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HELP! - Indecipherable Military History Sheet


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Posted

I am trying to track down some of my family's WW1 service history and have found that the documents for my great uncle Samuel Ferreday still exist and I have them from Ancestry... however the Military History Sheet has an entry that is completely incomprehensible for me so any help would be much appreciated. 

 

It seems he was wounded at some point - I assume the first part of the entry is the date - 19 Sep 1918 - the rest is a mystery. Part of the subsequent documentation deals with his discharge as Unfit for Service at the beginning of 1919 which I am assuming was the consequence of this injury.

 

Hope someone can help,

 

David.

sam ferreday war record.JPG

Posted

I think you're right about the date being 19 Sep 18. GSW means "gun shot wound"

Posted

It looks like a severe gunshot wound to the back.

Since he was discharged he would probably been awarded a Silver War Badge. These records are on Ancestry.

He would almost certainly have been awarded a pension. Pension records are on Ancestry {if they survive}, and he should also be mentioned on the Pension Ledger Index on Ancestry, although the records themselves are on Fold 3.

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

Posted

Hi David,

 

I don't think that 'H.A 29317' is a date. I think that it may be the number of a list that he appeared on, as in this example.

 

image.png.6d2fb4933702f0b61e967fa19f835adf.png

Image source: Findmypast

 

Was he 52427 Ferreday?

 

Regards

Chris

Posted

Thanks for your replies chaps. Sam was awarded the Silver War Badge  - I have seen the record of that and his pension ledger index.

@CLK, yes he is 52427 Ferreday - that was his number in the Lincolnshire regiment after being transferred from the Sherwood Foresters

Posted
33 minutes ago, clk said:

Hi David,

 

I don't think that 'H.A 29317' is a date. I think that it may be the number of a list that he appeared on, as in this example.

 

I guess that HA is for Hospital Admissions? 

 

Regards 

Alan  

Posted

Anyone know where I can find out if List HA29317 is online?

 

D.

Posted

Hi David,

 

Looking at his records, it seems that:

 

19.4.1918 - called up for duty

22.4.1918 - posted Sherwood Foresters Depot

22.4.1918 - posted 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Sherwood Foresters

6.9.1918 - arrived in France

6.9.1918 - transferred to the Lincolnshire Regiment and posted to the 7th Battalion

18.9.1918 - wounded

3.10.1918 - left France

4.10.1918 - Admitted to Berrington War Hospital, in Shrewsbury

24.10.1918 - Admitted to an auxiliary hospital in Owestry

4.12.1918 - discharged from hospital

4.12.1918 - discharged from the service

2.1.1919 - Silver War Badge sent (received 3.1.1919). I didn't see him though in the roll images that Ancestry have.

 

The records indicate that his wound was a GSW (bullet) to his back which perforated his chest, and that he also had a gas burn on his buttock. When he was discharged he was assessed as having a disability of 50%.

 

The Battalion war diary for September 1918 is here at the National Archives, or here on Ancestry. From the date of his arrival to the date of his wounding they appear to have had two sets of reinforcing 'other ranks - 69 on the 8th September, and 178 on the 13th. The Brigade HQ diary is here, and here.

 

There is help on reading trench map references here.

 

1 hour ago, DSw99 said:

Anyone know where I can find out if List HA29317 is online?

 

Unfortunately, I don't think that it is. A few of the lists randomly crop up in some service records, but I didn't see anything which linked to Samuel.

 

Regards

Chris

Posted

@clk - many thanks for that. I have found the trench map and cross referenced that with the war diary and it's an odd coincidence. The action south of Gueudecourt on the 18th/19th Sep when my great uncle was wounded is only 5 miles from Martinpuich where another great uncle (this time on my father's side) won his MM in 1916. It must have been gutting to be fighting over the very same battlefields where so many thousands had fought and died years earlier.

 

David

Posted

He appears in the Silver War Badge lists with his surname spelled as "Fereday".

 

Martin

Posted (edited)

Hi David,

 

4 hours ago, tootrock said:

He appears in the Silver War Badge lists with his surname spelled as "Fereday"

 

I see that record gives an enlistment date of 19.6.1916. That date is recorded as a "deemed to have enlisted" date in his papers (his 18th birthday under the provisions of the Military Service Act 1916 ?), rather than when he was actually called up.

 

Regards

Chris

Edited by clk
deleted excess white space

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