Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Medal Card - Para 1743 KR CRJ432


DrElaine

Recommended Posts

The medal card for my husband's ancestor, Duncan McColl, shows that he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. Opposite the entry for the 1914-1915 Star, it states "Star retd Para 1743 KR CRJ432 7.3.22 6439/Adt"

What does this KR (Presumably King's Regulations" code indicate, and why might only one medal be returned.

(Duncan was KIA on 2 July 1917 so I presume his medals were sent to his widow).

Elaine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

As you've not posted his number and there are a number of Duncan McColls on Ancestry I've not seen the card which might help, but KR 1743 is as you guessed King's Regulations (1912) para 1743 which states:-

"Medals which at the end of 10 years, still remained unclaimed, will be sent ... to the deputy director of ordnance stores, Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich... to be broken up." (...refers to Indian Army medals)

CRJ is probably CRV which is the Certified Receipt Voucher and then the number of the CRVi.e.432 and (probably) 7.3.22. is the date returned/received (enlisted men did not have to claim the medals and they were sent out to last address or address of next of kin, if they had moved then they were returned to the Medals Office

6493/I don't know but probably refers to another regulation or instruction used in the Medal Office

adt is a common abbreviation on the cards and best guess explanation is an abbreviation for 'adjustment' or 'amendment' (perhaps of the Rolls), quite often see '/adt' in combination with other four digit numbers but not seen a satisfactory/definitive explanation as to it's meaning other than the above.

Speculative guess - the Star was sent out separately to the other two medals (not sure how likely this was) and the address was incorrect (which is the usual reference to KR 1743) i.e. the medal could not be delivered.

It 's also possible the Star was returned by the nok because of some fault or mistake on the inscription.

Unfortunately you're unlikely to know for certain, there would probably have been accompanying correspondence which is often filed with the service record (if available).

Now found the card assume he was 832, 265034. The cross with 4 dots usually indicates how the medals were inscribed, this occurs twice on the card once against L/Cpl and then against 'Pte' which seems to have been added at the top of the card. As a renumbered Territorial it's possible there was some mix up. Couldn't find any other record other than SDGW entry which also shows L/Cpl, technically, not a 'rank' but an 'appointment', but really your guess is as good as mine.

Ken

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As you've not posted his number and there are a number of Duncan McColls on Ancestry I've not seen the card which might help, but KR 1743 is as you guessed King's Regulations (1912) para 1743 which states:-

"Medals which at the end of 10 years, still remained unclaimed, will be sent ... to the deputy director of ordnance stores, Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich... to be broken up." (...refers to Indian Army medals)

CRJ is probably CRV which is the Certified Receipt Voucher and then the number of the CRVi.e.432 and (probably) 7.3.22. is the date returned/received (enlisted men did not have to claim the medals and they were sent out to last address or address of next of kin, if they had moved then they were returned to the Medals Office

6493/I don't know but probably refers to another regulation or instruction used in the Medal Office

adt is a common abbreviation on the cards and best guess explanation is an abbreviation for 'adjustment' or 'amendment' (perhaps of the Rolls), quite often see '/adt' in combination with other four digit numbers but not seen a satisfactory/definitive explanation as to it's meaning other than the above.

Speculative guess - the Star was sent out separately to the other two medals (not sure how likely this was) and the address was incorrect (which is the usual reference to KR 1743) i.e. the medal could not be delivered.

It 's also possible the Star was returned by the nok because of some fault or mistake on the inscription.

Unfortunately you're unlikely to know for certain, there would probably have been accompanying correspondence which is often filed with the service record (if available).

Now found the card assume he was 832, 265034. The cross with 4 dots usually indicates how the medals were inscribed, this occurs twice on the card once against L/Cpl and then against 'Pte' which seems to have been added at the top of the card. As a renumbered Territorial it's possible there was some mix up. Couldn't find any other record other than SDGW entry which also shows L/Cpl, technically, not a 'rank' but an 'appointment', but really your guess is as good as mine.

Ken

Thanks for those ideas. Presumably the Star should have referred to his rank/appointment at the time of that award, presumably Private. Might it be the case that it was incorrectly inscribed L/Cpl or that his NOK (his widow) would have believed that it should be thus inscribed and might therefore have returned it? Unfortunately, Duncan's service records have not survived. Nor do we have any correspondence about him.

Elaine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

Unfortunately it's all guesswork. All we can say with certainty was the medal was returned, why or by whom we probably will never know the reason for certain.

The addition of '*Pte' at the top of the card (i.e. outside the box) is unusual but I can't say how significant it is.

The medal index cards were an administrative tool to reference the Rolls and although it can be frustrating the original clerks could not have guessed ninety years we would be poring over them in such detail in for family history research. L/Cpl McColl's card, for example has different handwriting for different entries, indicating a couple of administrative functions but I've no idea what they might have been.

In the 'guide to interpreting a medal card' on the parent site the Long Long Trail http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/mic.htm

the example for 'Charles Millband' is probably the most common type of card and as you can see there is only the most basic information

You may be able to gather more information from the Roll but they are not available online and I doubt will tell you much more. You might perhaps learn more from what his widow was doing around 1922, did she move/remarry etc?

The LLT has illustration of the Rolls at http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/medals.htm

Ken

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...