Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920 on Findmypast

[Sepoy]

Just released by Findmypast

"Over 94,000 records have been added to our collection of British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920 records. The transcripts were created by Graham Stewart using information taken from over 70 sources including medal rolls, service records, medal index cards, battalion histories and St George’s Gazette, and the regimental paper. They list the details of men who served with the regiment during the Fourth Ashanti War (1895-1896), Sudan, Boer War, North West Frontier and the First World War. The Northumberland Fusiliers were formed in 1674 as the 5th Regiment of Foot. By the First World War the regiment was the second largest infantry regiment in the British Army. Each record consists of a transcript that can include the soldiers name, residence rank, battalion, enlistment, transfer and discharge details and any additional notes."

Sepoy

[TomMet]

I thought this might be the key that unlocked my search for Gerald Melling.

Since posting on a few different forums here I have discovered his victory medal buried deep in a box of family bits and pieces.

It reads:- 44258 PTE G MELLING NORTH'D FUS

Sadly no records are revealed for him by the new information on FMP, or anywhere else I have looked.

He was in Lincoln a year before WW1 started, did the Northumberland Fusiliers recruit that far away?

Am I right in thinking that the Victory medal proves he served abroad in a theatre of war, and that he must have received another medal to go with it?

Any ideas will be most welcome.

Tom

[ss002d6252]

In principal a man could attend in any region and join a battalion from elsewhere. In real terms County regiments tended to spend very little time in their associated counties as they were usually based elsewhere.

If you start a new thread with the information from the medal we may be able to find something.

Craig

[Sepoy]

I thought this might be the key that unlocked my search for Gerald Melling.

Since posting on a few different forums here I have discovered his victory medal buried deep in a box of family bits and pieces.

It reads:- 44258 PTE G MELLING NORTH'D FUS

Sadly no records are revealed for him by the new information on FMP, or anywhere else I have looked.

He was in Lincoln a year before WW1 started, did the Northumberland Fusiliers recruit that far away?

Am I right in thinking that the Victory medal proves he served abroad in a theatre of war, and that he must have received another medal to go with it?

Any ideas will be most welcome.

Tom

Hi Tom

Your Victory Medal was awarded to George Melling (not Gerald). He also served in the Labour Corps numbered 477350.

George was also entitled to the British War Medal.

The Medal rolls available on Ancestry do not show which Battalion he served in the NF.

Hope this helps a little

Sepoy

[TomMet]

Thanks for your replies guys,

I have verified from the medal card index that it was indeed George Melling who received that Victory medal, and that the information above from Sepoy is correct.

So either Gerald and George are the same person, and someone transcribed a name incorrectly or they are 2 individuals and somehow Gerald managed to acquire George's medal! George, however, finished his career as a private, whereas there are family recollections of Gerald having a box with 'QMS Melling' stencilled on it.

Gerald stayed in the army until mid 1920 according to the voters register which records him as 'NM' meaning military voter. So my next port of call is the absentee voters register for Hull, where his wife and children lived from 1919. I may be able to track his army service number from that.

Thanks again for your input.

Tom