Guest Posted 9 August , 2017 Share Posted 9 August , 2017 Hi , after many years i am finally trying to find out more about my grandfathers 1914-18 service record, I have his medals and some documentation including a lovely honourable discharge certificate saying he had served with honour and disabled dated 28th Jan 1919. i believe he served as a driver in the Royal Field Artillery for the duration of the war and his service number was 72509 . I have tried but despite the number and name I have discovered very little , i do have a very long photo of his entire unit, the 62nd reserve battery in April 1918 which may be of interest to others ? If anyone could give me any additional information i would be extremely grateful as i am going to Ypres this autumn and would love to know some of the places he spent his war . My grandfather died when i was 14 , and how i wish i had asked him more then ! He did always have an oxygen bottle behind his armchair , could he have been gassed and this was the cause of the disability listing . Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Porter Posted 9 August , 2017 Share Posted 9 August , 2017 Welcome to the Forum David, He was awarded a 1914 Star due to him arriving in France with 27th Brigade RFA on August 19, 1914. This Brigade was in 5th Division. See here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27th_Brigade_Royal_Field_Artillery You can download the War Diary (in many parts) from here - http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C4554680 or you can find it on Ancestry with a subscription. I can see that his name and number appears in Findmypast records as they have indexed some casualty lists. You may find he is serving with a different unit at this time. This may also prove if he was gassed at some point. 62nd Reserve Battery was a remount training unit based at Ripon. If feasible, you could add your picture to this thread for others to see - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 9 August , 2017 Share Posted 9 August , 2017 Hi David, Forces War Records have transcribed a couple of records relating to William. They read... On 5th February 1915 he was serving with 119 Battery RFA when he was admitted to 14 Field Ambulance suffering from sciatica. He was transferred to a sick convoy, and sent to a convalescence depot on 6th February 1915. At the time he had 2 years service*. On 28th May 1915 he was still serving with 119 Battery RFA when he was again admitted to 14 Field Ambulance - this time with "gun shot wound back". He was transferred to 8 Casualty Clearing Station on the same day. 119 Battery was part of 27 Brigade RFA. If his back wound required lengthy treatment, he may have been posted back to a different battery/brigade when he recovered. Hopefully the records that David found on Findmypast may help to clarify/expand. Unfortunately William doesn't appear to have a surviving service file. His medal roll records are here on Ancestry. "Dischd. P.U." means discharged permanently unfit. *His Silver War Badge record says that he enlisted on 8th March 1913, and was discharged due to "sickness" on 28th January 1919. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 9 August , 2017 Share Posted 9 August , 2017 Thank you so much for your time and help , that gives me some leads now . regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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