8th York and Lancashire Regiment

[militaryhound]

Hello Forum

I have a Sgt A Conroy 8th York and Lanashire Regt number 34171 awarded a medal for bravery in the field.Where and when this took olace I have not been able to find any releavant info

Can anyone help out please

I have attached a photo to see if this helps identify his regt

Thanks in advance

Chris

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Hi

He is not York and Lancs but 8/Yorkshire Regiment(Green Howards) 6387 Alfred Conroy MM ended the war as a WOII, same battalion as my G Father.

hope that helps

regards

John

[militaryhound]

Hello John

Thank you for your input but what does WO11 mean. What would he have done to be awarded the Bravery in the Field Nedal. Is there anyway to fine out

Chris

[FROGSMILE]

This was his cap badge and medal Chris.

In your photo he is still a sergeant, but later in the war must have become a WOII. WOII means Warrant Officer Class Two, the senior non-commissioned rank in an infantry company and the right hand man of the company commander, who was usually an officer with the rank of Captain or sometimes Major.

The medal ribbon that he is wearing represents the award of the Military Medal. There will be a citation for this medal recorded somewhere, probably in the National Archives.

You can read more about his regiment at these two links:

1. http://www.greenhowa.../reghistory.php

2. http://en.wikipedia....i/Green_Howards

[militaryhound]

Hello

Thank you for the above info How does one go about finding the releavant info for Segt Alfred Edmund Conroy 6387.

What does the 34173 mean in relation to his MM.

Do regiments keep an actual photo of an individual

Thanks for all the amazing knowledge that is shared on this site I am overwhelmed

Thanks Chris

[FROGSMILE]

Hello

Thank you for the above info How does one go about finding the releavant info for Segt Alfred Edmund Conroy 6387.

What does the 34173 mean in relation to his MM.

Do regiments keep an actual photo of an individual

Thanks for all the amazing knowledge that is shared on this site I am overwhelmed

Thanks Chris

Each soldier had a regimental serial number for identification purposes, which at that time changed if you moved between units. You have mentioned two numbers so I am not sure what units they refer to. To trace Sergeant Conroy may or may not be difficult depending upon if he is one of those whose military record was destroyed by Luftwaffe fire bomb raids on London in WW2. There are some surviving records, but very many were burned or water damaged so that they are illegible. Those that survived have been scanned and are available via such websites as "findmypast".

If you post this query in the "soldiers" section of the forum you will find others who can help you through their membership of such websites. It is also possible to seek assistance from his regimental museum (see link I posted above), although they rely largely upon volunteer researchers and you may well have to pay a small fee to help support the museum, which receives very little public funding. There may be photos of him, but identifying individuals depends very much on whether or not captions and identities were written on the backs of the photos. Often they were not. It was not common practice for regiments to formally 'record' ID photos of soldiers at that time.

[auchonvillerssomme]

Where did you get the number from it does relate to 34173 Sjt. A. Conroy, Y. & L. Regt, awarded the MM

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 16 AUGUST. 1917. 8419

so if thats the number on medal, I will make a guess, it doesn't relate to the picture.

[FROGSMILE]

Where did you get the number from it does relate to 34173 Sjt. A. Conroy, Y. & L. Regt, awarded the MM

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 16 AUGUST. 1917. 8419

so if thats the number on medal, I will make a guess, it doesn't relate to the picture.

Chris is quite clearly new to all this and will need the significance of the number on the rim of the medal explaining to her.

It is easy for those of us who post regularly here to forget that some are posting tentatively and with little understanding of some aspects that we take for granted.

[militaryhound]

Hello

Yes I am new at this so apologise for getting it incorrect. Alfred Edmund Conroy was born in Secunderabad India in 1886 He enlisted on the 12th Sept 1900 Wellington Tamil Nadu at the age of 14years and 1 month as a drummer boy Regimental number 6387 16th Feb 1906 -1st march 1909 South Africa with whom or unit I have no idea

1909 he was in Dublin as a witness at his brothers wedding

1911 England census shows he is in Yorkshire with 2nd battalion Alexandra P W O Yorkshire Regiment

1912 The Barracks at Richmond

7th July 1916 25th Nov 1916 France WW1

10 Nov 1917 -19 th Jan 1919 Italy WW1

1920 Ireland

Then I have nothing until 20th June 1942 is working as a Commissionaire

His medals were MM for Bravery in the Field

British War Medal AWO Clasp 2 1914 -1918

AWO C 2 1914 -1918

The Victory Medal

Long Service Medal

Will attach some photos that I have to see if this makes the identifying process easier.

Thank you all Chris

[militaryhound]

Hello

here are a couple of additional photos that may help with Alfred Edmund Conroy Regiment identification

Chris

[FROGSMILE]

Hello

here are a couple of additional photos that may help with Alfred Edmund Conroy Regiment identification

Chris

He is a 'Green Howard' (Alexandra P W O Yorkshire Regiment), in both of these photos. On the right he is wearing a drummers tunic with the correct crown and inch lace along his sleeves and trimming his collar. He also has a drummers cord shoulder decoration which for regiments with no Royal prefix to their title was a dark emerald green.

In the left hand photo he appears to be older (note difference in moustache) and you can just about see either 2 or 3 'good conduct badges' (stripes) on his left forearm, which would indicate between 6 and 12 years service. His collar badge is the Dannebrog cross of Princess Alexandra (who was Scandinavian) that you can also see as the centre part of his cap badge that I posted above. The pattern of his tunic with the white piping to the shoulder strap was replaced in 1912, although the new version would have taken time to reach all regiments.

It seems likely to me that he was always in the Green Howards. The only association that I can imagine with the York & Lancs would be if he was wounded and then after lengthy recovery was sent as part of an emergency draft of reinforcemants to a battalion that was in dire straits and needing immediate aid. But that is supposition and assuming only that you have the York & Lancs somehow definitely associated with his name and a medal.

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Hi, where are you getting York and Lancaster regiment Number 34171 from, that number belongs to.John Swift who was discharged in January 1918.

Medal card of Swift, John Corps Regiment No Rank York and Lancaster Regiment 34171 Private Date 1914-1920

regards

John

[militaryhound]

Hello John

The number is 34173 not too sure where you got your number from

Chris

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Chris,

Your first post! have a look, 34173 doesn't get mentioned until post 5

"I have a Sgt A Conroy 8th York and Lanashire Regt number 34171 awarded a medal for bravery in the field"

I can find a MIC on the NA site for 34173 but not on Ancestry. I can find the London Gazette entry for 34173 but not for 6387.

You need to look at the War & Victory Rolls for the Green Howards, going over all this again I don't know why I put 8/Green Howards probably mixed it up with 8/Y&L.

regards

John