leahmerrett Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Hi everyone, i have a photo of a ww1 regiment, i believe that one of the soldiers could be my great uncle Charles Merrett born 1898. I cannot make out their cap badges, can anyone help my identify the uniform and badges so i can start my quest to find my missing relative thank you all for your time leah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pioneecorps Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Hi Leah Its the Leicestershire Regiment, I can't find any one in MIC, with the name Charles Merrett who served with them Regards. Gerwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter4447 Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Looks like the Leicestershire Regiment to me. Peter4447 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 15 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Oh, there is no way then that any one of them is my uncle Charles who was born in Southwark, London then Whoops, ive not got a clue why i have this picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pioneecorps Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Hi Leah Here are two, I can find in MIC, with the name Charles Merrett. Medal card of Merrett, CharlesCorps:Duke of Cornwalls Light InfantryRegiment No:6004Rank:Corporal... Medal card of Merrett, CharlesCorps:East Surrey RegimentRegiment No:26810Rank:Private... Regards. Gerwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 15 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Wow, thank you, i would hazard a guess that the East Surrey Regiment would be my chap. any ideas how i could get any more information, i have a subscription to ancestry but they dont have any records re Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pioneecorps Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Wow, thank you, i would hazard a guess that the East Surrey Regiment would be my chap. any ideas how i could get any more information, i have a subscription to ancestry but they dont have any records re Charles Hi Leah If you have no further luck with your post. you could try putting another post in "Soldier" section, now you have a better idea of what Regiment he served in, good luck. Looking into his MIC, he was also with the Royal Army Medical Corps, after serving with the East Surry Regiment, seen bottom line. Medal card of Merrett, CharlesCorpsRegiment East Surrey Regiment No 26810 Rank Private Royal Army Medical Corps, Army No 134676, Rank Private Regards. Gerwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 16 March , 2012 Share Posted 16 March , 2012 Oh, there is no way then that any one of them is my uncle Charles who was born in Southwark, London then Whoops, ive not got a clue why i have this picture They look like lads from a Young Soldiers Battalion that I later believe became part of the Training Reserve (Graham Stewart will confrim or correct me). I understand that these lads sometimes wore a specific regimental badge, even though they were not formally part of the regiment. Perhaps he started with the Training Reserve and then when "of age" moved to an East Surrey' Battalion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 16 March , 2012 Share Posted 16 March , 2012 There is a Charles John Merritt (with an "i") on the 1918 and 1919 Electoral Roll at No. 20 County Terrace Street, Harper Street, Southwark. On the Roll he is marked with an "a" meaning Absent. The Absent Voters List itself, should it still exist for the area, may give you some further details. Also at that address and absent is a Thomas Baterip. The London Metropolitan Archives appear to have at least the Southwark AVL for 1919. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pioneecorps Posted 16 March , 2012 Share Posted 16 March , 2012 They look like lads from a Young Soldiers Battalion that I later believe became part of the Training Reserve (Graham Stewart will confrim or correct me). I understand that these lads sometimes wore a specific regimental badge, even though they were not formally part of the regiment. Perhaps he started with the Training Reserve and then when "of age" moved to an East Surrey' Battalion. Hi FROGSMILE Looking at a photo of three soldiers from the Leicestershire Regiment, what information/fact, would there be, that the they tranfered to the East Surry's , yes they look young, as many others did. Regards. Gerwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 16 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2012 THanks all for your replies, 20 county Terrace street is where all my family lived so thats definately uncle charlie. so it looks like its a strong possability that one of them could be him in the photo. it is a bigger photo with more young boys, i cropped it to get a better view. Does being absent mean a deserter? or maybe just late for duty? i am having trouble finding anything about him other than his birth so maybe he was on the run and sisnt want to be found Leah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 Sorry, Leah. I usually explain and forgot. Absent Voter = Not at home for the 1918 General Election that took place in December 1918. The lists were a method of making sure all the soldiers got their vote. Nothing sinister about it whatsoever! There is a Charles John Merritt or Merrett in the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry for a fair few years if you have a look. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 17 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2012 oohhhh, lol, thanks for explaining, im trying desperately to find some ancestors as i think im the end of the direct direct line, i found his marriage cert to a irene taylor but as yet cannot find any children, he had a brother called William who was born in 1909, i think he was in ww2 but hes wife and child died in1930 so charles is my only hope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveE Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 Southwark AVL shows Charles John Merritt, 20 County Terrace Street, Harper Street as being #574554 Pte. 17th London Regiment. Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 Hi FROGSMILE Looking at a photo of three soldiers from the Leicestershire Regiment, what information/fact, would there be, that the they tranfered to the East Surry's , yes they look young, as many others did. Regards. Gerwyn I am not saying that they definitely did, I am just suggesting that it should not be ruled out. Many of the 'young soldier battalions' (a specific category - try putting the term in search) were re-badged to totally different units and then the Training Reserrve was formed which changed things again. Graham Stewart is the expert in that area. I am just saying that it is possible. Quite a lot of under 19s in young soldier battalions wore a particular cap badge, but then ended up in entirely different units. This was not always reflected on their MICs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 Thanks Steve. I already had my eye on that one! Off-hand, I think that number was issued in spring 1917, so one would expect a posting overseas in the latter part of 1917 which would fit with him reaching the minimum overseas service age of 19. I may be able to add some more later. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 Since I was down at the Archives today I looked at Charles' medal roll entry. This tells us two things: 1) That he served with the 2/17th Battalion in Egypt. 2) That he seems to have served backwards in time! I can't say what the 24-4-1917 should be, but the 2/17th Battalion returned to France in May 1918, so it may have been meant to read 24-4-1918, otherwise he would have been shown with service in France. http://www.1914-1918.net/london.htm Theatre of War 4b was Egypt, whilst 1a was France and Flanders. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 17 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2012 That is amazing, thank you Steve and thank you all for helping me, i have so much information now. only wish i could put a face to the name. You can keep the info coming if you want, i appreciate every piece Leah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 No problem, Leah. I like to do an odd unselfish look up when I go to the Archives. Your question just happened to be "on my plate" at the time! The 2/17th Londons were involved in raids into Trans-Jordan in March and April 1918, so he may have been wounded during that time perhaps? The medal roll only lists dates when men were serving outside the UK. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 17 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2012 this has got me thinking, i have this photo, it look s like its taken in Egypt, What do you think? it says on the back Charles Edmead, he lived next door to Charles Merrett in county Terrace Street and married charles Merretts sister Mary, could they have served together? im having trouble uplaoding it, says its too large, what should i do can you see this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 17 March , 2012 Share Posted 17 March , 2012 I think I would stop at three pics! They certainly seeme to be in the Middle East, but there are no indentifiers to Regiments on the men. I think Charles Edmead is Charles George Edmead (married 1928, and born on 2-8-1902), so he would be probably on the wrong side age wise to serve DURING the war, though he may have served afterwards. He certainly would not have been old enough to appear on an AVL since the voting age for men was 21. The aforementioned 1918 Electoral Roll shows Edward and Rosina Edmead at 20A County Terrace Road. Charles John Merrett's parents Charles and Mary appear to be listed at No. 24. Steve. Edit: Pics have gone now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahmerrett Posted 17 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2012 ok, ive had to crop it alot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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