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Remembered Today:

Unusual casualty abbreviation; WB


TEW

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Extract from 35th Infantry Brigade HQ for Feb 1916. I'm researching a 7/Norfolks man wounded on this date and the entry at bottom says;

7 Norfolks

1 OR KA......probably Killed in Action?

2 OR WA......probably Wounded in Action?

9 OR WB......Probably Wounded [.........]?

 

Had thought Wounded, Back at duty. But the entry above has 1 OR WB (at duty).

Any ideas?

TEW

35IB2.jpg.9531eb203a14bf76f5f03574eeee9f47.jpg

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Wounded Badly?

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6 hours ago, TEW said:

Extract from 35th Infantry Brigade HQ for Feb 1916. I'm researching a 7/Norfolks man wounded on this date and the entry at bottom says;

7 Norfolks

1 OR KA......probably Killed in Action?

2 OR WA......probably Wounded in Action?

9 OR WB......Probably Wounded [.........]?

 

Had thought Wounded, Back at duty. But the entry above has 1 OR WB (at duty).

Any ideas?

TEW

35IB2.jpg.9531eb203a14bf76f5f03574eeee9f47.jpg

 

I don’t know what it means but if you look around e.g. 28/2 there 1 OR K B and 1 OR W C

Some local annotation 

Then had a look at the 7 Suffolk’s diary again lots of annotation so 26/2/1916 they had ‘1 killed and 3 wounded (BH) (BI) with the bracketed note in the margin. Only looked at that diary as your page has two officers, who were ‘W C’ but no real clue.On relief 29/2 there is an annotation BJ.

 

I’ve looked for a key without success Brigade obviously had an administrative, rather than a literal  key and I guess without line for line study it’s meaning is probably lost.  As you are probably aware the first time the marginal note appears is 14 February.  In March we have ‘KE’ and ‘WE’, I really have no idea but perhaps they  refer to ‘sectors’?

 

Ken 

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My first thought was a reference to Company, but the self inflicted wound of the 7th Suffolk man knocked that on the head.

 

The War Diary for the 7th Norfolks for February 1916 makes no reference at all to casualties in the daily entries, and the appendices are missing. The most serious action they saw was from the 17th  to the 20th when they took repeated bombardments from trench mortars and rifles grenades which turned into a duel with the artillery getting involved. On the night of the 19/20th this extended to German aeroplanes dropping flares over their position so the attack could continue.

 

Which then led on to another thought - were the brigade trying to micro-manage their casualties to get a better understanding of where the attrition was coming from. Were they trying to distinguish wounded in action (WA) as a result of sniping \ patrol \ local response to a German raid versus wounded by bombing (WB). Looking at the duration of that localised duelling that would seem the most likely reason for casualties experienced by the 7th Norfolks.

 

Looking at the CWGC database for men of the 7th Norfolks who died in February 1916, there are 6 - so given the figures in the Brigade War Diary all but one of them must have Died of Wounds. (There are also two more on the 3/3). Therefore may be worth doing a search to see if the cause of their wounds can be established which might in turn give a better understanding of those abbreviations - or indeed if those figures can even be trusted.

 

15th February 1916

Private 9459 L Watts. Buried Lillers Communal Cemetery. SDGW records that Leslie Ernest Watts "Died" on this day.

 

18th February 1916

Private 18513 Arthur Frederick Anderson, buried Vermelles British Cemetery.  SDGW records he was Killed in Action on this day.

 Private 16348 Henry Felstead, buried Vermelles British Cemetery. SDGW records “Harry” Felstead was Killed in Action on this day.

 

19th February 1916

 

Private 16605 William Alcock, buried Vermelles British Cemetery. SDGW records he was Killed in Action on this day. 

Private 14646 Edward John Veal, buried Vermelles British Cemetery. SDGW records he Died of Wounds on this Day. 

Private 16286 L H Wright, buried Chocques Military Cemetery. SDGW records Lewis Harold Wright “Died” on this day.

 

Even if you discount the two who “Died” on the basis that could have been as the result of illness or accident and make some allowance for timing – although Vermelles* was barely a mile from the front line at the time and its unlikely someone wounded in January would have been held there to die nearly three weeks into February –  and even allowing for them all being alive when they left the RAP and were handed over to the Abulance drivers \ RAMC only to be DoA at the CCS , still seems like there is something of a disparity. By now I was beginning to wonder if "B" simply stood for "B****y making it up as we go along!"

