood that it was a hospital at Seaford and to my knowledge he never served in prison. I assume therefore that he suffered in France and his work was deemed important enough to warrant him being discharged. As for regiment I have no idea. I do have a photo of a small group of men in uniform with whom I believe my grandfather is standing but it is not clear what the badge is. Possibly the Royal Fusiliers. Thanks once again for your help Maureen > > > ------------------------------- > 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 >