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Remembered Today:

Royal Sussex Regt. Medal Roll WO 329/1249


Russ Platt

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Dear all

I am trying to follow my Great Uncle Percy Platt who transferred from the Bedfordshires to the Royal Sussex Regiment. I assume that he moved with a number of other men but have been unable to find his service record and therefore the dates etc.

He is included on medal roll WO 329/1249. Does anyone have a copy?

I have got this far on the Soldiers forum but thought that someone here might have more general knowledge of the Royal Sussex Regiment or the medal rolls.

Many thanks

Russ

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Your man's page in WO329/1249 is 1106. It will help anyone to know this if they can help you. The alternative is to either look up the card again or look through pages 913 to 1109!

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I had this medal roll sitting in my box at the National Archives last Thursday, but never got as far as photographing it. Ran out of time.

Mandy

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Dear all

Here is the medal card discussed.

Sotonmate. I can see the page number but how do you get from the roll reference on the are to the archive reference? Not even sure what the first character is.

Thanks

Russ

post-104030-0-70118400-1385034409_thumb.

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Russ,

The roll reference reads E/2/101 B6 Page 1106

The roll at NA

If you look at the Description line, you will see the relevant reference. Using Discovery Advanced Search, type Royal Sussex in the keywords box and limit the search to WO 329 in the Reference box. That will bring up all the Royal Sussex medal rolls.

Phil

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Russ

I may get to do it next week,subject to seeing the file,and time.

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Russ

I have the page of the Medal Roll.I need your e-mail so that I can send it on to you,please advise it through our Message system.

For your information some Beds soldiers are listed together from G/14840 through to G/14881 from 5 Bn. Beds to 13 Bn. Royal Sussex.

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Sotonmate,

Thanks for posting the details. It has confirmed my thoughts on Russ's original thread regarding the rebuilding of the Southdown Battalions.

Phil

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Without diverting the thread, it is interesting Phil, I'm also looking into how the TF Essex Regt and third line East Kent Yeomanry, amongst others, were used to rebuild the 2nd Sussex in 1916

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  • 1 month later...

Hello there, I wonder if someone can point me in the right direction. My paternal grand father Herbert rollison G/8718 was in the royal Sussex regiment during ww1. He was wounded 5/6/17 and could no longer use his left arm. Can I trace his movements. I have a copy of his attestation (22nd jan 1916) but the other records are difficult to read, partly destroyed. The record after his is from the second rsr and his number is the next one. Does this mean he was in the 2nd rsr?

Any info is appreciated. I am travelling to France and Belgium next January and would love to see where he may have been.

Steve Lennox head nsw australia

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Hi Steve,

I'm afraid it does not necessarily mean that he was 2nd Bn just because the man numbered after him was (what a mixed up record, took me a couple of minutes to realise I'd gone into Pte Pierce's records). The medal roll will be able to identify his Bn for you. Meanwhile, I will check 2nd Sussex's war diary to see if any mention of ORs being wounded and will get back to you asap.

Cheers, Jim

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Steve, between 1st and 11th June 1917 2nd Sussex were conducting training at Meteren, there is no reference to any casualties during this period.

Jim

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Steve, his Medal Index Card lists him as 11th Bn

I will check their War Diary for you. The war poet Edmund Blunden was 11th Bn and wrote 'Undertones of War' about his war with them.

Cheers Jim

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The 11th Bn War Diary entry for 5th June 1917, when the Brigade (116th of 39 Div) was north of Ypres at Hill Top Farm, tell us that 11th Sussex (1st Southdowns) Bn had a quiet last morning in the front line before relief, but in the afternoon the Germans started to register their guns on the support trenches and main communication trenches, these being bombarded in the evening, accompanied by a Minenwefer bombardment on the front line trenches. Then Battalion HQ was bombarded by 5.9 shrapnel. The 11th Sussex were relieved by the 14th Hampshires, but there was a constant bombardment during this relief. Looking back through the entries made by the compiler of this report on other dates, he seems not to mention casualties at all. We can only assume your grandfather was wounded by shellfire on the evening of the 5th.

11th Sussex war diary is available for download from The National Archives if you would like it Steve, and would recommend Blunden's book

Hope this helps

Jim

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P1030881_zpse5f4cff3.jpg

National Archives ref WO329 1248

Hi Steve

Your grandfather is on this page from the medal roll of the Royal Sussex Regiment for the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

From this you can see he was in 3rd Batt RSR, 2nd Batt RSR and 11th Batt RSR. Unfortunately medal rolls do not record dates for transters between battalions.

Mandy

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Hi Jim

My day in the NA in November is coming in very useful. I will send this medal roll on shortly, when I have checked that I haven't missed any images.

Mandy

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Really appreciate that Mandy, thank you, helping my research no end. The newspaper cuttings from WSRO have been a goldmine too, so can't wait to get down ESRO to get some eyes on their newspaper archives (with a good eyes out for your 7th boys :thumbsup: ). Letters going well?

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I note that his records state on page #18740 of 20078 state:

HA 20282 11-6-1917 GSW L Arm 5-6-1917

Wounded 11th BO 20 32/1 d/30-6-1917

As far as I can decode this it reads in longhand:

HA 20282 report dated 11-6-1917, gunshot wound left arm on 5-6-1917

(Reported as) Wounded per 11th Battalion Orders "20 32/1" dated 30-6-1917

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/1219/30974_187317-01015/1728961?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3findiv%3d1%26db%3dbritisharmyservice%26MS_AdvCB%3d1%26rank%3d1%26new%3d1%26MSAV%3d2%26msT%3d1%26gss%3dangs-d%26gsfn%3dHerbert%26gsfn_x%3d1%26gsln%3dRollison%26gsln_x%3d1%26cpxt%3d1%26catBucket%3drstp%26uidh%3d5k3%26cp%3d11%26pcat%3d39%26fh%3d0%26h%3d1728961%26recoff%3d%26ml_rpos%3d1&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord#?imageId=30974_187317-01016

So presumably 11th Battalion is who he was serving with in June 1917, and thus 2nd Battalion was in 1916 - wounded at Pozieres in July 1916 or High Wood in August/September 1916 perhaps? Have you tracked down those casualty lists yet, Jim?

Steve.

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So presumably 11th Battalion is who he was serving with in June 1917, and thus 2nd Battalion was in 1916 - wounded at Pozieres in July 1916 or High Wood in August/September 1916 perhaps? Have you tracked down those casualty lists yet, Jim?

Steve.

Very highly likely Steve, a good call, 2nd Sussex had c. 1000 casualties for the fifty days 1 Div were 'in the line' between 11th July and 28th Sept

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Are you assuming that his changes in battalion were due to losses in the big Somme battles early on? Our family stories only mention his being shot through the left upper arm(he rolled his cigarettes with one hand). Is it possible to find out more detail? The family understood that he was a machine gunner.?

Thank you all for your time, research and knowledge. As stated, any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks Steve

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