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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Seaforth Highlanders labour corps


Samantha Rowe

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Hey,

My name is Samantha and for many years now I have how a world war 1 victory medal, with PET J BEAMISH SEAFORTH 17552 written on it, when my Grandfather died he passed on his fathers medals to my father, with them we found beamish, my father was going to give him away but insted I decided I would find the owner and return it, being 11 at the time i havent done anything about finding him till now.

In the past few weeks I have been on the national archives website and found his medal card, its says he was in the Labour corps of the Seaforth Highlanders and that he also won the british medal as well as the victory.

I was wondering what the labour corps is and what they did, as I havent been able to find anything on the net about them, also any other infomation about how to find his family would be very helpful.

thanks

Samantha

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Samantha

His Labour Corps number suggests he was transferred to the Corps from the Seaforth Highlanders during the latter part of 1918 and that he was serving in Egypt.

Unfortunately there are virtually no surviving documents about the Labour Corps in Egypt so it is impossible to say exactly where he served or the work he did.

In general these men were used to support military establishments such as camp, hospitals, and convelescent depots. Men would have been used for basic labouring tasks like moving stores and some specialist tasks like clerks, as tailors, cooks and butchers,

There isn't a great deal of information on the Labour Corps - you might like to look at my website www.labourcorps.co.uk.

Regards

Ivor

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Hi lvor

I never thought that he would of been in Egypt thats amazing although a shame about the records, I will br reading your book as soon as I can find a copy.

You said transferred, what are grounds for tranfer? and does this mean he was fighting before doing labour? and if he was tranferred why does it sill have seaforth written on the medal?

Thanks Samantha

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Hi Samantha

Men were transferred from their original unit to the Labour Corps because they were medically classified as fit for service in a Labour unit.

So it may have been that he was in a front line battalion and became ill or injured or that he was in one of the Garrison Battalions (as they were made up of men of lower medical categories).

I mention the Garrison Battalions as most of the men in these were transferred to the Labour Corps in 1918.

With regard to his medal - the decision was made during the war that a man's medal would show the regiment he was in when he first went overseas.

So although he may have finished his service in the Labour Corps his medal would be engraved Seaforth Highlands.

I would suggest you post a request to see if any of the Seaforth experts can tell you anything about the battalioni he was in from his regimental number

Regards

Ivor

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Hello, Samantha. You have a very interesting story about the medals. When you say that you wanted to find the owner and return them, I got a bit confused. Perhaps you can explain. Was your great-grandfather (your grandfather's father) called Beamish? If so, then the medals are now yours. You should also have the British War Medal. Ivor is an expert on the Labour Corps. You can also google Long, Long Trail and then search Labour Corps for an overview. However, as Ivor says, you ggf was first enlisted in the Seaforth Regiment. Hopefully, someone will come along and tell you which battalion and then help you find out what he was doing during the War, when and where. Good luck with your search. Antony

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Hi Antony

My great grandfather was not Beamish, When my grandfather died he passed down the familys medals to my father, when he was given them they came in a envelope, in it were my great grandfathers (Harry's) medals in their orignal envelope and sitting loose was J Beamish's victory medal. I found out he also won the british medal when i found his medal card on the national archives. So the medal does not belong to me, but it has been hard finding his family because beamish is a common last name, I hoped finding out what he did in the war would somehow help, that and it would be nice to know what he won the medal for.

I hope your not so confused now

Samantha

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Thanks, Sammy. All British and Imperial soldiers who served during WW1 were awarded the British War Medal. Dominion and Colonial soldiers were also awarded it subject to certain conditions. The Victory Medal was awarded to all those who were awarded the 1914 Star or the 1914-15 Star (for service in France & Flanders), and to most of those who were awarded the British War Medal. The Victory Medal was never awarded by itself. Have you looked for J. Beamish' Service Record on Ancestry? Many of these records were destroyed by enemy action during World War 2 but his might have survived. If it has, you might get a clue as to where to start looking for his family. Regards, Antony

EDIT: I notice that he was also awarded the Silver War Badge. The Badge and Medal Rolls may contain more information to help your search.

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