MotherMave Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 Dear Forum, I am hoping to research and publish a Book of Rememberance for the men mentioned in our Local War Memorial and came across a few men in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers who died on the 12th August 1915 and the Theatre of War was the Balkans. On their Medal Index cards was written "Theatre of War" (2) Balkans, also underneath was written "Date of entry therein". Was that the date they joined up or entered the Theatre of War? They are different dates for the different men. Also the Medals entry shows a handwritten "15" then printed STAR and the Roll and Page Numbers handwritten, what does the "15" stand for please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 Welcome to the Forum Mave. Balkans 2b = service in Gallipoli. The date of entry into theatre is the date they landed on active service. The Star refers to the 1914/15 star, denoting men who were in uniform when war was declared, or who were early volunteers. Further explantion can be found on the National Archives introductory page to the searchable Medal Index cards online here Which war memorial are you researching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 For men going to Gallipoli, the date given can be a little misleading, so keep an open mind. It have seen cases where it refers to arrival at Mudros (the advanced base for Gallipoli) rather the the peninsula itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 For men going to Gallipoli, the date given can be a little misleading, so keep an open mind. It have seen cases where it refers to arrival at Mudros (the advanced base for Gallipoli) rather the the peninsula itself. I'm not sure that I understand your point here Chris. How was the date of entry into the Theatre of War calculated for the WF? Was it the date when the soldier first stepped ashore on French soil, or the date when he entered the front line trench? Unless corrected, I tend to agree with Kate's "The date of entry into theatre is the date they landed on active service." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 Michael, the date of entry is when the troops set foot on foreign soil, not when they first came under fire. Chris' point is that some troops who served in Gallipoli went to other sites first, such as the island of Mudros or, as in the case of 24th AA Section, Alexandria, so MIC dates related to this campaign may well not be when the men actually landed on the peninsular. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 For men going to Gallipoli, the date given can be a little misleading, so keep an open mind. It have seen cases where it refers to arrival at Mudros (the advanced base for Gallipoli) rather the the peninsula itself. And could have been many months earlier.... The 2nd Mounted Div arrived in Egypt in Apr 1915 but landed in Gallipoli in August. MiCs almost exclusively show (3 which refers to Egypt) and date April 1915. Some later reinforcements went straight into Gallipoli. MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 26 March , 2011 Admin Share Posted 26 March , 2011 Clerical errors on the mic were also discussed here As Chris (and the OP) have found date of entry into theatre for Gallipoli does seem 'variable' even among the same Battalion, while there are also errors on the WF these seem more transparent, given the difficulties of the campaign and perhaps a less organised administration than that of the IBDs etc on the WF, hardly surprising. It can't be explained simply by saying they were all replacements, and when the cards were being made up in the UK Medals Office probably the Clerks just made an intelligent guess as to date of entry, allowing qualification for the Star. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 26 March , 2011 Share Posted 26 March , 2011 As an example of Ken's point, I have found 2 men named in two separate publications who were said to be in theatre in July 1915 and fought in Gallipoli in Aug yet both their MiCs claim they did not land until November. The descriptions of them are so detailed and so vivid and refer to other people we know could only have been there in July/Aug that the MiCs are almost certainly erroneous. I think some of the points made on the link to a longer discussion are very valid. Where human tabulators were used, there will always be errors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMave Posted 27 March , 2011 Author Share Posted 27 March , 2011 Thank you everyone for the valued information, I do appreciate all your comments, it will help me understand the MiCards. I am HOPING to complete a book of rememberance for my home town of Connah's Quay and also Shotton, (they are almost one and the same really, so close are they) in North Wales. I am only just starting and need all the help I can get to do the right thing for these men and their families. I do hope you won't mind if I "pick your brains" again in the near future. Kindest regards, Mavis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMave Posted 27 March , 2011 Author Share Posted 27 March , 2011 Is there a Forum about War Memorials and/or Books of Rememberance and how to go about them on this Website, I'm not sure if I saw something about them, then lost it, anyway, I can't find it again. Thank you in anticiption. Regards, Mavis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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