brentor boy Posted 6 October , 2012 Share Posted 6 October , 2012 I am trying to reconcile a family story with the official records I have been assisted to find relating to the war service of my great aunt's husband, Richard Cole. Richard Arthur Cole was born Aug/Sept 1880, son of John and Eliza Cole of Horndon, Mary Tavy, Devon In Feb 1911 he enlisted,as 657 Pte Richard Cole, in the Royal North Devon Hussars/Yeomanry. He married Rosina Cowling in 1913 when his occupation was shown as " farmer". He entered the theatre of war at Gallipoli on 8 Oct 1915, but by November he had contracted dysentry and on 20 Dec 1915 he was admitted to 1st London District Hospital. He was discharged from service in Feb 1915 - "termination of this period of engagement". He was awarded the Victory Medal, British War Medal and 1915 Star. On 5 June 1919 he died as the result of "chronic ear disease - many years". Although no direct connection is made between his ill-health and his military service, his occupation is shown as "farmer, ex-army" which, to me, suggests at least someone thought there was a link. I believe he is the "R Cole" recorded on the Mary Tavy War Memorial. Throughout his married life he appears to have lived either with his own or his wife's parents. Within 5 years of his death, his wife had moved to her own house in Cornwall. Those are the facts that I have been able to establish. Now the story, provided by my elderly cousin who spent the early years of her life in the household of our great aunt, Rosina. It is that Richard served in/with a Scottish regiment, and that after his death his widow, with three small children, successfully appealed to "the army" for financial assistance which then enabled her to buy her own home. Could Richard's original engagement have been for a fixed 5 years term? If fit, would he have been permitted to leave the forces whilst the country was still at war? Is it possible that he re-enlisted into another (Scottish?)unit? If medically unfit, would he have been awarded any sort of pension? What criteria were applied before the inclusion of a name on a war memorial - and who decided? In what sort of circumstances might his widow have been granted a pension, death gratuity or benevolent grant arising from her husband's military service? I am sorry that this is such a long post for my first contribution but I have just found GWF and this has been nagging at me for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 6 October , 2012 Share Posted 6 October , 2012 If fit, would he have been permitted to leave the forces whilst the country was still at war? Prior to conscription being enacted any man who's period of enlistment was up was allowed to leave the military and return home. What criteria were applied before the inclusion of a name on a war memorial - and who decided? It was the decision of whoever commissioned it - every group seems to have had their own criteria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 6 October , 2012 Share Posted 6 October , 2012 Could Richard's original engagement have been for a fixed 5 years term? I think the enlistment was for a period of 4 years initially but men could be retained for an extra period after the end of enlistment if wartime conditions required it - once this period was up, then pre conscription, a man would be released. This is for the T.F infantry but the yeomanry would likely have had similar conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted 6 October , 2012 Share Posted 6 October , 2012 Does his medal card have a SWB (Silver War Badge) reference? Do you have his address in 1918, if so check the absent voters roll for 1919. finally did he have kids after his marriage? Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 6 October , 2012 Share Posted 6 October , 2012 If he was in the yeomanry (effectively the Territorial Force) pre war then he would doubtless have continued to farm up to the outbreak of war . After the war had begun he might well have been released to get the harvest in and then rejoined his unit. I am surprised though that he does not have the TFWM to which he would seem entitled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentor boy Posted 7 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2012 Thanks for clarifying the possible terms of his original engagement and for the explanation about war memorial inscriptions. I shall have to go to the library to check his medal card but I do not think that there are any additional annotations. I assume he was living in Horndon, Mary Tavy, in 1818. This is where he died in June 1919. He had three children - John (1914), Hannah (1915) and Richard (1918) Any guesses about the reputed Scottish connection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 7 October , 2012 Share Posted 7 October , 2012 There's only the normal expected details on the card. Awarded 15 star, BWM and VM. Posted to Egypt on 8 Oct 1915. Discharged on 23 Feb 1916. No SWB recorded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeignGong Posted 7 October , 2012 Share Posted 7 October , 2012 If he was in the yeomanry (effectively the Territorial Force) pre war then he would doubtless have continued to farm up to the outbreak of war . After the war had begun he might well have been released to get the harvest in and then rejoined his unit. I am surprised though that he does not have the TFWM to which he would seem entitled If he was awarded a star of either kind, then he was not entitled to the TFWM. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted 7 October , 2012 Share Posted 7 October , 2012 He had three children - John (1914), Hannah (1915) and Richard (1918) Any guesses about the reputed Scottish connection? The birth of Richard should be the one that either confirms or refutes the Scottish connection, if he was serving when Richard was born, it'll be on the Birth Cert, getting the cert is a must if you want an answer. Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentor boy Posted 8 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2012 Thanks to both for sorting out the medal question and, yes Sam, Richard's birth certificate is my next move. As my first post, I have been very impressed by the prompt and informative help I have received, I am only sorry that, for the moment, I have no other Great War queries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted 8 October , 2012 Share Posted 8 October , 2012 No SWB recorded. I thought he'd have been entitled to the SWB under KR 392 (xxi) "The termination of his 4 year period of engagement". Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 8 October , 2012 Share Posted 8 October , 2012 I don't know to be honest. There's a discussion here on the same question. http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3199 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentor boy Posted 10 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 October , 2012 I'm back again - very much sooner than expected. It has now been suggested to me that Richard served as 14417 Private(?) Cole in the Hampshire Regt. Is this one individual with two separate engagements or two separate individuals? Help, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveE Posted 10 October , 2012 Share Posted 10 October , 2012 #14417 in the Hampshire Regiment was Robert Cole, enlisted 14th November 1914, discharged 27th June 1916 and with no overseas service so he and Richard Cole in Post #1 are quite clearly two separate individuals. Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentor boy Posted 10 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 October , 2012 Thanks a lot for that, Steve. I suspected that it might be "duff gen" and you have confirmed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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