 

(*According to the War Diary, when the 7th Norfolks came out of the line they were in reserve at Vermelles - with the Battalion HQ in the Brewery being hit by H.E. Shells on the 27th.)

 

If additional data was required a similar exercise could be carried out for the other two units.

 

BTW if anyone thinks of looking up LaPetre's History of the Norfolk Regiment for what the 7th Battalion were doing at this time - the first paragraph in the relevant section, (on page 175 in the version I have access to), reads like it goes into March 1916. However the next paragraph jumps back to the 18th "February" and talks about them being stood too to fend off a German counterattack on the recently captured Hohenzollern Redoubt and the next day taking over part of the defences. Checking against the War Diary I believe that should actually read the 18th March.

 

Hope that helps,

Peter

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54 minutes ago, PRC said:

My first thought was a reference to Company, but the self inflicted wound of the 7th Suffolk man knocked that on the head.

 

Which then led on to another thought - were the brigade trying to micro-manage their casualties to get a better understanding of where the attrition was coming from. Were they trying to distinguish wounded in action (WA) as a result of sniping \ patrol \ local response to a German raid versus wounded by bombing (WB). Looking at the duration of that localised duelling that would seem the most likely reason for casualties experienced by the 7th Norfolks.

 

I guess if ‘B’ is bombing  ‘WA’ could be Artillery, but doesn’t explain ‘WC’ (I'll refrain from the obvious) or ‘WE’ or ‘KE’, that’s the problem attempting a literal interpretation.

 

Ken 

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Ken,

 

Looks like there are probably surviving service records for at least one of those men - Edward John Veal, plus a family tree on Ancestry for Harry Felstead which might have something. Find out how they were wounded \ died and those abbreviations might be open to interpretation. As to "WC" "WE" or "KE", that's what made me think at first of Company's. I know most conventional battalions didn't have an "E" Company but they did have a Battalion HQ and Echelon troops such as Transport, Cooks and Regimental Police.

 

Of course you may need more data from all the units that made up the Brigade for a couple of months to be able to find enough surviving service records to be able to crack the code - or at the very least have a good idea what those initials don't stand for :-)

 

Good luck,

Peter

Edited by PRC
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Just to add a little context. The 7/Norfolks man I've been researching is 7495 (or sometimes 3/7495) Pte. Percy Meek. This is one of the men who feature in Dr Arthur Hurst's film War Neuroses filmed at Netley and Seale Hayne. Percy is the man reduced to an infantile state sitting in a bath chair having a doll wagged at him by a nurse. There is a text account of his background and how he ended up in this state.

 

Quote form PRC

Quote

The most serious action they saw was from the 17th  to the 20th when they took repeated bombardments from trench mortars and rifles grenades which turned into a duel with the artillery getting involved.

 

The background text account taken from this post says of Meek;

He was quite fit until February 19th 1916, when he had to be forcibly prevented from going over the parapet to attack some German mortars which were firing at his trench. He then became dazed, and on reaching the aid post he could not answer questions, but he obeyed simple commands such as to put out his tongue.

 

So the diary concurs with his 'story' which has not always been the case with other men I've identified. Theoretically then, Percy Meek must be either one of the 2 WAs or one of the 9 WBs that day. Although perhaps wounded doesn't apply in his case?

 

Of the men on PRC's list with records;

Private 16348 Henry Felstead. 18/2/1916 Killed in Action, place unknown. Buried Vermelles.

 

Private 14646 Edward John Veal. 19/2/1916 Died of wounds received in Action, place unknown. Buried Vermelles. Another report on his death by 37 FA included in his record which only states admitted to this FA on 19/2/1916 and DOW same day.

 

Private 16286 L H Wright. 19/2/1916 Died of wounds received in Action, place unknown.

 

Ah!! Wright's casualty form states; 1 CCS, bomb wounds spine and left leg 17/2/1916, died 19/2/1916 buried Mil Cem Chocques by Rev. SM Smallcote. The 35 IB diary has omitted the casualties for that day!

 

It would be a long haul to try and find service records for 7/Norfolk men wounded on 19/2/1916 from WO casualty lists to see if their injuries help identify WA from WB.

 

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

TEW

 

 

 

 

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I have recently been looking at the 7th Suffolk and 35th Brigade for Oct/Nov 1915 and the Appendixes referred to in this column are "numbered" like BA, BB etc.  It's a shame that the one above has summaries in the Appendix column and no separation but I bet they are references.  Trouble is that some months have the pages available and others don't.  Look at the end, after the War Diary pages.

