Medal Index Card - Oak Leaf

[Neil 65]

Hi.

Can anyone offer any advice please ?

I have seen my G-Grandfather's MiC ( William John Morgan 671 RFA ( Although due to the hand written entry Ancestry records this as 691, later transferred to the Labour Corps as Pte 407452 in 1917 I believe ).

I had not previously noticed that on the back of the MiC, near to the bottom on the right-hand side, is the stamp of the oak leaf.

I know that the oak leaf stamp is for soldiers who were mentioned in despatches, however, I have not previously seen this stamp on the back of the card.

My question, to anyone who can help is, were cards sometimes stamped on the back ?

Sorry, I have tried to upload a copy of his MiC but it keeps on saying that I cannot as the file is too big.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Neil.

[David Seymour]

Neil,

The leaf is a watermark from Ancestry. It does not appear on the original MiC.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

David

[Neil 65]

Hi David,

Well, disappointingly, that clears that up.

Thanks very much for the reply though, as I'd have spent months trying to trace any further info.

Neil.

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

Mentions in Despatches {which the later issued Emblem of an Oak Leaf Spray denotes} are found in the London Gazette,in list of names.they can involve quite a search but if mentioned {Class 1 MiDs} they are all there!!

HB

[Neil 65]

Nice one Harry - thank you !

I've already started scrolling through these, and will continue just on the off chance !

Thanks for taking the time to reply,

All the best,

Neil.

[sutton-in-craven]

Wow Neil, I brought up your Grandfather's MIC to see what you were talking about and missed the oak leaf watermark on the reverse the first time I looked. I enlarged the image and then had to strain my eyes to see the oak leaf that you mention. I never was much of a detective!

To clarify a couple of points, the award of Mentions in Dispatches is usually recorded on the front of the MIC, but not always! Very often it is the word 'emblem' or 'emb' that signifies the award.

As far as information on the reverse of the MIC is concerned, the vast majority do not have any, however some do. For those that do, very often it is information pertaining to a present address which may differ from the permanent home address. Or there may be information about a particular medal entitlement, sometimes about the eligibility of whether the 1914 star or 1914-15 star was/should be issued.

Ancestry show both sides of the MIC (which is vital if there is information written there), whereas the National Archives only show the front and they charge 2 pounds per MIC as opposed to unlimited MIC viewings with an Ancestry subscription.

Regards, Andrew

[Neil 65]

Thanks for your reply Andrew !

I'm having a bit of a nightmare tracing any of his info as it appears that his records have probably been destroyed ! Interestingly, I have found the record of RFA 672 Morgan, who enlisted with him at Bargoed on 11/01/15. It would appear that they were assigned to the same regiment, which was probably the 119th Company RFA of 38th ( Welsh ) Brigade. I have sort of worked this out due to arrival date in France of Chrismas Eve 1915 - 2 days before William's 38th birthday. I know he was transferred to the Labour Corps, probably in 1917, which the LC think was due to wounds received.

He died in Bargoed Colliery on 2/11/1925, aged 47, and his obituary in the local newspaper says that he received "severe wounds" in the Great War.

I was a bit disappointed that the oak leaf on the back of Ancestry's copy of the MiC was just a watermark, as any other angle I could have taken to try to get any other info would have been brill ! Not to worry though, back to the drawing board !

I very much appreciate your time in replying to me though, and good luck with your own searches !

All the best,

Neil.