Medal Rolls Searching

[ALANJONES]

I suspect this may be have been addressed in an earlier topic, in which case I would welcome being re-directed!

I was wondering how the Medal Rolls are best searched to find individuals and their units (and vice versa).

In particular, I am interested in how the Rolls are arranged for the Royal Garrison Artillery please? Given the large number of Gunners - is it practical to search through in random to find soldiers in specific batteries (I appreciate they may have moved from one battery to another!)?

Do the references in Medal Index Cards relate directly to the NA Medal Roll catalogues?

Many thanks!

Alan

[yellow]

Territorial Force RGA unit numbers were organised into number blocks. If the man you are researching was a member of the TF, then we can look at this number to identify the unit.

The Medal Index Cards are online now.

When viewing a medal index card, the reference number next to it refers to the medal roll. Please note that the medal roll entry is not the code used to catalogue that roll by the NA. :-)

The medal index card on rare occasions lists the 'a' unit served, most commonly for the award of the 1914 Star. In the majority of cases the unit is not listed.

I have not seen the RGA medal roll, but it is here that you are most likely to ascertain the Battery served.

Sorry to sound like a grumpy old man, but I have been waiting almost 14 years for the medal rolls to appear online. Chris Baker has told us that they will be online, but who knows when this will happen? If your only option is to look at the medal roll, then you must hire a private researcher or visit the NA yourself.

Up until now the only real way to ascertain the Battery served with out getting our your seat, was through Pension and Service papers found on Ancestry for men who did not serve in the TF.

[John_Hartley]

I have it in mind that folk have previously posted that the major corps - artillery, Labour & ASC - do not list individual units in their medal rolls.

[Chris_Baker]

I don't have specific dates, but I believe they will be online this year.

[ss002d6252]

I don't have specific dates, but I believe they will be online this year.

With Ancestry ?

Craig

[yellow]

I don't have specific dates, but I believe they will be online this year.

Many thanks Chris.

I'm afraid with the medal rolls; in regards the British War Medal the chance of finding a unit listed next to the man you are looking for to the RGA is limited.

Someone else on the forum is saying that even the 15 Star Roll to the RGA does not list the unit. I wouldn't like to say 'yes' until I have seen the RGA rolls with my own eyes. I guess the prudent man would wait until the rolls appear online.

[seaforths]

It seems to be very much a lottery. The roll for one relative gave his battery number but the roll for another relative gave nothing. Luckily I was also copying a great deal of other stuff while I was there so the medal roll was not the sole or primary reason for my visit. Otherwise, I might have left downhearted, as I live quite a distance away.

[ororkep]

Alan,

The first 49 B&V RGA Volumes (XXXB) are in service numerical order with gaps, starting at Service No 3, so it would be impossible to just search for a particular battery without going through every page/roll/volume. Notwithstanding the huge amount of entries that just indicate ‘Base Details’. It is however a general fallacy that the RGA rolls do not show a battery, they are a fantastic source and should always be viewed if possible if only to be eliminated for research purposes. In this respect each roll can vary enormously with battery indication in some as high as 80%, while in others as low as 10%. Each volume contains 3 rolls, with approx. 1,000 entries per roll/ normally 10 entries shown per page. At the end of the first sequence of volumes there are an additional 6 ‘miscellaneous’ and ‘XXXA series ones that start numerically over again for all those missed in the first sequence, this occurs several times, and mainly cater for those for e.g. Comm from ranks, or entitlement to a single medal only and served in Coys and those renumbered or who transferred to the RGA. Numerical gaps continue for those transferred from the RGA and who therefore appear on other Regiments rolls. Some of the New Army Btys are in rough blocks.

It is confirmed the 7 x 14/15 star volumes do NOT give any batteries, (unlike the 14 star roll) however they are useful for confirming blocks that went out on a given date. The single TF 14/15 star volume does.

The MIC reference is correct for finding the page a name appears on in a roll, but another round of internal NA codes is required to allow you to order up the correct volume. I have done this for you in the attached Excel widget. Be careful you do not confuse any of the 8 x TF volume roll references with regular. There are 6 x SWB volumes but you can easily search by battery for those on Ancestry. So Alan (or anyone else), if you have a named list of those you wish to find, obtain the MIC refs online and use my widget to order up the correct necessary rolls.

Rgds Paul

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8SOQchAP4_fN3FCMHhLYW5aZzQ/edit?usp=sharing

PS.You have to download the xls file to use (you just see an image on Googledrive) by the little black download arrow top left under file, but must ‘enable editing ‘ once downloaded for it to work correctly. Just remember to close it each time after using without saving. I have not included the star roll refs.