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1 hour ago, TEW said:

Just to add a little context. The 7/Norfolks man I've been researching is 7495 (or sometimes 3/7495) Pte. Percy Meek. This is one of the men who feature in Dr Arthur Hurst's film War Neuroses filmed at Netley and Seale Hayne. Percy is the man reduced to an infantile state sitting in a bath chair having a doll wagged at him by a nurse. There is a text account of his background and how he ended up in this state.

 

Quote form PRC

 

The background text account taken from this post says of Meek;

He was quite fit until February 19th 1916, when he had to be forcibly prevented from going over the parapet to attack some German mortars which were firing at his trench. He then became dazed, and on reaching the aid post he could not answer questions, but he obeyed simple commands such as to put out his tongue.

 

So the diary concurs with his 'story' which has not always been the case with other men I've identified. Theoretically then, Percy Meek must be either one of the 2 WAs or one of the 9 WBs that day. Although perhaps wounded doesn't apply in his case?

 

Private 14646 Edward John Veal. 19/2/1916 Died of wounds received in Action, place unknown. Buried Vermelles. Another report on his death by 37 FA included in his record which only states admitted to this FA on 19/2/1916 and DOW same day.

 

Private 16286 L H Wright. 19/2/1916 Died of wounds received in Action, place unknown.

 

Ah!! Wright's casualty form states; 1 CCS, bomb wounds spine and left leg 17/2/1916, died 19/2/1916 buried Mil Cem Chocques by Rev. SM Smallcote. The 35 IB diary has omitted the casualties for that day!

 

It would be a long haul to try and find service records for 7/Norfolk men wounded on 19/2/1916 from WO casualty lists to see if their injuries help identify WA from WB.

 

 

Approaching it from the other way - if the men in this sector were likely to be admitted to 37 Field Ambulance and\or 1\CCS, then admission\treatment records of those units should identify men of the Norfolks \ Suffolks and Royal Berks who were injured at this time, giving you a bigger dataset to look for a guide as to what the abbreviations meant. And to supplement that, Percy Meek would have appeared in one of those Casualty Lists, so find him and you may be able to pick out men from those units who were also wounded at the same time.

 

Following through on that particular angle I pumped the names of the 7th Norfolk men into the Times Online in the hope of identifying the likely casualty list(s) and then checking a few days either side. I couldn't find them all and some of the numbers and names were nearly illegible, so apologies for any mistakes.

 

Taking their appearance in date order and checking them against Medal Index Cards at the National Archive :-

 

Edition of the Times dated Monday 6th March 1916. Losses in the Ranks. Expeditionary Force. Base, February 25.

Wounded.

Suffolk Regiment - 7th. Braybrook, 17074 P.J. (MiC for a Percy J.)

Norfolk Regiment - 7th. Carter, 12192 F.W. (MiC for a Frederick W.)

 

Edition of the Times dated Tuesday 7th March 1916. Losses in the Ranks. Expeditionary Force. Base, February 26.

No likely Casualties.

 

Edition of the Times dated Wednesday 8th March 1916. Losses in the Ranks. Expeditionary Force. Base, February 27.

Died of Wounds.

Norfolk Regiment - 7th. Veal, 14640 E.J. :Wright, 16286, L.H.

Wounded.

Norfolk Regiment - 7th. Twite, 18544, W. (MiC for a William)

Suffolk Regiment - 7th. Hall, 18849, A. : Biggs, 12393, E.C .: Clarke, 12336, S : Ellis, 12568, S : Shepperd, 12427, Sergt. R.S. : Smith, 12480, A.: Webb, 15632, H.

(Possible MiC for 18849 Arthur Bell, 7th Bn : MiC for Edward C. Biggs : MiC for Sidney H. Clarke: MiCs for both a Stephen and a Stanley Ellis in the Suffolk Regiment with this service number : MiC for 12427 Robert Sidney Shepherd. : No obvious match for 12480 A. Smith : No obvious match for 15632 H. Webb.)

 

Wounded - Shell Shock.

Suffolk Regiment - 7th. Copping 22203, A. : Scoggins, 12271 L-Cpl. G.J.

(MiC - Albert Copping : Possible MiC for 12271 George J Scogings.)

 

Edition of the Times dated Thursday 9th March 1916.

Officers - Headquarters, Expeditionary Force reported under various dates.

Wounded

Coe, Sec. Lt. T.P. 7th Norfolk Regiment.

Losses in the Ranks. Expeditionary Force. Base, February 28.

Wounded.

