Help with an artilleryman

[agnos]

I wonder if anybody might steer me in the right direction to find out a little more information on a relative. Thomas Kelly was born in 1886 in Liverpool. He enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery in around 1904 and served in India. We have a picture of him wearing riding boots and carrying a crop and another showing him on a course at the government telegraph station in Merut. He appears on the 1911 census at his sister's home in Liverpool and was still a serving soldier in the RFA. We believe he served his enlistment term by 1912/13 and left the army. We also have a picture of him taken in 1914, showing him wearing a tunic with three inverted chevrons on the cuff - he had presumably been called back from the reserve on the outbreak of war. He survived it and unfortunately died in the 1930s

We have no information as to what his number was, or what units he served in prior to WW1 or during it. Is there an RFA site where we might be able to find out more about him? We have tried on Ancestry but there are quite a number of Thomas Kellys of around the same age in that regiment during 1914-1918. Is it possible that he retained his army number when he was recalled, and that number would be of a different set than those issued during the war? Thanks in advance for any info.

[Coldstreamer]

I think your best bet is top trawl though them all and look for one from Liverpool for starters and work from there - 29 possibles with name - place on FMP

dates of birth vary so take with a pinch of salt

[agnos]

Thanks, I'll have a go at FMP and go through them. Might be able to narrow him down to a few possibles..

[David Porter]

He would have retained the number he was given during the period he was in the reserves awaiting call up. If he joined the RFA in 1904 then he would have been given a five figure number starting with 3. I would say you need to look closely at men with numbers in the range 33xxx - 34xxx, or slighly outside that if you are not sure of the year he joined. That should narrow it down considerably.

[agnos]

Many thanks for that, hopefully I'll spot him.

[ss002d6252]

He would have retained the number he was given during the period he was in the reserves awaiting call up. If he joined the RFA in 1904 then he would have been given a five figure number starting with 3. I would say you need to look closely at men with numbers in the range 33xxx - 34xxx, or slighly outside that if you are not sure of the year he joined. That should narrow it down considerably.

The only man I could see in that range (assuming he served overseas in ww1 ) is this one - http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D3209884

Craig

[agnos]

I couldn't spot Tomas Kelly serving in the RFA on FMP but did spot an attestation page for a Thomas Kelly signing up for the militia in 1904. He was the right age and his occupation tallied. I don't know much about Militia service but I know it was a route into regular service and TK might well possibly enlisted this way then transferred to the RFA. I did manage to download the record from the national archives. Not a great deal there but the TK mentioned with that service number was awarded the 1914 star. Thanks for

that Craig.