Fighting Fifth

[Guest]

Please can someone advise or help My grandad was in the Northumberland Fusiliers before WW1 he was in the reserves just before and recalled and in France by August 1914 All I can find is his medal card which says Forrest Dennis Northumberland Fusiliers 529 pte

Gloucesters 39771 Sergeant

I managed to get some information from the Gloucesters saying his ex regiment was the 11Northumberland Fusiliers but his medals all have 529 North D Fus although his first medal Aug,Nov 1914 on front, 1/North D Fus on back

After all that now my question Where do I look I can't get to Kew and he is not on any list as he survived the war Thank you for reading as it a bit long winded but do need help

[ian turner]

Janet,

Welcome to the forum!

The place to start is to have a read of the linked site "The Long Long Trail" (at top of the page) - it tells you what you need to know when searching. There is a lot to learn, so as to understand what you may or may not be uncovering.

From your info it seems that your grandad was first in the Northumberland Fusiliers, (service number 529) - indeed with that low number it would tie in whith his already being in the reserves. Because of that he was one of the early entrants into the war on the Western Front, and earned the 1914 Star (sometimes called the Mons Star). It makes him one of the 'Old Contemptibles'. The British War Medal and Victory Medal were issued on the basis of his rank and regiment when first entering a theatre of war. It sounds as if he was later transferred to the Gloucester Regiment, and there he achieved the rank of Sergeant. Transfer between regiments was not unsual.

For the fullest picture of his service the best item is his service record, but two-thirds of these were destroyed in the Blitz, so a small chance his have survived. For an idea of the likely actions he saw in the NorthD Fus the battalion war diary (held at Kew or in the regimental musem) will give you an idea of what they were doing, but unlikely to mention him by name.

Ian

[Guest]

Thankyou Ian for your reply will start with the reading

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Janet

he is reported in the St Georges' Gazette as being wounded in the February 1915 issue so he was probably wounded Dec 14 or Jan 15. Thats when he left 1/NF probably posted to 11/NF when he left hospital.

I have attached a scan of the page but it may be too small to read, you may be able to enlarge it

regards

John

[Heid the Ba]

he is reported in the St Georges' Gazette as being wounded in the February 1915 issue so he was probably wounded Dec 14 or Jan 15. Thats when he left 1/NF probably posted to 11/NF when he left hospital.

I need more sleep; I actually sat staring at the screen trying to work out how you could narrow it down to those two days.

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Being a first rate con man I would say I have access to the battalion casualty roll book

But what I meant is December 1914 or January 1915

Indeed with some of the casualties in the St Georges Gazette it is possible to get them down to the actual day by cross refrencing with the local newspapers .

regards

John

[Guest]

John Thankyou very much for that I knew he was wounded at some point because he was in Netley Hospital (Think thats the name) my grandad never spoke of the war but remember nan saying it was only the fact another man recognised him that she knew nobody knew who he was he didnt know anyone not even his wife and 2 children So pleased you have found this

[punjab612]

Janet

Welcome to the Forum.

Your Grandfather was reported missing on 8th November 1914 from the 1st Bn NF along with 139 other men. They were involved in holding a trench about 1 mile east of Hooge on the high ground above Heranthage Chateu. Therorders were to hold the trench at all costs.

The attached image is from the appendix to the war diary for November; your GF is third from the bottom. The NF for the early poart of the war kept complete records of casualities and missing for all ranks, though not all of these survived in the NA copies.

Peter

[Guest]

Hi Peter Thankyou for information Just spoke to my mum who is 88 and she said grandad must have been reported missing and wounded twice because he was in Netley Hospital after one of his sons was born and that was late 1916 Wish he had talked about his time in war but like a lot of them refused to say anything