giving up on this

[stephenogley]

i have tried for along time now to try and trace my grandfathers war records,samuel mason born birkenhead cheshire 1898. have signed up to ancestry and checked his name on all there data, but alas i have come across, nothing,no one in the family is left now who could give me any furthe information, all i know is that he was wounded, and i remember a photograph of him in uniform with a bandolier across his chest, sadly this has long gone, any advice would be helpful.

[auchonvillerssomme]

I would start by looking through these and cross referencing any info you might have

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/search-results.asp?query=first%5Fname%3Dsamuel%7Clast%5Fname%3Dmason&first_date=&last_date=&CatID=10&mediaArray=*&pageNumber=1&searchType=powersearch&queryType=1&sortSpec=first%5Fdate+desc

[SWorrall]

i have tried for along time now to try and trace my grandfathers war records,samuel mason born birkenhead cheshire 1898. have signed up to ancestry and checked his name on all there data, but alas i have come across, nothing,no one in the family is left now who could give me any furthe information, all i know is that he was wounded, and i remember a photograph of him in uniform with a bandolier across his chest, sadly this has long gone, any advice would be helpful.

Any information that you have will assist people in helping you.

Do you know, for instance, which regiment he joined? When did he serve?

[Andy Wade]

If he was wounded it might have been reported in the local newspaper. Try your local library, they might even have a card index listing names aphabetically for newspapers archived on microfilm.

[stephenogley]

Any information that you have will assist people in helping you.

Do you know, for instance, which regiment he joined? When did he serve?

this is part of the problem don't know what regiment,going by his age, did he join, or was he called up later on.

[Jim Strawbridge]

There are 68 MICs for Samuel Mason so not much help there. Have you tried going through the Soldiers Pension Records on Ancestry as with knowing his age and place of birth, together with knowing that he was wounded, you might just strike lucky.

[stephenogley]

yes as i have said i have been through all the records on ancestry, even the medals, but they give no address.

[Ken Lees]

You could try the Genes Reunited website. It is a subscription service but you may find others on there who are researching him and who may be able to give you some information. It's worth a try if other lines of enquiry have failed.

[John_Hartley]

All things being equal, born in 1898 would see him called in 1916 at the age of 18.

Assuming that he served abroad, it should be possible to whittle down the 68 Medal Index Cards, eliminating any noted as going overseas before 31/12/15. Of course, it will be possible to eliminate some more by a cross-reference with the War Graves Commission website. I'm assuming here that he survived the war.

Next step will be to check the Absent Voters List for 1918, assuming it survives. Unless you already know his home address, note all the men listed with this name. Then cross-reference those addresses against the main electoral roll - you'll be bale to find the address in that which has other known members of the family.

[Hywyn]

After you eliminate all those in Pensions/Service against the the 67 with medal cards if one of those left one in the medals is the Royal Welsh Fusiliers man i. e Samuel Mason 11354/202583 then I can tell you he is on a Casualty list dated 11/6/1918 as wounded. He is shown as being from Birkenhead.

(I don't know enough about B'head i.e County etc to see how many of that name in the 1901/1911 Census in that area)

So, further to Andys' point about newspapers re the wounding you could start with a few months before that date.

Hywyn

[stephenogley]

in the 1911 census, he is living with the rest of his family 27 leighton rd tranmere birkenhead cheshire.

[andrew pugh]

Hi

You mentioned that the photo of him showed bandolliers,could he be an artillery man?

Regards Andy

[stephenogley]

yes that is possible. steve

[Nulli Secundus]

Just another thought...

If he was living with his family in Birkenhead at the time of the 1911 census did any of the family leave Britain to go and live in Australia. South Africa, New Zealand or Canada?

Might be worth checking passenger lists. Bandolier across the chest could suggest South Africa... I know British units used this as well but as nothing has turned up on UK records could he have enlisted overseas?

I'm sure someone will shout me down but it might be worth checking?

Good Luck!

[stephenogley]

no none of his family left england, thanks for the input anyway. steve

[Hywyn]

in the 1911 census, he is living with the rest of his family 27 leighton rd tranmere birkenhead cheshire.

Sorry, I may have misled you there. The casualty list only give a placename (usually for next of kin) and not a full address.

What I meant was how many men named Samuel Mason were of military age living in Birkenhead. We know one was the RWF one in 1918.

The number is consitent with those that would have enlisted mid 1916.

Hywyn

[andrew pugh]

Hi Again Deauville.

Just to say dont give up,there are plenty of people on the Forum that may be able to help.They have helped me a great deal over the years.

Regards Andy

[Hywyn]

Steve

How many are left after the elimination process?

Reason I ask is that in your thread of a couple of years ago you state he lost a leg. This is important as I would expect then he would have been in receipt of a Silver War Badge. The RWF one doesn't seem to have had one so I'm wondering about the others.

Hywyn

[Hywyn]

Which men?

I have already shown you that there is at least one in the medals that comes from Birkenhead.

If the census shows the there is only one of that name in Birkenhead it gives a high probability it's him.

If eliminating a lot on the medal card list by cross checking those on CWGC/Service/Pensions etc as advised only leaves a handful and of that handful if one is the RWF man then that probability is higher?

Hywyn