FINDING Captain Richard W Lambert

[JOSTURM]

I am trying to find a Captain who received the BWM in WW1 - and he is not in the British, Indian, ANZAC or Canadian armies as far as I can tell.

My last resort is South Africa - Does anyone have access to their Officers service records or can even just establish that they had an officer with this rank and name/initials please ?

 

Medal is inscribed to Captain R W Lambert. I was told by the Seller that his first name was definitely RICHARD.

 

Many thanks for any help.

 

Regards

 

JOSTURM

[HarryBrook]

This London Gazette notification has a 2nd Lt., acting Capt., R. W. Lambert, Labour Corps https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30436/supplement/13306

 

Edit: The surname in the above gazette notification should have read LIMBERT; it was later corrected

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30454/supplement/233

Edited 4 January , 2018 by HarryBrook

[JOSTURM]

Thanks HarryBrook, but I guess I can discount it then. I am pretty sure he was a South African but I don’t know if there records are easily available.

[Dragoon]

Hello

There is a lieutenant R W Lambert, East African Military Labour Corps on the 1914/1915 Star medal rolls, closest i could find.

 

Hope this helps

 

Chris

[Dragoon]

Just found his MIC, this chaps name is Reginald W, and he was not a captain, all his medals would have had Lt on them,

sorry

 

Chris 

[JOSTURM]

Thanks Dragoon. Does that mean that you have checked all of the SA Forces Officers records and there is no Captain RW Lambert present ? Just so i know..

 

[JOSTURM]

On 1/4/2018 at 17:52, HarryBrook said:

This London Gazette notification has a 2nd Lt., acting Capt., R. W. Lambert, Labour Corps https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30436/supplement/13306

 

Edit: The surname in the above gazette notification should have read LIMBERT; it was later corrected

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30454/supplement/233

 yes this guy was Roy William....

[Dragoon]

No, not service records, looked through some MIC's and medal rolls.

You don't think he could be Royal Marines? Might be worth looking through their Medal cards.

 

Chris

[PRC]

As far as I can tell there is no online source for South African soldiers who survived, nor is there anything helpful in the way of online archive newspapers.

 

I believe this is the most recent thread on this forum.

I therefore tried coming at it from the other way - trying to find a South African Richard W Lambert of the right generation(s) to have seen service in the Great War and from that try to establish a link.

 

It may be a complete red herring, but the birth of Richard Wooding Lambert took place at Cape Town on the 20th September 1878 - his father was a Clerk. He was baptised on the 1st November 1878.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVS4-FRCJ

It looks like the family had been there for several generations

http://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/settlerbrowsemarrs.php?name=LAMBERT

 

When Richard Wooding Lambert married Violet Anna Catherine LeGrew at St Georges Cathedral, Cape Town on the 5th September 1907, he gave his occupation as Clerk to the Civil Commissioner.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTWQ-GFF?i=78&wc=SFVH-4WY%3A44975801%2C44975802%2C45887701%2C45924901&cc=1468076

 

By the time the couple had their second child in 1910 they were living in Ladysmith, with Richard described again as a Clerk to Civil Commissioner.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSH-KY5M

 

The South African National Archive index only has two references to Richard Wooding Lambert, both court cases, the second being his wife suing for divorce. Neither catalogue entry is dated.

 

What I can't find is anything to take that next leap to connect him to serving in the Great War, so just floating it as a possibility as he would have been of the right age and social background to have been considered officer material, particularly in a non frontline unit. I also assume the BVM was given out for those South Africans troops who garrisoned German South West Africa, (a.k.a. Namibia) during the war and who would have had to run the civilian administration - a role someone like Richard Wooding Lambert might have been well suited for.

 

Ramblings over - good luck with your search,

Peter

 

 

 

[JOSTURM]

Peter, what can I say, masteful deduction and very helpful. thanks to you. I will try to investigate further.

Regards

Peter