Yet another Date on a Medal Index Card

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear fellow Great War Forum members,

I have the medals and Medal Index Card copy of Lieut. William Percival Platt, MBE. Any comments would be welcome; any Image would be rewarded with a Goodie!

W. P. Platt was commissioned as a Temporary Second Lieutenant into the 12^th (Service) Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, on 22 September 1914.

The following year, in July 1915, 2^nd Lieut. Platt (after nine months with the 12^th), moved to the 16^th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, staying with this unit for a further three months, thus completing a year with the Durhams.

He transferred to the 2^nd (Garrison) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, on 11 October 1915. Promotion to Temporary Lieutenant came through shortly afterwards, on 2 December 1915. It is possible that, being somewhat overage for his rank, Lieut. Platt was earmarked for the 2^nd Garrison Battalion, which was due to depart for India.

On the other hand, he may well have requested the transfer himself, preferring garrison duty in India to the clearly more hazardous active service on the Western Front. Be that as it may, the 2^nd Garrison Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers arrived in India on 13 March 1916.

Platt’s medal index card indicated an entry date into the theatre of war in India as ‘2. 2.18’. This was perhaps connected with Platt’s entry to the Quetta area, which was near, or part of, the North-West Frontier war zone.

It seems that at some time in 1916, after half a year with the Northumberlands, Temporary Lieutenant Platt was attached to the Office of the Controller Military Accounts, 2^nd (Rawalpindi) Division, Indian Army.

This attachment makes sense, given his experience as a bookkeeper, and he was clearly given the Field job of what, in the British Army, would be referred to as a Paymaster. He continued in this capacity, at Rawalpindi, throughout 1917.

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[Loader]

The MIC confirms the award of the single BWM for the India & the date should be the date he entered into an area that qualified him for the medal.

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear Loader,

Many thanks for responding: much appreciated.

The date of 2 Feb 1918 on the MIC would seem to coincide with his shift to Quetta - notwithstanding his aforegoing war service in India.

The following is the continuation of the relevant part of my on-going manuscript about the Life of William Percival Platt, MBE:-

Here again, this move seems to have been fortuitous, because at least parts of his 2^nd Garrison Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, were sent to Mesopotamia from March 1917 onwards.

In 1918, Platt was with the Controller Military Accounts (CMA), 4^th Quetta Division, and remained there until the following year. He qualified for the British War Medal 1914-18 (LIEUT. W. P. PLATT.), but not the Victory Medal.

The outbreak of the Third Afghan War in 1919, involved T/Lieut. Platt intensely. After four years of wartime inaction in a rear echelon backwater, he served on active service during the brief Afghanistan campaign: and was later obliged to serve in Waziristan, even to 1921.  

Platt qualified for the India Service Medal GVR 1908, with clasp ‘Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919’ (named LIEUT. W. P. PLATT, M. A. DEPT.).

More importantly, he was recommended for a decoration by the Indian Government, ‘for valuable services rendered in the Field of the Afghan War, 1919’.

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[Robert Birchall]

Kimberley,

This is very interesting - I have just replied to a previous post of yours.  William Percival Platt is my Great Grandfather.  Gladys Vera Platt is my Grandmother and she married Robert Birchall (also an MBE but not military) circa 1930.  I have a picture of William at their wedding.   Do you have his medal?

Regards,

Robert

 

[Robert Birchall]

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear Robert,

Thanks for attaching the crop of the wedding picture, showing William Percival Platt, MBE (Mil), in Dec 1930.

Much appreciated!

Kindest regards,

Kim.