Norfolk Regiment - 7th. Carey, 10802, W.E : Hambling, 18650 A.G. : ????, 5334, A.E. : Ramm, 18304 C.

(Possible MiC  for 19892 Walter E. Carey. : MiC for Walter George Hambling : Possible MiC for 5334 Arthur E. Hayhoe. : MiC for Cecil R. Ramm.)

 

Edition of the Times dated Friday 10th March 1916.

Losses in the Ranks. Expeditionary Force. Base, February 29.

Wounded.

Norfolk Regiment - 7th. Lambert, 19879, G. : Land, 16075, J.

(MiC for George Lambert. : MiC for John Land.)

 

Edition of the Times dated Saturday 11th March 1916.

Losses in the Ranks. Expeditionary Force. Base, March 1.

Died of Wounds.

Suffolk Regiment - 7th. Read, 14186, W. (MiC Walter. CWGC has him died 23rd February 1916).

Wounded.

Suffolk Regiment - 7th. Balls, 17671, W. : Sage, 17972, R.T. : Tatum, 18850, R.

(MiC for William Balls : MiC for Robert Sage : MiC for Robert S. Tatum.).

 

While going through those official Casualty Lists in the Times one category leapt out as a match for "WC". Two of the days had a section "Wounded - Concussion".

 

With regard to Percy, FindMyPast has a report dated 16th May 1915 of Sick and Wounded N.C.O.'s and Men of the Expeditionary Forced admitted to the Middlesex Hospital, Clacton on Sea, on that day. The second name on the list is Private 7495 P. Meek, "D" Company, 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment. He was recorded as Slightly Wounded.

 

His Medal Index Card records him as Percy A. That gives you only two likely matches as far as the Birth Records for England and Wales are concerned. One was a Percy Albert Meek, birth registered in the Docking District of Norfolk in Q3 of 1892. The other was a Percy Alfred Meek, birth registered in the in the Taunton District of Somerset in Q3 of 1898. On the 1911 Census there is an 18 year old Basket Maker, Percy Albert Meek, born Snettisham, Norfolk, who was recorded living with his parents at the Market Place, Snettisham. They were William and Miriam. The couple have been married 22 years and have had 3 children, all then still alive. His father was a Basket Manufacturer and it looks like Percy and his siblings were engaged in the family business. They were Charles Edward, (20) and Harold William, (16).

 

One of the names on the Snettisham War Memorial is that of a Harold Meek. Its almost certainly the same individual. Private 13014 Harold Meek, 3rd Battalion was most likely on his way out to Palestine as a replacement draft to the 4th or 5th Battalion when he lost his life at sea on the 30th December 1917. He was most likely aboard the Transport Ship Aragon that was torpedoed while laying off Alexandra while waiting for the main approach channel to be re-swept for mines.

https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1438897/meek,-harold-william/

https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/138730/

 

It may be a co-incidence, but the death of a Percy A. Meek, aged 75, was recorded in the Kings Lynn District, (which had expanded to include part of the old Docking District) in Q4 of 1968. There is an entry in the 1969 Probate Calendar for a Percy Albert Meek of Church Road, Snettisham, Norfolk who died on the 22nd December 1968.

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Meek&yearOfDeath=1969&page=2#calendar

 

Hope that helps,

Peter

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PRC,

You've done some digging there! From your list above I've just tried 2 men, Carter and Twite, both have records. Carter's in uninformative but Twite's states he received a GSW 17/2/1916 to right foot. This seems to have escalated which resulted in the amputation at right thigh and left foot. Another sheet has Gas Gangrene right leg. Casualty sheet has GSW multiple, bomb 17/2/1916.

 

I'll have to spend time delving into the other men's records but many thanks for locating some potential sources.

 

Yes, he was Percy Albert Meek of Snettisham, Basket Maker. He enlisted Jan 1913. He ended up teaching basket making at Seale Hayne as part of his and the other men's occupational therapy.

 

The FMP list of 16th May 1915 shows his earlier GSW injury while with 1/Norfolks. He returned to France in Oct 1915 with 7/Norfolks.

 

The odd thing is that he was discharged 13/6/1916 for his first injury, the GSW to L Hip and not the Feb 1916 breakdown. SWB was issued around May 1917. This means he was discharged, and somehow claimed and received his SWB while in his infantile state. He started to recover in Nov 1917 but was not able to stand until June 1918. We've been in contact with Snettisham folk who knew Percy and had no idea of his background. We also have a photo of Percy as an older man, still making baskets.

