Stripes - what do they mean?

[PERCE]

I've recently found some photos of my Grandfather & I'm curious about the 3 stripes he has on his right sleeve. Due to the size limitations of photos the stripes don't show up in the full size picture so I'll show them in an enlarged view in another post. He's second from the right. Can anybody tell me anything else about this photo?

I never met my Grandfather but I'm certain he was approx 5' 6", that makes the guy on the left hand end not very big at all.

[PERCE]

Enlarged view of the stripes. The sergent also has a single stipe on his left arm, what does this mean? I've another photo which shows this type of stripe, one soldier has 2 stripes very close together whilst another has 2 but spaced slightly apart.

[Tom A McCluskey]

Perce,

They are overseas service stripes:

1914 was Red, the remainder of the years were blue 1915 to 1918. They were implemented in 1918. Looks like there is a man wearing a balmoral or a Tam O'Shanter in the box too. If you do a dearch of the forum you will probably find the instruction or order that introduced them.

Aye

Tom McC

[IanA]

The sergeant's stripe is a wound stripe.

[Chris_Baker]

The chap on the left is not very old, either, bless him. Perhaps one of the 18 1/2 year-olds who were sent out after March 1918.

[Graham Stewart]

Don't know if this is correct, but they appear to be Duke of Wellingtons(West Riding Regt). Tried blowing up the photo, but alas it blurred, still the shape looked 'Duke of Boots'.

Graham.

[PERCE]

I have a copy of his MIC, I think unless I've got it wrong, James Percival # 38182 Yorkshire Regiment & then #35298 West Riding Regiment. In the remarks column it has Cl Z AR 26-10-19, is this the date when he left the army or the date when he was released from the reserve? Along with picture was quite a lot of post cards one of which is of Dunkirk postmarked April 1919, I guess the photo could be there as it looks as if it's taken on a beach? There's one of Malo les Bains which is in that area. There are also ones of Merbes le Chateau & Binche, am I correct that these were areas in German hands up until the end of the war?

[NigelS]

The sergeant's stripe is a wound stripe.

It's obvious what wound stripes were issued for, but what degree of wound would the recipient have had to have had to qualify for them and what were the procedures involved in their recording and issue? presumeably a minor wound from shrapnel wouldn't qualify, whereas a period in hospital off of active service would?

[punjab612]

what degree of wound would the recipient have had to have had to qualify for them and what were the procedures involved in their recording and issue? presumeably a minor wound from shrapnel wouldn't qualify, whereas a period in hospital off of active service would?

Would hardly call a wound from shrapnel 'minor'!

Earlier posting has information on their introduction and what constituted a wound http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...l=wound++stripe

Peter

[NigelS]

Peter, thanks for that, very informative.

Would hardly call a wound from shrapnel 'minor'!

I wasn't trying to belittle the seriousness of wounds caused by shrapnel, but surely the severity of a wound caused by it would depend on how far the unfortunate recipient was from the burst: close would result in death or serious, life threatening injuries, whereas at a greater distance, where pieces would have lost their impetus, only cuts and grazes would have resulted.

From POOR BLOODY INFANTRY A Memoir of the First World War by W.H.A. Groom:

Canning was reading a letter from home and had just been asked to move to give someone else a leg stretch in the corner. I remember he said, 'Just another minute' when there was the split second shriek of the direct hit; always it was a fraction of a second. I remember a blinding flash, being buried up to my arm pits and feeling a blow on my elbow. My first thought was – I'm still alive and thank God I've probably got a Blighty one. Unfortunately it was not, it was just a speck of shrapnel which hardly drew blood.

The unfortunate Canning was decapitated by the blast. Groom, was obviously very lucky that day as he must have been at pretty close quarters to the blast.

NigelS

[PERCE]

Along with another thread 

I can't believe it's nearly 10 years since I posted this. Anyway I've recently discovered a pocket book with what is a brief record of my Grandfather's service during WW1. Some of it I can make out but particularly the 4th/5th page is difficult to understand. It starts in 1917 & he's in the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, he transfers to the 6th in 1918 & finally to the Duke of Wellingtons.