Flt32 Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 Can anyone help me with this photo. I am almost (95%) sure this is a photo of my great uncle John McCreesh. He was 18 in 1918. It was amongst my great Aunts possessions and I have spent a long time trying to get a firm ID on it. The man in the picture as far as I am concerned is an absolute dead ringer for my Uncle John. I have other photos of him around the same time - one wearing the 1915 On War Service badge and he looks identical (albeit slightly younger). Even down to the ears!! BUT I can find no WW1 record of him anywhere. There is simply no record of him having signed up (he was born in 1899/1901 and although there are McCreesh soldier records - I can link none to him. This particular photo has ‘July 1918’ written on the back in my Aunt’s writing. My questions are: The photo was taken in Crowborough in July 1918 which I know had army training camps in it so presumably he went to Crowborough to undergo training. But surely if he had enlisted - gone to Crowborough to train, even if he wasn’t mobilised in time for the end of the war... he would still have an enlistment record? Can anyone shed any light on this? and secondly - I think the style of the photo is rather unusual , with the ‘souvenir of the great war’ written on it... does this mean anything?! Any thoughts so gratefully appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffnut453 Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 Most WW1 service records for enlisted soldiers were destroyed during a bombing raid in 1940 and it's likely your Great Uncle's records were likely among those destroyed. If he didn't serve overseas, then he wouldn't be entitled to any medals and so he won't appear in the medal records. Do you know if his hometown's Absent Voter List has survived? The AVL was created in August 1918 to prepare for the upcoming General Election and it was supposed to capture details of all serving soldiers, sailors and airmen. If you're lucky, the AVL may have survived and may show your Great Uncle (the AVLs aren't 100% accurate but they can be a great resource). Hope at least some of the above is useful to you. Kind regards, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 If it helps, the photo must have been taken after March 1916 as the soldier is wearing what is commonly called the "trench cap", with it's distinctive rows of stitching visible on the peak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flt32 Posted 13 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2019 Thank you - very helpful Mark. I hadn’t considered the fact that the Enlistment record was destroyed. I assumed that the enlistment record was separate to the actual war record. I’ll check out the AVL - he was from Newcastle so fingers crossed. Do you happen to know the average time it took to be mobilised to an actual theatre of war? I know earlier in the war it could take months but I assumed (probably incorrectly!) that you were sent to war much faster as the war progressed and things got more desperate? I just wondered if there was any reason why he might not have been sent to the war within the four months after enlisting or is that normal, even at that time in the war? And thank you Andrew, it was 1918 (it’s pencilled on the back of the photo) but that’s very interesting about the cap. I love this forum for precisely these reasons! Melanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Rayner Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 (edited) Is it possible this is him? First Name:J Surname:McCreesh Incident Date:17/08/1915 Information:Listed as "Wounded" on the Casualty List issued by the War Office from the 17th August 1915. Further Information:This man was entitled to wear a "Wound Stripe" as authorised under Army Order 204 of 6th July 1916. The terms of this award being met by their naming in this list. Rank:Lance Corporal Service Number:8397 Duty Location:France and Flanders George Sorry omitted DLI 2nd Battalion Edited 13 January , 2019 by George Rayner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 13 minutes ago, Flt32 said: I know earlier in the war it could take months but I assumed (probably incorrectly!) that you were sent to war much faster as the war progressed and things got more desperate? I just wondered if there was any reason why he might not have been sent to the war within the four months after enlisting or is that normal, even at that time in the war? Some men were sent quite quickly, others were held back. In early 1918 there were hundreds of thousands of trained A1 men being held back for the offensives of 1919 and 1920. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 He appears to be wearing Territorial Battalion shoulder titles. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 Can you advise where he was born and where he was living. Any other family details. mMay help to identify him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Rayner Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 (edited) In 1911 Census...???????? Name :John McCreesh Age in 1911:11 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1900 Relation to Head: Son Gender: Male Birth Place: Wellington Quay, Northumberland, England Civil Parish:Wallsend Also in1901-father from Durham Edited 13 January , 2019 by George Rayner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 56 minutes ago, HolymoleyRE said: He appears to be wearing Territorial Battalion shoulder titles. I think they're just the regular bugle / Durham titles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flt32 Posted 13 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2019 25 minutes ago, George Rayner said: In 1911 Census...???????? Name :John McCreesh Age in 1911:11 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1900 Relation to Head: Son Gender: Male Birth Place: Wellington Quay, Northumberland, England Civil Parish:Wallsend Also in1901-father from Durham Yes, this is the person I think it is. I don’t think he could have been wounded in ‘15 as he would have been 15 and I have a photo of him wearing a On War Service pin around this time. He was the eldest boy of the McCreesh family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flt32 Posted 13 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2019 40 minutes ago, Mark1959 said: Can you advise where he was born and where he was living. Any other family details. mMay help to identify him. He was from Northumberland.. see the census above. There are a huge amount of McCreeshs in the area. I’ve had a nightmare with family tree. There is a member of the tunnelling corps that died in Ypres I believe called John McCreesh ... maybe another Uncle, but I haven’t managed to connect him yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flt32 Posted 13 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2019 1 hour ago, Heid the Ba said: Some men were sent quite quickly, others were held back. In early 1918 there were hundreds of thousands of trained A1 men being held back for the offensives of 1919 and 1920. Ah thank you. Makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 13 January , 2019 Share Posted 13 January , 2019 38 minutes ago, jay dubaya said: I think they're just the regular bugle / Durham titles I think you're right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Rayner Posted 14 January , 2019 Share Posted 14 January , 2019 Re post #12 The John McCreesh who died as a tunneller was Irish-but did live in Durham. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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