 

Many thanks, will re-post after more digging.

TEW

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1 hour ago, TEW said:

 

 SWB was issued around May 1917. This means he was discharged, and somehow claimed and received his SWB while in his infantile state.

 

 

The SWB was instituted in September 1916 and awarded retrospectively to men discharged previously.

 

Ken

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7 hours ago, TEW said:

I'll have to spend time delving into the other men's records but many thanks for locating some potential sources.

 

Yes, he was Percy Albert Meek of Snettisham, Basket Maker. He enlisted Jan 1913.

The odd thing is that he was discharged 13/6/1916 for his first injury, the GSW to L Hip and not the Feb 1916 breakdown.

 

TEW,

 

Not entirely selfless :-) - given the grim reality of war and the catchment area of the Norfolk Regiment there is a strong likelihood I will come across these names again, either on a War Memorial or a Roll of Honour of those who served. For instance 5334 Arthur Ernest Hayhoe, a Boer War Veteran from Norwich, would be killed in action on the 18th May 1918 serving with the 1st Battalion.

 

If Percy signed up in 1913 and was given service number 7495 I believe that would have been as a reservist, rather than serving with the colours. He would have been assigned to the 3rd (or Depot) Battalion - hence the 3/ prefix. Service number 7495 was used by the Regular Battalions back in 1907/1908, and while Percy would have been just old enough to sign up as a Boy Soldier, (based on being 18 at the start of April 1911 when the census was taken), that scenario doesn't really square with him being a basket maker on the 1911 Census. If he was a Regular in 1907/1908 then he would have had to have been discharged or bought himself out - which doesn't sit with him joining up (again) in 1913.

 

For a rough guide to when the service numbers were issued see:-

http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/norfolk-regiment-1st-2nd-battalions.html

 

I've only come across a couple of these reservists over the years, so they seem to be fairly rare. It appears after completing their initial training they were liable for recall in the event of emergency for service anywhere in the world, i.e. another Boer War. They received regular refresher training, but probably did no more days than your average Territorial, but the Territorial was only committed to UK service.

 

As to the SWB there was still a view in some parts of the Military Establishment that there was no such thing as shell-shock - the soldier concerned simply lacked moral fibre! As far as I'm aware there is nothing in the relevant section of the Kings Regs stating that a soldier was mentally unfit for further service, only physically unfit. So going for physical GS wounds as a criteria for discharge would have been something everyone on the medical board could relate to. As he was a discharged soldier by the time of the issue of his SWB and being treated by Dr Hurst as a War Pensioner, then if he was in an infantile state someone would have been appointed to act legally on his behalf. Could even have been someone like the Hospital Welfare Officer, with a view to Percy eventually being well enough to go for small walks outside the hospital grounds in his civvies - he was after all no longer a soldier.

 

Good luck with your search - looking forward to seeing what you uncover,

 

Cheers,

Peter

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Any chance it could be 6 OR W B as in"B" Company etc?

 

As in this example from the 28th of February

 

9 Essex-
1 Other Rank killed "B" Company
1 Other Rank wounded "C" Company

7 Suffolks
Lt PB Nichols
& Lt GV Preston wounded "C" Company
1 Other Ranks killed "B" Company
7 Other Ranks wounded "A" Company
Total 12

 

Mike

temp cas.PNG

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Ken, not disputing your comment re the SWB but it had to be claimed for not just issued automatically. That means someone made a claim on his behalf, either NOK or the route suggest by PRC. I also felt that discharging him for his first injury rather than the shell shock incident was just a simpler option for the discharging officers unless Warley RO made an error.

 

As to his number, I had thought the 3/prefix stemmed from the unit he was discharged from ie he had been placed on the strength of the Depot battalion following his stint with the 7/Norfolks. His 1915 Casualty List omits the 3/ prefix.

 

The Jan 1913 Enlistment date comes from the SWB roll and also from Dr Hurst's text on Percy so there are two sources for that date.

 

Mike, there are abbreviations WA, WB, WC, WE and KA, KB, KC KE, no WD or KD.

 

Just found file for 18304 Ramm 7Norfolks from PRC's list and he's down as an Accidental/SIW on 17/2/1916. Wounded Accidentally?

 

TEW

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1 hour ago, TEW said:

As to his number, I had thought the 3/prefix stemmed from the unit he was discharged from ie he had been placed on the strength of the Depot battalion following his stint with the 7/Norfolks. His 1915 Casualty List omits the 3/ prefix.

