Guest fluffycat Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Hi everyone. I'm totally new to all this. Am trying to find which battalions and war service records and actions for the following 2 people: My great uncle and my grandfather. Pte. Frederick William Branston. No. 3352 46th Company Machine Gun Corps Infantry K.I.A. 01/06/1916 Previouly 3/21244 Leicestershire Regiment. With the low MGC number would he have been one of the first to be in this new unit. Pte. Walter Harding. No. 40469. South Staffordshire Regiment (survived the war) Apparently they were school pals and enlisted together at either Melton Mowbray, Leicester, Loughborough or Grantham, I think around July 1915. Fred was only 16 and Walter only 17 years old. I got this info. from the MIC's for both people, but nothing else is listed. Can anyone kindly enlighten me? Can anybody kindly give me more detailed info. from war diaries or other sources ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Welcome to the forum The Medal Index Cards are only a start; they reference to medal rolls (held at the National Archives, Kew) which often show battalion number. You have a lot of research ahead of you, have you read the reseasrching a soldier section of the Long Long Trail web site? As Frederick William Branston was Killed in Action you should use the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site for more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelPack Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 triumph Frederick's service history will be much easier to piece together. The 46th MGC Coy was attached to the 46th Brigade of the 15th (Scottish) Division as of 11th February 1916. As you point out by his service number he would have been transferred from the Leics Regiment in September/October 1915. There are casualties from the 46th MGC Company very close to Frederick's number including another 1st July one (not the Somme) and these can be searched using Geoff's search engine: http://www.hut-six.co.uk/cgi-bin/search2.php Regards Mel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Welcome to the forum triumph, SDGW lists Pte. Branston as enlisting in Melton Mowbray and having DoW on that date. Have you got copies of their MICs? They may include entry dates which could lead to a battalion, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Llewellyn Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Hi Triumph, Welcome to the forum. Fredericks Leicesters number 3/21244, would suggest the 3rd Battalion. The 3rd Battalion were the reserve and remained in the uk throughout the war. Regards. Llew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Just a thought and to add to Mels post the 15th (Scottish) included the 7th (Service) Bn Leicesters as divisional troops, they left the division during April 1915, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 A quick search of SDGW using South Staffs and 404?? from Pte. Harding's number gives 21 results, all of which previously served with the Leicesters. Looks like they may have joined the same battalion in Melton, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonmaid Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Name: BRANSTON, FREDERICK WILLIAM Initials: F W Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) Unit Text: 46th Coy. Age: 17 Date of Death: 01/07/1916 Service No: 3352 Additional information: Son of Mary Ann Branston, of Stonesby, Melton Mowbray, and the late William Branston. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: IV. F. 2. Cemetery: VERMELLES BRITISH CEMETERY Ellie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 31 July , 2008 Share Posted 31 July , 2008 Fredericks Leicesters number 3/21244, would suggest the 3rd Battalion. The 3rd Battalion were the reserve and remained in the uk throughout the war. I would suspect that he was posted to either the 1st or 2nd Battalion Leicesters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 1 August , 2008 Share Posted 1 August , 2008 Whilst 3rd Battalions remaied in the UK, they were used as feeders for the regular battalions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droocoo Posted 3 August , 2008 Share Posted 3 August , 2008 Subscribe to Ancestry.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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