taki183 Posted 5 January , 2011 Share Posted 5 January , 2011 Hi, could anybody please help identify this uniform for my great grandfather, Joseph Henry Hill b. Hunslet 1890: Apologies for the poor quality it's all I have. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 5 January , 2011 Share Posted 5 January , 2011 Hi, could anybody please help identify this uniform for my great grandfather, Joseph Henry Hill b. Hunslet 1890: Apologies for the poor quality it's all I have. Thanks A RAF Warrant Officer of the very late 1920s or early 1930s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taki183 Posted 5 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 5 January , 2011 Thanks for that much appreciated. Is it possible to access his service records and do you think he could have served in WW1. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinhat47 Posted 5 January , 2011 Share Posted 5 January , 2011 There's a MIC on the National Archives for a Joseph Hill who was with the West Yorks (14962) and then the RFC (138532). No service records for him and no RAF number. Could this be him maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taki183 Posted 5 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 5 January , 2011 Thanks, yes that records a good possibilty although I have him living in Sheffield, South Yorkshire on the 1901 & 1911 census. Could he still join the West Yorks from here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verrico2009 Posted 5 January , 2011 Share Posted 5 January , 2011 I think RAF records have to be requested from the MoD and are generally only available to those who can prove they are next of kin, which obviously shouldn't be a problem for you. Edit - I can see from the MIC that the man in question landed in France on 11 September 1915, so assuming your great-grandfather was the right age, I don't think there's any reason why it shouldn't be him. I'm sure an expert will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that by then men were being put where they were needed. Edit 2 - the only Hunslet I know of is on the outskirts of Leeds, so perhaps that would help explain why he was in the West Yorks? Oh - and welcome to the Forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taki183 Posted 6 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 January , 2011 The MIC above turns out not to be the one, I've located the correct one as below. Is it possible for someone to decipher it as I have no idea what the abbreviations mean. I've also found his Service records which all tie in, it seems he was wounded in action twice, once by gun shot wounds at Gallipoli in June 1915, then by Myalgia (?) in France in 1917. Is it normal for someone serving in the army to then later join the RAF as identified by the uniform. Any info appreciated Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 6 January , 2011 Share Posted 6 January , 2011 The MIC above turns out not to be the one, I've located the correct one as below. Is it possible for someone to decipher it as I have no idea what the abbreviations mean. I've also found his Service records which all tie in, it seems he was wounded in action twice, once by gun shot wounds at Gallipoli in June 1915, then by Myalgia (?) in France in 1917. Is it normal for someone serving in the army to then later join the RAF as identified by the uniform. Any info appreciated Cheers Royal Engineers (RE) is a common background for early 'other rank' members of the RAF. This is because the pregenitor of the RAF, the Royal Flying Corps, was first formed by balloon sections of the RE, whose task was to provide aerial observation. As the army's only truly technical corps (at that time), the RE provided the necessary riggers and mechanics for servicing the early and quite flimsy aircraft. These RE/RFC men often became early members of the RAF on its formation in April 1918. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taki183 Posted 6 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 January , 2011 Great info thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verrico2009 Posted 6 January , 2011 Share Posted 6 January , 2011 Congratulations on finding the MIC and related service papers! Theatre of War (1) = France - and the date he landed. The columns "Medal", "Roll" and "Page" are references to where the entries will be found in the Medal Rolls: the ones I've seen so far are bound books held in the National Archives at Kew. Some contain a little extra detail, others are quite bare. Sometimes members already hold their own personal copies. Spr is Sapper - think I've seen it described as the RE equivalent of Private (but I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong). L/Cpl - Lance Corporal and WOII - Warrant Officer Class 2, I would imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 6 January , 2011 Share Posted 6 January , 2011 Myalgia is an ailment rather than a wound - chronic muscle pain. From what I can gather when it appears on service records it generally refers to dodgy knee joints. The trenches played havoc on the knees, it seems, and you see it on an awful lot of records. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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