 

 

You very kindly commented and helped with a piece I did on the 9th Norfolks in the attack on the Quadrilateral on the 15th September 1916.

Checking back through that, 6 out of the 160 men who died on the day had a 3/ prefix to a four digit service number. I quote that just as an example of how that prefix could crop up in any of the Battalions - Regular, Service and from 1916 onwards, Territorial.

 

I can't quote you the regulations - and I'd love to know them so I could get my own head round them :-)

My observations would be that wounded men who were taken off the strength of the battalion they were wounded with and were posted on the establishment of the 3rd Battalion seemed to have retained their service number - they would only be renumbered on being posted to their new unit. If nothing else I guess it would save on administration. If they were to be discharged their unit would become the Depot \ 3rd Battalion, but their service number stayed the same.

 

At the outbreak of the Great War there would have been potentially two Regular Army soldiers with the Service Number 7495. One was Percy Meek, and the other was a Lance Serjeant Thomas W. Spalding, (rank from the MiC, so that would have been his rank when he qualified for the 1914/15 star). Thomas Spalding is not on CWGC nor is he recorded on IRC. Going back to the 1911 census he was a 22 year old Lance Corporal in the 1st Battalion in Barracks at Aldershot. Given his age he would be a more likely candidate for a man who enlisted in 1907/1908 and his 7 years in the colours would have taken him to 1914/1915 if war hadn't broken out. So unless Thomas was posted to the 2nd Battalion in the intervening years, when Percy joined the 1st Battalion on the outbreak of war he would have needed to use his 3/ prefix number. The failure by the hospital to include it in their report is understandable as they would probably have been unaware of the potential for a mis-match at the Records Office.

 

Retaining service numbers I suspect was a useful way of distinguishing men who had signed up under regular service conditions and those who had signed up for the duration of the war, even if they were serving in the same unit. There are no MiCs for a 7495 serving with a Territorial or a Service Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment.

 

Hopefully I haven't misunderstood somewhere along the line, but I suspect his Medal Roll will have only his 3/7495 service number and show it with the 1st. 7th and Depot Battalions.

 

Cheers,

Peter

 

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Peter,

 

Well his 1914 Star Roll has him as 3/7495, no battalion given but his date of entry being 31/8/1914 must mean 1st Bn.

 

His BWM/Vict roll also has him as 3/7495 but only gives his units as 1st Norfolks and doesn't mention 7th Norfolks at all.

 

He's on two WO casualty lists;

7/6/1915. 7495, 1st Battalion. Related to the May 1915 injury you noted in post#10

20/3/1916 3/7495. 7th Battalion. Wounded - Shock (Shell). Report Received Date 9th March 1916.

 

So it appears his BWM/Vict roll has omitted his service with the 7th Bn.

 

He features in at least four different texts, two published by Hurst, one by McDougal (his first doctor at Netley). And a draft copy of one of Hurst's texts found in Devon Heritage Centre. McDougal's text says he joined the Special Reserve in 1913.

 

Our man filmed at Seale Hayne is undoubtedly 3/7495 Percy Meek, Basket Maker from Snettisham. Snettisham residents who knew Meek have seen the film and concur it is him.

 

Getting back to the original topic. I suspect Meek's Wounded - Shock (Shell) incident 19/2/1916 may not show as any of the WA or WB entries as one would think given the account of him that he would be classified initially as Sick rather than Wounded.

However, I'm still trawling though for service records for the men given in your previous post and will re-post.

Thanks

TEW

 

 

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6 hours ago, TEW said:

 McDougal's text says he joined the Special Reserve in 1913.

 

Getting back to the original topic. I suspect Meek's Wounded - Shock (Shell) incident 19/2/1916 may not show as any of the WA or WB entries as one would think given the account of him that he would be classified initially as Sick rather than Wounded.

 

 

 

Special Reserve - that answers part of it. Replacement for the Militia under the 1908 Army Order, following on from the 1907 Territorial and Reserve Forces Act. Three to six months basic training after which the man concerned could opt to join the Regular Army or go into the Reserves but be liable for immediate recall in the event of hostilities.  This site has a good explanation of it.

http://armyformsandattestations.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/army-form-b59-special-reserve.html

If he didn't elect to join up then he would have been on the nominal roll of the 3rd Battalion.

 

I wouldn't discount him not being counted. One possible interpretation of those initials is WB = Wounded Bombing. If that extends to Shell Shock then he definitely qualifies.

 

Looking forward to what you turn up - I'm quite intrigued now :-)

 

Peter

Edited by PRC
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