Grandfather Barrett

[Guest wychwd4]

I wonder if someone can help me with this query.

My grandfather, Thomas Joseph Barrett, army no G5771, 2nd Royal West Kent regiment was posted, wounded and missing in the Balkans on 11/12/15 - according to his army records - and later this was updated to Killed in Action (but undated). However his wife was not granted a pension until 23/09/16 and in this letter, from the War Office the term of widow has been crossed out and 'wife' inserted instead.

Private Thomas Barrett enlisted (conscripted?) on 21/02/1915, was sent to the Balkans 15/10/1915 and disappeared 7/12/1915. He left at home a wife and two small children the eldest was 2 years.

His records show that he didnt take to kindly to army life, but I find it hard to decipher his exact crimes, and he was not spoken of during my childhood.

Could any of you knowlegable people help me understand. Was there a big battle around 07/12/15? Why would his wife/widow have to wait for so long for a pension? I understand that his name is recorded on the Dorian Memorial does that mean that they found his dog tags? Or did he just 'scarper'.

Thankyou

Bebe

[Rockdoc]

I think we're talking about the Battle of Kosturino, where the Bulgarians attacked British forces and drove them back over the Greek border. That began on 7th December, 1915 and out troops were harried every step of the way. The chances are he was killed but it was impossible to retrieve his ID discs so there was no official way to declare him KIA immediately so he'd be recorded as MIA. It took time for lists of POWs to work their way through the Red Cross system back to Britain so it wasn't unusual for families not to have confirmation of a death for someone listed as MIA for six months.

That he's recorded on the memorial itself simply means that he has no known grave.

There's a problem, though. The 2nd Royal West Kents weren't at Salonika but in Mesopotamia. The 2nd Royal East Kents - The Buffs - were there and the timeline fits for them. If you search the Forum, you'll find that there's a thread here about a Buffs database that could be useful to you.

Keith

[apwright]

Welcome to the forum, Bebe!

I've had a quick look at your grandfather's service record on Ancestry. It shows that your grandfather was attached to 7th Bn Royal Dublin Fusiliers at Salonika on 15/10/15 and was serving with this unit when he died. He was probably in a batch of reinforcements that was diverted to Salonika while en route to Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The 7th RDF were in 10th (Irish) Division, which suffered heavily at Kosturino on 7/12/15. A search of the forum will bring up several mentions of the Battle of Kosturino.

Here's his name on the Doiran Memorial:

These are the only four RWKR men on the Memorial, and all 4 were apparently attached to 7th RDF. Pte Fissenden also died at Kosturino. The other two died on 23 Sep 1916.

Adrian

P.S. The disciplinary records appear to belong to a different man, 5769 Pte William H A WRAY of 1st RWKR. (The first page definitely does. The second page may, but the name and number are illegible.) His papers have got mixed up with your grandfather's somewehere along the line!

[Guest wychwd4]

Thankyou to rockdoc and apwrite for their very informative replies and for gratly reducing a feeling of shame about my Grandfather. I too had seen the Ancestry documents but had not picked up the different Army number. On review I can now see it. Thankyou.

It was a rumour that grandfather had been seen, in Spain, in the thirties that helped me to believe that he was possible a deserter and the Ancestry record seemed to give this rumour some credence. I can now tell my children, with pride, that the carry the genes of a brave man.

Thankyou again

Bebe